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PS Minis' 'Idiot Squad' mashes up Chu Chu Rocket, strategy, and sheep
Football-player sheep destroy obstacles in front of them. Ninja sheep jump over obstacles, and gunner sheep have projectiles. With those rules in mind, you must guide your woolly charges to the ewes they've come to rescue.Idiot Squad by Hydravision, a new PS Mini coming March 27 in North America and March 28 in Europe, seems designed for anyone but idiots. Your three classes of sheep soldier must be directed around grid-based puzzles using a limited selection of arrow items, much like the puzzles in Sega's classic Chu Chu Rocket. But way more complicated! Can anyone's brain handle that?%Gallery-150577%
Portabliss: Age of Zombies (Android)
Did you know that you can download handheld games now? That's amazingly convenient! The only inconvenient part of it is finding the right games to buy -- and that's where we come in, with our Portabliss column. Three times a week, our new Portabliss column will tell you about a downloadable game on the iPhone, iPad, Android device, DSi, 3DS, PSP, etc. Today: Age of Zombies! The only way to survive the zombie apocalypse is through constant, preemptive preparation and a cache of military grade weapons – thankfully for all the procrastinators out there, Halfbrick has found a way to make one half of that as easy as making a phone call. Age of Zombies is a straightforward, zombie-slaughtering top-down shooter featuring our time-traveling hero, Barry Steakfries, because you never know when the next phone booth you step into will be a time machine covered in the t-virus. Barry travels through five eras of undead history, including the age of decomposing dinosaurs, mummies, the American mafia, ninjas and a cyborg future. Professor Brains, evil genius, infests each era with hordes of zombies, which Barry has to mow down with a variety of weapons and his supply of snarky witticisms.
Mighty Flip Champs DX rotates to PlayStation Minis July 12
We heard the first inklings of a PSP version of WayForward's DSiWare game Mighty Flip Champs earlier this year. Now, WayForward has officially announced Mighty Flip Champs DX as a PlayStation Mini, and released the first screen demonstrating just how such a dual-screen-dependent game will transition to the PSP and PS3. In short, the two "screens" are now side-by-side on the single screen. The room you're currently in displays on the left, with the next room on the right; at any time protagonist Alta can "flip" to the next room, trying not to be crushed by the new surroundings. Mighty Flip Champs DX will be released on the PlayStation Store July 12. In the announcement after the break, designer Matt Bozon encourages new players not to "miss out on this top shelf experience. Even if it sounds weird."
Frima $5 PSP Minis bundle entertains, reveals terrible truth
If you're looking to have some bargain-priced fun with your PSP as you wait for its successor, we might point you to a new Frima bundle on the PlayStation Store that includes five PSP Minis games for just $5. They are: A Space Shooter for 2 Bucks! Young Thor Widgets Odyssey Widgets Odyssey 2 Zombie Tycoon We're sure there was a lot of excitement in the Frima offices when the "Awesome Summer Minis Bundle" was compiled, and we wish the dev the best. But it must have been a sobering moment to look at all the games together like that and realize "Hey, you know what, guys? We're not very good at making up names for things."
Pix'n Love Rush free for PlayStation Plus members today
PlayStation Plus members are getting yet another early (and free!) look at a new PlayStation Mini today. Pix'n Love Rush is a retro-themed platformer (originally developed for iPhone) -- and this video will give you a better idea of why it's so charming.
Upcoming PSN game uses crowd-sourcing for ideas
The Bearded Ladies, developers of Landit Bandit, want to turn your ideas into a video game. In collaboration with SCEE, the studio has launched Gamocracy, a project that seeks to take the best user-submitted ideas for use in a new action-platforming game for PS3 and PSP. Over the course of eight weeks, there will be various challenges posed to the official PlayStation community. Currently, the developers are seeking concepts for the game's story and protagonist. Favorites selected by The Bearded Ladies will move on to a fan voting process. The best concept will end up in the final product. Gamocracy should be a fun experiment for enthusiasts that want an opportunity to see their ideas come to fruition. However, the developers do caution that serious game authors should probably opt out of this promotion. "Once you submit your ideas to our forum, they are then free to be used by us or The Bearded Ladies in ANY manner, including in any other games and without any obligation to you. So, if your idea is secret and you would like to keep it that way, we advise you NOT to post it."
