Even though February is always the shortest month of the year, this one brought us more amazing new games than we could possibly handle. With Valentine's Day sitting smack-dab in the middle of it all, we have a lot of love to share for some of the best games to capture our attention in all of their shiny new glory. And could that possibly be another early Game of the Year contender I see sitting at the top of the list?I know it must seem like I say this every time, but I really feel like February had some of the best new game releases that we've seen in quite a while. From a hopelessly addicting and charming number-based puzzler, to the most hilarious game you'll play in ages, to a breathtaking pop-up book world that you can play in real life, our top picks for the month are not only all innovative in their own unique ways, but they're all just a breath of fresh air for video games everywhere today (and the ongoing sea of Flappy Bird clones)."So did you happen to fall in love with any of the same games that we did this Valentine's Day? I know I'll personally be giving flowers and chocolate to all of our favorites. But be sure to hit the replies and let us know if you agree with our top gaming picks for the month of February, or if there were any other great games that managed to steal your heart away!
Let me tell you, there's nothing quite like looking up great gaming deals online to help distract your mind from other things that might be going on. I'll be honest right now: about 10 minutes ago I saw this ENORMOUS centipede crawling on the wall right above my desk, and I don't know where it went, and that's all I can think about, and I'm kind of freaking out about it. I swear it had like 500 legs.But you know what? I'm not gonna think about that giant centipede anymore or what he might be up to, because now I have all of these amazing free games and sales to think about instead! While there may not have been too many new bundles to find this week, the iOS App Store sure made up for that in a big way, with an insane amount of acclaimed mobile titles going on sale all at the same time. And if that's not your thing, well there's also big savings on point-and-click adventures and indie darlings as well!"And as always, if I may have missed a great deal or two due to being distracted by things I don't need to mention here again, then be sure to hit the replies and let everyone know about them!
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.
Late Thursday evening, Markus "Notch" Persson confirmed on his Twitter account that he has been discussing a potential Minecraft film with Warner Brothers."Someone is trying leak the fact that we're working with Warner Brothers on a potential Minecraft Movie," Persson posted. "I wanted to be the leak!"A movie about Minecraft? That'll never work! Well I'm sure plenty of people said the same about a movie based on LEGO, and now Warner Bros. is currently sitting atop $275,000,000 (and climbing) following the The LEGO Movie's release, earlier in the month.Details are still scarce, but Hollywood news and rumors website Deadline managed to confirm that Warner Bros. is putting The Lego Movie producer onboard for the Minecraft movie, and that it will be a live-action feature film.The news about the Warner Brothers deal comes days after Persson announced that Minecraft has surpassed 100 million registered users.Don't want to wait for a Minecraft movie? 2 Player Productions documentary Minecraft: The Story of Mojang is now available for free on YouTube. You can watch the whole thing in its entirety below:
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.
Remember last month when we told you that the hilariously awesome The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot would be entering an open beta phase at the end of February? Well guess what? It's officially the end of February now, and the outrageous fantasy battling game has officially started its open beta!So not only can you get in on all of the fun multiplayer action right this very minute, but you'll also get to do it with a brand new character who is making her debut in the world of Opulencia this week: the Runaway, who steals the show with her incredible speed and devastating axe attacks. In addition, five new Diamond packs are being made available for players to get a head start on playing the game, with the Runaway being used in the Attacker Pack, the Trio Combo, and the Ultimate Pack."And as if all of that wasn't enough, The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot open beta will also be bringing unlimited creative possibilities with its Open Creation tools, so you'll be able to shape the kingdom of Opulencia to your liking over time. So what are you waiting for?! You can sign up for the open beta by clicking right over here!
Improbable? Yes - but as any hoopy frood knows, improbability is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's stock and trade.Based on the trilogy in five parts, the late great Douglas Adams teamed up with Infocom (makers of Zork) in 1984 to create the wildly popular text adventure game called (not surprisingly) The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. It was witty, it was fun - it was everything the books were.And it's about to turn 30.To celebrate, BBC Radio 4 Extra (a comedy station in the UK) has announced that they'll be publishing a 30th anniversary edition of the Infocom classic. It sounds surprising, but when you realized BBC Radio 4 did the same for the 20th anniversary… maybe less so. And when you remember that Hitchhiker's started life as a BBC radio program in 1978, all the pieces seem to fall into place rather nicely.
When it comes to video games, AAA console releases have really grown stagnant over the last decade. That's one of the many reasons I'm so glad to be at Gamezebo, where we focus on the platforms that give developers the freedom to experiment instead of the latest cut-and-paste first person shooter.As it turns out, Xbox co-creator Ed Fries seems to feel the same way about the current state of AAA games, and he's ready to explain why, detailing the creativity-stifling environment that led to his 2004 resignation from Microsoft in a recent GamesIndustry interview.Rather than fostering new ideas, Fries suggests that AAA development is run too much like a business - focusing on quantity of dollars rather than quality of game. Instead of experimenting with little things, which Fries says sows the seeds of successful bigger projects down the road, the focus of the Xbox brand during his time there was to stick to what works and sell it better. "In a sense, I fundamentally didn't agree with that because I think the big things come from little things," Fries told GamesIndustry.