Top Hand Rodeo Tour to bring the 'yee-haw' to Move (PlayStation 3) »»
Why aren't there more rodeo games out there? Probably because they would suck. But throw in realistic motion controls and strong visuals, and developer Perpetual FX Creative thinks it has a winner.
In a post on the official PlayStation Blog, Perpetual FX said it wanted to create "the full experience of professional rodeo to anyone and everyone as realistically as possible." And, of course, the only way to do that is to swing a lit wand in front of a motion-tracking webcam... ...
New Mortal Kombat trailer definitely contains content inappropriate for children (Mortal Kombat (2011)) »»
Disturbed provides the track for this tantalizing, but kind of YouTube-tribute-esque new trailer for next year's Mortal Kombat reboot. At least the song, “Another Way to Die,” is fitting for a game about making people die (in multiple ways).
The trailer, dubbed 'Shadows,' features serveral of the series' iconic silhouettes doing horrible things to each other. Check it out... ...
We'll be at PAX Prime this weekend - come hang out with us! (Xbox 360) »»
We've PAXed our bags, called a PAXidriver, and we're ready to down several six-PAX of boozey drinks! So... what we're trying to say is... WE'RE GOING TO PAX THIS WEEKEND. And know what we want to do the most? Meet YOU, of course, both at our panel, and during a live, boozey recording of our stupid podcast, TalkRadar. So if you plan to be at gaming's foremost celebratory celebration, then cure our crippling loneliness and come hang out with us...
Sony launching 'Music Unlimited,' a PS3, PSP compatible music service - will it fail as hard as Connect? (PSP) »»
At a media event in Berlin, Sony has announced a new music service which will allow users to download and play songs directly from their PS3 and PSPs. This comes a couple years after Sony completely crashed and burned with its previous service, Connect, which also encouraged PSP connectivity. Did it learn from its mistakes? ...
Original Doc Brown to send his voice back... to the FUTURE! (Back to the Future (2010)) »»
It's been 20 years since Christopher Lloyd has touched a flux capacitor, but that hasn't discouraged developer Telltale Games from hiring the original Doc Brown to voice his digital counterpart in its upcoming Back to the Future adventure games... ...
StarCraft II sells massively well, industry responds with sarcastic expressions of surprise (StarCraft II) »»
If you haven’t bought a copy of StarCraft II yet, you’re a liar. A big, cold hearted liar. How do we know that? Well, because Blizzard released the first month’s sales numbers, that’s how. Now, stop trying to argue with us and own up to the fact that you, like the rest of us, are enjoying this damn fine, highly moddable game... ...
Epic Games' first iPhone game will cut some fools (Gears of War 2) »»
At an Apple event earlier today in San Francisco, Gears of War developer Epic Games dropped in to show the real purpose of the iPhone: to competitively shiv your friends wirelessly. We hear you scream from your computer, “By what method will I shiv them?! Please tell me!” Well, get a load of Project Sword, powered by the Unreal Engine itself and due out this holiday season... ...
Valve has three big 'surprises' for us, is experimenting with biometrics (Half-Life 2) »»
PC Gamer UK's recent trip to Valve just keeps delivering bigger and better slices of mystery. According to Gabe Newell, Valve has "three pretty big surprises in the next 12 months." More surprises? Is the cancelled E3 surprise one of them? Is it Half-Life 3? Tell us Gabe!
Newell revealed, "I'm just laughing because... people will be shocked again." Dammit Gabe... ...
First Batman: Arkham City in-game screens are simply staggering (Batman: Arkham City) »»
Batman fans, forget the date currently displayed on your calendar, for today, it is truly Christmas. The first 20 in-game screens of Batman: Arkham City have appeared (via a Flickr account we'll put very real dollar-pounds on belonging to a Rocksteady developer), and they are simply stunning. Catwoman. Two-face. New combat moves. Possibly the greatest ever depiction of Gotham City itself. You'll find them all within. So scroll down right now and start geeking out with us. Hurry up, you're already wasting time. ...
Hate playing games with tiny, unreadable text? Then your eyes will love Vanquish! (Vanquish) »»
For those of us lagging behind the curve when it comes to gaming in high definition, the trend for using ridiculously tiny text in games is a curse. As font sizes shrink, the more SDTV owners have to strain their eyes. It's a cruel punishment for being slow adopters of superior televisuals. But, my persecuted standard definition television owning friends, all hope is not lost... ...
First new characters confirmed for Super Street Fighter IV? Probably, very probably (Super Street Fighter IV) »»
Street Fighter fans. We're never happy. And ironically, it's this generation's embarrassing wealth of quarter-circling wonders that has made us so. As soon as it became apparent that Street Fighter IV was going to make use of more old characters than new, we wanted them all. From every SF game ever made. We even wanted the chicken choking guy from Chun-Li's SFII stage. And his chicken as a secret boss.
Everyone had a favourite who absolutely had to be included, and the non-appearance of any was an immediate sign that Capcom were none-more cruel, none-more heartless, puppy-punching bastards. Then it happened again with the roster of Super Street Fighter IV. And now it's going to happen again, with the arcade port of said Super sequel, which Capcom has confirmed will include yet more new fighters. And we may now have our first, confirmed addition to properly argue over, via a page from Japan's Arcadia magazine. Click on for the who, how and why. ...
Kirby's Epic Yarn looks EXACTLY like 1992 TV advert (Kirby's Epic Yarn) »»
The magnificent art style for Kirby's Epic Yarn on Wii is wondrous and new, right? Well, actually, it isn't even new to Kirby. A Japanese TV advert from 1992 clearly shows yarn-based Kirby, with similar animation and identical colour palette to advertise classic platformer Kirby's Adventure. Look!
Vanquish demo now available on Xbox LIVE and PSN (Vanquish) »»
Sega has recently announced that the demo for Vanquish is now available for download on Xbox LIVE and the PlayStation Network. Titled ‘Velocity Attack,’ the demo features one level and two difficulty settings to choose from, giving players a taste of the bullet laden ballad we’ve been raving about since our latest hands-on preview... ...
New Goldeneye trailer takes you behind the scenes (GoldenEye 007) »»
Since its announcement at E3, I’ve been waiting for this Goldeneye 007 remake with guarded interest. Back in the late ‘90s I probably put 200 hours into the multiplayer for the N64 original, and this game looks better every time I see it, but the disappointment over the last remake, subtitled Rogue Agent, still stings. But this most recent trailer, a look at how the developers have been working on updating it, makes me a little more positive about this game’s right to exist... ...
Inevitable StarCraft II WoW mod is surprisingly pretty (StarCraft II) »»
Are you addicted to World of Warcraft? So addicted, in fact, that you need to play World of Warcraft even when playing other games? Then we have good news for you... ...
Sonic Adventure, the only good 3D Sonic game, hits XBLA on September 15 (Sonic Adventure) »»
Do you smell that? Ah, yes, it's the unmistakable aroma of a failed console desperately trying to be loved again on a successful console. The first downloadable Dreamcast game will be making its way to the Xbox 360 in just a couple weeks. ...
Final Fantasy XIV beta postponed due to 'critical bugs' (Final Fantasy XIV) »»
This morning we began downloading the client and patches in preparation for tonight’s open beta test of Final Fantasy XIV. We waited, and waited, and after waiting on one of the smaller patches for over three hours, we finally figured out the problem: the Final Fantasy XIV open beta test has been indefinitely postponed. Balls... ...
Indie JRPG has you running an item shop, coming to Steam this September (PC) »»
We’ve always wondered about shopkeepers in JRPGs. How do these industrious peddlers manage to set up shop in the world’s most dangerous dungeons? And why aren’t they the ones charged with saving the world? After all, they’ve already got the best and most expensive equipment and items in the game.
Our questions may be answered when Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale launches on September 10 via Steam. It’s the first Japanese indie title to join Steam’s library… ...
This is one bit of information that almost slipped by us. There was a lot of Apple related news today, but only a small portion of it pertained to games. We’ve got just the thing to satisfy both the needs of Apple and comic book fans. A graphic novel called Fallout: New Vegas - All Roads has been released in the App Store for free.
Dark Horse Comics and Bethesda worked together to give us a portion of the graphic novel that will be in the Fallout: New Vegas Collector’s Edition. The comic is 15 pages and takes up 12MB of space on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.
After reading through it, I’m not too clear on what’s going on. Characters in the graphic novel mention groups from New Vegas such as Caesar’s Legion and the New California Republic. One character carves a map into the ground which may be the same map we’ll use in New Vegas. The graphic novel apparently contains clues to playable missions in New Vegas. The end of the novel also marks the beginning of Fallout: New Vegas.
I don’t want to speculate and ruin the novel before you get a chance to read it. Fallout: New Vegas comes out on October 19, 2010 for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
Looks like they’re breaking out the big guns at this year’s Game Developers Conference Online (GDC Online) in Austin, Texas. Blizzard’s Battle.net project director Greg Canessa, Playdom VP of creative design Raph Koster, and Bigpoint founder/CEO Heiko Hubertz are scheduled to give keynote speeches. GDC Online will run from October 5-8, 2010.
As the event’s name suggests, GDC Online (formerly known as GDC Austin) invites aspiring and current game developers to meet, mingle, and discuss the development of online games. This includes standard MMOs, free-to-play games, and social network games.
Attendees have the choice of checking out more than 120 lectures, panels, and tutorials at GDC Online, which fall into one (or more) of five categories called tracks: Business and Marketing, Design, Production, Programming, and Live. The Live track is a new addition to GDC Online, which focuses on developer strategies following the launch of a title.
The three recently announced keynote speakers will represent a particular track. Canessa will present the Production track keynote titled, “Battle.net: A Postmortem”, while Koster will present the keynote for the Design track titled, “Classic Social Mechanics: The Engines Behind Everything Multiplayer”. Finally, Hubertz will present the keynote for the Business track called, “Europe: The Next Big Thing in Gaming”. Click on the GDC Online link at the end of this article for more information about these keynotes.
Early registration for GDC Online ends today (September 1, 2010) but if you register before October 1, 2010 you can still save 20% off the regular price. Expect to pay as low as $149 for the basic pass, to as high as $995 for the all-access pass. You can see all the pricing options on this page.
LucasArts has completed a round of extensive layoffs. The layoffs are the result of a reorganizing process in order to strengthen its internal studio. Among those let go are former developers on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II.
One of the recently let go developers told Kotaku around 60 people from LucasArt’s development teams were dismissed along with 25 others from Q&A and external production.
This news comes shortly after LucasArts on the PSP version of The Force Unleashed II. Previous reports state The Force Unleashed IIIwas canceled by LucasArt’s new president Paul Meegan. There were fears that layoffs would occur after The Force Unleashed II was completed. Meegan was also said to be in the process of stopping third party development on LucasArts properties and halting production on an unannounced title until management was restructured. All these facts pointed to impending layoffs.
Company morale was already low according to an unnamed Kotaku source. One can only imagine what things are like within LucasArts now.
Besides The Force Unleashed II, LucasArts is also publishing LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Both games are expected to be released in 2011. They may be the last Star Wars games developed by a third party.
Konami’s among the many companies announcing its Tokyo Game Show 2010 plans. Which is to be expected, of course. The event is September 16-19, 2010, and companies want attendees to be informed well in advance so people know whether or not they want to visit certain booths. Konami’s booth will be quite full this year, with eight new Konami games and six games from other, smaller publishers on display.
Like Square Enix and Level-5, Konami’s also created a Konami Tokyo Game Show 2010 site with preliminary information. You can see links to websites for most of the games, find out event dates and check out Konami Japan’s twitter page. It doesn’t top Square Enix’s TGS 2010 efforts, but is slightly better than Level-5’s.
Let’s look at all the games people will be able to see at Konami’s booth:
Adrenalin Misfits (Cross Board 7) Publisher (Developer): Konami (Konami) Platform: Xbox 360 Japanese Release Date: November 2010 Genre: Sports (Snowboarding) Note: This is a Kinect game.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Publisher (Developer): Konami (Mercury Steam) Platform: PS3, Xbox 360 Japanese Release Date: TBA 2010 Genre: Action
DanceMasters Publisher (Developer): Konami (GCP1) Platform: Xbox 360 Japanese Release Date: TBA Genre: Music Note: This is a Kinect game.
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Publisher (Developer): Konami (Kojima Productions) Platform: PSP Release Date: Already Available Genre: Action
Metal Gear Solid: Rising Publisher (Developer): Konami (Kojima Productions) Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360 Japanese Release Date: Genre: Action
Otomedius Excellent Publisher (Developer): Konami (Konami) Platform: Xbox 369 Japanese Release Date: Genre: Shoot’em Up (Shmup)
Tongari Boushi to Mahou no Omise (Magician’s Quest: Magic Shop) Publisher (Developer): Konami (Konami) Platform: DS Japanese Release Date: TBA Genre: Simulation
Zack to Ombra: Maboroshi no Yuenchi (Zack and Ombra: The Phantom Amusement Park) Publisher (Developer): Konami (Konami) Platform: DS Japanese Release Date: October 28, 2010 Genre: Adventure
Konami will also be helping out a few other publishers, by letting them display their games at its booth. So if you stop by, you can also see games from Atlus, Hudson, Nihon Falcom, Tomy and Yuke’s as well.
Here are the other, non-Konami games that will be at Konami’s booth:
Catherine (PS3, Xbox 360)
The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki (PSP)
Metal Fight Beyblade: Choujou Kessen! Big Bang Bladers (DS)
Metal Fight Beyblade Portable: Chouzetsu Tensei! Vulcan Horses (PSP)
Level-5’s Tokyo Game Show booth is always spectacular, but this year it will be extra special. The main attraction is going to be the Level-5 and Studio Ghibli collaboration, Ni no Kuni. The booth is going to look like a castle and everyone who stops by will get an eco-friendly tote bag with Ni no Kuni characters on it.
There are two more really great things about Level-5’s 2010 TGS booth. All seven of the announced games will be playable, so you can see for yourself if they’re worth the hype. Also, there will be a secret game announced at the event that you’ll only be able to see at the booth. I’m sure Level-5 will update its 2010 Tokyo Game Show site after the event starts September 16, 2010, with the secret game information for those of us unable to attend.
Let’s take a look at the seven confirmed Level-5 games.
Danbol Senki Platform: PSP Japanese Release Date: TBA 2010 Genre: RPG
Inazuma Eleven 3: Sekai e no Chousen!! Bomber and Spark Platform: DS Japanese Release Date: Already available Genre: Soccer RPG
Kyabajoppi Platform: Cell phones Japanese Release Date: Already available Genre: Hostess Simulation
Ni no Kuni Platform: DS, PS3 Japanese Release Date: DS: December 9, 2010, PS3: TBA 2011 Genre: RPG
Ni no Kuni Hotroit Stories Platform: Cell phone Japanese Release Date: December 9, 2010 Genre: RPG
Even though it’s already been out for a while, I’d recommend checking out Inazuma Eleven 3 if you’re attending the show. It’s a soccer RPG, where part of the game is spent getting the team prepared and finding items and the other part is spent playing soccer.
