Month: June 2010

DotWar is an unusual strategy game of sorts where you use your Twitter avatar to battle other Tweeters. Your avatar breaks up into individual soldier pixels and wages war against the opposing pixel army!

There’s a single player stage mode, as well as battle and manual modes. Each color in the RGB spectrum represents a different type of soldier – cannon, heavy, gun, raid, ice, shield or utility. You can actually edit your avatar to change the make up of your pixel army.

You can play the game automatically, or turn on manual, which allows you to drag pixels and direct them during battle. It’s bad luck if your avatar happens not to be too strong, but you can always get a new one! Play DotWare in your browser here.

If you’re already on Twitter, why not see if you can beat us: softonic_en?

Fancy a spot of musical enlightenment this weekend? Then go check out Aviary’s boombastic new Music Creator, aka Roc. Like the rest of Aviary’s suite of creative apps, this free audio editor is entirely based in the browser, allowing you to create music loops, compose patterns and even make your own ringtones.

Music Creator boasts 50 different virtual instruments, arranged into folders. Drag one of these folders into the main editing window and you’ll notice that in fact there are 12 different sounds, each with its own track, which make up the ‘instrument’. You can then select the beats on which you’d like each sound to play just by checking or unchecking the dots.

You can play around with pan and volume for each sound, and even drag in new sounds from other instrument sets to mix things up a bit. Music Creator also allows you to change the beats per measure as well as the tempo of your productions.

Once you’re done, you can choose to publish your creation on Aviary or share it via all the usual social networking sites. Roc even helps you set the copyright terms.

I was amazed at how easy it was to come up with sonic delights using Music Creator. Granted, it’s very basic, but if you’re looking for free, high quality loops for a creative project you’re working on, Aviary’s app is a perfect alternative to trawling Google for royalty free music.

 

iPhone: PES 2010 brings the magic of the Pro Evolution soccer sim to the iPhone. The game translates pretty well from the console and PC versions, thanks to some interesting control systems.PES 2010 offers a range of game types, including the Champions League and Europa League, quick match, exhibition, league, cup, and training.

Windows: If you use Windows Media Player to play music or videos, you’re going to love this plug-in. Windows Media Player Plus adds interesting new features and improvements to Microsoft’s player, including an advanced tag editor, more customization options for the interface and a powerful search tool that finds songs and movies as you type.

Mac: Bulkr is an Adobe Air-based app for backing up your Flickr stream. Some of us have had Flickr accounts for years now, and Bulkr offers a simple way to download sets of photos we don’t have on our computers. Not only can you easily back up your own account, but you can also download any cool pics you find elsewhere on Flickr.

Loved is an interesting short platform game that deserves a few play-throughs. You are guided through the game by a voice which gives you instructions, judges you and more. There are different endings depending on how you respond.

Like BioShock, Portal and others, Loved is an exploration of free will in games, and has a great brooding and threatening atmosphere. It only takes a few minutes to complete, which should encourage you to try playing a few times, taking a different approach each time.

[via RockPaperShotgun]

Even though there are plenty of new games coming out for PC this year, there are fewer exclusives. While the consoles are innovating with new control methods like Move and Kinect, the humble home computer is still rooted in the mouse/keyboard world. Is the PC becoming just a niche platform for hardcore games?

Even hardcore shooters, arguably easier to play with keyboard and mouse, are increasingly console products and it’s only serious strategy games and MMORPGs that really require a PC.

Apple’s iPad may be the start of a shift away from traditional home computers too. For many people, something like a tablet computer and a games console may cover all their needs. People simply won’t require a PC at home. How long will developers continue to pour money into a format that’s seen its best days?

Companies like Valve with their Steam client are still hugely successful, but I’m not sure how long that market will continue in the face of innovation on other platforms. Whether it’s motion control, 3D or desk free gaming, the traditional PC is in danger of becoming an anachronism. Who needs such a machine? Not only are PCs much more powerful than most everyday users require, but there are devices available that allow us to surf the net, email, chat and play games in a much more user-friendly manner.