[Super Meat Boy is a ridiculously difficult platformer and we couldn't have finished this guide without the help of the community. Thanks to all involved!]

Welcome to the Super Meat Boy Bandage, Warp Zone, Hidden Character and Achievement Guide. Below you’ll find a simple listing of which levels throughout the game contain Bandages and which ones contain Warp Zones. At the very bottom you’ll see how to unlock the Hidden Characters and the Steam and Xbox 360 Achievements. And if you haven’t already, make sure you read our review on the game itself.

Some of the items are difficult to spot at first, but we assure you they are indeed in the levels listed. We’ve died well over 10,000 times between the contributors trying to get this information to you.

There are a total of 101 Bandages, 20 Warp Zones and 25 Unlockable Characters (8 are exclusive to Xbox 360, 8 are exclusive to PC, and 1 is exclusive to Steam).

Chapter 1: The Forest

Light World
1-4: Nutshell – Bandage
1-5: Holy Mountain – Warp Zone (Sky Pup)
Warp Zone: Sky Pup 1-1 – Bandage
Warp Zone: Sky Pup 1-2 – Bandage
1-7: Diverge – Bandage
1-9: Safety Third – Bandage
1-11: Fired – Bandage
1-12: Revolve – Warp Zone (The Commander)
1-13: Tommy’s Cabin – Bandage
1-18: Altamont – Bandage
1-19: Intermission – Warp Zone (Hand Held Hack)
Warp Zone: Hand Held Hack 1-2 – Bandage
Warp Zone: Hand Held Hack 1-3 – Bandage
1-20: The Test – Bandage

Total Light Bandages: 11
Total Light Warp Zones: 3

Dark World
1-3X: BZZZZZ – Bandage
1-5X: Creamsoda – Bandage
1-10X: Walls – Bandage
1-13X: Tommy’s Condo – Warp Zone (Space Boy)
Warp Zone: Space Boy – Bandage
Warp Zone: Space Boy – Bandage
1-14X: Mystery Spot – Bandage
1-15X: Kick Machine – Bandage
1-17X: The Clock – Bandage
1-19X: The Queener – Bandage

Total Dark Bandages: 9
Total Dark Warp Zones: 1

Chapter 1 Bandages: 20
Chapter 1 Warp Zones: 4

Chapter 2: The Hospital

Light World
2-2: One Down – Bandage
2-5: Big Empty – Bandage
2-8: The Sabbath – Warp Zone (The Bootlicker)
2-10: Johnny’s Cage – Bandage
2-12: Above – Warp Zone (Castle Crushers)
Warp Zone: Castle Crushers 1-1 – Bandage
Warp Zone: Castle Crushers 1-2 – Bandage
2-13: Ulcer Pop – Bandage
2-15: Gallbladder – Warp Zone (The Blood Shed)
Warp Zone: The Blood Shed 1-1 – Bandage
Warp Zone: The Blood Shed 1-3 – Bandage
2-16: SYNJ – Bandage
2-18: Destructoid – Bandage
2-20: Day Breaker – Bandage

Total Light Bandages: 11
Total Light Warp Zones: 3

Dark World
2-4X: Blown – Bandage
2-5X: Agent Orange – Warp Zone (1977)
Warp Zone: 1977 1-1 – Bandage
Warp Zone: 1977 1-3 – Bandage
2-6X: Cher Noble – Bandage
2-7X: The Moon – Bandage
2-10X: The Kracken – Bandage
2-12X: Grey Matter – Bandage
2-15X: Insurance? – Bandage
2-16X: P.S.Y. – Bandage

Total Dark Bandages: 9
Total Dark Warp Zones: 1

Chapter 2 Bandages: 20
Chapter 2 Warp Zones: 4

Chapter 3: The Salt Factory

Light World

3-1: Pit Stop – Bandage
3-2: The Salt Lick – Bandage
3-4: Transmissions – Bandage
3-5: Uptown – Warp Zone (Cartridge Dump)
Warp Zone: Cartridge Dump 1-1: Bandage
Warp Zone: Cartridge Dump 1-3: Bandage
3-7: Mind the Gap – Warp Zone (Tunnel Vision)
Warp Zone: Tunnel Vision 1-1 – Bandage
Warp Zone: Tunnel Vision 1-3 – Bandage
3-10: Breakdown – Bandage
3-11: Box Tripper – Bandage
3-16: Mono – Warp Zone (Ogmo)
3-18: The Grundle – Bandage
3-20: White Noise – Bandage

