Space Invaders Infinity Gene Lite Released for iPhone

Written on January 20, 2010 at 3:27 pm, by James Fudge

Space Invaders Infinity Gene for free on iPhone.

TAITO has released a free Lite version of its iPhone and iPod touch game Space Invaders Infinity Gene. This release follows a substantial update to the full version of the game which added social networking features using OpenFeint. This allows players to unlock in-game achievements, upload high scores to Facebook and Twitter, and participate in global score leaderboards.

Space Invaders Infinity Gene is a re-imagining of the classic shooting game Space Invaders, first introduced on portable systems. While sharing characters and other core elements of the original 1978 arcade game, this game takes the series in a new direction. Available free of charge, the new Lite version of the game offers a brief taste of the fun to be had in the full commercial edition of the game.

You can learn more about the game by visiting tap.taito.com.

Mark Cerny to be inducted into AIAS Hall of Fame

Written on January 17, 2010 at 5:39 pm, by James Fudge

The godfather of Crash Bandicoot to be inducted into the AIAS Hall of Fame.

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) has announced that Mark Cerny will be the 13th inductee into the Academy’s Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame Award will be presented by Brian Allgeier, Creative Director at Insomniac Games, at the 13th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. The Awards, hosted by Jay Mohr, will take place during the 2010 D.I.C.E.. Summit on Thurs., Feb. 18, at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, and broadcast on IFC-TV February 25.

Cerny will join an elite group of interactive entertainment industry luminaries in the AIAS Hall of Fame including Trip Hawkins (Electronic Arts), Peter Molyneux (Lionhead Studios), Yu Suzuki (Sega), Will Wright (Maxis), John Carmack (id Software), Hironobu Sakaguchi (Square Enix), Sid Meier (Firaxis Games), Shigeru Miyamoto (Nintendo), Richard Garriott (origin Systems), Dan/Danielle Bunten Berry (Ozark Landscape), Michael Morhaime (Blizzard Entertainment) and Bruce Shelley(Ensemble Studios).

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Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond Released

Written on January 5, 2010 at 8:40 am, by James Fudge

Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond on XBLA, PSN this week.

Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond is now available via Xbox Live Arcade and will soon be available via PlayStation Network. The 2D side-scrolling action game that parodies the hit 8-bit action games that graced shareware space in the late 80’s and early 90’s. In Blood Bath and Beyond, Matt returns to track down his arch-enemy, General Neutronov, who has traveled back in time and kidnapped the 8-bit version of Matt. The Russian general plans to destroy Matt’s earlier incarnation so that Neutronov will never suffer the humiliating defeats that the hero has dealt him over the years.

Naturally this is all a joke, because there never were any 8-bit games made by Marathon Software – it’s all made up to mock this era of gaming history. Matt takes on crazy enemies — from pirates to penguins; lighthouses to laser-wielding astronauts; Mounties to mechanical rhinos— all as he peruses the parody-laden landscapes of games that never were.

Blood Bath and Beyond will be available for download on the PlayStation Network for $14.99 starting on January 7, 2010. Look for it today on Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 MS Points.

Good Old Games for Christmas: Tex Murphy for Free

Written on December 18, 2009 at 7:58 am, by James Fudge

Classic PC games portal Good Old Games is doing something nice for the holidays – it is giving away two free games to its registered users until Dec. 24. Thanks to a deal with WordPlay GOG users can get a free copy of the classic film noir detective adventure games, Tex Murphy 1 and 2. The Tex Murphy 1+2 bundle includes the first two parts of the detective games series – Mean Streets and Martian Memorandum. Both games put player in the white sneakers, trench coat and brimmed hat of Tex Murphy, a down-on-his-luck Private Eye who’s always low on cash and neck-deep in trouble. To survive, Tex will take any case, even the one that seems unsolvable.

Tex Murphy 1+2 bundle, including Mean Streets and Martian Memorandum, is now available for free to every registered user at GOG.com until December 24 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Registration is free. Those who have already purchased the Tex Murphy 1+2 bundle have the option of registering for an alternative gift.

For more information on this free gift, visit www.gog.com.

