NCG Brings You 2v2 Tournaments TWICE A Week Starting June 9th!

Date: 2012.04.11 | Category: 2v2pro Info, 2v2pro News, Video Game News, Video Games, Video Gaming | Response: 0

Sup Gamers!!! Here is the raw down deal … These tournaments are FREE! That’s right, FREE!!! Fox and Hound pays good money for NCG to host these tournaments, make the videos, and to provide the Xboxes and games. How can you support the tournaments and keep them going???, SIMPLE! Just buy food while you are there, tip the waitresses well, and invite all your friends for a fraggin smackin good time! It IS that easy! (Make sure you tweet us @NCGpro and like us on Facebook @NCG.pro) Now go practice so you don’t get your butt kicked.

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SATURDAYS!

What? - 2v2 COD Tournaments….Usually MW3, but sometimes a throwback COD!!

When? – Every Saturday at 4pm starting June 9th

Where? – The Fox and Hound in Winston Salem NC

Cost? – Nothing! Yep, It’s FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Rules? – First 16 teams play, use our controllers, use our classes, no screen cheating, must have fun, must be 13 or older. If under 16, must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Prizes? - Champions win a $50 gift card, NCG Trophies, and qualify for the Championship of Champions event.

Changes? – Everything is subject to change, so check back here at www.2v2pro.com at least once a week.

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TUESDAYS!

What? - 2v2 COD & Gears 3 Tournaments….(every other week it rotates & sometimes we throw in a monkey)

When? – Every Tuesday at 8pm

Where? – The Fox and Hound in Winston Salem NC

Cost? – Nothing! Yep, It’s FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Rules? – First 16 teams play, use our controllers, use our classes, no screen cheating, must have fun, must be 13 or older. If under 16, must be accompanied by an adult at all times. (18 and older only starting June 12th)

Prizes? - Champions win a $50 gift card, NCG Trophies, and qualify for the Championship of Champions event.

Changes? – Everything is subject to change, so check back here at www.2v2pro.com at least once a week.

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RESULTS!

Round Table Gaming Documentary Tuesday April 3rd

Date: 2012.03.28 | Category: Video Game News, Video Gaming | Response: 0

If you are a gamer and would like to express your thoughts on Gaming (past, current, and future), come to the Fox and Hound in Winston Salem on Tuesday April 3rd at 10pm (right after the MW3 2v2 Tournament) to participate. It should last about an hour. This video will be shared with companies like Microsoft, Sony, Epic Games EA, Activision, Infinity Ward, Treyarch, etc.

The Next PlayStation is Called Orbis, Sources Say. Here are the Details.

Date: 2012.03.28 | Category: Video Game News, Video Games | Response: 0

By Luke Plunkett

The Next PlayStation is Called Orbis, Sources Say. Here are the Details.

While the official reveal of Sony’s next home console could still be months away, if not longer, Kotaku has today learned some important details concerning the PlayStation 3′s successor.

For one, the console’s name—or at least its codename/working title—is apparently Orbis. And it’s being planned for release in time for the 2013 holiday season.

The details in this story come from a reliable source who is not authorized to talk publicly about next-gen hardware but has shared correct information with us before. What they’re telling us in specifics matches much of what we’ve heard and reported in generalities in recent weeks.

A Sony spokesperson declined to comment about these details, citing the company’s policy not to comment on “rumors or speculation.”

WHAT’S IN A NAME

Orbis. Say it out loud. Sounds a little like the word “four”, doesn’t it? Only it doesn’t make the next PlayStation sound like a bad horror movie sequel.

It’s also a name loaded with meaning. The word “Orbis” itself, from Latin, means circle, or ring, or even orbit. Not terribly helpful. Combine it with the name of Sony’s new handheld system, though, and you have the common term Orbis Vita (or, in strict Latin, Orbis Vitae). Which means “The circle of life”. Could the Vita be playing a very important role in the development and use of the next PlayStation home console? Maybe!

Such symbolism also suggests that rather than being a codename, like most companies employ when still developing a console (think NGP, or Durango), this might actually be the machine’s final name. We don’t knowthat, though, so keep an open mind about things.

