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Vita rides into the Joe Danger zone next week
Side-scrolling stuntman Joe Danger debuts on Vita as a freebie for PS Plus subscribers, and he's due to land on September 2/3 in North America and Europe. The handheld port of the Hello Games' PS3 puzzler-trickster includes all the original's levels, plus ghost replays and the Laboratory dev challenges from other versions. It also has "slightly tweaked" controls including a touch interface for level creation, all of which sounds sensible to us. There's no word yet on a price for Plus non-members - the PS3 version is priced $15. Joe Danger's mix of Trials-like puzzling and ridiculous stunts caught the eye back in 2010, as did Joe Danger 2: The Movie with its near-Joystiq levels of punny titles for levels. On that note, Hello Games says the follow-up is still on its way to Vita, and the No Man's Sky studio expects to have more news on that "soon-ish." [Image: Sony Computer Entertainment]
PlayStation All-Stars, Sportsfriends free on PS Plus next month
Sony revealed next month's PlayStation Plus lineup, announcing that subscribers will get free access to PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Sportsfriends, Velocity 2X, and other featured games throughout the month of September. Starting September 2, PlayStation 4 owners can download Futurlab's hybrid shooter-platformer Velocity 2X and Die Gute Fabrik's competitive multiplayer party game compilation Sportsfriends free of charge. PlayStation 3 members receive copies of the Super Smash Bros.-like mascot brawler PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale and dragon-riding multiplayer action game Hoard, while PS Vita players can expect to see Hello Games' motorbike stunt sim Joe Danger and Llamasoft's Tempest variant TxK. [Video: Sony]
How Hello Games went from dirt bikes to No Man's Sky
No Man's Sky comes from Hello Games – the same studio responsible for Joe Danger. Yes, that Joe Danger. Not that Joe Danger is a bad series, but the immense jump in graphics and scale for No Man's Sky still surprises us. We noted as much when Hello Games co-founder Sean Murray took the stage during the PlayStation E3 conference this year. In a PS4-specific video (below), Murray runs through the history of Hello Games, including the studio's roots in sci-fi, a flood that destroyed the office, and that recent E3 presentation. Murray notes that No Man's Sky was always the goal for Hello Games, though at first it was called "Project Skyscraper." "We always knew the type of game we wanted to make, and we'd known it before we even started at Hello Games, and we had talked about it at that point," Murray says. "And we knew that Joe Danger was going to be a stepping stone toward that."
Play as Sackboy and Tearaway's heroes in Joe Danger 2 for Vita
Hello Games revealed plans to bring Joe Danger and Joe Danger 2: The Movie to PS Vita in August, and now it is offering more details on the games' portable versions. Namely, Joe Danger 2 will include cameos in the form of three playable characters courtesy of Media Molecule. Sometime this year, players will be able to perform tricks on Joe's motorcycle using Sackboy from the LittleBigPlanet series as well as Atoi and Iota from Media Molecule's latest game, Tearaway. Joe Danger 2 will include the 15 levels originally added to the game's PS3 version in the Undead Movie Pack DLC in October 2013. Additionally, both games will include online leaderboards and will automatically download ghost racer data for players to compete with asynchronously. Joe Danger first arrived on PSN in June 2010 and both games landed on Steam in June 2013. [Image: Hello Games]
Review: Joe Danger Infinity defies death
Despite debuting on game consoles a couple of years prior to its iOS debut, the original Joe Danger was a bit of a surprise hit on the App Store. Now its sequel, Joe Danger Infinity, has landed as well, and it's just as insane -- and fun -- as its predecessor. Like the first title, Joe Danger Infinity tests your skills on various obstacle courses, where your character runs (or drives, or flies) forward automatically and it's up to you to correctly maneuver him. You play as any of a variety of pint-sized action figures, and the courses are comprised of household debris. Each track is filled with barriers, jumps, tunnels and other hazards that will both slow you down and make it harder for you to gather items like coins. Completing a course with a 100 percent rating almost always requires perfection, so memorizing the path is usually a good strategy. The app is called Joe Danger, but you can play several different characters and try out many vehicles. You can unlock these options by purchasing them using in-game currency, but oftentimes you'll find your coin count doesn't even come close to covering the bill. At this point, you can choose to either move forward with your current characters and vehicles -- which will usually mean replaying old tracks to farm more coinage -- or buy more coins using your real-life wallet. Collecting bonus items like Gumball tokens can give you a bit of a progression boost, either by providing a one-time coin reward or unlocking characters outright, but I still found several instances where I didn't have the character or vehicle needed to take on a race, despite having bested nearly all the previous challenges. The tracks are varied enough that you're not likely to get bored, unless you end up having to generate coins by replaying them ad nauseam. This won't happen often, and it'll never happen if you're willing to bow to the in-app purchase system, but for a game that costs US$2.99 out of the gate, it would have been nice to be able to play through the first dozen levels (there are more than 100 in total) without being prompted to consider shelling out even more cash. In the end, Joe Danger Infinity is a ton of fun, and that's the most important thing. Balancing in-app purchases with in-game progression is a delicate affair, and developer Hello Games seems to have leaned a bit too far in one direction, but it's nothing that should keep you from at least giving the game a spin.
