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Retro-inspired Cubixx kicks off on PSP Minis
by JC Fletcher 
{ Dec 1st 2009 at 6:45PM }
Cubixx will be released in Europe on Thursday 3rd December at a £2.49 price point. See some footage on the other side of the post break.
Puzzle Quest 2 coming to DS, XBLA in Spring 2010
by JC Fletcher { Nov 30th 2009 at 9:30AM } 
Puzzle Quest 2 will let players match gems as one of four new character classes: War Mage, Inquisitor, Barbarian, or Assassin, using "all-new weapons, spells, and shields." Sorry if you just got over a Puzzle Quest addiction.
Puzzle Quest sequel revealed
by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 26th 2009 at 2:00PM }
From the image, it seems that Puzzle Quest 2 is being developed for Xbox 360, but if it's anything like its predecessor, the game will eventually release on every console, handheld and electronic device known to man. One can also deduce that purple is now a rune for spells instead of XP. But what purpose do the gloves serve? We're sure to learn more very soon.
iPhone It In: bitFLIP
by Ben Gilbert { Nov 25th 2009 at 6:30PM }
It was a convenient delight then when I first loaded the game up on my 3G and had a thoroughly enjoyable time playing it. Though a truly egregious boot time put me off from playing bitFLIP during my every free moment over the two or so weeks I spent with the game (that time was reserved for Canabalt), I was still anxious to play it when my free time was longer than a scant few moments. Mixing interesting puzzle mechanics, great music, a truly unique (and often beautiful) visual presentation, and a variety of gameplay options, I can confidently say that there's more than enough enjoyable gaming to be had here to warrant your two bucks.
Gallery: bitFLIP
Level-5 reveals Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, coming to Japan next fall
by JC Fletcher { Nov 25th 2009 at 11:30AM }
This fifth game has Layton and Luke investigating the mystery of the title artifact in Casino City, which seems to have been created by the wish-granting mask. According to a Famitsu report that leaked before the official reveal, there could be major changes to the familiar gameplay system.
Miracle Mask will be out in fall 2010, and may be followed by a second movie, Hino said. The company first has to solve the puzzle of how much money it will receive from the first one.
[Via Famitsu, Andriasang]
This Wednesday: XBLA takes you out for Diner and a Gyromantic date
by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 16th 2009 at 2:58PM }
($15). If it's a cohesive concoction of puzzles, RPG elements and item collection, your departure is likely to be at no point.PlayFirst is also serving up an XBLA version of Diner Dash for 800
($10). The culinary-themed time management game should be an ideal snack in between gorging on Dragon Age: Origins, Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed 2, Left 4 Dead 2 and ... hmm. How good are you at time management?Professor Layton and the sinister graffiti
by JC Fletcher { Nov 16th 2009 at 2:15PM }
We were going to comment on the creepy "sign of the witch" that Professor Layton, Remi and young Luke encounter in this screenshot of Professor Layton and the Devil's Flute -- and how it seems that this Layton game is going in an unusually spooky and dark direction -- but then we remembered that both of the Layton games out in North America contain some fairly scary supernatural-seeming content: mysterious murders, monsters, curses, and the like. We tend to think of the Layton games as so pleasant and so light-hearted, but, really, there's often something a bit sinister in many of the puzzles Layton must solve. Grab a cup of tea and head to Famitsu for more totally spooky screens.
Fortune-hunting industry hit hard by recession, apparently
by Griffin McElroy { Nov 11th 2009 at 1:45PM }
Of course, the preceding paragraph only makes sense in a world where video game characters are sentient beings, capable of performing activities outside of the scope designated for them by a hard-working team of programmers and designers. In reality, it seems that Drake's likeness was straight-up yoinked by
Update: Corrected developer name (i.e., Hill Stone Animation Studio). Big Fish Games is the distributor. Also, check out the even more striking resemblance highlighted in a new image comparison after the break! [Thanks, 7ucky & Sayed]
[Via PSU Forums]
PSP Mini 'Bubble Trubble' pops up on PSN Nov. 12
by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 11th 2009 at 12:45PM }
The color-matching gameplay has you connecting (presumably trubblesome) bubbles together, with similarly colored spheres fusing, expanding and then exploding in space-clearing catharsis. The commentary on humanity's self-destructive propensity for greed and the dangers of corporate conglomeration is perhaps a little too obvious, but the colors are nice.
