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Sam & Max Season 2 starts this Fall
Telltale Games has officially announced the upcoming return of gaming's deadpan dog and hyper-kinetic rabbity thing, Sam & Max. The uniquely untrained detective duo is back this Fall in a second season of episodic entanglements, playfully putting the kibosh on crime and successfully solving brazenly bizarre, yet intensely intriguing mysteries through the obnoxious overuse of ludicrous lagomorphs and amazingly awful alliteration. Next paragraph! "We're keeping the general structure and gameplay, and focusing on telling farther-reaching, crazier stories," says Telltale's design director, Dave Grossman. He notes that there will be several changes in store, prompted by both the desire to "to make the most fun games anyone has ever played" and fan feedback obtained during Sam & Max's episodic debut. That should translate to more varied locations, longer episodes, tougher puzzles and more adorable cats -- if we're reading these message boards right. Sam & Max Season Two episodes will arrive on the GameTap subscription service first and become available for purchase on Telltale's website the next day. No pricing has been announced for the individual downloads yet, but more information on the season will be divulged at tomorrow's San Diego Comic-Con in a panel entitled "Episodic Games and Comics – Made for Each Other." Look for it in room 1AB from 11:30 to 12:30 if you're attending.
GameTap Thursday: Welcome back, King of Fighters
Prize members of the King of Fighters cast say goodbye this week as we say hello to the 2002 edition of the series. It's a bittersweet release week for GameTap as we welcome back SNK's flagship fighter, get more out of The Last Blade and deal with the possibility of time traveling wizards. The King of Fighters 2002 (Neo-Geo) - After three years of slumming it, the King of Fighters series returned in 2002 with one of the most fluid and accessible entries in the series. Aside from being a return to form, this is the last true KOF title in which to fully experience the likes of May Lee, Kula Diamond, K9999 and fan service favorite, Angel. The Last Blade 2 (Neo-Geo) - Purists will argue until the sun explodes as to which of the two is better, but we prefer the sequel with its expanded cast and more defined characteristics. Exploitable, but still leagues beyond ... Samurai Shodown V (Neo-Geo) - Also known as Samurai Spirits Zero, SSV represents the worst of the 2D series. There's not much to say other than it is completely and utterly busted. Not that it matters with The Last Blade 2 hanging around. Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (PC) - The ultimate "be a bald guy and kill people" simulation. Keep in mind that the remaining two games in this series will be coming to GameTap as well. Legacy of Kain: Defiance (PC) - The incomprehensible plot winds down in this finale ... or does it? If you choose to play through Defiance and things stop making sense to you, that means one of three things happened: wizards, time travel or both. For those not willing to part with their ten bucks, the Free Play section now has 45 titles to choose from and has recently added the arcade hits Captain Commando and Ghouls and Ghosts. Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness has also made its way to Free Play, which is probably where it should have been to begin with.
GameTap and Strategy First sign multi-year deal for exclusive content
Strategy First, the Canadian creators behind hit franchises such as Galactic Civilizations and Jagged Alliance, have laid down new ink with GameTap and expanded their agreement until the year 2012. As Strategy First already has their fair share of titles available on Turner's all-you-can-eat gaming service, the big story is that from now on, all of their new releases will be made available on GameTap for exclusive online play, beginning with Call for Heroes, GODS and Enemy Engaged 2.Other benefits from this deal include more of those lovely day and date titles, though none were mentioned specifically. While also available on Steam, GameTap will be releasing their titles for digital distribution, should you not want to cough up ten bucks a month.
GameTap Thursday: The Last Blade is here
We'd like to welcome all you Mac gamers to the fold this week as we take a look at the new titles released today on GameTap. As for everyone else, the Summer Throwdown promotion is starting to heat up with one of the finest fighters ever produced by SNK. I'm of course talking about ... The Last Blade (Neo-Geo) - Not to sound like an infomercial but if you like Samurai Shodown, you're going to love The Last Blade. For lore nerds, this is also the first title that Guilty Gear creator Daisuke Ishiwatari worked on, meaning it's quality through and through. Samurai Shodown IV (Neo-Geo) - Well, this just got awkward. The appearance of SamShoIV definitely makes up for that nasty Samurai Shodown III business last week. If only we could say the same for ... The King of Fighters 2001 (Neo-Geo) - What else can we say about this poor game other than it is, without question, totally busted. The last in a shameful three years of the series, next week's 2002 release will make you a believer once again. Metal Slug 5 (Neo-Geo) - Still not in the same league as previous entries in the series but a definite step up Metal Slug 4. Bloodrayne (PC) - Also known as the game in the series without pole dance fighting. Space Quest IV (PC) - The floppy disc game that, back in 1991, cost well over $1,000,000 to produce. Hachi machi! It's a fine week for releases but E3 is preventing us from enjoying it. So get out there and play some Last Blade. Do it for us! Do it for the Gipper!
GameTap Lite client (finally) released
The long awaited GameTap client for the Mac is out (direct download right here), and our (newly redesigned) sister site for all things gaming Joystiq put together this video (complete with music from "Psycho Mother$*#^ing Soldier"), along with a pictoral preview of what you can expect when you download and install.According to Joystiq, the Transgaming setup works very well-- they even found an Xbox 360 controller driver to use with it, and the client brought them right into OS X arcade gaming heaven. There are apparently some games you can play for free, but most games will require a subscription; we're told it's 99 cents for the first month, and it'll be about $7 to $10 a month after that, depending on how often you pay. This client is actually the "Lite" version-- GameTap says the deluxe version is coming later this year which will offer full screen gameplay, the ability to download more games while playing, and "a richer game environment," whatever that means. What are you waiting for? Download that sucker and go psycho, solider!
Joystiq tour: GameTap Mac client
After missing its target date for two weeks in a row, GameTap for Mac has finally arrived. Though it's only the ad-supported, albeit free Lite client, there's still a mountain of games for Apple fans to tackle until the Deluxe client is released later this year. Being fans of both classic gaming and all things Mac, we've torn into this release with a ferocity matched only by children on a Christmas morning.What awaits the glorious splendor of your Mac? Dig in after the break as we take you from installation to domination: Pyscho Soldier style.
GameTap Thursday: Mark Hamill Edition [Update: more games added!]
Proof that you just can't win them all, this weeks GameTap releases features more than its share of stinkers. Well, that's a fairly negative way to put it. Look at it this way: if you were too young to appreciate the FMV craze of the 90's, Wing Commander IV has more of it than the entire Sega CD catalog combined. And speaking of which --
