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Blackwell publisher introduces cyberpunk thriller, Technobabylon
Point-and-click adventure game publisher Wadjet Eye Games announced a partnership to bring a new futuristic game into its catalog today, Technobabylon. Originally developed by James Dearden of Technocrat Games, the cyberpunk game is set in a dystopian future (in 2087, specifically) where an AI named Central powers the game's city and "genetic engineering is the norm." Dearden envisioned Technobabylon as an eight-part episodic series, and created the first three games in 2010. The developer revealed on its blog in October that the game is already "playable from start to finish," and Dearden is working with Wadjet Eye Games to record voices for its characters. The publisher provided a teaser trailer that introduces Charlie Regis, one of the secret police for the futuristic city. Technobabylon is expected to launch this coming spring for PC with Mac and Linux versions planned to arrive later. [Image: Wadjet Eye Games]
Tale of Tales' Sunset rises with first screens
Tale of Tales' upcoming narrative-driven game Sunset received its first official set of screenshots today. Announced in March 2014, the exploration game stars Angela Burnes, a housekeeper of a secluded philanthropist, set in a lone 1970's apartment. The Path and Fatale developer noted that the screens are "still work in progress and even though they do not represent the final beauty of the game, they say a lot about what is going to make the penthouse a spectacular environment to explore." Players will scope out the apartment to learn more about Burnes' employer when the game arrives this spring on PC, Mac and Linux. As seen in the gallery below, Tale of Tales said it "pushed the colour scheme to its saturation point with the tones of the evening sky, chic lighting from designer lamps and dramatic shadows" to make the game "feel real," yet stylized. Sunset earned $67,636 on Kickstarter in July and will feature a soundtrack from Journey's Grammy-nominated composer, Austin Wintory. The developer discussed the ways it is "trying something different" with Joystiq following its funding campaign. [Image: Tale of Tales]
The Wolf Among Us down to $20 on Amazon
The first season of The Wolf Among Us can live among your gaming library at a discount today, as the episodic adventure game is currently $19.99 on Amazon. The 33 percent off sale is good for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game, while Vita players can pick up The Wolf Among Us for $24.49 on the retailer's site. Developed by The Walking Dead creator Telltale Games, The Wolf Among Us stars Fabletown's Sheriff Bigby Wolf, formerly known as The Big Bad Wolf. Based on Bill Willingham's Fables comic book series, the game's five episodes follows Bigby as he maintains order in the small New York City community. Our review of the final episode, "Cry Wolf," noted that the game's first season "lays the groundwork for the series that is (hopefully) to come, getting us invested in these pigs, these trolls, these witches, these toads, these people." [Image: Telltale Games]
Simogo launches The Sensational December Machine on PC, Mac
Hot on the heels of launching its last narrative-driven game roughly one month ago, Simogo offered another game today for free, The Sensational December Machine. The Device 6 developer just teased the PC and Mac game on its Twitter account yesterday before offering it as a holiday gift to its fans today. Simogo's last game, The Sailor's Dream, was received rather well in our review and is available on iPad for $3.99. The Sensational December Machine is a "short interactive story about an inventor and her unusual new creation." The brief interactive story took three weeks to create and includes hand-drawn art and text as well as "dynamic music" that evolves alongside the story provided by Daniel Olsén, the composer for Device 6 and Year Walk. "We hope you'll snuggle up with this little seasonal, and very three-dimensional, tale in fullscreen mode," the developer added. "Perhaps with some good headphones, and a warm drink by your side." The Sensational December Machine can be downloaded through Simogo's website. [Image: Simogo]
