ZombieSmash is getting its second major content expansion this Thursday. Multiplayer is coming to this zombie-flinging castle defense game, and we have early hands-on impressions of the game’s new update.

The multiplayer mode, played online through Game Center, pits two players on their own house defense points, trying to keep their house from being overrun. The two players don’t interact directly with each other, but both players will have to fight the same waves of zombies on their own screens. Powerups come up that allow players to send a large zombie that must be killed by special weapons directly to their opponent. Thus, the strategy becomes in using the special items (which aren’t necessarily the same for each player) carefully, so if any big zombies show up, they can be taken out. However, the regular zombies get stronger as the game goes on, so the longer a game goes, the more likely it will be that regular zombies will be the loser’s downfall, not necessarily the big zombies. The game randomly selects maps from both the original house and Camp Nowhere scenario released earlier this year, as well as having levels where the zombies all come from one side, as well as the notorious two-sided zombie assault levels.

The multiplayer is played via Game Center matchmaking, and doesn’t appear to suffer from any undue lag or other issues, so the play experience is smooth. Note that games can only be played between identical versions of the game, so the iPad version can’t play someone on the iPhone version of the game. This is a combination of both Game Center restrictions and because the mechanics of the two versions of the game are different to accommodate the differing screen sizes. The game supports optional voice chat between players; a headset is recommended if not required. The update will be available this Thursday, and will be free for both iPhone/iPod touch and iPad versions of the game.

Everyone loves trivia, right? I mean, who can resist the warm sense of satisfaction in knowing the correct answers to a subject they’re interested in? While movie fans have a whole range of fun ways of answering film trivia, music fans are still in need of that amazing hit. TriviaTunes sets out to do exactly that.

It’s essentially a game of name that tune. Music is streamed from the TriviaTunes servers quickly and efficiently, and players must simply guess what the track is. Options wise, there’s a bit more to it than that though.

For one thing, TriviaTunes offers a bunch of songs included in the free package. However for the inexpensive price of $1.99, players can pick up song packs ranging from TV Show theme tunes, 1980s, Movie soundtracks, Country, Rock or numerous other decades. Chugulu Games offers regular updates so there should be plenty of new music to check out for a small fee.

As well as that, there are numerous different modes to play. Besides playing simply alone, up to 4 players can join in. There’s a buzzer mode whereby the first one to buzz in with the correct answer wins. The MCQ mode offers multiple choice answers with incorrect answers gradually disappearing as time goes on. Plus, there’s the intimidating Expert mode which allows players to enter answers directly from the keyboard rather than guessing from a selection of answers.

TriviaTunes looks to be a pretty well planned out game, covering all the necessary bases to make for an entertaining trivia game. Hopefully it’ll be fun for all the family with genres stemming back as far as the 1970s although grandparents might wish for some older decades to be available.

TriviaTunes is out now and is compatible with all iOS devices. It’s a free app with a string of in-app purchases available.

Popular Universal game MultiPong is free at the moment and for a very good reason – developers Fingerlab has released the soundtrack for the game onto iTunes.

Priced at $2.76 for all four tracks, the MultiPong OST offers the best music from the game with each track specially edited and rearranged for soundtrack purposes.

For the uninitiated MultiPong is a great physics based reimagining of the Pong way of gaming. Players must compete to defeat each other while the solo mode offers up a competitive AI opponent.

The graphical style keeps to a wooden board style appearance with the iPad version allowing up to 4 player multiplayer at once and the iPhone offering up to 2 players. With 7 different game modes ranging from classic to baby, crazy, flash and death ball, as well as a plethora of different bonuses, it makes for a pretty thrilling game that’s well worth a look.

Get MultiPong now while it’s free.

Today is a day of major updates and new releases. Three of the major updates deal with multiplayer functionality and features. Need for Speed Hot Pursuit updated yesterday with its Autolog feature. According to the Need for Speed blog,

Through Autolog, you’ll be able to track your career progress, Personal Best times and how they compare against your friends, check out all your captured game photos, brag about your latest accomplishments, and jump directly into challenges recommended by Autolog’s comparison engine based on your friends’ gameplay.

Popular board game ported to iOS, Carcassonne, updated to allow online multiplayer through Game Center. Carcassonne also added more achievements, a score sharing option, and made overall improvements to the app itself.

The update I’m the most excited about is the massive Infinity Blade update. The Chair Entertainment Group has added the “Arena” to Infinity Blade, allowing multiplayer challenges with friends through Game Center. In addition, the game now has a survival mode, new items, and new achievements.

If these major updates aren’t enough to overwhelm those serious gamers out there, a slew of interesting games have been released.

Square Enix and Chaos Ring fans will jump for joy because a new Chaos Rings game has been released today, Chaos Rings Omega. The new game uses new characters and a new storyline that is said to span 10,000 years!

