games

Yesterday, Bethesda finally launched the long-awaited Fallout Shelter for Android and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. In this video, I take you on a brief walkthrough and tour of the initial game stages and how to play. If you haven’t already, you can download the game for free from the Google Play Store right now.

Fallout Shelter for Android now available on the Play Store

Cam Bunton Aug 13 2015 - 4:54 am PT

After what seems like an age waiting with anticipation, Fallout Shelter has finally been released for Android. The popular title landed on the Play Store this morning and is available to download for free.

Fallout Shelter’s basic concept is to build yourself a subterranean paradise in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. When I say paradise, I mean a vault where your responsibility is to build, repopulate and defend your world from attacks. Not exactly as glamorous as The SIMs, but perhaps more enjoyable for that very reason. As per the Play Store description:

BUILD THE PERFECT VAULT
Create a brighter future…underground! Select from a variety of modern-day rooms to turn an excavation beneath 2,000 feet of bedrock into the very picture of Vault Life.

OVERSEE A THRIVING COMMUNITY
Get to know your Dwellers and lead them to happiness. Find their ideal jobs and watch them flourish. Provide them with outfits, weapons, and training to improve their abilities.

PROSPER
A well-run Vault requires a variety of Dwellers with a mix of skills. Build a Radio Room to attract new Dwellers. Or, take an active role in their personal lives; play matchmaker and watch the sparks fly!

EXPLORE THE WASTELAND
Send Dwellers above ground to explore the blasted surface left behind and seek adventure, handy survival loot, or unspeakable death. Find new armor and weapons, gain experience, and earn Caps. But don’t let them die!

PROTECT YOUR VAULT
From time to time, idyllic Vault life may be disrupted by the dangers of post-nuclear life. Prepare your Dwellers to protect against threats from the outside…and within.

Vault-Tec has provided the tools, but the rest is up to you. What are you waiting for? Get started building your Vault today for FREE.

If you want to try it out, be sure you’re running at least Android 4.1 or later and then head on over to the Play Store. It’s free, and supported by in-app purchases ranging from $1-$20.

Lara Croft GO by Hitman creators Square Enix launching for Android on August 27

Cam Bunton Aug 7 2015 - 7:00 am PT

Hitman creators, Square Enix are about to launch their next mobile title for Android. Lara Croft GO will hit the Google Play Store on August 27 and will feature similar gameplay to the popular Hitman GO title. The developers promise beautiful graphics and challenging stages:

Square Enix Montréal today announced that Lara Croft GO™, the follow-up to the hugely successful Hitman GO® mobile game, will release on mobile platforms Aug. 27. The turn-based puzzle game offers a never-before-seen take on the iconic franchise, featuring challenging levels, gorgeous visuals and a mesmerizing soundtrack.

If it’s anything like the Hitman GO title, the Tomb Raider inspired version is going to be frustratingly addictive and could be one of the surprise hits of the year. Hitman GO was incredibly well reviewed. Just browsing through the Play Store listing shows glowing reviews. And — for once — it’s not a freemium game. So let’s hope Lara Croft’s version sticks to that pricing model.

As well as announcing the impending arrival of Tomb Raider GO, Square Enix has joined with Crystal Dynamics to launch an art contest. Artists are being invited to submit their own original Lara Croft GO-inspired artwork between now and August 21. The top 10 entries will be selected by a panel of “experts” and will be showcased during a party at PAX Prime in Seattle on August 28, one day after the game lands on the Play Store. Of these 10 entries, three will be selected to go to auction, with the proceeds going to Child’s Play, a “game industry charity”.

If you want to submit artwork, simply email info@square-enix-montreal.com with the subject line ‘Lara Croft GO Art Contest Submission’, along with your name.

Angry Birds 2 review: How Rovio wrecked a classic [Video]

Cam Bunton Aug 6 2015 - 9:42 am PT

Once upon a time there was a small Finnish game development company called Rovio. It wasn’t particularly famous, nowhere near the likes of EA Games, but then Angry Birds happened. The original title took the iOS App Store by storm before eventually landing on Android. Since those early days the brand has become one of the most recognizable brands in the world. There’s clothing, toys and even short animated shows as well as numerous movie tie-in games like Angry Birds Rio and Star Wars. What was once the popular darling of the App Store is now a digital behemoth.

