Ascension - Come Play with me on Apple's Gamecenter!

Ascension: Chronicles of the Godslayer is now free on all iOS systems. I downloaded it to my iPad on Thursday.

I don't know how long it will stay free, but you should jump on it while you have the chance. And then friend me on Apple's Gamecenter (username: histerin) and play it with me.

Why? Because I said so!

Oh, and because it is a seriously awesome game. It's a deck-building fantasy game where you are playing for the most "honor."

The game is for up to four players, but you can play against AI opponents.

The rules of the game are actually quite simple. Each player starts out with ten cards. Dealt across the center are six cards dealt from a separate deck, a combination of heroes and constructs that you can buy (with "runes" that the cards in your hand produce) or monsters to kill to gain honor (with "strength" that the cards in your hand have). As you buy cards, your deck will grow and you are able to do more. Heroes can give you more runes to use to buy more stuff, or strength to kill more monsters. They may also give you the ability to draw extra cards that turn, or things like that.

(Click images to see a bigger version)

Here's one of the heroes you can buy. At the top right corner is the rune cost to buy the hero. From the description, you see that he gives you four strength.

Here's the starting board configuration, with the center row laid out and your beginning hand.

You Don't Know Jack is on the iPhone/iPad!

I know that many of my readers have iPhones or iPads, and they love to play games on them. Who wouldn't?

For those trivia buffs out there, one of the best console/PC video trivia games has just come out for both devices. You Don't Know Jack has arrived!

The format of the game is that of a fictional game show, hosted by the ever-irreverent Cookie Masterson (voiced by Tom Gottlieb), and you are playing for lots of money. The faster you answer each question, the more money you get (or lose, if you get it wrong). There are also question variations, such as "Dis or Dat", where you're given seven names and you have to choose if the name is one category or another (as pictured above). Each game consists of three rounds, two 5-question rounds and then a "Jack Attack," where you can win big money. The object is...wait for it...to win the most money!

I reviewed the console version of the game on my Video Game Revue blog (check it out if you like video games!). This is a bit stripped down compared to the consoles, but surprisingly not as much as you would think.

First, there is no multiplayer, which is the mainstay of the console games. I guess it might be difficult to do over a 3G network, though. I don't know. I hope they're able to implement it at some point.

Secondly, there is no "Wrong Answer of the Game." In the console version, each episode is sponsored by some wacky product (banana toaster, anyone?). One wrong answer in the episode goes along with that product in some way. If you choose it, then instead of losing money, you gain big bucks! That's not in the Apple OS version.

Each episode is self-contained, meaning you will never see those questions again unless you play the same episode. No repeats! That's been a major problem in video trivia games for many years.

With twenty brand new episodes, completely different from the console/PC version, how can you go wrong? Especially when the questions are so timely? A Rebecca Black question? A question about Elizabeth Taylor's death? Am I asking too many questions? This is a game full of questions, so how can I be?

More episodes are promised as well.

At $2.99 ($4.99 for the iPad version), this game is a steal!

And it's hilariously fun to play.

We now return you to our regular, non-video game blog.

Uncensored Playboy coming to the iPad?

Yes, according to Mashable, anyway.

"The entire back catalog as well as new issues of Playboy magazine will become available on the iPad in March 2011, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner revealed via Twitter.

Furthermore, Hefner confirmed on Twitter that Playboy will be coming to iPad in its uncensored form, which makes sense, as we doubt many would be ready to pay for a watered-down version of the magazine."

Which is certainly true. But Steve Jobs has been very emphatic that porn and sexually explicit material will never be allowed on iTunes. Full frontal nudity, as in Playboy? That would seem to go against Jobs' policy. The Playboy app that's now available does not have any nudity in it.

Yet Hefner seemed pretty certain. He didn't say "We are working on getting Playboy available..." He said it "will" be available.

So which is it? Will Apple lower its standards? While Playboy's a big company, they seem to be losing some of their clout (I could be wrong, but that's the impression I get). Are they convincing Apple to make allowances for them, with the proper safeguards to prevent minors from getting access? I'm honestly not sure exactly how they would do that.

As Mashable points out later in the article, what does this mean for the future of adult material on the Apple platform? Is this the thin end of the wedge that will ultimately allow other age-restricted material onto iTunes?

And is this a good thing?

Personally, I don't think it's a bad thing as long as they don't allow it to be a slippery slope. If something's available down at the local gas station, I don't mind it being on the iPad (as long as they have effective ways to restrict it, which as I said, I'm having trouble imagining how they would do that). I do think they should keep sexually explicit apps out of the store, though.

That's a bit different.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see whether this really does come out in March.

Will you buy it? Just for the articles, I mean?

Comic Books and Technology - Bringing Back my Childhood

This post is a personal journey culminating in a wish for the future.

I was a comic book collector for a very long time. I think I started collecting comics when I was in Junior High or High School (can't quite remember). I wasn't particular as far as companies went, other than the fact that they were all superhero comics (though I guess I did read the occasional Archie comic as well).

I collected all through college and through my years in Chicago. I figure it was around 10-15 years of comic book collecting. Sometimes more titles than others, but always a fair number.

And I devoured them.

I did keep them in plastic bags like a collector, but I always read them at least once before putting them away. I would file them away, in alphabetical order, in boxes that were designed to hold comics.

(The long ones, not the short ones)

iPad Thoughts

Our iPad arrived last week, and after a week of using it off and on, I have to say that it's a pretty impressive beast. I really like it, at least enough to enjoy the one we have. I certainly don't need one of my own, but it's a nice gadget to use once in a while.

Since I haven't used it THAT much, I can't really give a review of it, but I do have some thoughts about it that I would like to share.