Category: News
Clever Beans are hiring!
| May 8, 2013 | Posted by thebigbean under News |
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Clever Beans are looking for a Creative Lead Artist and a Junior Artist to join their team.
Think you have what it takes? Then head over to the jobs page…
New Bean – James!
| May 1, 2013 | Posted by James under News |
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Clever Beans Ltd are proud to announce the arrival of their new designer James Whitehead, who joins us from local indie studio Boss Baddie games. We’re not sure how he got in here. We’ve checked all the windows and there’s no sign of a break in. But he already has a desk now and it’d be rude to move him.
James is known for developing Big Sky Infinity for PS3 and PS Vita, Lunnye Devitsy, Wake and Really Big Sky for PC/Steam, and a bunch of old freeware games that he’d rather everyone forgot about. James joins us to bring his wacky ideas to our top-secret projects.
When Vikings Relax!
| February 6, 2013 | Posted by thebigbean under News |
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Since the release of When Vikings Attack!, the team here at Clever Beans have been hard at work creating a whole load of extra fun in the form of an extra downloadable game-pack. The war is over, and it’s time for some R&R, so why not join us to find out what happens… When Vikings Relax!
Viking timekeeping is notoriously bad… the original Viking attack was 1200 years late, and their latest incursion has surprised us all again, this time by arriving on the shores of the US and Hong Kong a week earlier than planned, and before even being announced. Those pesky Vikings!
10 new “Vs” arenas
If you liked the “Vs” mode in the original game, we think you’ll love the extra multiplayer levels that have been created for this new game pack. There are 10 new “Vs” arenas containing all sorts of crazy environmental hazards that we didn’t manage to fit into the original game… spinning blades, collapsing floors and trap-doors, warp-gates, a crazy golf course…
Yes, a crazy golf course.
New “Solo Survival” mode, with 10 unlockable warrior costumes
In addition to this, there’s a whole new game mode for everyone who wanted a bit more single player fun. Defeat never-ending waves of 10 of history’s greatest warriors, in Solo Survival mode! Defeating each wave will unlock that warrior’s costume for your collection; keep going for as long as you can to see how far you can get in the global rankings! It gets pretty intense…
Just like the original game, it’s all cross-buy, so you will only need to buy it once to get these extra game modes for PS3 and Vita! Obviously, you will need to have the original When Vikings Attack! game installed first.
Toro and Kuro costumes
On top of the 10 new warrior costumes, there is a bonus “Tired Oyaji” costume included in the game pack, straight out of the Japanese version of the game! Also, there are two extra costumes available to purchase separately: everyone’s favourite Japanese cats Toro and Kuro have been made into these special costume “hats”!
Release dates and pricing
In Europe, the When Vikings Relax! pack is out on 13th February, priced at €3.99, and the Toro and Kuro costumes are priced at €0.49 each. A special edition containing the full game and all DLC will be €12.99.
In the US, the new game pack is out on 12th February NOW! priced at $3.99. Toro and Kuro costumes are $0.49 each, and the special edition pack is out on the 12th February, priced $12.99.
In Japan, the original game launches tomorrow (7th February), priced 900 Yen! The Relax! level pack is out on 21st February (400 Yen) along with the Toro and Kuro costumes (100 Yen each). More information for Japanese players can be found on the lovely website that Sony Japan have created for the game: http://www.jp.playstation.com/scej/title/poipoi/
Now, I think it’s finally time for the team to have a chance to relax… aaarrghhh!!!!
When Vikings Attack! Release Dates
| October 29, 2012 | Posted by thebigbean under News |
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It’s been a very hectic couple of months at Castle CleverBeans, we’ve been very busy getting When Vikings Attack! ready for release.
If you follow our twitter feed @clever_beans or happen to have picked up the story in the gaming press, you’ll know that we recently announced release dates and price points. We thought it was about time for a post here collecting all of that information together.
Release dates are as follows:
- US & Americas – 6th November
- Europe & Australia – 7th November
- Japan & Asia – tba
And pricing will be as follows
- US & Americas – $9.99
- Europe – €9.99
- UK – £7.99
- Japan & Asia – tba
However, European (and UK) players can pre-order the game and save a further €3! The UK price, with pre-order, is a bargain at £5.49.
