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Star Wars Pinball Boba Fett table grapples for your attention

Image The Boba Fett table from Star Wars Pinball looks pretty cool. Don't get too attached to it though. It will probably die a sudden and ignominious death. Star Wars Pinball rolls out to various platforms starting next week. ... Continue Reading

Hell Yeah! engulfs iOS in a Pocket Inferno


Arkedo Studio's hellacious downloadable game Hell Yeah! is spinning off, as rabbits in giant sawblade vehicles are wont to do. Hell Yeah! Pocket Inferno, developed by Polm Studio, lets you navigate through an automatically scrolling hellscape by tapping the left half of the screen to jump, and uses the right side to activate the machine gun you use to blow up enemies and environmental hazards.

Collectible skulls and Jetpack Joyride-style goals drive replayability, with the twist that the game is broken up into specific levels, each with pre-designed challenges, rather than a random endless gauntlet.

Is Pocket Inferno on the App Store now for 99 cents? Emphatically confirmed!

Plants vs. Zombies goes free on iOS this week

Plants vs Zombies goes free on iOS this week
For the first time in the game's history on iOS, Plants vs. Zombies has dropped to the low price of completely free. On either the iPhone or in HD on the iPad, you can grab the full-featured app for free through the rest of this week.

Statistically, given how many copies of the game have sold already, you probably already own it on at least one of your gaming devices, but just in case that list doesn't include iOS just yet, there you go. And now that PvZ has finally and truly achieved total platform domination, PopCap can start it on the sequel; It's due out sometime this spring.

The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Back to Bed

Indie developers are the starving artists of the video-game world, often brilliant and innovative, but also misunderstood, underfunded and more prone to writing free-form poetry on their LiveJournals. We believe they deserve a wider audience with the Joystiq Indie Pitch: This week, Klaus Petersen and Bedtime Gaming talk about artistic IGF student finalist Back to Bed. Check out the Kickstarter here.

The Joystiq Indie Pitch Back to Bed
What's your game called and what's it about?

Our game is called Back to Bed. It is a 3D puzzle platformer, wherein the player has to help a sleepwalker reach the safety of his bed by navigating him through a surreal and dreamlike environment.

How did you hear that Back to Bed was an IGF Student Showcase finalist and has that changed how you approach the game's development?

Well, we just read it on one of the game news sites, when the student showcase "winners" were announced, which of course caused celebration.

But yes, the IGF nomination changed alot of things. Besides giving the team a giant boost, it also gives us the great window of opportunity to show our game to a lot of people. It also builds up a little pressure, I guess. But it's just things like this that makes the long hours during crunch worthwhile.

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The Witness trailer requires your corroboration

Image From the mind that made you tear your hair out at slow-moving clouds, The Witness looks a bright, colorful, and serene prospect in this trailer from last night's PS4 reveal. After gawking at Braid's darker side, we know better than to assume a Jon Blow game is all cuddles and rainbows. ... Continue Reading

Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition comes to Mac

Another World 20th anniversary edition comes to Mac
The remastered version of Eric Chahi's Another World has taken a tour across a variety of platforms, and now makes a stop in one more ecosystem: the Mac App Store. Publisher DotEmu has released the remake on Mac, with optional and switchable HD graphics. The more platforms the better, because everyone should play it.

DotEmu also has an update on the way for the iOS version, adding support for controllers including the iCade. The touch controls aren't bad in this version, but buttons are usually preferable.

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The Room opens up for Android end of summer, a sequel this fall

Fireproof announces sequel to The Room due this Fall
Fireproof Games has announced a sequel to its iOS safe-crackin' sim The Room, coming later this year – not to be confused with that other room. "A new, more spectacular setting to continue the story," the announcement tweet promises. A free chapter will be released this summer, leading into the launch of the sequel in the fall.

Fireproof Games also promises an Android version of The Room, slated to launch on the platform "by the end of the summer." The Room is currently available for $1.99 on the iPad – or in The Room Pocket, a free version available for iPhone 4, fourth generation iPad devices and above.

CyberConnect2 releases iPhone action game Shadow Escaper


CyberConnect2, developer of Naruto fighting games, Asura's Wrath, and more, has published its first smartphone game, downloadable for free. Shadow Escaper, reminiscent of a gothic Temple Run, is on iOS now, with an Android version coming. It stars a fugitive "Night Dweller" demon, whose flight away from attacking angels you control with taps and swipes.

