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Following this summer’s Steam release of Fist Puncher, Team2Bit has delivered the retro-styled brawler to the console via the Xbox LIVE Indie Games (XBLIG) channel. (Or Here)
“People think we’re backwards porting a Steam game to XBLIG,” says studio co-founder Jake Lewandowski. “But despite the Xbox One controversy and the questions on where Microsoft will stand with indies in the next gen, they are the ones that truly democratized videogame consoles with XBLIG and XNA.”
“We hope Microsoft recognizes their position as a leader and follows up with another indie-friendly console. As much maligned as the indie channel is, it still stands for something important. True, some of the shittiest games ever made are up there, but that’s what makes finding the hidden gems so much more magical,” adds Matt Lewandowski.
The XBLIG port boasts the same wealth of content that earned Fist Puncher the title of the ‘world’s largest brawler’, including 50 levels, 15 playable characters, an extensive RPG and leveling system and 4 player local coop. It will retail for 400 MSP, or $5.
While the PC version of Fist Puncher was published by Adult Swim Games, the Xbox version is not. “Adult Swim is an ideal partner for small studios, they’re redefining what it means to be a publisher in the era of the indies. While they did provide enormous help prepping Fist Puncher for Steam, they also allowed us the freedom to self-publish on other platforms,” Lewandowski says.
Steel River Games LLC is happy to announce its next project, Cosmic Predator. This side-scrolling shooter will be released late this summer and will be available for PC and Mac OS.
Players control the Cosmic Predator, one of the last surviving members of its species. Born in the depths of space, this monstrous squid-like creature is on a mission to recover the mysterious Life Stone to save its race from extinction. Since it’s still just a baby, the Cosmic Predator must feed continually to sustain itself. In order to replenish its ever dwindling health meter, it must drink the blood-clouds of its fallen prey.
Consuming blood also allows the player to power up his/her Cosmic Predator at the end of each stage. A defensive-minded player can focus on putting blood toward protective shields or a larger health meter, while a more aggressive player chooses abilities that increase the number of directions the Cosmic Predator can fire, or focus on obtaining a powerful charge shot. The style of the gameplay depends on the choices the player makes. And the wide variety of challenges (from squishy alien invertebrates to planet-stealing cosmic whales) ensures the player will need all the upgrades he/she can get.
The game also features a wide array of interstellar environments: galactic junkyards, floating asteroid gardens, and space-age cities. The Cosmic Predator must fight through these alien domains and more to recover the Life Stone and get revenge on the creatures who drove its species to near extinction.
Just how crazy is the new Saint’s Row IV, you ask? Crazy enough that the Australian Classification Board has given it the distinction of the being the first game to ever achieve a “refused classification”, effectively banning it from being sold, demonstrated, or even advertised for in Australia.
The reasoning behind it being that the game contains “drug use related to incentives and rewards”, which is not permitted by the National Classification Scheme, which outlines the conditions required for a game to be distributed in Australia.
The full statement from the board can be viewed here: *Warning .PDF file*
The board initially rejected the game on June 19th due to the game including “depictions of implied sexual violence which are not justified by context,” but publisher Deep Silver appealed the decision. Following today’s announcement, developer Volition has announced that they are planning to alter the game to meet the review board’s criteria.
Personally, I was very impressed by the way Saint’s Row The Third managed to present all of the hyper-sexualization and violence of games in a completely tongue-in-cheek way, without giving offence. And I’ll take offence at anything.
Although, with trailers that have been released so far, it’s clear that Volition is attempting to top the ridiculousness of the previous games, so it’s not hard to believe that there is a line that could have been crossed, resulting in the board’s ruling. I mean, this is a game series where I have spent an unreasonable amount of time throwing farts in jars at crowds of people. And they’re trying to best that top-notch entertainment.
I guess we’ll just have to wait until the game gets released on August 23rd to find out just how far the envelope can be pushed.
