A Boy and His Blob (or A Bwai an’ ‘im Blab, if you’re on the island)

If you grew up with an original 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System, and had eclectic taste in games even as a child, then you might recall A Boy and His Blob. An incredible premise at the time, A Boy and His Blob’s core mechanic was the manipulation of the Blob, who would change shapes and become useful items after being fed particular flavours of jelly beans. He’d be able to turn into ladders, brick walls, hummingbirds and more (it was about 20 years ago … I don’t quite remember it all), and he’d be crucial to all your puzzle solving needs.

It’s not 20 years later, and most of the world has forgotten about this creative and endearing game. Many 8-bit gamers may have grown up and out of spending time with a good game, or have had their tastes ‘mature’ toward more serious and aggressive games like the Halo’s, Quake’s, or Metal Gear Solid’s. But anyone still with an inner child will be happy, or at least interested to know that A Boy and his Blob are making a comeback to both Wii and DS systems.

So far, we can tell that the DS version will feature a 3D rendition of the original game’s art style. But here, the boy has grown into adolescence, and the array of objects into which the blob can turn are of similar fair: ladder, trampoline, bomb, blow torch, even a suit of armour. The DS’ touch screen has been confirmed to be used in “jelly bean management” and an overhead map.

The announcement of Wii version hasn’t had as much detail in its description as the portable version, but I can say this: I love the art style. A combination of hand drawn sprites and three dimensional cel-shaded backgrounds give this game a stylish and much needed update (and are nicer to look at over the DS’ graphics, to boot!). See the screenshots below to see what I mean.

… I’d end this preview with a little snappy thing to quote … but … I’m late for work.

Wii Dead Rising Zombie Music Video

While it only subtly previews some of Wii’s Dead Rising gameplay (watch the screens in the background), I find this, for one reason or another, adding to my zombie bloodlust. Check out this music video for Dead Rising Chop Till You Drop by GA GA GA Special. Yes, the band is from Japan.

Johnny Lee Shows His Wii Gizmos to TED

Ok, so the title of this post is poor in taste, but it is accurate in articulation. Check out the video below, where Johnny Lee (you might know him from his YouTube Wii Remote Hack Videos) demonstrates some of his most ingenious alterations, which are now being used in schools and offices, as well as being taken into consideration for future game development.

You can see more of Johnny’s crazy ass work here.

Secondary Fire Oddcast – Friday, October 31 2008

Instead of trick or treating with the other 12 year olds, Amrit and Jon wax about the upcoming Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard update. Along with the batmen, jokers, and other super heroes out and about getting candy, we also discuss our love for Spiderman Web of Shadows in great depth. We also debate the Wii’s role in the mainstream video game market, and shovel ware. Hold onto your nads, it’s a very serious podcast this week.