Nordic acquires adventure games from Awesomenauts publisher
Nordic Games continued its spending spree today, picking up a few properties from Awesomenauts publisher DTP Entertainment. Nordic purchased three intellectual properties from the German publisher: The Moment of Silence (seen above), The Mystery of the Druids and Curse of the Ghost Ship. DTP also agreed to hand over commercial use of Overclocked and 15 Days to Nordic Games. Each of the five properties listed in the purchase agreement were developed by House of Tales, a Bremen, Germany-based PC adventure game developer. Nordic said its adventure games division, The Adventure Company, "gets a considerable increase" thanks to the IP acquisition, adding that it "will make good use of these new opportunities." The publisher completed its purchase of the de Blob series from THQ last month, over a year and a half after the Austrian company bought dozens of other THQ properties such as Darksiders, Red Faction and MX vs. ATV for $4.9 million. [Image: DTP Entertainment, err, Nordic Games]
Burgerman is a mediocre superhero seeking justice and food
Burgerman is a game that tells the story of an innocent fast food customer that orders a burger. Somehow, he doesn't notice the burger is glowing green. After consumption, this ordinary guy turns into Burgerman, a superhero flying through the towns of Burgerville fueled entirely on burgers (and especially glowing green burgers) protecting citizens from the robotic burger thief. Avoid obstacles, eat burgers, serve justice - that is the life of Burgerman. The game is free with in-app purchases for iPhone and iPad. The game is accompanied by a humorous storyline describing events as they unravel in Burgerville with a splash of comedy. It does have some very mild language, but it should be passable for almost all ages except the youngest. The storyline and dialogue are extremely lengthy - to a bit of a fault, I might add. You should get a few laughs out of the writing as I did, but drags on even after the game starts. The second chapter in, I finally hit the handy "Skip" button just so I can play the game. Also, while I'm being picky, what kind of superhero steals food from the same people he's trying to protect? Burgerman's controls are very simple and should sound familiar to an iOS gamer: press the screen to fly up, release your finger to fall. As you fly around the town, try to avoid large options like trees and swing sets. Crashing into these objects destroys them at the expense of some if not all of Burgerman's energy. To regain energy, swoop past kids carrying burgers and eat them. Glowing green burgers in particular really drive up the meter. Watch out for bullies though, for they retaliate when you steal their food by throwing something at you as you fly away, affecting fatigue. The more fatigue you have, the more energy decreases with each time you crash into an object. The graphics leave much to be desired. The animation in particular feels like something I could have churned out of my introductory graphic design course back in high school. It's very childish for a game that has a not-so-childish sense of humor in its dialogue. The controls for maneuvering Burgerman, albeit easy to understand, lack polish and overall feel very unnatural. Even after a bit of gameplay, I still couldn't fully get accustomed to the way the game responds to my touch. Obstacles also feel a bit too big, while the burgers necessary for energy feel a bit too small. One feature I am fond of is profiles, which lets you put in your name and saves game progress just for that name so multiple people can play Burgerman at their own pace on one device. The app description says it offers in-app purchases but - and this is a first for me - not only did I fail to see how they would ever be necessary, I couldn't find anything to purchase and where in the game to purchase it. Odd. In my experience, no part of the game requires any mandatory extension so you won't even need to worry about it. Burgerman is certainly entertaining and the storyline is fun to follow along, if excessive, but the game itself is lacking in several key areas. Improved graphics and controls would do this title more justice than Burgerman does for the hungry townspeople. It's free for iOS in the App Store.
