The International House of Mojo

A Vampyre Story has gone episodic. The new game is entitled A Vampyre Story: Year One, and is coming to iPad, iPhone and, later, PC.

Read the official message on the Official Vampyre Story Facebook page:



A prequel! And the Pumpkin Post has the first, exclusive screenshot which we've totally stolen and added to our brand new gallery over here.

If, like me, you like your adventures in little sips of wine instead of giant chugs of beer; or, if, like me, you like your vampyres not sucking figuratively, but literally, and maybe not being lame enough to glow in the sunlight; then maybe you, like me, are the kind of person to want to get excited for this. So get excited! Autumn Moon is back, baby.

Source: Twitter

You can find a long and excellent interview with Telltale CEO Dan Connors at gamesTM right about now. The subject of the hour is definitely Back to the Future, but the status of other Telltale licenses is addressed as well:

That's a lot of text! But not as much as you can find in the whole interview.

Source: gamesTM

At least, I assume she does any time she wants to take a shower. Which she does during no point of this seven-minute video interview over at Gamespot. She talks her background, career and interests, and she didn't do all that only for you not to watch it.

Source: Gamespot

Jason wrote a review and it's available over here!

It's short, it's direct, and it's to the point. That'd be Bill Tiller's latest tweet:

Be excited. And what with Halloween being this Sunday and all, the "big announcement" couldn't be any more timely. So what's it gonna be? And almost as if they've been infected by the same virus that has brought AVS out of dormancy, The Pumpkin Post has undergone a redesign, no thanks to you. In any event, it certainly seems like Autumn Moon is back on the radar, hopefully for the long term.

Source: Bill Tiller's twitter feed

Do you want to play Costume Quest on a PC? That would be possible.

Game-character-come-to-life Phoenix Wright Tweeted Tim Schafer, "Will Costume Quest come to PC?"

"Yes," said Schafer. "If Costume Quest is a huge, huge hit!"

Those of us in non-PSN-approved or XBLA-approved countries would appreciate you making this the huge, huge hit it needs to be.

Well, The Force Unleashed II is now out, which means that The Critics are Unleashed Too. Here's a few:

Eurogamer: 5/10

KotakuGameTrailers

GamesRadar: 8/10

Hmm, GamesRadar's really contradicts some of the other reviews, especially regarding the quality of the story.

European fans have been clamoring for a full year for localized versions of Tales of Monkey Island, and at least one sector of that populace can now color themselves appeased. According to our friends (or at the very least good acquaintances) at Adventure-Treff, today the game has made its way to German stores by the hands of Daedalic Entertainment, the same folks behind this year's popular cult adventure The Whispered World which, like A Vampyre Story, only made it outside the womb after a brutal first trimester with Bad Brain Entertainment.

German fans, as if they haven't already beaten the game eighteen times already, will be happy to know that Norman Matt reprises his role from CMI and EMI as the German Guybrush. Furthermore, the release is available in a full-sized, limited edition box, just to make the rest of us envious.

Source: Adventure-Treff

I kid, of course, but when it comes to Star Wars and CSI, one has to be an ass to validate their Mojoness to the public. After much ballyhooing over the last year and a half, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II ships today for, well, pretty much everything except that NES you converted your toaster oven into (Well, and PSP, but that hardly counts now - Tingler). Percentage of the considerable revenue which will be used by LEC to fund re-releases of legacy titles: 0.0%. Oh, and if you're planning on buying the game and you frequent this place, chances are one of the main selling points is the Guybursh Threepwood skin, so you'll no doubt appreciate Kotaku's cheat sheet for unlocking it.

Also in stores today is Ubisoft's CSI: Fatal Conspiracy, the fourth game in the series developed by Telltale. You can find it for PC, Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3. Mojo's review copy came in the mail today, so you won't have to wait too long with breath of the bated variety for our ever-valuable thoughts.

They* told me it was coming eventually, and now it is finally upon us: DeathSpank is now finally available on PC!

If you haven't bought it already, it's now time to do so. And a promise is a promise.

Happy now?

* Or, Kroms.

Source: Steam

Telltale Games has updated their Back to the Future minisite, and put the game up for pre-order (PC/Mac) for $24.95. This gets you all 5 episodes, a free copy of Puzzle Agent and Telltale will donate $1 of it to the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, plus you get access to the 'BTTF Insider' forum. No word yet if And there will be the usual free DVD that Telltale put out once their series' wrap up.

The initial platforms are PC/Mac, iPad and PS3 (release dates & prices for the iPad & PS3 will be revealed at a later time).

Watch out for the game trailer on December 2. Someone who pays more attention than me claims on the Telltale Forums that their games tend to launch the Tuesday following the trailer release. Make of that what you will.

UPDATE BY TINGLER: If you're still on the fence about pre-ordering, go here to get a free copy of Episode 1 when it becomes available. You'll lose out on the pre-order bonuses, but it might give you the incentive to order the rest.

Source: Telltale Games

GameTrailers has just posted Part I of an exclusive and ongoing behind-the-scenes look at Telltale's Back to the Future games. Included are interviews with Bob Gale, Christopher Lloyd, Dennis Lenart and Julian Kwasneski. You'll also be able to catch a glimpse of Doc's character model while Lloyd records some dialog. I'll leave it to you guys to determine how well the "all natural overhaul" the Doc sprung for in the interim between the first two movies is holding up.

The video concludes with the following text: "Tune in to Spike TV December 2nd for the World Premiere Trailer!" A trailer in December would put the first episode's release a bit later than some of the more optimistic dates that people were speculating, but it's still pretty clear that EVEN THOSE OF US WITHOUT TIME MACHINES won't have long to wait to get these games.

And a reminder: For those of us in the US, the first of the two theatrical showings of Back to the Future in celebration of the 25th anniversary is tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. One other thing I'll slip in for its Telltale relevance is the fact that CSI: Fatal Conspiracy will be out this Tuesday, October 26th. We'll have a review up for it soon.

JP Update: Part 2 is up, and Marty's voice actor is revealed. Brave casting choice, Telltale.

JP Update 2: And now part 3 is up. See concept art for Young Doc and Einstein the dog and learn a few more details about what's in store.

Source: GameTrailers

It's been reported today that George Lucas is working on some new Star Wars movies. The trilogy would be put into production after the re-release of the existing six movies in 3D, or 'Fadvision™'.

This would, presumably, have the same effect that the prequel trilogy did upon LucasArts - which is to say, they would make a whole bunch of Star Wars games. So if this Renaissance really gets going, don't hold your breath...

Of course, I might just be being needlessly negative. And it's just a rumour. George Lucas has done this kind of thing before, after all.

Source: io9

Dave Grossman's annual affront to pumpkin decency continues with this year's entry. He's a sick, sick man, and you can heedlessly join his ranks by checking out all of his past handiwork while you're at it.

Source: Phrenopolis

As the more observant of you may have noticed, Mojo was down for a bit today. This was to let us update and change our database.

The media button has now been activated and so far you can check out our archive of over 5000 images of everything from Ballblaster Ballblazer screenshots to Brütal Legend cover art!

The ribbon at the top has also had a face-lift. The social network icons can now be found to the far right and you can choose to be remembered for a week when you log in. No need to keep typing in your password for every time you open the site!

Look for more sections of Media to be opened as the days grow darker/lighter this fall/spring!

And it's reviews! We'll be cataloging them here as long as the other Mojoers can be bothered.

IGN (Score: 7.5)Eurogamer (Score: 8/10)
Gamespot (Score: 7.0)1up (Score: A-)

Source: IGN

Despite Mojo telling you that Double Fine's Halloween-themed Costume Quest would be out next week, the game has been released. Go, PSN-ers and XBLA-ers: it's yours for $15, or 1200 MP.

Read an interview about the game with project leader Tasha Harris by clicking here.

You could all point your fingers at us and say we mentioned an incorrect release date. But let's be honest: the only logical explanation is that this week is also next week and that time is a lie. Don't believe me? Check the PSN Store and XBLA. Costume Quest is there, despite us telling you it wouldn't be.

While you'll hopefully be playing it next week if you've got a 360 or PS3 handy (and don't mind sticking your credit card in them), GameTrailers has a couple of new Costume Quest gameplay videos anyway: Trick Or Treat and Terror or Candy.

In this game (don't we love it now) everyone's waiting for the next surprise.

Source: GameTrailers

In a keynote speech we dutifully primed your for, Double Fine's Nathan Martz spoke at Game Connect Asia Pacific, where he discussed some behind-the-scenes details of the studio's by now gratuitously well-known division into four parts:


More from Martz speech can be read here. Also, to fan the excitement for next week's release of Costume Quest, Double Fine has announced a contest with some snazzy prizes. Won't you learn the details?

Source: Gamasutra

It was reported everywhere today that Benoit Mandelbrot, the so-called Father of Fractals, passed away at the age of 85. The French-American mathematician is famous for identifying the geometric shapes known as fractals, and technology for creating them was the foundation for the early Lucasfilm game Rescue on Fractalus!, where it was used to draw the craggy landscapes of the alien planet that the player explores.

Of course, people who played the extensively pirated version of Rescue on Fractalus! and therefore knew it under its development title Behind Jaggi Lines! have no idea why the rest of us are grieving.

Source: Montreal Gazette

Tim Schafer recently related the newfound delights of splitting his studio into quarters in order to develop multiple projects at an accelerated timetable to Gamasutra, who translated it all into a four-page feature with loads of great insight:

There's this guy I know who would totally not click to read the entire article, and my appeal to you is: don't be that guy.

Source: Gamasutra

Did you know that Larry Ahern's Flickr has a ton of rad stuff on it? Take, for instance, his concept art for Moonglow and Chester, two cut characters from Day of the Tentacle. In an ode to its predecessor, DOTT was originally going to allow you to select two kids to join Bernard out of a pool of five (Razor from the original game rounding out the choices), but the idea was dropped for the complexity it would have added.