The Tokyo Game Show is happening September 16-19, 2010, and many game companies are preparing themselves for the event, creating websites and sending out notifications of what will be shown off. Square Enix is, of course, among these companies. It has its 2010 Tokyo Game Show webpage prepared and has been letting people know what games will be available.
Even if you can’t read Japanese characters, the Square Enix Tokyo Game Show 2010 site is a valuable resource. It shows which Square Enix created and published games will be at the show and if they’ll be playable or just represented by trailers. You can also click each game’s logo to see screenshots, a short description, release date information and pricing.
Let’s get a better look at Square Enix’s 2010 TGS games:
The 3rd Birthday Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Square Enix) Platform: PSP Japanese Release Date: TBA Genre: Action RPG Playable? Yes
Babysitting Mama Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Majesco Games) Platform: Wii Japanese Release Date: December 2, 2010 Genre: Casual Mini-Game Collection Playable? Yes
Call of Duty: Black Ops Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Treyarch) Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360 Japanese Release Date: Genre: FPS Playable? No
Crafting Mama Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Cooking Mama Ltd) Platform: DS Japanese Release Date: November 11, 2010 Genre: Casual Mini-Game Collection Playable? Yes
Deus Ex: Human Revolution Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Eidos Montreal) Platform: PS3, Xbox 360 Japanese Release Date: TBA Genre: Action RPG / Shooter Playable? No
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Square Enix) Platform: DS Japanese Release Date: Already out Genre: RPG Playable? No
Fallout: New Vegas Publisher (Developer): Bethesda Softworks (Obsidian Entertainment) Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360 Japanese Release Date: November 4, 2010 Genre: Action RPG Playable? Yes
Final Fantasy Legends Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Square Enix) Platform: Cell Phone Japanese Release Date: September 6, 2010 Genre: RPG Playable? No
Final Fantasy XI Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Square Enix) Platform: PC, PS2, Xbox 360 Japanese Release Date: Already out. Genre: MMORPG Playable? No
Final Fantasy XIV Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Square Enix) Platform: PC, PS3 Japanese Release Date: PC: September 22, 2010, PS3: March 2011 Genre: MMORPG Playable? No
Front Mission Evolved Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Double Helix Games) Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360 Japanese Release Date: September 16, 2010 Genre: Strategy Playable? Yes
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Crystal Dynamics) Platform: PS3, Xbox 360 Japanese Release Date: Already available on the Xbox 360, TBA for the PS3 Genre: Action / Adventure Playable? Yes
Lord of Arcana Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Square Enix) Platform: PSP Japanese Release Date: October 14, 2010 Genre: Action RPG Playable? Yes
MindJack Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (FeelPlus) Platform: PS3, Xbox 360 Japanese Release Date: TBA 2011 Genre: FPS Playable? Yes
Motto! Stitch! DS Rhythm de Rakugaki Daisakusen (Disney Stitch Jam) Publisher (Developer): Disney (Disney Interactive Studios) Platform: DS Japanese Release Date: November 18, 2010 Genre: Music Playable? Yes
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Square Enix) Platform: PSP Japanese Release Date: November 11, 2010 Genre: Strategy RPG Playable? Yes
Attendees will also be able to sample some of Square Enix’s online manga and see some items that will be sold in the Square Enix Store. Also, even though it hasn’t been announced, keep an eye open for a Final Fantasy XIII: Agito (PSP) trailer.
The 2010 Penny Arcade Expo is happening this week in Seattle, Washington, and if you registered for the event you can see a lot of Capcom’s newest games. It’s going on September 3-5, 2010, and booth 652 will have nine games set up for attendees to try out.
If you were following along with Capcom’s E3 2010 news, then the company’s PAX 2010 games should look familiar. The lineup is only slightly different. The PS3 and Xbox 360 game MotoGP 09/10 has been removed, and two new games have been added. Well, one new game and one revised older game. The version of Resident Evil 5 that uses Playstation Move controls is going to be there for people to test out.
Here’s what you’ll see if you stop by Capcom’s booth:
Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 (PS3, Xbox 360)
Dead Rising 2 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
Dead Rising 2: Case Zero (Xbox 360)
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (DS)
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (PS3, Xbox 360)
Mega Man Universe (PS3, Xbox 360)
Okamiden (DS)
Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes (PS3, Wii)
Resident Evil 5 Move Edition(PS3)
I’d recommend getting there really early if you want to play Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The kiosks for it were mobbed at E3 2010. Ghost Trick, Okamiden and Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes were usually empty at E3, so maybe save those for when you’re waiting for a chance to play another, more popular game.
It’s game developer gloating time! Blizzard reports that they sold over three million copies of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty worldwide in the first month of its release. The company brags that this makes StarCraft II poised to earn the distinction of being the bestselling PC game of 2010, and the fastest-selling RPG of all time.
On July 27, 2010, the game was released simultaneously in North America, Europe, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. It sold about a million copies on the first day alone, then sold another 1.5 million copies in its first 48 hours.
While this is great and amazing, it’s not too surprising. People have waited about a decade for a sequel, so of course everyone and their mother bought the game within the first two days.
However, I wonder if we’ll see the same amount of speedy sales for the upcoming two expansions, Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void. Not because people didn’t enjoy the game, but because now they’ve had their StarCraft fix and may not feel as hungry this time around. Or I could be totally wrong and bazillions of people will snap them up again within the first 48 hours of release.
Speaking of which, Blizzard has not yet announced the release dates of the next two expansions so stay tuned.
Earlier today Epic Games debuted Project Sword to the world. Project Sword is being developed for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad with full Game Center functionality. The most impressive thing about this Unreal Engine 3 powered game is its graphics. They are unlike anything seen before on an iDevice. The game won’t be out until the end of the year, but a demo called Epic Citadel on the App Store now. Epic Citadel focuses on Project’s Sword’s enviornment.
When I mean demo, I mean a tech demo. There isn’t any combat in Epic Citadel. You just roam around the world looking at the pretty scenery. The file is about 80MB and is worth the extra downloading time. There’s only a couple options in the demo. You can walk around and explore yourself, or take a guided tour. Movement is done by two virtual analog sticks. The left controls movement and the right stick controls the camera.
I downloaded Epic Citadel on my third generation iPod Touch. It runs smoothly for the most part, but there were some slight hesitations. Then again this is just a tech demo and is not the final product. It’s worth checking out if you have a few minutes to spare.
Champions Online, the superhero-themed MMORPG that isn’t City of Heroes/Villains, is celebrating its one year anniversary. Naturally, they’ve seized this opportunity as a way to get more people to play the game, or start playing it again. From September 1-7, 2010, new or returning players can play Champions Online for free. Just go to their website to download the client.
Meanwhile, current subscribers are enjoying the anniversary funtivities in Millennium City. There’s prizes, special quests, and apparently a giant cake in the middle of the city. Even the mobs are dropping special anniversary gifts, so get to killing!
I tried Champions Online last year but never really got into it. I had fun creating my character and really enjoyed flying around (it’s not on a timer unlike in Aion), but grew tired of the game quickly. Maybe superhero MMORPGs just aren’t my thing, but maybe it’s yours so check it out while it’s still free.
Incidentally, during Free Comic Book Day this past May 2010, I dropped by a local comic book shop and found that they were giving away free copies of Champions Online. I wonder if they’ll do the same for DC Universe Online when it comes out?
During Apple’s media event today, Epic Games debuted a new game that will debut this holiday season on iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad. Project Sword is a new game powered by the Unreal 3 engine. It appears to raise the bar to a remarkable level when it comes to gaming on mobile devices.
Project Sword will work in unison with Apple’s Game Center application. Game Center will be released next week along with iOS 4.1. Project Sword is a medieval action RPG game can pit players against each other online. Project Sword will contain a couple different control schemes. Casual players can choose commands on screen and hardcore gamers can use swipe techniques. It will also include achievements that everyone on your Game Center friend’s list can view.
Based on the gameplay footage, Project Sword looks gorgeous on iDevices. It most likely looks even better on the iPhone 4’s enhanced display. We’ll grab more details on this game as they become available.
Prior to Labor Day 2010, the Game Show Network (GSN) is giving DirecTV subscribers a free preview weekend of the Game Lounge service.
Game Lounge is offered on DirecTV’s channel 110 and, according to the web site, includes more than 70 games (only nineteen are playable at any one time). The freebie weekend is September 3-4, 2010 (ie Labor Day weekend). These free preview weekends seem to be offered most often around holidays.
All of the games are played through your TV via your DirecTV interactive receive. The directional buttons on the DirecTV remote are used to control the casual style games including various match-3 puzzles, word puzzles, card games, kids games (based on a TV cartoon shows) and popular board games including UNO and Monopoly.
To play on a non-free day it costs $2.99. You can also purchase various unlimited access subscriptions: $5.99 per month, 6-month subscription for $28.99 or a one-year subscription is $56.99. For a limited time DirecTV is also giving away DirecTV Movie Money (good for one movie via DirecTV Cinema) when you purchase a 1-month Unlimited Pass.
You may need to check the DirecTV Game Lounge schedule page to make certain your favorite games are available (not all games are really available all the time) and the web site keeps track of the high scores. You can also earn Tokens (which are used to wager in certain games) which does require that you register with the GSN Game Lounge web site.
And extra kudos to anyone who can name the person and the game show in the upper right corner of the image above (airs on Game Show Network, of course).
Telltale is a busy studio these days. Sam and Max is still running strong, a big crossover is expected to be revealed tomorrow (September 2, 2010) and a Back to the Future episodic game is in development. Telltale once released a survey asking fans to help determine the direction Back to the Future would take. We hope Telltale took that advice to heart as it reveals the first details on the upcoming Back to the Future game.
According to USA Today, Back to the Future will star Marty McFly and Doc Brown. Christopher Lloyd is attached to provide the voice of Doc Brown. Lloyd’s involvement effectively adds a big dose of authenticity to the game. Steven Spielberg is also an executive producer in Telltale’s project. Bob Gale, another series veteran who penned the Back to the Future trilogy, is assisting in game’s plot. Back to the Future is expected to span five separate episodes.
Telltale isn’t giving up much as far as plot is concerned. We know part of the game will take place in Hill Valley during 1985 and will include the DeLorean. More characters from the films will be in the game as well. If Biff doesn’t make an appearance I’ll probably cry. Telltale knows better than to leave out the Tannen family. Telltale may bring Back to the Future to PAX this weekend. Cross your fingers for that one folks.
Just a friendly reminder: In case you have not yet registered any one of your Nintendo games of game systems at Club Nintendo, you might not want to wait too long to do it.
By registering your new Nintendo game system - including DSi XL, DSi, DS Lite and Wii - at the Club Nintendo web site, you automatically get a free 90 days added to the 1-year warranty on your hardware.
Registration at Club Nintendo is free and you’ll need the serial number of your game system. Note that you do not need to visit Club Nintendo to actually register your hardware for the initial warranty (that’s apparently done at the “point of sale,” at least according to Nintendo’s web site).
You’ll also need to do it within that first year of ownership.
The warranty extension has been in effect for quite a while at Club Nintendo but when Microsoft and Sony are giving extensions after hardware issues or making you purchase extensions, it worth nothing that one company is giving them away for free.
Kinect has been the subject of strange controversies before. A few months ago, Kinect was being slammed because reports said it could recognize you if you’re sitting down. Microsoft was quick to refute that claim. That would have been a huge blow to the, everyone-can-play marketing direction Kinect has taken. Another key feature of Kinect is voice recognition. Kinect falls short in this department and Microsoft had admitted it.
Kinect is supposed to branch out across the globe, but it can only understand certain languages. At launch, Kinect will work fine American English, British English, Japanese and Mexican Spanish languages. The rest of mainland Europe and Canada will have to wait until an update in spring 2011 before they can speak to Kinect.
This is a pretty big deal. Mainland Europe covers a lot of countries such as France, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Austria and a number of other countries. It’s hard to believe Kinect’s technology wouldn’t include voice recognition for this massive territory at launch. Eurogamer also reports that due to the Xbox 360’s region lock, bilingual persons or people who can fake a good accent still can’t experience Kinect’s voice feature. Canada is probably being left out due to the volume of people who speak French.
Kinect will be available on November 4, 2010 for $149.99. Kinect will also be sold in bundles.
The start of the Final Fantasy XIV beta was delayed yesterday (August 31, 2010) due to some major bugs in the software. Square Enix postponed the open beta until all the issues could be sorted out. Fears of a long delay have been put to rest today as Square Enix has announced the new starting date for the beta.
The problem responsible for the delay has been fixed. Starting today at (September 1, 2010) 7:00 PDT, Final Fantasy XIV will enter into open beta on the PC. The beta will open up to European territories on September 2, 2010. Square Enix is holding this open beta to put FFXIV through its final paces before its September 22, 2010 release. If you want to participate in the beta, go log on to the Square Enix website and apply.
You will be able to transfer your character’s name from the FFXIV beta into the final release. All you have to do is make sure you pick the same World. Other bonuses for subscribers of Final Fantasy XI will also be available when FFXIV is released.
Square Enix is looking for players who can dedicate a lot of time to this beta. If you’re sure you can handle it, download the benchmark tool to make sure you can actually run the game.
Product:Power Pyramid (aka PS3/Xbox 360 Power Pyramid) Price: $49.99 ($54.99 for Supreme Version) Rating: One thumb up, one thumb sideways; 80/100; B-; * * * out of five. Pros: Will simultaneously charge two PS3 and two Xbox 360 wireless controllers. LED indicators are fairly straightforward and you can leave your controllers ported for along time. Cons: Cannot charge all non-standard Xbox 360 batteries (does not explain which it will and will not recharge) and may only appeal to gamers with both consoles. If you do not plan to keep this out, it’s a bit bulky to store. Overall: You can get this is a few formats (PS3 only, Xbox 360 only or PS3 and Xbox 360 combined) and the design may be OK for some to keep on their TV stand (depending on display height and cabinet size). It is very useful but it may be a bit too bulky, pricey and specific for a lot gamers.
Wireless controllers constantly need to be recharged. Play a lot of games and you find yourself buying multiple controller or multiple battery packs to charge. Let them sit in a drawer for a few weeks and they lose charge faster than their of-the-shelf-non-rechargeable counterparts. And, if you own more than one system, the issue is simply compounded.
