Private army battle
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
USA Today writes about a new game called MAG - Massive Action Game - where you’re a soldier in what’s described as a war set in a future era 15 years from now where governments hire private armies to protect their country’s interests.
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Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold, part two
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
Okey dokey, here comes the second part of this overlooked first-person production, in another eleven parts, with the second secret level coming penultimately here, since, logically speaking, it does need to be worked through prior to what’s really the last level.
I ought to note that it’s difficult to tell the difference between the good scientists and the bad ones, unless you tap them for info, wherein which case the bad ones will certainly make themselves known!
It’s also more difficult to get hold of some treasure items and weapons here, since they come in crates that need to be opened with weapons like the grenade launcher. Some of the secret storage rooms are also harder to access, and there’s even more enemy guards hiding in them too. The clashes with Dr. Goldfire are also more intense. This gets even more crafty as it goes along.
And rest assured, I’ll try to add the third episode as soon as I can.
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Sonic 4 Episode 1 arriving
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
Sega announces that a fourth game for Sonic the Hedgehog is on the way. What’s interesting is that it’s advertised as the first episode in what I assume is going to be a special series connected together.
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Thunder Heroes taping
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
Actually, it’s a Japanese version of Gaia Crusaders, slightly different from the version more commonly seen in the US and Europe, and here’s a recording of it in 4 parts:
This has some kind of explosive devices available that I don’t think were available in the version for the US/Europe, and other weapons seem to appear with more frequency too. The bosses/stages are also differently arranged, save for the last.
This is pretty good too, and as great for playing as the regular version. And, it makes for another great item that I can post more than one topic about.
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Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn: GDI mission, second part
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
Now, here’s the second part of the GDI side of the game. Let’s see what we have here.
Getting set up on this stage in Corinth, Greece, is not easy. The object here is to evacuate a spy, and you need to get foot units or vehicles to the foot of the hill by the village where the spy is located; air units won’t count.
This is a difficult stage, where the object is to evacuate Dr. Moebius from a base that’s under siege. To do this, you need to eliminate all SAM sites. Interestingly enough, I managed to get rid of the SAM sites on the alternate path close to the GDI base without having to get rid of the ones closer to the NOD base itself. Somehow, I did motions that persuaded the copter to hold off a moment before landing, giving me enough time to destroy just enough for the copter to land without being destroyed itself. That said, it was not without great difficulty.
You can complete this stage more quickly and eliminate the bio-lab NOD has on the hilltop by setting up base at the east end by using Orcas and the ion cannon, fired with the advanced communications center.
Eradicate all enemy troops on this stage as you move to close in on NOD’s headquarters in Sarajevo.
Finally, we reach the showdown stage with NOD in their Sarajevo headquarters, and the object is to reach the Temple of NOD, which fires nuclear warheads, and destroy it once and for all.
As mentioned before, this is one of the most interesting games in its genre, and makes for a lot of fun to play. In time, I’ll try to find recordings of its sequels, and post them here too.
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Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn: GDI mission, first part
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
Now, here’s the other side of the game, with the GDI missions. Let’s begin:
First mission is taking out NOD troops on this shore. The gunboat can help take out the turrets.
You don’t get any engineer options with your barracks on this second mission, but if you can capture the enemy base with those you do have, it’ll help to take care of the rest.
An important strategy to activating the air-strike option when you’re playing with this side is to eliminate all the SAM sites; it does seem that way.
This is a tricky stage, where you need to eliminate all NOD forces who are attacking the locals. There are some good strategies available here that can help to deal with the light tanks.
A GDI base is under siege in this area. They managed to fight off the worst, but lack a construction yard now. Repair the base and then use what’s available to defeat the NOD base at the northwest end.
On this stage, use the commando to infiltrate a NOD base. You have 2 possibilities: either you can blow up the airfield, and thus skip what’ll be the following mission, or, you can blow up another structure, and thus get to the following mission instead.
Here is what’ll be the 7th mission if you take it, to defeat the enemy base at the east end.
