Renegade Kid's Mooncontinues to look like the hotness in the latest videos of the game posted by IGN. These are by far the lengthiest direct-feed clips we've seen to date, and display a fluidity and style that managed to leave a strong impression on both us and Matt "I love Zack & Wiki, me" Casamassina.
"Moon Out-Metroids MP Hunters," proclaims the latest headline on the IGN editor's blog, and that's not just lazy hyperbole -- we actually agree with him.
Dementium: The Wardlaunches in Japan today, and Japanese publisher Interchannel-Holon could not have found a more perfect venue to promote Renegade Kid's horror title*. "Alcatraz E.R." is a novelty restaurant in Tokyo's Shibuya ward with a mental asylum theme where patrons must announce their blood type before entering. They are then handcuffed by girls dressed as nurses who serve up food in surgical trays and drinks in hospital drips.
In other words, it's a totally amazing and ideal place for a Dementium promotion. Hit the break for more gory pics of the press-only event (our invites must have got lost in the mail).
* Admittedly, they could have used an actual abandoned psychiatric asylum, but that probably comes with its own issues.
Wait, are we dreaming, or does Moon look this good? We've seen the game in motion before, but not direct-feed like this. Sure, the clip is only seconds long, but those are some lovely graphics over those few seconds. While we'd like to have had some gameplay included in the clip above, we'll certainly take this. It looks like Moon is going to have to be bumped up a couple places on our list of highly-anticipated DS games.
Posted Jun 19th 2008 2:45PM by JC Fletcher Filed under: News
GamesRadar interviewed Renegade Kid's Jools Watsham about the company's upcoming DS sci-fi first-person shooter thing Moon, and about the DS in general. The Dementium creator, like other developers, sees too many cheap me-too DS games being thrown into the market, calling it "the inevitable cash-cow-console catastrophe." One bright spot in recent DS releases? Contra 4.
When the subject turns away from the awesome Contra 4 and toward Moon, Watsham reveals that Moon has been in the works in one form or another for a long time. It began its life as a Game Boy Color game, before going through "many changes since that original idea" and ending up as an FPS built on the technology used to create Dementium. Technology that other companies want, and that Renegade Kid is considering licensing.
While you're reading, you can also have a look at GamesRadar's new screens -- including a very special codec moment.
Now, the game's Japanese site has launched and it's an incredibly effective platform for advertising the title. Just checking out the site makes you think J-horror, in the likes of Silent Hill and Fatal Frame. It's a great way to market the title, we believe, so be sure to hit up the site for the goods.
Just as with Dementium: The Ward, Renegade Kid is all about letting us see every aspect of their games, and when we're getting a peek at something that looks as awesome as Moon, we appreciate it. Creative Director Jools Watsham updated his blog at IGN with a short video that features some low quality footage of the game, and even through a pokey webcam, it looks incredible. He pauses on the screenshot to the right, so we've included it for comparison. Check out the video after the break to see the gorgeous base in full motion!
Fans of Dementium (see: uh, DS Fanboy), you should pay attention. The game is headed to Japan in a few months, as it will see a release to the region on June 26th. It will retail for a price of 5,040 Yen. Other than that, Japanese gamers should pretty much know what they're in for.
The game was, in our eyes, an under-appreciated gem and a very competent FPS on a system lacking them. We can't wait to see what Renegade Kid has in store for us with their next game.
You all know we dug Dementiunm. It was a fine title and a decent FPS on a handheld that is seriously lacking in that department. Now, Renegade Kid is preparing their second FPS for Nintendo's handheld in Moon. What should we expect?
Well, Renegade Kid's owner and creative director, Jools Watsham, spoke with Joystiq about the new project and reassured us it's going to be something we'll want to play. It's a pretty interesting read, if we may say so. Head on over and check it out already!
First, Renegade Kid did horror. Next up is science fiction for the burgeoning studio, with Moon, a first-person adventure with a trailer featuring a distinct John Carpenter vibe. Jools Watsham, director and producer on Moon, recently spoke with IGN regarding their plans for this title.
