Brandon Boyer

Ye shall receive: M.U.L.E. remake in development, iPhone version to follow

When a remake of EA's cult strategy game Archon was first announced for the iPhone, I made a humble request that multiplayer classic M.U.L.E. be next, and while I won't take even an atom's worth of credit, Raph Koster has spotted news that a remake is indeed in the cards.

Melanie Bunten Stark, daughter of original M.U.L.E. creator Dan Bunten, has just launched Ozark Softscape -- a new site dedicated to the Bunten legacy -- and joined the World of M.U.L.E. Facebook fan-page with news (from May, actually) that the licensing process was underway so that work could begin on an online version of the game. More interestingly, Bunten Stark also posted more recently to say that an iPhone and mobile version were also being planned.

There's no word on precisely who will be handling the remake, though it looks to be closely overseen by the Bunten family children, and if I could only have one re-iterated request, it'd be that whomever is involved might think about tapping Niklas Jansson and his brilliant remake character concepts (above) for the updated version.

Follow the Facebook page, the World of M.U.L.E. site proper, and the official Ozark site for updates as they arrive.

Lisa Katayama

Family Computer cell phone

If the Family Computer was a cell phone, this is what it would look like.

[Tokyozukan Entertainment]

Brandon Boyer

Return of the worm: Interplay, Gameloft reviving Earthworm Jim for XBLA, PSN, WiiWare

IP holders Interplay have just sent over news of a new partnership with mobile game giant Gameloft to revive Shiny Entertainment's 16-bit cult classic Earthworm Jim as a cross-platform downloadable by the end of this year.

Details are still slim on what form the remake will take, but the companies say the game will debut exclusively on Xbox Live Arcade for one month, followed by ports to PlayStation Network, WiiWare, and mobile phones, the iPhone presumably included.

The deal is separate from Sega's own ongoing campaign to let players vote which 16-bit Genesis classic they'd like to see hit Xbox Live Arcade (though the poll, which was meant to run through the 21st, appears to be down at the moment), but shouldn't be an issue either way, because the answer there is quite obviously a network-playable version of Toejam and Earl, if you have even like a half a lick of sense.

[Illustration via Autumn Society artist Pedro 'gogopedro' Delgado]

Xeni Jardin

(BB Video) Mile-High Gaming with Virgin America + Google

(Download / YouTube)

In today's Boing Boing Video episode: our mini-documentary of "Day in the Cloud," a mile-high frag-a-thon aboard two dueling Virgin America planes both eqipped with in-flight WiFi.

During the one-hour flights, bloggers and game dorks played games that required internet connections, to compete for netbooks and pure ultimate leetness over their foes.

Competing on the plane from Los Angeles to San Francisco (named "YouTube Air"): me (Xeni), Rob Beschizza from Boing Boing Gadgets, legendary internet hilarity farmer Ze Frank, web personality Shira Lazar, and Wei-Hwa Huang, former Googler and world puzzle champion.

On the plane from San Francisco to Los Angeles (named "Superfly"): Kid Beyond, singer, beatboxer, and game nerd.

Lessons learned: Google makes it easier to cheat. Absinthe makes it harder to win. WiFi makes flying less boring. Kid Beyond and Ze Frank are very funny. Wei-Hwa Huang is the guy you want on your team in a puzzle competition. And finally, Rob and I should stick to blogging/vlogging, and forget about competitive puzzle-solving.

READ THE REST

Brandon Boyer

More augmented reality fun: Savannah/Georgia Tech's mobile zombie shooter ARhrrrr

Savannah College of Art and Design and Georgia Tech Augmented Environments Lab have jointly unveiled ARhrrrr, the latest proof of concept handheld augmented reality game that lets players set up and then defend a small town from zombie hordes, using, yes!, orange and green Skittles as proximity mines.

As always (or at least, since we started to see these high profile AR demos on mobile games devices like the catastrophically ill-fated Gizmondo), the only drawback is its platform: a devkit running Nvidia's Tegra mobile chip, which puts it sadly out of reach for iPhone/DSi/PSP players.

ARhrrrr! [Augmented Environments Lab]

Brandon Boyer

Youth's playground gets wider: Nokia's Reset Generation comes to Mac, Linux, Kongregate

This may be the happiest and most unexpected news I'll run all day: back in December in my Offworld 20 list -- compiling the best games of 2008 -- I noted a still-too-little-played game from Nokia and Red Lynx, Reset Generation, the flagship title of Nokia's relaunched N-Gage game service efforts.

Even as many months on, it's still a hard game to aptly describe: I suggest my more concise efforts over at Edge Online for that, but what you do need to know here is that this many months on there's still nothing like it on the market, and it still remains as vibrant and essential as it was back then.

And now, finally and surprisingly, Nokia's updated the Java player to support both Macs and Linux, who classically were barred from the experience, and copied the game onto web-portal of choice, Kongregate, as well.

