Hold on to your butts: a Jurassic Park park-building tycoon game is coming to mobile at some point in "early" 2012. On the heels of the announcement that Telltale Games' take on the franchise has gone gold, Ludia Inc has revealed plans to release a title that revolves around the IP. According to Gamezebo, players will be tasked with building their own Isla Nublar and discovering new dino DNA to morph into dinosaurs.
“We are excited to have the opportunity to create a game that will allow fans of the film franchise to experience the thrills of managing their very own Jurassic Park,” the company said in a statement. This game won't have a connection with what Telltale is doing with its series later this November to our knowledge, but it is the result of license-holder Universal coming to the table again and striking a deal with a video game developer.
This is from Tap Jurassic, FYI.
Ludia has substantial experience with this social simulation game with dinosaurs thing -- its tap title, Tap Jurassic, released earlier this year and apparently wasn't too bad as far as social games go. We'll be excited to see what this one will be like. Please be good.
Friends of mine know King of Dragon Pass [$5.99] as "that menu-based simulation game Eli will not shut the heck up about." Well, now it's "that menu-based simulation game Eli will not shut the heck up about that's also on sale." For a limited time, King of Dragon Pass has sworn fealty to a new royal price point in honor of the game's 12th birthday: $5.99, down from $9.99. Now, before you go instinctively mashing the download button in iTunes, you should really know what you're getting into with this game. It's definitely not for everyone, as I mention in our review:
I think the easiest way to describe what the game is all about is to call it a largely text-based menu-driven mash up of a Civilization game and a Choose Your Own Adventure book. If you're the kind of person who requires flashy graphics, fast action, rock-bottom pricing, and online multiplayer, stop reading now. This is not the game for you. If, however, you can barely even fathom a more glorious conglomeration than Civilization and Choose Your Own Adventure, prepare to absolutely lose yourself in King of Dragon Pass. …Read More
In addition, development has started on the iPad version of the game, which is glorious news for iPad-owning fans to the game. In fact, my only real issue with KoDP is that I really wanted to play it on the iPad and text-based games with mega-pixelated fonts running in 2x mode just doesn't jive with me. From the sounds of it, the developers are just starting on work for the iPad adaptation, and haven't yet committed to whether it's going to be a universal update or an entirely separate version… But I've got my fingers crossed.
Halloween is great. It's the only day of the year you can get away with dressing as the bug-eyed rabbit from Donnie Darko and not immediately be sent to a crisis center. Also, it turns out that it's also a great holiday to save some cash on video games. 2K Games has joined the price-cut party with some stellar deals of its own, all of which are slated to run into this weekend. And if you decide to buy, they could possibly occupy the entire thing. Games like Civilization Revolution are time warps -- you boot them up and all of a sudden it's 4AM .
Here's the full list of what 2K is offering on the cheap. Take note that Sid Meier's Pirates, which is another great time sink, has hit rockbottom sales-wise, too:
I've been playing Civ Rev on my iPad for a long, long time now, so I've got zero problems with telling you to buy this thing now. Despite being a simpler version of Civilization proper, Civ Rev's easily manageable strategy components are deep, compelling and satisfying. Give it like an hour or so to learn and then wave goodbye to your fun-fun iPad free time for a couple of months. Also, this is the biggest sale it's ever seen. I mean, it's eleven dollars off! Definitely jump all over that while you have the chance.
Gameloft doesn't miss sales opportunities, so it's not much of a surprise to see a very select number of its titles get a price-slashing treatment this week in celebration of Make Kids Fat Night. Starting now and for a 'limited time,' you can save a bunch of dollars on decidedly un-spooky titles like Gameloft Action Pack, its MMO Order & Chaos Online, and Shrek Forever After: the Movie: the Game.
We're not 100-percent behind any of these, but we will note that the Gameloft Action Pack has a total of three decent titles bundled inside of it: Gameloft's answer to God of War, Hero of Sparta, its WWII shooter Brothers in Arms: Hour of Heroes, and its Mortal Kombat-ish homage, Blades of Fury. You could do worse with your dollar. For example: you could buy candy.
Attention Kairosoft nerds: the studio, fresh off a release of Edo Town earlier this fall, has just dropped a new game on the Japanese App Store. It's called Zaibatsu Towns, and from what we're gathering via a few fantastic translator-types, it's a financial-oriented town-building game not so dissimilar from its last still region-exclusive title. The key difference appears to be the town itself -- it's not as 'traditional' Japanese as Edo Town's.
With the release of this, Kairosoft broke its emerging worldwide release pattern. We're not so sure Edo Town is on the way next, in other words. For all we know, we could be receiving Game Dev Story 2 next, or hey, even this.
One thing for certain, though: I want whatever game is coming. Also, hurry up, Kairosoft. I just finished Grand Prix Story [$3.99 / Lite] for the fourth and final time. What's a man to do with all this new time on his hands?
