Not all Android games are created equally. Some file downloads are massive and well over a gigabyte in size, while others only require a few megabytes to get you up and running. The most perplexing thing about mobile games is that some titles require a connection to the internet, even after you’ve installed the game to your device.
After a quick bout with software pirates, Gameloft’s Modern Combat 5: Blackout is officially available to download from Google Play. Priced at $7, unlike most mobile games, the military style first person shooter is completely free of in-app purchases. In the vein of series like Call of Duty and Battlefield, MC5 lets you play as four customizable character classes (Assault, Heavy, Recon, or Sniper) that can be leveled up across single and multiplayer gameplay.
Despite its highly successful and highly publicized Kickstarter campaign, OUYA hasn’t really caught on as a serious gaming platform. As other TV-friendly Android-based gaming platforms like Fire TV and Android TV start to take shape, the crowdfunded console needs a competitive edge to make its brand more appealing. Aware of this, OUYA is testing a new all you can eat subscription model with a $60 per year cover charge.
The World Cup is currently underway and everywhere you go people are talking about the tournament. Whether you’re a fútbol fanatic or just a casual fan of the beautiful game, Google’s got you covered. Today, the company released Kick With Chrome, a browser-based set of three different games: Infinite Dribble, Space Kick, and Shootout. Mountain View calls this playful trio a Chrome experiment “that will help you tap into your inner soccer champion. But in reality it’s a demo showing off several different web technologies.
The forthcoming update for Minecraft Pocket Edition is said to be the game’s biggest patch to date and judging by developer Mojang’s recent blog post, there’s a whole lot of change on the world builder’s docket. Some of the new features for this mega-release include: unlimited worlds, a new culling algorithm, updated falling mechanics for gravel and sand, along with new insta ticking for water and lava.
After a successful rum across PC, consoles and iOS, 2K Games’ popular turn-based tactical RPG XCOM: Enemy Unknown is now available on Android. Priced at $10, the strategic base building game puts players in the role of the commander who leads squads of soldiers through intense combat missions against a terrifying alien invasion.
Koushik Dutta — the man behind Clockworkmod, as well as various other Android apps and projects — has released AllCast for Amazon’s FireTV. The program lets you send videos, photos, and music from any Android device running Ice Cream Sandwich or higher to your TV. The app is free to install for the FireTV, though AllCast for Android requires a $4.99 purchase to enable the majority of the features, including a screen-mirroring feature.
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After hitting the #1 paid spot on the iOS App Store, popular puzzle game Threes! debuted today for Android users through the Google Play Store.
The game features shifting, numbered tiles with the objective of matching numbers and can go on for a really long time.
Threes! is available for $1.99 on Google Play.
After reaching the top of App Store charts, the hit iOS and Android game Flappy Bird will be removed from the Play Store. According to tweets from the developer Dong Nguyen, the game will be removed from both the iOS and Android app stores in just 22 hours. Nguyen says he “cannot take this anymore” and that the game ruins his “simple life,” which means he now hates it. He says the decision has nothing to do with “legal issues.” Nguyen also says he has no interest in selling the game to anyone.
I am sorry 'Flappy Bird' users, 22 hours from now, I will take 'Flappy Bird' down. I cannot take this anymore.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) February 8, 2014
I can call 'Flappy Bird' is a success of mine. But it also ruins my simple life. So now I hate it.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) February 8, 2014
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9naxeHGIaRY]
Google has released five new mini-games for Glass in the hopes that developers will be inspired to create games for the system. The games include Tennis, Balance, Clay Shooter, Matcher, and Shape Slicer. The games use the built-in sensors, camera, and microphone in Glass to control simple sets of colored shapes.
Balance uses the motion sensors to manipulate a stack of blocks that move with the player’s head. The object is to keep the blocks balanced by keeping your head as steady as possible. Clay Shooter uses voice controls and the various motion sensors to allow players to shoot down simulated clay discs without the need for a trap range. Shape Splitter resembles the popular Half Brick Studios game Fruit Ninja. In the Glassware version, players slice colored shapes by waving their hands in front of the Glass camera.
Developers can download the games from the Glass Mini Games page.
The $99 OUYA Android games console that raised an incredible $8.5m on Kickstarter, and which started shipping to backers in March, is now available on general sale. Best of all, if you missed out on it on Kickstarter, it will still only cost you $99 from Amazon and other retaillers.
