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Penny Arcade Expo exhibitor list unleashed
The exhibitor list for this year's Penny Arcade Expo has been made, checked twice, and finalized. While the past exhibitors are all still present (including favorites Pink Godzilla), the major publishers have signed up en masse. Joining Nintendo and Microsoft this year on the super-sized list of 53 exhibitors are Sony, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Sierra and Konami, among many others. Indie representation will be provided Gamecock, Telltale, and more. Is that the shadow of E3 we see before us? Full list after the break.
Penny Arcade questions Doritos Unlock Xbox contest
The guys at Penny Arcade seem a little perplexed as to the Unlock Xbox marketing campaign from Doritos. Apparently, putting together a videogame based on a tortilla chip is pushing the envelope for ridiculous ideas, intense experiences notwithstanding. While the idea of getting your Arcade title's concept published on Xbox Live Marketplace is definitely a cool one, the necessity to incorporate some Doritos branding into the gameplay does seem a little cheesy. Do you mind the product placement suggested for submissions to the contest, or do you think the opportunity is too good to complain about such details?
Penny Arcade Adventures new screens and old trailer
Those of you with aspirations to be a rake-wielding hobo vigilante may still have years of hard living and railroad hitching ahead of you before you become overtaken with the impulse to don a stovepipe hat and wield a (no doubt sharpened) lawn and garden instrument. If video games are good for anything, it's for helping people achieve those sorts of dreams (except for you Manhunt 2 fans), so we were quite pleased to see these latest screenshots of the "Create a Player" feature from Penny Arcade Adventures: OtRSPoD.Not interested? Perhaps spaceboots are more your thing? No ... how about maternal insults? Thought there's obviously no pleasing you, we're quite pleased to see they've cranked the cel-shading engine up to 11, as evidenced in last month's trailer from PC Gamer (helpfully included after the break).%Gallery-1545%
Readers pick best webcomic: Pac-Man secrets
Sure, Extra Life's Scott Johnson often uses Pac-Man and Mario for a topic, but the sheer combination, cleverness, and timing with the new Championship Edition give him the edge for game-related webcomic of the week.Coming in second place is Dueling Analogs and third place goes to Penny Arcade. A special kudos to Digital Unrest because we love (a) science jokes and (b) the sheer probability of the situation.Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any gaming comics you stumble upon this week! (And for those who tipped us off in Saturday's post, no worries we've got you noted.)
Breakfast Topic: The trading card game
No, this isn't an announcement of a new TCG about our Breakfast Topics (but wouldn't that be fun? I see your flamebait, and raise you an intelligent comment!!). But I would like to get all your thoughts on the collectible card game based on World of Warcraft.Personally, I haven't really gotten that much into it, but since the Darkmoon Faire was in Chicago this past weekend, I went out there and obtained some photos and an interview or two for those interested to peruse. I learned to play the game and got to go one-on-one with one of the creators (his interview will be up today), and I have to say that the game itself is pretty fun-- lots of strategy, and plenty of inside jokes about our own little world of Azeroth.I don't see it taking over my life, however, mostly because I don't have anyone around to play with-- even my boardgaming and roleplaying friends haven't picked it up yet, and probably won't any time soon. But I can definitely see the draw, not only of learning all the strategies of different decks, but actually collecting the cards that make them up.So is it your thing or not? And why? If not, have you tried it and not liked it or just not tried it at all?
PA: Surf's Up not just for kids.
Major Nelson has raved about it, and now the PA crew gave it a shot and enjoy it. Surf's Up, the film-to-game adaption is actually enjoyable for adults as much as kids. Perhaps the source material actually adds to the game, the straightforward Achievements, or maybe it's the almost non existent learning curve that has pick up and play accessibility. The one thing we can learn from Gabe, though, is that just because you can have fun playing "kids games", we wouldn't recommend trying to find other kids to play with.
Tycho: Retro games shouldn't be reviewed
Sure, this may only be the fourth of the current comic streak for Xbox 360 related strips from Penny Arcade, but it definitely brings up a valid point that deserves discussion. Retro titles from our "mispent youth", as Peter Moore so elegantly put it, are usually somewhere in the neighbourhood of 15 to 25 years old. Sure, they may get reskinned with some extra pixels per sprite, but the vast majority are the same game they were when they were on early consoles or in cabinets. Should they be treated the same by reviewers as retail games, or should the fact that these are pieces of gaming history give them a little grace? After all, if you don't like retro titles, haven't played the original game, or didn't enjoy the title, you could always not buy it.
