LooneyTunes
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Looney Tunes and other classic cartoons get a streaming service
Your favorite Saturday morning cartoons are going digital. Turner and Warner Bros. are teaming up for a new standalone video subscription service called Boomerang. It'll offer over 5,000 titles from the Hanna-Barbera, Looney Tunes and MGM animation libraries when it launches this spring.
Xbox Live Marketplace adding HD Looney Tunes episodes
We'll admit it, we had an idea Microsoft's just-announced Xbox 360 Arcade was coming. What we didn't expect was that it would be accompanied by a flood of family-friendly content headed to the Xbox Live Video Marketplace. Along with standard-def content from Nickelodeon, Warner Bros. will make 50 high definition episodes of Looney Tunes available for download. Of course, owners of the new Arcade unit won't be able to download the shows without a HDD, but why sweat the details (like pricing, which wasn't mentioned)? The new content hits "starting today", but doesn't appear to be up just yet, so keep an eye out for Acme-brand items landing on your HDTV.
WRUP: Elementary, my dear Watson edition
This week's releases mark a sequel to the first Touch Detective game from Atlus. Aside from Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck, it's the highest profile title on the list, for us at least. In fact, we're feeling like we're in the mood to solve a mystery, but with so many games coming out in the next few months, we're not sure if our budget will allow it. In fact, we should probably go check our finances right now.While we're doing that, why not let us know what you folks will be playing this weekend?
XBLM gets Bladestorm, ACME Arsenal demos
Today the Marketplace deities bless us with not one, but two demos. The first is Bladestorm, which has arrived a day late and hopefully not a dollar short. The second is the latest edition to the Looney Tunes franchise, Looney Tunes: ACME Arsenal (by the way, please check out the latest DS Looney Tunes iteration: Duck Amuck). As it turns out, both games have accurately descriptive titles, as Bladestorm will have you unleashing your armies on hundreds of foes, while ACME Arsenal employs the use of all kinds of "wacky" weapons. Our hopes were set impossibly high from the first moment we saw Daffy Duck wielding a pie. Why not grab both demos and see how they fare?
Duck Amuck release date erased, redrawn as cowboy
Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck, originally set for a September 18 release, has been pushed back to October 9. Too bad-- this is one of the few minigame compilations we've actually been looking forward to. Playing licensed games is like playing Russian roulette with five bullets in the gun-- except instead of dying, you waste some time and money when you lose. So basically it's nothing like Russian roulette. Anyway, the point is that we're ready to play the game to see if it is as clever in execution as it is in concept.If the game gets pushed too far into the Holiday 2007 Danger Zone, it'll get completely lost among bigger releases. We really don't want to see that happen.
Duck Amuck screens: have you harassed a cartoon duck today?
Gamespot's new screens of Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck highlight the central idea of both the game and the cartoon: messing with Daffy Duck. Immediately previous to the screen seen here, Daffy was presented with a trophy. The minigames revealed in this new set of screens include: whatever kind of game would involve blowing up Daffy with what used to be a trophy (obviously), firing Daffy out of a cannon, and something in which Bugs Bunny exhorts you to "Use your Noodle" in which Daffy is suspended over a hot cauldron as vegetables are added to a broth and a timer goes down. The question is, is the point of the game to help Daffy escape or to cook him?
Upcoming DS game lets you re-draw Daffy Duck, drive him insane
Games based on Looney Tunes characters have been few, far-between, and mostly forgettable. Shown at E3 last week, Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck for the DS might just change that. The game is based on the classic cartoon in which an animator constantly redraws Daffy just to piss him off. Duck Amuck follows the same format and charges you with the task of driving Daffy insane in a series of mini-games. Daffy even gets upset if you close the DS, initiating a game where you must tap the L or R buttons following Daffy's voice. Developer WayForward, the same studio behind Contra 4, had to get special permission from Nintendo to implement that feature. Duck Amuck is scheduled for release this holiday season, and early impressions have been extremely positive.
Duck Amuck breaks both screens' fourth walls [update 1]
Duck Amuck is the best concept for a minigame collection we've ever seen. It may also be the best concept for a licensed game we've ever seen. It's based on the classic 1951 Merrie Melodie, in which a malevolent animator (later revealed to be--SPOILER-- Bugs Bunny) jerks Daffy Duck around as the cartoon plays. Locations are changed, Daffy is frequently erased and redrawn, and his attempts to regain control of the cartoon are met with punishment.The concept of "Daffy Duck being dropped into hilariously unfortunate circumstances at the hands of an animator" translates into a DS game well, since gamers are used to manipulating onscreen characters. DS gamers, in particular, are used to doing so with a pen. We watched the trailers and looked at the screenshots, expecting to have our enthusiasm thoroughly dampened. But the screens actually look good, and the trailers are well-animated and funny. What? Humor? In our video games? Even though we're pretty sure it's all concept art and not real gameplay footage, we're already impressed. We're also inclined to support WayForward, our new favorite DS developer (pending playtime with Contra 4.)[Update: A producer at Warner Bros. Games wrote in to confirm that all of the footage is in-game, done with Flash!]%Gallery-4960%[Via NeoGAF]
Video: new Looney Tunes ACME Arsenal trailer
Revealed at the beginning of the year, a new trailer has surfaced for Looney Tunes: ACME Arsenal from Warner Brothers. Thankfully, the game actually looks halfway decent. What we see is essentially standard fare for action platformers, but it looks well done at least. The character models look very nice and the backgrounds are appropriately cartoony (we especially dig Wackyland). There are also plenty of outlandish weapons available (including a massive triple minigun). All in all, it's looking like a faithful rendition of some of our favorite characters. Here's hoping someone has the sense to put a budget price on it.Update: Corrected game title.
Promising Looney tunes screens
The new gen Warner Brothers game, Looney Tunes: ACME Arsenal was announced only three days ago, and now we bring you the first screens courtesy of our friends at Xboxygen. Earlier, we noted our apprehension concerning an announced redesign of the Looney Tunes characters. We're generally wary of any attempt at redesigning something to appeal to "the kids" -- especially so given recent poor decisions regarding Looney Tunes characters. Imagine our surprise when the screen shots revealed very faithful renders of some of our favorite characters. Granted, we expected some cel shading, but what we've been given is more than enough to lay our fears to rest. The screens show what looks like a fairly standard brawler with projectile weapons. And yes, Daffy is getting ready to throw a pie. Oh, we hope this game can live up to its pedigree. Hit the "read" link for two more shots, including Bugs Bunny and Gossamer.
Firefly launches DC and Looney Tunes-themed handsets
If the standard translucent blue is boring your tyke to tears, Firefly Mobile has a handful of new variations of its child-oriented handset that might just be what the doctor ordered. Through a deal with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Chicago-based Firefly Mobile is now peddling versions of its pod-shaped Firefly wrapped in Superman, Supergirl, and Tweety Bird designs. The Tweety Bird version is weirding us out a bit (click through to see what we mean) but we're sure they'll be a hit with the little 'uns this holiday season. Look for the phones in stores now or online at Firefly's site for $90 a pop.[Via Slashphone]
