Funny where I end reviewing games sometimes. I was out the other day with my wife and mother-in-law, both of them were shopping at a very busy street for curtains. Due to the lack of parking spots, I opted to wait in the car (with the engine off) at a back lane, and pick them up when they were done. It was during this time I completed my review of Boulder Dash-XL for the iPhone.

I would classify Boulder Dash-XL as a modern day remake of a classic 2D action-puzzle game. You take control of one of two rather cute mining robots, and each level is a cave where you’ll need to mine a certain number of diamonds before the exit opens up. Video games are rarely straightforward and the same goes for Boulder Dash-XL; there’s a clock to beat.

And like mining in real life, which is fraught with dangers (collapsing mines, gas leaks, explosions, etc), Boulder Dash-XL mines have their fair shares of dangers as well. Digging your way through the caves, you may end up triggering falling boulders, and this may be a good or bad thing since you may not be alone in a level. Players can use these to destroy monsters that they encounter, or to open up paths to diamonds…just remember to quickly step aside when stuff starts falling down.

Those folks passing by at the back lane the other day would have heard me saying “Crap, crap, crap” the first few times my robot got crushed by boulders (the hint to avoid this from happening is already in the game’s title: “Boulder Dash”.. so much for not paying attention) since I had the window down. There’s also the option of blowing monsters up with dynamite, or simply run (again, the dash part).

For me, Boulder Dash-XL represents plenty of awesome value with its over 100 levels, and is pretty much geared for casual gameplay, with levels easily done in a minute or more. The gameplay represents a nice, fun challenge to players, partially due to the level design as well, and there are 5 game modes to choose from. The game’s graphics, which according to the devs are similar to the Xbox 360 and PC versions of this remake, which further adds to the arguement on why do I need a console anymore (and this is why my brother gets to keep the PS3..which I have 3/4 ownership of).

Boulder Dash-XL gets a 4.5 out of 5 as this retro remake comes out a winner and is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Published by HeroCraft, the game is available on the App Store for USD 2.99, check it out over here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/boulder-dash-xl/id543561520?mt=8

A review code was provided to Nineoverten.com for the purpose of this review.

 Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has just launched a new free-to-play iOS app, Midway Arcade Free, which is a compilation of classic retro Midway titles, for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Players will be able to re-connect and re-master their favorite arcade games on the go with this ultimate collection. Midway Arcade Free comes equipped with Joust, plus four skill-based mini-games, Pool, Air Hockey, Roll Ball and Basketball, all for free.

Players also have the option to purchase additional Midway classics through In-App Purchase. The extra fun will be available through four distinct Game Packs which are as follows:

• Guns & Glory Pack: A.P.B., NARC, Total Carnage
• Fantasy & Magic Pack: Gauntlet I, Gauntlet II, Wizard of Wor
• Spy & Espionage Pack: Defender, Spy Hunter
• Score Attack Pack: Arch Rivals, Rampage, Root Beer Tapper

Players can compete against their friends, earn achievements and dominate online leaderboards. For an authentic retro experience, Midway Arcade Free is compatible with iCade, the retro arcade-style cabinet for iPad.  The miniature wooden cabinet is perfectly sized for iPad, and connects via Bluetooth to a full-sized joystick and buttons for a genuine arcade experience.

The Midway Arcade App is available for free from the App Store on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore. The Game Packs are available for $0.99 each through In-App Purchase.

Remember when we first mentioned about the London Games Festival Art Exhibition? Guess what, the entire collection from the exhibition will be auctioned off for the benefit of SpecialEffect. SpecialEffect is a unique charity doing whatever it takes to help everyone with disabilities to have a better quality of life through games, art and technology.

The exhibition – which was the centrepiece of the month-long London Games Festival 2012 funded by Ukie – saw over 100 pieces of art displayed at London’s City Hall, in an event supported by the Mayor of London.

Rare and never-before-seen pieces from games such as Batman: Arkham City from London-based developer Rocksteady Studios were hung proudly beside pieces from legendary artists such as Yuji Uekawa and Yoji Shinkawa in an exhibition which celebrated the culture of videogames and London’s contribution to it.

The collection will be made available to bid on in four batches, with the first going online now, with a further three batches featuring art from the exhibition being added to the auction every Monday until the 3^rd of December. Included in the initial batch are three signed pieces from Batman: Arkham City, two Fable 3 pieces signed by Peter Molyneux and the artists, a signed Metal Gear Solid ‘Raiden’ canvass, plus pieces from Tomb Raider, Dishonored, Moshi Monsters and Runescape, among many others.

“We were absolutely overwhelmed with the number of people that came to the exhibition,” says Kirsty Payne, festival director, London Games Festival. “People from all walks of life – those who played games, and those who didn’t – travelled far and wide to appreciate the phenomenal pieces of art which have been kindly donated by the industry.

“We were also immensely gratified by how everyone reacted when we showed them the work that SpecialEffect does – and we’re incredibly excited about the potential this auction has. Amazing, one-of-a-kind pieces, with all proceeds going to this amazing charity. Not only is it going to be a good Christmas for the winning bidders, but for those who benefit from SpecialEffect’s brilliant work too.” (see more about SpecialEffect here http://www.specialeffect.org.uk )

The London Games Art auction is taking place for the next four weeks from today at www.londongamesart.com, with additional pieces of art from the exhibition being added every Monday until the 3^rd of December.

One retro title from the 1980s is about to make its iOS debut. The Boulder Dash series was released for the likes of the Apple II and Commodore 64 and the upcoming iOS version is titled Boulder Dash-XL, published by HeroCraft and First Star Software Inc, the owners of the Boulder Dash IP.

The core gameplay has not been changed, players race against time to collect diamonds while besting hordes of enemies and avoiding numerous traps. The new version of the game will feature five game modes and more than 100 levels. Players can elect to play as either Rockford™ or Crystal™ in four beautiful and different worlds. In addition to the classic Boulder Dash game elements, Boulder Dash-XL includes telescopic arms for remote manipulation of objects; teleporters and numerous new enemies.

Pavel Prokonich, CEO of HeroCraft: “We at HeroCraft remember spending hours in front of our screens trying to escape those falling boulders and having a great time of it! We hope iOS users will enjoy digging into this amazingly fun gameplay just as millions of players before them have for close to 30 years!”

Richard M. Spitalny, president of First Star Software, Inc., owners of the Boulder Dash IP, went on to say: “Catnip Games, GmbH & Co. KG co-developed Boulder Dash-XL with us for Xbox LIVE Arcade and Windows PC and HeroCraft has done a truly fantastic job of porting the game over to all of the popular iOS devices.”

The game will be available on the iTunes App Store for a selling price of USD 2.99. Stay tuned to Nineoverten.com for news and reviews upon its release.

When you are company with a pedigree like Atari, what would you do in a world where smartphones and casual gaming rule? Answer: You’d mine your backlog of games to come up with modern iterations that would fit perfectly on the small screens (bar the Galaxy Note) being carried in the pockets of millions around the world.

Atari has just re-introduced their retro Atari Outlaw franchise to smartphones, coming up with a brand new gallery shooter with the same name, but combining the Western themes of the original hit with colourful hand-drawn graphics, an expanded arsenal of weapons and smooth touch-screen controls.

From the Press Release: Developed by Flying Wisdom Studios, the Wild West shooter puts players in the boots of a well-armed bounty hunter, out to become the quickest draw in the West. By gunning down banditos, miners, and other yellow-bellied varmints, players will collect in-game silver and gold, which can be used to buy new weapons, upgrade their firearms, and restock on ammunition. Players can gun for the top spot on the leaderboards and prove to their friends just who among them is the toughest gunslinger in the saloon.

“Atari’s 40th Anniversary is the perfect time to release a fresh version of Atari Outlaw for mobile devices,” said Jim Wilson, CEO of Atari. “Like last month’s Super Bunny Breakout™, Atari Outlaw remains true to the skill-based arcade spirit of the original, fully updated to harness modern features and touchscreen capabilities.”

The game is available for FREE on the iTunes App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id553864821

As part of the London Games Festival, a free week-long exhibition showcasing the very best of videogame art is to be held at City Hall next week starting from midday Monday 22nd and running through until 6.00 p.m. on Friday 26th. The Games Art Exhibition is set to be the first time that videogames have appeared at the home of the Greater London Authority.

