10/1/2013—Deus Ex The Fall “Well Under Way”
As reported recently on Pocket Gamer, despite some undisclosed setback Square Enix’s port of their critically acclaimed FPS, Deus Ex, The Fall will soon find its way onto the Play Store and thus onto the devices of countless Android gamers. Amidst a lengthy interview on Pocket Gamer’s sister site pocketgamer.biz, Square Enix’s James Wright said that the Android version was “Well under way and it will be available shortly,” just not as soon as they had originally planned. Though there are apparently some issues with the mobile version’s watered down AI, an issue Wright explained Square is invested in improving, a quick scan of Google suggests that there are a lot of Android gamers pining for a copy. With the game being lauded as the best-looking game on mobile and the iOS version of the port winning nearly universal acclaim, we here at Hardcore Droid are certainly itching to get our hands on it.
10/1/2013—Hardcore Droid 1 Mountain of Disks 0
We moved Hardcore Droid’s office from South Philly to Northern Liberties, Philadelphia. The Greenwich Village of Philly supposedly, though more and more the neighborhood is looking like the Upper West Side of NYC. The move largely went off without a hitch.
Except for the disks. As part of the cleanup and reorganization that comes hand-in-hand with such a move, we found ourselves engaged in a massive cleanup and reorganization job. One of the most daunting tasks was contending with the massive collection of disks that we’d either acquired or brought into the shop over the last year. You’d think being a mobile app magazine we’d avoid that sort of thing, but there is a strong old school contingency among us and we take our down time pretty seriously.
And so we found ourselves faced with the daunting task of throwing out, picking, choosing and reorganizing an absolutely massive collection of movies, music CDs (see old school contingency) PC, 360 and PS3 games. So after carefully skimming off our desert island disks, we found ourselves at odds with a huge pile of disks and had to pick out the second level keepers. After which, we were then left with a smaller yet still venerable mound of plastic silt. Looking over this little hillock of plastic it occurred to me that the task we were engaged in was a ubiquitous phenomenon of our time and that everybody from the current generation, through Gen Xers like me, to our grand daddy and grand mammy Baby Boomers will find themselves at some point over the next couple of years in exactly this same situation. Luckily some highly functional services have cropped up to make this task of our time a little easier and a little more lucrative. Which brings us to the end of this story as we sold off our excess movies, albums and games to a decent CD buying service, enjoyed the accompanying pay out, moved our shop across town and like a lot of you expect to be bit more digital as we move into the next calendar year.
9/26/2013—Core RPG Shadowrun Goes Live – Where in the World is Deus Ex: The Fall, and Shadowrun’s Save Feature?
I caught wind that the reprised RPG classic had gone live while working late last night. After watching the download gauge fill and furiously tapping through the opening menus, I was treated to the beginnungs of what seemed a cool sci fi story as well as bunches of beautiful hand-painted graphics. My elation however was soon crushed when I tried to save my game. Shadowrun employs an autosave function that kicks in at checkpoints. No real save feature. An RPG without a save feature? Rather disappointing as the game is clearly rooted in the CRPG tradition rather than that of the console variety. Even Action RPGs have saves or at least a home base. But a complex CRPG with no save feature. Not only is the convenience of a save tossed out the window but along with it, the illusion of non-linearity that comes with the sense repose that a save feature brings to an RPG; that is, you finish of your mission, right. Then you save and take stock of the story, your inventory and skills, maybe buy your avatar some new stuff and squirrel it away. It is a simple, basic aspect of every CRPG I have ever played. Again, even simple action RPGs like Diablo and Torchlight include this element, but to throw checkpoint saves into a complex Western CRPG… What on Earth were they thinking? Why not skip the inventory system next time? Attributes? Nearly spoils the game for this player.
Deus Ex: The Fall—still nowhere to be seen.
9/22/2013 – Shadowrun and Deus Ex releases Imminent, Terraria Slides Through the Gate with Much Fanfare
Reports from various sources suggest that two of 2013’s biggest mobile games, Shadowrun and Deus Ex are slated to be released on Android any day now. Way back on September 3rd the good folks over at Pocket Tactics reported that because the iOS version had been submitted to the Ministry of Applications at Apple, both the iPad and Android versions of the venerable CRPG were only weeks away. A post on Deus Ex Community last month confirmed a September release and thus we wait with bated breath. Lastly, the magnificently fun, rich and deep Terraria hit the Play Store on the 17th of this month and many of us here have been seriously considering ever since an uninstall and a B-Line to the local video game 12 step program. It’s that good.
9/21/2013 – Most Hardcore & The Magazine Go Live
Being that we are at 60K UVs per month and climbing, it became clear to us that we now have a big enough audience to warrant a digital magazine. Several months in the making, and really more of a zine than a magazine, our first iteration of Most Hardcore is a collection of newly created best of articles outlining the cream of Android gaming’s cream; that is, the most hardcore RPGs, strategy titles, indie games, FPSs and action games. The next issue due out in a month or so will expound upon the best of Android’s hardware. From Bluetooth to Phones to obscure Android devices, our HardcoreWare Issue will be a must for technophiles and anyone looking to accessorize or buy a new Android device.
Also, The Magazine went live-The Magazine is the premium section of our site and as of 9/20 of this month includes reviews of some of Android’s most important games, exclusive interviews with Android developers, our perpetually ongoing So You Want to Work in Video Games series as well as all of our archives.
The whole package above can be gotten for $9.99 a year. To sign on or learn more go here >>>
Or check out a little sample of Most Hardcore Magazine >>>
For Developers and other pros we can also give you access to our app store free of charge, the ability to post content as well as access to or business contacts (forthcoming). For more information on becoming a hardcore subscriber, go here >>
*go to the Sample link above for the Double Secret Sale
9/21/2013 – Portenzo release Sumptuous Expensive Duds for Nexus Tabs
Android has been relatively ignored by makers of some of the more high-end tablet accessories. Portenzo however announced today that they have extended their line of gorgeous tablet covers to include the newest line of Nexus 7s and Nexus 10s. Proof positive some say that Google’s Android tablet to beat has made a real splash. Priced anywhere between 35 and 145 dollars, Portenzo allows customers, via their website, to implements a fair amount of customization, making these fine well-made cases arguably worth the price of admission. You can slap one together for yourself by going here >>>
9/20/2013 – Northway Games’ Incredipede Released for Mobile
IGF nominee and three time Canadian Video Game award winner, Incredipede was released for Android and iOs devices today. Shipping the game from a solar powered house on a tiny Panamanian Island, the globe-trotting indie developers, Sarah and Colin Northway are powerfully excited about this latest port. Though we only got our hands on a copy a few days ago, we can attest that it is a beautiful and thoroughly indie title. Apparently only a few graphical effects were disabled in the port from PC to mobile and there are a host of improvements for the Android version like the What’s Under My Fat Finger window, which lets you make detailed adjustments to the creatures you create in the game on a tiny screen. We found that building Incredipede’s maniacal creatures was an especially visceral experience on the small screen. Pulling legs off a Quozzle with your fingers, for example, feels wet and slimy and adds a whole new dimension to the sandbox mode. Because it is steadily climbing the Play Store’s charts, we will be reviewing this baby as soon as possible and we recommend that you check it out. You can do so here >>>>