Interestingly the rather excellent e-ink Kindle reader has just gotten one more game to call its own. What's more this is a release by the behemoth that is EA. The game itself, EA Texas Hold em, seems like a particularly interesting version of everyone's favourite poker variant. The game sports 3 difficulty levels, 6 AI opponents, a practice mode and ton of other features including multiplayer. 
If you haven't got a Nintendo DS yet and are still interested in Nintendo's (slightly) aging handheld, well, this definitely is the time to grab the excellent Japanese Super Mario 25th Anniversary Edition of the Nintendo DSi LL from Play Asia. It's a red thing of beauty, it is.
Gotta love the current retro releases for the DS. Really. I mean just look at the just released Atari Greatest Hits: Volume 1. It looks shiny, well-thought out, nostalgia inducing and sports 50 truly classic Atari 2600 and arcade games, including Asteroids, Missile Command and Centipede. Impressively multiplayer head-to-head games have also been made possible.
Have a look at a couple screenshots below, and wait for the review that might just appear on this very blog.
It seems that interactive fiction, classic text adventures if you prefer, is getting stronger and more popular on those iOS devices Apple seems to love producing. You can already play retro Zenobi adventures on your iPad, iPhone or iPod via the ZX Nostalgia app and Textfyre is also planning to unleash some modern i-f on the devices. You can even grab the excellent and very freeware Frotz app, that will let you enjoy both classic Infocom games (think Zork, Planetfall and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) and contemporary offerings.
What's more, Andrew Plotkin, a prolific and incredibly talented interactive fiction author has decided to produce epic, polished and hopefully impressive text adventures for the iOS. His project, that appeared less a day ago on Kickstarter, has already surpassed its 8,000$ funding goal, which means that gamers will soon get to enjoy his forthcoming interactive alchemical interplanetary thriller: Hadean Lands. Oh, and quite possibly many more interactive fiction goodies too, as Plotkin seems willing to invest part of the money on strengthening the i-f community and genre.
More info can be found here, where you too can also support the project, try a demo, watch a trailer, play some quality text adventures, discover what makes interactive fiction such a beautiful genre and effectively preorder the game.
When the Great Giana Sisters, an excellent Super Mario inspired platformer, was released back in the 80s, the all-mighty Nintendo made sure it never had a chance to compete. It even made sure that all copies were pulled from retail. Still, the Giana Sisters being a fantastic game lived on in myth and the heads of retro gamers and are now making quite a comeback.
Simply follow this very link and grabbed a reworked version of the game with brand new graphics and sounds, that lovingly sports the original version as an unlockable. Giana Sisters is available for the iPod, iPad and iPhone.
The original Warcraft, Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, was the RTS that put Blizzard on the gaming map, ages before it evolved into an MMORPG-crafting corporate behemoth. What's more, Warcraft was more than jsut a Dune II rip-off and I'd easily consider it one of the more interesting RTS offerings I've ever enjoyed. Oh, and you can play it on the go too, provided of course you own a Caanoo, have access to the games original files and click here.
Sensible Soccer (and of course SWOS) was the best football game ever designed and thus the best two-player game to make it to the Amiga; an achievement contested only by the almost equally excellent Speedball 2. Then again Speedball 2 was the better looking offering and still plays a mean, futuristic, violent ball game. Oh, and will apparently evolve itself to Speedball 2: Evolution for the iPhone, iPad, Android and a few more portable platforms.
The following teaser does look promising, though I must admit that most recent attempts at updating the game were rather disappointing. Oh, well, at least it comes with a proper Bitmap Brothers logo this time.
I can officially admit to being this close to actually grabbing a Kindle
. Not only is that amazing e-reader about to get its brand new text adventures, but indie developers have already started coming up with interesting ideas for its crisp black & white display. Amazon has already launched its devkit and (as discovered by the pretty excellent develop site) the first indie game has already appeared on the device. It might not look incredibly innovative -it is another match three game as you can see on the pic posted above- but it certainly is promising. And I do love them black & white graphics. 
