Cthulhu Christmas Calendar

For a merry Cyclopean Christmas you simply cannot go wrong with the pretty lovely Christmas Cthulhu Calendar. It's an app that has already been released for iPhone, Android and iPad, sports some amazing artwork and allows you to count the days till Cthulhu rises again (or Xmas, on can never be sure), while also providing with some lovecraftian trivial questions.

Desert Bus iOS for free

Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors is an unreleased game for the Sega (Mega) CD that, among a variety of deranged mini games and sketches, also featured the now-famous Desert Bus bus-driving simulator. It was a game (of sorts) that was designed to both infuriate and ridicule hardcore gamers, as all you had to do was drive a painfully slow bus between Tuscon and Las Vegas in real time. Games rarely get duller than this, but as a joke and a means to organize charity gaming events the thing worked.

Happily, it will now also work on your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad (and thus even on a real bus from Tuscon to Las Vegas) as Amateur Pixels have ported the game to iOS and released it free of charge. You can download Desert Bus via the App Store. Just remember that the game doesn't let you pause it and will not provide you with any challenge whatsoever. Fun, eh?

War on Terror on iOS

Seems like the iOS platform is quite the popular place for them digital ports of lovely board games and, spectacularly, even indie board games. War on Terror is the latest such offering and it's a brilliantly illustrated, deeply satirical, excellently designed and incredibly fun strategy game. Apparently the the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch port is of the highest quality too and you can grab it over here.

Kindle Infocom Wallpapers

If you are a happy owner of a Kindle, you'll be an even happier one if you change its wallpaper/screensaver collection to something more gamer-friendly. Something like a selection of Infocom's covers. Happily, you can grab a few and find out how to install them (for free of course) over at the excellent Z-Machine Matter.

Frogger iOS for free

After 30 years of entertaining us Frogger has been ported to the iOS and is now available for free. You can grab it over at the App Store and try to replicate those nostalgic arcade moments on the comfort of your iDevice. It even allows you to choose between classic and modern graphics. Nice.

Dizzy Prince of the Yolkfolk Returns!

Good news for us retro loving gamers on the go, as 8-bit (ZX Spectrum, actually) born Dizzy is about to return and remind the world just how brilliant a cartoon-y platformer with proper adventure game elements can be. The first Dizzy, you see, was created back in the mid-eighties and due to its phenomenal success went on and evolved via a multitude of sequels. Dizzy Prince of the Yolkfolk was the mature 1991 release for the Amiga, Atari ST, NES, PC and them 8-bits and, well, it was brilliant.

Happily, Dizzy Prince of the Yolkfolk will be released for the iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Android platforms  on the 9th of this very December. It will sport updated HD graphics, touch-controls and -apparently- a lot of egg-centered puns. Find out more over at DizzyGame.com and have a look at the trailer below:  

AC/DC Pinball Rocks HD

Now this is something that should have been done ages ago: a shiny pinball sim complete with the tunes and aesthetic of legendary rock band AC/DC! That's AC/DC Pinball Rocks HD for you. A game that sports amazing visuals, quality physics, a variety of mini-games, a Brian Johnson voice-over and such classic songs as Highway to Hell. You can grab it for your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad over at the App Store.

Dingo: a lost Speccy classic on iOS

Dingo was an Ashby Computer & Graphics arcade game that, most shockingly, never got the Ultimate Play The Game treatment and was thus never ported to the ZX Spectrum. Happily, coder Soren Borgquist and artist Mark Jones came to the rescue and released an excellent Speccy remake/port of the thing; the aptly named Dingo. The new Dingo is available for free both on the ZX Spectrum and iOS (via the App Store). It's a fantastic and elegant retro offering of a game, that despite being let down by touch controls is definitely worth the brief download. It does play brilliantly on anything with a keyboard mind.

DOS emulator for the DS

What a difference an O can make, eh? Hmm, feel free to ignore that, but -if you own a Nintendo DS- also feel free to grab the freeware and pretty excellent PC/MS-DOS emulator that is DSx86. It emulates both 286 and 386 PC on the DS and comes with complete Soundblaster, mouse, keyboard and VGA support and will let you enjoy all those unforgettable classics on the go. The emulator is already compatible with dozens of games, among which you can find such brilliant titles as Wing Commander, Ultima Underworld, Sensible Soccer, Stellar 7, Alley Cat, Dune 2 and Elvira.