Konnet came up with a clever solution in its Power Pyramid recharger. You can get a pyramid-shaped charger to replenish either four PS3 controllers our Xbox 360 controllers or - get this - a pair of both at the same time. And it looks pretty wacky when controllers are docked.
Nice Pairs
The Power Pyramid is essentially a dock-based battery charger shaped like a pyramid that will recharge wireless game controllers. The particular model I tried charges four controllers - two PS3 and two Xbox 360 wireless controllers - at the same time.
The center of the device forms a basic triangle so, when there is a controller in each port (PS3 on top and Xbox 360 on the bottom), it looks a bit like the profile of a pyramid. Or a strange Christmas tree. All of the ports plug right into the appropriate controller with a small, clean plastic shelf underneath so the controllers appears suspended from the side of the center of the charger.
At each clean shelf area there is also an indicator LED that will glow either red or blue to demonstrate whether or not the charge is complete (blue) or not (red).
To charge the controllers you connect a power plug fro the charger to a standard wall outlet and simply plug a wireless game controller into one fo the appropriate ports.
All Charged Up
This charger has a few things going for it with a couple annoyances.
First, it charges quite well and is rather speedy. Both the PS3 an Xbox 360 controller charging seemed to be a little speedier than most other external chargers.
Also, it has a rather impressive design, at least when you first see it loaded with controllers. The black finish (white if you get the Deluxe model) will easily blend in with most modern black-bordered TVs and dark-stained cabinets. The pyramid design and suspended controllers will certainly impress onlookers (at least at first glance).
The plastic design keeps it light but feeling a little cheap and seems to be a dust magnet. Konnet wisely designed the clear mini shelves so the controllers had a secure fit, reinforcing its strength and eliminating that chintzy feel.
As for annoyances, the biggest was with the batteries it would charge (or not charge). No where does it state that this only works with standard Xbox 360 rechargeable batteries. I have several non-Microsoft Xbox 360 controllers and this only worked when a Microsoft rechargeable battery was inserted (so, to be clean, you can charge unofficial controllers as long as they have official batteries inside). So you can pretty much forge this with your Halo controller. Luckily, I had purchased a pair of the official battery packs when they were on sale at Buy.com June 2010. Even with those, however, I had to make certain the battery was very secure int he controller and the cnotroller was docked just right or I get a dreaded blinking charge light.
Also, it’s a minor point but if you do not plan to keep this potential dust collector on your TV stand or displayed on a nice shelf near an outlet (because those are just so abundant), then plan to have plenty of room to store the Power Pyramid. The box is the basic size thanks to the wide base. At least you can wrap the power cord around it with relative ease.
Pyramid Scheme?
Being a critic I happen to have several game systems, which makes this charger especially convenient for me. I rarely need to charge more than one or two controllers at a time and this means I can switch between my PS3 and Xbox 360 each day without hunting for another charger. If you do not own both, you’d certainly want to stick with the system appropriate Power Pyramid.
The inability to charge unofficial Xbox 360 batteries is a bit of a sticking point for me considering so many gamers opt to buy better or less expensive controllers. Also, because you cannot charge a battery without the controller, that means you’ll be down a controller or two while the batteries charge. The bulk is really only an annoyance if you like empty shelves.
Ultimately, it’s a rather impressive charger that is a little expensive but you’ll get what pay for, especially if you frequently switch systems.
There are times where a game is released where you really want to know what happened but you either can’t or don’t want to buy or play it. To help you out, Gamertell offers Spoiler Alert. We’ll play the games and tell you what happened so you don’t have to spend, or waste, your time on it. This week, we’re looking at Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, the DS RPG from Nintendo. Prepare to be spoiled.
Okay, so Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story starts out with all the toads succumbing to a weird illness called the blorbs, which causes them to swell up into huge, round Toads, unable to really move. Princess Peach, Starlow the star sprite, Mario, Luigi and a bunch of toads are meeting trying to decide what to do. Bowser busts in to cause trouble, gets beat up and sent to Dimple Wood. There Fawful (in disguise) gives him a mushroom to eat that’s really a vacuum mushroom. Fawful makes Bowser go back to the mushroom kingdom and inhale everyone in the conference room. It turns out Fawful also created the mushrooms which turned Toads into blorbs.
For much of the story, Mario, Luigi and Bowser are working together, albiet unknowingly on Bowser’s part. Fawful wants Bowser’s castle and the mushroom kingdom. So while Bowser’s trying to reclaim his castle in the real world, Mario, Luigi and Starlow are inside Bowser’s body exploring, trying to find missing Toads who were sucked up and searching for Princess Peach. The brothers also can end up helping Bowser in the real world by performing actions in his body.
Bowser ends up getting back in his castle, and defeating Fawful’s minion, Midbus. About the same time, Mario and Luigi find Princess Peach and rescue her from Kretins. She tells them that Fawful is after the Dark Star artifact below Toad Town. Unfortunately, Fawful then removes Princess Peach from Bowser and kidnaps her.
Fawful and Midbus then end up sending Bowser out of the castle, and he starts going through underground tunnels to reach the Toad Town tunnels. He gets knocked out, which allows Mario, Luigi and Starlow to find an exit out of his body and a way back to the real world. They go to get the Dark Star, but Fawful already got it and has taken it to Princess’ Peach’s castle. Mario, Luigi and Starlow then have to get Star Cures to get inside. Of course, Bowser knows where they are now and overhears, and decides to go get the Star Cures too. Mario, Luigi and Starlow get the first Star Cure from Durmite inside of Bowser, Bowser gets the second one from the vault in his castle, which he swallows so Mario, Luigi and Starlow get it, and Mario and Luigi get the last Star Cure from Chakron.
The Star Cures are turned into the Miracle Cure, which cures all blorb-infected Toads and allows Mario, Luigi and Starlow to get into Princess Peach’s castle. They defeat a boss which ends up doing enough damage to free Bowser, who was trapped in the vault after getting the Star Cure, and he heads to Princess Peach’s castle as well. Mario and Luigi head inside Bowser again.
Bowser then ends up getting to Princess Peach’s castle, and attacks Fawful while he’s absorbing the Dark Star’s power. The Dark Star then gets inside Bowser, stealing his DNA while Mario and Luigi attack it. Bowser chases after Fawful and defeats his Dark Fawful self. After he does, the Dark Fawful essense combines with the Dark Star that escaped inside Bowser and combine to form Dark Bowser. A giant battle then ensues, prior to which Starlow tells Bowser the truth - that she, Mario and Luigi have been inside him all that time and will help. He doesn’t hear though, and fights Dark Bowser and inhales Dark Fawful when he reappears to revive Dark Bowser. Mario and Luigi then defeat Dark Fawful and the Dark Star and Bowser finishes off Dark Bowser. Dark Fawful then explodes and all Mario, Luigi, Starlow and all the toads inside Bowser pop out.
The game ends with Bowser back in his castle recuperating, his minions apologizing for their actions while brainwashed. Starlow comes by to check on him, bring him a present and see if he’s going to come and attack again. He tells her to leave and says he’s focusing on fixing what Fawful did to his castle at the moment. After everyone leaves him alone, Bowser opens the box and finds a cake with Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and his face on it, to thank him for his help in defeating Fawful.
Title:Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City Price: $29.99 System(s): DS Release Date: September 21, 2010 Publisher (Developer): Atlus (Atlus) ESRB Rating: “Everyone 10+” for Alcohol and Tobacco Reference, Language, Mild Fantasy Violence and Suggestive Themes Pros: New character classes, character sub-classes, very challenging, many FOEs to take on, tricky bosses, many side quests, can forge equipment to add new effects, new map making options, can explore the labyrinth and the surrounding ocean and there are multiplayer battles. Cons: Incredibly difficult if you don’t handle situations strategically, which may turn off some players. Multiplayer is disappointing since it’s such a niche title. Overall Score: One thumb up, one thumb sideways, 85/100, B, * * * 1/2 out of 5
The Etrian Odyssey games are a masochistic pleasure. They force you to invest lots of time and effort in the hopes of mastering what seems like an endless dungeon. While this does alienate many DS owners, it also makes it an unparalleled gem for RPG fans who love arduous adventures filled with formidable opponents and a multitude of character customization options. Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City is the culmination of the series and will impress anyone looking for a nostalgic and challenging RPG experience.
Become dungeon and ocean masters.
Around a hundred years ago, part of the city of Armoroad sunk into the ocean after an earthquake. In its place, a labyrinth appeared. The dungeon still holds many secrets though, and Armoroad’s government calls upon explorers to investigate it and its mysteries, as well the as the uncharted ocean around Armoroad. You’re a new explorer, ready to create a new guild and team to search through the unknown.
Once you’ve established your guild, Etrian Odyssey III follows the footsteps of its predecessors pretty closely. You explore a dungeon in a first person view. When a battle occurs, it’s turn based and you see only the enemies, in 2D, in front of you. Occasionally you run into event instances in the dungeon, triggered either naturally or by accepting a sidequest. This time, you can explore the oceans around Armoroad and the labyrinth around it. The more you explore, the more you learn about the history of the area. Just be careful, as FOEs, super strong enemies you can consider mini-bosses, also roam the dungeons.
Challenging, yet satisfying.
Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City refines the Etrian Odyssey dungeon crawling, character creating and cartography experience. You can face all kinds of challenging creatures, with a team of characters from one of 10 initial classes while making incredibly detailed maps of the dungeon and ocean around Armoroad. Even better - later on you can unlock one of two other classes and have subclasses for each of your characters.
The sailing experience is also brand new. You can set off on ocean expeditions to search for new challenges, items and experiences. Or, you can fish for profit. It offers an interesting respite from dungeon crawling, even though it can get a bit expensive when you factor in supplies needed for each voyage.
The map-making, a cornerstone of the Etrian Odyssey experience, has once again been improved. That’s quite a feat in and of itself, as the mapmaking in Etrian Odyssey II seemed perfect. The icons you can place are even clearer and you can set up an autopilot path to make journeying easier when you’re in a dungeon. When you’re in the ocean, there are a number of appropriate icons and colors to use for landmarks and to indicate certain spots to visit, tides and such. You can create clear and perfect maps.
Etrian Odyssey III is difficult. Old school, tear your hair out and throw your DS across the room hard. Expect to spend three to four hours on the first two floors alone, as you have to defeat one of two menacing FOEs to reach the stairs leading from B2 to B3. (I’d suggest a team of level 7 adventurers, with a zodiac proficient in ice spells.) The boss of the first stratum pulls a nasty, devastating trick once you get it’s hit points whittled down halfway. If that scares you, don’t even think about Etrian Odyssey III. If it doesn’t, the prepare yourself for some of the most satisfying dungeon crawling you’ll experience this year.
Also, the multiplayer is rather unimpressive. The concept is sound, being able to undertake ocean challenges with another friend over local wireless or exchange guild cards in the standby mode, but it fails in practice because Etrian Odyssey III is such a niche title. The odds of actually encountering another player when having it in standby mode is astronomical. As for the battles, it only works if you have a friend nearby also willing to get the game and invest the time necessary to build a stable team.
The ultimate Etrian Odyssey experience.
The Etrian Odyssey series has always been an acquired taste for gamers. You either love the endless dungeon crawling, level grinding, map-making and FOE-tackling, or hate it for it’s intense challenges. If you’re willing to invest time in Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City, you’ll find it’s the best entry in the series. If you prefer instant gratification, then you should look elsewhere.
Title:Sam and Max: The City that Dares Not Sleep Price: $8.95 System(s): *PC, Mac, PS3 Release Date: August, 30, 2010 Publisher (Developer): Telltale Games ESRB Rating: "Everyone plus 10” cartoon violence, language Pros: Very funny, see Max as a huge monster, there is an additional mystery to solve, finally see how it all wraps up. Cons: beginning part a little bland, some things are included in the game that are pointless Overall Score: Two thumbs up; 96 out of 100; A * * * * ½ out of 5.
The clones are gone, but now Max is a horrible monster who is devouring the entire city and causing great panic to the state of New York. Sure this doesn’t sound any different then Max’s normal everyday functions but this time he is under the control of something else.
The only option the city seems to have is to destroy the monster but Sam can not let his best buddy be destroyed so it up to him to save Max the only way possible: By forcing Max to eat him.
Going Where No Man Wanted To Go
Our helpful and somewhat delightful narrator shows up in the beginning of the game to inform us that all along there has been a saboteur among the ranks. This saboteur has left clues along the way to suggest who they are and that you should keep an eye out. Then he comes back close to the end of the game to see if you figured out who it was. I thought this was a nice touch and gives the game a more noir feel to it.
The rest of the game involves trying to get eaten by Max, then messing around inside his body. The body is the funest part of the game because you get to see how messed up Max really is inside. Also, if you go into the “bottom,” you get to see where all his “junk” is stored. The bottom is sort of like the closet from the other games, where inside was a trinket from the past games. In here there is not only trinkets from the last games, but from previous series, and even the Sam and Max Hit the Road game that these were inspired from.
You also get to control Max from inside his body at one point. No, you can’t destroy buildings and planes and cause needless havoc but it’s still fun to have him walk around and explore the city. It’s also crucial toward the middle of the game because you need to help Max recall his memories.
A couple old characters show up in this game as well. I don’t want to give anything away but you could say “dead” set on making an appearance. Cybil, Abe, and Skunkape also come back in this game.
We're Gonna Need a Bigger Desoto
The first part of the game was a little bland and seemed a bit easy as well. The first thing you needed to do is find people to accompany Sam into Max’s body but you find them by not really doing anything. Then you have to create a huge corn dog for Max to eat (with the Desoto inside). You mostly accomplished this by doing the same task over and over (I don’t want to spoil it for anyone). There was a bit of variety in how you accomplished said task, but I would’ve liked more variety.
The game also included things that didn’t seem to have a point to it. For instance, at one point you have to travel to these different locations via the toy projector from the second game (where you played as Sam and Max’s grandfathers). There was one or two places you could go where you couldn’t do anything. There was also a couple items in the “bottom” area of Max that seemed like they were important but they weren’t. I suppose you could call these red herrings, which are useless items that are used to distract you or throw you off track, and including those into the game isn’t a problem since they are typical in adventure game. However, my beef is that Sam and Max games don’t usually include red herrings so I spent a lot of time trying to solve the puzzles that had no solution.
I really enjoyed the ending to the game. I thought the whole thing wrapped up nicely and there was even a bit of drama at the every end. There were a couple things left unexplained, and I am hoping they will be made clear in future S&M games.
That About Wraps It Up, Then
I enjoyed the series as whole very much. I think it was more fun to play a whole story broken up into several parts then to just play stand alone episodes. This not only left the player with cliffhanger endings, but gave the game as a whole a much longer feel to it.
I hope that Telltale keeps up this tradition and includes more full games like this one.
