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Best of the Rest: Danny's picks of 2014
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. Fantasy Life Sometimes, you just wanna sidequest. For those times, there's Fantasy Life. Fantasy Life is fun in the way that checking off items on a checklist is fun. There's a solid action-RPG here from Professor Layton series creator Level-5, sure, but much of my time in Fantasy Life was spent completing sidequests, crafting equipment, and hunting down component items so that I could craft more equipment and complete more sidequests. You don't even have to kill anything to complete the game - you can smith, cook, sew, and alchemize your way to victory if that's the way you want to play it. Fantasy Life is an endless grind that remains compelling even after I've completed hundreds of its quests. If you don't fit into its niche, you'll be bored immediately. If you're a specific breed of completionist, Fantasy Life is impossible to put down. In either case, beware.
Get games, streaming tools, apparel with Humble Awesome Games Done Quick Bundle
There will undoubtedly be dozens of cool gaming moments streamed during Awesome Games Done Quick's week-long charity event (which started today!), but why let strangers on the internet broadcast all the fun? Never mind if you don't have the necessary subscriptions – You can just pick up the Humble Awesome Games Done Quick 2015 Bundle, which features tools to help you get started with streaming as well as Steam keys for several games included within AGDQ's schedule (Mac and Linux support varies with each game). Those that celebrate the Humble Bundle series' pay-what-you-want pricing option by paying less than $6 will receive Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition, Shadow Warrior Classic Redux, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee and Volgarr the Viking. Once $6 or more is contributed, Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut and SpeedRunners (along with its YouTuber packs) will be added to that, as well as a 30-day subscription to Twitch Turbo, which allows broadcasts to be archived for sixty days and is mostly ad-free.
PSN Store Update: Alien Isolation, Diablo 3, more
In a last-ditch effort to get in your wallet before the end of the year, the PlayStation Store has a number of good deals on games this week. Among the many deals for PS4 players at the moment, Alien: Isolation is $35.99 ($29.99 for PS Plus members), while the game's season pass is down to $14.99. Additionally, Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition is $39.59 ($35.99 on PS Plus), Escape Goat 2 is half-price ($5, $4 on PS Plus), Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes is just $6.80 and Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is $25 ($20 on PS Plus). As for Vita, players can download Danganronpa 2 for $27.99 ($23.99 on PS Plus), Nidhogg for $10.49 ($8.99 through PS Plus), Thomas Was Alone and Stealth Inc. for $3.99 each as well as Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut for $5 ($4 via PS Plus). A number of games, such as Nidhogg and Thomas Was Alone, are Cross-Buy compatible, so those with multiple systems only need to pay once to access each version. That includes Flippfly's Race the Sun, which is down to $6.99 at the moment across all three PlayStation platforms ($5.99 on PS Plus). Head over to PlayStation Blog for a full list of the current deals. [Image: Sega]
Race the Sun, Escape Goat 2 on PSN next week, says PS Blogcast [update]
The PlayStation Blogcast often quietly slips out a surprise or two in its weekly rundown of new releases, and this week is no exception. According to the podcast, Race the Sun and Escape Goat 2 hit PSN in North America next week, which would pin them for October 21 release dates. There's been no other official word on that and Blogcast details have been off the mark before, so we've reached out to devs Flippfly and MagicalTimeBean to confirm. [Update: Sony confirmed Race the Sun indeed hits PSN in North America on October 21, priced $10. Flippfly's Aaron San Filippo told Joystiq the team's working on confirming the date for Europe, and the game will be available there at a roughly equivalent price.] [Update 2: MagicalTimeBean's Ian Stocker confirmed to Joystiq that Escape Goat 2 will also reach North America on October 21, and while its European launch is yet to be set in stone, Stocker notes it "won't be far behind."] Race the Sun is already confirmed as a cross-buy game for PS4, PS3 and Vita, meaning if you buy the game on one PS platform you get it for free on the others. Cross-save is also supported to carry scores across systems.
