Hasta La Gadget!

If you haven’t discovered yet, SimCity‘s launch on Tuesday didn’t really go as planned, as the overwhelming demand from customers has been wreaking havoc on Electronic Arts’s servers, and while the company expected the issues to be resolved by the end of the launch day, many gamers are still experiencing problems. Because of the ongoing server issues, Amazon has suspended digital download orders of the game.

Amazon is still selling the physical boxed version of SimCity, however, but they’re attaching a saying that servers have been experiencing issues and there’s currently no timeframe on when the issues will be fixed. Unsurprisingly, disgruntled SimCity gamers have taken to Amazon by giving 1-star ratings to the game, and there are well over 800 ratings currently attached.

That’s definitely not good news to prospective buyers, as they could see the 1-star rating and immediately turn away, but considering the fact that gamers can’t even buy the digital download version of the game makes up gamers’ minds for them. Currently, there’s no information as for when Amazon will begin selling the digital version again.

The game launched at midnight on Tuesday morning, but gamers were met with download failures and slow connections. Even EA’s Origin gaming service wasn’t able to distribute all the digital copies that were pre-ordered, and instead had to slowly roll them out. Some users were even reporting that after the game downloaded, they couldn’t even connect to the servers to play the game.

[via The Verge]

SimCity still plagued with server issues, Amazon suspends digital orders is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’re still a little bit away from the official launch of the much-hyped Ouya console, but the game store appears ready for takeoff. Today the company hit the reset button on the beta version of its shop and went back to square one. But, from now on, any app uploaded through the developer portal will be ready and available on day one when it starts shipping to Kickstarter backers on March 28th. Those who have already submitted will have to go through the process all over again unfortunately. In her inaugural blog post as a member of the Ouya team Kellee Santiago revealed a promotional push aimed at benefiting both the console and some of its early-adopter developers. The top three games, as measured by total play time over the first six weeks of availability, will become the focus of a series of short documentaries. To be eligible for the competition you’ll need to get your title in before the March 28th shipping date. For a few more details and to review the developer guidelines yourself hit up the source link.

Filed under: Gaming

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Source: Ouya

After the game’s initial release in December of 2009, the original Angry Birds game for iOS is now completely free to download. Both the iPhone and iPad versions are available to download at no cost. Previously the game was priced at $0.99 for the iPhone/iPod Touch version and $2.99 for the “HD” variant.

Appsfire, a service that tracks apps and notices when they go on sale, was the first to notice the change in price, and according to the service, this marks the first time that the original Angry Birds title has been available for free. It’s said that once the app’s price updates for all users, Apple will promote the app as their “free app of the week.”

Rovio hasn’t announced the price cut yet, but they did announce that 15 new levels have made their way to the original game, so not only can you get the game at no cost, but you also get more for your buck (or lack thereof). Of course, the Android version of Angry Birds has always been available for free — one of the benefits of being an Android user.

The Angry Birds series has always been popular, with new sequels coming out all the time, but in order to give the older games a quick boost in popularity again, Rovio is giving the original game away. Of course, thanks to the newer titles, not many gamers play the original Angry Birds, but the 15 new levels and the lack of a price tag should change that.

Angry Birds for iOS now available for free is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

After a successful launch of Real Racing 2 towards the end of 2010, the racing simulator kept gamers’ interest for over two years, and now a third installment is back. However, there are a few changes that make this threequel noteworthy. First of all, the game is now completely free to download, which sounds almost too good to be true, but developer Firemonkey and publisher Electronic Arts have decided to take the freemium route this time around. Plus, there are all new cars and tracks to race your way around. I ended up spending some time with the game, attempting to make my way up to elite status, and there a lot of things I liked about it, but there were also a lot of things that I didn’t like. Let’s break it down now.

