By Ryan Scott | 05-19-2013 | 6:00PM Mobile gaming is bigger than ever, and that comes with some ups and downs. On one hand, it means lots of increasingly awesome games that give even proper console heavy-hitters a run for their money; on the other hand, it means a lot of subpar choices to wade through on Google Play. In this weekly roundup, we've got you covered: Here are five Android games that are worth your precious time (and in some cases, even your money!). Aces of the Luftwaffe by HandyGames (Free) Who doesn't love a good vertical-scrolling shoot 'em up? Aces of the Luftwaffe is a stylized take on World War II's European air battles, providing a fast and frantic shooter experience rife with weapon...
By Jason Venter | 05-19-2013 | 6:00AM The industry moves at such a rapid pace that we don’t always have enough time to provide detailed coverage for some of the exciting stuff that happens between the bigger announcements. Each week, we’ll gather some of those news tidbits and share our thoughts on why we believe they deserve to be highlighted, even though for one reason or another they didn’t quite make it to center stage during the preceding seven days. We think you’ll agree that they’re still quite interesting. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Coming to PC During his HideRadio podcast, Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima revealed that Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is being ported to the PC...
By Patrick Shaw | 05-18-2013 | 6:00AM Starring Brad Pitt as a United Nations worker caught in the midst of a zombie outbreak, World War Z hit theaters this summer on June 21st. The film is an adaptation of Max Brooks' best-selling novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War and now an official video game based on the movie that is based on a book is coming to Android. Developed by Chicago-based Phosphor Games (known to Android gamers for titles including Horn and The Dark Meadow) in collaboration with Paramount Pictures, World War Z - The Mobile Game is slated to arrive on Google Play on May 30th, 2013. In anticipation of the game's forthcoming launch, the developer has released its debut trailer (watch it in...
by NVision Staff Originally scheduled to be available for pre-orders on May 20th, the NVIDIA SHIELD is now available for consumers eager to pre-order the portable gaming platform. According to NVIDIA, the pre-order date for the Tegra-4 powered gaming device—which features the ability to play both Android games and PC games streamed from a nearby rig—was pushed up to Friday in response to the growing anticipation for its June retail launch. "Gamers look to GameStop as their defacto gaming destination," said Joe Gorman, vice president of mobile at video game retailer GameStop, in a press release Friday. "As Android gamers look for a place to get the latest and greatest gear, it made total sense for...
By McKinley Noble | 05-17-2013 | 6:00AM Kingdom Rush is one of those simpler tower defense games that doesn't really seem complicated right at the start, but actually develops into an extremely intense mental exercise in a hurry. It's only been available as a flash browser game and iOS title for a couple of years, but it's available on Android and already gaining traction on Google Play. To start, Kingdom Rush tasks you with defending a map from invading enemies, with the goal of preventing them from getting to the end of the road by carefully managing your archers, soldiers, wizards and mortar squad at fixed points in the area. There's specific spots in each level where you can build each of the four...
By McKinley Noble | 05-17-2013 | 12:00AM Some video games have truly endured the test of time, seeing many ports and releases on nearly every gaming console and system in the world ever since their original release. That perfectly describes the original Sonic the Hedgehog, which has seen action in over a dozen video game collections. Now, a brand-new port of the game is available for Android via Google Play, adding in some exclusive new perks that sweeten the appeal of the already-enticing $2.99 app. In addition to recreating all of the original levels, Sonic the Hedgehog on Android also includes re-mastered tracks, achievements, and a leaderboard. But even better, you can now play the game as Tails and Knuckles in...
By Matt Purslow | PCGamesN WB Games have released a teaser trailer for the proper trailer of Batman: Arkham Origins. Yeah, you read that right. We don't get the full trailer until the 20th May, so for now we'll just have to put up with a few seconds of Batman scrapping with new big bad Deathstroke. The ten-or-so seconds of actual fighting in the trailer isn't gameplay footage, nor does it offer any real insight into the game at all. But you can't deny it: those CGI artists really captured Bruce's stubble. He's clearly a man too busy to shave, and no wonder with that one-eyed, masked freak making the rounds in Gotham. This story originally appeared on:
By McKinley Noble | 05-16-2013 | 8:30PM Project Shield now carries the "NVIDIA Shield" moniker, and it's heading to the handheld market this summer, equipped with Tegra 4 and a unique control scheme that puts a PC and a portable console right at your fingertips. Check out the video above to see NVIDIA's own Will Park break down all the perks of the new system, like its Android Jelly Bean interface, analog joysticks and built-in microphone/speaker combination. If you want to pre-order early, you can sign-up at shield.nvidia.com for early access, while the rest of the general public will be able to pre-order as soon as May 20th. (NVIDIA Shield will also be available to purchase from various online...