Seems like everyone's favourite 8-bit home micro, the ultimate game machine of the 80s, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, is experiencing a revival on the iPhone and the rest of Apple's iDevices. No, really. The seemingly excellent ZX Nostalgia. Adventure edition vol.1 has just made it to the App Store, is compatible with the iPhone, iPod and iTouch, looks brilliant, and is offering some of the best adventures the Speccy has ever seen. You can get the adventury ZX Nostalgia here.
- A Stroll In The Bleak Forest (1989)
- An Everyday Tale Of A Seeker Of Gold (1986)
- Behind Closed Doors 1 (1988)
- Behind Closed Doors 2 (1988)
- Behind Closed Doors 3 (1989)
- Bulbo and The Lizard-KIng (1987)
- Bulbo Pics (1987)
- From Out Of A Dark Night Sky (1988)
- Fuddo and Slam (1987)
- Fuddo Pics (1987)
- Just One Of Those days (1988)
- Retarded Creatures and Caverns (1989)
- The Balrog and The Cat (1988)
- The Goblin Gazzzette (1988)
- The Goblin Gazzette 2 (1989)
- The Secret Of Little Hodcome (1986)
The 8-bit Amstrad CPC, both in its 464 and 6128 variants, was a fantastic home computer, that was wildly popular in Europe and sported an amazing catalog of gaming software. Then again you know that; if not please do read this lovely Amstrad retrospective and come back. Happily those proud owners of the Caanoo handheld can now play through said catalog on the go via the rather excellent and absolutely freeware Cap32 (a.k.a. Caprice32) emulator.
Cap32 emulates every classic CPC model you'd care mention (464, 664, 6128) and even sports some rather impressive features to enhance your retro gaming experience. Think cheats, save states, memory monitors and more. What's more you can discover and download hundreds of games for free via CPC Game Reviews.
Elite, the ancient and still going publisher that has already given us dozens of classic ZX Spectrum games, is going back to its roots by releasing a most promising ZX Spectrum emulator for the iPhone. Apparently and according to touchArcade the emulator will be packed with games and will hopefully get further (possibly through DLC) game compilations. The upcoming ZX Spectrum: Elite Collection (Vol.1) has already been approved by Apple and further volumes are being prepared. Impressively, Elite has packed its offering with more features than any 8-bit lover would hope to ask for: officially licensed ZX Spectrum games, game-specific play controls, extensive playing instructions, the option of portrait or landscape play, and authentic Speccy sound.
Having already tried PocketSNES, the lovely freeware SNES emulator for the WiZ, I can attest to its brilliance. Everything I tried on the thing work perfectly, though apparently it still had some bugs and minor incompatibilities. Enter PocketSNES version 7.0.1; the latest version of the emulator that fixes more bugs and adds more features. Enjoy. 
Textfyre is a truly unique company and the sole developer and publisher of quality interactive fiction (a.k.a. text-adventures) for Windows and Mac computers. Happily, they seem to have decided to go mobile and getting their games to run on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows Phone 7, Kindle, Blackberry, and Palm. To help them make the rather indie delights of intellectual gaming on the go a reality, you should visit their Kickstarter page. Here's what you will be supporting:Textfyre will be publishing interactive stories to all mobile devices. Stories will be developed internally at Textfyre, but also licensed from any author or company that wishies to publish their content on our platform.
The platform will allow free and paid content while offering a central repository. The reader can interact on a Kindle, then open up the same story on their iPhone and start where they left off. They can move to their Mac or PC and do the same. Stories will come in all genre's and lengths, leaving those details to the story designers. Textfyre's stories generally offer 10 to 20 hours of interactive time and include hints and introductory assistance.
We plan to have our engine and user interfaces implemented by the end of 2010 with your help. This will include native Mac OS X, iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows Phone 7, Kindle, Blackberry, and Palm Pre devices (barring unforseen technical or other factors).
If you are looking for a brilliant RPG to enjoy on your iPhone, Undercroft is a brilliant choice, what with its sword & sorcery setting, oldschool gameplay, big world, tons of baddies and lovely graphics. Oh, and it's now free to play. Get it here.
