One Epic Game is an action platformer from Grip Games that is scheduled to release July 2011 for the PlayStation Minis. The game is part Canabalt, featuring fast autoscrolling platformer action, all the while avoiding obstacles and shooting or jumping on enemies. One Epic Game is being created as a parody of current gaming cliches. Many a cliche include alien, zombie, fantasy, nuclear wasteland and World War II elements.

The typical goals of a stage in One Epic game are to reach a given distance, kill a certain number of enemies, or not kill any enemies at all. While killing with weapons net points and builds a chain combo, the more advanced skill seems to be jumping on top of an enemy, increasing a combo multiplier/bonus.

After players finish the story mode, there will be 24 challenges to complete. It sounds like Grip Games is trying to add a little variety to its epic Mini game, with multiple game modes in addition to the procedurally generated levels.

This is Grip’s fourth Mini title. Check out the other games here.

The above photo could be the first and last ever images of Rush Rush Rally Racing on the PS mini and PSP mini service. Now, the future of Rush Rush Rally Racing‘s PlayStation mini port has been put in the hands of the players. Rush Rush Rally Racing was developed first for the Sega Dreamcast by independent Netherlands studio Senile Team, who made the virally popular Beats of Rage beat ‘em up engine. RRRR’s publisher is Germany studio Redspotgames, who released last year’s XBLIG title Solar Struggle and has distributed several Dreamcast games from 2007 such as Last Hope.

Redspotgames has a growing concern for how Sony has handled itself prior to and after the security breach that has potentially effect tens of millions of users whose information was hacked into. While Rush Rush Rally Racing is still on schedule for a WiiWare release in 2011, its future on the PlayStation mini service remains uncertain. Fans are encouraged to take a brief survey to let Redspotgames know if work should continue on this port. The company fears gamers won’t purchase the product due to the extreme negativity towards Sony and safety concerns.

While ports may be somewhat easier to quit investing time and money in, there are many companies that have undoubtedly invested much larger shares of their company into forthcoming games on the Sony systems. It’s very difficult to decide what most of the industry is going to do at this time, but it’s very interesting that Redspotgames is being so proactive in trying to make a Sony-related decision. What’s more, Redspotgames is not making that decision on its own, but engaging the fans, something that business editor Colin Campbell suggests, in part, in his Gamasutra opinion piece.

Is this too early to ask PlayStation fans for future support? Would Sony have the same delayed reaction to this major security issue if more and larger developers decided to walk away?

Source: Redspotgames

Come on, if there’s one thing we love more than being gamers, it’s being gamers whose feedback actually matters in the community. The creators of Coconut Dodge, the UK studio FuturLab, have released some new details regarding their upcoming untitled game — “a futuristic shoot ‘em up that features a unique teleport mechanic.” After launching a jigsaw puzzle across 16 gaming websites from IGN to TheSixthAxis, FuturLab has shown that they’ve got quite the penchant for mysteriosity (I know  it’s not a word, but it applies so well here).

The puzzle led to yesterday’s reveal of the new game on the PlayStation Blog, but rather in an unorthodox manner as an invitation to name the game and a theme song were part of this reveal. Moreover, players will also be able to suggest names for the lead character as well. Prizes include being featured in the game to obtaining a free copy of the game and perhaps others. If you’d like to have a go in the competition, you’re welcome to it. In the meantime, a trailer for FuturLab’s previous PSP Mini, Coconut Dodge, is available below.

[FuturLab]

Trailer:

You know, we really don’t talk about Sony’s PSP Mini service enough. Despite being ripe with indie games, for some reason we’ve just been completely oblivious to the happenings going on over there for some time now. But don’t worry, we are working on remedying that content gaf very soon. In the mean time, we do have some choice news for anybody curious as to what all this Angry Birds nonsense is.

