insecticide
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The only children who will ever play Insecticide (maybe)
You may have noticed that we're big fans of the look and setting of the upcoming buggy noir adventure Insecticide. Why? We like the slick look, the setting, and the humor ... all of which seem pretty adult to us. So color us a little surprised at this new trailer, which is all about children playing Insecticide and loving it. It makes sense, sure. We hear kids sometimes like bugs, and the game is rated ten and up. It's just not what we expected, but we can get on board with it. There's nothing quite like the delighted giggles of children watching bug-on-bug violence.%Gallery-3405%[Via press release]
Preorder Insecticide, be rewarded
We may be making an assumption that Insecticide is going to be good, but that's the gamble of all pre-released games. What isn't in dispute (among the totally partial DS Fanboy staff) is that preordering Insecticide demonstrates good taste in game styles. Insecticide appears to be a humorous adventure game in the style of the very best LucasArts adventures (but with action too). If that's not sufficient enticement to preorder, how about free junk? If you preorder the game at GameStop, you'll get a swanky-looking hardcover art book. Then you can visit the Insecticide website and enter a code found in the book to redeem a free "Bug Blaster." It is a gun that shoots a foam ball! Yay! No, really, we love those.
DS Daily: LOL!
Being the jovial types that we are, there's nothing we enjoy more than a good, hearty belly laugh, and sometimes we struggle to contain our mirth while getting our DS on.WarioWare: Touched! was perhaps the first title to really make us laugh out loud, and more recently Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan and the Ace Attorney games have coaxed a titter or two from us. It's also worth noting that Kaboom Kaboom and Insecticide both look like they could contain a good few chuckles.We can't be alone in this respect, so which DS games crack you up?
Insecticide gets buggy boxart
Following yesterday's sad news regarding Insecticide's release date, we felt horrible that the game had slipped a bit to February. Oh well, if it means a better game, then we'll just have to sit there and take it. But, in checking out more news on the game, we found that JeuxFrance posted up some stuff.In checking out the screens, we found they're all in our gallery below. Nothing new there, but they did have the final boxart for the game, which you see above. Considering we only saw a similar mock-up in a previous trailer and this boxart hasn't been confirmed at Gamecock's site (or the official site for the game), there's a chance this couldn't be the final boxart. But, we're fairly convinced it is.%Gallery-3405%
Buggy investigations on hold as Insecticide slips to February
Like the splattered, twitching remains of an errant fly on a speeding windshield, Insecticide's January 2008 release date is no more. Earlier today, a new release date for the bug-based detective game landed in our inbox, and we trapped it beneath an upturned beaker before it could buzz away again.Which is a very long way of saying: Insecticide now hits stores on February 12th. Booo. A shame for sure, but then a month is pretty bearable, and the last thing we'd want to see is Crackpot being forced to rush this potential gem of an adventure game.%Gallery-3405%[Via press release]
Friday Video: Slither and sleuth
You've just gotta respect a police/detective game that cracks jokes about donuts, and doubly so when the detectives in question are insects. We hear they like crumbs.Gamecock's Insecticide is one of those games we can't help but get excited over. It looks like the total package -- a little adventure, a little action, and a couple of cleverly-named and designed protagonists. Sure, as with so many DS games, it looks better in motion than in stills, but we're used to that. In fact, we find the look of it in motion so irresistible, we're shining our weekly video spotlight squarely on this new trailer. Go on, discover it for yourself ... and check out the updated screens in our gallery below.%Gallery-3405%
A very easy investigation turns up more Insecticide screens
Yesterday, we remarked on the relative lack of coverage of the investigative aspect of Insecticide. We see a lot of screens and video of action, but relatively few of the adventure-game portions. And so we decided to hit the streets and put our detective skills to the test, hunting for new screens of this portion of the game.Then before we started, we got six new screens in our e-mail. We're such awesome investigators that all we have to do is want to investigate. Look! The game has a story! And, yes, conversation trees! There is truly an adventure game hidden in the platformer. That is wonderful. Not only that, but the game's personality is evident from even the tiny snippets of dialogue found in these screens.%Gallery-3405%[Via press release]
A few Insecticide screens creep out
As the January 8th release date approaches, the Insecticide updates seem to be increasing in number. Hopefully the trickle of screens and video will become more of a downpour, helping to keep the game fresh in people's memories. We forget about it ourselves occasionally when discussing anticipated upcoming games, and we are actively interested in it. We need more.The latest screens show more of the platforming aspect of the game -- the bizarre cityscapes that serve as the levels, full of rooftop-jumping and precarious ledges. We admit that we'd like to see a bit more of the investigating. It's the adventure game devotees who will have the most interest in this game, and they aren't as interested in jump puzzles as they are inventory menus and dialogue trees.
