Standing up for the First Amendment with 1 for All

In the United States, our lives would be unrecognizable without the First Amendment. Every time you search, tweet, blog, pray (or not), gripe about your government, gather with your friends online or off, upload a video, read a newspaper or send an email to your member of Congress, you’re enjoying the rights it guarantees:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

We’re celebrating the First Amendment on the 1st of July by joining news organizations, artists, librarians, lawyers, educators and many others in supporting 1 for All, a national campaign to teach Americans about the source of these fundamental freedoms. From now through July 25, you can show your support for the First Amendment by submitting a 30-second video that demonstrates your freedom to speak, rock or assemble. The best videos will be featured on YouTube, on TV and at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

At a time when restrictions on speech are increasing around the globe, we think it’s essential to remind ourselves that we can’t take freedom of expression for granted. Get informed, get involved and stand up with us for the First on the 1st.

Posted by David Drummond, SVP, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer

Bob Dudley, Chief Executive for BP Response, answers your questions about the oil spill

(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog)

It’s been 71 days since the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, causing the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Since then, we’ve used our platforms to make sure that people can watch and participate in real time, access all the latest information on the crisis and response and share concerns through various programs and initiatives.

Now we’re teaming up with PBS NewsHour to take you to BP headquarters in Houston for an exclusive interview with Bob Dudley, President and CEO of BP’s Gulf Coast Restoration Organization. In a live session moderated by the PBS NewsHour’s Ray Suarez, Mr. Dudley will respond directly to your questions.



Now is your chance to ask BP questions on accountability, the clean-up plan, recovery efforts in the Gulf Region, environmental impact, the status of the relief well drilling, the role of the U.S. government, the future of offshore drilling and of BP as a company.

Using Google Moderator on youtube.com/citizentube, submit your questions and vote the best ones to the top. Then join us for the live interview tomorrow, Thursday, July 1, at 3:30 pm ET/12:30 pm PT on CitizenTube. Portions of the interview will also be aired Thursday evening on the PBS NewsHour and available on YouTube.

Early on, we partnered with NewsHour to bring you a live stream of the oil gushing into the waters of the Gulf. On June 15, we streamed President Obama’s Oval Office address on the oil spill crisis on CitizenTube. After the President’s speech, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs answered questions submitted by YouTube users, who cast nearly 200,000 votes to select the top questions from 7,000+ submitted.

We hope that these various opportunities to engage and participate in a current event help you and fellow citizens stay more informed and have your voice heard.

Posted by Olivia Ma, YouTube News Manager and Ginny Hunt, Google Public Sector Manager

Extra! Extra! Google News redesigned to be more customizable and shareable

There’s an old saying that all news is local. But all news is personal too—we connect with it in different ways depending on our interests, where we live, what we do and a lot of other factors. Today we’re revamping the Google News homepage with several changes designed to make the news that you see more relevant to you. We’re also trying to better highlight interesting stories you didn’t know existed and to make it easier for you to share stories through social networks.

Before:

After:

The new heart of the homepage is something we call “News for you”: a stream of headlines automatically tailored to your interests. You can help us get it right by using the “Edit personalization” box to specify how much you’re interested in Business, Health, Entertainment, Sports or any subject you want to add (whether it’s the Supreme Court, the World Cup or synthetic biology). You can choose to view the stories by Section view or List view, and reveal more headlines by hovering over the headline with your mouse. We’ll remember your preferences each time you log in. If you don’t want customized Google News, hit “Reset personalization" to clear all personalization preferences. If you haven't previously customized and would prefer not to, simply close the “Edit personalization” box. You can always go back and change it later.

To give you more control over the news that you see, we’re now allowing you to choose which news sources you’d like to see more or less often. You can do so in News Settings. These sources will rank higher or lower for you (but not for anyone else) in Google News search results and story clusters. We’ve also added keyboard shortcuts for easier navigation, like in Gmail or Google Reader. When you’re in Google News, hit the question mark key to pop up a full list of shortcuts.

There are the subjects that interest you and then there’s the major news of the day. To make it easy for you to find the big stories like Hurricane Alex, we’re adding links to topics that many outlets are covering. You’ll find these topics in the Top Stories section on the left side of the homepage as well as in linked keywords above headlines. Clicking on a topic link takes you to a list of related coverage that you can add to your news stream. You can change your preferences any time in “Edit personalization.”


We’re also more prominently displaying the Spotlight section, which features stories of more lasting interest than breaking news and has been one of our most popular sections since we introduced it last fall. And then there’s local news; we’re now highlighting weather and headlines about your city or neighborhood in their own section, which you can edit with whichever location you want to follow.

Finally, you can now easily share story clusters with other people via Buzz, Reader, Facebook or Twitter. Just select the drop-down menu marked by an arrow on the top-right of each story cluster. In the drop-down, you can also choose to see more or less of the first news source.


The redesigned Google News homepage is rolling out today in the English-language edition in the U.S., and we plan to expand it to all editions in the coming months. We’re making the ability to choose which sources you’ll see more or less often available in all English-language editions worldwide and plan to expand it soon. For more information about these changes, check out the video below or visit our Help Center.

Posted by Kevin Stolt, Software Engineer

A Search Story for the dog days of summer

This is part of our summer series of new Search Stories. Look for the label Search Stories and subscribe to the series. -Ed.

When I first brought my dog Yoshka with me to work, I didn’t expect he would go on to become a part of our company history and help inspire our dog-friendly culture. At Google, any employee can bring their dog to work, and it’s rare that I reach my desk in the morning without seeing a pup or two on the way. All these dogs—my own and those I meet around campus—seem to possess that uncanny canine ability to bring a smile to my face. I hope this week’s Search Story, Dog, will do the same for you.



Visit www.youtube.com/searchstories to check out the whole collection, or to create your own story.

Yoshka

Posted by Urs Hoelzle, Senior Vice President, Operations & Google Fellow

Race to the finish line in a flash

We recently released a new version of our Google Chrome browser with Adobe Flash Player built in, automatically bringing you the latest and greatest updates. To celebrate, we teamed up with a few creative folks to make Chrome FastBall, a Flash-based game built for YouTube. Want to race?


Complete various games to get the shiny chrome ball to the finish line in the shortest possible time. (So far, the fastest time on the Chrome team is 1 minute, 20 seconds.)

Try your luck with Chrome FastBall, and if you haven’t taken Chrome for a test drive yet, download the newest stable release of the browser at google.com/chrome.

Update 7:20PM: All technical issues have been resolved now, so you can enjoy the game. Thanks for your patience!
Update 9:22AM: Due to the overwhelming response to the game, some things aren't quite working as we hoped due to server-side overloading. Please forgive the maintenance work as we get the game back up again. Thanks!

