Archive for the ‘Android’ tag
The TouchArcade Podcast Is Back: Episode 01 – Bringing Our ‘D’ Game Available Now
It’s been awhile since you’ve heard our dulcet tones. April 2010 marks the last time we’ve blasted out a podcast for mass earhole consumption. But, I’m not writing this post to lament this little fact. Nah; actually, I'm revved to announce that this long period of unbearable Internet radio silence is over — we’re back with a new pod', a new name, and a fresh cast to entertain you. Or tickle you. Or something.
You can grab the podcast on iTunes now (or as soon as iTunes updates our podcast feed, anyway) if you like, or you can download the raw file or stream the new podcast just below via the handy-dandy link. I encourage you to go ahead and subscribe to us if you're going to do the former. We'll be spitting out pods all over the place from that feed. You'll get TouchArcade Show every Friday and fun interviews and other content as well.
In a nutshell, The TouchArcade Show is an offbeat podcast about iOS video games and the staff of this lovely web site. I want to give you more insight into who we are and how that informs our writing. I also want to give you something fun to listen to if you’re into new iOS releases, hot iOS scoops, and the occasional phallus, or angry boss joke.
This week’s episode, by the way, has a lot of content about fresh releases. The Bearded One, Jared Nelson, talks up Bumpy Road, Touchgrind BMX, and Mos Speedrun. Eli talks about some cat games, and I deliver some details about the new Infinity Blade update and the third episode of Back to the Future. We also delve into the i3D thing, as well the Minecraft-coming-to-Android story that made the rounds before closing out the hour.
Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes or
Overall, there’s a lot of fun discussion, but we were missing a key component: you. If you’d to give us some feedback — whether it’s a question, a comment, a terrible pun, or whatever — throw us an e-mail at and , and if that doesn’t float your boat, you can also reach us in the comments of this post OR via our phone line. The number is +1-951-922-5582 or 951-9-CALL-TA.
The phone line, actually, is something fun we'd like to focus on in the future. If you're too lazy to write an e-mail, send us a call and we'll play it on the show and then respond to your comment or question. I stress, though, that you need to be using good equipment if you want to be featured in future episodes. We can't just throw up any old .mp3 from someone's jank handset.
So, yeah, feel free tell us what you think, what you’d like us to talk about in the next episode, or give us a question. We welcome it all. Also, enjoy!
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Artificial Life Sim ‘Creatures 4′ Annouced for iOS
Artificial-life geeks rejoice: a new entry to the Creatures series is finally underway, and it's coming to iOS.
Details are still pretty light, but it looks like Creatures 4 is going to be free to play. It's slated to be released later this year on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, as well as PC and Mac. It's being developed by a Belgian development studio with quite a few solid titles under their belts.
I'm a bit nervous about the whole "free to play" thing, but it doesn't sound like Creatures 4 is going to be gutted and turned casual. Bruno Hurbain, studio manager at Fishing Cactus, says they "are determined to create a new great Creatures chapter, both modern and respectful of what made it the best virtual life simulator game in the first place." Sounds like they're fans, too. We'll take a look later this year and see how the game shapes up.
For those of you who aren't in the know, Creatures is a series of artificial life games from the 90s. You raise cute critters called Norns, teach them basic language and survival skills, and help them evolve and pass their genetic code down over generations. Although the series hasn't seen a major release since 2001, it still has a dedicated core of active players, and a recent for a spiritual followup from one of the original creators did really well. So let's hope this game gives players both new and old something to look forward to.
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‘Minecraft – Pocket Edition’ To Hit Xperia Play First
Minecraft for mobile phones is coming to Android first as an Xperia Play exclusive, the game’s developer Mojang confirmed to us in a brief e-mail exchange this morning.
This news comes on the heels of a rash of . Yesterday, Play creator Sony Ericcson blasted out a digital invitation to a June 7 mixer to several members of the enthusiast games press. The invite was adorned with Minecraft art and, as if that didn’t do the trick, also referenced a well-known explosive enemy in the game.
