This console generation's second Need for Speed: Most Wanted was shown off at EA's E3 press conference in Los Angeles this afternoon. Ports of the game for iPad, iPhone, and Android were confirmed after the event via press release.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted, on consoles at least, is being developed by Criterion. It will feature an open world, licensed vehicles, and of course, races, chases and dramatic crashes. We've included its debut trailer below.
E3 press conferences aren't the best venues for mobile, but EA did manage to sneak a few upcoming iPhone and iPad apps into its presentation this afternoon in Los Angeles.
After a long tour of Madden 13's career mode and progression systems, EA announced a new social take on the franchise called Madden NFL Social. It didn't dive into details, but it did mention that Madden NFL Social will be playable across Facebook and iOS. Also, if you start a game on Facebook, you'll be able to finish it on your iPhone.
Fable and Populous creator Peter Molyneux's new studio, 22 Cans, has unveiled Curiosity, its first experimental release in an upcoming line of one-word "games" designed around pure concepts and ideas. This one focuses on a user's desire to poke around inside a mysterious black cube, which is presented in a flat, white room.
On this episode of GTTV, Molyneux explains why his studio isn't making traditional games and shows off an early version of Curiosity while detailing its hook.
"You're presented with this white room. In the middle of the white room is a black cube," he says. "If you touch on that black cube, you'll zoom into it. This black cube is made up of millions of tiny little cubes. You can tap away at that cube."
New Tourin-based studio Mixed Bag is creating an "old-school action adventure" game that will embrace the fundamentals: art, real estate, bosses, powers, and mystery. It looks a little like Metroid, except with probes.
Forma.8, as its called, takes place on an alien planet where you, as the titular probe, will be tasked with finding something after an accident separates you from your pal. As you progress, you'll discover ancient civilizations and even "dystopian visions," rendered in some of the coolest art this side of Another World. Check it out:
Microsoft's "Smart Glass" project is indeed a real thing, and with it you'll be able to access additional Xbox 360 content with "any" device, including iPad and iPhone.
At its E3 briefing in Los Angeles this morning, Microsoft showed off how Smart Glass will let users interact with Xbox movies and music with tablets and phones, but more interestingly, it unveiled how games will use the technology moving forward. In EA Sports' Madden 13, for example, players will be able to pick plays, create plays, and fiddle with rosters on their tablets or phones while simultaneously playing the actual game on their big-screen TV.
During a pre-E3 briefing the other afternoon, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata unveiled Mii-verse for Wii U. And he also mentioned something we didn't expect: interaction with the service through web-enabled devices. You know, like smart phones or tablets.
In a nutshell, Mii-verse is a key component in the upcoming console's online offering, as it'll connect players to each other via a reinvigorated Mii Plaza and messaging. In an awful promotional video shown at the event, you can see how it all works together, and also how someone with a smart phone or tablet can browse Mii-verse's message board and respond to console players in what appears to be real time.
Do you like zombie games? We sure hope so. It's clear that studios aren't going to be giving the undead a break despite how clotted the market is with their moans and groans and brainless wanderings. On the other hand, we're still finding interesting things in the latest crop of zombie games. Dead Trigger, for example, is tickling us because its production values appear to be off the chain. We guess we're not over the whole zombie thing quite yet, either.
Dead Trigger is the latest title from Madfinger Games, the visual gurus behind Shadowgun and the Samurai franchise. It was announced late last week, and will be appearing on the usual Madfinger platforms -- iPad, iPhone and Android devices with beefy NVIDIA hardware -- at some point in the near future. And it looks like it'll definitely require some hardcore innards. Seriously, check it out:
Microsoft might have something really hip coming down the pipes for Xbox Live users with iOS devices. Various tech outlets have been reporting on a project called "Smart Glass," a supposed Xbox 360 companion app that will, essentially, give the console the ability to stream content to phones of all kinds and tablets. Spicing this up rumor up, Kotaku is reporting that Smart Glass is an internal name for a project that'll ultimately be called Xbox Live Companion, and its streaming feature will extend to games after you download the app on your device of choice.
Here's an example of how Xbox Live Companion will work with games from the Kotaku post:
With how fast this year is racing by I can't believe I'm about to post this, but E3 in Los Angeles is next week, and then WWDC in San Francisco is the week after that. We're going to be at both events, and we should be in store for two weeks of non-stop iOS gaming news. Or, that's the plan, anyway.
E3 always has surprises, but most big publishers announce what they're taking or showing off in advance of the Los Angeles based event. Square Enix just did this, and revealed a new, or at the very least upcoming, 2D Final Fantasy game in the process. Yay!
Final Fantasy Dimensions as its called will draw from Final Fantasy both old and new, delivering "the best of Final Fantasy, retro and fresh alike." What this means is that it'll include (a) a Job system and (b) one of those silly 'dark versus light' stories, which we're sure will keep you on the edge of your seat.