Yesterday’s rumor about a redesigned Xbox 360 controller has been confirmed by Microsoft today. The new controller will be going on sale in the United States on November 9, 2010 for $64.99. Europe will most likely get the controller in February 2011.
The biggest change with the controller is the directional pad. The d-pad can be changed from a disc shape to a plus shape by twisting it. This allows for more precise inputs for games that rely heavily on the d-pad. Other changes include more concave analog sticks and grayed face buttons. The Xbox 360 controller always had red, blue, yellow and green buttons, but Microsoft decided to use only a few base colors with this design. This may get confusing with games that use color coded commands during quick time events.
The new controller will only be available with a new Play & Charge Kit.
It looks really nice and more high tech than the design of current Xbox 360 controllers. Is it worth the price of admission? Yes if you’re dying for a new d-pad and love jumping on the latest Xbox products. Otherwise I would wait for a sale.
Update: Major Nelson says via Twitter the gray ABXY buttons are not going to be standard. They are unique to the controller he demonstrated.
Title:Sam and Max: Beyond the Alley of the Dolls Price: $8.95 System(s): *PC, Mac, PS3 Release Date: July, 20, 2010 Publisher (Developer): Telltale Games ESRB Rating: "Everyone plus 10" cartoon violence, language Pros: Very funny, more psychic powers to play with Cons: annoying voice acting, hard to click on thins during psychic mode, some puzzles seem to leave you no hints. Overall Score: Two thumbs up; 97 out of 100; A; * * * * 1/2 out of 5.
The world is finally (hopefully) safe from the evil space ape Skunkape, but now thousands of half naked Sam clones (doppelgangers) are terrorizing the city and they won’t stop until they have found all the ancient toys of power. What a night!
The real Sam and his buddy Max must find a way to stop the clones and rid the world of the evil Devil’s toy box once and for all!
So Many Sams, Not Enough Pants
So here we are on the fourth episode of the series and I want to start out by pointing out that this was my first Sam and Max game where I didn’t need to look at the walkthrough. The use of the “future vision” and the new “mind reading tarot cards” really help you in figuring out what you need to do.
If you played the previous games you know that the future vision allows you to see into the future and get an idea of what you need to do. For instance, if you click on grandpa Stinky with the device early on in the game and you will see a clip of him holding a knife, hinting that you probably need to find him a knife.
Well the tarot cards work in a similar way. You click on a person and you can read whatever they are thinking which give you a hint about whatever you need to do. And don’t think these two devices will tell you every single thing you need to do, thus making the game insanely easy because some characters' minds can’t be read and sometimes the future vision doesn’t show you anything useful.
Never Dimension Hop on a Full Stomach
As I mentioned before, the toys really help you out in determining what you need to do next, but there are also some puzzles that seem to be only be solved through trial and error or by randomly doing things. The biggest offender is this dimensional transporter that you need to use later in the game. It has four knobs on it but Mamma Bosco doesn’t know which knob does what, so you basically have to randomly position each knob and send Sam off to another dimension to see what it does. If you use the mind reader cards you can get an idea what knob might do what, but it is still a guessing game.
When you are in Psychic Mode with Max you have to choose a toy and then find glittering characters or objects that you can interact with.
At times, though, you have to position the screen just right to click on the character or object, even though it looks like the cursor is in the correct place.
Surprisingly, Cybil does not make an appearance in this game. I may be mistaken but I think this is the first of all the games where you don’t see her. You are treated to plenty of Stinky and her grandfather though, along with some other characters you will remember from other episodes, including an obnoxious ventriloquist dummy who has an even more annoying voice actor.
The End Is... Oh, Here It Is
So far the series is doing well for itself, lots of tension and lots of variety. There also seem to be plenty of cliffhangers as well.
So we are almost at the end folks. I am anxious to see how the series will turn out now and I have a feeling we have not seen the last of our buddy Skunkape.
For generations, America has been seen as one of the biggest superpowers in the world. We have the strongest military, the most wealth and have been a beacon of hope for many people immigrating onto our shores. In the videogame world, America has been the victor in war or seen as the world’s last hope. But now that is changing. Recent and future games present the United States as defeated, in disarray and at the mercy of another nation. It’s a change of pace that I for one, greatly enjoy.
A History of Defeat
Fallout 3 showed this console generation what it’s like to live in a desecrated United States. Even though we knew the Capital Wasteland included Washington D.C., it never hit home until I saw the White House. This iconic building that is known all over the world, was reduced to a pile of smoldering rubble. This area was also known as one of the most dangerous places to go in the game. You couldn’t get to close to the White House without succumbing to radiation poisoning. I’m also taken back to the underground tunnels under the White House where the President was must likely hurried through while the bombs were dropping. I’m sure such a tunnel exists in real life. The thought of an adversary releasing so much wrath from which the most powerful man on the planet cannot escape, creates a totally new sense of fear. Yet I loved the Capital Wasteland because of its destruction. The memory of what used to be told a stronger narrative than what really happened in the end.
Let’s move on to Modern Warfare 2. The latter half of the game featured your character fighting enemies who had taken over the White House and assumingly - the whole country. If you’ve played the game, you remember the level that started underground. You weren’t too sure where you were. When you emerged from the cavern, you saw a crumbling White House in the distance. The sky was glowing red from fire and tracer bullets flew everywhere. Had we not already known Washington D.C. would be a battleground from preview coverage, this moment would have been one of the most emotional scenes of 2009.
During this stage, I felt compelled to finish the fight no matter how many times I died. I watched as iconic buildings in my country were burned to the ground. I’ve never wanted every bullet to count as much as I did then. Through insurmountable odds and only a handful of squad mates, we fought to take back the White House. Maybe it was anger propelling through the battle, but I know I would not have been so focused had I been fighting in another country.
Future Warfare
The image above is from the 2011 game Homefront. In Homefront, North and South Korea unite under one banner. The nation starts expanding and conquering other countries including the United States. The Greater Korean Republic launches a satellite that releases an electromagnetic pulse that cripples the power supply of the US. Hawaii is conquered as well as San Francisco. The US military has to resort to guerrilla tactics to fight off the invasion. This strategy mirrors the soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War when America was fighting for freedom against Great Britain. This storyline is actually plausible given the current political climate. I never want to see an actual American, Korean war, but in a videogame setting, this fight is one I want to be a part of.
This could be patriotic machismo talking, but the United States being demoted to an underdog in videogames is so much more fun to experience. Fighting for freedom means so much more after it has been taken away.
That used game program must already be working for Best Buy, as it has announced it is expanding the operation. Earlier in August, 2010, Best Buy stated that almost 600 stores would allow customers to bring used video games to the store service desk to see if it could be traded in for a Best Buy gift card. Now the company says all 1,089 stores will accept used games by October, 2010.
If you’re curious about trading in immediately, then head to Best Buy’s site. You can check the store locator to see if a Best Buy near you will accept your game. You can also use the estimator to get an idea of how much you’ll get for your game or console. Finally, if you don’t have a store near you where you can get rid of your unwanted items, you can print up a prepaid shipping label and mail your used items in to Best Buy.
The final tidbit is that Best Buy will follow GameStop’s lead and sell used games in stores. We don’t know when, but I’d suggest stopping by your local Best Buy in November and December. Give the company some time to process games it’ll probably be receiving between now and October.
It’s a very Wii-tastic day at Amazon today. The Gold Box is always filled each day with all kinds of different deals, which appear for limited times throughout the day until stock runs out. Today, it’s all Wii related.
Well, almost all Wii related. The Deal of the Day is the Tony Hawk: Ride skateboard bundle that includes the game and the controller. And it isn’t just the Wii version that’s on sale. The Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of that game are knocked down to $39.99 today only. Normally, it costs $69.99.
Only one deal has been revealed so far, and that was Gold’s Gym Dance Workout. It went on sale at 6am PDT for $19.99, and sold out. The normal price is $29.99.
Let’s look at the hints for the upcoming deals! I’ll leave a guess as to what it could be as well.
9am PDT: Hint: “Walk This Way” - I’m guessing it’s some form of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
12pm PDT: Hint: “No toy gets left behind” - It has to be Toy Story 3 The Video Game.
1pm PDT: Hint: “15 ways to have fun on your Wii.” - Some variation of Wii Fit. I’m guessing Wii Fit Plus
3pm PDT: Hint: “Bring the Broadway musical experience right into your living room.” - Dance on Broadway
4pm PDT: Hint: “The Wii on 480p.” - Probably Wii component video cables.
6pm PDT: Hint: “Enjoy this massive fantasy epic.” - I’m a little unsure, but since it says fantasy I’m going to guess Arc Rise Fantasia.
8pm PDT: Hint: “Transform your Wii controller into sports equipment” - It’s one of those Wii sports peripheral packs where you shove the Wii remote into shaped plastic forms.
If you want to see for yourself what the deals are, stop back at Amazon throughout the day as they’re revealed.
Google has done it again. This time the company has purchased a mobile game developer by the name of SocialDeck. SocialDeck has produced games for the App Store such as Pet Hero MD and Shake and Spell. It also developed an application called SocialDeck Spark that connects players across multiple devices such as Blackberries, iPhone’s and none other than Facebook.
The acquisition of SocialDeck provides Google with more ammunition for its upcoming battle with Facebook. Google has already purchased Slide, Jambool and invested millions into Zynga. Google Ventures, which is separate from Google itself, has also invested around $5 million into ngmoco.
Though not officially revealed, Google is apparently working on launching its own social network called Google Me. Gaming will play a huge role in making Google dominant to Facebook. Google is throwing a ton of money into its new project. But it will take more than cash to overthrow the biggest social network the world has ever seen.
Google hasn’t had a lot of luck in the social network space in the past. Google Wave was killed off in its current form earlier this month. Google Buzz has become a tab in Gmail that everyone tends to ignore. Google does have an enormous wealth of information at its disposal and can integrate its best features into one platform. Google probably isn’t done buying other companies. We’ll be here to talk about it soon as it does.
GET TO THA CHOPPA!!1 has branched out from the Xbox Live Arcade Indie store and into the App Store. I stumbled onto this game through a combination of directionless internet surfing and morbid curiosity. Having never played the Xbox 360 version, I was curious to see what this game had to offer.
I purchased GET TO THA CHOPPA!!1 late last night for $0.99. The game has a crudely drawn, yet charming artistic direction. Frankly speaking, it looks like a ten year old did all the art assets. But because it’s obvious this look is intentional, GET TO THA CHOPPA!!1 gains points for being unique. GET TO THA CHOPPA!!1 is a perfect fit for an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. It follows the same concept of just-keep-running games such as Canabalt and Monster Dash. Zombies are chasing your character while he runs towards a helicopter that’s always just out of reach. You have the ability to jump, slide or shoot. Each action is required for a specific situation. You jump over mines, slide under rockets and shoot approaching zombies. Unlike the previously mentioned games, GET TO THA CHOPPA!!1 employs gesture swipes instead of virtual buttons. The result is a mixed bag of good and bad.
Though gesture controls are a nice touch, they have complications. When the action speeds up, my fingers tend to perspire against the screen. The smudges can get distracting and the screen becomes slippery. There are also some problems with the game’s software. On several occasions, I couldn’t do anything because the controls were unresponsive. The only solution was to exit to the main menu and try again. This is nothing an update can’t fix.
I still think the game is worth checking out. It’s only a dollar and has some pretty nifty music.
Microsoft may be planning another surprise to go along with its Xbox Live price hike. A report from Gamestop’s annual managers meeting says a new Xbox controller is developed. This controller doesn’t appear to be a drastic overhaul to what we’re used to. The redesign focuses mainly on the controller’s d-pad.
The d-pad will raise a quarter of an inch when it is moved at a 90 degree angle. It’s not something that will have gamers lining up around the corner, but it could have some practical uses.
The Xbox 360 controller has the best analog sticks in the business. On the flip side, it also has the worst d-pad around. Besides being in an awkward position that makes using it exclusively a drag, the d-pad just feels weird. This new design will make the d-pad more predictable when inputting precise movements. I can only imagine fighting games such as Street Fighter IV really benefiting from this. The new controller is rumored to be available before the end of 2010.
This change was first mentioned at the 2008 Leipzig Games Convention. It has been a long time coming, but there must be something about a d-pad redesign that takes two years to be mass produced.
We spend all day at Gamertell telling you about the latest gaming news while sprinkling in our opinions on some very interesting topics. I thought it would be a nice change to share my gaming credentials with you all. Today you’re going to see my Xbox Live Gamer Card and PSN ID Card as they (more or less) currently stand. Feel free to add me on PSN or Xbox Live if and share your own profiles if you want.
Here you can see my PlayStation Network ID Card. It says I only have 593 Trophies spread out across 48 games. The network is not registering the Trophies I’ve recently earned from Shank. I bought my 60GB PS3 in the summer of 2007. Back then there wasn’t the slightest hint of Trophy support. The Xbox 360 was claiming third-party game sales partly due to Achievements. When Sony began including Trophies into games, the playing field became more level. That also means there are a lot of older games that I don’t have Trophies for. The first game I ever beat on PS3 was The Darkness. You would never know that by looking at my Trophy list. This, along with other games that don’t support retroactive Trophy support make for one misleading PSN ID.
Trophies are divided into Bronze, Silver and Platinum tiers. As you can see, I have no Platinum Trophies. Those are reserved for people who get every single Trophy a full retail title has to offer. I managed to come very close to getting 100% on inFamous and Assassin’s Creed 2. If you want a game where getting 100% is pretty easy, pick up Linger in Shadows on PSN. You won’t get a Platinum, but it’s a start.
Next up is my Xbox Live Gamer Card. I admit I’m a little ashamed of this one. When I see people with tens of thousands of gamer points, I can’t help but feel I’m doing something wrong. I bought the Xbox 360 during the fall of 2007. There have been periods where I would play my Xbox more than the PS3 and vice versa. I never really been crazy for Achievements either. I love it when I get them, but I never went out of my way to get 1000 points in a single game. One of my proudest Achievements is beating Mass Effect 2 on the Insanity difficulty and earning 47 of 54 Achievements. It’s one of the few games I’ve played through twice.
That’s most of my gaming career this generation. Groundbreaking? Of course not. Fun? Absolutely.
Every year some player has an issue with his player rating or some other aspect of his Madden NFL representation.
As far as Minnesota Vikings long snapper Cullen Loeffler is concerned, they should be happy. They’re at least in the game. Madden NFL doesn’t include long snappers so Loeffler and his special teams brethren are up in arms.
There is one exception to the omissions. New York Giants long snapper Zak DeOssie is in the game, presumably because he is also listed as a linebacker for the team. DeOssie didn’t get any love from EA, though. His long snapping rating is 0 out of 100.
Listed as the Viking long snapper is center John Sullivan. He has handled those duties at least once before. By his own admission, he’s pretty bad at them. Loeffler said he doesn’t play Madden NFL since he’s not in it. During an interview with Loeffler, ESPN’s Jay Crawford suggested the long snapper could use the game’s create-a-player feature to put himself in the game. Loeffler responded he shouldn’t have to, since he actually does play professional football.
Loeffler told ESPN that John Madden wanted to make the most realistic game possible and that EA was letting him down. I’m not sure how much sleep John Madden, or anybody other than long snappers, is losing about this. I’ve been playing Madden for years and didn’t notice the missing long snappers. Long snappers are not unlike kickers in that you generally only hear about them when they’ve done something wrong. Oh, and when they’re boycotting EA football games.
In an e-mail, EA Sports Public Relations Director Rob Semsey said Madden NFL supports 53-man rosters only due to “technical limitations.” Players on injured reserve take up roster spots as well. While the grass roots campaign some of Loeffler’s Viking teammates are taking up is noble, I don’t think Madden NFL fans are too concerned about it.
The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown of the great games and the free games right where you want ‘em, at the top and in your face. The list is available every Monday, right as you are about to start that long work week.
Netflix finally comes to the iPhone and all these great games, this is certainly the best iPhone week we’ve had in a while. With the upcoming September 1, 2010, Apple event, next week isn’t looking too bad either. Soak it up my friends.
What You Might Want To Check Out
iOcarina: Free Version
“The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, great game or GREATEST GAME EVER? Did you remember all the great songs of this game? With this app, you can play the Ocarina of Link, and try to remember the songs of the Game. In this free app, only a few of this songs are available, but if you like this, be sure of download the FULL Version, with all the Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask songs!”
Knight’s Rush: Price: $2.99
“From the developers of the hit app A QUEST OF KNIGHTS ONRUSH comes the groundbreaking full game, KNIGHT’S RUSH! This huge sequel by Chillingo and MoreGames puts YOU in the suit of armor, as your Knight rampages through eight incredible worlds and takes on a host of deadly enemies with over-the-top skills and attacks aplenty! KNIGHT’S RUSH is bigger, badder, and better than ever before!”
Dodonpachi Resurrection: Price: $4.99
“The Legendary shooter, now for iPhone and iPod touch! Two fully-featured game modes: iPhone Mode, an exclusive adaptation tailored to the iPhone/iPod touch portable format, and Arcade Mode, a port of the arcade shooter classic.”
Toy Story 3: Operation Camouflage: Price: $1.99
“Code Red Soldier! Operation Camouflage: Execute! Let’s Move, Move, Move! Heads up recruit, it’s time for Recon Basic Training! Your mission is to find top secret items camouflaged throughout Andy’s Room, Bonnie’s Room and Sunnyside Daycare. Only the best of the best can find them all. Are you up for the task soldier? Operation Camouflage has 20 missions throughout four locations: Andy’s Room, Bonnie’s Room, Caterpillar Room and Butterfly Room!”
What’s Free
WordFive Lite
“WordFive is a simple five letter word game where players are given five guesses to determine a randomly chosen five letter word. WordFive combines the fun aspects of word jumbles and word guessing games to create a wildly exciting, mind boggling adventure. Solving word puzzles has never been so thrilling!”
CasinoVegasSlots
“This is a standard three slot machine. Eye appealing user interface, very smooth roll of slots, smileys and sound effects. User can bet 1, 2 and 3 coins and get the credits based on the winning combinations.”
DJ Music Free
“Think you have what it takes to be a DJ for the techno scene? With DJ Music you’ll be able to move the paddles to the spin of the beat plate while working your rhythm to catch the music pellets around you. As you progress through each stage you’ll unlock hidden songs depending on how well you DJ. In DJ Music Free, spin 3 separate techno tracks in various stages to test your DJ skills. Be sure to catch as many music pellets you can or else your gig is up.”
Beemer Trivia
“Beemer Trivia, for the iPhone and iPad, is a trivia game designed by and for BMW Motorcycle enthusiasts.”
Galaxy Golf
“Galaxy Golf is the first game ever on the iPhone that brings your Facebook friends and photos into the game and allows you to save or eject them into the deep cold of space! Galaxy Golf is a game about exploration that plays like a mix between mini golf and croquet. The player chooses a galaxy unveiling a group of courses to play; each course consists of 9 or 18 holes like a normal golf course. Instead of just one hole like in normal golf, a Galaxy Golf level can have multiple holes that are represented by stars. The player needs to connect the stars in order to finish the hole. Travel through space at warp speed is not free…it creates a lot of heat! The player needs to watch their heat and how much force they use to travel around on each hole in order to get the highest ranking possible.”
TIC TAC B
“You can now play TIC TAC B on your IPhone Tic Tac B doesn’t required internet connection to be always ON. You can play against your IPhone . TIC TAC B, the game has more X B’s in it than your last letter from your old Aunt Sofie, has been around for a long long time, In fact TIC TAC B was probably the first strategy game that most of us ever played.”
Phase Words
“A unique, fun, and addictive word game that is the antidote to boredom. This game introduces a new strategy among word games…use them or lose them.”
Corsair
“Take to the skies and take out your opponent! Corsair is a game that harkens back to the retro arcade shoot-em-ups, and brings in a good bit of social competition too. Configure your ship with your choice of equipment and weapons, then dogfight against the ships that other players have made. Then, use the spoils of victory to buy even better gear!”
Nano Tank Free
“Free version of the retro-awesome Nano Tank, featuring three levels of silky smooth vector-style goodness. Drive your tank around a maze, dodge enemy gliders, and destroy enemy bases. Intuitive multi-touch control scheme, simple and indisputably retro, but incredibly fun.”
Word Quest Lite
“Word Quest Lite - the coolest and absolutely free word search game on the App Store! Play unlimited, super exciting word search puzzles to your heart’s content. Slick user interface, cool bookworm theme, online leaderboards and intense GRE-GMAT/Top American Words/Birds wordlists will challenge you for sure!”
Lazy Joe’s Warehouse
“Challenge yourself by helping Lazy Joe sort out the mess in his warehouse with the least effort possible. In this tricky puzzle game you push crates and use elevators to solve problems on two floors! Includes high resolution graphics for iPhone 4! Comes with 27 free levels of varying length and difficulty, and more available through in app purchase.”
iOcarina: Free Version
“The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, great game or GREATEST GAME EVER? Did you remember all the great songs of this game? With this app, you can play the Ocarina of Link, and try to remember the songs of the Game. In this free app, only a few of this songs are available, but if you like this, be sure of download the FULL Version, with all the Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask songs!”
Winners Circle - Horse Race Game
“Horse racing excitement comes to life. Jockey your horse in this dynamic graphical virtual horse race game. Only the skilled with the best time make it to the winners circle. Our simulated racing game puts you in the saddle as you go head-to-head against other players for bragging rights. Go solo to challenge yourself and attain the best time record. Finally, your chance to become a superstar athlete riding your top thoroughbred on the track.”
FRONTLINE Plus Fleas & Desist
“Fleas, eggs, larvae, and ticks are on the attack. Match them up in sets of three or more to destroy the suckers. And when the going gets tough, be sure to enlist the help of FRONTLINE Plus.”
Guggle Lite
“Step into a forgotten magical kingdom and guide Bubble through cursed levels where danger lurks at every corner of this puzzle arcade-adventure game. Easy to learn, but tricky to master controls make Guggle a blast to play for all ages as they test their eye-hand coordination and dexterity. Are you up to the challenge?”
Domacy
“Why check in when you can break in? Domacy uses your iPhone’s GPS, and nearby local businesses as the base for a game of Risk-style multi-player world conquest. Buy items, use them to attack or defend your fortresses, form a clan, and conquer the globe. Achieve Domacy today!”
Alpha Fall Lite
“Guide the letter blocks down the board to spell words and score big. Anyone can spell “cat” but it will take a true master to put together combos to reach that top score. But whatever you do, don’t let the letters reach the top or it’s game over! For an extra challenge, try playing hard mode.”
Car Rush
“Car rush is a simple driving game. Avoid other cars, and survive as long as possible. Also do not forget to watch the fuel gauge. When make it run out of fuel, the game is over.”
Travel City
“Tap the arrows to direct and park the Asia Miles-branded cars. You only have a limited amount of time to park the cars - so hurry!”
Jean’s Boutique Lite
“Jean’s Boutique Time Management Game for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Manage your own virtual Jean’s Boutique. Run your own Jean’s Boutique, a great fashion game combined with the fun of serving customers. To make it in the fast-paced world of fashion, Jean will need to be fast on her feet, dedicated to her customers, wise in her upgrades. For fast fashion fun, there’s no place like Jean’s Boutique! Recommended for fans of Time Management Games.”
BlockDude Lite
“BlockDude is back! This remake of the TI-83 game that many have played throughout their time in school stays true to the original with a few new additions such as themes and sounds. Relive the glory days and see if you can still remember how to beat BlockDude!”
Jow Chaos Ver.
“Begins at Day-1 the Chaos Day. Player should control “Hoffen” to deliver the potion to the customers the frantic and picky zombies. After drinking the potion, the zombies will be purified, and they will pay for it. Else they will infect Hoffen when they reach the end of the table. After three times, game is over. With the touch feature of Iphone, player uses finger (first finger is recommended) to slide from right to left to deliver the potion.”
What’s New
Action
Knight’s Rush: Price: $2.99
“From the developers of the hit app A QUEST OF KNIGHTS ONRUSH comes the groundbreaking full game, KNIGHT’S RUSH! This huge sequel by Chillingo and MoreGames puts YOU in the suit of armor, as your Knight rampages through eight incredible worlds and takes on a host of deadly enemies with over-the-top skills and attacks aplenty! KNIGHT’S RUSH is bigger, badder, and better than ever before!”
Zombies Ate My Baby: Price: $0.99
“You better prepare yourself for the great amount of fun! Defend yourself from the hordes of zombies in the greatest action game on your iphone/ipod. Enjoy the high quality comics who will lead you through the entire game. Be the best in survival mode!”
Al Rambone - Hussein in the Membrane: Price: $1.99
“Classic run and gun combat game. You are Al Rambone, washed up war veteran whose only skill is to kill. Command him through different insane levels, crawling with the deadliest foes and their teddy bear grenades. Fight your way through four gargantuan bosses in order to reach the final Evil. With amazing visuals and addicting game play you will find your self lost in this peculiar War Zone. Get involved in this insanely funny adventure!”
Adventure
NOTHING
Arcade
R TYPE: Price: $1.99
“Get back to the ‘80s video-arcade experience! Play the relentlessly challenging side-scroller shoot ‘em up on iPhone & iPod touch for retro-gaming at its best. Why mess with a classic? R-Type for iPhone & iPod touch stays true to its roots, re-capturing the look and feel of one of the biggest arcade game hits from back in the day. Blast off and strike the evil Bydo Empire! Pilot your futuristic fighter, the R-9a “Arrowhead,” and attack wave after wave of Bydo baddies in old-school side-shooter style. It’s R-Type just the way you remember it, and it totally rules!”
Worldy Wings: Price: $1.99
“Join the Worldy Wings fleet in the ultimate flying adventure! Sail through uncharted worlds fighting wicked enemies! Select the right plane for each world and score as many points as you can! Take advantage of the Bonus Round and reload your plane after each world!”
Dodonpachi Resurrection: Price: $4.99
“The Legendary shooter, now for iPhone and iPod touch! Two fully-featured game modes: iPhone Mode, an exclusive adaptation tailored to the iPhone/iPod touch portable format, and Arcade Mode, a port of the arcade shooter classic.”
The Princess Road: Price: $1.99
“The devil who kidnapped the princess,a symbol of peace and hope, undermined morale. And the devil is occupying the kingdom as surging waves. The sly devil shattered hearts of the princess and spread then around the castle. Then the devil ordered his inferiors to keep pieces. Be a warrior. You wake the princess as you collect all pieces of her heart with her friend fairy. Break through throwing knives and steel shells from the inferiors. Rescue the princess and liberate the kingdom from the devil’s hands. The beautiful fantasy world - beautiful graphics and musics lead you the world of fantasy fairy tale. The stunning action of knives - feel to elliminate all throwing knives from everywhere with your sppedy and accurate touching.”
Super Mega Worm: Price: $2.99
“Mother Earth is on the brink of extinction and has released her last defense, the Great Death Worm, Wojira. Wojira is on a revenge mission to destroy all the Human parasites. Crawl and eat your way through waves of humans and their robots of destruction. Grow and evolve into the ultimate weapon of destruction. You are the last line of defense, can you save the world?”
Airfight Heroes: Price: $0.99
“AirFight Heroes is a mobile game of vertical shooter.The game has outstanding 2D graphics and high quality music and sound effect.There are two player jet-fighters available with respective unique bullet style and firing means as well as three optional safety bullets in the game. Players can elevate weapon levels via obtaining energy props and can also choose weapons by taking advantage of alternating props. Six stages of the games available: Island Base Battle, Town Upper Air Battle, Railway Line Battle, Yellow Sand Base Battle, Gear of War Plant Battle and Experiments of Variation Base Battle. Different level has distinctive and various enemy fighters, weapons and bosses. With provocative battle graphics, gorgeous bullet scenes, gradual upgrading levels, mighty boss in every level and expanding weapons, the overall quality of the game competes with arcade vertical shooting games.”
Wing Era: The Golden Flight: Price: $0.99
“Wing Era is a line-drawing control game and contains more elements of fun. Just touch and draw a path, and you can control your propeller aircraft fleet to Fly, Take off, Landing, Obtain Bonus Items, Dodge Colliding with other Aircrafts, and etc. However, not only the flight control, but also the fuel and shields of aircrafts need to be noticed. There are also some useful bonus items to help you playing this game. Gather more Stars to gain higher score records!”
Board
NOTHING
Card
Freecell Classic - insanely addictive card game: Price: $0.99
“Playing freecell on your iphone is now a feast to your eyes with cool grpahics and 3D fireworks. A must have freecell game on your iphone if you are a card game lover. The beauty of the game matches your iphone beauty.”
Casino
NOTHING
Dice
NOTHING
Educational
Mathstronaut: Price: $2.99
“Mathstronaut is a fast paced maths game for kids. Questions play out in a variety of crazy, colourful and funny animations as players blast their way into space. The game features addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. There are four difficulty levels, based on the Australian school curriculum, and two great ways to play the game. In Blast Off, players must answer questions correctly to power their spaceship towards a distant alien planet, pushing past their best scores to get deeper into space. In Countdown, players have a set time limit to answer questions at the selected difficulty level. Ideal for standardised tests or for teachers to run an exciting live leaderboard using the App-titude online system. Mathstronaut interfaces with the App-titude online assessment system, where teachers can view up-to-the-minute student progress and participation. Mathstronaut has been evaluated by middle school students and provides fun challenges for younger learners as well as consolidation of skills for older students.”
