Because we didn't. Seriously: we had totally forgotten about Roachy Carruthers and Insecticide even existing. The noirish bug detective title launched in the U.S. over three months ago, and as bloggers' memories are famously only fractionally longer than those of goldfish, there was little chance of ... um. Dang it, happened again.

Anyway, we deemed Insecticide to be a fairly inspired adventure romp that was held back by some tedious platforming sections, but if you're one of those Europe-based folks who enjoy great adventure games with horrible platform bits (a small group, for sure), then you'll be pleased to know that Insecticide is coming to your part of the world in August. Yes, it's five months late. But at least it's coming. Hurray.


[Via press release]

Seriously, she only brought it on herself. Sharing is caring.

In all seriousness, we were looking forward to the release of Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles this weekend for some crime-solving fun, but after checking out the reviews and discovering our localized version would only get half the game the Japanese currently enjoy, we're doubting if the man is as tall as he's said to be.

With that said, we don't know how this weekend will unfold for us, from a game-playing perspective. So, what will we play? Wait, who cares! We're just some jerks who blog. Let's find out from more important people what they'll be enjoying this weekend.

What will you be playing?

Well folks, it would seem that all of our excitement over Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles might have been wasted. What little in the way of reviews for the game online say it's kind of, well ... below mediocre. They aren't too kind to the game, but we can't say we blame them. The North American release only has three cases, where the Japanese release has six!

• Game Informer (65/100) says "This is a brief and functional title, but it lacks the flair and intrigue to pull off the film noir aesthetic. It's also hard to get over the fact that Jake Hunter looks like he should be ordering Jägerbombs and hitting on your sister instead of solving cases."

• Nintendo Power (50/100) thinks "The game would have benefited from some compelling touch-screen use (for puzzles or combat, perhaps), but as is, it barely puts the 'interactive' in 'interactive novel.'" [June 2008, p.89]

• 1UP (D-) is of the mind that this game isn't even qualified to be in the bargain bin: "Each case is stupidly linear (to the point where you cannot leave an area until you perform the game-moving action), the script is riddled with typos (at one point, a character refers to a mobile phone as a "sell phone"), and the static character art exemplifies the cheapness of the entire package."

Developer: Crackpot Entertainment
Publisher: Gamecock
Release date: February 12

Thomas Trowel's jaw was long and bony, his head a jutting v around the more flexible v of his mouth. His mandibles curved around to make another, smaller, v. His yellow-green eyes were mostly vertical. The v motif was picked up again by thickish antenna rising outward from twin creases above a hooked nose, and his pale brown hair grew down -- from high flat temples -- to a point on his forehead. He looked rather pleasantly like a praying mantis -- because that's what he was.

He said to Chrys Liszt, "Yes, sweetheart?"

Detective Chrys Liszt sighed. She could handle stereotypical guys. After all, her partner Roachy Caruthers was as hard-boiled as they came, a veteran cop who'd had more holes shot through him over the years than an old piece of cheese. But guys like this Trowel character really got under her exoskeleton. They had no idea how to treat a woman who wasn't just some dame. "Look, can you just give us a quick rundown on this Tangerine Sparrow deal? For the files."

"Well, darling," Trowel said, "it all started when I met Brigid O'Spiderssy, a real knockout. She came in with a story about her sister, and was all sweet innocence, but I've been around long enough to know trouble when I see it, and that dame was trouble. Next thing I know, this fellow who's supposed to have run off with her sister is dead, my partner is dead, and I've got the law--" he looked up, face twisted in a smile that held little joy, "calling me a suspect. Before I can make sense of all that, I've got this grub coming around talking about some tangerine sparrow and a young scorpion following me everywhere I went."

"Sparrows," spat Roachy suddenly. "Nasty things. Had one swoop down on a cousin and bam!" He brought two thin, gnarled hands down on Trowel's desk. "Just like that."

"This one was old. Treasure, I'm told. A gift from royalty, missing for years. Didn't seem to be anything but bad luck, if you ask me. Everyone I talked to about the sparrow is either dead or in jail, and not one of them managed to put a hand on it for more than a few days." Trowel looked down at the watch on his wrist.

Chrys looked at Roachy, but he had his arms crossed and was studying the ceiling, clearly bored. "You turned it over to the department, right? The statuette."

"Along with the dame."

"Thanks, Trowel," Chrys said, getting to her feet. "If this connects to the Nectarola case, we'll be in touch."

"Swell," Trowel said, reaching for his hat, the small v of his mouth curving. His eyes glittered. "Happy to help."

Reprinted from Super Hardboiled Noir Detective Fiction Magazine, 1949

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FFTA2	Back	At world's end

It's doubtful that any publishers will ever pick up Detective Saburo Jinguji for North American localization, but with adventure titles making a comeback on the DS, maybe it's not that farfetched of a dream?

Developer Arc System Works has posted a teaser site to drum up interest for the seasoned private eye's DS debut, detailing some of the its features and providing a Flash demo for visitors to try out. Though the trial consists mostly of Japanese dialogue and menus, it's a nice preview of the game's jazzy soundtrack and photographic presentation. Plus, if you investigate the crime scene enough, you might come across some familiar consoles!

While Phoenix Wright may never fail to rev our collective fanboy motors, when it comes to adventure games, Hotel Dusk: Room 215 has been garnering more and more excitement -- and even the reviewers who find fault with the title can't help but gush over the story.

GameSpot -- 82%: "One of the really neat things about Hotel Dusk is how the plot plays out. It's not often that you can praise fiction in games these days, but Hotel Dusk is a clever, stylish, well-spun detective novel hiding inside a DS cart ... It helps that the solutions for puzzles aren't often troublesome. All the puzzles are designed specifically with the realities of this hotel in mind, so you won't find yourself with any obscenely weird objectives or "tie the cell phone to the cat" moments, nor are you likely to find yourself glued to a walk-through for the bulk of the game ... [t]hat Hotel Dusk mostly manages to avoid falling back on ridiculous item hunts and completely illogical puzzle solutions to progress is a godsend, simply because it lets the storytelling drive the game, and the gameplay rarely distracts you from the mystery."

eToychest -- 90%: "Stylistically, Hotel Dusk marries pencil sketched characters and water colored backdrops with traditional polygonal environments in a manner that should be jarring, but instead feels both unique and altogether perfect. The characters themselves are distinct and very expressive, each displaying mannerisms reflecting their attitude regarding a particular line of questioning. Ask Louie about his past, and he'll clam up and try not to make eye contact, or sweet talk Iris to see her beam like a schoolgirl. Most every game has characters, Hotel Dusk has personalities."

GamePro --75%: "Hotel Dusk probably won't appeal to every DS gamer, as it requires a degree of patience and thoughtfulness that only the aged (and insane) are capable of. But anyone looking for a cerebral and deliberate challenge should definitely check out this cool and unique title; just be patient with it, and don't let its minor faults discourage you from plumbing its depths."

Famitsu featured a flood of screens from the mysterious Hotel Dusk: Room 215 yesterday, and all we can say is wow. If style was everything, this one would already be lining up for accolades. Let's just hope the unusual graphic adventure (set in 1979) is as good as it looks.

We've seen a lot of these before, in video from the game, but it's nice to get to pore over some of the more interesting shots. Who knew a lone puzzle piece could look so sinister?