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Blade Kitten claws its way back to Steam
Krome Studios' catgirl-starring side-scroller Blade Kitten is back on Steam after a lengthy absence, celebrating its return with a gameplay-tweaking update and a price drop through the end of the month. Players can expect more responsive controls in the re-released PC version of Blade Kitten, along with improved enemy AI to make combat more challenging. The update also introduces the new Night Breaker and Strike Armor character skins in addition to the Steam-exclusive Gothique costume. Blade Kitten is available for $2.99 through May 30. Developer Krome Studios plans to wrap up the game's previously unresolved storyline with an upcoming DLC expansion, though a release date has not been announced. [Image: Krome Studios]
Toy Soldiers Complete advances onto Steam Early Access
Signal Studios is on standby for a full Steam release of Toy Soldiers Complete after launching it on Early Access over the weekend. The bundle includes tower defense/shooter mash-up Toy Soldiers, follow-up Toy Soldiers: Cold War, and the two games' downloadable expansions. The Early Access price is $10 in North America, and £7/10 euros in Europe. While both games launched on Xbox Live Arcade, you can already find the little plastic paratroopers on PC; Toy Soldiers is available as a Steam standalone, while Toy Soldiers: Cold War is on Windows 8. So it's a bit curious to see Signal taking the Early Access route, but the Ascend: Hand of Kul studio says it's looking for players to "help us find bugs, give feedback and most of all – help us shape the game before its full release!" [Image: Signal Studios]
Blade Kitten to get long-lost Episode 2 DLC on Steam [update]
Years after its initial release, Krome Studios' episodic side-scrolling platformer Blade Kitten could soon see a resolution to its cliffhanger ending via a DLC expansion, according to an announcement posted this week on the game's Facebook page. Blade Kitten's developers recently reclaimed all of its assets from publisher Atari, clearing a forthcoming launch for the game's completed but unreleased Episode 2 DLC. "It's already on Steam, we just need them to transfer the app ID to us so we can add the episode 2 DLC," reads a Facebook comment from the official Blade Kitten account. "It's a little bit complicated but not a huge hurdle." Blade Kitten's developers also plan to pursue a DLC release for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game, pending the expansion's successful launch on Steam. A release date for Blade Kitten's Episode 2 DLC has not been announced. Update: Krome co-founder Steve Stamatiadis tells Joystiq he'd like for his studio to take control over the Blade Kitten app released across various marketplaces, so it could release the five levels contained within Episode 2 as DLC. "That way people wouldn't need to buy the game again and play through it all to get to finally finish the story," Stamatiadis said. "That side of things is pretty much going to come down to Microsoft, Sony, and Valve and their storefronts."
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger returning for his tenth anniversary
Krome Studios has been relatively quiet since it scaled down in late 2010, but the Australian developer is ready to return to prominence in the most Krome Studios-y way possible, with a new Ty the Tasmanian Tiger game.Ty, in case you missed his adventures, starred in three games last generation, a series of Australia-themed 3D platformers in which the title character throws boomerangs at enemies and searches for collectibles.No details have been revealed about the new game, other than the presence of boomerangs, but if we were to speculate we'd guess the aspect ratio of the teaser image suggests a mobile game.
Krome CEO confirms layoffs, but studio 'still open'
With rumors swirling last month that Australia's Krome Studios was closing its doors, CEO Robert Walsh informed IGN Australia that while ongoing reports of layoffs are true, the developer is "still open" and still has working employees. Additionally, Walsh insisted the studio has projects currently in production, as well as more "on the horizon." "I wouldn't say our industry is doing well at the moment, but we are really focusing on more digital and social work and not as much box product," Walsh clarified. He added that such projects don't require large teams. Walsh admitted that Krome had kept too many employees on staff -- somewhere around 400 before the layoffs began -- even when there was no work for many of them. "To be really honest, that's pretty much led to our current position," Walsh explained. "We probably kept 100, 120 people on, waiting for work to come in." Now, Krome will focus on paying work and keeping a "smaller, core team" that should range from 40 to 100 staff depending on the number of the studio's projects at any given time. Despite the trying times, Walsh is determined to keep as many people on board as possible. "My goal right now is to try and find as much work as possible for the people we've got, and still look for more work to get people back."
Rumor: Australia's Krome Studios shutting down
Krome Studios, which once upon a dream was one of Australia's largest video game developers, will allegedly shut down next Monday, October 18. According to Tsumea, several "credible reports" claim that all remaining staff have been let go, with some employees rehired on contract to finish work. If the reports are true, it isn't surprising, as Krome's collapse has been progressing in slow motion for quite some time. Most recently, Krome worked on Microsoft's Game Room and released Blade Kitten. Request for comment from the studio have so far gone unanswered. We'll update when we hear something.