Readers pick best webcomic: extra baggage
It's the picture that sells it, really, and presentation can be just as important in a webcomic as content. Despite the usual, numerous objections in the comment section, Scott Ramsoomair's VG Cats strip took the top spot as the week's best webcomic.Coming in second place was the second Penny Arcade strip, "Retreat to the Citadel," (we favored the first strip, ourselves) while third place went to Ctrl+Alt+Del. Thanks to everyone who voted and be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week!
Penny Arcade disses demos
With all the demos that came out last week, it's not a surprise that the Xbox 360 got a week's worth of comics from Penny Arcade. Friday's offering takes a look at some of the less than stellar offerings supplied, in the simple form of the controller layout shown during the loading screen for the fictitious demo of Starfire Saga: Laserion. Obviously this takes a jab at some of the more convoluted controllers found in games. Our favorites are the controls found for the Back, Start, and A buttons, although there are a bunch of hidden gems to be found. Any button assignments make you crack a smile, or even a smirk?
Penny Arcade dev Hothead wins Canadian New Media Award
Hothead Games, who are currently conjuring code for Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One (or PAA: OtRSPoD: E1) have won the Canadian New Media Award for Most Promising Company of the Year. The honor earns them, bragging rights notwithstanding, the prestigious Pixel award.The award was given in recognition of the three projects Hothead is currently developing. In addition to the anticipated Penny Arcade Adventures, being developed in conjunction with legendary grumpy gamer Ron Gilbert, the developer is also working on Swarm, an "environmentally-themed comedy adventure game" with "machine learning" AI, and a joint venture with Cambrian House on Gwabs, a desktop-to-desktop combat title.
Oh teh noes!1! Not another Penny Arcade comic that relates to our site's content!
The online gaming community, or more specifically, Xbox Live has its fair share of bad apples, and based solely on its success and user base, it can be quiet easy to find prime examples in Halo 2 or even Halo 3's beta. Unfortunately, other types gaming don't have this, and when you start blurring the line between such forms of entertainment, there's bound to be a clash, right? Well, the guys at PA seem to think so with the recent announcement of Halo Clix. HBO community member turned Bungie employee KP seems pretty convinced about their source material. Does this one tickle your funny bone?
Penny Arcade takes on Shadowrun's races
Penny Arcade's latest comic takes a rather humorous look at Shadowrun's races. In particular, the Troll, and the potential hazards that the RNA Corporation has to take into account when employing such a metahuman. In Tycho's post, he gives his take on the game's party system and gameplay and continues to support and recommend the title in spite of mediocre reviews. Either way, he reminds us that the demo is coming out tomorrow. Speaking of, are any of you still on the fence going to download the demo and give it a shot? We know that some of us here and Fanboy Towers made promises in regards to giving the demo the attention it deserves.
Penny Arcade discovers Pokemon, already knew how to curse
Here's something for the grown-up Pokémon fans: after checking out Pokémon Battle Revolution at the Nintendo Media Summit, Gabe and Tycho were struck by a sudden bout of Pokémania (the uncontrollable compulsion to be the very best, like no one ever was). They both became hooked on the latest DS Pokémon. As it turns out, they often draw comic strips about video games they enjoy playing. It's a hobby of theirs.Their resulting Penny Arcade strip, titled The Coming Apokélypse, illustrates the sadistic hatred that drives every Pokémon trainer to imprison and abuse his or her adorable little creatures. We recommend it for the more seasoned trainers out there (read: not children) because dropping F-bombs is another hobby in which Gabe and Tycho dabble.
Penny Arcade Adventures game gets new trailer
The guys from Penny Arcade are truly testing the bounds of the term "meta" by featuring 3D representations of the 2D counterparts of their very 3D selves in their forthcoming game. They've also broken Joystiq's Acronymizer 3000 with its title: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One. The brand-new trailer for the game (offered first to PC Gamer readers) appears above.We get some nice looks at the game's combat and character creation system, as well as at some of the slick 2D animation (the meta thickens!). We know that this is their first crack at a game of their own, but we're definitely laying down what they're picking up, as the kids say. Want more? You can find some PC Gamer covers featuring characters from the game on the PA site today.
