Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land

We are definitely living through strange aeons and the stars are apparently right, so, uhm, what better way to celebrate the rise of the Old Ones than by grabbing the freshly released Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land? It is, after all,  a deeply Lovecraftian WWI turn-based strategy offering with strong RPG elements and amazing graphics that has been developed for both the iPad and the iPhone.  

Ur-Quan Masters Android

Star Control II is, by far, the best sci-fi action strategy hybrid ever released and one of the few games set in space to actually feature an engaging plot and an interesting setting. Now, as most of you might just already know, Star Control II (its 3DO version to be precise) has gotten itself an excellent freeware port to modern machines that went along with a name change; hence it's now generally available as Ur-Quan Masters. What's more and what you may have missed, is that Ur-Quan Masters has gotten itself further ported to Android and can now be grabbed for free from the Android Market.

Kung Food (Atari Lynx)

A lovely video review of a not-so-lovely (but definitely weird) retro offering for the Atari Lynx.

Steam goes Mobile

Steam, the behemoth that's been gracefully dominating PC and Mac gaming for the past few years, is coming to both iOS and Android phones. Well, sort of. A beta Steam App has indeed been released for both platforms, but, even if you get accepted to it, you wont be able to actually play any games. You will instead be restricted to chatting with your Steam-buddies and shopping... Then again, everyone can see the immense possibilities there... Anyway, better get Steam Mobile here.

The new Neo Geo Pocket

Today's brilliant retro gaming news is that we will soon be getting a brand new Neo Geo Pocket; a handheld console that's officially sponsored by SNK Playmore and is temporarily known as the Neo Geo Portable Device. Not the most inspired of names apparently, but we should be expecting a name change soon. According to Adriansang.com, that is.

The console will apparently sport a shiny 4.3" screen, 2 gigas of internal storage, all the face and shoulder buttons a gamer could ask for and what seems like a most interesting (possibly analog) d-pad. It will also come preloaded with 20 Neo Geo arcade classics such as Metal Slug, Samurai Showdown, King of Fighters '94, Last Resort, Art of Fighting, NAM 1975 and Super Sidekicks.  

Caverns of Minos iOS

Legendary coder Jeff Minter and the hairy ensemble of Llamasoft have done it again! They have produced (and promptly released) another fantastic Minotaur game that can, and should, be played on both the iPhone and the iPad: Caverns of Minos. Inspired by games such as Lunar Lander, Cretan mythology and the observation of furry mammals, the game is a brilliantly psychedelic shoot-and-rescue-'em-up with smart physics. You really have to play it. Really, really.

Another World on Android

Eric Chahi's classic arcade-adventure Another World has already been both brilliantly and successfully ported to iOS devices and, apparently, the time for the much delayed Android version has also come. Retro maestros DotEmu and Mr. Chahi himself have teamed up and will be releasing Another World 20th Anniversary for Android in a few months. Do expect updated HD graphics (with the option to enjoy the low-res original ones too), touch-controls, three difficulty levels, remastered music and a ton of other enhancements. 

For the latest news concerning the post, besides watching this blog, well, you could do worse than keeping an eye on the official Another World facebook page. 

Ghost Stories on iPad

Another excellent board game has landed on the iPad; the emerging and gloriously shining competitor to the throne of the ultimate, digital, board gaming device. Said game is none other than the classic Ghost Stories, that seems to have gotten itself a really polished and great looking remake. Grab it over at the App Store.

It's Tiny Tower time!

Well, it is, isn't it? Of course it is and if you haven't grabbed the ridiculously popular freebie that is Tiny Tower just yet,  better do so immediately. The game is waiting for you over at the App Store and it's as close to Little Computer People as any Tamagotchi/The Sims hybrid you'd care to mention. It does look excellent too and you can't quite imagine what a time sink it can evolve into. Pretty excellent stuff.

Defender - an Android freebie

Defender is one of the best known and most successful free games for Android phones. You can easily grab it over at the Android Market. Then again, you are probably aware of that, just as well as you are aware of the fact that Defender is a pretty unique take on the tower defense genre, complete with spells and a user controlled bow. What you probably aren't aware of are my thoughts on the thing, so, uhm, here goes.

Well, I do believe it's a very polished and interesting freebie, that could have been so much more. Not that it's not addictive mind, it most definitely is and has already eaten away over 10 hours of my time, but, well, so is FarmVille apparently. It's a good-looking grind, requiring minimal thought and minimal dexterity, yet one that can at times feel immensely enjoyable. Odd, I know, what I guess it's one of them games you'll have to try out.

Super Crate Box iPhone/iPad

Super Crate Box is a fantastic indie game, that brilliantly captures the arcade gaming spirit of yore, while offering some truly lovely pixel-art graphics and some properly innovative ideas. Its freeware PC version has after all won numerous awards and captured the hearts of thousands of gamers. Happily, the game has now gotten itself an excellent iOS port, meaning that you can now enjoy it on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Grab it over at the App Store for the ultra-cheap price of $0.99.

Jetpack Joyride iOS

If you haven't been reading the excellent A Game Forever Voyaging blog, well, it's about time you started. Not only will you be getting access to some lovely retro gaming articles, but also find yourselves reading all about some of the best reviews/posts on iPhone games. And discover games like Jetpack Joyride; a fantastic shmup/Canabalt hybrid with retro-esque graphics, smart mechanics and great level-design. It actually is one of the best twitch arcade games around. And it's available for free. Here.

VVVVVV 3DS unleashed

VVVVVV, the amazing, retro-esque platformer by Terry Cavanagh, has finally been released for the Nintendo 3DS! Yes, great news indeed, as VVVVVV is a unique and pretty brilliant offering, that's easily both an indie computer gaming mega-hit and the best game of its kind of the past 20 or so years. You can read my review of the PC version here and find VVVVVV 3DS over at Nintendo's online store. 

Kaptain Brawe: A Brawe New World

Kaptain Brawe: A Brawe New World is an indie point-and-click adventure that properly entertained me last year when I played it on the PC. It is, after all, an expansive, old-fashioned offering (just how I like them) with gorgeous hand-painted backgrounds, great humour, tough puzzles, interesting characters and a truly outrageous plot. What's more, it has already been carefully ported to iOS and you can either grab it for your iPhone or iPad. The first part of the game is free to play and you can, via an in-app purchase, unlock the full thing later on.

Oh, yes, and let me wish everyone a happy, healthy and creative 2012!