platformers

Sonic 4 Episode II for Android looks and plays just like the old platform Sonic the Hedgehog games we're used to, minus the tangible game controllers, of course. Still, with a virtual directional pad and jump button flanking the sides of your touch screen, running around and snatching up rings is just as fun as before. The game settings also let you turn on haptic feedback or switch to tilt control if you prefer.

In this follow-up to Sonic 4 Episode I, Sonic teams up with his old buddy Tails, bringing an array of new partnered attacks into the … Read more

When Google co-founder Sergey Brin demoed Google Glass, the search giant's attempt to build a next-generation wearable computer, with skydivers live streaming their descent, it became very clear that Glass wasn't some side project -- it was Google's future.

Glass won't be available to consumers until 2014, but a select group of developers will have the chance to purchase the "Explorer" edition of Glass in early 2013.

Why is Google giving Glass to developers more than a year before its consumer debut? Simple: Google wants to turn Glass into the next major developer platform.… Read more

Spellsword is an excellent and almost blindingly fast-paced arena-combat arcade game with addictive RPG elements, super-cute 16-bit fantasy art, and often hypnotic chiptune sound.

At first glance, Spellsword shares some similarities with another great game, Super Crate Box: Both have you dodging enemies and chasing powerups around a satisfyingly cramped playscreen--but Spellsword adds a couple of twists, with a mini RPG-style purchasing system (you collect "rupees," which you can then use between levels to buy equipment and make your powers more effective) and a unique take on power-ups with "spell cards." As you bounce around the (… Read more

Two months after the launch of a new line of Smart Wi-Fi routers, the EA series, Cisco finally announced today that the Cisco Connect Cloud for the new routers is now live.

Cisco Connect Cloud is a software platform for Linksys Smart Wi-Fi routers -- currently comprising the Linksys EA2700, EA3500, and EA4500 -- intended to change the way consumers interact with their connected personal entertainment devices and home appliances, all via the Internet. For example, instead of the Cisco Connect Express mobile app, which works only within a local network, users can now opt for the Internet-based Cisco Connect Cloud mobile app, or just log in at the Cisco Connect Cloud portal, and be in complete control of their home network, no matter where they are.

There's a lot more to this, however. For the first time Cisco is allowing, and encouraging, independent developers to create mobile apps for its home network routers, specifically those in the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router family. According to Cisco, available immediately are six other iOS apps developed by third parties for the EA series, including Twonky Video and IP Camera Viewer.… Read more

Facebook made a simple announcement today -- its virtual currency, "credits," is to become real currency, such as dollars, pounds, or rupees. Despite this being a seemingly straightforward notice, a lot can be read into this plan.

It points to the social network looking for additional ways to make money besides advertising and it shows the company's goal to grow as a payment platform embarking on a similar path to Apple with its iTunes store.

The idea of Facebook credits were first debuted in 2008 when the social network changed the monetary units for its "gifts&… Read more

Unity Technologies, maker of a widely used video-game engine, today announced that its fourth-generation product will introduce new animation technology and extend its support for Adobe Systems' Flash Player, Linux, and Microsoft's DirectX 11.

The game engine brings physics simulations and other tools to programmers -- especially those who want to reach multiple computing systems. Such "cross-platform" developer tools are a good fit for today's world: Unity games can be adapted for Windows, OS X, iOS, Android, Xbox, PS3, Wii, and the Web, though adjustments are necessary for performance and interface differences.

Unity 4 will be … Read more

iOS gamers are starting to feel the love after an announcement today at Apple's WWDC press conference. Game Center will be coming to Mountain Lion when it launches this July. If a title is available on both platforms (iOS and OS X), two friends will be able to play each other -- but that's not it. Game Center on Mountain Lion will also allow for Mac-to-Mac support in addition to support with AirPlay. … Read more

Just a day after its launch, the Thunderclap app has apparently been silenced by Twitter.

The app, which allows multiple users to send the same tweet simultaneously, helps users amplify their message by sending a wave of tweets en masse. The app was used for the first time yesterday when 1,922 users sent simultaneous tweets to a pair of U.S. senators.

After a second "thunderclap" was sent to Congress today, the so-called crowdspeaking platform suddenly found itself shut out of Twitter, as the New York company explained in a tweet:

We're having some technical issues … Read more

Munch Time is a reasonably entertaining physics-based arcade puzzler starring (yet another) cute cartoon animal. While most of the gameplay is derivative of similar, earlier games, Munch Time does offer up a relatively interesting twist with its tongue-swinging shtick.

You play as Munch, a photogenic chameleon, as he searches for his lunch on a series of increasingly complex levels. Munch can move across the ground with a tap, but his preferred method of locomotion is with the looping swing of his adhesive tongue, lunging from flower to flower by tapping on them. This requires some timing and momentum management to … Read more