Available on the PlayStation Network as a digital download, About a Blob is a campy 2-D monster-movie-inspired puzzle platformer that will no doubt strike a chord with the inherent glutinous characteristics that are woven into the fabric of our being. The need we humans feel to constantly consume, gain and grow (sometimes intellectually, but most of the time physically), is the distinct idiosyncrasy in which Tales from Space: About a Blob is built upon.

About a Blob shares a similar feature to that of games like Katamari Damacy, where the objective is to make your way through the levels and consume as many objects as possible to grow bigger and stronger, while battling, or in most cases absorbing your enemies.  Simple enough. But fear not the game has more depth than what appears on the surface.

You start off the game as a tiny gelatinous jellylike blob from outer space who has crash-landed on Earth, only to be captured by the quintessential parabolic mirror-wearing Mad Scientist. Holding you hostage in his villainous lab where he plans to run experiments on you – which may or may not involve beakers and pool balls – your objective is to squish and squeeze your gooey self out of captivity and begin your quest to gain freedom by consuming and absorbing everything in your path.

The game features zero dialogue, other than the occasional cutesy Lego-style grunts and generic grumbles, but this doesn’t belittle the plot of the game or detract the player from becoming invested in the story and connected to the gummy bear-like protagonist.

I can’t describe how immensely gratifying it is to watch your blog grow and expand to immense proportions as he continuously absorbs objects of increasing proportions. Don’t be surprised if a Tamagotchi-esque bond occurs between you and your blob as you progress through the game.

As I mentioned above, this game isn’t just a free-for-all buffet-style eat ‘em up. There’s more to it than just scarfing down objects and satisfying your voracious blobby appetite. As the game progresses you’ll be faced with challenging physics-based puzzles that require players to strategically navigate their way through the levels by avoiding blob-frying laser beams, activating gates, triggering weight sensing plates by barfing up consumed objects, and gaining enough mass to reach the required goal for each level – without which you cannot proceed. And that’s all before you obtain your special abilities to become electrically charged and magnetized, all of which add another layer of difficulty and “strategery“ to the puzzles.

The game mechanics used in About a Blob are by no means breakthrough or original. But DrinkBox has managed to execute them with artistic discretion and an engaging playfulness that makes it somehow feel innovative, fresh, and immensely addictive.

What really makes About a Blob so enjoyable is the wit and personality that oozes from every aspect of the game. The developers have managed to add generous servings of their own charm and personality throughout the game. These little “Easter eggs”, if you will, are mostly in the form of funny gags and background signs and billboards, like a bottle of glue labelled “Glue (not mayo)”. No doubt, one of the devs holds on to an interesting story from his/her past, which I’m sure we can guess what the result was.

Adding to this, the game features a fantastic retro art style and science fiction inspired score that sets the perfect tone for the games environments and scenarios.

About a Blob provides gamers with 17 levels ranging from quick and easy to challenging and difficult. What‘s not difficult however, are the boss battles. Having said that, I beat this game playing the local co-op campaign and not the single player campaign – which may explain why…maybe? But it was with my girlfriend, so it might as well have been single player. I found almost every boss battle to be incredibly easy and predictable, with only the final boss presenting any real level of difficulty and marginal palm sweat.

Overall, About a Blob is incredibly enjoyable, be it single player campaign or local co-op. It’s crafted with passion and care, and DrinkBox made sure they took the necessary time to make every aspect of this game chalked full of wit, charm and amusement. Sony made the right choice accepting DrinBox Studios’ first console game into their Pub Fund program, as About a Blob has proved it belongs alongside other breakout Pub Fund games like Joe Danger and Burn Zombie Burn.

Tales from Space: About a Blob is available as an automatic download for PlayStation Plus members and $15 dollars for non PlayStation Plus members.

Tl;dnr

The Good:

• Awesome retro art style and science fiction inspired theme and musical score.
• Charming, fun and whimsical characters, gameplay and puzzles.
• Great personality and Drinkbox Dev humor inserted into the game.
• Gameplay and mechanics aren’t anything new but come off as fresh and strangely innovative.
• Yet another substantial indie game, from yet another Toronto indie dev studio.
• Well designed and executed physics-based puzzles and integration of special abilities used to solve puzzles.
• About a Blog may not go down in history as other great indies like Braid and Super Meat Boy, but it has set the bar high for indie games in 2011.

The Bad:

• Although the game is well done overall, there are the occasional tell-tale signs of an indie game: repetitive enemy models, environmental objects etc.
• Local co-op campaign is fun but online co-op would have been fantastical times.
• Boss battles are a cakewalk.
• 15$ price tag may scare off some gamers, but those budgetary button bashers will most likely come back around if it ever goes on sale.

