Gamertell

You’re sitting in the airport lounge preparing for that gracious all expenses paid trip to rustic Iowa, when suddenly the battery in your DS gives up the ghost. Just then, you here the announcement that your flight will be delayed for several hours! What is a game-a-holic like yourself supposed to do? Lucky for you, glu.com has the answer!

As an exclusive mobile games provider, glu.com offers trial downloads for nearly all types of mobile phones. With several popular genres, you can choose from puzzles, card games, racing games, and even sports titles such as boxing and soccer. Even obscure pop culture games like High Heels Mah Jong (inspired by the movie In Her Shoes) are available. In late March, Glu Mobile announced it’s spring lineup, which included new games such as Poker Pop, the ever-classic Centipede, Kasparov Chess, the mind-bending Brain Genius, Project Gotham Racing and Lemmings Return.

Glu Mobile’s site also offers titles by major developers such as Atari, Microsoft, PopCap Games, Sega, and Sony. Recently, Glu Mobile and Activision reached an agreement for a partnership that will bring the next Call of Duty title to mobile phones. And as if this wasn’t enough, Glu Mobile’s original title Stranded, an adventure game which closely resembles island survival themes from the television show Lost, took home the “Most Innovative Mobile Game” honor at the 2006 Gameshadow Innovation Awards.

So if you’re on the go with some time to spare, why not check out glu.com and see what they have to offer. All you need is an active mobile phone and you’ll be on your way to a new level of mobile gaming.

Site [glu]

• Modern Warfare 2 not banned in Russia
• Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies available for iPhone, iPod Touch
• Teen calls police because his parents took his Xbox

If you’re like me, you have a good number of Playstation and PS2 favorites you’re not willing to give up on just yet. So where does the PS3 stand with backward compatibility for such games? To date, there is a fair amount of popular titles that have no major problems working on the PS3. God of War I & II, the entire GTA series, the Medal of Honor series, Crash Bandicoot titles, and the various Splinter Cell games all pass the test with flying colors.

There are a few noteworthy issues with the Metal Gear series. According to the official PS3 Web site, all versions of Metal Gear Solid: Subsistence (including the limited edition) has problems with the network play aspect of the game. Sony reports that with these titles, hosting Team Deathmatch games with 5 client users results in the host becoming disconnected at random, also making reconnection impossible. Aside from online play, gamers with PS3 systems using software version 1.10 may also notice that use of the HDMI output will result in a horizontally divided screen in which both sections of the screen display out of sync with each other. This problem should be minimal for most users as it can be resolved by updating the software to version 1.31 or higher.

Sony does claim that both Guitar Hero games work fine on the PS3, but I would point out that the SG guitar controller is not readily compatible with the PS3 controller input. Several companies, such as Nyko and Pelican, are working on adapters that will allow gamers to use the SG controller with the PS3, but there are still some interfacing quirks that must be worked out. Pelican asserts that the SG controller now works with their controller adapter but this has yet to be confirmed on a widely accepted basis. Coincidentally, both games will work fine for those willing to play the game with the traditional PS3 controller using the shoulder buttons.

Obviously, the limited confines of this post does not allow for a comprehensive list of every Playstation and PS2 game but the initial reports for some of the more popular games still in circulation would seem to indicate that the PS3’s backward compatibility is holding its own thus far. If you’re curious about some of your own favorites, Sony’s backward compatibility search engine is one of the most convenient ways to confirm the status of nearly every game on the market.

Site [Status Search Engine] Site [European Game Compatibility] via [ThreeSpeech]

• Modern Warfare 2 not banned in Russia
• Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies available for iPhone, iPod Touch
• Teen calls police because his parents took his Xbox

The news is flying all over the net - Midway has finally confirmed that the upcoming collector’s edition of John Woo’s Stranglehold for the PS3 will also contain the full-length 1992 film, Hard Boiled as bonus content. Here’s some great news for you Woo fans out there, and a nice surprise for gamers who spend nearly equal amounts of time perusing game’s extra features. Not so surprising though, is that there is a small catch. While gamers are used to seeing heftier price tags on games labeled “collector’s edition”, I’m not so sure that non-Woo fans will be willing to accept the (forecasted) $10 hike in order to get Hard Boiled.

Since gamers may be torn in making such a decision, I thought I would point out a few items of interest that could help. First of all, there is no word yet on whether the movie will be accompanied by other bonus content that would certainly help justify the expected $69.95 price tag. Another consideration is that, since the game and the movie will be stored on a single Blue-Ray disc, no certainty can be claimed on whether or not the movie will play on standard Blue-Ray DVD players. Matt Leone of 1up.com argues that, with Woo’s Hard Boiled being released on High-Def DVD, Blue-Ray compatibility becomes an even greater concern.

