Square Enix to bring Chrono Trigger onto iOS and Android

If you're into classic games like Street Fighter II, you will be pleased to know that Square Enix has announced their plans to bring over their classic RPG, Chrono Trigger, onto both iOS and Android devices.

The port has been talked about ever since December of last year, but it looks like the wishes of gamers everywhere has come true. It appears to be keeping true to the original game, with different endings being unlocked depending on the time you face-off against the end boss.

Unfortunately there was no mention of how much it will cost on either platform or when exactly they will be made available. In additional news, it appears that Square Enix will be launching their very own Android Marketplace on Japan's NTT DoCoMo, NDDI and Softbank, which will provide Android users in Japan access to a variety of Square Enix's titles such as Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II, Chaos Rings, Chaos Rings Omega, and Crystal Defenders.
source:Ubergizmo

Video game bras show your love for the game

What better way to tell the world you like gaming than to buy merchandise for showing your love for your favorite video games? While these items usually range from shirts, caps, backpacks and badges, a SceeneShoes from Etsy decided to take things further with some custom-made video game undergarments and shoes. After all, nothing screams “big fan” better than custom-made unofficial merchandise (pirated goods on the other hand is another story).

With prices ranging from $25 to $55, you can get yourself a pair of hand-painted Super Mario, Sonic, or Pokemon sneakers; or Angry Birds, NES controllers or Princess Peach's top painted onto a bra for you. The perfect gift for the video game-loving couple - it's pretty hard to go wrong with bras and shoes like these. Head over to SceeneShoes at Etsy for more images and purchasing details.
source: Ubergizmo

Cut the Rope: Experiments now available for iOS devices

Have you played Cut the Rope, and Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift until you've managed to score 3 stars on all the stages and unlock every single achievement in the game? If you answered yes, we've got some good news for you. ZeptoLab, the creators of Cut the Rope have officially announced the launch of a new installment to the series called Cut the Rope: Experiments. The game adds three level packs (75 levels in total) in colorful new settings.

There will be new mechanics and settings available in the game in addition to new gameplay elements, settings, additional animations, and updated sounds. Fans of the original game won't be lost, while people who are new to the game should have no trouble jumping right into it. There will also be new challenges such as a photo hunt, and social media integration with Facebook and GameCenter. Cut the Rope: Experiments is available now for the iPod touch and iPhone ($0.99) and in HD for the iPad ($1.99).
source: Ubergizmo

PES 2011, Pocket Legends and Lumines now “optimised” for Xperia PLAY owners

Some rather huge games from right across the gaming spectrum have been updated with control schemes for Sony Ericsson's gaming phone, with Konami's PES 2011, Pocket Legends and the mobile version of puzzle game classic Lumines now all updated to feature Xperia PLAY control support.

Here's PES 2011 on Android:

If anyone takes a chance on Lumines, could you let us know how it is? We're enormous fans of the PSP original and the version on the Market looks a little bit… “Java”.
source: Eurodroid

Epic Games: people want to spend $6 on iPhone games

How many of you spend money on games for your mobile devices? If you have, how many of you have spent over $5 on a single game before? If you answered yes to both questions and you think you're in the minority: there's more people like you than you think. According to Epic Games, the company behind the hot selling game, Infinity Blade; people are willing to spend money on a game - as long as it's worth it. The over $11 million of revenue they've made from the game alone (and that is after subtracting Apple's cut) proves it.

“Experience tells us that if you create content with high production values the audience will buy it. You're customers, what would you prefer to do: Buy a game like Infinity Blade for $6 with plenty of gameplay, good production values that offers a visceral experience; or pay 99c for something you play once and never ever go back to?” says Epic Games' senior manager, Mika Gamble.

Well, it looks like developers who are thinking of pricing their games at $0.99 might want to think twice after seeing how successful games can be at premium prices. Of course, the quality of the game will have to match its price tag.
source: Ubergizmo

Both Android Angry Birds games updated – new maps for AB and AB Rio

Rovio has released updates for the pair of its Angry Birds Android games, with both the original title and the Rio spin-off getting a new collection of levels. The Rio update, Carnival Upheaval, had a brief exclusive period of exclusivity over on the US-only Amazon Appstore, but is now up on the Android Market for us poor “RotW” consumers.

