EA Mobile and subsidiary publisher Chillingo were on hand at GDC to demo some of their upcoming mobile titles, including the sequel to one of the biggest iOS franchises, and a couple of interesting new independent titles.
EA Mobile showed off Flight Control Rocket, Firemint’s next entry in their popular path management series. The core gameplay is the same as the original Flight Control: draw lines from ships to their landing points. However, the game now takes place in space (and it boasts a 70′s-esque sci-fi theme to go along with it), and new elements like snake ships that are connected, ships that split in two, and ships that drop drones as they fly by. The game also has bots that can be leveled up, and used as game modifiers, to enable bonuses or to make the game slightly easier. The game is planned for iPhone and iPad, and will be available later this month.
Chillingo and React Entertainment showed off The Act, which is inspired by games like Dragon’s Lair where the graphics are all hand-drawn animation. The game has its origins in an arcade game that was canceled in 2007 that was recently revived for the iPhone. Unlike Dragon’s Lair, where the player had little control over what the protagonist did, in this one, players can swipe left to right in varying degrees to control what they do. For example, in the demo’s opening sequence, the player must try to woo a lovely woman, the object of the protagonist’s affection, at a Casablanca-esque club in a dream sequence. The player must swipe left and right to control the intensity of his actions, from pretending to ignore her, to eventually dancing for her, but not going too far as to jump on her, or to perform the always-classy pelvic thrust.
Next, there was another Chillingo-published title, Air Mail. This game has players flying around beautiful fantasy worlds, performing missions in their biplane. There is no direct combat, no guns being fired, as missions involving dropping off packages, putting out fires with a water bucket that must be refilled, and similar missions of that ilk. As well, there are high score modes that involve limited-time and endless missions, and a free exploration mode with secrets to discover. This game was developed in Unity, and there are plans to bring it to non-iOS platforms as well.
We had the chance to sit down with Adam Saltsman last week at GDC to ostensibly talk about The Hunger Games, the upcoming movie tie in game from Semi Secret Software`, the folks that brought us indie darling and commercial hit, Canabalt as well as Gravity Hook.
It didn’t quite work out that way.
Lucky for us, Adam may be the nicest crazy-smart person around. He seemed genuinely upset that he wasn’t able to talk The Hunger Games (maybe next week, he promised us), but also equally enthusiastic about the game he’s currently developing with Greg Wohlwend, the developer behind Solipskier, another critical darling of the iOS gaming scene.
Currently named Hundreds, the game app is a mathematical, physics, puzzle…er…thing. It’s beautifully designed with lots of red and white, with levels chosen by swiping a finger across a matrix of white dots.
Once inside the chosen level, the player must figure out how to grow the number circles to add up to 100, without touching each other, obstacles, or more vicious extra pieces. Each level is a mini-education in itself, as Saltsman spends an inordinate amount of time creating each level so that it can be figured out without a tutorial or instructions. This has got to be difficult, especially when we’re talking about the hundred levels or so included in the game.
We played a few levels with Adam looking over our shoulder, and I remain impressed with the advanced level design and brilliant unspoken, unwritten pedagogy built into each one. Saltsman showed us his notebook full of illustrations and written notes about the levels to be included in Hundreds–this is a man who is at the top of his design game, and it shows.
While we learned nothing about The Hunger Games app on our visit, we came away with a new appreciation for game design and this genuine, kind human being with a notebook full of awesome and a new baby. Thanks again, Adam, for a lovely chat.
Developers met with us last week at GDC to show us their latest projects, the games that currently are deep in the works for them. Some of these games are closer to release – one game actually had its update approved by Apple an hour after we talked about it. These are the games that are more off in the distance.
Drifter from Celsius Game Studios is well in the works at the moment. This will be a space trading game, an homage to games like Freelancer. Colin Walsh of the one man studio had an iPad 2 build on hand, showing off the massive procedurally-generated galaxy the game will boast (that will take a very long time at warp speed to travel across), ships docking in space stations, and some of the combat that’s in the works. The game uses the same 3D engine as Red Nova, but the game uses a lower camera angle, and the engine is obviously more expansive to cover this massive space trading epic. A new teaser trailer featuring music from Danny Baranowsky was recently released, and the game is expected sometime in the second half of this year.
Ezone’s Simon Edis showed off their new endless runner, Awesome Man. This game uses a Unity engine and graphic style similar to Diversion, but it features a faster pace and a flying superhero. Players try to fill up their flight meter by collecting gems, also collecting coins on their way. The arrogant eponymous hero can be hurt by flying into walls or dropping to the ground from great heights, but these also grant the player coins. The scale of the levels are massive: Awesome Man can fly up to great heights using jump pads, and can even fly through the windows of some of the floating office buildings in the sky. Awesome Man is still a couple months away, and next up on the list is adding and refining the game’s difficulty curve.