The Next PlayStation is Called Orbis, Sources Say. Here are the Details.

Type in Vita.SCEdevnet.com and you arrive at Sony’s portal for Vita developers. Same with NGP.SCEdevnet.com, referencing the former codename for the Vita. The PS4 version of that address gets you nowhere. PS3 does, as does Orbis.SCEDev.net, though not to any Orbis-specific portions of the site.

THE NEXT PLAYSTATION, AT A GLANCE

Is called, or at least carries the working codename, “Orbis”.

Is scheduled for a Holiday 2013 release.

Won’t be backwards compatible with PS3 games.

Will lock new games to a PSN account as an anti-used games measure.

New games can be bought either on Blu-Ray or downloaded.

Current specs are an AMD x64 CPU and AMD Southern Islands GPU

CURRENT SPECS

Our main source supplied some basic specs for the console, but as the future is always in motion, bear in mind these could easily change between now and the Orbis’ retail release. Still, if you’d like to know what developers are being told to plan fornow, here you go.

AMD x64 CPU
AMD Southern Islands GPU
The former, that’s largely something we’ve heard before, but the latter is interesting. That’s the name given to many of AMD’s 2012 roster of high-end PC cards. The PS4′s GPU in particular, we’re told, will be capable of displaying Orbis games at a resolution of up to 4096×2160, which is far in excess of the needs of most current HDTV sets. It’ll also be capable of playing 3D games in 1080p (the PS3 could only safely manage 3D at 720p).

NEXT YEAR

Our main source tell us that “select developers” have been receiving dev kits for the new console since the beginning of this year. Revised and improved versions of these kits were sent out around GDC, while more finalised beta units will be shipped to developers towards the end of 2012.

That should hopefully give developers plenty of time to have launch games ready for the Orbis’ retail release, which will be in time for the 2013 holiday season. If you can remember the PS3 launch—it’s OK if you can’t, it was a while ago—that too was in time for the holiday shopping season (November 2006 for Japan and North America).

SO LONG, PS3 GAMES

Remember how the PlayStation 3 swiftly dropped the ability to play PS2 games? Well, our main source tell us the Orbis won’t even bother, and that Sony has no plans to offer backwards compatibility for its existing catalogue of PS3 games.

SO LONG, USED GAMES

BACK IN DECEMBER… A post left on Pastebin back in December also referred to the PlayStation 4 as Orbis, calling it a codename in the same vein as Microsoft’s Durango. The system specs in that post differ significantly from what Kotaku has heard, and the lack of a hard drive by default goes against the idea of downloading full games to the system.

The Pastebin post also mentions that big name developers like EA were disappointed by an Orbis much less powerful than Microsoft’s next machine, so there’s a chance that it’s the story of an earlier prototype that didn’t make the grade. We’ve reached out to EA for comment.

Just like the next Xbox/Durango, we’ve heard from multiple sources that the Orbis will likewise have some kind of anti-used games measures built into the console. Here’s how our main source says it’s currently shaping up: new games for the system will be available one of two ways, either on a Blu-Ray disc or as a PSN download (yes, even full retail titles). If you buy the disc, it must be locked to a single PSN account, after which you can play the game, save the whole thing to your HDD, or peg it as “downloaded” in your account history and be free to download it at a later date.

Don’t think you can simply buy the disc and stay offline, though; like many PC games these days, you’ll need to have a PSN account and be online to even get the thing started.

If you then decide to trade that disc in, the pre-owned customer picking it up will be limited in what they can do. While our sources were unclear on how exactly the pre-owned customer side of things would work, it’s believed used games will be limited to a trial mode or some other form of content restriction, with consumers having to pay a fee to unlock/register the full game.

This would allow used games to continue to be sold at outlets such as GameStop, while also appeasing major publishers who would no longer have to implement their own haphazard approaches to “online passes”.

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That’s all we’ve got for you at the moment. Remember, none of this information is confirmed, and even the information that is locked down in March 2012 may change before the console’s eventual release. This is just what we’ve been told Sony is working on and planning for as of today. That being the case, how do you think it’s shaping up?

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Multiplayer Details Leaked?

