How To Improve Darth Vader's Final Scene 31 Jul, 2008, 21:52 / 4 comments
Activision Blizzard drops Brütal Legend 31 Jul, 2008, 10:16 / 59 comments
"The only franchises that Activision Publishing will release are based on Crash Bandicoot, Ice Age and Spyro, as well as Prototype and one other game that has not yet been announced," the representative said. "We are reviewing our options regarding those titles that we will not be publishing."This leaves Brütal Legend without a publisher, and in an uncertain situation at the moment, as far as I'd know. Let's hope this news isn't as bad as it seems, and that Double Fine will have little trouble finding a new publisher for this game.
:~
Update by Tingler: Sierra have given a quote to gaming blog Destructoid about the Ghostbusters game, which reads simply:
"It is not cancelled and will not be cancelled."They sound very sure of that. This means that there's definitely hope for all the other games, including The Rockin' Game Brütal Legend. Don't lose hope yet!
Update #2 by Jason: "Brütal Legend is fine," says DFAN.
Update #3 by Thrik:
Variety has provided some more details which imply that Brutal Legend has been completely dropped by Activision Blizzard, and not simply forgotten about or sold under another Activision Blizzard brand as many have speculated:
"Double Fine ... is very close to sealing a new deal to release the game. I don't know who it will be, but I understand that it may not be a traditional publisher. It could be a more "unique" arrangement."That's all we've got, but I'm going to go ahead and guess that digital distribution is on the cards here. The most likely candidate would be Valve's Steam, which has been burning off plenty of copies of Psychonauts for some time now.
Hopefully an actual in-store release will still occur though, because clearly this is a big game that deserves more than to be exclusively distributed via downloads.
It's not been a good day, has it? 29 Jul, 2008, 16:12 / 4 comments
But don't worry too much. According to IGN and clarified by Emily on the Telltale Forums, the game is finished and has been sent to Nintendo for approval. Once that's been given it will quickly be released. Not long to go now, then! Light on the horizon!
Activision merger brings Brutal verdict for Vivendi games 29 Jul, 2008, 02:06 / 1 comment
But today, Gamespot reports that several of Vivendi's in-development games are being re-evaluated as a direct result of the merger, with a few of their projects apparently set to be axed in an effort to "streamline" Vivendi. As a high profile game, Gamespot of course notes that the publisher's press release on the matter made no mention of Double Fine's upcoming heavy metal action/adventure. A few months earlier, Activision Blizzard executives had required some games on Vivendi's slate to be re-pitched by its developers for re-evaluation. At the time, Tim responded to the situation with the following encouraging words:
I'm sure Activision is reviewing all the games--that only makes sense," said Double Fine boss Tim Schafer. "But I haven't been asked to go anywhere or pitch anything special. Anyway, like you said, Brütal Legend speaks for itself! Anyone messes with our game, Ronnie James Dio will put a hex on them.And really before you get too worried it should be said that this news, like the merger in general, will probably end up having no negative effect on the development or existence of Brütal Legend, but still, my heart can't take this. After all the drama and grief Schafer fans had to go through with Psychonauts (which itself was a victim of Microsoft's own "re-evaluations"), you'd think the gods would cut us a break.
More Wallace & Gromit info 28 Jul, 2008, 18:12 / 2 comments
Telltale Games have updated their Wallace & Gromit site with renders, concept art, FAQ, and a trailer!
Telltale and Hothead Chat, Dreams Collide 28 Jul, 2008, 17:57 / 0 comments
And then they all got into a big argument over the correct amount of time within which to release episodes in. Have a read.
Alternate Clone Wars Trailer 28 Jul, 2008, 16:08 / 6 comments
Last call for MI2 opinions 26 Jul, 2008, 22:54 / 4 comments
UPDATE: And here's our regular poster for the event.
Intimidating competition looms, Mojo arms Destructomatic T-47 26 Jul, 2008, 22:52 / 6 comments
Anyway, break a leg you
IGN previews Strong Bad 102 26 Jul, 2008, 22:25 / 2 comments
Those of you waiting for info on the release dates and price info for Strong Bad will just have to keep waiting, though it's becoming pretty unlikely that July ain't gonna happen. Stay tuned and keep the faith.
Tiller talks AVS, two unannounced games 25 Jul, 2008, 18:38 / 8 comments
To accommodate doing three games we expanded from five people in house to eleven in house people. And we about that many out of house now too. We also now have a business manager and president, and he has really helped us grow and get more organized, and soon will get us involved with investors to help expand the business even more. We also have a new background painter, rigger, programmer, writer and two engine programmers. So it has been an incredible last six months and exciting things are starting to happen at an alarmingly rapid pace.It is also suggested that we should expect an appearance of the game at this year's Leipzig convention in August, which may coincide with a site redesign.
Anyway, do read it all, because you will learn much. Plus, there's a new screenshot!
And Telltale's new series is... 24 Jul, 2008, 23:01 / 37 comments
"We're certainly going for the clay look with this," Telltale Games CEO Dan Connors told The Associated Press. "Clay presents a challenge if you really get into the detail of it. For example, adding fingerprints in a medium where there aren't any is one of the discussions of how far we should go with the game's detail."
"Grand Adventures" will allow gamers to play as both Wallace and Gromit, engaging in zany entrepreneurial schemes and tinkering with kooky contraptions. Connors said "Grand Adventures" will feature more physical and situation-based comedy and would likely follow the distribution model of Telltale's episodic video game series "Sam & Max."

JA+ is wrong! 24 Jul, 2008, 22:38 / 3 comments
Sam & Max: Season Two DVD! 23 Jul, 2008, 17:16 / 15 comments
Apart from the five episodes, there's a bonus region-free DVD with:
• A concept art galleryAnd of course, and extraordinarily cool exclusive cover by Steve Purcell.
• A brand new outtake reel
• Production notes from members of
the Sam & Max design team
• Twelve desktop wallpapers
• Cutscene video reels with 4+ hours of commentary tracks from the developers
• Promotional trailers for all five games plus the cinematic teaser that kicked off the season
• "Sam & Max Nearly Save Christmas,"
a 20-minute holiday special
• An MP3 soundtrack sampler
And that's not all! There's also the welcome return of the pointlessly collectable Case File and the fantastic Season Two Soundtrack (which also has it's own exclusive jazzy Steve Purcell cover).
Oh, and if you're planning on getting both the soundtrack and case file, maybe you'd like to do this instead, where you get both of those and the fabulous poster showing the Season Two artwork!
We now return to QVCMojo...
Star Wars Retrospective Episode VII - Heir To The Fanboys 22 Jul, 2008, 15:42 / 4 comments
(sniff) Sorry, I just remembered KOTOR II's ending and that the next game is a MMORPG.
And speaking of fan-angering MMORPGs, the next episode is on Star Wars Galaxies.
Nice try, Lao Che! 20 Jul, 2008, 00:01 / 5 comments
During our E3 demo with LucasArts this morning (Clone Wars, Fracture and Force Unleashed), DailyGame was able to confirm that the Indiana Jones videogame first shown at E3 2006 is still "very much" in development.It might also be worth mentioning that Lucasfilm is supposed to have significant presence at next week's Comic-Con, where according to rumor they'll be unveiling their Crystal Skull home video plans.
Rumors have swirled that the Indiana Jones game for PS3 and Xbox 360 had been cancelled, either because it missed the window tying it to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, or because recent layoffs had put development on hiatus.
That's very far from the truth, says LucasArts.
Apparently, the Indiana Jones PS3 and Xbox 360 game is "very deep into development," with a team "working very actively" to bring the game up to a form for public/media consumption. And, because the game shares an engine with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which ships this fall, such a display may not be as far off as you might think.
The progress the development team is making has apparently been paying off in strides, as one LucasArts representative told us that "the game looks great." With any luck, we'll be able to determine that for ourselves in the months ahead.
Mojo presents: Insecticide podcast 19 Jul, 2008, 02:18 / 12 comments
The fact that we've never done this before and had no idea what we were doing will probably be evident enough when you listen to it, but wait until you hear that the only option you have to get it is this ~60MB download (68 minutes). Well, actually The Tingler attempted to sex things up by also making this video version (which features gameplay videos and screenshots to complement the audio) for the folks into huge file sizes. I only watched enough of it to verify that it wasn't in fact just a DVD rip of Weekend at Bernie's Part II, but what I saw seemed awesome. I also believe that a few minutes were shaved off of the video version after Thrik and Remi whined about the podcast being just barely too long for them to watch on their iPhone during church, or something.
