Tag: E3 »

Over in Los Angeles last week, SEGA announced Sonic Jump Fever - a new competitive multiplayer take on Sonic Jump. Much like the previous incarnation the game will feature jumping gameplay, with the aim of the player being to progress as high as possible via vertical platforming. A bunch of Sonic characters will be available to play as, each with their own unique abilities to go alongside the power-ups scattered along the levels and countless rings to collect.

At the beginning of every round players will be shown the scores of their friends that they'll be trying to beat. Players won't be able to rest easy on their high scores however, as leaderboards will be reset twice a week.

Sonic Jump Fever will be free to download when it launches later this Summer.

When I first saw that teaser trailer for 11bit Studios' This War of Mine, I wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. Now that I've had a little hands-on time with the game (it was the PC version as the iOS build isn't showable yet, but I've been told it's pretty much 1-to-1) I have a much better idea of what to expect - and it wasn't this.

I don't mean that in a bad way, though. Far from it, in fact. From what I've seen and played, This War of Mine is a bit more like a micromanaging sim during the day - in which you'll be issuing commands for searching for supplies and crafting items to the unfortunate souls forced to hole-up in a dilapidated building - and a kind of 2D stealth game at night - in which you'll want to carefully sneak through (hopefully) abandoned buildings as your chosen survivor scavenges for supplies. It's very, very bleak. It's also very, very interesting. There's no shortage of tough calls to make when it comes to divvying up supplies, especially once you start to gather more and more survivors.

This War Of Mine will be out later this year. No price has been announced yet, but it definitely has the look and feel of a premium release.

Square Enix's booth was full of Final Fantasy type stuff this year, but it wasn't all about the MMO or the Disney crossover series. The RPG giant was also showing off a couple of mobile titles: the greatly-anticipated Final Fantasy Agito, and the "where the heck did this come from?"Final Fantasy VII G-Bike.

Final Fantasy Agito

Final Fantasy Agito is a pretty great-looking title that's already out in Japan, but now it's been confirmed for a US release as well.

In Final Fantasy Agito you'll be able to create your own custom character, take down various enemies for experience (naturally), craft better weapons, and team up with other Agito players to battle massive bosses. Sounds cool, no?

There's no official date set for a release, but Final Fantasy Agito will be coming to the US App Store for free and feature in-app purchases.

Final Fantasy VII G-Bike

Final Fantasy VII G-Bike was a total, although not unwelcome, surprise. Remember that mini-game from the Gold Saucer that involved riding around on Cloud's motorcycle while swiping at enemies? Well this is that but ratcheted up to a ridiculous degree.

G-Bike takes the core concept, heaps on a health dose of modern production values, dresses up the visuals significantly, and adds RPG elements like character customization. And it just looks sweet.

No release date has been announced yet, but it will be available as a free download with in-app purchases.

One of the more surprising iOS surprises to come out of E3 last week was the seemingly out of nowhere online action RPG Soul Guardians: Age of Midgard.

I've seen my fair share of action RPGs on the App Store before, but Soul Guardians displays a cool mix of colorful style and ridiculously over-the-top attack animations that really stand out. You'll be able to collect monster cards, which can then be used as upgradeable special attacks. Seriously, there's a ton of action to shove in your face, and you'll be able to share it all with your friends or random strangers through online co-op.

Soul Guardians: Age of Midgard should be coming to the App Store within the next couple of weeks for free.

Last week I had a chance to sit down and take a look at a couple of new titles fro Glu coming later this summer: Hercules: The Official Game and Dino Hunter: Deadly Shores. But are either of them worth keeping an eye out for?

I'm thinking yes.

Hercules: The Official Game

Hercules: The Official Game is based on the upcoming film starring Duane "The Rock" Johnson and follows the demigod's quest to complete his legendary Twelve Labors. It's a task that appears to boil down to a bunch of one-on-one dueling, similar to titles like Infinity Blade. The game's environments are meant to be reminiscent of the film (so beware spoilers I guess?), while the gameplay will feature lots of weapons and equipment to collect.

Hercules: The Official Game should be released in late July for free, and will be available shortly before the movie is officially released.

Dino Hunter: Deadly Shores

On the other end of the action spectrum we have Dino Hunter: Deadly Shores. To an extent it's a lot like Deer Hunter 2014 with dinosaurs, but that's absolutely a good thing. Deer Hunter was surprisingly great, and being able to enjoy the same style of gameplay in a world of ancient animals and goofy/futuristic weapons (think along the lines of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter) only looks like it'll make for an even more entertaining formula.

Dino Hunter: Deadly Shores will hopefully be hitting the App Store for free in late July.