Here they are. Please excuse me for not bothering to unlock them. I'm sure you can imagine what they look like.

The previously rather neglected original Angry Birds, meanwhile, now contains a new map pack of its own, with the “Mine and Dine” section added in today's release. Get regular Angry Birds via the Android Market here and AB Rio here, if you haven't already.
source: Eurodroid

Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY Android Smartphone Review

Smartphones with slide out keyboards are not unusual. But the same can't be said about a smartphone with a slide out gaming controller. The Sony Xperia PLAY (aka the Playstation Phone) from Sony Ericsson and Verizon Wireless is an Android powered smartphone for those of you that love to play games but aren't so thrilled with using the touch screen to do so. This phone's Playstation style controller is meant to give you true gaming feel, but let's see if it's just a gimmick or the real thing.

Note: Some of the images in this review can be clicked to view a larger size.

Hardware Specs and Design

Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon II 1GHz CPU with Adreno 205 GPU

Networks: CDMA 2000 and EVDOrev0/EVDOrevA

Operating system: Android 2.3.2 (Gingerbread)

Display: 4.0" Capacitive multi-touch screen, 480×854 FWVGA display

Camera: 5.1MP, front facing VGA camera

Memory: 8GB pre-installed memory card (approx 2GB used for pre-loaded games), Up to 32GB microSD support

WLAN: 802.11 b/g/n

Bluetooth: v2.01+ EDR

Battery: 1500 mAh

Dimensions: 4.68" x 2.44" x .63" inches

Weight: 6.17oz

The Xperia PLAY has a very shiny Black plastic shell with chrome buttons and sides. The front of the phone has the display with function buttons below it. The display is crisp and vivid. It's not as bright as other phones I've tried lately though. It has more pixels than other 4″ displays. At 480×854, it gives you a wide screen display which is great for watching videos.

The back of the phone has the camera lens and LED flash.

On the top edge of the phone, you'll find the power button with the built in notification LED. The LED will flash Green when you have an email, SMS message, missed call, etc. The location of this status LED seems odd to me since it wouldn't normally be visible to you if you place the phone face up on your desk.

There is a micro USB port for charging and syncing on the Left side, along with the earphone jack.

If we look on the opposite side, we find the gaming controller's shoulder buttons (more about the controller in a sec) and the volume controller in the center. I hate the location of the volume button… It's kind of difficult to press when you're talking on the phone as the screen tends to slide in that direction when you press the volume button while holding the phone in one hand. It's even more difficult to press when you have the gaming controller open and are playing a game.

The Xperia PLAY looked very familiar to me when I first removed it from the box. Why? It reminded me of my Motorola Droid X with the four physical buttons below the display. The button layout isn't quite the same though and one small disappointment is that the icons for the buttons do not light up. This makes it slightly difficult to see which button to press when you're in a dim or dark environment.

Let's Play a Game!

The Xperia PLAY is a normal Android smartphone until you slide over the display and expose the built in gaming controller. I'm not a Playstation person, but even I recognize the Square, Triangle, Circle and X buttons that we see here. Out of the box, there are 7 games installed on the phone that was sent to me for review:

Asphalt 6

Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior

Crash Bandicot

Madden NFL 11

Star Battalion

The Sims 3

Tetris (touch screen mode only)

Whenever you slide the display over to reveal the gaming controller, it will automatically launch the phone into gaming mode. This happens even when the phone is idle, so you won't have to unlock it to play games.

I played with all the built in games and found the graphics to be smooth and sharp. The addition of the enhanced graphics processor and the built in controller really make playing games on this phone feel like playing games on a dedicated handheld gaming device.

The controller feels responsive and the touch pad located in the center is a cool feature which can be used instead of the D-pad on the left. The touch pad doesn't work with all games though… The same is true for the controller itself. You can't use it with every game you download. It will work with all the Xperia PLAY games of course, but random generic games through the app market will be hit and miss.

Xperia PLAY games are purchased through the V Cast App store. Prices vary and some offer a monthly rental or can be purchased outright. Every time I check for new games there seem to be one or two additional added since I last looked. Right now there are 31 titles available.

Camera The 5.1 megapixel camera does an above average job snapping pix. Thumbs up for its macro capability, which is always a feature that's important to me. Here are two sample images. Click to view the full size version.

