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'Splosion Man 'splores $5 price point next week
Twisted Pixel's highly combustible Xbox Live Arcade platformer and object of Joystiq adoration, 'Splosion Man, will headline the upcoming Marketplace schedule (as relayed by Major Nelson) with a temporary 50-percent price reduction. After dropping to 400 ($5) for the week of February 1, 'Splosion Man should prove more challenging to blow off than up. Other highlights include Chime, February 3's non-profit Xbox Live Arcade release from Zoe Mode and OneBigGame, the Halo 3 Mythic 2 Map Pack, and the first part of Assassin's Creed 2 downloadable content, "Battle of Forli." Expect a Joystiq review on that closer to its January 28 launch.
Joystiq's Top 10 of 2009: 'Splosion Man
When Twisted Pixel first announced 'Splosion Man, we all thought it was a joke. The press release, received on April Fools' Day, described a man made of explosions. Specifically, the release noted, "Yeah, lots of 'splosions ... like a guy made out of 'splosions, and he'd be like 'splode 'splode 'splode! and then things die," and it continued, "He'll 'splode people, and they'll blow up into big steaks and ribeyes and stuff." The Joystiq team dismissed this announcement as a prank, which seemed appropriate for the studio that brought us The Maw. The following day, Twisted Pixel sent Joystiq another press release, assuring us that 'Splosion Man was indeed real. And from that ridiculous premise came one of the best 2D platformers in years. 'Splosion Man has just one button, the 'Splode Button, which accomplishes all tasks in the game. It's 'Splosion Man's attack, his action and, most importantly, his triple jump. Sending this point home, players can attempt to customize the controls from the options menu, only to find that every face button is mapped to the 'splode function. (You actually get an Achievement for trying to remap the controls.) Using this very simple control scheme, players 'splode enemies, solve puzzles and plow through fiendishly clever racing sections. Throw in a brilliant, four-player co-op mode that literally has everyone jumping off one another and 'Splosion Man easily becomes one of the most refreshing experiences of 2009. Oh, and don't forget the donut song:
Xbox Live deal of the week: The Maw for $5
For $5, you could probably buy a value meal fit for a king -- but you know what you couldn't get? A delightfully charming action platformer starring a purple, omnivorous and gelatinous blob. No, wait! This week -- and this week only -- you can get a delightfully charming action platformer starring a purple, omnivorous and gelatinous blob. The price of Twisted Pixel's The Maw has been slashed from 800 MS Points ($10) to 400 MS Points ($5). And here we thought Christmas was over. Additionally, today's holiday XBLM deal is a Rolling Stones live track pack for Guitar Hero 5. It can be yours for only 360 ($4.50), half the usual 720 ($9) price. Shortcut: Add The Maw to your 360 download queue [Via Xbox.com] Shortcut: The Rolling Stones Live Track Pack [Via Xbox.com]
'Splosion Man Avatar awards unlocked; delicious steaks to be distributed
We've got good news all around for fans of Twisted Pixel's 'Splosion Man, as well as advocates for tender red meat. The developer has announced that a title update has fixed laggy online multiplayer sessions and added those unlockable Avatar awards to the highly combustible Xbox Live Arcade platformer. To unlock all four shirts seen above (two for female Avatars and two for males), you must accomplish two feats: break a single pane of glass (easy!) and beat the entire co-op campaign (considerably less easy). Oh, right, the meat thing. In one of the greatest nonsensical partnerships in the history of civilization, Omaha Steaks has teamed up with Twisted Pixel to give away "hundreds of top-quality steak filets" to 'sploders across the nation. To register for the giveaway, just download and equip a special 'Splosion Man gamerpic, and then play a few online multiplayer matches before November 22. If you win, you get steaks. If you're vegan, you give them to us. Source – Title Update for Splosion Man [PDF]
PAX 2009: Twisted Pixel reveals new game: Comic Jumper
It must be fun working at Twisted Pixel, where you have games featuring a hungry, purple blob, a man who travels via combustion and now, an over-muscled hero with a giant smiley face for a head. Twisted Pixel just announced Comic Jumper, its newest downloadable title. The platforms are still unannounced and the game is likely "more than a year away," according to Twisted Pixel Games co-founder Mike Wilford.You play as Captain Smiley, along with his cohort Star -- who is, umm, stuck to the Captain's chest. They're bonded together, but they hate each other! Sounds like the perfect way to expose gamers to sticky situations and witty dialogue, no? The game will have you sending Captain Smiley into different levels within assorted comic books, with the art style (and possibly gameplay) changing with each jump into a new book. "This is something that Josh [Bear, another co-founder, the third being Frank Wilson] has had in his mind since high school," Wilford said. We're wondering what it was doing in there for so long ... and what will happen once it escapes.