Family
Toy Story 3: Operation Camouflage: Price: $1.99
“Code Red Soldier! Operation Camouflage: Execute! Let’s Move, Move, Move! Heads up recruit, it’s time for Recon Basic Training! Your mission is to find top secret items camouflaged throughout Andy’s Room, Bonnie’s Room and Sunnyside Daycare. Only the best of the best can find them all. Are you up for the task soldier? Operation Camouflage has 20 missions throughout four locations: Andy’s Room, Bonnie’s Room, Caterpillar Room and Butterfly Room!”
Music
DJ Music: Price: $1.99
“Think you have what it takes to be a DJ for the techno scene? With DJ Music you’ll be able to move the paddles to the spin of the beat plate while working your rhythm to catch the music pellets around you. As you progress through each stage you’ll unlock hidden songs depending on how well you DJ.”
Katy Perry Revenge: Price: $4.99
“The party has landed! Introducing KATY PERRY REVENGE, the smash new app from the makers of Tap Tap Revenge, the number 1 most-downloaded music game for the iPhone/iPod Touch. Tap the targets flying down your touchscreen to the beats of her biggest hits, and soak in the gorgeous themes and graphics inspired by the albums, videos, fashion, and fun of Miss Katy herself! All tracks included in the app are importable to Tap Tap Revenge 3 !!!”
Puzzle
No, Human: Price: $1.99
“No, Human” is a physics based action-puzzle game, taking place during the latest conflict between mankind’s puny struggle for meaning and the universe. With your skillful finger, a delight in destruction and some patience, you will demobilize the human presence outside of planet earth in a joyful way.”
White Knight HD: Price: $0.99
“For years the white knight has been trying to get his noble steed to learn new moves. He’s trying to make his horse run straight and diagonal lines. Unwilling to break the traditions of his ancestors, horsey refused. Help the young horse prove that he can get anywhere using the steps he already knows. Show the white knight that you can guide horsey though any obstacle, complex as it may be. Using the classic L shaped chess-knight movement, navigate your horse to safty. Don’t forget that time is short so fast thinking is required. Seeing the bigger picture and planning ahead will lead you to success. The more you practice - the faster you get.”
A Super Fisherman: Price: $1.99
“A Super Fisherman is the fun puzzle game, you are a fisherman, tap anywhere on the screen to throw the spinning rod, you need catch some target fish to enter next level, and earn enough money to buy some items.”
iRobbo HD: Price: $3.99
“This application became number 1 PAID PUZZLE GAME for iPhone in Poland, and now it is available on iPad! The iRobbo HD is a game where You, Robbo the robot, have to collect needed amount of bolts and leave the planet on a warpship. This of course is not as easy as it sounds. The game, after all, is a mixture of action and puzzle genres. The game contains 50 levels of increasing difficulty. Some levels require good reaction and fast decision making, some can not be complete without careful deliberation. The goal of the game is to reach Robbo’s home world - planet Zyyr. To get to Zyyr, You must complete all 50 levels. You have to find keys to open locked doors, get bolts, move though the laser beams at the right time, avoid dangerous enemies, position objects in the right place and move explosives to a useful place so that you can create a path when you detonate them.”
Racing
NOTHING
Role Playing
Rhythm Knight: Price: $1.99
“Rhythm Knight- music action rpg game! A long time ago, in a kingdom called Cadence far far away… An unfortunate Knight, Luke Born with a curse of misfortune, until one day… Rhythm Knight is a story-driven, action-oriented music game in which you fight with enemy using classic music cue. Unlike most music games, which focus on instruments, Rhythm Knight integrates classic music, Action and RPG elements, creates a unique game experience for all the people who love music and comedy.”
Phantasy Star II: Price: $2.99
“An epic RPG with turn-based battles that is hailed as one of the greatest games of all time. Build your characters, select the right weapons and armor, and take on the forces of evil through turn-based battles. Fight against over 100 bio-monsters and mechanical creatures to save the Algo Star system from the evil Dark Force and Mother Brain.”
War of the Titans: Price: $1.99
“Zeus raged because of the defiance by King and Queen of Argos. Hades provoked Zeus to punish Argos, then Zeus ordered monster Kraken to destroy Argos. At this moment Perseus came out to save Argos with his companions and they wanted to find out how to defeat Kraken together.”
Sports
Field & Stream Fishing: Price: $2.99
“Field & Stream Fishing is an exciting, arcade-style fishing game that is faster and more satisfying than any “simulation-style” fishing game in the iTunes Store today. Its target-like casting, reeling action, and wily fish population give every caster a chance hone their skills and haul in the big ones. Fish in famous real world locations like Whitebear Lake, Lake Amistad, and Kenai River. Why be limited to just the top-of-the-lake view? Field & Stream Fishing takes you underwater where the ‘reel’ action is! You can lure, scare, and witness the fight first hand.”
Strategy
Knight Defense: Price: $0.99
“Knight Defense combines action and strategy in a dynamic re-imagining of the tower defense genre. It’s bold, intelligent, challenging and fun. Defeat all waves of enemies without losing your King. Your pieces fire at enemies in distinct patterns reminiscent of chess pieces. Each time a piece fires in a particular direction there is a short delay before it can fire again in that direction. If an enemy hits one of your pieces it explodes and damages that piece (and sometimes the pieces around it). Combos: destroy multiple enemies at once to greatly increase your score. Each of your pieces can be upgraded 7 times, increasing health and attack, as well as healing the piece back to full health and allowing it to fire immediately in all available directions. Each piece has a unique special ability with a cooldown before it can be used again. Example: making nearby pieces fire twice as fast or healing nearby pieces. Enemies vary in health, speed and attack power. Enemies home towards your King, so where you position him determines their movement. Pieces can protect each other, reducing the damage they take. Tap the skip button make the next wave arrive immediately.”
So, you weren’t able to get your hands on one of the real-life Tron life cycles being sold on eBay a few months ago. No worries, because you can still get a sweet little model if you buy the collector’s edition of TRON: Evolution. Get ready to be $130 poorer though.
The collector’s edition of TRON: Evolution comes with the life cycle replica, a display case, and a drawer for the game. Considering that the regular edition of TRON: Evolution costs about $60, you should really ask yourself if the life cycle model, display case, and drawer are worth $70.
Would it help if I mentioned that that the life cycle glows? How about that it’s made by Sideshow Collectibles, a company that creates and sells models that can cost as much as several hundreds of dollars? Suddenly, $70 isn’t looking so bad. Still, it’s a steep price to pay for something that’ll just sit on your shelf or desk, though it’ll look really cool…and glowy.
TRON: Evolution is scheduled for release on December 7, 2010 and will be available for the Wii, PS3, PSP, and Xbox 360. The collectors edition will only be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360.
Release Date: July 27, 2010 Publisher (Developer):Ignition Entertainment (Image Epoch) ESRB Rating: “Teen” for drug reference, fantasy violence, mild suggestive themes and simulated gambling. Pros: Fantastic boss battles, efficient level grinding, interesting weapon/battle system, colorful graphics and good variety of controlled characters. Cons: Some really bad voice acting (no option for Japanese dialogue with English subtitles), common plot, pointless costume collection Overall Score: One thumb up, one thumb sideways; 81/100; B-; *** out of 5
Perhaps you’ve made a long road-trip with your friends; you’ve maybe gone to Florida for spring break or driven outside the state to see a concert. Whatever the reason, you’re piled in a car with people you generally like but there’s that one guy who’s so annoying that his very voice makes you want to crash headlong into a concrete divider just to shut him up.
Well, that guy is half the characters in Ignition Entertainment’s Arc Rise Fantasia. And that’s a shame, because they’re spoiling an otherwise memorable trip.
Road Trip!
This is a very long game, you see. Even if you play it as efficiently as possible, you’re going to put more than 30 hours into it (I got closer to 50). You will be spending plenty of time with these people, so why the US publisher decided to hire some of the worst actors this side of your high school’s production of Harvey is beyond me, other than that they wanted to save a few bucks or do someone a favor. This is a shame, because the poor acting immediately turns gamers off, and Arc Rise Fantasia is otherwise a quite entertaining, if somewhat pedestrian, JRPG.
Let’s address its second shortcoming first, because I think it’s getting overplayed. Many critics are faulting Arc Rise Fantasia for not breaking new ground in terms of gameplay and story. Reading such comments, I think back to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers. That game tried to change up both. It ended up a mess of genres that never really found its own identity and was over before you had any idea what type of game you were actually playing.
Arc Rise Fantasia, on the other hand, knows exactly what it is and who its target gamers are. It revels in its battle system, in leveling up, and in its melodramatic tale of heroism, self-discovery, betrayal, and (of course) love. Faulting an RPG for this is like faulting a sci-fi movie for having laser guns and robots.
Checking the Triptik
Briefly, your main character is L’Arc Bright Lagoon (I know, I know), a mercenary and legionnaire in the Meridian Empire who immediately happens upon Ryfia, a Diva who’s searching for the “Child of Eesa.” Three guesses as to who this is.
These two get caught up in what seems to be a battle of the gods but are they on the right side? Is anyone? These questions divide and unite characters throughout the game to the point where you’ll never be completely sure who’s fully on your side. People you’re trying to kill one minute may be saving your butt the next, as it seems everyone has his/her own objectives in this complex story line, and will use anyone to reach them.
The battle system is turn-based, meaning you get a certain degree of action points (APs) that you split between your active characters. Say you’ve got 15 APs (increases with experience). You can use 12, and each action—physical or magic attacks, defending, moving, or using a potion—subtracts a number of points. The more powerful the action, the more points it uses. If you don’t use them all, a certain number gets added to the next round so you can use all 15.
The strategy goes deeper, though, as you can also chain attacks, make use of arm forces and excel acts, etc. Even weapon management goes deeper than normal. You don’t just choose the proper weapon for a battle, you also set it up with arm forces to add powers and abilities to it. You need to use a weapon repeatedly to fully unlock its arm force capabilities, and you can then move its arms forces to other weapons. Fill up every square on the grid with an arm force, and you’ll unlock secret abilities.
And then there are the rogress. After you defeat a rogress in battle, you get its powers. You can unleash this power upon your opponent to devastating effect, but it uses a lot of APs and your rogress meter takes a long time to replenish.
The same goes for magic via the orbs. You can purchase orb upgrades to create more powerful attacks and unlock higher levels of magic, but you only get a certain number of points to do this with. Once they’re gone, you’re stuck with what you have unless you purchase a reset and start completely over.
This is all fairly complicated to grasp at first. The in-game instructions are fairly useless at explaining all of this but experience and a well-written manual will help you through it. You’ll need to master all of this to be effective against the rather glorious bosses you’ll face throughout. It was rare that I could beat them on my first try, but (mostly) conveniently placed saves allow you to get your butt kicked the first time, then return with the proper weapons and characters to put up a better fight. When it takes you 20+ minutes to beat a boss in a turn-based strategy game without ever feeling that it’s hopeless, that’s a well-balanced and satisfying experience.
Are We There Yet?
My point, I guess, is that there’s plenty here to keep you entertained throughout the duration of the adventure. A constantly shuffling cast of characters helps to keep things fresh and the ability to set the battles on auto-pilot makes level grinding less of a chore. There are side quests you can take, but they’re fairly pointless, as is an odd costume collection option that does little more than open the occasional dialogue about the costumes (although, they are quite funny).
And then there are Kopin, which seem to be here only to loosely tie the game into the Luminous Arc titles for the DS. Fans of those games, by the way, will be pleased by the cameos in the Battle Arena.
Arc Rise Fantasia is a fun ride. It doesn’t take you anywhere new, but it does take you to a place that’s worth revisiting. Again, you’ll wish you could’ve brought other people along for the ride, but if bad acting turns you away from good video games, you probably shouldn’t be playing overdubbed JRPGs to begin with. And as bad as it is, it’s not enough to prevent Arc Rise Fantasia from being the best JRPG currently available for the Wii.
Viacom Inc. purchased Blockbuster for $8.4 billion in 1994, the company’s current value is estimated to be $24 million. In July 2010, the New York Stock Exchange delisted Blockbuster’s stock which closed at 11 cents August 26, 2010. Times said Blockbuster informed Hollywood’s studio heads of the impending bankruptcy hoping it can keep their support during this difficult time. Those partnerships are key as Blockbuster reportedly seeks a “pre-planned” bankruptcy, meaning many of its creditors would work with them.
Creditors don’t benefit if the company goes completely out of business, as they then stand no chance of getting their money back. That would give Blockbuster a better chance of coming out the other side of these proceedings.It won’t be easy as Blockbuster’s debt load is more than $1 billion, according to The L.A. Times. The company is hoping the Chapter 11 will lighten that load and get it out of leases on at least 500 of its weaker-performing stores. It already closed 1,000 stores in the past year.
Blockbuster isn’t alone in its struggles. The nation’s second largest chain, Hollywood Video, went out of business earlier this summer (2010). That increases the likelihood that major movie studios will work with Blockbuster to keep the rental marketplace strong and competitive.
Part of Blockbuster’s strategy going forward will be adopting some of its competitors’ sales methods. It recently unveiled its mail order rental plan for movies and games and has put out 6,000 Redbox-style kiosks with the Blockbuster brand on them.
In the 1990s, Blockbuster Video was the definition of success. It was the biggest name in the video rental market and then owner Wayne Huizenga was a high roller who counted the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, pro baseball’s Florida Marlins and hockey’s Florida Panthers among his holdings.
Litttle did we known the era of Netflix was at hand, though. Thanks to mail video rental services such as Netflix, mail game rental led by GameFly and the ever growing trend of digital downloads, Blockbuster Video fell from the main option to an afterthought.
THQ is trying to get every use out of the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) license that it can.
THQ has started a new online portal for its rapidly growing stable of wrestling games. In addition to its annual Smackdown vs. Raw installment, THQ is working on WWE All-Stars, a more arcade-style wrestling game slated to release sometime in 2011. It contains not only current WWE “superstars” (Vince McMahon hates it when someone refers to them as “wrestlers”) but will include legendary grapplers who aren’t currently active. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, for example, was featured in the E3 2010 demo for WWE All Stars taking on modern day WWE star John Cena.
Ever since the days Acclaim was cranking out Wrestlemania games on the Nintendo Entertainment System, the WWE license has been one of the most lucrative in the business. While companies including ECW, WCW and now TNA have made their mark on the wrestling industry, WWE has been the biggest company in wrestling for decades. Wrestling’s popularity fluctuates but one thing doesn’t: WWE is the biggest brand in wrestling.