STRIKERS 1945 PLUS now on iPhone

Written on December 17, 2009 at 6:14 am, by James Fudge

WindySoft has released a new iPhone and iPod touch game called STRIKERS 1945 PLUS to the App Store this week. STRIKERS 1945 PLUS is being billed as a mobile shooting game set in World War II and was developed by Psikyo and X-nauts and has apparently sold millions of copies throughout the world for Neo Geo MVS System, PS2 and PSP. Go figure.

The newly unveiled iPhone version of the game features the seven air-fighters of the original – the P-38 Lighting, Flying pan-cake, Spit fire, Zero fighter, Fiat, Ta152, and a hidden fighter, Ascender. Each fighter has three ways to attack opponents: default shooting attack, energy-charged attack and bombardment. Besides traditional shooting action, STRIKERS 1945 is enhanced by field items that can be used immediately by the player to strengthen weapon power and supporting fire during a battle. In addition, fighters will get different sub-weapons from each power-up.

To date The Strikers series includes Strikers 1945, Strikers 1945-2, Strikers 1945 PLUS, and Strikers 1999. STRIKERS 1945 PLUS can be downloaded from the Apple Global App Store at itunes.apple.com.

Final Fight Double Impact in April 2010

Written on December 2, 2009 at 3:12 am, by James Fudge

Final Fight: Double Impact will be coming to Xbox Live and PlayStation Network in April 2010, according to Capcom. Final Fight: Double Impact is a double re-release of the classic Capcom beat’em-ups Final Fight and Magic Sword. Both games will feature enhanced HD graphics (similar in quality to the recently released Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 game), and drop-in online co-op play.

In Final Fight players jump into the boots of Cody, Guy, or Haggar – three heroes fighting their way across crime-ridden Metro City to save Haggar’s daughter from criminal leader Mad Gear. The game features 6 stages filled with all the punks, thugs and freaks you remember fondly from the Sega Genesis and the arcades.

In Magic Sword players become “The Brave One,” a fierce warrior who must cleanse evil forces from an ancient tower inevitably leading to a battle against the dark lord Drokmar. But the hero has eight allies who will lend their assistance throughout the game – each with specific skills and talents to contribute to the fight.

You can read more about these games by checking out Capcom’s Unity Blog.

The Importance of Digital Game Preservation

Written on December 1, 2009 at 11:55 am, by James Fudge

A new white paper from the Game Preservation Special Interest Group (SIG) of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Play, warns that classic electronic games are in danger of being lost forever if some effort isn’t made to preserve them. The white paper, “Before It’s Too Late: A Digital Game Preservation White Paper” warns that these games, which are as much a part of human history as any other medium, may be lost forever to future generations of players and researchers if efforts are not made for their preservation. The white paper was produced by Henry Lowood (editor) and Devin Monnens, Zach Vowell, Judd Ethan Ruggill, Ken S. McAllister, Andrew Armstrong (authors).

“If we fail to address the problems of game preservation, the digital games of today will disappear, perhaps within a few decades,” according to an excerpt from the white paper. “We will lose access to the history and culture of contemporary games and find it impossible to trace their influence on other forms of play, leisure, entertainment, communication, learning, and work.”

The prime culprits, according to researchers, media decay or bit rot (the gradual and natural decay of digital information, especially problematic with magnetic storage and optical discs). Magnetic storage media like floppy disks, magnetic tape, and hard drives are particularly susceptible to bit rot.

Besides media decay, the movement to catalog and archive these games faces another hurtle: intellectual property owners. Industry support is crucial to solving these problems but there is currently no single institution within the game industry or in any government that is responsible for archiving digital games.

IP owners must be willing to allow someone to make a copy of their property and store. Besides IP owners not allowing this to happen, archivers face problems with copy protection schemes that make it difficult to copy anything at all. Another problem is that the software and hardware platforms archived games need to run must be emulated, which can conflict with copyright laws governing hardware and software environments.

“For long-term preservation to be accomplished,” notes the white paper, “copyright holders must grant exceptions to libraries and archives so these tasks can be performed. . . . Certain business practices such as digital distribution, server-side authentication, and installation verification are only some of the challenges preservationists will face.”

This is the first of two IGDA Game Preservation SIG white papers. The next one promises to offer some solutions.

For more information on the American Journal of Play, visit www.americanjournalofplay.org.