MiniSquadron flies onto PSP and PS3 next month
The Minis program continues to attract more high-profile iOS releases. If Angry Birds wasn't enough for you, then you may want to try MiniSquadron, a 2D dogfighting game. The Minis version seems to be a direct port of the iOS original, including 8 worlds and 50 planes. Unfortunately, like all other Minis, there's no multiplayer, and no added content to make up for its omission. MiniSquadron has been a fan favorite on iTunes since its debut, with an average four-star rating since release. Check out the trailer after the break.%Gallery-113828%
A Space Shooter for Two Bucks gets a straightforward trailer
Next week, PlayStation Plus members will be able to get Frima's newest Mini -- A Space Shooter for Two Bucks -- for free. (We hope we don't have to explain what non-members will have to pay.) A new trailer gives you a pretty good idea of what to expect.
Who's That Flying into a new release date?!
Mediatonic's quirky PlayStation Minis shmup, Who's That Flying?!, was originally supposed to hit PSN in October. In response to a freezing glitch, the developer scrapped the October release plans, putting a question mark (and an exclamation point, why not) on the expected date. Now, having resolved the issue, Mediatonic has announced new dates for the shooter's PSN release: November 16 in North America and November 17 in Europe. So, just a week until we get to definitively answer the question in the game's title -- oh, wait, it's the "Guardian of Earth" (we knew that who that!). Well, we still have playing the game to look forward to.
Flying Hamster takes off on PS3 & PSP December 7
The Flying Hamster is undoubtedly one of the cutest Minis available on the PlayStation Network, and one of the few that are worthwhile to play on the PS3, in addition to the PSP. We've written quite a bit about this indie shmup, and it finally has a North American release date and price: December 7, for $5.99. The game is already available on the European PlayStation Store. For the uninitiated, The Flying Hamster plays like almost any other shmup: collect power-ups, and shoot at enemies using either a rapid or charge shot. What makes it so unique is its collection of power-ups and enemies: you can spit a stream of beer at cows, for example. Or launch a swarm of bees at ninja squirrels. Or drop some egg bombs on some evil toaster robots. Seriously.%Gallery-83145%
iPhone's Pix'n Love Rush hurries to PlayStation Minis
The iOS twitch platformer Pix'n Love Rush is being ported to systems with actual buttons -- namely, the PSP and PS3, for which it's being released as a Mini. The stylish side-scroller, a collaboration between developer Pastagames and the French zine publisher Pix'n Love, combines bite-sized coin-collecting platformer challenges with a variety of eye-catching visual styles, including Virtual Boy and Game Boy color schemes. The game's look is based on the Xbox Live Indie Games release Pixel (the third game in the Arkedo Series), which was a joint effort by Arkedo Studios and Pastagames. Publisher Sanuk Games plans to release the Minis version "soon," though no specific date or price has been announced.
'Shift Extended' coming to PlayStation Minis
Yet another iPhone port is coming to the Minis program for PSP and PS3. Shift Extended is -- you probably guessed it -- an extended version of Shift, a platformer originally released as a free Flash game and later made available on the App Store. Fishing Cactus is handling the port, which will "offer no less than double the content of the iPhone version." Also new to the PSN version is D-pad support, a rather crucial feature for a platforming game. Shift is expected to arrive on the PlayStation Store by year's end.%Gallery-103147%
You can name Futurlab's upcoming Minis space shooter
Coconut Dodge developer Futurlab is working on yet another game for the PlayStation Minis platform -- this time a space shooter. The studio already has a concept: mixing classic vertical shooting with a new teleporting gimmick; and it already has some music. What it needs now is a name. This is where you come in. Like PixelJunk Shooter, the developer is asking for your suggestions, awarding prizes for the best name ideas. Of course, it's hard to name a game without knowing more about it. "In our shooter, there is a reason the world scrolls vertically, and a reason that you can't turn around," explains Futurlab, "everything is being sucked into a giant black hole!" Additionally, you'll be able to "save other people that are being sucked into the black hole" via your ship's unique teleporting ability. And ... well, that's all we know. Hopefully, you can come up with something a bit more fitting than our suggestion -- COOKIESz.