Posted by Jeff Chang, Product Manager

Thinky stuff: Review scores

This blog is just a little over a year old. A feat in itself as I've always dropped off interest after a short while, with many of my older blogs. But I love this blog because I get to objectively and honestly talk about the thing I love most, video games.

I've done a number of reviews over the year and hope to keep writing some more, but I've always had trouble giving an objective score. Sometimes my write-up might portray a game in an average to poor light but the score reflects something higher than that. Or so I have been informed by friends a few times.

This is normally what I do with scoring: I compare how the game fares in individual categories (i.e. graphics, gameplay, sound) to other video games like it. But I came to realize that the final score may not even be the best reflection of my opinion on the game. Also, I know there will be those who skip to the end of my review just to see what score I gave it. I'd rather people take the time to read the words I've slaved over which not only shows appreciation for my work, but will do the game justice.

I was reading several interesting articles about review scoring (here, here, and here) and how even the most reputable gaming websites don't use the full 1 - 10 scoring range, instead employing a more skewed-towards-niceness 6 - 10 range. Some see 7/10 as a really decent score, a game still worth playing, although in my mind, that number represents a game that your time should not be wasted on unless there really is nothing else to play. And 6, well that's shite. But it's still confusing though; I never use 1 - 5 because subconsciously, I'm thinking as long as a game is playable, it should get above a 6. Rock Paper Shotgun on the other hand doesn't give scores on their reviews because 1. it's confusing and 2. they believe they aren't the be-all, end-all authority worthy of giving final scores.

Hence, I believe I shall take the same approach from here-on out. If you visit my blog now, you will notice that all my reviews have had their scores removed. I want to encourage people to read my words, and I want to be honest that I am not well-positioned or experienced enough to be giving scores. Furthermore, it takes a huge weight off my shoulders because scoring a game, truly is like making the final word on it. And that's a heck load of responsibility.

You have no idea how many nights I'd worry about the latest games I'd scored, whether or not it was spot on with the game's worth. But all that's over now with this change. I'm glad because it also means my blog is growing in maturity.

Brown University has gone Google

(Cross-posted with the Google Enterprise Blog)

From time to time we invite guests to blog about initiatives of interest, and are very pleased to have Geoff Greene join us here. Geoff is the Director of IT Support Services at Brown University, and here he shares an update on their campus-wide migration to Google Apps for Education for all students, staff and faculty. - Ed.

About a year ago we put our 6,000 undergraduate students on Google Apps. The results were phenomenal: people were happy, they were productive, they were excited...and then some people got jealous. Our faculty and staff members started coming to us asking “When do we get to go Google?” Turns out they also wanted access to the same tools to better connect and engage with students and with each other.

We thought about it for a bit and realized that they had a point. So we decided to bring the entire Brown University community together—faculty, staff, medical and grad students—with a common set of tools: Google Apps for Education. This summer, our Computing & Information Services team is in the process of migrating everyone to our new GoogleApps@Brown system. The positive experience our undergrads have had using the Apps suite helped our Provost David Kertzer decide that the change would bring significant benefits and cost savings to the university as a whole. In fact, we predict this change could save us somewhere around $1 million each year.

Our students were really the ones that led us down the Google path. They knew these tools would work because they already used them in their non-school lives. We also decided to go this direction because of the functionalities that we believe will bring our university together, namely tools like collaborative documents, better email (with nearly 30 times the storage space we had with our previous system!) and video chat.

The icing on the cake is that we signed a zero dollar contract for all these top-notch tools. But it’s not just about saving money—it’s also about investing in our university’s future. Google Apps helps us work better together, and we can feel the excitement building on campus as a result. Here’s a little glimpse:



Since some faculty and staff members aren’t as familiar with the new tools just yet, we also hosted a “roadshow” to spread the word and gear up training sessions tailored for each campus group or department. Our training efforts are robust (you can check it out at training.brown.edu) and we have Google Guides—enthusiastic staff and student volunteers—helping their peers with the transition. We feel confident that once people start using these tools together, they’ll never look back.

Posted by Geoff Greene, Brown University Computing & Information Services

An update on China

Update July 9:
We are very pleased that the government has renewed our ICP license and we look forward to continuing to provide web search and local products to our users in China.

(original post)
Ever since we launched Google.cn, our search engine for mainland Chinese users, we have done our best to increase access to information while abiding by Chinese law. This has not always been an easy balance to strike, especially since our January announcement that we were no longer willing to censor results on Google.cn.

We currently automatically redirect everyone using Google.cn to Google.com.hk, our Hong Kong search engine. This redirect, which offers unfiltered search in simplified Chinese, has been working well for our users and for Google. However, it’s clear from conversations we have had with Chinese government officials that they find the redirect unacceptable—and that if we continue redirecting users our Internet Content Provider license will not be renewed (it’s up for renewal on June 30). Without an ICP license, we can’t operate a commercial website like Google.cn—so Google would effectively go dark in China.

That’s a prospect dreaded by many of our Chinese users, who have been vocal about their desire to keep Google.cn alive. We have therefore been looking at possible alternatives, and instead of automatically redirecting all our users, we have started taking a small percentage of them to a landing page on Google.cn that links to Google.com.hk—where users can conduct web search or continue to use Google.cn services like music and text translate, which we can provide locally without filtering. This approach ensures we stay true to our commitment not to censor our results on Google.cn and gives users access to all of our services from one page.

Over the next few days we’ll end the redirect entirely, taking all our Chinese users to our new landing page—and today we re-submitted our ICP license renewal application based on this approach.

As a company we aspire to make information available to users everywhere, including China. It’s why we have worked so hard to keep Google.cn alive, as well as to continue our research and development work in China. This new approach is consistent with our commitment not to self censor and, we believe, with local law. We are therefore hopeful that our license will be renewed on this basis so we can continue to offer our Chinese users services via Google.cn.

Posted by David Drummond, SVP, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer

Review: Singularity

The Time Manipulation Device!!!! The Triple-threat Monstrosity Destructomachine!!! Or the TMD for short, is a device that will make a game more super duper than it is!!!!

That's what Raven Software thought when they were done making Wolfenstein and wondering what they should do next. Singularity is that outcome. It's kinda' alright, it's nothing spectacular but its got a nifty glove device that I would totally not use to rule the world.

---

It took my friend one quick look over my shoulder as I played Singularity, to make a genius statement about the game. In that one look, he managed to deduce that the game took all the best shit of other video games and then made you enjoy it all over again, except not nearly as exciting as when you played them the first time round. Here's a list of games that I figured Singularity stole from (and also one TV show):

1. Half-Life 1, 2 + episodes
There's a chick in Singularity that's like a British version of Alyx. There's a massive vortex beaming down some crazy light-show from the sky. And scientists doing something bad to let out some tentacular plant monstrosities from some other dimension. There's also a gravity tool in there that lets you lift barrels and stuff. Your character only ever speaks once. Most of the time, it's like people are talking to a wall. 'Cept, no one does the wall-thing better than Gordon Freeman.

