Hi everyone.  I’m here to talk to you about our latest PlayStation minis game, Hungry Giraffe, which will be released tomorrow, exclusively and FREE for PlayStation Plus users.  Hungry Giraffe will then go on general release on the 15th of February for just £2.49/€3.49.

Hungry Giraffe is our first foray into the endless climbing genre and is based on the experiences* of one particular giraffe who – bored of the foliage of the acacia tree – decided to stretch out his neck to reach the burgers floating in the sky.  Using the calories from the burgers to make his neck even longer, he moved from burger to french fries, taco to sandwich, on a desperate quest to stuff his face.

Of course our giraffe friend had to be wary of several hazards floating in the sky. After all, an anvil to the head seldom does anyone any good and as for poison, well, would you want clean up when a 1200 kg giraffe loses its lunch?  Unprescribed drugs are also best avoided, as human medicine tends to have strange hallucinogenic properties when taken by giraffes.

Of course this is a game and not a documentary, so we’ve added a few special touches to this real life story**.  Hungry Giraffe features some touches of our own, such as stat tracking and achievements.  Even more amazingly, the technical wizards (hello Paul!) here at Laughing Jackal have come up with a clever system allowing the PS3 version of the game to run at a higher resolution than the PSP allows, so those of you who like to play your games on a nice big shiny screen are in for a visual treat!

Join us!

You can find out more about Laughing Jackal, or subscribe to our weekly Blog’s RSS feed at our website: www.laughingjackal.co.uk

You can also find us under @LaughingJackal on Twitter, under Laughing Jackal Ltd. on Facebook, under Laughing Jackal on Google + and watch cool vids on our LaughingJackalGames Youtube Channel.

*These experiences may not have occurred.
** This really, really didn’t happen.

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Since the release of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone’s Fighting Fantasy: Talisman of Death, we’ve been asked one question more often than any other: “When are you doing The Warlock of Firetop Mountain?” So, I’m delighted to be able to answer this one finally. We will be releasing an adaptation of the first book in the Fighting Fantasy series, Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone’s Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain on the 9th November 2011, priced at £3.49/€3.99.

Since the release of Fighting Fantasy: Talisman of Death we’ve been keeping a close eye on our fans’ thoughts on the game to see what we could be doing better, and that’s why Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain will include the following features and improvements:

• The Log Book now remembers which book you were in (Character, Item or Page)
• The user can now return to the top of the page by pressing the up button when the first option is highlighted
• A ‘Good’ generic alignment portrait has been added to Character Bios
• A new mini game has been added to the end of the quest

As in Fighting Fantasy: Talisman of Death, the game features new combat, skill and luck systems for those who want a more interactive experience, while allowing everyone who wants the original gamebook experience on their PlayStation to play with the original dice based system.

So why are we doing The Warlock of Firetop Mountain now? Well, back when we first acquired the rights to convert the Fighting Fantasy books to the PlayStation Mini format, each of us had their own personal wish list of books we’d like to convert. The book that introduced the world to Fighting Fantasy back in 1982 – The Warlock of Firetop Mountain – featured on everyone’s list. So, while in the end we chose to start off with Talisman of Death, we promised ourselves that – if we got the chance – the next book we did would be Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

Before I sign off, I’d like to say thank you to everyone who supported the release of Fighting Fantasy: Talisman of Death, therefore giving us the opportunity to convert more of this fantastic series. Growing up, the Fighting Fantasy series were a massive part of my childhood and if you had told the younger me that I would get the chance to work on them it would have seemed unbelievable. Coming back to them as an adult (well, sort of J) I’ve found they hold up remarkably well and it has been a pleasure to work on them.

Join us!

You can find out more about Laughing Jackal, or subscribe to our weekly Blog’s RSS feed at our website: www.laughingjackal.co.uk

You can also find us under @LaughingJackal on Twitter, under Laughing Jackal Ltd. on Facebook and watch cool vids on our LaughingJackalGames Youtube Channel.

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Hi again. I’m back to talk about the latest great JRPG coming to you from Ghostlight, Persona 2: Innocent Sin, which will be released on the 4th November 2011 as a Collector’s Edition for €49.99/£39.99.

For those of you who don’t already know, Persona 2: Innocent Sin is an enhanced PSP remake of the classic PSOne game (which sadly never made it to these shores) and is the prequel to the fantastic Persona 3 Portable. Amongst its many additions and improvements, the remake features a new user interface, new character portraits, an extra difficulty level and the ability to switch between the original soundtrack and a brand new soundtrack. Like the other games in the Persona series, it uses compelling storytelling and a fantastic soundtrack to create a dark twisted atmosphere, where nothing is quite as it seems.

Persona 2: Innocent Sin is set in Sumaru City, which is suffering under a curse that causes any rumour that’s heard by enough people to come true.

One rumour that has spread across the city is regarding the existence of “Joker”, a mysterious being who grants the wishes of anyone who dials their own mobile phone number. Anyone who fails to tell Joker their wish, either because they lack one or refuse to tell, has their “ideal energy” stolen, reducing them to ambition-less shells called Shadow Selves.

The game also allows you to take advantage of this curse, and any rumour that you craft may inexplicably come true. In addition to this, Persona 2: Innocent Sin features a system where the player can choose either to fight or negotiate with (most) demons and even forge contracts with them.

Working on Persona 2: Innocent Sin has been really fascinating from the perspective of a Persona fan that initially discovered the series on PlayStation 2. Persona 2: Innocent Sin is an awesome game, featuring not only brilliantly executed traditional JRPG mechanics, but also the aforementioned ‘rumours’ system which still feels fresh and innovative today.

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Hi again. Today I’m going to talk to you a little about Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky which will be released on PSP in Europe on the 4th November 2011 as a Collector’s Edition for £39.99.

Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is the first game in a trilogy of Legend of Heroes games. The story follows the adventures of Estelle Bright, the daughter of Cassius Bright, and his adopted son Joshua, both of whom are junior members of the Bracers Guild, a mercenary group sworn to protect the people of the world.

When their father Cassius, a war hero, leaves on a mission, Estelle and Joshua must take over his work in their hometown. The game’s fantastic dialogue makes this a charming prologue and this charm never disappears as the scope of the story gradually expands from simple beginnings into a tense climax, as the young Bracers must uncover a conspiracy to overthrow the government of Liberl.

Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is set in a fantasy world where the combustion engine never caught on due to the Orbal Revolution. Instead, Orbments provide power for everything from magic to telephones and airships.

The game boasts a fascinating combat system where the key to victory is strategically managing the Turn Order using buffs, debuffs and – should you have sufficient SP – interrupts.

The game also features an amazing soundtrack which is available on CD as part of the Collector’s Edition. But, more than anything else, it’s the characters you meet and the sheer quality of the writing and dialogue which have really impressed me.

Despite telling a serious story, Trails in the Sky manages to be the funniest game I’ve played all year, which reminds me…

A little hint before I go: make sure to check every treasure chest twice – you’ll be glad that you did.

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