Frictionless Insight

Here at FI, we've enjoyed Telltale Games' episodic approach to reinvigorating adventure gaming. Despite, other notable episodic failures, Telltale continues to produce engaging and hysterically funny games. Now, it appears, Telltale Games is delving into the gaming equivalent of reality television. Grossly mismatched celebrities playing poker sounds like the sort of reality dreck a network might air rather than pay a staff of writers. For Telltale, it's just a bizarre crossover featuring Penny Arcade's Tycho, the Heavy from Team Fortress 2, Max from Sam & Max and Strong Bad from Homestar Runner playing poker. Called Poker Night at the Inventory, the game will be released on Valve's Steam service for the PC and Mac, and will feature character-appropriate dialog and tells for each of the characters. Should Jerry Holkins even be allowed to play as Tycho? We're certainly not letting the rabbity thing out of the basement hamster wheel that powers FI to play as Max.

The Chief Financial Officer of Mad Catz Interactive, a peripheral manufacturer, has resigned (presumably to accept another, unspecified, position). Stewart Halpern will remain with the company through the end of this month to help transition Allyson Vanderford into her role as Interim Chief Financial Officer. Vanderford has served as Mad Catz' Controller since December of 2008.

Take-Two Interactive reported its financial results for its third fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2010:

The Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - Ultimate Edition package from Electronic Arts is now available in stores in North America. Released six months after the original release of the game, this compilation includes the original game, onslaught mode, a variety of unlockables and Battlefield 1943.

Peripheral manufacturer Nyko Technologies has released its Wand+ accessory for the Wii to stores in North America. This Wii Remote-like controller includes the full functionality of the Wii Remote with the Wii Motion Plus technology built inside, allowing Wii Owners to play Wii Motion Plus games without a separate dongle. The controller retails for $40.

Developer Winter Wolves has released Vera Blanc: Ghost in the Castle as a download for the PC, Mac and Linux platforms. This adventure game follows the events of Vera Blanc: Full Moon and has players taking on the role of a wealthy psychic investigating mysterious events.

Frictionless Insight is continuing its search for technical help to improve the site. Anyone interested in working to improve the existing site infrastructure and add new functionality should contact us.

This is another light week for the PlayStation Store. While more downloadable games are now available for the PlayStation 3 and PSP, the big name item is Castle Crashers, filling a hole in the PlayStation 3 console's line-up. Read on for the total list of additions:

Microsoft confirmed rumors that it will release a new version of the Xbox 360 controller. On November 9, Microsoft will release the "Xbox 360 Wireless Controller with Transforming D-pad" packed with a "Play and Charge" kit for $65. The new controller will come in a matte silver color and will feature a D-pad that can be rotated to serve either as a conventional four-way "plus" pad, or as a disc, allowing owners to select the preferred configuration depending on the active game.

Disney's game Guilty Party for the Wii is now in stores in North America. The game has up to four players engaging in a series of minigames to solve bizarre mysteries. Players can work together or compete to solve the mystery by using the Wii Remote as a lockpick, flashlight or other devices.

Namco Bandai's game Ace Combat: Joint Assault for the PSP is now in stores in North America. This flight combat game has players battling over familiar cities, including Tokyo, London and San Francisco. Ace Combat: Joint Assault supports co-operative battles with up to four players or competitive multiplayer with up to eight players online.

Mobile and casual publisher Gameloft announced selected financial results for the first half of its 2010 fiscal year:

Disney's game Camp Rock: The Final Jam for the DS is now available in stores. The game follows the events of the film Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam and lets players use the DS stylus to play along to songs from both the first Camp Rock film and Camp Rock 2. The title also includes puzzles, minigames, dancing and customizable avatars.

Capcom's game Dead Rising 2: Case Zero for the Xbox 360 is now available as a download for 400 points ($5). This downloadable game is hard to characterize. It is both a prequel to Dead Rising 2 (exploring the link between Dead Rising 2 and the original Dead Rising) and a paid demo for Dead Rising 2. Character attributes and some in-game extras will carry over from this downloadable game to the full release of Dead Rising 2 late next month.

THQ's ValuSoft label has released Ghost Pirate of Vooju Island for the PC. In this adventure game, a "Vooju" priest, gorgeous pirate and ship's cook have all been separated from their bodies by a curse. Players must use Vooju magic to solve puzzles and return them to their bodies.

Telltale Games has released Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse - The City That Dares Not Sleep, the final episode in Season Three of The Adventures of Sam & Max, as a download for the PC and Mac from Telltale Games' official site. The game will be available as a download for the PlayStation 3 through the PlayStation Store later today. The season finale has Doggie detective Sam trying to return his lagomorphic buddy Max to normal after Max is transformed into a gigantic Cthulhoid monstrosity laying waste to the city.

Nintendo's game Metroid: Other M for the Wii is now on stores shelves in North America. Set between the events of Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion, this game mixes first- and third-person perspective for a more modern take on the traditional Metroid style of platforming. Also, this game (developed by Team Ninja) finally tells more of Samus Aran's personal story, including narration by Aran herself.