The public will have the chance to enjoy a uniquely curated art exhibition in an exclusive setting in which exclusive visuals from some of the best games ever made will be on display, with the collection being auctioned for charity. London-based developer Rocksteady Studios has donated some stunning Batman: Arkham City canvases, whilst publisher Bethesda has commissioned its Dishonored artists to produce an exclusive London vista.

Other work on display includes pieces from Mind Candy, Sports Interactive, Lionhead – with a special appearance from Konami as part of the Metal Gear Solid 25^th anniversary celebrations. The games industry was valued at close to £3 billion last year, thanks to the success of companies like Rocksteady, Sports Interactive, Mind Candy and MediaTonic, to name but a few.

“The UK’s digital economy is clustered in London and the emergence of Tech City shows there is capacity for growth,” says Munira Mirza, Deputy Mayor for Education and Culture. “The games industry makes a huge contribution to the London economy, with a wealth of creative and entrepreneurial talent, whose work and influence often goes beyond the games sector.”

The City Hall exhibition is one of dozens of events featured in the London Games Festival, which range from massive consumer exhibitions and game launches to careers fairs and educational summits. The festival celebrates and promotes the culture of games and interactive entertainment to the wider public and showcases the creative talent and skills that we have in the UK games industry.

From console blockbusters to innovative web and smartphone games, London leads the way in interactive entertainment, which is a real British success story. It is big business and earns enormous revenue for London and the UK, and creates jobs and growth.

“This prestigious art exhibition at the home of the Mayor of London is an illustration of how the city is embracing the London Games Festival,” adds Dr Jo Twist, CEO, Ukie. “It’s brilliant to see gaming being recognised and celebrated as a valuable cultural contributor, and we hope as many people as possible take this unique opportunity to head to City Hall to see this wonderful collection.”

Pieces from the collection will be available to buy via auction throughout the exhibition, with all proceeds going to SpecialEffect, a unique charity doing whatever it takes to help everyone with disabilities to have a better quality of life through games, art and technology. For more information visit www.londongamesart.com and www.specialeffect.org.uk

The Games Art Exhibition opens at midday on Monday 22^nd October 2012 until 6:00pm, Friday 26^th October. Opening times for the rest of the week are 9:00am – 6:00pm. It is free to attend.

Remember the old Taito arcade classic, Crazy Climber? The folks at CocoaChina have come up with a brand new iOS game, Pocket Climber, which is based on that retro title. The iOS app was developed by CocoaChina’s development studio, Punchbox Studios, and is now available in the App Store. In Pocket Climber, players scale skyscrapers, dodge dangerous obstacles including King Kong, and collect coins along the way while fighting to the top.

“We’re focused on delivering games that appeal to players around the world,” said Gary Liu, Founder and COO of CocoaChina. “We adapted Pocket Climber to offer a challenging yet intuitive game that players of all ages, and from all over, can enjoy.”

Pocket Climber is an endless runner that keeps going up and up, challenging players to test their vertical limit. “We’ve specifically optimized the iPhone version of the game so players can hold the mobile device in one hand, navigating gameplay with their thumb only, which is the most natural gesture to interact with a phone.” said Liu.

The game is available on the iTunes App Store for just 99 cents, check it out over here: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id521015181?mt=8

I thought I unsubscribed my email address from a mailing list from a particular group-buying site but at this moment, I’m glad I’m still receiving e-mails from them, just for this particular LOL moment. Hulala.com.my’s feature item for today is a “Nintendo Game Console System” which comes loaded with a “89-in-1 game cartridge“, all for a really “low” price of RM 84 (about 28 dollars).

Typical of the language found in other group buying sites, the product description promises a jam-packed day and the device comes with one month warranty. I wonder whether whoever that approved this to be sold on the group buying site realised that this is a counterfeit product, and that the games are pirated. Got to admire what the designer did though, taking off the word “New” from the Super Mario Bros title, and throwing in Sonic the Hedgehog for good measure.