With the surprise blown, Mojang is now able to confirm the project, which is formally called Minecraft – Pocket Edition. As you’d assume, it will have controls fitted to the Play’s touch pads, buttons, and d-pad, and will feature changes specific to the hardware and the, perhaps, less attentive audience.
“When playing on smart phones you will have a different screen size compared to PC, different hardware, different attention spans and thus the game needs to be customized to fit the mobile specifications,” a representative told us.
If you know Minecraft, you know Mojang doesn’t kid around with updates. The PC hit is updated a lot with the occasional game-changing overhaul, as well as standard tweaks, enhancements, and bug fixes. Mojang suggests this will be the case with Pocket Edition, too.
“The development process will follow the one we have for PC, release early and update frequently,” the same representative told us.
Apparently, more will be revealed about Pocket Edition during E3. As of right now, we still don’t know its price, release window, or possible cross-platform functionalities. If you read between Mojang's lines about this version of the game, however, the latter seems highly unlikely.
One thing we’d love to know is if Pocket Edition is a PlayStation Suite joint. If it is, then it's possible that this version of the game will work on the NGP as well as other Android 2.3 , PlayStation-certified devices. , Sony plans to keep a hardware-neutral stance with the Suite platform, so cross-platform play is possible provided that Sony's device requirements are met.
We're not sure what this means for the iOS version of Minecraft in the short term. The studio still refers to this version as an actual project, but if this exclusive has a long-ish tail, you'll be waiting for awhile obviously. Will development slow or stop in the meanwhile? We'll ask.
The Xperia Play for $199 with a two year contract. I'm guessing that Mojang will be counting the days until this agreement is over if the desire for the Play's games is as poor in the US as it has been in the UK, Canada, Ireland, and Spain. from sales in these regions indicate that under or around 1,000 units of each of the five PSOne classic exclusives have been purchased. That's not… good, to say the least.
Then again, Minecraft is a big deal. Perhaps it can push the platform? We'll see.
In-game image from the latest PC build of Minecraft.
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‘Kalimat’ and ‘Wordfeud’ – The Battle of the Word Games
Words With Friends [2.99 / Free / HD] has dominated the multiplayer word game genre on the app store for a long time, but recently some new competitors have elbowed their way in: Kalimat [$2.99 / Free] and Wordfeud [Free]. We've loved Words With Friends since way back when, but it can't hurt to see what the competition has to offer.
Both games are Scrabble-style word games with asynchronous multiplayer – Kalimat through OpenFeint, and Wordfeud through its own system. Both also have free, ad-supported versions to try (Kalimat's cripples some features). But there are a few things that set these games apart from each other.
Wordfeud beat Words With Friends to Android earlier this year and then made its way to the App Store. It's not pretty, with its muted colors and plain interface, but it's quick. I ran into a few small bugs, but nothing game breaking. Currently, it supports six dictionaries, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, and both English tournament dictionaries ( and ).
Screenshots of Wordfeud
You also have the option of using a randomized board. I've had a good time with randomized games since I've been playing Wordfeud. For example, things get pretty tense when you're trying to keep your opponent from making a word that lands on a clump with two triple-word scores and a double-word score. Meanwhile, the regular board layout is the closest to the traditional Scrabble layout I've seen.
Kalimat, on the other hand, will probably become my new game of choice. It includes Pass & Play (a feature Wordfeud lacks), Open Feint/Game Center achievements and an Arabic dictionary. But what I really love is Remix mode.
Remix mode rewards quick play. If you make your move within one minute of starting your turn, your points triple. Within two minutes, you earn double points and after that, things go back to normal. You can also swap letters once per turn without penalty, and one hidden square on the board awards bonus points.
Screenshots of Kalimat
It's a gimmicky mode, but it can be a lot of fun. Scores inflate like mad. Thanks to a ridiculously lucky move (all seven letters on multiple double-word squares during the first minute of my turn), I managed to get over 1500 points with one word. It was hilarious, but my opponent missed the humor of the situation somehow.
