SEGA & Game Freak Team Up For the Delightful ‘Tembo the Badass Elephant’
I don’t write about video games nearly enough as I should, which is amazing when you consider it was G4tv that inspired me to pursue this field. So allow me to be the one to introduce to you the amazing-looking Tembo the Badass Elephant, from the twisted minds at SEGA and Game Freak.
Just. Just look at it. LOOK AT THE ELEPHANT BEING A WRECKING MACHINE. Yes, there are humorous, tongue-in-cheek 2D sidescrollers everywhere, but I don’t think there are many that have a genuine sense of joy, heart and fun. Even if its title has “Badass Elephant” in it.
From the SEGA press release:
Announcing TEMBO THE BADASS ELEPHANT for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows PC as a digital download on each platform.
Part Commando. All Elephant. TEMBO THE BADASS ELEPHANT is a larger than life, 2D side-scrolling action adventure from the creative geniuses behind the Pokémon games, coming in Summer 2015.
Shell City is plunged into a state of emergency after coming under attack from the devastating forces of PHANTOM, led by a mysterious masked commander. Terrifying war machines emblazoned with skulls tear through the city leaving a trail of destruction in their wake! As the National Army struggles to contain PHANTOM, General Krenman sees the mammoth task at hand and calls upon the only thing that stands between Shell City’s obliteration and its salvation; the peanut chompin’, villain stompin’, PHANTOM romping BADASS Elephantidae…TEMBO THE BADASS ELEPHANT!
HRRAAANNHH!!!!!!!! (Is the last thing those PHANTOM goons will hear…)
“We’re delighted to be working with Game Freak to bring this heavyweight adventure to an audience we feel it will have relephants to,” said John Clark, the Senior Vice President of Commercial Publishing for SEGA Europe. “It’s a trunkful of fun and we think gamers are going to love it. Hopefully more than my rubbish elephant puns. ”
Interesting that the villains are called “Phantom,” if I close my eyes I can almost hear the overture of Phantom of the Opera in the trailer.
Despite aspiring to be a games journalist I really have lost a lot of time for video games. Shane, Joshua, and Derek know way more than I do about the current games landscape, but I still keep my pinky on the pulse so I know enough to understand the prevalence of smaller-budgeted, digital download titles. I also know enough about SEGA’s woes in the last few years, but with a game like Tembo I’m sure they’ll be back on the tip of everyone’s tongues sometime. Maybe. I hope.
Check out the entire gallery on SEGA’s Flickr.