Angry Birds 2 released for Android, free to download on the Play Store

Cam Bunton Jul 30 2015 - 2:53 am PT

Rovio has finally released the long-awaited official sequel to the original Angry Birds mobile game. Since the first title saw phenomenal success on the iOS App Store, the game has gone on to amazing heights. With several official movie tie-ins, including the popular Star Wars titles, Angry Birds is the ultimate success story of the mobile app world. And now, Angry Birds 2 is available to download.

The game retains the key features, in that you fling birds with a catapult in an attempt to destroy blocks and kill green pigs. However, it does have some new features. Some levels now have multiple stages to complete, and you have to choose which bird to launch next. You can challenge other players and there are even more magic spells too, to help you complete difficult levels. As always, there are plenty of pig bosses to wipe out.

It’s free to download and has the expected in-app purchases. Download the app from the Play Store.

You can watch the official gameplay trailer here, if the embedded player doesn’t work, head on over to the YouTube page:

It’s official – Angry Birds 2 is coming on July 30th

Cam Bunton Jul 16 2015 - 6:05 am PT

It seems an age since Angry Birds first rose to prominence as the best-selling mobile game going. After countless spin-offs and movie tie-ins, it’s about to get its first proper sequel. Rovio announced in a blog post this morning that Angry Birds 2 will officially launch on July 30th.

With 3 billion game downloads, millions of fans across the globe, multiple mashups and spin-offs, collaborations with A-list celebrities and much more, we’re really proud that Angry Birds is the mother of all mobile game apps. And now we’re proud to announce the mother of all sequels – Angry Birds 2!

Rovio hasn’t announced exactly what to expect or which platforms it’ll be available on, but it does say that it will make its way to “app stores worldwide” in two weeks, suggesting that it will almost certainly be available on the most popular platforms: Android and iOS.

Hit the Angry Birds 2 website to sign up and be notified as soon as it’s available. In the mean time, you can grab a bunch of the more popular Angry Birds titles for free, or just $1 in Rovio’s iOS sale.

Nostalgia overload: Commodore PET smartphone coming soon with V64 and Amiga emulators

Cam Bunton Jul 14 2015 - 11:01 am PT

Update: This article states that the upcoming Commodore PET smartphone is being made by Commodore. While this is true, it’s not the same corporation, nor is it under the same management, that created both the Commodore 64 and Amiga computer line. The company creating this smartphone was incorporated just this past March in the United Kingdom, while the original Commodore International was founded in Ontario, Canada and shut its doors in 1994. It’s an example of deceptive practices.

My first real taste of technology was as a kid. Myself and two of my siblings would huddle around the TV with a Commodore Amiga plugged in and sit playing Buggy Boy, Lemmings, Batman, ThunderCats and bunch of other titles for hours. If it wasn’t for my brother’s temper and his destruction of too many joysticks, I’m sure we’d have enjoyed many more hours. So I couldn’t just skip over Wired’s piece on the upcoming Commodore smartphone without writing about it.

You read that right: A smartphone made by Commodore is coming to market soon. Dubbed the Commodore PET, it’s coming with a couple of emulators built in out-of-box so you can play all your favorite Amiga and V64 titles.

YouTube and Halfbrick Studios partner to create an animated Fruit Ninja series

Zac Hall Jun 26 2015 - 7:00 am PT

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF3QVeR9d1Q]

Halfbrick Studios announced today that it is teaming up with YouTube to produce a new series of animated shorts centered around the characters from their hit game Fruit Ninja. The studio already has a number of clips on the video channel including trailers and gameplay clips, but says the Fruit Ninja animated series will be aimed at children age 6-10 with the YouTube Kids app in mind…
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Samsung’s Game Recorder+ allows full 1080p bragging rights on a range of its devices

Ben Lovejoy Jun 17 2015 - 6:10 am PT

If your mates are all “video or it didn’t happen” when you describe your latest mobile gaming triumphs, Samsung has you covered – provided you have a compatible device.