According to the excellent AGS Blog Ben304's quirky, indie, and freeware (at least on the PC) AGS adventure "!" has been succesfuly ported to Apple's iPhone. This of course could only mean that more adventure gaming fun should be coming to Apple portables everywhere, which in turn means the masses will finally accept the glory of point-and-click gaming. Or not. That's beside the point though. Just watch the video and give the PC version of Ben's ! a try.
Some of the earlier and more historic games that helped the FPS become the behemoth genre it currently is, remain both interesting and extremely fun to play, as anyone who has recently enjoyed a game of Ken's Labyrinth will tell you. Even more so, when played in a shiny new handheld console for free. You can grab the Wiz / Caanoo version of the game here.
I just can't help but be intrigued by retro compilations. Silly, I know, but that's me I'm afraid, and I really feel you should know about the forthcoming Atari’s Greatest Hits: Volume 1 for the Nintendo DS. It will, after all, be very soon released in the US (let's hope for an equally swift European release) and will include 50 or more classic Atari 2600 and arcade games. What's more, the thing will impressively feature single card multi-player for 20 of the included titles, among which Space Duel and Pong are bound to make me smile.
If you've got an iPhone and let's face it, chances are you've got one, you'd better hurry over to the App Store and grab the fantastic, simple and incredibly addictive RTS strategy game that is Galcon Labs for free. You've only got this weekend. Here's the link.
Well, it may be a year or so late, but GamePark's online store and freeware hub is finally fully functional and filled with games, emultors and apps. Visit FunGP, browse it and download all the software you'll ever need for your Caanoo and WiZ. It's even got a nice interface!
Must have been 5 or 6 years ago when I first encountered the incredibly promising Kaptain Brawe: A Brawe New World point-and-click adventure game. Even tried a demo and wrote a preview back then, when quite suddenly said humorous little sci-fi game, well, sort of disappeared. It was a shame too, as the demo was really good sporting interesting puzzles, weird characters, excellent 2D graphics and a ton of added style.
Anyway. Good news is Kaptain Brawe just resurfaced and will very soon be available to play, not only on your PC or Mac, but on Apple's definitely handheld and quite portable iDevices too. Expect the game to be available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch on the first day of November, with (discounted) preorders starting September 15th. Find out more about Kaptain Brawe and patiently wait to order your copy here.
It's been quite sometime since I started enjoying those old Game & Watch LCD handhelds by Nintendo, and I must admit to being absolutely startled at the sheer playability and addictiveness of those rather ancient handhelds. Though I could suggest you have a look over at eBay in order to grab a couple, I'm quite aware of their, well, rather inflated prices, and this is the reason why I will suggest you visit Handheld Remakes instead.
There, you will find excellent simulated versions of some of the best Game & Watch games, that -though not particularly portable- have lost nothing in the translation. What's more, those remakes are far from restricted to Nintendo's early games. You'll find a ton of Mattel, Bandai, Tiger etc stuff to help you waste your time in a most pleasant way. Enjoy.
Shockingly it's not by magic and neither Rincewind, nor the Unseen University have something to do with, which frankly is a shame. Oh well, pointless Discworld references aside, this excellent article will help you understand the glorious simplicity of the thing. Also contains a handy video.
I've been this close to grabbing a Kindle e-reader by Amazon for quite some time now, but finally it's been decided! I'll be getting a Wi-Fi one as soon as possible and will very soon be enjoying a ton of digital books on the closest thing to paper a screen can come up with. Possibly on the beach. As an added bonus, I guess I'll be gaming on my little portable device too, as Amazon has already started providing the Kindle with games.
They might just be relatively simple puzzle, card and word games for now, but Crosswords, Backgammon, Remove-A-Pair Solitaire, Mathdoku, Sudoku and the rest are a good start. And I can really feel it in my bones, that they will soon be accompanied by some excellent interactive fiction (you know, text adventures) soon. Possibly even some ports of Infocom and Level 9 games too, or at least the emulators needed.
I really can't have enough retro ports on modern consoles, and apparently the good people responsible for the forthcoming Intellivision Lives DS are more than eager to indulge me. Their retro compilation featuring over 60 emulated classic, forgotten and even obscure Intellivision games will be available for the DS this September. Joy, oh joy!