Date: 2012.03.28 | Category: Video Game News, Video Games | Response: 0

By Leah Jackson

Call of Duty: Black Ops Multiplayer Reveal Hands-On

A few Call of Duty: Blacks Ops 2 multiplayer details may have been leaked via a thread on Activision’s forums, which was later taken down by the publisher. Keep in mind that posts like this show up for a lot of games, claiming details that are later proven false, but until Activision comes along and tells us otherwise, it’s fun to speculate, right?

When Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing originally spoke on Black Ops 2, he said, “This year we expect to further expand our presence with the launch of an all-new epic first-person shooter title under the Call of Duty brand. From what we’ve seen to date, the game already looks fantastic and will bring meaningful innovations to the franchise.”

NEWS: Modern Warfare 3 DLC Pack Adds Four Maps, Two Spec Ops Missions On March 20

The most important information we found while scouring the post was the Call of Duty: Black Ops 2release date. According to the post, the first-person-shooter has an expected release date of November 6, 2012. There will be a new multiplayer game mode, Escort, and Kill Confirmed from Modern Warfare 3will make a return.

Read on for all of the details.

Game Modes

Escort, a new game mode.
- Similar to Search and Destroy however a live player must be escorted to one of three areas (or two depending on the map) without being killed.
- The match will have rounds, consisting of one life only.
Drop Zone and Kill Confirmed will return
Team Defender and Infected will not return

Pointstreaks

Will follow from Modern Warfare 3’s system
Larger emphasis on objectives
A bomb plant is worth 2 points
A neutral flag is worth 1, however an enemy flag is worth 2
A flag assist capture is worth 1, a capture is worth 2
The Specialist Pointstreak has be modified
2 kills now gets you 1 perk
The 4th kill gets you 2 more perks
The 6th kill gets you 3 more perks
The 8th Kill gets you 4 more perks
You do not get every perk when you reach 8 kills
Perks only become “Pro” when you have them Pro
RC XD will not return
Heat vision is a new Pointstreak reward. When you get the required points, you can activate this Pointstreak and your player pulls out a scope and attaches it to your weapon.
- This scopes main advantage is it’s ability to detect enemies through most walls. Note, the scope can only be attached to primaries not including shotguns

Item Packages

Requires 5 points
Fall along side care packages and air drop traps.
Features a list of package items only Including ammo, mini gun, grenade launcher, rocket launcher, and body armor

Prestiges

There will be 15 prestiges
There will be 50 ranks
Every two prestiges there is a 5 rank increase
The final prestige has 90 levels

ELITE 2.0

ELITE is being fully incorporated into Black Ops 2
Combat record has been modified and re-named as ELITE Stats
There will be a specific lobby for clan matches (new way of leveling clans)
Clan Tournaments can now be implemented

Removed

No MOAB or Nuke
No last stand
No death streaks
No flame thrower attachment

Map Design

Map design and size will be following Black Ops not Modern Warfare 3

Sniper Rifles

Improved sniper rifle usage.
No aim assist for any sniper rifle.
Less sway

Customization

No longer just perk 1 chooses the players appearance
Appearance is a combination of all perks and type of Pointstreak being used.

Hardcore

Larger emphasis on hardcore than ever before
No grenade launchers
Only vehicle guided rocket launchers permitted
Respawn timings decreased (for most modes)
1 bullet in the foot will no longer kill a person, a head or chest shot is usually required.
A person will now bleed out if severely injured.

Perk System 2.0

The Perk Pro system has been upgraded
There is now 2 options a perk can advance to.
Both require different challenges to unlock
Once the desired Pro version is unlocked, the player can select that as their “Perk Pro”.
Once selected, the only way to choose the other option is by entering prestige mode.
For example Perk slot 1 has the perk called Speed
- Speed – Reduces the time taken to aim down the sight
  - Pro I – Swaps weapons faster
  - Pro II – Throws equipment faster

Combat Training

Will be returning with vast improvements.
Difficulty is no longer based on how long the bots take to start shooting.
Bots now have an advance AI system
Similar to the behavior seen in the MW3 Spec Ops survival

Remember, this is all unconfirmed information. But if even some of it turned out to be true, what do you like about the additions?

