The Game D is being designed to work with the Apple iPad mini, providing it with real console-style controls in a pretty sleek looking package.

The Game D, which is just a working name and will likely change before the final retail offering, is super slim like the Logitech Ultraslim Keyboard for iPad mini, but it discards the QWERTY in favor of a PlayStation-style D-pad and four face buttons, along with the start and select buttons.

Presumably communicating over Bluetooth, the iPad mini can be docked into the Game D one of three ways. First, it can attach magnetically so that the two devices are in line, offering an experience similar to a really big DS or PSP.

Second, there is a keyboard-style slot toward the back of the Game D where you can place the iPad mini in landscape mode on an angle, not unlike how you’d use a Bluetooth keyboard with your iPad. And third, you can use that same slot to put your iPad mini in portrait mode.

Developer Techdy is currently seeking some crowdsourced funding for the project. Pledge a minimum of $39 to secure your own Game D or upgrade to a $59 pledge for the Pro version that comes with backlit keys, vibration feedback and two analog gamepads. The crowdfunding goal is set for $500,000 with a deadline of May 12.

What do you think, could you see yourself getting a “Game D” controller or perhaps there is another iPad Mini gaming controller that has your fancy? Let us know in the comments below!

[Source]

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According to NVIDIA, the upcoming Tegra 5 will be able to “outperform” the likes of the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. This comes by way of senior vice president of content and technology Tony Tamsai. The gaming performance is certainly improving, as evidenced by Tegra 4 and Project SHIELD. But can we put this in more quantitative terms?

Well, if you take the current PlayStation 3, you’ll find that it is rated at 200 GFLOPS. By comparison, the Tegra 3 is just 12 GFLOPS. However, the Tegra 4 is said to bring a seven-fold increase to that, increasing performance to about 80 FLOPS. With the Tegra 5 improving on that even further, it’s not that far-fetched to see it break the 200 GFLOPS threshold.

That being said, by the time it’s ready, the PS4 will likely already be out and that’s being rated at 1800 GFLOPS, still putting the mobile chip behind. If we assume the evolution keeps up its current pace, though, a Tegra 6 could be comparable to what we see in the PS4, possibly some time in 2016 or so.

[Source]

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At the end of August, we alerted you of the Archos GamePad. Archos claims that it is “the first true Android games console”. With a price tag of just £129.99 ($208) and the specs to back it up, the GamePad may be the gaming tablet of the Holiday Season 2012.

In a press release on Thursday, Archos put the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean gaming tablet up for sale. The main focus of the device is to hit the Android market in which Android users spend over 9 hours a month gaming. Furthermore, the Acer GamePad has the following specs:

• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
• Google Play and Google Mobile Services
• 7″ 1024 x 600 pixel display
• 14 physical buttons and dual “analogue” sticks
• 1.6GHz dual-core processor
• Mali 400mp quad-core GPU
• 10 mm (0.3 inch) thin body
• Weight of 330g (0.7 lbs)

The Archos GamePad will also sport a completely new mapping tool for games. As you can see in the video below, the tool makes it incredibly easy to integrate the GamePad’s physical controls with touchscreen games. Take a look:

What do you think about the Archos GamePad? Will you be buying one this Holiday Season? Let us know in the comments below.

[ Source ]

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Topia

GAMEPLAY AND CONTROLS

Topia starts with a short tutorial on how to build your first sandbox world. In the tutorial you learn that you can move your finger across the world to spin it and pinch to zoom in and out. If you are editing your world, you must use two fingers to move the world. This can be an issue at times. I found that often the world would become difficult to move, move in the wrong direction or I would accidentally place animals or change the land when trying to use the two finger movement.

By opening the menu you can view all of your building options, such as raise, lower, or smooth land, increase or decrease the brush size (affects the area of land you are raising, lowering or smoothing), and a variety of animals to place in the world (some are peaceful, while others are predators).

When you are ready to play, it is easiest to select a preset world first. When you feel like you have a hang of it and want to be a bit more adventurous select “My Levels” and select “Edit.” In the “Edit” screen you can increase or decrease the “Seed” level, “Chaos” level, “AntiChaos” level, “Smooths” level and change the time of day. Time of day is self explanatory, but the other options are never explained. You are playing a guessing game until you hit “Generate.” Once you are happy with your world you can save it and play in the sandbox.

