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Bone: DS adventure renaissance continues [update 1]
[Update 1: The announcement was about Bone for the PC and not for the DS. It mentions that the publisher is "focusing on the PC and Nintendo DS markets", not the game. We apologize for the misunderstanding. Thanks to eric c for the correction!]Before the episodic Sam & Max games, Telltale Games were known among adventure game holdouts for their adaptations of Jeff Smith's Bone comic series. They followed a similar business model: periodic, bite-sized chunks of delicious puzzle solving, set in cult comic book trappings.Now publisher Xider is bringing the Bone games to the DS PC and unidentified games to the DS in Europe in 2007. We hope that they decide to bring them stateside as well, and that they don't decide to shoehorn weird touch screen/microphone puzzles into what is supposed to be a pretty good adventure series. It's still possible, but the identities of the DS games have yet to be announced.We're so proud of our little DS, bringing back two of our favorite long-lost game genres: the graphical text adventure and the 3D adventure game.
Dandella handheld GPS devices simplify navigation
The methods available to track your youngsters are growing by the week it seems, but for those looking to acquire a less voyeuristic (and likely more effective) way of tracking down your wandering kids, Dandella's for you. Taking home the gold at the International Design Competition Osaka, the dandelion-inspired GPS sticks come with a flower pot vase that syncs with your computer in order to select a "home" point in which the device continually seeks to be near. Designers Yong-kai Tan and Priscilla Lui's invention was spurned by the need to "simply find someone" if you get detached in a busy theme park or office building, and if each stick is programmed to find one another, even a child should be able to walk in the direction that the flexible, LED lit tip points. Additionally, it packs built-in Bluetooth in order to sync with mobile devices or other wireless computers, and gets powered by an integrated Li-ion battery. Now, how in the world do we choose just one location? Decisions, decisions.[Via PopGadget]
Sony wants you to watch 24, Lost on your PSP
Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe is in talks with Sky, trying to get it to distribute content for PSP users. Programs that are broadcast by Sky in the UK and Ireland include 24, Lost, The Simpsons, Deadwood, and more. This partnership will be crucial for Sony's plans in educating the general public about the multimedia functionality of Sony's handheld.The service will supposedly launch by year's end. There's no indication that Sony Computer Entertainment of America will follow suit with a similar program.[Via PALGN]
DS Daily: The new book?
The adventure genre peaked in the early to mid 90's. And then it crashed. Hard. As it trudged along through the years, essentially dead but for rare gems like The Longest Journey, it slowly faded from the minds of modern gamers.The point-and-click capabilities of the DS have certainly given the once-zombified genre a much-needed jolt. We've seen excellent offerings, including the superlative Phoenix Wright series, the soon-to-be-released Hotel Dusk: Room 215, Trace Memory, Lost in Blue, and a few others (let's not even mention the ScummVM homebrew project). But the DS gives these games something they could have never had in the nineties: absolute portability. It's almost as though these games compete directly with the classic novel, something which has never really been seen even amongst the myriad of gadgets anyone can go out and readily purchase.Our question is this: how does a DS adventure game compare to that of a classic book? What would you rather whip out on the way to work? Phoenix Wright 2 has had our hearts and minds in a legal grip for days on end. You may not look as smart as those punks reading Vonnegut, but that's okay. You look cooler.
The titles you may have missed
Cheap-Ass Gamer made an important observation: the DS just had far too many AAA titles in 2006 for its own good. Amongst the chaos and personal financial destruction of games like New Super Mario Bros, Metroid Prime: Hunters, Final Fantasy III, and Brain Age, it was quite easy to miss some of the gems hidden in the rough. Thus, CAG has made a list of games you might want to go back and visit as the holiday game rush ends (though not really ... Phoenix Wright 2 comes out this month and is certainly your first priority). Check it out, and discover the lost.
Lost in Lost in Blue 2 screens
DS-x2 got a hold of some screens for the upcoming sequel to Lost in Blue. What's the most surprising about them is the confirmation that the game will take place on a desert island. We totally didn't see that coming! Now, we never played the first game, so we have no frame of reference on whether to be excited or disappointed at the idea of a sequel, but that's why we have you, fine reader!Continue past the jump to catch the screens and leave a comment telling us how you feel about a Lost in Blue sequel. What did you love/hate about the first game?
ESPN airing 2007 Hula Bowl in HDTV
That ESPN is airing a college football game in HD isn't news, that the game is in Hawaii and will look just as good as Lost on your HDTV, is. Due to the cost of shipping the necessary equipment to the islands, the Pro Bowl and other games relegated to 480i. Even this year, the Hawaii Bowl on December 24th will be the only ESPN bowl game not in HD, but on January 14th the 2007 Hula Bowl college all-star game will be in high definition. The reason for the switch? A poll after a recent college game on ESPN indicated 13% of viewers watched it in HD, and 32% of those people said the fact it was in HD influenced their decision to watch it. Whether or not HDTV is a viable business model for broadcasters may still be open to interpretation for some, ESPN is putting its money where its mouth is and making this happen by paying another company to ship the necessary equipment by air in time for the game. Here's hoping this attitude extends to the Pro Bowl and other sporting events in 2007.
