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Pac-Man, Micro Machines, Air Hockey created in LittleBigPlanet 2 beta
We have no earthly way of knowing who YouTube user TheFinalBurst is, but we're pretty sure the mystery creator's series of videos from the LittleBigPlanet 2 beta could serve as more effective marketing for the game than any ad campaign Sony could put together. Over the past week, TheFinalBurst's managed to create some mind-bogglingly intricate games using LBP 2's tool set -- games like Pac-Man, Micro Machines, an air hockey mini-game and even a first-person shooter, which we're still trying to wrap our heads around. Check out a few of our favorite selections after the jump, or visit TheFinalBurst's YouTube page to check out all of this homebrew designer's brilliant creations. Those beta invites can't arrive soon enough. Update: A few of our commenters have pointed out that TheFinalBurst wasn't the author of all of the levels posted in his YouTube channel. We apologize to the original creators for not giving credit where credit was due.
Breaking: Dog plays iPad Air Hockey
Sure, you've probably seen the video of a cat playing around with an iPad by now, but what about our other four-legged friend? Well, wonder no more, because Pixel the dog has now stepped up and shown cats how it's really done by not only playing Air Hockey on an iPad, but winning. Video after the break.
First Look: Air Hockey for iPad
I started watching this video on YouTube and, within seconds, my son was almost magically drawn into my office, staring transfixed at the screen. "This is air hockey?" he asked. "Yes," I replied. "I want it," he said. "It looks fun." My enthusiasm is slightly more tempered, but I think that this is a brilliant choice for an iPad game. I'm hoping that the game will properly use portrait mode for all uses, regardless of what the video looks like, and that there will be, both, two-player on one device, and the over-the-air Bluetooth support shown on the iTunes description page. For that matter, it would be great to be able to play against a fake opponent, although that is not listed as part of the product description. According to Bryan Duke of Acceleroto, Air Hockey will sell for $0.99 on the iTunes Store. There's a free "Gold" version as well.
Paid apps now live in webOS App Catalog, Air Hockey comes first
The first paid apps are finally starting to filter into Palm's App Catalog, giving us all another great reason (after our daily caffeine fix has been properly handled, of course) to blow a buck or two every day of our lives. First up is none other than Air Hockey, an app genre that seems to be taking every platform by storm -- we never really thought that the true Dynamo experience could translate well to a couple of fingers on a phone's display, but we're just $1.99 away from finding out for sure. [Thanks, Joe]
Panasonic's 103-inch plasma repurposed as multitouch air hockey table
With VIZIO and Pioneer jumping out of the plasma game, we can totally foresee sales of Panasonic's 103-inch PDP skyrocketing. All kidding aside, a startup arcade would be ludicrous to not shove one of these into the center of the action. What you're looking at above is a mutltitouch air hockey table, made possible by Panny's ginormous plasma and a U-Touch overlay from uicentric. The table was on display over in Amsterdam at ISE 2009, and quite frankly, we're intensely envious of the attendees who were able to blow off some steam by grabbing a game on this. Obligatory video is just past the break.
Wii Fanboy Review: Family Glide Hockey
Family Glide Hockey had serious potential. A series of cheap, simple downloadable sports games in the Wii Sports tradition is a fantastic idea -- one that, if done right, would easily be one (or more) of the WiiWare service's killer apps. Glide Hockey's predecessor Family Table Tennis actually delivered on the promise of the cheapo family sports game, giving me hope for the series. Plus, air hockey, the arcade attraction on which the WiiWare game is based, is generally awesome and underrepresented in games. The combination of good family sports game series and air hockey seemed like a natural winner. "Natural" and "winner" are two appelations that fail to describe Family Glide Hockey in any way.%Gallery-36359%
Family Glide Hockey whooshing to US WiiWare [update]
[Update: after the break, four videos of Family Glide Hockey in motion.]We love air hockey, and we're pretty friendly with Family Table Tennis, so we're pleased to see that Aksys has chosen to release the second Family sports title for WiiWare, Okiraku Air Hockey, in North America as Family Glide Hockey.Family Glide Hockey adds several twists to the delightful arcade attraction including ridiculous locations, weird tables, special shots, and extra minigames like Glide Hockey Drill, in which you ... solve math problems? As for when it's coming out, Aksys says "this holiday," and even if they had specified a release date, we wouldn't be able to trust it, because Nintendo doesn't seem to want people to know when downloadable games come out. %Gallery-36359%[Via press release]
VC Tuesday: The Race to Endure Donkey Kong Country 3
