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Moon footage defies gravity, hardware limitations
Renegade Kid's Moon continues to look like the hotness in the latest videos of the game posted by IGN. These are by far the lengthiest direct-feed clips we've seen to date, and display a fluidity and style that managed to leave a strong impression on both us and Matt "I love Zack & Wiki, me" Casamassina."Moon Out-Metroids MP Hunters," proclaims the latest headline on the IGN editor's blog, and that's not just lazy hyperbole -- we actually agree with him.Take a gander at two more videos past the break.Read: Matt Casamassina frothingRead: Gameplay footage%Gallery-20245%
Moon trailer is short, but beautiful
Wait, are we dreaming, or does Moon look this good? We've seen the game in motion before, but not direct-feed like this. Sure, the clip is only seconds long, but those are some lovely graphics over those few seconds. While we'd like to have had some gameplay included in the clip above, we'll certainly take this. It looks like Moon is going to have to be bumped up a couple places on our list of highly-anticipated DS games.%Gallery-20245%
First Moon explorations were on the Game Boy Color
GamesRadar interviewed Renegade Kid's Jools Watsham about the company's upcoming DS sci-fi first-person shooter thing Moon, and about the DS in general. The Dementium creator, like other developers, sees too many cheap me-too DS games being thrown into the market, calling it "the inevitable cash-cow-console catastrophe." One bright spot in recent DS releases? Contra 4. When the subject turns away from the awesome Contra 4 and toward Moon, Watsham reveals that Moon has been in the works in one form or another for a long time. It began its life as a Game Boy Color game, before going through "many changes since that original idea" and ending up as an FPS built on the technology used to create Dementium. Technology that other companies want, and that Renegade Kid is considering licensing.While you're reading, you can also have a look at GamesRadar's new screens -- including a very special codec moment.%Gallery-20245%
Major League Eaters become major gamers
The competitive eaters out there are a true inspiration for the children. Everyone felt sick (except the eaters) after the original press event for Major League Eating: The Game, but this time the food is ditched entirely. It's still a tough competition, but the pros are trying their hand at the game itself, munching the Wiimote as if it were made of sweet, sweet candy.In hindsight, the professionals down their food faster than lighting, so it probably wouldn't make much difference if they were eating hot dogs or Wiimotes. They won't be gorging on Nintendo accessories anytime soon, but it's the funniest display of fake eating since, well, this.%Gallery-20043%
WiiWare developer argues the case for shovelware
One of the biggest criticisms routinely thrown at the Wii is related to the amount of shovelware that has popped up on the system, yet not everybody is convinced that the likes of Pool Party and Rig Racer 2 are a force for evil. Chatting to Next-Gen.biz about his company's forthcoming Major League Eating: The Game, Mastiff chief Bill Swartz seemed to defend the wealth of filler software that appears on Nintendo's machine, arguing that a wider range of games will ultimately yield more gems, and that consumers are perfectly capable of making their own choice.For what it's worth, we agree that bigger libraries generally produce a greater number of top-drawer titles -- the PlayStation 2 is a fine example of this trend -- but we're not so sure about the second part. Are consumers really educated enough about games to make a good choice? Game Party's continued success in the UK suggests not.
Mastiff promotes Major League Eating with record-breaking act of gluttony
At a press event for Mastiff's virtual maw-filler Major League Eating: The Game, professional eater Tim Janus (the guy with the face paint in the screenshots) broke the world record for sushi-eating, devouring 141 pieces of sushi in six minutes. Imagine being a hapless member of the gaming press, walking into a normal game demo and ending up with a ringside seat for a guy cramming sushi into his mouth. We were a little taken aback by simply reading the press release today. If, for some reason, you'd like to see video of the momentous occasion, CNet recorded it.This is easily the most disgusting thing done to promote a game since Acclaim's "Turok" baby-naming promotion. And it's not even that sushi is a disgusting food -- it's just not the kind of thing we'd want to see someone eat a lot of. Speaking of seeing a lot of things, be sure to feast on our newly updated gallery!%Gallery-20043%[Via press release]
Moon footage is out of this world
Just as with Dementium: The Ward, Renegade Kid is all about letting us see every aspect of their games, and when we're getting a peek at something that looks as awesome as Moon, we appreciate it. Creative Director Jools Watsham updated his blog at IGN with a short video that features some low quality footage of the game, and even through a pokey webcam, it looks incredible. He pauses on the screenshot to the right, so we've included it for comparison. Check out the video after the break to see the gorgeous base in full motion!%Gallery-20245%
Joystiq hands-on: Major League Eating: The Game (WiiWare)
