Tag: Atari »

Centipede: Origins now has friend challenges, saved progress via iCloud, iPhone 5 support, and iOS 6 and Facebook integration. Oh, and it's now free. Woot!

- Now the levels' leaderboards are focused around your friends. Invite them via Facebook or GameCenter to see how you rank! Is your iOS 6 device linked in to Facebook? See all your contacts and Facebook friends right in the game.
- Win more coins by challenging another player! An awesome coin reward goes to the winner!
- Earn more coins by connecting with your Facebook profile.
- Now Centipede: Origins is integrated with iCloud. You are now able to save earned/bought currency and play on your iPad, and then load it from the iPhone or vice versa!
- For those with iPhone 5, we improved the resolution so you can slay some bugs in vivid detail!

Red Ronin, a studio composed of former Atari and King.com executives, today released their first game, Amazing Flying Machines, exclusively on iOS. Check out their video blog after you download their free blimp-piloting title, available now for iPad 2 and up.

Amazing Flying Machines is a 3D puzzle-flying game that uses the Unity engine. The player pilots a blimp through a variety of thrilling and hazardous environments; control is maintained by quickly adding and subtracting weights, balloons, and rockets from the blimp's frame. In addition, each Pilot has their own set of special abilities, which further expands the types of aeronautical stunts players can pull off.

Veteran game company, Atari, teams up with new giant on the block, Zynga, to bring us all Super Bunny Breakout, a variation on the classic Breakout franchise with that special Zynga sauce.

In Super Bunny Breakout, players control Rodney - a daredevil rabbit with an appetite for revenge – launching him from a laboratory platform as he bounces around to destroy different structures and cages. Players can either collect or purchase coins via in-app purchase to feed critters and restore energy. Coins can also be used to purchase additional power-ups, food and cosmetic goods.

We just heard from Atari that the in-app purchase for 100 classic Atari games will be free this weekend from 8/31-9/1. Grab it while it's free, it's a great collection of classics.

Touch Arcade has the first word on a release from Activision with 45 classic Atari 2600 games. It should further help me fill out my video game memory lane on iOS. Including classics like Pitfall, River Raid, Kaboom, Demon Attack, and Barnstorming. Wow. It will cost you $9.99 to unlock all 45 games, but Kaboom is free. Way cheaper than a retro Atari 2600 and 45 cartridges would cost you!

FEATURES:
• Get the action classic KABOOM! for FREE
• Access to 45 classic Activision and Imagic games including PITFALL, RIVER RAID, THE ACTIVISION® DECATHLON, BARNSTORMING™, STAMPEDE™, PITFALL II, ENDURO™, DEMON ATTACK, and many more!
• Choose from multiple control schemes to play as you like to play
• Enjoy full Game Center integration including leaderboards and achievements!
• Earn digital versions of the renowned Activision game patches offered in the 1980's
• Features original cartridge and box art, original game manuals, tips and strategies from the original game designers, and more
• In-app game purchases unlock across devices associated with the player's account
• Taunt your friends by showing off your high scores on Facebook
• Buy once, play any time!

It’s a tiny bit depressing that many of us here are older than Atari. Still as OG’s (original geeks) most of us equate the name with our and their glory years of gaming. Recently the former giant has been reinventing itself, having previously released their VCS catalog and a few arcade hits in a Greatest Hits package for iOS, and with more recent forays into the App Store like Circus Atari and Centipedes Origins. They are also winding up a contest for indie developers who took their original, maybe the original video game, PONG and remade it for iOS. The finalists have been announced and can be found here. The company turns 40 today and much of the recent flurry of activity is to celebrate the occasion.

The company was founded back in 1972 with PONG making their presense known to a new generation. Asteroids, Breakout, Centipede, Dig Dug, Paper Boy and dozens of other arcade games became quarter-gobblers through the 70’s and 80’s, while the Atari 2600 defined the home console market.

The company is using the big day to announce a new partnership with Zynga to make mobile titles, freemium games we presume. That’s a dubious partnership, but one that should be interesting to follow. They are also holding a big giveaway, “40 Giveaways in 4 Days” which is open to US residents only, with details on Atari’s Facebook page.

We wish Atari many happy returns of the day, and look forward to a new generation getting to know them on iOS. Check out the nostalgic trailer and peek in the gallery to see a cool infographic on Atari's history.