Crush waves of enemies to save princess in Day of the Viking
Day of the Viking is a new game from Adult Swim involving a castle, a princess and vikings. The vikings are coming for the princess's treasure and as the castle defender, you need to destroy them. The game offers numerous ways to go about doing this and there's 80 levels with varying locations and amounts of vikings. As they get stronger, unlock stronger weapons to take them down and complete harder missions in each level. The app is universal for iPhone and iPad and sells for US$2.99. It requires no earlier than iOS 7.0. If you're familiar with the Adult Swim suite of iOS games and even just the Adult Swim brand (or network) in general, you'd probably assume Day of the Viking has cartoonish and playful elements to it. You would be correct! The description makes it seem like Day of the Viking is action-packed and potentially violent, but in practice destroying the vikings is a bit similar to playing a game of Angry Birds in which the pigs are moving targets. The princess of the castle is there to guide you through the first few levels. This is where you learn the essentials of the game. Initially, your only weapon atop the castle is a bow and arrow. Tapping vikings as they head closer shoots directly at them. Then the princess informs you of the slingshot, which can take out more than one viking at a time - useful for when they arrive in groups, which is often. When you pull the slingshot, you're given a sense of the boulder's path to target accurately. Every time you kill a viking, you earn some points and every so often a coin appears in the field. Tap to retrieve it while simultaneously avoiding vikings, but it's important to nab these for a few reasons. For one, they often appear in missions. To gain all three stars in each round, you have to complete three missions. These vary, but they range from having you collect a certain amount of coins to not taking any damage to the castle from a viking to killing three of them with one rock. The other aspect is Day of the Viking's currency. The points and coins add and contribute to your amount of gold, which buys boosters to enhance your weapons or upgrades, among some other things. In-app purchases are available to buy packs of gold, too. The levels are harder than one might expect. By round three or four I had already failed to defend the castle and had to replay the level more than once. To get anywhere in the game, you must rely heavily on boosters and upgrades because your regular weapon set isn't even close to sufficient for defeating the vikings. This increases the likeliness that making an in-app purchase will come into question, which is a little disappointing for a paid game to start. Day of the Viking is lacking somewhat in originality and unabashedly calls on you a bit too much to spend that gold, but it does have plenty of entertainment value and great design. Get the universal Day of the Viking game in the App Store for $2.99.
Lumino City is a handmade puzzler launching this month
Plenty of work goes into building intricately-designed characters and environments, but few of those crafted universes are comprised of real-world materials. Developer State of Play Games has spent three years building a 10-foot high, hand-and-laser-made cluster of architecture, complete with tiny lights and motors, to host Lumino City, its puzzling adventure game due to launch on Steam for PC and Mac later this month. Lumino City continues the narrative of 2011's Lume, following protagonist Lumi's search for her freshly-kidnapped Grandad. Lumi will solve puzzles to help the world's inhabitants and venture beyond the city gates, learning more about her Grandad's past in the process. [Image: State of Play]
Space Age is an enticing adventure on any planet
Space Age is a brand new game featuring a team of space explorers who have just landed on an unpopulated, very retro planet named Kepler-16. While they don't initially have a mission to fulfill, after wandering around a bit, the team soon realizes that there's much to be uncovered in this new, yet oddly familiar territory and an adventure is set in stone. The title is now in the App Store for iPhone and iPad at US$3.99. Have you ever walked into a situation and had a strange thought echo in your mind that you aren't exactly sure what's going on or what's about to happen, but you're pretty sure it will turn out well? That's how I felt not long after launching Space Age. The game takes place in 1976, which is "the future." You are a private that just landed on Kepler-16. The environment isn't all that different from what might be found on Earth: green grasslands, trees (albeit they're purple,) lakes, rocky hills, etc. Don't judge a book by its cover: Space Age isn't some wild action game where you have to constantly battle graphically intense alien specimens. In fact, quite the opposite: it's an adventure where the characters are tiny and pixelated and the writing exudes a compelling sense of humor. Yes, occasionally (mainly later in the game) you must confront aliens and battle it out, but that doesn't seem to be what the developers are focusing most on. The game is pretty heavy on dialogue. That's not uncommon for an adventure game, but comparatively it's still chatty. That's not a fault though for two reasons: necessity and humor. The dialogue is mostly essential to understanding what you have to do in game and why it's even relevant to the rest of the story. Since reading all that gets boring, it's helpful that much of it is offers up a chuckle here and there. The writing ranges from sarcastic to witty to just wholly funny while of course being informative. It's truly well done. So what should you expect out of Space Age's gameplay? In short, a lot of mystery, but I guess that's the whole point of an adventure. Most of the time you don't know what's going to come next because you're just following life as it unravels on Kepler-16. You meet new people, complete tasks, flashback to times on Earth and fight aliens. Much of your path is in complete darkness until you walk to that area when it brightens up to reveal its contents. It has somewhat of a cone-of-vision effect. This adds to the gameplay though. Certain missions that require you to locate missing items, for instance, need that effect for Space Age to have its challenging component. Since the controls are limited to a single finger, sometimes I found it confusing to figure out how to complete certain tasks. The game tells you what you need to do, but doesn't explicitly state how. If you need to unlock a gate, it's up to you to figure out which character can do that and what they need to tap with minimal aid. Space Age is the type of adventure game I've been waiting for on iOS. I've been playing it for the past few days and it's hard to put down, but not because it's addictive like half of the iOS games starring birds. The Kepler-16 adventure is just too engaging to want to quit. The dialogue and design are stellar, too. Space Age is available for iPhone and iPad (and soon Mac too!) for $3.99.
