Star Marine: Infinite Ammo - Don't Call it a Contra

This is not Contra, nor does it feature space marines. Star Marine: Infinite Ammo is a 2D run-n-gun title for iOS that takes a whole lotta notes from the aforementioned Contra. Spread Gun, Crush Gun, Laser Gun, Flame Gun.. Eh? But you know what, it's cool. I don't mind cheap Contra rip-offs because I fucking love Contra. Spread Gun, bitch! 

Aside from the bevy of similar weapons, Star Marine seems to also incorporate some other staples of the genre, including massive enemies, and wicked platforming. I see some hanging and moving between suspended rails, but I do NOT see any hanging from missiles in-flight. Your move, Star Marine. 

How will a game cut from the same cloth as the punishing Contra hold up on touch controls? My guess: not well. The developers have at least tried to soften the blow of touch controls by using the twin-stick scheme rather than the typical directional pad and buttons layout. Twin-sticking it to the man actually seems like a great marriage for this type of game on iOS. At least until someone makes the perfect touch control. Hmmm..

Get thumbs deep into Star Marine: Infinite Ammo on January 12.

REVIEW: League of Evil

Written by contributing author John Rios

Very few iOS platformers have used virtual controls well, but League of Evil aims to get it right. Ravenous Games has crafted their own take on the simple A-to-B formula with a load of Super Meat Boy influence. League of Evil sacrifices nothing to make itself more touch-screen friendly, yet somehow manages to work amazingly well.

A close cropped camera follows as you navigate and decapitate your way around levels at a blistering pace. Your abilities include a wall-jump, double-jump, and an air dash attack to take out enemies or add a little distance to your jumps through the bevy of crushing levels. The levels are not designed for length, maxing out at about 15 seconds, or no more than 5 seconds if you're impossibly good. This provides a nice mini-game feel, perfect for short periods of killing time or bouts of ADD. Though don't make the mistake of thinking you won't spend an hour blazing through stage after stage, because if you're not careful, you will. A recent update of 48 added levels builds on the soul-crushing fun, ensuring plenty of areas for you to zip around. The addiction of collecting hidden suitcases found in each stage, as well as the ranking system add incentive to play League of Evil over and over. 

You will always feel like you have total control over the game's protagonist -- a cyborg that has a striking resemblance to The Terminator -- as you jump over spike pits and spinning hammers. Not once did I find myself hitting the dash button when I wanted to hit jump, or vice-versa. I did notice that my fingers were slipping a bit due to the diminutive size of the iPhone when coupled with a platformer as intense as this. Your mileage may vary though, especially if you have tiny fingers, or an iPad.

The beauty of the 8-bit generation lives on in the slick, colorful, lo-fi visuals. While many a developer attempt to capture the true throwback nature of the NES days, leagues of failures are created along the way. League of Evil undoubtedly hits the mark, seemingly transported onto the iOS platform right from the late 1980s. The music feels like it was transplanted from a Contra or Ikari Warriors title, which is a fantastic compliment.

League of Evil is truly a unique experience on your iOS device (until Team Meat creates an iOS port of Super Meat Boy). Fans of fast, punishing action should not miss out on this one.

Buy it if: You haven't yet, it’s only 99 cents!
Don't Buy it if: Platformers easily frustrate you
The Score: 8 outta 10 Blasters!

Out of This World, on to this iOS Device

Another World -- or as I, as well as other North American gamers have come to know it, Out of This World -- is a game I remember fondly for kicking the shit out of me on my MS-DOS computer in the early 90s, when I wasn't playing Commander Keen or Dr. SBAITSO.

Good news everyone! Out of This World will make a grand return to confound a new generation of gamer, who probably never heard of this classic, and do nothing these days but play Black Ops. Fucking newbs.

Slated for iOS (iPhone, iPod, and iPad), developer DotEmu is handling the remake, and has been given the blessing of creator Eric Chahi to move forward and get this thing out the door.  It's not clear whether or not this is a re-make from the ground up or just a re-release with HD graphics, but I'll be overjoyed to get my hands on Out of This World either way. I remember having problems beating it as a kid, so I have a score to settle, and I'm sure many of you original gangstas do as well. 

via Game Informer

Watch the PlayStation Phone be Fondled Aggressively

Sony Ericsson's Xperia PLAY, otherwise known as the PlayStation Phone, has found itself a long way from home -- again. Previously filmed in unromantic locales such as a McDonalds, a factory, and a basement, the PSPhone now finds itself in a parking lot, where a hungry geek slides his long fingers all over her sleek body. Poor PSPhone, she gets no respect!

The device itself is looking quite nice from a purely physical standpoint. The touch screen seems to be a bit unresponsive to the intrusive man's commands at times, and the slide mechanism looks to be incredibly stiff, which could be a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it. I'm sure it'll loosen up with use, but hopefully not by too much.

