Avadon publisher, Spiderweb Software, to hit up the iPad with a new game

Avadon: The Black Fortress is one of the best games released on the iPad ever. It's a deep, lengthy, old school-style RPG.

The publisher of Avadon, Spiderweb Software, was pleased with the reception it had on Apple's big screen, and so, encouraged by that success, has announced another game for the platform; Avernum: Escape from the Pit.

It bears some visual similarities (not to mention the name) to Avadon, but it's an entire different game set in an entire different game world. Needless to say, we are very, very excited by this announcement.

Review: Fractal: Make Blooms not War (iPad)

Fractal: Make Blooms not War might have a name that is pushing a little hard to be artistic and quaint, but the game itself is a thoroughly charming and chilled out little puzzle game, and it also happens to be the most original take on the match-3 genre that I’ve seen for quite some time.

Here soft pastel colours and gentle audio provides a frame that displays a board made of hexes. On some of those hexes are tiles displaying a variety of different colours. The goal is simple; by tapping an empty hex standing next to one filled with a tile, additional tiles are created at that point, shifting all other tiles one hex further away. Forming a “cluster” of one coloured tile enclosed completely by tiles of the same colour will cause all those tiles to disappear, and the others nearby to cascade back as though in a vacuum, in the process setting up chains and high scores.

Review: Urban Champion (3DS 3D Classics)

What happens in Fight Club, stays in Fight Club. It’s a pity for the publisher that Urban Champion wasn’t able to effect that rule on the people that play it, because if it could, this review won’t exist to (hopefully) dissuade people from buying the game.

It really is terrible. It resembles a fighting game, in that there are two people duking it out with one another. But, unlike a fighting game, there’s no skill involved in this game. There are only four button inputs – high and low punches, that can be either heavy and slow, or light and quick. 

Review: Spelunker HD (PSN)

Firstly, we simply have to start this review off with a word of warning; Spelunker HD is only for true hardcore gamers. The games wimpy protagonist doesn’t have a glass jaw, he has a glass body, and will die for literally every mistake made: jump or fall from too high, edge too far off a ladder or rope, touch any projectiles or enemies, etc., Spelunker HD is flat-out punishing. But if you’re a hardcore gamer out there that’s up to the challenge and wondering if the game is actually any fun, the answer is undeniably, yes.

Review: Anomaly: Warzone Earth HD (iPad)

While everyone might be looking forward to a tower defence title that shakes up what now a basic and stagnating genre, Anomaly: Warzone Earth isn’t that game.

It proudly proclaims that it is doing things differently; rather than defend, with Warzone, it’s all about attacking. But in execution there’s nothing here that hasn’t been done better in other tower defence games.

The five best 3DS Virtual Console games to date

Now that 3DS consoles are finally flying off the shelves, there’s a large number of people with access to the eShop for the first time.

Although the eShop itself hasn’t been off to a great start, there are quite a few Virtual Console games now available on it. The quality of those games are massively varied, though – our scores for these games have ranged from 0.5/5 all the way up to 5/5.

So, as a summary and to give the 3DS owners a starting point, here’s the best five virtual console games currently available for download:

Review: F1 2010 Game (iPad)

F1 2010 Game looks good, controls well and sounds just like a TV broadcast. It has all the tracks and all your favourite racers. There’s even a good sensation of speed.

In other words, it’s the ideal racing game. Or, would be, if the developers remembered to put in the racing bit.

Somwhere along the line, this game became a strictly time trial affair. The developers, Jump Games, have admittedly done a good job in mixing things up within that limited frame; there’s two different forms of time trial (fastest lap and average time over a number of laps), and the game keeps track of all of your best scores. There’s both OpenFeint and Game Center integration for achievements and leaderboards, so it’s easy to compete with friends in an indirect fashion through that medium.

Review: Desert Quest (iPhone)

Desert Quest, the latest game from Sad Cat Software, epitomises the old adage that you should never judge a book by its cover... only not in the way you might expect. It looks great; with vast and expansive design, charmingly simple yet filigreed graphics and an array of RPG extras, Desert Quest promises a lot and certainly looks the part. Where it unfortunately fails to deliver is in the execution of the gameplay itself.

3DS Buzz has a pretty cool competition going

Note: Digitally Downloaded is in no way affiliated with 3DS Buzz, but this is a good compeititon. 

Nintendo specialist website, 3DS Buzz, is offering one of the awesome new red 3DS consoles through a competition, and anyone from around the world is invited to enter. Click here to check out the competition.

Normally we don't cover other site's competitions, but this is well worth entering. :-)

Toy Soldiers Cold War Invades XBLA

The final title in the Summer of Arcade promotion for 2011 (and a hotly anticipated game in its own right) Toy Soldiers: Cold War is available now.
 

Play Plants Vs Zombies (and three other PopCap games) for free courtesy of Microsoft

Microsoft is offering four classic PopCap games for free play via browser on Xbox.com.

