Posted 3/13/12 12:30 pm EST by Matt Morgan in iPhone / iPad, Previews
iOS card game fans, prepare yourself for Nightfall. Playdek Games will soon release the Nightfall card game to the iOS app store, where the developer has previously racked up "Game of the Year" honors with their iOS version of Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer. Now they've set their sights high, partnering with card game publisher AEG to adapt Nightfall, which was named in MTV Geek's own "Top 5 Games of 2011" roundup.
Given Playdek's success making iOS card games, and Nightfall's status as a proven card game commodity, this app has "must play" written all over it. Although the release is still a few weeks away, the first screenshots of this app have just hit the net, so it's time to take a peek at what gamers have in store for them.
Posted 2/3/12 3:08 pm EST by Matt Morgan in Apps, iPhone / iPad
iPhone board game fans will get an unexpected surprise when they visit the App Store this morning: Ticket to Ride Pocket has received an update adding an online multiplayer mode, supporting up to 5 players in asynchronous play. For those not familiar with the term, it means you'll be able to take turns at your leisure, deciding whether to play over the course of several minutes or several days.
Posted 1/9/12 1:39 pm EST by Matt Morgan in Op-Ed, Retro, sega
Upon seeing the news that Choplifter will be receiving an HD remake this week, I was immediately taken back to one of my earliest gaming memories: Playing video games on the Sega Master System. No, not the Sega Genesis. My gaming history starts with Sega's little-known NES competitor, wedged between the more popular 16-bit Genesis and the ultra-obscure SG-1000. Choplifter was a personal favorite on the Master System, but several other hits from that console's library make up this list of franchises ripe for a reboot.
Space Harrier
How can we be in the age of 3D graphics yet not be revisiting one of Sega's earliest attempts at stereoscopic 3D? Space Harrier was a third-person on-rails shooter that used pseudo-3D sprite scaling to send the world whizzing past you in its arcade port, and a later sequel took advantage of the Master System's 3D glasses accessory to further the effect.
If I could lose a weekend to Geometry Wars, I could definitely get on board with a modern Space Harrier remake. Add in a remixed version of that killer 8-bit soundtrack and you've got an XBLA/PSN hit on your hands. Just don't let me see this on iOS or Android. No amount of nostalgia is worth the pain of precision-killing virtual buttons, and I'm looking for a true reboot, not a cash grab port.
For bonus points, port over the arcade game Planet Harriers, originally published in 2000. The game looks to be exactly what I would ask for in an updated Space Harrier, but I can't pass judgement as the double-seater arcade game is quite hard to come by. Early plans for a Dreamcast port died along with that system, and the game hasn't been mentioned since.
Posted 12/8/11 2:00 pm EST by Matt Morgan in Apps, iPhone / iPad, News
Do you yearn to climb inside 50 tons of humanoid-shaped metal and wield an arsenal of high-tech weaponry? If you're not already a fan of the MechWarrior series, then you ought to be. Now is the perfect time to give it a shot, with Singapore-based game developer Personae Studios set to launch MechWarrior: Tactical Command on Apple's iOS platform.
The announcement, which can be read in full here, was accompanied by a 1-minute trailer (which the screenshot above is pulled from). Judging on the footage, MechWarrior: Tactical Command looks to be fairly far along in its development already, although the release schedule is still a nebulous year-long window. Hit up the YouTube video to get a look for yourself.