arcade

Swipe to roll through fanciful worlds

Gears is a fun ball-rolling game with a steampunky feel, excellent 3D graphics, and both swipe and tilt control schemes (the former much easier to use than the latter).

The game has 27 levels spread across three worlds, and in each level you're trying to safely roll your ball from the top of the level to the bottom without falling off, while picking up as many points as possible along the way. You roll down ramps, over rotating gears, through gates and past blowers, trampolines, and an increasingly diverse array of obstacles--and you also have to choose between alternating … Read more

The 404 816: Where we only buy American (podcast)

The 404 is finally back together again after Wilson's departure last week for San Francisco. Now that he's back, we get to hear all the reasons why the CNET office in San Francisco is better than ours.

There are lots of stories to talk about today, like banned arcade machines, iPad 2 riots in Beijing, and custom Abbottabad levels in Counter-Strike, but we're also launching a Twitter contest today for a chance to win one carbon fiber BodyGuardz skin for the iPad 2 or two codes worth $30 at the site.

To win, just follow @The404 and @BodyGuardz and mention both of us in a Tweet, and that's it! There's one prize winner, but the two runners-up will each get a $30 credit for anything on the site.

The 404 Digest for Episode 816

Massachusetts town continues 1982 ban on coin-operated arcade machines. iPad 2 Beijing release causes riot. New Counter-Strike map of Osama bin Laden's hideout. Real magazine issues coming to the iPad from Hearst, Conde Nast. Steven B.'s 404 sticker in a U.K. telephone box!

Episode 816 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Musical magic and flying discs: iPhone apps of the week

Most everyone has probably heard about the controversy over the location-tracking behavior on iOS devices since last June. Recently, when a developer made a program to show users' location data on a map, people were understandably concerned that their whereabouts could be tracked through their location logs without their knowledge. Apple promised in an open letter that it would resolve the issue, though the company claims it was not using the information for anything.

On Wednesday, Josh Lowensohn reported that Apple made good on its promise with the release of iOS 4.3.3, reducing the size of the "crowdsourced" location cache, and the device no longer backs up the cache to iTunes.

Even though I downloaded the software and checked out the map to see that my iPhone did indeed track my location, I was never terribly worried about it and took Apple at its word that the location data wasn't being used for anything nefarious. Still, I'm glad to see the company has listened to user concerns. Hopefully this will lay this latest Apple controversy to rest.

What do you think? Were you nervous that your information was being used without your consent or do you even care? Let me know in the comments.

This week's apps are a piano app that lets you play hit songs and a flying disc game that's both graphically beautiful and challenging.… Read more

ESRB to automate download-only title ratings

Note: We've been informed by the ESRB that download-only games have been getting ratings for some time, this news just changes the way these titles are assigned actual ratings. We've edited the post to reflect the correct story.

Starting today the ESRB will let publishers automate the ratings process for titles available on storefronts like Xbox Live Arcade, Nintendo Wii Shop, DSi Shop, and the PlayStation Network Store.

Publishers will be able to complete an online submission form that consists of multiple questions related to a game's content--a completely different process than traditional disc-based console games.

The … Read more

YouTube streaming live Coachella sets--with no bathroom line

If you're a music fan but couldn't pull off a trip to Coachella, the massive music festival in the Southern California desert, fret not--YouTube is giving you a front row seat.

Since Friday, the service has been streaming a few dozen live sets, including some by big names like Arcade Fire, Kings of Leon, The Kills, and others. And while it's too late to catch any of those performances--YouTube is only archiving a limited number of the sets--there's still a whole day left of live music for you to watch. Without baking in the sun or … Read more

Old-school arcade classics--on your iPhone!

Atari's Greatest Hits lets you relive the early history of video gaming, giving you tons of old-school arcade and Atari 2600 hits on your iPhone. But it's not without flaws. Games like the original Asteroids, Tempest, Gravitar, Crystal Castles, and many more are available via in-app purchases packaged with their associated Atari 2600 games and some extras. In other words, the Atari Greatest Hits app itself is free, but if you want to play Tempest, for example, you'll need to buy the Tempest pack (99 cents), which comes with Tempest, Tempest for Atari 2600, Outlaw (2600), and … Read more

Gaze at the stars and play the arcade classics: iPhone apps of the week

In a CNET News story yesterday, our very own Josh Lowensohn explored Apple's recent patent application for an interesting touch-screen concept. The patent details separate smaller displays outside of the regular iPhone touch screen. According to the patent filing, these separate displays could be used in tandem with the main iPhone touch screen or used by developers to show added information in apps and games. Josh is careful to point out that patent applications don't necessarily mean a company will use an idea in a future product, but they are nonetheless interesting to consider.

Obviously, adding separate screens would open up all kinds of options for apps, but I wonder if these areas would be used by Apple for showing things like battery life, current time, camera information, or other more generic smartphone-related uses. But if these added touch-screen areas could be used by app developers, it would open up a huge number of possibilities for more interesting on-screen controls and other information widgets related to what's happening on-screen.

Even without knowing whether this will come to light, what sort of uses can you envision for extra displays around the main iPhone screen? Let me know your ideas in the comments.

This week's apps include an app for star gazing that uses augmented-reality technology and an app that lets you play classic arcade and console games from the golden age of gaming.… Read more

Comedy Central, Spike TV get game developer

MTV Networks has announced the forming of 345 Games, an internal division of the company that will develop titles based on original Comedy Central and Spike TV properties.

345 Games' first two titles will debut this summer, first in July with Spike TV's "Deadliest Warrior: Legends" and then in August with "Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon." Both titles will hit the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade marketplaces for $10 each.

The company has already seen success with last year's "Deadliest Warrior: The Game," a digital-only title that has amassed nearly 400,000 downloads.

345 Games hopes to tap the talent behind some of the network's most popular shows and has had the Ugly Americans creator's pen the script for the upcoming game.

It's no secret that both Comedy Central and Spike TV's demographics are heavily comprised of gamers; Spike TV has hosted the Video Game Awards for the previous eight years. … Read more

Run on the ceiling!

Gravity Guy is a fun game that takes some ideas from the running-game genre and adds some unique features that keep it interesting. The main game mechanic is Gravity Guy's ability to reverse gravity, letting him run upside down on platforms and then switch back when he needs to run on the ground again. The first few levels are pretty easy, but as you get further in the game it will require precise gravity switches as you speed through complex courses. To add even more tension to the action, a security guard chases you the entire time (he has … Read more