The open beta for Square Enix's massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) Final Fantasy XIV will go live tomorrow, reports Joystiq. The open period officially starts at 10 p.m. ET on August 31. Citing the game's official forums, Joystiq says a limited number of players will be able to participate initially to test out servers before opening up to a wider group. The PC version of Final Fantasy XIV debuts next month, while a version for the PlayStation 3 will hit stores next March.
-- More beta news: studio Relic Entertainment has unveiled the first details on an open beta for military title Company of Heroes Online. Although the update from the game's official website doesn't name a specific date, Relic says the beta is expected to debut this week. The free-to-play version of the studio's real-time strategy series will launch later this year.
-- Electronic Arts has released a fresh video showcasing the multiplayer mode for the upcoming first-person shooter Medal of Honor, which arrives on October 12. The footage appears to depict a match of Rush, an objective-based game type where players must capture a series of points on the map. Warning to readers: the video does contain content for mature audiences.
lunes, 30 de agosto de 2010
New mobile gaming system provides educational fun
Mobile gaming for children is all the rage these days with iPhone, iPad, Nintendo DS and Leapster Explorer competing for kids' attention. VTech has entered the fray with MobiGo, a new educational gaming system for ages 3 to 8.
These competing devices sport touch-sensitive screens so that kids can game by using their fingers as controllers, and MobiGo follows along that same path. But MobiGo separates itself from the pack by offering a slide-out keyboard that it incorporates into its educational gaming in interesting ways. The system costs $59.99, which is less than any of its competitors.
MobiGo is approximately 7 inches by 4 inches with two rubberized handles on either end to help players grip the device. It sports a directional pad for controlling characters, and a large Enter Button for special powers like jumping. Underneath the 1-and-three-quarter-by-2-and-one-half-inch touch-sensitive screen is a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The MobiGo runs on 4 AA batteries and has a standard headphones port.
Game cartridges for MobiGo are inserted in the top slot. At launch, there are 11 games including some featuring kids' favorites —Dora the Explorer,Toy Story 3,Ben 10 Ultimate Alien, and literary favorites from the Little Men/Little Miss series. Past VTech video games are not compatible with this new system.
MobiGo also supports downloading mini-games that can be accessed once the unit is connected to the Internet via the enclosed USB cord. Some mini-games are free, but most cost $4.99. The unit can hold up to four downloadable games at a time, but the content can be swapped in and out. These mini-games run the gamut from matching letters to learning about recycling in a sorting game to practicing addition as you stop an alien invasion.
MobiGo comes with a cartridge game called Touch & Learn Game Pack. From the main screen, kids can access six different games. They are playable on two levels of difficulty and all six are well done and fun to play.
In Wild Fun, kids tap the animal that is different from the others. On the easy level, there might be two grey elephants and a pink one, but the difficulty ramps up to maybe eight animals on the screen. If kids choose incorrectly, the game circles the reason why one animal is different.
In Space Challenge, players tap spaceships to complete number sequences and addition problems. The keyboard is used in Shooting Gallery, a fun arcade game where the goal is to type letters on the keyboard that correspond to those found on cardboard ducks. Logical thinking is tested in Ice Escape, where the goal is to move ice blocks to clear a path for a cute penguin so that he can get to a fish to eat.
In Fantastic Forest, kids help a little squirrel navigate a forest by drawing lines and geometric shapes on the screen. And in Music Maestro, players tap on the screen to jam to music.
MobiGo's touch-sensitive screen is quite responsive, which makes it great for playing games. We checked out an add-on cartridge game for kids ages 4 to 7 —Ben 10 Ultimate Alien Mind Mine— and were impressed by the game play that required players to complete an electrical circuit by tapping on junctures and then rotating parts to line up a path — all easily done with one finger.
Add-on cartridge games cost $19.99.
