Mobile Gaming News Roundup

Each week MobileCrunchArcade compiles the biggest news from the world of mobile gaming.

This week saw the first ever national mobile gaming championship that took place at the AT&T Plaza in Dallas, Texas. 48 thumb calloused competitors pounded their mobile keys while they played The Fast & The Furious: Fugitive. Ian Estes sped seamlessly through each level to take first place and $3000, the MGC (Midnight Gaming Championship) trophy and a one year membership to GameZnFlix. Good job Ian, put those thumbs on ice for awhile.

If you enjoy the reality show Bad Girls Club, you may be interested to know that you can become a bad girl in the new mobile phone game Bad Girls Club 3G. Players take the role of the newest member of the Bad Girls Club and must earn reputation points in order to unlock locations, special guests and objects. The camera crew is on set in every room of the house ready to film the player’s avatar as soon as there is a “buzz”. When certain point levels are reached, new characters enter the house that either assist or block the player’s avatar from getting the cameraman’s attention. The ultimate goal is to gain the accolade of being the “baddest” girl in the house. There aren’t any girls in my house but I might find some room for a bad girl, even if she isn’t the baddest in the club.

If you are looking for a new first-person-shooter for this Christmas, Vivendi Games Mobile will release Urban Attack in Europe and North America for the holiday season. Urban Attack is set in 2046 A.D. after the third Ukrainian War.. A highly organized Russian Mafia is in control of the Russian government. The main character, Yuri, is a 17 year-old agent in the UCCK network of technology, an organization set up by the Russian Mafia to operate covertly in the Untied States. As the game develops, Yuri learns details about his past and the reasons for the creation of the UCCK. I wonder whether Yuri supports a dictatorship of the proletariat or not?

Glu Mobile announced this week that it is working with McDonalds to give away one million “instant win” game prizes from the popular Monopoly sweepstakes game McDonald’s conducts every year. Glu is offering its mobile Monopoly game as a prize in the new “Guaranteed Bonus” category on one million game pieces. When winners receive the right piece, they can send a text message to get a free download of Glu’s version of Monopoly. If you feel lucky, visit your local McDonald’s, pass go and collect 2000 calories. Your mobile phone will love you just a little bit more for the experience.

If you like puzzle type games, slot machines and colors, this week’s release of Kachinko from Hudson Entertainment may be visiting your mobile phone soon. Kachinko begins with players on a mission to eliminate three like-colored balls at a time, while keeping an eye out for six game modifies which can change game play. As gamers progress they’ll have to move even faster in the game. Kachinko features six types of power-ups that can be unlocked as players progress. This isn’t the type of game you can play while drinking a beer, so I think I’ll pass.

I-Play announced the release of Freestyle Moto-XIII Hardcore, the third in the series of the FMX franchise. Players begin by honing their skills in the LA backstreets before heading to Vegas to become a Motocross star. Eventually the player is hired by a Rock Concert to wow the crowd with some thrilling stunts. Rag doll physics allow players to be thrown from the bike and have the most extreme crashes ever seen on a mobile device. Bonus levels include the insane Kamikaze, a death defying Big Jump and a variety of tricks to pull off including Superman, Cordova and Tsunami. I’ll stick to driving cars. To borrow from Animal Farm, “Four wheels gooood, two wheels baaaad.”

That is this week’s MobileCrunch Arcade game roundup. Remember, exercise those thumbs, recharge the battery and never take your eyes off the screen.