crystal quest
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Vintage games for the iPhone: Crystal Quest is back
Back when the Macintosh meant a machine with a built-in black & white screen, there were some extremely popular games -- but for the generation that remembers the introduction of the Mac II's color display, the unmistakable gameplay of Crystal Quest is sure to spark a deep sense of joy. Collecting those crystals and escaping through the hyperspace hatch caused your Mac to emit a sigh of... well, relief would be the polite way to put it (I'm trying to find a sample of the audio to link). Xbox 360 owners have had a Crystal Quest version for a couple years now, and Vista users also got a build to play with. The wild crystal excitement has made its way back to the future, as an iPhone/touch version of Crystal Quest is available. While it lacks the level-finishing 'ahh!' of the original, the rest of the gameplay should be familiar to graying fans of Mac OS 6-vintage entertainment. Crystal Quest is $4.99 in the App Store.
This Wednesday: Poker Smash batters XBLA, Crystal Quest gets polished
Do you like the concept of poker but feel perpetually bored by the not-so-visceral aesthetics of the game? Perhaps the gambling aspect always gets you down in the mouth (and wallet). As announced last week, Void Star Creations' puzzler Poker Smash will be this Wednesday's Xbox Live Arcade title. The game will, erm, smash its way onto the network February 6 at 4:00 a.m. ET for 800 MS points ($10). Unfortunately, that $10 is not an ante, and you can't win that money back with a good play.Also coming this week is a free update to Crystal Quest that, according to the Gamerscore blog, will "add a crazy multiplier scheme to offer even higher scores."%Gallery-12912%
Poker Smash smashes the XBLA this Wednesday
We're getting good at finding out which upcoming XBLA game will be releasing before the official announcement from Microsoft comes along and this week played out just as expected. Void Star Creations' Poker Smash will release to the Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday and for 800 Microsoft points you can expect a smashing good time. Or, at least, that's what Void Star promises. Poker Smash's release will also be accompanied by a Poker Smash Play & Win where gamers can win an Xbox 360 Elite and Microsoft points galore.And if the release of Poker Smash doesn't bring happiness to your life, Stainless Games just announced that they'll be releasing a free update to Crystal Quest that'll add a new multiplier element to the game allowing for higher scores and more crazy craziness. As a result of the update, the old leaderboards will be retired, so if you reign supreme high atop the Crystal Quest boards we advise taking some sort of screenshot. Then, in the future, when you talk of your Crystal Quest mastery, everyone will be forced to believe your mad skills from "back in the day".%Gallery-13040%
Crystal Quest up on the Marketplace
They promised more games, and they're delivering. Crystal Quest is available right now in the Marketplace. The 1987 title has been updated with better graphics, better sound effects, and Dolby surround. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet; how do you all like it?