The four games that EA's newest acquisition are offering for free play are Bejeweled 3, Zuma's Revenge, Plants vs Zombies and Text Twist 2, and are available via a new section on Xbox.com called "Xbox Live Web Games."

The downside to playing for free is that they are ad-supported and you're not getting all the content available in paid versions of the game... though they do go well beyond mere demos.

On the plus side, there's even leaderboards available via Xbox Live login.

Even if it was just Zuma's Revenge, this would be an awesome deal. With four great casual games?... apologies if we don't update Digitally Downloaded for the next few weeks.

Head over to Xbox.com to check it out.

Review: Save Yammi (iPhone)

Save Yammi is one of those games. It’s a cheap downloadable title with an easy gimmick and basic gameplay. It does all that well enough, but this is a game that fits squarely in the same realm as Angry Birds, and I just can’t see it topping that.

This game’s premise is this: There’s a cute little cookie-munching monster at the base of the iPhone’s screen (no, he isn’t blue). There’s a cookie suspended in a bubble somewhere above him (the rare level flips this around, but I don’t want to be confusing here). By tapping the bubble, the cookie is freed and proceeds to fall and roll it’s way towards the monster.

Retro Review: Milon's Secret Castle (Wii Virtual Console)

See those walls? Break 'em

The Virtual Console allows gamers young and old to experience revolutionary games that defined a generation. In some cases though, it also showcases some of the biggest issues with game design. Milon’s Secret Castle falls into the latter category, as it presents one of the lower points of gaming as a hobby. It’s a shame, because Hudson also gave birth to numerous gems in the days of yore and Milon's first outing could have been big.

Review: DEO (iPhone)

A developing planet, ruled by its overlord

In a dreadful and decaying universe, who can possibly restore life to two planets? A shirtless gun-trotting man, an angel from the heavens, or a giant robot? Why, none other than a red blob named DEO. This unlikely hero sets out to return life to the cosmos, but inadvertently ends up injecting life into often tiresome dollar platformers.

Bodycount Demo Available Now

Codemasters' promising new FPS, Bodycount, now has a single player demo available for download over Xbox LIVE. The game has a serious focus on run-and-gun gameplay and creating cool firefights and, without having tried it yet, reminds me a lot of last gen's Black. Fingers crossed on that one.

While the demo is single player only, the full game will include a co-op campaign as well as a full suite of multiplayer modes. It has a really neat, grungy, look and it's a new IP - so get to downloading and give Bodycount a shot!

Nordic Games acquires JoWooD

JoWooD and its subsidiary, The Adventure Company, will become arms of the Nordic Games Holding group as the rising star Swedish publisher looks to expand its product offering.

JoWooD, an Australian publisher, is one of those companies that flies under the radar, but has produced some hits in its time, including the Gothic series of roleplaying games, Spellforce, and Industry Giant. The group has also been responsible for the likes of Painkiller and Arx Fatalis (that game especially is awesome).

In the short term, Nordic Games is setting JoWooD and The Adventure Company the task of re-launching its huge back catalogue of games and invest in developing the wholly owned IP’s and franchises, including SpellForce, Painkiller, ArcaniA, The Guild, Panzer Elite, Legend of Kay, The Nations, Safecracker, and Neighbours From Hell.

That IP acquisition is going to make Nordic Games suddenly a much more significant player than it was previously. The We Sing publisher will probably appreciate that it now has something a little more... game-y to sell. In a release, Nordic Games CEO, Lars Wingefors, said: “this new venture will be a fresh start, and we will be introducing new systems, procedures and business ethics to ensure the company goes from strength to strength.”

So the 3DS has a price drop, sales increase in Japan by 5000 per cent

That's not an typo, either. According to Famitsu, the 3DS sales on its home turf has jumped 5000 per cent for the week August 8-14 in response to a price slash of roughly $80.

207,000 more consoles entered circulation; a figure that tops the number of handhelds sold during the week following launch earlier this year. Impressive, since Nintendo only managed 700,000 units worldwide in the previous three months.

Looks like the 3DS is finally off and flying after the stuttering start. Nintendo must be pleased with this.

Theory: "I don't care about graphics." You should

Ico: Proof that aesthetics can make the experience

Spend enough time around various gaming forums, and you'll inevitably come across the old debate "graphics, or gameplay?" And of course, "gameplay" will always win in those debates, because a video game is all about the gameplay, right?

Well, not really. It's an utterly pointless debate when you start to consider what actually makes a game fun to play. Ultimately, these graphics that people are so quick to dismiss as being tangentially important to a game's gameplay are actually vitally important to the experience of multimedia art, and thus quality of a videogame.

To get around to explaining why, we're going to first need to look at what, exactly, constitutes a game's "graphics."

Atari has lost Dungeons & Dragons; who will pick it up?

Wizards of the Coast (and parent company Hasbro) have won back the rights to its Dungeons & Dragons brand.

It was a long process, involving a complaint against Atari and counterclaims suit in the typical legal wrangling process between two corporations, but the good news for fans of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise (which was never handled that well by Atari) is that Wizards can now shop the license around again.