Source: MP1st

RED 5 STUDIOS BRINGS FIREFALL, THE ANTICIPATED OPEN WORLD PC SHOOTER, TO PAX EAST 2012

Date: 2012.03.27 | Category: Video Game News, Video Games | Response: 0

For Immediate Release

RED 5 STUDIOS BRINGS FIREFALL, THE ANTICIPATED OPEN WORLD PC SHOOTER, TO PAX EAST NEXT MONTH

Visitors Will Receive Hands-On Demos in the First Public Unveiling of the Invite-Only Live Beta April 6-8

Screenshot10

Laguna Hills, CA – March 27, 2012 – Red 5 Studios™ announced today that it will bring its upcoming free-to-play, open world PC shooter, Firefall™, to PAX East in Boston, Massachusettes, April 6-8. Players will receive live demos of the exclusive beta, which will contain new elements of Firefall’s immersive open world experience as well as previously unrevealed PvP content. All visitors will walk away with access to this invite-only Firefall beta and will also have the chance to meet key characters, Typhon and Mourningstar, in full “Battleframes” at the show.

Firefall, an upcoming free-to-play, open world PC action shooter, is set in a unique and beautiful science fiction universe 200 years in the future. Players are part of the last remnant of humanity on Earth, fighting to survive against all odds on a hostile planet ravaged by an aggressive energy storm and under attack by a mysterious humanoid race, known as the Chosen. One of the most anticipated PC games of 2012, Firefall consists of two triple-A components that will entice shooter fans: a polished PvP combat system tuned for elite-level eSports competition and a robust open world experience designed to immerse players in a deep storyline with dynamic events and social gameplay.

The Red 5 team will show Firefall during PAX East on April 6-8 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, booth 536. Those attending will get the first live beta demo of Firefall’s deep open world – revealing key characters, missions, and crafting mechanics – as well as receive a permanent invite into the game for after the show. Typhon and Mourningstar will also be there in full “Battleframes”, designed and handcrafted by renowned artist, Steve Wang.

Firefall is currently in the first stage of its exclusive, invite-only beta – planned to rollout during 2012. Players can sign-up for the chance to be invited into the beta and meet Firefall’s enthusiastic community at the official homepage:http://www.firefallthegame.com/home

About Red 5 Studios
Red 5 Studios is an online game developer located in California, founded by Mark Kern, former team lead for World of Warcraft. Red 5 Studios is dedicated to bringing together millions of gamers across the world by creating immersive worlds, intriguing stories and compelling characters. They believe that online games and persistent worlds are the future of video games. Visitwww.red5studios.com for more information.

Firefall, Red 5 Studios and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of Red 5 Studios, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Why You Should Play Angry Birds Space, The Game Everyone’s Talking About

Date: 2012.03.22 | Category: Video Game News, Video Games | Response: 0

By Stephen Totilo

The fourth Angry Birds game is upon us. It’s called Angry Birds Space and it’s actually a far more impressive and interesting game of Angry Birds than we’ve ever seen before.

It’s different. It’s harder. And it’s more expensive. Here’s what you need to know.

It’s not Angry Birds 2, but it might as well be.

For some reason, the Angry Birds people at Finnish development studio Rovio don’t like putting numbers on their games, so after Angry Birds we got Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Rio.Seasons and Rio were just like that oldest bird: pure, simple video games that millions of millions of people could enjoy.

They’ve changed the way Angry Birds plays big-time in this new one, and they’re offering 61 levels for you to try with their new style.

The old Angry Birds formula worked. It just got old.

It was simple in those older games: you put a bird in a slingshot and fired it in an arc toward a tower of blocks. If your aim was sure, you would knock those blocks over and squash a few green pigs sitting on or under them. That was the basic challenge in level after level.

You’d get a few birds in each level—birds that could split into multiple birds, birds that could suddenly accelerate into a speed boost, birds that could explode.

For a while, it didn’t get old.

Shoot the birds. Crush the pigs. Do it in as few turns as you could and you’d get a high score, unlock a new level and play some more.

You could play through a level in about 20 seconds and feel both like a master of complex trajectories and the recipient of the kind of lucky bounce that would earn a golfer a hole in one.

Thankfully, this ‘Space’ thing is the literal game-changer.

