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Humble Mobile Bundle 5 explores The Room 2, The Cave, and more
Humble Bundle is back with another serving of high-profile Android games, featuring Double Fine's The Cave, Fireproof Games' The Room 2 and other standout apps in the newly launched Humble Mobile Bundle 5. Pay at least $1 and you'll get Crescent Moon Games' action-RPG Aralon: Sword and Shadow, Hidden Variable's grocery-bagging puzzler Bag It!, and an Android port of Irem's classic arcade shooter R-Type 2. The Room 2, The Cave, and Carcassonne are available for buyers who beat the bundle's average purchase price (currently under $4), and more games will be added at a later date. Humble Mobile Bundle 5 will be available through April 29. [Video: Humble Bundle]
Carcassonne coming in Android, BlackBerry flavors
The heralded 2001 board game Carcassonne, designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede of Germany, has already been quite excellently adapted for XBLA and iOS, by two different developers no less. Now a third, German studio exozet, is working on a version for Android, BlackBerry and Java-based mobile platforms. Teased on an Xperia Play handset, exozet's adaptation looks to crisply capture the popular game -- which centers on building cities and deploying followers called "meeple" -- on the little screen. It's due out by year's end the end of Q2.
Best of the Rest: James' picks of 2010
Halo: Reach Was it just me or did Reach seem to have the quietest launch of any $200 million seller in history? Franchise fatigue has definitely set in for Halo, but it didn't stop Bungie from delivering its masterpiece. What this game lacks in variation, it makes up for in refinement of one of the all-time great first-person shooters. Reach may be lagging behind Call of Duty -- both Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2 -- in the Xbox Live numbers game, but its campaign is so much more epic. The Covenant are classic video game bad guys, and no one does enemy AI like Bungie. No one.
New Year's XBLM sale discounts multiple items, offers daily deals
Microsoft has launched its "Countdown to New Year's" promotion today on Xbox Live, which will see numerous pieces of Marketplace content discounted in the days leading up to the ball drop. The deals are highlighted by several XBLA games on sale now through December 31, including Super Meat Boy, Carcassonne, Comic Jumper, Castle Crashers and Risk Factions; all of which are 33–50 percent off. Daily deals are also on offer, beginning with today's deal: Red Dead Redemption DLC. Both the "Liars & Cheats" and the "Legends & Killers" packs are available for 400 Microsoft Points ($5) each, half their usual price. Meanwhile, "Undead Nightmare" and the "Undead Nightmare Collection" (which bundles together all three aforementioned add-ons) are 25 percent off at 600 ($7.50) and 1200 points ($15), respectively. And tomorrow, December 22, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light will be available for half-off at 600 points ($7.50). Additionally, Microsoft has listed clues to the rest of this year's daily deals on the Xbox Live Dashboard. We've compiled the clues, along with our best guesses, after the break. Be sure to check it out before you start spending your holiday points! Finally, buying discounted items, watching Netflix movies or playing Halo: Reach and Fable 3 multiplayer during this 11-day promotion will automatically enter players into a sweepstakes to win a massive prize package, featuring a 50-inch HDTV.
Carcassone app going universal, gets higher price to match
Carcassone, the iOS version of the European board game, has quickly become an App Store favorite after its release, and now iPad owners can get in on the fun. The app is going universal, so it will not only run on both devices natively, but it will also have a completely enhanced UI for the bigger machine, letting you explore all of the colorful roads and meeples in full scale. Because the app will now work on both devices, the price is being raised, from US$4.99 to $9.99. But as I understand it, if you've already purchased the app, you'll get it for the other device anyway -- if you've already paid, you shouldn't have to pay again. The update is supposed to be out on the App Store soon, but the price has already been raised. Still, given the feedback on this one so far, $9.99 is a great price for this version of the game, especially if you have both devices. And now that the universal release is out, Coding Monkeys apparently says it can get to work on the planned expansions for the game, set to be released as in-app purchases. Our friends at Touch Arcade say they want Inns and Cathedrals, but I was always partial to Hunters and Gatherers. Maybe that's more of a mod than an expansion -- either way, there's a lot of fun left to be had in this one.
