Gravity Crash: Release Date, New Info, Pricing
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Article written by nofi in Featured Stories, PS3 News, on Friday, November 20, 2009 at 16:55.
We’ve been following Gravity Crash since day one - the initial reveal, the playtest at Just Add Water’s Yorkshire studio, the preview build that I’ve been hammering for over a month – it’s a brilliant, brilliant game and it’s out next week. Yep, that last bit should have been earth shatteringly big news, but sadly the release date was outed yesterday by mistake. Still, I know the team at JAW have worked their arses off to ensure a joint American and European release date and it’s going to get a Store update all of its own when it hits the various PSN divisions next Tuesday, the 24th of November.
I said, after an extensive playtest, that Gravity Crash might be the best game on the PSN, and I’m still tempted to stick by that – it’s deceptively deep and whilst the game’s difficulty curve ramps up nicely throughout the main Campaign mode the real skill is in obtaining high scores and speed runs, which is where the dip-in and out Planet mode comes into its own. The screenshots below, some of which are exclusive to TheSixthAxis, only go far in highlighting the superb attention to detail the game possesses: the subtle animation; the superbly drawn half vector, half sprite ships and structures; the silky smooth 60 frames per second framerate…
But you don’t have to take our word for it – the game, which only costs £6.29 (EU 7.99, US$ 9.99) comes with a demo – you effectively download the full game and then when you decide you want to play on past what the free trial offers, it’s just a tiny unlock key which you can grab from within the game. Gravity Crash’s 35 single player levels offer a massive amount of gameplay, but there’s also 12 multiplayer levels spread over 3 modes (including a cool race mode), two distinct control methods, a choice of special weapons and plenty of power-ups.
What to expect:
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| This is you. Pick either control method and stick with it for the whole of the Campaign mode. | This is an energy crystal, shoot it and a shard will come out which refills your shield and fuel. Crystals rebuild themselves over time. | This is a score crystal. Different colours give different scores, but they generally show you which way to go. | Lava. Can be dynamic or static, but is always bad. Avoid. |
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| An enemy. There’s stacks of them in all kinds of shapes and sizes, some organic, some mechanical. | These are your currently active power-ups, which appear above your shield box. | Top bar is your shield, the bottom bar your fuel. Grab energy crystals to refill. The upper graphic is the number of lives left, the lower the number of special weapons. | And this is your mini-map, which is essential when navigating the tricky levels. |
And then, on top of all this, there’s the epic level editor which is roughly on par with that offered in LittleBigPlanet and will result in endless user-created missions. It’s incredibly easy to use, you’ve got almost unlimited freedom in terms of what you place where and there’s a flexible set of mechanics and options which power things like switches, doors and all kinds of dynamic environmental effects. The ultimate proof of the power of the editor is that all of the levels within the game can be built using it, and we’re expecting lots of good stuff from the community once you guys get your hands on the game.
So, next Tuesday, the wait is finally over.
Comments
Please note that all comments are the opinion of the individual author and not TheSixthAxis.
Colinbarr66 | 20/11/2009 16:31
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774 TSA Points | Member since: Mar 2009
Looking forward to trying the demo this week. Looks interesting
nofi | 20/11/2009 16:31
Wants a custom tag.
3870 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
4 days to go!
Colinbarr66 | 20/11/2009 16:36
Member
774 TSA Points | Member since: Mar 2009
Looking forward to it. If its as fun and addictive as Shatter I’ll be happy
gybrocker | 21/11/2009 11:02
Member
169 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2009
why 4 days..??? my ps store update every thursday… an its saturday now so 6 days including today..??
cc_star | 21/11/2009 11:04
Team TSA: Writer
5869 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
Its a special Tuesday update.
I’ll have to wait until then to Play.Create.Share (even though Sony haven’t stuck that moniker on it)
gybrocker | 21/11/2009 12:58
Member
169 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2009
i see . another question. ( maybe silly ) but does every1 get the tuesday update.?
davidjmclare | 20/11/2009 16:31
always on easy
894 TSA Points | Member since: May 2009
so basically its one of those flash games all over the internet brought to ps3?
glad there is a demo so i can make up my mind whether to buy it or not
nofi | 20/11/2009 16:32
Wants a custom tag.
3870 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
No, don’t be such a nob.
davidjmclare | 20/11/2009 16:34
always on easy
894 TSA Points | Member since: May 2009
wow thats a bit harsh, so its not one of those games?
jacklum | 20/11/2009 20:51
Member
890 TSA Points | Member since: May 2009
To be fair to david, Gravity Crash does look virtually identical to a game called ‘Gravitron 2′, but as long as it plays well, features well designed levels and has accessible level creation tools, then its derivative look won’t matter too much.
kevatron400 | 20/11/2009 21:09
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1557 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
I think that was a pretty severe overreaction. Apology deserved.
SirGregThorn | 20/11/2009 21:46
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Gotta agree with Kev here, he was just asking.
Stewart Gilray | 23/11/2009 11:08
Member
93 TSA Points | Member since: Sep 2009
Hi,
What makes you think it looks like a Flash game?
Stewart
davidjmclare | 23/11/2009 19:37
always on easy
894 TSA Points | Member since: May 2009
well i dont think it ‘looks’ like a flash game, but from nofi’s description it sounds like those flash games where you hover about avoiding obsticles.
in fact my question was just to see if it was that kind of game… cos i dont know much about it other than nofi seems to love it, (making him call me a nob it seems).
anyway i didnt get an answer so i still dont know, but apparently it looks like graviton 2.
what do you think then?
