The LucasArts web-site has been updated with a big whizzy show-case full of all your most anticipated games. There's... an Indiana Jones game! And... a roller coater simulation! Wow! I love roller coasters.

And... Traxion? What the hell?

Oh, and LucasArts are also hiring, presumably to refill the places of all the people they sacked!

Well this was unexpected. Check out this brief news item on Gamespot saying that a Sam & Max game will be debuting at E3 by the ever-growing game subscription service GameTap. Interesting.

The only real news reported is that there will be a video to show off on Wednesday. Since details about this announcement are nonexistent, nothing can be said for certain, but I'm gathering that GameTap will be one of the online outlets Telltale has selected for the series in addition to Telltale Now and others. Gamespot did make the statement that the Sam & Max games are being co-produced GameTap, whatever that means. More specific info will presumably be known later this week.

Update update: Telltale's responded by posting its new Sam & Max web site that not only clears up the confusion but features an updated Q&A, wallpaper, a "comic strip generator," the promise of an E3 trailer on Thursday, and other neat stuff for you to fondle. Why are you not there?!

Update! Press release available below the cut.<:MORENEWS:>

GameTap and Telltale ANNOUNCE REVERED "Sam & Max" FRANCHISE TO DEBUT ON
THE GAMETAP NETWORK

GameTap and Telltale team up to bring America's favorite crime fighters
back to the video game screen in time for holiday season - Exclusive E3
trailer screening



LOS ANGELES - E3 - (May 9, 2006) - "Sam & Max," the legendary dog and
rabbit crime-fighting stars of video games, television and comics, make
their triumphant return to the gaming scene after an absence of more
than a decade! At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), GameTap, the
first-of-its-kind broadband entertainment network from Turner
Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.), and interactive entertainment
pioneer Telltale today announced they are co-producing an all new "Sam &
Max" episodic adventure series that will debut on the GameTap network in
time for this holiday season. Telltale will also sell individual
episodes from its Sam & Max website at http://snm.telltalegames.com.

At GameTap's E3 booth (South Hall #1078), fans of "Sam & Max" can view a
trailer that provides a sneak peek of what's to come. There is even a
special poster designed by series creator Steve Purcell which fans can
obtain by taking the GameTap Aptitude Test. Visitors can also sign up
for a chance to win an Alienware computer. For those who cannot attend
E3, the trailer will be available on GameTap TV and on the Telltale
website at snm.telltalegames.com later in the week.

The new "Sam & Max" series marks GameTap's first outing as a producer.
Also an industry first is the introduction of a brand new title on
GameTap's broadband network. GameTap now boasts more than 500 video game
titles as well as original video programming, music channels and
thriving online communities.

"GameTap is all about great games, so we're thrilled that the first
GameTap-produced title and the first brand new game to debut on our
service is a 'Sam and Max' episodic series," said Ricardo Sanchez,
GameTap's vice president of content. "We're also very excited to be
working with Telltale Games to pioneer episodic game development."


"GameTap is a great fit for Sam & Max," said Telltale CEO Dan Connors.
"They have a tremendous amount of respect for the series, and their
online channel makes them an ideal partner for episodic content. We
look forward to our collaborations for accelerating innovation in the
interactive entertainment space."

With its unique visual style and clever storylines, the "Sam & Max"
franchise has amassed a devoted following in comic book, animation, and
video game circles. By coming to GameTap, the "Sam & Max" legacy will
continue to grow and thrive in the bold new frontier of broadband
entertainment.

"Sam & Max" will join GameTap's extensive library of on-demand content
that now boasts more than 500 video game titles as well as original
video programming, spanning music, animation, reality shows and more,
all of which targets followers of the pop-culture driven video game
lifestyle. Telltale is continuing to release new "Sam & Max" content at
its website on a regular basis, including the serialized webcomic story
which began last winter, collectible prints signed by Steve Purcell,
t-shirts and a completely new cartoon strip generator, which it has
posted to the site today.

About Sam & Max
Steve Purcell published "Monkeys Violating the Heavenly Temple" as his
first Sam & Max comic in 1987. Sam & Max solved assorted crimes and
mysteries as "Freelance Police" in their sturdy 1960 Black and White De
Soto Adventurer from their home base in New York City. After a series of
follow-up comic books, Purcell worked with a team at LucasArts to create
the critically acclaimed "Sam & Max Hit the Road" adventure game in
1993. The dog and bunny duo moved to television, in an original animated
series on the Fox Kids Network in 1997.