[Thanks to a for helping us with this, people; you know who you are!]
For many gamers, especially those in their late twenties and early thirties, the first experience with gaming on an Apple computer would have to be with the iconic The Oregon Trail. I know that that was my own personal first experience with an Apple computer, as we were allowed to play the edutainment title in my early grade school years in the computer lab on our modest collection of Apple II machines (not before we had finished up our math learning programs, of course).
In early 2009, Gameloft brought an updated take on the classic game to the App Store with their modernized The Oregon Trail for iOS. The core gameplay of the original was kept mostly intact, but with brand new visuals and an assortment of touch-centric mini-games added into the mix. Despite the huge potential to alienate a countless number of fans who have emotional ties to the original game, this new The Oregon Trail was actually quite well-received and paid proper respect to its roots. Even 30 years later, the core concept was still pretty damn fun.
On the heels of an epic price-slashing maneuver that saw Pocket Academy and its latest game Grand Prix Story go for a paltry $1.99, the simulation gurus at Kairosoft have murdered the original asking price of Mega Mall Story [$1.99 / Lite] and Hot Springs Story [$1.99 / Lite]. Both titles are $1.99 for a “limited time.” They usually sit at $3.99, so you’ll save a couple of bones if you decide to take the plunge.
And plunge you should, as both of these titles are totally worth the reduced asking price. Earlier this summer, I called Mega Mall Storythe most “complete simulation” from the studio yet. Hot Springs Story, though it requires some effort to push beyond the cultural barrier, is solid, too. (more...)
Here’s a wild one: Zynga is apparently in talks to do a FarmVille [Free] movie. Speaking with IGN the other day about an actual video game, Toy Story writers Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen teased that they’re in discussions with the mega-publisher to pen the possible flick.These chats seem insanely early, as the duo couldn't even name-drop FarmVille and Zynga, according to IGN, is refusing comment on the matter.
"So, yes, we will continue writing movies. We are also working on several new and very exciting opportunities. We're in conversations with Zynga to do something with one of their brands. Can't really say too much on that front yet, but 'Old MacDonald' didn't have a factory, if you get our drift,” they said. (more...)
Roughly three billion years ago, Christopher Columbus sailed across vast ocean and fell off the end of the planet. We celebrate his memory this Monday in the United States, which also means we’re about to get a ton of great App Store deals. For example, Gameloft is throwing a nice little $.99 sale on a small swathe of its titles. This one is particularly interesting, as all of the games on sale usually hover above the four dollar mark.
As far as Zelda clones go, Sacred Odyssey ain’t so bad. So, if you’re really hankering to get in one these savings, we’d suggest you shoot for that one. Here’s our review if you’d like to spend some time reading about it.
On an unrelated but also related note, check this out:
2K Games’ NBA 2K12 [$4.99 / HD] doesn’t have quite the thrill or the touch of its brethren, but it’s a competent basketball title that stresses simulation over finesse and AI over finer points of control. Super fans might want to stay on the bench, though: 2K has reigned in and streamlined the overall NBA 2K experience to such an extent that it's hardly a recognizable game in the long-running series. It’s a shell of the experience available on consoles, and it’s not much of a looker, either.
What 2K did with 2K12 is similar to how it handled Civilization Revolution [$6.99 / HD]. Civ Rev, which was already a dumbed down version of Civilization proper, is even more dumbed down on touch devices, offering up simpler menus and actions that keep the pace ramped up without throwing away what made the core game good in the first place. 2K12 is an exceedingly simplistic game in the same vein. You can’t pick plays, some control options have been removed, you won’t be going online, franchise mode is missing some parts, and some of the special Michael Jordan touches -- the retro teams in particular -- have been stripped. What’s left is a fairly linear basketball simulation experience that you never really have direct control of, but can still participate within. (more...)
Oh, snap, we almost missed this one: Kairosoft is in the third day of a “limited time” sale for two of its more recent releases, Grand Prix Story [$1.99] and Pocket Academy [$1.99]. As of right now, you can grab them at $1.99 instead of their usual $3.99 price tag. If you’ve been holding out on either until their prices took a dive, now’s the time to flip a couple of bucks at the simulation gurus at the studio. This is about as low as its prices go, in general.
Grand Prix Story and Pocket Academy are two of the studio’s most inventive releases. They adhere to the same basic formula of Game Dev Story[$3.99 / Lite], sure, but they also hit notes that GDS couldn’t. Pocket Academy manages to make people important, while Grand Prix stresses team management, iteration, and consistent success from every pore. We recommend both, too.
Oh! And before you leave us -- we’ve got a feeling that this sale is leading into another release this month. Specifically, we wouldn’t be surprised if Kairosoft’s answer to SimCity cropped up on the US' App Store around the 8th.
