Lifeline Games Getting Major Updates For Apple iPhone and Apple Watch November 22, 2021
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When I purchased my first-ever Apple Watch earlier this year, I became obsessed with catching up on all the unique games and applications that I had been missing out on for waiting so long to purchase one. While Apple has a great bunch of first party pre-loaded programs like its ECG and Fitness apps, a few games that can either only be played on or played best on the Apple Watch have been released. One of the games I saw listed in nearly every “Best of” Apple Watch games lists were the Lifeline series of games by 3 Minute Games.
Lifeline was one of the first games I ever played on the Apple Watch, and I absolutely fell in love with it. It had a simple interface, which functioned similarly to the interactive novels I remembered reading as a kid. However, the thing I appreciated the most about the game was that it could be played on either my Apple Watch OR my iPhone, and that any progress I made on one device would transfer to the other. Since the game required making a player wait in real-time for certain story sections to progress (similar to the alternate reality game Majestic I played back in 2000), being able to respond to the game as soon as the story event unlocked was a major immersive factor for me and helped blur the line between reality and game.
Earlier this year 3 Minute Games announced they were back in development of a new game and would be releasing updates for their games, starting with the original Lifeline. Part of that update would include native support for newer iPhone screens (like the iPhone X, 11, 12 or 13), as well as native support for the more recent versions of WatchOS. The version of Lifeline I played on my iPhone 12 Pro and Apple Watch Series 6 likely included this update.
While there is a Lifeline 2 (and I fully intend to play it someday), as far as I can tell, it was not a direct sequel to the original Lifeline, it features a new story, a new setting, and new characters. However, 3 Minute games has produced more games that served as follow ups to the original Lifeline and continued the plotline of the original game. The next game to follow Lifeline is actually called Lifeline: Silent Night. After completing the original game’s epilogue, I fired up Silent Night only to discover that my Apple Watch and iPhone progress were not in sync. I immediately stopped playing, and held out hope the game would get an update. This morning, that update finally came. A major free update was just released for Lifeline: Silent Night, and progress syncing is now possible between iPhone and Apple Watch.
I applaud 3 Minute Games for continuing the support of their applications this long after their original program release, and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for them and their applications. Hopefully Taylor will be okay.
Game Theory 1 Million Dollar Challenge for St Jude 2021 Stream November 30th November 22, 2021
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I’ve waited a long time to see this announcement, and it has just arrived. The guys over at The Game Theory have announced their yearly telethon event for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will take place on November 30th, 2021! Here’s the official announcement video:
We will keep you all posted on the details for the event and provide links and embeds for the live event when it happens. This has always been a major fundraising event for an important charity, and we wanted to get the word out. I’ll be watching, hope you’ll all be watching too.
iOS 15.1.1 Released November 17, 2021
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A minor but important update has just released for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 line of phones. The new update addresses the issue of random call drops that have been reported.
The update, depending on your device, should weigh in at around 350Mb. It can be downloaded right now through your device’s software update feature. There does not appear to be a comparable update for the iPad or Apple Watch. There was an Apple TV update last week, but that appears to be unrelated.
Sony Releases Final Spider-Man: No Way Home Trailer November 16, 2021
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I know this technically counts as movie news and not video game news but I wanted to show this with you all and share my thoughts about it. Sony has just revealed the final trailer for the third Spider-Man film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Take a look. Fans of previous Spidey films may recognize a few familiar faces they didn’t expect to see.
If Sony plans to create a full Spider-Man multiverse and make films about it…why don’t they include the PS4 game’s Spider-Man characters as well? The Advanced Suit design has become iconic in its own right. The CG models would hold up just fine on film, and heck since most of the in-game characters used the likeness of the actor portraying them, there’s no reason you couldn’t just stick a camera in front of them and tell them to play their role in live-action.
Spider-Man: Far From Home is releasing exclusively in theaters December 17th, 2021z
Xbox Anniversary Celebration November 15, 2021
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Its been twenty years since the original Xbox console released in North America and earlier today Microsoft has celebrated that fact with this new video. Check it out!
Happy Birthday, Xbox (and Halo)!
Happy Twentieth Anniversary, Halo November 15, 2021
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Since it was released twenty years ago, the Xbox platform has held its own as a staple console throughout video game history. Part of its continuing success has come from its incredible Halo franchise. For Halo alone, We’ve had five main titles with two side spin offs for Xbox consoles, two RTS games, and two twin stick shooters for smartphones, tablets and Windows PC. And that’s just the video games released for homes. There was an incredibly popular Halo game that shipped to arcades across the US in 2018, Halo: Fireteam Raven.
Starting in 2010, Halo branched out into home video starting wirh a series of animated shorts that went direct to video. It was followed up by live-action movies, and will continue with an upcoming television series. If you include print, you can’t forget about the novelizations, starting with The Fall of Reach by Eric Nylund. Halo books have seen multiple series and have gone on to conquer The NY Times Bestseller lists on multiple occasions.