If I had any requests with regards to the camera, it would be to allow the use of one of the controller's shoulder buttons to double as a shutter button.

The Xperia PLAY is great for games, but what about calls?

First and foremost, the Sony Xperia PLAY is a phone. So it has to be able to make and receive calls. No worries, this phone has no problems in that regard. The only thing I've noticed is that it doesn't seem to have quite as strong a signal as my Droid X, when comparing the number of bars. But that said, I've not had it drop any calls. Call audio quality and volume are very good on both sides of calls. So as a phone, I would have no problems recommending it.

Overall Performance

With its 1GHz processor, this phone is as snappy as my Droid X as far as scrolling through apps, launching apps, etc. Battery life seems to be on par with other 1GHz phones I've reviewed. That means you will want to charge it every night if you are a normal user. I guess that's a cross we have to bear until mobile phones start using fuel cells

If you're an Android fan that just happens to be a gamer, the Sony Xperia PLAY is a great choice. It really turns your phone into a handheld gaming device. There aren't a ton of PLAY games available just yet, but with over 30 and more seeming to show up every day, it has a good start. All I can say is that I wish there was a slide out controller like this one for the iPhone. I'm jealous!
source: The Gadgeteer

T-Mobile and WildTangent to bring games rental to Android

If you're a fan of the games rental system you might be wondering when you'll get the chance to rent games on your phone. Well, according to the folks at T-Mobile and WildTangent, it'll be pretty soon. At E3 this week, the two companies unveiled a games rental service, designed for gamers who don't want to waste money purchasing games they don't like on their phones.

Since the 15-minute trial period on the Android Market is usually not long enough to fully test a game to see if you like it, the WildTanget service will let users have the ability to rent a game for a day. And if users enjoy playing the game, they can then purchase the full game, with the rental fee deducted from the final price.

The app will be available on Android phones later this year and prices will vary, depending on the original price of the game. One-day rental fees can even be as cheap as $0.25. Sounds like a good way to get games out to consumers, though we wonder if it'll catch on, seeing how most games only cost a few bucks, unlike PC/Console games rentals that work because games are much more expensive.
source: Ubergizmo

Unity Technologies reveals SHADOWGUN trailer

Let's be clear. The game itself looks like a dull-as-ditchwater Gears of War clone, but the technology behind it is clearly rather clever and interesting. The below images are taken from a trailer for SHADOWGUN, a game in which you are John Slade and you shoot things, etc etc and so on.

But developer Madfinger Games claims this will run on Tegra 2 powered Android devices, thanks to the Unity engine's cross-platform development environment, which is damn impressive indeed:

There's a full-size MP4 trailer online here if you'd like so see more. We couldn't work out how to embed it. It's probably already on YouTube, but we're not interested enough in being a space marine and shooting things to check. Here's the press release:

Unity Technologies Storms WWDC 2011 and E3 2011 with SHADOWGUN Trailer

Unity Technologies today unveiled a stunning new gameplay trailer for SHADOWGUN a Unity powered action title set to storm iPad 2, Tablets and Smartphones in 2011. SHADOWGUN will support 60FPS on iPad 2, 30FPS on iPhone 4 and 3gs and iPad as well as Android mobile devices powered by the NVIDIA Tegra super chip.

Developed by Madfinger Games, creators of Samurai II: Vengeance, SHADOWGUN showcases next-gen graphics and immersive gameplay authored in the Unity development platform. SHADOWGUN was highlighted on stage at Apple’s WWDC 2011 at their Graphics State of the Union talk and is being previewed at E3 2011 to press and analysts.

Authored with the Unity development platform, SHADOWGUN combines tactical combat with third person harrowing action, ushering in a new visual standard for handheld gaming. SHADOWGUN puts players into the role of John Slade, a professional bounty hunter in the year 2350. Slade’s mission: hunt down Dr. Edgar Simon, renowned geneticist and former employee of the trans-galactic corporation Toltech Enterprises. Players must lead “shadowgun” John Slade as he infiltrates Dr. Simon’s mountain fortress and fights his personal army of mutants, cyborgs, and genetically-enhanced humanoids. Using state-of-the-art weaponry, ships, and the assistance of S.A.R.A.—Slade’s personal android assistant. The story is written by award winning author Micah Nathan who has joined the MadFinger team as executive creative consultant for SHADOWGUN.
source: Eurodroid

Angry Birds cookbook filled with egg recipes coming soon

So, there are only about a gazillion and one Angry Birds merchandises out there, official and unofficial, so what more can you add to plush toys, gadget casings, t-shirts, and so many more? An Angry Birds branded cookbook, and no, no birds - or pigs - will be harmed. The cookbook, announced by Peter Vesterbacka, Head of Marketing and Business Development, Rovio, will feature all sorts of egg recipes.