Anyway, enjoy, if that is the appropriate word, and please do leave your feedback!
Grim Fandango in Jeopardy! 18 Jul, 2008, 18:38 / 2 comments
Clone2727 of Indy chat fame discovered today another proof that Grim Fandango is awesome; It's been featured on Jeopardy (thought somewhat wrong) in show #3906!
Rumoured Star Wars MMO confirmed 18 Jul, 2008, 03:28 / 9 comments
...EA CEO John Riccitiello has confirmed that the Bioware MMO is tied to Knights of the Old Republic and hinted towards a stronger involvement with Lucasfilm.
Speaking to Portfolio.com, Riccitiello proclaims, "We've got two of the most compelling MMOs in the industry in development."
"And the one that people are dying for us to talk to them about, in partnership with Lucas, coming out of BioWare, which is, I think, quite possibly the most anticipated game, full stop, for the industry at the point when we get closer to telling you about it."
When pressed for clarification as to whether this referred to a Knights of the Old Republic MMO, Riccitiello answered, "Yes."
So, there you go.
Mata Hari website launched, media released 17 Jul, 2008, 22:04 / 6 comments
Also, don't ask me to explain which of the five companies I've seen associated with this game are actually the developer and publisher respectively. Anyone want to clear this up for me?
New Sam & Max Wii media 17 Jul, 2008, 20:54 / 2 comments
E3 2008 Stuff 16 Jul, 2008, 15:27 / 2 comments
Unfortunately while LucasArts are there, they seem to have not done anything notable themselves just yet. The only thing of interest was a new trailer in the middle of Nintendo's conference for The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels. Marvel as two grown men make tits out of themselves by doing what we only ever do in private or with one of those expensive replicas!
UPDATE: There are several new trailers for The Force Unleashed now up from the show, including:
1. Battle with the bad-ass super horned rancor, with a surprise appearance by Dark Jedi Maris Brood (who's got an action figure y'know, not that I've bought it or anything).
2. Battle with the weird "junk titan" that looks like it walked off the set of Galaxy Quest
3. A walkthrough in the TIE Fighter Factory, which sadly makes starfighters and not new copies of TIE Fighter.
4. Some general videos of the Wii, PS2 and PSP versions in both multiplayer and single-player.
The first three can be seen here, and the videos of the non-LucasArts developed version can be seen here.
Fracture has also been shown off, and two large gameplay walkthroughs can be seen right here. Now you can make up your mind whether it's going to be any good or not, if you haven't already!
Still no Indy.
Sam and Max hit the Wii on August 12th, says Nintendo 16 Jul, 2008, 02:55 / 3 comments
You're not going to sing Polly the Squawker Lives in Davy Jones Locker, are you? 15 Jul, 2008, 20:29 / 2 comments
Also, like with the past article we are willing to accept reader-submitted editorials (or whatever the heck you want to call them...just some piece related to the game in any way that's too lengthy to be called a reader opinion), provided they don't suck. So even though I'm giving you rather short notice, please feel free to work on something along those lines if you've got something more verbose that you think people need to hear about Monkey Island 2.
I'd also remind you to play the game that features this web site's namesake, but the fact is that if you haven't played this game already, you should be put to sleep. Be sure to replay it this month in celebration though.
Telltale to announce new series next week? 15 Jul, 2008, 20:15 / 6 comments
On Saturday [the 26th], Comic-Con will hosts a Telltale Games panel where the creators will announce plans for a third episodic game series to join their Sam and Max and Strong Bad series.So keep an eye out for that.
Crayons of CRAZY! 15 Jul, 2008, 18:27 / 0 comments
I have no idea if this has been posted before, but a good thing can't be posted often enough!
The Kloonigames guy ran around GDC earlier this year and got several game designers to draw their games. A certain Gilbert von Ron is among the participants here.
Thanks to blueskirt for pointing this out!
As Requested 12 Jul, 2008, 12:38 / 4 comments
Telltale launches Sam & Max Wii page 10 Jul, 2008, 00:47 / 9 comments
Also don't forget that the first episode of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, Homestar Ruiner, is still due for simultaneous release on WiiWare and PC sometime this month. Hopefully we'll get some pricing and scheduling information sometime soon, but in the meantime, get excited for all the Telltale goodness (which remember also includes the unveiling of a whole new game), that's coming your way in the near future.