Total Light World Bandages: 11
Total Light World Warp Zones: 3

Dark World

3-3X: The Red Room – Bandage
3-5X: Wasp – Bandage
3-6X: Not You Again – Bandage
3-7X: Pluck – Bandage
3-8X: Salt Crown – Warp Zone (Kontra)
Warp Zone: Kontra 1-2 – Bandage
Warp Zone: Kontra 1-3 – Bandage
3-14X: Salmon – Bandage
3-16X: The Chaser – Bandage
3-19X: El Topo – Bandage

Total Dark World Bandages: 9
Total Dark World Warp Zones: 1

Total Chapter 3 Bandages: 20
Total Chapter 3 Warp Zones: 4

Chapter 4: Hell

Light World

4-2: Brindle – Bandage
4-6: Leviathan – Bandage
4-8: – Warp Zone (Brimstone) – Thanks to xXCanadian JrXx and ecamirG for this one.
Warp Zone: Brimstone 1-2 – Bandage
Warp Zone: Brimstone 1-3 – Bandage
4-9: Deceiver – Bandage
4-13: Lazy – Bandage
4-14: Adversary – Warp Zone (The Key Master)
Warp Zone: The Key Master 1-2: Bandage
Warp Zone: The Key Master 1-3: Bandage
4-16: Bow – Bandage
4-17: Lost Highway – Bandage
4-18: Boris – Warp Zone (The Fly Guy)
4-20: Babylon – Bandage

Total Light World Bandages: 11
Total Light World Warp Zones: 3

Dark World

4-3X: Char – Bandage
4-4X: Altered – Bandage
4-7X: Thistle – Warp Zone (MMMMMM)
Warp Zone: MMMMMM 1-2 – Bandage
Warp Zone: MMMMMM 1-3 – Bandage
4-8X: Billy Boy – Bandage
4-10X: Gallow – Bandage
4-14X: Old Scratch – Bandage
4-18X: Sag Chamber – Bandage
4-19X: Long Goodbye – Bandage (Please note there are actually 2 Bandages in the level, one above, one below, but the game will only count 1)

Total Dark World Bandages: 9
Total Dark World Warp Zones: 1

Total Chapter 4 Bandages: 20
Total Chapter 4 Warp Zones: 4

Chapter 5: Rapture

Light World
5-1: The Witness – Warp Zone (The Skyscraper)
Warp Zone: The Skyscraper 1-2 – Bandage
Warp Zone: The Skyscraper 1-3 – Bandage
5-3: Ripe Decay – Bandage
5-5: Panic Switch – Bandage – Thanks to Fluktuation for this one.
5-7: The Fallen – Warp Zone (The Guy!)
5-9: Abomination – Bandage
5-12: 10 Horns – Bandage & Warp Zone (Sunshine Island) Thanks to ApplsauceAvnger for this one.
Warp Zone: Sunshine Island 1-1 – Bandage
Warp Zone: Sunshine Island 1-3 – Bandage
5-16: Rotgut – Bandage
5-18: Gate of Ludd – Bandage
5-20: Judgement – Bandage

Total Light World Bandages: 11
Total Light World Warp Zones: 3

Dark World
5-4X: Alabaster – Bandage
5-5X: Nix – Bandage
5-8X: Downer – Bandage
5-10X: Pulp Factory – Bandage
5-11X: Blight – Bandage
5-17X: Millennium – Bandage
5-18X: Stain – Bandage – Thanks to Carbo for this final addition.
5-20X: Quietus – Warp Zone (Meat is Death)
Warp Zone: Meat is Death 1-1 – Bandage
Warp Zone: Meat is Death 1-2 – Bandage

Total Dark World Bandages: 9
Total Dark World Warp Zones: 1

Total Chapter 5 Bandages: 20
Total Chapter 5 Warp Zones: 4

Chapter 7: The Cotton Alley

Dark World
7-12X: Pink – Bandage – Thanks to Seiken Enhasa for the find.