Finally, Gamerizon, developers of Chop Chop Ninja, showed off their upcoming game, Chop Chop Ninja World. This promises to combine two different styles of game: the typical side-scrolling gameplay the series is known for, and a social city-building element. The city-building will be in a side-scrolling interface as well, with players able to build their cities of different elemental types to create custom looks. Gamerizon have announced bold plans for connecting with friends, utilizing push notifications to help protect friends’ villages for rewards, pushing new content through background content downloads, and potential integration with an upcoming Chop Chop Ninja cartoon series on Cartoon Network. The game will be free to play, and is currently scheduled for a September worldwide release after an extended single-country release in order to refine the game based on public feedback, according to Kael Lazla of Gamerizon.
Toki Tori 2 is well underway, and Two Tribes’ Martin Reujvers and Collin Ginkel demoed the Mac version of the game at GDC’s Hollan Pavilion. The game ditches any kind of item usage as in the original, instead focusing on stomping and whistling actions that are used to interact with the environment. For example, by stomping, it can scare one creature into the mouth of a frog, who then produces a bubble that Toki Tori can ride in.
The team is striving to not lock anything artificially; everything in the game will be possible from the beginning. They are calling this a series of “knowledge-based unlocks” where the player is taught new things throughout the game, that they can then go back to use in earlier sections to find new collectibles and discover new paths through levels. They demonstrated this in several points throughout the demo, like in one area where players could discover a hidden area at the very beginning of the demo by using what they learned later on in it.
Toki Tori 2 will be released for iOS later this year, utilizing similar touch controls as the original iOS game. The PC/Mac versions are expected to launch in June, with iOS and possibly Android versions launching after that.
The latest version of Angry Birds will be displayed to public for the first time at the South by South West Interactive conference being held in Austin, Texas. Even before the first demo, details about the upcoming game have been released.
The newest Angry Birds game will be titled Angry Birds Space, and as the name implies, the game is space themed. The biggest space themed addition will be zero gravity levels that should add an interesting twist to the game play.
Rovio, the developers behind the popular franchise, has even partnered with NASA. Don Pettit, who is an astronaut aboard the international space station, will introduce the game. Pettit has already made a video talking about some of the physics in the game. NASA hopes that the game will encourage children to learn more about physics and inspire them to pursue careers in technology and science fields.
The app will be released on March 22 for the iPhone, iPad, Android platform, PC, and Mac. Other platforms will be receiving the app too, but at an undisclosed later time. At the South by South West Interactive conference the game will be demoed on a Samsung Galaxy Note, since Rovio has a partnership with Samsung. The launch of the app will occur in tandem with the launch a slew of Angry Birds Space themed merchandise.
Angry Birds Space will have 60 levels at launch, with more levels available later for free or as in-app purchases. The game will also include 6 new birds and super-powers. The app will be launched with an unprecedented amount of other Angry Birds themed merchandise, such as toys, books, and candy. Rovio is even working with National Geographic to publish an Angry Birds Space book. According to Rovio, it has licensed their characters for more than 20,00 products and has sold over 25 million Angry Birds toys.
Halfbrick’s mega-hit Jetpack Joyride is getting a major update in the coming weeks that will bring some big changes to the gameplay. As shown to us at GDC by Halbrick’s Phil Larsen, the game is adding Gadgets. These will be items that can be used in order to bring new skills to the game. For example, one of the initial items, the Air Barrys, can be used to jump off the ground higher, about halfway up. There’s the ability to ride Mr. Cuddles at the start of the game, bursting out of the wall at the beginning, with the new Free Ride powerup. The Ezy-Dodge missiles make for easier obstacles to dodge, as per their name. Powerups will be tiered, where multiple in a tier must be bought before the new tier is available, and two powerups are available to be activated at a time. The 1.3 update is scheduled to hit in April, and we have screens and a trailer for the game. As well, Halfbrick are working on animated shorts like the game’s launch trailer to comically flesh out the story of the lab and its origins.
While the world waits for RedLynx to make a mobile version of their most popular game on consoles, Trials HD, they had a new iOS title to show off: MotoHeroz. Based off of the popular WiiWare game, we got our hands on the game at Ubisoft’s San Francisco headquarters. Playing like a more involved 1000 Heroz, the goal is to get to the end of levels fraught with crazy loops, obstacles, and that familiar nemesis: bottomless pits. The game is laid out with a more traditional level system than 1000 Heroz’s daily races, where there are 6 worlds with levels to try and get three-star ratings in. There are also hidden treasure chests that involve creative driving to collect.