For families looking for fun educational gaming on the go, MobiGo is a great choice.
martes, 24 de agosto de 2010
Astraware webos games: Sudoku and ObbBlob
 | web os update august 2010 |
Welcome to our first webOS newsletter! We're excited to release our first 2 games for webOS, Astraware Sudoku and OddBlob, and we're expecting more to be released in the coming months.
We have ported both games to webOS using Palm's PDK kit and we hope you enjoy the results. Both games support the Pre and Pre Plus right now, but we hope to add support for the Pixi devices soon! Both games have been released at a special limited time offer price of $2.99 so grab them now!
 | Packed with features, Astraware Sudoku includes a puzzle generator; multiple difficulty levels; a puzzle solver; various types of assistance; and 'Puzzle of the Day' which allows you to complete the daily puzzles and compare with other players worldwide! | |||
 |  | |||
Meet OddBlob: the groovy clay dude who loves to bounce! Help OddBlob bound across the squishy maze to grab bonuses, chomp fruit, and win points as quickly as he can as the chasing tiles disappear behind. |  | |||
 |  | |||
| If you have any comments or questions about our games, please get in touch via our website or by sending an email to support@astraware.com. Copyright ©2010 Astraware Limited. All rights reserved. Astraware Limited is registered in England & Wales no. 3940683. Registered office: Unit 6 Brock Way, Knutton, Newcastle-under-Lyme ST5 6AZ, United Kingdom. Tel. +44 (0)1782 667820. Sent to francisco1de9jess46@yahoo.com. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website, www.astraware.com Unsubscribe - Update email profile - Forward to a Friend | |
viernes, 20 de agosto de 2010
Lara Croft returns in 'Guardian of Light'
It might not be the Tomb Raider experience you're accustomed to, but don't write off Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. This $15 digital download is worth the cash for fans of the agile adventurer and newcomers alike.
Available online now at Xbox Live Arcade for the Microsoft Xbox 360 and on Sept. 28 for the Sony PlayStation 3 and PC via the Steam network, Guardian of Light is a reimagining of the iconic Tomb Raider series. This "experimental" game, as one of the Crystal Dynamics developers put it during a hands-on preview a few months back, offers an angled top-down "isometric" view of the action rather than an over-the-shoulder, third-person perspective.
More importantly, perhaps, Guardian of Light delivers the first multiplayer cooperative Tomb Raider experience, as two friends can work together to complete quests side-by-side on the same television — and by the end of September, a downloadable update will allow two friends to play together online.
At the start of the story, Croft discovers the lost Temple of Light, a resting place for a powerful artifact called the Mirror of Smoke. But just as she approaches the magical mirror, the curvy heroine is ambushed by a thieving mercenary who unwittingly releases Xolotl, an evil entity imprisoned in the mirror. In order to track down Xolotl and retrieve the mirror, Croft gets some help from Totec, an ancient Guardian of Light awakened by the incident.
In the single-player game, you control Lara Croft, who must navigate treacherous tombs, battle demons (including bigger "boss" enemies) and solve environmental puzzles, such as finding ways to enter locked rooms. With the latter, these obstacles might be overcome by rolling huge balls onto pressure plates, shooting guns at switches or throwing Toltec's spear into a wall, which you can hop on and use as a ladder of sorts. Pressing the left trigger on the Xbox 360 controller lets you choose which weapon to use at a given time. As with past games, you can also drop bombs, use a grappling hook, jump across chasms, shimmy along walls and find upgrades throughout the levels.
In the co-op mode, one gamer plays as the gun-toting Croft and the other as the spear-throwing Totec. While you're working together for a common goal — to find and defeat Xolotl — there's a competitive angle, too, as you can try to get more points than your co-adventurer. Too bad online co-op was not ready for the launch, considering this is one of the game's biggest features, so you'll have to wait until Sept. 28 for this update.
Another issue: While the levels are well-designed, and with virtually no load times, sometimes the fixed camera means part of the screen is cut off and you won't be able to see looming threats. For example, in one boss battle there's a beast who charges at you, but because you might not be able to see the enemy, you could be knocked down before you know it.
