Trenches: Generals — a 
remake and upgrade of the iPhone Trenches game — certainly makes good use of the iPad’s screen size, but it comes with control issues that detract from the fun. And the complicated nature of the game further hurts it. Moving troops around is fairly easy at the beginning of a battle, but once they’re assembled in a trench, they huddle together, making it hard to select an individual soldier. And when you’re trying to upgrade that trench to a bunker, that can be critical. Also, the game has a decent tutorial, but ramps up the difficulty quickly, which will alienate newcomers to the strategy genre.
Monthly Archives: August 2011
Followers For Sale: Buying Your Way to Twitter Fame
Got $500? If so, 
you could be a very popular person on Twitter.
While the social network can be a powerful platform to build brands and reputations, building up a network of followers takes time – even for the famous and powerful. But for some impatient users, it’s easier to simply take a shortcut and buy followers.
EA Sports debuts ‘Season Ticket’ subscription plan
Fans of EA Sports games 
tend to be a dedicated lot, but now the publisher is launching a program that will help it find the most dedicated.
The company’s just-unveiled Season Ticket program will give die-hard fans the chance to get a three-day head start on new versions of Madden, FIFA, Tiger Woods, NHL and NCAA Football games as well as discounts on any downloadable content.
But that access comes with a price – and a catch.
Who’s cutting the cord – and where do they live?
There’s plenty of talk 
about cord cutting these days – the idea that people can cancel their cable subscriptions and still view most (or all) of their favorite programming. There’s not a lot of talk, though, on where it’s taking place.
The answer, it seems, is Dallas, Texas.
Opinion: Why The Diablo III Backlash Got Overheated
[Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris 
examines the backlash from this week’s controversial Diablo III news, stating Blizzard “doesn’t make decisions rashly” and those vowing boycotts “are blowing smoke.”]
Amid all the wailing and gnashing of teeth over Monday’s Diablo III announcement, I have to admit I saw things a bit differently.
Between the kerfuffle over the always-connected DRM, the decision to disallow modding and the real money auctions, players didn’t even blink when the company all but announced that the game wouldn’t be out this year. Those same people were the ones who just a week ago were seriously jonesing for the chance to get repetitive stress injuries from the non-stop clicking.
EA CEO pooh-poohs 3D
There might be a lot of 
executives touting the benefits of 3D gaming these days, but don’t expect Electronic Arts’ John Riccitiello to join the pep squad anytime soon.
The CEO of the industry’s second largest publisher gave his take on the technology in a recent conference call with shareholders – and he was anything but bullish.
J.K. Rowling’s Pottermore now accepting enrollments
Turns out that 
Hogwarts isn’t an easy school to get into.
Pottermore, J.K. Rowling’s interactive Website for fans of her Harry Potter series (as well as the only place to buy eBook versions of the tomes, began the search for its first million members over the weekend – and the competition is tight.
Despite backlash, Ubisoft calls its DRM a success
Ubisoft’s first attempts at battling piracy 
did not go smoothly – to say the least. But that’s not stopping the publisher from trying to use them again.
The company, in 2010, instituted a DRM (digital rights management) program that required players to remain online as they played a PC game. The concept was simple: Any interruption in service resulted in players being booted from the game, simultaneously erasing any progress since the last save. After getting feedback from a lot of angry fans (and weathering a denial of service attack that made games like Assassin’s Creed II and Silent Hunter V unplayable for days), the company put the strategy on ice last February.
Blizzard unveils Diablo 3 beta and game details
First, the bad news: It’s looking less 
and less likely that Diablo 3 will be on store shelves by the end of the year. But if it’s any consolation, should the game slip to 2012, it looks like it won’t be too far into the calendar year.
Blizzard has unveiled a slew of information about its hotly anticipated RPG clickfest – and while fans are enthusiastically embracing some of what the developer had to say, they’re pretty upset about other parts.
Chris Morris: Journalist 