Potatoes are delicious. We all love potatoes. Some more than others. I have six potatoes. I plan on using them in a delicious meal. Maybe with some cavefish. Cavefish is delicious, but only if cooked. You’ll mess it up bad, well let’s leave it at that. I’ve eaten whenever, whatever I’ve hooked. I’d kill for the thrill of a meal with some fat.

You play as a driller robot who can break blocks apart, pick them up, and reuse them. If you complete a line of blocks, the line gets destroyed a la Tetris.

Our intention is exactly the same than the one we had when we created Tuper Tario Tros. We want to create a unique game experience mixing games elements and mechanics.

The mash-up concept is a popular genre and that’s something we really like because it allows players to see how games that seem different at first can share the same DNA.

- Guillaume Martin and William David, founders of Swing Swing Submarine.

Blocks That Matter will be coming to Xbox LIVE Indie Games in April, followed by a PC/Mac/Linux release shortly thereafter. Expect pricing to be less than $5.

Hype frenzy begins…. NOW.

L.A. Noire consistently impresses with the quality of facial animations, but in this trailer from Rockstart Games and Team Bondi we see how this unprecedented level of realism will be used to help give Cole Phelps insight into the suspects and witnesses with whom he comes into contact.

When From Software released limited information on Project Dark late last year, it was fairly evident we’d eventually be blessed with a Demon’s Souls sequel. We got the official announcement from Namco-Bandai earlier in the week, along with an official name: Dark Souls. More info continues to trickle in on a game that, perhaps most surprisingly, has a solid chance of winning many game of the year awards…. THIS YEAR.

As you can see from the gallery below, the game looks very much like its predecessor. The characters and environments look the part to be right at home in Demon’s Souls, though some of the apparent boss characters look even more impressive than what we’ve seen before. This team has nailed dark fantasy once, and there’s little doubt they’ll manage a second success.

But what has me most excited for this game is the abandonment of the hub world: the Nexus. The Nexus never felt right in Demon’s Souls; it was too safe, too sterile. In Dark Souls, we’ll instead have a massive connected world open to explore at our leisure. The motto seems to be “if you can see it, you can eventually get to it.” The levels of Demon’s Souls were intricately crafted, and if the same amount of care is put into this world we might be in store for something truly amazing.

Often a topic of discussion on the podcast, the Silent Hill series has a sordid history which, on occasion, may cause certain gamers unintended torment and agita. Konami has placed the storied franchise in the hands of Czech developer Vatra Games; a gamble they’re hoping restores the series to its former glory.

The first screens have been released, which you can see at the bottom of this post, but perhaps more importantly a sample of the soundtrack has been released as well. This is a series known for its atmospheric and ambient soundtrack, masterfully arranged by Akira Yamaoka. Yamaoka left Konami in late ’09 and is currently working with Suda 51′s Grasshopper Manufacture, leaving the future of Silent Hill’s soundtracks in question.

Picking up the reigns is Daniel Licht, who is best known as the composer for everyone’s favorite “serial killer with a heart of gold” TV show: Dexter. The influence is similar in the snippet we’ve been teased with so far. It feels spooky, but does it feel like Silent Hill?

Sometimes you just gotta slow down.

Video games don’t always have to be fast paced. You don’t always have to have bullets constantly flying or several hundred explosions going off in the space of about ten seconds, and even multiplayer shooters featuring squads of soldiers armed to the teeth with enough ordinance to erase a medium sized country from the face of modern civilisation don’t always need to be twitch-controlled fragfests. And though I do love sprinting across the Fields of Battle or being Called to Duty with groups of my friends online, I am here today to tell you about a game that takes the exact opposite approach to player-versus-player modern combat.

Frozen Synapse is a new ‘simultaneous turn-based strategy game’ – to use the official description – developed by indie team Mode 7 Games. Played from a bird’s eye perspective, the game sees players planning out and executing the moves of their respective squads of soldiers turn-by-turn, until either the enemy squad has been wiped out or until certain objectives have been met. The way Frozen Synapse differs from other similar turn based titles however, is that in this game both players plan out their turn at the same time, and once both players ‘commit’ their plan the turn is played out with all actions playing out simultaneously. It adds a whole different spin on tactical strategy games where you have to actually predict what your opponent is going to do, as opposed to each player responding to the actions of the previous turn.

