Well, it appears as though I can flush more productive time down the drain with the release of Catan - The First Island for the iPhone and iPod touch.

A port of the classic German board game, Catan casts you as one of the first settlers of an island, tasked with building up civilization and infrastructure via the amassing and trading of resources. And, as anybody who's ever played the real world version knows, it is also utterly addictive.

The iPhone version uses the same rules and also features a scrollable, zoomable game board, music and sound effects, game stats, and a tutorial mode. You can either play in a multiplayer "hot-seat" mode--handing around the iPhone to each player in turn--or versus computer opponents who sport their own strategies (and, is it my imagination, or does one of those computer opponents look suspiciously like Grand Moff Tarkin?).

As nifty as that is, the lack of a true peer-to-peer multiplayer is kind of a letdown. Half the game in Catan is strategising about the board while your opponents are taking their turns. That's an experience I think the hot-seat mode will have trouble matching. But if you're still interested in boning up your skills on your own time, the game runs on any iPhone or iPod touch with iPhone OS 2.1 or later.

By Dan Moren

Posted by James Heffield at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

New Zealanders can now get their hands on Forza Motorsport 3.

The much anticipated racing title hit New Zealand shelves today, giving gamers the chance to get behind the wheel of more than 400 of the world's most amazing cars on 100 exotic road courses from around the globe.

A Microsoft media release said the addition of eight V8 Supercars from the V8 Supercar Championship Series would appeal to New Zealanders and Australians and would bring the Ford vs Holden rivalry direct to your living room. Other vehicles in the game include Ferraris, Porches, and cars not available in any other racing game, such as the new Aston Martin DBS, Dodge Viper SRT-10 ACR, and the 2009 Acura ARX ALMS race car.

Microsoft said the game had a recommended retail price in New Zealand of $99.95, or $119.95 for the Limited Collector's Edition.

Posted by James Heffield at 5:49 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

EA Sports has set up a Flash-based statistical tracking tool called FIFA Earth to celebrate the recent release of FIFA 10.

The tool records records the popularity of national and club teams according to active players, as well as which teams are 'hottest' and 'coldest', according to in-game results. The data is rendered on a rotating 3D rendered globe and updates daily.

Today for example, gamers have lifted New Zealand into 30th position in the national team rankings, well above Bahrain's FIFA Earth 50th placing. If only that kind of form could be translated into real life for the decisive World Cup qualifier between the same two teams in Wellington on November 14.

EA Sports has said FIFA Earth will run all year round will and keep track of the number of games, number of wins, losses and draws, and sort this data by team, and location.

It will also allow you to dig back through the data to find the best and worst plays by day, week or month. The app also tracks all Twitter mentions of the game as they are happening, and keeps track of the number of mentions during the past 24 hours.

By James Heffield and John Davison

Posted by James Heffield at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Fans of zeppelin bombers, Tesla tanks, and attack bears should be at the ready. Command and Conquer: Red Alert should arrive on the iPhone later this month--October 23 to be precise.

In this iPhone and iPod touch game from Electronic Arts, aspiring commanders can lead the good guys (the Allies) or the bad guys (Soviet Russia) in a science-fiction alternative universe where the Cold War has become very, very hot.

Featuring nuclear weapons, time travel, and over-the-top machinations, Red Alert is a strategy franchise unlike any other. Staying true to the spirit of the series, the iPhone version of Red Alert will feature many of the iconic units from each side and also offer single player campaigns for each faction. Lock and load, comrade.

Recently released screenshots reveal a great deal about what to expect for Red Alert's first foray onto a mobile platform. The iPhone version seems to take units from Red Alert 3 (including Soviet fighter jets, helicopters, etc), yet the art style, graphics, and two-faction offerings are more reminiscent of Red Alert 2. Per EA's announcement, it looks like the Paladin Tank from Command and Conquer Generals is making its first appearance in the Red Alert universe and there should be other new units to use as well. The screenshots also reveal the return of the blonde Tanya unit from Red Alert 3 and the iconic Kirov Air Ship first featured in Red Alert 2.

Like EA's version of Sim City for the iPhone, Red Alert looks like a remix of several Command and Conquer titles. Hopefully, Red Alert won't inherit Sim City's clunky and inexact control problems.

Using the iPhone's touchscreen technology, you'll be able to drag and scroll to manipulate your view of the battlefield. Pinching the screen will allow you to zoom in, for example. You'll select units with a tap and supposedly control multiple units at once. The Command and Conquer series is renowned for its ability to control massive formations of troops and tanks, so the ability to pinpoint where your troops go will be pivotal.

While we only can speculate about how the control scheme will work, the screenshots reveal icons in the bottom corners of the battle HUD that suggest an ability to create groups so you can micromanage your troops and attacks. So far, the iPhone hasn't proven to be the best platform for such detailed manipulation, but the shipping version of Red Alert will tell us EA has broken the code.

EA's press materials boast that you can battle through 12 combat levels and two different maps in Skirmish mode. But the press materials leave some questions unanswered. A price hasn't been set, we don't know plot details, and it's unclear whether the iPhone version will have the campy cutscenes the series became famous for. Perhaps most important, there hasn't been a mention of multiplayer functionality--an oversight that Allies and Soviets alike would like to see rectified.

By Chris Holt

Posted by James Heffield at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Kiwi gamers can win PlayStation and Sony merchandise tomorrow by taking part in a treasure hunt hosted by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) to promote its latest game - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

A SCE announcement said gamers could register to take part in the October 14 hunt by signing up at the Nathan Drake NZ page at www.facebook.com. Nathan Drake is the main character in the new game, which sees him embark on an epic quest to find the legendary Cintamani Stone.

Once gamers register on Facebook, they will receive their first clue, which will begin a hunt that SCE promises will involve collecting clues, solving puzzles and ultimately completing Drake's quiz.

"Make sure you pay attention because the higher your score in the final quiz, the better your chance is of winning the major prize draw for your choice of a set of newly minted Uncharted 2 gold coins or a Sony home entertainment system consisting of a Sony Bravia TV, Sony home theatre system, one of the new 120GB PS3 consoles and a stash of Sony Pictures Blu-ray movies and PlayStation 3 games."

In addition to the major prizes, the "most astute treasure hunters" would be awarded with ongoing challenge prizes and spot prizes along the way, Sony said.

Prizes would include copies of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, exclusive PlayStation and Uncharted 2 merchandise, Sony Ericsson W705 phones, a Sony S Series Cybershot camera featuring facial recognition, a Sony Video Walkman featuring in-built speakers, music courtesy of Sony Music , SKY City movie passes, and a range of Sony Pictures Blu-ray movies.

The first person to correctly complete Drake's final quiz would also win a new PS3, SCE said.

The Nathan Drake NZ Facebook page can be found here.

Posted by James Heffield at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Quirky arcade racer Madagascar Kartz will be released on October 27, Activision Publishing says.

The company said the game allowed racers to perform jumps, flips and rolls as they sped through tracks inspired by DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar movie franchise, including the New York City Zoo, the Madagascar plane crash site and the volcano.

Gamers could take the wheel as Alex, Marty, Gloria, Melman, King Julien or the Madagascar penguins to take on competitors using pickups such as power boosts, obstacles, and projectiles. The game also allowed split-screen head-to-head multiplayer action, allowing up to four players race locally against one another in Championship, Quick Race and Time Trial modes, Activision said

Activision Publishing spokesperson David Oxford said the Madagascar films were "packed with personality" and could be enjoyed by everyone. ”We designed DreamWorks’ Madagascar Kartz with the same idea. With the whole family competing against each other as their favorite zoosters, you have never seen action this wild.„

Madagascar Karts is available on Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The Wii version can be purchased as a bundle, which features a DreamWorks’ Madagascar Kartz steering wheel packaged with the game.

Posted by James Heffield at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

A new Sony Computer Entertainment website offers aspiring game developers career advice and information on the company's worldwide studio network.

The www.worldwidestudios.net site is still light on content, but it offers information on games, interviews with developers and a jobs section. It also offers information on the Sony's worldwide studio network, profiles of some studios and departments and links to studio websites alongside links to relevant SCE, PlayStation and friend sites.

Worldwide Studios Europe senior vice president Michael Denny said the site provided "a unique window onto our development teams and the environments in which they deliver such outstanding entertainment".

Posted by James Heffield at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

New Zealand iPhone and iPod touch games studio PikPok will release five more games in the next half year following the success of its debut title Fame, says PikPok manager Jos Ruffell.

The specialised Wellington-based studio was launched in late-September by parent company Sidhe and has already had some success - particularly in the US apps market. Its dance-game Fame is now ranked second in the music games section of the US Apple App Store.

Ruffell said he was "pretty happy with how Fame has been going so far", and PikPok was now planning to release five more games by March.

"We have a lot of other games in the works. We're looking at everything and everything as long as it can work on the [iPhone and iPod touch]. The thing we like about the platform is that we can have much faster iterations of a game."

The next title PikPok would release would be a sports game, Ruffell said. He would not elaborate but said an announcement would be made in the next few weeks.

Posted by James Heffield at 5:15 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )