Twisted Pixel’s Splosion Man and Ms. ‘Splosion Man have made a big bang the past few years at PAX East, and this year was no exception, because the first day of the convention they announced that Ms. Splosion Man will be making the jump to iPhone, iPad and Steam later this year. I stopped by their booth on the show floor later that day to see for myself how the game translates over to touch screen controls.

For touch-screens, Ms. ‘Splosion Man has been reduced to a directional stick that moves you left and right. To jump and ‘splode, you just tap the screen. It took me several minutes to get used to this new control scheme.

It’s not as exact as using a joystick or directional pad, and the slippery nature of the iPad screen sometimes caused me to slide the directional a bit further than I would have liked. But after a few minutes it became more natural, and I’m sure once the full game is available for iPad, players will easily make the switch from controller to touch controls.

Retooled for iPad, Ms. ‘Splosion Man looked great. I’m definitely looking forward to this title, and it’s making it even harder to resist picking up an iPad.

We can look forward to Ms. ‘Splosion Man on our iOS devices and PC later this summer.

Taking a break from our Gunstringer review, we at the Flickcast realized something. It comes with a download code for Fruit Ninja Kinect.  We at the Flickcast have already played and reviewed Fruit Ninja Kinect so why not pass it along to you guys?

If you remember when doing our Summer of Arcade reviews, we took a look at the iOS turned Kinect title Fruit Ninja. First off, the game is a workout and just a few play sessions will have you shedding the calories. On top of that, it makes excellent use of the Kinect technology.

The one-to-one motion is captured with amazing accuracy in Fruit Ninja Kinect. Our main qualm with the title was its 800 Microsoft ($10.00) price compared to .99 cents on the Apple App Store. Luckily since we are giving it away to you for free, you don’t have anything to worry about!

Make sure to follow us on Twitter @TheFlickcast tomorrow, September 22nd, to win a download code for Fruit Ninja Kinect. Please own an XBox 360 connected to XBox Live and a Kinect so this code doesn’t go to waste.

Last year, Twisted Pixel earned a place in our hearts with ‘Splosion Man,  a quirky game that turned a simple platforming adventure into an hilarious meat filled romp in a secret laboratory. Last year, Twisted Pixel released news on their latest new IP, Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley.

With one of the funniest debut teaser trailers, Comic Jumper instantly had our attention on the Flickcast. After seeing levels and getting some hands on time at San Diego Comic Con, we could not wait for the game’s release yesterday to XBox Live Arcade.

Gameplay:

Unlike ‘Splosion Man which had only one button, jump, Comic Jumper has a much wider variety of gameplay. The majority of the game is a side scrolling shooter. Using the analogs and thumb sticks, players take aim at what sometimes feels like a never ended classic arcade onslaught of enemies. These crushing waves attack Captain Smiley from all angles as he traverses through the level with both melee and projectile attacks. While all these areas can be beaten even if it does take a few tries, it’s near impossible to make it through unscathed. In addition, the game adds shooting gallery sections, quick time events and a simple melee system as well. The melee sections are rewarded with a special “help” power from the team at Twisted Pixel.

Continue Reading →

You should know that we are big fans of studio Twisted Pixel’s past creations ‘Splosion Man and The Maw. Since the reveal of Comic Jumper,  we have been following news of the title closely as well. With E3 upon us, Twisted Pixel has unleashed a slew of information regarding the game.

First off, in addition to the Modern, Fantasy and Silver Age levels, the final theme will be Manga which according to the trailer below looks hilarious in the team’s take on this twisted genre. In addition, since Twisted Pixel likes to use current titles to complement previous ones, there will be two unlockable levels to ‘Splosion Man that can be earned over the course of Comic Jumper.

Comic Jumper will be featured on the E3 show floor with a demo of their silver age story, The Improbable Paper Pals, which can be seen in one of the videos below.

After the jump, check out a ton of new artwork for the game as well as its official E3 Trailer and The Improbable Paper Pals level demo.

Continue Reading →

Twisted Pixel has done a fantastic job so far on their past two XBLA titles, The Maw and ‘Splosion Man. Now, after keeping quiet since its September announcement, details are finally starting to pour out about their latest title Comic Jumper. With a sneak preview from SXWS this past week and more press coming out of PAX East, Twisted Pixel is ready to show the gaming world what they have in store for us this time in this comic book inspired action adventure.

Taking the role of Captain Smiley and his chest attached sidekick Star, players travel through comic books instead of levels, each with unique art style as they take on Smiley’s arch-nemesis Brad and a slew of other villains. From what we’ve seen so far, the game goes back to a simple 2D side scrolling brawler with added shooter elements. While its very early to tell, it looks like a lot of the game’s charm will rest under the dialog and comedic elements which it already seems to have begun locking down.

Take a peek at the first 10 minutes of actual game-play from Comic Jumper after the jump, as well as a bunch of artwork and character concept sketches which helped wet our appetite even further for this much anticipated downloadable title.

Continue Reading →

At San Diego Comic-Con, we got to sit down with Twisted Pixel CEO Michael Wilford to talk about their recent XBox Live Summer of Arcade release ‘Splosion Man . And just this past week, our friends at Twisted Pixel were nice enough to provide us with some download codes to give away  to The Flickcast fanbase.

So when we found out that Twisted Pixel announced their newest title, Comic Jumper, at the Penny Arcade Expo this weekend we got pretty pumped…until we found out the premise of the game which made us EVEN more excited. In the tradition of the humor of The Maw and ‘Splosion Man, Twisted Pixel brings a new hero Smiley Man (and the angry, smart-mouthed talking star on his chest) to the comic book world.

A comic book style platformer with Twisted Pixel’s twisted humor. Sign us up. But don’t take our word for it, take a peek at this just released trailer after the jump!

Continue Reading →