The Banner Saga, Armikrog journey to PS4 in early 2015
Four games from independent developers will arrive on PS4 in early 2015, each courtesy of publisher Versus Evil. The publisher, which specializes in assisting independent devs reach new platforms and regions, revealed Stoic Studio's viking RPG The Banner Saga among the handful of games destined for the PlayStation Network. The Banner Saga's first episode launched in January after a successful $723,886 campaign on Kickstarter funded the game in April 2012. Versus Evil will also help another Kickstarter-funded game to reach PS4 early next year, Pencil Test Studios' clay-sculpted adventure game Armikrog. The other two games arriving on PS4 in 2015 thanks to the publisher are Kyn and Toren, the latter developed by Brazilian studio Swordtales. Players guide a "Moonchild" through the stages of childhood while ascending a tower in Toren, solving puzzles and slashing at enemies along the way. Versus Evil noted in PlayStation Blog's comments that none of the games are slated to reach Vita as of yet. [Image: Stoic Studio]
Smash Champs is stunning, unique and action-packed
Smash Champs is a unique action/adventure game in which you must train your fighters to battle their opponents and gain power and success. It sounds clichéd but it has a few tricks up its sleeve that make for some interesting gameplay. An indicative example: having a familiarity with Fruit Ninja helps in certain aspects of the game. The iOS game is free with in-app purchases and universal for iPhone and iPad. Just about everything in Smash Champs strikes me as a mix between what is conventional and what is unconventional. The game as a whole follows a traditional template for this specific genre yet the idiosyncrasies are in the details. The team of six fighters in Smash Champs are all personified animals, as is the pig sensei. You start out with a single fighter, which you get to pick freely among the six. After you pick one, the other five get locked away until you gain enough XP to unlock them. To begin a duel, you first must train your fighter, or "champ" as the game puts it. This is where that Fruit Ninja experience comes in. As the sensei, you present what appear to be some sort of training orbs to your trainee and throw them by swiping across the screen as they appear. The process is very much like slicing fruit, except one "slice" actually propels the orb forward. Avoid throwing spikes. If your champ is trained enough, it should win the battle that follows. The battles, by the way, are against a computer, a live friend in possession of the Smash Champs game or a live online opponent matched at random. Continue this process to gain new power and intensify your battles and training sessions, plus unlock goodies like new characters as you move forward in the adventure. For a free title, the graphics and performance are absolutely blow-away. The game design is beautiful in every aspect and it runs buttery smooth on my iPhone 6. I didn't catch on to a single hiccup even when panning around details of the environment. While free to download, Smash Champs does offer in-app purchases, but it's not necessarily easy to come to a point in the game when you feel compelled to spend your money on them. They're just bundles of coins; the cheapest pack is $4.99. You earn coins throughout your progress in the game though. Coins can help you skip difficult tasks, but is it really that fun to cheat your way through the game? Smash Champs is a thoroughly compelling action/adventure game and it's truly unlike anything I've played before in the App Store. Major creativity points go to the developers (who, by the way, are the makers of the immensely popular Subway Surfers.) The Fruit Ninja-esque training is a blast and I'm still gushing over the excellent graphics performance. At the low, low price of nothing, Smash Champs is worth a quick search and download from the App Store. It turned a reviewer into a fan.
