I would like to preface my preview ofFIFA 12(iOS) with a few admissions: I refer to the sport as soccer, I haven’t played aFIFAgame in four or five years, and I’ve never touched an iPad. Appropriately, previewing the title at EA’s Summer Showcase seemed a bit daunting. EA attempted to hammer home several things with their presentation of the game, including their effort to change the way the game is played and their effort to provide a deep, content-heavy experience that can satiate the appetite of the most voracious soccer fan....

An eye clinic in India found that amblyopia, or “lazy eye,” could be corrected in older children through videogames. At the 115th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology this week, Dr. Somen Ghosh will share his work from his study and its results. A preview: he says there that a third of the children were able to make significant vision gains. The year-long study of 100 participants age 10 through 18 had good results — about 60 percent showed some vision improvement....

I made a game once, just sayin’ Well here’s a calendar that will make you weak at the knees. TheMen of Game Development 2016 XTREME EDITIONcalendar is currently on Kickstarter and is asking for $3000 to get some well-known faces in game development to pull off their graphic t-shirt-and-flannel-combos and reveal all. The Kickstarter’s already at over $2000 with 20days remaining, so it looks like we’ll be getting this little bit of glory....

Not Mr. Blobby In what’s been a forgone conclusion for weeks, Activision’s military-shooterCall of Duty: WWIIfought back a bevy of contenders to lay claim to the Christmas #1 slot in the UK charts. The top three has been etched in stone for some time, withFIFA 18taking second place and controversial space-shooterStar Wars: Battlefront IIholding fast at third.Crash Bandicoot: N.Sane Trilogymade a final grasp for the brass ring, successfully climbing back to sixth place in what has been an amazing six months for the PlayStation remake....

Podtoid 377 Things have been a little slow on the blogging-about-video-games front, which works out okay now that we’ve got shows likeRed Rocket LeagueandThe D-Teamup on our newDtoid Fight YouTube channel, but makes for some scattershot podcast episodes. This latest one runs a gamut of topics; you might just find one you like. Steven Hansen, Brett Makedonski, and Ray Porreca talked about frozen pizza, the short-lived tenure of The Mooch, and why Steven approves of the use of anabolic steroids....

There are plenty of mounts available inOblivion Remastered, but Shadowmere is arguably one of the best ones you can find in the game. This mount features one of the best horses you can unlock, but the task isn’t easy. Finding her is a challenge in itself, and then begins the job of adding her to your collection of mounts. Thankfully, the entire process is the same in the Remastered version as it was in the 2006 release....

The Simsfeels like a series that has been around forever. The original title was released 25 years ago, with a sequel arriving four years down the line. Those two games are now older than some people playing Sims 4 in 2025. But is there any reason to go back to the original titles this year? The original Sims was a precursor to modern cozy games Today, the concept of “cozy games” is everywhere....

World of Warcraft: Cataclysmis now the fastest selling PC title of all time. This third expansion of the popular MMO sold more than 3.3 million copies in its first 24 hours of availability, released December 7th. Wow. The last record was also set byWoWwith the second expansion,Wrath of the Lich King, which sold 2.8 million in the same time frame. GameStop said thatCataclysmeven beatStarCraft IIin one-day sales! Blizzard says that about 15,000 gamers attended launch day events they hosted alongside partner retailers....

Foundation for eSports broadcast network As suspected, Activision has acquired Major League Gaming. The move falls in line with the company’s ambitious goal to “create the ESPN of eSports,” according to CEO Bobby Kotick. “MLG’s ability to create premium content and its proven broadcast technology platform — including its live streaming capabilities — strengthens our strategic position in competitive gaming,” he said. MLG CEO and co-founder Sundance DiGiovanni (again,greatname) added, “This acquisition and Activision Blizzard’s commitment to competitive gaming will expand the opportunities for gamers to be recognized and celebrated for their competitive excellence....

Better late than never PC fans of the excellent (and overlooked)Ysseries will be sad to hear that the newest installment,Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, has received a last minute delay on their platform of choice. Taking to the Steam forums, NIS America has announced that the game is being delayed until further notice to maximize the quality of the end product. “We sincerely apologize to our fans who have been looking forward to this release,” reads the post....

10.Agents of BAMF(Fainting Goat Games) “The capes can’t always be There. That’s why There’s BAMF,” so the game declares.Not everyone in the world is a hero, but that doesn’t make them any less skilled.Agents of BAMFpresents the side of comics inhabited by the likes of Phil Coulson or Hellboy. Here, players take on the role of super agents working for the kind of alphabet soup organization that you expect to see in comics (SHIELD, The BPRD, Checkmate, AEGIS)....

8BitDo has added to its lineup of wireless mod kits and receivers with ones for Nintendo’s GameCube. With them, you can turn any normal GameCube controller into a wireless one. Or you can connect a third-party controller wirelessly to the GameCube, if you’re into that sort of thing. 8BitDo has these sorts of things for a lot of consoles. Essentially, the mod kits are controller guts that you transplant into a normal wired GameCube controller, guts for guts....

A wee while ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Al Lowe for a feature on adventure games, along with other influential folks in the genre. I ended up with a 15 page transcript. I only managed to use a small part of that in thetwopartfeature, so I’ve put together a trimmed down version of the original interview as a bonus. What a splendid guy I am! Al has been cracking jokes, playing the sax and making wonderful games since before I was born....