New might not be the best word for Dimensions. Joystiq thinks this might just be a port of Final Fantasy Legends, which was a series of games released episodically on Japanese cellphones in 2010. We'll see if this is the case, but we're guessing Joystiq is right.
Dimensions is due out on iPhone and iPad this "summer." An Android version is hitting alongside this release, too.
Of all the outfits at E3 showing iOS related stuff, Chillingo by far had the best overall lineup. All four of these games look great, and I really can't wait to give 'em all a try. They really know how to pick the games they're going to promote now, and while I'm not entirely sure any of these will be the next Angry Birds, they might be the next Feed Me Oil.
Roll in the Hole - The title of the game basically tells it all, and the rest is explained by watching the video. It's a super casual puzzle game that customers on the App Store have basically voted with their wallets in telling Chillingo "We want more of this, please."
Blobster - This is a really interesting game that I'm not sure if I'd totally describe as a platformer, but it does have some definite platforming sort of elements to it. You control your dude with a slick little slingshot mechanic, which really seems like a much better control solution than the typical array of virtual controls and buttons.
DrawRace 2 - I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited for this game. I liked the original a lot, and the sequel adds cool 3D traffics, more tracks, and tons more goodies.
Contre Jour - Similar to Blobster, I'm not really sure the best genre to categorize this game, but the art style if sick. I'm totally loving the look and feel of this one.
Meeting with EA is always a little weird at conventions. Like most massive companies they're governed by many layers of management, marketing, and more. Because of this, details on a lot of these games are hilariously vague. In fact, I was able to get a peek at The Sims Medival, but at this point in time, the only thing EA is willing to let me take away from the event is its logo. Similarly, all they'd tell me about Madden 12 is that it's better than last year, and it has leaderboards.
Oh well, I'm sure we'll have more details soon. Anyway, on with the show-
Madden 12 - The Madden series iterates heavily from year to year, with basic tweaks, improvements, a new roster, and maybe even a new feature or two. This year seems to be no different. The player models seemed to look a little better, the textures were a bit more crisp, and of course, it ran fantastic on the iPad 2.
FIFA 12 - Us Americans don't care too much for soccer, but it's really cool to see EA expanding their system they used in Scrabble to use smaller iOS devices as controllers for a game taking place on the iPad.
Battleship - Everyone remembers Battleship, right? Do I need to explain how it works? Here's what you need to know: No online multiplayer. Weird, right? Either way, the little animations between shots looks neat, and are easily skippable by tapping the screen.
Monopoly: Here and Now: World Edition - Aside from having entirely too many colons in its title, this version of Monopoly has an entirely new board and some other nice additions that you can see in the video.
Capcom (and their tiny mobile division Beeline Interactive) had a massive booth at E3. In this tiny booth was a single kiosk showing off their iOS offerings. Regardless, the guys are Capcom were totally excited to show everything off. I'm sure people will be most interested to check out Street Fighter IV Volt, the upcoming addition to the iOS Street Fighter series:
On the beeline side of things, they had two freemium titles I was able to get video of. I'm not entirely sure how popular these will be amongst our community, but that sure hasn't stopped Smurfs' Village from making bazillions of dollars.
Monster Pet Shop:
Dream Park:
Alright, I'll admit I'm a little excited for Dream Park, but only because I'd love an iOS version of Rollercoaster Tycoon.
It seems like every convention we see a game (or, sometimes, games) that make us take a step back and say, "Whoa, now that's really cool." As a former hardcore Dungeons & Dragons player, Pocket Heroes hit all the right notes for me. Here's the game in a nutshell: Take a party-centric tabletop-style turn based game, give it sprite-based UI, and then add in Words With Friends-style push-powered asynchronous online multiplayer.
The developers explain it better than I can:
It remains to be seen just how awesome the game will be once it's finally released, but I'm super excited for this. Some of the best times I've had in a gaming environment has been in Dungeons & Dragons games, so if F5 Games can even capture a sliver of that fun I'll be totally happy.
Do you find yourself craving Mario Kart on your iPhone, but then are depressed every time you realize that there isn't a Nintendo logo on the device, making such a thing hilariously unlikely? Well, Sega might be offering the next best thing. Sonic & Sega Allstars Racing takes a load of hints from Mario Kart, and utilizes their array of Sega characters instead of the Nintendo favorites. It's got multiplayer, loads of power-ups, a cool drifting system, and more.
Check it out in motion:
Gameloft's Shrek Kart [$4.99 / Free / HD] didn't really scratch that Mario Kart itch how I wanted it to, but I'm thinking Sonic & Sega Allstars Racing might. Stay tuned for more details from Sega.
This console generation's second Need for Speed: Most Wanted was shown off at EA's E3 press conference in Los Angeles this afternoon. Ports of the game for iPad, iPhone, and Android were confirmed after the event via press release.
