OCmodshop Talks with Freezepop
Thursday, September 04, 2008
While at PAX 2008 I had the chance to meet with the synthpop band Freezepop. For those who don’t know, Freezepop’s music has been features on every Guitar Hero game, and many other rhythm games, and have gathered quite a following. Their music is remarkably upbeat and and the melodies catchy.
Freezepop consists of three members: Liz Enthusiasm (Jussi Gamache) on vocals, the Duke of Pennekoeken (Kasson Crooker) as programmer, and The Other (Sean T. Drinkwater) on synths. They use a variety of electronic instruments, sequencers and computers to produce their music. Liz is also a graphic designer by trade, and designs the band’s logos and CD art.
Iron Chef America Preview for DS and Wii
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Cooking Mama is one of the most unlikely casual gaming hits in recent memory. The goal of the game is to basically prepare culinary delights from scratch, which runs you through a series of mini-games for each step of the cooking process. The Nintendo Wii and DS’s unique control mechanisms are perfect for this type of game, as players make chopping, stirring and other motions to complete the minigames.
No popular game can exist without someone copying it, and sometimes the copies are better than the original. Destineer has teamed up with Iron Chef America to try and push Cooking Mama out of her kitchen. I’d love to see Cooking Mama go up against Morimoto any day… you still wouldn’t be able to understand what either of them are saying, but it would be one furious battle.
Wordjong Party Preview
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Wordjong is an interesting puzzler that has become quite popular amongst the casual game crowd. The gameplay basically combines Scrabble with MahJong, where you must make words out of the available tiles, but you must adhere to MahJong rules. A pile of arranged letter tiles sits before you, and you can only select tiles at a corner or edge of a pile. Of course, longer words yield more points, and you are rewarded with wild cards for good play.
The previous version of Destineer’s Wordjong for the DS (read our review here) allowed you to play competitively with another person (assuming you could actually find another person with the same level of enthusiasm AND a DS). The gameplay is fun with multiplayer, and now WordJong Party allows up to four players to comete at the same time.
Cate West: The Vanishing Files Info
Thursday, September 04, 2008
A series of unsolvable crimes dubbed “The Vanishing Files” have paralyzed the city. The police turn to novelist Cate West, whose psychic visions just might be the key to solving the mystery. Help Cate find clues, compile evidence, track down hideouts, and discover the link between these crimes and an unsolved mystery from Cate’s past! Featuring beautiful locations, an engrossing storyline, and addictive gameplay, this game is an original whodunit that is sure to delight mystery fans of all ages!
USA Today Puzzle Craze for DS Preview
Thursday, September 04, 2008
If you’re a busy person AND love word puzzles, then Destineer has you covered like a Jimmy Hat. No longer is there a need to carry around bulky newspapers and waste trees; now you can pollute the environment by charging up your Nintendo DS battery and play your favorite word puzzles on the go!
Destineer has teamed up with the hip swingsters at USA Today to bring you “USA Today Puzzle Craze”, which consolodates four different newspaper word puzzles into one game.
Animal Boxing Preview for Nintendo DS
Thursday, September 04, 2008
The Nintendo DS becomes the Nintendo SD in Animal Boxing! The unique “Slam Down” system works by turning the system upside down, letting you fight with amazing Touch Screen controls! Aim for the head and torso of your opponent with easy to learn Stylus motions. Jab, hook, dodge, weave, uppercut and more as you prove who is the most ferocious boxer in the Animal Boxing tournament!
Jumble Madness DS Info
Thursday, September 04, 2008
For over 60 years Jumble has been one of the most popular word games in the world. Both in print puzzle and new online, Jumble has entertained millions with its simple mechanics and brain-teasing anagrams. Jumble Madness is the next evolution, bringing classic Jumble puzzles and new variants to the Nintendo DS.
Jumble is available daily to more than 60 million people in the US in over 600 newspapers In the past 5 years, Jumble has sold almost 500,000 puzzle books!
Interview with Star Wars Force Unleashed’s Haden Blackman
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Recently I got the chance to speak with Haden Blackman, Executive Producer for The Force Unleashed the upcoming Star Wars game from LucasArts
GVK: What is the background and setting for the game?
HB: The Force Unleashed takes place in between Episodes III and IV. It bridges the gap between the two movie trilogies, and starts fairly soon after the end of Revenge of the Sith. The Emperor has ordered Darth Vader to hunt down and eliminate the remaining Jedi, and you play a big part in that.
Stoked: Destineer’s Snowboarding Game for Xbox 360
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Destineer is a well-known publisher of some unusual games, and has primarally focused on the Nintendo DS and Wii platforms. As such, many of their prior games have not pushed the graphics envelope, or been very large in scope. A visit to the Destineer booth at PAX 2008 made me believe that this trend may soon change.
Desineer is publishing a new Snowboarding sim; simply called ‘Stoked’. This is Destineer’s first game on the Xbox 360 platform, and was easily the best-looking game on display at their booth.
Interview with Marty O’Donnell, Composer of Halo
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Q. How did you get into gaming audio? What was your background originally?