Skulls of the Shogun, Nidhogg, Escape Goat 2 and more jumping to PS4
At a Sony event today, PlayStation VP of Publisher and Developer Relations Adam Boyes revealed a whole slate of new titles coming to the PlayStation 4. Escape Goat 2, Ironclad Tactics, Nidhogg, Skulls of the Shogun: Bone-a-Fide Edition, Apotheon and Starwhal: Just the Tip, Chasm, Jamestown Plus, Source, Drifter and Spelunky are all making the jump from PC to the PS4. No specific timeline for each release was revealed, but the laundry list of titles gives us plenty to look forward to. Sony's "Third Party Production" team will help bring a select number of the new titles to the PlayStation 4. The group had previously worked to bring Towerfall to the platform. Check out trailers and details for each upcoming game after the break. [Image: Nidhogg from Messhof]
Game Music Bundle 7: Journey, Broken Age, Luftrausers
Who needs AC/DC and Aerosmith for their gym workouts when you could listen to smooth grooves of video game soundtracks? The Game Music Bundle 7 from Loudr offers 17 albums of audio delights, including tunes from Austin Wintory (Journey, The Banner Saga), Peter McConnell (Broken Age, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft), and Disasterpeace (The Floor is Jelly, Fez). The Game Music Bundle has been running for more than two years now, but if you're just now learning about it, here's how it works: for $1, you'll receive the soundtracks for The Banner Saga, Device 6, Broken Age, The Floor is Jelly and Luftrausers. By paying $10, you'll unlock 12 more albums, including a new solo piano arrangement of music from Journey. To see all 17 albums being offered and scoop up your copy of the bundle, check out the official site. Just don't wait too long, as this particular collection will only be available until May 1. [Image: Loudr]
Escape Goat 2 Review: Rube Goat-berg
When I was a freshman in high school, my science teacher had us complete a Rube Goldberg machine for our final class project. We needed a minimum of 10 steps, but the more complicated and more steps involved, the better. Bonus points were awarded if your steps were particularly eye-catching and fun to watch. With its focus on cause and effect, and creating chain reactions that lead to something as simple as opening a door, I think Escape Goat 2, from developer MagicalTimeBean, would have made my science teacher proud, or at least put a smile on her face. Escape Goat 2 doesn't beat around the bush with its concept: You are a goat – escape. Trapped in a tower full of traps and puzzles, you'll use your double-jump, dash ability and a helper mouse to navigate your way through nine areas, each with its own theme. One is filled with overgrown vines and lush forest, while another is steeped in ice. No matter where you are, however, your goal is to find the way out, which is sometimes easier said than done.
Double Fine to publish indie games, starting with Escape Goat 2
Double Fine may be known for creating games like Psychonauts, Brutal Legend and Broken Age, but it's expanding its efforts to add indie game publishing to its repertoire. Its first act as an indie publisher is to provide "promotional assistance and distribution" for MagicalTimeBean's Escape Goat 2, COO Justin Bailey told Game Informer. "Our goal is to help indies build their own community and empower them with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed on their own," Bailey said, adding that multiple indie developers have approached Double Fine to ask for publishing assistance. "They all had a unique request and that's where we started to see there was a real need for the knowledge we've gained over the last 14 years on how to prototype, fund, develop and publish our own games." Double Fine's publishing ambitions boil down to the efforts of two individuals: Bailey and senior publishing manager Greg Rice, who will offer advice for crowdfunding hopefuls as well as development feedback, platform porting advice and promotional assistance. "We're open to working with each developer and figuring out how we can help make them successful," Bailey added. Double Fine recently teamed up with MagicalTimeBean to create a quirky promotional video for Escape Goat 2. The game launched yesterday on PC, Mac and Linux via Steam, GOG and the Humble Store for $10. [Image: MagicalTimeBean]
PSA: Escape Goat 2 goes on the loose today