Another difficult stage, where you need to defeat the NOD base again without the benefit of a construction yard when you begin. Thus, the challenge can be to capture the enemy’s yard instead.
So what’s the secret weapon NOD’s rumored to be working on? Why, the Obelisk of Light, of course! Destroying the majority of the enemy’s power can render it unable to operate properly, though the turrets can still function.
Defeat the NOD base at the south end of this area. Try to block enemies’ advance with sandbag walls (there’s a chain-link fence as well, I think).
The rest of the parts will come up in another post.
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Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn: NOD mission, second part
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
Here are the latter missions in the NOD side of Tiberian Dawn. The following is in 4 videos:
In this level, you first use the commando, who can slay foot units with a single bullet, to reach a special base setting where you need to capture some of the rest, like the refinery, if you’re to build the rest of the production equipment successfully. If you can eliminate the enemy power plants, it can weaken the advanced guard towers, but not the standard ones.
Guide the commando and the other units through enemy forces in your mission to assassinate a character called Dr. Chan.
To disable the GDI’s airstrike abilities, you can try to eliminate their radar as well as the construction yard in the base at the northeast end.
In this mission, you take out the GDI base at the northeast end. It’s advisable to use strategies to get around those two mammoth tanks at the start (they seem more interested in the MCV than they do in the troops accompanying it), and to deploy the vehicle by the tiberium fields to the west. Try the strategies of building sandbag walls to reach the enemy base, block enemy troops (as you’ll notice, they do not try to get past what’s built), and then build an Obelisk of Light inside the enemy base itself! Note also that the GDI has its Advanced Communications Center here, which is what fires an ion beam, so be prepared for if it happens.
Finally, you go to defeat the last GDI outpost here, and can even use the Temple of NOD to launch their nuclear missile, which does colossal damage.
Note that there are other paths to choose here, and other strategic ways of managing the gameplay here. A very interesting game this was when it first came out 15 years ago, and has since even had sequels made. I’ll make sure to get the other side of the game posted soon.
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Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold, part one
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
Another first person shooter, in eleven parts:
The star of the show is a British intelligence agent who’s sent to infiltrate the headquarters of a Dr. Goldfire, an evil scientist who’s manufacturing mutants and other vermin for conquest and destruction. It’s a very impressively layered setup, with a lot of hidden rooms and hallways that’s garunteed to keep you hugging the walls checking for where the doors are located. There’s also 2 secret levels, and the second one I deliberately put before what’s really the last one.
This has six episodes to it, making it one of the longest of its sort released under the Apogee/3D Realms label back in the day. I’ll try to add those here as well, but I probably shouldn’t hurry this time, as it can be complicated.
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A video of Catacomb Abyss
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
The followup to Catacomb 3D:
This came out the year after the first game did, and features more battles against the supernatural forces. It’s actually part of what was soon called “The Catacomb Trilogy”, since there were 3 games of this that came out during 1992, including Catacomb Apocalypse and Catacomb Armageddon. If I can ever find recordings of those as well, I’ll try to add them here.
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Major Stryker multimedia
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
It looks like Raiden had a competitor in the shareware market, that being this nifty item. First, here’s a video of the beginning with demos:
But for the complete runthrough, you’ll need to go to the rest of the videos off site, because yet again, it’s a compilation with the embedders turned off. Here we go with the list:
First, Fleet Admiral Yoshira.
Then, Space Station 1, and then, Space Station 2, and Space Station boss.
Water Zone 1, Water Zone 2, and Water Zone boss.
Land Zone 1, Land Zone 2, and Land Zone boss.
Lava Zone 1, Lava Zone 2, and Lava Zone mothership.
Arctic Zone 1, Arctic Zone 2, and Arctic Zone boss.
Land Zone 3, Land Zone 4, and 2nd Land Zone boss.
City Zone 1, City Zone 2, and City Zone boss.
Lava Zone 3, Lava Zone 4, and 2nd Lava Zone mothership.
