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ITSP DLC sneaks onto XBLA next week, Shadow Complex also on sale
The Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet DLC "Shadow Hunters" was originally set to be released in September, but that didn't happen. It's just shown up on Major Nelson's latest "coming soon" list of XBLA content, scheduled for release on October 12. The schedule also includes some nice sales both this week and next. From today through October 10, you can get Catan, Magic the Gathering 2012, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and Battleship for 50% off in the "Never Be Board Again" sale. Also half off is Bethesda "Games, Add-ons, and Avatars." Next week, the "Saints and Shadows" sale will knock 600 points off the price of Shadow Complex, with Perfect Dark available for half-off as well. Saints Row 2 will be 25% off, with its DLC available at half price. Combined with that ITSP content, that's rather a lot of shadow.
EVE Evolved: Flying the Dominix
Of all the ships I've flown over the years in EVE Online, the Gallente Dominix remains one of my absolute favourites. It's big, it's slow, and it looks like an upside-down mouldy shoe, but it's forever been one of the most versatile battleships in the game. With a massive bonus of 10% to drone damage and hitpoints per level of the Gallente Battleship skill, the Dominix can easily deal around 500 damage per second just with its drones. It can take on targets of any size by switching to medium or light drones and can field a full rack of six railguns or blasters to push its damage even higher. In PvE, the Dominix can be set up as a long-range damage platform for blitzing missions, a salvaging platform relying only on drone damage, or even a heavily tanked ship that will take all the damage while your drones automatically kill everything in sight. For PvP, the Dominix can be used for short-range damage, sniping, remote repair support, electronic warfare support, spider-tanking, capacitor warfare, and other roles. It can shield tank or armour tank and can even be set up with a reasonable hull tank for a surprise factor. In this week's EVE Evolved, I give two viable PvE fittings for the Dominix and two of my favourite PvP setups, along with advice on how to use each setup to its fullest.
TUAW's Daily iPad App: Battleship for iPad
Electronic Arts recently released an official version of Battleship for the iPad. EA kept the gameplay of the classic board game, but updated the graphics for the larger screen of the iPad. The iPad game has the look and feel of the electronic version of the game with several modes including classic, salvo, super weapons and multi-player. The multi-player mode lets you play against another iPad, iPod touch or iPhone via WiFi or Bluetooth. The gameplay of each mode is classic Battleship. There's a simple grid that you use to arrange your ships and fire on your enemy ships. You don't have to keep track of the grid (no, E5 or A8 required), you just double tap to fire (or tap and hit the fire button) and the game fills in your hits and misses. Each time you or your opponent fires, there is an entertaining cut scene that shows the missile launching and landing on its target. This back and forth cut scene does slow down gameplay a bit, but you can turn it off if you don't like it. A small set of sound effects add to the gameplay and is not overbearingly loud. The two-player player mode is one of the best features and it works great. The gameplay with two players is almost the same as single-player, but you get to beat your friend instead of the game's AI. The connection doesn't drop and it's as close as your going to get to the real thing without actually buying the original board game. Best of all, there are no game pegs or game boards to find and put away each time you play. Overall, the gameplay on Battleship for the iPad is smooth and responsive. It never crashed and the multi-player connection only dropped once in all my trials. The Battleship for iPad game is available now for US$2.99 in the iTunes app store. %Gallery-128408%
iOS app updates for June 24
The following iOS apps received updates in the App Store: GoodPlayer Version 2.4 was released with changes that include: Additional file formats supported including .m3u and .cue. Both need UTF-8 encoding. Multitasking support BATTLESHIP Version 1.0.63 was released with changes that include: Increased stability in multiplayer mode A "restore game" option In-app messaging Enhanced visuals to maximize Retina Display IM+ Pro Version 5.2 was released with changes that include: Neighbors location-base chat added Filterstorm Pro Version 1.3 was released with changes that include: Interface changes Translations for German, Italian and Spanish Phoster Version 1.2 was released with changes that include: 6 new templates Help manual added Uploading to Flickr Exporting to Instagram and other photo apps Bluetooth keyboard support iPad 2 camera support WolframAlpha Version 1.3 was released with changes that include: Automatic links added to results List of related queries displayed Updated user interface SpotWorld Version 1.5 was released with changes that include: Removed mandatory sign up for the first-time users Simplified sign-up flow Updated design for "Destinations" Improved sharing of "Been There" map to Facebook Removed scoreboard from app, but it's still visible in profile
Battleship HD app lets you sink ships on your iPad
You sank my battleship! Oh those sweet, sweet words. We've been longing to hear them since we set up camp behind our iPad, and Electronic Arts has just answered our cries. That's right, the Battleship HD app is now available for download on your iOS slab, featuring a multiple-player mode, which pits you against friends (and presumably foes) packing an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. It's also got a single-player mode, available in three flavors: Classic, Salvo, and Super Weapons. Now go forth and drop bombs! The iPad app is now available at the source link for $3.