Blade Kitten review: Not just for furries anymore
I remember a time when I could look at a girl with cat ears and whiskers and think nothing of it. Unfortunately, maturity and the internet have corrupted my view of catgirls, and now they seem at best cliched, and at worst creepy. It's a shame, because my 10-year-old self would have found Blade Kitten's Kit Ballard and the neon world she inhabits all kinds of cool. %Gallery-94204%
Trailer reveals the many fashions of Blade Kitten
Just because you're off gallivanting across the galaxy and slicing up bad guys, that doesn't mean you can't look good doing it. The latest Blade Kitten trailer proves that the demands of a spaceborne bounty hunter are no excuse for being unfashionable. Metroid fans already knew that, of course.
Krome Studios puts Adelaide office, other staff on notice
One of Australia's largest video game developers, Krome Studios, revealed to Gamespot earlier today that it had placed an undisclosed number of staff "on notice pending the outcome of a number of upcoming projects." In addition, its entire Adelaide branch is also "on notice" for a four-week period, at the end of which it would be determined whether the studio would remain operational. The Game Room and Blade Kitten developer faced similarly difficult times last November, when it underwent staff cuts across all three of its Australian branches, and once again this April, when "an unspecified number of positions" with the developer were dissolved. We wish everyone at Krome the best of luck, and sincerely hope that the warnings they've been issued don't come to fruition.
Game Room 'Game Pack 007' now available
The 007 update for Microsoft's Game Room is available for download right now, and will enable 15 new games in total: three Konami Arcade games; nine Atari 2600 games; three Intellivision titles and zero James Bond games. However, not all of the games are available right now -- the Game Room Facebook account lists the first five, and a message posted further down the thread notes that the rest will trickle out over "multiple weeks." Here's what's available as of right now: Barnstorming Fishing Derby Gyruss Hover Force Quadrun We'll update you on the rest of the games as they're made available.
Blade Kitten adds XBLA and PC releases; Atari to publish
Blade Kitten, Krome Studios' downloadable action-adventure game based on a webcomic, is expanding beyond its originally announced PSN release. The side-scroller will also be released this September on XBLA and PC. The game now has a publisher, as well: Atari. The addition of a publishing partner may have something to do with its wider release. In the announcement, Atari president Jim Wilson relayed his excitement about delivering Blade Kitten to "an already rabid platforming fan base of gamers on XBLA and PSN." You'll have to stop platforming long enough to play it! %Gallery-88302%
Game Room adds Asteroids, Time Pilot and more
Game Pack 004 is now available for Game Room, featuring seven new titles. The two standouts are Asteroids and Time Pilot, classics of the arcade days of yore. Also in the pack are a handful of Activision Atari 2600 games, including Stampede, Grand Prix and Demons to Diamonds. Rounding out the pack is the arcade game Space Duel and the Intellivision title Shark! Shark!. The pack itself is free, while individual games run 240 ($3) to 400 ($5) depending on the license. Xbox.com: Add Game Room Game Pack 004 to your Xbox 360 download queue
New Game Room additions this Wednesday, Krome still developing Game Packs
The delayed update for the Xbox 360's Game Room, featuring Pitfall! and Super Breakout, will arrive this Wednesday, May 5, according to a representative from Krome Studios. Prompted by last week's tweet by an Xbox Europe representative -- saying that Game Room content had been "delayed until further notice" -- coupled with the unfortunate layoffs at developer Krome Studios, we followed up to find out if Game Room development had been affected by the developer's current situation. A Microsoft representative stated, "We're working to bring you additional Game Room titles as soon as possible! We appreciate your patience, and we've been thrilled by the community response so far. ... We enjoy working with Krome and they are doing a great job on Game Room." Asked directly whether it was still developing Game Room content, a Krome spokesperson told Joystiq, "Krome is continuing to work on Game Room content. The recent layoffs have not impacted Game Room at all or any of our titles in development. We're looking forward to the release of new Game Packs for Game Room."