TUAW Review: Carcassonne finally, gloriously comes to the iPhone
After Small World, Carcassonne is one of the most anticipated designer board game apps to hit the App Store. It took a little longer than expected, but everything from the basic Carcassonne game is here. Nothing more, nothing less. There are no river tiles, no traders, no princess or dragon. It's completely easy to play, and the plethora of options - local or online human opponents, very well-created AI players and a new solitaire version - mean this is the game to get if you know what a meeple is and enjoy sending them off to do your bidding. Sure, we've had the clone (or not, depending on who you ask) app called Might And Card: Golden Edition, but now we finally and awesomely have an official Carcassonne app for the iPhone / iPod touch [$4.99] and it was well worth the wait. Read on to see why board gaming on the iThings is only getting better and better. %Gallery-94410%
Carcassonne now getting medieval on App Store
The territory-expanding German board game Carcassonne continues to spread its reach to as many digital platforms as humanly possible, landing recently on the iPhone and iPod Touch. The game, which is available for $4.99 on the App Store, includes both single-system and local network multiplayer modes. It also caters to both English and German-speaking players -- just like us! Sehen Sie, wir sprechen Deutsch jetzt! Hallo, Franz! Welcher Weg in die Diskothek? Carcassonne ($4.99): %Gallery-92298%
App Review: Might And Card - Golden Edition
Might and Card: Golden Edition [US$4.99, iPad only] is not Carcassonne. This much an unnamed member of the UWinGame Dev Team wanted to make clear when he or she provided TUAW with a reviewer code for the game: I also would like to take this opportunity to express some more info about this game. Some said our game looks much like Carcassonne. Here I want to claim it totally wrong. This version we have released was just a base, and we will add many more features and packages to make it even more beautiful and interesting. Whatever. The app is a Carc clone, no matter what anyone says. For anyone who is familiar with that brilliant game, here's the scoop: this is a dumbed down, even more luck-driven version of the game. Might And Card: Golden Edition is missing the farmer scoring, it throws in a few unique bonus tiles, and there are animated little soldiers instead of Meeples. For anyone who doesn't understand what that sentence means, read on for the full picture. %Gallery-93693%
Get some Carcassonne on your iPhone and iPod Touch
Not right now, but soon: The official site says the popular German tile-based board game Carcassonne (which is also available on Xbox Live right now) is coming to the iPhone and iPod Touch. It'll release sometime this month -- we'd like to imagine it's on a long trek, crossing babbling brooks and fertile fields, as we write this. Daydreaming aside, the app will cost $4.99 when it launches -- available in both English and German flavors -- and will sport multiplayer either via passing the device around (so many fingerprints!) or local network play. If you're looking for more, hit up the Carcassonne dev blog, which details plans for expansions and even an iPad version, and feel free to check out some screens below. [Via TouchArcade] %Gallery-92298%
Carcassone laying down tiles on the DS
Everyone's favorite German board game (no, not that one), Carcassonne, is coming to the DS, courtesy of Koch Media. The news comes via Go Nintendo, with the press release mentioning the DS title will feature the original game plus three new territories: the Asian, Arabic, and Nordic worlds. The game will also include the River expansion set, which comes standard with the newer versions of the Carcassonne board game. You can expect three different modes of play, including a single-player, story-driven mode, a quick play mode for, uh, quick play, and a multiplayer mode that will support game sharing and local wireless multiplayer.Our only beef is that the size of the game grid might not scale down to the DS screen too well, and it might be hard to see everything going on. But, hey, even if that's the case, you won't need to clean up a messy board game, and isn't that the important thing here? [image credit]
Best of the Rest: Alexander's Picks of 2007
Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword (PC) Please, make the addiction stop! Civilization IV: Warlords, the first expansion for Civ IV, made my "Best of the Rest" last year and Beyond the Sword tops this year's list. The funny thing is I'm not a Civ fanboy, nor am I even that great of a player (Full Disclosure: I still play on Noble level), but Civ IV is a game I can come back to over and over again. Beyond the Sword added much-needed mechanics for culture-prone and passive-aggressive players, with enhancements in espionage and other concepts "beyond the sword." Oh, and just to keep last year's tradition going: Firaxis (2K, Take-Two), please get the rights to Alpha Centauri back from EA and give us a sequel!
Best of the Rest: Ross' Picks of 2007
Team Fortress 2 (Xbox 360, PC, PlayStation 3)While Portal is being given its much deserved credit for the year, and Half-Life 2 has enjoyed years of acclaim, let's not forget about the other pillar of Valve's The Orange Box. It's been eight years since the release of Team Fortress Classic, and the game has undergone so many revisions and delays we half expected it to be released alongside Duke Nukem Forever sometime in 2012. As it turned out, the game not only saw the light of day but ended up being an addictive online experience. As a console gamer enjoying this with a gamepad, I don't care much much for the sniper, soldier, demoman, or anything except medic and occasionally the engineer. There's something brutally satisfying about charging into battle behind a heavy weapons guy, dodging the occasional bullet (people still haven't learned) and injecting him with a team-killing jolt of invincibility. Hours of enjoyment and not a single bullet shot. Pure. Enjoyment.
Off the Grid: Long-distance gaming
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital."Non-digital games are awesome" is the line I usually insist upon in this column. But even awesome analog games have their faults: namely, if you don't have anyone to play with, you can't really play.So, as an end-of-year treat, let's look back at the last year+ of games reviewed, and find some ways to play those suckers against some internet folk:Settlers of CatanI still haven't gotten around to reviewing Settlers, but I did chat with Brian Reynolds about the Xbox Live Arcade version of the game, which is probably the best bet for consistent, high-volume net play.For those who don't have an Xbox 360 (like, well, me), Aso Brain Games hosts an unofficial, Java-based version of the game called Xplorers. After a free registration, the site allows users to player ranked and un-ranked versions against other users and bots, and features a number of expansion and additions to the base rules, which can be toggled on or off. Don't let the low-fi look of the site dissuade you; Xplorers is a well-put-together Settlers clone, with a solid interface and a consistent number of users online at any time.
