Technabob » platformer

The Unfinished Swan for PS3 Looks Awesome Despite Its Unfinished State

Technabob — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:45:26 +0000

I’m a sucker for offbeat console games with a cool artistic style. From Katamari Damacy to Journey to Braid, these games with unique gameplay mechanics and unusual graphical flourishes are some of my all time favorites. While it’s too soon to tell if The Unfinished Swan will be joining the ranks of these classics, I’m liking what I’m seeing so far.

Coming from Sony’s legendary Santa Monica Studios and developed by Giant Sparrow, the game centers on a runaway swan who leads you through a kingdom filled with weird and wild creatures. As you move through the world, you discover your surroundings by splashing paint onto white surfaces – definitely an offbeat gameplay mechanism in my book. The game is expected to be loaded with puzzles and challenges as you make your way to the King who built the unusual world. Here’s a look at an early teaser for the game to whet your appetite.

Sony hasn’t announced a release date for The Unfinished Swan as of yet, but it definitely looks like the sort of thing that’ll show up on PlayStation Network versus being a high-priced disc title. You’ll definitely want to keep an eye out for this title as it gets closer to a release.

Go Right is a Moving Tribute to Side-Scrollers

Technabob — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:00:32 +0000

Side scrolling games are still some of my favorites of all time. Whether it’s MegaMan, or Rayman, there’s just something so special about discovering what’s next as you continue on your left-to-right quest through a game’s universe. So when I saw the tribute to side-scrollers called Go Right, it brought back a ton of memories.

Created by Youtuber Rocky Planetesimal, and set to the dramatic A Wild and Distant Shore by Michael Nyman, Go Right is a loving and often emotionally moving tribute to classic gaming – with a focus of and run-and-gun side-scrollers. Check out the video below, and see if you can name all of the games (leave a comment below if you can!)

[via Joystiq]

Mario in a Box Runs the Wrong Way Through the Mushroom Kingdom

Technabob — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 15:28:51 +0000

While the post office would probably question the noises coming from inside this cardboard box, I’d be pretty thrilled to receive this mechanical Mario game in the mail if someone wanted to ship me one.

The side-scrolling Super Mario Bros. tribute was created by Adam Kumpf using the Teagueduino open source hardware platform, along with a few basic inputs and outputs. The game is controlled by the potentiometer on the side, allowing Mario to “jump” above and below the advancing obstacles on the belt below. Notice how it picks up speed the further you get into the level. Magnets behind each obstacle provide collision detection, and the box uses a servo to close if you bump into a baddie. No more game for you! Check it out in the video below to see it in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Ok, I know that Mario is running the wrong way, but dodging obstacles like that isn’t exactly how you play Super Mario Bros. anyway. It’s more like Spy Hunter. Just turn it on its side, change the icons, and add some bullets and oil slicks, and you do. Still, it’s a pretty impressive little creation, and you can grab the source code for making your own over at the Teagueduino discussion forums.

[via Reddit]

Super Mario Bros. X: Mario Fangasm

Technabob — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 04:06:54 +0000

Super Mario Bros. fans, if you thought you played every level from every single world of every single episode of the Super Mario series ever, have I’ve got a treat for you.

Super Mario Bros. X is far and away the best fan-made tribute to the classic Nintendo games ever, combining bits and pieces from Super Mario 1, 2, 3 and World into a single massive game. It’s loaded with over fifty challenging levels, new power-ups, and other surprises. It even supports a two-player split-screen mode, and lets you play as Princess Peach, Toad or Link among others. Here’s a quick video preview of the latest version:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

It’s even got a built-in level editor so you can make your own challenging levels and share them with friends. The best news? SMBX is a free PC download, and you can play it right now. So what are you waiting for? It’s the weekend, so you’ve got time to kill, right? Grab a copy here and start playing now!

Impact: Simply Addictive

Lambert Varias — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 11:48:14 +0000

Damn you Marc DeAngelis. I should never have read your post about Impact. But you had to go and make up some clever title – “Impact is like heroine on crack”. Is there such a game? Is there such a thing? There is. It’s called Impact. It’s like Canabalt, but downwards. And no blood-pumping music. Just the synthesized bounce of a digital ball on a never ending series of digital blocks.

I don’t even know who made this game, but even if I did, I don’t know whether to thank or hate that person. Now excuse me, I have a digital ball to drop.

If your browser has the HTML5 chops, follow me at your own risk.

[via the bbps]

Dustforce!: Leap and Sweep Platforming

Lambert Varias — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 11:45:29 +0000

Watch out Mario, you’re not the only blue-collar platformer who’s also in the saving the world business. Currently in development by the Hitbox Team, Dustforce! stars a high-jumping, energetic sweeper. He hates dust and dirt so much that he won’t even touch gold coins until he’s cleaned the treasure chest where they’re stored, whereas Mario just leaves the rubble of the bricks he breaks in his wake. Shame on you!

Here’s the game in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Looks like a fun game. You can download a demo of Dustforce! on indiePub Games. It’s currently Windows-only, and it still has some bugs, but those who have tried it commend the game’s simple controls and the wonderful animation. Death to dust!

[via Destructoid]

Earthworm Jim HD Brings Groovy Back to Xbox 360 and PS3

Lambert Varias — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:18:32 +0000

One of the wackiest platformers ever made, Earthworm Jim is back, and after gracing Wii gamers with his presence, he’s coming to both the Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network with and updated version.

As I’m sure some of you will remember, Earthworm Jim first came out in 1994. This remake not only upgrades the game’s cartoony graphics, it also has additional levels, and even four-player coop action.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Four ultra-high-tech-indestructible-super-space-cyber-suit-wearing worms? Queen Slug-for-a-Butt won’t know what hit her slug butt. Follow Jim on twitter for more details. Yep, that’s how awesome he is – a worm that tweets.

Hero Core: Nothing but Plain Old Fun

Lambert Varias — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 11:51:35 +0000

Indie developer Daniel Remar’s upcoming PC game Hero Core is just about as old school as shooters and platformers get. The game sports Game Boy-era black and white graphics, and pays homage to earlier incarnations of Metroid and Mega Man. The goal is simple: help protagonist Flip Hero and defeat his nemesis Cruiser Tetron once and for all. Old School! Metroid! Mega Man! Cruiser! Tetron! All ingredients in a winning recipe if you ask me.

The world of Hero Core is a large Metroid map. Insane Skilled gamers are free to go straight to Cruiser Tetron’s base, or kill some or all of the bosses scattered about the map to gain experience before heading for the final battle. The game features two difficulty modes, the option to turn the map off, and offers bonus game modes and maps to those who finish it.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Hero Core is actually the sequel to Hero, which Remar made back in 2005. You can download Hero for free at Remar’s website; I’m assuming you can download Hero Core there as well when it’s released on May 1.

[via Bytejacker]

Robot Unicorn Attack Wants to be With You, and Make Believe With You, and Live in Harmony, Harmony…

Lambert Varias — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:10:41 +0000

When was the last time a Flash game made you feel good? If you’re old enough to know who Erasure is, stop whatever it is you’re doing, go to Adult Swim Games right now, and click on Robot Unicorn Attack. Prepare to have your day made.

Let this be said: I enjoyed playing Robot Unicorn Attack more than I do playing/watching Final Fantasy XIII.

[via Boing Boing]

Run Away!: a Game About Running (Away)

Alisha K. — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:23:34 +0000

When it comes to games you can buy for just a dollar, Jon Keatley’s Run Away! should be at the top of the list. If there isn’t a list of wonderfully cheap games, then maybe someone should make one, just so this game could be on the top.

Run Away! is a simple game in which players from from here to there while being chased by various enemies. There are five levels standing between you and your goal–love-interest Angry Girl–and if you get caught? It’s back to the beginning. Such are the pains of love.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The game is fun and silly–and surprisingly challenging–though for a dollar, it could have had only one of those qualities and it might have been worth it. With all three? It might be the best dollar you spend all week.

Run Away! is available for download on Xbox Live, through the Community Games portal.

[via IndieGames]

Tetris’D Turns Tetris Into a Platformer

Technabob — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:12:46 +0000

When most of us think of Tetris, we think of puzzle games. But this new variant of the classic brick-stacking puzzler isn’t about that. You see, Tetris’D is a platform game. Huh, wha?

The objective of Kobra Editing’s little Flash game Tetris’D is simple. Blocks fall from the sky just like they do in the original ‘tris, except instead of controlling the blocks, you move a little stick-figure dude who’s about to be crushed by them-thar falling blocks. You can move and jump over bricks, and with enough practice, you can even wall jump while you’re moving through the air. All you’ve got to do is stay alive without being smooshed or falling off of the platform. But don’t let the simple premise fool you. This game will seriously kick your ass when you first pick it up.

Wanna give a shot? Jump on over to StickPage and get to some Tetris’D platform’n now’n. While you’re over there, be sure to check out Kobra’s accompanying Tetris’d stick-figure animations for an added diversion.

[via DownloadSquad]

A Fading Melody Blurs the Line Between Games and Art [Xbox 360]

Alisha K. — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:38:40 +0000

If you’re not paying attention to the Xbox Live Community games, you should be. These indie titles are so often a steal at minuscule prices, and if you’re into simple, beautiful experiences, you can find ‘em aplenty. Some may say games aren’t art, but an example like A Fading Melody pushes the definitions into new territory.

In A Fading Melody, players are charged with breathing color and light into the dreams of a coma patient–literally. Action even brightens the screen.

The simple, creative visuals, combined with a lovely soundtrack, go far to create a convincing and beautiful world, and the gameplay–classic 2D platforming–flows well with the story. A Fading Memory boasts seven levels for only 200 Microsoft points (that’s $2.50 USD for those of you who still recognize actual currency), and it’s worth every one of ‘em.

[A Fading Memory via NeoGAF]

Achievement Unlocked: I Did It for the Score

Alisha K. — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:50:58 +0000

Admit it: if you’re an Xbox 360 owner, you get the tiniest little thrill whenever that “achievement unlocked” message flashes before your eyes. Some of you even play solely for that moment, it seems (though why you’d do that when you could do this is beyond me). Well, now you can rack up all the achievements you want (or rather, one hundred of them) in a Flash game that’s all about… unlocking achievements. It’s just so meta.

In Achievement Unlocked, you even get points for simply starting the game, and just as with Xbox 360 games, the most banal accomplishments are given hilarious names evocative of pop culture moments. I got four achievements just for hitting the play button, and one while I was looking around for a pause.

The rate at which achievements pop up is almost overwhelming, but at least you have a tiny, cute elephant on your side. Until you kill him, anyway.

[Achievement Unlocked via Auntie Pixelante]