Gyromancer will end our lives on November 18
by Griffin McElroy { Nov 6th 2009 at 7:00PM }
Looks like we're going to have to start working on that Bucket List a lot sooner than we would've guessed. The recently released English language trailer for Square Enix and PopCap's RPG-puzzle mash-up Gyromancer has delivered a release date for our pending doom: November 18. Not only that, but the trailer's now-readable text has revealed a gameplay mechanic which slipped our attention in the original, Japanese trailer: Monster collection.
So, it's Bejeweled, Final Fantasy and Pokémon all rolled into one, then? Awesome. That's really awesome. We hope you guys have enjoyed reading our humble site, because Gyromancer looks to be addictive enough make us forget to feed ourselves, let alone work.
So, it's Bejeweled, Final Fantasy and Pokémon all rolled into one, then? Awesome. That's really awesome. We hope you guys have enjoyed reading our humble site, because Gyromancer looks to be addictive enough make us forget to feed ourselves, let alone work.
Auditorium flowing to XBLA, PSN and PSP next year
by Griffin McElroy { Nov 4th 2009 at 7:30PM }
For those who want to know what the soothing buzz is all about, you can check out Auditorium for free on the 2BeeGames site. For those who can't access that site for some reason, just turn on some classical music, go turn on the nearest water faucet, and try to redirect the stream with your hands.
Ghost Trick returns to haunt us with new trailer
by JC Fletcher { Nov 3rd 2009 at 4:50PM }
We say new-ish because it features the same intro animation seen in the TGS trailer. But this extended video also has brief snippets of gameplay footage, in which we can see Sissel possessing and "tricking" things like a cabinet door (to make a dog move). Check out the trailer after the break.
Gallery: Ghost Trick (TGS 2009)
[Via GoNintendo]
A world of data from the World of Goo birthday sale
by JC Fletcher { Oct 26th 2009 at 5:30PM }
Linux users were, on average, more generous with their purchase prices (maybe they offset the money they don't spend on operating systems?), and Swiss buyers were the most "generous," according to a metric that compares average purchase price to a country's per-capita GDP. The most generous individual? One "Stuart", who handed over $150 for a copy of World of Goo!
Meanwhile, the average purchase price for the WiiWare version was $15 -- because the sale didn't apply to that version.
Q? Entertainment: Music licensing, other issues keeping portable Lumines off PSN for now
by JC Fletcher { Oct 21st 2009 at 11:00AM }
"We would love to bring Lumines/Lumines II to the PSN store," Q's rep said, "but there are complications, music licensing, was published by Namco, etc." However, "That said, we're obviously looking into it. :)" Q went on to single out the songs "Shinin'" and "Lights" as requiring new licenses for digital distribution, and clarified that it would be Bandai Namco's decision to publish the first Lumines on PSN, since it published the game on UMD (in Japan).
While the licensed music in Lumines makes it even harder to republish, this is starting to sound really familiar. As Sony's Eric Lempel told us, it's especially difficult for publishers of older PSP games to go to PSN, because licenses will have elapsed, and won't have covered digital distribution in the first place. And Sony isn't requiring third parties to pursue digital distribution, so unless they see significant revenue potential from, say, PSP Go sales, many publishers just won't. That said, it's hard to imagine a PSP without Lumines, and we're confident it'll happen eventually.
[Via PSN Stores; thanks, Kassatsu]
Shadow Walker: Boy of Shadow, Girl of Light, Trailer of Game
by JC Fletcher { Oct 20th 2009 at 1:30PM } 
Okay, so Hudson's Lost in Shadow, which isn't on WiiWare, is about a boy who is a shadow, using other shadows as platforms and making new shadows to travel on with the help of his fairy companion. This game, which is a download, is about a boy who can only walk in shadows, and whose fairy companion helps him create shadow paths.
Despite the extremely similar premise, the gameplay looks quite different. In this game, you control only the fairy, creating paths for the boy to walk through.
[Via Andriasang]