Unlockable and Hidden Characters (and Chapters)

Gish (Gish) – 10 Bandages – Xbox 360
Head Crab (Half-Life) – 10 Bandages – Steam Exclusive
Goo Ball (World of Goo) – 10 Bandages – PC
Teh Internets Chapter – 20 Bandages
Alien Hominid (Alien Hominid) – 30 Bandages – Xbox 360
Robot (Machinarium) – 30 Bandages – PC
8Bit Meat Boy – 40 Bandages
Tim (Braid) – 50 Bandages – Xbox 360
Naiji (Aquaria) – 50 Bandages – PC
4Bit Meat Boy – 60 Bandages
Spelunky (Spelunky) – 70 Bandages – Xbox 360
RunMan (RunMan Race Around the World) – 70 Bandages – PC
4Color Meat Boy – 80 Bandages
Pink Knight (Castle Crashers) – 90 Bandages – Xbox 360
Captain Veridian (VVVVVV) – 90 Bandages – PC
The Ninja (N+) – 100 Bandages – Xbox 360
Mr. Minecraft (Minecraft) – 100 Bandages – PC
Bandage Girl – Playable once you beat the main game, but only in The Cotton Alley world.
Meat Ninja – Unlocked once you 100% the game.

Commander Video (BIT.TRIP RUNNER) – Warp Zone 1-12
Jill (Mighty Jill-Off) – Warp Zone 2-8
Ogmo (Jumper) – Warp Zone 3-16
Flywrench (Flywrench) – Warp Zone 4-18
The Kid (I Want to be the Guy) – Warp Zone 5-7

Xbox 360 Achievements

Nostalgia – 15g – “You found a warp zone! Now pay me for the door repair!” – This is an extremely easy achievement to get, just jump into the first warp you see in Level 1-5.

Living in the Past – 20g – “You conquered 5 warp zones! you’re so old school…” – Just keep unlocking the Warp Zones listed above and you’ll nab these easy points.

The Commander – 10g – “You unlocked Commander Video! Double rainbow all da way!” – All you need to do is unlock the warp zone in Level 1-12 and finish the three Commander Video levels.

Sticky Fingers – 5g – “You unlocked Gish by collecting 10 bandages! Go you!” – Once you get your first 10 bandages, you’ll get this achievement. It’s easy in Chapter 1.

The End – 65g – “You beat the game!… but that’s not the end, is it?” – Just run the the 6 Chapters in the Light World and you’ll get this achievement after beating Dr. Fetus. You only need to beat 17 of each Chapter to unlock the boss level if you’re looking to save time.

Tin Boy – 5g – “You just beat 10 levels without getting killed! Meat Boy loves you for that!” – This is easy to get in Chapter 1 and can be combined with:

Iron Boy – 10g – “You completed a full chapter without dying! Good for you!” – Just play through the 20 Light Levels of Chapter 1 without dying. It’s not that bad. You can’t even die in the first 5.

Business Time – 10g – “You unlocked Tim by collecting 50 bandages! He’s weird…” – Once you get up to 50 bandages, you’ll unlock Tim from Braid who can reverse time (and get extra bandages). Just look at the guide above for bandage locations.

The Real End – 20g – “You completed the Dark World… you are awesome.” – After beating the Light World, you need to unlock and beat enough Dark World levels to get to Chapter 6 and fight the Dark Dr. Fetus. It’s not easy, but that’s how you get this.

I’m a Golden God – 20g – “You got 100% on Super Meat Boy, start bragging!” – Check your statistics in the main menu. You’ll need to collect 100 bandages, get every warp zone and beat every level on par time to get this super-achievement.

Suffragette (Secret Achievement) – 10g – “You’ve beaten the Cotten Alley all by yourself!” – Just beat the Light World of The Cotton Alley and you’ll unlock this achievement. But remember, The Cotton Alley is no joke.

The Kid (Secret Achievement) – 10g – “You unlocked The Kid!” – All you need to do is beat Warp Zone 5-7. That’s it. Just beat that. It’s possible though. I just got it.

Steam Achievements

Wood Boy – Complete the Forest without dying.

Needle Boy -Complete the Hospital without dying.

Salt Boy – Complete the Salt Factory without dying.

Brimstone Boy – Complete Hell without dying.

Maggot Boy – Complete the Rapture without dying.

Dead Boy – Complete The End without dying.

Nostalgia – Unlock a single retro warp zone.