Space Station 3, Space Station 4, and 2nd Space Station boss.
Desert Zone 1, Desert Zone 2, and Desert Zone boss.
Lava Zone 5, Lava Zone 6, and 3rd Lava Zone boss.
Techno Zone 1, Techno Zone 2, and the final showdown!
A space ace is assigned to battle the enemies running rampant on other planets in the galaxy sector, and information is provided by Admiral Yoshira, who’s even got the hots for the expert pilot. Very well done for its kind.
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LGJ: Wait, it’s not a derivative?
Submitted by Law of the Game
This week’s LGJ takes another look at NBA Jam and examines a rare example of a sequel potentially not being a derivative.
Any post that is marked “Submitted by Law of the Game” and any content that appears on this blog is not legal advice. It only constitutes commentary on legal issues, and is for educational and informational purposes only. Reading this blog, replying to its posts, or any other interaction on this site does not create an attorney-client privilege between you and the author. The opinions expressed on this site are not the opinions of Vernon Goodrich, LLP. As with any legal issue that may confront you in a particular situation, you should always consult a qualified attorney familiar with the laws in your State.
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Will Currency Hedges Be Key in the Global Microtransaction Model?
Submitted by Law of the Game
I was chatting with Zack Karlsson and Stephanie O’Malley Deming at Game::Business::Law last evening, and the topic of currency hedging came up. The discussion was certainly interesting, but unfortunately short lived, and I thought it might serve as an interesting point to examine. While hedging has been going on to mitigate risk in the global market for quite some time, the broader question may well be how currency analysis may be the next big step in managing a global micro-transaction model. It may very well already be going on, but among those of us in the discussion, no one was aware of an example of it.
For those not familiar with hedging, there are literally dozens of articles available online to describe the basics, but in short, it’s a method to mitigate the risk of a fluctuation of currency values, but can also be a means to make money should good decisions be made on hedges. Similarly, by holding currency and trading it over time without hedging, it may be possible to make more from the transaction than its initial value, which can be compounded if you’re accruing interest on the held currency. This is all relatively well known use of currency s an investment.
The reason hedging in particular makes for an interesting proposition for a micro-transaction game is that the lifecycle tends to be longer and that the cash flow can be less predictable than a traditional retail release model. More importantly, these transactions tend to be direct, whereas a game published through Xbox Live Arcade, which may have a long tail through expansions or DLC, may not have the ability or opportunity to hold other currency over time by virtue of the arrangement with Microsoft for global distribution.
The very fact that these discussions are coming up just shows how large and global the industry has become, if there was any remaining doubt. Definitely, there is already complex business modeling and risk structure within the industry, but given the rate of innovation, there may be places where some of these models, as used in other industries, are adopted and applied to these newer business models.
Any post that is marked “Submitted by Law of the Game” and any content that appears on this blog is not legal advice. It only constitutes commentary on legal issues, and is for educational and informational purposes only. Reading this blog, replying to its posts, or any other interaction on this site does not create an attorney-client privilege between you and the author. The opinions expressed on this site are not the opinions of Vernon Goodrich, LLP. As with any legal issue that may confront you in a particular situation, you should always consult a qualified attorney familiar with the laws in your State.
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Law of the Game on Twitter
Submitted by Law of the Game
I’m pleased to announce that Law of the Game is now on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LawoftheGame. While I don’t expect the feed to be extremely active, it will contain short thoughts from conferences as I attend them and links to the latest Law of the Game and LGJ content, which may be more convenient for some than following via RSS or e-mail subscription.
Any post that is marked “Submitted by Law of the Game” and any content that appears on this blog is not legal advice. It only constitutes commentary on legal issues, and is for educational and informational purposes only. Reading this blog, replying to its posts, or any other interaction on this site does not create an attorney-client privilege between you and the author. The opinions expressed on this site are not the opinions of Vernon Goodrich, LLP. As with any legal issue that may confront you in a particular situation, you should always consult a qualified attorney familiar with the laws in your State.