'Splosion Man Avatar Awards revealed
Twisted Pixel has officially revealed the Avatar Awards that are set to appear in 'Splosion Man in the near future. Even better, the developer even told us the requirements to unlock the two awards. The first award is a men's T-shirt and a women's hoodie. To unlock it, simply break your first pane of glass in 'Splosion Man. The second one, however, is just a bit more difficult. To unlock the Big Science T-shirt and dress, you'll have to complete the entire co-op campaign. Yeah, the whole thing. Finally, we've got one other bit of good news. If you've already accomplished these tasks, the items will automatically unlock. Unfortunately, we still don't know when the Avatar Awards will be available, but you can bet we'll be all over them -- and they will be all over our Avatars -- when they release.
Xbox Live Top 10: There can be only 1 (17)
Major Nelson's latest battle report comes as a bit of a surprise as Halo 3 was the most-played retail game of last week. With all of the new Gears of War 2 content, we were sure that game would be at the top, but Epic's title only managed to claw its way to fourth place yet again. It was bested by the usual double dose of Call of Duty action in Call of Duty 4 and Call of Duty: World at War.On the XBLA side, the frenetic tag-based combat of Marvel vs Capcom 2 was too much for the competition. Capcom's brawler enjoyed top placement, finally bumping down Battlefield 1943 to second place. Coming in at third was none other than 'Splosion Man, Twisted Pixel's excellent follow-up to previous Arcade hit, The Maw.
Review: 'Splosion Man
At first, I actually thought 'Splosion Man was a joke -- as did much of the Joystiq staff. Twisted Pixel, the crew behind charming 3D platformer The Maw, put out its first press release for 'Splosion Man on April Fools' Day. The press release detailed a game more or less distilled purely from gaming stereotypes, about a man that not only created explosions, but was actually made of explosions -- or 'splosions, to be more precise -- and when he 'sploded hapless baddies, they would 'splode into various meat products (steaks, hams, etc.). One day later, Twisted Pixel sent out another press release to clarify that 'Splosion Man was no joke. I'm here to tell you that 'Splosion Man is definitely not a joke. It's one of the best 2D platformers in recent memory. %Gallery-49189%
'Splosion Man could detonate on PS3, Wii
Frank Wilson, co-founder and CTO of Twisted Pixel, said his studio's library of recent downloadable titles could potentially see life on other platforms. Just yesterday, Twisted Pixel unleashed the XBLA title 'Splosion Man, blasting the humorous hero and Xbox owners into Microsoft's Summer of Arcade promotion. In an interview with Endsights, Wilson said the small developer is not tied to any specific platform and the studio would consider a PlayStation Network and WiiWare release of 'Splosion Man and the studio's adorable adventure title, The Maw, if it "found the right arrangement." So, other platforms could be in the cards, but Twisted Pixel is happy with what it's been able to achieve on the Xbox platform, so far. "We're getting pretty skilled with the Xbox 360, so it's definitely easiest for us to stick with it," Wilson said. Wilson's words aren't confirmation that either title will see life on other platforms, but at least we've cleared the air of any existing Microsoft money-hats.
