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Battleblock Theater will have 200 playable characters, and at least one duck
Developer The Behemoth has been toiling away on its latest, Battleblock Theater, for a while now, and all we've learned about the game has come from a few scant glances at various industry events. But the game is finally code complete, so the developer is being a little more forthcoming with details.On the latest company blog, the team goes through the numbers on the new game: There will be over 200 characters to unlock (compared to Castle Crashers' 30), over 200 levels to play through, and over 10 "weapontools" to use. There will also be a full slate of online multiplayer modes, Achievements and avatar awards to earn, and a "soundtrack created by well-known artists and members of our community" (that community being Newgrounds, which was created by The Behemoth co-owner Tom Fulp).The dev has also shared a video (above) of artist Dan Paladin working on some of the creations in the game. The Behemoth promises more announcements later this year – here's hoping they'll finally be able to bring this long-awaited game to players soon.
Alien Hominid has been played 20 million times on Newgrounds
Before there was, uh, that other game called Alien Hominid (and Castle Crashers), there was the original Alien Hominid, a free browser run-and-gun game that debuted on Newgrounds. And that original game has now surpassed 20 million play sessions, The Behemoth has announced.The brain child of Tom Fulp and Dan Paladin, Alien Hominid was built in Flash and released on Newgrounds way back in 2002. It would eventually be ported to the GameCube and PS2 in 2004 (and Europe would see Xbox and GameBoy Advance ports), then to Xbox Live Arcade in 2007. Currently, The Behemoth is working on Battleblock Theater.
Update bound for The Binding of Isaac, demo available on Newgrounds
Edmund McMillen's biblically based body horror roguelike nightmare factory The Binding of Isaac is slated to receive a rather substantial and delightfully free update this Halloween, via Steam. THe update will provide over 20 new items, 3 new bosses, a new playable character, more achievements and a new "final chapter" for those who have already completed the game. "This final chapter should be a much bigger challenge," McMillen said in an email to fans. "Isaac will become exactly what I wanted to release but didn't have the time to finish." McMillen has also released a flash demo of the game on Newgrounds, which features two levels and contains 60-plus items and 8 possible bosses. It's good to see McMillen continue Team Meat's proud tradition of free, continual community support; we just hope he'll be able to patch out our night terrors, at some point.
Sorry, did you want game news? We're too busy playing Symphonic Tower Defense
If the posts seem disconnected, rushed or crappier in general today, don't blame us -- it's all because of the STD. Matt Ackerman and Jon Sandness' flash game, Symphonic Tower Defense (What did you think we were talking about?) is so wonderfully addictive we can't stop putting our fermatas in formation today. Symphonic Tower Defense is the number one game on Newgrounds right now, and even though we already told you what we'd be playing this weekend, we lied. Thanks to Ackerman and His Sandliness, we'll be playing a DDR-Plants vs. Zombies-inspired flash game instead of writing your articles. Deal with it.
'George Plimpton's Video Falconry' captured on video [now playable!]
During a recent Judge John Hodgman podcast about the fairness of strategy guides, reference was made to George Plimpton's Video Falconry, a ColecoVision game from an alternate universe in which the writer was not an Intellivision advocate. Newgrounds reached into an interdimensional portal (that had some kind of trans-reality FTP connection, or something) and retrieved footage of the lost ColecoVision classic. And the only hurdle you have to breach in order to see it for yourself is the one at the bottom of this post. [Update: Oh God, it's real.]
'Alphaland' Flash game goes behind the screens
Ever wondered what's going on in the background of your favorite video games, behind all the moving pictures and pretty sounds? A new Flash game from Jonas Kyratzes titled Alphaland answers that very question by placing players in a rough Alpha version of a minimalist platformer, and then placing them deep within said Alpha's metaphysical guts. If it sounds confusing ... well, that's because it is. But it's also pretty short, and pretty sad, and pretty pretty. If you've got a few minutes, give it a play over at Newgrounds!
One Chance: The adventure game you can only play once
Sometimes, Flash-based games catch our collective attention thanks to an innovation so simple it's puzzling that it took a designer so long to put it into practice. That's the case with Awkward Silence Games' One Chance, a simple, side-scrolling adventure title that puts you in the shoes of Dr. Pilgrim. The good doctor has invented a cure for cancer that -- oops! -- will kill every living thing on Earth in six days. Here's the twist: After you beat the game, you're stuck with the ending you get on your first playthrough (so long as you play along with the limitations of the platform and don't go deleting your browser cache). You don't get a second chance. Hence the name. There's only a handful of decisions you can make during the last six days on Earth, but each one has an impact on your final, final destination. Choose wisely! Wait, what are you doing? No, don't do that! You'll regret it forever!