Minor shortcomings aside, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is a fun, accessible and relatively inexpensive action game — whether you prefer to play solo or alongside a friend. Kudos to Crystal Dynamics for delivering a different spin on this 15-year-old franchise.
jueves, 19 de agosto de 2010
martes, 17 de agosto de 2010
Palm USA | Palm webOS Applications | Mobile apps that go further.
Palm USA | Palm webOS Applications | Mobile apps that go further.
Puzzle Paint 3D Lite FREE
Prepare for a new challenge! The lite version of Puzzle Paint 3D offers 20 levels of excellent puzzle fun. Your task is to paint the pattern in each level correctly using the color blobs. This quickly becomes a real challenge with tricky special fields such as ice fields or pipes. To be successful, you have to mix colors and combine elements skillfully. Try Arcade mode to play against the time and reach highscores. Choose from three difficulty levels to adjust the game to you. Beat the boss level and become the master of Puzzle Paint Lite!
download link:
lunes, 16 de agosto de 2010
YouTube - Flicktapular
YouTube - Flicktapular
This video was made by: http://www.youtube.com/user/blakesingerapps
Flicktapular is a fun little game for Palm webOS where you tap and flick different shapes to earn points. Whether you casually want to kill a few minutes waiting in line, or you competitively want to spend 30 minutes trying to increase your score by 10 points, this game is for you! Check the App Catalog for it soon (on the Pre only, for now) .
Palm Pre VBA 1.2.4 Mario Kart Advance
This video was made by http://www.youtube.com/user/sonicnkt86
Running the latest Version of VBA (Visual Boy Advance, 1.2.4) on my Pre playing Mario Kart. Thanks to dtzWill for this great port.
PS: Pre is running uberkernel @800Mhz
PS: Pre is running uberkernel @800Mhz
viernes, 13 de agosto de 2010
Study uncovers every possible Rubik's Cube solution - Plugged In - Yahoo! Games
Study uncovers every possible Rubik's Cube solution - Plugged In - Yahoo! Games
WASHINGTON (AFP) – An international team of researchers using computer time lent to them by Google has found every way the popular Rubik's Cube puzzle can be solved, and showed it can always be solved in 20 moves or less.
The study is just the latest attempt by Rubik's enthusiasts to figure out the secrets of the cube, which has proven to be altogether far more complicated that its jaunty colors might suggest.
At the crux of the quest has been a bid to determine the lowest number of moves required to get the cube from any given muddled configuration to the color-aligned solution.
"Every solver of the Cube uses an algorithm, which is a sequence of steps for solving the Cube," said the team of mathematicians, who include Morley Davidson of Ohio's Kent State University, Google engineer John Dethridge, German math teacher Herbert Kociemba and Tomas Rokicki, a California programmer.
"There are many different algorithms, varying in complexity and number of moves required, but those that can be memorized by a mortal typically require more than forty moves."
One may suppose God would use a much more efficient algorithm, one that always uses the shortest sequence of moves; this is known as God's Algorithm. The number of moves this algorithm would take in the worst case is called God's Number. At long last, God's Number has been shown to be 20."
The research, published online, ends a 30-year search for the most efficient way to correctly align the 26 colored cubes that make up Erno Rubrik's 1974 invention.
"It took fifteen years after the introduction of the Cube to find the first position that provably requires 20 moves to solve," the team said. "It is appropriate that fifteen years after that, we prove that twenty moves suffice for all position."
Using computers lent to them by Google -- the company won't disclose how many or how powerful they are -- the team crunched through billions of Cube positions, solving each one over a period of "just a few weeks."
The study builds on the work of a veritable pantheon of Rubik's researchers, starting with Morwen Thistlethwaite who in 1981 showed 52 moves were sufficient to reach the solution from any given Cube position.
By May 1992, Michael Reid showed 39 moves was always sufficient, only to be undercut a mere day later by Dik Winter, who showed 37 moves would work.
Rubik's enthusiasm extends not only to God's number, but the speed with which the tricky puzzle can be solved.