About Telltale
Telltale delivers Tales for Your Imagination - high caliber interactive
entertainment which features engaging stories, strong characters, and
rich environments. A new era of interactive entertainment is emerging,
with customers expecting more from their investment in play time.
Telltale is developing and deploying cinematic quality animation and
storytelling technologies, to create entertaining and exciting
interactive adventures which meet these new expectations. Staffed with
long time industry veterans, Telltale is currently creating tales based
on Jeff Smith's Bone series, Steve Purcell's Sam & Max characters and
television's popular CSI program in partnership with Ubisoft. Telltale
offers content development and custom publishing services for
license-holders interested in adapting their properties for interactive
delivery. Telltale has created innovative tools, designed specifically
for rapid development of high quality, space-efficient titles for
digital distribution. Telltale titles can be downloaded from its
website, as well as online partners such as Yahoo! Games,
Direct-to-Drive, Trymedia Systems, Boonty, and CNET. To learn more about
Telltale, please visit www.telltalegames.com

About GameTap

GameTap delivers hundreds of the greatest games-on-demand plus original
programming via a broadband-connected PC. To access GameTap, players
securely download and install Turner-developed client software from
www.gametap.com that acts as a gateway to the GameTap vault. Because
games reside securely on the PC, not across a network, they act just as
if they were still on the console or at the arcade. Fast response times,
3D effects, colors, and characters are all present and accounted for.
New games and original programming will be added to the service each
week. GameTap supports navigation and game play using keyboard and
mouse, as well as most USB peripherals.

Voodoo Extreme has listed LucasArts E3 Lineup;

Indiana Jones 2007
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
Star Wars Empire at War: Forces of Corruption
Thrillville
Traxion

So, no Mercenaries sequel and no Vader game. However Thrillville is a Roller Coaster sim!

Read blurbs on each title here.

Ahoy! Here's some news that you probably missed:

An adventure game called Ankh was released a while back. Apparently the Telltale crew helped out with its creation, which might explain a few references (scanned from PC Zone magazine)

A new Pirates of the Caribbean trailer has been released. Yes, it does include a Voodoo Lady in a familiar looking swamp, and yes, the trailer does look pretty awesome (thanks to The Tingler for the heads up).

You can now review games over at IMDB... it only takes a second, and it will guarantee the production of Monkey Island 5, probably. Read all about it (thanks to Alien426).

Nightlight Productions have released part IX of Lost Cause!

bgbennyboy from Quick and Easy brought out a new program that lets you play old 2D SCUMM games in 3D, and vice-versa. I think. Something like that, anyway.

Yo-yos are now available from the Double Fine store! They glow in the dark giving you a +5 steet cred bonus (thanks to Raz's Domain).

Ron Gilbert loves the Gibbage!

Comments: 0 Twitter this

Page two

Sorry about that. The site's back though, as you can see. Cough.

There's a large survey that's been posted on the Telltale web site, and you should really take it. Otherwise Sam & Max is going to get canceled.

Speaking of Sam & Max, the latest newsletter claims that stuff about that moderately anticipated title will be coming next week.

The newsletter also reveals that the long-mentioned localized versions of Bone will be available "soon" with German, Spanish and French subtitles. At that time anyone who has already purchased the game can get the upgrade for free.

And finally, for you exceedingly not intelligent people who have Out from Boneville but have neglected to buy The Great Cow Race, the $12.99 offer for the packaged version has been extended to the end of the month. The contents of this post should convince you that you need to subscribe to Telltale's newsletter if you haven't already.

Total Video Games today confirms that the speculation was right. LucasArts is expanding its Mercenaries franchise with Mercenaries2: World in Flames.

"While the original Mercenaries'(TM) high-octane, go anywhere, do anything and blow the crap out of everything style was a hit with gamers, the whole experience was screaming to run on next-generation game systems," explains Pandemic CEO Andrew Goldman. "And while we're building on the core mercenary experience we created for the original, we've taken full advantage of next-gen technology to offer a more richly detailed, reactive, living world than gamers have ever seen before."

More to be revealed at E3, naturally.

Man. This sequel looks bloody great! Even better than the first LEGO Star Wars game, which is a classic in itself.

The trailer info page on starwars.com

Direct link to downloadable QT file. (~30MB)

And what 'event' is Jim Ward tying this game release to? Why the DVD release of the Original Original Trilogy.

Han shoots first. On DVD! At last!