Living In the Past – Complete 5 retro warp zones.

Old School – Complete 10 retro warp zones.

Retro Rampage – Complete all retro warp zones.

The End – Beat the light world.

The Real End – Beat the dark world.

Golden God – 100% the game.

I Have Crabs! – Unlock the Head Crab (10 bandages).

Metal Head – Unlock the Machinarium Robot (30 bandages).

I Smell something Fishy… – Unlock Naija (50 bandages).

MS PAINT RULZ! – Unlock RunMan (70 bandages).

Vx6 – Unlock Captain Viridian (90 bandages).

Accidental Arsonist – Unlock Mr. Minecraft (100 bandages).

The Commander – Unlock Commander Video.

The Bootlicker – Unlock Jill.

The Jump Man – Unlock Ogmo.

The Fly Guy – Unlock Flywrench.

The Kid – Unlock the Kid.

There are an Six Achievements for beating the secret -1 through -6 levels. When I copy and paste each one, it breaks the guide…so you’ll have to take my word for it!

Lots of questions are answered in the comments. If there are any further changes in the PC version you find, let us know! This is a living and breathing guide and we just want to make sure everyone has the answers they need.

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Comments that were lost in the great “Comment Conversion of 2011″

The latest DIYgamer Podcast is up and running!

This time around the discussion is all about IndieCade which Erik, Geoff and Arsen hit up last weekend.

Thanks, as always, to Whitaker Blackall who provided the excellent theme music.

You can download it on our Podcast page or sign up for our iTunes feed right now!

Dig in (with your ears)!

I swore I wrote this up when the game first hit the App Store last week, but the “draft” indication in the post tells me I didn’t. Regardless, it’s best for you to know that the rhythm based paddle game BIT.TRIP BEAT from Gaijin Games has hit the App Store and is now available for iPhone and iPad.

If you haven’t played it on WiiWare yet, you control a small paddle that reflects things being shot at you…to the beat. It’s an amazingly addictive experience, and on Wii you move your paddle by rotating the controller like a hot dog on a stick. I can’t confirm how the game is controlled on iOS.

The game clocks in at $4.99, but it’s a fantastic game and I can’t recommend it enough. Here’s the link to the store.

A bag over your head, hundreds of disgusting enemies, and four powerful weapons at your arsenal…it’s just another day in the graveyard in Veks and Silence.

Veks and Silence is a 2D platformer that is all about the bloody slaughter. It has a 3D feel with depth to the background and rounded characters, but all the action takes place on a single plane. It has a kind of sloppy but playful dirty style that works perfectly for the content. Parts are collaged in and the over-the-top violence can be a lot of fun.

The game’s difficulty ramps up quickly and the most annoying element I found was the main character’s maniacal laugh that repeated itself several times.

The whole experience is quite gritty but overall fun and reminiscent of a simpler, more violent time like the old days of Splatterhouse and the like.

To get a glimpse at what I mean about the “sloppy but playful” description, check out the trailer:

Remember, XBLIG Thursday is a preview based on a trial game, not a full review. Veks and Silence rings in at the high-end of the XBLIG price points at $5, but it’s worth giving the demo a shot if you like slaughtering zombies and other creatures with a slew of different weapons.

You can read up on the developer, Edible Entertainment, at their official website.

The way I generally pick my trial games for an XBLIG Thursday is to pick either “all” or “highest rated” in the listing and then hang on my directional stick for a few moments and pick whatever it lands on. Today I hit a fantastic little gem in the case of Tobe’s Vertical Adventure. Developed by the one-man team at rayteoactive, its graphics are stellar and gameplay top-notch. It features a solo and co-op campaign across 16 levels on 4 different islands.

It’s a treasure-gathering platformer that holds some similarities to Spelunky, but completely holds its own in terms of graphics and gameplay. You play as Tobe who is dragged on a quest by his sister. You’re then thrown into a cave of treasures where you snag as many red gems as possible and save bird-collectibles along the way for a higher score.

You can run, jump, roll, float safely with balloons, throw up a chain rope to climb to new places (a la Spelunky), and crack open treasure chests. At the end of each level, you open a big chest with a timed-click and then the level starts crumbling and you’re forced to evacuate in a short amount of time. I survived the first level with less than a second to spare which was rather thrilling.

