I know what you’re thinking… there’s so many zombie games that incorporate ice cream and humor. I know, right! Wait… no, that’s not what I was thinking. Sure, the zombie genre is “on fire” right now, but when Crawl Space Games went about combining awesome art, incredible humor, addictive gameplay and mixes genres of Scoops, Zombies versus Plants and throws in some of the most awkward sounding, but helpful upgrades – I want a real life cardboard helmet that looks like that, serious – and you’ve got a game that will hold my interest:

Plants vs Zombies meets Scoops in Zombies Ala Mode for Apple iPhone, Apple iPad, and Android devices. Play as a young hard working zombie trying to make a living in the ice cream business. Fill ice cream orders while dodging obstacles and try not to get fired. With three game modes, 50 levels, OpenFeint achievements, leaderboards, and lots of upgrades in career mode, you will enjoy hours of zombie goodness.

Already on sale for the Apple iPhone for $2.99 with the Android and Apple iPad versions upcoming, Crawl Space Games delivers yet again – check out Knife Toss, one of my faves for my Apple iPhone also by Crawl Space Games.

[ Links: Crawl Space Games, Zombies Ala Mode, Knife Toss ]

Over the Labor Day Holiday Weekend, I had the chance to visit the county fair. And allow me the opportunity to set a mental landscape before entering this review full steam. Imagine the smells of cotton candy filling the air, funnel cakes, the unfortunate waft of an elephant (ew!) and popcorn by the ton. Visualize the brightly painted and extremely lit signs announcing oddball tests of strength and dexterity that you will probably never encounter in real life.

That is, not unless you get the 2K Games Carnival for your Apple iPhone or Apple iPod Touch. Best part, there’s no elephant smell either.

Carnival Games has the typical odd assortment of games from a test of strength, bumper boats, shooting galleries (shoot out the center of a star, shoot the ducks with the targets on their sides and a Wild West shooting game) and even a milk bottle game that you can actually win – much unlike in the real life cheating gosh darn game.

The graphics are great, simple, extremely clean and bright and in good looking 3D. Upon your first start up, you will create a character, I decided to make mine look like me… sorta. You can unlock many items and add them to the look of your character. In fact, my little cherub like avatar is now sporting a pair of x-ray glasses that I won by ringing the bell in the test of strength three times. And speaking of which, 2K Games actually worked it out where if you have to slide your finger up and down in order to build your strength for the test of strength, you actually have to rub your finger up and down – staying in one place won’t suffice. I found that actually cool that they used the iPhone’s touch screen in that manner.

You move around the screen using an virtual joystick and while it’s easy to get around, you cannot control the camera at all. The way the game is laid out, you have to walk around from place to place to where the carnival games are located. While I don’t mind the controls in that aspect, you can find yourself walking into corners or behind the game stands. Just walk around them and you’ll be fine.

I was one of the few that did encounter some random crashes; however since the 1.01 update in the last few days, I can easily state that I’ve been crash-free and enjoying this game to the point of having to charge my battery multiple times in a day. Easy to pick up, totally fun to play with, 100% addictive. I’ll have to give the Nintendo Wii version a spin later on too.

A definite must-buy in my book: 5 out of 5 (Highly Addictive)

[ Link: Carnival Games on iTunes, Carnival Games ]

The 2010 Tokyo Game Show, set to happen on September 16-19th, with the last two days typically set aside for public perusual and the first two days set aside for business-only announcements and closed to the public, will bear witness to Gamania showing off eight new titles. Never heard of Gamania? Time to up your game then.

Gamania Digital Entertainment announces that it will showcase their latest research and development (R&D) expansion and much anticipated second generation product lines at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2010. Among nearly 150 participating global companies, Gamania will have significant presence with one of the top ten largest booths, alongside other headline names such as Microsoft, Sony, and Square Enix. During the 2010 Tokyo Game Show, Gamania will be showing eight distinctive in-house products, while also exhibiting other works of entertainment, such as animation, web games, and mobile titles, heralding in Gamania’s “Universe of Fun”.

Gamania is behind certain games that will invariably come out in the US, like the popular cartoon show Hero 108 for the Apple iPhone and Facebook games, but while Gamania is huge in Hong Kong, they are lesser known in the US. Games like Reign of Assassins, based on the upcoming Chinese movie of the same name, infuse art and gameplay that translates well to us gamers and Core Blaze, based on the Unreal 3 Engine both look enticing to my western eyes. And that’s just a few of their offerings.

