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Holidaze 2008: Live in the past, it's cheaper
Bad news, everybody: 2008 is the new 2007. Those of us lucky enough to have survived last year's unyielding flood of exquisite games expected the new holiday to provide some respite -- perhaps an influx of blessedly mediocre games -- but alas, our wallets are once again tugged in every $60 direction. But what's worse? The deafening din of desirable games, or that irresistible impulse to play and master every adventure the very second it becomes available? Provided you can defeat the latter reflex, we have a simple suggestion: Live in the past. It's cheaper! We've dredged up our decisive, if ever-so-slightly controversial list of the ten best games of Oh Seven, hoping you'll find a fantastic experience you mistakenly overlooked. You'll find that the passage of time has taken a pleasing toll on the recommended price of admission. In fact, we've traveled forward in time to this very moment, hoping to pick up our 2007 nominees on the cheap. What do you think? Should we make Portal our Game of the Year?
Holidaze 2008: Live in the past, it's cheaper (Page 2)
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare What we said then: "Perhaps the most surprising thing about the game is how few actual revolutionary concepts are contained within. It selects existing game design tools, hones them to practical perfection and creates what is, in our opinion, the military shooter against which all others must be judged." What we say now: "An essential 'tunnel of fun' shooter with a rewarding multiplayer component. If you find yourself disappointed by this year's Call of Duty: World at War, it's probably this game's fault." Current retail price: $39.99 (Game of the Year edition)
Plenty of exclusive weirdness in Peggle: Dual Shot
It would seem from this 1UP preview that Peggle: Dual Shot is more than a simple stripped-down port of PopCap's PC hit. While it does contain levels from the original Peggle and the new Peggle Nights, it will also feature a selection of 15 unlockable levels designed by Dual Shot developer Q? Entertainment. 1UP's use of the term "Q-inspired" leads us to think that they may use themes or elements from other Q? Games like Lumines, Every Extend Extra, Gunpey, and (probably not) Ninety-Nine Nights.To access these new levels, you go through a convoluted process that basically consists of playing a game underneath the bottom of the level in which you bounce off of and collect gems!Also new to the DS is (obviously) a touchscreen control system that compensates for the reduced accuracy on the smaller screen with a zoom feature. You're still allowed (or forced) to set up your shots using minute single-pixel adjustments!
Peggle: Dual Shot tumbles into stores this March
PopCap Games has announced that the DS version of Peggle will be released in March of next year, back from the original winter 2008 release date. The DS game, titled Peggle: Dual Shot to ensure that people know it's a DS game and don't try to cram the cartridge into their computers, is being developed by puzzle experts Q? Entertainment and will feature mysterious new features.We don't care what it's called or when it comes out. As embarrassing as it is to be caught up in a trend, Peggle is much more addictive than a cutesy, glorified pachinko game should be, and we are completely on board. Although now that we think about it, maybe Peggle is exactly as addictive as a pachinko game should be, given all those people who are actually addicted to pachinko.The other two new PopCap games, Amazing Adventures: The Forgotten Ruins and Mystery P.I.: Portrait of a Thief, are still on track for winter.
Peggle: Dual Shot coming to DS Mar. 3, 2009
We always took PopCap to be a rather friendly company, one which excelled at making those work-time lulls just a little more tolerable. But it's with the impending release of a DS version of Peggle, dubbed Peggle: Dual Shot, that the developer's true and frighteningly insidious nature is revealed. Be sure to circle March 3, 2009 on your calendar -- one of the last calendars ever made -- as that's when the world will slump into an inescapable cesspool of inactivity, one bereft of eye contact and bulging with constant shouts of "FEVER!" Buses will crash, cities will crumble and nobody will care about anything that doesn't involve a unicorn. We'd try and stop this calamity, but we doubt we'll be able to figure out how to stop playing all the other versions of Peggle before then.