Tilt to Live: Gauntlet's Revenge features superb gameplay
Tilt to Live: Gauntlet's Revenge is another entry in the Tilt to Live game series. This time, the arrow travels through a side-scrolling obstacle course picking up pointonium as it goes along. The three main courses are filled with spiked walls, fire balls, enemies and more all of which you should avoid to complete the challenge. Unlock the boss round to finish the game once and for all. Tilt to Live: Gauntlet's Revenge is US$2.99 for iPhone and iPad. The app description of Tilt to Live: Gauntlet's Revenge says the app features "famously responsive" controls and it's hard to argue with that claim. To maneuver around obstacles in the game, you have to tilt your iOS device up, down, left or right. The app provides standard settings for the way people usually hold their devices: Regular, at a bit of an angle, Top-Down, or basically flat and Custom to let you calibrate the tilt yourself based upon your current angle. Optionally choose between slow, normal and hyper tilt sensitivities. However you choose your tilt settings, the game is buttery smooth and in sync with your movements. You also get three lives per round, which is convenient because despite the responsiveness it's not the easiest game in the world. It's not meant to be super challenging, but it should take you a decent amount of time to complete the three gauntlets before moving onto the final one. That's a plus though when calculating value based on money spent and time spent playing. The three gauntlets are Lockdown, Pointonium Mines and Arropolis. Each is a bit different from the others, but not so much that they have their own learning curves. They just have some different obstacles and they're playable in any order. What I love about the graphics is that even as a new player, it's easy to immediately spot what looks like it should be avoided and what you should collect, i.e. pointonium. The pointonium, by the way, don't do much of anything. The game doesn't have any in-app purchases or upgrades to spend them on. They just add up as you collect them and display proudly in Game Center leaderboards. That's fine, but with a cool name like "pointonium" it's begging to be put to better use in a future update. The points system does contribute somewhat to the achievements, which are built into Game Center, but you need to complete nine of them to unlock the final gauntlet and reach the boss. A variety of achievements for each gauntlet are up for grabs so you aren't limited to following a specific path. The freedom to play as you wish is a trend in Tilt to Live: Gauntlet's Revenge that I admire. It's been a while since I've played a decent game that uses the iPhone and iPad's built in sensors for controls, but I'm happy to report Tilt to Live: Gauntlet's Revenge fills that void. At $2.99, it's just a tad pricey for a game in this genre, but you're getting a fantastic experience.
The Walking Dead stumbles to PS4, Xbox One
Both seasons of Telltale Games' episodic adventure The Walking Dead are now available digitally and at retail on Xbox One and PS4. Retail versions of the two seasons are also out now for Xbox 360 and PS3. At least, this is the case for North America; European players will have to wait until October 31 for the Xbox One and PS4 versions. The European release date always differed from that of North America, as the adventure game's two seasons were previously expected to reach the next-gen platforms on October 24. Telltale's ten episodes generally impressed players, though the final episode's conclusion left a lot to be desired according to our review in August. The developer added that The Walking Dead series has sold "more than 39 million episodes worldwide" to date. [Image: Telltale Games]
A Golden Wake review: The City Beautiful
PC, Mac, Linux Unlike other tales, Grundislav Games' A Golden Wake is a piece of historical fiction, dipping its toe into a deceptively hopeful economic period following the first World War. Being that the game is deeply-rooted in American history, players also have the luxury of knowing the gist of how the story ends; the market crashes, hurricanes hit the coast and the Great Depression sets in. Even with that knowledge on hand, A Golden Wake remains a delightful trip through the best and worst of times for its cast. The point-and-click adventure game skips through the era and its protagonist becomes a sympathetic symbol for a rough economic time. It stars Alfie Banks, a smooth-talking New York real estate agent that travels to Florida to cash in on the 1920s land boom. Banks is one fictional character in a very real setting, but A Golden Wake is as much about the Roaring Twenties as it is about the man that's looking to make a name for himself in the business world.