The video shows us some key parts of any mobile phone such as micro-USB port, and LED flash, as well as a few mobile gaming specific items like the shoulder buttons. The body is slightly chunky to accommodate the slide out gaming controls, which still look a little bland to me. Let's see the touch pad in action! 

Word is the Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY, which is starting to be abbreviated to S.E.X. PLAY, will finally have its official introduction at next month's Mobile World Congress. Until then, we'll look forward to seeing it taken on more cheap dates with shady, long-fingered dudes.

The Game Dealer, From the Makers of Game Dev Story

Game Dev Story is a solid, solid iOS game purchase. In it, you own a development company, and you must micromanage a dumbed down game development process from hiring staff and freelancers, to attending game expos. Simple, addictive fun.

I'm thrilled to hear today that Kairosoft, Game Dev's devs, have released a spiritual successor to the sleeper hit called Wai Wai! The Game Dealer. In it you, you guessed it, manage a retail game store. PROTIP: Naming your game store GameStop will immediately bankrupt you and instantaneously cause you to lose the game, and your iOS device to explode in your hands. 

No localization plans have been announced yet (sorry to burst your bubble), but here's to hoping Kairosoft brings the addictive sim stateside, albeit with less Wais in the title.

via Destructoid

Sony Ericsson's PlayStation Phone Gets Felt Up

Sony Ericsson's PlayStation Phone has been spotted in the wild, and immediately gets groped on camera. Not much has changed cosmetically since it's first low quality photo reveal. Actually, nothing has changed, which is a bit disappointing to say the least. PlayStation has always impressed me with its cutting edge designs, but the PSPhone is a little disappointing to say the least, especially once you slide the screen up and look at the underwhelming controls.

Android's Gingerbread OS is looking pretty sexy though, and that could be the only thing this device has going for it right now. Expect to get more details very soon.

via engadget

Infinity Blade is Full of Hot DAMN!

Earlier this week we gave you a look at Infinity Blade, the Unreal Engine 3 powered iOS game that looks like nothing we've seen on the iPhone before. Those were pictures and a loose release date. This is ice cold video, baby. 

Hot DAMN, this game looks good. I mean it's no fart app, but it's close. My one concern would be the lack of movement during battle. It looks like dragging across the screen makes your character attack in real time, but there's no movement during a battle. The limitations of control are understandable, but if you can't move, shouldn't there be an attack timer? We need to know more, now!  

Infinity Blade Coming to iOS This Holiday Season

Epic Games and ChAIR Entertainment have announced that their mobile title for iOS, previously known as Project Sword, will release this holiday season under the finalized title of Infinity Blade. 

The sword and shield, castle-faring, full 3D action RPG looks like it's raising the bar on iOS graphics. Powered by Unreal Engine 3, Infinity Blade is said to feature an intuitive combat interface and simple touch controls. 

Aside from the campaign mode, which features fun, furious, adrenaline-fueled sword battles, and large scale boss fights, players will gain experience, level their stats, and find more powerful items and weapons as they battle on. Free content will be added after the game's launch, which will add multiplayer and Game Center support amongst other things.

There's no denying the graphics are amazing, but the controls on the iPhone's screen are what truly worries me. Sure the exploration of Epic Citadel felt intuitive, but once you throw in sword fighting and possible spell-weaving, things become infinitely more complex. 

No exact release date or price has been announced yet, but keep it locked for more Infinity Blade news as it surfaces.

Say Hello to the New PSP: PlayStation Phone

It's heeeeeere. The oft-speculated PlayStation Phone has finally made its first appearance, effectively silencing its doubters and knocking the pants off anyone who didn't see it coming. 

The crafty folks at Engadget have gotten their hands on what appears to be a prototype model, which looks pretty impressive. Rumored to run the yet-to-be released Android 3.0 OS, the PSPhone runs on a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655, 512MB of RAM, 1GB of ROM, with an approximately 4-inch screen. Fancy! 

To go along with all that's under the hood, the PSPhone's touchscreen slides up to reveal a directional pad and the usual PlayStation face buttons. I suppose analog sticks would be too bulky for this tight little package, so they've been replaced by a multi-touch pad. Shoulder buttons included, Memory Stick not. In place of Sony's much pushed, less than ideal storage solution, is the more universal MicroSD slot. That's a good look. 

As a prototype model still, it's hard to say the PSPhone Engadget got their hands on won't change, but even if it didn't, it's still an impressive piece of phone. Sony turned a lot of heads when they confidently entered the console wars years back, can they do the same in the mobile market? Will they send the police to kick down Engadget's door and reclaim the device? Will the PSPhone be any good? Stay tuned. 

via Engadget.com

Playstation Phone gallery

REVIEW: Game Dev Story

We're all game enthusiasts here. We play, we watch, we read and write about, and then we play some more. Given the opportunity to develop a game, do you think you could? If you had the skills, knew the people, and was driven by a sense of entrepreneurship, would you create a game development studio? There's no need for could have and would have anymore, with Game Dev Story, now you can do just that. 

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