The IOS market has been around for roughly six years and has helped revolutionize everything tech related from movies, music and games. It has given artist and developers a new platform to communicate and speak directly to audience and that’s exactly what Aoineko Studios is doing.

There are some genres where the Xbox 360 doesn’t quite match the PlayStation 3.  In this particular case, it’s brutal action.  Sure, it’s got Gears of War 3, but the console is sorely lacking a competitor that can keep up with Sony’s own God of War franchise.  Sure, Dante’s Inferno came pretty damn close, but the religious overtones stopped hardcore gamers from fully enjoying that one.  Now Climax Studios gives the genre a try with a digital downloadable title called Bloodforge, and while there’s plenty to hack and slash, there’s very little purpose to keep you from doing it for hours on end.

Tower strategy games aren’t usually my thing.  There, I’ll say it.  I’m more of a hands-on sort of guy, taking command of a unit and delivering damage rather than issuing a command for someone to do it in a turn-based approach.  However, some people really get into this genre, so, for the sake of argument, I thought I’d give Anomaly: Warzone Earth from 11 Bit Studios a fair shot, especially considering the game fared rather well on the iOS market before transitioning to Xbox Live Arcade.  And you know what?  While my general feeling about the genre remains about the same, this game made me want to play longer than I anticipated.

“The Art of Video Games” is one of the first major exhibitions to explore the 40-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking graphics, creative storytelling and player interactivity. The exhibition features some of the most influential artists and designers across five eras of game development, from early pioneers to contemporary designers. Video games use player participation to tell stories and engage audiences. In the same way as film, animation and performance, video games are a compelling and influential form of narrative art.

I know Pierre already has his thoughts posted on FIFA Street, but I felt compelled to follow up with a counterpoint.  After all, EA Sports’ arcade revival is a pretty big deal, especially in the face of FIFA Soccer 12, which is essentially a perfected version of the sport digitally, right down to the league options and style of play on the field.  FIFA Street is an opposite to that, relying on a more trick-laden fast-paced style where the yellow and red cards don’t apply, and it’s all about getting the ball in the goal.  That should be good enough, right?  So why isn’t it?

Aspiring videogame designers tee up for Golden Tee Golf’s Design-a-Hole Contest. The winner will be revealed May 10th and takes home a Golden Tee Golf home version. Lots of kids want to become video game designers when they grow up. And apparently, many still want to after they grow up. Just ask Jim Zielinski, designer of the #1 video bar game, Golden Tee Golf.

Introduce Virtua Tennis at any given gaming party and you’re likely to get the same sort of reaction.  At first it’ll be one of surprise, with a few people saying, “A tennis game?!”  Then they’ll pick it up and start playing it for a few minutes out of sheer curiosity.  The next thing you know, players will be going at it for hours on end, taking on each other in singles or doubles competition and refusing to give up the controller.  That’s the way it worked with the original Virtua Tennis when it launched on Dreamcast, and how it also worked with Virtua Tennis 4 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.  Now there’s a version for on the go gaming you can have all to yourself.

SSX is just about ready for its comeback.  The game releases tomorrow (2/28) for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and will challenge gamers to defy gravity and take over the planet with their best racing times and stunt scores.  Featuring lavish graphics, a huge snowboarding world to explore and action-packed gameplay, this comeback will definitely be worth the wait.  We recently sat down to chat with creative director Todd Batty about what we can expect from the game, and what it went through over the course of development.

What is it with old-school arcade revivals this year?  First The Simpsons Arcade Game made a comeback on both Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, entertaining a whole new generation of gamers without the need to break out a roll of quarters.  Now THQ is hitting the wrestling ring with a remake of WWE Wrestlefest, a game that originally body slammed into arcades back in ’91 under Technos’ direction.  And just like it did back then, Wrestlefest promises to be button-mashing fun.

I love how the App Store is picking up in quality games.  Unfortunately, with that comes an escalated price.  Take SoulCalibur, for instance.  A decent port, sure, but it’s missing a lot of the stuff that made the Dreamcast original so grand, and it’s going for…$17?  C’mon, the Xbox Live Arcade version is only $10.  That said, there are some games that do validate their worth.  And one of them, believe it or not, is Taito’s Dariusburst SP.

Consoles and PC's have had a slow month interms of new AAA quality games arriving for your respected platform. While January got off to a slow start, it quickly recovered to bring us high quality tittles through digital distribution. Plenty of great downloadable arcade tittles were made available through XBLA, PSN and Steam, giving us many hidden gems on the digital marketplace. Let's look back at the games we reviewed over the past month.  

If there's a company that has proven that old-school games do big business, it's Konami.  A few years back, it brought back the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game to Xbox Live, attracting a whole new crowd to the old-school beat-em-up antics, complete with online play.  And last year, it continued to capitalize on such success with the enjoyable X-Men: The Arcade Game.  Next week, it'll be back once more with the long-overdue -- and highly requested -- The Simpsons Arcade.  And yes, it's officially coming, at least from what Sony says.