Gamertag Radio marks 100th episode with Halo 3 Zune giveaway
Look at it. Admit that there's a part of you that wants that Halo 3 Zune. We don't care what you're a fanboy of, when you look at that box, that branding, that helmet (not included) your primal geek senses activate. Of course, that's when your primal wallet sense kicks in and suggests that you may want to think about paying the gas bill first. Luckily for you, Gamertag Radio is marking their 100th episode by giving away one of the beautiful things in an act of generosity certain gas companies seem to be incapable of.The best part? All you have to do is listen to their 100th episode and give your review here before Sunday. The show promises to be a good listen too, with a new interview with Robert Khoo of Penny Arcade about PAX '07. After you let them know what you think, it's a simple matter of waiting to find out which of your senses (geek or wallet) will have to be repressed when a winner is announced next week. Two sense enter! One sense leave!%Gallery-3162%
Podcast Rodeo for May 20: Ear's Johnny
This week at the P-Cast Ranch, game audio had to compete for ear time with the release of a new They Might Be Giants album. Was it tough to find the time? You bet. Was it worth it to help our beloved readers out? Yes, yes, 1,000 times, yes.Downloadable Content: As many of you have pointed out, the Penny Arcade guys have taken much more regular breaks from earning mad coin to record their podcast. Here, Gabe does battle with V.Smile and (as near as we can tell) is defeated.
X3F H3 beta: Penny Arcade's two cents (Nyuk!)
Monday as well as today's Penny Arcade both feature Gabe and Tycho's thoughts on the Halo 3 Beta. The first comic dealt with their unexpected enjoyment of playing the beta and the adverse affects found therein. The second one takes a look at an X3F favorite, the Spartan Laser, and the hijinks that will inevitably occur upon acquisition. Tycho's news posts for both give insight into some of the highlights of the game to them. WAAACHOW!Read: The Third TimeRead: Jim BeamCheck out all the X3F Halo 3 beta coverage
Ron Gilbert (ie: our hero) working on Penny Arcade Adventures
We try to avoid overtly sycophantic groveling here at Joystiq -- it's unbecoming and we drool enough already -- but when we discovered that legendary adventure game designer Ron Gilbert (Monkey freakin' Island, folks) was working on the inaugurual Penny Arcade Adventures installment, On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, we sorta couldn't help it. That headline was propelled out of our nervously clacking fingers.Like at the end of a hackneyed thriller, we began to piece it all together. Of course! It all makes sense now! When we called Gilbert's next project "Diablo Lite with a funny adventure-game story and goofy adventure-game puzzles" we never even realized we could have just as easily been describing Penny Arcade Adventures, which PA's Robert Khoo described as "an RPG in short" with elements of adventure games befitting its "comic adventure" moniker. We're still no closer to learning when this super-band is going on tour, but we'd wager PAX '07 is as good a place as any (better actually) to start talking specifics. %Gallery-1545%
Readers pick best webcomic: tryouts
For the second week in a row, 2P Start has taken the top spot as the webcomic of the week -- they've come a long way since their start on Valentine's Day. Second place goes to Penny Arcade and Extra Life takes the third place position.Thanks to everyone who voted; be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week!
Another celebrity joins the WoW fan club
The list of famous fans is getting longer as World of Warcraft becomes more and more popular. The first famous names I remember hearing about were a whole slew of cartoonists whose work I really enjoy: Roman Dirge (Lenore), Jhonen Vasquez (JTHM), Scott Kurtz (PVP Online), Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins (Penny Arcade), and Tim Buckley (Ctrl+Alt+Del). Now, being a long-time comic book geek myself, these guys didn't really surprise me when they said that they were playing World of Warcraft. After all, video games and comics are generally thought of as sharing space in the realm of the Geek. One of the next names did take me a bit by surprise -- that was when comedian Dave Chappelle proclaimed his love for WoW. After that, it was just a mattter of time. Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) admitted that he was a total WoW fan. Then he showed in an Eastvale Logging Camp t-shirt to the Video Game Awards, and got to introduce the world premiere of the Burning Crusade trailer to the rest of the world.But this most recent name added to the ranks is a new one to me. World of Warcraft has just gained a professional football player as a fan. In a recent interview with Nick Smith, the newly recruited offensive lineman for the New York Jets, WoW came up as a topic and he talked about his time in Azeroth. Or at least, said that he had been playing WoW until Burning Crusade came out.Yeah... I stopped playing when the expansion came out because I just couldn't keep up. Last summer though, I was like that guy in the South Park episode. I could kill anyone over and over again until they quit. It was awesome. That was pretty much all I did: eat, workout and play WoW.While I'm thrilled to see someone in professional sports join the WoW gamer fold, I honestly hope that he was just joking about being like any guy in a South Park episode. There are just certain images that really don't need to conjured up. O.o How about you? Do you know of any other famous names who play World of Warcraft? [via thejetsblog.com]