Nintendo of Japan has slowed down the rush of Virtual Console and WiiWare releases this week, but the releases are still quite high-quality. Even the least interesting game is probably considered pretty good: Donkey Kong Country 3: Okay Guys I Think We Can Stop Releasing Donkey Kong Country Games Now, People Get The Idea. We're more excited, personally, about Enduro Racer, an isometric racing game in which you race your motorcycle against dune buggies across ancient ruins.Just one WiiWare game is out this week, but it's probably worthy of attention: Okiraku Air Hockey is like Arc System Works' Family Table Tennis, but for air hockey. Which means it's a fun and cheap Wii version of air hockey, which happens to be one of the world's most wonderful things.Virtual Console releases: Super Donkey Kong 3 (Super Famicom, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points) Enduro Racer (Master System, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) WiiWare releases Okiraku Air Hockey (1-4 players, 500 Wii Points)
GEF robot stomps even the most prolific air hockey players
Remember that GEF robot Nuvation showed off late last month? Yeah, apparently that thing is bad ass. Designed by General Electric Fanuc (GEF) and programmed by Nuvation Research, this thing has been able to crush any human opponent that dared step up to its 32-bit automated ways. In fact, it can typically score around three times as many goals as even the mightiest Earthling, and while folks have been smart enough to find loopholes in the 8-bit software, this guy is pretty much invincible when running the real deal. Need more video? You're just one click away.[Via Slashdot]
Nuvation shows off air hockey-playing robot
While robots are still quite a ways away from being able to challenge humans in sports like soccer, it looks like at least one company has managed to create a robot that's able to prevail in one somewhat athletic activity: air hockey. According to Nuvation, its otherwise unassuming robot arm here can not only hold its own against its human opponents, but beat them about 90 percent of the time. That, as you might have guessed, is done with the aid of an optical sensor that's programmed to follow the conveniently shiny puck and react like an old air hockey pro. Still skeptical? Check it out in action in the video after the break.
Freak out with Freaky Creatures!
Having seen this game earlier at GDC, we can definitely say we're excited to hear that Freaky Creatures is now accepting sign-ups for the beta, which has been slated for a Summer release. There's a new website up, myfreakycreatures.com, which contains screenshots, a look at a couple of the different in-game locations, an air hockey game, and a creature designer that shows a bit of the customization the full game will eventually feature.Even better, signing up for the beta automatically enters you in the sweepstakes, with prizes ranging from free play to an Alienware Area-51 m15x Notebook, among others. And in what may be a first, you'll be able to pit your creature against others PC-to-PC, mobile-to-mobile, and PC-to-mobile! Check out our earlier coverage for more details on gameplay and what to expect this Summer, when we'll all be letting our freak flags fly![Thanks, Deborah!]
Homebrew Laser Hockey beats the real thing
Moose at Play's Laser Hockey DS is an adaptation of the best game on Wii Play (that isn't about adorable hopping cows), Laser Hockey. But, you know, on the DS. The neon-light visual theme of the original stays, but the view has been rotated 90 degrees to accommodate the DS's aspect ratio. Right now it's a total work-in-progress, with no variation in ball speed or paddle rotation, and frequent occurrences of the ball just passing right through the paddle.But none of that really matters, because as of version 0.3.4, Laser Hockey DS has wireless multiplayer. You and a friend can both lase and hock together, and it's free. If the base gameplay continues to be tweaked, this will be a must-have for any flash card.[Via Twitter]
Airhockey Over a Distance
If you think video conferencing is reserved for stale meetings that serve little purpose aside from burning up your time, Airhockey Over a Distance aims to ice that perspective. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) created the table (or should we say, "tables") to showcase the "power of advanced networking" and joins a host of other wild ways to get your game on. The table plays like your average air hockey match, except the opponent's half is in another location, and replacing your ferocious counterpart is a screen with a live video feed of him / her and a fancy puck-ejecting system. Sensors at the midway point of the table detect the angle, speed, and trajectory of the not-exactly-oncoming puck, and instructs the mechanism how and where to fire the disc -- you slap it back, and the same sequence happens on your compadre's end. Because this was crafted solely to show the wonders of "computer-mediated human-to-human interaction," there's currently no plans to take this prototype into sports bars or internet cafés, but one question still remains: what happens if the puck gets hung at center ice?
Who runs GDC? Air Hockey Ninjamaster runs GDC! (Update 1)
This photograph comes from Suite Night, a Thursday night GDC ritual in which conference sponsors lease out rooms in the neighboring Fairmont hotel the better to ply conference attendees with food and alcohol. So who is this fellow? We don't know. Andrew "Android" Jones, concept artist for Nintendo's Metroid series. He was far too intensely focused on remaining the reigning champion of Suite Night air hockey to answer our questions as to his identity. His laser focus, flashy garb, and completely over-the-top air hockey moves, however, give us some clues as to his genetic stock: one part Antonio Banderas, one part Bruce Lee, one part Brian Boitano, two parts ninja. More photos after the "continue" link, below.