Joe Danger Infinity taps into toy-based nostalgia for iOS 'really soon'
Joe Danger Infinity is an endless racer and motorbike stunt-er coming to iOS "really soon," developer Hello Games says. Infinity is the first Joe Danger made just for iOS. After launching Joe Danger Touch, Hello Games felt it had "unfinished business" in the handheld space, studio founder Sean Murray says. Infinity features Joe Danger as a tiny, gumball machine toy that comes alive when popped open, and he races across bedroom floors, through family dinners and over a variety of relatively giant objects. It features endless gameplay, two dozen playable characters pulled from childhood nostalgia, a fresh emphasis on competition, and 20 new vehicles – including a tank, airplanes and a runaway firework. In related Hello Games news, Joe Danger and Joe Danger 2: The Movie are on their way to Vita from UK developer Four Door Lemon. Joe Danger is expected to hit Vita in Q2 2014. In even more related Hello Games news, the studio is currently working on No Man's Sky, the stylish sci-fi exploration game introduced during this month's VGX awards. If we could remember just one thing from VGX, it would probably be No Man's Sky. If only that's how memories worked.
Joe Danger mobile rolls out a mega update and a sale
Joe Danger mobile has peeled off 66 percent from its standard price of $3 on the App Store, and is now $1 for a limited time. The sale is in conjunction with the game's biggest update yet. Update 1.0.3 adds 50 percent more content: a new game mode called new Calendar Tour, new levels, five new characters (bringing it to 32 total) and universal iCloud support. Calendar Tour offers players a new level to run through every day of the week. Complete all the levels in one weekly round and the next week's batch will be tougher to beat, and snag big coin rewards. And then use those coins to buy one of the new characters, two of which are a pirate and a ninja.
PSA: Joe Danger pulls into Steam today
Hello Games' Joe Danger and Joe Danger 2: The Movie make their Steam debut today, each available at a special introductory price for the next week. Normal pricing puts each game at $15 or together in a special bundle for $25; however, for the next week, the bundle is 40 percent off and each game is 20 percent off. The bundle includes extra content: an ebook telling the story of Hello Games' struggles as an indie developer in the UK; the Joe Danger soundtrack; and some extra wallpapers. All copies of Joe Danger 2 on Steam, whether purchased individually or within the bundle, will have additional Team Fortress 2 and Minecraft content. Both games will be available when Steam updates at 10am PT today.%Gallery-191840%
Build Minecraft levels, select Team Fortress 2 guys in Joe Danger 2 PC
Joe Danger and Joe Danger 2: The Movie are set to pop wheelies on Steam on June 24, and the sequel port will come with additional Minecraft and Team Fortress 2-themed goodies. You'll be able to play as the Team Fortress 2 cast – don't tell Joe you're racing without him! – and Minecraft Guy, plus pull from a whole suite of Minecraft items, objects and environments in the level editor. Joe Danger and Joe Danger 2: The Movie on Steam both benefit from Big Picture mode and will incorporate Steam Workshop into their level editors. Keyboard and mouse controls, as well as game pads, are also supported.%Gallery-191840%
Joe Danger, Joe Danger 2 ride onto PC June 24
Joe Danger and Joe Danger 2: The Movie are bracing for impact with Steam on June 24, developer Hello Games told us. As for prices, Hello Games is keeping them under its helmet for now. Both tricksters will feature mouse and keyboard support, be compatible with Big Picture Mode, include ghost records to race against, and offer Steamworks support for their level editors. %Gallery-191477%
Joe Danger, Joe Danger 2: The Movie somersaulting onto PC