There are two things that keep me from recommending Kalimat wholeheartedly. One is the board layout. It's easy to land on multiple high-scoring squares in a single turn early on, resulting in huge leads even in normal mode. I've also had a lot of difficulty finding random people to play with. I'm not sure whether the problem is the size of the playerbase or the way Kalimat makes matches, but there have been times when I could only find one other player.
Unfortunately, neither game has the missing feature a lot of Scrabble fans are looking for: stat tracking. They both keep track of wins and losses with a list of previous games, just like Words with Friends, but neither keeps a detailed profile with stats. If that isn't a deal breaker, both Wordfeud and Kalimat mix up the Scrabble formula enough to keep things fresh.
Kalimat, $2.99
Kalimat Lite, Free
Wordfeud, Free
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‘Cthulu’ Coming to The App Store
It’s official: Cthulhu is about to get its tentacles all up in your mobile devices. Indie developer has just announced that it's behind Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land, an upcoming 3D turn-based strategy RPG for the iPod Touch, iPhone, and Android.
I suppose at this point, Cthulhu is more notorious as an Internet meme than it is as an object of author H.P. Lovecraft’s tortured mind, but just as a refresher, the hulking, tentacle-faced monster first appeared in a short story published in 1928. The monster has been used in many a video game since. I’m thinking his most famous usage was in , a Bethesda joint.
Of course, there’s also a paper RPG and it’s still a big deal. Red Wasp actually inked an agreement with the paper makers, Chaosium, in order to get this game done. As far as crossover, there’s a fair bit: “It is directly related to the paper RPG, not totally the same, but there is lots of cross-over,” a representative told me.
The Wasted Land takes place in an alternate World War I where our fair soldiers find a more impressive foe to face: an undead army that is ravaging Europe. It's up to you to find a way to stop the corpse advance through a mix of turn-based action.
If you’re like me, you’re probably scratching your head about how exactly this game will play. The TBS / RPG genre is cluttered with a bunch of different styles of games, so it’s kind of a nebulous branding. I didn’t get much more from the developers when I pressed.
“We're doing our own thing — but in terms of gameplay, players of games like X-COM or Fire Emblem would understand where we are getting inspiration from,” the representative said.
“As in the core game is turn-based in movement and combat (as is the RPG) and there is a strong narrative that drives the levels forward. There is also a strong role-play element is how you develop your characters from level to level.”
Tight lips! More, including a release date and price, will be announced after this summer. Members of Red Wasp were previously behind Star Wars: The Battle For Hoth [$1.99 / Lite] and Filth Fair [Free] for iOS devices.
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Rhythm-Based ‘Pulse’ Releasing this Thursday from the Developers of ‘Auditorium’
, the Philadelphia-based developer of the award winning, multi-platform title Auditorium [Free], is getting set to release their newest rhythm-based music game exclusively (for now) on the iPad. Called Pulse, the gameplay will have you tapping and sometimes sliding a series of dots in time with a circle that pulses from the center of the screen in rhythm with the music. It’s certainly not easy to explain, so it might be best to check out this gameplay video from :
Pulse is looking like an interesting new entry in the rhythm-based music game genre. I think one of the strong points will be that the gameplay seems to have been built around the included songs in the game, with a range of genres covered from electronica to heavy metal to chip-tunes. Cipher Prime has also stated that Pulse would only be possible on a device with a large multitouch screen, hence the game only currently coming to the iPad, but they haven’t entirely ruled out an Android version sometime in the future either. No word yet on if an iPhone or iPod touch version could be possible.
According to , Pulse is already approved by Apple and will be releasing this Thursday. We’ll take a closer look at the game then.
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‘Pocket Legends’ Freebies To Remain Free, New Pay Area Announced
Sometimes promotions never end. At least, that’s the case with Pocket Legends. In April, developer kicked off an anniversary celebration that dished out free access to six areas for the generous asking price of $0. Now, the studio is announcing that those areas will remain free FOREVER — or until , one or the other.
That’s a deal, but you have to wonder how Space Time plans to make money while a large swathe of its instance-based content is free. That’s where this comes in: the studio has just announced a brand new “premium” area called the “Sandstone Caves.”