This Wednesday: 'Splosion Man blowing up XBLA
Wow, this is awkward. Sure, we're excited that 'Splosion Man 800 ($10) is coming to the XBLA this Wednesday. But pre-SoA shuffle, this was to be the week of the turtles' return with TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-shelled. The bad thing is that we completely forgot to cancel the order for our turtle-celebrating supplies, and the FedEx guy just arrived.So, if you happen to spy us playing 'Splosion Man while we rock out to our mint condition Coming Out of Their Shells Tour cassette and eat the TMNT Pudding Pies recently discovered in a New Mexico warehouse, try not to judge, OK?%Gallery-49189%
Lots of 'splodey new 'Splosion Man media
Twisted Pixel has released some new media for its upcoming XBLA title, 'Splosion Man. While we enjoy a fresh batch of screenshots as much as the next gamer, the highlight is definitely the first gameplay trailer, which you can watch above. The charm that was so abundant in The Maw appears to be fully intact in 'Splosion Man, replete with goofy character designs and plenty of humor. We're really digging the look of the gameplay, particularly the explosion assisted wall jumping.Oh, and Twisted Pixel also announced that the game will include not only 50 single-player levels -- along with some "unconventional boss battles" -- but also another 50 levels just for the four-player co-op mode. That's a lot of 'sploding.%Gallery-51689%
Final 'The Maw' DLC coming next week
The third, and final, "deleted scenes" DLC for the platform-puzzler The Maw will be released next week on the PC and Xbox 360. The final scene, The Speeder Lane, sees Frank and Maw hijack a Bounty Hunter Speeder GTA-style, which eventually leads to an "old school boss fight."The final add-on from developer Twisted Pixel is priced at 100 ($1.25). The Speeder Lane is set for release on the Xbox Live Arcade next Wednesday, April 29, and for PC via Steam, Greenhouse, and Direct2Drive soon after. We'd hope more Maw content was on the horizon but Twisted Pixel is busy trying to 'spode people in preparation of its next (strange) title.
The Maw developer's 'Splosion Man is real, real weird
Two days, two games starring heroes who explode, neither of them jokes. We caught Explodemon! but managed to miss The Maw creator Twisted Pixel's intentionally cheeky announcement of a game called 'Splosion Man amid the April Fools mess. We surely didn't miss the follow-up confirmation that -- bizarre as it sounds -- the game is real.Planned for Xbox Live Arcade, the game is "a 2.5D action/platformer based around the simple concept of 'splosions and the ridiculousness that ensues," according to its developer. Born of an experiment conducted too close to the sun, the titular Man will run through levels destroying everything in his wake, including the scientists trying to capture him. They're reduced to "chunks of ham and ribeyes, the smell of their destruction terrifying, but also a little succulent."From the sound of things, the game will be heavily focused on racking up points based on destruction, but will also feature large-scale boss battles and story sequences integrated into gameplay. Twisted Pixel is planning four-player co-op (yes, there are three other 'splody guys) via local and Live play. Given the dev's success with The Maw, consider our interest sparked.%Gallery-49189%
The Maw dev on the 'negative stigma' of DLC
Speaking to Gamasutra, Twisted Pixel CEO Michael Wilford spoke about the company's recent release The Maw. Specifically, Wilford addresses the game's DLC, two episodes of which are now available. Wilford stated that Microsoft requires Xbox Live Arcade developers to disclose plans for DLC up front and Twisted Pixel decided that extra levels would make sense. He noted further that the company didn't even start development on DLC until the main game had been finished.This point is of particular importance, as the DLC's "Deleted Scene" label has caused some confusion and ire among gamers. Wilford stated that the deleted scene idea made sense to the team, saying, "We thought it would be cool, but I think some people took it to mean that we intentionally stripped out levels that were 100 percent complete only to sell them as DLC, which is not the case." When asked about the risks of creating DLC, Wilford said, "The biggest risk that caught us off guard is the public perception that you're trying to rip them off." He went on to say it's arguable that the concept of DLC has enough "negative stigma" that "it's not even worth attempting." There are examples of successful DLC, according to Wilford, but they are relatively few.[Update: Two episodes -- not just one -- of Maw DLC are currently available.]
