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Fist of Awesome punches bears on PC and Mac
The game best described as a "bear fighter," Fist of Awesome, is now available on PC and Mac. The game is currently discounted on the Humble Store to $3.99 (originally $7.99). Fist of Awesome is a beat-em-up in which players assume the role of a time-traveling lumberjack that must "punch bears to save humanity." Developer I Fight Bears is seeking community approval via Greenlight to bring the game to Steam. It launched on Ouya, iOS and Android in October following a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised £11,808 ($19,919) in December 2012. The UK-based developer was founded by Nicoll Hunt, a former Realtime Worlds (Crackdown) developer that also worked on Hard Lines for iOS. [Image: I Fight Bears]
Daily iPhone App: It's called Lumber Jacked, and it's okay
I first saw Lumber Jacked earlier this year at GDC. It's from Everplay Interactive, the folks behind the great Spell Sword, and while they're currently working on a followup to that one called Ace of Blades, Lumber Jacked is a smaller project they decided to deliver in the meantime. It's currently available in the App Store right now, and Everplay has priced it at US$0.99. The game is a "speedrun platformer," similar to the League of Evil series, or Mikey Shorts, if you've ever played those (and you should). The idea is that you control a little lumberjack through a series of 2D levels, jumping and punching to get through as quickly as you can. There are lumberjack vests to collect in every level and a beaver to punch at the very end, so the object is to collect the vest and get to the beaver as quickly as you possibly can. Each level is rated up to three stars, so the goal is to earn as many stars as possible. Lumber Jacked is a lot of fun -- the controls are very well implemented, and that's exactly what you want with a game like this. Your little lumberjack can punch forward, wall jump and bounce around the levels with ease, and while there are plenty of dangers to move past, you definitely feel in control of the little guy. Unfortunately, there are a few misfires here as well. First, there's no metagame at all -- not only can't you customize the lumberjack (it'd be nice to buy something with all of those stars you've collected), but I don't see any leaderboards either. Part of the fun of a game like Mikey Shorts is not only competing against your own time, but competing against others as well, and Lumber Jacked just avoids that whole possibility completely for some reason. And this last one is weird, but your lumberjack's death is strangely avoided in the game: Whenever you lose (which can be often), you are fired right back into a "Game Over" screen, and sometimes it's unclear just what mistake you made to end the level. All of those concerns are easily fixed, however, and it makes sense that Everplay didn't go whole hog on this one, given that it's meant to be an appetizer for the main entree that is Ace of Blades. Despite those issues, Lumber Jacked is a great platformer, and offers a lot of excellent levels to play through. You can grab it right now for 99 cents.
Leaderboard: Mining vs. woodcutting
Oh, don't you scoff at today's topic. I can hear you, harrumphing with seeming impatience at what you consider to be activities beneath your stature. Perhaps the idea of putting in an honest day's hard work in an MMO is abhorrent to you -- after all, that's why you have servants, right? But there are those of us who know the value of soil, stone, and wood. So today we turn our gaze away from manslaughter and onto gathering natural resources. In most MMOs, two harvesting professions come almost standard with any title: mining and woodcutting (or, if you're feeling Monty Pythonish, lumberjacking). Which is more noble and more worthwhile to pursue? Mining has the appeal of precious metals and the near-universal utility of these resources in a wide range of crafting recipes, but one must not underestimate how essential wood is. After all, can you imagine swords without hilts, ships without hulls, or campfires that had to resort to burning dung every night in lieu of a better fuel source? Inconceivable! Get your hands dirty today and vote on the better career path for the burly outdoorsman or woman!
Insider Trader: Woodworking in the expansion?
Insider Trader is your inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.Ideas for a woodworking profession have been bounced around for years, but have previously been dodged by Blizzard. Although they assured us that they have plenty of ideas, they've always been working on too many others.Woodworking was not to be for Burning Crusade or Wrath of the Lich King, but what about the upcoming expansion? Considering that Goblins and Worgen could become playable, it might be a real possibility. In late summer 2007, Nethaera posted a list of some of the things that need to be considered before they can even begin to implement a new profession. While it became clear that it wasn't going to work for Wrath, it seems a little more plausible now. Today's column will be dedicated to presenting the crafting community's Woodworking ideas, discussing their implementation using the (incomplete) criteria set forth by Nethaera, and speculating about its possible presence in the next expansion.
Encrypted Text: The Lumberjack Rogue
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we talk VERY tongue-in-cheek about the upcoming addition of Axes to the Rogue arsenal.As it turns out, my cynicism last week was completely unfounded. I had assumed Death Knights would be getting the new weapon skill that Blizzard had thrown up for grabs, and that we'd have yet another class rolling on Fist weapons. However, Rogues were the recipient of this new buff, and we'll now be able to use Axes in the upcoming patch!While many of the old Rogue veterans may put the kibosh on using anything that's not a dagger, I'd like to see us take the opportunity to embrace this change. Orc Rogues will be able to take full advantage of Axe Specialization (which will actually include Fists in 3.2), and it opens up the door to an entirely new playstyle that I like to call 'The Lumberjack'. You'll see what I mean, after the cut.
