Spore is here, and the DVD-ROM gives native love to both Mac and PC. Those of you who bought your MacBooks about 18 months ago should be fine, right?
Wrong.
Well, wrong if you have a plain old MacBook. MacBookPro computers never had the embedded GMA 950 graphics card, which is what Spore really hates. In fact, the System Requirements specifically say NOT YOURS to pre-2007 MacBook users.
Fortunately, the problem is not with the hardware, but rather the OS X drivers for the GMA 950. That means Spore should run just fine in Windows under Boot Camp.
Look for the Weiner review of Spore later this week.
What happens when you breed Escape from Monkey Island with Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness? You give unholy birth to DeathSpank, an action-puzzle clickerdoodle (my word, not theirs).
What is it? Good question. Hothead’s Joel DeYoung attempted to explain it to 1Up.com as “. . . a multi-tiered game that seems like Diablo on the surface. You can choose to play it straightforward and enjoy it. But if you play again and take time to explore, it opens up and reveals new depth and story.” The art style seems to be classic Hothead – animation similar to Penny Arcade Adventures, but not in Gabe’s signature style. For anything further, we need to look at the tales of the tape.
The first teaser shows fighting, but I don’t think it shows gameplay. It’s 54 seconds of amusement and cartoon slaughter with a panoply of weapons.
The second teaser trailer backs up those “Diablo-esque” assertions, but also gives hints as to the importance of the puzzle-solving aspects of the game. The first piece of armor shown is the Helmet of Intimidation, boasting +1 to puzzle solving (and +3 to height – go gnomes!). The next item is a little more tongue-in-er . . .cheek – the Nippley Manglebrak, which gives a +7 to sexy.
The final teaser trainer deals with crafting, featuring delicious ice cream and a cocktail lemon worthy of Kingdom Of Loathing. WoW and its brethren do not escape poking, either – one item is a torn map piece bearing the legend “only eight more to go!”
The DeathSpank website is just a splash for now, bearing the legend “Coming Soonerish”. If the combat system and plot match the humor they’ve shown us already, it may not be soonerish enough.
Spore is here, and the DVD-ROM gives native love to both Mac and PC. Those of you who bought your MacBooks about 18 months ago should be fine, right?
Playing With My Weiner 