Announced at the Open Mobile Summit in London, the cookbook will be targeted at families and include mostly egg-based recipe. The title will be self-published and likely to be distributed by Amazon, Apple and Barnes & Noble and will be available as an eBook or the real book.

Angry Birds, developed by Rovio, is already available on multiple devices such as Apple, Android, Nokia and such, and have nearly accounted for 1.2 billion hours of usage – that's just in the U.S. alone. The company has sold more than 3 million plus toys and 30 million t-shirts, so will this egg-centric cookbook be as successful as the game and official merchandise from the company?

How did Angry Birds get related to a cookbook, I'm don't know. But I do know that the egg recipes in the cookbook can be related to those 'bombastic' eggs used in the game to destroy woods and even concretes. Hey if the white bird is ok with using her egg to blast at pigs, then I'm sure they're ok with you cooking their eggs too.
source: 2DayBlog.com

Official Catan game coming soon to Android

The immensely popular Settlers of Catan is about to come to Android, with mobile developer Exozet Games putting together the first official Android version of Klaus Teuber's modern-day classic strategy board game.

Publisher USM say it'll arrive on Android in “June”. Which could mean later this afternoon or in another three weeks, WE JUST DON'T KNOW. But here's what it'll look like on Android. More images and the press release below:

Turns out you don't really need four screenshots of Catan to get the message across. Here's the announcement:

Catan for Android

The board game ‘Settlers of Catan' has a huge worldwide fan base and has been translated into 30 languages within its more

than 15 years of success. By now the digital versions of the game have also become bestsellers: The App ‘Catan' for

iPhone® as well as the iPad® version ‘Catan HD' are winning several hundreds of new users daily.

In June 2011 the first AndroidTM version of Klaus Teuber’s famous board game will be released.

Several Catanians will prove themselves worthy opponents: pirate Jean, with her no prisoners attitude; Sean the ruthless knight or Vincent the merchant, who’ll never be short-changed. True to the original game, up to four players can compete for the most settlements, the longest roads and the largest army via hot seat multiplayer mode on their android phones – anytime, anywhere.

A completely new art design, interchangeable tilesets and an optimized UI makes Catan shine in an even brighter light. The Seafarers expansion* offers a campaign as well as more than ten diverse scenarios, each of them with very different goals. The player can become harbormaster or discover new islands on the even bigger and more varied Catan world. Extra game elements, such as ships, gold fields, treasures, and pirates offer numerous new opportunities.

Catan for Android has been developed by Exozet Games in collaboration with Catan designer Klaus Teuber and published by USM – United Soft Media. The App will be available on the Android Market and other Android stores in June 2011. The game will be available in English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese.

The board game ‘Settlers of Catan' has a huge worldwide fan base and has been translated into 30 languages within its more than 15 years of success. By now the digital versions of the game have also become bestsellers: The App ‘Catan' for iPhone® as well as the iPad® version ‘Catan HD' are winning several hundreds of new users daily.
source: Eurodroid

Sony Ericsson actively searching for Xperia PLAY indie game developers

Sony Ericsson has launched a new portal designed to source independent game designers with Android games that could be promoted to Xperia PLAY users. The idea being that games incorporating Xperia PLAY control systems can benefit from the Sony Ericsson marketing budget, allowing smaller indie titles to, possibly, get noticed a little better.

Any game that offers Xperia PLAY controls will be considered, and will benefit from being pushed in Sony Ericsson's new Android Market channel. So that's what it was for.

Read all about it here. But only if you're a game developer as it's not of much use to us end users. Interesting that Sony Ericsson is trying to help indie developers like this, though. Could be excellent news for small-time publishers… or a worrying sign that it thinks it hasn't got enough “product” in the pipeline?