While most of the interview covers the basics of the game, there are some interesting moments focused on Dementium's flaws and how they're trying to deal with those issues with the development of Moon. Dementium fans will be happy to hear that the save system is being addressed, and it sounds as though the similarity of the level designs from is also much on their minds. From the sound of it, we may be treated to an even better experience this time around -- which would truly be something to see.
Renegade Kid, they of Dementium: The Ward fame, have whipped the covers off of their next DS project. Moonis a series of minigames centered entirely around revealing one's backside in an assortment of hilarious scenarios is the new name for the game formerly known as "Project M," and will take the form of a first-person, sci-fi, action-adventure set in 2058.
Featuring isolated lunar bases and mysterious alien hatches, publisher Mastiff describes the experience as "dark, twisted, heart-pounding, frequently violent and always disturbing." We like! Incidentally, Moon will be built on the same engine that powered Dementium. That's good news, because for all of its flaws, Dementium was one heck of a technical achievement.
Update: The first Moon trailer just touched down in our inboxes. We've embedded it for your viewing pleasure above.
Gaming sites are inundated with holiday gift guides at the end of the year, listing the best and most popular games that everyone pretty much already has (or knows about). Well, we're not going in for that this year. Our gift guide will help you find the best gifts in categories the other sites won't cover -- because we just made them up.
Nintendo's indifference towards PAL regions is infamous, but there's arguably less room for complaining when it comes to the DS. See, the DS is (and we do not use this phrase lightly) an importer's dream. It doesn't faff around with region-specific software, there's a huge library of diverse and interesting NTSC-only titles, and the games themselves are cheap. As in, cheaper than they'll be when they arrive in the UK/Europe/Australia six months from now. Frankly, we can't think of a good reason for you not to import.
Which brings us to our latest anti-guide, featuring the five DS-related gifts that PAL regions won't be seeing until 2008 at the earliest -- if ever. All deserve to be imported without hesitation, so read on fellow PAL folk, and prep that credit card!
If there's one thing Dementium: The Ward delivers on, it's atmosphere. From the audio -- which is truly something special in the DS library -- to the overall mystery of the story of Redmoor Hospital, Dementium provides exactly what it promises: a survival horror/FPS fusion that you can take with you.
What it's not is perfect. Of course, no game is, but Dementium is peppered with a few looming frustrations that bring down the game experience. It is developer Renegade Kid's first effort, and at times it shows, and it's a somewhat clichéd game from a genre built on the power of cliché. The good news is that none of those frustrations are terribly huge. The bad news, however, is that some of those flaws may be just the sort that keep certain types of gamers away.
There is really only one game that came up on our radar of releases this week and it's none other than Dementium: The Ward. We like the survival-horror genre as it is, not to mention that this looks like the first engaging FPS game on the DS (not to say that Metroid Prime Hunters wasn't engaging, but the single-player was a bit lacking). We haven't a had a chance to pick the game up yet, but you can bet that we will be doing so immediately.
What about you all? Are you planning on picking up the game or are you playing something else?
The most obviously positive bit of news to take away from this announcement, of course, is that Renegade Kid is making a new game. According to the press release, the game will be in 3D, using the existing Dementium engine. Dementium looks great, and we certainly wouldn't want poor, tiny Renegade Kid to blow any unnecessary resources, so good for them.
All we can do now is speculate about what Project M is. The long-awaited Mork and Mindy game? A megaphone simulator in which you yell into the DS and your voice is amplified and distorted by the tiny speakers (in 3D)? Or are we assuming the wrong word stress for "Project", obscuring the game's true identity as an adventure in which your goal is to run around town turning on projectors in order to project the letter M?
Facing off against terrifying, ungodly beasts can be a little traumatic, but not knowing how to defend yourself against those abominations is even more frightening. When you tear open your copy of Dementium (perhaps obtained gratis from us), how will you proceed? DS Fanboy is here to help. This guide should be just what you need to gain a slight edge in learning how to deal with some of the more unpleasant residents of The Ward in a quick and painless (well, at least for you) manner. Of course, nothing beats experience -- but for now, settle back for a little spooky Halloween strategizing.
