Amped Gaming » mr. gameface

Mafia Wars gets whacked on iPhone

mr. gameface — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 03:40:56 +0000

The popular social networking game Mafia Wars is now available on the iPhone. The company behind it, Zynga, is the largest social gaming company and has produced other games for Facebook and Myspace. If you aren’t familiar with the concept of Mafia Wars, the name says it all. You start as a mob thug and work your way to the top pulling jobs and taking out rivals. These tasks earn you the cash and street cred to up your power and influence until you command a whole gang of loyal goombas. The game mechanic is liken to an updated text-based adventure, where you don’t actively “play” the game, but rather pick your tasks and see the outcome. Your character has stats for things like stamina and energy which are used up by pulling jobs and replenish over time.

This is another “time waster game” that people seem to get into from social networking sites. That is not to say that all games aren’t a waste of time, but it’s easy for any person who has ADD and an internet connection and/or time to kill at work. It requires virtually no skill, is easy to learn, and keeps the player steadily advancing. This probably isn’t a game for the genuine gamer, but for those random professionals that really like to “kick back” and let loose once in a while…or entertain themselves during a company meeting. Have fun becoming your own Tony Soprano.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Video Games = Better Vision?

mr. gameface — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:49:12 +0000

FINALLY…video games may possibly have some positive measurable effect on our brains. Most gamers know this, but the general populus held on to the belief that video games “rot your brain” and other nonsense like that. A study done at the University of Rochester showed that gamers who played a shooter game (Call of Duty in this experiment) improved their “contrast sensitivity”. It helps you to see in the dark, and it’s only supposed to degrade with age. Hospitals and retirement centers have used the Wii to keep their patients active and engaged. It seems like they should be playing something more hardcore. I guess this means we should not only get Wii consoles into the old folks’ home, but now we should get them an Xbox360 and have them reliving their past WWII trauma in hi-def? Wouldn’t there be a risk of heart attack or stroke? Maybe we need a new rating…like G for geriatric?

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Dear Obama, this is Jack Thompson

mr. gameface — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 03:10:19 +0000

Even after being disbarred and repeatedly shot down in court, Jack Thompson continues to be a nuisance. His latest move involves a letter to President Barack Obama himself. Once again, Mr. Thompson has capitalized on the horrible acts by disturbed individuals – such as the recent attack in Germany – to further his self-righteous agenda against video games. His catch phrase for any game that involves shooting or attacking is “murder simulator” and he is promoting the ban of video games to all individuals, not just minors. There’s no way he would seriously want to ban ANY violent video game right? Wrong…

“If the video game industry will not do what is necessary to keep killer games out of the hands of impressionable kids, whom neuroscience proves are the most likely to copycat these virtual reality killing scenarios, then we must implement, as a society, a total ban on the consumption of these murder simulators by adults and kids alike.”

He ends the letter with an attempt at personally relating to Obama:

“…one father to another, to take the bold moves necessary to get these murder simulators out of America. We have more guns than people in this country. We are training our teens to be Manchurian Candidates to use them and to author what will be more Columbines, more Virginia Techs, and more shattered communities.”

It’s clear that Mr. Thompson will never stop as he believes, like so many other great thinkers (G.W. Bush, Hitler, Bin Laden) that he is doing God’s work and needs to protect us from ourselves. This debate has been going on since blood and gore first appeared in a realistic way in Mortal Kombat and is only getting more heated as games can more accurately depict and stylize violence. The popular consensus from people with working brain cells is that the parents should actually parent and monitor their child’s intake of things like sex and violence. The issues is, sometimes kids don’t really have parents or ones that make any impression on their lives. If kids end up parenting themselves, how good of a job do you think they do? Video games are just another form of media with added asthetic of control over the content. Who’s fault is childhood obesity? Sure, the parents are, but what about the fast food on almost every street?

To say that children should not buy games rated by the ESRB as M or AO is understood, but even Thompson implies that the ESA and ESRB “are spending countless dollars doing all that they can to avoid strict compliance with their own age ratings on games.” The concept that these disturbed murderers actually sharpened their skills on video games is quite absurd and points to Thompson having the same delusions that those killers had in blending a world clearly manufactured as entertainment with the real one of life and death. Here would be my response if i was President of the USA:

Dear Mr. Thomspon,

We have bigger fish to fry right now.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

President of the U.S.A.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Wizard World teams up with VGXPO

mr. gameface — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 03:27:09 +0000

America’s Video Game Expo has joined forces with the awesome power of Wizard World. VGXPO, based in Philadelphia, has been in business for over four years. It has featured presentations from industry leaders, game tournaments, and a free-play classic arcade game. It has since grown to include LAN centers, product demos, and even celebrity-led discussion panels. Now, Wizard World has entered into a symbiotic relationship with VGXPO and they will both feed on each other’s lifeforces. The events will cross-promote and cross-polinate.