THQ’s message here is obvious. When fans think of WWE, the videogame publisher wants them to think of THQ as well.
The new WWE-centric site contains info about upcoming games and video interviews with wrestling superstars. Right now you can hear from both “Dashing” Cody Rhodes and his famous father, the “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. Both have been featured in recent games. Cody is one of WWE’s current young stars, while Dusty has appeared as an unlockable character in SvR and starred in Legends of Wrestlemania. That game featured a cast of Hall of Famers ranging from Dusty Rhodes to the Ultimate Warrior with an old school style presentation and simplified controls. It wasn’t a perfect game but I would love to see LoW included in THQ’s rotation every few years or so.
“The Miz” even has his own superstar blog just in case anyone needs reminding that he’s The Miz, and he’s awesome. There are forums to form alliances with, talk trash to or jaw about wrestling with other fans. THQ will no doubt keep updating the site with more SvR info up until the game’s October 26, 2010, release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable.
The Apple App Store iPad gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store iPad game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown of the great games and the free games right where you want ‘em, at the top and in your face. The list is available every Monday, right as you are about to start that long work week.
Not its best week but nor is it a bad week for iPad gaming. Hopefully, the September 1, 2010, event Apple is hosting will shed some light on the iPad’s version of iOS4 as I’m hearing more and more people are becoming turned off their pads in favor of their iOS4 equipped iPhones. What about you dear reader? Has the iPad lost it’s luster?
What’s Free
MetalWars HD Lite
“Metal Wars is Full 3D Shooting Game that attacks and destroys enemies while upgrading to various parts of bots and using variety of weapons. Not only can you destroy enemies on your own but can also be played alongside other players. You can create your own machine by assembling parts and weapons that you earn from each stage.”
8-IN-1 Casual & Puzzle Gamebox HD
“8 THE MOST POPULAR CASUAL & PUZZLE GAMES IN 1 APP!!!
MINESWEEPER: classic puzzle game. Features: zoom in and out, 3 default difficulty levels, option to set own difficulty level, autosave, OpenFeint leaderboards, iPod music
MAHJONG SOLITAIRE: matching game for one player. Features: 12 layouts, hint and undo option, autosave, OpenFeint leaderboards, iPod music
WORD SEARCH: classic word search puzzle game. Features: each puzzle is unique, 20000+ words, 3 levels of difficulty, hint option, autosave, OpenFeint leaderboards, iPod music
SAMEGAME: simple puzzle game, remove colored balls/bricks from the screen. Features: 3 default difficulty levels, option to set own difficulty level, ball and brick tiles, undo option, autosave, OpenFeint leaderboards, iPod music
SOLITAIRE: Classic game known as Klondike or Patience. Features: draw 1 card or 3 cards, standard and Vegas scoring, undo and hint option, auto finish, autosave, OpenFeint leaderboards, iPod music
BUBBLES: puzzle-shooter game, it combines the features of puzzle, shooter, strategy and action games. Features: 3 default difficulty levels, autosave, OpenFeint leaderboards, iPod music
SHISEN-SHO: puzzle-board game, match similar tiles in pairs. Features: hint and undo option, autosave, OpenFeint leaderboards, iPod music
BOUNCE: Arcade puzzle game known as Jezzball or kBounce. Features: dozens of levels, autosave, OpenFeint leaderboards, iPod music.”
Ace of Space HD free
“Fly in a beautifully created 3D space and face different enemies with different capabilities. Blow up your enemies to be left with collectables. Over 30 different levels with different difficulty modes. Advance in the game and face harder and more intelligent enemies. If you are good enough, you will face the main ship (big boss) at the final level. Good Luck!”
Free Solitaire HD
“Top 10 card game in 30+ countries! FREE Solitaire HD is Sniderware’s free iPad solitaire game. It features Klondike Deal 3 from Eric Snider’s Solitaire: Klondike.”
Solitaire Favorites HD Free
“Solitaire Favorites combines three of the most popular Solitaire games, Klondike, FreeCell and Spider into one package specifically designed to take advantage of the iPad features and larger screen. Each game has a variety of options including scoring, multiple undo, statistics and game modes. Full use of the touch screen to move your cards. Cards are large and easy to read and the iPad’s large screen allows full view of the playing table (no scrolling). Win a game and enjoy your surprise!”
Word Search HD FREE!
“FREE Word Search thanks to ALL-IN-ONE Casual and Puzzle GameBox”
Nano Tank Free
“Free version of the retro-awesome Nano Tank, featuring three levels of silky smooth vector-style goodness. Drive your tank around a maze, dodge enemy gliders, and destroy enemy bases. Intuitive multi-touch control scheme, simple and indisputably retro, but incredibly fun.”
Virtual Families Free for iPad
“Virtual Families is a casual family sim that runs in true real time, and now this acclaimed simulation game for iPhone and iPod touch is available in a free version for the iPad. Adopt a little person from the thousands of choices of little people who live inside your iPad. Encourage them to work in their chosen career to earn money for necessities and luxuries, help them choose a suitable mate, start and raise a family, let them kick back with a variety of leisure activities, and take care of and improve their home. Along the way, there will be many different random events to respond to, house malfunctions to repair, and mini-puzzles to solve, all of them adding an unexpected element to the daily routine. This is the same sensational game that became a smash Windows and Mac hit!”
Rollercoaster Extreme HD
“Brought to you by Barclaycard, makers of the top-rated Waterslide Extreme app. Barclaycard Rollercoaster Extreme HD sees you riding the rails of eight individual rollercoaster tracks in the suburbs of New York City. Race the clock and unlock new areas in Chinatown, Central Park, Upper West Side and Downtown New York. New features include Multiplayer functionality that uses Bluetooth to let you race your friends or challenge complete strangers. And ghost racing that pits you against our best Barclaycard Rollercoaster Extreme track times. If you can beat the best you’ll set new world records of your own.”
Just Deliver It! Lite
“Easy to Play! But hard to clear! In this sliding puzzle game, deliver parcels with a truck making your own ways using tiles and items within a limited time. Deliver parcels to the same colored houses as the truck’s colors. On the way, you can slide tiles to make roads for the truck. The truck goes backward at the end of the road. So use various tiles and items wisely to make ways in advance. Tick tock, tick tock, time goes by. Before time is up, deliver as many parcels as you can.”
Fly Control HD
“Fly Control is back on iPad with a new happy, sunny, shiny look, new species to play with, new maps, a multiplayer mode and lots of battle items to make your game more exciting. However, the basics of the game remain the same: feed pests while avoiding encounters between them. Crush bugs to turn them into temporary sources of food.”
What’s New
Action
Crazy Choppers HD: Price: $2.99
“Crazy Choppers HD is insanely fun 3D game. Fly your crazy copter by tilting your device. Shoot at enemy vehicles, tanks, guns, planes and choppers by tapping the touchscreen. Collect crates with money. Rescue POWs. Upgrade your helicopter. Game has 20 different levels. There are 5 different unique environments from the desert to the North Pole. Destroy your enemy! Enjoy the game!”
Adventure
Scene of the Crime: Price: $1.99
“Pastel Games “Scene of the Crime” is now available for the iPad. Dwell in the dark world of New York. Become a detective. Solve the murder case.”
Secret of the Lost Cavern HD: Price: $9.99
“Secret of the Lost Cavern is an adventure game that plunges the player into an inspiring journey that takes place during the Paleolithic period in prehistoric time, 15,000 years B.C. The gameplay and each puzzle are designed to take unique advantage of the touch capabilities of the iPad. 3D graphics and videos are also optimized for an unparalleled visual quality on iPad.”
Samantha Swift and the Fountains of Fate: Price: $9.99
“Join the search for the Fountain of Youth in this casual hidden-object adventure game. When Samantha’s quest to follow the trail of Cortez and the conquistadors is interrupted by the manipulative M’Alice, she embarks on a journey to reclaim the Emerald of Judgment. With the help of Dr. Butler and technology-whiz Adam, the archaeologist and adventurer soon discovers that she’s in possession of an even greater artifact—could this golden statuette lead her to the mythical Fountain of Youth? As Sam, you’ll circle the globe collecting waters of longevity, immortality and life that give the new-found artifact special powers. You’ll have to solve brain-bending puzzles, and take on six hidden-object adventure missions while outwitting M’Alice and the evil Markus Payne. From the swamps of the Florida Keys to the Great Wall of China, you’ll have to collect tools to help you uncover finds for the Museum of Secrets Lost and thwart Payne’s plans to capture the healing waters for himself!”
Arcade
PongVaders: Episode One: Price: $1.99
“The alien forces have arrived, but why are they dancing? What are they shooting at you? What is that streak of mustard doing on your iPad? Get your friend to finish that hot-dog and prepare to defend humanity from over 10 waves of invaders who appear surprisingly coordinated to the music. You are each armed with a reflective paddle to defend your planet. Rebound enemy shots back to destroy the aliens. Yet take care – if one planet is destroyed, both will fly out of orbit and into oblivion. Volley shots between your paddles for a super-charged attack. Collect a variety of powerups, but first talk to your friend: your boost could cause their bust. You can even tilt the iPad to shift the pull of gravity! After you’ve beaten the game, try to unravel the scoring system and compete to top the leaderboards. But try not to feel too bad for those cute prancing aliens during your ball-bouncing rampage.”
Karate Champ XL: Price: $1.99
“The original arcade fighter from Data East comes to the iPad complete with **HEAD TO HEAD MULTIPLAYER**. Karate Champ is the very first fighting game and spawned a thousand imitators. One of IGN’s Top10 Most Influential Games of all time, and to many the game that embodies what a fighter should be.”
ATC - Air Traffic Control: Price: $1.99
“Can you handle the stress? ATC is a fast paced air traffic control simulation game specifically designed from the ground up for the iPad. You must take command of the skies and guide arriving planes to a safe landing at their destination. Tap the plane to select it and then change the heading, altitude, and speed. Line the plane up with an active runway at its destination and clear it to land. Departing planes will request takeoff clearance, don’t leave them waiting too long before guiding them to their destination.”
Cave Run: Price: $1.99
“Cave Run is a endless runner similiar to the the awesome game Canabalt. Featuring extremely simple gameplay, an Indiana Jones-esque theme, and random levels / obstacles that you must overcome by jumping. How far can you run before falling off a cliff? Don’t forget to collect as many coins as you can along the way since they will help the final score! One run is all you will need to see how addictive this game is!”
Moto Mania HD: Price: $0.99
“Race your way through dozens of levels in this physics based ragdoll dirt bike game. Tilt your device and use the accelerometer to lean your rider to perform back flips, front flips and to stick that perfect landing. Choose your bike color and custom wheels. Race in a city and country location. In the country you will have to tackle huge ramps, loops, massive jumps, bridges, treacherous cliffs and much more. In the city levels you will have to jump over cars and take on huge ramps and jumps, run over stray dogs and tons more. Watch out for the hazards. Avoid the construction zones or you will disappear in the giant hole. Slow down when you see a slow sign or the cops will run you down (literally). Be careful or you will wipeout and your rider will fly through the air like a ragdoll, complete with screaming and bones crunching. The ipad version really takes advantage of the bigger ipad screen allowing you to see much more of whats going on around you.”
Airport Mania: First Flight HD: Price: $1.99
“Pack your bags for a trip through the skies in Airport Mania! Travel through 8 amusing airports while you land a variety of planes, purchase upgrades, and avoid delays. Stay on your toes as some planes carry precious cargo and will need to land in a hurry, while others might need a trip to the repair shop. But, with good planning, you’re sure to make it to the gate on time! With unique challenges, whimsical characters, and fun that will put a smile on your face, Airport Mania is one flight you can’t miss!”
Board
Sudoku 2 HD Pro: Price: $2.99
“Sudoku 2 HD Pro is Sudoku + Point System, Runs, and Online Leaderboards. Discover the next evolution of Sudoku with amazing graphics, animations, and ease of use. This is a Sudoku like one you have never experienced before.”
Mahjong Deluxe: Price: $0.99
“Mahjong Deluxe is a solitaire game based on the classic Chinese game where you are challenged to eliminate all the tiles from the board. It includes 8 lovely backgrounds and 20 different puzzle layouts along with relaxing background music. Relax and enjoy this beautiful game today! The game is played with a set of tiles based on Chinese characters and symbols and made for us in China. Find matching pairs of images at the left and right ends of the lines in the various puzzles to remove the tiles from the board.”
Card
NOTHING
Casino
NOTHING
Dice
NOTHING
Educational
NOTHING
Family
Toy Story 3: Operation Camouflage: Price: $1.99
“Code Red Soldier! Operation Camouflage: Execute! Let’s Move, Move, Move! Heads up recruit, it’s time for Recon Basic Training! Your mission is to find top secret items camouflaged throughout Andy’s Room, Bonnie’s Room and Sunnyside Daycare. Only the best of the best can find them all. Are you up for the task soldier? Operation Camouflage has 20 missions throughout four locations: Andy’s Room, Bonnie’s Room, Caterpillar Room and Butterfly Room!”
Music
NOTHING
Puzzle
Venice Mystery: Price: $2.99
“Venice Mystery the popular puzzle game for PC and Mac is now available on the iPad. Pair up beautiful tiles to clear over 70 levels and solve an ancient mystery. Gather special power-ups that will help you on your travel through the city of Venice, one of Italy’s most interesting cities. Can you find the thirteen lost paintings from the past that hide a well hidden secret and repair the old machine to save the historical city from its nemesis? Pair up colorful tiles to clear the many different boards to play. Get an extra bonus by destroying as many tiles as possible in one rush and collect combo lions. Use joker and other special power-ups, unlock certain areas on the play field by unlocking pyramid cover stones and find all hidden keys on the play field to finish your round.”
DrXLink: Price: $1.99
“This is the first game with battle mode in iPad! A strange old man, a fantastic travel, an interesting story…… After Dr.X drank the juice which instilled unknown drug, his body seemed to be exploding while flying out of a thousand miles away. When he woke up he found that he was lying on the Egyptian desert. He’ll pass through Egypt, France, the United States, China, and Australia by completing the game. You can play it alone,or play it with your friends together,even you can play it in a story mode! It is nice!”
