E3 Impressions: SouthPeak Games

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One of the first publishers that arranged and confirmed an appointment to meet with us at E3 was Southpeak games.  They replied early on, well before most other publishers had even started planning their appointments for the event.  I respect when companies are on the ball like that.  I also respect when the people I meet with are as enjoyable to talk to as they are knowledgeable about the games, and the folks at SouthPeak (and Sandbox Strategies) made me enjoy talking about each game, whether it was my flavor or not.

Other publishers take note:  If you have good folks talking about your product, it goes a long way.   Perception is key.

With that said, Sandbox’s Rob Fleischer took me on a tour of the SouthPeak booth and made my stay enjoyable.  Here’s what I saw.

For those that don’t know about SouthPeak Games, here is a brief rundown:  they’re the publisher behind the great Mushroom Men games for Wii and DS, as well as X-Blades for the 360/PS3 and Velvet Assassin.  They can best be described as an up-and-coming publisher who, in a few years’ time, could fit right in within the pantheon of other major pubs.

Horrid Henry

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We began our trek by looking at Horrid Henry, a game based on the children’s UK cartoon and book license.  While just getting a foothold in the US the character is HUGE in Europe… Yes, of Dora-size proportions!

My initial reaction to the game, which is clearly intended for child audiences, is that it looked and felt A LOT like the Simpsons games on the NES.  Happy memories of Bart vs the Space Mutants bubbled up.  While I may not be shopping for this game for myself, I can see kids gobbling it up.  And if it plays like the aforementioned Bart game, then all the better.  The game is coming to the PC, DS, and Wii this Fall.

My Baby 2

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There are tons and TONS of baby-themed games already out there.  They are generally formulaic: 1) take Nintendogs, 2) replace dog with baby, 3) $ell.  At least, that’s what I’d assume was the theme of these games.  I’ve never actually played one to see if it was any good, and under every other occasion I wouldn’t think twice about the genre.  However with my wife and I expecting a baby on the way soon (October, yay!) I’ve reconsidered it, if anything more than for the novelty.  I have baby batter on my mind, so anything with a picture of diaper on it I’ll stop and look at.

Baby-tickling?  Check.  Bottle-feeding?  Check.  The game focuses on raising a toddler up to 3 years old and no, it’s not for “teh hardcore gamerz”.  Once again, kids will love this.

Sushi Go-Round and Fast Food Panic

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While I am not normally a food-gamer —  I’ve never played Cooking Mama, and the last food-related game I played was Pressure Cooker for the Atari 2600 — I can see the charm in these arcade-style games and why they sell well over download services.  Both FFP and S-G-R seemed like a mix of Cooking Mama, and BurgertimeFFP, especially, focused not only on the cooking aspect but also clean-up, waiting, and making sure customers are happy.

They seemed fun, if you’re into those kinds of games or looking for a casual, arcadey experience.

Roogoo: Twisted Towers!

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We then took a look at Roogoo, a puzzle-tower game for the Wii.  In essence this is an elaborate version of Labyrinth, the old ball-through-hole game, combined with a multi-shape Tetris.  By fitting specific blocks & shapes through holes, the tower shifts and the next layer becomes available.   The addition of boss battles makes the single-player game non-monotonous, but the multi-player (Co-Op and party modes) is where it shines.  I’ve become quite a fan of puzzle-tower games recently, what with the excellent Jenga-style game in Let’s Tap and various iPhone apps.  I can see myself picking this up, if for the simple fact that I love a good puzzle game to break from the horrible monotony of AAA-level shooters and RPGs.  Oh, the humanity!

Coming to the Wii/DS this Summer, and XBLA/PC in the fall.

Raven Squad

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Speaking of FPS games I had the chance to try out Raven Squad, an intriguing hybrid FPS/RTS game that reminded me of the Sony E3 motion wand tech demo.  In Squad, players can switch from a first-person mode of running and gunning through Amazonian jungles to an overhead real-time strategy game of commanding (and conquering, ha!) the opposing forces.  The missions allow the player to switch between up to three different soldiers on the fly, which I can imagine help create a unique play experience each time.  In lamens terms: you can play the game in RTS form, commanding squads, or in FPS mode switching between the soldiers in your group based on the situation.  The story doesn’t seem to be the main feature of the game.  The focus is clearly on showcasing the play styles.

Pretty cool concept, that played like you’d expect it to… smoothly.

Section 8

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As the final game I looked at in SouthPeak’s booth, Section 8 was (in my opinion) the most exciting.  from the moment Rob showed me how to “drop in” to the action I was hooked.  The players drop in from thousands of feet in the sky avoiding enemy fire and explosions to land on the playing field, and if timed right can aim for and crush an enemy at mach speed on the way down.  An FPS by design, the game allows players to actively engage in affecting the battle.  From miles away I was able to call in drops to specific targets and customize load-outs.

Apart from CoD4 I suck at FPS games.  Section 8 made me feel special, though.  By the nature of the game it is set up to help prevent cherry-picking and camping.  The character-building aspect is RPG-lite (a trend that is appearing more and more in games) and the amount of missions, sub-missions, and sub-sub-missions reward players for attaining objectives for points/cash/whatever and force constantly dynamic game to take place.  Being multiplayer, this might get me to last more than 3 minutes before a headshot takes me out.  Look for it this year on 360 & PC.

In closing, I enjoyed my time at SouthPeak’s booth.  As I stated earlier having a positive staff guiding me through the booth helped me appreciate even the games that I wouldn’t normally look at.

Plus, being next to the G4TV booth and constantly bumping into their booth babes there helped.