2. Bioshock/Aliens versus Predators/Dead Space
Secretive location where some special experiment stuff is going down? Check. An almost other-world hiding from the rest of humanity? Check. Audio tapes that explains everything to players, thinking that we are seriously giving a shit about what happened to some random people before they got eaten by monsters? Check. Oh yeah, nearly forgot, MONSTERS. Check. Hubs to upgrade weapons and abilities? Check. Weapons and abilities on-the-fly switcheroo? Super duper check.

3. Fear/Killzone
Foot soldier enemies wearing masks and are maybe bio-engineered or not, but definitely soulless, who also get eaten by monsters. Random ally early on that dies immediately unsympathetically.


4. C&C: Red Alert
Dude, the Russians are at it again. Why is it always the Russians messing around where they aren't supposed to? Especially with time. They just have to play around with going back and forth in time don't they? Like they are just so bored with the present. Also, why can't it be like the Africans? Or the Singaporeans? Why do we always have to shoot them Russians? Or Germans? Or North Koreans? Give them a break already.

5. Twin Sector
This is an indie release, so not many may have heard of it, but it's like you use a glove that can manipulate objects through space (AND MAYBE TIME?!? I don't know, never played Twin Sector). Sounds familiar? Oh, I wonder where I put the TMD? Certainly not on my nether regions.

6. Lost
What the f-!!? you exclaim. A TV show is in this!?? Yeah (if you're still watching this kickass series, you may not want to read this next part. Super duper spoiler). There's a seriously mega Lost steal/reference in there to the magic wheel that Linus turns before being puked back into the real world. In Singularity, you can't interact with it, it just sits there at the bottom of some cavern, the wheel half-sticking out glowing. And the whole time travel thing. Although that's not specifically just a Lost steal.

Okay, so Singularity. The premise is simple. Russians have found a fictitious new element called e99 (yeah, I forgot to say: turn off your disbelief) that when harnessed, can control time. But those power-hungry mofos screw things up and rip a rift in time and space itself. So after the bad shit's gone down on a mysterious island that you've stumbled/crash on (Bioshock again), it's your job (it always is) to rectify the problem. And you do so with a device that can occasionally time travel, reverse or increase the age of an object, turn monsters to goo, pick up objects and best of all, make bubbles that near-freeze enemies to a slow-crawl.


The first person shooting works decently. There is some interesting variety of weapons but you'll soon find yourself sticking to one favorite and maxing the shit out of it. For me, that's the chain gun and it sure as hell rips the limbs off humans and monsters alike. There's a lot of combat, and some of the monsters require just a little more thinking and juggling of weaponry and abilities to tackle. But nothing gets pass the time bubble. Let me explain.

The TMD has an assortment of abilities that you can utilize in combat and puzzling. Like aging enemies into dust, a force push thing, and the time bubble. Unfortunately not all abilities are explored to their full potential. I found myself sticking to the time bubble in every combat situation. Basically, you throw one at the ground and enemies caught within its radius move much slower. Like seriously not moving at all. Then all you have to do is walk up to them, shoot some lead into their stationary heads, and walk out. Then when the bubble closes, watch as the enemies flop dead instantly. TOO EASY. I'm just surprised they didn't throw in Prince of Persia's rewind mechanic just to be safe. Imagine: enemies running backwards, bullets going back into guns, except for mine which will still pew pew the enemy dead. It'll look helluva funny.

The devs could have figured out a way to make the other abilities just as fun or encourage their uses more. Aging locks and safes to dust so I can get at the contents, or reverse-aging power outlets so they work again is fine but nothing spectacular after doing it for the hundredth time. Also, make combat more challenging. Sure, enemies take cover and are good shots, but when you give me super powers or a sniper rifle that can actually slow time whilst I'm scoping, or a gun that lets me control a single bullet in flight to hit my targets every time, well then I'm superman.


I do like that they kept with the concept of time throughout the game quite well. You'll be sent into the past without warning, and it's interesting to watch levels that were decrepit in the present return to their former glory. Ghosts become tangible. But most importantly, the story plays with the idea of fate and paradoxes. I don't want to spoil it too much because if I do, then there isn't anything left interesting to compel you to play this game.

There's a twist at the end and MULTIPLE ENDINGS *gasp*. Oh yeah, I forgot, that's another Bioshock thing. However, whereas in Bioshock 2, all the actions you take throughout the game led to one of many possible endings, the ending you get in Singularity is dependent upon just one decision-making sequence. I feel it's a little contrite to have multiple endings if the entire game you've just played up till then has no impact on the ending you get. Just leaving it till the end for you to make your choice is too simplistic, and shows under-appreciation for multiple endings as a concept in video games.

Up to now, I've mentioned how the game's concepts are heavily influenced by Bioshock. If Raven Software really were going to do a Bioshockian adventure though, one thing that they could have developed further, was the intrigue on the island. I was genuinely interested, after I crash landed, to find out more about what the hell was going on. Little bits and pieces are fed to you aurally and visually, but instead of maintaining that sense of intrigue, everything about the island was explained and shown to you soon after. This is so that you can concentrate on shooting things to death and subsequently, the game lost that spark.

One thing I didn't like was how a lot of things felt pointless or left unexplained. Like, I understood that humans mutated because of the time rift, but why were there even more massive alien things? Did they come through a portal? And why were there these glowing tentacles that took over the labs? Or really stupid little critters that ran up to you and exploded. I hated those the most. They were annoyingly hard to kill, I died more against those then an army of super soldiers. I wondered why it was included. It had no link whatsoever to the story or the concept.


The graphics is a plus point. Positively crisp and shiny. You can always count on the Unreal Engine to work wonders in making a game more enjoyable. A B-rate title that was worth a look, because, literally, it looked good. Water is wet, walls are shiny, wood is weathered, and people look great. Kudos to Raven Software for making it work in their favor. It's a shame though that the game doesn't have advanced options to increase the resolution beyond 1280x... or fiddle with some detail sliders. That really sucks.

Voice and sound? Nothing out of the ordinary and too many faux Russian accents spoil the broth. The monsters don't even make any noises, and I'm tired of listening to random audio logs that don't actually teach me anything or really have any purpose in the game world other than "fleshing it out". I heard that Dead Space 2 is shaking up the audio log nonsense, by making VIDEO logs. Also, I would actually LOVE a game where you could uncover more mysteries or truths about a world through active engagement to snoop about. As of now, game devs don't want to take the risk of investing too much time in the side dish if players are going to just pass them by completely. Assassin's Creed 2 have to be commended for making it interesting enough to seek out those hidden glyph things.