What's more, the team responsible for this project -as you might have already guessed- is the Intellivision Lives team; the same Intellivision experts we've known and loved for ages. Oh, and that touch-screen of the DS will definitely come in handy with emulating the odd Intellivision controller. Here's the trailer:
Aha! A commercial game for the Wiz; how very interesting and promising. Redemption - Liar, you see, is what I believe to be the first non-indie release for the console and definitely the first one gamers can buy on a proper cart. Well, okay, a proper SD card that is. Now, as I haven't played the game myself just yet, I can't really comment on its quality, but I have to admit it looks interesting. Sounds good on paper too.
Redemption - Liar is an action RPG that seems to be rather deep and offer a lot of content. Graphics and music seem decent (here's a rather bad but enlightening gameplay video) and according to them Play Asia customer reviews the game is good. It even comes wth five arcade games on the card throw in. Oh, and you can find out more and of course grab yourselves a copy of the game here.
I've always been interested in video games (and children's literature too) as learning tools and have been meaning to look into the subject for quite some time now. Anyway. Cosmos Chaos for the Nintendo DS should be interesting, as it apparently will be a mix of adventure, RPG and, well, creativity incentives. Have a look.
It might be old news, but -just in case you missed it- here's a link to let you download the pretty excellent Snatcher Pilot DS. It's a port of the PC-Engine demo of the amazing cyberpunk adventure Snatcher to the DS that uses the Sega (Mega) CD assets of the game. And in case you were wondering, yes, Snatcher is the creation of Hideo Kojima and, yes, you will have to use a flash cart of some sort.
The title says it all, really. You can relive those nostalgic Game Boy gaming moments online and for free, simply by following this very link. Hooray!
Well, provided you have an iPhone, iPod or iPad and follow this very link, that is. Seems rather smart too. Also sports this very Tron aesthetic I've always appreciated.
Well, how will it look like? Not radically different I believe, but then again I simply can't be sure, what with my voodoo powers at an all-time low. Anyway. Seems some people try to answer stuff without actually resorting to dark magic. Odd, I know, but it does make sense. The same way this brilliant blog post about the Future of Handheld Video Games does. Read it.
OK, this is increasingly getting more tempting. I really, really, don't need an iDevice of any sort, as I'm perfectly happy with my phone and existing handhelds, but the just-launched Retro Section in the Apple App Store is looking really fantastic. And features both properly retro and retro-reloaded (mostly remade) games of the highest quality. Have a look. Oh, and thanks to the excellent MacStories for letting everyone know.
As already mentioned on this blog Zaku is the latest game to hit the Atari Lynx, and also happens to be the best game ever released after the console's commercial demise. What's more, it also is the best shoot-'em-up ever released for the console and a game all of you dear Atari Lynx owners have to buy. Really. Provided you care for quality Lynx releases in this day and age. 
Having played the original Etrian Odyssey (courtesy of guttertalk) on the DS, I must admit it was one of the best games I've played on any handheld ever. After all, the game was an old-fashioned, hardcore RPG, that actually let you draw your very own maps on the touch-screen. Anyway. Thing is Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City is available for preorder and impressively comes with an amazing preorder gift; an art book (previewed here). Find out more at the game's official site.
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge is hands-down the best adventure game ever. It sports brilliant characters, fantastic music, beautiful art, top-quality puzzles, excellent humour and a fascinating plot that blends fantasy, surrealism and a bit of horror in an impressive whole. Shockingly Monkey Island 2: Special Edition is even better than that adding new graphics, an orchestral soundtrack, voice-overs by the classic Monkey Island cast, an in-depth commentary, a hint sytem and more. What's more the game has just been made available for your iPad; the perfect adventure gaming platform. Get it here. Get it now.
I must admit I haven't really played Telltale's Wallace and Gromit series, but I did enjoy its short demo and most of the company's other series, meaning I'm more than happy to let you know that Wallace & Gromit made it to the iPad. Find out more about the first and incredibly well-priced episode here.