Pandora’s Box: Price: $0.99
“Why solve a single puzzle when a 3-in-1 puzzle pack is waiting for you- just a click ahead? Pandora’s Box provides a complete pack of 3 different puzzles.”
iRobbo HD: Price: $3.99
“The iRobbo HD is a game where You, Robbo the robot, have to collect needed amount of bolts and leave the planet on a warpship. This of course is not as easy as it sounds. The game, after all, is a mixture of action and puzzle genres. The game contains 50 levels of increasing difficulty. Some levels require good reaction and fast decision making, some can not be complete without careful deliberation. The goal of the game is to reach Robbo’s home world - planet Zyyr. To get to Zyyr, You must complete all 50 levels. You have to find keys to open locked doors, get bolts, move though the laser beams at the right time, avoid dangerous enemies, position objects in the right place and move explosives to a useful place so that you can create a path when you detonate them.”
Racing
NOTHING
Role Playing
NOTHING
Simulation
Supermarket Management HD: Price: $4.99
“Help Kate climb her way to the top and become Supermarket Manager! Fresh out of college, a job has fallen into Kate`s lap and now she needs your help to succeed. Keep your customers happy as you manage a supermarket in this mile-a-minute Time Management game. Purchase upgrades and hire co-workers to make your store run more efficiently and increase profits. Open new shops and make it to the top of the corporate ladder!”
Sports
Fishing Kings HD: Price: $4.99
“Visit 5 beautiful 3D-rendered locations with HD graphics from around the world, including saltwater fishing in the Bahamas and exotic places like the Amazon River and the Waikato River in New Zealand, each with 3 different fishing spots. From bass and piranhas to golden dorados and marlins, catch a wide variety of fish in every location you visit. You can even learn more about each species thanks to in the in-game fishing diary. The underwater camera is a unique feature on the iPad that puts you in the heart of the action as you struggle to reel in the big one! You can also simply take a look at the dozens of fish swimming around you.”
Strategy
Last Front: Europe HD: Price: $1.99
“It’s here! iPad users can now immerse themselves in the European battles of World War II with the launch of Last Front: Europe HD from developer Plow Games. With a new interface and new campaigns with new and redesigned maps, Last Front: Europe HD is an intense strategy-based gaming experience that offers players three modes of game play, as well as the ability to customize accounts and create their own maps. Last Front: Europe HD offers players three modes of game play, in which users can play as the British, Soviets, Germans or Americans. Featuring 24 maps spanning six historic battles of the European theater, including Operation Barbarossa and Operation Husky, Last Front: Europe HD lets players immerse themselves in the conflicts that took place in Europe during World War II.”
European War for iPad: Price: $2.99
“European War (musket & artillery) is a new style strategy game for iPad. It takes you to battleground Europe during the eighteenth century and nineteenth century. In this game many tactics been used in order to defeat the other forces. You can select six empires: British, French, Ottoman, Russia, Germany and Austro-Hungary in this age. If your army conquest enemy’s territory your total tax revenue will be improved. You would get all of the empire’s Territories and improve yourself total tax revenue after your army conquered enemy’s Capital. Tax can be used to purchase cards (Draft Card, General Card, Marshal Card, Ship Card, Fortress Card, Cannon Fire Card.)”
Trivia
Wit or Nitwit 2 for iPad: Price: $0.99
“Wit or Nitwit 2.0 for iPad has been completely updated for faster game play and to take advantage of the iPad’s larger screen area. Over 600 questions are in the internal database with many more available when connected to the Internet. Internet based questions are updated daily. Features include: 3 game play modes, hints, trophies, rankings, time scoring, additional facts, quick game play, personal and worldwide statistics and submit your own questions. Over 30 different question categories. Question difficulty is dynamic based on your abilities.”
The Xbox 360 is the only gaming console that requires a fee to access all of its features. Some people choose to pay for Xbox Live by month, while the best option is to buy a yearly subscription for $50. The price for a subscription to Xbox Live hasn’t been changed for years, but Microsoft is ready to jack up the price. Starting November 1, 2010, Xbox Live subscriptions in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom will increase.
Here is a breakdown of current and future costs of Xbox Live Gold.
United States
3 months - $9.99 (was $7.99)
6 months - $24.99 (was $19.99)
12 months - $59.99 (was $49.99)
Canada
1 month - $9.99 CAD (was $8.99 CAD)
UK
1 month - 5.99 GBP (was 4.99 GBP)
Mexico
12 months - 599 pesos (was 499 pesos)
Microsoft is offering Xbox Live subscribers the chance to buy one more year of the service at a discounted price of $39.99. Microsoft hasn’t detailed if it will provide any additional features to warrant the price increase. This alone will no doubt send gamers into an uproar.
Retailers such as Amazon often provide yearly Xbox Live subscriptions for less. We’ll have to wait to see if they increase the price a well.
We gamers are luckier than you think. Compared to the horrible illnesses that beset characters in videogames, our lives are pretty good. We don’t have to deal with being converted into aliens or forced to become carriers for a devastating virus. That’s why we have compiled a list of the worst ailments that people in videogames have to put up with all the time. Before we get started I’d like to point out that the T-Virus and G-Virus are not on this list. These zombie creating viruses are constantly in the forefront of our minds.
Las Plagas
Las Plagas were introduced in Resident Evil 4. These parasites grow inside the body and take over the nervous system. Symptoms include blood oozing out of the eyes, loss of bodily control, convulsions and total loss of humanity. Las Plagas are known to explode out of their host’s mouth or head when faced with a threat. People infected with Las Plagas are often being controlled by a higher power. Las Plagas can be removed using the Plaga Removal Laser 412 or through specialized radiation treatment.
FoxDie
FoxDie is a staple in the Metal Gear Solid series. It is a virus that is programmed to kill a specific person based on their DNA. Imagine being injected with the FoxDie retrovirus and being forced to do the bidding of someone else. At any time, your superior can send you to an early grave. When FoxDie is activated, it causes a death that is similar to a heart attack. Think about this whenever scientists start injecting nanomachines into humans.
Genophage
The Genophage is a controversial topic in the Mass Effect lore. It’s a biological weapon created by the salarians designed to “stabilize” the krogan population. It’s actually a genetic mutation that reduces successful pregnancies in krogan females. Only 1 in every 1000 krogan pregnancies will result in a successful birth. This sets the krogan on the fast track to extinction unless a cure is produced.
Forced Evolutionary Virus
The Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV) is the key ingredient to creating super mutants in Fallout. It originally started off as a project to boost the immune system in humans to withstand biological attacks. When the US Army learned side-effects from the virus made creatures stronger and more intelligent, they procured the project with the intentions of turning it into a weapon for the army. After the Great War, the FEV was rediscovered and humans were experimented on to create a race of super mutants to overthrow humanity. Super mutants tend not be very smart and are feared throughout the land. The FEV is another example of what happens when a cure becomes a weapon.
Chimeran Conversion
The Chimera from the Resistance series are mysterious. Some think they were created in Russia while other evidence suggest they are actual aliens. What makes the Chimera so creepy is the way they reproduce. Chimera use small insects to invade human bodies. The human is then prepped for Chimeran conversion. They’ll be sent into battle to fight against humans who may have been their friends in the past. Sad stuff.
The Not-Jumping Virus
This disease is so incredibly rare it’s almost overlooked. This terrible virus prohibits its victims from jumping under any circumstances. Carriers of the not-jumping virus include Nathan “Rad” Spencer from Bionic Commando: Rearmed and Eddie Riggs from Brutal Legend. If there’s a rock in the way, Riggs and Spencer must find another way around it. This is why we should never take the little things for granted. These men may never teach their children how to jump rope, play basketball or play Kinect. There is good news though. Spencer has been cured just in time for Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2. Rigg’s fate remains unknown.
Brace yourself for what is probably the smallest Nintendo Downloads update ever. In all the time I’ve been writing up the weekly downloadable game updates for the Wii and DSi, I’ve never seen so few games released. There are only four in total, one WiiWare game and three DSiWare games. And one of those DSiWare games doesn’t even count, since it’s just another myNotebook app.
Actually, it’s better to look at this week’s update as containing two games and two apps. The two games are Tales of Elastic Boy - Mission 1 (WiiWare) and Cosmos X2 (DSiWare) and the two apps are the aforementioned myNotebook: Pearl (DSiWare) and Music On: Learning Piano (DSiWare). As you can see, there aren’t any highly anticipated releases or games that are going to blow you away this week.
There are no Gamertell’s Nintendo Download picks this week.
Tales of Elastic Boy - Mission 1 Price: 600 Nintendo Points / $6 Publisher: Lexis Numerique Genre: Action ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Comic Mischief Players: 1-2 Description: Help Elastic Boy save his planet by working alone, or with a friend, to make it through challenging levels filled with puzzles and opportunities to make Elastic Boy stretch and meet his potential.
Cosmos X2 Price: 500 Nintendo Points / $5 Publisher: Saturnine Games Genre: Shooter ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Mild Fantasy Violence Players: 1 Description: Fight against an alien invasion, using two weapons on your ship to get through six levels. You have to switch off though, as when your ship is damaged the active weapon’s durability decreases.
Music On: Learning Piano Price: 200 Nintendo Points / $2 Publisher: Abylight Genre: Music / Educational ESRB Rating: “Everyone” Players: 1 Description: Learn to play the piano by playing 15 classic songs on the touch screen.
myNotebook: Pearl Price: 500 Nintendo Points / $5 Publisher: Nnooo Players: 1 Description: It’s a 128 virtual notebook for your DS. It has five ink colors, a cover you can decorate and 24 kinds of paper you can use.
November is going to be an awesome month for DS owners, because that’s when Golden Sun returns! Nintendo’s just announced a definite release date for Golden Sun: Dark Dawn - November 29, 2010. Whew! I was starting to get worried there, since for a while they just kept saying it’d be out for the 2010 holiday season!
Isaac, Garet, Ivan, Mia, Felix, Jenna, Sheba and Piers supposedly saved Weyard in the GBA games Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age, but obviously peace wasn’t a permanent thing. 30 years have passed since then, and things are still a bit unsettled. Matthew, Karis and Terrell start their adventure looking for a friend who’s suddenly missing, but end up starting off on a quest to once again protect and save Weyard. They’ll have to solve puzzles using alchemy, collect Djinns to help them battle and save the day.
Amazon‘s already got a product page up for Golden Sun: Dark Dawn that says it’ll cost $39.99. So start saving up! Or, you could always put it on your holiday wish-list. It will be out just in time for Christmas 2010. While you’re waiting, I suggest stopping by your local used game store to hunt down copies of Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age. They’re great games, will help you understand better how the Golden Sun universe works and shouldn’t be too expensive.
News
This is one bit of information that almost slipped by us. There was a lot of Apple related news today, but only a small portion of it pertained to games. We’ve got just the thing to satisfy both the needs of Apple and comic book fans. A graphic novel called Fallout: New Vegas - All Roads has been released in the App Store for free.
Looks like they’re breaking out the big guns at this year’s Game Developers Conference Online (GDC Online) in Austin, Texas. Blizzard’s Battle.net project director Greg Canessa, Playdom VP of creative design Raph Koster, and Bigpoint founder/CEO Heiko Hubertz are scheduled to give keynote speeches. GDC Online will run from October 5-8, 2010.
Earlier today Epic Games debuted 
During Apple’s media event today, Epic Games debuted a new game that will debut this holiday season on iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad. Project Sword is a new game powered by the Unreal 3 engine. It appears to raise the bar to a remarkable level when it comes to gaming on mobile devices.
Telltale is a busy studio these days. 
Just a friendly reminder: In case you have not yet registered any one of your Nintendo games of game systems at 
Kinect has been the subject of strange controversies before. A few months ago, Kinect was being slammed because reports said it could recognize you if you’re sitting down. Microsoft was quick to refute that claim. That would have been a huge blow to the, everyone-can-play marketing direction Kinect has taken. Another key feature of Kinect is voice recognition. Kinect falls short in this department and Microsoft had admitted it.
Also, it’s a minor point but if you do not plan to keep this potential dust collector on your TV stand or displayed on a nice shelf near an outlet (because those are just so abundant), then plan to have plenty of room to store the Power Pyramid. The box is the basic size thanks to the wide base. At least you can wrap the power cord around it with relative ease.
There are times where a game is released where you really want to know what happened but you either can’t or don’t want to buy or play it. To help you out, Gamertell offers Spoiler Alert. We’ll play the games and tell you what happened so you don’t have to spend, or waste, your time on it. This week, we’re looking at Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, the DS RPG from Nintendo. Prepare to be spoiled.
Yesterday’s rumor about a 
That used game program must already be working for Best Buy, as it has announced it is expanding the operation. Earlier in August, 2010, Best Buy stated that almost 600 stores would allow customers to bring used video games to the store service desk to see if it could be traded in for a Best Buy gift card. Now the company says all 1,089 stores will accept used games by October, 2010.
It’s a very Wii-tastic day at 
Google has done it again. This time the company has purchased a mobile game developer by the name of SocialDeck. SocialDeck has produced games for the App Store such as Pet Hero MD and Shake and Spell. It also developed an application called SocialDeck Spark that connects players across multiple devices such as Blackberries, iPhone’s and none other than Facebook. 
Microsoft may be planning another surprise to go along with its 
Here you can see my PlayStation Network ID Card. It says I only have 593 Trophies spread out across 48 games. The network is not registering the Trophies I’ve recently earned from Shank. I bought my 60GB PS3 in the summer of 2007. Back then there wasn’t the slightest hint of Trophy support. The Xbox 360 was claiming third-party game sales partly due to Achievements. When Sony began including Trophies into games, the playing field became more level. That also means there are a lot of older games that I don’t have Trophies for. The first game I ever beat on PS3 was The Darkness. You would never know that by looking at my Trophy list. This, along with other games that don’t support retroactive Trophy support make for one misleading PSN ID.
Next up is my Xbox Live Gamer Card. I admit I’m a little ashamed of this one. When I see people with tens of thousands of gamer points, I can’t help but feel I’m doing something wrong. I bought the Xbox 360 during the fall of 2007. There have been periods where I would play my Xbox more than the PS3 and vice versa. I never really been crazy for Achievements either. I love it when I get them, but I never went out of my way to get 1000 points in a single game. One of my proudest Achievements is beating Mass Effect 2 on the Insanity difficulty and earning 47 of 54 Achievements. It’s one of the few games I’ve played through twice.
Every year some player has an issue with his player rating or some other aspect of his Madden NFL representation.
The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown of the great games and the free games right where you want ‘em, at the top and in your face. The list is available every Monday, right as you are about to start that long work week.
The long-expected Chapter 11 bankruptcy of 
The Apple App Store iPad gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store iPad game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown of the great games and the free games right where you want ‘em, at the top and in your face. The list is available every Monday, right as you are about to start that long work week.
November is going to be an awesome month for DS owners, because that’s when Golden Sun returns! Nintendo’s just announced a definite release date for Golden Sun: Dark Dawn - November 29, 2010. Whew! I was starting to get worried there, since for a while they just kept saying it’d be out for the 2010 holiday season!
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