MotoHeroz boasts a more robust ghost system. There are ghosts for not just the next star rating to pursue, but also for the best ghost time for friends, though this was not working when we tested it out. RedLynx’s Pekka Kupiainen claims that the game will sync up the ghosts from both the iPhone and iPad versions of the game.MotoHeroz will release worldwide on the 15th, and will be available for iPhone and iPad.
Rune Raiders, a game recently announced by developer retro64, is a fantasy action strategy game with game mechanics reminiscent of a fast paced board game. With a focus on accessible controls and varied gameplay with a liberal sprinkling of RPG elements, this game will have lots of features to get excited about.
Mike Boeh, founder of retro64 call Rune Raiders “a fun, and really accessible game whose control scheme will be instantly familiar to iOS players so they can jump right in and watch the carnage unfold.” The game is laid out with hero and enemy tiles that the player directs and interacts with. The game will also include 12 individual heroes with unique weapons, armor, and abilities. The game consists of 15 levels, a random survival mode, 15 unique enemy types, three bosses, and different terrains.
Rune Raiders is set to launch on March 15th for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch at a $1.99 price point.
Indepndent developer David Hovanky has announced his new iOS game, Proton Boy. The game will let players take to the skies a jetpack-powered hero, whose goal is to help defend the Omega Alpha system from an armada of menacing aliens: the Vectaran. Players will use their accelerometer to fly through the skies, taking out their ships. There will also be levels with obstacles to fly around, and open-arena segments where players do that AND take down enemies. Players will earn money for destroying baddies and picking up star coins, which can be spent on upgrades like giant weaponized alien-destroying armor. Of course, considering that the player is controlling the very last line of defense, why the forces of humanity wouldn’t just give him the most powerful weapons right away isn’t exactly clear. But hey, times are tough and capitalism is still king, and no alien is ever going to take that away from us! Proton Boy is currently in development, with plans to release this winter.
Developers Mojo Bones, previously best known for dog based puzzle game Tongue Tied!, were kind enough to send us over a teaser trailer of their new game The Curse, set to be released soon.
The Curse is a story-driven puzzle game that Mojo Bones promise will be unlike any other. Players will have to solve the mystery of an ancient book in order to defeat the Master of Mischief himself: The Mannequin.
The game will offer 100 levels (or pages as the game prefers to call them), each with an unique puzzle, ranging from riddles to tests of logic and skill. A whole wealth of puzzle solving skills will be required in order to master the game and defeat the evil The Mannequin.
To continue the refreshing feeling, fans of jazz music (like myself) will be especially pleased to hear the swinging soundtrack inspired by 1930s jazz music.
We’ll be sure to keep up to date on all the latest The Curse information, as and when we get it.
With the Hunger Games movie coming this March, plenty of opportunities for licensing are sure to come up – and one has. Lionsgate has commissioned a Hunger Games iOS game to release alongside the movie this March. However, this is not just any licensed title: Adam Saltsman of Semi Secret, creator of Canabalt, has announced that he is working on The Hunger Games: Girl on Fire. The game is not just Canabalt with Katniss running across Capitol rooftops, it’s an original title that will be optimized for touchscreens, focus on “marksmanship and strategy,” while still having a running character.
Adam Saltsman has assembled an indie dream team of sorts to help make it. Doomlaser, primarily known for their Flash games, are currently helping to design and program the game from scratch. The art is being designed by Paul Veer, who did the graphics and animations for Super Crate Box, and this game appears to be using a pixel art style as well. The music is being done by indie composing superstar Danny Baranowsky, known for the soundtracks to Canabalt, Gravity Hook HD, Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac, and more. A trailer will be released soon, so more about this intriguing title will be sure to come out soon.
Word puzzles have captivated millions throughout history and one company that is pushing the genre in a new direction is Outplay Entertainment with its Word Trick puzzle that rewards players through newly created green “Trick Tiles.” Sure, players can still score big with double word, double letter, triple word and triple letter bonus tiles, but the new green tiles offer even bigger points. For instance, if the user matches four green tiles their score is multiplied by three and if they match five it’s multiplied by four.
After they are used the green tiles turn into yellow tiles so opponents can’t steal points. The game is available now on Facebook for free and is coming to iOS soon. Players are also allowed to compete with up to three others and in as many as 21 games at a time. The game also includes chat features, move histories and reminders via email or Facebook.
