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Posts tagged with "games"

MacStories Weekly Game: ChuChu Rocket! HD

I never had the chance to play the original ChuChu Rocket! 10 years ago on the SEGA Dreamcast. I didn’t have a Dreamcast back then. In fact, I think I was playing with the PSX back in 2000, and I’m sure I had a Game Boy Color. A few years later I bought the GBA, a Game Cube and a PS2 – but I never bothered grabbing a Dreamcast to check out the gems released by SEGA and other 3rd party developers. I regret that, mostly because I’m still lacking knowledge in true masterpieces such as Shenmue (although this one’s been re-released on the Xbox) or Jet Set Radio.

Luckily enough for me, looks like iOS devices are somehow here to save the day and allow us to re-enjoy games first appeared years ago and now ready to come to life again under the power of multi-touch. That’s exactly what’s happening with ChuChu Rocket! HD for iPad: released a decade ago and subsequently redesigned to appear on the Game Boy Advance, the game’s now running on the iPad taking advantage of its larger screen and touch controls.

So why is this a Weekly Game anyway? Because it’s as genius as it was 10 years ago, and it’s a truly addictive puzzle game. Read more

Just Ahead Of Thanksgiving, Games Take Over The App Store

Frankly, I saw this coming: with all the offers and deals that have started to pop up in the App Store since last week, the rapid arise of games in the App Store charts doesn’t come as a surprise at all. Still, the results and numbers are noteworthy: while counting all the games in the App Store is nearly impossible (at least basing on official data, which Apple doesn’t provide), we can simply take a look at the “Top Paid Apps” and “Top Grossing Apps” charts to see what happened.

Games are dominating the Thanksgiving week in the App Store. Especially on the iPhone App Store, where at the moment of writing this only 26 apps out of the top 100 are non-games apps. The fact that we refer to them as “non-games apps” also tells a lot about the environment Apple created. The situation is slightly different on the iPad App Store (“only” 40,000 apps, newer platform) but the trend is just about the same on both the stores. Games are selling like hotcakes, huge discounts or not. Read more

GTA Trilogy for Mac Now Available

So you’re downloading iOS 4.2.1 for your iPad and the Apple TV is waiting an iOS 4.2 as well, but what about the Mac today? Well, there’s no software update in sight, but at least you can give it some Grand Theft Auto love.

As we previously reported, today Rockstar released GTA Trilogy for Mac, a package that contains the original GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas – all capable of running natively on your Mac. Read more

John Carmack on RAGE, Technical Limitations, Design Choices→

John Carmack on RAGE, Technical Limitations, Design Choices

John openly admits that they’re still experimenting with the App Store. So far Rage has been very successful in the few days it has been out, but they’re still waiting to see the long-term results of a shorter, lower-priced game. He explained that it’s still a point of discussion at Id as to whether the next games are going to be bigger and higher priced, or smaller and lower priced like RAGE.

If this is just an experiment, both from a pricing and technical standpoint, then I wonder what we’ll be able to play on a 3.5-inch screen in 2 years. The iOS gaming scene couldn’t be more promising.

In case you missed the whole story: Rage HD is available at $1.99 in the App Store, and it’s mind-blowing.

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Flight Control HD Now Available On The Mac via Steam

Just as promised two days ago, Firemint released Flight Control HD for Mac today. The game is available at 3,99 Euros via Steam, and it’s been published under the SteamPlay label so you’ll be able to play it both on a Mac and a PC – without having to buy it twice.

You’re an air traffic controller at an increasingly busy airport; just point and drag aircraft to their landing zones with your mouse or trackpad. Sounds easy? It isn’t! You’ll need nerves of steel and smart strategy to keep the chaos under control. Flight Control HD has been especially redesigned for PC and Mac, with updated graphics and an even tougher new challenge – the Steam exclusive Stunt map where you can increase your score by flying through the gates before landing!

The Mac version of Flight Control comes with an exclusive map and also features Steam achievements and leaderboards. Flight Control HD is coming to the Mac App Store as well.

Zen Bound 2 Now On The Mac via Steam

This summer, there was this friend of mine at the camping – Marco – who regularly came asking for my iPhone 4 to play one game: Zen Bound 2. He had become addicted to it since I first showed the app to him, and he turned out to be so good at covering creepy wood shapes with paint that I had to make him stop. Seriously, I uninstalled the app.

For those who of you unaware of the total awesomeness of Zen Bound 2, here’s the gist: in this game you have to wrap a rope around wood objects, the rope covers them with paint, you have to cover objects with a certain percentage of paint to complete a level. Absurd, simple. A must-have available at $2.99 for iPhone and iPad with Game Center support and Retina graphics. Read more

Angry Birds Sequel To Feature Pigs “Point of View”, Multiplayer Version Coming

At the Virtual Goods Summit in London Rovio CEO Peter Vesterbacka had a lot to say about the future of the Angry Birds franchise. The game, as you may have noticed, had an enormous success on the iPhone, expanded to the iPad with Angry Birds HD and tripled its dominance in the App Store with a Halloween themed version three weeks ago.

A multiplayer player version of the original Angry Birds is coming, and it “will be like old school Worms games”. Vesterbacka also added: “multiplayer is a priority, but we have not determined the best way for our players to experience it yet.” As this wasn’t, the game will soon make its way to PS3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii. A TV show and a Facebook game set in the same universe are also in the works. Read more

Id Software’s Mutant Bash TV a.k.a. “Rage Mobile” Approved, Coming Tomorrow

John Carmack’s latest creation for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad is something I’ve been looking forward since the first video demo in August. The guy co-founded id Software and programmed true masterpieces such as Wolfestein 3D, Doom and Quake. You don’t mess with id Software, and each project form Carmack is something you should keep an eye on.

Previously known as “Rage Mobile” then re-announced as Mutant Bash TV, the upcoming game from id Sofwtare is a first person shooter “on rails” set in the Rage universe. Unlike many other similar portings from consoles and PCs to mobile devices, though, MBT has been completely rewritten to take advantage of the iPhone’s unique features, namely a large button-free device where the only input system is your finger. Read more

Flight Control HD for Mac Coming Later This Month via Steam

Although Firemint already announced a Mac version of award-winning game Flight Control, dubbed Flight Control HD, will be released in the Mac App Store, Mac users will be able to download the game later this month via Steam.

From the official Firemint blog:

The Steam version of Flight Control HD will feature a brand-new, exclusive map. The new “Stunt Flying” map will introduce an exciting new gameplay element, where you can score extra points for flying through a course of stunt cones before landing. This adds a new challenge to the much-loved and insanely addictive gameplay first made famous by the worldwide iPhone hit that has now been downloaded more than 3 million times.
Flight Control HD for Steam will also feature Steam achievements and leaderboards, and will be available world-wide.

Mac gaming got a lot more interesting since the release of Steam, and it’s about to get even better with the Mac App Store. In case you haven’t yet, go check out Flight Control for iPhone and iPad here and here.