By McKinley Noble | 05-16-2013 | 6:00PM [Photo Credit: John R. Coughlin/CNN Money] Tensions between Google and Microsoft have been running pretty high so far this year, thanks to an increasingly competitive vibe between both companies in the smartphone market. In particular, Microsoft's "Scroogled" campaign—a series of smear tactics used to boost the popular of their Windows Phone line—has taken a sharp turn for the nasty. Just one more aspect of the rivarly has come up with YouTube for Windows Phone, which TechCrunch reports violates Google's terms of service. Currently, Microsoft is facing a cease-and-desist motion from Google, who says that the Windows Phone app for YouTube doesn't...
By McKinley Noble | 05-16-2013 | 1:30PM Different sections of Google+ are getting upgraded and dropping fresh redesigns during Google I/O week, but Google Games won't be around much longer. According to Google's Support page, the introduction of Google Play games services means that Google Games has officially become a redundant brand investment and will be hence going completely offline on June 30th as part of a continued effort to nip and tuck Google+ into a more efficient system. However, there might be a problem for those you who have spent money on games like Mafia Wars 2, Angry Birds and Zynga Poker. If that's the case, you'll still be able to keep playing without seeing your cash...
By McKinley Noble | 05-16-2013 | 12:00PM Google Play has gotten a much-need facelift in the weeks leading up to Google I/O, with a cleaner interface and a vastly better-organized library of music, movies, books and apps. But there's always room for improvement, and the latest update attemps to point out which apps are meant for Android tablets. You can see the change both in-browser and on your mobile devices, with a separate app menu labeled "Designed for Tablets" that leads to a specialized section of the Android Apps collection. It's a start, but the list isn't entirely inclusive of tablet-specific apps yet, just pointing out a few dozen featured examples. Generally, just about any Android app can be...
By McKinley Noble | 05-16-2013 | 9:00AM Although NVision brings you Android, tech, gaming and movie news around the clock, even we can't get to everything worth seeing on the Internet. But to help you out, here's today's required reading for May 16th, 2013. • Abercrombie & Fitch may be one of the world's most hated clothing brands, but recent news reports haven't made it better. Not only does company refuse to hire "ugly" or "fat" people, they also refuse to sell sizes above "Large" to customers. In response, L.A. writer Greg Karber is pushing a movement to do something positive with A&F clothing while also fighting the company—by giving their clothes to the...
By Patrick Shaw | 05-15-2013 | 8:45PM A new version of Electronic Arts and D.I.C.E.'s powerful proprietary graphics technology, the Frostbite engine, is currently being developed for mobile platforms. This substantiates previous reports that the Frostbite team at D.I.C.E. was experimenting with bringing its graphics technology to mobile devices. Last October, an official job posting appeared on EA's website seeking a developer to work with "a team focusing on bringing Frostbite to mobile platforms." And now it appears as though that team has been quite busy. "One of our most exciting current projects is called Frostbite Go," EA wrote on the official Frostbite website, describing it as "a...
By McKinley Noble | 05-15-2013 | 6:00PM Google Hangouts has gotten a bit of a facelift from Mountain View HQ, further bridging the design gap that's existed between Android and Google's web interface. Effectively replacing Google Talk, the new mobile app is a universal effort, letting you cross-chat between Android, iOS, Gmail and Chrome all at once—with the added ability to hold conversations over from session-to-session among several devices. There's also new chat elements in the mix, including emoticons, shared notifications and watermarks to highlight who's chatting or typing at any given moment. Here's some of the other updates that come with revamped mobile app, via Google Play: Say...
By McKinley Noble | 05-15-2013 | 10:30AM Although NVision brings you Android, tech, gaming and movie news around the clock, even we can't get to everything worth seeing on the Internet. But to help you out—especially for a crowded day of coverage on Google I/O 2013 in San Francisco—here's today's required reading for May 15th, 2013. • Surprising more than a few attendees at Google I/O, company CEO Larry Paige took to the stage near the end of the opening keynote to talk about building new technology and using "a piece of the world" as a testing environment. TechCrunch has a brief summary of the high points and quotes right over here. • Among the various product releases and...
By McKinley Noble | 05-15-2013 | 1:30PM Samsung Galaxy fans have something big to look forward to this summer—Google has revealed at a new model of the Samsung Galaxy S4 is headed to Google Play on June 26th. At $649 per unit, the major attraction is that it runs stock Android Jelly Bean, much like the Nexus devices. That means you'll have access to many of the features seen in the core devices, such as multiple windows, S-beam tech and immediate OS updates from the Google mothership. It's certainly not cheap, but that's because the devices sells unlocked on AT&T and T-Mobile with LTE support. There's 16GB of storage to boot, but you can naturally expand that with an SD card. People may have...
By McKinley Noble | 05-15-2013 | 6:00AM Google I/O 2013 is officially kicking off in San Francisco today, with Google launching their keynote this morning at 9:00 a.m. PST. There's a number of outlets that will be covering the event live in order to quickly catch some expected announcements, like a new Android OS, the new Google Games service, new Nexus hardware, Google Glass updates and more. Anyone can watch a livestream of the keynote right over here via YouTube and at the main Google Developers website. For everyone else around the world, here are the times when you'll need to tune in: 09:00AM — Pacific 10:00AM — Mountain 11:00AM — Central 12:00PM — Eastern 05:00PM...
By McKinley Noble | 05-14-2013 | 10:30AM NVIDIA's Tegra 4-powered Project Shield is finally ready for the handheld gaming market, getting a release window, retail price and a call for pre-orders. As announced by NVIDIA this morning, "Project Shield" is now the "NVIDIA Shield" system, and will retain all of the high-powered specs that it touted back at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in January. Just in case you need a recap, here's what the PC gaming gadget is packing under the hood: Tegra 4 Processor 2GB RAM 5-inch Retinal IPS Display (1280x720) 16GB Storage Jelly Bean 4.2.1 Additionally, NVIDIA's announced that Double Fine will be sending two of their own titles to the...
By Julian Benson | PCGamesN Trion are to scrap the requirement to pay a subscription fee to play Rift, their well regarded MMO. From June 12th, players will be able to create and play through the content from the base game, and the recent Storm Legion expansion pack without charge. Rift’s free-to-play model marks a change of heart at Trion. Currently, Rift allows players to play Rift Lite for free; the first 20 levels of the game. Up until late last year, that was still the plan going forward: when we spoke to Scott Hartsman, the former executive producer of Rift, he felt the way forward was to retain the subscription while extending the Lite program. “What’s developed in the time since,” says Trion...
By McKinley Noble | 05-14-2013 | 2:00PM Netflix might have a long list of competitors consistently aiming to dethrone them, but the reality of the situation is simply this—no one comes remotely close to equaling them. Just to drive the point home, Netflix owns roughly a third of the Internet activity in the United States on a nightly basis, according to ISP tracking firm Sandvine (via AllThingsD), with even the mighty YouTube sequestered to roughly 15 percent of the online streaming crowd. Granted, the study only tracks at-home usage and not wireless traffic, so the bulk of the results likely come from smart HDTV sets, gaming consoles and digital media receivers. Here's a quick list of the top 10 players in that...
By McKinley Noble | 05-14-2013 | 12:00PM Although Twitch TV has an enormous online following, the video game-focused online video streaming network is about to see a huge boost in viewership from Microsoft's iconic console. Major Nelson brings word that Twitch TV finally has an Xbox 360 app of its very own, now available on Xbox Live Gold, finally answering the pleas of many Xbox fans. For months and months, the Xbox forums have typically been flooded with requests for a Twitch TV app, no doubt a result of the multi-featured Xbox 360 quickly becoming a central component to most households' entertainment systems. Besides, the console already supports apps for Netlfix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, ESPN, HBO Go, the UFC and...
