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'Fallout Shelter' is becoming a bit more like 'Fallout 4'
We still don't have exact timing for the upcoming Fallout 4 add-on packs and survival mode, but perhaps a pretty sizable update to Fallout Shelter is an olive branch of sorts. For the most part, the patch brings a level of parity between the console and mobile game with the addition of armor and weapons crafting, a day-and-night cycle and Vault Dweller customization by way of a new room type (a barbershop). Oh, and because Bethesda doesn't discriminate against non-four-legged creatures in terms of pet ownership, parrots are joining a few new cats and dogs in your underground utopia.
iPhone puzzle games are no match for this robot
Puzzle & Dragons is a ridiculously popular mobile game in Japan that tasks players with matching coloured orbs in order to take down enemy monsters. If you've played Pokemon Shuffle before, it's just like that. To help with the trickier stages, YouTube user Junya Sakamoto has developed a robot that can play the game for him. Oh, and it's unbelievably good. As Kotaku reports, a connected laptop is able to analyse the board and pick out the optimum combos, triggering a flurry of moves that would be almost impossible to replicate with your pinkie. Color us impressed, although we suspect developer GungHo won't share our enthusiasm.
Square Enix Montreal gets what makes mobile games great
Apple recently named Lara Croft Go its game of the year, and deservedly so. But the back-to-basics 2D puzzler wasn't developer Square Enix Montreal's first stab at mobile gaming. The studio was initially formed to work on a now-cancelled Hitman project for consoles and then transitioned to making premium smartphone and tablet games.Since releasing Hitman Go in 2014 the team has been quietly kicking a lot of ass in the space, launching the excellent Hitman Sniper and Lara Croft Go within roughly two months of each other. It's this type of repeat success that's afforded lead programmer Antoine Routon and his mobile-exclusive team at Square Enix Montreal the freedom to tinker with publisher Square Enix's biggest properties in fresh ways."We have a lot of creative freedom we acquired by delivering good games," he says. "What's the opposite of street cred? Exec cred?" he asks, laughing.
Lara Croft's awesome mobile adventure adds a free tomb to raid
Lara Croft has a pretty big adventure on Xbox One this fall with Rise of the Tomb Raider, but her grand mobile mission is about grow too. Developer Square Enix Montreal announced it's dropping "The Shard of Life" expansion for Lara Croft GO tomorrow for free on Android and iOS (sorry, Windows Phone folks) with some 26 fresh puzzles to tackle while you're waiting in line at the grocery store. More than that, the publisher is knocking 40 percent off the game's price -- it'll run you $2.99 for a limited time. Oh and its hosting a Twitch event tasking the game's community to solve the new puzzles.
'Titanfall' is going mobile
Titanfall, the mech-based multiplayer shooter from the creators of Call of Duty, will land on iOS and Android in some form in 2016. Titanfall studio Respawn Entertainment has partnered with free-to-play publisher Nexon and mobile developer Particle City in a multi-year, multi-game deal. There are no details about the mechanics or style of the coming Titanfall mobile games, but considering Nexon's involvement, it's a good bet that they'll be free with in-app payments. "Nexon's unrivaled publishing network and free-to-play expertise will allow Titanfall to reach new global audiences. And with Particle City, we are closely collaborating to create all-new standalone games with original gameplay experiences that expand the Titanfall universe to players everywhere," Respawn co-founder Vince Zampella says in a press release.
2K Games kills off 'BioShock' for iOS
When 2K Games launched a port of the original BioShock for iOS last year, fans of the adored franchise were ecstatic. But it looks like that joy has, unexpectedly, come to an end for some of them. Much to the surprise of people who had already purchased the mobile title, 2K Games appears to have pulled it from the App store -- if you deleted it from your device, there's no way to get it back. The company had recently cited compatibility issues with versions of iOS 8.4 or higher, bad enough that users couldn't play it, but it said a fix was in the works. Now, however, the developer appears to have given up completely. According to a forum post on Touch Arcade, a 2K Games customer service rep told a fan the removal was "a developer decision."
Nicki Minaj and Jason Statham are getting their own mobile games
Hip-hop fans have had a lot to deal with lately: Dr. Dre shelved Detox, there's that whole Meek Mill and Drake feud that's spilling out all over Twitter and Run the Jewels might not be hitting your town on this fall's tour. There's a bright spot, though: Nicki Minaj is getting her own game courtesy of the folks behind Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. Glu Mobile announced that Minaj has lent her likeness, voice and creative directorship exclusively to the company for a game expected to launch next summer. Also joining the lady who kissed a girl and liked it is The Transporter himself, Jason Statham.
