Jake Social gaming behemoth Zynga has been in the news a bit recently. You might have noticed. One particular highlight was Edge tearing apart Zynga’s assertion that it’s forthcoming game Dream Heights is the continuation of a long line of tower-based games, rather than a clone of Tiny Tower. Most entertaining. But what about the figurative …
There was a time, back in 1998, when mobile phones didn’t have cameras. Standalone digital cameras were still far from being affordable; the common man was far more likely to covet a then swanky APS camera. Can you imagine that, children? Taking photos on film? The massive ’90s idiots, with their B*Witched and dial-up internet. …
Normally we’d be deeply sceptical of a new handheld, whatever niche it’s targeting. And it’s always ambitious – shall we say – of companies to invoke comparisons to Apple. But we like a bit of retro round these parts, so the idea of a retro handheld with an “iTunes style” download service is certainly intriguing. …
Everyone’s talking about The Artist – the awards-tipped nearly-silent movie starring Channel 5’s The Hotel Inspector and the bad psychic from Phoenix Nights. That’s partly because the film’s very good, but also in no small part because it uses technology no longer common in mainstream cinema – silent film, black and white, 4:3 aspect ratio. …
The App Store charts look quite familiar at the start of 2012, with Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Bejeweled and so on all taking the top spots in an effort to make all other mobile game developers feel a little hopeless. At least Catchphrase is high in the charts, which should please Roy Walker. Nintendo might …
As 2011 draws to a close, it’s traditional to look back over the past year. But rather than look back at what we did cover, the sheer volume of mobile games out there means it’s more appropriate to look back at what we didn’t cover. After all, the festive lull is a good opportunity to …
There do seem to be a lot of conversions swimming around the mobile gaming pond at the moment, and the big fish in that pond is of course Grand Theft Auto III: 10 Year Anniversary Edition. It’s been interesting to watch the reviews roll in – overwhelmingly positive with the odd notable exceptions, such as …
There’s little festivity inherent in the world of games, so where to visit via the medium of Google Street View at this most festive of times? How about Bethesda, developer of the UK’s Christmas number one, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim? Yeah, let’s do it. Off to Maryland! View Larger Map I’m sure Rockville isn’t …
The worlds of mobile and proper games overlap this week, with the release of Dizzy: Prince of the Yolk Folk on iOS and Android, and Chrono Trigger on iOS. £6.99 for the latter. £6.99! It’s easy to forget that that’s probably cheaper than you can get the game on any other format. While all this …
If you’re still not convinced by mobile games, then consider Superman. His gaming past isn’t so much chequered, as vaguely depressing – and bloody awful in the infamous case of his N64 outing. But as we found out this week, Chillingo hit the nail on the head with their iOS effort, where others flailed around …
There were a lot of big releases last week, boy howdy! But none to match the shooting stuff might of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which claims a second week at #1 – even with an 87 percent drop in sales. Impressive stuff, Activision. The top new entry goes to Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, at …
Warning: mobile games can cause severe earworms. This week I’ve been warming to Whale Trail – which Adam covered last week – and with that the Gruff Rhys track of the same name has become firmly stuck in my head. The lyric, “I can see my house from here,” in particular, in a very bad …
Okay, so Batman: Arkham City has pretty well established itself as the best thing around right about now. But where did it come from? The simple answer is those talented chaps at Rocksteady Studios. They’re owned by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment these days, but retain their own studio in North London. The next destination for …
A lot of people seem to have taken umbrage at Katamari Amore’s pricing structure. It’s a free download, which gives you access to one level in time attack mode. Essentially, it’s a demo. What’s wrong with that? Honestly, people have been spoiled by the level of freeness on the App Store. What this one level …
The Barcode Battler was rubbish. Sure, it sounded exciting: turn everyday barcodes into exciting warriors, power-ups and so on, then battle them against others. Brilliant! The reality was somewhat different. The barcodes had to be swiped through a narrow reader, so to even find out what a barcode was worth involved first cutting it off …