My final point is this. The game rips all the best ideas of games before it, but that doesn't make the game any less fun. Granted it's a little brainless, but the shooting is decent enough to pass the time with. And the ending is not too retarded. It made me even go "O-M-G" at one point. But if it weren't for the titular TMD, this game would not be worth anybody's time. As of now, I can only recommend it, if it's lying in a bargain bin somewhere and you're waiting, as I am for something epic on the horizon. But to Raven Software: after Wolfenstein and this, I am confident you are one step closer to making something mind-blowing.

Two more states open Google Apps for teachers and students

We recently announced that Oregon is the first state to begin offering Google Apps to public schools. Today, Colorado and Iowa are joining the movement. Google Apps for Education will now be available to more than 3,000 schools across the two states.

These state-wide agreements enable schools and districts to benefit from centralized resources such as deployment support and training materials, paving the way for an easy transition to Google Apps—including Gmail, Docs, Sites, Calendar, Video and Groups—in their classrooms, immediately.

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter said it best: “I’m pleased to see the Statewide Internet Portal Authority (SIPA) continue its tradition of bringing innovative tools to members of the Colorado public. By leveraging the Internet, educators are able to bring new ways of learning to the classroom and connect with students in exciting and challenging ways.” And Brent Siegrist, Director of Iowa Area Education Agencies Services, reflects, “As a former teacher, I can see how these tools will engage students, make the classroom a more vibrant place and allow teachers to work together more collaboratively.”

Saving money is just one reason schools are moving to Apps. Educators and students from JeffCo Public Schools, the largest school district in Colorado with more than 85,000 students, have been using Google Apps to help students collaborate and learn by working together. Teachers in Colorado and Iowa praise the “anytime, anywhere” availability of Google Apps. They’re using the unique online collaboration tools to teach feedback and revision strategies to students, and are even starting to go paperless on a number of assignments.

This week we’re also introducing a set of training solutions for schools to start making the most of Google Apps. We’re also extending the promotion for Google Message Security to allow primary and secondary schools opt-in to the email filtering service free until the end of this year.

If you’d like to learn more, come meet the Google Apps Education Team and some of the teachers using Google Apps in Colorado today, Monday June 28, through Wednesday at the annual ISTE conference. Stop by booth #2536 and take a seat in our teaching theater to learn more about what Google Apps can do for your school. Executive Directory of SIPA John Conley will join us at our Google Block Party after the conference today. We hope you’ll join us to learn more about Colorado’s decision to move to Google Apps.

Posted by Jaime Casap, Google Apps Education Manager

This week in search 6/27/10

This is one of a regular series of posts on search experience updates. Look for the label This week in search and subscribe to the series. - Ed.

Speed is a common theme at Google—the notion of speed is baked into all of our products, from Google Chrome to web search. Often, we also simply develop features that help deliver answers fast. Whether by displaying the exact content you're looking for at the top of your search results page or by optimizing the way you search, many of these speed enhancements save you keystrokes—and time.

This week, we released two new features:

Sunrise and Sunset Search feature
Whether you're looking to find the best time for a morning jog or trying to plan that perfect moment for a wedding proposal, knowing exactly when the sun rises or sets can always be helpful. This week, we were happy to launch a Sunrise and Sunset feature for search. It gives the precise times of sunsets and sunrises for any location around the world. Unlike the weather, sunrises and sunsets are quite predictable, and as a result, we don't use a data source. Instead, we calculate sunrise and sunset times based on latitude, longitude and the current time. This calculation has been of interest to astronomers and mathematicians for millennia, so they’ve had time to get it just right. And for most locations, it’s accurate to within a single minute.


Example searches: [sunrise port jefferson ny] or [sunset cancun]

Google Search by Voice expanded to more languages
Google Search by Voice enables people to search the web faster than ever before—getting you answers with fewer keystrokes. This service was originally launched in English, and was offered in the U.S., U.K., India, Australia and New Zealand. We later introduced Japanese and Mandarin to expand the number of possible users. Just a week ago, we launched the service in French, Italian, German and Spanish. Given that local dialects are a factor in the performance of speech recognition, we first launched our service in the four countries most closely associated with these languages: France, Germany, Italy and Spain. This week we followed with Korean and the launch in Taiwan of Traditional Mandarin.



To get started with Google Search by Voice, visit the Google mobile page in your country's domain (for example, in France go to m.google.fr) and download the application for your phone’s operating system in your locale. You'll find this available for iPhone, Android and Blackberry phones. Ultimately, our goal is to bring Google Search by voice to speakers of all languages, so stay tuned for more announcements here.

We'll see you back here next week for more new announcements.

Posted by Johanna Wright, Director of Product Management, Search

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within V.1.0.8 IPhone IPad and IPod Touch

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within V.1.0.8 IPhone IPad and IPod Touch ! 554 MB


**OPTIMIZED FOR iPHONE 4! High-definition graphics that fully utilize the iPhone 4 Retina display**
*Touchaholics, 10/10: “Prince of Persia: Warrior Within truly is an awesome experience”
*Macitynet.it : “The wait was huge for the quality of the title which is definitely above the average”
* Pocketgamer: “Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is an impressive conversion of an excellent console game”

Let the Warrior Within take over your iPhone/iPod touch! One of the most anticipated video game franchises is finally available on the App Store. Hunted down by the Empress of Time, you’ll embark on a pirate ship and visit accursed palaces to triumph over evil.
A CONSOLE-QUALITY GAME
** Graphics optimized to push the technical capabilities of the iPhone.
** Enjoy an explosive mixture of intense fighting moves for an impressive level of quality for character animations.
** All the cinematics and voices from the console version will make you experience a great adventure in a fascinating world.

AN ICONIC VIDEO GAME SERIES
One of the most famous and anticipated video game franchises is finally on your iPhone/iPod touch in the Warrior Within edition that was acclaimed by critics and players when released on console.

A LONG PATH TO MAKE THE GOOD TRIUMPH
** 12 beautiful chapters in ancient palaces sheltering dozens of enemies
** Many enigmas and sinister traps to outsmart

LET THE WARRIOR WITHIN TAKE YOU OVER
Utilize the environment, numerous weapons, and your enemies themselves to develop your own unique fighting style and enjoy a great freedom in your moves.