My only qualm was it was difficult to jump and catch onto vines to climb with the analog stick. It plays a bit smoother with the directional pad though that’s a whole new bag of complaints on the Xbox controller. It wasn’t a game breaker, just tough to lose a few lives from missed jumps. But overall the game is an amazing find in the cluttered XBLIG channel.

If you don’t believe me, check out this trailer that was released a few months ago:

Remember, XBLIG Thursday isn’t a full review, it’s a preview based on the trial game available in the XBLIG Marketplace.

You can download the trial of Tobe’s Vertical Adventure yourself right here or buy the game for 240 Microsoft Points. From my short time with the game, I highly recommend it. And ou can read more about the developer rayteoactive on his blog.

Sparkrift has recently announced a new game they’re developing for Xbox Live Indie Games called Robofish. From a gameplay standpoint, it’s a pretty standard dual-stick shoot ‘em up, but the setting and style are what made this title stand out for me.

You control Robofish who battles his way through the underwater hoards of bad fish in a 16-level campaign. It’s got a bright visual style with interesting water effects.

The game features over 100 upgrades for 12 different weapons and also provides a survival mode to see how long you can last in the underwater bullet-hell.

Here’s the gameplay trailer:

Luke Schneider of Radiangames has just announced that its XBLIG space shooter Crossfire has received some updates and the price is dropping down to $1 (80 Microsoft Points).

The changes include two new modifiers:  Speed Reduction and Better Damage.

“Speed Reduction reduces the enemy movement speed and firing rate by a significant amount. Better Damage increases the damage you do by a large amount (2.5x to be exact).  You can turn these modifiers on/off in the pause menu in any mode.”

Luke also mentioned that the balance has been changed: “Overall enemy movement speeds have been adjusted, so that the first 10 or so waves move faster, and the last 25 or so waves move slower.”

The ending of the game was also tweaked and arcade stick support now works better.

And the key to the whole thing is the fantastic price drop. Here’s the official Xbox page for the game.

It’s great to see developers supporting their games well beyond release. If you missed the review the first time, check out what Mike had to say about Crossfire (pre-update).

Here’s a screenshot of the new pause screen where you can access your Modifiers.

Monaco, at its heart, is a game about heists. It’s about grand treasures and a team of thieves skilled in the kind of arts it takes to make those treasures change hands without anyone noticing. It’s set across a variety of maze-like mansions, museums and palaces that are teeming with enough guards, dogs, security systems and unsuspecting-partygoers to all-but-ensure that you won’t get away with it. Andy Schatz, under his development banner Pocketwatch Games, has been working on the game for around a year now and each day it creeps ever closer to completion.

With what was originally a six-week old build Monaco won the Grand Prize and Excellence in Design Award at the Independent Games Festival earlier this year and I also had the opportunity to spend a day with Andy in San Diego earlier this year to see how he goes about his day developing the game. But today I’m here to discuss Monaco in all of its three-playable level glory. Monaco has not officially announced a platform and as such, no release date either just so we’re clear on that point. After the general public had the chance to play the game on a comfy couch in the middle of the PAX show floor (those that weren’t seduced by Spy Party, anyway), Andy sent me the same demo build to put a little quality time into and I’m here to share my findings with you today.

The current playable demo of Monaco features three different levels categorized as three different difficulty levels. Those locations are The Corporation (Easy), The Mansion (Medium) and The Museum (Hard). Unplayable at this time but listed in the level select screen are Banque Albert, Prison Ave St. Martin, Le Port de la Condamine, Casino De Monte Carlo and Place du Palais. That puts the current level total at eight, though the final game will ship with a fully-functional level editor and I’m sure Mr. Schatz will interject that absolutely nothing yet is final. If you’ve read the Day in the Life I spent at Pocketwatch Games HQ, you’ll notice a full, intimidating description of the Place du Palais level which features an absurd number of floors that you need to trek through, up and down, forward and back. Simply put, the final prize will be no easy feat.

As you enter each level, you’re going to encounter yellow diamonds spread out across the maps. By picking up five of these, you’ll open up your character’s ability to use their special move which I’ll get into in depth a little later. While not required, by picking up all the diamonds in a level, you’ll score a more impressive rating. But the main goal in each level is to locate and subsequently remove a Trophy which is generally heavily guarded by various security tricks. Levels will have multiple stories and you’ll need to find out which is the best (or most creative) way to go to get to your goal.