Rebuild for the iPad 2

I have lost countless hours playing Rebuild and then a few more playing Rebuild 2. Sad, I know, but true and quite frankly unavoidable. Rebuild, you see, is a ridiculously addictive turn-based strategy game that lets players guide a community of zombie apocalypse survivors to the creation of a new zombie free society, by managing personnel and resources, defending their settlement, researching tech, growing food and killing zombies. Rebuild 2 is of course the better and more polished game of the two.

Though you can already play the game for free in the comfort of your browser (link) you can now also enjoy it -exclusively- on your iPad 2. Download it via the App Store and enjoy the best version of the game so far. Also prepare to lose countless of hours.

Chickon Chikon Chikon!

Galcon is an elegant, very simple, incredibly smart and highly addictive real-time-strategy offering. Chickon, on the other hand, is Galcon with chickens. And roosters. And happily available for free via the App Store. Guess you should grab it then.

Paradroid & Paradroid HD for iOS

Elite has been releasing quite a few excellent retro offerings on Apple's App Store recently, but Paradroid is easily the best of them so far. Actually it's a true classic. A shining gem of gaming. One of the best -if not the best, as Retro Gamer readers seem to believe- Commodore 64 games ever, and an excellent combination of action gaming with tactical/puzzle elements. You really owe it to yourselves to spend the $1 required for either the iPhone/iPod Touch or the iPad version and play it. Play it a lot. And then buy a Commodore 64 and play it properly; with a joystick!

Xenowar for Android

Remember UFO: Enemy Unknown? No? Well, you most probably remember it as X-Com then, and no matter what it was called, it remains the best tactical, turn-based, sci-fi game with strategic elements ever created. It has also inspired Xenowar, a truly stunning Android and PC offering you can download for free over at xenowar.net, though I believe you'd want to grab the mobile version over at the Android Market instead. The game is brilliant, visually unique, addictive and impressively deep. 

The history of Game & Watch

Interested in finding out more on the history of Nintendo's Game & Watch series? Of course you are, and that's why I'll simply point you over at Club Nintendo where all your questions will (most probably and provided they are G&W centered) be answered. Enjoy.

The iOS BASIC

The CBM flavour of Hand BASIC, one of the few programming languages you can get for free and run on your iOS device of choice, is fully compatible with the BASIC you knew and loved on the Commodore 64 and can be downloaded over at the App Store. Grab it, if only for old times sake. Or to start teaching yourself programming. Anything will work, provided you come to grips with them virtual keyboards, though admittedly this lovely BASIC does come with a few handy built-in extras, like a pretty brilliant help system.

The BBC Micro Emulator for Android

The BBC Micro, the powerful 8-bit micro that helped educate Britain's youth back in the 80s, was a unique and most excellent machine, that had more than a few classics developed for it. It was after all the home of the original Elite and my favourite less-known gem Frak. Happily, you can now either get to know or nostalgically re-experience BBC Micro gaming on your Android phone.

How? Why, by grabbing the brilliant, freeware and opensource Beebdroid emulator of course. It's available over at the Android Market, runs smoothly on any Android device, has been optimized for the Xperia Play and will let you enjoy a ton of fantastic retro games. Beebdroid will also allow you to customize your controls, while also providing all the handy features modern emulators do.

The Android Graveyard

Belgian indie developer Tale of Tales isn't afraid to try new, wild, and deeply artistic things, and it most definitely isn't afraid to publish its well-known The Graveyard on Android. Now, as Graveyard isn't exactly a game, but more of poetic, interactive experience of sorts it most definitely isn't for everyone. Then again some might say that slowly having an old lady walk through a most atmospheric, melancholic and serene graveyard is both enlightening and rather boring. Especially when lacking any meaningful sort of objectives or exploration options.

Anyway. Why don't you first give the free version of The Graveyard a try and, then, should you want to experience the full (yet very short) thing, buy the full version? Oh, and do visit the highly intriguing Tale of Tales site. It's filled with odd and ambitious projects, it is.