A DARK AND VIOLENT ATMOSPHERE
** Hunted down by the Empress of Time, you will have to confront your destiny alone, fight legions of enemies and face all the ancient fears of humanity to survive. Embark on a pirate ship or visit accursed palaces and triumph over evil.
** Explore a mysterious island with fascinating environments that will immerse you in a thrilling gaming experience.






http://www.filesonic.com/file/116453....8-Papyrus.ipa

GT Racing Motor Academy v1.0.2 Iphone Touch

GT Racing: Motor Academy v1.0.2 iphone-ipodtouch | 510 MB

Experience the richest racing simulation ever released on the App Store - and the best part is it won’t cost a thing to get started right now!


Download the game take your first steps into the huge and fascinating Career mode. Pass driving tests and win races to progress as you unlock more cars and events with in-game credits and XP. Hours of racing thrills are waiting for you now!

And for those who want to unlock everything lightning fast, you can purchase XP multipliers and credit packs directly from the game.

FULL GAME KEY FEATURES
• 25 manufacturers and 107 licensed cars to buy, drive and upgrade including the Nissan GT-R, Audi R8, top of the line Ferrari models and even the Ford Model T.
• A new and elaborate physics engine particular to each car for the most realistic driving simulation on the App Store. Master your racing skills and tune your car just right to maximize performance.
• A wide variety of tracks, from the official Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to urban tracks, speed rings and rally tracks.
• A huge and fascinating Career mode: Pass license tests and enter to win increasingly prestigious racing events.
• Play against drivers from all over the world with local and online multiplayer for up to 6 players. Reach the top of the GT Racing: Motor Academy leaderboards.

What's New in Version 1.0.2 ?

GT Racing: Motor Academy now counts 111 licensed cars!
Discover and drive 4 brand new cars: Ferrari 599 GTO, Lamborghini Estoque, Pagani Zonda Cinque, Audi RS3 Sportback

Screenshots :








http://www.filesonic.com/file/128647...ost_uniQue.ipa

http://www.fileserve.com/file/3QugPGP

Dead Space™ 1.01 [iPhone/Adventure/2011]

Dead Space™ 1.01 [iPhone/Adventure/2011] | 282 MB

AN ALL-NEW DEAD SPACE STORY – EXCLUSIVELY FOR iOS. Immerse yourself in events that set the stage for the action-horror storyline of Dead Space™ 2. Featuring a hardcore game experience and a rich audio environment specifically designed for your iPhone® & iPod touch®, this is an original vision of the acclaimed franchise and a true landmark game on the App Store.

THE FIRST DEAD SPACE STORYLINE EVER DEVISED FOR iOS
Three years have passed since the destruction of the Marker in the first Dead Space story. Now, experience first-hand the events that unleash the Necromorph hordes once again. You’ll find yourself on a mission of uncertain purpose in the Mines of Titan. Soon, however, the truth of your situation will become grotesquely clear…

A CHARGED SENSORY EXPERIENCE WITH VIVID SOUND AND VISCERAL GRAPHICS
Featuring a fully voice-acted stereo soundtrack, plus a movie-quality score and sound effects, we recommend experiencing the game with headphones for full immersion. Hear every footstep in the empty passages and feel the tension build as you are pulled deeper into danger. With cutting-edge visuals, rich in effects and atmospheric lighting, Dead Space reproduces the cinematic horror of the console experience and sets a new benchmark for graphical fidelity on the iOS platform.

SPECIALLY DESIGNED CONTROLS KEEP YOU FOCUSED ON THE ACTION
Intuitive controls have been conceived to maximize the immersive experience of the game on iPhone & iPod touch. The on-screen HUD is seamlessly integrated into the game environment. Navigate 6 varied environments and battle Necromorphs with simple swipe and tap controls that offer accessibility without sacrificing depth. Nothing will break the spell of the story’s adrenaline-driven suspense.

INTRODUCING 2 EXCLUSIVE WEAPONS & FEATURING CLASSIC MODULES
Access the ALL-NEW Plasma Saw and Core Extractor, plus 3 more weapons from the Dead Space universe – and get on with the business of strategic dismemberment. In addition, utilize true physics-based Kinesis and Stasis Modules well-known to players of the original Dead Space console game.

http://www.wupload.com/file/32224781/Dead.Space

BATTLEFIELD BAD COMPANY 2 World-v1.0.0 Iphone

BATTLEFIELD BAD COMPANY 2 World-v1.0.0-most uniQue [iPhone/FPS/2010] | 234 MB

OUR BIGGEST, BADDEST FPS. FOR THE FIRST TIME ON THE APP STORE. Based on the bestselling console game from DICE, let the battle rage in the jungle, snow, and desert, in close-quarter combat, and in the air. Utilize intuitive controls as you destroy enemies with tanks and choppers in state-of the-art vehicular combat. Go all-out in full online multiplayer mode, and get a modern-warfare simulation for iPhone® & iPod touch® that’s second to none. ENTER THE MODERN BATTLEFIELD
Your iPhone or iPod touch becomes the staging ground for the total Battlefield: BC2 experience. Track 14 single-player missions across 5 intensely detailed battle zones. Capture emplacements in jungle heat, arctic snow, and desert dust. Feel the adrenaline-pumping intensity of close-quarter combat and also unleash devastation from the air. It’s good to be Bad.

MOBILIZE WITH HARDCORE FIREPOWER
Wreak havoc on enemy forces with a plethora of powerful weapons and vehicles. Access an arsenal of up to 14 weapons – from a simple knife to a rocket-propelled grenade. Also drive the action with multiple vehicle types, including a tank and helicopter.

ENGAGE ENEMIES WITH 3 DISTINCT CONTROL SETUPS
Access 3 different controls systems. Use gesture controls with no control buttons visible on screen, or add the virtual fire button, or choose to have both fire button and analog stick. Select the system that suits your preferred fighting style!

ESCALATE WITH FULL-ON MULTIPLAYER
Initiate combat with 4-player action across dedicated maps. Engage in 2-4 player Free for Alls and Squad Deathmatches. The game supports OTA, WiFi, 3G, and BT Multiplayer. Push invitations to friends to join you in online battles.

Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

needs a jailbroken iproduct with appsync/installous to work!
ARM6 crack so it works with all iproducts!!



http://www.filesonic.pk/file/1284330...ost_uniQue.ipa

http://www.wupload.com/file/29242006...ost_uniQue.ipa

Need.For.Speed.Hot.Pursuit.v1.0.3.iPhone.iPod.Touc h.iPad-iOSPDA

 

Need.For.Speed.Hot.Pursuit.v1.0.3.iPhone.iPod.Touc h.iPad-iOSPDA
Size: 381.48MB

Now drive as cop or racer! Get double the gameplay depth and more customization features.You wanted it. You got it! Now outrun the law in supercars like the Pagani Zonda – or stop racers cold in high-speed police interceptors like the Lamborghini Reventon. Plus, you can challenge a friend to a head-to-head Cop vs. Racer showdown via local WiFi or Bluetooth. Made to maximize the Retina Display, the eye-popping visual quality will put your senses into overdrive!