When day turns to night, your power is unlocked and you can turn around and face your attackers. Each cycle you survive improves your place on a leaderboard.

As a cooperation with GREE, Shadow Escaper is naturally free-to-play. An in-game shop will exchange real currency for in-game currency whenever you'd like.

Draw Something crests 100 million downloads after one year

Draw Something crests 100 million downloads after one year
After launching last February, Draw Something has penciled in 100 million downloads, Zynga has announced. The publisher released an infographic to celebrate the news, revealing some interesting facts about the game. Over the last year, 11 billion drawings have been made, with players spending over 28,000 combined years with the game. Furthermore, 22 million pizzas have been drawn, beating out the 11 million drawings of Lady Gaga.

This goes a long way toward confirming our long-held theory that pizza is precisely two times better than Lady Gaga.

Star Wars Pinball coming to a galaxy near you next week

Zen Studios' Star Wars Pinball will be released next week on a variety of platforms. The actual release details are a bit complicated, as Zen's pinball series is kind of a nebulous collection of DLC offerings and standalone games.

The Star Wars tables will be DLC for Pinball FX2 on XBLA Feb. 27 (for 800 MSP), for Zen Pinball 2 for PS3 and Vita ($10 with Cross Buy) Feb. 26 in North America and Feb. 27 in Europe, and Zen Pinball 2 on Mac ($3 per table), Zen Pinball for iOS ($2 per) and Zen Pinball HD on Android ($2 per) on Feb. 27.

Standalone apps will also be released on iOS and Android the same day. Oh, and by the way, this is canon now. The events of The Empire Strikes Back really involved giant flippers propelling enormous steel spheres.

Just kidding. But after the last 15 years, admit it: you kinda believed it.

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Morning Star comic app weaves into the game, from John Scalzi and Marvel's Mike Choi

Morning Star comic app weaves into the game, from John Scalzi and Marvel's Mike Choi
Morning Star – the hardcore, mobile FPS from Halo creator Alex Seropian and Seven Lights founder Tim Harris – is more than an iOS game. Seropian and Harris' studio, Industrial Toys, employs a wide range of geek experts, including Redshirts author John Scalzi and Marvel artist Mike Choi, both of whom are collaborating on an interactive, graphic novel app to tie-in with Morning Star on a deep level.

Morning Star Alpha will expand upon Morning Star's tale, frequently allowing readers to make choices that are saved to their accounts and ultimately affect the game itself, at least when that drops a few months later. Conversely, discovering certain things in the game will unlock aspects in Morning Star Alpha. It's sequential-storytelling symbiosis.

"We're doing some interesting things with this experiment by trying to take sequential storytelling's creative and enjoyment processes to the next level, using the mechanics available to us without the restrictions of a paper default – to coin a phrase – and also making it so that no two reads of the story are the same," Choi says.

Players won't need to read Morning Star Alpha to enjoy Morning Star, Harris tells us, but the app will add another layer of experience to the universe.

"The game will enhance and add to the graphic novel experience," Harris says. "For players who want to dig into the things they encounter in the game, tons of extras and narrative elements will unlock and bring those explorers down the rabbit hole. We call it the Nerdopedia internally, but it's so much cooler than that – it will be fed by the game and continue on through our later episodes and issues."

Scalzi's script is complete and a sample of Choi's art is hanging out above, though there is no release date for Morning Star Alpha yet.

'The Drowning' controls distilled to taps and swipes

Image The Drowning will forgo traditional emulated joysticks seen in other touch-interface shooters, instead opting for taps and swipes as the chief means of control. ... Continue Reading

A Virus Named Tom coming to Vita, PlayStation Mobile this summer

A Virus Named Tom coming to Vita, PlayStation Mobile this summer
Adorably insidious indie puzzler A Virus Named Tom will leave the confines of the home and infect various pocket devices sometime this summer, as Misfits Attic has announced both PlayStation Vita and PlayStation Mobile-enabled thingamabob ports of its previously PC-only pet project. As of yet, further information regarding pricing and other details is unavailable.

To celebrate the announcement, Misfits Attic has placed the Steam version of A Virus Named Tom on sale until Friday, February 22, meaning that you can discover why our own Jess Conditt loved this game so much for a smooth Lincoln.

