Phew, back from a long hiatus, thanks to a particularly intensive PMP course. Anyways, back to the business of gaming. Disney Mobile Games has released an update to their smash, or should I say, splash hit Where’s My Perry?. This time along, the beloved Animal Agents from the TV Series join Agent P in 60+ new levels to help fight Dr. Doofenshmirtz and his army of Evil Objects.

Players will need to tangle with new obstacles to solve puzzles, such as “Dirt-splosions” that create patches of dirt out of thin air and Dr. Doofenshmirtz’ s most powerful “-inator” yet, the “Turf-inator”! Players will also be entertained by hilarious new animated sequences featuring the familiar faces of the Peter the Panda, Pinky the Chihuahua and other Animal Agents.

Also out this week is the summer-themed game Where’s My Summer? Hot sand, ocean waves, sun umbrellas, and summer spy adventures await fans of Where’s My Perry? ! To celebrate the start of summer players can now enjoy 12 all-new limited-time levels featuring Agent P for free in Where’s My Summer?  With uniquely summer themes such as beach balls, cruise ships, sandcastles, laser waves and more, Where’s My Summer? brings some fun in the sun to mobile devices. Hidden achievements and fun character animations enhance the fun and excitement for all players!

Where’s My Summer? is available for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad on the iTunes App Store at http://bit.ly/10OrKZi and coming soon to Android devices. The Where’s My Perry? New Agents Pack is available today for $.99 via In-App purchase in the iOS (http://bit.ly/YYz4kL) and soon Android version of the game.

Sometimes less is truly more, and in the case of the VOX audio player, that was true as millions of Mac fans adopted the flexible OS X multimedia app with the sleek minimalist design and gorgeous sound output.  However, because VOX was developed as a personal side project, it never reached its full potential.

Today, Coppertino, an award-winning developer of OS X software, announced that VOX 0.96 is now open for public beta registration at http://www.coppertino.com/vox/.  Coppertino is offering all Mac users the opportunity to be the first to try out the updated version of Vox, and to help shape the dynamic audio player before it is released to the masses.

Originally released to great promise by Italian student Alessio Nonni, the VOX OS X audio player was quickly adopted by millions of Mac users thanks to its easy-to-use design and ability to handle an extremely wide variety of formats, including FLAC, MP3, AAC, Musepack, Monkey’s Audio, OGG Vorbis, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV, IT, MOD, XM and others.

Now, backed with a new user interface and powerful BASS engine, VOX 0.96 is a robust audio player for OS X devices that delivers high-quality sound within a minimalistic and intuitive design framework. “We have been fans of the VOX audio player precisely because of its simple approach to design and use, and its ability to handle almost any audio file,” said Ivan Ablamsky, Founder of Coppertino.  “We are eager to work with the Mac community to see that VOX reaches its full potential.”

Developer i-Free has just released their latest casual racing title, Jelly Racing, for both Android and iOS platforms. The game features two game modes, party play and single player in which players swipe their jellies along the track and flick them over obstacles for a high score and try and reach the finish line in the minimum number of turns.

Billed as a turn-based racing game, each of the four jellies available to the players have their own distinctive character, thus adding an additional layer of strategy to the game. Each track has its own set of turns, obstacles and power-ups and the game has 40 of them spread across 4 different planets in the Jelly galaxy. The game is available on the iTunes App Store for USD 1.99 (click here) and for free on Google Play with in-app purchases (click here)

I got wind of a new Counter-Strike: Global Offensive update early Sunday morning, and after pacifying my daughter, I decided to update the game via Steam and started playing it to see what’s new. To my pleasant surprise, additional maps were made available for play including one that piqued my interest, Seaside.

Now, this is a Workshop map and it was pretty well built. Playing as CT, it was a challenge as there’s plenty of uphill segments. Playing on the Terrorist side was interesting as well, the choke points on the way to Bomb Site B made for very interesting grenade lobbing action. At one point, I made a “Hail Mary” throw of a flashbang and even though it was a gamble, I ended up with obtaining the achievement “The Road to Hell”.