Angry Birds Space scraps some of the old rules.

Yes, you still play level by level. You still have a set number of birds—birds of different types—that you’ll slingshot at towers of blocks, hoping to squash some pigs.

Click to viewBut now you’re shooting your birds through space, from one planet to the next. Each planet has a gravitational field. Gone is the simplicity of just lobbing a bird in an arc. No. Welcome to the physics of the heavenly bodies. Shoot a bird into open space and it’ll fly off in a straight line. Shoot one toward another planet and it’ll get caught in its gravitational field and start orbiting the planet… or slowly descend as it encircles the planet to smash into the ground.

And there are new birds.

The new ice birds freeze structures, making them easier to shatter. Laser birds are like the old yellow birds, except you can re-aim them when you boost their speed. There’s more.

The whole game is more complex, but the payoff is better.

If Angry Birds could made you feel smart or lucky before, Angry Birds Space will make you feel like a physics genius and a lotto winner.

Just imagine firing a bird from one planet, getting it caught in the gravitational field of another, which whips the bird around that planet and into the gravitational field of another planet, which spins the bird around that world in the other direction, so it can finally smack a snorting pig from behind.

Victory!

This game may seem way more difficult than the ones before it.

Yes, they’ve definitely made Angry Birds Space harder than its predecessors. You won’t have that much trouble learning about how the gravity works. But you’ll be scratching your head at some of these challenges early on. To compensate they give you an aiming guideline that shows where your bird will go before you fire it.

They’ve even made the Eagle trickier to use.

The mighty eagle used to be an insta-win in the other Angry Birds games. In this one, he generates a black hole. That’s good! But it has its limits. The black hole will suck away part of the level but it won’t give you an immediate victory if you activated it in the wrong spot.

There are a few catches—catches that cost money.

First of all, the game costs money if you’re on iOS.

It’s only free for Android users. You can download an ad-supported Android app or pay 99 cents for the “full” (caveat incoming!) game.

On iOS, you can pay 99 cents for a version that will run on iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, but if you want it to look good on your iPad, you need to pay $2.99 for Angry Birds Space HD, which, as far as we can tell, doesn’t sync your progress with the phone version.

So if you have an iPhone and an iPad, you’ll have to decide whether you want to pay for this game twice—and play through it twice.

There are also Amazon marketplace, Windows and Mac versions. Prices go up to $5.95.

Unfortunately, a third of the game costs extra.

However you get Angry Birds Space, whatever you pay, you’re only getting about two thirds of the game. You’re getting 30 levels of the first zone, 30 levels of a second zone, 15 5 bonus levels and then a planet of super-difficult levels that… you have to pay more for.

Only the first level of Space‘s so-called Danger Zone is free. You have to pay 99 cents for the other 29 levels. That’s the kind of hidden cost that pisses some people off, and it’s one reason that Angry Birds Space has a few 1-star reviews on iTunes. (Note: the $5.95 PC version appears to include these levels for the base cost)

Even once you pay, you’ll still have to pay to unlock the Danger Zone levels. Warning: these levels are very hard.

But at least they’ve got some good jokes in this game. Like a Super Mario Bros. homage.

Angry Birds Space has 15 hidden golden eggs. Finding one and striking it will unlock a bonus level, each of which seem to be based on classic video games such as Space Invaders andSuper Mario Bros.. Look for the Space Invaders egg in world 1-9. As we find more, we’ll link to their locations here.

Angry Birds Space isn’t that expensive. We recommend it.

Weird pricing strategies notwithstanding, Angry Birds Space is a far more interesting game than the older Angry Birds.

Some people may not like how much more complex it’s become, but if the old games bored you or lost your interest, this new one is the breath of fresh air we needed.