Insecticide trailer is excellently visible
Insecticide appears to be shaping up nicely. The action gameplay seen in this latest trailer shows both sharper graphics than we've seen previously, and more responsive-looking movement. We don't think we could have pulled off the kind of acrobatics on display here during our playtest back in August. We fell in love with the quirky insect-noir adventure back then, so seeing marked improvement is wonderfully heartening for us.Speaking of marked improvement: thankfully, publisher Gamecock and developer Crackpot Games have learned to hold the DS on which the game footage plays still. Could our constant complaining about the swirling madness of previous trailers have paid off? We'll have to complain about other stuff now!
The two sides of Insecticide
The folks at Gamespot were recently in the enviable position of having the chance to get their hands on Insecticide, a game we can't help but love, if only for the art style and intriguing concept. One of the best things about Insecticide is that it's almost two games in one; half action platformer, half adventure-style puzzle and investigation sequences. It's the best of both worlds, and Justin Calvert got to try both. Our own JC Fletcher had the same chance at PAX with an earlier version of the title, so we can't help but wonder if some of the rough edges have been smoothed.And it seems there's some good news: Calvert reported only issues with the uneven look of the game, and no platforming problems at all. If that's the case, then it looks like Insecticide only needs a polish to help it realize its potential, and from everything we've seen, that could truly be something great. We're keeping our fingers crossed, in hopes that we'll be getting buggy (and loving it) early next year.
Insecticide continues to be dizzying
We'd love to say it's because the game looks great (it does!) Unfortunately, the cause for our dizziness is the continued use of the "flying DS" style of trailer, in which all efforts to look at the action on the screen are rebuffed by the constant movement of the DS.The effect is only mildly annoying, and it can't prevent all viewing of new Insecticide footage. The trailer focuses on one of the game's action stages, with Chrys Liszt chasing after a suspect through a circuitous level full of precision jumps and rail-thin platforms.Insecticide is due out January 8th, and we're giving it some serious thought.[Via press release]
PAX 07 hands-on: Insecticide
I didn't get as much time with Crackpot's Insecticide as I liked, but I got to mess around in both an action stage and the detective mode, at least superficially enough to know how they worked. I can tell you right away that all three Psychonauts owners, as well as LucasArts adventure fans, are going to want this.The action mode looks and feels just like Psychonauts, with the exception of touch-screen integration, of course, and your character's use of a projectile weapon rather than melee. It's pretty much a standard 3D platformer. The graphics have taken a significant hit compared to the concept art, obviously, but the style of the game (like its neighbor at the Gamecock booth, Dementium) helps cover. The touch-screen control scheme was a little hard to manage, seeming to involve more limbs than a non-arthropod like myself had available. However, I quickly found that I could lock-on to targets with a button, and could therefore avoid the stylus altogether. I fell through platforms a couple of times, but that was actually a pretty common problem for some of the really early versions of games I played at PAX.
Insecticide site gets overhaul
After the game was announced, we were excited to see what Insecticide was bringing to the DS table. We imagined a feast chock full of delicious foods, allowing us to gorge ourselves until our heart's content. Well, until that time when the game releases, we'll just have to settle for some screenshots from the game's website. Check them out in the gallery below.