You’ll like this game if you like: Joe Daner, DeathSpank, Katamari Damacy, PixelJunk Shooter, Earthworm Jim, LoccoRocco.

Platform: PS3

Developer/Studio: DrinkBox Studio

Reco: Buy it

Related articles

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• Tales from Space: About a Blob review (joystiq.com)
• Toronto’s games get alienated (thestar.com)
• Tales From Space: About a Blob arrives Feb. 1 for PlayStation Plus users (joystiq.com)
• Confetti Carnival Preview – A weird but very original physics puzzle game. (brighthub.com)
• New de Blob 2 Trailer — De Blob On Ice (g4tv.com)

In development for over 2 years, Tales from Space: About a Blob will be released as part of Sony’s “Pub Fund” program. The game features a monster movie setting, retro inspired art style and puzzle-focused platforming gameplay, as well as prescribed  daily doses of humor.

Features:

2 player co-op

1080p HD format

Online Leader boards

“Players will interact with the game environment using unique growth and absorption control mechanics, experiencing the world at vastly different scales as they progress. Both single-player and co-op play will be supported.” said Ryan MacLean, CEO of DrinkBox Studios. He continued: “We’re extremely excited to be releasing the game on the PlayStation®3 system.”

About Sony’s “Pub Fund” Program

Developers looking to release a game through the Pub Fund initiative must be prepared to build it to completion and commit to a period of console platform exclusivity. In return, approved developers receive a development-budget-matching royalty guarantee from SCEA. A number of popular PlayStation®Network games, including Burn Zombie Burn by DoubleSix and Joe Danger by Hello Games, have already been released through the program.

Ryan MacLean had this to say about the initiative:

“Pub Fund has been a good fit for us. The royalty guarantee and other Pub Fund terms have allowed us to confidently focus on finishing our game while retaining ownership and artistic control over the project. Working with SCEA has been a great experience in general: The advice they have given us over the course of development has helped us build a better game. We’re excited to be working with them on this project!”.

For more information about the game please visit the official Tales from Space: About a Blob blog at www.aboutablob.com.

FOR MORE DLC NEWS AND INFO YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER @THE_GEEKJOCK

Related articles

• Tales From Space: About a Blob arrives Feb. 1 for PlayStation Plus users (joystiq.com)
• What’s next for downloadable games? (cnn.com)
• Nothing moves the Blob: X-Men Arcade announced for XBLA, PSN (arstechnica.com)

Notorious, best-selling platformer comes to PS3

Man, what a busy day on the PlayStation Network. It’s a good thing I dropped an extra $50 in my purse because the PSN “Stock Up for Winter Sale” starts today, as well as Tozai Games announcement that Spelunker™ HD will launch today on the PSN in North America.

If you’re up for a challenge, the reimagining of Time Martin’s classic 1983 platformer, contains all the fun and provocation of the original, but all in new 21^st century 3D graphics. In addition, the game will also have 100 freshly designed levels, co-op and competitive multiplayer modes for up to six players.

Initially launched in Japan, the game received a “PlayStation Store Top Sales Award”.

“People use words like ‘fiendish’ and ‘brutal’ when they talk about Spelunker, but they’re always smiling when they say it,” says Sheila Boughten, president of Tozai Games. “The character is ridiculously weak and there are a thousand ways to die, but that’s what makes it so fun and so rewarding when you complete a level.”

In Spelunker HD, the player navigates each labyrinthine level to reach an ancient statue that stands at the entrance to yet a deeper, more heinous cave. En route, you will operate archaic mine equipment and ride automated machinery to aid in your quest. You’ll collect a plethora of items and power-ups, encounter a vast array of creatures, detonate bombs and launch flares as you run, jump and climb your way ever deeper. When nostalgia strikes, an option to play in the classic 2D graphic style is also available.

Spelunker HD launches today (November 23) on the PlayStation Network for $9.99. For more information on Spelunker HD, as well as a complete history of the Spelunker game and an interactive look at wacky Spelunker fandom, you can visit  http://www.spelunker-hd.com/

You can also visit the Spelunker HD Facebook page at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Spelunker-HD/139505242768175

Related articles

• Spelunker HD brings the fragile explorer to PSN November 23 (joystiq.com)
• Bitchin’ Concept Art – Dead Nation on the PlayStation Network (dreadcentral.com)
• PlayStation Network is having a Stock Up for Winter Sale (geek.com)

It looks like Sony is giving gamers even more incentive to just curl up on the couch and stay out of the cold weather. With Thanksgiving and Christmas break approaching, the PlayStation Network team is celebrating the holiday season with some amazing deals on PS3, PSP, and minis titles. But act quickly, as the PlayStation Network’s “Stock Up for Winter Sale” will only be available for one week – November 23-29!

