It isn’t quite time for Virtua Fighter Mobile. We have the processor power to handle vs battle games, but we’ll need some better controls first. The hardest game to play on mobile has got to be Street Fighter. At least Virtua Fighter is mostly based in the P,P,P,K kind of fighting, whereas Street Fighter is like QCFx2 + P. That’s just not happening on mobile.
Jellycar looks like the physics of Line Rider on crack. The controls look cool too with the pinch being integral to the game. That’s something that I haven’t seen much of in iPhone games: the pinch. In fact, I just thought of an awesome iPhone game. “Pinch Her Bum.” In P.H.B., you use the iPhone pinching motion to pinch as many girls’ bums as possible. I guess it wouldn’t go over too well with women’s rights activists seeing as though the game sort of promotes sexual harassment. But the market is definitely there.
Now that Apple has stopped their NDA on iPhone development, we get a TON of sneak previews, such as this one from Rocking Pocket Games. I’ve tried Rocking Pocket Games’ “Blue Skies - Air Force Academy” and it was a great casual shooting game. Their latest game, iFishing, looks sweet too. iFishing looks like your typical fishing game until you get into the “cast” mode where you have to bag a big one. The iPhone accelerometer provides a great fishing experience. We’ll keep you updated when it hits the App Store.
Saints Row 2 for mobile was released yesterday. Saints Row 2 comes complete with multiple diverse missions, activities and mini-games seamlessly integrated into the gameplay. Here are some quick facts about the sequel that you may find titillating:
• Players can play as who they want, how they want, and with whomever they want.
• Continue the story of the Third Street Saints, battle to regain their territory from rival gangs and corrupt police. Inhabit and “own” 5 large city territories.
• Blood mode can be switched on or off prior to submission
• 3 New rival gangs – each with it’s own unique style and methods
• Capture enemy strongholds to help build your empire. Complete multiple missions and mini-diversions. Rob civilians, take hostages, escape cops, street racing and sniper mode
• Upgrade your crib, weapons, cars and clothes
• Gain respect and recapture the city
Running Pixel is the latest casual gaming company to surface and their first title, Crystal Crush, is surely going to be a successful mobile game. The company focuses on making its casual games cross-platform.
“We believe in good ideas and we do our best to transform them in fun games. The platform doesn’t matter, we’d like that our games can be played everywhere without losing a single instant of fun. Anyway we do not forget where we are coming from, mobile games. We think that a mobile approach in the ideation of a game is a good way to get a fun and playable casual game.”
True that guys. Casual games can work on any platform. It’s the game itself that counts.
The guys who make mobiPad have come out with a cool product demo video! I wrote about these guys a while back when I was judging for Mobile Content 2008. I can’t remember if I heard about them through the awards, or just at the same time. Either way, they should have been at the awards. I would have voted them right to the top.
Using mobiPad, you can control your entire mobile phone with the game controller of the Nintendo Wii. Use it to play games or as a remote control for the media player on your Symbian S60 or UIQ device (N95, P1i, P990) - the wireless gamepad is always an ergonomic way to interact. You can finally play standard games on touchscreen devices and no longer have to worry about buttons that are close together - and all this without buying a dedicated mobile games controller that you could not use for anything else!
Publisher X and CodeGlue have announced that they’re teaming up to develop Beer Pong - BPONG 2009 Edition. This isn’t the first time Publisher X has brought us sweet drinking games to mobile. The company has also developed Beer Bounce, based on the super drunk game Quarters.
Beer Pong - BPONG 2009 Edition will be available for download on the Apple App Store later on in 2008, so get ready to get your balls wet!
Spore, the epic game created by EA, is now available for Windows Mobile. The mobile version, is not quite as rich as the PC/Mac version, but it’s still cool to have on your device. What would be really awesome, is if the two platforms worked together. I know a lot of people would appreciate being able to accomplish the less graphic and processor intensive parts of the game, and then upload it to their full version on the computer. This type of cross-platform gaming would be especially good for something like WoW. You could level up your character at the bus stop, and then plug him back into the full game. Anyways, the future isn’t here yet but it’s coming.
The Best Mobile Game category was taken by Sketcher 2. Sketcher 2 is a really great game that involves simple keypad buttons and fast-paced action. Personally, I’ve always felt that a good mobile game creates an experience that is entertaining, but doesn’t require too much user input. It should almost play the game for you. For example, one button games don’t require much input, but they can provide a ton of fun by what that one button does. Sketcher 2 doesn’t require many buttons, but the cinematic effects that follow a simple button push, make the game incredibly fun. According to Mobile Content 2008, a good mobile:
“is regarded as the most popular content in the mobile era, delivering fun and enjoyment to users. Using 3D and broadband technologies, it provides not only virtual reality but also connected experience with other synchronous users. The category encompasses all the games made fit on mobile handsets and devices.
If you’re in the Ottawa, Canada area today, I hope you’ll be attending Home Grown Innovations. It will be a great opportunity to talk shop with local gaming companies. We’ll be filming at the event and it should be a great show. BTW, I realize the futility in posting about an event hours before it happens, but it will be a regular thing. You can catch the next. Looking forward to the following companies:
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