What’s New in Version 1.0.3

Speedwall: Compete with friends and compare scores on our Leaderboard!
Autolog Recommends: Alerts you to where your friends are racing. Challenge them!
Autolog Friends List: Tracks your friends’ progress. CAN THEY KEEP UP?

http://www.wupload.com/file/32515698...Pad-iOSPDA.rar

Kung Fu Panda 2 Be The Master v1 1 01 iPhone iPod Touch iPad-iOSPDA

 

Release Name: Kung Fu Panda 2 Be The Master v1 1 01 iPhone iPod Touch iPad-iOSPDA
Genre: Kung Fu
Critics: 33 Ratings
Published by: iTunes
Developed by: HQ Inc.

DO YOU WANT TO MASTER KUNG FU?! Then you must TRAIN HARD, Panda! It takes dedication, focus, many bandages… and a few snacks!

I LOVE KUNG FU!!!
Po is finally a real Kung Fu warrior, but to become a true Master, he must dedicate himself to training. Shifu has revealed to him the Secret of the Thousand Scrolls, and Po’s awesome journey begins with the first two:

PAWS OF POWER
Train with Shifu in the Dojo, swiping and clawing your way through flying training dummies based on all of Po’s greatest foes. But watch out for the bee hives! They’re a major buzz kill.

FEET OF FURY
Scale the towering Waterfall of Agony, jumping higher and higher with the help of firework-powered chairs, bouncy bamboo stilts, and other special items. Leap to new heights… or else it’ll be one big belly flop below!

NEW SCROLLS ON THE WAY!!! – Dedicated warriors will be rewarded as two new Scrolls are revealed with coming updates! SKADOOSH!

KUNG FU TRAINING IS ITS OWN BEST REWARD…
But there are plenty of other perks, too!
Unlock collectible action figures of the Furious Five! TOTALLY SWEET!

http://www.filesonic.pk/file/1299697...Pad-iOSPDA.rar

http://www.wupload.com/file/32515696...Pad-iOSPDA.rar

Angry Birds iPhone iPad and iPod Touch | 18 MB [wupload/Filesonic]

 

Angry Birds 1.5.3 iPhone iPad and iPod Touch ! 18 MB

Description
The survival of the Angry Birds is at stake. Dish out revenge on the green pigs who stole the Birds eggs. Use the unique destructive powers of the Angry Birds to lay waste to the pigs fortified castles. Angry Birds features hours of gameplay, challenging physics-based castle demolition, and lots of replay value. Each of the 240 levels requires logic, skill, and brute force to crush the enemy.

#1 IPHONE PAID APP in US, UK, Canada, Italy, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Singapore, Poland, France, Netherlands, Malta, Greece, Austria, Australia, Turkey, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Belgium, Norway, Hungary, Malaysia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Czech Republic, Spain, Ireland, Romania, New Zealand, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Nicaragua, Kazakhstan, Argentina, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Mauritius, Chile, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Taiwan, Colombia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Kenya, Macedonia, Croatia, Macau, Paraguay, Peru, Armenia, Philippines, Vietnam, Jordan, Kuwait and Malta.

#1 IPHONE PAID GAME in more countries than we can count!

AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE for version 1.4.0 = 4.78 / 5.

Lemme tell ya, these ain t no ordinary finches we re talkin about. These here are the Angry Birds, the ones that s gonna kick you in the nads. And they re the ones on your side. They must be from Galapadapados, or sumptin . Col. Angus, Bird Expert.

Protect wildlife or play Angry Birds!

Features 240 levels, leaderboards, achievements, Facebook and Twitter integration, and lots and lots of Angry Birds!
What’s new in Version 1.5.3
HAM ‘EM HIGH CONTINUES YET ANOTHER BLISTERING UPDATE

Angry Birds is back with a brand new update!

New Features in version 1.5.3:

- ADVENTURES IN THE FRONTIER BADLANDS COME TO A CLOSE
- 15 NEW LEVELS EACH MORE CHALLENGING THAN THE NEXT
- A NEW GOLDEN EGG THAT IS GOOD, BAD AND UGLY

In version 1.5.0, we introduced the Mighty Eagle downloadable content. If you get stuck in the game, you have the opportunity to purchase a can of sardines, which you use to lure out the elusive Mighty Eagle. This phenomenal creature will the soar from the skies to wreak havoc and smash the pesky pigs into oblivion!

Mighty Eagle will help you skip the toughest obstacles, but there’s a limit: you can only use the aid of Mighty Eagle to pass a level once per hour. In other words, when you pass a level with Mighty Eagle, you need to wait an hour to use him again to pass another level.

Is that all? Far from it! Mighty Eagle includes all new gameplay goals and achievements! In each level that you already cleared using the regular birds, you can smash away freely and try to fill up the destruction gauge! If you want to smash your way through every level leaving nothing behind, you have every incentive to do so!

Mighty Eagle is an in-app purchase in Angry Birds and costs $additional_info$.99/ 0.59/ 0.79 to download. One-time purchase, unlimited use!

We d like to take this opportunity to extend our infinite gratitude to friends of our fierce birds everywhere. We thank you sincerely from the bottoms of our fluffy hearts for making Angry Birds the highest rated and best selling game ever on iTunes!

Follow us on Twitter for Angry Birds updates and pictures of our new toys:


http://www.filesonic.pk/file/1299690..._bigblind_.ipa

http://www.wupload.com/file/32515571..._bigblind_.ipa

Real Soccer 2011 iPhone iPad and iPod Touch 228 MB [Wupload/Filesonic]

 

Real Soccer 2011 v1.0.1 iPhone iPad and iPod Touch ! 228 MB

COMPATIBLE WITH ALL GENERATIONS OF iPHONE & iPOD TOUCH!
OPTIMIZED FOR iPHONE 4! High-definition graphics that fully utilize the iPhone 4 Retina display.
We’ve brought the game to an all-new playing field for the most realistic soccer experience ever on iPhone. Prepare for totally new graphics and animations that will impress even long-time fans of the series. This is your chance to be a Real Soccer champion, just like David Villa, in the most exciting sports simulation to date. Acclaimed by the press last year as the soccer game to beat:
“Real Soccer is a great game…a more fast-paced and streamlined experience than its rivals.” – Slide To Play (4/4)
“Real Soccer comes highly recommended to newcomers and diehard soccer fans alike.” – AppModo
“Arguably one of the best iPhone games released this year, and certainly the best sports game” – MacWorld (4.5/5)

A NEW VISUAL APPROACH
The revamped graphics push the definition of “life-like” and motion capture technology has allowed us to create the most fluid player animations based on movements of pro soccer players.

RELIVE SOCCER HISTORY
Jump into soccer’s most exciting moments with a History mode that lets you alter the course of the game’s most epic matches. Can you change the result of the last European Clubs Cup?

EVEN MORE TEAMS
The game’s depth has been pushed even further than before by including a whopping 14 leagues and 350 teams, plus the official licenses for FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and the Spanish national team.
It also includes the names of real players thanks to the FIFPro license. Find your favorite players in leagues such as the English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Brazilian and Argentine leagues, plus national teams like Brazil, Argentina, England, Italy, Portugal and France.

ALL YOUR FAVORITE MODES
Manage your team like a coach and lead them on the field throughout the season in Club Master.
Step into the spotlight and control the life of a single player in Enter the Legend.
Challenge your friends to epic matches in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Multiplayer.

SEE THE ACTION LIKE ON TV
Dynamic camera angles, coach reactions, player celebrations and more make every minute of gameplay feel like you’re watching the match live!

SHOW YOUR STUFF ON YOUTUBE
Made an amazing goal? Somehow dribbled your way around three defenders? Show everyone! Upload your favorite replays directly to YouTube and forever bask in your glory.

ONLINE PLAYERBASE UPDATES
Keep your game up-to-date with all the most recent player transfers and lineup changes thanks to regular online updates.

SOCCER NEWS ON-DEMAND
Access official soccer news feeds right from the game menu and never miss the scores while playing your own games.

http://www.filesonic.pk/file/1299697...11__v1.0.1.ipa

http://www.wupload.com/file/32515685/RF11__v1.0.1.ipa

The search for 16

With the group round of the World Cup coming to a close and the round of 16 under way, it’s the perfect time to see what’s piqued searchers’ interest since our pre-tournament search trends kick-off.

Understandably, searches for [world cup standings] climbed steadily during the first week of play as fans around the globe watched the various teams jockey within their groups to qualify for the next round. Upsets in the group round have been particularly effective at driving increased search volume. Switzerland’s win over Spain on June 16 (one of the tournament’s earliest upsets) drove its share of search traffic, and New Zealand’s unexpectedly good performance against Italy, the 2006 tournament champion, inspired people to look for information about the “All Whites” (the Kiwi team’s nickname). Until England’s keeper let in a “soft” goal in the game against the U.S., [striker] was a more popular term than [fullback], [goalkeeper] or [midfielder]—but since then, searches for [goalkeeper] have largely outpaced the other positions. Searches for [england keeper] and [rob green] also spiked on the day of that game.

One of the rising—and controversial—stars of the World Cup’s initial days was the ubiquitous vuvuzela, which, at its peak on June 15, nearly overtook searches for [waka waka], the official song of the 2010 World Cup sung by Shakira. Viewers—and listeners—around the world searched for information about the South African horn, although after the initial spike it seems people have become accustomed to this unofficial match soundtrack, or perhaps purchased their own (listen for the German fans in the round of 16!).

But the vuvuzela is certainly not the only aspect of this year’s World Cup under scrutiny. Controversies have cropped up throughout the tournament, and a rise in search volume was never far behind. Interest in the much-debated 2010 World Cup ball, or [jabulani], has remained high throughout the first two weeks, and searches for [world cup referees] reflect the growing awareness that an official’s decision can make or break the fate of a team. Search volume for this topic peaked on June 18, the day a potentially tie-breaking U.S. goal against Slovenia was disallowed by a controversial offsides call. Searches for [offsides] also spiked on June 18, as well as on June 11 following an offsides call during the opening game between Mexico and South Africa, and June 23 after a call in the U.S. game against Algeria. Among English-speaking countries, most of these searches came from the U.S., a country relatively less familiar with “the beautiful game.”

Participating teams and individual players have also done their part to spark controversy. The French team has been in the spotlight for a variety of reasons: qualification for the tournament in a win over Ireland credited to a Thierry Henry handball, refusal to train after Nicolas Anelka was sent home for insulting the team’s coach (searches for [anelka] spiked following his departure), and their eventual elimination from the tournament. In another newsworthy twist, searches for Algerian player Rafik Saifi have skyrocketed in the last days after his altercation with an Algerian journalist.

As the stakes climb even higher in the elimination rounds, we’re all on the look-out for more exciting (and controversial) moments and emerging stars. So stay tuned—we’ll be back with more search trends as the World Cup action continues.

Posted by Emily Wood, Editor, Google Blog team

Review: GTA 4 - Episodes from Liberty City

Episodes from Liberty City is a latecomer on the PC, having been released on consoles eons ago. And with the recent release of Just Cause 2 as the new sandbox gaming great, is Rockstar's expansion pack to GTA4 still worth playing?

I wear a biker's leather jacket and bell bottoms to find out. Wow, I'm ashamed at how horrible that fashion disaster sounds.

---

I love GTA4. It's just the plain ol' enjoyment of stealing a fast car, driving irresponsibly, running over pedestrians, and then getting out of said car and beating more pedestrians senseless with a baseball bat. All to the backdrop of an extremely detailed city teeming with life and strange at every corner and down every alley.

Rockstar has perfected the art of city/world-building. And even though the expansion is set within the same city, it wasn't a boring return at all. In fact, I welcomed it with open arms because as always, fun in GTA comes with the fact that you can do crazy things in a replica of a real city, without worry of the law.

So what's new with the expansion?


Episodes from Liberty City bundles two separate stories that become intertwined. The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. The Lost and the Damned sees you play Johnny, a member of a biker gang who has to contend with the return of the leader, who after spending some time in jail, is back to cause senseless mayhem in Liberty City. This leads to the gang spiraling into self-destruction with the leader's idiocy. Johnny is forced to take matters in his own hands and fight the leader before the gang is destroyed entirely. It's a grim story about brotherhood, loyalty and of course, betrayal, with rough men swearing every other second and cracking overtly-masculine jokes.

The Ballad of Gay Tony is a more light-hearted affair. You play Luis, right-hand man to Gay (literally) Tony, a club tycoon who is also (surprise, surprise) spiraling into self-destruction through drugs and debt to various mobsters and devious loan-sharks. As plenty of bad people are out to kill Tony, it's Luis' job to protect him. After playing Niko and Johnny, who are both characters stuck at the bottom of the status hierarchy prevalent in Liberty City, it was refreshing to play somebody who got to see a flashier and swankier side of life. It was however, not all peachy as Rockstar made sure to show you that things get worse the higher up the ladder you go.

Playing yet another GTA title finally made me see the patterns to most Rockstar games. They give you an illusion that it's an open world but really, driving yourself from mission to mission is hardly "open-world". It just means you do all the hard work of progressing the plot along. This, along with the fact that most missions in Rockstar games are just faffing about in the world rather than having anything to do with the plot, means their games, and this Episode pack in particular suffers from poor pacing.

Also, the basic mission structure of all Rockstar games including the latest Red Dead Redemption is the protagonist always takes on missions and jobs from strange, larger than life characters. And the wanton brainlessness of the protagonists accepting to do those missions no matter how dangerous, morally wrong, or just plain retarded they are, diminishes the appeal and my emotional engagement to these protagonists. In both episodes, this is no different. Johnny and Luis both seem like sensible guys, and although they can say "No way I'm doing this job, it's too dangerous", a minute later you're climbing on top of a train or taking part in a deadly shootout.


It speaks volumes of the lack of agency that these characters, and by extension, players have to live with in the game. For instance, in Luis' story, his mother is subjected to harassment from a loan shark she borrowed money from. The loan shark and I take a walk and he offers me a proposal, to fight for him in a cage or my mother will have to pay the exorbitant owed money. Instead, I decide I want to kill him right there and then to end all my problems. I shoot him in the face. The game even showed Luis giving his mother a call saying "the loan shark won't bother" her no more. I thought that was that, but then I learnt I couldn't continue the story until I replayed the mission and did exactly what the loan shark told me to do. It's utterly contradictory to how I believe the character is portrayed. Rockstar can do better in making the characters and the story more convincing.

Rockstar makes great open-world games, but they should consider moving into open-choice games. I saw a glimmer of that in the original GTA4, when in one mission, you're given the choice of killing or letting a man go. It was very minor, and the only time in the game where such a choice was given, but it showed potential that Rockstar could explore non-linear paths of play. Like, if I killed an integral character in the story, that would be the end of his storyline. Of course, there is potential to "break" a game in that regards, and many other developers like Bethesda on Oblivion and Fallout 3 worry too. But in my opinion, that's the player/audience's problem. If they break the game, they are ruining it for themselves. And hopefully they'll learn not to do such a thing. But if they wanted to, they should be allowed to also. It makes the world they live in seem more real.

In one of the episodes, Ballad of Gay Tony, one thing that got on my nerves was the number of helicopter missions there were. When compared to the ease and simplicity at which aerial vehicles like the helicopter are driven in Just Cause 2, GTA 4's in comparison are infernal contraptions of death. They are too sensitive and require both hands on the keyboard to steer, and it was not fun at all when I died countless times trying to accurately shoot some boats in the water. It was so bad that it truly did make me want to stop playing the game there and then. It wasn't over though. After that, there were at least four or five more helicopter-based missions that had me tearing my hair out.

Finally, I was tired of playing protagonists that weren't easily identifiable with. All of them come from the fringes of society, amoral although deliberately slanted towards good, and lived in a world filled with other annoying, harsh, or vapid characters. None of them were genuinely decent people.


Graphically, the game is extremely dated. At the time when GTA4 was first released, the detailed city and characters were the pinnacle of gaming technology, but now it is poor in comparison to newer generation titles like Assassin's Creed 2 and Just Cause 2. This makes the Episodes expansion pack not a worthwhile spend if you're in it for the visuals. Even the animations and controls are clunky.

So what's the game's saving grace? If I've not only managed to criticize the expansion pack, but Rockstar games in general (save Red Dead Redemption, because I have yet to play that).

I still like the Euphoria engine that the game is built from. The physics is fun visually; the way characters interact with the world, and when you knock people over in a car or shoot them, it just seems so ... sticky. It's also what makes running around the city and committing random acts of violence real fun.

Combat was interesting in the Episodes by way of the environments fought in. Highlights included the fairgrounds in Ballad of Gay Tony and prison ward in Lost and the Damned. There were also times in both episodes where Rockstar supplied the player with unlimited ammo or gave all the best weapons to just go nuts with. Like a tank to blow shit up. I reckon Rockstar realized that as much as their newer games have taken on a more serious tone, people still love to go ape-shit and wreak carnage. That's why Just Cause 2 did so well.


Voice acting is generally decent. Although at times, it is annoying especially with the taunts both protagonists spew in combat.

All in all, I think I've reached the threshold of enjoyment with a standard Rockstar title. When I first played GTA4 sometime ago, I was blown away by how good it was. But times have changed. Just having an edgy story with edgy, ghetto characters doesn't make a good game. So Rockstar either has to shake up their gameplay structure (currently it's just drive, mission, drive, mission, drive) or make their stories exceptionally compelling (which apparently Red Dead Redemption does). But one thing's for sure, my love for open world carnage with no inhibitions remains the same.

Coldest, LinWarrior, Metallblech - Mech Combat Action Games

I stumbled upon an older release of Coldest while making space on my HDD for game video recording, Metallblech popped out of nowhere recently on our forums with awesome art and I still haven't tried Linwarrior's latest release. Time for a mech games post!

Mechs are big robots and they make sounds like this and you can have great fun assembling them and then blowing stuff up!

Metallblech

Mashup of Metallblech's art

Planned as a game for Syntensity, there are many models ready for usage in Metallblech, but (IIRC) not one line of code has been written yet and the project is desperate for programmers. ;)

Coldest

Coldest: mech stomping, super weather, lasers overheating

Coldest actually allows you to assemble the weapon systems of your mech. That's quite an important part for this genre: first, carefully assemble your mech, then brutally disassemble enemy mechs! A readme would be quite a good addition.

The command `svn co https://www.nemebean.com/svn/coldest/` will allow you to pull the latest code [EDIT: and for more instructions check out this wiki page.]

Coldest code is under GPL, art is under who knows what. (Actually I do know that both textures and sounds wouldn't qualify as free-as-in-freedom free. :) )

Coldest's mech configuration menu

Coldest solo test [tinyogg]

LinWarrior 3D

Unfair 4 vs 1 at level start? Check!

Since the last time Free Gamer reported about LinWarrior, the 2010_03_20 "Hadron Collider" version was released (download here). Besides the fact that textures and models have been licensed under "good" CC licenses, code tweaks and visual fixes, the MD5Mesh format is now supported.

Mouse control is definitely the one thing I would like to see implemented ASAP.

Say hi to these rockets!

LinWarrior gameplay [tinyogg]

For some reason any video I recorded of LW3D would not show the dirty and brown ground texture, I'm sorry for the distorted view on the game caused by this!

Conclusion

I like mech games alot!

alot!

What do you people think of this genre? Do you prefer tactical, turn-based over action 3D mech games? What's the one thing you want to be able to do in following versions of the games I introduced here? (I want to be able to shoot off legs!)