The amount of detail that can go into planning out a single turn is staggering, as units can be told to perform different actions along every single step of their planned movements. A timeline of instructions can be set in place for every single waypoint along a soldier’s path, with options available such as adjusting aim direction, crouching, firing ordinance at a particular moment, ignoring sighted enemies as they sprint past an open corridor, or even just waiting at a single waypoint for a second or two if you expect an enemy unit to cross at that moment. You are also given the ability to simulate enemy movements when planning out turns, so you can see the outcome of what will happen if your opponent does what you expect them to do. One extremely good example for all of this was mentioned my Mixmoff on the podcast this week: Facing off with two units on each side of a wall both armed with rocket launchers, he expected the enemy to attempt to blow up the wall his unit was standing behind, effectively killing Mix’ soldier. Mix instructed his unit to step back a little, wait two seconds and then fire his rocket where he had expected the enemy unit to destroy the wall. However, when the turn played out, the opponent had almost expected the same, as he had instructed his own soldier to do the same thing, though waited a second longer. Situations like this really do justice the the sheer amount of strategy and forward planning that can be found in Frozen Synapse, creating one of the most in-depth and intricate strategy games I personally have ever experienced.

Games in Frozen Synapse comprise of two players being assigned a randomly picked squad of 3-5 units. The soldiers in each squad will be a random mixture of machinegunners, snipers, rocket launchers, grenade launchers and shotgun users. Both players generally get a very similar team, and there is usually a difference in one or two of the units though it doesn’t usually appear to imbalance the game at all. There is also a multitude of game modes to choose from, ranging from Extermination – a simple deathmatch mode where the objective is to eliminate the enemy team, to modes like Secure where one player must defend an area of the map of their choosing while the opponent tries to capture it, and Charge where each player starts on opposite sides of the map and one must make it to a certain point and hold onto it for a number of turns while the other attempts to stop them. There are ‘Dark’ versions of each game mode too, where enemy units are hidden from view unless they are in line of sight of your own soldiers, and the last known position of enemies is displayed while you plan out your turns. The Dark game modes seem to be the most popular in online games, generally because they require a lot more thought and care in planning out your moves, and I personally see it as a lot more interesting and exciting compared to being able to see and expect just what your opponent is trying to do.

Frozen Synapse is shaping up to be something truly special in the world of online strategy titles, and with the right publicity it could expect to get quite a good following especially with the plans to release the game on Steam. I would love to recommend the game to anyone with an interest in tactical combat titles, or just anybody looking for something different, but there is one major issue holding me back – the game currently seems to be far too expensive for what it is. As a niche title with a lot less content as say, other indie titles such as Super Meat Boy for example, I really don’t think $26.99 is a good price point for this game. Whilst it is true that you get two copies of the game for your money, it may be better incentive to have the option to buy a single copy for a lower price, and even so I still feel like the price is a little higher than I would expect from a game like this. If you do have the extra money to throw their way however, show Mode 7 Games your support and pre-order a copy of this fantastic strategy game for you and a friend today! You get instant access to the beta, and Mode 7 will inform you when the game is going to be released fully.

Frozen Synapse has no firm release date as of yet, but it is expected to be released sometime later this year. Now I leave you with a video of a game between Mixmoff and I that we actually talked about on the podcast. Be advised – the ending is truly epic. The game may seem like it was incredibly short – only taking 35 seconds to watch, but the planning is where the gameplay really extends. This game actually took us closer to twenty minutes.

Images for this article are preview screenshots from the Frozen Synapse website due to some issues with my computer taking screenshots in games that use DirectX at all.

In the future, professional sports will no longer be comprised of a team of athletes chasing a sphere or ovoid around a grass field, but rather take the form of teams of cloned combatants killing each other in colourful metal deathmatch arenas for our entertainment.

As some of you may know, though many of you will not, Monday Night Combat has seen something of a re-launch this week as it makes it’s debut on Steam. This time however, I am already seeing a much brighter future for the game than it ever had on Xbox Live Arcade.