EA releases Battleship for the iPad
Electronic Arts added to its growing repertoire of mobile games with the release of Battleship for the iPad today. This new tablet version of the classic board game takes advantage of the large screen of the iPad with its HD quality graphics and expanded UI. There are also new battle environments, new ships and new weapons for iPad owners to enjoy. The iPad version also has a multi-player mode that lets you play against another iPad, iPhone or iPod touch over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Single players can enjoy playing alone in Classic mode, Salvo mode or Super Weapons mode. The game is available today from the App Store for a reasonable US$2.99.
EA discounts more than a dozen iPhone games to $1 each
We can't imagine what kind of event would spur EA to slash the price on several of its big-name iPhone games -- oh, right. Regardless of motive, Touch Arcade informs us of the sale, which extends through tomorrow. Here are some highlights: Command & Conquer: Red Alert [iTunes link] FIFA 10 [iTunes link] Dragon's Lair [iTunes link] Need for Speed: Shift [iTunes link] SimCity [iTunes link] Battleship [iTunes link] The good news: lots of iPhone games are only $1. The bad news: none of those games is Mirror's Edge (which is still only available for iPad). [Thanks, Dali]
EVE Online's Scorpion to receive graphical overhaul in Tyrannis
When high-quality ship models were introduced with EVE Online's Trinity expansion, not every ship reacted to the graphical upgrade in the same way. Some ships, like the Megathron and Crusader, saw dramatic visual improvements with panel details and sharp lines. For the Scorpion, however, the upgraded detail exposed design flaws in the original model that spoiled its look for some players. The Scorpion has long been held as one of the ugliest ships in EVE, sporting the signature Caldari asymmetric design and odd metallic pylons. For a battleship, it's always looked small, light and flimsy; a look that perhaps suited its original role as a long-range electronic warfare ship. With it being rebalanced for a close-range "brawler" role last year, the old model really started to look out of place on the field of battle. In a new devblog, the CCP art department have released screenshots of a new Scorpion model they're planning to roll out with the Tyrannis expansion this summer. Using design themes from their work on Tech 3 strategic cruisers, the team have turned one of EVE's all-time ugliest ships into a masterpiece. Not only does the ship now look more like its namesake, it has a much more solid and aggressive look to it that better suits its role in PvP. This may mark the start of a change for other Caldari ships, many of which sport elements of the same bizarre asymmetric design that spoiled the Scorpion's appearance. As an added bonus, CCP's graphics programmers have created a new texture packing system that vastly improves the visual quality of small details on ships. If you're interested in the new Scorpion model or the finer details of how CCP texture the ships in EVE Online, the latest devblog is definitely worth a look.
Xbox Live Deal of the Week: Mass Effect DLC and Battleship
We know the wait until Jan. 26 and Mass Effect 2 seems insurmountable at this point, but the Xbox Deal of the Week may serve as a soothing poultice to provide a smidgen of relief. If you act this week, you can pass the next eight days playing Mass Effect DLC "Bring Down The Sky" and "Pinnacle Station" for just 240 points ($3) each. Oops, we forgot about Battleship being lowered to 400 points, but we're assuming you will too, so no harm done, right?
Xbox Live deals, XBLA releases and Games on Demand for January
Major Nelson recently peeled away the veil separating us from the knowledge of when stuff would be coming out on Xbox Live Marketplace over what remains of the month of January. This new knowledge includes the upcoming Deals of the Week -- on January 18, both of the DLC packs for the original Mass Effect will be marked down to 240 ($3) each and Hasbro Family Game Night: Battleship will get rolled back to 400 ($5); and on January 25, Portal: Still Alive will have its price temporarily reduced to 800 ($10). The Major also announced two new Games on Demand: Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, available now for $20, and Dead Rising, coming January 26 for an undisclosed price. For the rest of January's bounty, including discounted Games on Demand titles, XBLA releases and Avatar items, head past the jump.