Essentially in Real Racing 3, you buy cars and compete in events until you beat the game. There’s also “Driver Level,” in which you are awarded a certain amount of experience points after every race that go towards being an expert driver. I don’t really pay a lot of attention to that, since my only goal is raise as much money as I can so I can buy a new car and race in more events. You rely on “R$” currency and coins to get you through the game. The coins are there so that you can basically buy your way out of having to wait on various things, which I’ll describe here soon.

You might have heard about “Time-Shifted Multiplayer” before. It’s a new feature in Real Racing 3 where you play against real people in every event. Granted, you’re not all playing each other at the same time (hence the “Time-Shifted” name), but the other racers are essentially AI-controlled players that have completed in the event in the past. It’s similar to racing a ghost, but the ghost is AI-controlled and will respond to your movements in the race. It’s a pretty neat feature, and it’s more enjoyable this way knowing that you’re not just racing against the computer.

There are numerous types of races to choose from, including cup races, top-speed challenges, drag races, sprints, and eliminations. There also tons of new tracks and cars, including real tracks like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Mount Panorama, as well as fake tracks that exist in real locations, such as Melbourne. As for controls, it’s nothing that we haven’t experienced before with Real Racing 2 — tilting your mobile device steers the car, and tapping on the screen is the brake. You can also change camera angles, which includes a cockpit view if you really want a realistic experience.

As for graphics, they’re not bad, but also not great. There’s absolutely zero anti-aliasing, which makes the game a pixelated nightmare, and scenery could be a bit better, especially in Mount Panorama, where you can get a good look out at the horizon. The mountains in the background look pretty horrible, and it makes you feel you traveled back in time to the late 90s. However, I can’t be too harsh on the graphics. For a mobile game on a smartphone, the game looks pretty incredible.

As for the freemium model in Real Racing 3, this is where things can get a bit controversial. Since the game is free, Firemonkey and EA rely on the in-app purchases of coins to make revenue. Whenever your car needs servicing or you upgrade parts, you have to wait a few minutes for them to complete, sometimes up to 10 minutes. Of course, you can speed the process up by spending a couple of coins, but once you’re all out, you have to buy more if you don’t want to wait for things to finish. Essentially, Firemonkey and EA are counting on your impatience in order to make money with this game, and my guess is that they’ll make a fortune.

You can buy more coins starting at $1.99 for 10 of them, and you can also buy more in-game currency for buying cars and upgrades starting at $1.99 for R$50,000. And considering that Real Racing 2 only cost $4.99, you can end up spending way more in Real Racing 3. However, if patience is your virtue, then you probably won’t have a problem with the game, but if you’re the type of person who wants upgrades now and wants your oil change and tire rotation right this second, prepare to spend a ton of money on the game.

Real Racing 3 for iOS Review is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Early last month, we reported that Temple Run: Oz edition would be hitting virtual shelves come February 27 in commemoration of the movie Oz the Great and Powerful. It’s a few days after that date, but the game is now available for both Android and iOS users to download from their respective app stores. This follows closely on the heels of Temple Run 2, which was released earlier this year.

This massively popular running game takes players into the world of Oz, where they run along the yellow brick road and flee from flying monkeys. The environment in the game was directly inspired by the movie, and so those who have seen the latter will recognize the common elements when playing Temple Run: Oz. This includes a trip in a hot air balloon, during which time the player will have a chance to grab more coins.

The environment itself changes as the gamer plays, something that will be familiar to those who have played Temple Run 2. Weekly challenges are provided as well, allowing players to compete with their friends. Those who download the game today will get 1500 coins for free, so don’t delay if you’re planning to play at some point.

The Android version requires Android 2.2 and higher, and is 28MB in size, while the iOS version requires iOS 5.0 or later and is optimized for the iPhone 5, coming in at a larger 45.9MB. Both versions are priced at $0.99, and are rated 9+ for fantasy and mild cartoon violence. Chinese, Dutch, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish versions are available.

[via Play Store, via App Store]

Temple Run: Oz now available via Google Play and the App Store is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.