The OUYA is pretty much a Nexus 7 without the screen: a NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of internal storage with a USB port that allows both USB keys and external hard drives to be connected. It comes with a wireless controller with removable faceplates. Hook it up to your TV and the box outputs at full 1080p HD …
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Amazon is announcing today the roll out of a new service called “Login with Amazon” t0 allow developers to easily offer an Amazon sign-in option in their apps, games, and websites. Amazon says in a trial with Zappos.com customers chose to sign in using the Login with Amazon service about 40 percent of the time, while a trial with Woot found customers using Amazon sign in “had the highest rate of order conversion”:
“Login with Amazon enables app developers and website owners to leverage Amazon’s trusted sign-in solution, allowing them to focus on providing a great experience for their customers,” said Michael Carr, Amazon Vice President, eCommerce Services. “Amazon customers now have a hassle-free way to quickly and securely sign-in to apps, games and websites, without having to remember yet another password.”
Amazon is making the service available free of charge to devs and has SDKs for both Android and iOS available to download through its new login.amazon.com website.
Android Police’s Ron Amadeo has the details on the new syncing, matchmaking, notifications, game invites, achievements, leaderboards, and integration with other Google services that are inside the new Gaming APK that is being rolled out to devices.
Fresh out of Google HQ, we’ve managed to score a copy of the newGoogle Play Services v3.1.36, which is very slowly rolling out to devices right now. For comparison, the current Play Services that most people have is v3.0.27. 3.1 is a massive update – the strings file, for instance, has more than doubled from 300 to 700 entries. This is how Google is pushing out all the shared files for Google Play Games.
To make a long story short, there is a lot of new stuff here and most of it has ties to Google Plus. Shocking, I know.
While there might not be much information surrounding Google’s recent hire of Noah Falstein, the company’s decision to pick up the game design veteran as its “Chief Game Designer” certainly gives the impression Google has something big planned in the way of first party titles. TechCrunch first spotted the job title on Noah’s LinkedIn page and notes that an earlier cache of the page shows his new gig at Google used to be listed as “Chief Game Designer at Android Play Studio.” That’s a pretty good indication that whatever Falstein is working on is likely Android related.
Google of course has its feet into gaming through Google Play and Chrome apps, but it has not been active in developing its own titles for Android or Chrome OS. Falstein has worked as a game designer and producer at a number of studios over the years including LucasARTS Entertainment, DreamWorks Interactive, and the 3DO Company. More recently he has been active in developing the concept of serious games.
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Rockstar Games announced on its blog today that Grand Theft Auto Vice City would officially land on Android in celebration of the title’s 10th anniversary. Rockstar said the game will be the full Vice City experience, but it will also feature “native high-resolution graphics and several enhancements unique to the iOS and Android platforms.” Unfortunately, it does warn that it will only be available on select Android devices. Rockstar is promising a release this fall and more details in the weeks to come. To celebrate the 10th anniversary, it will also release “a series of commemorative assets”:
To celebrate the 10th anniversary, there will be a series of commemorative assets released, including never-before-seen artwork and a brand new anniversary trailer highlighting some of the most iconic scenes and music from the game. In addition, a limited run of collectable promotional items will be made available for purchase through the Rockstar Warehouse, with select items also available via online giveaways.
Update: While OnLive provided the same statement (below) to Kotaku as they did to Joystiq, a new report from Kotaku, citing a source inside OnLive, claimed the company is about to file for bankruptcy and layoff most of its employees:
The source says that everyone at the company knew things were tight. This morning, an all-hands meeting was called at 10 a.m. this morning where CEO Steve Perlman said that OnLive would be filing for ABC bankruptcy in the state of California—a status that affords them a level of protection from creditors. Perlman also said that the company as it stands now would cease to exist and that no one would be employed by OnLive. A subset of employees would be brought on to the company created from the remains of OnLive.
[tweet https://twitter.com/onlive/status/236537627526979584]
OnLive’s Director of Corporate Communications Brian Jaquet has shot down rumors that the game streaming service is closing its doors after several media outlets reported the story earlier today. A report from The Verge, citing video game developer Brian Fargo and emails from former OnLive staff members, claimed the game-streaming service would shut its doors and lay off staff immediately. Emails obtained by The Verge’s sister site, Polygon, claimed a new company would be formed. However, current OnLive employees would be let go for the time being:
“I wanted to send a note that by the end of the day today, OnLive as an entity will no longer exist,” reads an email forwarded to Polygon. “Unfortunately, my job and everyone else’s was included. A new company will be formed and the management of the company will be in contact with you about the current initiatives in place, including the titles that will remain on the service.”
Speaking with Joystiq, Jaquet confirmed OnLive is not shutting down:
“We don’t respond to rumors, but of course not… The exciting news is that the first VIZIO Co-Stars (Google TV stream players) with the OnLive app built-in have just arrived in customer homes,” he continued, “and our second of three ‘Indie Giveaway Weekends’ is going on now. OnLive users can get a free copy of the award-winning games Space Pirates and Zombies and SpaceChem.” So it sounds like OnLive is still open for business.
