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MMObility: MUDing on the go and a new Android castle-builder
In this week's column, I wanted to give you a few mobile options to fill your time. The mobile market is anything but devoid of content or new games to explore. In fact, the problem is often finding games or apps of quality, something worth passing along in one of my columns. Often I search out different games or apps and vet them a bit, and sometimes I just grab the first thing that I find. This week I have two great apps for those who play MUDs, and one game that, honestly, I have seen many times before and often in ways that were better designed. But I'll still give them all some time on my Android phone to see just how they pan out in the long run. My patience might grow a bit thin, though. That's another benefit of the mobile market: if you're not satisfied with a new game or app you find, there are literally thousands more to choose from. It's a cut-throat world of competition.
MMObility: Killing the bland in Iruna Online
Once again, Droid Gamers sent me a sweet tip regarding yet another Android-based MMO. This time around, it's Iruna Online, a real and actual MMO complete with open worlds, "millions" of other players, quests, equipment and monsters. In fact, the game reminds me in some ways of Final Fantasy XI. Iruna Online is not the first mobile MMO that has felt like the Square-Enix favorite, perhaps because they all share a similar art style. As I played, it struck me that the newer smartphones have enough power to run a game that looks as good as Final Fantasy XI, albeit with some graphics options turned down or off. The similarities basically end there, however. Iruna Online is one of the newer stock of mobile MMOs that show mobile massively multiplayer gaming is really here. It should not be shocking or surprising anymore. Just as in the PC market, we are going to see many titles stream from the Eastern market. Many of them will be duds, but many will also be very, very cool.
MMObility: The 16 MMOs in my pocket
I have a smartphone that is pretty much filled to the brim with actual, functional, persistent MMORPGs. Some of them are three-dimensional romps through massive worlds filled with dungeons and dragons; others are representational browser-based games that work through the phone's native browser; and the rest are hardly nothing more than a few dots on the screen and impressionistic gameplay. Still, they are MMOs. I love having access to them, and over the last year I have actually grown to love simple, clever design and basic artwork over almost anything else. Forget Guild Wars 2; we'll hear enough about that to make us choke. Sure, it might be a fun game, but I'm a tech guy from the Bizarro universe. I prefer to see how little tech I need to game with. I want to push the limits even lower. Anyway, it's springtime here in Texas, so it's time to clean out all sorts of crap from my life. I organize all of my hundreds of songs, films, movies and art pieces and get my digital life in order as well. This process includes tweaking my current line-up of basic technology and downloading any updates for the games that exist on those devices. It's time to cull the weak and glorify the wonderful.
AT&T confirms Gingerbread coming to entire 2011 Android lineup (and Samsung Captivate)
The HTC Status was the only device with Gingerbread on AT&T's lineup for a small slice of time, but that's quickly coming to an end. The carrier has confirmed that Android 2.3 will be pushed to its entire 2011 postpaid lineup, beginning with an OTA rollout of the Motorola Atrix 4G today (though and the HTC Inspire 4G "in the coming weeks." In addition to the phones released this year, Samsung Captivate users will be able to enjoy the upgrade as well. There's no hard details on the timing for everyone else, but at least anyone with a 2011 model can breath a sigh of relief. Full press release can be found after the break.
Rise and Shiny recap: Order and Chaos Online
I'd like to start this article off by giving Gameloft, publisher of Order and Chaos Online, a lot of respect. Tons of respect. Oodles of respect. It seems to be a company that gets an idea (or borrows one) and just does it. While so many people are talking about designing and creating for the mobile gaming world, Gameloft has busily cranked out scores of high-quality titles. Yes, many of those titles bear remarkable resemblance to other non-mobile titles, but let's be really honest here: Modern MMO design is not really chock-full of original ideas. In fact, the lack of of daring design is what drove me to the indie and mobile markets. Both of those markets are new enough, or small enough, that they take chances. Gameloft's games generally work, as well. Its shooters might be slightly on rails, and its RPGs might be pretty linear, but all of its attempts at hitting the mark add up to a lot of profit and a lot of successful shots. The company has more good games than bad. Anyway, if the major publishers aren't going to take the time to make a decent mobile port or morph of their best titles, Gameloft has shown that it is more than willing to. I generally like that. Not surprisingly, the company did a fantastic job of making a portable, enjoyable World of Warcraft with Order and Chaos Online. Click past the cut and I'll tell you what I thought about it.