In simpler terms, let’s just hope that the games end up in European and North American markets soon enough too.

[ Links: TGS 2010, Gamania ]

True story. One time while destroying a friend in Madden 2010 and on the final play of the game, my fingers slipped off of the analog stick on my Sony PlayStation 3 controller. I still won by 35 points but I wanted something to avoid my fingers slipping on the controller analog nubs.

The TD Freek gives football gamers improved comfort and maneuverability in titles like Madden NFL 11 and NCAA football by extending the joystick and providing more leverage and control. It also features a premium grip that resembles the external skin of a football. The result is greater precision and a higher winning percentage.

KontrolFreek makes high-quality video game console controller accessories that give players at all levels the competitive edge. Using the latest in ergonomic science, engineering, and materials, the company’s Xbox 360 and PlayStation accessories are acclaimed by both critics and consumers alike.

Typically on sale for $19.99, currently on special for for $9.99. No more finger slipping excuses; even if you’re winning.

[ Links: KontrolFreek TD Freek ]

A company, creatively named PS Jailbreak, has come out with what’s called the first USB based jailbreak/hack to allow for the Sony PlayStation 3 “fat” and slim models.

PS Jailbreak is a USB plug and play solution that installs in seconds, keeping your valid warranty seal in tact.

Easy to use installer and GUI takes you step-by-step.

Compatible with all production models “fat” and slim PS3. Supports all regions: USA, JAP, PAL and KOREA

PS Jailbreak disables forced software updates and will never brick your console.

Supports all games (it does not allow backups of Blu-Ray movies, DVD movies, or past consoles games)

Backup games to your internal hard drive or external hard drive through USB and boot directly off GUI. Eliminating the need for expensive Blu-Ray burners and costly blank media.

Play backups off your hard drives 2X as fast as off the Blu-Ray drive. This eliminates lags and glitches to provide you with smoother game play.

Open up your console to a new generation of homebrew applications. Load homebrew apps/games off any USB hard drive/flash drive.

Fully updateable with new features/updates by connecting PS Jailbreak to any computers USB port.

I remember products like this being shown about for the Japanese PlayStation 2, which never came out if I remember correctly. This USB based hack, which promises to work with all existing games, will allow for downloading, backup and installing games to the hard drive. Which reminds me, aren’t Blu-Ray disks about 25GB or so each? That means barely 12 games for a 320GB hard drive.

Better hope they come out with a terabyte drive for laptops very soon. Retails for ouch $125.

Last thought… where is there a homebrew community for the PS3? There are some serious holes in the logic around this device; but it warrants for more research. You know this will get blocked by an upcoming Sony PS3 firmware update. Still interesting though…

[ Links: PS Jailbreak ]

The people behind the Ghostbusters: The Videogame and the upcoming Marvel titles, Thor and Captain America games, as well as the upcoming Def Jam Rapstar have released a full-featured foundation engine that is cross-platform compatible and allows for rapid development of video games:

Terminal Reality announced today an incredible listing of upcoming titles that are using the powerful and versatile Infernal Engine to bring them to life. Games as different as Def Jam Rapstar, Disney’s family-pleasing Guilty Party, and Wipeout: The Game are just some of the titles using the Infernal Engine’s unique, cross-platform technology to deliver their various experiences. The complete line-up of notable titles includes (in order of release date):

• Wipeout: The Game (Wii) – currently available
• Disney’s Guilty Party (Wii) – August 26, 2010
• Def Jam Rapstar (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii) – October 5, 2010
• The Force Unleashed II (Wii) – October 26, 2010
• The Grinder (Xbox360, PS3) – October 2011
• Thor (Wii, PSP) – May 2011
• Captain America (Wii, PSP) – TBA 2011

In addition, Terminal Reality, the development studio – best known for their work on the hit title, Ghostbusters: The Videogame – is currently putting finishing touches on the groundbreaking Def Jam Rapstar, due out October 5. Def Jam Rapstar is all about Hip-Hop and the music that makes it great. Aspiring emcees spit bars with the best in the history of Rap, both past and present, as they try to prove that no one else can fade them on the mic. The game features custom, proprietary voice recognition technology that keeps tabs on lyrical accuracy, because you can’t respect a fraud.

