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Bounden delayed on Android, but you can help it arrive faster
Game Oven planned on simultaneously releasing the dance-supplementing Bounden (demonstrated here by our own Jess Conditt) on May 16 for iOS and Android, but there's been a stumble in the development's routine. The sheer number of Android devices on the market has made Bounden's Android version difficult to finish - after all, how do you release a gyroscope-based game across dozens of devices when they can't all agree on which way is north? With additional testing of the Android pool, Game Oven has found that some devices use gyroscopes that don't work on all axes, while others are faking gyroscopic data with accelerometers. Of course, there's also the devices that don't have a gyroscope in the first place. Game Oven has settled on whitelisting Android devices individually, stalling Bounden's Android release until the developer feels it has cleared a sufficient amount of devices. You can help make that happen a bit sooner, though - Game Oven has asked for Android users that are willing to test Bounden on their devices to send an email to eline at gameovenstudios dot com. If you decide to help, be sure to specify your device's brand and model in your email. [Image: Game Oven]
Wiipop incorporates Kinect camera and several Wiimotes into a veritable electric boogaloo
Sure, we've seen plenty of dancing games harness the Wii and Kinect's unique motion capture systems, but the Wiipop prototype takes things to another level, combining the technology of both with some pro-level dance moves. The game utilizes the Kinect's 3D camera and up to eight body-mounted Wiimotes, letting players improvise freestyle dance moves in a SingStar-like game, matching body pops to beats in a song. The game's not quite ready for primetime, but when it is, Christian "Mio" Loclair sees its potential beyond simple gameplay. The title could, perhaps, be used to help design choreographed productions or to generate and trigger visual effects for live performance. In the meantime, pop and lock into the video after the break.
In the groove with Elite Beat Agents
You've seen it in action -- now see it in stills, courtesy of Gameworld Network! Or at least in a regrettably short preview. For such an intriguing title, there seems to be a tragic dearth of footage of Elite Beat Agents out there, so we'll take what we can get. This latest preview focuses largely on comparisons between the original Japanese title Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan and the unconnected "sequel" Elite Beat Agents scheduled to hit in November. The game features all new stories created just for the English version, but from the levels listed in Gameworld's preview, they're just as filled with wacky hijinks as the original. In the two stories mentioned, players have to assist a dog mistakenly shipped far from home and a teenage girl forced to babysit when really, all she wants to do is snuggle with her boyfriend and talk about going steady. When the distress is too much, these sad individuals call for help and those saucy men in black, the Elite Beat Agents themselves, show up to help out with a little hip action, Bob Fosse-style.A limited amount of attention is given over to the controls, which is fitting, since things don't seem too complicated. There are circles that need to be tapped. Tap the circles. Keep the beat. Save the day. And keep it all cool and superfly. Right on!