Red HTC Inspire 4G now available exclusively at Radio Shack
We'd already had some indication that AT&T would soon let Radio Shack offer an exclusive red version of the HTC Inspire 4G, and that's now been made official (and available). As you can see above, you can snag the phone for $29.99 on a two-year AT&T contract (or $550 off-contract), which will buy you a 4.3-inch WVGA display, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, an 8 megapixel camera with an LED flash, and Android 2.2 with Sense -- there's still no word on a Gingerbread upgrade for this one. Of course, Radio Shack will also sell you a black one for the same price, but we're pretty sure the red one's faster. [Thanks, James]
Select AT&T Android devices may get app sideloading as early as today
It's a classic romantic tale of "network meets OS, network disables OS," and just like any love story, this one is building up to a happy ending. Fourteen months after AT&T introduced a lineup of crippled Android phones that weren't allowed to install third-party apps, the carrier extended an olive branch to fans of the OS by quietly slipping the sideloading capability onto the Samsung Infuse 4G; now, the network is reportedly updating three members of its Android lineup -- the HTC Inspire 4G, HTC Aria, and Samsung Captivate -- sometime today. We're sure there were many Atrix users scanning this short list with fingers crossed, but unfortunately your phone did not make the cut this time. No word on why your favs were left out, but at least four devices with Amazon Appstore access is still better than zero. At present time we haven't seen the updates get pushed to our phones, however, so we'd love to hear if any of you have seen differently down in comments below.
Amazon Wireless reduces Inspire 4G to $30, makes AT&T look downright miserly
If your desire for unibody enclosures is limited by a reluctance to pony up for premium designs, then you might grin knowing that Amazon Wireless is selling the HTC Inspire 4G for $30. Yes, this massive 4.3-inch slab can be the pride of your pocket without simultaneously emptying your wallet -- that's before you start piling on the accessories, anyway. While the Inspire 4G's reputation was initially sullied by an indictment in HSUPA-gate, it was later cleared of all charges thanks to AT&T's promised update. Now that users can upload with abandon, this might be a fine opportunity to recommit with Ma Bell while pocketing an easy $70. We know, it's a good find -- but don't start laughing too maniacally or your co-workers will get suspicious.
MMObility: A handful of games for your portables
To be honest, there are not nearly as many true MMOs available for your iPhone or Android device as I would like. It's a new market, of course, and the number of offerings is growing, but typically a lot of the MMO gaming you will be doing on your phone will be through your browser. This isn't a bad thing when you consider the quality of many of the browser games out there, but more MMOs cannot come quickly enough. So when I find one that I like, I would like to tell as many people as I can. And when I find more than that, I have to say something about all of them. Normally I would do a report on each game individually, but in this case, I have not had as much time with each game to give a full and decent report. It will be up to you, fair reader, to investigate these games with me. Don't worry -- they won't cost you much at all. Click past the cut and let's take a look!
4G at CES 2011: AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile make big moves
Traditionally, CES isn't a huge mobile event -- the biggest phone news has historically been saved for MWC in February and CTIA in March -- but that changed in a huge way this week. Looks like 2011 is shaping up to be the year of 4G, and both carriers and manufacturers alike wasted no time jumping on the hype bandwagon with a variety of announcements that promise to make the next few months exciting... and really, really fast. AT&T kicked things off early in the show, but it was just the beginning of a relentless torrent of mobile news that lasted for days and ultimately left us with a pile of devices and network upgrades that should take us at least through the middle of the year. Read on for the recap!