This achievement is obtained when you blind an enemy player who then proceeds to kill his teammate. I suppose you can have better luck gambling on mobile casinos, but is pretty much who dares wins whether is it on a Counter-Strike map or on a poker table. Pretty ballsy action ensued when playing as CT, having obtained the “Second to None” achievement as well, after managing to defuse a bomb with less than a second before it exploded. My team was behind at the time, and that allowed us to draw level.

If you’ve got the chance, check out the new maps on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and it’s also an opportunity to reward the makers of the featured Workshop maps with Operation Pay Back.

I read somewhere that hardcore EVE Online players have expressed doubt on CCP Games (the developers of EVE Online) latest PS3 title, DUST 514. The skepticism comes from the fact that the console title ties in to what generally known as one of the really hardcore MMOs available on the PC platform. Oh well, time will tell on whether such an integration would affect the gameplay experience on either game. In the meantime, check out the press release of the upcoming DUST 514:

CCP Games, the world’s leading independent developer of massively multiplayer games, has announced that DUST 514® will launch on May 14, 2013. The groundbreaking, free-to-play first-person-shooter launches on PlayStation®3, and players can join the war for galactic supremacy with the ease of a free download. As with CCP’s first game, EVE Online®, launch is only the beginning of the voyage with DUST 514.

Gamers can look forward to an ever-progressing game, built on the experience CCP has gathered over the past decade, as new features and upgrades are rolled out for years to come. The way to victory is now open to any intergalactic mercenary with the guns and grit to accept the challenge.

“Reaching this point has required many years, hundreds of CCP employees, and the engagement of millions of players who contributed fantastic feedback during the beta process,” said Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of CCP. “Now we start the real journey, which, decades from now, we will look back on with astonishment at all we accomplished. The EVE Universe will outlive us all.”

With the launch of DUST 514, the struggle for interstellar dominance in New Eden escalates as DUST mercenaries forge their path to glory. The power to topple empires will be in the hands of all who choose to seize it.  The game’s massive battlegrounds, deadly weapons, and futuristic vehicles form the foundation of the deep first-person shooter action that awaits, while unrivaled customization options allow players to shape their strategic advantage, tactical edge, and combat style with cunning and skill.

DUST 514 is also fully integrated with New Eden, the notorious setting of EVE Online, a massive game universe that recently surpassed a half-million subscribers worldwide. As DUST players wage war in this first-person shooter at unprecedented scale, the outcome of each ground battle impacts the persistent universe, shifting the tide of war for legions of participants.

Mercenaries can gain the advantage by coordinating with starship pilots in EVE Online, calling in devastating orbital strikes against opposing squads. The fortunes of DUST 514 players will rise and fall as they align themselves with like-minded warriors to make their mark across the EVE Universe.

Stay tuned to Nineoverten.com for more news on DUST 514, and do check out Sky TV UK which gives you unprecedented access to TV and Internet, just the thing you need to keep up to date to the gaming world.

Now if Thomas Gruber’s Electronics Engineering Toolkit Pro for iPad app was released years ago, it would have probably made life easy in my Living Skills class at school. Anyways, this app, aimed at hobbyist, students and engineers features a massive collection of useful calculators, simulators, circuit and application examples, covering a wide gamut of areas in electronics engineering.

The app features 65 electronic applications, huge reference pages covering connectors, components (including 7400 series, PIC family, etc) with the option of opening PDF datasheets, fast-on-the-fly conversions and calculations, real-time circuit simulations and many more. I took delivery of several cool stuff such as an Arduino UNO board and a Raspberry Pi in recent months, so this app will come in handy as well. Speaking of deliveries and stuff, check out the following Anyvan.com if you are out on the market for courier and delivery services.