The Digital Continuum: Can a space colonization MMO work? (part two)
Working puzzle games into MMOs isn't a new concept either, but there's still plenty of ground to be covered with the idea. Puzzle Pirates has a few examples of taking things like equipment and introducing them into the puzzle aspects of the game. While having too little is obviously a bad move, I'd rather see an MMO that takes five or six puzzle games and goes deep instead.
The Digital Continuum: Can a space colonization MMO work?
The colonization of space isn't a brand new idea for the realm of MMOs. 2006's Seed was all about the subject, but it unfortunately failed due to a lack of publisher interest. There's no denying that such a game wouldn't be anywhere near a hugely popular title. Still, I'd like to think that with the right design philosophy, platform and business model a game focused on the challenges of discovering another planet and making it a new home would be incredibly worthwhile.
Peggle priced, detailed for XBLA
The second quarter has come and gone, and while our XBLA download queues have be left decidedly Peggle-free, PopCap's Greg Canessa remains adamant that the addictive puzzler is still on its way. In a recent interview, the PopCap exec blamed the game's tardiness on the addition of further polish and improvements, including 4-player local and online multiplayer over Xbox Live. Goodbye, free time! Canessa also let slip Peggle's XBLA pricing of 800 Microsoft Points ($10), and while a firm release date for the title still remains up in the air, puzzle addicts can rest a little easier knowing that their addiction-of-choice is still expected to drop like so many colored pegs sometime before the year is out. [Via X3F]
Peggle XBLA priced at 800MS points, adds 4-player multiplayer
One of the most addictive and deceptively simple titles in the PopCap catalog is Peggle. The concept is simple. Destroy all orange orbs by shooting a ball into an open area. Think Plinko with orbs. Once you make the shot the ball bounces around the environment raking up points and combos for hitting -- and thus destroying -- all of the colored spheres in the environment. Sounds enthralling, doesn't it? Well, it is and soon Xbox 360 users are about to join in the fun. In an interview with Uncle Gamer Radio, vice president of PopCap Games Greg Canessa announced the upcoming XBLA release of Peggle will hit the service for 800MS points ($10 USD). Need some perspective? When it originally launched on PC the title sold for $19.99. Additionally, Canessa finally revealed up to 4-players will be able to compete both locally and over Xbox Live. Peggle has yet to land a firm release date but Canessa did confirm the previously announced level packs will not be ready when the title ships unlike some other DLC. As long as they don't go all Lumines Live! on us, we're willing to listen. [Thanks, Virtonian]
SEQUEL FEVER! Peggle Nights available now
Which is terrible news, by the way. We've been trying to write this post since the weekend, but have been unable to escape Peggle Nights' "just one more go" vortex. Its predecessor, Peggle, was the game that massacred productivity on a global scale last year, even managing to controversially trounce Mass Effect in our Game of the Year awards. The $20 sequel, which is now available at PopCap's site (it'll hit other game portals next month), boasts "60 all-new Adventure Mode levels and 60 new Challenge Mode hurdles, along with a new "Peggle Master" power-up, new kinds of style shots, achievements, and other special bonuses." And yes, we just copied and pasted that from the press release so we could go back to playing it.
Omegathon 2008 lineup includes Peggle, Boom Blox, Rock Band, Jenga
The 2008 Penny Arcade Expo Omegathon V lineup has been revealed and it feels surprisingly casual. There's no Doom or Quake title like we've seen in every previous Omegathon. Also new: starting the first round with a non-board game (Jenga has been pushed to round 5). Here's the list: Round 1: Peggle Round 2: Boom Blox Round 3: Pictionary Round 4: Rock Band (Our guess is Rock Band 2) Round 5: Jenga Final Round: *** TOP SECRET *** The 20 Omeganauts have already been chosen (congratulations to any Joystiq readers who made the cut!); first prize this year is a trip for two to the Tokyo Game Show with all expenses paid and $5,000 in "walking around money."While last year's Omegathon skipped the previous tradition of using a classic retro title (Pong, Combat, Tengen Tetris), every year has featured an id Software shooter. With Rage, Doom 4 and the new Wolfenstein looking unlikely, we're trying to think of another potential, unreleased FPS that could top last year's surprise Halo 3 inclusion. If Tycho and Gabe are looking to make our heads explode, maybe they can get Duke Nukem Forever. We won't find out until minutes before the final round on Sunday, August 31 at 4:30 PM PT. In the meantime, check out the list of past Omegathon lineups, and feel free to make your own and play along at home.