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Nintendo’s head shrugs off new iPad
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
The head of Nintendo isn’t impressed with Apple’s new concept:
TOKYO (AP) - Nintendo’s president shrugged off the just unveiled iPad tablet computer from Apple as delivering “no surprises,” and displayed as little enthusiasm for 3-D technology and high-definition upgrades for games.
“It was a bigger iPod Touch,” Satoru Iwata said of the much anticipated device shown Wednesday by Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs.
Iwata denied speculation in Japanese media that what Nintendo Co. has in the works in new gadgets may be a DS equipped with a motion-sensor similar to the wand for Nintendo’s hit Wii home console, or a Wii upgraded for high-definition TVs.
“I question whether those features would be enough to get people to buy new machines,” he said of the DS. Nintendo engineers are developing new machines, he said, without giving details.
Iwata also doesn’t expect 3D video-gaming to catch on, although he welcomed 3D movies at theaters like James Cameron’s hit “Avatar.”
“I have doubts whether people will be wearing glasses to play games at home. How is that going to look to other people?” he said at a Tokyo hotel.
Sony Corp. and other technology companies are making big investments in 3-D TVs, expecting it will boost sales growth in the next few years.
Kyoto-based Nintendo, the maker of Pokemon and Super Mario games, would also have to look into the possible health effects of longtime 3-D game playing, which is likely to last longer than a two-hour film, Iwata said.
Nintendo has scored success by making games easier to play for the elderly, women and newcomers. Iwata reiterated his company will continue on that track as potential for sales growth remains in Japan, the U.S. and Europe.
He made no pretense to hide he was totally unimpressed with the iPad.
“There were no surprises for me,” said Iwata.
Apple says the iPad is a new kind of mobile device that is more intimate than a laptop but is packed with more functions than a mobile phone.
On Thursday, Nintendo reported April-December profit fell 9 percent as solid year-end sales failed to make up for the weak results for the earlier part of the fiscal year, a rising yen and a price cut for the Wii.
Aw, c’mon, can’t you be more of a sport, pal?
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Tropical Angel taping
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
Two videos of a remarkable water skiing game:
The challenge here is to guide a hot water skiing bikini babe through an ocean path filled with rocks, sharks, and special jumping ramps. One of the earliest games with a woman as the star, this is surely the earliest that comes close, if anything, to showing her boobs jiggle as she rides backwards on her lines, clearly enjoying herself in the sea. Of course, it was only in the early 90s when Mai Shiranui’s chest was designed to do that, that video game designers began to work on the idea more seriously.
This is a great game, and one of not too many I know of about water skiing. I’m sure there’s more, but I’ll need time to catch up on them.
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A posting for Halloween Harry/Alien Carnage
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
Another neat shareware actioner with cartoony design. Here’s a video of it:
Evil aliens have raided New York City, turning many citizens into green-skinned zombies, and it’s up to the one-man-army of Harry, a commando armed with flamethrower and rocket launcher, to save the Earth.
It’s worth noting that some of the enemies skulking back and forth on some of the floors here can regenerate, though the coins you get from them do not, so use your weapons supply wisely. You can recharge your ammo and jetpack fuel at the special vending machines. Make sure to rescue all the hostages - including all those lovestruck ladies - and move the levers to open doors where needed.
It’s also worth noting that this was probably the only game released by Apogee/3D Realms that underwent a name change because they were concerned people would confuse it for a holiday-oriented game, going to Alien Carnage. Here’s an extra video of it here:
The renaming also saw a swap of what was originally the first mission for the third of what’s a four-part episode game, meaning that depending on how it was available, you could play half the game for free! Even so, as 3D Realms’ staff admitted on their site, it wasn’t the best idea to do those kind of changes here.
Today, it’s available as freeware, and I sure hope I can find a full recording of the gameplay. So far, I haven’t. But if I do, I’ll be sure to try and post a topic for it when available.