GRAPHICS AND SOUND

My favorite part of Topia is the graphics. Crescent Moon Games did an amazing job on the details, especially the water effects and the various “time of day” sky effects. You can tell the detail between a large snow capped mountain and land covered in sand, and while the animals are cartoon-like, it gets the job done since they are so tiny on your screen.

There is not much sound in the game aside from a music track, which really sets the world-building mood, and some sound effects for the water and land forming.

PROS

• Gorgeous graphics, especially the sky and water effects.
• Simple sandbox fun. Even with the limited options you have, your world is still different every time you create one.

CONS

• Two finger world movement does not work properly.
• Needs more options, such as volcanoes, waterfalls, and being able to name a world you create.
• Explain world creation options.

Crescent Moon Games already stated that a future update will include more games modes, challenges and online sharing. The game has a lot of potential. With a few minor fixes and additions, Topia can be a top notch world builder on iOS.

Download Topia and begin building your world here.

The post Topia Game Review appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Dungeon Story

GAMEPLAY AND CONTROLS

The game starts with one dungeon and one hero. The game has a small tutorial before you begin, but it contains everything you need to know. You quickly learn that you can unlock new heroes at certain levels and unlock new dungeons once you complete the dungeon quest, which requires you to play through the dungeon until you find a specific item. As of now, you can unlock nine playable heroes, each with their own strengths, and five dungeons.

Hero progression plays a large part of the game. When you are not in a dungeon you have the opportunity to increase your hero’s stats which will make him stronger against the new, powerful enemies you will encounter.

The controls of Dungeon Story are straightforward. Tap a special ability when you need it, and touch and drag your finger across the items you want to match on the puzzle board.

Dungeon Story also has an online “Arena” mode using the iPhone Game Center, which unfortunately I could not play. Every time I attempted to play online, a match could not be found. Perhaps something can be done to make online play more attractive to the players of Dungeon Story.

GRAPHICS AND AUDIO

Most of the time I found myself turning off the sound to the game. I could not listen to the monster sounds every time they attacked, and there is no music while you are in a dungeon. The music that plays while you are in the menus is fitting for the theme of the game, however.

The graphics of the game is where I feel the game falls short. The text and graphics are somewhat generic. Knowing how fun this game is, the quality of graphics should live up to the quality of gameplay.

It would also be nice to visualize the heroes and monsters. If cartoon characters of a wizard, knight, adventurer, etc could be put into the game, that would immerse the player even more.

PROS

• Very responsive touch controls.
• Being able to see how much damage you will deal. This prevents you from overextending damage and wasting puzzle pieces.
• Addictive and fun gameplay of a match three game with character and dungeon progression.

CONS

• Audio that I wanted to turn off most of the time.
• The need to make online play more attractive.
• Graphics leave something to be desired.

Overall, the Dungeon Story is very fun regardless of the few flaws. Pantazis Deligiannis Games is already planning its next update to the game which includes updated fonts, new battle strategies, a new dungeon, and new quests and rewards. As long as they continue to listen to fans and provide updates, Dungeon Story will remain one of my favorite iOS games.

Purchase Dungeon Story from the App Store here.

The post Dungeon Story Game Review appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The original Nintendo 3DS hasn’t been quite as big a hit as Nintendo had hoped, so they’re coming forward with a supersized version called the Nintendo 3DS XL. This is essentially the same thing that they did by following the Nintendo DSi with the Nintendo DSi XL. The bigger version of the 3DS essentially has the same guts, but it gets 90% bigger screens for 18% more money.

Set to retail for $199.99 when it ships August 19, the Nintendo 3DS XL will have a 4.88-inch display on top and a 4.18-inch touchscreen below. It still has the three cameras (two in the back for 3D), just the one analog stick (or analog “slider,” if you prefer), and the same Wi-Fi connectivity. Is it worth the $30 premium over the regular smaller 3DS that you already didn’t buy?

Check out the official Nintendo Direct video announcing the 3DS XL, featuring Reggie Fils-Aime himself, on the Nintendo website.