Report: Krome Studios lays off 30-50 more staff [update]
Aussie developer Krome Studios (Game Room, Blade Kitten, Star Wars: Republic Heroes) has allegedly just completed another round of layoffs, with the number of employees let go this time ranging from 30 to 50. Develop notes that Krome had somewhere around 400 employees before the first known round of layoffs last year. AusGamers reports a possible financial reason for letting people go: Krome allegedly did not receive the license to develop the The Force Unleashed 2 for Wii "as a result of poor review scores for other Krome titles." IGN adds perspective about the impact of the layoffs, estimating that Krome "accounts for some 25 percent of games development in Australia." Krome CEO Robert Walsh made it very clear last year that developers' budgets "have probably doubled or tripled during the console transition," which likely doesn't make it easy to run a studio -- especially such a large one. We've contacted Krome for comment and will update if we receive a response. Update: Krome has responded to Joystiq saying, "We regret to confirm an unspecified number of positions have been eliminated today at Krome. The industry worldwide is facing new challenges and Krome is not immune to the effects of this. Beyond that, we cannot make a comment." Source -- Rumour: Aussie developer Krome hit with layoffs [IGN] Source -- Krome loses more work and more employees [AusGamers] [Via Develop]
No new old games in Game Room until late April
Downloadable arcade game services seem to be doomed to shaky starts. Nintendo's Virtual Console Arcade launched in March 2009 in North America and didn't see a single new game after its launch day until June. It's currently home to just 12 games. Microsoft's Game Room is off to a similar start. After its (buggy) launch last week, which brought with it an admittedly hefty lineup of 30 games, there won't be any more new additions for around a month. "New games will be added to the service every week, starting in late April," a rep said on the Xbox forums. But hey, at least that's a commitment to weekly releases, unlike, say, Virtual Console Arcade, to which games are released randomly, on no schedule and without warning. [Thanks, Miguel!]
WB announces multiplatform Legend of the Guardians game
Finally, your chance to play a heroic owl in an owl-focused game! WBIE announced that it's adapting Zack Snyder's new film, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, into a game for Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, and DS, with release planned in September. The PS3, 360, and Wii versions are developed by Krome, with Tantalus Media in charge of the DS release. Legend of the Guardians puts the player in the role of a Guardian, a member of a group of owls devoted to doing good. Which, judging by the trailer, means fighting with other owls and taking part in that flight game staple, flying through rings. Perhaps you also get to estimate the number of licks required to reach the center of a Tootsie Pop, but that's not reflected in the trailer.
Video tour: Game Room
After a small snafu this morning, Microsoft's Game Room service is now up and running. We figured people might like to know the ins and outs of the new service, so we decided to put together a quick video tour. In the video above, you'll learn about creating and decking out your own arcade, buying games, visiting the Showcase Arcade and, of course, actually playing the retro fare on offer. Check it out and leave your own thoughts on Game Room in the comments.
PSA: Microsoft Game Room now available [update: it's working now]
Update: The service seems to working properly now. The good news: Microsoft's new cross-platform Game Room service is now available. It's free to download and gives you access to 30 different classic arcade games that can be played on Xbox 360 or PC. The bad news: You can't actually play any of those games. Upon the initial Game Room load, users are prompted to download at least one of two game packs, after which the service should load up the games and let you start playing. Unfortunately, Game Room simply hangs on the loading screen, allowing you to enjoy the retro music playing in the background, but not the actual retro games. Major Nelson has stated via Twitter that Microsoft is aware of the issue and it is "being investigated." He reminds users that the Game Room application itself is still available, and it should be okay to download it now and wait for the issue to be resolved. We'll update this post once we hear any new information. Update: As some of our commenters have pointed out, there is a workaround. First, sign in with an offline profile or disconnect your internet source (ethernet or wireless). Then load Game Room. It should get past the initial loading screen. Once everything is loaded, you can then sign into Xbox Live and all the games should be accessible.
GDC Video Hands-on: Game Room (Xbox Live)
Microsoft is here at GDC showing off its upcoming Game Room service, and we got it on video just for you. The experience is probably exactly what you expected, but it's worth noting that while the service does utilize Avatars, you don't actually walk around the virtual arcade as your Avatar. Instead, the arcade rooms are essentially interactive menus (though you can select to play the classic arcade games from a normal menu, if you prefer). Check out our video preview above for a quick look at Game Room, which arrives on March 24.
Blade Kitten coming to PSN this spring
"Part cat, part girl - and fully lethal." That's how Krome Studios' press release describes the heroine of the upcoming Blade Kitten, a two-part, downloadable arcade action game coming to the PS3 this Spring. The anime-inspired game is based off a comic of the same name, created by Krome Studios co-founder Steve Stamatiadis. A gameplay trailer will debut later tonight exclusively on Spike TV's GameTrailers TV. Expect to see some platforming, sword fighting and a disturbing focus on her -- we kid you not -- "smart mouth" and "hot body." Meow. Before then, you can watch a teaser trailer after the break. %Gallery-85940%