The Room adventure game is tearing us apart, Lisa
So, here's the thing: If you're not in on the cosmic joke that is Tommy Wiseau's impossibly bad masterpiece The Room, you're probably not going to grok anything we're about to talk about. Everyone else, brace yourself: Newgrounds founder Tom Fulp released The Room Tribute earlier this morning -- an adventure game which recreates the aforementioned film scene for scene from the perspective of its nigh-unintelligible protagonist. What could have been a quick and easy Flash game is actually a pretty lengthy experience, with collectibles (like hidden spoons tucked all throughout San Francisco) and expansions of The Room universe not present in the film, such as the haunting interior of Denny's apartment. Oh, also much like the film upon which it's based, The Room Tribute features frequent, thoroughly unerotic nudity -- so don't play it at work. But do play it at your earliest convenience. It is simply wonderful. Unless, of course, you haven't seen the movie. You monster.
Coma: A playable essay on things that are pretty
Though a game simply titled Coma likely doesn't sound like the most engaging ludological venture, you must take a few minutes to check out Thomas Brush's beautiful little browser-based platformer. It's short and sweet, featuring hand-drawn graphics, a lovely soundtrack and a plotline that's absolutely pregnant with artistic ambiguity. Though that last sentence was also pregnant with pretentiousness, Coma is not. It's just a pretty, simple game, and it's free to play on Newgrounds right now. If you've got a half-hour to kill, we strongly advise you go check it out.
Doom, Heretic and Hexen: Now gibbing demons in-browser
Hey, how's it going? Having a nice day? Got a busy schedule, huh? Lots of work to do, right? We're sorry to hear that -- see, here's how we see the next week or so playing out: You'll fire up this recent, spot-on Flash port of Doom, Heretic and Hexen. You'll play them until you're about to starve to death. You'll eat. You'll repeat steps 2 and 3 until, regrettably, you forget to do step 3. Seriously, folks -- a Newgrounds Flash aficionado (simply named "Mike") has created one of the most accurate, free-est ports of three of id's gibbiest shooters (or wand-ers, in Heretic and Hexen's case). We highly suggest checking them out.[Via Rock Paper Shotgun]
The Joystiq Free Game Club: The Several Journeys of Reemus 2
Wow, what a milestone. After, like, eight months of doing the Joystiq Free Game Club, we finally have a sequel to a game we've previously featured. Wow, it looks like one semi-regular feature is all grown up. Ladies and gentlemen, please, give a big hand to our guest of honor, The Several Journeys of Reemus: Chapter 2. Sadly, on this proud, proud day, we don't have a whole lot to add to the discussion that we didn't say about the first one. We're still following exterminator Reemus and his purple bear buddy Liam as they travel the countryside fighting vermin. It's still lovely to look at and the point-and-click puzzles are still as well-conceived as they are amusing.More to the point, though, it's still free, free, totally free -- so what are you waiting for?
Gish creator's Super Meat Boy splattering onto WiiWare
Edmund McMillen, creator of indie hits like Gish and Independent Games Festival award nominee Coil, has announced an updated remake of one of his deep cuts, co-created with Jon McEntee: the Newgrounds Flash game Meat Boy, a platformer similar to Metanet's N series, but with more persistent blood dripping. McMillen announced the game on his blog as a release for Mac, PC, and a "secret" platform. And then the official website opened, featuring a prominent WiiWare logo. According to the blog entry, the game should be out "by the end of the year".World of Goo sent a clear message: if you are a known indie developer who likes it when people give you money and then download and play your games, perhaps you should consider WiiWare.[Via Offworld]
Joystiq E3 Hands-on: Castle Crashers
Thanks to the dedicated blogging of the folks at Behemoth, we pretty much knew everything there was to know about Castle Crashers coming into E3 -- it's the followup to Alien Hominid, a game that started out on Newgrounds, and ended up on the XBLA. It's got tons of playable characters, lots of "animal orbs" you can recruit to fight with you, and a great art style and a sly sense of humor. In fact, the only thing we didn't know about it was probably the most important thing: how it actually played. After playing it with Microsoft Director of Digitally Distributed Content Scott Austin here at E3, we can safely say it's going to be one of the biggest XBLA titles of this year (it's due out before September 21st). Castle Crashers is crazy good button mashing fun, and we can't wait to lay down our hard-earned Microsoft Points for it.