Link via Droid Gamers.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play might feature HDMI output

It can be quite frustrating when a particular device that seemed to hold so much promise in the beginning lacks just one major feature that is a given on similar models in the range – case in point, the HDMI output that is missing on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play smartphone. We know that this is going to be a gaming centric handset, and to have the ability of blowing up the images for some big screen action might be extremely tempting, so why was it left out in the specifications list to date? As they say that hope springs eternal, so here we are with a particular screenshot which might just point towards such a reality as you see above.

There are no exact details as at press time, but two photos have already made their way to the Internet, showing off the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play being connnected to a HDMI TV, and obviously the only way for that to happen would be to have both of them “talk” to one another via via HDMI, no? No idea on whether this is a microUSB to HDMI cable, or is it some sort of more advanced Xperia Play that is being kept under wraps.
source: Ubergizmo

Sony Ericsson announces 20+ games for the Xperia Play

Just like the Nintendo 3DS, one of the things that prevented the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play from having a fantastic launch was due to its lack of titles designed for the device right from the get-go. But now, with E3 just around the corner, things are about to change. Sony Ericsson has announced over 20+ new games that will be arriving soon, exclusively for the Xperia Play. Many of the games will be available as playable demos at E3, so if you're keen to try them out, head over to the Xperia Play booth at E3 next week.

The games will be launched in the coming months, and more details concerning them will be available closer to their launch dates. Hit the break to check out the new games coming to the handset:

New Android Games Exclusive on Xperia™ PLAY:

Minecraft™ by Mojang
Battlefield Bad Company 2 by Electronic Arts
Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6 Shadow Vanguard by Gameloft
Desert Winds by Southend Interactive
Ruined by Bigpoint
Icebreaker™ by NaturalMotion
Sleepy Jack by SilverTree Media
Cracking Sands by Polarbit
Armageddon Squadron 2 by Polarbit
An unnamed fighting game from Khaeon Gamestudio


New Games coming soon on Xperia™ PLAY:

Pocket Legends by Spacetime Studios
Star Legends: The Black Star Chronicles by Spacetime Studios
Eternal Legacy by Gameloft
Guns 'n'Glory 2 by HandyGames
Dungeon Hunter 2 by Gameloft
Pocket RPG by Crescent Moon Games
D.A.R.K. developed by Gamelab
Samurai II: Vengeance by MADFINGER Games
Vendetta Online by Guild Software
Order & Chaos - Gameloft
Happy Vikings by Handy Games
A Ball Game by Trendy Entertainment
Lumines by Connect2Media
source: Ubergizmo

Marvel & Konami classic X-Men Arcade launched on Android

The superb 1992 arcade X-Men game has been picked out of the archives by Konami as the publisher's latest Android game release, with the title up for download on the Android Market right now. Probably because there's yet another Hollywood franchise “reboot” in the cinema right now.

Android X-Men is a paid release, costing the equivalent of $4.99 in your local currency. This is some of it:

Would appear to use an on-screen control system, which is never ideal. Maybe picking up an Xperia PLAY for times like this isn't such a bad idea after all. Read more about X-Men over on Marvel's surprisingly informative gaming site.

UPDATE: Despite teasing us by translating the price to British pounds and pence, the game “cannot be installed” in the UK when clicked upon :(
source: Eurodroid

iPhone game Burn the Rope now on Android – exclusively via GetJar

Another game publisher has oddly decided to go down the GetJar distribution exclusive path, with Big Blue Bubble's Burn the Rope now available on Android through GetJar's download service.

It's not a disaster for potential fans of the casual title, though – GetJar only has a one week exclusivity window on the game before it'll arrive on the Android Market for everyone to install in a familiar method.

And that's what it looks like. We get an error message stating that the game won't work on our HTC Desire when trying to download via GetJar. Which would appear to be a bit of a problem.
source: Eurodroid

The Fling Gaming Controller Goes Mini for Smartphones

Last month, I reviewed the Fling Gaming Controller from Ten One Design. I found it to be a great way to improve playability for some games on the iPad and Android tablets. It adds real joystick feel to games that use an on-screen virtual controller. The only downside to the Fling was that it was too large to use on smartphone. Ten One Design has solved that problem with the new Fling Mini. The Mini is actually small enough that you can fit two on an iPhone's display. Right now the Fling Mini is available for pre-order for $24.95. You get 2 in a pack and they will be available for shipping mid July.
source: The Gadgeteer