Good Morning Gato #14 – Blerg!

It would be an understatement to describe this week’s Good Morning Gato as “newsy”. It’s more than that. So much so that we feel the words “extreme newsy to the max” best describes this week’s update. Is your interest piqued? It should be.
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3 Comments May 7, 2010

Dead Samurai Now Available For Half Off

The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai is only 400 Microsoft points! Sign into Xbox.com and grab the goods before the offer expires on May 2nd.

Additionally, all week long we will be tweeting Dead Samurai redemption codes for those who can’t afford the $5 admission but are ninja-quick at redeeming codes. Follow us at @skastudios and perhaps you can score a free copy.

1 Comment April 26, 2010

Good Morning Gato #12 – Piercing Stare of Wit!

Deals and money savings? Check. Co-op code talk? Double check. Light switches being turned off? Done. That’s right, this week’s Good Morning Gato has all of that stuff PLUS a picture of Gato uncharacteristically flaunting her girly side. (Pink is definitely her color.)
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6 Comments April 23, 2010

The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai For Half The Price!

Great news! From Monday, April 26th – Sunday, May 2nd, The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai can be purchased from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for the low, low price of 400 Microsoft points! That’s only $5, which (from our calculations) is exactly 50% off the retail price! (Note that this offer is part of Microsoft’s Deal of the Week program, which requires you to be an Xbox LIVE Gold subscriber to take part.)

There you have it. A week long, substantial discount on Dead Samurai. Consider this money saving offer The Dishwasher’s belated birthday present to you and the best way to prepare for the release of the Vampire Smile sequel. Enjoy!

2 Comments April 20, 2010

Happy 1st Birthday The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai!

It may be April Fools’ Day, but this is no joke; Today is exactly one year since The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai released to the Xbox Live Arcade, which also means its Dead Samurai‘s first birthday party ever! Sadly, we forgot to purchase a cake.

Feel free to leave a birthday message below as we’re sure The Dishwasher would enjoy reading your comments and general Dead Samurai feedback. Remember too that The Dishwasher will be back in action in the near future with his upcoming XBLA sequel The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile. Who knows, maybe you’ll be playing that by the time Dead Samurai‘s second birthday celebration comes.

A ginormous “thank you” goes out to everyone who has showed so much love and support over the year for Ska Studios and especially The Dishwasher. Now, we must go buy a delicious cake to appease our birthday-charged sugar cravings.

10 Comments April 1, 2010

The Dishwasher Lives!

Fitting heading for a game about a dead samurai, eh?

I just put the flash site up at thedishwasherdeadsamurai.com.  Try to find the secret Neko video (no, not the age gate fail Neko video.  Hint: Sandra Bullock in The Net).

I think there was a bit of a marketing mishap leading into this: several months ago, gamerscoreblog wanted some previously unheard of Dishwasher facts for a post, so I told them about the killer solo minigames and hidden phantom guitar and shadow co-op features.  They posted on this, and somewhere in the shuffle, the secret features became selling points.

So, if you bought The Dishwasher just for killer solos or phantom guitar co-op, you may be disappointed because:

• there are only 3 killer solo tracks and
• phantom guitar is not a selling point.  It’s alright, but, well, there’s really only so much you can do with a guitar controller in an action game.

However, the rest of the game’s not that bad, right?  Well…

• TeamXbox liked it: “The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai is an amazing game, even if you don’t have any idea of how it came about or about the size of the studio that made it.”
• OXM liked it: “From how Dishwasher bleeds details with its goth-y antihero cleaving chumps in two to how its meaty, crunchy jabs and slashes feel, it’s all incredibly well done.”
• IGN thought it was ok: “The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai is an enjoyable button masher and a commendable effort considering it’s the work of one person.”
• Teletext Game Central (???) hated it: “It may be a matter of taste but we didn’t like the murky, indistinct graphics, whose endless spurts of blood fail to really titillate.”

What the heck is Teletext Game Central?

Anyway, love it or hate it, it’s here!  Deal with it!

Now, if you are wondering about those special modes:

• The phantom guitar is enabled by finding the Amulet of Phantom Rock.  This is hidden near the start of Ivy Trail.
• The Dishwasher’s shadow is enabled by finding the Amulet of Shadow Skull.  This is near the Killer Solo Amp in St. Crux Cemetery.
• There are 3 Killer Solo Amps spread out in the main game.  There are an additional 3 Amps in Samurai difficulty.  If an Amp has a spotlight glowing on it, that means winning the solo will earn you a Psycho Pick.

Really though, they’re not selling points.  They’re fun features, but they’re ancillary.  Awesomely ancillary.

Now for the ugly: (more…)

20 Comments April 3, 2009