Casey’s Contrapations involve creating Rube Goldberg-ish machines so that Casey can get his toys back. Friends can share the puzzle solutions with each other over Game Center and can even create their own contraptions for their friends to solve! It’s also an Editor’s Choice recipient on 148Apps!

Bumpy Road is an interesting game where the player guides a moving car by modifying its surrounding environment (like the ground). The game looks great for kids but I’ll probably be caught playing it shortly!

TNA Wrestling iMPACT is a professional wrestling game, obviously. It includes wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, has a wrestler creation mode, career mode, and multiplayer through Game Center.

iQuarterback 2 is a target practice game football game. The player controls are quarterback trying to hit various moving targets in different environments (apparently some as weird as an air hockey table). Game Center provides high scores and achievements.

Candy Train is an old PopCap game finally ported to iOS. The player controls a train while attempting to fix hilarious messed up tracks to reach pieces of candy. While it looks like another great for kids, this seems like a fast-paced game and fun for adults as well.

Orions 2: The Deckmasters is a sequel to original fantasy card game Orions: Legend of wizards. The new game includes more cards and characters and seems to have a ton of visually stimulating animations for attacks.

And finally, Storm in a Teacup is a puzzle platformer where the character flies across various levels in a magical teacup. Despite the ridiculous premise and name, it looks like a cute and well-made game.

So pick a new game, update the older ones, and have great time playing with friends online today!

It is hard to argue that people are not looking for hardcore gaming experiences on their iOS devices.  In a world where Angry Birds and Cut the Rope sell millions of copies, it was nice to see a niche hardcore game succeed against all odds.  Sure, it didn’t hurt that ChAIR‘s release had the backing of development powerhouse Epic Games, but when Infinity Blade racked up an impressive $1.65 million dollars in sales over the span of a mere five days, skeptics were suddenly silenced.

Ever since then the studio has quietly been churning away on several additional content updates, but nothing that would satiate the yearning of multiplayer junkies that desired to face off head-to-head with human adversaries.  This is why yesterday’s announcement of a brand new update to everyone’s favorite medieval Mike Tyson Punch-Out clone is so exciting!  The full rundown of Thursday’s upcoming update are as follows:

• Enter the Arena:  Assuming the role of Titan or Knight, Infinity Blade fans can now challenge their friends to multiplayer matches online via Game Center!
• Survivor Mode: Players face off against a legion of Titans to see how far they can go!
• New Holiday Helms!  A new helm for every season, ready to be played and mastered!
• More than two dozen new magic rings, swords, shields, and helmets for players to collect and master.
• New Facebook integration allows fans to view their character on their profile and take a screen grab to share with friends.
• Much more! New Achievements, additional Leaderboards, and some new surprises!

Just when you thought Infinity Blade was getting a little old and tired, news like this comes along and kicks the game’s fanbase into overdrive.  All of those that have been crying out for Game Center multiplayer should be more than pleased, while the developers still haven’t forgotten the hardcore single player supporters that have been patiently grinding away since the last update.

So now the question becomes where can ChAIR go from here?  Let us know what you think is coming next in the comment section.

One Man Left, developers of Tilt to Live, sure have been coasting on that little game for a while now. Sure, it was cool that they added 3 new free modes, as well as the in-app purchase Viva la Turret mode and Viva la Coop mode post-release, even to the iPad version, which not only lets you enjoy playing the game, but also feel very rich at the same time as you and another iPad owner play with each other. And of course, they’re But as time wore on, the masses clamored for more. Have we all grown tired of seeing red? Are we ready to do something besides tilting? The time has come for something new, One Man Left!

And something new is indeed in the works, as One Man Left have revealed the beginnings of their newest project – so unknown that they have yet to reveal a title for it. The upcoming game is a turn-based strategy title, designed “for everyone.” What this apparently means is no extraordinarily long unskippable dialogue, a simple control scheme and interface (because who really likes overly complex strategy games?), and the ability to play as something other than space marines and aliens. Instead, you’ll get to play with such teams as plants, robots, and a cuddly team – although their cuddlyness can be debated, as they do apparently rip off robot heads, as you can see in the artwork.

As far as actual game details go, multiplayer is definitely in the works, with plans for both local and online multiplayer with matchmaking – I personally am hoping that this includes asynchronous multiplayer. The game is still very early on in development, as a prototype has just been completed for the game, but production on the game “is now in full swing” for release later this year, and we can expect plenty more in the way of details and updates on the game’s progress as time goes on from the folks at One Man Left; keep an eye on their blog for more exciting and entertaining updates from the fellas.

