de Blob Is Coming Soon, This Time I Promise

de Blob Intro Trailer
I made some promises at last year's PAX that de Blob would be hitting stores early this year. Well the developers made me a liar, but it's for the best. In light of our struggles at THQ over the last year, the devs thought it was best to keep it in the oven a bit longer. The game is shaping up to be the best looking Wii game we have done and is set to do especially well with the gamers of all kinds. This time, I promise, de Blob is coming sooner rather than later.

Back Home From PAX07

I'm back from the Penny Arcade Expo! I had a lot of fun in Seattle (my first time visiting) despite my feet and calves throbbing after three days of being up on them, showing off our games. I have to say, I expected the place to be bigger. My only other major expo experience was E3 in 2006. Otherwise, the people were all really cool and the atmosphere was one of a kind. I met a lot of really interesting people, including the folks who were demoing N+ and Kim from Bioware, who was demoing Mass Effect. We got a chance to quickly talk about testing such a massive game

My highlights for the show were playing N+ and Castle Crashers. They are very unique and satisfying experiences that are a perfect fit for Live Arcade. I watched people play Metroid Prime 3: Corruption over their shoulders; it looked amazing on the massive plasma screens they were playing on. I'll definitely be picking this game up if I get a Wii. The Mass Effect demo was amazing. Despite some who were disappointed or not awed, I think it really showed off the little details that are going to make this one of the greatest games ever.

I spent the majority of my time demoing our upcoming Wii game, de Blob. Originally developed by students in Utrecht, it puts the player in control of the rebellious Blob who is acting out against the evil Inkt Corporation by literally painting the city red, or whatever color you want. It was on the inside of our booth, so I don't think as many people saw it who could have, but it still managed to draw a large crowd when they did see it. I even had a few people tell me that it was their favorite game of the show which made me very happy. It still has quite a while in development and test before it hits store shelves, so I hope that marketing can get the word out in the mean time.

Fun Fridays: Two For One

First up is a Penny Arcade comic from Monday. This was absolutely hilarious to me on many levels. Firstly, it caters to my insatiable appetite for achievements. Secondly, in one week's time I'll be at the Penny Arcade Expo so I probably won't be able to post next Friday.

The comic is influenced by last weeks Stranglehold demo. I downloaded it and played through it once. Then I deleted it. A lot of people I talked too really enjoyed it. They pointed out that it really fits John Woo's style (flying pigeons and all) and it was a lot of fun. I agree for the most part on both points. However, I had a really hard time suspending my disbelief as Chow Yun Fat's character's stiff animations slid awkwardly across every surface like Hong Kong was covered in a thin layer of very slippery ice. The graphics had that really shiny 'next-gen' look that really creeps me out. And the action was so loose, the aiming reticule flew all over the screen looking for enemies that seemed to pop out of every nook and cranny imaginable. I did like the concentrated aiming bits, but the rest just ruined it for me. Thankfully I will pass when this game comes out.

The second offering is a video clip from Yahtzee Crowshaw. His pointed and uproarious commentary was first brought to my attention on Game|Life and he has been quickly snatched up by the Escapist Magazine to do a weekly show, called Zero Punctuation. The first video explores the Heavenly Sword demo and the Resident Evil 5 trailer. Do your self a favor and watch his other videos as well. Below he lambastes Fable but the Darkness video is great as well.