GameStick pre-orders begin for console and accessories

GameStick preorders begin for console and accessories
PlayJam has initiated pre-orders for its ultra-portable GameStick Android console over on its official website. The main $79.00 bundle includes the dongle-like console itself, as well as the controller it's stored inside of when not plugged into a television's HDMI port. The GameStick's wireless charging dock/port hub and protective case are both up for pre-order as well, priced at $24.99 and $9.99, respectively.

Delivery is expected to begin once an initial run of devices have been shipped to Kickstarter supporters, which is scheduled to take place during April. Currently, the website lists April 30 as the "available on" date for all three items.

Team Meat teases cat fighting, full Mew-Genics announcement next week

Team Meat teases MewGenics cat fighting, big announcement next week
This may come as a shock to some of you, but Team Meat's mysterious, feline-focused project Mew-Genics will feature cat-on-cat combat as a heavily integral part of the game's design, Edmund McMillen has revealed. Who ever would have guessed? Team Meat's games are usually so nonviolent.

Furthermore, McMillen stated that he has been "using faked graphics for all the cats" in his weekly updates about Mew-Genics, meaning that everything we've seen so far has essentially been concept art. Next week, however, Team Meat will "finally announce what this damn game is," according to its official blog.

Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake hits funding goal, gets Android support

With its Kickstarter deadline passing today, SleepNinja Games' Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake surpassed its $15,000 funding goal, tallying up $26,091 in support.

The environmental puzzler will appear on Android right next to its originally-intended PC/Mac and iOS versions, as the funding initiative achieved its $20,000 stretch goal. Funding for the project fell $4,000 short of its "maximum polish" stretch goal. SleepNinja has an August 13 release date planned for the game, according to its latest update.

Tamagotchi breathes new 'L.i.f.e.' into Android today

Tamagotchi breathes new 'Life' into Android today
No, it's not your personal Tamagotchi – that poor critter is still a ghost haunting the silicon chip inside your keychain, locked away in a box somewhere in the attic of your childhood home. Today, a new Android app called Tamagotchi L.i.f.e. is available as a free ad-supported download, emulating all of the same functionality found in that digital creature craze of the 90s.

Tamagotchi L.i.f.e. is only available on Android (running 2.3 and up) thus far, but developer Sync Beatz promises it's coming to Apple devices too, according to a report on Techland. Aside from taking care of a Tamagotchi, the app also has plenty of unlockables: wallpapers, new Tamagotchi, different cosmetic options for your shell and different backgrounds. There's also a mode in which you can directly interact with your Tamagotchi and play a game of rock, paper, scissors using touch-screen controls.

Infinity Blade free until Feb. 21

INfiity blad afree
The original Infinity Blade is a free download on the App Store until February 21. Regularly priced at $5.99, the game is compatible with iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.

"Infinity Blade remains one of the most popular games in the App Store and this is a great opportunity to invite new gamers into the Infinity Blade universe," said ChAIR creative director Donald Mustard.

If you're feeling in a particularly V-day kind of mood, feel free to equip the pictured "Valentine's Day Holiday Helm." The Infinity Blade franchise has been good to ChAIR and parent-company Epic, it was announced last year the series generated revenues in excess of $30 million.

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Indie dungeon game Delver's Drop goes Kickstarter


The early version of Delver's Drop shown during PAX impressed: the dungeon RPG by Pixelscopic had clever "3D" effects and a combination of roguelike and action game style. Pixelscopic is now asking for a bit of help finishing the game (which was just a prototype at the time), with a $75,000 Kickstarter drive.

The $15 tier simply reserves a copy on PC and Mac, due in October; iOS and Android versions are expected "around February." Higher reward tiers include early beta access, art books, exclusive playable characters, and other goodies. There are a lot of tiers – think of each one as a floor in a dungeon, that you reach by buying your way through the others.

Tetris goes freemium on iOS and Android

Tetris goes freemium on iOS and Android
Tetris is timeless, but EA has still found a way to update the classic game for the 21st century: microtransactions. Tetris Blitz for iOS and Android is built around a two-minute Tetris round, in which players attempt to earn as many points as possible.

To help earn those points, you'll be able to buy power-ups, with new ones released weekly. New "Drag and Place" controls add another control option to the existing swipe-based scheme. And to further highlight that this is a 2013 game, players will also be able to compete on Facebook. It'll be released this spring on iOS, Google Play, and the Amazon Appstore.

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