When asked about possible layoffs, Jaquet confirmed: “The OnLive service is not shutting down.”
Valve Software’s official Steam client for Android devices has been available in beta since last week. Today, the stable 1.0 version was released on Android Market. You will need a Steam account to use the app that lets you chat and participate in the Steam community from your phone or tablet, get heads-ups on discounts, browse profiles, access latest news and more. Note that the program does not enable mobile purchasing of Steam games nor does it facilitate gaming on the go.
Steam is a digital rights-managed distribution system for cross-platform delivery of games, but it also provides support for features such as multiplayer, automatic updates and in-game voice and video chat. The Android version of mobile Steam client arrived on the heels of last week’s release of a companion Steam app for Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch.
It’s the deal day today in the United States. To our non-U.S. audience, Black Friday (which follows Thanksgiving Day, a legal U.S. holiday observed on the fourth Thursday of November) officially marks the beginning of the holiday season (Black Friday through New Years). Unless you’re a U.S. resident, many if not all Black Friday deals don’t apply unless you’re shopping for intangibles.
Enter Gameloft’s Black Friday weekend sale of games for Android. If you’ve been looking for an excuse to load your Android device with high-quality games, make sure to follow @GameloftAndroid on Twitter. Beginning Friday and through Cyber Monday, Gameloft will be tweeting links to download paid games free of charge. Each link will be valid for two hours so you’ll need to remember to check their channel on a regular basis.
Gameloft also has a temporary sale of high-end games such as Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus, The Oregon Trail, Real Soccer 2011 and more. These titles have been slashed to just 99 cents and a are ready to be downloaded here.
We have already seen snippets of code revealing Games is headed to Google+, but this morning it has been confirmed. SlashGear reports on the Google+ help page there is talk about a Games stream, where users can find updates from shared games. Google+ Games will have a sharing aspect, and the Games stream will sum up what your friends have shared from within those games.There is no word on when this will be available.
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMp3nPpZM-Y]
It ain’t a typo – the episode is in fact entitled Summer Pignic, not Picnic. It’s about smashing pigs after all. So kick back, relax and enjoy the trailer. The video doesn’t reveal much apart from hinting “One bird, one mission: Save the eggs from the green pigs” (but you already knew that if you were a fan of the Angry Birds series).
From release notes on YouTube:
Get Ready for Angry Birds Seasons – Summer Pignic! The pesky pigs never break for holidays, and it’s up to you to save the Angry Birds’ eggs!
Bonus: Did you notice a redesigned Home button in the trailer? Did Rovio just inadvertently leak an iPhone 5 redesign? Just kidding…
Cross-posted on 9to5Mac.com
According to All Things D, T-Mobile USA is partnering with games service WildTangent on Android game rentals costing 25 cents per day. The game service draws from WildTangent’s service for PCs which has 25 million active users. Due later this year, it will come preloaded on select Android device and support carrier billing. T-Mobile USA is even attended the E3 show in Los Angeles this week, a first-ever for the company, to promote the initiative.
The idea here is to try games before you buy them, similar to the Android Market’s 15-minute refund policy and Google’s try-before-you-buy system. If you later buy the game, the 25-cent charge is applied against your purchase. The system is designed around the WildCoins virtual currency costing between four to ten bucks a month. Purchased WildCoins can be then used to pay for game rentals and in-game micropayments.
(Cross-posted on 9to5Mac.com)
A new episodic update to movie tie-in Angry Birds Rio has just went live, bringing more marmoset mauling action happening on the Copacabana beach, new secrets and more juicy Golden Fruit. Android fans can get it free from Amazon Appstore for Android and a bit later via Android Market and GetJar. They’ve also launched a new pre-order web shop for upcoming Angry Birds merchandise at comingsoon.angrybirds.com and released Angry Birds Rio Samba, a 99-cent iTunes single based on the game’s music theme. More info and the Copacabana beach episode trailer right below the fold.
(Cross-posted on 9to5Mac.com)
Here at San Francisco’s Moscone West, the Google I/O 2011 keynote has just wrapped up. Being their most important annual pilgrimage for developers, the show is a launchpad for important new products and announcements. For some people, the biggest news is that popular Angry Birds franchise is now available for the most popular platform of all – the web.
Joining Google’s senior vice president of Chrome Sundar Pichai on stage was Peter Vesterbacka, the CEO of Espoo, Finland-based multi-million dollar Angry Birds developer Rovio Mobile. Wearing a red Angry Birds sweatshirt, Vesterbacka announced that the Angry Birds web app is now available on the Chrome Web Store.
The web version taps several new Chrome capabilities to ensure smooth experience one would expect from a native version. “It’s one of the best we’ve built to date,” Vesterbacka quipped as he cut through several levels of Angry Birds with ease. More information and three screenies right after the break.