Become a hero with Alexia Crow and the Cave of Heroes
The more apps I review, the more I become convinced that games with puzzle aspects are virtually a mainstay for iPhone and iPad users. If that trend is anything near accurate, then Alexia Crow and The Cave of Heroes will likely skyrocket in downloads. The free app is universally available but is optimized for iPhone 5. The game follows Alexia Crow, a young girl who falls down a cave opening and ends up in a mythical realm. Tutored by a centaur who had as his former students such luminaries as Hercules and Achilles, it is Alexia's turn to demonstrate her courage and ingenuity in solving the tasks her tutor gives her, and thus become a heroine in her own right. As such the player sees the game through her eyes as she picks up various necessary objects to advance in the quest and completes a series of interesting puzzles. The game is engaging, with phenomenal graphics and great attention to detail. This is sometimes unusual to find in a game that is compatible with an iPhone (the graphics are computer-quality, at least in my opinion). This is not a rinky-dink throwaway game, but one that the developers clearly spent time and thought in crafting. This type of devotion and care is refreshing. However, an immediate and potentially deal-breaking drawback is that by all appearances one must purchase the first chapter of the game for US$1.99. A very brief demo is available prior to that, but if one actually wishes to play the game, one must purchase the chapter. Frankly, here is buyer manipulation at its worst. The app is touted as free and yet to actually do anything one must spend two dollars. Indeed, I only discovered this after messing around with the demo for some time, not realizing (until I exited to the main menu to see what was going on) that I actually had to pay money to make any actual progress. I would much rather the developers simply charge for the game outright. It is extremely annoying to go through the trouble of downloading an app that claims to be free and then have to pay money to actually use it. The second concern is that the game by all appearances lacks clear direction as to what exactly the player is supposed to do. I played nearly the entire first chapter in preparing for this review, and I actually had to hunt down a walkthrough on YouTube to figure out what on earth I was supposed to do to begin the quest and solve the puzzles. Had I not had that, I would have been flailing around helplessly trying to figure out precisely what I was supposed to do for the first quest. Certainly I do not expect the game to solve everything for me - if I wanted that, I could watch any number of game shows passively on TV. Even given the cute intro video at the beginning which shows Alexia fall down that cave and land on the ground, I was very confused as to what was to happen next. I felt a bit bewildered. Unless I profoundly missed something, there was zero direction. I'm a fan of walkthroughs if a game has me really stumped, but I expect a little guidance and direction on what I am supposed to accomplish before I resort to such desperate efforts. A game should not be like stumbling around in the dark trying to find a light switch. This defeats the fun purpose of play. But at the same time, I suppose the lack of direction enhances the bewildering context in which Alexia finds herself, so it isn't all bad. With all that said, I actually really enjoyed Cave of Heroes. The basic thrust is that Alexia must complete a series of puzzles (which are hidden throughout the realm she explores) to get special objects to further her progress in the quest. As she completes the puzzles, or occasionally just lying around, different trinkets appear: A fishing rod to catch fish which go into a potion and become a stone, both of which end up furthering the gameplay. A series of rhombus-shaped stones activated by being placed in matching holes on a Zeus statue, so they can be used in another puzzle. Multiple silver and gold keys, which unlock portions of yet another puzzle. And so on. This kind of complex continuity between puzzles and aspects of the quest is wonderful, because it demonstrates not only a thoughtful storytelling but also an attention to detail and a purposefulness in gameplay that is delightfully symmetrical. Indeed, this kind of meticulous and overarching attention to usefulness, purpose, and balance only serves to highlight the seeming inconsistency with the game's frustrating lack of direction. It is as if the game is one giant puzzle, with many smaller puzzles that yield the pieces of the larger, none of which are wasted or unnecessary. Players should also note there is not any audible dialogue in the game - anything spoken by Alexia and any other characters appears in a kind of subtitle at the bottom or top of the screen. This was not at all a detriment to gameplay, but it was different than what I was expecting. The background music and sound effects are interesting and at times winsome but can be distracting, so I played with my phone on silent. One potential caveat for iPhone/iPod Touch users: Because the game operates via touchscreen, the smaller screen may prove difficult to maneuver in certain puzzles. I learned this the hard way, as a slight touch in the wrong part of the screen would mess up an entire puzzle and I would have to start over. While this was not a huge issue, it may be something to note going in. While there are some potential flaws to the game (most notably the financial one), overall Alexia Crow and The Cave of Heroes is a thoughtful and delightful exercise in both attractive graphics and challenging puzzles. As we follow Alexia on her quest to become a hero, her accomplishments become ours, until all of us just might feel a bit more heroic ourselves.