If you play anything this week, make it this game: it's wonderfully familiar and deliberately obscure all at once, but it's a fantastic design lesson in perfectly balanced quick-draw strategy.

As a bonus, and in celebration, game music remix clearinghouse ocremix.com has just posted a new contest to have your way with 8-Bit Weapon's soundtrack to the game, with prizes including a fully loaded Nokia phone equipped with the mobile version of the game (which I've still kept around specifically for late-night pre-sleep sessions), and T-shirts and CDs from the Weapon, including the previously mentioned sample and loop CD just released by Sony.

Reset Generation [Nokia, Kongregate page]

Brandon Boyer

Little shocks: IG Fun show off iPhone/mobile BioShock

That IG Fun have been planning to bring BioShock to mobile phones (including the iPhone) has been known since shortly after the iPhone itself launched, but -- I must admit -- the news came with a healthy dose of skepticism, not least because the game's original product page didn't inspire much confidence.

But, over the past year, the developer has been hard at work at downsizing all of Rapture into its handheld form, and, via the latest news from UK outlet PocketGamer, you can see the results above. The trailer, shown at Mobile World Congress, actually might not be the latest footage (it appears to be the same 'alpha footage' shown at the CTIA expo in September), and is obviously shown optimized for standard mobiles, but still gives us a good taste of what to expect from the iPhone version: that is to say, not a fair bit off its console counterpoint.

PocketGamer also has the game's initial direct feed trailer that hammers that point home, with the only question now being one of control. From everything seen so far, it's clear that IG Fun are hoping to stay as true to form as possible, but doing first person right via touch alone has been a notoriously tricky venture. However, with IG Fun due to speak at this year's GDC, it shouldn't be much of a wait to see their plan of attack.

Previously:
Come to Big Daddy - Offworld
I feel a wreck without my little china sister - Offworld

Brandon Boyer

Mobile Katamari gets Valentine's gifts, iPhone gets no such love

Though I wasn't given any accompanying media, I feel I must dutifully report that Rolling with Katamari -- Namco's isometric mobile phone version of the game everybody loves -- is receiving a free downloadable level starting today.

The level will feature special Valentine's items to roll, including "Jewelry (wedding rings, bracelets, necklaces), Chocolates, Cows with heart-shaped markings (one is called ‘Wild Thing’ and the other is called ‘You Moooove Me’), Teddy bears, Roses, and Conversation hearts."

The iPhone version, however, (despite recently getting its own Exquisite update) has been left to wander lonely as a rolling star, though the fact that Namco is continuing to support the mobile game with new content makes me hopeful its iPhone version will also see continual updates in the future.

Rolling with Katamari home [Namco]

Previously:
iPhone Katamari gets Exquisite addition - Offworld
Katamari rolls onto iPhone - Offworld
It's a stretch: Explaining Katamari creator's new Noby Noby Boy ...

Brandon Boyer

Metal Gear Ac!d coming to mobile phones

When Metal Gear makers Kojima Productions threw together their December teaser for a new game in the franchise, speculation ran rampant and hit about every possible outcome, but among the most logical was that the team might port its strategy card-game spinoff Metal Gear Ac!d to the iPhone.

In the end, while Kojima did make a move to the iPhone, it was instead with an original game based on the latest PS3 chapter in the franchise. But, Pocket Gamer are reporting, Ac!d still is going mobile with a new port by mobile games giant Glu, along with a new graphic re-design.

This shouldn't be too much of a surprise -- the franchise recently made a move onto Nokia's N-Gage service, and a port of Ac!d is probably not too far behind. Whether this also means -- based on the performance of fellow iPhone versions of Dance Dance Revolution and Silent Hill -- that an iPhone update is on the way as well is anyone's guess, but its gameplay would be perfectly serviced by a touch interface, and it remains high on our crossed-finger list.

Metal Gear Acid 2 snaking its way toward the mobile [Pocket Gamer]

Previously:
A Metal Gear you can touch - Offworld
Metal Gear's December Surprise - Offworld

Brandon Boyer

Space Invaders evolve on Japan's mobiles

Taito really knows how to throw a 30th anniversary blowout party, but this invite unfortunately is for Japan only: Space Invaders Infinity Gene is a new retro-futurist reimagining of the classic arcade game, done up with a new low-bit techno soundtrack and razor-sharp vector beam dressing.

As the title suggests (somewhat, it actually comes off more in the brilliant Darwin quote opener), the premise this round is a standard monochromatic version of the arcade original slowly evolving into more complexity as you work your way deeper into the game.

Like a smaller cousin to Space Invaders Extreme, your ship's been upgraded with twin shots, homing lasers, and beautifully contrail-ed missiles, and the aliens and UFOs morph into creatures and structures too large to fill the screen (along with some clearly Rez inspired cargo ships).

The catch: it's currently a mobile phone-only release, but as Siliconera suggests, it's ripe for a DSiWare release. See the clean video and screenshots via the Famitsu preview.

Space Invaders Infinity Gene preview [Famitsu, Google translated, via Siliconera]