Levels are full of locked doors which you can break through, but a circular meter shows your progress and how long its going to take. Certain characters are quicker through doors than others, but everyone is going to be working their way through doors no matter who you are. You can jump into plants to hide from pesky guards and air ducts spread throughout the levels often present both hiding places and secret passages. You’ll encounter power switches in which you can throw an entire building into chaos (until someone turns it back on) and you’ll often be required to do this in order to pull the Trophy out from under the prying eyes of a slew of security cameras. You can also access computer terminals in order to see what security cameras can see throughout the level. In addition, each level has certain medical areas where you can heal yourself if you’ve been injured.

Now to break down the gameplay even more simply let’s start at the beginning. Monaco is a top down game that takes place in real time. The undiscovered map looks like a blueprint, with rooms and obstacles clearly written in. As you step into areas where your field of vision is unobstructed, the blueprint will fade into a direct picture. Though the dynamic lighting creates streaks of vision indicating your view around poles and even inside of windows. Your only controls are a full range of motion and a single action button that unleashes your special move.

Now as the Beatles have been saying for years, “I get by with a little help from my friends.” And at the heart of Monaco it’s an excellent co-op experience. But for full disclosure in this preview I tested all the different characters and three different levels solo…which made for some tricky getaways. While each character’s passive power and special move are helpful on their own, it’s truly the combination of a small team of thieves that brings out the game’s essence and the slickest getaways of all.

So let’s dig into the characters:

The Locksmith

The Locksmith’s passive power, or specialty, is the ability to pick locks at a rapid pace. I found this extremely useful playing the game solo as I was able to navigate each map at high velocity. And playing alone often means a single verb: run. This also applies to opening safes.

The special move is a Welding Torch. And this is a move that is most useful when playing with a team. If guards are pursuing you through a level, you can weld doors shut so that they can’t get through. This additional time boost can be the difference in life or death. Because once the bullets start flying, bodies start dropping (and you don’t have a gun, if you know what I mean).

The Prowler

A unique power for The Prowler is a constant Night Vision. This produces a green field around the player that allows them to see through doors and walls and generally get a leg up on the bad guys. It helps remain wholly undetected which can be a real feat in the game.

Once you nab your five diamonds, The Prowler gets access to a Smoke Bomb. The bomb creates a mass of confusion and anyone pursuing you won’t know what him them allowing you to slip away. It’s helpful to stay alive, but at the same time you can’t “stock up” on diamonds, so each time you use your special move you need to collect five more diamonds in order to gain your safety net again.

The Hacker

This tech-savvy character can access computers and shut down the maps ability to use its security cameras. All characters can access computers in order to see what cameras are seeing, but only The Hacker can actually shut the cameras down.

To compliment his computer abilities, The Hacker’s special move is an EMP which completely shuts down a localized area of electronics. From lights to alarms and more. Once again, it’s a one-use charge so you’ll need to nab five more diamonds before using it again.

The Cleaner

This character is all but useless when playing solo. It’s passive ability is Healing. So when your team has been shot and you’re on the run, The Cleaner is able to get everyone their health back.

The Cleaner’s special move is Chloroform which is exceptionally useful. By sneaking up behind guards and activating this power, guards will drop to the ground and you can prowl around undetected for a certain amount of time.

The Muscle

Not to editorialize, but The Muscle stood out as my absolute favorite in my solo-runs through the game. His specialty is Toughness which means he has more health than the other characters and can take more bullets, twice as much in fact. For a solo run that extra boost in invaluable.

The Muscle’s special ability, and the most unpredictable skill that I found, is C4. He can literally blow holes through walls in order to create new paths for a quick entrance or exit. It’s a unique ability to test as I’m willing to bet people are going to discover things using the C4 that Mr. Schatz hasn’t even imagined yet.

For this build of the game, that’s all the playable characters. But much like the level select screen the other options are still listed. The ones not available to play are The Redhead, The Gentleman and The Rat. During the “Day in the Life” article, the idea was tossed around that The Redhead’s special move would be seduction in that she could take the guard’s attention off everyone else. And on the same note it was originally discussed that The Rat would be able to “rat out” his comrades in order to be safe from the guards. But as with all rough drafts and loose ideas, those powers are subject to change.