Peggle DS confirmed for real
Remember when PopCap very carefully denied the rumors about a DS version of Peggle? That denial was worded in such a way that it ensured that PopCap wouldn't be too embarrassed when they decided to tell people that they really were planning to release the game that they'd just said they weren't planning. PopCap officially announced Peggle for the DS, coming this winter for $30, at the Casual Connect conference yesterday. It will have all of the original Peggle levels as well as new ones.The coolest part? Though their influence is nowhere to be found in the single released screenshot, the development of Peggle has been outsourced to Q? Entertainment, best known for Lumines, Meteos, and being awesome.Vice president Greg Canessa also announced that two other PopCap games, Amazing Adventures: The Forgotten Ruins and Mystery P.I.: Portrait of a Thief, otherwise known as Not Peggle vol. 1 and 2, would be released in the fall.
PopCap bringing Peggle to DS this winter
We allowed ourselves to get our hopes up for a DS version of the terrifyingly addictive Peggle earlier this year, only to have them crash down around us. Now though, it seems we can sweep up the pieces of our hopes, assemble them once again and send them flying on the back of a magical unicorn into a rainbow-filled sky: PopCap has confirmed a DS version of the game will arrive this winter. If you've already played the game, you know it's a little like pachinko on crack or steroids or whatever drug means really fun and addictive. If you haven't played the game, then we'd urge you to think very carefully before starting, at least if you have any hopes of carrying on a normal life. Oh, and PopCap will also be bringing two seek-n-solve games, Amazing Adventures and Mystery PI to the system, not that you'll have time for them, what with all the Peggle.
Spend Mother's Day playing games with mom
Don't panic: It's Mother's Day today in North America. We know it crept up on you, overshadowed by more significant holidays like Gears of War 2 Gameplay Footage Day and GTAIV Day Month. Luckily, Susan Arendt over at Game|Life has your back, with a list of excellent gaming gifts for moms of all types (or at least, all gaming types).Does your mom miss those classic card game nights around the kitchen table? Fire up UNO on Xbox Live Arcade. Is she a tad overprotective of her offspring? She might relate to BioShock's Big Daddies (yes, we get the irony). Does she dig cooking and adorably mispronounced English? Then it's Cooking Mama all the way.Of course, for moms who are less than avid gamers, there are also a plethora of excellent casual games out there. Titles like Peggle, Diner Dash, and Puzzle Pirates could prove to be perfect distractions for the mom with a lot on her plate. Happy Mother's Day to all the Joystiq-reading maternal units.
The Daily Grind: Do you only play MMOs?
We cover a lot of MMOs here at Massively, but that doesn't mean that it's the only type of game we're interested in. Many of us on the team love to rip into a good console game too, or other PC games of the non-MMO variety. Sure, being involved in more than a single MMO can take up a significant portion of gaming time, but it's safe to say that we do enjoy other types of games as well.If you've come to Massively, you likely at least have an interest in MMOs, if you aren't currently playing one or more of them -- but is that the only genre of game that you play? Do you like to play any of the current generation of consoles? Or perhaps you kick it old school with one of the awesome consoles of bygone eras? When it comes to the PC, do you only play the bigger games, or do you dip into the casual realm with titles such as Peggle? And what about those nifty handhelds, and cellphone games -- daily commute anyone?