To pre-order, you need to head over to the (new) PSN store on your PS3. If we aren’t currently featured on the front page, you just need to do a search for VIKINGS, then hit the pre-order button. Unfortunately, you can’t pre-order from your VITA directly, but if you buy the game on PS3 you will also get the Vita version included in the price (it’s called “Cross-Buy”).
Here’s a list of the features of the game that we are most often asked about:
- Cross-Play; play on your Vita against friends on PS3 anywhere in the world, and vice-versa!
- Cross-Buy; buy the PS3 or Vita version and get the other version free!
- Cross-Save; PS3 and Vita versions share the same save-game which is stored automatically online
- Two game types, co-operative “Quest” and competitive “Vs”, both of which support up to 4 players
- 15 “Quest” levels
- 20 “Vs” arenas where you can battle against your friends or others from the PSN community
- 3 “Vs” modes – last man standing, Vikings vs Vigilantes, and Gold Rush
- Full voice-chat between PS3 and Vita players
See you all online in early November!
Showtime again!
| August 29, 2012 | Posted by thebigbean under GamesCom 2012, News |
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Well that’s GamesCom over for another year… wish we could have gone as it sounds like it was a blast!
From what we have heard, a lot of people had a lot of fun playing When Vikings Attack! Some even sent us some photos (thanks if that was you), here are a few pictures of what you (and we) missed out on, at our demo stand! Looks like the “crossroads” level was popular…
The next big show of the season is PAX Prime in Seattle, which kicks off this Friday 31 August. Are you going to be there? If so, this is your next chance to get some hands on time with When Vikings Attack!
Unfortunately we won’t be there in person again (still working super duper hard polishing the game ready for release, and we are a very long way away in Manchester, England), but the nice people at Sony are taking the game along to demo it for us.
The stand won’t look like quite the GamesCom one above, as it’s gonna be VITA all the way for PAX; there should be a number of pods running the game, all hooked up together for some multiplayer mayhem. If you see it or play it, tweet us @clever_beans and let us know what you think!
GamesCom 2012
| August 8, 2012 | Posted by thebigbean under GamesCom 2012, News |
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It’s showtime!
The absolutely massive GamesCom show will be taking place in Cologne, Germany, from 15th to 19th August, and we’re very pleased to announce that this is where When Vikings Attack! will, for the first time, be playable by around 300,000 lucky visitors!
If you’re heading to the show, please come down to the Sony stand in hall 7 where you will be able to get some hands-on time with the game on one of the multiplayer PS3 or Vita demo pods. We have prepared a special demo for you featuring some of the crazy multiplayer “Vs” arenas from the game, and also two specially edited “Quest mode” co-op levels.
If you’ve ever been to GamesCom you’ll know that it’s an absolutely bonkers affair, with thousands of people dressing up in costume as their favourite video game characters. I wonder whether there will be any Vikings?
Unfortunately we at Clever Beans are too busy finishing the game to be able to make it over to Germany for the show (sad face). We wish we could be there to meet you, but we are absolutely chained to our desks, slaving over hot keyboards, making sure the game is as much fun as possible, ready for release this Autumn. Be assured, however, that we ARE dressed as Vikings – it is standard office attire here at Clever Beans Towers!
If you do go to the show, why not tweet us @clever_beans and tagged #vikingspsn and tell us what you think! Tweet us a picture of you playing When Vikings Attack! on the Sony stand, and show us what a crazy time you are having!
And look out for those Vikings!
E3 Press Roundup #2
| June 19, 2012 | Posted by thebigbean under E3 2012, News |
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We hate to blow our own trumpet, but we can’t help but be pleased with some of the press we’ve been getting…. here’s an update:
videogamer.com featured us in their “best downloadable games on their way to consoles” feature.
“GENIUS… If you’re a Sony gamer, you need this in your life. It’s brilliant.”
primagames.com wrote that we were one of the “Biggest Surprises at E3 2012″
“We can’t remember the last time we had fun with a joyous little multiplayer romp like this”
We were featured in the psnation.org E3 podcast (2:52:50).