The current world record holder is Dutch Erik Akkersdijk who successfully solved the puzzle in just 7.08 seconds.
sábado, 7 de agosto de 2010
FunCom Game: The Secret World
Imagine if every myth, conspiracy theory and urban legend was true. Imagine if your worst nightmare came to life. Imagine a world where vampires hunt for mortal blood in dingy London nightclubs, where werewolves lurk in the sewers beneath Seoul, and where the undead prey on the living in the shadows of New York City. This is the premise for «The Secret World», Funcom's upcoming massively multiplayer online game set in the modern day real world.
•Urban environments - Throw yourself into the bustling urban environments of New York, London and Seoul. Shop for clothes, weapons and accessories. Stop by the local nightclub to socialize with your friends before heading out into the darkness that is slowly encroaching on the city streets.
•Real-world locations - Discover real-world locations throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and America. From New England to Egypt, explore vast lands full of detail and story as you unravel the myths, legends and conspiracies of the world through a unique, story-driven gameplay experience.
•Freeform gameplay - Experience a game that has no classes or levels. Truly freeform character customization allows you to create the alter-ego you want to play, and gameplay that goes beyond the usually rigid MMO structure allows you to play the game the way you want to play it.
•Hundreds of powers - Wield fiery katanas, gold-plated pistols, and deadly automatic rifles. Learn martial arts, black magic and voodoo. Choose from hundreds of powers to create a character completely customized to your liking.
•Action-packed combat - Lose yourself in the most intense real-time action-packed combat system ever. Aim, strafe, shoot – movement is key as bullets fly past you and explosions threatens to tear you apart. Swords or firearms, magic and melee, each offering a similarly intense, reactive combat experience.
•Secret societies - Join the Illuminati, the Templars or the Dragon - the three secret societies that pull the strings of our world. Work your way to the top, earn titles and rewards, and play a key role in the battle for world domination.
•Player-made organisations - Create or join player-made organisations called cabals. Create your own headquarters, and decorate and furnish it to your liking. All cabals are ranked against each other, and a cabal's success will bring fame, fortune and power to its members.
•Track your progress - Earn points for everything you do - from combat and exploration, to trade skills and PvP - in order to rank high on both local and global scoreboards, gain titles and worldwide acclaim, and help make your secret society the most powerful and influential of them all.
•Intense player vs. player combat - Take part in ferocious, non-stop player vs. player action in the Battle for Hollow Earth. Fight to control anima, a priceless resource deep within the bowels of our world that will bring unprecedented power to whichever cabal that collects it
•Next-generation graphics - Featuring the latest in cutting-edge graphics technology, explore beautifully realized real-world locations that will truly set the standard for next-generation massively multiplayer online games. Prepare for an audiovisual experience unlike anything seen before.
Alien Invaders
Alien Invaders
Enjoy a classic arcade hit completely free on the Palm Pre! Alien Invaders bringing you hours of fun game play saving the world from alien invaders. This game includes easy to use touch controls. Simply tap the bottom left or right of the screen to move your platform to blast the invaders and evade their endless barrage of missiles. To fire, tap any place on the top half of the screen.
martes, 3 de agosto de 2010
Palm Pre: Brain Challenge HD
With Brain Challenge you keep in shape with little exercises without getting tired, bored or burden you.
More than a game, Brain Challenge is a vitamin boost for your brain, and the perfect way to sharpen the intellect of a simple and fun. –
A collection of 25 mini-games, divided into five categories, which will test different aspects of your mental agility, visual, memory, logic, math and concentration. –
9 creative mini-games that stimulate your mind relax and explore the creative ability of your brain: freely express your artistic skills through various games using your imagination and curiosity to thrive. –
9 mini-games to practice stress management confronting your resistance to various situations that could happen in real life or at work. –
Test day: five three-minute mini chosen at random from among the various categories, with those who will practice every day and improve your brain health. –
Board practices, play freely to all the minigames in each category. - Choose your favorite teacher from the two possible. - Check your progress with detailed performance graphs and statistics.
http://www.gameloft.com/palm-games/brain-challenge/
for download:
http://developer.palm.com/webChannel/index.php?packageid=com.gameloft.app.brainchallenge
Crusade Of Destiny first ever 3D RPG
First ever full scale 3D RPG for Palm!