It’s made for players around level 20 to 25 and includes what you want: a new town, a new series of quests, new enemies, new bosses, and new weapons, armor and items.
The price? 10 in-game Platinums, which should help satisfy the need for Space Time to fill its coffers. The lowest amount of Platinums that you can buy at the moment is 30 for $4.95, which is likely the catch here.
It’s also possible to earn free in-game cash in exchange for taking part in one of those now-infamous marketing loops. “Yes, you can still get free Platinum with Tapjoy in both Apple and Android devices," a representative told us.
Just for reference, the areas that are set to remain free are Balefort Castle, Fathom Crypts, The Lost Expedition, The Ancient Swamps, Balefort Sewers, and last but not least, The Alien Oasis Trilogy.
Pocket Legends is one of the deepest, most well designed mobile MMOs on the market to date. As we've previously noted, we reviewed the game last year, but a lot has changed since then, so you'd probably be better off reading the to get a good sense of what Pocket Legends is about. Oh, and if you're in the market for a more in-depth look at Sandstone Caves, these wouldn't be a bad start.
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Unknown Square Enix Title Revealed as ‘Imaginary Range’, An Interactive Comic-Game Hybrid
In more Square Enix news this morning, the company has for their previously unknown upcoming game that we posted about a couple of weeks ago. The game is called Imaginary Range, and will be launching in Japan for free on May 5th. It doesn’t sound like your typical game, either.
Square Enix describes Imaginary Range as a “game comic”, which basically means it’s a digital comic book with interactive elements spread throughout. As you’re reading it, you may come across hidden items in some of the panels that relate to the overall story, or you may come to a scene that requires you to complete a mini-game in order to progress. They want this to appeal to people that are only interested in reading the story as well as gamers, so whatever gameplay elements it contains are of the simple variety that anybody can play.
According to and some dodgy Google translating of , the story in Imaginary Range revolves around two characters named Sid and Sierra. A giant monster known as Ω (Omega) has attacked France, and Sid and Sierra head into the country to figure out who Omega is and the purpose of the attack. Despite having the same name, the Omega character doesn’t appear to have any correlation with Square Enix’s recently revealed Chaos Rings Omega.
Famitsu has also been granted access to the first screenshots of Imaginary Range, which you can see in the gallery below (click to enlarge):
While Imaginary Range does sound interesting, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit disappointed that it’s going to be more of an interactive comic book with light gaming elements rather than a full-fledged new game. Still, since the game will be free I'll definitely be checking it out. Imaginary Range is slated to hit the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on May 5th, with an Android version coming later in the month. We’ll let you know if we hear word of a US release, which I’d imagine we’ll be seeing, and in the meantime there is in our forums.
[Via and ]
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Sony Unveils Two New Tablet Devices with a Large Focus on Gaming
Yesterday, Sony officially entered the tablet market by unveiling two new tablet devices for release this Fall. As everybody and their mother are rushing into the tablet market to compete with Apple’s iPad after its unprecedented success, it’s not surprising to see one of the largest electronic makers in the world throw their hat into the ring.
What is surprising to me, however, is the decidedly different approaches each of Sony’s new tablets are taking compared to the rest of the crowd. And from a gamer’s perspective, the fact that both tablets are powered by Tegra 2 chips and will be the first tablets to officially be “PlayStation Certified” is definitely intriguing.
The first of Sony’s tablets, currently being called the S1, carries a 9.4” screen that’s only slightly smaller than the iPad’s. Unlike the iPad and most other similar tablets, the S1 features a tapered design that’s thicker at the top and gets skinnier towards the bottom, which Sony claims is more comfortable and is “like holding a magazine”.
Their second tablet, the S2, is a much more radical design and isn’t much like a tablet at all actually. It’s a clamshell design similar to a Nintendo 3DS, with 5.5” screens on both the upper and lower halves. The screens can work in unison to display content or can work independently to perform two different functions, like having game controls on the lower screen while showing the actual gameplay on the top, just like the 3DS.