Matt also makes mention that the Xbox 360 will also benefit from a collector’s edition of Stranglehold, yet it is unknown if the 360 version will also contain the movie bonus. My gut instinct says it will not (360 HD-DVD requires a separate drive, which would mean 2 discs), but nothing is confirmed as of this date.

Stranglehold is scheduled for an August 2007 release on the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Read [1up] Hard Boiled [IMDb] Updates [Midway]

• Modern Warfare 2 not banned in Russia
• Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies available for iPhone, iPod Touch
• Teen calls police because his parents took his Xbox

Just when you thought it was safe to make the switch from Sony to Microsoft, it’s happening all over again. Complaints are spawning around the net that the latest version of the Xbox 360, the Elite, is failing in similar fashion to its predecessor. Videos are being uploaded to YouTube, disenchanted gamers are preparing Gates hate mail, and worst of all, loyal customers are once again shipping off their 360’s to the Microsoft repair center.

I’ll admit, when Red Octane’s patch for Guitar Hero II allegedly caused the red rings of death to make a return appearance with newer 360 units, I gave Microsoft the benefit of the doubt. I reasoned on the side of generosity that the failing units were either sleeper systems that had the red ring issue lying dormant and only coincidentally woke up while the users happened to be playing Guitar Hero II, or (even more generously) I accredited the latest failures to a faulty patch from Red Octane.

Was my judgment compromised by delusion? I can feel the flames of argument beginning to crop up once again. This latest turn of events, rumored or not, is going to heat up the console wars all over again. And honestly, who’s to say that Microsoft actually has any viable defense this time. First we dealt with scratched discs, and the legendary red rings of death upon release. Then, units that had already been fixed once began falling victim to the GH2 patch problems. Now, if history repeats itself, Elite owners will be walking on eggshells – praying to the gaming gods – that they will emerge from this latest batch of problems unscathed.

Yet, in the interest of fairness, I remain optimistic – even if through naivety. A YouTube video posted at Sponge attempts to validate the claims of one frustrated Elite owner. However, there is little irrefutable evidence presented in the video. A disc is inserted, and loud noises can be heard as the 360 attempts to read the disc. Then the camera pans right to show the TV screen which reads “unplayable disc”. There is no red ring appearance, and we do not see the disc after the 360 has given the error message. In fact, we never even see the written side of the disc before it is inserted. Irrefutable evidence, to me, would require a before and after presentation of the disc itself, or at the least, visual evidence that the 360 has failed. The video on Sponge, as is, could be nothing more than a bad (or scratched) disc.

As for the other complaints beginning to filter into forums, everyone knows that when systems work properly, people in general don’t rush online to post shiny-happy “mine works just fine” comments. Naturally, the highest volume of reports about any product will be negative. This does not mean that I am denying a problem could exist, only that it may be too early to cry foul.

Video [Sponge]

• Modern Warfare 2 not banned in Russia
• Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies available for iPhone, iPod Touch
• Teen calls police because his parents took his Xbox

  In a world where consumers often times find themselves distanced from the very creators of their purchases, fan sites have become invaluable sources of information and advice. It’s a sad turn of events, really; you buy a shiny new toy, fully expecting that as a loyal customer you will be able to direct any questions and concerns to the producers of your new product. Disappointingly, you find URLs in place of owner’s manuals – links instead of software. Where does the forsaken consumer turn? Well, if you’re like me, you turn to the fan sites.

True, it is discouraging that game developers so often shun those who have sacrificed their undying devotion, but there is hope. In a noble attempt to reconnect game makers with game players, Electronic Arts has recently added a new feature to its Need For Speed Web site called the Community Spotlight. EA Game’s latest piece premiered on May 16, 2007, featuring a Q&A session with NFSCars.net designer and administrator, Mike Geise.

Sound like a cheesy promotion? Honestly, it’s a rather novel idea, and EA’s questions really help bring to light what it is the gamers want from the NFS series. Sure, not all developers ignore the requests of avid gamers, but EA’s approach to actively seek out those around the Internet who are helping promote their games is, at the very least, admirable. Personally, I hope to see more of this in the future.

SiteQ&A [EA Games]

• Modern Warfare 2 not banned in Russia
• Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies available for iPhone, iPod Touch
• Teen calls police because his parents took his Xbox