In a time of magic and dragons, become the hero you were meant to be and embark on the crusade of your destiny.
Everything you expect in a solid RPG delivered in stunning 3D. FEATURES: * Innovative easy use multi-touch controls scheme with 360 degree camera panning. * Epic story-line with cinematic intro. * 3 trainable skill lines. Become a better warrior, archer or mage. Some abilities available only to high trained skill lines. * Countless hours of gameplay. * 360 degree SWIMMING! Go FISHING for food! Even ride horses! * Detailed side quests. * 3D sound effect positioning. * Challenging bosses to defeat. * In-game cycles of real night and day on a readable 24 hour based time system. Some events based on night and day. * Stunning 3D special effects. * Multiple damage types including slashing, blunt, piercing, fire, ice, and energy within a unique combat resist system. Certain creatures are more resistant or vulnerable to certain attacks. * High quality sound effects and original music soundtracks each with individual volume controls. * Multiple lands and caverns to explore with many secrets to uncover. * Single target and area effect skills available for both melee and magic lines. * Easy to learn combat system with auto-face targeting. * Balanced economy system. Visit shops. Buy and sell items. * Right and left handed joystick and controls option. * In-game help tutorial. Go to Inventory >> Options >> Help for more instructions. * Customizable hot keys. Arrange skills in any order. * 3 game slots to save multiple player's adventures. * Large variety of mystical creatures: Goblins, Golems, Fairies, ...too many to name here. * Multiple languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Polish.
http://developer.palm.com/webChannel/index.php?packageid=com.dvidearts.crusadeofdestiny
lunes, 2 de agosto de 2010
Sales of 'Call of Duty' map packs top 20 million
The number of map packs downloaded for Activision's first person shooter franchise Call of Duty has crossed the 20 million mark.
The franchise introduced the downloads to players in 2007, with the arrival of Call of Duty 3. Most recently, studio Infinity Ward released the Resurgence Map Pack, five fresh maps for their hugely popular 2009 title Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
The milestone arrives following scrutiny surrounding the price for Modern Warfare 2 map packs. The downloads, which feature three new maps and two remastered environments used in Call of Duty 4, retailed for $15.
The next title in the series, Call of Duty: Black Ops, is slated for release in November.
Readers, still playing Call of Duty?
domingo, 1 de agosto de 2010
2006 wish gaming fiction is about to be real on your next HP/Palm webos smartphone.
August 1,2010
2006 wish gaming fiction is about to be real on your next HP/Palm webos smartphone?
This video was made around 2006 to show the possibilities for gaming using Mscape technology from HP. The concept was way ahead of its time, featured augmented reality and a generally cool idea.
Finally we have a mobile operating system we can be proud of. You know, I'm never one to say something I don't believe - I never really enjoyed using Windows Mobile, although Mobile 7 looks to be potentially awesome (you'd think after a decade or so it's about time?). I also like Android and Apple iOs...but webOS is still ahead in many ways, save that for another blog.
I'm glad we finally bought PALM and now the possibilities are truly great. If you have not tried webOS you truly owe it to yourself just to try it. It's so freaking awesome. The biggest complaint right now is people want to see more hardware choices - I think we all know that.
So game developers, this was HP's vision 3+ years ago. If you could think about using our hardware and future hardware -- think scalable resolution, multiple cameras, fast graphics, awesome screens, touch, accelerometers, GPS, Bluetooth, WIFI, always connected, etc.
Just put it all together and create something truly unique.
NOTE: This post was originally written by Rahul Sood CTO of HP gaming business.
Suscribirse a:
Entradas (Atom)