The Amazing Spider-Man iOS Game Review

Posted 8 years ago by Games

The Amazing Spider-Man

I saw the new Spider-Man movie and I liked it quite a bit. When I heard there was an iOS game out that was actually pretty fun and let you free-roam (or free-swing?) around New York City I had to check it out. It’s a bit pricey at $6.99, but after buying it and playing it all week I can say that if your’e a Spider-Man fan, it’s worth it.

I’ve been a fan of Spider-Man video games as long as I’ve played. I remember loving Maximum Carnage on my Genesis and being obsessed with the first Spider-Man game on Playstation. They’ve gotten a bit repetitive over the years, but swinging around town as Spidey is still one of my favorite things to do in video games.

The Amazing Spider-Man by Gameloft is a pretty nice Spider-Man game considering it’s for mobile devices. It sure beats the hell out of the old Game Gear game I use to play. The graphics obviously aren’t as great as you’d find on Xbox or a Playstation 3, but they’re on par with Wii graphics.

You’re given a surprisingly large area of New York to explore (which is probably why the game is almost 700 MB), and various missions and challenges to keep you busy. There’s a level system to upgrade your moves, and some fun mini-games where you can snap photos (like the one above).

The mechanics are simplified for the touch-based game, with one button swinging and a pretty easy combat system. It makes for a really fun game to keep you busy whenever you have a few spare moments to kill. On my old, spazzy iPhone 4 the game is a bit laggy, but I imagine it works just fine on newer or not-so-jacked-up devices.

My four-year old newphew loved it too. He kept yelling “I killed the bad guys!”

You can buy the game for $6.99 on iTunes.

New Footage From Next Year’s ‘SimCity’ Game Proves Way Too Addictive

Posted 8 years ago by Games

There’s a reason I never got into the popular world-building game Minecraft. It’s not because I didn’t want to. It’s because I’m afraid of what it would do to me. You see, back in the early ’90s, I was pretty well obsessed with playing SimCity. The ability to simultaneously play God and city planner was an overwhelming combination.

I played SimCity, SimCity 2000, SimTown, SimAnt—pretty much every Sim variant up until The Sims. That’s when I realized I had a problem. That’s when I knew I had to quit cold turkey.

I stumbled across this video showing gameplay of the all-new SimCity scheduled for release in 2013. Watching it gave me that same high I experienced way back when, plus then some. They’ve taken the already great game and put it on steroids. Not only is the design better than ever but your world can now coexist with others in a sort of, multiplayer sim world.

It looks like I’ll be falling off the wagon come next year. I better saving up on sleep now.

Play This: Fan-made ‘Community’ Game ‘Journey to the Center of Hawkthorne’

Posted 8 years ago by Games, Television

Journey to the center of Hawkthorne

I haven’t written much about Community on here, but it’s one of my all-time favorite TV shows, right up there with The Simpsons, Arrested Development, and a few seasons of The Office. A few weeks ago, the third season was wrapped up with an amazing tribute to retro games in the episode Digital Estate Planning. In the episode, Pierce (Chevy Chase) gets a note about his deceased (and super racist) Dad leaving him a video game to beat in order to claim his inheritance.

The game is called Journey to the Center of Hawkthorne, and one intrepid fan of the show has created a playable and downloadable version of his own, which you can grab here.

It’s incomplete, but it’s a great start. The graphics and sound are all dead-on from what was on screen in the show, and I can’t wait to see the end boss battle against Pierce’s Dad, complete with Troy and Abed riding dinosaurs and shooting lava.

Even if you haven’t followed all three seasons of Community, you should check out the episode if you’re a gamer. There are some jokes that are made just for us. I had to pause the show I was laughing so hard when everyone first gets in the game and Pierce is running back and forth saying “Which one am I?”

Via The Verge

First Look at Ron Gilbert’s New Video Game ‘The Cave’

Posted 8 years ago by Games

One of my favorite all-time video games is the 1987 adventure puzzler Maniac Mansion. I devoured hour-upon-hour of that game on my Commodore 64. The wit and the puzzles made it fun and challenging.

That game’s creator, Ron Gilbert, also made the first two Monkey Island games for Lucasfilm. Gilbert is back with a new company (Double Fine) and a much anticipated new game.

The Cave is a side-scrolling adventure that appears to be a mixture of Little Big Planet and The Goonies. The game features seven playable characters, each with its own unique skills. All the humor and charm of Maniac Mansion looks to be there. It also features three-player co-op play, a feature I’m sure to take advantage of with my two kids.

The Cave is expected for download on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows, in early 2013.

Interview with Jeff Ryan, Author of ‘Super Mario’ Book on Bubble Pipe Theater

Posted 8 years ago by Games

Jeff Ryan Interview

Over at the Bubble Pipe Network we just posted an episode all about Nintendo, featuring Jeff Ryan, the author of Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America. Jeff got in touch and was kind enough to sit in with Rob and I and we talked the history of Nintendo and had quite a few laughs.

If you’re a fan on Nintendo you should head over to Bubble Pipe Network and check it out.