Monkey Toy of Death

Erin Bell over at CrispyGamer posted a nice review of the latest episode of Grimm, “Puss in Boots“. From the article:

Of all the episodes of American McGee’s dark fairytale opus that have come out so far, I’ve clicked with this one the most. Any game that features carnivorous bunnies is OK in my book. Beyond that, the game’s twisted light-to-dark imagery worked particularly well in the context of the story of Puss in Boots.

Erin is echoing a sentiment we’re hearing from a lot of reviewers and players alike: Grimm just keeps getting better. Each new episode contains more interesting game play, better integration of narrative into game play elements, more challenge, more humor, and cooler art. Part of this is a result of the internal evolution of the game as we develop it. And part of it results from listening to feedback from the player community. This is the great promise of episodic game development: Content delivered on a consistent schedule, in an easily consumable format, and integrating audience feedback in an organic, evolutionary production process.

I have to say, it’s really exciting to see the impact this new way of making and distributing games is having on the audience and industry press.

Erin goes on to say:

There are still some pretty twisted things here: A giant gear spins off the mill and squishes some children who were blissfully playing nearby; cabbages transform into the squirming heads of people buried alive; and down in the rabbit hole, carrots turn into sticks of dynamite and bunnies turn carnivorous and start eating yet more children. (What is it with all the kid-icide in this series?)

Finally, someone takes note of Grimm’s “War on Children”! In answer to Erin’s question, the “kid-icide” is all about putting the scare back in fairy tales. Where the Disney version of Snow White neglects to mention Snow’s parents having their eyes plucked out by pigeons, or Pinocchio murdering Jiminy Cricket with a deadly stomp – Grimm lays it all bare. Ultimately, all this violence serves a purpose: To warn against putting too much faith in “Happily Ever After”.

Also of note this week, news from GameTap‘s VP of Content, Ricardo Sanchez who tells us, “Grimm is doing really well and the audience is really liking it. It’s a consistently top rated title, and is ranking #1 on GameTap.” Woot! That’s really cool news! I know the team here in Shanghai is really thrilled to know their baby is being so well received.

Seems Grimm’s having his own “Happily Ever After”, but wait… there’s another 20 episodes before we turn that page!

Be sure to “tune in” on Thursday for the next episode of Grimm, “The Girl Without Hands”. If you think previous episodes have been bloody, you haven’t seen anything yet! Let’s just say, “Bunny Head Blood Rockets” and leave it at that.