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An Apple tablet for game biz
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
Here’s some news on a new device from Apple:
NEW YORK (AP) - When Apple introduced the iPhone, it shook up the cell phone business but it also changed the way people play video games. About a quarter of the 100,000 applications that you can download to the iPhone are games, ranging from the simple “Doodle Jump” to a version of “Grand Theft Auto.”
Now, with the looming launch of a tablet-style computer - already nicknamed the “iPhone on steroids,” with a bigger screen that might have a place in the living room - Apple could pose an even tougher challenge to established players in the video game business.
That assumes, however, that potential buyers aren’t scared off by a price that might be more than the cost of a Wii, a PlayStation 3 and an Xbox 360 combined. Apple isn’t commenting on its unveiling Wednesday.
Apple’s iPhone and the similar iPod Touch brought a new look to games because they have an accelerometer inside that lets people control the action by turning or tilting the device. With a touch screen and the computing horsepower for high-quality graphics, the iPhone lends itself to pared-down versions of console games like “Assassin’s Creed” and “The Sims 3.” Its size, meanwhile, makes it easy to consume addictive puzzles in 5-minute increments while waiting for the dentist or riding the subway.
Now the iPhone, which costs $99, $199 or $299 plus a monthly service plan, rivals gadgets such as the Nintendo DS ($130-$170) or PlayStation Portable ($170-$250), known as the PSP, which were created solely for playing games on the go. It’s unclear whether Apple has taken substantial market share away, but the iPhone likely introduced people to mobile games who wouldn’t have played otherwise.
“We’ve seen the iPhone and iPod Touch as kind of a starter kit for video games,” says John Koller, director of hardware marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America. “When those customers are ready to graduate into a deeper experience, the PSP is there for them.”
Soon a tablet may be there for them, too. A touch-screen gadget that is bigger than an iPhone could provide a larger playing field for gamers and give game developers a new way to push the limits of their creativity.
“Any game where there are multiple moving objects on the screen, or a map to explore, will especially be a better experience,” says Ian Lynch Smith, the president of Freeverse, a developer of iPhone and Mac games. “Also the more high end, cinematic games will benefit directly from the more immersive screen size.”
Apple profits from games because it takes a cut of apps that are sold on the iPhone, where games generally cost between 99 cents and $9.99. Last year the company hired Graeme Devine, a developer with 25 years of experience and games such as “Halo Wars” and “Quake 3″ under his belt, to work on “iPhone gaming technologies.”
Of course, the tablet is likely to be about much more than gaming, but the same increasingly can be said about video game consoles. Makers of home video game systems are trying to sell their products as all-in-one entertainment devices.
Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 (starting at $200) and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3 (starting at $300) both offer streaming movies from Netflix, for example, and Nintendo Co.’s Wii ($200) is set to start in the spring. Sony markets the PS3 as the “most fully loaded console,” one that “only does everything,” including Blu-ray movies, Facebook updates or Web browsing.
Given that Apple will have to persuade people they need another gadget in their lives, the company is also likely to bill the tablet as a do-everything device, a way for people to manage music, video, games, communication and Web browsing. And while it will be portable in a way game consoles are not, “it makes sense that it would be connected to the TV eventually,” says Peter Relan, chairman of Aurora Feint, the developer of a large social game network for the iPhone.
Smith thinks hard-core gamers will still own a console and use it as the primary gaming platform at home “for some years to come.”
“But I can see the tablet taking almost all of the casual to moderate gamer market,” he says.
The challenge for console makers will be to respond with innovation. One avenue could be in increasingly sophisticated motion controls, such as Microsoft’s upcoming “Project Natal,” which lets people manipulate on-screen avatars using their bodies. Natal is set to debut on the Xbox this holiday season.
“Games have become the killer pursuit on all new devices,” says Mark Pincus, founder and CEO of Zynga, the company behind popular Facebook games such as “FarmVille” and “Mafia Wars.”"They are the reason people buy major new hardware from the Xbox to the iPhone.”