MS confirms downloadable Xbox games, free Carcassonne for Live anniv.
To mark the fifth anniversary of the Xbox Live service, Microsoft will be offering Carcassonne (Hexic 2 in Korea) free to all subscribers for 48 hours starting at 12:01 a.m. EST on Nov. 15th (and presumably nothing to the peeps who already plunked down for the virtual board game), along with 500 Microsoft Points to the ten folks who've been on board since 2002 -- see kids, early adoption does pay off! In addition, Microsoft has confirmed earlier reports that 'Xbox Originals' will be made available for download starting Dec. 4th as part of the Fall Update (the update's additional features have yet to be revealed). Each game can be purchased and downloaded for 1200 points ($15). In its press release, Microsoft explicitly named Halo, Psychonauts, Crimson Skies and Fable as titles for the Xbox Originals initiative, but did not confirm exactly which games will serve as the jumpoff: "This new service will launch with an array of blockbuster titles spanning the most popular genres from action-adventure to classic role-playing games." Third-party reports claim the preliminary lineup will include Halo, Fable, Indigo Prophecy, Crimson Skies, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath Of Cortex and Burnout 3.[Via press release]
Wednesday XBLA update adds Carcassonne 'King & Baron'
Sierra and Microsoft have revisited the grid-based fortified town of Carcassonne, as the XBLA rendition of the popular European board game has gotten a new downloadable expansion titled "The King and Baron" as part of today's regular XBLA update, which also includes block dropper Tetris Splash. With an asking price of 300 Microsoft Points ($3.75), the download is the second such expansion following the already available "River I & II," and adds a set of five additional tiles described as 'interesting configurations of Town pieces,' as well as pair of new rules. We're not exactly sure what they mean by "interesting" ... perhaps they glow.The new rules are designed to award those players with either the largest city or the longest road at the end of the game with a pair of icons placed next to their avatars and Gamertags. But it's not just for looks or bragging rights, no sir! With this expansion, the player with the biggest city, identified by a newly added 'portly' King icon, will receive one point for each completed city in the game, while the player with the mightiest of roads, denoted by a 'crafty' Robber Baron, will take home one point for each completed road in the game -- and you know how much we love to pile up them points.
Carcassonne and Soltrio get expandified
Brand new on the Xbox Live Marketplace are two new expansions for XBLA games Carcassonne and Soltrio Solitaire that should help the longevity of the titles, albeit for a price. For 300 Microsoft points you can get the new King & Baron Expansion Pack for Carcassonne which will add seven new tiles to the game including the king and robber tiles thus adding an extra layer of strategy to all your Carcassonne fun. Soltrio Solitaire is getting its ninth expansion today (a little overkill, no?) and for 150 Microsoft points it adds ten new card games including Pyramid, Fourteen Out and Block Ten. Both expansions are available for purchase right now in their respectively offered territories, so spend your cash and expand away.[Thanks, Jonah Falcon]
New DLC for Bugs, Soltrio and Carcassonne
Brand spanking new downloadable content for three, count 'em three of your favorite XBLA games was released yesterday in hopes of making your gaming experience all the more enjoyable. First off, Band of Bugs released the "Red Kingdom" expansion for 250 Microsoft points and includes a new red rock tile set, ten new campaign levels and two new units. The second Arcade game to get some DLC love is Soltrio Solitaire which released a 150 Microsoft point "Game Pack 5" featuring ten new gametypes. Finally, the "Rivers II Expansion Pack" was released for Carcassonne, costing 300 Microsoft points and includes twelve new river tiles. All new XBLA downloadable content is currently available off the XBLM and is ready to be purchased or simply gawked at. [Thanks, DjDATZ]
Carcassonne tiles onto Arcade
As we announced on Monday, today's Xbox Live Arcade offering is Carcassonne. For 800 Microsoft Points you can get your hands on some castle building action. It's got 5 player live multiplayer and 4 player local MP, Live Vision camera support, and a nice range of balanced Achievements. It hopefully will bring a similar crowd as Catan did, allowing for a more laid back and social experience, so long as the camera support isn't abused. Hopefully we'll catch you online soon.
Carcassonne Achievements roll down the river
GamingTalkHQ got their grubby little hands on the Achievements list for Carcassonne, which was announced as this week's Xbox Live Arcade title earlier today. The Achievements themselves seem similar to Catan's, but fortunately only have one that is tied to ranked game, requiring you to win one. The cumulative points can be obtained in player match, which is definitely handy. Which ones are you going to work toward?
Carcassonne building up to XBLA this Wednesday
Board game enthusiasts rejoice! Carcassonne is coming to town Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday. Not only does the game include the standard 72 tiles, but the "Rivers II" expansion with an additional 12 tiles. Feel free to brush up on the rules before Wednesday, but the game comes with a step-by-step tutorial that'll teach you the basics as well. The multiplayer on local allows 4 players and 5 players across Xbox Live, with support for the Vision Camera. At a price of 800 MS points, will you be picking this up Wednesday?