Archetype, the online multiplayer-focused first-person shooter from Villain, is getting a major content update with the now available 1.5 update. Not only have 12 new maps been added, but a new free for all mode is available as well, with 6 levels of its own to play. As well, the Capture the Flag mode and other maps that were previously only available through the “Frontier” DLC now are available to all players, in an attempt to get more people playing the mode. As well, the game’s menus have been redesigned to be more streamlined, and new anti-cheating measures have been implemented, because wanting to exact fictional violence on your opponents is far better than wanting to exact real violence because they’re cheating. Archetype HD is getting the exact same updates as well, so iPad shooter fans won’t be left out of the new content fun. The game updates are now available in the App Store.

We all knew there would eventually be an Angry Birds sequel, the only questions were how long would it take and what would it look like? While we don’t have any new information about the former we may have learned a bit about the latter, as Rovio CEO Peter Vesterbacka provided us a hint on the direction the franchise may be taking. Vesterbacka stated that “We are not going to do a [traditional] sequel. We want to surprise people. No one has told the story from the pigs point of view.” Interesting. Would an “Angry Pigs” game consist of the same physics-based puzzle system wherein players try to snatch the birds’ eggs from their nests, or might Rovio be considering a complete spin-off of the franchise with entirely new gameplay.

For those more interested in the traditional Angry Birds experience Vesterbacka has also confirmed that the team is working on a multiplayer version of the game. “Multiplayer Angry Birds will be like old school Worms games”, he said. “Multiplayer is a priority, but we have not determined the best way for our players to experience it yet.” In our mind an Angry Birds multiplayer would consist of a game where two players go back and forth trying to knock down an opponent’s fortress while protecting their own. In addition to attack birds maybe the game would include some defensive birds as well which could shield your castle from damage. Who knows what the final version will look like though, we’ll just have to have faith in Rovio’s vision and see what they can come up with.

At any rate, one of the biggest franchises on iOS is inevitably going to get even bigger and we’re quite excited. All this on top of the fact that Angry Birds will soon be invading consoles, leaving no one safe from their addictive, physics-based gameplay. Anybody else suddenly have birds on the brain?

[via Pocket-Lint]

The pending release of iOS 4.2 will include multiplayer support, and Firemint stands at the ready by announcing that Real Racing HD for the iPad will feature online multiplayer once the update goes live. The free feature will be handled via Game Center, allowing players to log in and vie for the checkered flag in races featuring up to 4 human competitors.

This is a nice addition, as the game already supports 6 player local races via Wi-Fi as well as head-to-head races over Bluetooth: now the multiplayer suite of options is fully fleshed-out. While we don’t yet know when iOS 4.2 is coming out (should be any day now), the Real Racing HD update should be available to launch right alongside it.

The inclusion of simultaneous online multiplayer in the latest iOS update shows just how seriously Apple is competing in the handheld gaming space these days. While people largely wrote off mobile gaming back when the iPhone originally launched, Apple’s devices have become a major player in the handheld space and have sent traditional gaming companies like Sony and Nintendo into a minor panic. After all, when you can play games on your phone that are just as good or better than what you find on a traditional handheld, and you end up paying far less per game, what’s the point in buying anything else?

As for the matter at hand, congrats to all those Real Racing HD owners out there who will soon be able to take on other human competitors in the hopes of being crowned king (or queen) of the raceway. We’d throw in a “Gentlemen, start your engines” joke at this point but it just feels forced, so instead we’ll simply say have fun with this new mode.

As I am sure you know all to well, today the folks over in Cupertino have a bit of an event planned.  It is suspected that they will be discussing new Apple gaming initiatives such as their recently announced GameCenter. While you would think that larger over-arching services like this would be good for the iOS platform, it may spell doom for smaller cross-game communication platforms like OpenFeint.  So how do such niche services hope to survive?  The keyword of the day is: Diversify.

Earlier this month the leadership over at OpenFeint let slip of plans to open their platform to Android users.  This was a complex system of inviting friends to play games via email and to put it quite frankly, seemed a bit cluedgey.  Well it looks like they were listening and went back to the drawing board a bit, as today they are ready to announce their newest development for cross-platform gaming: PlayTime.

Cross-Platform gaming is no big deal, right?  Wrong!  This is a huge step forward that looks to dodge the earlier stumbling blocks of exchanging emails and the like.  Here is what the platform is bringing to the table:

• It’s the first ever real-time multiplayer gaming system that functions between Android and iPhone.
• Unlike Apple’s Game Center which is planning to provide a real-time gaming solution and requires peer to peer connections, PlayTime will keep games in play even if one gamer drops  connection due to AT&T for example. The game continues with artificial intelligence computer opponent. This is the ideal scenario for mobile game play due to inconsistent network connectivity. Apple’s solution will disconnect the entire game if one player loses connection.
• The one-day install SDK makes this technology available to the masses i.e. indie and mid-level developers who otherwise couldn’t implement it.
• It enables voice chat for trash talking between Android and iPhone gamers.
• PlayTime is fully compatible with Apple’s Game Center

The first point that just jumps out at me is the odd irony that thought his is a product that will compete with GameCenter, it still will be fully compatible with it.  I am guessing that this will help to take the guess work out of matchmaking between other iOS devices.  But this product isn’t about just competing with Apple, it is about expanding the reach of the mobile gaming community and unifying them under one platform.