Developed by Rovio Mobile, an independent developer that focuses on mobile games (primarily Symbian and iOS), Angry Birds is a fun “flinging” type game where your object is to use various types of birds to knock over structures. The game is quite addictive and is, surprisingly, much more difficult that you’d imagine it would be.

Now, with the help of publisher Chillingo, it looks like the game is heading to Sony’s PSP Mini channel where the game will be available on the millions of PSPs sold around the world.

Angry Birds currently sits at the top of the iOS charts and shows no indication of slowing down in the near future.

No word yet on price, but if Angry Birds follows other iOS to PSP ports, then you can expect the title to be anywhere from two to four times the iOS cost.

Ever since the launch of the PSPgo and PSP Minis, I haven’t touched my PSP-2000. I wasn’t attempting to boycott the newly revamped handheld, but rather the games on my iPhone have been far more appealing. However, after seeing what was in my inbox today in the morning, I’m certain my PSP will be fired up at least once before the end of the year. I received a message from a studio that dubbed itself “die gute Fabrik,” showcasing 4 mini-trailers of their work in progress — Where is My Heart?

As part of the Copenhagen Game Collective (the lovely group that brought us B.U.T.T.O.N. and 5 Minute MMORPG), die gute Fabrik offers up some more revealing information about the game:

“A family of three monsters go on a hike. Suddenly they notice that they’re lost. They start fussing and only end up more confused. The family is left shattered by paranoia. In the woods the three monsters encounter many a strangeness. They enter the Land of the Fireflies; they meet the naively helpful Antler Ancestor; the friendly Rainbow Spirit of True Sorrow; and the ambivalent Bat King. The monsters try to overcome their negative craze and start making their way home. They gather up pink hearts to strengthen their family bond. Sometimes they can’t help but cast bitter green hearts of spite. Will the monsters survive as a family, or will they break up into a set of three lonely individuals?

The core mechanic of Where is my Heart? is the Comic Panel Effect. How can this mechanic be described? Imagine a 2D platformer with three monsters. The player can switch between them and work her way through the world to find a way home. Easy enough, right?

Now imagine the game world was cut up into little square pieces. These pieces are shuffled like cards and thrown back onto the screen. Disorienting? That’s the Comic Panel Effect. It’s a challenge to play, because the player has to figure out where the monsters are located.

Where is my Heart? is scheduled to reach alpha in August 2010, with release some time soon after.

The Comic Panel Effect not only sounds interesting but it also looks fantastic! Time to fire up your PSPs, ladies and gentlemen. Here are some inspiring gameplay videos.

[Read the dev blog.]

You know the PSP Mini store reminds me a lot of the XBLIG channel. Both services put out plenty of indie games, both offer these games for relatively cheap prices, and both seem to be completely ignored by any sort of marketing effort by Sony or Microsoft. Kind of a shame, really. Still though, despite this, the services are still putting out tons of great games: like  Tehra: Dark Warrior, which will be available on the PSP Mini store tomorrow.

Here’s a brief description of the game:

Upon opening Tehra: Dark Warrior, players enter fantasy world Sistar. After centuries of battling over land, the humans and demons signed the Tarkhubal Treaty delineating six kingdoms, and designating three for each race. Tehra was created as a hybrid human-devil to mediate the conflict and maintain peace. If a king breaks the Treaty, Tehra storms through to eliminate him, slaying any monsters in her path. Collect potions, including Electricity, Combustion, Fireballs, and Demon Wrath, to gain new abilities and attacks. With the help of demon blood, Tehra can switch from human to demon, wherein her attacks are stronger and deadlier but require more energy.

Now the game is really just a port from and iPhone version of the game. However, don’t let this detract you from checking out the PSP version. As you’ll see in the trailer below, the game is 3D, not a 2D side scroller. This means thaat the PSP controller will be much better suited for the game than the iPhone. In fact, the game actually reminds me a lot of the PSP God of War game, although I can’t yet attest to it’s quality.

