Knock-Knock: Ice Pick Lodge’s House of 2.5D Horrors Spells S-L-E-E-P-E-R…

The last time I played a game by developer Ice Pick Lodge, it was their 2005 PC horror/adventure/RPG Pathologic, one of those quirky sleepers that the mainstream didn’t “get” because it was one long, strange trip of a game experience. This new game, Knock-Knock (now available on Steam) looks pretty interesting in a One Piece Mansion meets Alone in the Dark sort of way. And don’t worry if you know not a whit about either of those old games. Those were the first two titles that popped into my head when I saw that teaser trailer above and the gameplay trailer below. I guess I now need to try out this horror/humor gem and see if it’s a diamond in the rough or a handful of cloudy zircons from the dollar store.

Yes, it most certainly looks as if it’ll be at least intriguing and extremely trippy sort of like a bad dream that gets funny as it ends and has you waking up laughing more than you’d thought as you were having it. Hey, that’s how I roll (out of bed) some mornings, people…

Peripheral Vision: Valve’s Third Shoe Is A Hot One: Steam Controller, Inbound!

Steam Controller

Well, this is… interesting. I’ll hold off on any actual critique until I get my paws around one of these, but it looks like a game-changer if you want to play PC games on your TV (and aren’t already doing so with a big expensive gaming rig with a nicely pricey gaming mouse/keyboard setup. Read all about it HERE while I think for a bit or move on to writing another article. This one’s impossible to gauge from a photo and nope, those aren’t subwoofers on the front, ha ha.

Gallery: Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure

SNDC_Wii U_2D_E10p5th Cell’s latest game features the return of Maxwell and plenty of fun user-created content… but with a nice twist as you’ll see in that rather fun-looking trailer above. But wait, there’s MORE! Act now and every single Wii U, 3DS and PC copy of Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure also features a rather robust character edit function that allows you to create and play as any character you can come up with (with a DC Comics focus, obviously). I’m planning to scour that selection of classic to current heroes just to see if 5th Cell has stuck some of DC’s more oddball heroes and anti-heroes into the mix, so I’m hoping to see a Swamp Thing, Deadman and maybe Etrigan in there somewhere but mot likely there will be no Ally Babble or Madame Xanadu unless I can cobble them together myself. We’ll see. I do love little surprises like a smart development team that sticks in some really obscure characters into a game this flexible. Having a Bat-Mite to play around with would be quite cool, that’s for sure.

It also has (or at least HAD until I shrunk them down with Picture Resizer) some HUGE honkin’ screenshots in its press kit, which is quite amusing for a game that relies on a simple and effective art style. I had to shrink them to a more manageable size just so they’d upload faster (OK, well that and no one needs an 8000 x 4500 screen cap to scroll around like it’s a map to some lost Inca gold! Anyway, enjoy!

Assorted Heroes (Custom) Batcomputer_Dex-Starr (Custom) Dancin in the Streets (Custom) Omega Beams (Custom) Riddle (Custom) Superboy Prime (Custom) MarvelFamily_TrinityofSin (Custom) Mask-Erade (Custom) Meeting (Custom) MindGames (Custom) GettinTheGang (Custom)

Humor: NWA World Has Its Own Opinion About Valve’s Big Steamy Plans…

The funniest thing about this video is NWA’s animators used the late Crash Bandicoot (!) as Sony’s mascot when poor Crash hasn’t been in a game (or on a Sony console) in YEARS. Oh well, nostalgia runs deep over in Taiwan I guess. Either that or the fine folks at NWA didn’t want to animate the more up to date (and even more hugely popular these days) characters Ratchet & Clank because it would have taken a few minutes more to get an extra figure running about in this clip. These guys work FAST, you know. Anyway, yeah – things are getting REALLY weird on the console front with everyone wanting to take over that living room. I think poor Apple won’t even bother trying to make a console at this point. They’ve missed this train a few times and their customers aren’t necessary going to buy into a console that plays games they can already get on their phones and tablets and maybe try playing through Apple TV. Eh, we’ll see, I guess. Score one… no, TWO for Valve. Friday’s next big reveal should be equally or even more innnnnteresting…

Valve Drops Shoe Two of Three: Steam Machines, From A Few Sources (Plus How To Get One Early!)