Chances are, if you like comic books you probably also like video games. This event was exploding out of the PA Convention Center last year because the venue didn’t seriously believe the turnout would be so huge. Hopefully, they learned their lesson and will be prepared for a massive onslaught of comic-crazy-button-mashing kids and adults. The event is Oct. 9-11. You may want to book a room now…it’s only gonna get bigger. More on this story as it develops.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Go Go Gadget iPhone

mr. gameface — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:52:50 +0000

“I’ll get you next time, Gadget.” If you were young enough to know that line, then you may want to check out the new Inspector Gadget game for the iPhone. Namco Bandai Europe has teamed up with original cartoon producer Cookie Jar Entertainment to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the animated series. The game features 6 levels and 6 mini-games and can be played as the Inspector, his niece Penny, or their dog Brain. The gameplay is a basic side scroller and will be controlled via onscreen buttons. You will be able to use various gadgets during the game such as the Gadget Copter, Gadget coat, and Gadget umbrella. The game is available right now for $5.99.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Eurogamer Previews Ghostbusters Game

mr. gameface — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 19:26:32 +0000

Over at Eurogamer.net, someone was privileged enough to play a build of the Ghostbusters game due out in June. The script and story have been crafted by Dan Akroyd himself and the cutscenes and banter are apparently amusing to see. The game is making a strong attempt at being as much a “playable movie” as possible, especially since the story serves as a 3rd installment in the movie series and takes place 2 years after the last movie. According to the article, the Xbox360 and PS3 versions of the game contain a lot of graphical detail and the characters’ body movements acurrately fit the individual personalities. The Stay Puft marshmallow man even makes an appearance and the description and gameplay from that stage does get avid Ghostbuster fans something to anticipate.

The article also describes the control scheme and claims it has a satisfying feel of a fishing game…let’s not compare Ghostbusters to Bass Masters (Ghostbusters 2 reference!!). The Wii version (made by Redfly Studios as oppsed to Terminal Reality) has a more cartoonish look and utilizes the wiimote’s motion-sensing abilities for things like throwing out your trap and controlling your proton beam.

This game has the potential to rise above the usually crappy movie tie-in attempts, which are usually just extensions of the film company’s marketing department. With Akroyd and the other actors’ voices and character likeness fully incorporated into the game, you could really feel like a member of the Ghostbusters team. Here’s hoping this game makes you want to get slimed and not just “feel so funky” after playing.

For the full article go to: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ghostbusters-the-videogame-hands-on

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Gamestop stores catch “Outbreak”

mr. gameface — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:08:03 +0000

Today marks the launch of the long awaited Resident Evil 5 and to celebrate (and market, of course) Gamestop will be hosting Outbreak ’09 at 3,000 of it’s stores nationwide. People are encouraged to participate in “dressing up dead” contests and will get to play the game before it’s midnight launch. There will also be a March of the Living Dead…whatever that means. In San Francisco, Capcom is teaming up with Gamestop for a launch event in Union Square where you can meet the development team.

Midnight launches at Gamestop are not a new concept. There were tournaments for the Smash Bros Brawl midnight release, and recently they hosted a Street Fighter IV tournament which was actually the weekend after it’s Tuesday launch. Gamestop’s goal is to sell games. These midnight “launch parties” are simply ad campaigns, and while I have taken part in a few, they always seem a bit disorganized and not as exciting as they are built up to be. Chances are, if you are looking forward to a game this much, you’ve probably already reserved it and will just pick it up the next morning. For those kids who’s moms let them stay up late and don’t have to get up and go to work in the morning: enjoy your zombie march.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Disney Teases for a Split/Second

mr. gameface — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 03:46:13 +0000

Disney announced today that they’re releasing a racing game in early 2010. This isn’t based on the Cars movie, however. It is instead a fast paced realistic looking death race where drivers can trigger traps to take each other out. Nick Baynes, game director of Black Rock Studio, said the game strives to create huge memorable moments on par with the biggest blockbuster action films.” This studio has won awards including “best racing game of E3 2008″ for the game Pure. It’s clear from footage for Pure that Black Rock Studio has a taste for in-your-face racing and appears well suited to put out a quality racing game that adds a destructive element for excitement.

This game may have been partially inspired by the Test Track ride found at Disneyworld. It wouldn’t be the first time Disney released content based on an amusement ride (see Pirates of the Carribean). Many would say this looks like Burnout with booby traps, but we’ll have to wait and see if there’s any more to it than that…or if just that is enough.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Find “Salvation” on your iPhone this May

mr. gameface — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 02:14:33 +0000

Is your name John Connor? Did you mommy tell you bedtime stories about the nuclear apocalypse? Are you being chased by futuristic death machines every couple years? If so, you probably won’t need to play this game. For the rest of us with iPhones, Gameloft is planning a release of a game based on the Terminator: Salvation film. The release date: May 22nd, the same day as the movie comes out. Few details are available, however MTV.com scored an interview with Gameloft’s president, Michel Guillemot. He revealed that it will be a multiplayer title and will “push the graphics to the limit” in the moderate price range of $7.99 – $9.99. While this may seem like a high price for an iPhone game, Gameloft continues to build a strong library of titles and is acquiring big game licenses such as this. If these games aren’t worth the money, you’ll see plenty of user feedback on the App Store.

The iPhone continues to be rapidly expanding as a legitimate platform and one capable of decent graphics and innovative gameplay. Let’s hope the Terminator: Salvation game captures the intensity of Christian Bale…even though he’s not in the game. Insert obligatory Christian Bale rant joke here: ____________________.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Smack my iPhone Up

mr. gameface — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 04:02:25 +0000

“Smack Me” from Funmobility has recently hit the top 20 paid apps on iTunes. The reason? People like 80s music and shaking expensive electronic devices. The game combines retro music with a “bop-it” style gameplay, imploring you to shake, pinch, and wiggle your way to victory. It is somewhat reminiscent of the highly addictive (and sometimes frustrating) classic electronic game Simon, but with a modern, Wii-like twist. The host of the game, Ito, will instruct you to perform various actions under increasingly strict time limits.

This is the kind of fast paced, ADD inspired gaming that the iPhone is suited well for. It may not be the most inconspicuous game available, but it may be one of the more physical. The question is, will you want to publicly play a game that has you swinging your iPhone around?

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.