Akalabeth for iOS

Back in the mists of time, back in the day when your truly was probably shorter than 60cm, back in 1978, Richard Garriott, the creator of the Ultima series, released Akalabeth. It was a pretty ground-breaking RPG offering and a historically important game, that helped shape the things to come. It was the grandaddy of the modern CRPG. Besides, it is a deeply retro game that hasn't aged that badly either, as anyone deciding to grab Akalabeth for the iPhone/iPod Touch is bound to discover. And its got some handy extras too!

Giana Sisters for Android

Not much to add there, is it? Simply grab this remake of the classic and controversial platfromer and show them Mario Bros. what the sisters can do. It's just been made available on the Android Market. And it does indeed look better than ever. Go Giana Sisters!

Meanwhile iOS released

Meanwhile, as its creators are keen to explain, is not an ordinary comic. Far from it. It's a choose-your-own-adventure (or, well, path) comic, that splits into hundreds of directions, sports some amazing artwork, excellent production values and an intuitive interface, and is the work of interactive fiction maestro Andrew Plotkin and artist/mathematician Jason Shiga. It is thus something you should really experience. Something beautiful and unique. 

Meanwhile is available for the iPhone and iPad and can be grabbed over at the App Store. It does have an official site too mind.  

Tales of Monkey Island for the iPhone!

Telltale's Tales of Monkey Island is an excellent series of adventure games and one of the truly rare times a classic game has been so successfully re-imagined. It is hilarious, nostalgic and innovative, sports an excellent plot, features some of the funniest characters in recent gaming history and is brilliantly designed. Thing is, it was iPad owners only that could so far enjoy its excellent puzzles and abundance of monkeys and pirates. Them and -of course- everyone with a decent PC, Mac or Wii.

Happily though, Telltale put an end to this outrage by releasing the first episode of Tales for the iPhone and iPod Touch. You can and indeed should grab it immediately from the App Store.

Geek 'em up for Wiz

It's short and simple, but Geek 'em up is a shoot-'em-up every Wiz owner simply has to download. Its unique retro-esque graphics, 8-bit sounds and lovely bosses make it a beautiful little game, that, handily, wont cost you a thing. Download it over at OpenHandhelds. 

Aquaria iPad Released!

And there was much rejoicing!

Aquaria, you see, is one of the few true contemporary indie classics, a uniquely beautiful offering and an excellent game altogether. Winning IGF's Game of the Year is neither trivial nor easy, and Aquaria is worthy of all the praise and love it's been getting. What's more, reliable sources tell me that the freshly released Aquaria iPad is even better than the PC/Mac original. Apparently you can download it via the App Store. Do so!

Having second thoughts? You shouldn't, but surely this Windows demo of the game will convince you otherwise.

Sonic CD coming to iOS

It's odd, but Sega seems to be generally ignoring the excellent and expansive Sonic CD, despite the fact that Sonic's Sega (Mega) CD outing reviewed very well indeed and is still fondly remembered. Happily, Sega seems ready to rectify this mistake by preparing an impressive sounding port of Sega CD for iOS. How do I know? Well, by reading the excellent TouchArcade blog apparently...

Elder Sign: Omens for iPhone

Seems that porting successful board games to the iPhone is all the rage these days, but you definitely wont see me complaining about it. Not when such excellent games as Elder Sign: Omens by Fantasy Flight is now available on the App Store, complete with stunning graphics, tons of polish and the updated game mechanics we all came to love on the original Elder Sign game. 

Hopefully the trailer posted below and a virtual trip over to the game's site will get you all excited too. This my friends is a fantastic game.

Gensoid: the Genesis Android emulator

Though I really don't think that anything could emulate the Sega Genesis / Sega MegaDrive as well as my dear WiZ can, I must admit that Gensoid for Android phones does come pretty close. Granted, a d-pad can never be properly substituted by them touch-screens, but Gensoid is one of the best Sega 16-bit emulators I've seen on any handheld. 

It did run everything we tried in full speed with excellent sound and graphics, but also sports a customizable control interface, supports saves and net-play, and can run almost any game you might own. What's more, Gensoid is absolutely free to download and you should grab it from SlideMe.