Blizzard, part of Activision Blizzard, has worked with NetEase to launch World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King today in China. Yes, the expansion has been out for a good, long time in other territories, but Chinese players finally have a chance to enjoy (and farm) the same content.

Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games

Platforms: PlayStation 3, PC and Mac
Reviewed on PC

Windows System Requirements: 2 GHz Processor, 1 GB RAM, DirectX 8.1 compatible video card, Windows XP or more recent operating system

Following the events of Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse - Beyond the Alley of the Dolls, Max has been transformed into a colossal Cthulhoid monster rampaging through New York City. Rather than his usual diminutive, excessively violent, hyperkinetic, rabbit-thing self, Max is a tentacled monstrosity the size of a skyscraper rampaging through the city in search of gratuitous violence and oversized corn dogs. If doggie detective Sam can't return to normal his little buddy and Freelance Police partner, Max will find himself at ground zero of a nuclear attack.

Effective September 12, Nintendo is dropping the price on its DSi and DSi XL systems to pave the way for its 3DS (the upcoming 3D-capable system in the DS family). The DSi will soon retail for $150, while the DSi XL will retail for $170. How much for one of the clunky DS launch systems with the dim screen?

If you're still one of the folks that subscribe to television, you understand the dilemma. You have to subscribe to bundles of channels so that your cable provider can pay the licensing fees for all the channels it offers. Perhaps you love sports programming, but can't stand the fact that you also have to get cooking and classic movie channels. Or perhaps you love science fiction (oops... we mean "Sy"ence "Fy"ction) and comedy but hate sports. You don't have a choice but to pay for the whole shebang. Starting November 1, Xbox Live will cost you an additional $10 annually (more if you purchase shorter subscription periods), and in return you can watch ESPN content if you could already watch it on your PC with your broadband connection. Frankly, this sucks. Even if you've never played a Madden game or watched a hockey game, you'll be paying extra for content you don't want.

Nintendo has a light downloadable release this week, with one downloadable game for the Wii and three downloadable titles for the DSi:

Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games

Platforms: PlayStation 3, PC and Mac
Reviewed on PC

Windows System Requirements: 2 GHz Processor, 1 GB RAM, DirectX 8.1 compatible video card, Windows XP or more recent operating system

What could be worse than having the Freelance Police on the case? Having seemingly endless clones of the Freelance Police on the case? Someone sinister has been cloning portly man-dog detective hybrid Sam, and sending those clones to scour the city for the Toys of Power. Who is better suited to investigate the source of these clones than Sam himself and his hyperkinetic lagomorphic sidekick Max? Well... lots of folks would be better candidates, but at least Sam is wearing a suit, unlike his nearly naked clones.

Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games

Platforms: PlayStation 3, PC and Mac
Reviewed on PC

Windows System Requirements: 2 GHz Processor, 1 GB RAM, DirectX 8.1 compatible video card, Windows XP or more recent operating system

One of the hardest things about freelance police work is when your partner's skullcap is flapping in the breeze like a paperback cover hanging out a car's side window. The portly man-dog detective Sam always did most of the talking, but now that the lagomorphic Max is a little short in the "Brains" department, it's up to Sam to ride hard and roughshod over potential perps.

Back in May, social game developer Playdom acquired privately-held Acclaim games (not the same company as the original Acclaim). The official Acclaim site simply notes that all games were shut down as of yesterday, and attempts to redirect players to check out Playdom's titles. Acclaim is dead. For the second time.

Reverb Communications, a public relations firm that works with video game companies, has settled with the Federal Trade Commission after facing accusations that Reverb Communications posted product reviews in the iTunes store to boost sales of Reverb's clients' games posing as ordinary consumers and not disclosing their financial relationship. Reverb denies wrongdoing, but chose to settle rather than continue to battle charges of misrepresentation. FI won't comment on the alleged guilt of Reverb, but can only hope that this step will help reduce the rampant practice of marketing professionals posing as ordinary consumers on forum boards and user review compilations.

The debate over the sale and purchase of used games has once again come to the fore, now that Best Buy and Target are extending their pilot used-game-sale programs and rolling out the purchase and sale of used games throughout the country. To be clear, this isn't a moral debate about anyone's right to used games, nor are used purchasers perpetrating some kind of evil. This is a straightforward economic issue. Let's quickly review a few of the facts:

Paradox Interactive, together with developer Vstep, has released Ship Simulator Extremes as a download for the PC. This ship simulation game (you probably figured that out from the title) features and missions located all over the world, including Coast Guard interceptors and Greenpeace missions.

Team 17 has released Worms Reloaded as a downloadable game through Valve's Steam service. This turn-based strategy game featuring angry annelids returns to the classic Worms formula of 2D battlefields still packed with wacky weaponry. The game includes a single-player campaign and supports up to four players battling competitively.

Publisher Burda:ic has officially launched Land of Chaos Online (LOCO), a free-to-play massively multiplayer online game. Yes, the game has been running in an open beta test state that is substantially similar to the game's current state, but today the game is officially "live." Mostly, this means that the item shop for the game is now open.