Take note: Hitman Sniper is not Contract Killer with a glossy shine. I was actually quite surprised to find out it's more like a high score-chasing puzzle game that just so happens to involve bullets.

Each level (2 locations are planned for release, with more expected at a later date) has a primary target that you'll need to take out in order to complete - but simply offing your mark right away won't net you much. To really rack-up a high score and get your name somewhere respectable on the leaderboards you'll need to build up combos by offing guards that are wandering around the environment. But this is no gallery shooter; you'll be able to shoot out railings guards are leaning on, create distractions by shooting alarmed cars, and interact with the environment in all sorts of ridiculous ways.

There are also upgradeable weapons, of course, as well as a Rival system that pits you against the player immediately above you on the leaderboards so you'll have a reasonable score to try and top every time you play. Everyplay support is also included, which means you'll be able to save your most spectacular setups and combos to show off to all your friends.

Hitman Sniper will be coming out this Fall for free.

The E3 show floor was awash with games, as you'd expect, but there were also a fair number of iOS controllers on display. Three in particular stood out, including a couple of big names as well as a third entry that seemed to come out of nowhere. Curious to know more? Well then read on!

SteelSeries Stratus XL

Imagine a much larger console-style rendition of the Stratus with pressure-sensitive left and right bumpers, a decent heft, comfy fit, a Quick Pair button that makes pairing with an iOS device much easier, and rubber on the analog sticks for a better grip. That's the Stratus XL.

This new full-sized controller ships with (and uses) two AA batteries and holds a charge for up to 40 hours of start/stop play, and will auto sleep after two minutes of inactivity just in case you forget to shut it off. It also features the same compatibility list as the original Stratus.

The Stratus XL should be available for purchase in September or October of this year. No concrete price has been announced yet, but I've been told it will sell for less than the classic model ($79.99).

Razer Junglecat

Then there's the Junglecat from Razer.

What makes the Junglecat interesting is the way it's been designed to act as both an iPhone case and a controller. The control portion actually slides out from the side, turning it into something that's about the size of most handheld gaming devices. Once you're finished with it you just slide it back and go back to using your phone as usual. It was designed with to be a more convenient portable solution to iOS gaming controllers, and it definitely shows.

The Junglecat is available in white or black for $99.99.

PhoneJoy

The PhoneJoy was tucked away in a corner towards the back of the expo hall, but I'm glad I had the chance to check it out because it's actually pretty neat.

It's certainly similar to the MOGA Ace Power Gamepad in the way it expands and cradles an iPhone, but make no mistake: this is a totally different beast. When collapsed, the Phonejoy takes up very little room - maybe about the size of a wallet - and can easily fit into a pocket, yet it can expand far enough to house a tablet in portrait orientation. Oh, yeah, it can be used with tablets. It also connects to iOS devices via bluetooth.

There are three packages available for the Phonejoy: Basic for $69.90, which is just the controller and a one year warranty; Advanced for $79.90, which includes the controller and warranty, a soft pouch, and a set of specially-designed adapters that will allow you to plug in headphones (because it covers the iPhone's jack) and act as a backup power source; and the Pro Gamer for $89.90, which includes all of the above plus a tablet kickstand and travel case.

The announcement that Capcom's Monster Hunter Freedom Unite was made just over a week ago, but even so I couldn't help but be surprised to find it on display at their E3 booth. Even if it was tucked away in a quiet, forgotten corner.

I jumped in after someone left a quest partway through, just to see how it all works. And I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. It doesn't set the bar for touch controls or anything, but the interface works pretty darn well. Moving is done with a virtual stick on the left side of the screen, swiping the screen moves the camera while tapping resets it behind the character, and a series of virtual buttons and sliders on the right allow you to attack/block/dodge roll with relative ease. It took some getting used to as this control scheme is more in-line with the classic system from the original that relied on attacking with the right analog stick, but overall it worked quite well. making the button for harvesting, climbing, and so on contextual was also a good call.

The verdict is still out until we get the chance to review Monster Hunter Freedom Unite later this summer, but so far it's looking like a very respectable port of one of Japan's most popular series.

Rising Generals from Innogames is an empire-builder that's doing things a little different. Sure it's got base building and soldier training, raids and defensive scrambles, but the approach to some of these elements are downright refreshing.

First is the way that, unlike some of those games with clashing clans, you'll only lose a unit if it's actually destroyed. So if you spend hours building up an awesome army and use them in a battle, you won't necessarily have to agonize over whether or not you want to actually use everything. Second and most significant is the way in which the wait timers work.

Rather than forcing you to pick an option for resource production (for example) and wait minutes, hours, or days for it to complete, you pick what you want and it completes right away, then it goes on a cooldown. In other words if you want to build a new structure or something, you can build it immediately and then wait for your construction option to recharge before you build again. Time will tell what the iOS gamers think of such a method, but I personally think it's pretty fantastic.