Here is a list of all the great deal you can take advantage of:

PS3

PixelJunk Racers 2nd Lap – $3.49 sale price; $6.99 regular price
Top Gun – $7.49 sale price; $14.99 regular price
Gundemonium Collection – $7.49 sale price; $14.99 regular price
DeathSpank – $7.49 sale price; $14.99 regular price
Joe Danger – $7.49 sale price; $14.99 regular price

PSP
Groovin’ Blocks – $4.99 sale price; $9.99 regular price
Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake – $9.99 sale price; $19.99 regular price
Dissidia Final Fantasy – $9.99 sale price; $19.99 regular price
Dante’s Inferno – $19.99 sale price; $39.99 regular price
Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker – $19.99 sale price; $39.99 regular price

Minis
Young Thor – $2.49 sale price; $4.99 regular price
Fieldrunners – $3.49 sale price; $6.99 regular price
Hero of Sparta – $2.49 sale price; $4.99 regular price
Alien Zombie Death – $1.99 sale price; $3.99 regular price
Monopoly – $2.49 sale price; $4.99 regular price

Take note of titles like Joe Danger, developed by the four-man studio Hello Games, and what IGN calls “one of the most polished, full-featured, and downright fun games available on the PS3”. As well as one of the best Sony handheld games, MGS: Peace Walker.

For more DLC news and info you can follow me on Twitter @The_GeekJock

Related articles

• PSN Fall Sale kicks off tomorrow; DeathSpank, Peace Walker and more half price (joystiq.com)
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• Eight Minutes of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Gameplay [Clips] (kotaku.com)

• 10 – Xavier Would Be Proud!: You used a mutant power 5 times in one game. (5 times? I’ll use it 5 times in the first level)
• 10 – Super Mutant: Find and use an energy pill in the Japanese version of the game.
• 10 – Turn Pyro to Toast: Defeat Pyro without any player using mutant powers.
• 10 – Kidnapped: Learn that Magneto has kidnapped Professor X.
• 10 – Largest Party: Play in a 6-player match with five other people.
• 10 – Grounded: Complete level 4 without jumping.
• 10 – Welcome to Die!: Have the White Queen welcome you to die.
• 25 – You Fell to Our Trap!: Get fooled by Mystique with five other players in a 6 player game.
• 25 – Score Inflation: Earn at least 250 points in one game.
• 25 – Bamf: Complete the game in 25 minutes or less.
• 25 – X-pertise: Complete the game on Expert difficulty.
• 30 – Master of Magnet: Defeat Magneto in different play sessions with all six X-men characters.

For more DLC news and info be sure to follow me on Twitter @The_GeekJock

Related articles

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• Konami’s X-Men Arcade Classic Headed For XBLA And PSN [NYCC] (kotaku.com)
• “Konami’s X-Men Arcade Game to Mutate the PSN “Soon”" and related posts (playstationlifestyle.net)
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• Multiplayer X-Men Arcade Classic Comes to XBLA and PSN (escapistmagazine.com)

Clean Sweep is a free multiplayer elimination mode that will be playable over two new maps: Bagram Hanger and Khyler Caves, as well as revamped versions of Shaikhot Base and Helmand Valley Base.

Hot Zone is an intense multiplayer mode that features “King of the Hill” gameplay and playable on two all-new maps called Kindukush Pass and Korengal Outpost as well as redesigned versions of the popular Shahikot Mountains and Helmand Valley maps. Hot Zone is available on the new Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 800 MS points, on PlayStation Network for $9.99USD and on PC exclusively via the EA Store for $9.99USD

The free DLC is only available to those who have purchased new copies of Medal of Honor and have redeemed their one-time-use code included within; owners of used copies will have to purchase a code from the XBLM or PSN. PC gamers need only look for a new patch that is available now.

Also, for those looking to get a little trigger-happy with the development team this week, Medal of Honor Play with Dev sessions will be held on November 6 from 1 – 4 pm PST on Xbox 360 and November 7 from 1 – 4 pm PST on PlayStation 3.

For more information on how you can get involved visit www.medalofhonor.com.

For more DLC news and info you can follow me on Twitter @The_GeekJock

Related articles

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• New Medal Of Honor “Hot Zone” Multiplayer Mode (godisageek.com)

The UnderGarden is a new-style puzzler exploration experience developed by Vitamin-G, the creators of Aces of the Galaxy. The UnderGarden is a casual zen-like game that challenges players to explore beautiful underground caverns filled with strange life forms; physics based puzzles and plenty of hidden secrets to be discovered. The environments come alive and the games music evolves as players get deeper into the world. It will feature local co-op gameplay and 20 different levels.

• – Use different types of fruit to help solve brain-teasing physics-based puzzles.
• – Watch the world around you bloom and come to life.

• – Pick up musicians to enhance the soothing audio tracks.
• – Unlock new looks for your character as you progress through the UnderGarden.
• – Explore a variety of different levels.
• – Solve tricky puzzles.
• – Gather pollen to make your world blossom with plant life and colour.

For more DLC news and info you can follow me on Twitter @The_GeekJock

Images courtesy of Game Press

During the New York Comic Con, Konami and Marvel Entertainment announced that they are in the process of porting an 18-year old arcade classic for re-release as a digital download. Now, I don’t know about you but one of the fondest memories of my childhood was playing this massive two-screen cabinet game in the arcades.

The game will feature the same six characters from the original arcade version: Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Cyclops, Colossus, and Dazzler, who will face off against Magneto and members of his sinister Brotherhood of Mutants as they attempt to rescue Professor X and Kitty Pryde.

The game will have upgraded visuals, leaderboards, 4-player local co-op, and 6-player online drop in/drop out co-op. I’m literally salivating all over my keyboard as I write this in a half-conscious nostalgic trance.

konami – the original developer of the game – failed to reveal pricing information and a release date. However, it was indicated that the game would be released some time before the end of this year (somebody ((me)) could potentially have a very merry xmas this year). The porting is being done by Backbone Entertainment, who has successfully handled the transition of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 to current-generation consoles.

GGGGGGGHHHHHHHWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAGGGH!!!!!!!!!!! — Colossus, 1990

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Game Point Cards at a Video Game Retailer

NPD’s Michael Klotz has shown us, yet again, how the trend towards digital distribution is the future of the industry. In a GDC Online 2010 panel, Michael Klotz was discussing how the PC Gaming is set for growth in 2010. Physical games are still generating more revenue than digital distribution but gamers purchased more digital titles than physical discs up to August of this year.

One of the most notable statistics in the presentation is that of digital point card sales. Retail revenues are being sustained by the sale of points cards like Microsoft’s Points Cards or the Playstation Network Cards. Game Controllers have long been the #1 selling gaming accessory with AC cords coming second. The points cards have overtaken the game controller as the top selling gaming accessory with a 37% increase in sales.

It’s no wonder retailers like GameStop are announcing plans to offer digital sales to compensate for the industry shift.

Source: Joystiq.com

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• Video game sales dip slightly in July (news.cnet.com)
• Video games enter new frontiers (financialpost.com)

Curve’s self-published puzzle-platformer to hit PS3 before year end

Curver Studios announced today that its 2.5D platform action game will be brought into the HD era with a bang and onto the PlayStation Network before the end of this year.

Explodemon! is heavily influenced by classic Japanese games from the golden era of the SNES. Players will use  Explodemon’s self-destructive nature to combat enemies and fly through the air, all the while solving a vast array of physics-based puzzles (and of course leaving wake of destruction and collateral damage behind).

The plot of the game is centered around the peaceful planet of Nibia being attacked by malicious Vortex forces, the fate of the star system is then thrust into the one pair of hands it shouldn’t be: the malfunctioning Guardian robot Explodemon. Your quest to repel the onslaught or Vortex forces and restore peace will take gamers across three distinct planets and over twelve levels, with new abilities and gameplay mechanics introduced throughout.

“We’re really excited to finally be able to reveal Explodemon! to the world,” explains design director Jonathan Biddle, from a blast-proof bunker somewhere below the surface of Nibia. “The game is chock full of gameplay nuggets carefully mined from the greatest titles ever to grace our joysticks. Whether you’re experiencing its intense combat, head-scratching puzzles, or classic platforming, you’ll find we’ve combined all of these elements into an addictive and elegantly balanced package.”

Explodemon! is unrelenting, hard-core brain-tickling action for those who grew up playing platformers, as well as those who’ll discover just how awesome they were.

(This video is concept render and is not meant to represent the final product)

THE SKINNY (OR TL;DR)

• Explodemon! is a 2.5D-styled platform game with a physics-puzzle twist
• It’s out Q4 2010
• It’s influenced by the classic Japanese games of old
• It’s more than a little bit funny
• Follow Curve on Twitter! Exclusive things! News! Codes! @curvestudios

ABOUT CURVE STUDIOS Curve Studios is an independent game developer based in London’s super-swish Islington. The company has worked with partners as diverse as Sony, Codemasters, Sumo Digital and a Secret Publisher^TM on platforms including Wii, Xbox 360, PSP and PS3. Curve’s first self-published title, Explodemon!, will be released Autumn 2010. For more information, visit www.curve-studios.com.

For more news and information follow me on Twitter @The_GeekJock