Glu Games Day Wrap-Up - Glyder 2, World Series of Poker, Beat It, and More
Glu invited us into their offices again yesterday to take a look at some of their upcoming games. We saw some old favorites, some early prototypes, and a really innovative take on music games.
Glyder 2
First up, let's get what I really came to see out of the way... I finally got my hands on Glyder 2. It's still early for that title -- just a few builds past first playable, but this exciting sequel to easily my favorite Glu game ever is already looking good. As we mentioned previously there will be customization of your character available -- both in the form of the suit she wears and the wings she uses. The different wings give you slightly different skills -- climbing, turning, speed, etc. Not enough to make a huge difference in the game, but enough to be noticeable.
There will be six or seven new worlds to explore. And in addition to the crystal collection aspect of the previous game, you will also have multiple point quests to go on. Glu heard from the passionate users of the game that they wanted more of everything in the first one and new things to try. And we're going to get it.
Take a look at this hands-on video of Glyder 2 from Slide To Play:
One of the most exciting bits of news about Glyder 2 was that Glu have committed to providing multiple free updates and expansions to the game after it launches. No specific time frame was given, but if the game remains popular, it could be for a good while.
Glyder 2 will be out by the end of the year, and I can't wait.
Beat It
Beat It takes a new twist on the music game genre. This game actually makes you listen to the music. It turns it from a rhythm tapping game into more of a puzzle game. The result is a very compelling game that I found very hard to put down.
The idea behind Beat It is that you listen to a short 3 instrument rhythm track and you have to re-create it on a sequencer board. You do this by tapping cells to turn on / off that instrument for that beat. You can switch from listening to your current attempt to the original anytime, which is nice to see where you are missing notes. When you have the notes for an instrument in a particular bar correct, they start to twinkle letting you know you can go on to another. The game ramps up from 3 instruments and 4 bars to I believe 7 instruments and 6 bars.
Take a look at this hands-on video from Slide To Play:
It should also be mentioned that this game has some amazing animated art. Your game is separated into multiple worlds and there is a story unfolding behind your sequencer grid in each world. Before each new level you see a little part of the story and as your music clips get more complex so does the story behind you.
In addition to the multiple instruments, there are 5 different instrument sets that are used in the game. These are also available to use in the free play mode that lets you create your own tracks. In a future update you will be able to share your tracks with others.
Beat It should be available sometime this month.
Read on for details on 1,000: Find Them All, World Series of Poker: Hold'em Legends, and Taxi Fight.
World Series of Poker: Hold'em Legends
Yes, finally network multiplayer poker! While it may not be the most touted feature of this game, it will be the first Hold'em Poker game we've seen with network play allowing you to play with up to 8 other players from anywhere in the world. In addition there is a 2 player heads up mode that you can play over Bluetooth.
WSoP looks like it will be a very competent Hold'em Poker game for the iPhone. It certainly looks fantastic. From the short time I had with the game it played very well. The AI is promised to be really well done, adapting to the current parameters of the game well. If there's one odd thing it's that this is sub-titled Hold'em Legends, but there are no real-world players in the game. I'm guessing the licensing got sticky at some point. Doesn't really matter, you won't miss them.
The game includes just about everything a seasoned Hold'em player could want in a poker game. Multiple table locations to play, cash game or tournaments, quick play (tap to bypass the dealing animations, etc.). And there are the things there for the new players as well -- hand strength indicator and most other players have tells early in the game.
As a promotion for this game, Glu have started a contest where you can win 2 VIP tickets to the World Series of Poker final table in November. To sign up, head on over to WSOPMobile.com.
World Series of Poker: Hold'em Legends should be available in November.
Taxi Fight
We saw a nearly final version of this game yesterday. It's a new take on now huge line drawing genre. One where you don't actually draw the lines, just the start and end points to connect two moving objects.
The idea of the game is that you need to match up taxi riders with taxis. To do this you tap the rider, then the taxi. There will be multiple of each on the screen at once. The difficulty is that the riders walk in a straight line, and the taxis are circling the blocks on the screen. Keeping them from colliding can be difficult. The game ends when one of your riders gets run over by a taxi, or when he waits to long and his head explodes.
This looks as though it could be a fun casual game. We'll see it out this month for $0.99.
1,000: Find Them All
We saw an early prototype of this game, not due out until January, 2010. The game has some really promising aspects to it. Huge world with great graphics, sort of a old-school Zelda look to it, and a compelling collection mechanic.
What is confusing is that there are three different ways to play, all very different in how they are done. First there the on screen mode -- walk around the world gathering the 1,000 objects. Second is a GPS mode -- where you have to walk around the real world to random spots gathering object. And third there is a WIFi mode that works off of the available Wifi hotspots in your area. The third one I didn't really understand all that well.
What I do know is that there is a good base for a massive (60-80 hours of gameplay) and very compelling game here, it's just suffering from a bit of an identity crisis right now.