Yet more great apps coming for the iPhone
Yesterday we posted about the Apple press release announcing that the SDK had been downloaded more than 100,000 times in four days. It's also worth noting, however, that Apple basically confirmed that several well-known developers are officially supporting the iPhone and bringing some exciting applications to everyone's favorite handheld. In addition to the developers represented on stage at the SDK event, of particular interest are: Intuit (of Quicken fame) which wants "to create powerful iPhone applications." Namco, specifically mentioning Pac Man and, my favorite, Galaga. NetSuite, developer of SuitePhone (CRM software similar to salesforce.com). PopCap games, working on the extremely addicting Peggle as well as classics Bejeweled and Zuma. Six Apart, which is developing an iPhone native TypePad blogging client. In short, it's obvious that the App Store is going to be chock full 'o goodness once June rolls around. Personally, I'm slightly worried that with Peggle and Galaga on my iPhone I'll never get anything done.
Freeverse's Kill Monty nearly half off
Freeverse Software, makers of great Mac games like Wingnuts and the Burning Monkey series, have announced that Kill Monty is available at a 45% discount this weekend only, bringing the final price down to $10.95US. Kill Monty is fun, addictive and ten bucks for the rest of the day! You can't go wrong. Note that this goes beyond their one-day-only leap day sale.That's great, but Mac gaming is still in a sorry state. From EA's backpedaling to the puzzled looks from Windows users ("You don't have [insert title here] yet?"), Mac users are out in the cold, despite an apparent demand in Mac games -- the demo version of Tomb Raider Anniversary has been downloaded over 100,000 times according to publishers Feral Interactive. I play Warcraft and Peggle, and I'm anxiously awaiting Spore. Other than that I use my PSP. I'm happy enough with my small library of games, but I believe I'm in the minority.How about you? Are you a satisfied Mac gamer?
Games that shouldn't be MMOs
Here's a corollary post to an earlier story. Our cousin site, Cinematical, has brought teh funneh with a post about which board games would make awful movies. In that spirit, we now present to you a list of games that would make terrible MMOs, in no particular order.Please note that these are merely our particular opinions, and we're not saying that a cleverer-than-thou developer couldn't make a great MMO out of these games ... but for reasons we'll state here, it's highly unlikely. Then again, sometimes the best-sounding ideas turn out some awful games themselves (*cough* Fury *cough*), so it all evens out. Excelsior!
XBLA Peggle will support downloadable content
PopCap Games' almost, nearly, okay it's just like crack Peggle is headed to the XBLA sometime in the near future and with the addition of some form of multiplayer, we're happy campers. And thanks to 1UP, we have yet another reason to be excited for the XBLA version of Peggle ... downloadable content! That's right, our future Peggle addiction will technically be limitless with confirmation from PopCap that the game will definitely support downloadable levels off the XBLM. No word on pricing details or how much DLC is planned (the game hasn't released yet, be patient), but we're not in the game of specifics when dealing with Peggle. We'll pay anything for more crack Peggle fun. Give us our crack Peggle now!
XBLA Peggle gets multiplayer, 'online modes and features'
And if you don't think we're taking all the credit, we can settle this over a one-on-one multiplayer round of Peggle when it hits XBLA in Q2 this year. You see, when we called Peggle one of the best games of 2007 we closed by suggesting, "Maybe Peggle 2 will include some sort of Internet play option. PopCap ... you listening?" Evidently, not only were they listening, they were taking notes and – just to throw doubters off our scent – they're adding multiplayer functionality to Peggle 1! In an interview done by the folks at Microsoft's Gamerscore Blog – powered by questions from Evil Avatar – PopCap's Greg Canessa confirms that the XBLA release will include "online modes and features" including multiplayer, but didn't offer any specifics short of that (co-op? versus?). You can check out the video after the break to hear it for yourself (scrub ahead to 2:40 to catch Greg's comments). Consider us pleased ... just send that royalty check over to our offices at 1337 Joystiq Way, alright PopCap? [Via X3F]
