Author Archives: Chris Morris

App review: Jenga

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Jenga doesn’t seem a natural fit for an app, but NaturalMotion does a terrific job of building an electronic version of this classic — thanks in large part to its terrific physics engine, which causes the blocks to react as they would in the real world. Is it more fun than the game you play with friends around a table? No. But it’s as close as you can come. The pass and play mode is the best mode — since playing Jenga alone isn’t a fulfilling experience. And the new arcade mode, with colors and a timer, is a great spin on the single player game that makes it fun to play when you’re alone. Game Center functionality or some other way to play with friends who aren’t in the immedate room would have been welcome, but at its core, this is a terrific game.

Read more at Common Sense Media


App review: Homerun Battle 3D

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Homerun Battle 3D doesn’t have a license from Major League Baseball and doesn’t need one. The focus on hitting balls deep into the stands and the number of perks you can get with special balls — such as gold ones, which let you alter your appearance when you’ve hit enough homeruns with them — make this a great combination of arcade and role playing. The multiplayer mode is safe and a showcase of how matchmaking should be. The only downside is there’s no way to transfer your player’s progress between the iPad HD version and the separate iPhone and iPod Touch version — meaning you not only have to pay twice, all the work you put into the game on one platform won’t help you on another.

Read more at Common Sense Media


App review: Braveheart HD

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Braveheart HD might have high aspirations to mimic some of the great “point and click” role-playing games on the market, but it’s ultimately a one-note game. Enemies charge blindly at you and you mow them down, moving around the screen from time to time to pick up experience, health, or cash. While the game boasts 10 different weapons, there’s very little discernible difference in how they’re used on screen. The interstitial cartoon panels between levels end up being the best part of the game — and that’s not something worth paying for.

Read more at Common Sense Media

Game consoles increasingly serving non-gaming purposes

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While the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii are still game machines first and foremost, they’re increasingly being used for other forms of entertainment.

A new survey by Nielsen finds that non-gaming functionality is on the rise among console owners – and among PS3 owners, it even surpasses the time spent playing games.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Does Kinect Make Microsoft A Better Investment?

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With backings by Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and just about every gift guide the media has written, Kinect for the Xbox 360 has become the “must have” gift of the 2010 holiday season.

The motion capture device has sold more than 2.5 million units since its Nov. 4 launch and Microsoft seems well on pace to meet its sales target of 5 million before the end of the calendar year. But do those sales mean it’s time to buy Microsoft shares?

Read more at CNBC.com

Analysis: Are Spike TV’s VGAs Good For Gaming?

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[Analyzing the weekend’s Spike TV Video Game Awards, Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris reveals this year’s dwindling ratings for the show — despite “minimal signs of improvement” in quality and diversity.]

It wouldn’t be the holidays if the gaming world wasn’t in an uproar about U.S. cable channel Spike TV’s Video Game Awards. For the eighth consecutive year, the network has raised the ire of industry gadflys and gamers, who feel the show does more to set back video games than celebrate them.

Ratings for the VGAs are never spectacular. This year’s installment, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, attracted 627,000 viewers, according to Nielsen. That’s 20,000 fewer than last year and marks the fourth consecutive year of declines. Since 2007, ratings for the show have fallen 32 percent.

Read more at Gamasutra

How did Spike’s VGAs do ratings-wise?

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The annual Video Game Awards show in Spike TV is always a divisive event in the gaming community. While publishers enjoy the publicity of a glitzy television extravaganza, gamers tend to grind their teeth in rage, upset with how the show presents the industry.

This year’s show – broadcast Saturday the 11th – boasted Neil Patrick Harris as host and some solid choices for winners. (“Red Dead Redemption” took Game of the Year honors.) But was it able to attract an audience?

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

EA to release another “Dead Space” animated movie

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“Dead Space 2” is going transmedia.

The upcoming game from EA – set for release Jan. 25 – will be accompanied by an animated film made in conjunction with Anchor Bay Entertainment. Dubbed “Dead Space Aftermath,” the direct-to-video release will feature work by several animation directors and features a voice cast that includes Christopher Judge (from “Stargate: SG-1” and Graham McTavish (who will be in the upcoming film “The Hobbit”).

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

 

‘World of Warcraft’ expansion sales sizzle

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The latest expansion to Activision Blizzard’s “World of Warcraft” franchise has sold more copies in 24 hours than many games sell throughout the course of their lives.

More than 3.3 million people around the world bought “World of Warcraft: Cataclysm” in its first day of availability — making it the fastest-selling PC game of all time, according to the publisher.

Read more at Daily Variety

 

The Money Making Game #3: Is OnLive the Next Big Thing?

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We certainly have no problem getting caught up in the fun of playing games, but the people who create them have their pocketbooks to worry about, too. In this column, finance expert and GameSpy contributor Chris Morris guides you through the tricky corridors the gaming industry’s financial side, touching on big-time business decisions and how they matter to the common gamer.

OnLive’s initial announcement of its self-titled, gaming-on-demand service prompted a lot of skepticism. With vaporware services like Phantom still fresh on the brain, gamers didn’t trust the company’s claims of immediate streaming and strong publisher support.

Even the inclusion of CEO Steve Perlman — who previously led development on the technology behind QuickTime and founded WebTV — didn’t do much to lower eyebrows about the project. Infinium Labs’ Phantom, you’ll recall, had Xbox co-founder Kevin Bachus running the show.

Read more at GameSpy