Gameloft's N.O.V.A. orbiting PSP soon
N.O.V.A., Gameloft's first-person shooter for smartphones, is headed to PSP as part of the publisher's plan to have every game it's ever made on every platform in the universe. Gameloft announced via Facebook that the game -- currently available on iPhone, iPad, Android and Palm Pre -- will soon be released as a PSN download for PSP. Gamerbytes speculates that the title will be released as a Mini, which means that, like all Minis, it won't have any kind of multiplayer functionality. The mobile version supports both online and local wireless play. N.O.V.A. is the story of a once-retired member of a military group dedicated to protecting "near-orbital" Earth colonies from aliens called "Judgers." Yes, Judgers.%Gallery-99915%
Fish Tank is a fish-matching PSP Mini
Crap of Defense developer iFun4all is working on yet another iPhone to Minis port. Fish Tank is a PSP port of the iPhone app Match Fish. Combining traditional match-three gameplay with reflex-based mechanics, this is a rather straightforward addition to the (surprisingly large) Minis library.
Mediatonic's new PSN Mini asks: Who's That Flying?!
Mediatonic, developer of Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess, has announced the second PSP game to use "WTF" as an abbreviation: Who's That Flying?! (The first was Work Time Fun, of course!) This upcoming Minis game (playable on PSP and PS3) is a horizontal shmup in which the "Guardian of Earth" uses its "HYPER-POWERED LASER ARM" to protect the world from "Doom Beasts." The game also includes a tower defense element: rather than simply avoiding enemies and shooting what you can, you must limit the number of flying enemies that get past your invulnerable character, in order to stop them from destroying cities. We'll be able to play this bizarre hybrid-genre game ("with courtroom drama and intrigue!") in early September.
Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess jumping to Xbox Live Indie Games
If Mediatonic's platform-climbing Mini, Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess has turned the Xbox fanboy within you positively green with envy, you'll be pleased to learn the title will soon make the leap to the Xbox Live Indie Games storefront. This announcement came in the form of a subtle teaser on the game's official site, which states that it's "coming soon" to the indie-friendly platform. No more specific price or release date info accompanied the update. The Mini has received fairly good remarks from its critics on its native platform -- hopefully it won't lose any of its charm (or, more importantly, its uncertainty) in translation.
Curve Studios 'focusing only on' PS3 version of Explodemon
Yesterday, Curve Studios announced a Q4 2010 launch window for the PSN version of its retro-inspired blow-em-up platformer, Explodemon, though the WiiWare, PSP and PC versions were not mentioned. We contacted the developer about these omissions, and PR Manager Ed Fear confirmed our suspicions, explaining, "For the moment, we're focusing only on the PS3 version." Fear added, "We're a small(ish) company, so it doesn't make sense for us to split our limited resources between several different versions, especially given that there'd be quite major graphical differences for the Wii/PSP editions. So, in order to really make Explodemon shine, we're putting all of our efforts into the PS3 version." Fear did note that the studio still wants to see the game on as many platforms as possible, though Curve will have to "seriously evaluate other targets once we've shipped the PS3 version."
Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter clawing its way to PSP/PS3 Minis in August
Sure, you could pick up a Cabela game and go hunting for some helpless deer. Or, you can man up and start hunting dinosaurs. Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter is the third "minis" game from developer Beatshapers, who previously worked on NormalTanks and BreakQuest. You'll be tracking down fifteen different dinosaurs in five different levels, using a variety of weapons, including sniper rifles and crossbows. Don't expect an arcade-style game in the style of Turok, though. According to the press release, you'll have to take into account "wind direction" and use a "special dinosaur call" to successfully track and locate dinosaurs to hunt. That probably sounds something like this: "Oh my god, please don't eat me!" Carnivores will be available for PSP and PS3 next month.%Gallery-98115%
Review: Young Thor
We've never reviewed PlayStation Minis here at Joystiq, but we're branching out for Young Thor, an impressive game that's one of the best values $5 can get you on the PlayStation Network. A side-scrolling brawler, Young Thor is instantly accessible, but with enough depth to avoid making the experience too repetitive. While it's tempting to simply mash the Square button, developer Frima has done a good job of scaling the experience, introducing new enemies that demand new strategies. My own play style evolved as I learned to add more jumps and dodges while chaining Thor's lightning magic into combat. There's also a rudimentary XP system that boosts Thor's basic stats. However, don't expect to use your XP in any novel way. You can't customize your character, nor do you learn any new moves. The leveling seems to exist for the sole purpose of encouraging replays. Somebody out there will want to achieve a level 100 character, right? %Gallery-96998%
