GameSpasm

This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go.

There was a time when the beat-em-up was king, a time when Streets of Rage, Final Fight and Golden Axe were at the top of the heap. Combo Crew on iOS and Android looks to return to those days, offering several unique fighters, lots of combos and plenty of bosses to bruise, clobber and otherwise pummel.

The impressive part is that it does all of that with just two fingers.

Continue reading Combo Crew lets you beat 'em up with two fingers

Combo Crew lets you beat 'em up with two fingers originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: android, Combo Crew, game-bakers, iOS, ipad, iPhone, Mobile, portabliss, the-game-bakers

This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go.

There was a time when the beat-em-up was king, a time when Streets of Rage, Final Fight and Golden Axe were at the top of the heap. Combo Crew on iOS and Android looks to return to those days, offering several unique fighters, lots of combos and plenty of bosses to bruise, clobber and otherwise pummel.

The impressive part is that it does all of that with just two fingers.

Continue reading Combo Crew lets you beat 'em up with two fingers

Combo Crew lets you beat 'em up with two fingers originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: android, Combo Crew, game-bakers, iOS, ipad, iPhone, Mobile, portabliss, the-game-bakers

This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go.

There was a time when the beat-em-up was king, a time when Streets of Rage, Final Fight and Golden Axe were at the top of the heap. Combo Crew on iOS and Android looks to return to those days, offering several unique fighters, lots of combos and plenty of bosses to bruise, clobber and otherwise pummel.

The impressive part is that it does all of that with just two fingers.

Continue reading Combo Crew lets you beat 'em up with two fingers

Combo Crew lets you beat 'em up with two fingers originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: android, Combo Crew, game-bakers, iOS, ipad, iPhone, Mobile, portabliss, the-game-bakers

Vlambeer founders Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman didn't think Ridiculous Fishing would win an Apple Design Award. Sure, it was in the running, but it was a long shot, and they had other places to be during the ceremony at WWDC on June 10 (E3, anyone?). Just in case, they asked Ridiculous Fishing collaborator and indie extraordinaire Zach Gage to go to the show, and he did. In flip flops. And shorts. And Ridiculous Fishing won.

"Holy shit," Ismail laughed during our chat at E3. He was still getting over the fact that Ridiculous Fishing won an Apple Design Award, and that Gage collected it in what's commonly considered summer beach attire.

So far Ridiculous Fishing sales have hit the "hundreds of thousands," Ismail said, and after the Design Award, sales spiked again. Even Elijah Wood got hooked on Ridiculous Fishing - or, as Ismail put it, "The Hobbit played it!"

Continue reading Ridiculous Fishing creator reeling from Apple Design Award, talks TU

Ridiculous Fishing creator reeling from Apple Design Award, talks TU originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: Apple design awards, e3-2013, iOS, ipad, iPhone, Mobile, rami-ismail, ridiculous-fishing, title-update, vlambeer

Vlambeer founders Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman didn't think Ridiculous Fishing would win an Apple Design Award. Sure, it was in the running, but it was a long shot, and they had other places to be during the ceremony at WWDC on June 10 (E3, anyone?). Just in case, they asked Ridiculous Fishing collaborator and indie extraordinaire Zach Gage to go to the show, and he did. In flip flops. And shorts. And Ridiculous Fishing won.

"Holy shit," Ismail laughed during our chat at E3. He was still getting over the fact that Ridiculous Fishing won an Apple Design Award, and that Gage collected it in what's commonly considered summer beach attire.

So far Ridiculous Fishing sales have hit the "hundreds of thousands," Ismail said, and after the Design Award, sales spiked again. Even Elijah Wood got hooked on Ridiculous Fishing - or, as Ismail put it, "The Hobbit played it!"

Continue reading Ridiculous Fishing creator reeling from Apple Design Award, talks TU

Ridiculous Fishing creator reeling from Apple Design Award, talks TU originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: Apple design awards, e3-2013, iOS, ipad, iPhone, Mobile, rami-ismail, ridiculous-fishing, title-update, vlambeer

Vlambeer founders Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman didn't think Ridiculous Fishing would win an Apple Design Award. Sure, it was in the running, but it was a long shot, and they had other places to be during the ceremony at WWDC on June 10 (E3, anyone?). Just in case, they asked Ridiculous Fishing collaborator and indie extraordinaire Zach Gage to go to the show, and he did. In flip flops. And shorts. And Ridiculous Fishing won.

