Oooh! It looks like it’s about the time! Time for what, huh? Well, it’s almost time for TellTale to launch its new episodic game series, Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Adventures.

What’s so dang grand about these adventures? Umm, well, Wallace and Gromit are two pretty famous characters, at least over in England. I know I loved watching their adventures as a high school student with nothing but time and tons of cocaine on my hands.

Okay, there was NO cocaine involved in my youth, but wouldn’t that explain so very much about me? I think it would.

Because TellTale is so awesome, they’ve decided to let us give Wallace and Gromit a try even before the game comes out next week on March 24th. For those people not so weak of heart, head on over to FilePlanet to grab the demo version of the game and give ol’ Wallace and his pal Gromit a try.

[Image courtesy of TellTale Games.]

Post from: EveryJoe

Wallace and Gromit get a demo

There are a lot of aspiring game designers out in the world today and I’m one of them. Well, I would be one if I could draw and come up with a story. Without those two things, you might as well just jump off a cliff when it comes to making a game. But there are plenty of other people out in the world who CAN draw and come up with cool stories and those are the people who should be entering the Pax 10 competition!

So, what’s all the hoopla about the Pax 10? Well, for one thing, they’re games that are going to be judged by the enormous web comic, Penny Arcade, which probably means a lot of people will see your submission if it wins. In fact, you’ll get to display your game at the super bad assed Penny Arcade Expo, where games are played and seen by many.

I think this is a great opportunity to get fans of games, especially of adventure games, out and seen in the world of players of games. There are tons of ideas out there for adventure games, so maybe we should let ourselves be heard, dangit!

If you’re interested, check out the official Pax 10 rules page.

Post from: EveryJoe

PAX 10 Competition

Well, here’s some good news for all you adventure gamers who also enjoy a good puzzling game. Last year’s hit Nintendo DS game, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, will soon have some buddies sitting on the shelf with it. Developer, Level 5, has recently talked to a Japanese gaming magazine about releasing a whopping THREE new Professor Layton games that will be released in Japan sometime in the fall.

I’m guessing the detective and his boy servant are big hits in the gaming community!

According to Kotaku, the first game in the series will be called Professor Layton And the Demon God’s Flute (which to me sounds like the name of a Harry Potter book) and goes back three years before the first game. In this game, Professor Layton has to find out what destroyed a village and he also gets to meet his little buddy, Luke. Sounds puzzle filled, doesn’t it?!

Check out the picture from the Japanese magazine, Famitsu about the three new Professor Layton games. If you can read Japanese, you can even see what the article is talking about (at least small clippings of what it’s about… it’s not the best “scan” in the world).

[Image courtesy of Famitsu.]

Post from: EveryJoe

Professor Layton gets a prequel!

There is yet another adventure game coming to your Nintendo DS, Wii and PC: Secret Files 2 – Puritas Cordis. Now, if you couldn’t tell, this is the sequel to Secret Files: Tunguska, which was the top selling adventure game of 2006 according to the website. When you have sequels to best sellers, you just can’t go wrong! I mean, just look at the Monkey Island series. The first one was good, but two and three were even better. We won’t talk about the fourth one, though. That one was just crap.

There are lots of things going on in Secret Files 2 what will probably make it just as good as the first one: the same main characters and the interesting story:

Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis…

…the world is on the verge of a catastrophe. By the time Nina Kalenkow realizes that the recent disasters were caused not by nature, but by a ruthless secret society known as Puritas Cordis, it is almost too late.

While her ex-boyfriend, the scientist Max, witnesses the savage operations of Puritas Cordis first hand at the site of an ancient temple in Indonesia, Nina joins forces with a vicar in France to uncover the connection between the secret society’s shocking prophecies and a sinister leader of the order who lived hundreds of years ago. A dramatic race against time begins. Will Nina be able to avert the impending Apocalypse?

Come on now… a secret society? Races against time? Killer squirrels with vicious teeth and claws (okay, there weren’t really and killer squirrels in this game, but it sure would’ve added extra drama, don’t you think…)? How can you NOT grab this game off the shelf when it arrives?

We should be seeing this game sometime in the second quarter of 2009.

Post from: EveryJoe

Secret Files 2 – Puritas Cordis

People are weird. Really weird. But I don’t have a problem with weird. In fact, I’m weird myself. I mean, I write for this really weird website and all I do is talk about adventure games. That’s pretty weird, isn’t it? I’d like to think so, anyways.

That’s why when I heard about Monkey Island Memorial Day over at The International House of Mojo, I wasn’t too weirded out. A Monkey Island Memorial Day? That almost sounds absurd… in a completely freaking awesome way!

Back in 2007, some crazy Europeans through together a bash to end all bashes. This bash consisted of Monkey Island themed games and party favors. And why not? Monkey Island is awesome. Seeing as the event drew close to 500 people, those same crazy Europeans decided to make this year’s event a two day shindig which shall start on May 23rd, 2009 and take place in Vienna, Germany in 4 different locations! Now, that’s a lot of monkey madness!

Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Well, check out the schedule of events and plan on attending. It should be a piratey good time!