Game Recorder+ gives game-lovers a utility to record and share the things that are important to them, like their new high score […] The ‘floating’ UI doesn’t require any rooting and is safe and easy. Users can choose resolution and bitrate speeds, and Game Recorder+ optimizes device memory when running for a smoother gaming experience

The app can record in up to 1080p full HD resolution, and you can record live audio commentary over the top of the game (muting the game audio is also possible on the Galaxy S6/edge only). Videos can be trimmed after recording …
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Fallout Shelter is a post-apocalyptic free-to-play game coming soon to Android

Tom Maxwell Jun 15 2015 - 9:11 am PT

2 Comments

Update: Bethesda says it’s going to be a few months…

Bethesda, the developer behind the popular ‘Fallout’ franchise of post-apocalyptic games for consoles and desktop computers, announced yesterday at E3 a new free-to-play mobile game for Android (and iOS) called “Fallout Shelter”.

Google’s family-friendly app section launches on the Play Store

Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 9:40 am PT

We first heard about Google’s “Designed for Families” Play Store program in mid-May, and Google officially announced that it would be adding new family-focused features to the Play Store at Google I/O 2015. Now, a new section labeled as “New Family Fun” is popping up on the Play Store, featuring the friendly star mascot, iconic character categories, and more…
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Report: Nintendo’s next-generation NX games console may run Android [Update: Nintendo denies]

Ben Lovejoy Jun 1 2015 - 7:17 am PT

Update: The WSJ is reporting that Nintendo has denied the suggestion:

There is no truth to the report saying that we are planning to adopt Android for NX

Nintendo has been keeping quiet about its plans for its NX games console, due to launch next year, but a report in Nikkei claims that the system will run Android.

The report suggests Nintendo is planning the shift away from its own operating system as a means of bringing more games developers on board after the Wii U was left with almost no non-Nintendo titles available for it …
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Google Play Store now displaying age-based ratings

Tom Maxwell May 29 2015 - 11:00 pm PT

We reported back in May that Google was adding age-based ratings to all apps in the Play Store as determined by the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC), and now it seems those ratings are starting to appear like in the example above.

Some apps display “Unrated” where the rating should be, which either means the developer didn’t complete the surveys Google asked them to by the beginning of May, or the IARC hasn’t finished rating all apps in the store yet. Google warned in the announcement of age-based that by not completing these simple surveys about their apps by May, developers would risk having their apps blocked in some territories.

The IARC ratings will vary by region, as different territories like the EU and United States have their own participating bodies in the IARC who set their own standards – the ESRB in the US, for example –but they shouldn’t vary too widely. Below are the ratings for the United States.

E: Suitable for all ages but “May contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language.”
E10: Suitable for everyone age 10 and up.
T: Suitable for teens age 13 and up, may include crude humor and minimal blood, simulated gambling and the possibility of strong language.
M: For age 17 and up, may include intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and strong language.
AO: Adults only, ages 18 and up. Intense violence, graphic sex and gambling with real money.

Google says age-based ratings “will give developers an easy way to communicate familiar and locally relevant content ratings to their users and help improve app discovery and engagement by letting people choose content that is right for them.“

Sega to remove games that no longer meet its standards from the Play Store

Chance Miller May 8 2015 - 3:51 pm PT

Sega announced in a post on its blog this evening that it is going to remove a number of games from its catalog of apps on the Play Store. Sega says that a number of its games on the Play Store no longer meet its “high-quality” standards. Sega will also remove the games from the Apple App Store, the Samsung App Store and the Amazon App Store.

OUYA, maker of the $99 Android-based game console, looking for a buyer amid debt struggles

Chance Miller Apr 28 2015 - 3:06 pm PT

The Android-based OUYA gaming system never panned out quite like everyone expected. After receiving $8.5 million in funding via Kickstater, the device received mixed reviews and never caught on with the average consumer. Now, Forbes reports that OUYA is in desperate need of a buyer. According to the report, investment bank Mesa Global, which also handled Songza’s sale to Google, has been brought in to manage the sale of OUYA.