Major League Eating: The Game initially seemed to be a weak concept for a licensed title. Is eating actually a game? How do you turn one tenuous "sport" into a tenuous videogame?Mastiff has met that challenge by embellishing on competitive eating, spinning the contests into a fantasy world of power-ups, attacks, and other tested game elements. I'm still doubtful that I'll play Major League Eating: The Game after its release, but I think it'll appeal to other people, especially kids. Any title in which your 3D character loses after 3D vomiting has a built-in audience somewhere.%Gallery-20556%
Renegade Kid says Moon will rock harder than Dementium
You all know we dug Dementiunm. It was a fine title and a decent FPS on a handheld that is seriously lacking in that department. Now, Renegade Kid is preparing their second FPS for Nintendo's handheld in Moon. What should we expect?Well, Renegade Kid's owner and creative director, Jools Watsham, spoke with Joystiq about the new project and reassured us it's going to be something we'll want to play. It's a pretty interesting read, if we may say so. Head on over and check it out already!%Gallery-20245%
Joystiq interview: Renegade Kid versus the Moon
When independent developer Renegade Kid first announced its follow up title to last year's Dementium: the Ward, few details were offered as to what it was exactly that the studio was up to. Titled simply Moon, the game was said to again be played from the first-person, but beyond the vantage and supposed setting, we were left wondering. It didn't take us long to tire of the guessing game however, so we arranged to speak with Renegade Kid's owner and creative director Jools Watsham to find out more about the company's latest offspring, how it differs from Dementium, and why the studio opted to go with a different publisher, in this case Mastiff, rather than Dementium publisher Gamecock. Read on to see what he had to say.%Gallery-20326%
Moon interview sheds some light on past mistakes
First, Renegade Kid did horror. Next up is science fiction for the burgeoning studio, with Moon, a first-person adventure with a trailer featuring a distinct John Carpenter vibe. Jools Watsham, director and producer on Moon, recently spoke with IGN regarding their plans for this title. While most of the interview covers the basics of the game, there are some interesting moments focused on Dementium's flaws and how they're trying to deal with those issues with the development of Moon. Dementium fans will be happy to hear that the save system is being addressed, and it sounds as though the similarity of the level designs from is also much on their minds. From the sound of it, we may be treated to an even better experience this time around -- which would truly be something to see.%Gallery-20245%
Do you trust Major League Eating to feed you?
We'd be afraid to accept food from Major League Eating. We'd worry they'd want to time us while we ate it, or televise it. But if your constitution is bold enough to accept the possibility of such a challenge, then check out the official website for the WiiWare Major League Eating game. Each week for the next 12 weeks, Mastiff will give away eight $15 gift certificates good for a "Food of the Week" as selected by the publisher. This week: pizza!The website doesn't just appeal to your gluttony, either: it appeals to your e-gluttony as well, with new screens (in our gallery!), video and information about the sustenance simulator. Yes, Takeru Kobayashi, the single star of Major League Eating, is in it.Warning: one screenshot contains simulated vomit.%Gallery-20043%[Via press release]
Moon on collision course with DS [Update: First trailer]
Renegade Kid, they of Dementium: The Ward fame, have whipped the covers off of their next DS project. Moon is a series of minigames centered entirely around revealing one's backside in an assortment of hilarious scenarios is the new name for the game formerly known as "Project M," and will take the form of a first-person, sci-fi, action-adventure set in 2058.Featuring isolated lunar bases and mysterious alien hatches, publisher Mastiff describes the experience as "dark, twisted, heart-pounding, frequently violent and always disturbing." We like! Incidentally, Moon will be built on the same engine that powered Dementium. That's good news, because for all of its flaws, Dementium was one heck of a technical achievement.Update: The first Moon trailer just touched down in our inboxes. We've embedded it for your viewing pleasure above.[Via press release]
Renegade Kid's Project M revealed as DS action title 'Moon'
From the fetid halls of Dementium to the vacuous surface of the moon, developer Renegade Kid has proven that it isn't shy about taking its first two projects into uncharted territories. Publisher Mastiff has revealed that the dev's second project, previously known as "Project M," is in fact a futuristic action title for the Nintendo DS simply called Moon.While we'll continue to wait for a simulation of that timeless Saturday night ritual of flashing our bare posteriors to cars on the freeway, Moon instead will take us to the lunar surface in 2058 for a first-person adventure that according to Mastiff's hilariously titled "Head Woof" Bill Swartz is "frequently violent" and "always disturbing." We'll have to take his word for it, as neither screens nor a release date have been released, leaving us to replay Dementium and squint at the screen while mentally replacing crazed mental patients with equally crazed aliens -- we should do all of our previews this way.