Finding the right combination of characters to take into each level is half the fun, and the ability to think on the fly and adapt to new situations is crucial to survival.

The most beautiful thing about Monaco is in the details. As you cross the roof of an empty parking garage, tiny pigeons flap out of the way. Shadows of clouds cross the map in the moonlight. Fireflies dance around light posts. Distant sirens pass by in the ambiance of the level. As you walk over surfaces you leave footprints that disappear after a short amount of time. When a dog catches your scent, they’re unrelenting in tracking you down until you can finally find a way to hide with barks punctuating the chase. You’ll literally find your heart pumping as you dive into a planter box just in time to dodge a guard. And when you start one of the levels via an underground river, a small raft literally marks your entry point.

The three levels of difficulty definitely come into play and show off what the game has to offer. From motion-sensor alarms to machine-gun-toting super-guards, there are plenty of surprises. And figuring out just how to beat the next trap in a level is what all the fun is about.

Without writing up a step by step guide to each level, let me just share some thoughts on the general design of the game. Each level is basically a maze of doorways, closets, bathrooms, staircases, party guests, gardens, garages and more. Navigating each level for the first time is thrilling and the fact that people will be able to design their own maps is one of the most exciting points in the entire game. With all the tools of creating a compelling maze at one’s fingertips, who knows what will come of it.

The one problem I came across while working my way through the levels is one that many games have and it’s no small mountain to tackle. It’s the AI. The guards are smart when it comes to tracking you, but as soon as you “lose” them and are able to escape any alarms or lines of sight, it’s as though they completely forgot that there’s a burglar somewhere on the premises. The same goes for party guests. You can run into a crowd of people, plant a C4 bomb, and run away and after the explosion everyone who’s still alive goes right back to where they were mingling before. While that’s a particularly sadistic example, I had just wanted to check to see if it was indeed the case. But all-in, the fact that the guards don’t pursue you relentlessly is what makes the game possible to complete and doesn’t distract from the fun factor in the long run.

Running all three maps several times, making sure I cleaned out the yellow diamonds entirely and slipping out swiftly with the Trophy made me realize one thing. Monaco‘s gameplay is stunningly solid and hopefully it’s hits a platform that makes it easy to connect and play with friends, as well as share maps. We have been and will continue to track the game’s progress and will be sure to let you know the second we hear about a platform and a release date.

Developer Twisted Pixel has been an independent success story as their titles have become increasingly successful on Xbox Live. Starting with a staff of around six and now crossing over the twenty-head mark, they’ve built on their own successes and their latest effort Comic Jumper is the culmination of everything they’ve done so far.

The game follows Captain Smiley, a muscled, blue-clad superhero with a giant, yellow smiley-face for a head who has an anthropomorphic Star attached to his chest. The two bicker from the opening of the game to the finish, but its this endearing relationship that really carries the game. As the game opens, Captain Smiley blasts his way through his own personal comic that ends up failing at the end as Smiley and Star get into an argument where the villains end up walking “off set” and the fans and world end up rejecting his comic. In a self-reflexive twist, Twisted Pixel steps in (in-game) to save Smiley by providing him with a base of operations and the ability to jump into other comics as a guest start to earn money and rebuild his empire.

Using a machine that’s akin to the Time Cop time-travel vehicle, you jump from a fantasy-style comic to a silver-age comic and through a manga comic that actually plays right to left, just as its source material does.

In the base he can unlock collectibles and upgrades, talk to the cast of the comics, annoy his coworkers such as his assistant Gerda (who hates him) and more. It’s the first time Twisted Pixel has delivered a fully-voiced experience and it works great. Let’s talk about the specifics.

Gameplay

Gameplay shifts between a few different styles throughout the Comic Jumper experience. You begin the game as a side-scrolling brawler where you’ll be punching and kicking bad guys into the foreground and background. From there you’ll smoothly whip out your guns and operate more like a twin-stick shooter where one stick controls your movement and the other your aim. Additionally you’ll often shift into a third-person perspective with a targeting reticule. These gameplay variations are also augmented with vehicles ranging from a golf cart to a flying unicorn that leaves a trail of rainbows. The majority of the game is spent in the 2D gun fighting range and it initially feels repetitious to an annoying extent. But as the characters comment on their lots and the shifts between styles grow bigger and more interesting, the pace feels more engaging.