Update by Gabez: all a-shiver about Telltale's mystery new licence? Speculate away on our forums!
The Force Unleashes Trailer 09 Jul, 2008, 22:44 / 3 comments
A lot of previously-rumoured characters and locations are revealed in this trailer, such as Princess Leia, the Emperor and the Death Star. Could it be - gasp - a decent Star Wars game? It'll be at E3 next week, so hopefully we should have some answers.
UPDATE: GameTrailers has it now too, in SD and HD and for download too.
Brutal Legend not appearing at E3 09 Jul, 2008, 11:18 / 13 comments
The delay's supposedly a result of the publisher, Vivendi, who you may have heard are in the process of merging with the venerable Activision and will weirdly become known as Activision Blizzard.
Reassuringly, there're apparently no issues with the development status of the game. It's still being produced, and Schafer hopes there'll be a new media release shortly after E3 once the publisher merger is more of a memory. We're probably talking months rather than weeks here, of course!
It's looking increasingly likely that the 2008 release date will end up falling into 2009, sadly.
UPDATE: Tim reveals the reason behind this decision.
Star Wars Retrospective Episode VI - Return of Jedi Knight 08 Jul, 2008, 21:42 / 5 comments
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is basically a continuation of the series in all but name (then again, so was Obi-Wan), as well as the next big cross-media Star Wars event after Shadows of the Empire, so I'll also link to a number of pre-E3 previews for TFU: Eurogamer likes it but has some concerns about player freedom, and IGN have a look at the characters and story, and then the game itself.
Additionally, Amazon are listing pre-orders for Nintendo DS Lightsaber stylus pens, as well as the mighty Robot Chicken Star Wars Special, both to be released this month. And I believe there's a new film coming out too.
You cannot resist, my son.
Marry me, Ebocrombi 07 Jul, 2008, 20:33 / 7 comments
Mojo to your ears 04 Jul, 2008, 00:26 / 5 comments
Well, as people who've played the game and know it to be good, we want to change that, but we need your help. What do you want to know about Insecticide? What topics would you like us to discuss? What, in your mind, would make for an interesting listen on the subject of Insecticide? Post your ideas in the comments below so that our resultant efforts might be something that's only mostly awkward and weep-worthy, rather than entirely.
Boxed Insecticide coming up? 03 Jul, 2008, 03:12 / 3 comments
Anyway, Amazon claims the game will be shipping on July 8th for the price of $19.99, so I guess we'll find out if this is real soon enough.
UPDATE by Tingler: Yes, it's wrong.
Insecticide on Steam 01 Jul, 2008, 22:41 / 9 comments
Telltale? You're next, right?
Update: The game is now available from Direct2Drive and Gametap!
IGN previews Wii Sam & Max 01 Jul, 2008, 21:57 / 1 comment
Thankfully, today's preview from IGN has a trifle more to say, such as mentioning that there will be unlockable concept art and character bios. Also, they provide what seems to be the first four genuine screenshots from the Wii version. Unfortunately, none of them showcase the cursor so you can't see Sam's hand icon in action just yet, but something tells me that if you visit Telltale's main page and click "Watch the trailers" on their new Season 2 flash banner, you might get a horizontally rotated sneak peak.
Oh, and I should also probably inform you of this new Strong Bad preview, this new Strong Bad Q&A, and this Dave Grossman interview up on the Telltale blog.
Somebody likes Fracture 01 Jul, 2008, 20:44 / 1 comment
What you do with a skeptic like me is put me in the tutorial. And the tutorial level of “Fracture” is good, one of the more fun first levels I’ve played of a game in a while. The tutorial is a training ground that leads into a fight in and outside a prison (that conveniently has exposed patches of dirt!). The earth-moving weapons are introduced one at a time. You’re encouraged to use each one in grand fashion. You’re raising mounds of dirt that lift massive turrets into energy shields that destroy them. You’re blowing up large towers. You’re creating deep ditches to let you walk under a wall...Read the rest here.
You basically do nothing in “Fracture”’s tutorial level that feels subtle, and that’s why it feels so good.
Extremo Ron interview 01 Jul, 2008, 01:12 / 2 comments
In any event, Ron shares many things about his Grumpiness, his thoughts on the industry, and of course DeathSpank, so do read the whole interview.