Also, Martin O’Donnell can be credited for creating one of the greatest soundtracks in video games history. Don’t believe me, take a listen at this.
And now, on the anniversary of the release of the Xbox, Microsoft has released the multiplayer campaign for the next game in the Halo series, Halo: Infinite, free to play. You can download it for yourselves right now.
Halo: Infinite is coming December 8th, 2021 to PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Classic Pokémon TCG Commercial Resurfaces November 12, 2021
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How did I never know about this? In the later end of the 90s the first wave of Pokémania was in full effect and commercials for Pokémon products were all over the television. Here’s a look at one of those commercials. The incredible thing is it starred Todd Licea (of Phantasmagoria 2 fame) and was edited by Wes Plate, who also edited Phantasmagoria 2.
Nostalgia overload!
Marvel’s Avengers Announces Spider-Man Release Date November 11, 2021
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Before it was first released, Square Enix had revealed that the iconic character of Spider-Man would be coming to Marvel’s Avengers…but only for the PlayStation console owning players. Now, we have the release date and details of how Spidey is coming to the platform. Please enjoy.
He’s coming November 30th, 2021 exclusively for PS4 and PS5 copies of the game. I’m of a mind that still believes the PlayStation Spider-Man games still exist in the same universe as Marvel’s Avengers. I’ll be sad if this campaign will disprove that.
Marvel’s Avengers is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Stadia, and Xbox Series X/S. Spider-Man will only be playable on the PS4 and PS5 versions.
Halo: Infinite UNSC Archives November 6, 2021
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Microsoft has begun their commercial campaign leading up to the release of Halo: Infinite. Taking a similar page from the highly successful Halo 3: Believe campaign, these new UNSC archives videos detail the history behind how the Master Chief’s armor was designed.
Halo: Infinite will release December 8th, 2021 on Xbox One, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.
How Should Donkey Kong Be Portrayed In Universal Studios Parks? November 2, 2021
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Its Tuesday and I know I typically reserve Tuesday’s for Japan Travel Tips articles but I decided the subject matter for today’s opinion piece makes it perfect to release today. Its been a long time since I’ve produced an opinion piece on this website and that streak ends right now. After I learned that Universal Studios Japan will be opening its own Donkey Kong Country area adjacent to the heavily popular Super Nintendo World in 2024, I paused to wonder just how the logistics of the area will work. Super Nintendo World offers the ability for guests at the park to meet and interact with several characters from the Super Mario games including Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Toad by putting USJ cast members in custom made suits. By all intents and purposes it has been a tremendous success and has set a new gold standard for theme parks worldwide. You may have seen a tease for what this would look like in this famous television commercial.
Okay, I admit I’m being a little silly in posting that here. This commercial may be a little misleading, and not just because the beloved characters are beating the crap out of each other. What I wanted to use it for was a simple comparison of size. According to Nintendo, Mario is a human of average height, but Donkey Kong (even from his earliest days) on the other hand has always been depicted as about four times bigger than Mario. I guess bananas really did make him big and strong. For the proposed Donkey Kong Country area, it is heavily expected we will be able to have meet and greets with many of the famous characters from the DK franchise. Since Mario represents the size of an average adult, that would mean DK should be represented as four times larger than a human being. That begs the question if Donkey Kong be portrayed by a cast member in a fuzzy costume, or is DK just so big he can only be portrayed through some kind of animatronic or special projection affect?
If Universal plans to bring Donkey Kong to their theme parks, will having him depicted by an actor in a suit be sufficient? My answer is no, I think he should be portrayed by an animatronic. Producing gigantic animatronic apes is something Universal Studios has in their wheelhouse. King Kong, for those of you who don’t know, is ENORMOUS. As someone who remembers dangling from a ceiling track right next to the 35-foot tall animatronic ape as fire and explosions blasted out, I can tell you firsthand Universal is more than capable of pulling of the task. If you don’t believe me watch this video courtesy of Theme Park Crazy.
So that’s how I feel about Donkey Kong. He’s bigger than life and we should see him as such. Before I wrap, I would like to bring up one last point. The closest comparison I could find in size to Donkey Kong that currently exists in the Super Mario universe would be Bowser (or King Koopa if you’re old-school). Oddly, no Bowser costume character exists in Super Nintendo Land, although the character himself does exist and is referenced in the parks. While he is not depicted as an animatronic, the Mario Kart ride depicts him as an Augmented Reality special effect on the ride itself. Before that, we only see his appearance hinted at with an enormous statue and portrait in the ride queue.
I want to close this article by saying I have no idea what Nintendo or Universal actually plan to build, and in all honesty I would be fine with whatever they decided to create. If you have your own ideas for how you’d like to create your own Donkey Kong Country theme park land, post a comment below!
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