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Nick Tylwalk enjoys writing about video games, comic books, pro wrestling and other things where people are often punching each other, regaardless of what that says about him. He prefers MMOs, RPGs, strategy and sports games but can be talked into playing just about anything.
  • OUYA’s next phase: ‘It’s ready to be embedded in other people’s devices’
    News
    • Android
    OUYA’s next phase: ‘It’s ready to be embedded in other people’s devices’

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    In a blow to the hopes of people who champion the cause of microconsoles, the OUYA hasn't exactly taken the gaming world by storm since its launch. The Android-based box became a Kickstarter sensation, but some PR missteps hurt its public perception, (though Gamezebo is still pretty smitten with how things turned out).Ah, but what if OUYA wasn't just a game machine, but a platform in and of itself? That surprising revelation came from an interview OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman recently gave to [a]listdaily, flat out telling people to look for OUYA on other devices."Here's the money quote:"We started with a $99 box, but we always wanted to create a console platform that can live on other people's devices. We just knew it was going to take us a little bit of time to get it ready. Now we think the software is good enough, it's ready to be embedded in other people's devices." 
  • Is Xbox Live about to make a big push towards iOS and Android integration?
    News
    • Android
    • iOS
    Is Xbox Live about to make a big push towards iOS and Android integration?

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    Until Sauron devises the One Service to connect all mobile games, we've had to make do with a patchwork quilt of systems to serve up achievements, leaderboards, friend notifications and the like. There's GameCenter for iOS, Google Play Games for Android, and products like OpenKit attempting to cover all the bases.But a familiar face with plenty of resources at its disposal might be entering the fray. Sources have told The Verge that Microsoft is looking to expand Xbox Live to offer mobile games some of the same features the service has provided to console games, even going so far as to create job posts looking for developers to aid in the initiative. 
  • Toca Pet Doctor Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    Toca Pet Doctor Review

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    If you've got small children and a touchscreen device, there's a pretty decent chance you've already encountered a Toca Boca product or three. That being the case, we can probably dispense with the formal introductions and get right to Toca Pet Doctor, a game seeking kids 2 through 6 to help 15 different pets with their problems. The result is a colorful but brief burst of fun that should put some smiles on the faces of the baby teeth set.When it comes to intuitive design, Toca Boca is typically on point, and that's once again the case with Toca Pet Doctor. What you see is what you get: 15 different animals awaiting attention with nary a human in sight. It's like the waiting room to the world's cutest and quietest veterinarian's office.Tapping on an animal begins its mini-game, each of which asks the player to heal an injury of some sort before feeding the animal in snack. Not all of the maladies are created equal, as the rabbit has what appears to be a very bad multi-bone fracture but the worm simply has his tail tied in a small knot.
  • Free-to-play games under the regulatory microscope in Europe
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    • Android
    • iOS
    • PC
    Free-to-play games under the regulatory microscope in Europe

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    The reaction to free-to-play games that monetize by the use of in-app purchases (or IAPs, for short) depends on where you ask about them. They're a normal part of the gaming culture in Asia and looked upon with skepticism but warily accepted in North America.In Europe, though, they're now under the microscope. Eurogamer.net reported this morning that the European Commission is huddling with consumer protection groups in multiple nations to get some clarification on parts of the free-to-play model it finds troubling.The Commission's concerns include protecting children from IAPs (and preventing them from bugging parents to buy for them), games that opt-in players for IAPs without their consent, free games that aren't really free, and companies that don't provide a way for players to contact them by email for customer service purposes.
  • Introducing Rovio Jr: a new program for educational games
    News
    • Android
    • iOS
    • PC
    Introducing Rovio Jr: a new program for educational games

