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Vicious Engine 2 adds Wii, PS2 and PSP
[smilingsquid] Vicious Cycle today announced that the second iteration of its Vicious Engine is getting set to ... viciously tear apart the innards of the Wii, PlayStation 2 and PSP. Wait, that doesn't sound very nice at all! What we mean to say is that the engine that brought you Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond for XBLA is heading to ... okay, that's not helping too much either. Anyway, for the past year, Vicious Engine 2 has been available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but today's news announces the game creation tools' ubiquity across pretty much everything else. Vicious Cycle will be next showing off the engine for the aforementioned consoles at GDC next month, where game industry folks and journalists will get a chance to see it in action. With any luck, they won't be deterred by the "Vicious Cycle" signs surrounding the booth.
Serious Sam HD tops XBLA January sales
We've flipped another page on the giant-sized "Helicopters of 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand" calendar at Joystiq HQ, and that means it's time once again for GamerBytes' terrific look at the month's XBLA sales. The big winner for January was Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter, which had over 35,000 players by month's end, followed by Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment, which brought in nearly 21,000. The "You're Bumming Us Out" award for January has to go to Matt Hazard: Blood, Bath and Beyond, which has no data "as the game appears to have broken lists." Seriously, Matt Hazard: BBB, you're bumming us out.
Matt Hazard: Blood Bath & Beyond receives postmortem
Matt Hazard: Blood Bath & Beyond was in the unfortunate position of being a not-so-bad follow-up to a pretty darn bad game. As if we needed to feel even worse for it, Gamasutra has released one of its all-too-humanizing postmortems centered on the PSN and XBLA release. Developer Vicious Cycle's revelations about underestimating the work a downloadable game would take are interesting, but we're kind of disappointed that the "What went wrong" section isn't just "The first Matt Hazard game" in big letters.
PSN Thursday: Into the Dark Void of 2010
Today's PSN update, the first of 2010, isn't exactly packed, but there's some good stuff in there. Check out the Dark Void and Matt Hazard demos. There's also the latest Borderlands expansion pack, which takes players to the Underdome. On PSP, there's a whole lotta comics to download. Check out the full PSN update after the break. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
X3F TV -- XBLA in Brief: Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond
This week on XBLA, we've got Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond. Like its retail predecessor, Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard, Blood Bath and Beyond is an action game that parodies other video games. Thankfully, the gameplay seems to hold up its end of the bargain this time, offering a decent hardcore shooter experience, though the 1200 ($15) seems a bit steep. Check out the latest XBLA in Brief and see if Blood Bath and Beyond is for you. Shortcut: Download the trial version of Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond [via Xbox.com] [iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes. [Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly. [RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [M4V] Download the M4V directly.
This Wednesday: Matt Hazard brings 'Blood Bath & Beyond' to XBLA, PSN on Thursday
Faux video game legend Matt Hazard returns (this time, for real) in Blood Bath & Beyond, blasting his way onto XBLA and PSN this Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. The 2D side-scroller has the protagonist battling through his "classic" gaming past, fighting "pirates to penguins; lighthouses to laser-wielding astronauts; Mounties to mechanical rhinos" for $15 (1200). The idea behind Matt Hazard sounds so perfect on paper: take thirty years of video game cliches and mock them. Sadly, as evidenced by Matt Hazard's first outing, Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard, instead of creating humor from the conventions, it ironically relied on them for the core gameplay -- thus, creating a game that invariably could mock itself and was its own punchline. Hopefully, this time around Hazard will make the jokes instead of being one. %Gallery-74470% Source -- This week on Arcade: Matt Hazard [Major Nelson] Source -- Parody Alert!!! Matt Hazard [PS Blog]
Parody for charity: Retro Matt Hazard stuff on eBay