Atari still holds rights to develop and market several D & D games such as Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale and the upcoming Heroes of Neverwinter for Facebook. But the real thing we're interested in is, who might pick up the license from here? It's way too lucrative to ignore (D & D is the premiere RPG brand), so someone will pick it up...

First screens: Worms Crazy Golf coming... FOUR!

Worms is cool (well, not including most of the 3D games). Minigolf is awesome. Mix the two and you end up with Worms Crazy Golf.

To be released on Steam, iOS and the PSN, Worms Crazy Golf will feature all the usual worms insanity, with a slightly different twist to normal.

According to the press release:

Set across three surreal 18-hole golf courses plus a diverse range of skill-based challenge modes, expect to be challenged by increasingly puzzling hole design and an array of obstacles; from castles that teleport your ball, cannons that shoot it across the landscape and even obstructive comedy bats! Only skillful shot execution and clever use of special powers such as the parachute ball, or the ability to slow time down will see you hit par and progress to the next hole.

Worms Crazy Golf releases later this year; while we wait for it, click through for some of the first screens (hint: it looks awesome):

Looking for a virtual boyfriend? Here you go

Look, here's a game we're not going to review, but some of you might be interested (there's a lite version to try before you buy); WET Productions has released a virtual dating sim starring such hunks as the fellow on the right.

My Virtual Boyfriend features 20 levels of progressive game play an a "unique dating system that picks guys that match your tastes." You'll get to interact with these virtual masculine hero via gesture, action, activities... and touch.

Awesome. We especially liked the bit where the press release tells us that "personalities mirror typical and often funny male behaviours."

And a quite the press release tells us just how passionate Mike Amerson, president of WET Productions is about the game: "We have one guy in there- the alpha male, He's a bit of a d-bag. Always controlling and only giving backhanded compliments when he's at his best behavior. We also countered his type with a "nice guy", for the ladies who complain that all the nice guys are taken. You know the type of guy who reads off lines from poems, always agreeable and compliments way too often? That's him. There is also the Urban male, the Metrosexual and even a Geek. Every lady is familiar with one of these types of guys at some time in her life and will chuckle a bit when she plays the game as she can identify with them."

I must admit, that's probably the most entertaining canned quote I've seen in a press release so far.

For guys looking for the virtual girlfriend experience, WET Productions has My Virtual Girlfriend available too. We're sceptical about all this, but for those who don't have the time to learn Japanese and import Love Plus (a genuinely good game), here's a iOS alternative. It's only $0.99

Naval War: Arctic Circle trailer; Paradox Interactive is back

Paradox Interactive knows its wargames, so when it releases a trailer for a new game, we pay attention.

This time around it's all about the water. The frigid, freezing water. Naval War: Arctic Circle is all about fighting for dominance over water.

The trailer doesn't tell us much about how the game plays, mind, but the release that comes with it tells us:

Paradox Interactive and Turbo Tape Games today unveiled a teaser trailer for their upcoming maritime RTS Naval War: Arctic Circle, a naval strategy title expected to be released in Q2 2012.

Naval War: Arctic Circle will challenge players as they navigate the world’s deadliest ocean vying for dominance and complete control of the arctic seas, strategically controlling naval units above, below and on the surface of the frigid waters. The time has come where global peace has expired and tactical warfare is the only means to secure the treasures of icy depths. Will you be able to reign over the waters in the struggle for the valuable resources in the Arctic?


Sounds good to us.

Review: Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim HD (iPad)

Majesty on the iPad is a great thing to behold. Beyond the value of the game itself – and it is a good game indeed, it’s the fact that Paradox Interactive is now involved with the iOS App Stores that’s exciting. It might be through an intermediary at this stage, (HeroCraft was behind this version of the game) but after seeing how well Majesty turned out, the potential for a Pride of Nations HD should surely be too good to ignore.

Majesty itself is a game starting to show its age (given there’s already a sequel on the PC), but it’s still hugely entertaining and charming. The ‘unique’ twist in this RTS, as far as anything in the games industry can be called ‘unique,’ is that this is a game that strips control away from the player. There’s no need to direct units to objectives and no right clicking involved at all (which is just as well, there’s no mouse on the iPad). Instead, the brightly coloured inhabitants of the military camps that the player is tasked to build up go about their merry way, doing what the AI considers appropriate to claim the victory screen.

Digitally Downloaded August special: the must-have games of the year (so far)

For this month's issue of the Digitally Downloaded magazine, we thought we'd do something a little special: we've listed all of our favourite games of the year so far, and compiled them into one massive, 80-page buyer's guide for you!

There's 39 games fully reviewed in the magazine, across the PSN, XBLA, iOS, PC and Nintendo consoles' download services.

You can read it here: Digitally Downloaded August Edition

Interested to see what the top five are? We didn't rank the games below the top five, but to whet your appetite:


1) Portal 2
2) From Dust
3) Limbo
4) King Arthur: The Roleplaying Wargame Collection
5) Groove Coaster

Have a read and tell us what you think; what have been some of your favourite downloadable games to date?