Major League Eating to take a bite out of Wii Ware
Well, not so much a "bite" in the traditional sense. To be accurate to the source material, we should say that Major League Eating will dip Wii Ware in a cup of water, and cram it directly into its mouth, two-fisted. Mastiff announced that their Major League Eating: The Game will be released as a Wii Ware launch title on May 12th. Score one for Wii Ware. The game uses a series of Wiimote motions to simulate, uh, "a variety of eating techniques including the cram, toss, and 'typewriter.'"We were ready to write this game off completely (and we still kind of are) but then we saw that this game supports online play. It also has leaderboards, though it remains to be seen whether outstanding performance in the field of fake gorging constitutes leadership.[Via press release]
Major League Eating crammed into WiiWare
Shovelware has graduated to the next level: irony. Turns out Mastiff plans to debut its coveted Major League Eating license on WiiWare, when the service launches May 12. Players will literally simulate the shoveling of food into their mouths using Nintendo's patented Waggletech®. You thought busted TVs were bad? Wait till someone swallows a Wiimote.Major League Eating: The Game features two-player offline play, plus an online mode and leaderboards. Players will be taught to use various techniques -- like the cram, toss and typewriter -- while engaging opponents with an arsenal of 'gurgitatory' weaponry, including bites, burps, belches, mustard gas and jalapeño flames. Burp-offs and hot potato challenges are also con-firmed. This can't be ... Oh yes, it's real.
Mastiff digests Major League Eating game license
It's difficult to decide if we're more intrigued or disgusted with publisher Mastiff's announcement that it has gobbled up the license to release games based on "gurgitory" competition organization Major League Eating. While we still have no idea what platforms, or frankly what audiences Mastiff is targeting, the publisher says that Major League Eating: The Game will play "like a fighting game," as players "show brilliant on-screen eating; a mastery of offensive and defensive weapons including burps, belches, and mustard gas; and of course the technical mastery necessary to avoid emptying one's stomach in a vividly colored reversal of fortune." Honestly, we can't make this stuff up.Truth be told, it's difficult to imagine exactly how these games will pan out, though Mastiff has not yet responded to our inquiry as to whether or not the stomach-centric gameplay will be easier to swallow when soaked in water.
Mastiff to publish Renegade Kid's next game
Mastiff, publisher of games like Gurumin, La Pucelle: Tactics, and the totally excellent Technic Beat, has made a deal with Renegade Kid to publish their next game, codenamed Project M. This announcement comes immediately following the release of Renegade Kid's first game, Dementium: The Ward. The most obviously positive bit of news to take away from this announcement, of course, is that Renegade Kid is making a new game. According to the press release, the game will be in 3D, using the existing Dementium engine. Dementium looks great, and we certainly wouldn't want poor, tiny Renegade Kid to blow any unnecessary resources, so good for them.All we can do now is speculate about what Project M is. The long-awaited Mork and Mindy game? A megaphone simulator in which you yell into the DS and your voice is amplified and distorted by the tiny speakers (in 3D)? Or are we assuming the wrong word stress for "Project", obscuring the game's true identity as an adventure in which your goal is to run around town turning on projectors in order to project the letter M? [Via press release]
Mastiff to publish Renegade Kid's Dementium followup: 'Project M'
Timed to coincide with today's release of the Gamecock-published horror FPS Dementium: The Ward, publisher Mastiff has announced that they'll be taking over the publishing role for developer Renegade Kid's sophomore effort.We still don't know much about the followup, except that it will also be on Nintendo DS, will use the same 3D engine as Dementium, and goes by the ominous working title "Project M." Will it be another M-rated scare fest, or does that 'M' stand for something far less frightening ... maybe Project Mittens or Project Milk (and cookies)? Oh, who are we kidding, look at that skull in their logo! It's probably Project Manhunticide.
Siliconera drives Mr. D out of town
We aren't even sure anyone was looking forward to this one, but we kinda were, a little. The Japanese puzzle-action game Go! Go! Minon is about a superhero who can materialize trails of dominoes. His super power is also his Achilles' heel, since his movement is limited to those trails. Mastiff is rumored to be planning a US release for this as Mr. D Goes to Town. Any time a Japanese game is colorful and quirky, the word Katamari comes out and our ears perk up. In fact, Siliconera mentioned both Katamari Damacy and Gitaroo Man in the first sentence of this article, ensuring that we would read it. Gitaroo Man is a certain blogger's favorite game, and Katamari is pretty close, despite neither of these actually being on Nintendo consoles.Unfortunately, the palette and the wackiness are apparently the only similarities between this and Katamari. Siliconera cites excessively limited domino-dropping gameplay, movement that is also hampered by the domino mechanic, and checkpoints that drop Minon in seemingly random, nonsensical locations as game-breaking issues. It's really too bad the game isn't great, because dude, look at that boxart.