LOST cast gets a Mii makeover
If you aren't one of the millions of people already hooked on the TV series, LOST ... where the hell have you been? Trying to find logic inside Sony madness, no doubt. In honor of the Mii system, the cast of the series has been caricature-ified. Looks like no one will be safe from getting turned into a Mii. We wonder how many other famous people will get duplicated using this system. Maybe someone out there with too much time on their hands will create crazy celebrity couples like Brangelina or Bennifer or another silly made-up media term to keep the drones happy. [Thanks aReEeNeN!]
How iTunes saved NBC's 'The Office'
Our old friend Dave pointed us to a Newsday article discussing how iTunes essentially took NBC's The Office off the chopping block, where it was headed last year after disappointing Nielsen ratings, and catapulted it to "the Seinfeld of iTunes." If you're not a Seinfeld fan that might be meaningless to you, but trust me when I say It's the BEST, Jerry! The BEST!* Only recently did The Office cede the top spot to Lost as the single most downloaded program weekly, not to mention nabbing an Emmy (well-deserved, IMO) for Best Comedy. Angela Bromstead, president of NBC Universal, which owns and produces The Office had this to say: "I'm not sure that we'd still have the show on the air." The network had only ordered so many episodes, but when it went on iTunes and really started taking off, that gave us another way to see the true potential other than just Nielsen. It just kind of happened at a great time." Of course Nielsen is getting hip to the power of iTunes + iPod itself these days.Newer shows like 30 Rock and Jericho are also expected to be a big iTunes sellers when/if they hit the iTS, despite their currently poor Nielsen showings and may save their respective fates as well.The article goes on to talk about what doesn't sell well on iTunes. "Nielsen hits such as CSI: Miami or NCIS are no-shows in the top 50. The Simpsons? Nada (which is not on iTunes at all... even though Prison Break is a stalwart). What does any of this mean? Who knows - except, perhaps that serials and guy-oriented shows are the biggest beneficiaries of the iTunes effect." Personally I think iTunes is only part of this revolution. The networks themselves are getting smarter about putting their shows online, on their own websites, which may not be as convenient or trendy as iTunes, but it's certainly a start. With all the timeshifting and placeshifting going on these days anyway, Prime Time Television as we have known it for many years is going away sooner rather than later. iTunes is really only the beginning of the revolution. It's not the be all and end all.Thanks, Dave! *It's purely coincidence that I had not one, but two opportunities to reference Seinfeld today. Life is good.
Lost Season 1 hitting Blu-ray next summer?
Lost fansite The Tail Section is reporting that sources from ABCs marketing department have indicated Disney's home video arm, Buena Vista is close to announcing a series of HDTV shows coming to Blu-ray boxed sets next year. ABC's Lost would be the flagship of the lineup and include many extras not available on the already successful DVD release. Unfortunately, if you thought the $79 Smallville Season 5 boxed set was high priced you may want to sit down as the rumor pegs a single season of Lost at $200. Future plans would include releasing shows in in two-episode discs, for $20 each. Lost is still a wildly popular series, but $200 per season is just a bit much, no matter what the extras...but you do want to be able to catch every single detail right?
HDTV Listings for October 4, 2006
What we're watching: Lost. The big one is back, one of the most popular HD shows of the last two seasons makes it's season debut tonight. TV Squad will be live blogging the episode if the recap episode and music video weren't enough for you. After Lost is the series premiere of The Nine. Something odd happened during a bank robbery turned hostage situation and if the show is anything like Lost, we suspect they'll spend a whole season not telling us what it was. Also returning tonight is hockey, with Sabres at Hurricanes on INHD. Finally, no matter what your program guide says, America's Next Top Model is not in HD.Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
TGS 06: Lost Regnum impresses
One game that we haven't heard a lot about is Goshow's Lost Regnum, but the game, which is a dungeon-crawling hack 'n slasher, found its way to the Tokyo Game Show.While currently it doesn't seem likely the game will make its way across the pond, IGN says the gameplay is straightforward enough that it should make for a great import.In Lost Regnum, you control one of four characters and can team up with a pal to play two-player co-op throughout the game. Graphically, the game seems to be pretty impressive with nice textures and detailed characters that move very well. And to make it even better, loading was nearly non-existent. However, all good things come at a price, right? It seems Goshow had to cut some corners by limiting the draw distance by the ever-dreaded fog.The biggest hurdle Goshow has, like any developer has in making a game of this ilk, is keeping the combat fresh and unrepetitive. If they can deliver, they may have a great game on their hands and one worthy of an import.(Via IGN)
Ubisoft "accidentally" leaks tons of assets
Over two gigs worth of screenshots, videos, and concept art was apparently accidentally posted by Ubisoft on their public ftp server. Whoops. While some of these games have already been announced, some haven't, although there aren't any real surprises here: Assassins Creed, Farcry 2, Farcry PSP, Farcry Wii, Lost, Naruto, Open Season, Prince of Persia, Rainbow Six: Vegas, Rocky PSP, Splinter Cell Double Agent, Splinter Cell Conviction, Surf's Up, Star Wars PSP, Shaun White, TMNT, and TMNT GBA. Ubisoft isn't too pleased about the leak either, stating,"The publication of this type of information can only be harmful to the game development process and we will take all steps necessary to prevent this from happening in the future."While we can understand why Ubisoft wouldn't want employees or summer interns posting confidential information on the internet, how does it harm the game development process? We can understand if the raw code for Splinter Cell: Conviction got out, or if a disgruntled programmer posted a disk image of Far Cry 2, but screenshots and videos? And while TGS is unfolding? Color us suspicious.
