Portable console pick: NVIDIA SHIELD Portable ($199)
The portable gaming console/computer developed by Nvidia sports the world’s fastest mobile processor, the new Tegra 4 with quad-core ARM A15 CPU technology. This means that the intensity of the graphics will blow you out of your seat. It runs Android and looks like a fancy Xbox controller with a 5-inch touchscreen display on top of it; very ergonomically designed to fit your hands. You can access the Google Play store and all your favorite apps. Watch Netflix and Hulu, of course, or read your favorite movie formats like FLV, MKV and even 4K. But the real beauty of it is the Nvidia’s GameStream suite, allowing the ultra-low-latency streaming of games that run from a computer equipped with a GeForce GTX 650 or higher video card. Connect it to any HDTV using Bluetooth 4.0 or miniHDMI. It also has a Micro-USB port, a MicroSD card reader and a 3.5mm audio jack, plus a great built-in bass-reflex finely tuned sound system. The best part: You can recruit your SHIELD to new adventures by piloting an AR Drone with unique precision, capturing HD footage directly to it. It is also keyboard- and mouse-compatible.
Transistor ($19.99 Steam, App Store)
by: Supergiant games
I tend not to write about heavy PlayStation 4 compatible games but this sci-fi themed RPG is banging like their other title Bastion, and has a fancy soundtrack. Fast-paced and futuristic, Transistor‘s artfulness is clear from the beginning, that is, if you can spare the 4GB space and have at least 1GB GPU (graphics). In a city called Cloudbank, a singer Red is ambushed by the Process, a militia commanded by the mysterious Camerata. During her persecution, Red comes into possession of an extraordinary great-sword forged to take her own life: The Transistor. Be a runaway with Red in 1080p resolution and wield the futuristic Transistor out of danger. The game seamlessly integrates thoughtful strategic planning into a fast-paced action experience, melding responsive gameplay and rich atmospheric storytelling. As the adventure progresses, players will have to solve the Transistor’s mysteries while pursuing its evil former owners. Check out the trailer; the best description won’t give justice to this visually stunning game.
Mobile Game Pick: BombSquad
Welcome to an action-packed party game by Eric Froemling; now available anywhere mobile (Mac App Store, Amazon, Google Play and OUYA indie console.) Explosive and ingenious, you can have up to eight local players all at once bombing each other away, or team up against the computer. There’s all sorts of fun mini-games, including Capture-the-Flag, King-of-the-Hill, Bomber-Hockey, and of course Epic-Slow-Motion-Elimination for a small fee. It’s intuitive enough that anyone can learn to play rather quickly and is best played with some sort of controller. But it’s playable on any touchscreen. I’ll leave you guys with the Bombsquadinator’s Youtube Channel. Don’t get it confused with the Kickstarter Bomb Squad, which is an intense co-op that got funded. The other game revolves around situational awareness. You only get 30 minutes to de-activate a bomb while you have multiple variables stressing you out. Looks pretty good too. But what am I saying, call your friends and bombs away!
Tech Pick: Oculus VR DK2 $350
A very passionate virtual reality community has emerged from a Kicktarter campaign, now featuring their second development kit and promising to continue their journey to change the negative perceptions of VR. They have come a long way from the first version, and this kit features low-persistence, high-def display and precise low-latency positional head tracking. Although not quite consumer level, I had to highlight how the Oculus has almost eliminated motion blur and judder, reducing simulation sickness, and increasing the feeling of complete immersion. The 960 x 1080 per-eye display and its visual stability have blown me away; almost no screen-door effect. The DK2 integrates an external camera for tracking opening the Pandora’s box of virtual development. There’s going to be a lot of competition, and Samsung is planning to disturb the market. We’ll Just kick back and try to absorb all the infinite potential this technology could create, it’s like a gold-rush for every professional field.
For very challenging play, try this real-time strategy game. You are the blue units, and the bigger your "planet" gets, the more units you will produce. Conquer specific pointed "galaxies" to expand your empire; this is a very abstract and well-balanced game where your opponents start with the same resources as you. It feels like you are floating in the universe with artsy minimalistic graphics. It is very much music-driven; when you "invade" your opponents' "planets," the soundtrack smoothly coalesces into a melodic war-like confrontation. Very relaxing for a conquer-the-map type of game. But it's very difficult early on, so be ready to get really brainy with your strategy because fast reflexes will get you nowhere on this game app.
Festival Pick: The 17th Independent Games Festival
March 2-6, 2015 San Fransisco California
The big event was established in 1998 by UBM TECH, producers of Gamasutra and the Game Developers Conference. Tons of cash prizes and major exposure has been awarded at the IGF to a plethora of student and indie game developers who gather together each year in hopes of landing that distribution or production deal. There are three elements to the festival: The Independent Games Festival Pavilion, which showcases all the year’s finalists. You can sit down and play the games, heated discussions and demonstrations take place. The Independent Games Festival Awards, happen on the third day, as a major celebration of the best indie gaming of the year. And The Independent Games Summit, which highlights the best and brightest with a series of interesting panels ranging from guerrilla marketing concepts, to actual game design topics. Great way to try to break through the gaming industry. Of the games that have come from IGF; multiple award winning Papers, Please is a strangely unique way to become an immigration officer in a fictitious communist nation.
Wind-up Knight 2
By Robot Invader
Wind-up Knight was the first game made by these cool developers from the Silicon Valley, in 2011. Ten million people had played it, creating a huge fan base. They have insanely revamped the sequel to make it a very long and much more complicated game, in-app purchases of course. The high end 3D graphics are beautiful, and the unique mechanics make it worth checking out this action-packed sequence with a fantasy/medieval times appeal. There's a bunch of side-quests, a tournament mode and you can customize your knight and get tons of cool gear. It's got the side-scrolling adventure mechanics, but you can't stop running, and your knight winds down if you don't wind him up along the way. Double jumping over a spike trap while diving sword-first into a crazed Hippogriff seems a good idea for our royal automaton!
This article appears in Nov 13-19, 2014.