Here’s the page if you are interested http://www.hulala.com.my/deal/nintendo-game-ngc

There’s a new video games console slated to hit the market by the end of the year, and it’s not from Microsoft, Nintendo or Sony. Hang on to your seat as SNK Playmore, in partnership with Tommo Inc, is set to release the NEOGEO X GOLD entertainment system on December 6th 2012. According to the press release, this follows the 20th anniversary of the ground breaking NEOGEO AES console, and as such the new console will have all of the features of a home arcade and the convenience of a handheld gaming device. The suggested retail price for the NEOGEO X GOLD console is USD 199.99.

The NEOGEO X GOLD entertainment system comes complete with the NEOGEO X Station, the NEOGEO X Handheld with 20 pre-loaded NEOGEO classic titles, and the NEOGEO X Joystick. In addition to coming pre-loaded with 20 NEOGEO classic titles, the NEOGEO X Handheld device features a crisp 4.3″ LCD display, an expandable game card slot, internal stereo speakers, and a 3.5mm headphone jack for a personal gaming experience you can take anywhere. The NEOGEO X Handheld device works with the NEOGEO X Joystick and NEOGEO X Station to charge the handheld device and transfer the action directly to a television set or monitor, via HDMI or A/V out, for a true arcade experience right at home.

The full list of NEOGEO X Handheld pre-installed games is as follows:

• 3 COUNT BOUT
• LEAGUE BOWLING
• ART OF FIGHTING II
• MAGICIAN LORD
• ALPHA MISSION II
• METAL SLUG
• BASEBALL STARS II
• MUTATION NATION
• CYBER LIP
• NAM 1975
• FATAL FURY
• PUZZLED
• FATAL FURY SPECIAL
• REAL BOUT – FATAL FURY SPECIAL
• THE KING OF FIGHTERS ’95
• SAMURAI SHODOWN II
• KING OF THE MONSTERS
• SUPER SIDEKICKS
• LAST RESORT
• WORLD HEROES PERFECT

“Great game consoles don’t die; they’re just reborn in much more affordable and convenient packages,” said Tommo CEO Jonathan Wan. “The NEOGEO X GOLD is a love letter to one of my favorite consoles of all time, and working with SNK PLAYMORE to acquire the NEOGEO license, Tommo Inc. looks to provide gaming and entertainment enthusiasts with a classic arcade experience both at home and on the go.”

Distribution of the NEOGEO X GOLD entertainment system for European and Asian territories will be handled exclusively by BLAZE and Success Company. North American distribution of the NEOGEO X GOLD entertainment system will be handled exclusively by Tommo, Inc.

There’s a new game that I’m addicted to on the iPad but you’ll be surprised that it’s actually a port of a really really old game. Warlords Classic HD is a 21st century port by ALSEDI Group of the original Warlords turn-based strategy game created by Steven Fawkner and published by SSG back in 1989. Just to give you an idea of how old this title is, I actually remember playing Warlords IV in 2003!

OK, back to the game. You get a pretty faithful port in Warlords Classic HD, and being a turn-based game, you can take on 7 other opponents which can be a mix of human or A.I. For the latter you can actually set the difficulty level for each of them but trust me, even at the lowest setting, it’s almost akin to playing against a bunch of chess masters.

The game features the pixelated retro graphics of the old game, as well as the music so fans of the old game are in for a treat here. How you go about playing the game would be to conquer cities, amass large armies by producing units in those cities and then sending them to destroy the enemy. Your units can be stacked up to eight on a single tile and occasionally powerful heroes may make themselves available for hire. My approach to combat would be to deploy an a full stack (8 units) against an enemy stack….and hope for the best.

There are other things to do besides combat, such as exploring the massive map and there are some ruins scattered about to check out. The only thing that I find to be a drawback in the game (especially when you’ve got limited time) is that you’ll need to wait out for your turn as the game will show the AI taking their turns…and with plenty of units on the map, this can be quite a wait.

Don’t forget to check out the stats and the production vectoring available in-game. It’s pretty damn cool to see where your units head off to, and this level of reporting is unprecedented in an iOS game. If you are looking for some really strong turn-based strategy gameplay, Warlords Classic HD is worth checking out. Nine Over Ten 9/10 rates it at a 4.5 out of 5. The game is available now on the iTunes App Store for a price of USD 2.99: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id532024361

A review code was provided to Nineoverten.com for the purpose of this review.