Here are the numerous ways to get the game:Angry Birds Space [Android Free Version]
Angry Birds Space [Android, 99 cents]
Angry Birds Space [Kindle Fire]
Angry Birds Space [iOS for iPhone and iPad, requires iPhone 3GS and/or iOS 4.0 and up, 99 cents]
Angry Birds Space HD [iPad only, $2.99]
Angry Birds Space [Mac, $4.99]

Where To Find Angry Birds Space‘s Golden Eggs

They’re called eggsteroids now, okay? Like lots of other things in the latest version of Rovio’s hit mobile franchise, the shiny collectibles in Angry Birds Space have changed.

originally posted on Kotaku.com

PEGI outs Dragon’s Lair for XBLA

Date: 2012.03.19 | Category: Video Game News, Video Games | Response: 0

A rating for an Xbox 360 version of Dragon’s Lair has just appeared on the official PEGI website. The rating, a PEGI 7 with a violence warning, was awarded on the 16th.

The rating lists the publisher as “Microsoft Ireland Research” – who are also listed alongside the ratings of games including Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, Trials Evolution, Ms. Splosion Man and Retro City Rampage – suggesting this is an XBLA release and not a disc.

Dragon’s Lair is one of those arcade classics that has been released on just about everything that will run it. It’s seen releases on everything from the Amstrad CPC to the Sega CD, Game Boy Color and iOS to name but a few.

The 12 Best Games for the iPad

Date: 2012.03.16 | Category: Video Game News, Video Games | Response: 0

By Evan Narcisse

Stop watching movies on your iPad. Stop browsing the web.

Your iPad can play some great games.

iPad games that shine use the extra screen space and sharper resolution to deliver touch gaming that captivates. Which games do that best? Read on.

Beat Sneak Bandit

You’ve got to give it up to a game that makes it feel like your fingers are dancing and Beat Sneak Bandit does exactly that. The indie rhythm/stealth/puzzle hybrid turns players into a thief out to reclaim all the timepieces of a hapless town after they’ve been abducted by the evil Duke Clockface. The Bandit can only move in time with each level’s music, which makes navigating the puzzle-like structure of Clockface Mansion both extremely tricky and fantastically catchy.

A Good Match for: Folks with dance-floor insecurity. Maybe you’re an ungainly tangle of limbs when you and friends go out to hear bands play, despite being able to hear parts of the various songs that make you want to move. This happens to some of us. Because you can only take steps on the beat, BSB can help you groove with confidence. We promise you’ll feel cooler.

Not for Those Who Want: Musical variety. While Beat Sneak Bandit‘s funk jazz instrumentals are nigh-irresistible, they don’t diverge from the game’s groove-centric norm. Those wondering how different genres of music—like, say, country or classical—might affect the experience can only dream of pilfering to the sounds of Stravinsky.

Click to viewHere’s how it looks in action

Purchase from the App Store.

Collision Effect

Cosmically focused like Eliss and Osmos before it, Collision Effect take a different approach to the play-with-blobs sub-genre: it asks you to explode them. Combine globules of the same color together by touching the screen and they go boom. Do two or more colors in sequence and you get a score-multiplying combo. But, if zybbles of different colors ever touch, it’s game over.

A Good Match for: Tap dancers. There’s a unique rhythm that bubbles up when you get good atCollision Effect. You’re not quite making music but it does feel transcendent.

Not for Those Who Want: Blissed-out zen. Randomized patterns and varying speeds makeCollision Effect as challenging as it is beautiful. One minute, you lulled into relaxation by the ambient soundtrack and the next you’re frantically trying to explode stuff on the screen so your game can continue.

Click to viewHere’s how it looks in action.

Purchase from the App Store.

Eliss

A shining example of multi-touch gaming ingenuity, Steph Thirion’s mass-shifting masterpiece require relentless motion and awareness as you slide spontaneously spawning blobs of color away from each other.

A Good Match for: Massage therapists. Whether it’s slowing down time or managing a brood of blue blobs, a little bit of contact yields enormous results. And playing Eliss kind of feels like taking care of some weird species of interstellar lifeform.

Not for Those Who Want: Forgiving difficulty. For all its charm, Eliss gets really, really hard.

Click to viewHere’s what it looks like in action.

Purchase from the App Store.

Infinity Blade

Players who enter Chair Entertainment’s medieval epic get embroiled in an endless skein of mano-a-mano duels with giant ogres and demonic knights. The combination of treasure grabbing, loot acquisition and slash-&-dodge combate will keep players glued to their tablet for hours.

