Category: Gaming

Call it a guilty pleasure, but there is something about Spider-Man games that I just can’t get enough of. Spider-Man games have always had a certain “free-roaming” quality to them. Even the platformers like Maximum Carnage on the Super Nintendo, which was a “Beat’em Up” in the vein of Final Fight or Double Dragon. But you still had the feeling that you could move more freely. And the web-slinging has been down-pat and accurate since Spider-Man debuted on the Atari 2600.

The most modern revisions have tempted me in to playing each iteration. Spider-Man 3 and Spiderman: Friend or Foe gave you a huge sandbox to play in. Spider-Man: Web of Shadows gave the game a darker, grittier feel, similar to the X-Men Origins: Wolverine game. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions allowed you to experience Spider-Man spin-off characters who have never had their own games before. I plan to continue that theme in Spider-man: The Edge of Time before moving on to the latest movie tie-in game, The Amazing Spider-Man.

I, for one, can’t wait to sling webs around giant open worlds, free fall, and catch myself with a quick tap of the trigger. These games are fun, and I spend more time exploring than “playing the game.” Call me crazy, but I’m glad they just keep coming – and, of the titles I’ve played, at least, they just seem to keep getting better!

As part of the Carmageddon: Reincarnation kickstarter project reached its goal and then some, the team has been hard at work at a mobile app release of the original game. The iPad one was released a while ago, and today marks the official release of the Android app.

The game plays just as you remember it, sounds, graphics, and all. The touch controls are new, but they work extremely well. You’ll quickly get absorbed and try to find creative ways to win your races faster. Since I’m traveling this weekend, I wanted to recommend a mobile game for our Friday gaming fun, and to mark the release of the Android version of the game, the Stainless Games folks have not only made the Android app free, but the iOS version as well!

Go ahead and download the classic Carmageddon for iOS, or Carmageddon for Android. Get yourself pumped up for Carmageddon Reincarnation, due out later this year. If virtual vehicular manslaughter appeals to you after the sale is over, just remember to keep it in the games – they’re cheap enough. And if you want the ultimate experience you remember from over 15 years ago, check out the $10 Carmageddon Maxx Pack on GoG.

This week Nintendo simultaneously lost Madden NFL 25 on the Wii U, saw prices slashed again at retailers in the UK, and sent a message to your custoemrs begging them to buy the Wii U. This is getting pathetic.

I had a stack of Wii U’s I was planning on making some money on. They didn’t sell. I’m still sitting on some of them. It seems good to know that in 15 years they’ll be a rare treasure that sells well on eBay, especially in a sealed box! Too bad I’m stuck with these pieces of crap for another 15 years.

I’m thrilled with New Super Mario Bros. U, it’s a fun game. But the system is failing, it’s not a secret. It’s Nintendo’s best online service yet and the eStore is just finally starting to take off. The video above shows games that will be launching on the Wii U’s Virtual Console service. But if Nintendo really wants to keep the Wii U on life support until larger publishers and triple-A title games return to the platform, I know how they can keep it going. Release more Virtual Console games!

Nintendo, I don’t want to import my games from my Wii U. It’s absolutely the right move to allow people to do that. And the upgrade process to Wii U sounds great. But where are the games!? If I could turn on my Wii U tonight, and download a bunch of games, I would jump right on it. Super Mario 64, Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Street Fighter, even Gameboy games like Metroid II, or Donkey Kong Land II, and classic NES titles like Mega Man III (my favorite), or Darkwing Duck (also: insert obvious Metroid request) – give all of these games to me, and you’ll make a fortune in a day. It seems too much like they want to drag it out and slowly release more and more content, much the way Xbox Live Arcade works, or other online systems. But if the basic formula is to take an existing, old ROM file, drop it into a wrapper that lets me sett it on my TV and my Wii U Gamepad, and upload it to the eStore… then GET ON IT. Make a splash – give users a compelling users to have this console! You’re floundering too much, and it’s frustrating me to near insanity.