There's a ton of other great art to be found in Ahern's photostream, including some rare art from DOTT, Full Throttle, The Dig, CMI, Insecticide, and more. I'm not willing to swear on a Book of Patterns that we've never posted about this at some point in history, but it's definitely worth a look just the same.

Source: Larry Ahern's Flickr

There's a new Dave Grossman interview on the web today, by the folks over at This is My Joystick!.

You can find all the questions Dave was fielded about all things Telltale and - as an added bonus - his answers to them as well in the whole interview.

Source: This Is My Joystick!

Having recently departed from LucasArts after over ten years as a writer and producer for all manner of Star Wars games, Haden Blackman has revealed that he has founded his own game development company, Fearless Studios, in Marin County with fellow LEC alumnus Cedrick Collomb, engineering director on The Force Unleashed series. Check this:

Emphasis mine. Whatever type of game Fearless ends up producing, it's a safe bet it's going to be worth keeping an eye out for. Read the whole interview with Blackman about the studio's genesis and his vision for it. The Mixers of all things Mojo wish them the best of fortunes.

Source: Gamasutra

According to The HD Room, who have a copy of the Back To The Future 25th Anniversary set... Does that mean the game will be available from October 26th?

(There's a picture of the flyer with the coupon code here)

Edit: From Alan at Telltale: "This free episode of Back to the Future offer is completely separate from the availability of the game itself. The free episode offer will go into effect only once the game is available... The offer is also not indicative of when the game's release date is at all."

Source: The HD Room

Is EA the new George Lucas?

A soon-to-be laid off artist from EA, one EA Louse ("Lou" to his friends), has detailed, I suppose in a moment of frustration, some of the shabby things going on in their game development - things that may involve Star Wars: The Old Republic. It's a fascinating read, and there's more fascination to be found in the comments section.

Obligatory second link not here.

Source: EALouse

According to a Gamasutra article that analyzed XBLA stats for the month of September, Ronzo's DeathSpank saga a has not only proved popular, but a consistent seller:

So, good for Ron, Hothead, and all the wise gamers out there who've been spanking themselves raw since July. And with The Tingler already pledging at least one sale for the PC version, the success will hopefully not be limited to the console sector.

A completely unrelated piece on THQ by Gamasutra also caught my eye because it states that former LEC president Jack Sorenson (his reign being during the largely glorious 90s) has started his own company, Famous Games. Notably, the company Autumn Games (not to be confused with Bill Tiller's company, Autumn Moon Entertainment), which has signed a long-term agreement with Famous, has added former LEC suit Jeffrey Ulin to its own ranks. Y'Know, just in case you were afraid that the old suits were any more inclined to retire than the old creatives!

Source: Gamasutra

Eurogamer have put-up one of their weekly retrospectives, penned by one Johnnie John Walker (I bet he's never heard that one before). This week, it is about all the glories, misfires, "horrible line art" and stickin'-the-tooth-in-the-balloon-ness you could stuff in a game called The Curse of Monkey Island. Read it here.

Source: Eurogamer

This is a week old, but in case you haven't seen it: here is a hands-on preview of Costume Quest, courtesy of Giant Bomb. It's a little spoilerish for the hardcore "I don't want spoilers!" among you and opens-up with the witty banter game reviewers are so renowned for, but is still worth a watch. Don't make me tell you again.

Source: Giant Bomb

October's a good month for Mixnmojo: Deathspank, Hothead's/Ron Gilbert's RPG/adventure game, is coming to the Master, Superior platform the PC on the 26th. Any ancients here, please note it is not coming out on that ancient artifact, the CD, but is downloadable: Thanks, Steam! Pre-order now for $13.49, or get it in a package with Shank for $25.48.

Right now, it is unknown whether the game comes with its sequel, Thongs of Virtue. This is the first game. Thongs of Virtue hasn't yet made it to Steam, but - in Hothead's own words - "stay tuned".

The Master Race that is the PC Gamer prevails.

Update: the game will be released for Mac, but a release date is yet to be announced.

Source: Steam

According to Tim Schafer's Twitter, Double Fine's next, the Halloween-themed RPG Costume Quest, will be yours to play on October 20th, 2010, for 15 smackers. The game arrives on PSN and XBLA simultaneously.

Expect a Mojo review some time this century.

Source: Twitter

We almost reviewed DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue the same month it was released. Almost. Now run and read it!

Tim Schafer, the guy who was in that one picture with the Grim Fandango characters, is going to be handed a Lifetime Achievement Award at IndieCade 2010 by a scantily-clad model named Ron Gilbert. Congratulations, Tim!

Source: Joystiq

Tasha Harris (the lead on Double Fine's next, the downloadable game Costume Quest) and Tim Schafer (just some guy who works at some company) have been somewhere in Britain, talking to the press and, unlike me, not getting ignored. So here's an interview with Eurogamer, and then there was this other one with NowGamer. ComputerAndVideoGames had a hands-on preview, and then, later, so did Videogamer.

So go forth and read, unless you don't know how.