The controls are tight but the difficulty is often punishing to a frustrating extent. While you can upgrade your health and power, you’re forced to sink a lot of bullets into later enemies to bring them down. And bosses that are punctuated with a huge number of health points in the corner (that rapidly counts down as you attack them), can be a chore to bring down. One boss in particular clocked in at over 800,000 health points. But you do improve as you play through the levels and learn to dodge the projectiles being flung at you (from paper fans to cute, manga hearts).

In the base you can only run left and right and talk to characters, though if you attempt to jump the characters comment on the lack of the ability with a series of jokes. Jumping is also forbidden when you’re in the brawler sections, sending enemies flying with punches and kicks.

Style

The four different comic worlds of the game are lovingly crafted with spot-on stylistic elements and truly capture the essence of the comics they’re representing. From the stereotypes of the silver-age comic to the pelt-clad babe in the fantasy comics, Twisted Pixel definitely did their research when bringing these styles to life. Though the main characters readily comment on the zaniness of the manga style and mention that whoever drew it probably didn’t know anything about manga.

From the onomatopoeias that blast in word-form off of bad guys to the zooming out that takes place as you head from one section of a level to another, you consistently feel as though you are indeed inside of a comic book.

Another unique element to the game is the addition of actual video. Certain story segments are punctuated with actual film scenes of someone stomping on the Captain Smiley pages and another deciding to replace toilet paper with the comic. Real Twisted Pixel employees pop up in the game’s background as well and you even gain a special move that consists of real fists pounding the game screen and a final headbutt from a bearded developer that kills everyone on-screen.

Story

The story is simply hilarious. It is exceedingly difficult to make a video game genuinely funny, but Twisted Pixel has succeeded. As Captain Smiley earns cash to bring his comic back to life, the eventual relaunch is peppered with ludicrous purchases including a Captain Smiley theme song and gaudy new costume. And game world is redefined by the bumbling actions of Captain Smiley and Star such as an accidental murder in the fantasy world, overzealous swearing in the silver-age comic where Smiley and Star are fined for each offense and constant comments on the ridiculous nature of manga. The dynamic between Smiley and Star, and how he relates to the villains and his coworkers in the base never cease to amuse.

Everything Else

The voice acting is fantastic (only the guest-appearance of The Maniacal Smile wasn’t up to the snuff of the rest of the characters). And the original music throughout the game was absolutely perfect and hilarious.

Twisted Pixel has delivered a huge amount of fan service, as you’ll unlock some great avatar items for your Xbox 360 persona, as well as get to open up some new levels in ‘splosion Man, a never before done addition to an XBLA game.

Like I mentioned Twisted Pixel is truly an independent success story and everything about Comic Jumper is a kind of salute to that. There are two elements that really stuck with me after the credits had rolled and I shut down the game. First is the excellent-on-all-fronts Brad theme song that pumps out of his chopper and is unlockable for your collection, and second is the photo depicting Twisted Pixel after Captain Smiley regains his fortune. They’re hilarious additions and sure to keep you smiling long after you’ve put the game down. I won’t spoil the picture, but once you find it you’ll see what I mean.

Comic Jumper hits Xbox Live Arcade as part of Microsoft’s Game Feast promotion on Wednesday, October 6th for 1200 Microsoft Points. You can read more about the game at Twisted Pixel’s official site as well.

It’s no secret that Erik sparked all of our interest in Pirates of New Horizons when he first pointed it out a few months ago. Ever since then Exit Strategy Entertainment has been working hard to get their prototype done and they’ve announced a date that the world gets to play it.

Starting next Wednesday, October 6th you can download and play Pirates of New Horizons and let the developers know what you think.

Here’s what the prototype has in store for you:

*Three full levels set across different locations.

*Four different items to use: Grappling Hook, Ship Remote, Kharma Bombs and the Compass.

*Side Quests and upgrades you can buy.

Now remember, this is just their prototype to show off the concept. If it gets a good reaction we can all expect to see a fully-fleshed version of this game out sometime in the future.

Make sure you check out our interview with Exit Strategy in preparation for getting a shot at their game.

So keep your eyes on the official site next Wednesday in order to download the playable prototype. And in case you haven’t yet heard of it, check out the first trailer: