iGame Radio

Today Omaha reviews the iOS game Hypnoblocks by Ambrosia Software, the iPad game Soup du Jour by Digital Eel and Dreamrock Studios, and the iPhone game Shake Spears by Alawar Entertainment.
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Ambrosia Software has released HypnoBlocks, a 3D block matching game for the iPad. The game allows you to rotate the game field with something called Multi-Touch, and grab bonuses for clearing multiple blocks at a time. You compete against a time limit, and can compare your score with others using Game Center. HypnoBlocks is available from the iTunes App store for $0.99.

The developer of Melon Truck has let us know that a major update has made its way to the App Store. Melon Truck 2.0 comes with some big additions, including full Game Center integration, updates to the firing mechanism for the game, new melons, and more. You can pick this melon shooting game up for $1.99.

Golden Helicopter has released a rather unusual time management game for iOS. In Rig Fire, the player has to pump as many barrels of oil as possible while keeping a disaster prone sea-based rig standing. The player must choose between putting out fires, repairing the failing rig, pumping additional oil, or tending to wounded riggers. Over 100 rigs are available to unlock, with 15 oil fields to explore. Game Center integration is included. The game is available for $0.99.

Introversion has announced the release of their source code for both Darwinia and Multiwinia to the public. However, they are charging for the download of their source code.

From their website:
“We are delighted to announce that the source code for Darwinia and Multiwinia is now available to buy from our online store, including immediate digital download.
Click here to go straight to our store to buy.”

Purchasers of the source code can access the vanilla sources and create shared branches through the online subversion repository. The purchase also gives access to the Darwinia and Multiwinia development forum and wiki. Lastly, each copy of the source code includes five authentication keys, so that if you are interested in modding Multiwinia, you can include four testers.

Introversion also states that you will need Windows and Visual Studio 2008 to build the games, because they have tested that the code compiles correctly for Windows. However, they do imply that you could build games for Mac and Linux if you put some “effort in to compile for Mac/Linux”.

The Darwinia and Multiwinia source code can be purchased for £30.00 (approximately $45 US), but no terms of use have been posted so far. This is not the first time Introversion has released source code for its games, starting with the release to Uplink in CD form several years ago.

Sweet Ambrosia and Free iPads…two great tastes that go great together, huh? Well, Ambrosia Software is making sure of that, by giving away from iPads and iPad games to select folks who enter their contest. All this week, anyone who follows Ambrosia Software on Twitter, then tweets about the contest will get a chance at winning an iPad or iPad games. Every day, Ambrosia will choose one person to get a free iPad and four folks to get free iPad versions of Ambrosia’s game, including Aki Mahjong, Mondo Solitaire, Mondo Top 5 Solitaire, and Mr. Sudoku (what, no Aquaria HD??).

Better hurry and enter…those iPads will disappear fast!

 

Episode 71 is live, featuring reviews of Spiderweb Software’s Geneforge 5: Overthrow, Aquaria by Ambrosia Software, and the Psyclops Dance Mixer iPhone App. Also, I do an interview with Gamerizon CEO Dominique Belanger.

Geneforge 5: Overthrow

The classic old-school RPG series of conflict between the magical Shapers and the Rebels draws to a close. But is there enough in the game to draw both old and new gamers alike?

Aquaria

Winner of the 2007 Seumas McNally Award, Aquaria blends beauty and exploration with a bit of destruction to cook up an underwater winner.

Psyclops Dance Mixer

Teens and pre-teens alike will love the ability to create a mini dance video right on their iPhone. But the interface is nothing to dance about.

Gamerizon

Gamerizon is moving into the Mac casual game scene with their first offering “QuantZ”, a bit of Action-Puzzler, Match-3 and Marble Popper all mixed into one.

Control little stick figures. Order them into battle. Watch them die in horrible, screaming agony. Wait…what?

Ambrosia has released their next game, Multiwinia. If you’ve been listening to my podcasts (you have, haven’t you?!) you already know something about it.

Multiwinia is a multi-player real time strategy war game using stick-figures. That way, when you maim and murder them, you won’t feel so bad. Developed in partnership with Introversion Software, the game is available for an immediate download (30 day free trial) and sells for $19.

From the press release:

A chaotic war is raging in a fantastic fractalized world populated by bloodthirsty little stick men with a mission: follow your orders to annihilate their enemies. They will do your bidding no matter what the cost: order them to take that hill, flank the enemy or run screaming towards the flame turrets. The Multiwinians are bent on destruction, and if a few hundred of them have to be incinerated to get that flag, so be it!

Mmmmmmmm! Stick figure mennnnnnnnnnnnnnn!

I’ve been trying to play catchup on my gameplaying for reviews, and designated today as a gameplay day…I’m gonna spend most of the day playing games. One on my plate is Aquaria, which I hadn’t yet received my review copy of, so decided to download the trial version.

Went to Ambrosia’s website, but ran into some problems because apparently the download doesn’t come directly from any server at Ambrosia, but at Macgamefiles. When clicking on the link to the download, however, it doesn’t take you to the Macgamefiles page, but stays at Ambrosia, bringing up this nice, classy pop-up page. Then you start downloading, but you don’t get any info about how large the file is, and I’ve had it abort several times.

I finally got tired of it and just copy/pasted the link into a new webpage, which does redirect you to the Macgamefiles download page for Aquaria, and you get a nice download that specifies file size (and thus time remaining for download). I suggest if you want to download the trial, that you use that method.

 

Host Omaha Sternberg continues her Gaming Macworld 2009 series, covering Macworld Expo 2009 from a gamer’s perspective. Featuring an interview with John Champlin of Ambrosia Software about publishing Aquaria, their upcoming game Multiwinia, and new iPhone games on the horizon. Also, an interview with JJ of Aerielle, the company that produces the i2i Streaming device, allowing users to share music and other audio wirelessly. Can this be used for gamers tired of wired headphones getting in the way, and wireless headphones that don’t perform?

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