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Microsoft responds to Polytron's Fez patch claims
Developer Polytron issued a statement two days ago, saying that a save issue affecting a small number of Fez players would no longer be resolved with an additional patch. Microsoft, who Polytron laid the brunt of fault on for demanding an expensive fee to certify and issue the new patch, has now shared its side with Giant Bomb."Polytron and their investor, Trapdoor, made the decision not to work on an additional title update for Fez," the statement starts. "Microsoft Studios chose to support this decision based on the belief that Polytron/Trapdoor were in the best position to determine what the acceptable quality level is for their game. While we do not disclose the cost of Title Updates, we did offer to work with Trapdoor to make sure that wasn't a blocking issue. We remain huge fans of Fez."That last part is perhaps the most interesting, since Polytron claimed Microsoft's price for a new title update was $10,000 – this statement makes it sound like Microsoft may have been willing to negotiate on the price.In the meantime, you can keep playing an improved post-patch Fez, in the hopes that your save makes it through the whole adventure. Polytron says less than one percent of players have succumbed to the bug.
Warp review: Patchwork puzzle action
The premise behind Warp is as easy to remember as its name. Captured by a group of scientists and their dimwitted security squadron, an adorable alien named Zero breaks free from his shackles to run amok throughout an underwater installation. How does he move about? He warps, of course, from one spot to the next and even into solid objects.Warp borrows heavily from multiple sources to craft its world. It may be immediately compared to the puzzle propensity of Portal, the stealthy progression of Metal Gear Solid, and the chaotic tone of 'Splosion Man, but the game follows the longstanding blueprint we've all come to regard as Metroidvania. Zero uses his warp ability to get around, first through walls and then into objects.It all looks innocent -- especially when Zero cutely chirps and animates his emotions -- but it's all a ruse. Zero eventually earns the ability to warp into humans, where a few liberal shakes of the left stick causes them to explode. Like the remnants of a popped water balloon, Zero's victims are splattered all over the laboratory's pristine interior. It goes from cute to horrifying very quickly -- in a good way.%Gallery-147694%
New Warp gameplay trailer totally explodes some dudes
Warp will be the first title released during the 2012 XBLA House Party that starts this Wednesday, and from the looks of this latest gameplay trailer, it seems as though your 800 Microsoft Points will net you a lot of adorableness, as well as an unquenchable thirst for exploded human bodies.
Warp: From a hypothetical question to an interesting puzzle game
Warp is one of those instances in which one "What if" question has blossomed into an entire game. In this case, the question is, "What if we had the power to teleport through objects at will? Wouldn't that be cool?" Yes, I do think it's pretty cool, even if I'd rather be able to forgo the twelve hour flight to Europe than warp around my house. But then, I'm not in a Martian lab desperately trying to escape annihilation, in which case I imagine even short-range teleportation would be preferable to nothing at all. That's the premise of Warp, though that wasn't the case from the beginning. "The inception point had nothing to do with stealth," Trapdoor founder Ken Schacter told me during the demo. "Our prototype was a cylinder where we just played around with warping."
Warp teleporting to PC and PSN March 13
The debut of Warp may be reserved for the Xbox Live House Party next month, but PC and PS3 users won't have to wait too long to get their hands on the horribly violent (and bizarrely cute) action puzzler. Warp is headed to PSN and PC on March 13, according to a tweet from developer Trapdoor.The PC version is currently up for pre-order on Origin, though Trapdoor promises it will be available on Steam as well.%Gallery-145461%
XBLA House Party kicks off on Feb. 15 with Warp
We knew that Warp, Alan Wake's American Nightmare, Nexuiz, and I Am Alive would be participating in Microsoft's 2012 Xbox Live Arcade House Party promo, and we knew that the party would start on February 15, but we didn't have a clue as to how the specifics of the boogeying would progress. Today, Microsoft revealed that Warp will be the party's first attendee, arriving on February 15 for the nice price of 800 MS Points ($10), followed up in the proceeding three weeks by Alan Wake's American sojourn, the almost-but-not-quite-Quake multiplayer shooter Nexuiz, and one man's journey through the depths of human survival in I Am Alive.Like Warp, Nexuiz will only cost 800 MS Points ($10), while the other two titles will run 1200 MS Points a pop ($15). As always with these XBLA promos, Microsoft is offering an extra 800 free MS Points to anyone who grabs all four games within a defined time period (between Feb. 15 and Mar. 13 in this case). As for what to do with those extra points ... well, might we suggest hanging onto it for the upcoming launch of Fez? 'Cause that's totally what we're doing.
Warp preview: Get in, get out
There's an odd juxtaposition at the heart of Warp. You play as a cute little orange alien, attempting to escape an underwater government facility. After crashing on Earth and being captured by the military, it would seem there's nothing but a lifetime of poking and prodding in store for the little it. The ability to warp into and through things is the alien's only means of escape, and the central premise of the game. But with such a pleasant, cartoonish presentation, it's pretty jarring the first time he warps inside of a scientist and detonates the unsuspecting human in a shower of crimson blood, which then dries into a gross crust on the floor. It's a touch morbid in contrast with everything else.%Gallery-131729%
Warp preview: Little creature, big choices
I've been closely following the development of Fez for a long time now, and was especially excited for a chance to finally play it at this year's PAX East. While I really enjoyed what I played of Fez, its boothmate was what stood out as the hidden gem of the show for me: Warp, a downloadable title from Trapdoor Inc. The developer takes a Happy Tree Friends approach to violence -- adorable, cartoony, and ultra-bloody -- which plays out in the game via the main character's interaction with human beings. I warped the little creature you see above into a variety of different folks throughout my brief playthrough of the build on display. Occasionally stunning those I deemed innocent enough to live, or rocking the Xbox 360 analog stick back and forth to "explode" the person or object from the inside, my little creature quickly figured out how to skirt a room full of scientists and armed guards without so much as alerting another living thing. And if I was spotted by a living thing, it was just as quickly exploded into bits. Such is Warp.%Gallery-119755%
Fez preview: It's the little things
Fez is not just a platformer. Nor is it just a puzzle-platformer. Fez is an experience. A crazy experience that's clearly the product of some eccentric and passionate game developers -- two, in fact, who are all that comprise Polytron Corporation, the game's Montreal-based developer. Fez is what happens when you mix fancy, high-end modern consoles with 16-bit-era graphics, and put two guys with very serious detail obsession in control. In short, Fez is very, very impressive.
Fez being co-published by Trapdoor
Before jumping around Villageville with Gomez in Polytron's Fez at PAX East, we couldn't help but notice a bright logo for relatively unknown developer Trapdoor. This might not be so strange if it weren't for the fact that Trapdoor itself isn't a game publisher -- and its own XBLA/PSN/Steam game Warp is being published with EA Partners. When asked about the surprise splash screen, Trapdoor founder Ken Schachter explained it by saying, "We should be issuing a press release this week, but the gist of it is that we're going to be announcing that we're co-publishing Fez." That said, given Trapdoor's ability to co-publish Fez, we wondered why the studio isn't publishing its own game, Warp. "We met with a bunch of publishers, and we weighed a bunch of options, but at the end of the day we were really impressed with the team at EA, and with what they had to bring to the table," Schachter told us. He further explained, "Basically, with regards to EA Partners, they've been really great about letting us be and focus on the creative part. And really just work on our game, and retain ownership of our IP. And they have a world class business, marketing, and PR team. And that's really the best of both worlds." As previously announced, Warp is expected to launch this summer, while Fez should arrive at some point later this year.
EA Partners brings sci-fi/stealth/actioner Warp to PC, PSN, XBLA
EA Partners has pulled the covers off its newest acquisition, Warp, a "unique sci-fi stealth action game" coming from newcomer Trapdoor to XBLA, PSN and PC in the summer of 2011. Well, not "pulled the covers off of" so much as "pulled one little corner up and then pulled it back down right away." Here's everything we know: It "features a top-down sci-fi world with a distinctive art style, addicting levels, hazardous traps and challenging puzzles." Fin. Oh, and we found this picture from the Trapdoor offices. Good luck with that. Listen, we're touched that EA Partners knows us well enough to play upon our Pavlovian desire for products combining the words "stealth," "action," "addicting," "hazardous" and "sci-fi" despite have no context for said descriptors. We just wish it wasn't so good at it.
Trapdoor Toaster releases bread on the bottom, removes trademark "pop"
For whatever reason, toasters are redesigned entirely more often than most any other kitchen gadget, but the Trapdoor Toaster may actually be an alternative worth checking out. First off, the item you see above is no concept -- as a matter of fact, it's available for purchase right now at Hammacher Schlemmer. Essentially, this thing inhales bread, bagels and frozen waffles, toasts 'em to your preferred level of brown / black and then shoots them out below onto a serving tray. Sadly, this removes that iconic eject function that makes traditional toasters so fun to watch, but it does prevent you from scalding your fingertips as you try to dig out slices from the fiery slots. Novel? You bet. Worth the $79.95 asking price? Not on your life.[Via Coolest-Gadgets]
