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One Shots: Mutant masochists
One of the quickest ways to my heart -- and to the top of a weekly One Shots column -- is to send me in something that I haven't seen before or an MMO that hardly ever makes it to my inbox. That's why I'm kicking off with this submission from Zulika featuring Auto Assault, the post-apocalyptic vehicle game that lived but for a brief time. "Notice the faint quest marker above the head of the lady suspended by chains and hooks. If I remember correctly, this was taken in some quest hub full of mutant masochists. Even though it was just in a game, it still felt odd," wrote Zulika. Odd in most situations, true, but for MMO players it's just the latest in a long calvacade of weirdness that we witness every day. Let's get this parade going!
Going mobile 'sunk' Mutant Football League's first go at Kickstarter
Mutant Football League will make a return to Kickstarter in late spring following an unsuccessful crowdfunding campaign last year, project creator Michael Mendheim told Joystiq. The project's first pass at Kickstarter ended in October without reaching its $750,000 goal, raising $141,821 in support. According to data gathered in our own Crowdfund Bookie, successful gaming projects on Kickstarter and Indiegogo earn roughly $25,000 on average. Often, those successful campaigns are targeted at a few particular platforms, whereas Mutant Football League's scope spanned from mobile platforms to home consoles at the outset. Mendheim initially gathered input from other developers and industry veterans that had experience running Kickstarter campaigns. Their suggestion was for Mendheim to focus on mobile platforms, which didn't fare well at Kickstarter. "So I led my Kickstarter campaign with mobile, and the backlash to that was just unbelievable," Mendheim said. "We were sunk that first day." The logic follows that Mendheim's first attempt at raising funds for the project might have been a success with more moderate goals, which he plans to rectify this spring by lowering his ambitions. Not only will the upcoming crowdfunding campaign's monetary goal be significantly lowered, but the developer will continue Mutant Football League's development on PC for the time being, with other platforms to eventually follow.
Defiance video spotlights mutants
Those planning on picking up Defiance and spending some time in this war-torn world come spring should be prepared for the horrors that they'll face. This is why Trion Worlds has delivered a new video highlighting one of the enemy races of the game, the mutants. The mutants used to be human soldiers, but have since been transformed into raging, muscular monstrosities. These creatures retain their former training and -- more importantly -- their weapons. While powerful, the mutants aren't invincible and can be taken down with a little aggressive persuasion. Check out the short mutant spotlight video after the jump!
Radiated Wasteland mutates into an MMO
The post-apocalyptic MMO genre is about to be one title richer, as Pixel Pandemic announced the creation of Radiated Wasteland. Radiated Wasteland will be a browser-based free-to-play title that is also being developed for Facebook. According to the game's backstory, the world has gone up in a cloud of nuclear smoke, and the only survivors have to fight mutants while struggling to survive through any means necessary. Movements, action, and combat will take place in a turn-based system, and players will be able to customize their characters with gear, skills, and perks. Pixel Pandemic describes Radiated Wasteland's world as "an ever-evolving organic virtual world consisting of thousands of tiles." The studio says that the game will offer co-op play in such a way that Facebook has yet to attain. [Source: Pixel Pandemic press release]
Choose My Adventure: Destination - Apocalypse now
So my bags are packed (what exactly do you pack for an apocalypse? I vote toothbrush, regardless!) and I'm setting out for the Lake Tahoe region. Yup, our itinerary is set -- Xsyon has won the hearts of the readers for this next escapade in the Choose My Adventure series. I find this kind of exciting, as I grew up frequenting this area out here in the real world and look forward to seeing it represented in the game. Now, I have a confession to make: I watched the vote carefully. Too carefully. OK, I was obsessed with it! I don't think I can even tell you how many times I clicked refresh in one day; it was quite addicting to watch the numbers creep up as the readers cast their votes. And since six weeks of my life was on the line, I had a vested interest in the outcome. At least, that's how I tried to rationalize my maniacal refreshing. Xsyon commanded the lead straight off, but Pirates of the Burning Sea had a good showing and maintained a solid second place throughout the contest. Four games kept running neck-and-neck: DC Universe Online, Earthrise, EVE Online, and LEGO Universe. I admit to rooting some for the underdogs as well -- each game has special and unique features I would enjoy delving into. Think about it: Can you imagine life as a LEGO? But in the end, no one could topple the promise of a vast wasteland filled with mutants and an empty canvas for players to fill in. So now that we have the setting, all we need is the character. Unlike many games, Xsyon demands that you pick things such as your crafting skills at character creation, so please forgive the number of polls attached to this week's article. Head on past the cut to learn a bit about Xsyon and vote to make me build the CMA creature of your bidding!
App review: Rage HD (iPhone)
The iOS App Store might already have its fair share of addictive and compelling games on offer, but when John Carmack comes calling with his latest megatextured shoot-em-up, you've got to sit up and pay attention. Rage HD: Mutant Bash TV isn't so much a full-fledged game in its own right as it is a teaser for the forthcoming Rage FPS for the PC, and yet even in its pretty limited running time, it managed to woo and thrill us with its visceral gameplay and arresting visuals. It's easily the best-looking game we've yet seen on a mobile device and provides a fine demonstration of just how far Apple's hardware -- on the iPhone 4, iPad, and fourth-gen iPod touch -- can be pushed when some appropriately adroit hands are at the graphical controls. But, of course, games are supposed to be fun to play, not just to look at, so why not join us after the break to see how well Rage HD handles its mutant-bashing duties?%Gallery-107875%
OLPC gets microwaved, molded into stunning piece of art
We've seen quite a few a) laptops and b) masterpieces in our day, but it's hard to recall the last time that we saw both in the same instance. Have a look at the object above, which is undoubtedly one of the most amazing pieces of laptop art this planet has ever had the pleasure of seeing. Kenny Irwin, known for his post-microwave creations, decided to zap one of the low-cost PCs and then mold it into the OLPCSlug while things were still gooey, all in the name of good publicity and charity. You see, the buyer of this lovely piece will see 80 percent of the proceeds head straight to OLPC, and given that it will also "help keep you safe from forest beasts of unimaginable size," those currently situated in backwoods retreats have an extra reason to plunk down. The only problem? That $26,001 asking price. A can't-miss demo video is after the break.[Thanks, Robert]
Earthrise wallpapers show Eastern Gardens denizens and tamed mutants
Masthead Studios just got in touch with us and sent over two new wallpapers for their upcoming post-apocalyptic game Earthrise. One image shows off a group of kabuki-masked freaks denizens of the Eastern Gardens, one of the more outwardly utopian zones to be found in Earthrise's island setting of Enterra.
Game Boy Microwaved is always watching you
What do you do with a broken Game Boy Advance? Artist Kenny Irwin threw his into a microwave oven, Gremlins-style, blasting the aged handheld with magnetron waves for three minutes on high. As you can see, the portable came out of the microwave a bit deformed! We're just happy that it didn't sprout legs and scamper out of the kitchen, running around the neighborhood terrorizing locals. Of course, not everything in the photo was a result of microwave experimentation -- the marshmallowy gunk is actually melted Solo cups, and Kenny brought the screen to life with some Photoshop trickery. The eyes? They blinked open as the portable was pulled out of the microwave, and they haven't stopped staring since. According to Kenny, his Game Boy Advance is now "33% beast, 42% alien, 11% radioactive, and 56% game machine, making it 100% complete for endless hours of eyetone gameplay." Creepy!
Wiitube wants to give you a copy of TMNT
And who are we to deny them that right? If you're at all interested in a free Wii game, all you have to do is create an avatar and upload a video to Wiitube, and you'll be entered into the contest. That doesn't seem so painful. The dramatic quality of your video doesn't seem to be a factor, so you can always take the easy way out and just read some blog posts out loud (with proper attribution, of course).We want to go on record as encouraging "giving people video games" as a Web 2.0 trend. We'd gladly trade Myspace for free video games.[Via Joystiq]
Zombies and Turtles found on ESRB
More ESRB hints abound, as the website known for destroying the dreams of excessively violent young children is now listing two more heavy-hitters for the Wii's Virtual Console service. First up is the SNES cult-classic Zombies Ate My Neighbors, which nicely fills up the senseless-violence-involving-zombies genre that the Wii was heretofore lacking.Next up? The game none of you ever beat. Yes, the original mind-numbingly difficult Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the NES appears to be slated for a shiny white console near you, and this time, we're gonna finish that game once and for all.We hope.[via GoNintendo]
Turtles emerging from manholes in March
Ubisoft, who've got the rights to the upcoming CG movie about some teenage turtles with both mutant, and ninja, tendencies, says the games based on these sewer-dwelling, rat-led turtles will release along side the film in March 2007, confirming earlier thoughts that the game would be coming to the Wii. That means every port of the game, including DS and Wii, will be released at the same time.Not much else is known about the game, but for the curious, Eurogamer has a behind-the-scenes look at the game here.
New Turtles game coming to Wii?
One of our more crafty readers was recently checking out the Nintendo press site when they stumbled upon a 10th game listed under Ubisoft. The game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is supposedly coming to the Wii. In checking up on who owns the rights to those pizza-eating turtles, this reader discovered that while Konami owns all rights to the television show, Ubisoft owns the rights to the upcoming CGI movie. If you have yet to see the awesome trailer for the new movie, then you might want to check it out as it is embedded into the post after the break.[Note: The Read link leads to the .pdf file that lists the game. In order to access it, you'll need a Nintendo press username and password.]
