Total War Battles: Shogun Hands-On Preview

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Last week at GDC we went hands-on with Sega’s upcoming Total War Battles: Shogun, an impressive-looking real-time strategy game for iOS. PC gamers may already be familiar with the Total War series, but this is a whole new game, with all original levels, and it was built entirely for touchscreen devices. As far as RTSs on iOS go, this one looks like a serious contender.  Read More →

MacGuffin’s Curse Hands-On Preview

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At last week’s GDC, we received a hands-on demo of a unique puzzle/ adventure game hybrid from Brawsome and Ayopa called MacGuffin’s Curse. In it, you play as a down-on-his-luck magician named MacGuffin who tries to steal an amulet from a museum, only to have it turn him into a werewolf. Lycanthropy has its advantages, though, like freakish strength, perfect for pushing around heavy machinery as MacGuffin tries to make his escape.  Read More →

The Act Hands-On Preview

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Watch the trailer below, and it won’t come as any surprise that The Act is more of a cartoon than a game. While you do have control over what happens onscreen, your input is limited to left and right swiping gestures that urge your character to do whatever he wants to accomplish in each scene. It’s like the classic arcade game Dragon’s Lair, but it doesn’t rely on twitch reactions (and, one would hope, includes fewer deaths).  Read More →

Skyfall Hands-On Preview

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Skyfall, an upcoming game from Ngmoco, is one of the more interesting attempts we’ve seen to bring a full-fledged RPG experience to a mobile device. It has most of the basic ingredients of a Final Fantasy or a Dragon Quest– exploration, a clever fighting system, towns, loot drops, inventories, leveling up, and dungeons– but they’re packaged in such a way that you can experience them in short play sessions.  Read More →

DragonCraft and Dreamtopia Hands-On Previews

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We met with Ngmoco at GDC and got a look at two of their biggest upcoming games. One offers a deep experience set in a steam punk/medieval fantasy world, while the other is geared toward the ever-expanding casual gaming crowd. Both games use a freemium pay model, so you don’t have to pay to play, but you can open your wallet for top-notch gear or to speed up in-game processes. Read on for details.  Read More →

Ravensword 2 Hands-On Preview

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Two and a half years ago, before iOS gaming had terms like “Retina display” or “universal apps”, a 3D RPG called Ravensword arrived in the App Store to unleash the device’s potential. It wasn’t a fully-featured console experience, but for mobile gaming, it was a breakthrough. Arriving later this year, Ravensword 2 will be more like the action-focused original than Crescent Moon’s last open-world RPG, Aralon.  Read More →

MotoHeroz Hands-On Preview

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MotoHeroz is a gorgeous new stunt vehicle game from Redlynx, the makers of the highly acclaimed Drawrace series. If the title sounds familiar, that’s probably because you heard about it when it came out last year for Wiiware. But this is no straight port– it’s been heavily redesigned for iOS. MotoHeroz is coming out next week on March 15, but we got our hands on it early. Read on for our impressions.  Read More →

Razer Project Fiona Hands-On Preview

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Razer made quite a splash at CES 2012 with Project Fiona, a high-end gaming tablet featuring an Intel i7 processor, Windows operating system, and unique controller wings. Be sure to read my Project Fiona reveal story for details on this tablet. Right now I’m going to give you some hands-on impressions of the device, additional details from spending time Razer project evangelist Hilmar Hahn, and original photos of Project Fiona.  Read More →

First Look: My Xbox Live for iPad

Microsoft recently released the My Xbox Live app for iOS, which allows Xbox 360 gamers to access their Xbox Live accounts on their iPads and iPhones. The app lets gamers view videos and news on the latest Xbox 360 happenings, browse through their games and achievements, and interact with their Xbox Live friends. While two of those three features aren’t that big of a deal, the app shines as a mobile social-networking extension of Xbox Live. Read on for some impressions and screens.  Read More →

Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies Hands-On Preview

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Activision hasn’t made very many iOS games, but the few they have, like Call of Duty: Zombies, Guitar Hero, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, have been geared towards hardcore gamers. If you’re sick of cuddly Match-3 games, freemium farms, and endless running games on the App Store, you have a reason to hope: Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies is a serious and complex mobile shooter with many of the same features as its console counterpart, like four player online co-op, and it launches tonight.  Read More →

The Sims FreePlay Hands-On Preview

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The Sims 3 on iOS and its many spin-offs (World Adventures, Ambitions, and Medieval) have been consistently great iPhone games, but there hasn’t been a Sims game designed for the iPad, too. That’s just one of the reasons we’re excited for The Sims FreePlay, a game that lets you grow relationships and build careers the way other casual games let you grow crops and build farms.  Read More →

Infinity Blade 2 Hands-On Preview

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Making a follow-up to a game as successful as Infinity Blade is a tricky proposition. Gamers want a sequel that stays true to the formula of the original, but with enough new ideas to keep the gameplay fresh. In this respect, Infinity Blade 2 feels just right. It keeps the basics of the original, while expanding the game’s universe in a number of areas. In other words, it’s like a deeper, roomier, more immersive take on one of the best gaming experiences available on iOS.  Read More →

Snoopy’s Street Fair Hands-On Preview

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Last year, Capcom Mobile released Smurfs’ Village, a freemium game that became a lightning rod for in-app purchase outrage. Due to the combination of its popularity, licensed characters, and ease of purchasing premium “smurfberries” with a credit card, Smurfs’ Village garnered some extremely negative media attention. But the game was also a major success, so Capcom’s preparing for another potential tidal wave of downloads with Snoopy’s Street Fair.  Read More →