Ne'er has a Goat faced an adventure so demanding, so puzzling, and of such extraordinary magnitude since... well, the first Escape Goat. MagicalTimeBean's Escape Goat 2 is the sequel to the 2011 puzzle-platformer, and it's breaking for freedom today on Windows PC, Mac and Linux via Steam, GOG and the Humble Store, priced at $10. Escape Goat 2 follows the formula of the first game: Our purple caprine hero has to make his way through rooms filled with environmental perils, lots of moving parts, and puzzles that require the help of his magical mouse companion. However, the sequel ups the ante with a graphical overhaul, a new, more interconnected map system, and just to ram it home, there are 100-plus rooms compared to the original's 50 or so. [Image: MagicalTimeBean]
Escape Goat 2 pushes its release date baa-ck from Sept. 10
Escape Goat 2 developer Ian Stocker has rammed back the game's release date from September 10 to an undecided day after that, which he will announce after PAX. Stocker announced the September launch date in July, and at the time, that seemed absolutely doable, he writes – but recently, the map system got in the way. The original Escape Goat has a hub-based world, but Escape Goat 2 was designed with a flat world map, with rooms connected and curling around each other. Playtesters at Casual Connect – an expo held right after Stocker announced the release date – prompted him to reorganize some stages, a feat that was easy to do in Escape Goat. Not so in Escape Goat 2. "With rooms locked into specific positions, things become very rigid," Stocker says. "Inserting a room in a series throws off half the rest of the map, which then needs to be reordered. For about 10 days this month, map organization was where I spent the bulk of my time .... What I decided on is kind of a hybrid between the EG1 and original EG2 map system." Stocker says that while it'd be possible to hit the September 10 launch date, the game simply wouldn't be polished to the level he'd like: "We've put 10 months into this project. As much as I want to release it to the world soon, I believe that delaying is the right move to make .... If you're at PAX this weekend, be sure to drop by and play the build. And if you are a pre-orderer, I can apologize to you in person, or try to bribe you with one of our shiny new 1.25 inch buttons." Escape Goat 2 will be in PAX Prime's Indie Megabooth, as part of its "Minibooth" section.
Escape Goat 2 bleats out in September
The caprine conundrums of Escape Goat 2 are coming to PC on September 10, with pre-orders available now for $8. Developer Magical Time Bean is bringing 100 rooms to the puzzler sequel, along with the first game's returning heroes, namely an incarcerated purple goat and his magic hat-clad mouse friend. As for what bucks the trend, the visuals have received a hand-illustrated spruce-up courtesy of Randy O'Connor from Waking Mars dev Tiger Style. Meanwhile, the new map system introduces branching pathways across rooms, including some secret routes.
Escape Goat 2 stars clearer graphics, the same goat and mouse duo
Escape Goat 2 weaves the same mystical tale as its predecessor, starring a goat and a mouse platforming their way out of prison, where the goat was originally incarcerated for using witchcraft. The main difference in the sequel is the graphical overhaul – Escape Goat launched on XBLIG and PC in 2011 as a single-screen puzzle platformer with decidedly a retro visual style. Escape Goat 2 features art by Randy O'Connor, and it certainly is a step (or a ramming leap) up. Escape Goat 2 is slated for a launch on PC this year, from developer Magical Time Bean. Escape Goat, the original magical goat game, is on Steam Greenlight right now.
Escape Goat 2 making a break for PC
Escape Goat, the premiere goat-based puzzle platformer of 2011, has a sequel in the works, developer MagicalTimeBean revealed to IndieStatik. The sequel will retain the single-screen puzzle level structure of the original, as well as its protagonists: a purple goat accused of witchcraft, and his mouse friend in a magic hat.The most notable change to the formula is the graphical style. Escape Goat 2 has a much richer, pixel-dense art style than the original, courtesy of artist Randy O'Connor. MagicalTimeBean also plans to integrate "some new gadgets and perhaps new creatures." The sequel will debut on PC; plans for an XBLIG release are currently undecided.If you're wondering just what Escape Goat is all about, we recommend trying the game's browser-based demo.