Monday Night Combat is a interesting mixture of games like the popular Warcraft 3 mod Defense of the Ancients (also known as ‘Multiplayer Online Battle Arena’ or ‘MOBA’ games), and first/third person shooters such as Unreal Tournament, Gears of War, Team Fortress 2 et cetera. I suppose you could even call it a very close fusion of Team Fortress 2 and DotA, though it is completely different from either of those games. It was released earlier this year for the Xbox 360 by up and coming indie developer Uber Entertainment where it received a warm reception, but does not seem to have kept up with the attention span of many console gamers. The game saw its official release on PC last night, and after participating in the beta for the past month or so I have noticed that it has already undergone some pretty major changes and started to develop a strong community. The game has almost been completely re-balanced to accommodate mouse and keyboard play instead of a controller (though a 360 controller may still be used), and the developers are even interacting very closely with the community in the Steam Forums for the game.

Now when I say that I have ‘participated’ in the beta recently, I must inform you that I have been playing almost nothing else other than Battle Kid and a few rounds of Frozen Synapse. I have become uncontrollably addicted to this game, and the only things that have managed to pull me away are other obligations and/or the point where my brain begins to melt. Everything about the game has managed to captivate me, from the bright colourful graphics of the game’s similar-to-TF2-yet-still-unique art direction, the whole ‘futuristic-bloodsport-meets-professional-football theme, to the fast paced and incredibly strategy-focused gameplay, and especially the absolutely hilarious humour that Uber Entertainment has packed into the game. That’s right, Monday Night Combat is one of the few games out there that is honestly and genuinely funny, and never seems like it is trying to hard simply because the nature of the game is already very over-the-top. The characters in the game all have their own quirky phrases and humorous animations, though the place where the game’s hunour truly shines is in the commentary provided by Mickey Cantor – the official Monday Night combat announcer. This guy has some of the funniest dialogue I have ever heard, from simple announcements such as “Somebody out there has a kill streak to DIE for! Get it? DIE for? Hello? Folks?” to true gut busters heard in pre-match announcements like “To the folks up there in rows 500 and above, we’re still on full coyote alert, so keep an eye on your kids! A DINGO ATE MY BAAAABYYYY! HI-YOOOO!”, or after match announcements such as “The Icemen are your winners! Which is bad news for their fans, who are outnumbered 3 to 1 by the Hotshots combat hooligans waiting outside the Arena right now – lets go live to that action!”
Whoever Uber got to record the voice work for this guy should be worshipped, because the man is a god at what he does.

If you have fifteen dollars to spare and a computer to play it on, and are a fan of multiplayer shooters at all I highly recommend picking up Monday Night Combat. Also, if you buy the game before February 1st you get a bunch of TF2 items to wear in MNC, and also some MNC gear for your characters to wear in TF2. Free stuff for both games, what’s not to like?

Also, they recently added a new character to the game. Fans of Penny Arcade may now flee in terror, because the Fruit Fucker is here for your juices! Look forward to shooting him for money and fabulous prizes! HI-YOOO!

This is why Uber Entertainment are allowed to have nice things.

And last but definitely not least, here’s the game’s official PC launch trailer:

While watching the gameplay trailers for Capcom’s upcoming iPhone game MaXplosion, it looks like it should be a fun little game. There’s this neat exploding mechanic, you see, which your character can do 3 times in a row before needing a recharge. You use this mechanic to traverse standard platforming levels, blowing apart enemies foolish enough to stand in your way.

Of course there’s just this one niggling little problem. This game, a game wrapped entirely around one mechanic, was released in the summer of ’09.

To say this game resembles Twisted Pixel’s wildly popular and frenetically paced ‘Splosion Man is an understatement… there is no way the planning meeting for this game did not include the phrase “Just go make ‘Splosion Man.”

It gets worse too, as Twisted Pixel CEO Michael Wilford responded on his twitter page:

Best part is, we originally pitched @Splosion_Man to Capcom and they said no.

It’s rare to see anything truly original in modern gaming. Games borrow from one another all the time, and when something works it’s bound to get copied in some capacity. But it is rare to see a major developer unapologetically ripping off a well-known indie game in this way. Hopefully it sells well, and Twisted Pixel nets all the profits when the inevitable lawsuit is resolved.

UPDATE: Guess that lawsuit may not be so inevitable after all. Michael Wilford spoke with Joystiq this evening and shrugged off the idea of filing suit against Capcom:

“While I think the similarities are pretty nauseating, we’re too small to take on a company like Capcom,” said Wilford.

That, and we owe them one for inventing Mega Man, so we’ll let them slide. I just hope they’re not counting on the fact that indies can’t fight back. In general, anything that would take our focus off of making games would be a bad decision, I think. We just need to keep our heads down making the next thing so that Capcom has something to steal next year.”

Later boners!