Each tablet will run on Android 3.0 Honeycomb which is a special version of Android specifically designed for tablets. They will be able to do most of the types of things you would expect tablets to do involving accessing media and the internet, but what interests me the most is how these new devices will factor in regards to gaming.
As stated, both tablets are PlayStation Certified which means they will include support for the PlayStation Suite service which we reported on back in January. The PlayStation Suite allows PlayStation Certified Android devices to run a library of PlayStation 1 titles, and was first implemented into Sony’s own Experia Play phone which is largely known as the “PlayStation Phone”.
We speculated at the time that PlayStation Suite was announced that it would be possible the service could eventually come to iOS, and Sony executive Kaz Hirai further affirmed this possibility by stating that they have a “completely open stance” as to which devices and carriers the service may end up on.
Despite this, however, I don’t suspect we’ll ever see the PlayStation Suite come to iOS. First of all are the hurdles we outlined in our article on the subject, namely the fact that Sony would need to give the OK to whatever comes to the PSS service on top of Apple’s already strict approval process, and the need to have devices running PSS be PlayStation Certified, which Apple would most likely have a problem with.
Beyond this though, Sony’s new devices are not only aimed at the consumer tablet market at large but are also specifically aimed at the mobile gaming market with their emphasis on being able to run games and being PlayStation Certified. It’s obvious that Sony wants a piece of the mobile gaming pie that is currently being dominated by the iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and 3DS. To offer a flagship service like the PlayStation Suite to one of their biggest competitors would seem like an odd move to say the least. Although, Sony has been known to make some odd moves in the past, so I guess anything is possible.
At any rate, these new devices are pretty interesting, and it will be fun to see how this all plays out over the course of this year and next. Let’s not forget that Sony’s new PSP is on the horizon as well, which throws yet another wrinkle into this matter. If one thing’s for certain, there’s never been a better time to be a mobile gamer as the mobile gaming scene continues to expand and evolve at an incredible pace.
[Via and ]
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Japanese Company GREE Buys OpenFeint for $104 Million
It’s been a bustling time for acquisition news in the past half a year or so with the popularity and success of mobile gaming rocketing through the roof and mobile gaming companies making moves to put themselves in the best position to ride the wave of continued growth. The big news last fall was developer Ngmoco being purchased by Japanese-based DeNA to the tune of $400 million. Around that same time Chillingo was purchased by EA, later in the year Zynga acquired NewToy, and back in January Firemint acquired fellow Australian developer Infinite Interactive.
All of this activity left everybody wondering what the next big acquisition would be on the mobile scene, and today we learn that the extremely popular mobile social network has been purchased by Japanese company .
OpenFeint has grown by leaps and bounds since first being founded in August of 2008. While it rapidly became the dominant social platform for iOS gaming, it expanded its reach by extending to the Android platform and currently maintains a userbase of more than 75 million players across both mobile operating systems. OpenFeint is used in more than 5000 games and has over 19,000 registered developers, and is the largest mobile social network in the US.
Japanese-based GREE is the leading social platform for mobile in Japan with a userbase of 25,000 players, and is the fastest growing technology company in that country. The two company’s combined user base of 100 million positions them as the largest mobile gaming social network in the world.
Despite the purchase, it appears that OpenFeint will continue to operate much as it always has. The entire OpenFeint team and Founder/CEO Jason Citron (pictured right) will retain their roles with the company, and their plans to open additional offices internationally and double their current staff in 2011 will continue.
This purchase gives GREE a quick entry into the US market with an already established company, and OpenFeint will benefit from GREE’s additional expertise at developing and expanding social gaming platforms. GREE has purchased OpenFeint’s outstanding stock for $104 million, but will contribute additional capital beyond this towards improving and growing the existing OpenFeint service.
There are currently no plans to merge the OpenFeint service with GREE’s to create one uniform service, rather they will tailor each of their products to specific regions. We expect to hear much more about the future plans of OpenFeint post-acquisition and we’ll bring you any new developments as they happen.
Congrats Jason!
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