Joe Danger's latest daredevil stunt is to ride both his games, Joe Danger and Joe Danger 2: The Movie, onto PCs via Steam. UK indie studio Hello Games told us a number of tweaks are coming to the PC versions, including Big Picture Mode and Steamworks support. The latter is for the games' level editors. which on PC feature "all the secret controls" Hello Games used to build both tricksters. Both games will support gamepad, mouse and keyboard controls. Other tweaks and additions include ghost records of other players for both games, and new levels. Prices and release dates are still to come. "It's weird, PC is actually Joe Danger's birthplace," Hello Games' Sean Murray told us. "We couldn't get hold of devkits when we started out, so I coded my first ever PC engine for the original Joe Danger, and we ended up developing the entire game on PC. I feel like the PC version has been brewing forever - but only played by four of us here in the office." We expect a few more people will be playing it when it comes to Steam. We gave the XBLA version of Joe Danger 2: The Movie a wheelie good four stars in our review, saying that it does the two things puzzle-racers should do: " tug at your need to beat them, and then tug at your need to beat them better." %Gallery-189935%
Hello Games says Joe Danger iOS is a big success, planning an update and more
148Apps recently had a nice chat with Hello Games, the makers of Joe Danger, a motorcycle stunt racing game first for consoles and then for iOS, and the company says that Apple's platform has done very well for them. Throughout the app's life, Joe Danger's been in 5 million crashes total, which hints that a lot of people are enjoying the game via the App Store. Hello Games also says Joe Danger's due for a big update soon. There will be new characters and levels to play with, and the team is planning to add a daily challenge-style feature that will keep the game fresh on a daily basis, along with some cheat modes to tweak the game with. And finally, Hello Games hints that it's had some ideas "that have completely spiralled out of control into something else entirely." That could be a new game completely, created specifically to start out on iOS. We'll have to wait and see what that turns out to be. Meanwhile, however, it sounds like Hello Games has been treated well by the release of Joe Danger on iOS.
Joe Danger Touch wheelies onto iOS this month
Joe Danger Touch is leaping through rings of fire and App Store red tape to land on iPhones and iPads this month. Speaking to CVG, developer Hello Games said the iOS trickster features new characters which can be unlocked either by progressing through the game or via in-app purchases. Touch also lets players set challenges for each other via Game Center."I don't think Joe Danger Touch feels like anything else I've played," Hello Games managing director Sean Murray said. "I want it to feel like it could only work on iOS, because we've built it specifically for the device. Towards the end of the game, it gets super difficult, probably more so than the console version. I'm amazed what levels I can handle sometimes, and the subtlety possible with just a touch interface."That touch interface sees players swiping to make Joe wheelie, flicking to knock obstacles off the track, tapping to jump, and holding down to crouch. Presumably you have to blow on the screen to put him out following the inevitable ring of fire mishap.
Joe Danger 2 rides onto PSN October 9, extra 'Gaiden' content detailed
Joe Danger 2: The Movie flies onto North America's PSN on October 9, Hello Games confirmed to us. It's priced at $14.99, while Europe gets the puzzle-racer on October 10 for £9.99. Hello Games also filled us in on the PS3 version's '10 hours of extra content' as revealed last month, and it's something the British studio is calling 'Joe Danger Gaiden'."It's actually a throwback to when we made the original Joe Danger," Hello Games founder Sean Murray said, "As our guys sat in a room playing our own game, we fell into that classic trap of playing our own game too much. Our first prototype was this very tight, very challenging game that took about 10 hours to complete. No tutorials, no hand-holding, just fun arcade gameplay."The PS3 version of Joe Danger 2 features this ditched prototype, but revitalized into 25 tough new levels integrating the sequel's Pro medals and extra challenges. The extra content also sees the return of Team Nasty, this time letting you play as the stuntman's bitter rivals. Sadly, it doesn't feature the return of The Nasty Boys, the ill-mannered 90s WWF tag team who liked to shove opponents into their armpits.Oh, you're still here? Well, maybe you should check out our review of Joe Danger 2 on XBLA.
Joe Danger Touch! popping wheelies on iOS
Hello Games is preparing to bring its big-movie stuntman, Joe, to the small screen. Joe Danger Touch! is an entirely new game built specifically for iPhone and iPad. It doesn't use a virtual joystick. Instead, you swipe to make Joe pop a wheelie, flick to knock obstacles out of his way, tap to jump, and hold to crouch.Joe Danger Touch will feature original levels and mechanics – nothing from the console games will be reused for the iOS entry, according to Hello Games. We don't know when it'll be out, but we've got some of the first screens in the gallery below.%Gallery-159325%
Joe Danger won't survive The Movie
Anyone will tell you that being a stuntman makes for a dangerous career. Most stuntmen, however, make it through more than three projects. With Joe Danger: Special Edition only days away, Hello Games has revealed that next year's Joe Danger: The Movie will be the last Joe Danger title."We're only doing The Movie because we had a good idea for it," Hello's Sean Murray recently told the IGN UK Podcast. He noted that the company wanted to "explore" Joe Danger "in every possible way," but after The Movie, Hello is "done with that idea."Said idea certainly seems big. Earlier this year, Murray stated that the game is "huge" and that "the entire gameplay experience of Joe Danger on PSN would be just one short scene" in the upcoming sequel. Joe Danger: The Movie is slated to be released next year on "consoles everywhere," likely through PSN and XBLA.
Joe Danger: Special Edition triple flips to XBLA on December 14
The beefed up, sanded down version of Joe Danger coming to Xbox Live Arcade (the "Special Edition") will apparently arrive on December 14 for 1200 MS Points ($15). Developer Hello Games revealed the date via Microsoft Studio's own "playXBLA" blog, where the dev team further cemented what has been added (and subtracted) to the upcoming re-release. Beyond the launch date announcement, Hello Games also gave out a brand new launch trailer and a whole variety of new screens. For those of you who have yet to check out Joe Danger, you're in for a real treat. For the rest of us, well, hey, more Joe Danger! Alright!%Gallery-141291%
Joe Danger: Special Edition officially official for XBLA
It was just a week ago when the Korean Game Ratings Board kind of, sort of implied that PSN hit Joe Danger was on its way to Xbox Live. While everyone involved was maddeningly silent amidst requests for confirmation or denial, developer Hello Games announced this morning that Joe Danger: Special Edition is in fact on its way to Xbox Live – and published by Microsoft, no less. This is unusual, given Microsoft's generally restrictive policies with regards to first-party publishing on Xbox Live. Development duties on the port are being handled in-house at Hello Games, but it's not a simple translation. Hello have, in the words of Studio Managing Director Sean Murray "revisited the original," in an attempt to sand off some of the rough edges. "I think we knew that Joe Danger was a hard game, but it could be frustrating [too]," Murray continued. "I think we've really changed that, it's a much more joyous game now, through like a thousand changes big and small." Hello Games has also spent time adding "new environments, gameplay modes, characters – lots," said Murray. "I'm not sure it would be possible for someone to complete in under 30 hours now... the game is huge." %Gallery-138305%
Korea classifies Joe Danger for Xbox 360
Joe Danger, the exciting bike game from Hello Games, just might be flipping its way to Xbox 360. The Korean Game Rating Board has classified the stunt-driven racer for the Xbox, with Microsoft Korea listed as publisher. Pre-zoom-ably, the game will be coming to Xbox Live Arcade, perhaps ahead of the launch of the sequel, Joe Danger: The Movie. We've contacted Hello Games for comment.
Joe Danger: The Movie is Hello Games' next stunt
Joe Danger developer Hello Games has been teasing the announcement of a new project all week, torturing fans with day-long tea breaks and context-free cupcakes. Today, Hello revealed the title of the next game to Destructoid, and then posted it on its own blog: "Joe Danger: The Movie."Despite featuring the name and likeness of the protagonist of last year's motorcycle stunt game, this isn't a direct sequel. In fact, it's something much bigger, according to managing director Sean Murray. "Really, it's something entirely new," Murray told Destructoid. "We're super early in development, but it's pretty huge already. Like, I think the entire gameplay experience of Joe Danger on PSN would be just one short scene in this movie."It's still about making stunts, but this time it's about trying to perfect various exciting filmed stunts, including -- if the poster is any indication -- skiing, diving, jetpack ... ing, riding mine carts and even driving tanks. "It's probably the most ridiculous action movie ever made, but you're creating it scene by scene," Murray said. "If you nail every stunt, then the film will be perfect, and if you're terrible, then it'll be silly hilarious."Hello Games has yet to specify a date or platform for The Movie. The credits at the bottom of the poster say "What platform? Not sure." We'll see more at GamesCom and PAX.