Castle Crashing "The Beard"
We thought gamers got excited for upcoming releases, but it seems that designers go crazy waiting for their game to go gold as well. Tom Fulp, lead designer at The Behemoth, has refused to shave his beard until his team's upcoming XBLA title, Castle Crashers, is released. That's the old news, the new news (well, it's been around for a bit) is the Newgrounds (where Tom Fulp is the founder and CEO, by the way) flash game dedicated to both Castle Crashers and Tom Fulp's playoff release beard. Castle Crashing "The Beard" is an independently created flash game that pits players against the floating head of Tom Fulp who attacks you using a variety of beard based attacks and eye lasers, of course. As you level up throughout the epic battle players assume the role of a different Castle Crashers hero. The best, and funniest, part of the game is Tom Fulp voice-acted his role in the game and proceeds to mock you throughout the fight. Anyone looking to pass the time while they wait for the arrival of Castle Crashers should check this one out. [Thanks, Kevin]
Play some Paper Mario in Flash
What would Paper Mario be like if it had been made by a 13-year-old from Holland in a span of five months? That's not a rhetorical question; it would be like this Flash game. Lesjuh's Paper Mario World uses similar visuals to those in the Paper Mario series, but as of now it only contains one world. Even so, it's a fun way to kill some time, and should be enough to keep you occupied during those free moments at work.[Via Technabob]
Animated spoof of Brawl invokes the spirit of Robot Chicken, only with Flash
Before you go clicking on any links, we want to warn you that the following flash is NSFW in many ways. Now that we're clear, we thought you might enjoy this (again, NSFW) jumble of short flash skits available at Newgrounds, based on the upcoming (and highly anticipated) Super Smash Bros. Brawl. These skits are meant to spoof many of the daily updates that we've gotten from the official Smash Bros. site. While some are completely unfunny, on the whole the Flash is pretty entertaining (specifically any scene with Snake in it). Keep in mind that although the scenes themselves are short, the compilation of them all leads to a pretty long video. On the chance that we've cause you to waste five or so minutes of your life that you'll never get back, know that we'll cry inside every day just thinking about it.[Thanks, hvnlysoldr!]
Wii Warm Up: Flash in the pan
Thanks to the Wii's internet browser, we can already enjoy plenty of flash-based games for the Wii. New flash games come out every day, and while most are simplistic and lacking in depth, some shine like diamonds in the rough.Tell ya what. Why don't you recommend a flash-based title that you'd like to see on the Wii? While you have already seen through our thinly veiled desire to simply waste away the day with your favorite flash titles, it's worth a look. Some many aspiring game designers would love to see their titles on an official Nintendo downloading service, so why not give it to them? Which ones do you guys want?
The Political Game: Can you create a gaming city?
Each week Dennis McCauley contributes The Political Game, a column on the collision of politics and video games:At the vgXpo in Philly last weekend I was asked to serve on a panel discussing how to make Philadelphia into a video game Mecca. Tough question. Among life's imponderables, that's right up there.At first blush it seems like a mega-long shot. Sandwiched between New York and Washington, Philly has a long-standing municipal inferiority complex. And even though it's the nation's fourth largest metropolitan area (behind NYC, Los Angeles and Chicago), this Rodney Dangerfield of a town seemingly gets no respect.Although Philly area people are avid gamers, from a game development standpoint, there isn't a whole lot happening in or around the City of Brotherly Love. A suburban company, eGames, cranks out some nice casual fare for the PC crowd. Majesco, more familiar to console and handheld fans, is headquartered in New Jersey, closer to New York than Philly, truth be told. Maybe the most happening thing in town right now is Newgrounds.com, the Flash portal operated by Tom Fulp, who also designed the indie hit Alien Hominid.
Light-hearted post of the day: Phoenix Wrong
We've been saving these for awhile, for that rainy day (hey, it's raining somewhere) in front of your computer. Here at the Fanboy offices, you either love Phoenix Wright or you lie face down in a pool of your own blood and lower intestines. And because we'd like to extend that tender love to all of you as well, here are some flash animations put together over a NewGrounds, which feature characters from the game saying and singing some ridiculous things. They're quite hilarious, especially if you're familiar with the series (and we know you are), so take a look!Phoenix Wrong 1Phoenix Wrong 2Phoenix Wrong 3
Murlocs: the RPG
Whether you're running in fear from them, getting yourself tattooed, or just holding out for them to be the next Alliance race, murlocs have a special place in many players' hearts. Fortunately, this extremely well done Flash RPG lets you step into the (webbed) shoes of a murloc for an hour or so--perfect for satisfying those WoW cravings at work.[via World of Warcraft Livejournal Community]
