ripstone
Latest
Stick It To The Man now stuck to Xbox One
Following a successful run on PS4, PS3, Vita, Wii U and Steam, Zoink Games and publisher Ripstone have created a new version of wacky psychic adventure Stick It To The Man expressly for the Xbox One. Stick It To The Man centers on a hapless hardhat tester named Ray who wakes up one day to discover a noodly pink appendage has inexplicably sprouted from his head. That seems initially inconvenient, but the new limb allows Ray to read peoples' minds and manipulate objects in his environment – two skills that prove crucial as our hero attempts to flee the clutches of The Man. No new gameplay additions have been added to the Xbox One version of Stick It To The Man, but it does boast all of the lovely, colorful graphics found in its PS4 and PC incarnations. Stick It To The Man is now available for purchase from the Xbox Live Marketplace, where it features a $10 price tag. For more information on the quirky platforming adventure, pay a visit to the game's official website. [Image: Ripstone]
EU ratings board lists Stick It To The Man as Xbox One release
The Pan European Game Information group (the European analogue to America's ESRB) appears to have broken the news that oddball adventure Stick It To The Man will soon appear on Microsoft's Xbox One. A search for the game's title on the PEGI website lists the Xbox One game as suitable for ages 12 and up, while stating that it features "[n]on realistic looking violence towards human characters" and "[m]ild bad language." That certainly sounds like Stick It To The Man, a game that centers on an unassuming fellow who wakes up one day to find that he has telekinetic powers thanks to a pink, noodly appendage that has inexplicably sprouted from his head. On a bizarre note, the listing claims that Stick It To The Man will be released on Xbox One on June 27 - today - though the game remains absent from the Xbox Live Marketplace. This wouldn't be the first time PEGI has revealed a game's appearance prior to an official publisher announcement. The ratings board recently outed an Xbox One version of Warframe prior to its official unveiling, and did much the same for the Xbox 360 version of Peggle 2. That latter example is especially notable as PEGI had a similarly incorrect release date listed alongside PopCap's casual hit. [Image: Ripstone]
Stick it to the Man, Picross e4 penciled in for eShop next week
Stick it to the Man and Picross e4 are coming to the Wii U and 3DS respectively as part of next week's eShop update. Both games arrive in North America on May 1, which means Picross e4 misses its target April window by a day. Don't worry, we've already alerted the authorities. Meanwhile, Europe gets Stick it to the Man on the same day, but the continent has to wait until May 22 for Picross e4. Written by Adventure Time comic author Ryan North, Stick it to the Man stars a dude who reads minds using a pink spaghetti arm that pops out of his head. So, a bit like Professor X but with less Patrick Stewart and more pink spaghetti arm. If you fancy Stick it to the Man on Wii U, it'll set you back $10 in North America and £7/8 euros across the pond. If you're a PS4 owner and a Plus subscriber, you can pick up Zoink's 2D adventure as a Plus freebie when it hits Europe on April 30 and North America on May 6. Alternatively, it's already available on PC. Moving onto Picross e4, the latest batch of gridded criss-cross features more than 150 puzzles, including new 20x15 whoppers. As for the hard numbers, it'll set you back $6 in North America, and £4.50/5 euros in Europe. [Image: Ripstone]
Jazz-infused platformer Stick it to The Man is sticking it to the PS4
Papercraft platformer Stick it to The Man is also on its way to PS4, complete with 1080p visuals and other system-specific tune-ups. Penned by Adventure Time comic author Ryan North, Zoink's jazzy, jaundiced adventure hits European PS4s first on April 30, before journeying across to the US on May 6. The previously announced Wii U version is still stuck to a "late Spring" window, but publisher Ripstone says it'll announce a release date shortly. Stick it to The Man stars Ray, who isn't Sideshow Bob's long-lost cousin, in a supernatural adventure that centers around the hero's psychic abilities. Like most psychics, Ray gets his mind-reading powers from a great big pink spaghetti arm that sticks out of his head and yanks thoughts out of other people's brains. Ripstone says the game's PS4 version "has been enhanced to take advantage of next-gen features," and that includes the higher-def resolution and hearing the thoughts of the game characters through the DualShock 4 speakers. If you'd rather not wait for all that, you'll be pleased to know Stick it to The Man is already out on PS3, Vita, and Steam. [Image: Ripstone]
Knytt Underground, Pure Chess coming to Wii U eShop
Knytt Underground, the curious game of subterranean exploration, will come to the Wii U eShop, courtesy of indie publisher Ripstone. Originally developed by Nicklas 'Nifflas' Nygren for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, Knytt Underground borrows and occasionally mocks the structure of games like Super Metroid, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and other victims of their pervasive portmanteau. Ripstone has also announced a downloadable Wii U version of Pure Chess, a classic game in which two dueling kings send out L-shaped horses and cylindrical rookies until a "gotcha" is declared. It's been a while. Knytt Underground and Pure Chess will be available on the Wii U's eShop near "the end of 2013/start of 2014."
Men's Room Mayhem: Please wash hands before playing
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. The PlayStation Vita represents an interesting cross-section between traditional console games and mobile apps. During the time I've spent with the handheld, I've found myself gravitating toward its mobile-influenced games; I lost a solid week to Jetpack Joyride, and the free-to-play ecosystem sim Ecolibrium is my current obsession. Men's Room Mayhem is another successful Vita take on mobile gaming concepts, and I've had a lot of fun with it so far. Men's Room Mayhem plays similarly to the iOS hit Flight Control, only you're in charge of bladder and bowel relief, rather than air traffic management. Patrons enter your bathroom wishing to use a urinal or a stall. Your job is to guide your customers to their destinations by drawing paths on the Vita's touch screen. You'll need to act quickly, though – ignore your waiting customers for too long and you'll have a mess on your hands. Bonus points are awarded for maintaining bathroom etiquette (leaving empty space between urinal users), and for making your patrons wash their hands before exiting.
'Men's Room Mayhem' rated for Vita in Australia
A Vita game called "Men's Room Mayhem" has been rated by the Classification Board in Australia. It's the work of developer Sawfly Studios, a group of four former Sony Liverpool employees.Sawfly hasn't officially announced its game yet, but on the studio's website, art director Jon Eggelton said "We take a lot of inspiration from games like That Game Company's Journey, and Playdead's Limbo." Maybe Sawfly is working on two games? It's either that, or we're heading to a future in which something called "Men's Room Mayhem" surprises us with subtlety and beauty.We've asked publisher Ripstone just what this is, because there's no way we can read that title and not have questions. Ripstone confirmed its existence, but is still waiting to make an official announcement. "What I can say is it's a game about mens rooms and what goes on behind closed cubicle doors (but not in a dodgy way!)" the publisher told us.
Pixar artists form Steel Wool Games, Flyhunter due out in 2013
So five people from Pixar start a game studio, and no, that's not the beginning of an off-color joke. Steel Wool Games was founded by Sequoia Blankenship, Andrew Dayton, Jonathan Hoffman, Joshua Qualtieri and Jason Topolski, all of whom work at Pixar by day and now develop games by night. Steel Wool's first game, Flyhunter, is due out in 2013 from PC and PlayStation publisher Ripstone."We have an internal phrase that we use to describe our style: 'Grimsical,'" says Dayton, Steel Wool's executive producer. "It's our fundamental principle as a company. We create worlds that are funny and whimsical but dipped in gritty tones." That certainly sounds like Pixar.Steel Wool has an additional team of 12 working on Flyhunter and all things grimsical, so while it's an after-hours studio for the founders, this is a full-time operation.