Since its launch at the start of the year, the Atari Pong Indie Developer Challenge has courted some controversy. Mostly down to the company's ownership of entered game ideas even for non-winners. That's something that's not going to be a huge issue for the following seven entrants, however. They've made it to the final!

Each of these developers is guaranteed a three-year revenue-sharing publishing agreement along with a cash price, which will be awarded based upon their final ranking. The first place winner is set to gain $50,000 for their contribution.

Here's the line up of games competing:

RetroPong from PegPeg
Up to four players can compete in this Pong game with each player starting with a number of lives. Single player brings with it a history mode.

Pong Tournament 2012 from Delusions
Offering crisp graphics, retro themed arenas for its round robin style tournament mode and multi touch functionality, this game should bring Pong to the 21st century.

Pong Evo from Island Officials
Introducing an unique power up system, 5 game types and visual flare, Pong Evo looks set to be quite a reboot.

Pong 4033 from Fishbowl Productions
Pong 4033 uses gestures rather than a paddle to control movement, along with a selection of power mods.

Pong World from zGames
Supplying new game modes, levels and upgradeable paddles with active and passive boosts, all added to the original game's core mechanics.

Fong from Eppy Game
No longer restricted to a sharp edged screen, Fong offers the Pong expeirence in a circlular arena with goal targets to aim at and emoting paddles.

Pong Tournament from MadRuse Games
Steal energy from your opponent to buy defensive upgrades and special abilities to help succeed in this Pong remix.

The winner will be announced August 2, having been selected in part by a celebrity judging panel made up of Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, Dave Castelnuovo, David Whatley, and Mike Schramm. All of the finalists will enjoy a commercial release.

Atari has come a long way over the last forty years.  The once storied console manufacturer has gone through several different permutations over the past four decades, finally settling into the role of publisher.  As of late the company has taken a significant amount of flack from independent iOS developers that have had their games yanked off of the App Store due to similarities to classic Atari franchises like Battlezone and Breakout.  While the company was completely within their rights to have the titles in question removed, they have extended an olive branch to the independent developer scene in the form of their 'Pong Indie Developer Challenge.'

The competition encourages independent App Store developers to come up with their own re-envisioning of the Pong franchise, for a chance at winning a share of over $100,000 in cash prizes.  If that isn't enough to pique your interest, Atari has sweetened the pot, promising revenue sharing for the winning developers for up to three years.  With prizes like that on the line, it may be time to brush up on those iOS development skills.  Be sure to hurry, though, submissions are due by April 15th!

For those who like Atari’s modernized iOS remakes, such as Asteroids: Gunner, but would rather just buy an app once and have all the content unlocked, they are now in luck. Asteroids: Gunner+ is now available from the App Store. This is the same gameplay as Asteroids: Gunner, which is the classic Asteroids gameplay reimagined as a dual-stick shooter, but now with all content unlocked upon purchase of the app, instead of having to unlock through in-app purchases. This includes 8 ships, 3 galaxies, and a total of 150 waves of enemies. The game is still universal, and still has consumable IAP for buying crystals for ship upgrades. Note that this may not be a pass for future content as well; the similar Breakout: Boost+ recently received an IAP level pack, but as this game has launched at $4.99, and Breakout: Boost+ at $0.99, the strategy for future content may be different between each. For fans of Asteroids: Gunner who are also wary of purchasing content through IAP, this may be a viable option for them.

Love is in the air and so is block-busting retro fun thanks to Breakout: Boost's Valentine's Day level pack that's just been released.

Priced at $0.99, the Valentine's Day pack adds 50 new romance-themed levels to the existing package, along with candy heart sayings and cute pictures to add that sweet touch. Alongside that is the addition of a Cupid's Arrow power up. This sets out to make breaking up bricks much quicker. For the competitive gamer, new leaderboards and an original set of achievements continues the romantic theme.

Here at 148apps, we rated Breakout: Boost and Breakout: Boost+ quite highly at launch so this themed pack is bound to extend the fun for fans. After all, what better way to celebrate the time of romance than through this arcade classic? Couples can compete via the leaderboards and singletons can focus on the achievements.

The Valentine's Day themed pack is available through Breakout: Boost and Breakout: Boost+, priced at $0.99.