Abvio, an iPhone fitness app developer, demonstrated its version 7.0 update for Runmeter, Cyclemeter and Walkmeter last week in San Francisco at Macworld 2012. The new update overhauls the stopwatch display to be completely configurable to display data from more than 150 different data items, from total mileage to average heart rate for the previous split. Users will be able to customize and swipe through additional pages of information, including stats, graphs, maps, a music player, and more.
The update also adds a new history navigation feature that provides detailed reports. In addition, all workout information is saved directly to the device so users do not have to navigate to a sister website. The company also demonstrated new app support for the Wahoo Fitness Blue HR Heart Rate Strap (for iPhone 4S) in the Mobile Apps Showcase making it the first to adopt the technology.
Canadian-based Incubator Games recently announced that its upcoming iOS match three puzzle Feeding Time will be available sometime in March for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch devices. Introducing cute and furry little critters such as kitties, doggies and bunnies, the game’s trailer reveals that the game is not a traditional match three puzzle. Instead of getting rid of like objects and more filling in from the top, Feeding Time allows players to attack from all sides. The video also seems to point towards huge bonuses since pets can eat bones or carrots from either side.
And instead of matching blue blocks with blue blocks, players must utilize the game’s intuitive eating mechanic where players match various animals with their favorite snacks. For example, dogs can only eat bones and cats can only eat fish. Players will also be able to challenge their friends on the global leaderboards and if they’re lucky, no pet will go hungry again.
Known as Death Sword in the US, the 1987 Commodore 64 classic is coming to PC, Mac, iPhone and iPad as early as February 15, 2012. Also previously known as Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior, the new title will be Barbarian – The Death Sword and is developed by Microids and published by Anuman Interactive. Gameplay will be similar to the original one-on-one fighting style as well as will integrate cross-platform multiplayer. It’s not clear as to if Mac warriors will be able to compete against PC warriors or if it will only be Mac versus iOS. I’m sure there would be a lot of happy fighters if one could fight against PC, Mac, iOS or Android. And it’s very nice to see that it will still feature the ability to sever opponent’s heads and celebrate the ensuing shower of blood. Of course, this time it will be in updated 3D graphics. And yes, there are still scantily clad women involved, if that’s something anyone cares about.
Jackthread, the members-only men’s online shopping club, is launching an app developed by Fueled Mobile Design and Development on Tuesday to make it a bit easier for its members and the 20 percent of them who already come through their mobile devices to shop. The online and now mobile shopping club features top-tier street, skate, surf and contemporary men’s fashion brands as well as offer daily sales of up to 80 percent off. The Jackthread app will be available as a free download in the iTunes App Store as well as the Android Marketplace.
The site had yet to be optimized for mobile device users despite their 8 million page views per month, but with the new apps the company anticipates a drastic increase in the number of mobile shoppers. The users who download the app are given the option to sing up for daily reminders for exclusive announcements about curated sales as soon as they go live as well as special sales available only for mobile users. New users will also be given instant access to the daily deals and will not have to wait for an invitation.
The award-winning KooZac game, which has racked up 15 million plays online and picked up a Channel 4 “Best International Interactive Viral” award, is coming to iOS and Android according to a recent statement from Square Enix. A cross between Tetris and Sudoku, KooZac is a puzzle game that has players position falling blocks on top of each other to hit the target number and complete the set amount of combinations to finish each level.
The mobile version will include new ways to play, including Puzzle, which brings the player through 60 levels of destroying silver blocks and cleaning the board by completing the targets, Endless for no level and no stage parameters and the ability to compete against the world as well as Blitz for completing targets and using boosts to achieve even higher scores within one minute. The game’s creator Ben Cusack was hired by Square Enix to head up its expanding mobile division.
Niko, a new game slinging its way onto the App Store on January 19, unleashes the fury of a new unlikely superhero that looks like a Mogwai and has the stealth of a ninja. The gamer’s mission is to help Niko rescue his friends who have been captured in a mysterious Otherworld. To do so, the player must use sling shot action through the platform design to race through challenging game levels, dodge traps, flip over monsters, and collect achievements on his way to saving all his friends.
Developed by Sulake, the parent company of Habbo Hotel, one of the largest social game and online community for teenagers at 10 million monthly unique users, Niko is a freemium game that is free to download and play for the first six levels. The full game, with three versatile worlds and 28 total levels can be unlocked for $1.99. The app will be available on iPhone (3GS, 4 and 4S), iPad, iPad 2 and iPod touch.
Singaporean-based Zensorium is introducing a new device designed to let people track their health and wellness on their iOS device, with a new device called the Tinké.
