Playable Press

With the recent surge of interest larger game developers like Square Enix have shown in mobile gaming, the question of how to attract a more traditional gaming audience to iOS, Android, and the like becomes an issue of how to tailor hardware just as much as software. Mobile platforms rely mostly on touch screen interfaces, and even though there are some games that use simplified or unique control schemes to good effect through this medium many attempt to mimic a classic controller setup, which suffers from sometimes unreliable recognition and a lack of tangible tactile feedback.

In December 2009, Rovio Entertainment released a colorful little physics puzzler called Angry Birds on iOS, and it wasn't terribly long before the millions of downloads piled up and the title became the veritable face of mobile gaming (and some might say of gaming overall for this decade). Success like this is never left alone for long, and in addition to the formal sequel - Angry Birds in Space - the breakout developer has now let slip a few specifics for a spinoff title featuring the series' antagonists, Bad Piggies.

When Square Enix announced its intention to bring an SNES-style 2D entry of its hallmark roleplaying series, Final Fantasy, to mobile platforms, reactions were a bit confused but generally warm. After a three console generation-long wait it seemed that even the pickiest of fans were willing to meet the developer halfway. That wait will be over on August 31 when Final Fantasy Dimensions holds its simultaneous worldwide release, though the dent it'll put in your wallet may be a bit more than you expected.

Fans of bad movies will recognize the name Manos: The Hands of Fate in fairly short order; It's been hailed as one of the worst films of all time, and with the endorsement of the MST3K crew and all the classically horrible moments contained therein who can blame it? Remember the part where Mike took to the skies in a bi-plane for a dogfight with Torgo? Or how about Mike's shooting spree through the catacombs of Valley Lodge, emptying round after round into the never-ending onslaught of screaming skulls coming his way?

We haven't heard anything terribly big in the vein of Kickstarter stories for a while, but a project posted today and already fully funded caught our eye immediately: It's the OUYA (OOH-yuh), an independently-developed console running on the Google Android OS and following in Nintendo's footsteps of assigning vowel-heavy jibberish names to home consoles, and those who don't believe in the influence of mobile gaming on the industry had better start paying attention. The project broke Double Fine Adventure's Kickstarter speed record for reaching $1 million in funding, and it's already passed $1.5 million while still in its first day.

Xbox360's forays as a multimedia platform have met with moderate success, but according to Microsoft's Mark Whitney we've only seen the beginning. Whitney used his time on the floor during the company's conference today to introduce Xbox SmartGlass technology, a system through which Microsoft aims to link smart devices to their system to allow for a deeper level of control with games and movies.

The Kickstarter boom started with funding a point-and-click adventure game, and since then the model has proven successful for making revivals of properties and genres popular in the '90s a reality. As of yesterday, we can officially add one more success to the steadily growing pile in Shadowrun Returns.

Sonic Team looks like it's pulling out all the nostalgic stops for the next installment of erstwhile mascot Sonic's return to numbered sequels in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II: Tails has returned, filling a similar role as in his Sonic 2 and 3 appearances but with a bigger emphasis on teamwork; Sonic CD fan favorite villain Mecha Sonic makes another appearance; Several levels are presented as conglomerations of classic Sonic stages; And, most importantly, the engine from Episode I has been tweaked to reincorporate the original games' momentum mechanic.

First it was Tim Schafer and Double Fine, then inXile, now Replay Games is getting on the Kickstarter funding train. Replay's CEO Paul Trow, along with Leisure Suit Larry series creator Al Lowe, are shooting to remake the latter's entire series with fan backing starting with the original outing, Land of the Lounge Lizards.

News concerning the long-awaited release of Phantasy Star Online 2 has been one surprise after another. Not only is Sega bringing the formerly home console-exclusive property to the Vita, but thanks to a recent announcement shared with Andriasang we now know that the game will also see release through Android and iOS.