Toys R Us has a strange game that is for the iPad with equal parts of software app and real world board game. The game is called Yoomi Duo and has a round chip holder that puts chips into the right bin based on answered given in the game. The point of the game is to guess what the other player would do.

Questions are things like would the other player stay up or sleep, fly to the moon or go to the bottom of the ocean. The players apparently take turns and the player with the most tokens is the winner. The game is travel friendly and can be played on the road.

It’s not cleaner at a how exactly the chip dispenser knows what is the correct answer, or why you need a real world dispenser at all. The game can be pre-ordered right now for $39.99 with an estimated ship date of December 9. I would not want that chip thing sitting on the screen of my iPad with my kids anywhere nearby.

Google’s really been big today on emphasizing that Gingerbread is better than ever for game development, and that’s already bearing itself out thanks to a page culled from the Android 2.3 SDK where we see a handful of new keycodes in the system clearly targeted for gaming: L1, L2, R1, R2, Select, Start, and so on. Does it have anything to do with the Sony Ericsson Zeus Z1 and all the PlayStation phone noise, though? We imagine it lays some of the groundwork, but all told, it’s hard to say — after all, PlayStation famously uses shapes for its primary controls, and we wouldn’t be surprised if Sony were working on a separate development environment of some sort for PlayStation-branded titles rather than letting it all flow through the official Android SDK proper. We also don’t yet know whether Sony Ericsson’s gaming efforts are coming in the Gingerbread or the Honeycomb timeframe (though we’re definitely expecting news next February at MWC), but one way or another, game devs should find it a little easier now to map the controls they need.

Android 2.3 definitely supports game controls, may (or may not) be PlayStation-related originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Game publisher ngmoco has risen to the top in the enormously crowded iOS development space going all the way back to its breakout hit Rolando two years ago, and Pocket God — from developer Bolt Creative — has been a big part of that success. Well, users of phones that aren’t iPhones have reason to celebrate today on news that ngmoco has released its first non-iOS game this week, working with Bolt to port Pocket God over to Android and Windows Phone 7. The Android version is available right now for 99 cents while the WP7 port should be available “soon,” so get in any last fits of productivity while you still can. Follow the break for the press release.

Continue reading ngmoco launches its first non-iOS game: Pocket God for Android and Windows Phone 7

ngmoco launches its first non-iOS game: Pocket God for Android and Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Game publisher ngmoco has risen to the top in the enormously crowded iOS development space going all the way back to its breakout hit Rolando two years ago, while Pocket God — from developer Bolt Creative — has had its own share of success. Well, users of phones that aren’t iPhones have reason to celebrate today on news that ngmoco has released its first non-iOS game this week, working with Bolt to port Pocket God over to Android and Windows Phone 7. The Android version is available right now for 99 cents while the WP7 port should be available “soon,” so get in any last fits of productivity while you still can. Follow the break for the press release.

Continue reading ngmoco launches its first non-iOS game: Pocket God for Android and Windows Phone 7

ngmoco launches its first non-iOS game: Pocket God for Android and Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Do you really need another reason to lust after the AR.Drone? Ok, then how about AR.Pursuit, Parrot’s new multiplayer augmented reality game and the first developed for the AR.Drone? It just hit the iTunes App Store for $2.99. Sure, it’s a few days late, but you can use that pent-up angst to pursue and destroy the AR.Drones operated by your family and friends, just as the baby Jesus intended this holiday season.

Continue reading AR.Pursuit augmented reality shooter app for AR.Drone now available on iTunes

AR.Pursuit augmented reality shooter app for AR.Drone now available on iTunes originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 01:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember The Fingerist, the guitar headstock-themed speaker and case for your iPhone or iPod touch? You know, the one with the shoulder strap for public (and private) performances with all of your favorite music making apps? Well, it seems that it’s finally available in the states. Indeed, there has been so little fanfare behind this announcement that the company responsible, Evenno, hasn’t even acknowledged it on its site. But don’t worry: we found this bad boy for $150 on Amazon. And if that’s not enough, iLounge has done a series of hands-on photos (see the More Coverage link, below). Or, if you’re like us, you can skip the thing altogether and groove to Rick Wakeman after the break. We do have one more thing to say about the Fingerist, however: at least it’s not endorsed by this guy.

Continue reading The Fingerist turns your iPhone into an iKeytar, available now

The Fingerist turns your iPhone into an iKeytar, available now originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iOS App Store might already have its fair share of addictive and compelling games on offer, but when John Carmack comes calling with his latest megatextured shoot-em-up, you’ve got to sit up and pay attention. Rage HD: Mutant Bash TV isn’t so much a full-fledged game in its own right as it is a teaser for the forthcoming Rage FPS for the PC, and yet even in its pretty limited running time, it managed to woo and thrill us with its visceral gameplay and arresting visuals. It’s easily the best-looking game we’ve yet seen on a mobile device and provides a fine demonstration of just how far Apple’s hardware — on the iPhone 4, iPad, and fourth-gen iPod touch — can be pushed when some appropriately adroit hands are at the graphical controls. But, of course, games are supposed to be fun to play, not just to look at, so why not join us after the break to see how well Rage HD handles its mutant-bashing duties?