The Tinké plugs directly into an iOS device, and users touch its sensor directly with their finger. By touching this, the device claims that it can measure heart rate, respiratory rate, and the oxygen level in a person’s blood, making it essentially a pulse oximeter for an iOS device. It measures these then rates the person on its “Vita Index”, which is based on the quality of the measured information. Tinké also can track this information over time, so people can see how their health is changing, and preferably for the better! People can share this information with friends and family, with the ability to comment on Vita Indices, to share tips and encouragement. As well, users can share their Vita Scores anonymously, with the ability to compare their scores with other people in their age group.
The Tinké will come in four colors: black, red, white and an aqua blue. Zensorium is currently taking reservations, with a target price of $99, although there is no planned release date for the hardware. As well, there is no indication if this will officially support the iPad. Will the information be cloud-based, or device-based, so users could potentially use the Tinké dongle on their other iOS devices, like iPod touch or iPad, and will the network be available through the web? Plus, will it work? Will all the measurements, especially oxygen measurement, really be accurate based on just using a dongle? Other pulse oximeters are intrusion free, but use a closed design; will the open ended design of Tinké negatively affect measurement? These are important questions to be answered as Tinké reaches its release date in the indefinite future.
Rebel and Bird AB and Springworks AB have announced an upcoming application that will try to help Spotify users — or at least those with Spotify Premium — discover new music while on the go. Their app, SpotON Radio, will allow users to log in to their Spotify accounts and have custom radio stations built for them based on their Spotify data. According to Rebel and Bird’s Peter Blom, “We’re all passionate music fans and love discovering new music which can often be a challenge. Even though you now have access to an endless library thanks to Spotify, it’s hard to seek out new songs and you often end up listening to the same playlists over and over again. We wanted to change that and that’s where the idea for SpotON Radio started.”
It will work similarly to Pandora, where users enter in a starting point like their favorite artist, and then the app will find similar tracks based on that. This is all based on Spotify’s API, using their library of music (accessible through the user’s premium subscription which offers the access to the tracks) to supply the tracks for the service. SpotON Radio launches on January 9th as a free app with no ads at all, though the developers tease that it may not stay that way always. The app will be available from this link, so Spotify Premium users will want to keep an eye out for this.
Kickstarter is increasingly being used to help finance the development of apps; the latest attempt at financing an app through the crowdsourced funding site is an interactive story app called The Last Sleeper. This app will feature the work of Halo 4 producer and designer Kendall Davis, Lord of the Rings sound designer (and Oscar winner) Ethan Van Der Wyn, composer Steve Jablonsky (known for Gears of War 3 and Transformers), among other veterans of the gaming industry working on this app. The story is described as a hybrid of science fiction, fantasy, and paranormal romance, featuring characters Adam and Fera, who develop their relationship as they try to restore their planet of Ephos. However, hurdles arise, and an evil entity named The Shadow must be dealt with along with their personal issues. User input will help to guide and direct the story along, which tries to integrate the sound and visual design along with the user interactions. The app is currently in the funding stage, and is planned for release in the summer of 2012. For more details and concept art, check out The Last Sleeper‘s Kickstarter page.
In a move that’s not entirely unexpected, another popular Facebook title is being brought over to iOS devices. Bulkypix, in collaboration with Kobojo, are adapting PyramidVille for Apple devices. Dubbed PyramidVille Adventure this time around.
This is looking to be more than a mere straight port, however. While the developers have indeed carried the Ancient Egyptian city-building and citizen-gathering mechanics over, they’ve gone and added some new stuff as well. Players will be able to find special items that allow them to build special structures such as the Great Sphinx, as well as take part in a new collection of mini-games that can actually reduce the amount of real-time waiting required for various actions. And, of course, the entire interface has been redesigned for iOS with touch controls and the like.
Those looking to become the next Ramses (or Cleopatra!) will still have to wait a bit before they can experience the 6 million player strong Facebook phenomena on the go. PyramidVille Adventure isn’t set to come out for another month or so, towards the tail end of January. It’ll be free-to-play, and universal, so once it does come out there won’t be much of a reason to avoid it. Aside from the obvious ones like “free time” and “loved ones” anyway.
Robot Entertainment, developers of titles like Age of Empires Online and Orcs Must Die!, are making their debut on iOS with Hero Academy. Despite their name, this game appears to be attempting to entertain humans as well as machines. This is a turn-based strategy game, pitting teams like the good Council versus the evil Dark Elves. They look dark and evil, so they must be evil! Combat is grid-based, where players send units to attack enemy units head on, and use abilities and spells to attack across multiple squares. The ultimate goal is to destroy the opponent’s crystal to win the game. Hero Academy will feature asynchronous online multiplayer, so players can take on their friends and frenemies whenever they darn well feel like. Robot Entertainment will be unveiling more teams, characters, and abilities, many of which will be available as in-app purchass, in the lead up to the game’s release, set for this winter.
Touted as a Holiday Season release, LostWinds promises innovative platform-adventuring fun that sets to embrace touch screen controls in a similar way in that the Wii version embraced motion controls.
Players wield the impressive elemental based powers of Enril the Wind Spirit, from subtle breezes to fearsome tornados. All this forms some thrilling puzzles and exploration while guiding young Toku whose mission is to release a curse placed upon the world.
LostWinds was a critical hit for the Wii and understandably so. It’s certainly one to watch for iOS owners in the near future.
Telltale Games has announced their latest series based on a well-known license: Law & Order: Legacies. This episodic series will feature characters from both the classic long-running original Law & Order TV series, as well as from the still-running Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The likenesses of Jerry Orbach, Benjamin Bratt, Sam Waterston, Mariska Hargitay, and other actors from both series will be featured in the upcoming episodes. Players will act in both investigator and prosecutor roles, making decisions along the way that will affect the outcomes of cases. The games will debut on iOS first, making their appearance as universal apps starting this month, with 2 ‘cases’ set to release. 5 more cases will be released in the next few months, along with PC and Mac versions of the games. Telltale Games has released a behind-the-scenes video discussing the storyline of the series and how they’re bringing the characters from across the franchise together.
Austin-based White Whale Games has announced their first game for iOS, God of Blades. While the game is in an early state at this point, the developers have launched a Kickstarter page to help fund continued development of the game. The page has already met its goal, though donations are still accepted, with rewards such as original artwork for those who donate funds. The game itself will be a 2.5D action-platformer, featuring weapon-based combat.
The studio claims to be drawing inspiration from 70′s fantasy themes that inspired the sword-and-sorcery (not Sworcery) stories and artwork that also had an influence on the burgeoning rock and metal of that era (which still has an influence on bands like The Sword to this day). The concept artwork shows off this influence rather clearly, as if they were plucked straight out of the 1970′s, either by way of time travel or wizard’s spell to bring them to the present. Lost artwork and books are also part of the story, as fictional fantasy novels will play a part in the game’s world-building and internal fiction. There are also some ambiguous details on the use of geolocation to tie users in to the experience, although this should become more clear as the game enters further into development.
White Whale Games is comprised of 3 primary employees, working with outside programmers and musicians to help work on the game. Of particular note is the studio’s Creative Director, Jason Rosenstock. He most recently worked on Star Wars: The Old Republic for BioWare, and some of his work designing planets in that game will be seen when the game releases. God of Blades is still a long way out, as work continues on the gameplay and artwork to make it look as close to their vision as possible. We’ll have more on this title as it nears its completion, as White Whale offers up a general release date of pre-Summer 2012. Want to check out a very, very early taste of what the game has to offer? Try this “First stage preview build” of an “interactive environment” in the Unity Web Player.
Speeding onto an iOS device this Winter is Need For Speed: The Run, the iOS version of the popular console racing game.
As expected, players will find themselves in a race from San Francisco to New York across five distinctive parts of the US. There’ll be speed races through the desert alongside careful drifting around tight corners. Numerous real-world stock cars will be on offer with upgrades to speed, acceleration and handling all possible.
Healthy competition between friends will be encouraged with Autolog support keeping track of how each player performs. As a fan of the system on consoles, it’s an immensely addictive service. Who can resist challenging their friends after all? There will also be Origin support, a common trend with recent EA titles.
Take a look at the screenshots and gameplay trailer below. Need For Speed: The Run is looking pretty luscious indeed. It’s out sometime this Winter.
Technology is improving in in leaps and bounds. It’s an immensely exciting time to be alive. Just a glance at the growing prevelance of Augmented Reality games aptly demonstrates that. How about a game that relies on augmented sound though? Now, that’s a bit different.
Dimensions looks extremely interesting in that respect. It uses augmented sound to turn the world into a game. Designed to be played in parallel with normal life, the game manipulates and enhances sound nearby changing the things we hear as a matter of course over the day. Players enter and exit different dimensions within the game as they go about their life. Missions can then be completed by collecting artifacts and fighting enemies.
It’s a pretty fascinating concept and with music from Inception composer Hans Zimmer, Dimensions looks all the more compelling.
Dimensions is set for release sometime this month. We’ll be sure to keep an eye on its development. For now, check out the video below that explains a bit more.