Ripperfish | 20/11/2009 16:32
Member
101 TSA Points | Member since: Sep 2009
Just got a ps3 recently and aint had a chance to buy any games yet, think this will be the first one. Looks like fun
Ripperfish | 20/11/2009 16:32
Member
101 TSA Points | Member since: Sep 2009
I meant downloadable games btw, i’m not jsut sitting there with a ps3 and no games just to clarify lol
Colinbarr66 | 20/11/2009 16:57
Member
774 TSA Points | Member since: Mar 2009
Check out Shatter if you like a fun game. I talk about it alot because its brilliant.
colossalblue | 20/11/2009 17:01
Team TSA: Editor
1146 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
haha, I had visions of you sitting in a damp room hugging a PS3 that’s not even plugged in and whispering to yourself.
Ripperfish | 20/11/2009 17:07
Member
101 TSA Points | Member since: Sep 2009
Well i need somthing to do at the weekends lol. Playing games is boring a good old creepy console hug is the real deal.
Gastos84 | 20/11/2009 16:35
Team TSA: Writer
3612 TSA Points | Member since: Apr 2009
Pfff, who needs the exclusive date reveal?
That was an awesome article.
Can not wait until next week, I’ve been wanting this for a while now.
hol | 20/11/2009 16:41
Member
174 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2009
been waiting for this, takes me back to the era of the bbc & speccy. Good to see a demo though.
Manorhowze | 20/11/2009 17:09
Driving God
1890 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
Awesome. I love a good PSN game and this one ticks all the boxes.
Good news about the demo. I have to wait till the 28th to purchase so a demo should keep me going till then.
theshockwave | 20/11/2009 23:03
Member
1721 TSA Points | Member since: Nov 2008
I haven’t bought a PSN game in ages. This might be the one to stop the drought.
tantalus_blank | 20/11/2009 17:30
Member
616 TSA Points | Member since: Nov 2008
christ that’s much cheaper than I was expecting. Hope it’s still got the level of detail found in the much more expensive games around £13-14 (none of which I have bought)
Michael | 20/11/2009 17:30
Team TSA: Development
2026 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
Can’t wait for this. It’s gonna be ace, and I’m gonna be pants at it.
colossalblue | 20/11/2009 17:35
Team TSA: Editor
1146 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
yeah, me too! We should multiplayer together, we’d be absolutely terrible at it!
nofi | 20/11/2009 20:22
Wants a custom tag.
3870 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
TSA multiplayer races? Yes please.
bunimomike | 20/11/2009 17:31
Member
3371 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
With you every step of the way, nofi. Have embraced every article and mention about this fine, fine game. Even contacted Just Add Water earlier on today to wish them luck with the launch on Tuesday. Top bunch of guys from what I could gleen. Stunning style and cannot WAIT to play this come Tuesday evening. Actually, if they release during the daytime I’ll simply stop work and take the rest of the day off.
Excited much? Like a prozzie on New Year’s Eve.
Erroneus | 20/11/2009 17:43
Wanted "Trophy Hunter" but was too late.
2773 TSA Points | Member since: May 2009
If it was possible to preorder a PSN game, I would preorder it right now!
carlosfilippsen | 20/11/2009 17:45
Member
1314 TSA Points | Member since: Mar 2009
Why would you pre-order it? Its not like it will run out of stock LOL!
anyway, looking foward to getting this! 4 days to go!
bunimomike | 20/11/2009 17:51
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3371 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
To save valuable seconds on launch day.
Actually, it’d be quite cool to release the game early (unplayable) and have it download to your PS3 beforehand. Then unlock when the PS3 synchronises with the server. Game ready to play, zero bandwidth used downloading game at actual launch as game was already on the HardDrive. I’m floundering but it kinda makes sense. 
colossalblue | 20/11/2009 17:55
Team TSA: Editor
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Steam does that mike, it’s called pre-loading and it is a genius idea. Means you can download a game at some point in the previous week when the servers aren’t getting shagged from all angles and at midnight (or midday?) on launch day it downloads a little 12kb (or something) key that unlocks it. Genius.
bunimomike | 20/11/2009 17:58
Member
3371 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
Ooo, get me! I thunk of a good idea without knowing Steam did that. Top thinking on their part, though. Distributed load, etc. I’m guessing Sony could easily do the same if the PSN started buckling under immensely successful launches.
Erroneus | 20/11/2009 19:10
Wanted "Trophy Hunter" but was too late.
2773 TSA Points | Member since: May 2009
Preload and exclusive stuff mate
Hodgi92 | 20/11/2009 17:49
The Thumb
969 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
You know, I know nothing about this game, so the demo better be good
gazzagb | 20/11/2009 17:50
Master of speling mitakse
2396 TSA Points | Member since: Feb 2009
Doesnt look that good (imo) but ill give the demo a go…
Mutt | 20/11/2009 18:06
Member
100 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2009
Good to see a demo, although I’d have bought this anyway. Hopefully that will drive a few more sales for them. I’m actually as excited for this as I would be for a proper retail release!
Jumping Monks | 20/11/2009 18:09
Legend
1049 TSA Points | Member since: Jan 2009
Woohoo, it’s finally here… (well in 4 days)
I’ll definitely get this on launch. Bring on Tuesday
skibadee | 20/11/2009 18:10
Member
1970 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2009
try demo out first