Steam rolls out the red carpet for DLC
Valve wants you to know that Steam, its client for PC gamers, now has support for in-game DLC. The first game to feature DLC through Steam is Twisted Pixel's The Maw, which already has two packs available to Xbox 360 owners. These same two packs, Brute Force and River Redirect, are currently on Xbox Live Marketplace and will be available on Steam by the time you're done reading this sentence.
Hothead Games to bring Braid to Mac, The Maw to PC
Xbox Live is a wonderful place. Without it, we would have never discovered diamonds in the rough such as The Maw and Braid. Thankfully, these games are getting the red carpet treatment and rolling out to other platforms, courtesy of Hothead Games.Hothead games will first bring Jonathan Blow's Braid to Mac gamers everywhere. Also, the company is currently working on getting Twisted Pixel's The Maw to "multiple as-of-yet-unannounced digital distribution platforms and services." Steam, anyone? We don't have a date yet as to when Hothead will be offering these titles to their respective platforms, but we'll update as soon as we know.
The Maw takes on Brute Force expansion this Wed.
Twisted Pixel Games just announced that The Maw's Brute Force expansion - the first of three "deleted scenes" - will release to the Xbox Live Marketplace this Wednesday, February 18th.For 100 ($1.25), the Brute Force downloadable content embiggens The Maw experience by adding new puzzles, new cinematics and new characters including the robotic Brute Soldier. We fell in love with the overeating purple blob when it released last month, so it's good to see Twisted Pixel supporting the game with relatively affordable DLC. Inexpensive content is always welcome. Overpriced DLC can continue to stay away.%Gallery-44927%
Three Maw 'deleted scenes' coming to Marketplace
Twisted Pixel has revealed plans to release three new levels in the coming weeks for its recently released Xbox Live Arcade title, The Maw. Each level will act as a "deleted scene" from the original leash-devouring vision and include one new achievement per level, at a price of 100 ($1.25) each.In the level Brute Force, Bounty Hunters have sent in members from their new elite strike force, the Brutes, to stop Frank and Maw. In the River Redirect level, Frank and Maw must change the course of a river to surf past a raging fire. Lastly, in The Speeder Lane level, Frank and Maw are required to hijack a Bounty Hunter Speeder GTA-style and crash it through a blockage to progress. Thankfully, the Brute Force level has nothing to do with reviving an old Xbox "classic." Crisis averted.No release date for the content has been revealed, but Twisted Pixel notes each level will be released on a different day.
Twisted Pixel already has The Maw DLC plans
Twisted Pixel Games' The Maw, featuring everyone' favorite one-eyed purple monster with an enormous appetite, will be expanding in the not so distant future with new downloadable content. According to Kotaku, Twisted Pixel already has three pieces (Brute Force, River Redirect and The Speeder Lane) of DLC planned for release. Each will be a new level, come with a new achievement and cost 100 Microsoft points. Nom, nom, nom.
X3F TV -- XBLA in Brief: The Maw
After a week on hiatus, XBLA in Brief is back with a brand new episode. This week, we bring you The Maw, a surprisingly enjoyable action adventure title. Feed Maw all the animals he can stomach (hint: a lot) and watch him grow and gain lots of nifty powers. Oh, and did we mention the game is gorgeous? Yeah, well it is. Check out the latest episode and see if it's for you.Download the trial version of The Maw from Marketplace.[iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes.[Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly (Zune Marketplace link coming soon).[RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[M4V] Download the M4V directly.