Latest Android Humble Bundle features NeoGeo's best games
If you're prone to throwing your controller when a game gets the best of you, perhaps the latest Humble Bundle isn't quite for you. Maybe. That's because the outfit's offering up a slew of classic NeoGeo games for the very low price of paying however much you want. So, for that very flexible price range you get Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Blazing Star, The King of Fighters '97, Metal Slug 2 (pictured above) and Metal Slug X on Android. Should you pay more than the (current) average price of $4.56 you'll also get access to Fatal Fury Special, Samurai Showdown II, Metal Slug 3 and yet-to-be-announced surprises.
'Snake Rewind' modernizes the Nokia game for touchscreen devices
Snake -- that addictive, reflex-testing mobile game on old Nokia brick phones -- is attempting a comeback. A version for modern smartphones and tablets called Snake Rewind will be released on May 14th by game developer Rumilus Design and Taneli Armanto. The latter's the Nokia engineer who preloaded it on the 6110 back in 1997 and the one you can blame for all those wasted hours and bouts of Snake-induced rage. For the young'uns who have no idea what it's about: the game gives you control of a slithering serpent during feeding time. You'd have to get its mouth in the same line as its pixel food, often by twisting and contorting its continuously elongating body using the keyboard. It might sound lame described like that, but over a decade ago, it occupied the throne Candy Crush is sitting on.
Shoot retro space bullets at friends' phones in real time with 'Dual'
Dual is more than a retro-styled space shooter. It's even more than a mobile game, and if developer Sebastian Gosztyla has his way, it's more than a video game, period. He wants Dual to be a catalyst for physical interaction. Dual is a two-player, cross-platform competition designed to get players moving in the real world, even as they sling reams of geometrical bullets from their mobile screens and onto friends' in real time. "It requires people to be aware of both screens in order to get a full picture of everything," Gosztyla says. "This makes the players' bodies become part of the experience. They become aware of their proximity and movements to each other, and create rules about how to play. I have seen people hide screens, get a little physical, use their height as an advantage or just turn around and ignore the other screen altogether."
Hybrid Play clips turn playground toys into videogame controllers
A group of developers thought it would be fun to merge playground activities with mobile gaming -- so they did. They've created a system called Hybrid Play that lets kids (or adults, no judgment here) control games on their phones with see-saws, swing sets and other playground toys. To transform these outdoor playsets into big controllers, kids will have to clip the Hybrid Play sensor (above) onto their slides and merry-go-rounds. This sensor (which is dust- impact- and water-resistant) is powered by an Arduino microcontoller and equipped with accelerometers, gyroscopes, infrared and Bluetooth. It transforms real-life movements into signals sent to your phone, which the app then converts into virtual action. By the way, the system's iOS and Android apps will come loaded with a selection of games to choose from, but everyone can make their own, as it's an open-source project.
'Goat Simulator' is now ruining picnics and butting heads on iOS and Android
Can't wait for the Xbox One version of Goat Simulator's absolute madness and have an iOS device? (Update: Or an Android one?) Well, then Coffee Stain Studios has you covered. The team's not-at-all serious (or realistic) depiction of goat life is now available for your Apple-branded mobile gizmos, as spotted by the ever vigilant Wario64. A majority of the game's charm comes from how intentionally glitchy and broken it is, so don't be alarmed if, say, your hoofed avatar's head gets stuck inside a wall. Or worse. Depending on where you live, though, it might be cheaper to keep an actual goat that to download this $5 game to your smart device of choice.
The battle for exclusive games has come to smartphones
It's like Sega and Sony all over again. We don't mean the hardware arms race (although that's certainly happening), but how the smartphone world's two top players are now fighting over the most popular games... and their sequels. Gaming is one of the top money-spinning app categories on smartphones and tablets and according to a WSJ report, both Apple and Google are trying to get popular games and their developers on their side. The companies promise headline placement in their respective online stores and prominent ads around the app portal, in exchange for exclusivity, or at least a lead. This was apparently the case for Plants Vs. Zombies 2 last year, where Apple got a two-month lead over the Android version -- and it's not the only one.