For those interested, the game will be released tomorrow onto the PSP Mini service. It’ll cost $4.99.

The trailer is slightly NSFW for some thong action. Seriously, your heroine wears a thong. No pants!

Trailer

And I truly mean that, only if you love the actual ship combat modes in the Masters of Orion games (1 & 2) is this game for you because, well, it looks like the developers borrowed heavily from the old 4X strategy that, at one time, consumed nearly every waking moment of my life.

Star Hammer Tactics, by Black Lab Games, is hitting both the Xbox 360 (XBLIG?) and, according to new press release issues this morning, PSP Minis! That’s right, another game is, finally, coming to Sony’s iPhone-competing, downloadable distribution channel that has seemingly fallen off everybody’s radar since announced. Shame that…

Anyway, here’s the lowdown:

Star Hammer Tactics is a futuristic, fast-paced tactical battle game that anyone can learn to play in minutes. In the single-player campaign mode, players will assume the role of a naval strike group commander as they defend the planet Novus from the marauding alien menace known as the Nautilids. Alternately, challenge a friend to a duel to the death in the local multiplayer mode – customize your fleet, then compete for glory and bragging rights! Featuring a rule set that is deliberately simple whilst still allowing for maximum strategic depth, Star Hammer Tactics is sure to engage and entertain gamers of all persuasions. Achieve victory by outwitting your opponents, and then blasting them to little pieces!

Sound interesting? Good! Here’s the trailer! The trailer is actually for the Xbox 360 version, so I can’t actually say this is the exact game you’ll see on the PSP. Still though, I can’t imagine it straying too far away.

Oh man. Where’s my copy of Masters of Orion 2? I know it’s around here somewhere.

The only thing better than killing zombies is killing alien zombies. PomPom Games will be releasing a zombie game on the PSP (it’s about time). Alien Zombie Death, a shoot-em-up platformer, will see a release to the medium sometime in January and is reportedly going to cost $5.00. With no way back, you are a lone space man who must battle the alien zombies and kill as many as possible before dying.

PomPom Games are known lovers of retro titles and this game seems to reflect on that. With 14 levels of retro-style fun, the game will pit you against a multitude of alien zombies: some fat, some green, some that can fly, etc. To me, a retro platformer/shoot-em-up sounds just about heavenly and by the look of this trailer, there is much promise in Alien Zombie Death for PSP owners.

Australian developer Halfbrick will be releasing their action-arcade game, Echoes–which has already seen an XBLIG release–on the PlayStation Store as a PSP Mini. The title will cost only $2.99. With a total of four game modes (Arcade, Jackpot, Survival, and Clockwork), players control a girl named Charlie after she is transported into a dream world where Echoes mimic your previous movements. The objective is to collect crystals and move strategically so that your movements cannot easily be followed.

At first, the premise of the game sounds simple but after watching this video, it has become apparent that this will be no walk in the park. For more info on the game, visit Halfbrick’s official website. The trailer, on the other hand, is after this break.

Ah yes, the PSP mini: something else that Sony promises to provide extensively yet does not seem to deliver. The idea (other than the App Store) took influences from the hundreds (if not thousands) of homebrew applications and games, which were brilliantly engineered on the PSP long before Sony had given it any thought. Will the PSP minis work? Eh, I can’t tell the future but I have the feeling it will not reach the popularity and level of innovation that Apple’s App Store offers. Theoretically, though, there should still be some golden material.

That being said, maybe VEMPIRE is it, or maybe it is not. It is, however, yet another match-three puzzle that is available as a mini–also on the App Store–and launched on October 22nd on the North American PSN. The game promises an original match-three experience that utilizes strategy while offering control of minions as well as collection of artifacts and powers. Impressionware, the developer behind VEMPIRE, notes that the title has had a positive reception so far and that their expectations in terms of sales are being met. All I can say is: good luck to Impressionware and any other developer working on minis!

For more information, check out Impressionware’s official website.