Anonymous, 
the hacker group behind a rash of massive security breaches, might be turning its attention back to Sony.
In the fading days of 2011, the loosely collected group released a YouTube video expressing its outrage at Sony’s support of SOPA, a controversial piece of legislation aiming to curtail online piracy. That’s got some people concerned, since the last time Sony and Anonymous clashed, it opened the doors for the largest data breach in online history.
OLED – or 
organic light-emitting diode – has been one of the longest running legends in consumer technology.
The screens, which are incredibly vibrant and accurate in their color technology, have been shown as prototypes, usually just no larger than 15 inches, but release dates have always been nebulous, due to the incredibly high cost of the technology. LG, however, appears ready to jump in at this year’s CES.
It may never be accused of being a deep game, but NFL Flick Quarterback is a supremely entertaining title that is sure to please. The objective is simple: Make increasingly accurate passes and trick shots to rise through the ranks. There’s very little strategy, but it also gives casual football fans a chance to play a licensed game featuring their favorite team without having to stress over calling the wrong play.
The visuals are fantastic. The trivia bits interspersed throughout the game are interesting. And none of the play modes is a clunker. It’s a terrific time waster — and we mean that in the kindest way possible.
While the actual 
football game in NFL Pro 2012 is done quite well, the intrusive and obvious push to convince people to buy game credits overshadows the work of the development team. Locking out basic offensive plays (like a Hail Mary pass) in a relatively shallow playbook underscores the commercial nature of the game and is always jarring. And locking out teams once the player has picked one is a major annoyance (especially if you accidentally pick the wrong team during setup).
That’s a shame, since the game is good looking and, while not as deep as other NFL apps, still has its fun moments. The controls are a bit too complicated and sometimes sluggish, but nothing that’s unforgivable. Ultimately, though, the incessant nagging by the app becomes too overbearing and will likely chase away most players.
Let’s be very 
clear: Grand Theft Auto III is not — and will never be — a game for kids. The language, violence, and overt sexuality in it are entirely inappropriate for anyone under 17. Adult gamers who pick it up and enjoy action games that push the envelope will find it to be a captivating experience, however.
The game, now 10 years old, makes a very smooth transition to the iOS world, not changing its controversial gameplay, whose content sometimes overshadowed its groundbreaking achievements in the gaming world. The open world aspects of the game still shine through — and the details that made the original so compelling are here as well. The control structure is a little too complicated, though, since there are so many actions to choose from. It clutters the screen on an iPad and truly overwhelms an iPhone or iPod Touch. And the aiming system isn’t as advanced as newer titles by Rockstar. It would have been nice to see that updated a tad. Despite the flaws, it’s still a momentous game and one of the deepest in the app store catalog for mature gamers. For $5, it’s a steal.
After playing 
Battle Nations for a few minutes, you’ll quickly wish this wasn’t a free app. The game is fun, even with its hit-and-miss humor and extended narrative, but if you choose not to buy “nanopods” via in-app purchase (which can run up to $50), you’ll quickly get frustrated by how long it takes to get things done. It’s a frustrating financial play that comes at the expense of the game’s fun factor — and could have been avoided with a free and paid version of the app.
That’s a shame, since the game itself is put together well. Resource gathering is well-done and the battles are well-designed. Even the characters are fairly engaging (for the most part). And the inclusion of a multiplayer mode gives the game extra life once you grow tired of (or finish) the single player campaign.
Activision has 
made billions of dollars off the Call of Duty franchise, but if more games were like Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies, this is a series that would have died off long ago. The game is average, at best, blending the series’ shooter roots with a sci-fi/horror themed zombie mode. And while that’s a fun mix on consoles, it falls flat here, with less-than-inspiring gameplay, complicated controls, and no real sense of originality.
Diehard fans of the series might enjoy it, especially the multiplayer modes, but newcomers will wonder what all the hype is about.
The gladiator setting 
of Blood & Glory (not to mention the app’s title) should be fair warning to parents that this is not a game for little kids. But for adults and older teens who play, this is a fairly well done fighting game. It attempts to tread the path blazed by Infinity Blade, though discards any semblance of story, reducing it to a series of fights.
This would be fine, except the game continually ramps up the difficulty, but your skills don’t advance at the same pace. This puts you in a position of essentially being forced to buy in-game credits to upgrade your skills or weapons (or suffer hours upon hours of defeats to slowly build the skills and earn the credits through gameplay). If you’re willing to spend the money (or walk away when you reach that point) it’s a fine choice. But if painting yourself into that corner is a frustration point, pick up a copy of Infinity Blade (or its recent sequel) instead.
[From First Amendment 
rights to high-quality games, 2011 was a great year for video games. But not everything was rainbows and unicorns. Gamasutra’s Chris Morris looks at some of the year’s low points.]
2011 was a great year for gaming. There’s really no debating that.
After years of being a political pinata, it finally received indisputable First Amendment protections. It had one of the strongest title lineups in recent memory. And new types of interactive entertainment started to show signs of maturity.
But into every life — or year, in this case — a little rain must fall. Here are five things we really wish had been handled better (or differently) this year:
Tiny Tower is a 
darned cute game. Mixing old school pixilated art and smart gameplay mechanics, it is a very enjoyable simulation game that brings the original SimTower game to mind. The game smartly balances tending to the needs of its “Bitizens” and the economic aspects. But by utilizing the in-app purchase model, it hits problems.
While nothing goes haywire with the game if you choose not to spend real-world cash to buy in-game bux, the game will progress slowly, as finances don’t build up quickly naturally. It’s still possible to enjoy the game without spending real-world cash, but you’ll need to be patient — plan to close the app and come back to it when you get an alert.
Chris Morris: Journalist 