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Hohokum dev's latest boasts llamas that go boom
Super Exploding Zoo is a game that developer Honeyslug describes as a "arcade-y tower defense-y explode-em-up," though most players will simply know it as "that game where explosive llamas stop an alien invasion." "That old family favorite, the Super Exploding Zoo, is under attack from evil aliens who've come to devour all the lovely, tasty animal eggs," reads the developer's brief story synopsis. Since humanity is useless in the face of alien invasion, it's up to a squad of militant animals to fight off the omelette-loving extraterrestrials. Some critters feature their own unique abilities – the crocodile can ford rivers while the meerkat can dig – but regardless of which critters you lead into combat, gameplay in Super Exploding Zoo boils down to a war of attrition against increasingly lethal waves of alien invaders. Helpfully, Honeyslug mixes things up a bit with the addition of puzzle stages and online multiplayer gameplay. Super Exploding Zoo is slated to appear on the PlayStation 4 and Vita handheld where it will feature cross-play functionality. Honeyslug has yet to reveal a release date for either version of the game. [Image: Honeyslug]
Hohokum review: Not hokum, just ho-hum
Hohokum is essentially a playable cartoon. Minutes after starting it up, I was reminded of Pinball Number Count, Yellow Submarine, and other animated works from the '60s and '70s in the way Hohokum overloads the senses with contrasting imagery tied to a unifying theme. Like Sesame Street's interstitial cartoons in particular, Hohokum often feels like it was made not because it's trying to say something important, but simply because it looks cool. There isn't much gameplay or challenge beneath its beautiful exterior, though. Hohokum's audiovisual splendor is irresistible and you won't regret the time you spend with it, but the end result can't quite gel into a complete and fulfilling experience.
Hohokum soars into art gallery, soundtrack preview available
So what if we have to wait until August 12 before we can ride a flying rainbow-snake-thing through the colorful skies of Honeyslug's Hohokum on PlayStation systems? We can listen to its enchanting soundtrack right now via music database site, Hype Machine. If you're in the Los Angeles area, you can also head to Echo Park on any day between August 9 and August 17 to see a gallery of art from the game, and thus delight two of your senses. Hosted by iam8bit, "The Hohokum Art Spectacular" will feature not only lovely illustrations, but a chance to play the game as well. Music for our ears, art for our eyes, gameplay for our hands ... now we just need to have Sony and Honeyslug release an official Hohokum-scented candle and Hohokum-flavored candies and we'll have all five primary senses covered! [Image: Sony]
Hohokum launch trailer is just the right amount of weird
The arrival of Honeyslug's cheerful Hohokum is mere weeks away, and it's still impossible to classify. The game received a new trailer to celebrate its August 12 launch date (August 13 in Europe), showing the meditating hermit-like star of the game in addition to the squiggly, flying worm that players control. Devised by artist Richard Hogg, Hohokum became a 2011 IGF finalist before Sony Santa Monica began working with the Hogg and Honeyslug in May 2013 to bring the game to PlayStation platforms. It will be Cross-Buy-enabled as well, so the $14.99 price will give players access to the PS4, PS3 and Vita versions. Hohokum is part of the PlayStation Store Play event Sony announced just yesterday, in which players that pick up four games in August will receive $10 of in-store credit. Additionally, pre-orders for the four games are 20 percent off each for PlayStation Plus members. Joining Hohokum in the deal are Rogue Legacy, The Swapper and CounterSpy. [Image: Sony]
Hohokum squiggles out across PlayStations in August
IGF finalist Hohokum wiggles into its promised summer window, launching on PS4, PS3 and Vita on August 12 in North America and the day after in Europe. In the words of co-creator Richard Hogg, "you can say that it's colorful, you can say that it's exploratory, you can say that it has a creative, informative element to it. I think you need to see it, though." In a new video, Frobisher Says dev Honeyslug says its new game originally featured a man as the player character. Indeed, he's shown leading procession of creatures behind him in what looks like a far more typical platformer than the real deal. Instead, Honeyslug went with a weaving, flying technicolor worm, and his freedom of movement seems to epitomize the studio's ambitions for the game.
Hohokum debut pushed back from Japan's PS4 launch
Hohokum, the relaxing and adorable downloadable title from Frobisher Says developer Honeyslug, has been delayed beyond the PS4's Japan launch. Famitsu reports Hohokum is now expected within the vague timeframe of "sometime in 2014," noting the game's original planned release date hovered around the PlayStation 4's debut in Japan (via Siliconera). Sony will launch the PlayStation 4 on February 22, 2014, in Japan. Along with most Western launch titles, the PS4 will arrive with region-exclusives, including Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends, Yakuza: Restoration and more. Hohokum is also coming to the PS3 and Vita.
Sony giving away two PS Mobile games weekly through next month
Sony is promoting its Android and PlayStation Vita mobile storefront by giving away two PlayStation Mobile games weekly through the end of the year. This week, players can pick up a free copy of Passing Time, a soccer-themed action game from Frobisher Says! developer Honeyslug. Also up for grabs is Martin Jonasson's Rymdkapsel, a meditative strategy game and recent Humble Mobile Bundle initiate. Both games are free to download for the PlayStation Vita and for PlayStation Certified devices like the Sony Xperia Z smartphone, Wikipad and Sony Xperia Z.
IGF finalist Hohokum launching next year for PS4, PS3, PS Vita
Sony Santa Monica is working with artist Richard Hogg and Frobisher Says! developer Honeyslug to produce Hohokum, an upcoming title for the PlayStation 4, PS3, and PS Vita. Hogg describes Hohokum as a "whimsical colorful game with an emphasis on playful exploration and creativity." Players control a wormish, kite-like flying creature as they navigate a virtual playground and ferry around its inhabitants. It resembles Keita Takahashi's Noby Noby Boy in premise, and Hogg notes that the experience is free from the "usual pressures" common to video games, such as persistent hand-holding and failure states. Hohokum was named as a finalist in the Excellence in Visual Arts category of 2011's Independent Games Festival. Hogg expects the game to launch in 2014.%Gallery-187737%
Frobisher Says you'll have Super Fun with new DLC pack
Heard all of what Frobisher has to say? That's how they get you; now that you've had the free taste, a premium (see: it costs money) supplement is waiting in the wings. Enter the Super Fun DLC pack, which adds 15 new microgames to Frobisher Says' WarioWare-inspired lexicon for $1.99.On top of the DLC, there's also a free patch out that adds Trophies and puts games into categories, so you can avoid those that use the microphone or camera, for example. Hopefully this will eliminate the need for awkward shouting on the bus or train – awkward shouting from you, anyway.
'Frobisher Says' it's time to see a new Vita game
If you haven't had enough PlayStation Vita media yet, here's an "absurd new game": Frobisher Says, a sort of WarioWare-style collection from developer Honeyslug. It appears to differentiate itself from other microgame collections with a really quirky art style, and this much, much quirkier trailer. According to the trailer, you'll fight bears, stir soups, and smash your face into a cake as it goes by on a model train. Now that we think about it, we could have said that part first and the quirk would have been self-evident.