Age of Empires marches on mobile devices this summer
Even if we wanted to, we can't (rather, shouldn't) play Age of Empires all day. This summer it'll become a time-sinking possibility, however, with an AoE spin-off headed to iOS, Android and Windows Phone. The teaser video dropped by Microsoft doesn't reveal much outside the broad release date. Age of Empires: World Domination only gets mere seconds of gameplay teased so it's hard to derive exactly how much depth the mobile iteration will go into. Fortunately, horses, spears and Huns, at least, have already made the transition. Update: We've edited this article to reflect the fact that the game will come to Android and WinPho, as well as iOS.
Twitch takes game broadcasting mobile
Twitch is ready to give your Jetpack Joyride skills the audience they deserve. The outfit has just released a mobile software toolset that will let devs enable live broadcasting, capturing and archiving of your in-game exploits on Android and iOS. With its proposed features (including chat, audio capture and options for finding streams from people playing similar games), the mobile tools essentially mirror what's available on PC and consoles. Even with 10 million installs of Twitch's mobile apps, however, the question that remains is if anyone will actually want to watch you play Threes.
Report: Less than 1 percent of mobile gamers responsible for half of all in-app purchases
With the runaway success of Candy Crush Saga, it's perfectly natural to wonder just how many people are dropping coin in freemium mobile games. One firm's answer, however, might surprise you. A very small number -- 0.15 percent, to be exact -- of total mobile payers contribute half of monthly in-game revenue, according to in-app marketing company Swrve. The outfit also says that over 60 percent of the money made within the first two weeks of a player's life is made on the first day. Meaning, if most people install a game and don't make any purchases almost immediately, they likely won't at all. The report comes from a limited sample, but designers hoping to build the next fragile confection-like phenomenon are probably studying it for secrets right now. We've embedded the provided infographic after the break should you want a peek at a whole lot of graphs for yourself.
Nokia dives into game development with Modern Mayor for Windows Phone
It looks like Nokia has added game development to its repertoire as the handset maker released free-to-play Modern Mayor for WP8 Lumia devices today. The title tasks players with the mission of saving a dying town from complete ruin and returning it to its glory days. This means that you're in charge of of all construction, keeping the town clean and donating to local charities with in-app purchases. Don't worry though, Townhall Laura, the city publicist, is there to lend a hand. You didn't really think the position was just a title, did you?
Never fear, Flappy Bird is still available -- on eBay, for a thousand bucks
Less than a day after the explosively popular game Flappy Bird vanished from the App Store and Google Play, it's become available on eBay -- for hundreds of dollars. Lucky owners of the Flappy Bird app have put their phones and tablets up for bidding, with prices ranging from $460 for a black iPhone 4s with an "updated" version of the game to $1,000 for a Galaxy Tab 3 with the app pre-installed. It's unclear if any devices have sold, though there are a few bids in the running. Maybe wait a day or two before pulling the trigger, though; some say this is all a huge publicity stunt and the app will be back up soon, while others say the developer is avoiding being sued by other game makers. You could also check out Flappy Bird clones such as Ironpants. It's free; it offers similar gameplay, if you can live without the bird character; and it doesn't require remembering your eBay password.
Flappy Bird faces imminent extinction
Flappy Bird went from obscurity to chart-topping success overnight, but that's all coming to an end. After over 50 million downloads, developer Dong Nguyen said on Twitter that he's going to take the incredibly tough game down tomorrow... and probably not for the reasons you'd expect. It's not because of any legal pressure. It's not because he sold for some hefty sum. It's not even because he's tired of making games. Nguyen said Flappy Bird will cease to be simply because he just "cannot take this anymore". What exactly he means by that is unclear, but going off an earlier tweet it looks like Nguyen has grown weary of all the attention he's been getting lately. Who could blame him for shunning the spotlight? He created the app in just a few days in 2013 and it languished before exploding in popularity a few weeks back.
Samsung's GamePad to arrive in a Galaxy Tab 3 Game Edition bundle
It looks like Samsung will not only send the newly launched GamePad into the world solo, but also bundle it up. Although there's no official word yet, a German blog has reported that the controller has been paired up with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 in a special Game Edition package. Using them could be awkward since the tablet's too large to sit on the GamePad, but you can always hook it up to a TV using the accompanying HDMI adapter. Unfortunately, we couldn't find info on whether the duo will come stateside, and we doubt it'll arrive in time for Christmas. Whenever it comes, hopefully there'll be some savings over buying them separately, since the sticker on the GamePad alone is $110.