Can’t wait to see some office mates pull out Wu-Tang’s “C.R.E.A.M.” in the upcoming Def Jam Rapstar in October 5th.

[ Links: Terminal Reality, Infernal Engine ]

Totally controllable via the Apple iPhone, Apple iPad or Apple iPod Touch via wi-fi, the Parrot AR.Drone is the world’s first quadro-copter (read: it has engines with blades) and it’s shipping in September. Also, X Games fans will have the chance to see the Parrot AR.Drone live this weekend at the games in Los Angeles and select L.A. Brookstone locations.

The AR.Drone combines real and virtual worlds to offer an unparalleled gaming experience. A front camera broadcasts and streams what the AR.Drone is seeing onto the iPod touch, iPhone or iPad screen and provides the opportunity for augmented reality games.

“The Parrot AR.Drone offers an entirely new flight and gaming experience,” said Brookstone CEO Ron Boire. “It’s the first flying vehicle you can control with your iPod, iPhone or iPad. Brookstone is proud to be the first store in the U.S. where customers can purchase the AR.Drone. We’re going to make a lot of pilots very happy throughout the fall and holiday season.”

The Parrot AR.Drone is a one-of-a-kind quadricopter, extremely easy to fly in both indoor and outdoor settings. The AR.Drone generates its own Wi-Fi network at which you simply connect an iPod touch or iPhone. The AR.FreeFlight application is a free app in the App Store and allows for the AR.Drone to be piloted via the iPod touch/iPhone/iPad. Once in-flight, the accelerometer of the iPod touch/iPhone/iPad detects all of the movements and the AR.Drone will mirror all movements made by the iPod touch/iPhone/iPad while the pilot’s left thumb is on the control button.

Armed with a camera that streams back to the Apple iPhone app, three axes accelerometer, two gyrometers (one axe & two axes), one ultrasound sensor and one vertical camera to automatically stabilize once it takes off where even a novice can get up to speed easily.

Priced at $299, this can be pre-ordered at Brookstone with an anticipated delivery date starting until September 3rd and will be an Brookstone exclusive until October 31st. The AR.Drone combines the worlds of video gaming and radio-controlled models, enabling consumers to recreate a large number of single and multi-player video games in the real world. One game, AR.FlyingAce will be available for download in the App Store. And

The AR.Drone-Pilot Academy at AR.Drone’s website provides multiple videos and instructions that prepare aspiring AR.Drone pilots for flight.

[ Links: Brookstone, AR.Drone ]

It comes out tomorrow, July 27th… BUY IT!!

Ok, fanboy love aside, the original StarCraft is a killer game. It sold 12 million copies in the 12 years since its original release. It brought real time strategy to folks that normally wouldn’t have liked real-time strategy (myself included) and the long-awaited sequel comes out July 27th.

Some other parts that you might not know is that this StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty cost over $100 million dollars in development to produce. That’s right… it’s more expensive than Polyphony’s Gran Turismo which (to date) has cost over $60 million so far to develop.

Perhaps you can celebrate owning StarCraft II alongside National Scotch Day.

[ Links: StarCraft II ]

Official word is that this is a “long ways” off, so there’s no date announced as of yet. Destined to come out on the current generation of videogame systems – so far the Sony PlayStation 3 and XBOX 360 have been confirmed. I will express concern as to how uneven the mostly non-projectile but combo heavy Tekken fighters will fare against the projectile heavy and somewhat combo heavy Street Fighter warriors will be. Ultimately, I finally get to see who’d win between Akuma (Gouki) versus Heihachi Mishami.

Can’t wait.

[ Links: Street Fighter X Tekken Debut Video ]

The Australian government has been sinking millions of dollars into Internet filters, conducting ISP trials with admittedly no quantifiable metric to determine success or failure. The man primarily responsible for the plan, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, hasn’t much cared about opposition from academics or carriers, many of whom have been very vocal in their beliefs that the filters won’t technically work and could block legit content.