“The biggest surprise for me at the show… a lot of fun…. you have to play it”
Apologies for the poor translation of this great little preview from psfocus.nl…
“Soon we were half an hour non-stop playing pots and here we forgot the time, so that says enough… This fun game!”
E3 Press Roundup
| June 13, 2012 | Posted by thebigbean under E3 2012, News |
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We’ve had some really nice things written about When Vikings Attack!, both before and after E3 (some journalists got the chance to get their hands on the game at a pre-E3 demo event).
Here’s a roundup of some of the best:
PlayStation Universe very kindly awarded us Best PSN Game of E3!
“It’s quirky and it’s funny, with many of the locations having a distinct British flavour, but underneath its flippant cartoon exterior, is an enjoyable and fairly hectic arcade brawler that requires some serious concentration if you hope to come out on top.”
Thanks to gamesradar.com for this lovely piece…
“Within minutes, we were exchanging friendly smack-talk with our opponents, laughing regardless of whether we won or lost. In an industry full of bloated, gigantic games, it was great to get quality time with something as pure as When Vikings Attack, and we’re looking forward to playing it more when it releases later this year for the Vita and PS3.”
Nice write-up from UK games website hookshotinc.com
“It is chaotic and hilarious stuff, the simple two-button game play (throw and dodge) allowing for intuitve and uncomplicated face-offs…. There’s also an excellent four-player arena battle mode where you and three chums just stand and chuck things at each other’s gangs in a fight to extinction.”
Thanks to gamerlive.tv for this one!
“Honestly, this could be one of the most entertaining multiplayer experiences the PlayStation Network will see this year…. its joyous, cartoon-style appearance delights…. Keep a close eye on When Vikings Attack, as it could easily be a huge favorite amongst the video game community when it releases later this year…”
We were one of the top 10 most anticipated titles from E3, for pocketgamer.co.uk
“Remember how you’d run around Power Stone chucking stuff at your mates inbetween fisticuffs? When Vikings Attack looks like the focus will be almost entirely focused on the former as you tear arenas apart in search of heavy / blunt / hilarious objects to launch at rival groups of Vikings.”
E3 2012
| June 13, 2012 | Posted by thebigbean under E3 2012, News |
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Well, we’ve been back from E3 in Los Angeles for a couple of days now… it was a rollercoaster ride, but we managed to get When Vikings Attack! into the hands of a load of new players, which was really great!
We weren’t on the main show floor, we were in the press areas only, but the feedback from those that did play the game was hugely positive….. most people had a whale of a time playing the selected quest mode and vs mode levels that we took along.
We had to get the hang of letting people win, to start with… n00bs, eh! But it was fun to watch people’s expression change from a quizzical “wtf?” into smiles, laughter and high-fives as they got involved.
So here’s a few new videos… firstly, our official E3 trailer (this was broadcast on a gigantic cinema screen at the show every half an hour or so, and definitely featured the loudest kazoo solo we heard at the entire show); then after that a couple of interviews where we show off just what slick arch media manipulators we are, ahem.
When Vikings Attack!
| May 25, 2012 | Posted by thebigbean under News |
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Big announcement time!
We’re very excited to be able to share news of our first game. When Vikings Attack! will be released later this year for PS3 and VITA.
The best way we can describe the game is with this little snippet:
In this all-action fighting adventure, a battalion of Viking invaders, 1200 years late to the party, are causing havoc in your town. Imagine getting together a posse of local citizens: a construction worker, a butcher, a policeman, a vicar, and a schoolboy, then ripping up a phone booth or picking up a car,and hurling it at the advancing Viking hordes. That’s the sort of crazy action you can expect in this totally new and original PSN title for PS3 and PS Vita!
Basically it’s a bonkers adventure/fighting game for up to 4 players, with co-operative and competitive modes, featuring on-line play between PS3 and VITA versions. This “cross-play” means that you will get exactly the same experience playing on your PS3 at home, or on your VITA on the bus or train. And since you will only need to buy one version to get the other one free, there’s no excuse for not doing so! We think this is a great move by Sony, who will be publishing the game for us.
More information about the game can be found on the PSN Blog, and there will be more news around E3 in a couple of weeks time!
