multiplayer

Battlefield 3 contest hard to miss

Battlefield 3's multiplayer mode is hugely addictive; just ask my girlfriend, who has become a keyboard widow. Now I come to find out EA and DICE will actually financially reward people like me for logging in to the game next weekend.

While Battlefield 3 is the hot ticket right now, the looming shadow of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and several other major titles is just around the corner.

In what we're guessing is a response to any potential BF3 interest that may wane when those games arrive, EA and DICE are holding a Battlefield 3 "Says Thanks" sweepstakes. Eligibility is simple, and mostly anyone can enter by simply logging in to the multiplayer portion of the game on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 or PC from November 11 to 13. … Read more

Play DC Universe Online for free

Need something fun to do this weekend? Want to step into the shoes of a superhero and duke it out against evil supervillains (or vice-versa)? Don't want to spend any money for the privilege?

DC Universe Online is a massively multiplayer online game (or, as the kids like to say, MMOG) built around comic-book characters. Until a couple days ago, access would cost you $14.99 per month, but now you can play DC Universe Online absolutely free.

I'll admit I'm not a big fan of the MMOs, having never dipped my toe into World of Warcraft … Read more

Play hangman online!

Hanging with Friends is a fun online multiplayer word game for iPhone where you can match up against your friends to play a unique version of Hangman. From the makers of the popular game, Words with Friends, this fun game lets you register an account or connect with Facebook to play against people in your friend list or other players who also own the game. You also have the option to pass-and-play on one iPhone.

Hanging with Friends has a colorful and cute interface in which avatars of you and your opponent hang from floating balloons above lava. If you … Read more

Play hangman online!

Hanging with Friends is a free, ad-supported multiplayer Hangman app from Zynga, the makers of Words with Friends and Chess with Friends.

Like many of Zynga's apps, Hanging with Friends is a slick, social machine, making it easy to play multiple, asynchronous games with many friends, whom you can quickly pull in through Facebook. (You can also play random online matchups.) The core game is fun, easy to learn, and fast-playing. And while Hanging with Friends mostly follows the traditional Hangman word-guessing format, it adds a few clever innovations: you choose four- to eight-letter words using a set of … Read more

E3 2011: Will 2012 be the year of the second screen?

Among all the myriad events and announcements of E3 2011--some bombastic, some evolutionary--the unveiling of the Wii U was one that, no matter who you asked, generated some degree of mixed feelings. As gaming press and players, what we saw from Nintendo's future console controller produced sensations of excitement, skepticism, ambivalence, and intrigue.

That might be due partly to the expectations that Nintendo set for itself. The Wii was a new experience, a new idea. It also might be due in part to Sony's PSVita stealing some of the spotlight a day before; the handheld device actually has … Read more

Multiplayer jetpack space game

Globetrotters Free is a free, simple iPad arcade game with same-screen multiplayer for up to four people. The product of a 48-hour indie "game jam," this space-themed, diamond-collecting game is a "free gift" from the developers behind the inventive desktop arcade-puzzler And Yet It Moves.

You can play Globetrotters solo, but it's most fun with multiplayer: up to four people can join in, one on each corner of the device. Each player controls an astronaut (red, yellow, blue, or green) using just one thrust button. The trick is timing your thrusts while your astronaut slowly … Read more

No dunks, but still: great arcade basketball

StarDunk is a free, 2D hoop-shooting game with slick production values, great multiplayer features, and an optional system of in-app purchases that somehow isn't obnoxious.

StarDunk adds fun twists to some pretty basic gameplay: You have two minutes to score as many baskets as possible, as you touch the screen to set your ball's trajectory and then release to shoot. The ball is on the right side of the screen and the basket on the left (left-handers can swap sides), all against a spacey backdrop that matches StarDunk's electro soundtrack. The basket's backboard has four tiles … Read more

The best racing game on the iPhone

Real Racing 2 is the long-awaited sequel to popular driving game Real Racing, and it definitely lives up to all the hype. Like the original game, Real Racing 2 offers the same sensitive accelerometer steering that feels just right on the iPhone. But there are a lot of new features in this sequel that make it even better than the original.

One of the biggest changes is the ability to drive real-world cars; Firemint managed to get 30 officially licensed cars, and each car sounds and drives like its real-world counterpart. You also can take part in auto-matched 16-player online … Read more

Activision: COD multiplayer never behind pay wall

Call of Duty is one of the top multiplayer video games on the market. And Activision won't jeopardize that success by putting it behind a pay wall.

"Are we going to be charging for multiplayer? The answer is no," Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg said to IndustryGamers in a recent interview. "The experience you have out of the box, connecting with the online community to play Call of Duty is absolutely integral to the experience, and we'll never charge for that."

Hirshberg's comments came after Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter told IndustryGamers earlier this … Read more

Digital City 99: Social Networks, laptop tans, and dreams of PS3/360 friendships

Can you believe we're only one episode away from No. 100? We can't either, and we discuss our various plans for next week's very special podcast. But, while Dan is away in Texas, it leaves Joey, Scott, and Julie feeling restless in the rainy city.

Scott's finally seen "The Social Network," and he finds it oddly self-contained but very well-made. But, as Julie points out, where are the other movies based on computer pioneers? Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were relegated to a 1999 made-for-TV movie. We wonder what other tech endeavors deserve feature treatment...the Palm Pre story?

Also, we discuss "Toasted Skin Syndrome" and whether we fear hot laptops on our skin; Andy Rooney's latest rant goes off on car gadgets, but we find them useful; Joey wonders why PS3/360 multiplatform games can't play with each other (can't a person dream?); and Scott talks about some recently-released games he's played, including the potential sleeper Enslaved and Nintendo's latest Mii-fest, Wii Party.

See you next week on Episode 100!