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn Hands-On Preview

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Later this year, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson will reveal their computer-generated version of Tintin, a hero whose comic book adventures first began in 1929. It’s been over 80 years since Tintin first started solving mysteries, and on December 15, Gameloft will bring the boy detective to iOS with the US release of The Adventures of Tintin, just in time for the movie. The game is out now in Europe, so we decided to take an early look.  Read More →

Slide To Play Q & A: SpellCraft School of Magic

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Now that the Harry Potter movies are finished, players looking for more magical high-school adventures will have to turn elsewhere. Appy Entertainment, who previously developed the Must Have physics game Trucks and Skulls, are stepping into the world of freemium casual games with their fantasy-themed SpellCraft School of Magic. We asked Paul O’Connor, Brand Director at Appy, about the game’s Potter-esque theme and online wizard fights.  Read More →

Disney Appmates Hands-On Preview

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Ask any iPad-owning parent, and they’ll tell you kids today have developed a natural affinity for the iPad. Something about the super-simple touch interface connects kids to these devices instantly. Disney, which has always made technology seem magical, is creating a brand-new iPad interface called Appmates, which will let kids control a Cars-themed iPad game using actual toys.  Read More →

Another World – 20th Anniversary Hands-On Preview

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2011 has been a good year for videogame anniversaries. First Sonic the Hedgehog turned 20, and now the sweeping sci-fi action/adventure game Another World (or Out of this World, as it’s known in the U.S.) is doing the same. To celebrate, Bulkypix and Dotemu are cleaning up this classic with new difficulty modes, improved graphics, and touchscreen controls.  Read More →

Kona’s Crate Hands-On Preview

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Kona’s Crate is an action physics game based on speedy air delivery. It’s set in a tropical location, and your goal in each level is to deliver a wooden crate containing “celestial supplies” onto a grassy platform inhabited by a mystical chief named Kona. The catch– there’s always a catch– is that the vehicle you use to deliver the crate is an erratic rocket-powered lift.  Read More →

E3 2011 Hands-On Video Roundup Part 1

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We weren’t running around E3 this year just for the fun of it. We were hard at work, bringing you previews of every game we could get our hands on. And if you like your previews in video form, look no further. Below you’ll find hands-on videos of the first few iPhone games we got a hold of, including Fifa and Madden 12 for iPad, a platformer called Blobster, a racer called DrawRace 2, a dream-like game called Contre Jour, and even an Xperia Play game. We still have more videos to upload, so check back soon for part two of our video roundup.  Read More →

Street Fighter IV Volt Battle Protocol Hands-On Preview

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The Street Fighter series was born and raised in the arcades of old, where you never knew who would walk up to the machine and become your next opponent. That one-on-one random battle system was lost when the series first came to home consoles. But with the advent of Internet-enabled systems, the ability to fight random opponents is making a comeback. And with Street Fighter IV Volt Battle Protocol, that comeback is making its way to your iPhone.  Read More →

Paper Monsters Screenshots Released

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Crescent Moon, the people behind Gears and Aralon, are teaming up with Robots Vs. Wizards, the people behind Doodle Monster, to bring you a cool-looking side-scrolling platformer called Paper Monsters. The game is still in the early stages of development, so details are sparse, but expect a traditional Mario-like game, done in the graphical style you can see in the screnshots below.  Read More →

You Don’t Know Jack Hands-On Preview

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You Don’t Know Jack is a series of smart, smack-talking trivia games that were popular on the PC in the ’90s. After nearly a decade of silence, the franchise has resurfaced in a new edition available for just about every gaming platform out there. The iPhone and iPad versions will be available tomorrow, but we got our hands on the iPad version for an early look.

If you’ve played any of the You Don’t Know Jack games before, then you’ll feel instantly at home here because it’s evolved very little in its time off. Unlike most trivia videogames, this one doesn’t use pictures, music, or videos in the questions. In fact, mostly what happens onscreen as you play is that text and numbers move around.  Read More →

Updated: Smuggle Truck Hands-On Preview

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Smuggle Truck will be released tonight, but not in the form we played at GDC this year. Instead, it’s been renamed “Snuggle Truck” to make it through Apple’s approval process. Instead of Mexican immigrants, the game now stars a cast of cuddly stuffed animals trying to cross into a zoo. No matter the theme, the game is still a lot of fun, so look for this one when it hits the App Store at 8pm PST.  Read More →

Updated: Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Hands-On Preview and Video

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At E3 last week, we had a chance to check out an updated version of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, and we’re pleased with the progress. The game now has online multiplayer for up to four players via Game Center, Retina display support, and improved controls. Check out our newest hands-on video, showing House of the Dead and Samba de Amigo-themed levels, after the jump.  Read More →

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light Hands-On Preview and Video

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As far as sexy iPhone gaming mascots go, the Angry Birds aren’t really cutting it. Back in our day (the mid-90s), nothing sold next-generation graphics cards and game consoles like Lara Croft. Lara’s been having a bit of a console resurgence, with her downloadable Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network game Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light being called the best Tomb Raider game in years. Now, a scaled-down port is coming to the iPhone tonight.  Read More →

ARBasketball Hands-On Preview

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The term “augmented reality” describes computer-generated content placed on top of a real-life image. For instance, the yellow first down line you see on the football field when you’re watching a game on TV? That’s augmented reality. TIE fighters attacking New York City? That’s augmented reality. An imaginary but usable basketball hoop popping up out of your desk? That’s coming soon, in a game called ARBasketball. (And, yes, the AR stands for augmented reality.)  Read More →

Lil’ Pirates Hands-On Preview and Video

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In an intriguing partnership, Capcom and IUGO are teaming up to deliver their first-ever online social game. Similar in style to games like Farmville and We Farm, Lil’ Pirates is a pirate-themed game where you can import your Facebook friends, send them on missions, and then deck out your ship and outfit with their bounty. At GDC Online in Austin, we had a chance to try it for ourselves.  Read More →