I’m just not happy Grand Theft Auto has to be part of these items.
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Doom video
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
The game that really popularized the first-person shooting genre. Here’s a short video of it:
An alien invasion into military research facilities on two of the moons of Mars leads to a marine having to fight and stop them all. It’s a game with impressive 3D texture layouts for its time.
That said, I’m going to have to note that this game raised a lot of controversy for good reason: not only was it a very bloody item - especially when you set it for the right levels - it also featured satanic images and was also a game played by the perpetrators of the Columbine massacre. I can understand why anyone might find it just as maddening after all these years. Maybe that’s why I haven’t much more to say about it here.
Update: I found a more complete run of it in 4 videos:
This may be the SNES version of the game.
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NBA Jam Extreme video
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
Here comes the next entry in this sport series, and this time, it’s in more 3D format:
Midway lost the license to develop this series to Acclaim, who took over some of the franchise, and frankly made an even more impressive game than they did.
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Facebook farmers
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
A new game available on Facebook lets you work in agriculture:
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Even while calling Chicago home, Laura Hawkins Grimes is a country bumpkin. Her scenic rural spread has three dairy farms, two ponds and a log cabin, all skirted by a white picket fence as scarecrows stand sentry over her blackberries.
And the best part is the 40-year-old sex therapist never has to leave her computer to tend it.
She’s one of tens of millions of occupants of FarmVille, a near-utopian, wildly popular online fantasy game where folks rush to another neighbor’s aid, ribbons readily come as rewards, plants don’t get diseased and there’s never a calamitous frost, flood or drought.
Since its launch last summer, the cartoonish simulation game seeming to meld “Leave it to Beaver” and “Green Acres” has become a Facebook phenomenon, luring in urbanites like Grimes and real farmers while gently nudging people to think more about where their food comes from.
“It’s kind of what you don’t see every day,” Grimes said of FarmVille by Zynga, a San Francisco-based developer of games widely played at online hangouts such as Facebook. “I have to say, living in Chicago, what appeals to me about FarmVille is it’s not urban.”
FarmVille - with more than 72 million monthly users worldwide, the most talked-about application in Facebook status updates - heads a growing stable of simulated agriculture that also includes SlashKey’s Farm Town on Facebook and PlayMesh’s recently launched iFarm for the iPhone.
Purposely simplistic, FarmVille lets players build and trick out their farms, starting with a tiny parcel they till and seed with a range of crops including berries, eggplant, wheat, soybeans, artichokes and pumpkins. Players can add pigs, cows and chickens and accouterments such as barns, chicken coops, windmills and greenhouses.
As on real farms, attentiveness in FarmVille is vital. Players who diligently tend to their crops see their farms flourish and their bank balances balloon. Those late with their harvests may see their crops - and their investment - shrivel and die.
Neighbors get rewarded with points and gold for scaring away pests, fertilizing or feeding chickens on another player’s spread.
“One thing we feel we got right is it has extremely broad appeal,” said Bill Mooney, Zynga’s vice president and general manager. “Everybody likes farming, whether you’re a gardener, whether you grew up on a farm or your grandparents did. It’s literally something everyone can relate with.”
And with FarmVille, “there’s an appeal that’s just cute, with the amazing ways people take the farms and develop them out as their own.”
In the end, he hopes, “people will see this as a fun little escape.”
Grimes sure has. The transplanted Oklahoman who detests video games and has no farm background razzed her FarmVille-loving friends before her sister successfully prodded her to join.
Now, she admits, “I’m a total FarmVille freak.”
A mother of a 3-year-old daughter and the wife of a paramedic, Grimes squeezes in simulated farming between appointments and parenting. She devotes less than an hour each day “in little bitty spurts” to eventually max out her FarmVille spread to resemble a whimsical menagerie - black sheep, pink calves, penguins, reindeer with flashing Christmas lights in their antlers.
“It was completely mindless and just mine,” she said. “I could decide where everything went, I could decide when it happened. I got to move things around. I got to make it look nice.”