Initially PlayTime will launch in two tiers: Casual and Core.  The “Casual SDK” as it is being called, will allow you to either turn traditionally single player games into a multiplayer experience by adding in leaderboards, or compete in turn-based games such as what you would find in a game like Words With Friends.  This will also integrate into OpenFeint’s existing Achievement system, which will in turn handle the heavy lifting of integrating into Apple’s GameCenter.  When you consider that they are also adding in voice chat between devices and a unified matchmaking platform, this is beginning to look like a fairly intriguing package.  The scary part is that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

With the “Core SDK” developers will be getting the identical feature set of the casual tier, along with a more impressive multiplayer offering.  Partnering with networking engine developer Exit Games, PlayTime Core will allow for up to sixteen players to simultaneously engage in multiplayer action.  OpenFeint is trying to get their new service as close to par with Systems like Xbox LIVE by also roping in VoIP service to these matches as well.

“The most successful games have one thing in common: they bring people together. Whether a simple board game or a stunning 3D console game, games are always better when shared with family or friends. Traditionally, multiplayer technology has been accessible only to top tier developers. It’s just too complicated and time consuming. So we invented PlayTime, which literally takes one day to integrate into a casual game.” – Jason Citron, CEO of Aurora Feint.

If in fact PlayTime is something that can be integrated into an application in less than a day this is something that everyone should be excited about.  Just think of it this way: If you are a developer and you have the option to down the road expand your application’s install base to the Android, with only a day worth of work for the netcode, you would be insane NOT to.

The most appealing part of this entire package is that the SDK will be scalable to the needs of an individual developer.  Prices have not been announced yet, but I am guessing that they will scale accordingly as well, with the “Core” level being the more expensive of the two.  Either way, this looks like it could be an impressive development to multiplayer gaming on the iOS, as long as Apple doesn’t do something to elbow them off the platform all together.  But then that would be a monopoly, right?  And we all know how much corporations love anti-trust lawsuits.  Here’s looking at you Microsoft.

At the end of the day it comes right down to wondering if this is the wave of the future with respect to the portable gaming platforms.  I would argue that not only is it the future, but it is an inevitability.  The Android and iOS platforms are close enough in form that they could easily compete against one another.  I guess we will have to see what happens then PlayTime launches as part of OpenFeint 3.0 later this year.

If you are a developer that is interested in seeing what all the hype is all about, you can sign up to evaluate a beta version of PlayTime at the OpenFeint Developer Connection.

If you loved the madcap adventures of Crash and friends in Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D, you’ll be excited to hear that a sequel is now available that replaces the 3D in the title with a 2. Not only that, but a new adventure awaits players as well as the introduction of some much needed multiplayer action for up to four players, likely timed to coincide with Apple’s upcoming Game Center service.

The sequel to one of the first console-to-iPhone ports asks a pretty steep $9.99 and weighs in at 71.8MB but has so far been receiving positive press. Some reviewers have mentioned a few bugs, however, but these will hopefully be ironed out in the next update.

From what we’ve seen, CBNK2’s graphics look great and all the features of the original are retained with some great new options to boot. With any luck, we’ll be seeing iPad versions of Activision games coming to the App Store soon as well.

Another weekend, another great multiplayer game. This weekend, we’re designating the great strategy game Galcon as our weekend fun. Come join us.

Galcon is a game of conquest. Your goal is to fight against the other players and capture as many of the planets as possible. You do this by directing your ships (you have a specific number at each planet you control), from your planets to other players planets or uncontrolled planets. The planets that you control also produce new ships. So the more planets you control, the more ships you produce.

Once control of all of the planets has been achieved by a single player, that player wins. You can play many different variations as a single player game to get used to how the game is played. But when you are ready, hit the multiplayer version.

Besides the great strategic gameplay, Galcon also has a killer multiplayer version. The iPhone version, known as just Galcon, offers up to 4 player multiplayer games. You can play over the internet with others, or you can play locally over Wifi and Bluetooth. The online multiplayer is where it’s at. There’s never a time you can’t find a game to join.

The iPad version is an enhanced version of the game with many added features over the iPhone version. Not only are there more single player versions of the game to play, there are also 6 different multiplayer variations you can play. In addition, the multiplayer version on the iPad supports up to 12 players. And Galcon Fusion is the same as the desktop version. This means that you’ll be playing on your iPad against Windows and Mac users as well.

What other multiplayer games would you like to see us feature on Weekend Fun? Let us know in the comments.