Steam MachinesBOOM. Well, it’s not actually surprising, this badly kept secret of Valve’s, but at least the company knows how to make “old” news really damned thrilling. So, yes… in addition to their new Family Sharing plan, Valve is making a FREE downloadable game-centric SteamOS AND a console you can run it on. Even better, those upcoming Steam Machines are going to be coming from a few different producers so users will have a choice of styles as well as the flexibility to tinker with their individual systems and even create content if they’re that type of gamer. If half of that last sentence sounds familiar, it’s because Panasonic’s MUCH maligned 3DO Multiplayer ended up also getting a few variants produced by Goldstar and Sanyo at different price points and with different pack-in titles.

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Orc Attack Double Blast: This Was My Stomach Earlier Today!

OK, I know, I know… “eww!” and TMI, am I right? Anyway, I was supposed to pop in to a big TV/Entertainment conference this morning, but something I ate last night put me out of commission for the better part of today. Lots of water and rest later after Mr. Toad’s Wilder ride (yes, my toilet has a new pet name), I’m up and much better, but as usual, a bit behind in my work. Oh well, but these new Orc Attack: Flatulent Rebellion trailers made my day go, er… smoother by giving me some laugh power (which is ALWAYS great for any sort of pain). So, now you know… and knowing is half the battle! The other half is too yucky to talk about, but use your imagination.

Anyway, now that you’re all turning green, I guess I can inform you that Orc Attack is launching this fall on XBLA, PSN, and PC. More to come on this “hack ‘n gas” game soon…

BUY! Ridiculous Indie Bundles Galore From All Over!

With so much other stuff going on here I’m having a stupidly difficult time keeping up with all the deals going on in the indie game space, so I’ll just list what’s in my inbox here in a single post and let you all have at it. There are some REALLY great titles in these bundles, so definitely check one or all of them out, especially since (with the exception of all those Square-Enix/Eidos titles if you buy them all) you’re basically able to get the bulk of these titles NOW for much less than the cost of a AAA title at retail or via a digital download service.

Ready? OK, here we go:

BUNDLE STARS (Indie Rush Bundle)!

Oh, that’s not all – I’m just sending you below the jump so I can save space on this page for more of my scribblings…

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New Rollers of the Realm Trailer: “We’ve Got The Biggest Balls of Them All!”

Okay, I really couldn’t think of anything pinball related, thanks to a slight cold coming on and my head being a little fuzzier than usual. “Thankfully” that old AC/DC tune happened to pop into my head and here you go. Anyway, Rollers of the Realm looks even more polished in this trailer and thanks to all the folks voting for it on Steam Greenlight, the game is becoming even more eagerly anticipated. Phantom Compass (and friends) expect to have this one ready to go before the year is out and as a longtime Pinball fanatic, I can’t wait to see how it all turns out.

Lost Planet 3 “Ask Jim” Q & A: Here’s Your Bill!

Mr. Watterson takes questions from some fans in character as Lost Planet 3‘s Jim Peyton and you get to listen in and maybe learn a thing or three. I’m about midway through the game (I’m taking my time as scouring every nook and cranny) and having a blast so far. Although I’m writing up a review myself, I’d have to say straight up that LP3 is one of those interesting game experiences where you just need to play it and experience the story as opposed to reading impressions and making up your mind based on those alone. OK, shutting up now and getting back to the game – back in a bit with an update… it’s a stupidly busy week here!

Incoming: Lost Planet 3 Arrives (It’s Winter In August!)

LP3rcCool. As I was strolling home yesterday right past his truck, the UPS guy beckons me over to sign for a package I wasn’t expecting. It’s good that all the delivery guys know me around here, as I sometimes get stopped in the street or waved over from across the street if they’re working that side of the block.

Anyway, I’ve got some homework to do, it seems. I did play for about two hours yesterday and the game is quite good (definitely Spark Unlimited’s best game to date) with a few quirks (that Unreal tech is showing its age, but the characters and environments are lovely to look at). I’ll dive back in after I take care of that late dinner I started cooking a little while ago – the pot has stopped rattling, so I’ll assume that means that clawed thing I had to shove in with a baseball bat and the long tongs must be done by now…

Back in a bit…