Google releases Player Analytics to give developers better in-app performance data

Chance Miller Mar 31 2015 - 1:29 pm PT

Google today has officially released Play Games Player Analytics to developers. In a post on the Android Developers Blog, Google announced that these new tools will allow for game developers to better track in-game player behavior and improve in-app business tactics and performance.

HTC Dot View case gets games, scrolling messages, more in latest app update

Stephen Hall Mar 18 2015 - 8:06 am PT

HTC updated the hardware of its Dot View case for the recently announced HTC One M9, but the app that powers the case has also now been updated—meaning that users of the HTC One (M8) Dot View case will also be able take advantage of some sweet new features.

The update packs the ability to play games on Dot View, notably one called “Dot Breaker” that looks a lot like the brick breaker games of old. You can also use Dot Message, which will display a message made of dots scrolling across the screen. Finally, the update packs new animated themes, a “special surprise” on your birthday, and a few practical enhancements to make the overall Dot View experience better: You can now control the flashlight and voice recorder, snooze alarms, and more.

Here’s the full changelog:

More interesting:

– Play games on Dot View

– Display a scrolling message on Dot View

More appealing:

– Try the new animated themes

– Receive a special surprise from Dot View on your birthday

More practical:

– Turn on your speaker during a phone call

– Control the flashlight and voice recorder

– Snooze alarms

– Enjoy more notification icons

You can get the HTC Dot View app on the Play Store for free.

Google Play’s Cyber Week sale is loaded with cheap movies, games, music and more

Mark Hearn Nov 26 2014 - 8:00 am PT

Whether you’re trying to recover from some type of Thanksgiving food coma or you need a steady stream of entertainment to keep you sane while camping out in front of your favorite department store for Black Friday deals — don’t worry, Google has the medicine. The search giant is currently advertising a group of Cyber Week deals for movies, games, music and more. Some of these deals are already live and ready to be consumed and we’d like to take a minute to point out a few standout promotions.

$1600 Kickstarter campaign aims to turn Chromecast into multiplayer games console

Ben Lovejoy Oct 13 2014 - 4:06 am PT

[protected-iframe id=”3e51c3dc54c1ee6367e316f1acb920fe-22427743-8994189″ info=”https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/concept96ltd/buzzb-a-chromecast-game-for-friends-and-family/widget/video.html” width=”800″ height=”600″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”]

In what must be one of the smallest Kickstarter campaigns ever, a team of British developers called Concept96 is seeking just £1000 ($1600) to turn Chromecast into a multiplayer games platform. The first planned app is a quiz game, described in the rather charmingly amateurish video above: Buzzb.

The target market is ‘casual gaming’ for those who wouldn’t spend the money to buy a conventional games console but would enjoy occasional games on a device they already own …
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Google’s Ingress mobile game now supports user-generated missions

Mark Hearn Sep 25 2014 - 11:01 am PT

Google’s augmented reality game Ingress started out as a closed beta title, way back in 2012. Now officially up and running, the game has been downloaded by over 7 million players in the past year. In an effort to keep things fresh, the game’s developer Niantic Labs added a new feature to the title today that lets its community members create their own missions to challenge other players.

Sega’s Humble Bundle gives you games on the cheap and helps support charities

Mark Hearn Aug 20 2014 - 1:37 pm PT

A new Humble Bundle is now available and it’s loaded with games from Sega. Pay whatever you want and pick up Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I, ChuChu Rocket! and Virtua Tennis Challenge. However, if you manage to pay more than the offer’s average asking price ($3.69 as of writing this), you’ll be rewarded with Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, Sonic 4 Episode II, Crazy Taxi and other unannounced games from Sega.

Google increases Play Store refund time for games to 2 hours

9to5 Staff Aug 4 2014 - 11:40 am PT

For years, the standard refund time on apps from the Play Store has been 15 minutes. Today, Android Police is reporting that Google is quietly rolling out a small but welcome change to that system, increasing the refund time on certain apps to two hours. The catch though is that the extended period only applies to games, so don’t expect to try out Nova Launcher Prime before making on your mind on which launcher you want to use.

Microsoft’s Snap Attack word-building game will stretch your vocabulary

Mark Hearn Jul 31 2014 - 10:38 am PT