Peoww News

Microsoft have bought indie developer Twisted Pixel, who brought us XBLA games The Maw, ‘Splosion Man and Missus as well as  Comic Jumper. They’ve recently released Kinect title The Gunstringer but we can’t garner any sort of enthusiasm for that nonsense.

No doubt they’ll continue to do much the same thing in a similar vein to Lionhead & Rare post-assimilation, but an (admittedly talented) XBLA dev is hardly on the magnitude of Bungie is it now?

In other news, Sony have announced yet another security breach.  Granted it’s on a much smaller scale than the 75m accounts potentially compromised earlier in the year, but it’s yet another reason why we’re loathe to input any sensitive information on to a Sony console or website. Besides the online component being largely blaverage. And the games leaving us cold for the most part. Ian

Peoww News

Perusing a list of forthcoming 360 release dates it transpires that among the usual suspects, THQ have pencilled in a European release for previously unavailable outside the US 360 title, You Don’t Know Jack. We guess the achievements will be the same, although where we’ll stand with this one remains to be seen.

This is great news because the original UK version from back when Windows 95 was still installed on your PC, featured the sublime voice talents of Paul Kaye AKA Mike Strutter AKA Dennis Pennis in fantastically sneering sarcastic form. It was possibly the most fun three people could have around a keyboard without needing to wipe it down afterwards.

Hopefully THQ have managed to secure his voice talents again as he’s not been particularly visible since that film in which he played a hard partying DJ that goes deaf. It’s All Gone Pete Tong, that’s it. In the event they’ve not managed to lock him in a soundproof booth for a recording session, might we suggest Rich Hall, Doug Stanhope or another comedian we like. Just not David Mitchell or Robert Webb. Ta.

In other news, the Windows7 Phone team have announced the forthcoming ability to control what marketplace content you’re watching on your 360 via your W7 phone. Good idea there lads, especially when the media remote does the trick just as well and costs the fraction of one of your handsets.  Ian

Peoww News

Electronic Arts Europe’s head Jens Uwe Intat (sounds like a character from Dune) has stressed that the relationship between EA and Valve hasn’t been damaged.  The perceived bone of contention being the upstart rival Origin digital content delivery system to Valve’s longstanding Steam.

In this gamesindustry.biz article , he said he sees no reason for the existing boxed retail distribution arrangement to  not continue. The way we see it, EA have filled a bag full of dogshit, set it on fire and when they’re rumbled before ringing Valve’s doorbell, have tried to act like nothing’s happened.

How can the very fact they’ve pulled various products from Steam and subsequently hosted them on Origin not have damaged the relationship between the two companies? EA citing patching issues is just bullshit of the highest order. You managed just fine before Origin came out, how come it’s a problem now?

Anyway, all the name Origin serves to evoke in this correspondent’s psyche is the halcyon days of Ultima Underworld, Wing Commander and System Shock back in the early ’90s. Ian

In an interview with gamesindustry.biz, creative director of id Software Tim Willits has as good as confirmed a sequel to forthcoming post-apocalypse-em-up Rage.

This is all well and good, but given the game hasn’t even shipped yet isn’t it a little premature to proclaim that a sequel is on the cards? Faith in your new IP is admirable, but it brings to mind the high profile failure of notorious FPS clusterfuck Daikatana by id co-founder John Romero.

We hope Rage turns out to be more than the apparent sum of its parts, but evidence glimpsed at Eurogamer doesn’t instil confidence, our very own Richie referring to it as two parts Borderlands and three parts Metro 2033 but less fun than the two of them.

It could just be a case of an engine looking for a game, just as was the case with Doom 3 with its delightful torch based gameplay… Ian