She loves getting rewards at every turn, often for helping a neighbor. And she credits FarmVille with hastening her reconnection with old friends, including a fourth-grade schoolmate who’s now living next door to her in this online agricultural experience.
“I don’t know anything about her life except she’s a really nice neighbor - she leaves me little posts, she sends me nice gifts, harvests my crops. And it makes me feel better about people in my life,” Grimes said. “What’s so nice about this is it’s really about camaraderie, like you depend on people to do things for you.”
“I really would have never thought this would have been something I do,” she said.
Even actual farmers are digging it. In his central Illinois farmhouse near Windsor, 31-year-old bachelor Darin Doehring started playing months ago with the game he credits with helping him wait out sogginess that hampered harvesting of his 2,000 acres of real corn and soybeans.
“There were more times this past fall I was doing my crops more on there (FarmVille), than I was in the field because of the rain and mud outside. I enjoy it,” Doehring said, noting that he wished the fantasy game posed more challenges mimicking real-life ones farmers face, including weather events.
Mooney of Zynga says that isn’t likely: “We don’t want it to be a punishing experience. We want this to be a positive.”
To John Reifsteck, a corn-and-soybean grower in Champaign County, Ill., there are parallels between virtual and actual farming. “Success at FarmVille requires foresight, persistence and a willingness to help others - just like farming in the real world,” he wrote in an online column last month.
And while he doesn’t play FarmVille - “I work in the fields for a living” - he understands those who do and welcomes FarmVille’s popularity.
“It’s a healthy sign for agriculture - but only if players don’t come to think that running a farm is as easy as FarmVille makes it seem,” he wrote. “If FarmVille was as difficult and complicated as actual farming, probably no one would play it.”
It’s one of plenty of great ideas for learning the ropes in trades. I wonder if next will come a movie star playing game?
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Dungeon Magic quest
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
Possibly inspired by Capcom’s own efforts with Dungeons & Dragons, though it came out shortly afterwards, here’s another sword-and-sorcery adventure, in about 8 parts:
A lovely young princess has been kidnapped by evil forces hoping to use her as the means of resurrecting an evil demon. Four fighters are chosen to save her, and must traverse a complicated castle to find her. Naturally, there’s plenty of enemies commonly found in fantasy products like this one who’ll make this quite difficult, but the players do have magical powers that help out. Depending on which direction you’ll choose among some doorways, you’ll reach the bosses sooner or later.
What’s really remarkable here though is the semi-isometric interface used in the game, which certainly makes it all the more different from Capcom’s Dungeons & Dragons games. And that’s one more reason why it’s such a great adventure.
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Duke Nukem 2, parts three and four
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
And now, here’s the latter half of the second adventure of America’s greatest, most badass computer hero. Up comes the third episode, in 6 parts:
Duke continues to make his way through lava-laden pits, and towards the end, there’s even a moving belt making for quite a ride! This part shows the flamethrower in its double purpose as a booster rocket.
Finally, here’s the fourth part, in another 7 recordings:
The first level here is an aerial base, providing for quite some challenging moments. At the end, when Duke finally defeats the overlord of the Rigelatins, you could say he gets his own spaceship to own as he returns to Earth! Great stuff.
At the end, they even hint at Duke 3D’s coming soon. Yep, they clearly had it in the words at the time this game went to press. And that’s what I too will try and present when the time comes. For now, this should provide some satisfying entertainment.
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Duke Nukem 2, parts one and two
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
He’s back! This is the second adventure our bold troubleshooter’s had over the years, and it’s in four episodes this time. Here comes the first one, starting with the intro, in seven recordings:
Duke’s been abducted by an evil alien race called the Rigelatins who’re hell bent on using his brainwaves as a means of invading Earth. Lucky for ol’ Duke, they’re not as smart as they seem, and locked him in a cell he can bust out of, conveniently located near a weapons locker, and the fight is on!
