http://www.software-nook.com The Latest - The Hotest Software News Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:14:06 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The beauty of strategy games is how much story they can tell based on the simple interplay of gameplay mechanics with just the right amount of flavor. For instance, Race for the Galaxy is a tabletop card game published by Rio Grande. However, a fellow named Keldon Jones ... http://www.software-nook.com/extreme-games/race-for-the-galaxys-epic-sci-fi-storyline-is-all-in-the-cards.html We Rule, the free social networking game, held me -- and therefore Fidgit -- in its thrall for at least a week. Not that there was anything special about it beyond it being a) really charming, b) really convenient since it's for the iPhone, and c) just clever enough ... http://www.software-nook.com/extreme-games/we-farm-smells-like-more-than-just-farmville-for-the-iphone.html On one hand, the box art for Civilization V is awfully busy. The same city has built the Sydney Opera House, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Statue of Liberty, Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, and the Pyramids? But on the other hand, it's awfully awesome. That ... http://www.software-nook.com/extreme-games/see-pyramids-crash-into-battleships-in-civilization-v.html From the latest patch notes for Highborn, a fantasy strategy game for the iPhone that required connecting with someone on Facebook to play a multiplayer game:Removed Facebook-based multiplayer (NOTE: all existing Facebook multiplayer games will be deleted in this update)This patch adapts the game to Open Feint, the current de ... http://www.software-nook.com/extreme-games/facebook-booted-out-of-fantasy-game-highborn.html If you don't follow Microsoft closely, you may be surprised to discover that its annual one-day meeting with financial analysts, called the Microsoft Financial Analyst Meeting, or FAM, has traditionally been a day of interesting revelations. This year's event happened yesterday, and while you could pour over all the speech ... http://www.software-nook.com/all-about-microsoft/microsoft-fam-2010-part-1-microsofts-consumer-initiatives.html You met J. Allen Williams yesterday. He's the guy up there second from the left, standing with Mystery Science Theatre alums -- from left to right -- Frank Conniff, Joel Hodgson, and Beez McKeever. Today, find out some very specific stuff about Darkstar, the game he's been creating for the ... http://www.software-nook.com/extreme-games/what-does-darkstar-have-to-do-with-brad-pitt-and-chuck-barry.html This is lovely, and not just because it seems to end the same as every game I play against the Protoss: "Hey, look, I've won! Oh, no I haven't..." Of course, now I want to see the Zerg done in Legos. Is that even possible? Original post: What would ... http://www.software-nook.com/extreme-games/what-would-lego-starcraft-look-like.html One of my favorite games so far this year is Din's Curse, the action RPG with dungeons that aren't content to wait patiently for you to clear them out whenever the heck you feel like it (review here). A new patch (get it here) adds a visual effect that ... http://www.software-nook.com/extreme-games/update-for-dins-curse-bends-light-shadows-and-difficulty-level.html J. Allen Williams (above left), who goes by Jeff, will be the first one to tell you that Darkstar isn't really a videogame. Even though, yeah, it kind of is. But Williams isn't necessarily hip to what constitutes a videogame. He considers it a point of pride ... http://www.software-nook.com/extreme-games/the-long-strange-saga-of-darkstar-part-i.html I'm about half way through the single-player campaign in Starcraft II and I'm already bored out of my skull. This is pretty much exactly like every other real time strategy game that thought, hey, let's tell a story! Real time strategy games are a terrible format for telling ... http://www.software-nook.com/extreme-games/starcraft-ii-night-of-the-living-zerg.html