The iOS version of the classic Bitmap Brothers game Speedball 2: Evolution [Link] is currently free for the next few days. Speedball 2 is a sports game of sorts, a mishmash of football and hockey (or fockeyball, as I call it) with arcade elements and a futuristic theme. It’s similar to the classic arcade game Cyberball, and originally released for home platforms back in 1990.
The iOS version of Speedball 2 contains a ridiculous number of modes and content to play through, and features improved graphics over the original. All of this and more you can read about in our original review of Speedball 2: Evolution.
If you were a fan of the original Speedball or Speedball 2, and for some reason you haven’t yet picked up this version, then now is your chance to strike. For those with no emotional ties to the original games, Speedball 2 is still a must download while free as it offers satisfying fast-paced arcade action with a retro feel. It’s also a universal app with Retina Display support and Game Center integration, so definitely give this freebie a look.
Poor EA they are worse than sony at trying to be proprietary and "different", greeds a funny thing. Most people I know dont want to run 2 gaming services and are already heavily invested in steam. You would think they would have learned a lesson with the xbox live fiasco that had them missing from live for over a year, the result wasn't Microsoft bending the rules in their favor instead it was drastically dropped sales. I will bet this one wont be much different.
Actually the service is pretty neat, many of the games are actually cheaper than on steam.
The best feature though is that I can add the cd keys of all my boxed ea games to it and forever have a digital backup of the games.
They've had this store for quite a while, they just change the name now, so I would guess it's actually paying of for them.
Biggest problem is it's only EA games.
Yep, no desire to have more than one game management software running on my PC. No thanks.
will there still be ea games on steam?
they have had this service running for quite a while just under a different name so...
to early really to comment, EA is the big boy on the block when it comes to games. i would be surprised if it was more than just an online store.
i suspect we are looking at mostly hype at this time. like GOG or gamersgate but ea related.
at any rate, i don't think they will move away from app store or steam, or retail for that matter. a sale is a sale.
to early? it's been around for quite a while actually, it's just that they change the name, and put beta on there for some reason...
this is very sensible and in some was I am surprised to see that "it took them this long." No doubt Apple won't be too pleased about it, but even if it is limited in scope on iPhone, they will be able to flush it out more on competing platforms. Full-blown Digital Stores are the natural evolution of publishers and even software manufacturers - even if they start up in smaller scale, so long as they can grow appropriately than it will be a wise investment where all things are concerned. Especially considering how the App Store currently operates (a nicely-centralized, if non-navigable mess) I'd suspect EA and the like can do a better job, particularly considering their history with the subject matter.
they have had this running for at least a year.
the newest version is a few weeks old even, they just changed the name and put beta on there for some reason.
This sounds like another 'Gameloft LIVE' type of platform in terms of smartphones. I was crossing my fingers that Apple would announce an update to Game Center for iOS 5 on Monday and EA would stroll on stage to announce their support for it. I'll just keep dreaming instead...
EA can't compete in mobile app marketplaces with smaller more nimble and
innovative developers. The barriers to entry in the iTunes Store,
Android Market and Amazon App Store are much lower than at retail
outlets like Gamestop and Target.