Some of the features from the first game are also available here too, or are similar in design, but more improved and advanced. Plus, there’s cool music! It certainly helped that Cygnus Multimedia provided programming assistance for the sequel, and thus the graphics are very good.
Next, here’s the second episode, in 5 videos:
More mayhem as Duke treks further around the headquarters of the Rigelatins, finding more useful weapons and plenty of soda for health! While it may not be shown directly in this taping, I think the flamethrower can serve the double purpose of providing flight ability for the player.
This too is pretty cool. I’ll try to get the third and fourth parts added soon too.
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Tetris gets tons of paid downloads for mobile units
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
Tetris once again has proven the leading puzzle game, as it’s reported that it’s passed the 100 million paid download mark on mobile phones:
NEW YORK (AP) - More than 25 years after its birth, Tetris is the best-selling mobile game of all time, having surpassed 100 million paid downloads on cell phones around the world.
Adam Sussman, vice president of worldwide publishing at Electronic Arts Inc.’s mobile unit, said the milestone marked “a huge moment not just for EA but for mobile gaming in general. It speaks to the evergreen appeal of Tetris.”
EA Mobile and the company it licenses the game from, Blue Planet Software, plan to formally announce the milestone on Thursday in Montreal. The companies disclosed it to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Created by a Soviet programmer in 1984, Tetris rode to popularity on Nintendo Co.’s Game Boy - a mobile gaming device - in 1989. Millions of people have continued to play it since, on gaming consoles and over the Web, or on mobile gadgets such as the iPhone or simple cell phones.
The game’s neat interface, simple controls and addictive nature make it especially well-suited for mobile gadgets. Alexey Pajitnov, the creator of Tetris, said the game itself is simple, and it’s easy to get hooked on it. But getting really good results is difficult.
“It is appealing to all demographics, all cultures,” he said.
EA won’t say how much money it has made off Tetris. On the iPhone, it costs $5 to download.
Sussman said Tetris is available in 60 countries on about 64,000 different handsets, about 20 percent of them smart phones.
That’s truly magnificient! Even if it costs money, it looks like people are still quite comfy with getting it for their mobile phones to enjoy while taking a trip.
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Motion controller delayed
Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits
Sony has pushed back the release of their new PS3 gizmo:
TOKYO (AP) - Sony Corp. said Wednesday it has pushed back the release of its highly anticipated motion controller for the PlayStation 3 game console to the fall.
The device will be available in North America, Europe, Japan and other Asian countries. Sony did not say how much the controller will cost.
The controller was slated for a spring launch when Sony first announced details in September. But it decided to wait several months until new games were available to accompany the release, said Makiko Noda, spokeswoman for Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. in Tokyo.
“We will continue to work to have a comprehensive portfolio of attractive and innovative games for the Motion Controller,” said Sony Computer Entertainment President Kazuo Hirai in a statement. Games are being developed by SCE and third party developers, he said,
Sony said it will unveil its software lineup at a later date.
Used with the existing PlayStation Eye camera, the controller can track players’ voices, faces and body motion. The controller, in turn, has on its end a light-emitting sphere that can be recognized by the PlayStation Eye camera.
The latest announcement comes as both Sony and Microsoft Corp., maker of the Xbox 360, take aim at Nintendo Co.’s dominance in the gaming sector.
Since Nintendo launched its popular Wii console in 2006, it has consistently outsold rivals. The company was the first to introduce motion-detecting controllers, which enable users to physically interact with games.
Now Sony has developed its own version, as has Microsoft Corp. with its “Project Natal.” Natal, which combines a camera, depth sensor, microphone and processor, eliminates the need for any button-mashing device. Microsoft is expected to release Natal in time for the Christmas shopping season but has not set a specific date.
Although demand for the Wii has slowed in recent months, it remained the most popular console among Americans in December with 3.18 million units sold. The PS3 sold 1.4 million units, while Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 came close with 1.3 million.
Well let’s hope it does come out in the end, so we can finally see how well it works.
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