Each week MobileCrunchArcade compiles the biggest news from the world of mobile gaming.
I-Play announced this week that it has sealed the deal with Pandemic Studios to publish Mercenaries 2: World in Flames for mobile gamers. The soldiers of fortune return to stop a power-hungry tyrant from taking over Venezuela’s oil supply. This power play turns the South American country into a war zone that enterprising mercenaries can turn a profit on, especially with oil near record prices. But the mercs aren’t just interested in petrol dollars, this time it’s personal. I hope that commy bastard Hugo Chavez doesn’t read Mobile Crunch — his days are numbered.
If you’d like to hit your favorite politician you love to hate, Cellufun’s new game The Mobile Ring might just be the ticket. This game features US presidential candidates including Clinton, Obama and Giuliani, (If you don’t know who these people are this isn’t the game for you.) as boxers out to knock you down with higher taxes or continued war. High scores will be listed on Cellfun’s leader board and as certain politicians become more popular to fight, their boxing abilities will change. Players will also be able to vote on other public figures like TV pundits to be added to the ring of contenders. Did I mention that it is free? Now I have your attention. Go to wap.cellufun.com on your mobile browser and let’em have it.
Com2us released Tower Defense this week. Inspired by real-time strategy games, Tower Defense plays like the non-mobile version. A player can progress in Story Mode. Ten chapters need to be mastered by building towers and defeating enemies with different fortifications and 116 monsters. High scores are posted and players can qualify for prizes. Once all ten chapters are mastered, Custom Mode is unlocked. This allows players to edit their own maps and share them with friends. Tower Defense is available to AT&T mobile subscribers. I always build Ivory Towers. That’s where I live.
CMP’s Game Developers Conference Mobile 2008 (GDC Mobile 2008), the definitive industry event for mobile games has published its roster of featured speakers and highlighted sessions. The annual two-day, multi-track summit will take place Monday Feb. 18 and Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco during the Game Developers Conference® 2008. Featured speakers for this year’s event include established mobile entertainment veterans John Szeder, CEO of Mofactor, Mitch Lasky, Partner at Benchmark Capital, Rich Moran, Partner at Venrock, Chip Austin, Managing Principal of i-Hatch Ventures, David Collier, President of Pikkle KK, Tom Park, Director of Operations for Digital Chocolate and Rick Marazzani, General Manager of iQ212. The full lineup of speakers and sessions can be found at www.gdcmobile.com. This conference is for professionals only. I won’t be there. I’ve got too many games to play and so little time to play them …
That is this week’s MobileCrunch Arcade game roundup. Remember, exercise those thumbs, recharge the battery and never take your eyes off the screen.