Super Monkey Ball is more than a great franchise, it's also an important footnote in mobile gaming history. When Apple debuted the iPhone's gaming capabilities (back in the days of disco and cavemen, if I remember correctly), Super Monkey Ball was the showcase item that proved iPhone gaming might be more than just a gimmick.Now, after a lengthy break from the App Store, AiAi and friends are back - but not as you're expecting.Rather than a typical entry in the series with a shiny coat of 2014, Super Monkey Ball Bounce is SEGA's attempt to capture the Peggle crowd. If they feel a little late to the party on this one, just remember - King's Papa Pear Saga from last year follows the same formula, and has had no trouble staying in the Top 100 grossing games list on the App Store.
No deal has been finalized yet, but as first reported on Sunday by Variety, it appears that YouTube - and thus, Google, which owns the video-sharing behemoth - is poised to acquire popular video game streaming service Twitch for a cool $1 billion.Why would Twitch want to be purchased? According to The Verge, it's a question of scale. Twitch has simply proven so popular and grown so fast that it can't keep up with its success on its own. The recent integration of Twitch streaming into the PS4 and Xbox One couldn't have helped in that regard.Other companies have sniffed around looking to buy Twitch, including one who is already a major player in the video games industry: Microsoft. But The Verge's source claimed Twitch had no real desire to tie itself to one gaming ecosystem and may even have sold itself a little short in terms of its worth in order to merge with YouTube.
Everybody and their mother loves Hearthstone. Heck, I'm playing my custom mage deck as I type this. But if you think you and your friends are hooked, in China, the game is even bigger.Of course, video game addiction is no joke. This week in China a study surfaced about video game addiction in the country. The most interesting aspect in my opinion? That the collective term in CHina for such gamers seems to be "brain damaged", or so say our friends at Laohu.com.
Are developers and designers as interesting as the games they create? That's what the Pixel Heart project believes, and if it receives the crowdfunding it's currently seeking on Ulule.com, it will show the world via an ambitious multimedia project.It starts with a documentary that spends a week with six different developers in their own countries: Mark Healey of England (of LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway fame), Robin Hunicke of the U.S. (The Sims and Journey), Tetsuya Mizuguchi of Japan (Rez and Child of Eden), Edmundo Bordeu of Chile (Rock of Ages and Zeno Clash) and Eyram Tawia of Ghana (Africa's Legends). You may notice that's only five people, as a sixth developer from India is still to be determined.All six movie subjects will contribute something to the second part of the Pixel Heart plan, which is a game jam that will gather 100 developers in Paris for 48 hours. Split into 12 teams, the goal of the game jam is to create 12 new games, half of which will be PC fare while the other six aim for more immersive hardware like the Oculus Rift.
We don't know what it is, we don't know how you play it, but we do know what it looks like - and hey, that's better than nothing.Dong Nguyen tweeted a picture of his next project on Twitter last night, along with the smirk-inducing message "I am making a new game, so people can forget about Flappy Bird for a while."
There are a lot of amazing card games on the App Store. As one of the millions of players currently nursing a Hearthstone addiction, this shouldn't come as news to you. But like most games on the App Store, after a brief few weeks as every gamer's new best friend, some classics are instantly forgotten about. Such has been the case for Summoner Wars - quite possibly my favorite App Store card game, yet it lost all its luster when everybody else abandoned it. Such is the story for most multiplayer games.But is the Summoner Wars community about to get a second lease on life? Thanks to today's Android launch - and cross-platform support - all signs point to yes.
I love it when people take two ideas that don't seem to mesh together, but ultimately manage to complement each other flawlessly. Heck - I've been pitching a Guitar Hero / Klax mashup since the days when people actually played Guitar Hero. So it's with that spirit in mind that I'd like to present Hazumino: the falling blocks endless runner by Samurai Punk.With their left thumb, players will tap to make their runner jump. With their right, they'll aim, rotate, and shoot blocks to the left side of the screen to create a bridge for their runner to traverse. Run into a block or slam a block right into your little character and its game over.It's simple, it's brilliant, and it works.It's also admittedly crude in parts, but the promise of what's here more than outweighs any quibbles I might bring to the table. Hazumino is a really great idea that's well worth checking out. Grab this one for 99 cents on iTunes or Google Play.
If you like spending money on cool art, and just happen to love Monument Valley as much as we do, you're going to want to break out your wallet and head over to Etsy right now. Crafty creator byAndreas has created a wonderful wooden sculpture based on everybody's favorite friend in Monument Valley: the Totem.Standing at 14.5" tall and 3.5" wide, I can't help but think he'd be a perfect pal for my desk, standing to the left of my monitor as I work. And his head moves too, which is awesome.If you're as excited about these guys as I am, you'll want to act quick: byAndreas is only producing a limited run of 20, and they sell for $175.00 each.Visit the ByAndreas Etsy store to get your Totem before they all disappear.