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It’s coming in August. The new trailer is below. Like the creepy Silent Hill-esque air raid sirens? I know you do

So there’s this little game called Fez. It’s the creation of a group of developers known as the Kokoromi Collective. They’re based in Montreal. It’s been nominated for two IGF awards, and it seems to be generating a lot of buzz at GDC. I’m taking this on the word of friends, as I’m busy with work and unable to attend.

Anyway, I checked out a video of this creation that’s been making the rounds on all the usual blogs, and I’m floored by it. Absolutely floored. It has taken the 2D/3D approach of games like Super Paper Mario and Crush and improved it considerably.

But don’t take my word for it. Check it out for yourself.

When I talked about No More Heroes the other day, and the balls-out, “fuck the mainstream” game development attitude, this is the sort of thing I was referring to. Fez has me far more excited than Gears 2, Too Human or any other big title that may be shipping this year. Those games have huge promises, but they’re still within the comfort zone. The experience may be great, but it’s expected. There’s no sense of wonder.

With Fez, I don’t know what to expect, and that’s far more exciting to me. It’s like a child given a kaleidoscope for the first time. There’s a desire to explore it, toy with it, figure out what it’s doing and why.

I want to play this game. Very badly. I hope they get it out into the world soon.

A few things are happening this week. First of all, Aliens: Colonial Marines has been revealed as the cover story for the new issue of Game Informer. It should be arriving in subscribers’ mailboxes this week, and I hope it will be on shelves at the end of this week or beginning of the next. I’ve been doing a bit of work on this one, and having a lot of fun with it.

Additionally, The Club launches this week. If you haven’t heard much about it, it’s a fast-paced third-person shooter that rewards you for speed and style. It’s almost like PGR, but with guns. I worked on this when I was still with Bizarre, and have been excitedly awaiting its release ever since.

Last but not least, I’ve been playing a few games quite a bit lately, and really enjoying them. No More Heroes is the first, a weird tale from Goichi Suda. You play an anti-hero named Travis Touchdown, on a quest to become the best assassin in the world by killing those above him. The game uses a mixture of modern and retro graphics, like Suda’s previous titles, Contact and Killer 7, and focuses more on the gameplay experience and humor than on any real innovation in technology. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though; his games, while a bit off beat, are a lot of fun if you get his quirky humor.

I’ve also been spending a lot of time with Lost Odyssey. This one seems to be polarizing critics quite a bit (GameSpy gave it a scathing review), and I understand it. It’s totally fan service to those who love old school RPGs. It doesn’t really innovate or change the genre. It doesn’t even embrace the more recent influence of Western RPGs. Random battles, turn-based combat (with no active system)… it’s Final Fantasy 4 in current-gen clothing.

But is this really a bad thing? There seems to be a push in the industry lately to constantly innovate and change things. Portal recently turned the FPS industry on its ear, and that was great. The strongest criticisms I’ve heard for Lost Odyssey are that it DOESN’T change things. I’m certainly not a luddite (it would be hard to be one in this business), but I have to wonder why these arguments are being made. For what it is, Lost Odyssey is a solid game. The characters are interesting, the story is well written, and it’s fun.

In the case of No More Heroes, it doesn’t necessarily fit into the mold of previous games, but it’s not breaking technological barriers. It’s different. Weird. The Grasshopper Manufacture logo has “Punk’s Not Dead!” in block letters on it, and if you play the game you will understand why. They’re not trying to have the best lighting or normal mapping in the world. They’re using what they have to deliver a radically different experience from what you see on the market, much like punk music did in its time.

I believe there is room in this business for games that walk the trails blazed by their predecessors, but do it well. I don’t see that as a trait worthy of scorn. After all, what is critical darling Call Of Duty 4 but a more refined take on what Counterstrike and others have done before? And for those oddballs like Suda or Tim Schafer, I believe there’s room for them too. While they may not push two million copies of their games, I worry what an industry without them would look like (no doubt and endless stream of FPS and MMO games). I hope they continue to make enough to create the balls-out, weird as hell games they make.

last updated 28 February, 2008