[Image courtesy of Monkey Island Memorial Day]

Post from: EveryJoe

Monkey Island Memorial Day

Who wants to play an evil tyrant in a comedy style adventure game? Oh, I know I do! Recently, the Adventure Game Company added an adventure comedy about a little man who is a ruler of a land called Faeryanis and a tyrant at the same time! Doesn’t that sound fun?

The name of the game is called Ceville and is bound to be a hit with adventure game folks far and wide. Here’s the story:

The mean cruel cold blooded tyrant Ceville ruthlessly rules the beautiful kingdom of Faeryanis. Or rather, he used to rule the beautiful kingdom of Faeryanis, until the brave people revolted against his regime and drove him out of the palace.

The kindhearted queen Gwendolyn did step up to reign over the land with a council of noble and wise advisors.. It seems that this story could end just like any other fairy tale: “And they lived happily ever after…” But no, that’s not quite right. Because another evil rises within the land. The treacherous Basilus – counsellor of Gwendolyn and of Ceville before her – plans to take the crown and torture the realm with the help of murderous beasts he has summoned from the planes of eternal darkness.

Now, maybe you don’t like playing EVIL characters like Ceville. That’s fine. A lot of people have MORALS and like to play as the good guy. So, you also get to play two other characters: a girl named Lily who apparently had a heart of gold and a noble night named Ambrosius. The two of them will help the evil Ceville take out the even more evil Basilus. This just sounds better and better.

So, the story didn’t seal the deal for ya? Well, maybe the trailer will:

It does look fun, doesn’t it? You can buy Ceville for your PC from the Adventure Game Company for the decent price of $39.99.

[Image courtesy of Adventure Game Company.]

Post from: EveryJoe

Ceville – an adventure comedy

There is a new trailer out for Majesty 2 that makes the sim based fantasy game look even more fun to play. Not only does the story sound cool, but they also got someone with a wicked Scottish accent to do the narration! You can’t beat the sound of a good accent. Check it out:

This game is so right up my alley! I can’t find a release date for this game yet, but it is suppose to be released sometime in quarter 2 of this year. I can’t wait to kill me some evil demons!

Post from: EveryJoe

New Majesty 2 trailer!

Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. On Thursday of last week, TellTale Games announced that not only would we be seeing their new episodic adventure series, Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Adventures, on Xbox Live, but we’ll also be seeing the sensational dog and lagomorph series, Sam and Max on Xbox Live as well. Why only limit the greatness of Sam and Max to the PC? Why not let the ENTIRE Xbox playing world in on their fun little secret?!

So, when these Sam and Max episodes do hit Xbox Live, instead of looking for Sam and Max Season 1 and Season 2, they’ve had a bit of a name change. Season 1 will be called Sam and Max Save the World and season 2 shall be known as Sam and Max Beyond Time and Space. I think naming them this way will get those people who aren’t in the adventure gaming circle to actually check them out and see what they’re all about, which can only be a good thing for the adventure genre.

All I have to say is: Well done TellTale!

[Image courtesy of TellTale Games.]

Post from: EveryJoe

Sam and Max – Available on Xbox Live!

The number 73 is a wonderful number, don’t you think? 73 degrees (Fahrenheit… not Celsius. If it was Celsius, we’d all die) outside is a beautiful weather. 73 years old is one of those retirement years where you get to sit back and enjoy life. 73 dollars could buy you a few adventure games. There are all sorts of uses for the number 73!

Well, today the number 73 takes on a whole new meaning. Yes, Dave Grossman, the guy behind the genius that is TellTale Games, is number 73. But 73 what, you may ask? Well, IGN has counted the Top 100 Game Creators of All Time and Dave Grossman is 73 on the list.

Click here to read all about Grossman and his torrid history!

Post from: EveryJoe

Dave Grossman – Number 73

There is the wonderfully sarcastic website that is awesome at putting together top 10 (or less.. or even more) lists about random things in history and in our every day life. That website, Cracked, have written lists on The 5 Most Badass Presidents of All-Time and even things like The 5 Creepiest Urban Legends. Recently, they wrote a list on 10 Video Games That Should Be Considered Modern Art and I was pleasantly surprised with the author, Michael Swaim, picks.

Now, some of the topics in his list were games like Fallout 3, for the post-apocalyptic-ness that was melded in with the coziness of the 1950s. Nothin’ says “warm fuzzies” like water contaminated with radiation! Swaim also mentions Shadow of Colossus, a game in which you wander through barren lands of nothingness to defeat gigantic monsters that each have their own weakness.

Now these were both pretty big games when they came out (and still are today), so I was kind of surprised when Swaim mentioned two adventure games that many adventure gaming fans have come to love. What’s even more surprising is that one man was behind both of these games. That man? Well, Tim Schafer, of course! And those games? Well, that’s nothing short of Grim Fandango and Psychonauts. What’s even better is that Psychonauts claimed the number one position in this particular list!

So, what does this mean? Is Tim Schafer some type of genius? Many would say that he is or maybe he just knows what art is.

To read more about the 10 video games, check out the article over at Cracked.

Post from: EveryJoe

Cracked – 10 Video Games That Should Be Considered Modern Art