A Good Match for: Console game players. Infinity Blade raised the bar on the level of persistent visual detail developers could accomplish on iOS and its swipe-and-tap controls make each swordfight immersive in way that button-pressing on a gamepad can’t match.

Not for Those Who Want: Variety. Infinity Blade doesn’t over-reach in terms of what it offers. It does what it does well, but you’ll get the entire gist of the game in about 15 minutes.

Click to viewHere’s how it looks in action.

Purchase from the App Store.

Kingdom Rush

This tower-defense title initially distinguishes itself with a cartoony renaissance faire motif that makes identifying your units easy and eye-pleasing. Its more crucial improvement is in offering permanent incremental upgrades that you can carry over from session to session, making it so that you get persistent rewards from dedicated play. That’s how you build a relationship that lasts, my liege.

A Good Match for: Folks addicted to upgrades. Players just don’t get better structures as in loads of other similar games. Kingdom Rush also delivers stronger spells for your buffed-up emplacements, too. And you know what? You can level up those spells, too.

Not for Those Who Want: Quiet strategy sessions. The characters who war with each other blurt out corny catchphrases that will annoy you really quickly. It’s enough to make you wish death on your own soldiers.

Click to viewHere’s how it looks in action

Purchase from the App Store.

Mirror’s Edge

Adapting a first-person, 3D parkour adventure into a 2D sidescroller seemed like folly but anyone who plays Mirror’s Edge on iOS will see that the portable version maintains the kinectic sense of flow as the original console version.

A Good Match for: folks too scared to actually do free-running. If you’ve ever looked up at city rooftops during you work commute and wondered what fun could be had bounding across them, then you should make the acquaintance of Mirror’s Edge messenger heroine Faith. It also helps if you like Canabalt, since this game’s similar.

Not for Those Who Want: Gunplay. Mirror’s Edge favors forward momentum and the biggest enemies you’ll face are your own reflexes and simulated gravity.

Click to viewHere’s how it looks in action

Purchase from the App Store.

Osmos HD

In this title by indie developer Hemisphere Games, you control a globular lifeform floating in a field of differently sized motes. Bigger blobs can absorb smaller ones in the game’s galactic food chain and the path to victory’s forged by being a nimble glutton.

A Good Match for: microbiologists. Even though Osmos is more of a cosmological venture, playing it feels like you’re controlling the survival of a hapless microbe.

Not for Those Who Want: Guitar rock. Osmos creates genuine moments of tension but it’s all accompanied by a chillout electro soundtrack. Not a game to play if you’re sleepy.

Click to viewHere’s how it looks in action.

Purchase from the App Store.

Quarrel Deluxe

Another unlikely mutation of word games fuses letter combination with the territorial land grabs ofRisk. Speed’s also a factor in how successful your alphabet army is dominating the colorful cartoon landscape.

A Good Match for: Spelling bee enthusiasts. The time-sensitive word creation will appeal to anyone who’s stood in front of a microphone and tried to remember how to spell vicissitudes after hearing it used in a sentence.

Not for Those Who Want: Showdowns. Even though the iOS version of Quarrel feels tailor-made for multiplayer, it’s sadly lacking. Head over to the Xbox 360 version if you actually want to play other humans.

Click to viewHere’s how it looks in action

Purchase from the App Store.

SpaceChem

You’ll need to turn atoms into molecules in this scaled-down version of Zachtronics Industries’ PC hit, which turns controlling the building blocks of all matter into unexpected fun.

A Good Match for: Middle management. Sorta like a manufacturing chain employee,SpaceChem tasks you with drawing supply routes and juggling resources in order to reach each level’s required quota. But there’s no people to yell at, so it’s better than reality

Not for Those Who Want: A Wealth of Resources. The margin for mistakes is very low inSpaceChem and you’ll do a lot of trial-and-error runs to figure out ways to win.

Click to viewHere’s how it looks in action.

Purchase from the App Store.

SpellTower

Word games proliferate on the App Store like mushrooms after a rainstorm, but SpellTowerstands out because its acrobatic spin on the word-find model. Nouns, verbs and other parts of speech wind sinuously throughout a vertical grid and each move shifts the game board, making you the architect of your own fate.