On a regular basis, I’m wowed by the impressive graphics we’re seeing on the latest iOS games. None more so than in the case of Battlefield 3 Aftershock from EA. It’s only in an early alpha state but already it’s looking pretty amazing for an iPhone or iPad game.
Scant details have been released so far but there will be a single player mode as well as multiplayer fun to be had. EA promises ragdoll physics and a combat engine built around facing up against hordes of enemies in wave formations, hopefully providing an experience ideal for the brief game sessions many get with their iOS devices.
Intriguingly there will also be connectivity with Battlefield 3 on other platforms with achievements and weapon unlocks suggested to be the result of this. As a fan of the BattleLog available for PC and console gamers, I’ve got my fingers crossed that the iOS version has some kind of connection to this.
No release date has been announced other than sometime this Winter. For now, take in the delights of these screenshots that look darn impressive for any iOS device.
Fans of popular EA franchise The Sims have never failed to find delights on the App Store. With four different varieties encompassing the original, Ambitions, World Adventures and Medieval, there’s plenty of fun to be had. However, there’s nothing replicating Facebook game The Sims Social. That is until now.
Coming to the App Store next month will be The Sims Freeplay, an entirely new game that bears a lot of similarities to other freemium games. It’ll be the kind of title that players can check in on throughout the day with The Sims world running constantly in the background. Players will get the chance to create up to 16 customized Sims, design their dream homes, care for pets, grow gardens and even find some time for baking too. A goals system which will presumably tie in with the career potentials of the Sims means that there’ll always be something new to do. There will also be the near obligatory in-app purchases we’ve all come to expect from freemium titles.
The Sims Freeplay is set for release next month. For now, check out the screenshots below for a taste of what’s to come.
EA Mobile showed off Flight Control Rocket, Firemint’s next entry in their popular path management series. The core gameplay is the same as the original Flight Control: draw lines from ships to their landing points. However, the game now takes place in space (and it boasts a 70′s-esque sci-fi theme to go along with it), and new elements like snake ships that are connected, ships that split in two, and ships that drop drones as they fly by. The game also has bots that can be leveled up, and used as game modifiers, to enable bonuses or to make the game slightly easier. The game is planned for iPhone and iPad, and will be available later this month.
Chillingo and React Entertainment showed off The Act, which is inspired by games like Dragon’s Lair where the graphics are all hand-drawn animation. The game has its origins in an arcade game that was canceled in 2007 that was recently revived for the iPhone. Unlike Dragon’s Lair, where the player had little control over what the protagonist did, in this one, players can swipe left to right in varying degrees to control what they do. For example, in the demo’s opening sequence, the player must try to woo a lovely woman, the object of the protagonist’s affection, at a Casablanca-esque club in a dream sequence. The player must swipe left and right to control the intensity of his actions, from pretending to ignore her, to eventually dancing for her, but not going too far as to jump on her, or to perform the always-classy pelvic thrust.
Next, there was another Chillingo-published title, Air Mail. This game has players flying around beautiful fantasy worlds, performing missions in their biplane. There is no direct combat, no guns being fired, as missions involving dropping off packages, putting out fires with a water bucket that must be refilled, and similar missions of that ilk. As well, there are high score modes that involve limited-time and endless missions, and a free exploration mode with secrets to discover. This game was developed in Unity, and there are plans to bring it to non-iOS platforms as well.
We had the chance to sit down with Adam Saltsman last week at GDC to ostensibly talk about The Hunger Games, the upcoming movie tie in game from 
Once inside the chosen level, the player must figure out how to grow the number circles to add up to 100, without touching each other, obstacles, or more vicious extra pieces. Each level is a mini-education in itself, as Saltsman spends an inordinate amount of time creating each level so that it can be figured out without a tutorial or instructions. This has got to be difficult, especially when we’re talking about the hundred levels or so included in the game.
Rune Raiders, a game recently announced by developer retro64, is a fantasy action strategy game with game mechanics reminiscent of a fast paced board game. With a focus on accessible controls and varied gameplay with a liberal sprinkling of RPG elements, this game will have lots of features to get excited about.
Developers Mojo Bones, previously best known for dog based puzzle game 
Word puzzles have captivated millions throughout history and one company that is pushing the genre in a new direction is Outplay Entertainment with its Word Trick puzzle that rewards players through newly created green “Trick Tiles.” Sure, players can still score big with double word, double letter, triple word and triple letter bonus tiles, but the new green tiles offer even bigger points. For instance, if the user matches four green tiles their score is multiplied by three and if they match five it’s multiplied by four.