Battleship now syncing on iPhone
Adding to its growing roster of Hasbro board games retooled for board-less play, EA has christened the iPhone / iPod touch version of Battleship on its maiden voyage to the iTunes App Store. The game distinguishes itself through an animated play field, cutscenes depicting the damage being done to the enemy fleet and the fact that people won't stare at you on the train like they used to when you broke out the physical board game and started playing with friends. Priced at $2.99, Battleship supports pass-around and local WiFi / Bluetooth multiplayer. We do not support playing the game near water, as Apple's touch-based devices have a moisture sensor to rat you out when you tell the Genius Bar you don't know why they stopped working. Battleship ($2.99, EA Mobile):
EA bringing Battleship, Connect 4, Monopoly to iPhone
EA is getting good mileage out of this Hasbro deal. The latest platform to be assaulted with family-friendly adaptations of classic board games is the iPhone and iPod Touch, with Battleship, Connect 4 and Monopoly Classic en route from EA Mobile. There's no word on prices or release date as of right now, but we'll be sure to pass that news along once it's available. In the meanwhile, feel free to head into the gallery below to check out screens from each title. If you're reading Joystiq on an iPhone, you can totally pretend you're playing the games! %Gallery-76840% %Gallery-76841% %Gallery-76842%
Eve dev blog on PvP ship losses
The latest dev blog for EVE Online is from CCP Diagoras and contains some numbers and information about ship losses through PvP over the last year from April 2008 to April 2009. Firstly there are some very specific subscriber numbers. At the end of April 2008 the game had 234,314 active paying accounts, which had grown to 299,064 by the end of April 2009, which fits nicely with their statement a few days later that the game had passed 300,000 paying subscribers. Using these numbers and the number of ship losses which involved another player attacking he comes up with the information that in April 2008 there were 0.61 ship losses per subscriber in that month. By April 2009 this had raised to 0.67. The blog then follows up with a series of graphs that show more specific PvP ship losses per month. Some interesting highlights include how dreadnaught losses fluctuate over time compared to the number of each capital ship type destroyed per month which reflects the pattern of big battles over that time, and the numbers of Battleships and Interceptors destroyed which show the preference players have for Caldari and Gallente ships.
GDC09: Upcoming EA iPhone game list fully revealed, screens and info on Tiger
Just before the deluge of GDC 2009 news started this week, Travis Boatman, VP of worldwide studios at EA Mobile, confirmed the upcoming release of a veritable smörgåsbord of EA franchises coming to the iPhone. Today, we have confirmation from Meghan Rathman (representing EA) of the exact titles on the way to the iPhone/iTouch as well as a handful of screens from Tiger Woods PGA Tour. Unfortunately, according to Ms. Rathman, the rest of the games in development are "still too early" and don't have screens. Considering the turnaround time on iPhone/iTouch games though, we're willing to bet you'll see those shots by the end of the week pretty soon!The full list of games we received from EA is as follows: Tiger Woods PGA Tour, The Sims 3, FIFA, Madden NFL Football, Spore Creatures, Mystery Mania, Wolfenstein RPG, American Idol, Connect Four, Battleship, Need for Speed, RISK, Monopoly and Clue. Differing from reports at the GDC Mobile event earlier this week, we're seeing the addition of The Sims 3 and Need for Speed. In turn, we're losing the first SSX in two years, Red Alert, NBA Live 10, American Idol, Star Trek. But hey, Tiger Woods!The press release from EA on Tiger Woods PGA Tour tells us that the game is of the "touch" rather than of the "shake" variety, comes with achievements and offers a way to compare achievements with your friends. Of the key features listed, notably missing is "playing against friends wirelessly," though it does promise the ability to "affect your ball spin direction" using your finger. Those are comparable features, right? We'll keep on EA and let you know as soon as we find out more on their upcoming iPhone/iTouch assault.%Gallery-48706%
GDC09: EA quietly announces iPhone versions of major franchises
Of the many GDC 2009 announcements taking place this week, we were most shocked to see EA sneakily introducing some of the company's most popular franchises to the Apple device some are calling the newest gaming platform -- the iPhone. Travis Boatman, VP of worldwide studios at EA Mobile, made the announcement at GDC Mobile, naming SSX, Wolfenstein RPG, Red Alert, FIFA 10, Madden 10, NBA Live 10, American Idol, Spore Creatures, Clue, Risk, Mystery Mania, Connect Four, Battleship, Tiger Woods and Star Trek, according to reports from Patrick Klepek (former MTV Multiplayer writer) and Shacknews. While most of the titles are the to-be-expected EA mutliplatform titles like Madden 10 and NBA Live 10, the SSX series will be getting its first update in two years according to this announcement. Also of note, Wolfenstein RPG is of no relation to the just released Wolfenstein 3D for the iPhone; rather, it makes up half of the two iPhone games id Software is purportedly working on. Details are unfortunately scant at the moment but we've reached out to EA for comment.On a personal note, we'd like to extend our personal "WHAT THE HELL?!" regarding Risk being announced for the iPhone and still not hearing a peep on it coming to XBLA/PSN. Seriously, EA. What the hell?![Via Shacknews]