Shelter 2 protects baby lynx in 2015, dev teases new game
We'll have to wait until Q1 2015 to prove our paws hands at lynx motherhood in Shelter 2, as developer Might and Delight has delayed the PC adventure due to "persistent bugs" and to allow time for a new, separate project. "We are experimenting with a type of game that we have never created before," Might and Delight explained on Facebook, offering a teaser image of the game's production. Between the strange object, green screen paint and hot glue gun shown in the photo of an apparent workshop, we can believe Might and Delight's assurance that it's a new direction for the studio. Whatever the new project is, Might and Delight noted it's in full development and planned to release "very soon this year." [Image: Might and Delight]
The 1920s are roaring in A Golden Wake next week
A Golden Wake, the 1920s-themed adventure game published by Blackwell series studio Wadjet Eye Games, will launch next Thursday, October 9. The publisher wants to give players a chance to check the game out in advance, so it is offering a demo, which players can download for PC, Mac or Linux through the game's website or via Steam. Developed by Grundislav Games, the studio behind the episodic Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator, A Golden Wake was first announced in late June. It stars real estate agent Alfie Banks, whose financial goals in the pre-Depression era land him in a compromising position with the mob. Those that purchase the point-and-click adventure game prior to its October 9 launch will receive a free digital version of its jazzy official soundtrack. [Image: Wadjet Eye Games]
The Walking Dead seasons start October 14 on PS4, Xbox One
Telltale's The Walking Dead seasons one and two will arrive on Xbox One and PS4 this month. That much we knew with certainty as of September. Now according to IGN, the first season will go next-gen on October 14 followed by the second season one week later, October 21. Xbox 360 and PS3 owners will get to enjoy each full season on October 21 as well. The release dates align with previous listings offered by Amazon. Those dates are for North American players; fans in Europe will have to wait a few extra days to receive both seasons on PS4 and Xbox One on October 24. Likewise, Vita players won't have access to the full second season until November 4. The adventure game series began with the launch of episode one in April 2012, and wrapped with the underwhelming fifth episode of Season 2 in late August. [Image: Telltale Games]
The Long Dark ventures to Steam Early Access
Hinterland Studio launched its first-person exploration game The Long Dark on Steam Early Access this week, making the in-development survival simulator available for PC and Mac users for $20. Set in the pacific northwest, the game forces players to scavenge for resources and survive the threat of starvation, wolves and more. The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind and The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston joined the developer earlier this month. Rolston adds to a well-credited crew at Hinterland, which includes Far Cry 3 Narrative Director Raphael van Lierop. The Long Dark's journey took off with its success on Kickstarter in October 2013, at which point the developer earned $248,899. Those that want a taste of the game should revisit Joystiq Streams' archive from July, in which Hinterland took us through the dark woods for an hour. [Image: Hinterland Studio]
Xbox One's newest Kinect game is a comic-book styled murder mystery
Lets say you're already burned out on Destiny and are looking for something a bit, well, different than what the Xbox One currently has on offer. That might just mean that D4 (short for Dark Dreams Don't Die), the latest game from the creator of cult-hit Deadly Premonition, could be the relief you didn't even know you were looking for. It's one of the scant few Kinect-enabled games releasing soon, too. The episodic title was first teased during Microsoft's E3 event last year and has gone largely unheard from since. That's recently changed, as Xbox Wire has an interview with its developer Hidetaka Suehiro, better known as Swery65, ahead of the first installment hitting the Xbox Marketplace today. Update: D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die is now available for $15 right here.