The Electronics Engineering Toolkit Pro for iPad app is available on the iTunes App Store for USD 3.99. Check it out over here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scientific-electronics-circuit/id393145367?mt=8&ls=1

Hehe…. one of our favourite comic book characters, Deadpool, is having some company in his upcoming video game for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC, aptly titled Deadpool. You see, the neurotic, or should I say, totally unhinged anti-hero, had a problem with sharing space with other superheroes/villains, but we have his therapist to thank as Mr. Sinister and uber hot fan-favourite Psylocke are making their way to the game as well. Check out what the man has to say about this:

A note from our friend Deadpool:

Sooo, uhhhh, APPARENTLY there are characters in my new upcoming Activision game, DEADPOOL, who are not Deadpool! Right??

I thought it was pretty clear when I said I wanted a true Deadpool game that it would star Deadpool…in every role! My star power shouldn’t be limited to the central protagonist. I should be playing the hero, the anti-hero, the villain who eventually changes sides to join forces against the TRUE villain (me), the romantic interest, the quirky best friend, the comic relief, and at least 8 other characters in fat suits! Is that too much to ask?!

But…I’ve been talking to my therapist…and she says it’s important that I not allow the existence of other people who are not me to determine my own self-worth. I just have to be the best unhinged mutant mercenary I can be. So, here’s a look at some of the…other…characters you can meet in DEADPOOL…

With the upcoming release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows this summer for the PC (via steam), Xbox Live Arcade and Sony Playstation Network, Activision Publishing, Inc. and Red Fly Studio are shining a light on each of the varied personas that make up this formidable team of half-shell heroes. Today the spotlight is on my favourite member of the turtles, Michelangelo.

Always ready with a punch and a punchline, the orange-draped Michelangelo puts a literal spin on the phrase “party animal.” He’s a fun-loving foodie with an appetite for goofing off instead of training. But despite his lighthearted tone and distaste for confrontation, Mikey is no less committed to the cause than his older brothers, whom he looks up to as role models.

True to his energetic and light personality, the nunchaku-wielding Michelangelo possesses by far the highest attack speed of any of his Turtle brethren, but also the lowest single target damage rating, standing in stark contrast to the more balanced stats of Leonardo. Mikey relies on his ability to evade damage and quickly build up combos and special moves to take down foes before they can return the favor.

For more information on the game, head over to the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TMNTOutOfTheShadows and be sure to stick to Nineoverten.com for more news on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

The first Yodel-Oh! title came out in 2011 and it was a fun casual iOS title which borrowed quite a bit (in a good way) from carnival type shooting galleries. The game received a 4 out of 5 rating from us, check out the original review over here. Now, developers Spinlight Studio are back at it again with the brand new YodelOh Math Mountain which is now available on the iTunes App Store. This time, the game aims at mashing math problems with its super fun gameplay. From the press release:

Lace up your lederhosen and hit the hills in the fast-paced, target-tapping adventure that transforms traditional math tables into a mountain of fun. Based on the classic tin target carnival games of yesteryear, YodelOh™ Math Mountain centers on the adventures of Hans the Hiker, Greta the Swiss Miss and a heard of half-crazed mountain sheep determined to knock Hans off his heals. Solve the most addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems before Hans takes a header off the cliff and you could be the next King of the Mountain!

The game is available at a special launch price of USD 0.99 on the iTunes App Store. Check it out over here: http://www.nineoverten.com/2011/08/26/yodel-oh-iphone-game-review-great-simple-stuff/

The folks at indie development studio Sundae Factory have just launched their Steam Greenlight page for their up and coming platformer/puzzle game Ecotone (PC & Mac). Ecotone is a little platform game with an evolving gameplay allowing brainwork and/or skill phases. The game’s primary focus is to invite the gamer in a strange world, and it features a dreamlike and mysterious atmosphere.

This being a Steam Greenlight project, the game must receive votes from the gaming community before the game is made available on Steam. To get more details on Sundae Factory (basically to make an informed decision), you can head over to their brand new website: www.ecotonegame.com. There is a demo of the game available on that site as well.

Once you are done, be sure to check out their Steam Greenlight page over here: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=139353742