Continue reading Rage HD review (iPhone)

Rage HD review (iPhone) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Today Nintendo announces five additions to it’s downloadable game collection including WiiWare games “Gods vs Humans” and “Mix Superstar” as well as DSiWare titles “GO Series Pinball Attack!,” “Adventure in Vegas: Slot Machine,” and “Discolight.” These titles were released at 9 AM Pacific time today, and you can expect new titles at both the Nintendo DSi Shop and the Wii Shop Channel every Monday at the same time available for purchase by redeeming Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points, each of those attainable at the Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop, respectively.

First there’s Gods vs Humans, playable by 1 or 2 players, rated E for everyone, costing 1,200 Wii points. Play as gods from mythologies from Scandinavia, Egypt, Rome and Japan, ruling over humans who would obey – those rebels who would defy you, you must crush! But don’t kill them, you need the humans to believe in you in order to win. Sixteen gods to be, 4 bosses to beat, 60 levels to play, 16 bonus challenges to meet. Solo or split-screen two-player mode.

Then there’s Mix Superstar, playable by 1 player only, rated E for everyone, costing 500 Wii points. Create and mix your own musical masterworks from your Wii system using 1,000+ Dance, Hip Hop and Techno loops using Drum, Bass, Synth, Guitar and voice tracks. Export tracks to your computer or use the WiiConnect24 system to send tracks to your friends or collaborate on mixes. You can use your Logitech USB Microphone and/or Wii Speak accessories and use your Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Pay & Play service to access additional loop packs from multiple genres.

Third is GO Series Pinball Attack!, playable by one player, rated E for everyone, costing 500 Nintendo DSi points. Being what they call a unique fusion of pinball, exploration, and shooting, this game allows you to go under the sea, inside the earth, through a jungle, and into space, all inside the pinball universe. Use your pinball to fight enemies, nab bonuses and collect power-ups. (This looks to me like a combination of pinball and brick-breaker – a combination that’s LONG OVERDUE!)

After that there’s Adventure in Vegas: Slot Machine, playable by one player, rated T for teen (because of simulated gambling), costing 200 Nintendo DSi points. This game consists of three playable slot machines: Hawaiian, Pirate Treasure, and Mexican Heat, each of them uniquely themed with music, sounds, and graphics. Number of reels, extra buttons, winning sequences, and custom bets are all included here, just like the real deal machines at any casino. Then there’s a feature in which you can trade your money in for a collection of prizes which you can then… you know… look at.

Finally, there’s Discolight, playable by one player, not rated, costing 200 Nintendo DSi Points. Turn your Nintendo DSi into a disco rave extravaganza! This isn’t so much a game as it is a control panel and lots of flashing lights, turning your handheld into a party animal of flickering colors.

[Via Nintendo]

A bumper crop of circumstantial evidence surrounding the Android-based PlayStation Phone is starting to come together today — when it rains, it pours, as they say — and one particularly interesting thread suggests that the ecosystem surrounding the device might be called “Z-System.” An astute tipster notes that the term appears in the upper left of one of our shots, which maps to a domain — z-system.com, naturally — that’s owned by Sony Ericsson. Turns out the company also holds trademarks for Z-System in the US and Benelux trademark offices (among others, presumably) that were filed (and approved) this year, and the filing category includes “software for interacting or playing with electronic or video games,” not hardware, so that strongly suggests we’re looking at a platform here. We suppose it’s possible that this specific device will be called Z-System, but we’re going to float the theory that its actually underlying gaming platform that’ll bear that name — possibly a premium game store and set of software libraries that together will earn a device the Z-System badge. As we already saw with the BlackPad / SurfBook / PlayBook fiasco, trademarks don’t mean much until a device is actually announced — but it’s something to keep an eye on.

[Thanks, Andrew]

Sony Ericsson Z-System: the PlayStation Phone’s gaming platform? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 18:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Developed by Swedish firm Pixelbite and released just a few days ago by EA and Polarbit, Reckless Racing is a game we’ve been following since it was known as “Deliverace” early this year — and honestly, there was a spell where we’d gone so long without having heard anything about it that we’d kind of assumed the awesome-looking project had been canceled. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case — it’s now available on iPhone, iPad, and Android — so we decided to take it for a quick spin. After all, top-down racers haven’t really made much noise since the heady days of R.C. Pro-Am and perennial arcade favorite Ivan “Ironman” Stewart’s Super Off Road… and after playing Reckless Racing for just a few minutes, we’re not sure why that is.

Continue reading Reckless Racing review (iPhone)

Reckless Racing review (iPhone) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 Oct 2010 17:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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