The post Nintendo 3DS XL Gets 90% Bigger Screens for $199 appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

There have been dozens of controller accessories that add gamepad functionality to Android and iOS, but honestly, none of these have done much more than become simple novelties. Some of the more arcade style controllers have done okay, but again, none  have become ‘must have’ accessories. Now, comes yet another accessory called Power A’s Moga. So what makes this Moga any different than some of the others out there? First off, it has quite an extensive amount of supporters behind it, such as Gameloft, Namco Bandai, SEGA, Atari and many others. Another reason why it is different is that it is a full system with its own development software and uses a special MOGA Pivot app to gather up all possibly supported titles into one spot.

Some of the games that are ready to be certified to work with the Moga include Six-Guns, Dungeon Hunter 3, Painkiller: Purgatory HD, Duke Nukem 3D, Sky Gamblers: Rise of Glory, PAC-MAN, Virtua Tennis Challenge, Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode II, Atari’s Greatest Hits (including Centipede, Asteroids and Battlezone) and many others.

For the moment, MOGA will only work with Android 2.3+ or higher and not iOS, though if it does well you can pretty much guarantee it will make its way offer to that platform as well. So does MOGA really stand a chance? The jury is still out. Many gamers say there is a reason that these accessories don’t work out, and that’s because mobile games are met for quick playing and touch. If you want a full gaming experience, they have handheld consoles for a reason. While the MOGA looks pretty impressive, it still remains unseen as to whether or not it will really manage making an impact in the smartphone gaming world or not.  We’ll find out more at the upcoming E3.

[ source ]

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For a while now the impressive Samsung Series 7 gaming laptop has been available for European customers, finally, its heading stateside with a few upgrades and tweaks along the way.

The system is a bit bulky, but it is somewhat expected for something packing this much power. The Series 7 Gamer is powered by a third-gen Core i7 (Ivy Bridge) CPU, 2GB of dedicated video RAM, and even a 2TB HDD and Blu-Ray thrown in the mix.

Featuring a 2.1 speaker setup that includes a built-in subwoofer and a unique knob that switches between power modes that clock-up the machine for gaming, or slows it down a bit for running cooler, quieter, and more eco-friendly. There will even be a 3D model option as well.

The Series 7 Gamer laptop will start at $1799 when the system hits shelves in April. For those looking for a great gaming and multimedia machine to replace that desktop, the Series 7 looks like a pretty solid choice.

[ source ]

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Playing games on the iPhone has always been a great experience. But I always felt that a company could launch a sweet controller that attaches to the phone to give you a better feel for the game and also enhancing the experience. This desire of mine has now been fulfilled. A product called “iControlPad” for the iPhone and other touchscreen smartphones has been released. It’s a hardware gamepad designed to clamp on to your device adding a Digital Dpad, 2 analog nubs, 6 face buttons and 2 rear buttons.. The way this connects to your phone is via Bluetooth. The unit has a 1500mAH battery, which is charged using USB. To get the full experience on the iPhone you will need to be jailbroken, Android is fine as it is. But don’t fear, it also works on un-jailbroken iPhone’s as well.

Current side clamps support:
iPhone 3, iPhone 3G, iPhone, iPhone 3GS, iPhone4, iPod touch (some require padding), Motorola Backflip (needs padding), Lg Optimus S, Lg Ally, Blackberry Touch, Samsung Intercept (may require adjustment), HTC Dream, T-Mobile G1, Era G1.

Furthermore, any phones which are a similar size may fit, you might have to make your own adjustments to the iCP clamps to match.

The iControlPad will cost you $75 dollars with sides, you can add other sides at $15 if you wan’t it to work with multiple devices. Alone the iControlPad costs $60 and it ships in February.

[iControlPad]

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As great a platform as iOS may be for all kinds of casual games, the touchscreen interface just doesn’t give the same kind of experience that a real joystick can provide. The JOYSTICK-IT iPad Arcade JoyStick from ThinkGeeek that came out at CES is now shipping.

The idea is obvious enough. You stick these retro-looking thumbsticks onto your tablet and you can play games like Pac-Man to your heart’s content. It’s a solid aluminum joystick, so the idea is that it’s lightweight but robust. Naturally, there are no batteries involved.

It doesn’t provide the tactile feedback for the virtual buttons, but at least you have the joystick part of the equation going on. A single stick sells for $25, or you can get the double-pack for $40. And they just started shipping. It’s not quite as crazy as the iCade for iPad, but it’s also a lot cheaper and much more portable. Stay tuned for a review soon.

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