Oct 3, 2007
Oh, those game developer types, they be tricksy all right. If they're not releasing reiteration after reiteration of past hits, then they're pilfering the internet for inspiration. But this also means we have a secret gateway into what's coming before it arrives. So without further ado, let's get a free taste of things to come...
Tumuki Fighters
Not to be confused with a raccoon-based brawler, this "sticky 2D shooter" heralds from the slightly mad mind of famed homebrewer Kenta Cho. It's based on Namco's arcade game Phozon - you blast foes and stick to their discarded toy-block body parts to strengthen your ship. Its childish aesthetic disguises rock hard difficulty. Expect tears when this is released as Blast Works on the Wii in '08. Get it athere.
Taste of Japan
Ever been excited by a Japanese game but wished you could get a better taste of it before importing? Try some demos. Using your mouse pointer as a stylus is enough to get through Nodame Cantabile's note tapping rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - worth trying just to see the cloud of musical despondency that forms around the hero, Chiaki.Check it out.
The Blob
Splattering its way onto Wii in 2008 courtesy of THQ, De Blob was originally developed by a team of nine students at the Utrecht School of Arts and Utrecht University. Rolling a (duh) blob of translucent stickiness around a monochrome city, you slurp over painted citizens to absorb their colour and then go about painting the town red. Or green or blue, etc. Full mouse control makes things a tad tricky - we can't wait for our analogue Wii version - but this a delightfully messy prospect.Get it at: binnenstad.hku.nl
Picross DS
Sometimes our love-letter reviews to games just don't seem to get through. How are we going to boast told-you-so unless you actually get round to playing these modern classics? One solution is to take to the streets with angry placards, the other is to point you towards this online Picross demo. It's not the official Nintendo Picross DS, but it's fundamentally the same. Play it, love it, buy it. Get it by clickinghere.