A. My fi rst career after getting my master’s in music composition from USC was as composer and audio producer for fi lm and television at a company I started with a long-time friend and writing partner, Mike Salvatori. I spent most of the ’80s and ’90s producing scores and jingles while at the same time playing a lot of games. I met the guys at Cyan just before Myst was released, and I was convinced that I could help make the audio for the sequel, Riven. They hired my company in 1996, which is the same year I started working with Bungie Studios on their Myth series.
GameCom PC Gaming Headsets at Plantronics Booth
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
There were several headset manufacturers at PAX 08, many with elaborate booths in the middle of the show floor. Plantronics seemed to have gotten shafted a little bit, as they were shoved right up against the wall at the show floor. They may not have had a flashier booth, but they did have several models of gaming headsets to show off. The one “booth babe” they had was a member of the Frag Dolls, who was busy playing an online game against some unfortunate soul.
Sins of a Solar Empire at PAX 08
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
The long awaited expansion for Sins of a Solar Empire is upon us. SOASE: Entrenchment due to release later this year, and for a lot less than most expansions. That is because this is one of many “micro expansions” that will be released to supplement the popular strategy game set in space. And with all the goodies packed into Entrenchment, one can only wait and wonder what the next expansions will bring.
Wrath of the Lich King Info Straight from Blizzard @ PAX
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
While at PAX I got the pleasure to visit the Blizzard booth and talk with them about the latest expansion for World of Warcraft, Wrath of the Lich King. Indeed this is going to be one that will leave devoted players clamoring for more, but aside from the new worlds, quests, instances and monsters, what does this new expansion have to offer? Walk with me, talk with me my friends.
Set up at the Blizzard booth were the community managers Eyonix and Bornakk. I was expecting a larger presence by the good people at Blizzard, but from the look of it they were only here to help promote Lich King and had no plans for making any big announcements. But here is what Eyonix could tell me about this exciting new addition to the Warcraft family.
Damnation: Hands-On Preview
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
The first thing noticeable in damnation is how the environments look; while Codemasters was trying to go for a cyberpunk feel, the game looks like a cross between cyberpunk and Duke Nukem, not that that’s a bad thing. Your character, a cross between Duke Nukem and Indiana Jones, does everything from shooting, to grappling, to swinging across ledges. While the environment allowed for some cool interaction, the controls were somewhat confusing. Picking up weapons was somewhat difficult (and we were told the game was buggy in that area), getting up poles and walls was hard unless you were exactly in the place you needed to be, and overall keeping your character going straight was impossible.
PAX 2008 Booth Babes
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
The Penny Arcade Expo has grown immensely over its five-year existance; so much so that it has grabbed the attention of big vendors who like to send out their sexiest models from L.A. and all places sunny. The Booth Babes were more plentiful this year, and the costumes have become more impressive as more large companies set up rather elaborate booths to grab the attention of all the patrons.
Rise of the Argonauts: Hands On
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
We were able to take a test build of “Rise of the Argonauts” by Codemasters for a quick run at PAX and walked away mildly amused.
The game loosely follows the story of the Argonauts in Greek Mythology. Codemasters was quick to point out this wasn’t anything like God of War as it had a lot more narrative to go along with it’s hack and slash gameplay-too bad the narrative put us to sleep.
BYOC LAN Party at PAX 08
Monday, September 01, 2008
Just off the show floor, past the bands signing memorabilia on the sky bridge, you will find the B.Y.O.C. Room. This is a room where you can Bring Your Own Computer. Get it? Great. For a few dollars more after general admission, you can lug your computer up to this room and play LAN or alone at your leisure. And don’t worry about your equipment being stolen. The 6′ plus “Enforcers” will ensure that your baby will never leave the floor via thieves.
In fact, even we couldn’t get in without an escort. So after a little talking we managed to rope one of the hulking guards into giving us the dime store tour of the BYOC room. As we walked and took pictures and video-taped, our friendly escort clued us in on a few of the inner workings of the room that even the press has a hard time getting through to.
Ken Levine Keynote Speech at PAX 08
Monday, September 01, 2008
Ken Levine, creator of Bioshock, stood in front of hundreds tonight at PAX 2008 to give his keynote. After several minutes of applause, Ken took us down a journey from a geeky youth to a geeky adult who designs games for a living. Ken described being ashamed of his love for Dungeons and Dragons and comic books. He told how his sexual development began with his desire to have sex with the Scarlet Witch.
Hal Halpin Talks About the ECA and Censorship from PAX
Monday, September 01, 2008
While covering the PAX Expo in Seattle, I was able to speak with Hal Halpin, President of the ECA. The Entertainment Consumers Association is members based advocacy group that fights for gamers rights. I want to thank Hal for taking the time from the very hectic convention schedule to talk with us.
GVK: Can you give the readers a brief background of how this got started?
DemiGod Info from Mike Mari
Monday, September 01, 2008
While covering the PAX Expo in Seattle, I got a hands on look and interview with lead designer Mike Mari about the very impressive looking Demigod which is due this February.
GVK: What is the background and setting for the game?