Canadian-based Incubator Games recently announced that its upcoming iOS match three puzzle Feeding Time will be available sometime in March for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch devices. Introducing cute and furry little critters such as kitties, doggies and bunnies, the game’s trailer reveals that the game is not a traditional match three puzzle. Instead of getting rid of like objects and more filling in from the top, Feeding Time allows players to attack from all sides. The video also seems to point towards huge bonuses since pets can eat bones or carrots from either side.
Known as Death Sword in the US, the 1987 Commodore 64 classic is coming to PC, Mac, iPhone and iPad as early as February 15, 2012. Also previously known as Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior, the new title will be Barbarian – The Death Sword and is developed by Microids and published by Anuman Interactive. Gameplay will be similar to the original one-on-one fighting style as well as will integrate cross-platform multiplayer. It’s not clear as to if Mac warriors will be able to compete against PC warriors or if it will only be Mac versus iOS. I’m sure there would be a lot of happy fighters if one could fight against PC, Mac, iOS or Android. And it’s very nice to see that it will still feature the ability to sever opponent’s heads and celebrate the ensuing shower of blood. Of course, this time it will be in updated 3D graphics. And yes, there are still scantily clad women involved, if that’s something anyone cares about.
Jackthread, the members-only men’s online shopping club, is launching an app developed by 
The award-winning 
Singaporean-based Zensorium is introducing a new device designed to let people track their health and wellness on their iOS device, 
Rebel and Bird AB and Springworks AB have announced an upcoming application that will try to help Spotify users — or at least those with Spotify Premium — discover new music while on the go. Their app, SpotON Radio, will allow users to log in to their Spotify accounts and have custom radio stations built for them based on their Spotify data. According to Rebel and Bird’s Peter Blom, “We’re all passionate music fans and love discovering new music which can often be a challenge. Even though you now have access to an endless library thanks to Spotify, it’s hard to seek out new songs and you often end up listening to the same playlists over and over again. We wanted to change that and that’s where the idea for SpotON Radio started.”
Kickstarter is increasingly being used to help finance the development of apps; the latest attempt at financing an app through the crowdsourced funding site is an interactive story app called The Last Sleeper. This app will feature the work of Halo 4 producer and designer Kendall Davis, Lord of the Rings sound designer (and Oscar winner) Ethan Van Der Wyn, composer Steve Jablonsky (known for Gears of War 3 and Transformers), among other veterans of the gaming industry working on this app. The story is described as a hybrid of science fiction, fantasy, and paranormal romance, featuring characters Adam and Fera, who develop their relationship as they try to restore their planet of Ephos. However, hurdles arise, and an evil entity named The Shadow must be dealt with along with their personal issues. User input will help to guide and direct the story along, which tries to integrate the sound and visual design along with the user interactions. The app is currently in the funding stage, and is planned for release in the summer of 2012. For more details and concept art, 
In a move that’s not entirely unexpected, another popular Facebook title is being brought over to iOS devices. 
Back in July, we reported that 
Telltale Games has announced their latest series based on a well-known license: Law & Order: Legacies. This episodic series will feature characters from both the classic long-running original Law & Order TV series, as well as from the still-running Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The likenesses of Jerry Orbach, Benjamin Bratt, Sam Waterston, Mariska Hargitay, and other actors from both series will be featured in the upcoming episodes. Players will act in both investigator and prosecutor roles, making decisions along the way that will affect the outcomes of cases. The games will debut on iOS first, making their appearance as universal apps starting this month, with 2 ‘cases’ set to release. 5 more cases will be released in the next few months, along with PC and Mac versions of the games. Telltale Games has released a behind-the-scenes video discussing the storyline of the series and how they’re bringing the characters from across the franchise together.
The studio claims to be drawing inspiration from 70′s fantasy themes that inspired the sword-and-sorcery (not Sworcery) stories and artwork that also had an influence on the burgeoning rock and metal of that era (which still has an influence on bands like The Sword to this day). The concept artwork shows off this influence rather clearly, as if they were plucked straight out of the 1970′s, either by way of time travel or wizard’s spell to bring them to the present. Lost artwork and books are also part of the story, as fictional fantasy novels will play a part in the game’s world-building and internal fiction. There are also some ambiguous details on the use of geolocation to tie users in to the experience, although this should become more clear as the game enters further into development.
Speeding onto an iOS device this Winter is Need For Speed: The Run, the iOS version of the popular console racing game. 
On a regular basis, I’m wowed by the impressive graphics we’re seeing on the latest iOS games. None more so than in the case of Battlefield 3 Aftershock from EA. It’s only in an early alpha state but already it’s looking pretty amazing for an iPhone or iPad game.
Fans of popular EA franchise The Sims have never failed to find delights on the App Store. With four different varieties encompassing the 