It now at least appears that Conroy has decided to put the controversial filtering plan on hold until next year but only so a broader consensus can be reached on what is to be filtered:

“Some sections of the community have expressed concern about whether the range of material included in the RC category … correctly reflects current community standards,” Senator Conroy said. “As the government’s mandatory ISP filtering policy is underpinned by the strength of our classification system, the legal obligation to commence mandatory ISP filtering will not be imposed until the review is completed.”

It’s not clear what Conroy plans to do to in the interim to tackle all of those “spams and scams coming through the portal.”

Link to the original article…

Rumors have been circulating for some time that Hulu is planning a $9.95 subscription service with a select few episodes still available for free but a catalog of additional seasons available for a monthly fee. Those rumors continue to bubble over, with some anonymous sources insisting that the subscription “Hulu Plus” could launch as soon as next week though possibly only for a limited base of 10,000 testers. As you can imagine, stumbling blocks remain in Hulu’s negotiations with broadcasters, who cling tightly to program licensing out of fear of the broadband video (r)evolution. The service is also expected to see integration with the XBOX 360 but rumors also now point to PS3 integration as well.

Link to the original article…

I’d consider myself somewhat of a gamer. I own a Sony PlayStation 3, I own a Nintendo Wii, I own a PC that I built around my video card (yes, it plays Crysis… quite well thank you) and I’ve purchased games on my Apple iPhone. On the Apple iPhone, I had found myself gravitating towards OpenFeint enabled games, a gaming framework created by the folks over at Aurora Feint that shares your high scores and accomplishments with your friends that also have that game, allows for announcements that range from free games for the day to updates and challenges from friends to beat their scores. All for free.

But what I noticed that a lot of OpenFeint enabled iPhone games had the ability to support in-game purchases on these games that… well, I thought they were losing money and just giving away the game but charging minor prices for trivial, and optional stuff. Boy was I wrong. There’s a lot of money in in-game virtual goods. According to a new Magid report, about $168 million dollars worth of money. That’s huge. And it’ll only get bigger in later years.

Virtual goods purchased on smartphones are a new emerging market in the United States. Who is actually buying them and how much they’re spending, however, has not been completely understood. Today, Frank N. Magid Associates and mobile social gaming network OpenFeint are shedding some light on the subject by providing the first-ever estimate on how much Americans are currently spending on virtual goods.

According to the study, Magid Media Futures 2010 Wireless and Consumers, Americans spent $168 million on mobile virtual goods in the last year. Magid estimates that over 70 million Americans now own smartphones – that’s 23 percent of the population. With 45 percent of those smartphone owners playing mobile games and 16 percent of those spending an average of $41 per year on in-game virtual goods, the market has already exceeded $168 million.

“The market for virtual goods has already exploded in web-based games like Zynga’s Farmville, and we’re just now starting to see this trend in the mobile space,” said Steve Lin, VP Operations of Aurora Feint. “In just the last few months we’ve seen amazing interest from our game developers in building mobile social games with virtual goods. Our internal numbers reflect the study in that free-to-play models will be the dominant pricing structure in the future.”

With 55 percent of smartphone gamers interested in buying virtual goods, the market is poised for strong growth as more virtual goods-based games enter the market. The study also shed more light on who is likely to play games on smartphones. Compared to the general population, smartphone gamers skew male and are between 18 and 34 years of age.

Buying virtual goods isn’t really anything new if you’ve ever played Diablo II or Farmville. But those micro-payments – I’ve personally bought a couple of extra levels for a couple of games to extend my enjoyment of some titles for 99 cents or so – add up. And apparently, it’s a back door to increasing the enjoyment and profitability of a game. And the best part, the people are buying into that mentality and in a big way in the aforementioned age groups (18-34).

“Everybody knows free-to-play social gaming models on PC platforms have been making a killing but mobile virtual goods aren’t as well understood,” said Mike Vorhaus, President, Magid Advisors. “With almost 20 percent of smartphone gamers already making purchases, there’s a lot of room for the market to keep taking off as smartphones continue to increase in popularity.”

Magid has looked pretty deep into the explosion growth of in-game virtual goods purchases of smartphone gaming. I think it’s time I dusted off my programming skills and got serious about making a socially aware, OpenFeint enabled smartphone game that allowed for in-game purchases to get my share of that $168 million and growing market.

[ Links: OpenFeint, Aurora Feint, Magid Advisors ]