ABCs million-download giveaway
It's promo time! In an attempt to woo new customers ABC is giving away free copies of last season's finales of Lost, Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy [iTunes link]. One million of 'em, in fact. If you've been wanting to try out that shiny new iPod you just bought, here's your no-risk opportunity. Get 'em while they're hot!
Clive Thompson on episodic gaming (he's in love with Alyx too)
Wired's Clive Thompson does the "episodic games are cool" thing and rounds all the usual bases: 24 and Lost are the television paradigms; episodic games are great for busy adults; Alyx is worthy of your adoration of geek lust. He writes, "There's an intimacy to episodic stories, and it's all the more intensified in a game because you literally go through hell with these folks. After Half-Life 2 and Episode One, I was pretty much in love with Alyx, one of the spunkiest and best-acted virtual characters I've ever seen."Hear hear! While Alyx played a pivotal role in HL2, she's playing alongside you in Episode One. Valve calls it "single-player co-op" and, like the paradigm of co-op multiplayer, Alyx feels like a buddy you're running through the game with. Like the lives of your favorite soap stars (or Jack Bauer, whatever) Alyx will be as important as the serialized story or the additional gameplay in convincing gamers to return for each consecutive HL2 episode. Now if they could only start getting these things out the door monthly ... weekly ... daily ...[Via collision detection]
Exclusive footage from the "Lost" game
ABC's Jimmy Kimmel managed to get his hands on an advance copy of the Lost video game. "One of the guys at the office played it all day today", and as you'll see, he certainly seemed to enjoy it.
Omni Group introduces OmniDazzle - "mesmerizing mouse movements"
After weeks of ambiguous hints and torturous teasing, The Omni Group has unveiled their newest product, and it definitely isn't a Sweedish meatball maker. Introducing: OmniDazzle, a "set of fun and useful enhancements that help you track the location of your mouse pointer and provide options for highlighting certain areas of your screen". Basically, it's like one of those mouse-trailing toys tools with some actually useful goodness baked in. For example, OmniDazzle can place a spotlight on your mouse, dimming the background and helping you or your audience focus on what's important. It offers other interesting tools for pinpointing your mouse and even drawing on screen for those times when crayons just won't do. In fact, there's a lot of quirky (and handy) stuff OmniDazzle is capable of, so why not check it out while it's in beta?
HDTV Listings for May 24, 2006
What we're watching: Lost, Lost, Lost. We'd say maybe this is the episode where we get some answers, but we all know better than to expect that from this show by now. Anyway, check out the recap at 8 p.m. and the two hour season finale at 9 (hopefully it will actually be in HD, but with ABC apparently you never know). Also wrapping up tonight is American Idol, so you may have a fight on your hands for the remote during the one hour overlap of the two. On TNT best friends and former teammates Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki face off to decide who will represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals this year, tip-off is 8:30 p.m.Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
Lost game coming to PSP?
According to a press release issued by Ubisoft, the company's Montréal studio is going to be bringing a game based on the popular television show Lost to gamers in 2007. While no consoles were specifically named, a line from the press release stating that the game would be coming to "home and portable consoles as well as PCs" has us hoping thinking PSP.As a big fan of the show, I'm pretty excited that a game based on the show is going to see the light of day. In attempting to think of how a game like this would play, however, I'm a bit stumped. It's not like the PSP would allow for episodic content, so that idea is out (or is it?). How do all of you out there think a game like Lost could excel on the platform?
HDTV Listings for May 22, 2006
What we're watching: Sydney Bristow vs. Jack Bauer for one night only. Alias surprises us with a move to Monday for a two hour Rambaldi-revealing series finale. 24 also puts a two hour season finale on deck, accompanied by King of Queens, Two and a Half Men, the last two episodes of New Adventures of Old Christine and CSI: Miami.Not to be forgotten are the ongoing NHL playoffs, as well as two NBA Game 7s. We finally find out who will be going to the conference finals and who will be going home with Mavericks vs. Spurs at 8 p.m. followed by Suns vs. Clippers at 10:30. Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