This Wednesday: Hasbro Family Game Night matches with XBLA
If you, like young Mikey, love matching rows of similarly colored checkers but can't stand being around other people and all their germs, your salvation will arrive this Wednesday in the form of Connect Four, one of the first offerings in Xbox Live's Hasbro Family Game Night series.Other games arriving today include Scrabble, Yahtzee and Battleship with Boggle, Sorry! and Sorry! Sliders coming later in the year. All the titles will be playable in a virtual game room that, in some way, incorporates Avatars. If you'd like to play beloved family games as you replace your friends and loved ones with digital simulacra, you can expect to pony up 800 ($10) a piece. (Yeah, you read that right. A piece.)%Gallery-42087%
Hasbro Family Games to release mid-March, include Avatar support
Nestled in a press release announcing the inclusion of Yahtzee in Hasbro Family Game Night (something we already knew) is confirmation that four Hasbro games will be releasing on Xbox Live Arcade sometime this March. Scrabble, Connect Four, Battleship and Yahtzee will be the first four Hasbro titles made available when Xbox Live's special Family Game Night Destination launches next month. Boggle, Sorry! and Sorry! Sliders will release later this year. The press release also confirms Avatars will be supported and that each title can be purchased individually for 800 ($10). If that wasn''t enough information, we're told the Family Game Night Destination lets players launch Hasbro games from their own customized game room. This uniquely decorated space accommodates Mr. Potato Head, can be shared with friends and sounds to be somewhat inspired by Home. %Gallery-45867%
EVE Online to introduce new NPC race with Apocrypha expansion
PvE gameplay in EVE Online can be profitable, but blasting apart NPC ships can also get repetitive after a while. Anyone who's run a solid week of missions knows this all too well, and the combat dynamic between players and NPCs is something CCP Games will start remedying in the next game expansion: Apocrypha.EVE dev CCP Ytterbium's dev blog "When Evolution Leaps Forward" has some big news about what's in store for players as of March 10th in Apocrypha. The devs tasked with revamping the game's PvE experience are making some substantial changes to the distribution of bigger and badder NPCs. They're also introducing a new NPC race to New Eden: the Sleepers, an ancient race with technology beyond what is currently available to players, but whose secrets can potentially be unlocked.
EVE Evolved: The art of tanking - Unusual tanks
Although in EVE Online we tend to think of a tank as our ship's ability to absorb damage and self-repair, it makes sense to describe any strategy used to keep yourself alive as a form of tank. In the previous parts of this guide on the art of tanking in EVE , I gave some tips on choosing what type of tank to use on your ship and gave an overview of both armour and shield tanking. In this final part of the guide, I take a look at alternative strategies for keeping your ship alive. Strategies such as the spider tank, defensive use of electronic warfare and the much lauded speed-tank are put under the microscope as I look at some of EVE's more unusual tanks. Spider tank: When I first coined the term "spider tank" back in early 2006 (before that calling it a "squadron tank"), I was convinced we would see them on the battlefield increasingly frequently. Sure enough, spider tanks have become a staple of gang and small fleet warfare. A spider tank is a strategy in which each member of a fleet fits a remote armour repairer or shield transfer in one of their high slots and they repair anyone in the fleet who starts to take damage. When the enemy concentrate their fire on one member of the gang, the gang concentrates their remote repairers on that member to keep him alive. Read on to find out how a logistics ship can generate capacitor out of thin air and how ECM, long range weaponry and speed can be effectively used as tanks.
An insider's account of galactic warfare in EVE Online
Prolific games journalist Jim Rossignol is an avid EVE Online player, who has made regular contributions to Eurogamer focused on this particular sci-fi MMO. His latest piece, "EVE Online: Battle Reports", is a brief account of how his PvP-focused corp (EVE's version of a guild) fared in a conflict against some steep odds. His aim is to explain a bit about how the game works while telling his story, hopefully holding appeal for those who don't play the game as well as those who do. "Because of the open structure of the game world, player-versus-player battles happen in all kinds of contexts and situations, and the sheer number of variables means they can make for a great story," Rossignol writes.
