spicy-horse posts

The DICE Summit just had its first surprise new game reveal thanks to Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello. In a speech made at the currently running Las Vegas event, Riccitiello stated that a new version of their 2000 action game American McGee's Alice would be released for the PC and consoles.

The original 2000 game was released just for the PC and had former id Software designer American McGee leading a team at Rogue Entertainment to create a warped version of the original children's book. However the game itself didn't sell that well and a planned console version of the game was canceled by EA. That decision lead to the shut down of Dallas-based Rogue soon afterward.

Update: EA has now issued their official press release for the game and American McGee's development studio Spicy Horse has posted up what looks like a concept image from the game (reproduced here) on their site. They also state the title for the game is currently "the Return of American McGee's Alice."

It's Christmas Eve which means if you haven't gotten your Christmas cards in the mail yet..well, you're a tad late to the party. Thankfully there's the Internet which can allow companies to release online Christmas cards for everyone to see.

Our sister site Joystiq has collected a number of game industry Christmas cards they have received in the mail and online. However, their gallery doesn't include everything so we at Big Download decided to collect a few other online Christmas cards in our own gallery. The images come from publisher Akella (promoting their game A Stroke of Fate), American McGee's game developer Spicy Horse, Age of Conan developer Funcom, publisher NCsoft (with cute versions of various game characters) and publisher Paradox Interactive who have not one but three different online cards promoting their upcoming strategy-sim game Majesty 2.

As 2008 winds inevitably toward the new year, so too has another season of American McGee's Grimm, the second of three, come to an end. This season has seen smatterings of innovation amidst a large dose of the same gameplay found in the first season. No too surprising, given the episodic nature of Grimm, but that doesn't make the repetitiveness any less disappointing.

In fairness, when Grimm Season Two was good, it was great. Episodes such as The Master Thief, The Pied Piper and Iron John are some of the most enjoyable casual gaming romps I've experienced -- quite a feat, considering the plethora of free flash-based games available within the Internet's many tubes. The conclusion of Season Two, A Christmas Carol, isn't one of the series' best offerings, but its excellent art direction, as well as its depressingly truthful analysis of the true meaning of Christmas circa 2008, does make it quite entertaining.

The fables detailed in American McGee's Grimm can be divided into two camps: the ones everybody knows, and the ones with which only a few may be familiar. The former type is enjoyable due to arkening your favorite (or least favorite) characters with Grimm's pestilence, and the latter is enjoyable due to learning a new story. But the problem with all Grimm episodes regardless of their respective camps is that no matter new or old, each episode unfolds in almost exactly the same way. You watch the fairy tale unfold in one theater, then play through roughly six stages connecting the dots to a fairy tale you just observed, and then watch a dark theater that, in essence, provides a replay of everything you just finished doing.

American McGee's Grimm: The Pied Piper takes a slightly different approach: you view the fairy tale before beginning Grimm's filthy adventure, but the ending is intentionally omitted. While the gameplay mechanics are the same as any Grimm episode you've played before, the drive to learn what happens makes The Pied Piper a compelling download even for those who have tired of the series' repetitive antics.

The California Gold Rush of 1848 hasn't got anything on King Midas's gift. After being blessed with the golden touch by the Greek gods, Midas sees the error and foolishness of his ways when everything and everyone he increases in value at his touch -- but perishes as a trade-off. Does that bountiful gift extend to the quality of American McGee's Grimm: King Midas? Somewhat. While the newest installment in American McGee's episodic series doesn't set a gold standard, it's at least worthy of a silver medal.

Former id Software designer American McGee has been living in China for a while now, developing titles with his own company Spicy Horse such as the continuing American McGee's Grimm episodic series. Now his official blog site has posted up a new game concept from McGee called BaiJiu Racer, a MMO-lite racing title that revolves heavily around Chinese culture.

The game is still in pre-production but McGee already has some concept artwork and a YouTube video showing off some early gameplay concepts (you can see it after the jump). The game already has a Chinese publisher but McGee is looking to see if Western publishers would go for the concept. It should be interesting to see if a game with such a Eastern theme could resonate with Western gamers.

Episodic content in the video game industry is still deep in the stages of infancy. Each of Valve's Half-Life 2 episodes add smatterings of new content, but the emphasis is on an evolving narrative that largely relies upon recycled assets. Such a practice allows developers to, in theory, release new installments at a faster rate than if an entirely new game were to be created.

My expectations for American McGee's Grimm: Season Two were similar to what I expect from each Half-Life 2 episode: new stories, but with most of the same characters and environments. While the stories are obviously new given Grimm's formula of focusing on one fairy tale per episode, developer Spicy Horse has taken bold steps to revamp the foundation built by the first season of Grimm. While still aimed at the casual crowd, the time I spent with the first episode of Season Two, The Master Thief, shows that American and Spicy Horse took the criticism of the first season voiced by consumers and critics into consideration. The result: less of what made the episodes dull, and more of what made them fun.

Grimm's first assault on Happy Ever After ended in September, but developer Spicy Horse and publisher GameTap are already entrenched in the next season of American McGee's Grimm, the episodic series that follows the mean-spirited exploits of eponymous protagonist Grimm. Big Download recently caught up with Grimm designer American McGee to discuss the highs and lows of Season One, as well as how the idea for Grimm came about, the process of selecting fairy tales, and a tease of what we can expect from Season Two.

Happily Ever After ends now... as does the first season of American McGee's Grimm. Today's episode marks Grimm's last filthy foray before a brief hiatus, which will end later this fall when Grimm returns for his second season. For his first of three grand finales, Grimm tackles a tale as old as time, and dirties it with lots and lots of grime.

American McGee's Grimm: The Devil and His Three Golden Hairs is the seventh and penultimate installment of Grimm's first season. After six weeks with the disgruntled Grimm, fans have come to enjoy watching the character's acidic nature corrupt sickeningly sweet environments, but have also voiced reasonable concerns over the first season's repetitiveness. Those who opted to sit out the last few innings should be pleased to learn that while Three Golden Hairs does not appease all concerns, it is a step in the right direction toward a more involved second season.