Hookshot Inc. is a website about downloadable video games that cost $15 or less. We patrol a wild and hectic new frontier in video games, taking aim at the titles that deserve attention – and pulling them directly into the lives of busy players.
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Under a Rainbow Moon

Under a Rainbow Moon

If you're a fan of strategic RPGs with neat isometric visuals and turn-based game mechanics that nod mechanically toward the era of Final Fantasy Tactics, then you're in for a treat today. Eastasiasoft is releasing its rather lovely Rainbow Moon onto PSN and we're all colours of excited.

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Velocity dev: ‘PlayStation Minis > iOS’

Velocity dev: 'PlayStation Minis > iOS'
Sony's PlayStation Minis series of games is sorely misunderstood and under-rated.

But despite its problems, the series has its true believers, including Velocity creator James Marsden, who believes it could a better platform for indie developers than iOS.

Fighting talk.

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A Minis Adventure – help out with this poll, eh?

A Minis Adventure - help out with this poll, eh?
Okay, so it's normally quite hard to get excited about polls, but this one is pretty cool. John Polson - POLson ha ha! - of the wonderful Indiegames blog has put together a series of questions that aims to get at what people actually want from Sony's lovely but sorely under-appreciated platform.

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A physical Journey: is this the way boxed games are going?

A physical Journey: is this the way boxed games are going?

Does Sony's decision to sell a collector's edition of Journey hint at the future of physical games media – as a repository for super fan special releases? And is that a bad thing? And why does everyone like an apocalyptic tale anyway? Could a French chronicler of the tenth century have the answer? Where the hell is this going?

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Ron Gilbert on the art of videogame comedy

Ron Gilbert on the art of videogame comedy

What makes a funny game? Is it script? Characters? Setting? Silly noises? We put this very question to Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert, just as he showed us sections from The Cave, his latest humerous adventure game. This is what he told us...

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Okami HD – it’s on the way, so how about a story?

Okami HD - it's on the way, so how about a story?
Okami HD has been announced! It's headed to PSN on the PS3 this Autumn, apparently, and we're going to cover it even though it's going to clock in at £15.99. Why not, eh? Mental. What to say about it, though? Hopefully you've played it before and this is just the valedictory lap. I know! I'll tell you about the time I met Hideki Kamiya instead!

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E3 2012: Moonlighters – Grandia meets the heist movie

E3 2012: Moonlighters – Grandia meets the heist movie

What happens when you combine the heist movie with the Japanese RPG and the plot to classic Steve Martin movie, the Three Amigos? You get this RPG-flavoured thieve-'em-up from students at USC's illustrious Interactive Media Division. If you've ever fancied guiding a group of washed-up '50s performers through a series of ill-advised robberies, this is very much your chance.

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Hey Civ! We played Canabalt for 10 years, too.

Hey Civ! We played Canabalt for 10 years, too.
You may have heard about this Redditor who played a single game of Civilisation for 10 years - hopefully finding time to get out for the odd root beer. It's fascinating stuff. After a decade of playing, the world's a "hellish nightmare of suffering and devastation." Uh-oh. Somebody unlocked New Jersey.

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E3 2012: Dyad – WipeOut meets Rez in the Large Hadron Collider

E3 2012: Dyad - WipeOut meets Rez in the Large Hadron Collider
Dyad, a forthcoming racing/ puzzle game from PSN was one of the most arresting games at Sony's E3 booth last week.

One-man creator Shawn McGrath has been working on the project for the best part of four years.

Parkin takes a look.

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E3 2012: When Vikings Attack – it’s fleets of rage!

E3 2012: When Vikings Attack – it's fleets of rage!

The traditional scrolling brawler returns with this hilarious afront to historical accuracy. Chuck tractors, traffic cones and fairground stalls as modern day British gangs take on the might of the Scandinavian marauders.

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E3 2012: Welcome to the Tokyo Jungle

E3 2012: Welcome to the Tokyo Jungle

If some sort of catastrophe wipes out the human race, the future will involve wild dogs hunting rabbits in the overgrown streets of our major cities. The dogs will wear cute hats and trainers.

That is the future imagined in Sony Japan’s Tokyo Jungle, a sort of post-apocalyptic pet sim, but without any pet owners because they’re all dead. In the main Survival Mode, players choose from a selection of animals, each with differing stats for strength, speed and hunger – and the aim is to keep your creature alive for as long as possible. To do this, you explore...

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Sound as story: Austin Wintory on Journey and the art of game music

Sound as story: Austin Wintory on Journey and the art of game music

Last month, I spoke to Journey soundtrack composer, Austin Wintory, for my Guardian feature on game music. Here is the rest of my interview with him, covering his inception into the Journey project and his theories on interactive music, art and the future of soundtracks.

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