You might remember SMG Studio from such games as OTTTD, and as such be pleased to learn that a couple of videos just popped up from PAX Australia showing off some upcoming madness of theirs.
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More SMG madness
The Internet Arcade: In-browser Green Beret emulator. Also 900 other games.
Introducing: The Internet Arcade. Not content with provide the global treasure (and source of endless fun and fascination) that is the Wayback Machine, The Internet Archive has just unveiled its collection of in-browser arcade games. Over 900 of them and counting.
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When a whole hand is just excessive: One Finger Death Punch
I’ve spent a lot of time on the train over the past few weeks. I recently picked up a copy of One Finger Death Punch. These two facts belong together, as I’ve been playing a lot of One Finger Death Punch. On trains. In hotel rooms. At home. In my mind. In my dreams.
This isn’t a review and it’s not clickbait so I’m not going to make you click through for the conclusion: One Finger Death Punch is easily my favourite game of 2014 so far. And unless something seriously comes out in the next three months it’s going to my my game of 2014.
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Game in the Sunshine: Castle in the Darkness
Recently I’ve been passing the time on my commute by playing NES games on the 3DS’ virtual console. I say playing, but really mean “gnashing my teeth in controller-snapping rage” at how hard they are. But more on that in a future post when the red mist subsides.
I mention this so when I tell you that the Castle in the Darkness teaser is pushing all the same buttons you’ll know where I’m coming from.
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A little less action, a little more conversation please: Unrest
When it comes to video games ARPG is more of a marketing term than a real subgenre. Let’s face it, how many RPGs can you name that don’t essentially rely on progression-through-murder? Even games that hang heavily on their stories are afraid that if you don’t get to climb to the top over a mountain of skulls then the player might lose interest and go play Halo or something. Which is why the recently kickstarted Unrest by Pyrodactyl Games is so refreshing.
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I Aten’t Dead, just Minecraft
OK, it’s been a couple of weeks since I posted. That’s partly down to family life and teething children sapping my will to live energy but mostly down to Minecraft. back in the pre-beta days I was pretty addicted to it but once the map I’d invested all my time in became increasingly incompatible with the game I drifted away from it more and more, and until recently I hadn’t in a couple of years.
Until I heard of Captive Minecraft.
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Game music: SanctuaryRPG
Mechanized dragon.
Sometimes it’s the little things that pique your interest, tickle your funny bone or prompt a sudden perception test. In the case of SanctuaryRPG the little thing was the phrase “Mechanized dragon”. Any game that has that as a boss fight gets two automatic thumbs up in my book. Or talons as the case may be.
SanctuaryRPG is part Nethack, part Final Fantasy, all text. The website is immediately arresting, probably the slickest, most advanced-looking text-based site I’ve ever seen. The soundtrack by Rafael Langoni Smith matches perfectly, a wonderful throwback to the best of the NES. Worth a listen and worth some of your gold pieces and/or credits.
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Little dots of fear: Alien Isolation
As more details about Alien Isolation come skittering out of vents and leaping on our unsuspecting bodies I’ve gone from cynical to curious to cautiously optimistic, and now thanks to Rock Paper Shotgun’s hands-on I’m outright excited.
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Mirror’s Edging Closer
It was a year ago at E3 2013 that Electronic Arts officially announced a sequel to Mirror’s Edge to a mixed response of relief, elation, concern and frustration. The first game was born in 2008, that brief moment in time when EA was experimenting a bit, branching out and trying new things, a year that gave us Mass Effect, Spore, Warhammer, Dark Space, and of course Mirror’s Edge. Despite inevitable quirks the free-running gameplay garnered a lot of love. In fact the main complaint about the game was how unnecessary and counter-productive the combat was. EA might have been sticking their neck out but they couldn’t bring themselves to dial the combat down any further, which is a crying shame.
So when the 2013 E3 trailer heavily featured fighting joy was heavily tempered by disappointment. Had EA and DICE learned nothing?
A year has passed, another E3 has come, and some more Mirror’s Edge news has wall-run out of the studio and leapt wildly onto the internet. So what difference has a year made?
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