E307: Great while it lasted
... but all good things must come to an end, eh? It's always nice to wallow in the explosion of news that surrounds a trade show, and even the diminished E3 was no exception. Sure, for Nintendo fans, at least on the DS side, things started out a little slowly, but once the media hit, we no longer had anything to be disappointed about! So what was tops for DS owners? Here's the best -- according to us, at least.Top E3 trailers: Contra 4 -- After all our Contragasms, you knew we were going to say this! Front Mission DS -- What can we say ... we're big fans of ass-kickery. Brain Age 2 -- We know you'll probably disagree with us here, but we can't help it. We a) dig a good, brainy challenge and b) think the selection of games looks even better than before. Less-discussed games we desperately want right now: Professor Layton and all his mysterious locales -- Okay, we wanted this before. But it was mentioned in passing around E3, and now we're more rabid for it than ever! Nintendo Magic -- Another game we weren't sure would head our way, but that just sounds like fun. Advance Wars 2 -- The first is one of the best the DS has to offer, though it seems to rarely get a mention. Worst trailer that should have been awesome:Insecticide, hands down. Please pass us some Dramamine on your way out.Biggest disappointment:Probably the missing wi-fi for Mario Party DS. C'mon, Nintendo, slip it in there! We promise not to complain about friend codes for at least a week.
E307: DS Insecticide trailer dances before our eyes
Insecticide combines a noir theme with visual elements of Psychonauts and personality-filled characters reminiscent of an adventure game. This is our first chance to see any of the actual DS version of the game, however, and something tells us the publisher doesn't want us to see it. The PC trailer certainly didn't get the shaky-cam treatment.Check after the break for a textbook example of how not to make a video game trailer. Seriously, this goes beyond poor editing or bad screen quality and into intentional obfuscation. But it's worth it to check it out, because Crackpot's game looks fantastic.
Insecticide trailer gives us the backstory
After it was announced late last month, we found ourselves excited as to what Insecticide could bring to the DS. Now that we got a glimpse at the embedded backstory trailer, we find ourselves craving it that much more. The game looks like it will have a lot of charm.Check out the concept art in the gallery below and be sure to head past the break for the trailer.%Gallery-3405%
Today's scurriest video: Insecticide
Scheduled for release later this year, Insecticide could make an interesting adventure, as seen in its new backstory trailer. Insecticide is in the first crop of Gamecock titles strutting to market. This PC and DS game is created by Crackpot Entertainment, which boasts adventure game veterans with ties to the classic LucasArts hits.We're still unclear about the actual gameplay -- the companies involved say it'll be in that classic vein -- but the game's style already has our hopes high. See the video, and count the legs after the break.
Gamecock details EIEIO party
In case you missed the information in our interview with co-founder Mike Wilson, the GameCock EIEIO party will be held at Hotel California, coinciding with Min-E3, at the following times: Wednesday, 11 July: noon until 6 p.m. Thursday, 12 July: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, 13 July: noon until 4 p.m. According to the press release, Gamecock suckers, accessible developers and food and drink will be available. Expected playable games include Fury (PC), Insecticide (PC, DS), Dementium: The Ward (DS) Hail to the Chimp, Mushroom Men (DS, Wii) and Dungeon Hero (PC, Xbox 360). If Wilson gets his way, there may also be a New Orleans- or Vikings-style funeral for E3. No word on if Old McDonald will host the event.[Update: corrected the months]
Insecticide: LucasArts alums bring us DS adventure game
Announced back in February as one of Gamecock's initial offerings, Insecticide is a "classically styled action adventure detective game" being released for the Nintendo DS and PC platforms. Couple that classical genre with "the look and feel of gritty gumshoe films [in] a futuristic city where insects have become the dominant race" and we think we're in love. While an unlikely pair on the surface, the precision of the DS and PC are a natural fit for the point-and-click input one usually associates with this sort of game. Developer Crackpot Entertainment's gaming pedigree reads like a list of the best classic LucasArts adventure games: Day of the Tentacle, Sam & Max Hit The Road, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, and Curse of Monkey Island. Seeing as how each and every one of those games is our favorite game ever, we're excited by the prospects of this insectoid indie, which is due to crawl onto the aforementioned platforms this holiday season.%Gallery-3426%
The DS gets buggy
Gamecock Media, the new publisher formed by former Gathering of Developers executives, have announced a new DS game from Crackpot Entertainment: a "third-person shooter/detective game" called Insecticide. The game, also coming out for PC, stars Detectives Chrys Liszt and Roachy Caruthers as they attempt to solve a murder at the Nectarola soft drink company. In addition to shooting bad guys, players will have to investigate environments and clues using the stylus.We are loving the concept art. It's got a great detective-thriller atmosphere combined with Psychonauts styling, which is very appropriate for what looks and sounds a whole lot like an adventure game. Obviously this art is a little too hi-res for DS, but we hope they can pull off a similar look.%Gallery-3405%[Via press release]