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    You might be able to indirectly learn something about physics by playing Angry Birds, but it's not exactly a learning game. That doesn't mean the company behind the unstoppable franchise can't try something a little more high-minded, which is exactly what Rovio is gearing up to do - with the help of some third-party developers.Rovio told PocketGamer that it is seeking educational games from other developers to publish as part of its new Rovio Jr line. The intended audience of these games would be kids from pre-school to middle school."Educational games can be a tricky field, but there's definite truth in the idea that Rovio can aid developers by promoting their products through its already successful brands. Teaming up would certainly help solve the discovery problem facing smaller studios, particularly since educational titles need to catch the eyes of both children and parents.In any case, we may not have to wait long to see an announcement about the first fruits of this new program. Rovio and PocketGamer are going to be holding Big Indie Pitch Jr at GDC next month, allowing developers to pitch games they think would be suited for the publishing initiative in person in San Francisco.
  • EA founder Trip Hawkins is putting his money where his mouth is with “If…”
    News
    • iOS
    EA founder Trip Hawkins is putting his money where his mouth is with “If…”

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    To be more precise, it's not his own money, but the $6.5 million raised for his latest venture, If You Can Company. The startup's first title, If…, is an episodic RPG intended for kids ages nine to 11 that just hit the iOS App Store a few days ago.Hawkins has been somewhat under the radar since leaving another studio he created, Digital Chocolate, in 2012. His current project has apparently been in the works since then, and he obviously has high hopes for it, telling VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi that it will mean more to him than creating Madden NFL Football to see If… catch on.The game doesn't seem to be lacking in ambition, as If You Can co-founder Ben Geliher has named Pokemon, Animal Crossing and The Legend of Zelda as influences for its look and feel. Built on Unity, If… allows young gamers to design their own anthropomorphic animal characters and set them on the path to rebuild and restore peace to a town called Greenberry, with a heavy focus on making moral decisions and getting conflicting factions of dogs and cats to co-exist peacefully.
  • If you promise Steam keys, you’d better have Steam keys
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    • iOS
    • PC
    If you promise Steam keys, you’d better have Steam keys

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    By now, it's no longer a secret that Valve is thinking about killing off Steam Greenlight. Until it actually disappears though, it's still fertile ground for stories like the one you're about to read. Call it a tale of how social media can be a double-edged sword when trying to drum up support for your indie game.The game in question is called Zombies. The period is actually part of the name (hey, it did the job for fun.), though there are no actual zombies in it. Plus it's changing to Corporate Lifestyle Simulator anyway.Like many indie games, this pixelated action-shooter is a part of bundle deals on several popular sites. Some of them promised that buyers would receive Steam keys for the game if/when it was greenlit (or greenlighted, as I never know which way is proper) - a common though not universal feature of these bundles.The game was greenlit, but there was a bit of a catch: as explained by NeoGAF user chubigans, the developer had no intention of giving bundle buyers Steam keys, regardless of what the deals stated. At issue was his feeling that he should receive the customer data for everyone who purchased his game, unwilling to hand over "thousands of keys" to the bundle sites.
  • Card Wars – Adventure Time Review
    Reviews
    • Android
    • iOS
    Card Wars – Adventure Time Review

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    On the list of animated shows I'm glad my daughter likes so I have a plausible reason to watch more of them myself, Adventure Time is right at the top (Littlest Pet Shop, in contrast, is last). So it's with great delight that I report that Card Wars - Adventure Time does right by the show and is better than most mobile card battle games, held back only a bit by its unnecessary two-pronged monetization.Fans of the series probably already know that Card Wars is a real thing in Finn and Jake's universe, kind of their own version of games like Magic: The Gathering. What you play in the mobile game is pretty darn faithful to what we've seen on screen, right down to some of the creatures and buildings, as well as "flooping the pig" — flooping being this game's version of tapping to activate a card's special ability."The biggest difference is that Card Wars - Adventure Time doesn't take that long to figure out, despite Jake's warning that there are lots of rules. Each battle has a setup phase that has each player lay out four landscapes on his or her side of the board. Creatures can only be played into their corresponding landscape, except for rainbow cards that can be played anywhere.Only one creature can be played at a time into each of the four lanes. All of them have varying mana costs to play, plus values for attack and defense. The other types of cards are buildings, which buff the creatures in their lanes, and spells, which have a variety of effects. The Volcano, for instance, wipes out everything in its lane on both sides of the board.