You'll be able to decide for yourself when Rising Generals releases later this summer.

GameInsight's X-Mercs: Invasion and The Running Shadow are both coming along rather nicely. They're still a ways off, but it was nice to get some hands-on time with the two titles yesterday and I came away mostly impressed.

X-Mercs: Invasion

It's difficult not to draw comparisons between X-Mercs and a certain other strategy game that involves aliens, and after messing around with the game a bit it's actually more difficult to avoid it. The game wears its inspiration on its sleeve, there's no doubt about that. However it does show promise.

Players act as a neutral party in the middle of a war between opposing factions. They'll be taking on missions for both sides, as well as unlocking more missions and more regions to fight in as they level-up their profile. Multiple soldier classes are available (Sniper, Scout, and Heavy Trooper), tech trees can be researches, all sorts of weapons and armors can be manufactured, and alongside the 200+ missions it will also be possible (and encouraged) to raid other player's bases.

Of course a few things are different, aside from the color palette. The initial squad of three can be upgraded to four or five, for a price. Wounded soldiers heal in real-time, with cooldown timers and everything. However the most interesting twist is how it's possible to turn deceased soldiers into cyborgs - complete with a special skill tree and everything. If nothing else, it might lessen the pain of loss.

We'll be sure to have a full review of X-Mercs: Invasion once it's available later this summer.

The Running Shadow

The Running Shadow is a very different beast. Rather than being a strategy game, it's actually a runner (not endless) with some RPG elements and character customization.

What truly struck me about it was the use of special parkour tricks and stealth kills (yes, stealth kills in a runner). Occasionally the main character will encounter special "pads" on the ground that will trigger a timed swiping QTE, which will see him nimbly leap over obstacles and run along walls if performed correctly. And if he manages to get close enough to an enemy that doesn't see him coming, a similar mini-game will trigger. If nothing else, it's nice to see a runner doing something a little different.

We'll also have a full review of The Running Shadow when it releases this summer.

It feels like forever ago when I first had the chance to play MECH (it was called M3CH back then). Despite being pre-alpha, I was actually quite impressed. It's since been announced that the multiplayer mech combat/shooter has been picked up by Chillingo, and honestly I couldn't be happier. I really liked what I played over a year ago, and from what I can see it's only gotten better.

There's still some work to be done, of course, but the game has come a long way. The interface is a lot cleaner, there seems to be more map variety (and better looking maps), and you'll have a dozen different giant robots and weapons to choose from when you jump online to shame your friends in online combat with up to eight players.

MECH will be coming to the App Store later this summer.

The Dark Ages are come to Plants Vs. Zombies 2!

At E3 yesterday, EA and PopCap announced all-new content coming to the ever-popular tactical gardening game. Fan favorites like the Sun-shroom and Hypno-shroom are making a return, along with a new plant called the Sun Bean that makes any zombie that eats it toss out sun energy when struck. The Dark Ages update also includes a bunch of new medieval zombies like the Knight and a tricky Jester that actually chucks seeds back at your plants.

The Dark Ages update for Plants vs. Zombies 2 will be available later this summer.

World of Tanks Blitz has been a long time coming, but the wait is almost over. At E3 yesterday, Wargaming.net announced the iPad exclusive's official worldwide release date: June 26.

So in another two weeks, we'll all be able to blow each other up using a rather sizable collection of slow-moving death machines. No more waiting. And no more being jealous of Denmark!

Are you going to be in Los Angeles for E3 on June 10th? Do you have a game you're working on that you'd like to show off to a bunch of industry professionals in a fun environment? Interested in free food and booze? Then come meet us at The Big Indie Pitch!

On Tuesday, June 10th, from 5pm to 8pm, writerly folks from all over the mobile games industry (Pocket Gamer, 148Apps, Cult of Mac, etc) will be getting together to look at indie games, give feedback on indie games, and dole out some very excellent prizes to a select few indie games. It's all happening at Bottle Rock in LA and, thanks to our sponsors (ZQGame, GREE, Samsung US), tickets to the Big Indie Pitch are totally free. All you have to do is head over to PocketGamer.biz and register.

Just think about it; all that networking and all those eyes on your game, all for free. But if you want in you'll need to act fast. Registration for the Big Indie Pitch ends May 30th (tomorrow)!

NASCAR Red Line, from Eutechnyx is a light management and reaction game where you manage a racer through a series of races. Combining elements of a sports management game and reaction game like CSR Racing into a new type of racing game. NASCAR Red Line should be available this summer.

[vine blFAvwd5mvI]