One big trend in gaming recently is the convergence of card-based games and more traditional genres. And beyond that, the trading and collectible card game sub-genres have had considerable crossover lately. Now we have an upcoming game that combines RPG with both CCG and TCG elements to produce an exciting and fun experience that is both accessible and deep!
Are you a fan of the Netflix original series “House of Cards”? Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright are riveting are Frank and Claire in the popular series now in its 3rd season. In this season we see the video game-loving President play Monument Valley to decompress. And in turn, viewers turned to the app store to buy the game.
I loved Machines at War 3 for both Mac and iPad from Isotope 244, an indie developer known for making classic real-time strategy games for desktop and mobile. That game followed Land Air Sea Warfare, which was the sequel to Machines at War. LASW released for computers and iPad in 2010, and is now coming to Android on March 11!
When I wrote up the first announcement of Sid Meier’s Starships last month, we had no pricing details and the only release information we had was “Later This Year!” Now we have details: the game is coming to Mac, PC and iPad on March 12th for $15! Over at Pocket Tactics there is a new preview with loads of details!
Last year we heard about a new educational game called S.M.A.R.T. Adventures Mission Math, which was a STEM game, aimed at girls – but was fun for pretty much anyone. I had some fun playing around with the game when it was released, and was glad for the STEM focus. Now they are back with their follow-up second chapter!
When Alice Dahl leaves for a work trip and laments her job to her husband, she has no idea what turns of events awaits her. Mind Snares: Alice’s Journey tells the tale of what happens after she wakes up from a terrible car accident, and the lengths she has to explore to get home. Check it out!
Real Time Strategy games continue to be popular on the PC, but they are about to open up to a whole new fan base with the upcoming alternate reality game Timelines: Assault On America Mobile. Timelines is launching on February 17th on iOS and Android, more than a year after it released on Mac & PC.
One of my favorite recent game franchises is Legend of Grimrock – the grid-based dungeon crawler is a modern take and a throw-back to classic games like Eye of the Beholder. The game has been released for Mac and PC, and a PC sequel arrived recently, now we get to see the iPad port in action and more!
Surprisingly based on overlapping demographics, video games have not featured widely in Super Bowl commercials in years past – maybe because the big franchises launch in late summer through the fall, maybe they were unwilling to spend the big money on the ad space, or something? But this year three ‘freemium’ mobile games spent big – but was it worth it?
!['The World Ends With You' Broken on iOS 8, No Update Coming [UPDATED]](https://geardiary.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/The-World-Ends-With-You.jpg "'The World Ends With You' Broken on iOS 8, No Update Coming [UPDATED] 10")
One of the best, most original and unique games for the Nintendo DS was “The World Ends With You”. Square Enix delivered excellent single-player iPhone and iPad versions called ‘Solo Remix’ in summer 2012 for an audience-limiting $17.99/$19.99. Now a game-killing iOS 8 bug has been identified, and it isn’t clear if it will be fixed.
Much of the big noise from the recent NAMM show was about bringing back the classic analog synths of the 60s and 70s. But what about the workhorses of the digital era? Those tools for those of us starving for polyphony on a budget? Roland is answering this with the introduction of the Sound Canvas module for iOS.
While I am constantly amazed at the long-term support iOS game developers put into supporting their customers, I also know that it cannot last forever – revenues for old games diminish, and new projects need the time and resources. So while it is sad that Spacetime Studios is dropping some older games, it isn’t surprising – or even bad!
Yesterday we invited everyone to join us on the Outlook Mobile App Challenge, which seemed like a fun way to put this new ‘universal inbox’ app to the test. Since then some significant security concerns have been identified that makes this an app that we cannot recommend using right now. As a result, we’re stopping the challenge immediately.
Yesterday I wrote about the new Outlook app for iOS/Android, calling it a truly universal inbox that aggregates emails from all of the popular webmail services – Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo!, Hotmail, and Outlook – into a single unified Inbox. I am settled in my dual Mail/Mailbox routine, so Wayne challenged me to try Microsoft Outlook only for a week. Are you in?
Last week I reviewed ‘Satellina’, the puzzle in motion game I called a rare ‘simple to learn but constantly challenging’ experience that is well worth the $1.99 cost. This week as promised Moon Kid has released the game for Android on the Google Play store, and has also unleashed a free download from the game’s unique soundtrack! Check it out!
The quest for a truly ‘universal’ inbox for iOS is something many of us have been on since the beginning – we already had accounts on iCloud, Hotmail, Yahoo and of course Gmail … but there have always been limitations around notifications, account handling and more. Based on Accompli, the new Outlook app seeks to become your truly universal Inbox.
When my kids were young, it was the early days of educational computer games, and we were fortunate to have some awesome experiences with software that was interactive and educational. Times have rapidly advanced, and now a new game called Dino Tales presents an interactive world for kids to create and explore using methods including SIRI technology ‘word wheels’.
Last fall G5 Entertainment released G5 Jackpot Casino: Free Vegas Slots for the iPad, a free-to-play casino game with plenty of in-app purchase options. While slot machines and gambling games really aren’t my thing, the quest-based gameplay was engaging and offered loads of incentives to keep playing. What was missing was an iPhone version – which arrives now!
After not subscribing for a while, my family has been thoroughly enjoying a renewed Spotify subscription these last few months. The constant stream of improvements since they first launched has made the service more valuable than ever. Now they have introduced a new feature – Touch Preview – that lets you quickly check out new songs without leaving your playlist.
One of the best and most successful movies of the last year was The LEGO Movie. The quality and broad appeal surprised many viewers, and the video games were also quite enjoyable and high quality and popular with gamers of all ages. Now The LEGO Movie Video game has launched for iOS devices for just $4.99 – check it out!
Over the last several years card-based role-playing games have matured and branched out beyond just a few archetypes. While doing so they have also wrapped fully immersive games around the card-battle mechanic, making it easy to forget that there is even a card battle there! Honorbound has been a successful genre game, and is now expanding! Check it out!