I'm a bit of a closet Sims admirer. Not exactly a die-hard fan, but I appreciate what the series does in a lot of ways. I've still kept up with each release and although the iOS ones haven't been constantly solid, The Sims: Medieval [$4.99] still stuck out to me as playing to two of my weaknesses, wizards and sandbox play.
The most obviously different thing about The Sims: Medieval is the directed nature of it (aside from the setting, clearly). After picking your social type and designing your character, you're immediately struck upside the head with a few quests and tasks to complete that don't inherently feature screwing around, socializing and trying to make your Sim make kissy faces at other Sims.
I've been chastised in the past for using phrases like "Unless you grew up under a rock, you've probably heard of...", but in this case, if you haven't heard of FarmVille, you've probably never used the internet. Or you're Amish. Possibly both. At any rate, while there's nothing new about the whole land management genre, we can definitely give FarmVille a nod for making it popular on a massive scale -- and not with just gamers, either. Facepalm all you want, but when your mom tells you that she totally built out her English Countyside, you have to admit that games like this have changed the gaming landscape in a major way (although good or bad, we can't quite agree on.)
Tiny Farm [Free] is the latest offering in this popular genre, and I'm just gonna say it right off the bat so I don't feel like I'm holding back: It looks a billion times better than FarmVille. It trades in the deformed character style that makes you feel like you've stumbled into an avatar generator for a clean cartoon look, and I admit it made me like the game ten times more right off the bat. The cute little sounds the animals make when they get all swoony over you for feeding them in pretty great, too.
It's expensive to buy and maintain a real horse, but now you can download a virtual one instead from the App Store-- What a world we live in. My Horse [Free] from NaturalMotion Games and MunkyFun is a realistic horse simulation game, which allows you to groom, feed and reward your very own horsey, without ever leaving the couch. Although the true cost of the virtual horse depends on whether you choose to invest in the optional in-app purchases.
The developers goal was to create a horse which is realistic enough for the player to form a bond with. And they've managed to successfully achieve this as the horse graphics and behavior is pretty realistic. It flicks it's tail, grazes, looks around, trots, bucks, walks backwards and neighs. There's no obvious repeated animation loops, or cartoon graphics. You're caring for a real-looking virtual horse.
I think at this point it's safe to say that Backflip Studios has embraced the free-to-play market. From the acclaimed Army of Darkness Defense [Free] to iOS classic Paper Toss [Free / HD], most of its titles have gone free and are now supported by ads or premium currency options. DragonVale [Free] is something a little different, though. It's built from the ground up to compete in the crowded freemium marketplace that have you managing zoos, pet stores, restaurants or, in this case, dragon parks.
Just between you and me, dragon parks are pretty rad.
Hold on to your butts: a Jurassic Park park-building tycoon game is coming to mobile at some point in "early" 2012. On the heels of the announcement that Telltale Games' take on the franchise has gone gold, Ludia Inc has revealed plans to release a title that revolves around the IP. According to Gamezebo, players will be tasked with building their own Isla Nublar and discovering new dino DNA to morph into dinosaurs.
This is from Tap Jurassic, FYI.
Friends of mine know King of Dragon Pass [
Halloween is great. It's the only day of the year you can get away with dressing as the 
Gameloft doesn't miss sales opportunities, so it's not much of a surprise to see a very select number of its titles get a price-slashing treatment this week in celebration of Make Kids Fat Night. Starting now and for a 'limited time,' you can save a bunch of dollars on decidedly un-spooky titles like Gameloft Action Pack, its MMO Order & Chaos Online, and Shrek Forever After: the Movie: the Game.
Attention Kairosoft nerds: the studio, fresh off a release of 
On the heels of an epic price-slashing maneuver that saw 
Here’s a wild one: 
Oh, snap, we almost missed this one: Kairosoft is in the third day of a “limited time” sale for two of its more recent releases, 
I'm a bit of a closet Sims admirer. Not exactly a die-hard fan, but I appreciate what the series does in a lot of ways. I've still kept up with each release and although the iOS ones haven't been constantly solid, The Sims: Medieval [
I've been chastised in the past for using phrases like "Unless you grew up under a rock, you've probably heard of...", but in this case, if you haven't heard of FarmVille, you've probably never used the internet. Or you're Amish. Possibly both. At any rate, while there's nothing new about the whole land management genre, we can definitely give FarmVille a nod for making it popular on a massive scale -- and not with just gamers, either. Facepalm all you want, but when your mom tells you that she totally built out her English Countyside, you have to admit that games like this have changed the gaming landscape in a major way (although good or bad, we can't quite agree on.)
It's expensive to buy and maintain a real horse, but now you can download a virtual one instead from the App Store-- What a world we live in. My Horse [
I think at this point it's safe to say that 
