Adding the ability to jumping into the mix seems like a terrible mistake -- not just an example of missing the point, but of completely undermining the essential point of the entire series. Or so I thought until I actually tried the game on the Penny Arcade Expo show floor. I'm still not sold on the ability to jump. The thing is, though, I don't have be. In fact, I don't have to jump, period.

So, I was pleasantly surprised when I spent a little time on the Penny Arcade Expo show floor this weekend and discovered that Brink of Extinction is neither a port nor a remake, but rather a completely new game with completely new features for the series. While it plays faithfully to the older Bonk titles -- players control a rock-skulled caveman who solves problems by smashing them with his forehead -- the entire game is rendered with high-definition polygonal graphics. More importantly, Brink also features cooperative multiplayer, both local and over Xbox Live.

Nothing about Fluidity is particularly surprising or mind-blowing; players use the Wii Remote to guide the movement of a mass of water by holding the controller horizontally and tilting it to rotate the game environment. That's where the LocoRoco connection comes in: You're not controlling the water itself, but rather the world around it. Water flows naturally downhill, so you tilt flat surfaces to turn them into inclines for the fluid to run down. Your actions affect other in-game objects as well; turn the controller fast enough and -- for example -- certain gates might close, or else your water might pool up in a corner and cause the bobber there to rise, activating the switch to which it's connected.

Where Fluidity differs from LocoRoco, however, is in the motion of the water itself. While the natural state of LocoRoco's title characters was to lump together into a single giant creature, the water here tends to spread out and cover every available surface. It's possible to cause it to draw together into a loose ball by holding a button, but this is a temporary solution: Hold the button too long and the water tension will cause it all to burst outward, leaving you in a worse situation than you were in before you pulled it all together. ]]>Sat, 04 Sep 2010 22:37:00 PDTPREVIEWhttp://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=31812301UP Staff

PAX Prime 2010 Cosplay Photo Gallery

A gallery of gaming's most dedicated fans.

It's not always the easiest thing to explain a present-day shoot-em-up, given that their appeal to fans lies more in their scoring systems than anything to do with a story or even graphics. You can look at one screenshot of DoDonPachi and know what to expect: half a screen or more of bullets rushing toward you, and mere pixels of space to dodge them all. And on top of that, lots of glistening gold score tokens to collect before they disappear; it's an insane challenge, but with butter-smooth touch control and your own incredible waves of bullets or super lasers to fire, a game like DoDonPachi becomes weirdly fun, almost casual at times.

While it's not described as an MMO in the press release, it does say FireFall brings "hundreds of players together" into a "dynamic open world combining intense competitive multiplayer and large-scale cooperative gameplay." FireFall is set on a devastated Earth 200 years in the future, and has survivors battling against a race called "The Chosen," which are trying to destroy humanity. The game's twist on team-based shooters is the use of "battleframes," items players can equip and then customize to make their character into a class that suits their play style.

"When I founded Red 5, I knew I wanted to do something different than anything I'd done before," said Kern, who also acts as Red 5's CEO and chief creative officer. "I wanted to take the best of what I learned making online games and bring that to skill-based shooters." ]]>Sat, 04 Sep 2010 14:22:00 PDTNEWShttp://www.1up.com/news/atlus-assures-fans-company-livesKris Pigna

"Recent news out of Japan that Index Holdings, the parent company of Atlus Co., Ltd. (and its wholly-owned private subsidiary Atlus U.S.A, Inc.), would be merging the Atlus brand into itself has created uncertainty as to the future of Atlus and its games," Suzuki's statement begins. "We want to assure our fans and affiliates that Atlus remains in operation and will continue, as always, to support our beloved community with the finest quality game experiences possible."

Suzuki concludes by saying the merger should make Atlus more efficient than if it remained an independent company. "The Atlus-Index merger allows us to achieve greater synergy among the Index group companies and further strengthens the foundation of Atlus, both in Japan and here in the United States," he said. ]]>Sat, 04 Sep 2010 12:59:00 PDTNEWShttp://www.1up.com/news/retro-city-rampage-aiming-decemberKris Pigna

So far Wii is the only confirmed platform for the game, although Provinciano also said that he's currently "in talks" with Microsoft about a potential release on Xbox Live Arcade, and that a PlayStation Network release is also a possibility. If you want to play it on the PC, though, no dice at least for a while -- Provinciano said a PC version won't happen for "at least a year."

For those unfamiliar, Retro City Rampage is billed as "a parody of the open-world action genre," attempting to create what a modern Grand Theft Auto game would be like if it was made for an 8-bit videogame system. You can check out the reveal trailer below. ]]>Sat, 04 Sep 2010 12:23:00 PDTNEWShttp://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=31812261UP Staff

PAX Prime 2010 1UP Alumni Panel Photo Gallery

See what happens when the band gets back together.

Top: Shane Bettenhausen is ready to do this. Bottom: Kathleen Sanders (with Minnie), Jason Bertrand, and Garnett Lee.