click to go down Fake Memory Lane in our galleryThe best part of the Matt Hazard series, in our opinion, is the part that doesn't exist -- the fake retro series which the new games pretend to reboot. While the classic Matt Hazard games aren't precisely real, you can now buy the cartridges on eBay. To benefit Child's Play, D3 is selling mockup Hazard memorabilia, including nonfunctional game cartridges and functional Haz-Matt Carts shirts -- and, of course, slap bracelets -- in four simultaneous auctions. It's kind of the opposite of digital distribution: instead of getting a game without physical media, delivered over the internet, you'll get cartridges with no game inside through the mail. %Gallery-80446%
Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond dated for Jan. 6
D3Publisher's Matt Hazard: Blood Bath & Beyond now has a date with both Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. It will arrive on January 6 and 7 on Microsoft and Sony's platforms, respectively. Playing on the same camp featured in the original retail Matt Hazard game -- which parodied other games and featured an aging video game star -- Blood Bath & Beyond is a 2D shooter in the same vein as many classics like Contra and Bionic Commando. Alongside the release date, D3 has also revealed Dexter Dare, Matt Hazard's burnt out sidekick with a sordid history -- including a prolonged "Mana abuse problem" that we're probably supposed to find hilarious. Check out some new screens and Dexter Dare character art in the gallery below. %Gallery-79162%
Hands-on: Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond
As disastrous as the first game was, there's no denying that the Matt Hazard concept has potential. The games industry has been around for decades now, and it's ripe with material to poke fun at. Blood Bath and Beyond, D3's upcoming download-only sequel to the first Matt Hazard, embraces the legacy of retro games by becoming one: this side-scrolling 2D shooter is unapologetically old-school. Matt Hazard's "in your face" attitude is immediately evident from the moment you see the difficulty select screen. You can traverse the game through "Wussy" mode, but real gamers will want to play in "Damn This is Hard" mode -- with the most daring playing the Contra-inspired "F**k This S**t" mode, which kills players in just one hit. Like its retail predecessor, Blood Bath and Beyond struggles to be innovative. However, at least this iteration of Matt Hazard succeeds far more at getting the basics right. This is a simple game: simply run around shooting enemies. Weapon selection is gone, as well. You can run over power-up boxes and use upgraded weapons (like flamethrowers and shotguns) with finite ammo. %Gallery-74470%
Matt Hazard trailers put out-of-work characters back in the game
It must be tough being a video game character. They always have to be "on" -- ready to go should we boot up our systems or pump more quarters into the machines. But what happens when we stop turning them on? A two-part trailer for the second-chance Matt Hazard: Blood Bath & Beyond (now a side-scroller!) explores the more desperate side of the digital beings we've so carelessly abused and sold back to GameStop.Head past the break for the two trailers and see if you can spot all of the cameos! (You know it's hard times when even a certain mustached plumber can't find any work.)
Matt Hazard returns in Blood, Bath and Beyond
click for high-res gallery ... of Matt Hazard You probably weren't eagerly awaiting the return of self-aware game hero Matt Hazard. Oh sure, it's kind of a funny premise, but so was Ishtar and we all saw how that worked out. Besides, if you want to softly chuckle as you play a miserable game, the first Matt Hazard title is probably available for a pittance. Regardless, we've brought you to this post to alert you to the existence Matt Hazard: Blood, Bath and Beyond now (officially) coming to XBLA and PSN. It's a really great name, but judging from the screenshot, we're assuming Darkened Structure was taken. %Gallery-74470%
D3 trademarks new Matt Hazard title
Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard was not a very good game. In fact, it kind of made our hearts hurt a little bit to play it. So, when we read that D3 had trademarked another Matt Hazard title, we were going to just let the opportunity to write about it slide by.But that's when we read that the new title was "Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond," which really yanked the decision out of our hands. C'mon, "Blood Bath and Beyond"? That's hilarious. We're not sure if it's for the "retro" XBLA/PSN Matt Hazard game announced in February or a new sequel, but either way, a great name. ... Not that we'll play it.