A Good Match for: Scrabble fanatics. Playing SpellTower feels less like being at the mercy of letters doled out to you and more like you’re fighting your own perception of the game board.

Not for Those Who Want: Multiplayer competition. Zach Gage’s alphabet assemblage is a one-player-at-a-time affair and the only bragging rights come from notching a higher score when a session ends.

Click to viewHere’s how it looks in action.

Purchase from the App Store.

Sword & Sworcery

A retro-styled adventure that pays homage in equal parts to Robert E. Howard and Shigeru Miyamoto, this indie release uses a grainy impressionistic art style to draw players into a lo-fi fantasy quest.

A Good Match for: Folks whose last gaming hardware was the Atari 2600. Not only will Sworcery’s visuals ping their nostalgia, the ease of the game invites lapsed gamers back and its clever presentation shows off how sophisticated gaming’s become.

Not for Those Who Want: Fast-paced action. You’re encouraged to meander and explore in this game and soaking up its decompressed experience matters more than winning out its battles.

Click to viewHere’s how it looks in action.

Purchase from the App Store.

World of Goo

Built by a two-man team, the clever construction game tasks players with connecting lovable globs into gooey assemblages to get from point A to B. Already loved as one of the biggest indie successes ever, 2D Boy’s hit feels like it should’ve been on the iPad all along.

A Good Match for: architectural fanatics. The Goo balls become a drippy erector set and the challenge of completing the levels while using as few as possible presents a fun, addictive puzzle archetype unique in its execution.

Not for Those Who Want: Hyper-realism. While the tee-totter physics in World of Goo are well-simulated, the humans and Goo Balls look like they’re straight out of grade school sketchbooks.

Click to viewHere’s how it looks in action.

Purchase from the App Store.

Originally posted on Kotaku.com

The Iowa Pro Gaming Challenge

Date: 2012.03.15 | Category: Video Game News, Video Games | Response: 0

The Iowa Pro Gaming Challenge

All eyes are on Iowa, as TIPGC 2012 goes big this weekend!

The Iowa Pro Gaming Challenge (#TIPGC on Twitter) is a regional video game tournament, being hosted by Jet Set Studio in Des Moines, Iowa this weekend.

TIPGC is the largest gaming event in Iowa and over the past three years, has been established as an destination for competitive gamers all around the country.

TIPGC 2012 is showcasing three different team divisions: 4v4 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, 4v4 Gears of War 3, and 4v4 Halo: Reach.

Along with being an exciting live video game event, the professional TIPGC live stream definitely sets this tournament apart. Tournament Director, Ben McDougal, is expecting over 350,000 viewers this weekend and is excited to offer online viewers full commentary, prize giveaways, community interviews, and an interactive live chat on this year’s official Twitch.TV channel.

The tournament website, www.IowaProGamingChallenge.com, has more information about this video game tournament, past event highlights, supporting sponsors, big prizes, and much more.

Jet Set Studio manages, promotes, and connects an entire spectrum of video game enthusiasts to some of the best video game tournaments in the country, and TIPGC is one of the biggest live events they manage all year, so we can be assured this will be big.

Tune into The Iowa Pro Gaming Challenge this weekend – www.Twitch.TV/focusfirefeed

About Jet Set Studio

Jet Set Studio was established in 2007, to support the launch of a social network just for gamers, at www.GatheringofGamers.com. To connect this online video game community to video game tournaments and live video game events, Jet Set Studio offers professional video game event management. More information is available at www.JetSetStudio.net.

Play Star Wars: The Old Republic free* this weekend.

Date: 2012.03.15 | Category: Video Game News, Video Games | Response: 0


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By Leah Jackson

It’s not Angry Birds 2, but it might as well be.

The old Angry Birds formula worked. It just got old.

Thankfully, this ‘Space’ thing is the literal game-changer.

And there are new birds.

The whole game is more complex, but the payoff is better.

This game may seem way more difficult than the ones before it.

They’ve even made the Eagle trickier to use.

There are a few catches—catches that cost money.

Unfortunately, a third of the game costs extra.

But at least they’ve got some good jokes in this game. Like a Super Mario Bros. homage.

Angry Birds Space isn’t that expensive. We recommend it.

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