"Holy shit," Ismail laughed during our chat at E3. He was still getting over the fact that Ridiculous Fishing won an Apple Design Award, and that Gage collected it in what's commonly considered summer beach attire.

So far Ridiculous Fishing sales have hit the "hundreds of thousands," Ismail said, and after the Design Award, sales spiked again. Even Elijah Wood got hooked on Ridiculous Fishing - or, as Ismail put it, "The Hobbit played it!"

Continue reading Ridiculous Fishing creator reeling from Apple Design Award, talks TU

Ridiculous Fishing creator reeling from Apple Design Award, talks TU originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: Apple design awards, e3-2013, iOS, ipad, iPhone, Mobile, rami-ismail, ridiculous-fishing, title-update, vlambeer

One-man indie development studio Benjamin Rivers' side-scrolling pixel art horror game Home will be available for iOS devices this Thursday, June 20. The Universal App will cost $2.99 and feature new content, new terrifying environments to explore and updated story elements.

Rivers has also established a website to showcase the spooky real-world environments people play his game in - anyone who Tweets, Instagrams or Vines their eerie gaming location of choice using the hashtag #homehorror has a chance of making it into the collection.

Meanwhile, the OSX version of Home should be released sometime this summer, Rivers announced, adding that the improvements made for the iOS version of the game will be transferred to existing and future desktop versions at some point in the future.

Continue reading Benjamin Rivers' Home spooking up iOS this Thursday, OSX this summer

Benjamin Rivers' Home spooking up iOS this Thursday, OSX this summer originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: benjamin-rivers, Home, home-horror, horror, indie, iOS, ipad, iPhone, mac, Mobile

PopCap Games is known for making games that appeal to a mass audience, and perhaps none are more so than Plants vs. Zombies. The cute 'n clever tower defense game has connected with players of all ages and origins. A sequel, then, was inevitable, and after an announcement last year we finally got to see the game in action at E3 last week.

It's unfortunate, however, that much of the discussion around Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time, at least during the game's iOS launch, probably won't be around any of the great new content. There are new zombie enemies, new plants, three new worlds set in different time periods, touchscreen-centric powerups that allow you to throw zombies around or pinch them apart, and even a new "plant food" buff that gives each plant an extra burst of ability when used.

At launch, they'll probably all get lost in the mix, because there's one other big difference between the first Plants vs. Zombies and its sequel: PvZ 2 is a freemium game.

Continue reading Plants vs. Zombies 2: it's about time we talked freemium vs. premium

Plants vs. Zombies 2: it's about time we talked freemium vs. premium originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: e3-2013, Ea, Freemium, iOS, ipad, iPhone, Mobile, plants vs. zombies 2, Popcap, popcap games

PopCap Games is known for making games that appeal to a mass audience, and perhaps none are more so than Plants vs. Zombies. The cute 'n clever tower defense game has connected with players of all ages and origins. A sequel, then, was inevitable, and after an announcement last year we finally got to see the game in action at E3 last week.

It's unfortunate, however, that much of the discussion around Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time, at least during the game's iOS launch, probably won't be around any of the great new content. There are new zombie enemies, new plants, three new worlds set in different time periods, touchscreen-centric powerups that allow you to throw zombies around or pinch them apart, and even a new "plant food" buff that gives each plant an extra burst of ability when used.

At launch, they'll probably all get lost in the mix, because there's one other big difference between the first Plants vs. Zombies and its sequel: PvZ 2 is a freemium game.

Continue reading Plants vs. Zombies 2: it's about time we talked freemium vs. premium

Plants vs. Zombies 2: it's about time we talked freemium vs. premium originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: e3-2013, Ea, Freemium, iOS, ipad, iPhone, Mobile, plants vs. zombies 2, Popcap, popcap games

Crytek is building an overhead, tactical action game called The Collectibles for iOS devices, 9 to 5 Mac reports. Crytek demoed The Collectibles at WWDC last week, played with a new, MFi-supported controller, the site says. MFi is Apple's new program that opens up the iOS SDK for game controller hardware and accessories.

The Collectibles has players command a team of five through the ruins of war in a jungle environment, as shown by a series of screenshots with the report. The Collectibles allows for touchscreen or controller play, or both simultaneously for some features.

The Collectibles doesn't officially exist yet. Crytek's most recent foray into our headlines was with Ryse: Son of Rome, a third-person action game coming to Xbox One. We got a chance to play it during E3 and found it more aggressive than expected.

Crytek dips its beautiful toes into iOS waters with 'The Collectibles' originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: crytek, iOS, ipad, iPhone, Mobile, the-collectibles