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Tag: Amazon Game Studios

  • Sev Zero Is The First Exclusive Amazon Fire TV Game

    This afternoon, Amazon finally unveiled its set top box – the Amazon Fire TV. While most of the focus was placed upon its media streaming capability, the box is also a game machine. Well-known titles like Minecraft and The Walking Dead have already been announced for the system. Even Amazon itself is making an exclusive game for it.

    Amazon Game Studios announced today that its first title for the Amazon Fire TV will be third-person shooter Sev Zero. Here’s the official synopsis:

    Earth is threatened by an alien species, the Ne’ahtu. Early in the 22nd century, the Ne’ahtu infected Earth’s energy grid with a computer virus that disabled the planet’s defenses. Before the Ne’ahtu could strike, computer prodigy Amy Ramanujan neutralized the alien computer virus and saved the planet. Now, the Ne’ahtu are back and Dr. Ramanujan is trying to prevent them from another all-out invasion of Earth. Switching between towers (to launch various missiles and grenades) and face-to-face combat (to attack with machine guns), the player’s mission is to join Dr. Ramanujan and defend Earth from the Ne’ahtu.

    In Sev Zero, players can jump between environments-start in tower defense mode to build out towers and assess the surroundings, and then beam down to shooter mode for face-to-face combat against the Ne’ahtu. Players can also bring friends and family into the action with the Sev Zero companion tablet app, Sev Zero: Air Support. With this multi-player, multi-screen experience, players help each other thwart the enemies-one player is in Air Support mode initiating air strikes from their tablet while the other player is in face-to-face combat mode

    Alongside the announcement, Amazon has also released a trailer showing off some of the game’s levels and it’s admittedly solid visuals. Amazon made a big stink about the power of its set top box today, and Sev Zero proves that it can put out visuals on par with the best Android devices out today:

    Sev Zero is just the first game to come from Amazon Game Studios. Earlier this year, the company acquired Double Helix Games to help create core games for what we now know as the Fire TV. We don’t know what those core games will look like, but Sev Zero is our first taste of what Amazon is attempting to accomplish itself in the game space.

    Image via AmazonGameStudios/YouTube

  • Amazon Unveils Air Patriots, the First Mobile Game to Come Out of Amazon Game Studios

    Today, Amazon has just launched their first-ever venture into mobile game development. It’s called “Air Patriots” and it is available today on Kindle Fire, Android, and iOS.

    Air Patriots is the second product from the newly-launched Amazon Game Studios, the company’s foray into making games. The company finally began making their own games in August after years and years of selling other companies’ products.

    Amazon’s first game was a social game for Facebook called Living Classics, a “moving object game” that incorporated imagery from classic literature.

    At its core, it’s a tower defense game. Amazon touts it as a “new kind of defense game” that features mobile towers and weaponry. It launches with seven different maps, achievements, and plenty of unlockables.

    Air Patriots is a new kind of tower defense game with fun and unique gameplay requiring strategic positioning of an arsenal of planes to push back an enemy tank invasion. In Air Patriots, players directly control a squadron of military planes by using their finger to draw the paths the planes will follow in order to engage the enemy. Unlike other tower defense games where defense bases are stationary, in Air Patriots players can adjust their strategy on the fly. Simply draw a new flight path for your planes, and you redeploy firepower to where it is needed most.

    Check out the trailer below:

    “When we created Air Patriots we wanted to make a game that was easy and engaging, and the simplicity of drawing paths for planes was something we thought would appeal to players,” said Ernie Ramirez, Executive Producer at Amazon Game Studios. “We think customers will find Air Patriots both familiar and fresh, with a degree of challenge that keeps them engaged and enthused to play more. We are very excited to bring Amazon customers Air Patriots today, and Amazon Game Studios looks forward to bringing our fans even more great games in the future.”

    The new game supports Amazon GameCircle, their version of Apple’s Game Center which lets players track their achievements and compete for high scores among other players.

  • Amazon Goes From Game Retailer To Game Developer

    Amazon Goes From Game Retailer To Game Developer

    Amazon has been doing a lot lately to position themselves as one of the major players in the gaming market. The retailer seems to have a hand in everything these days from traditional sales to free-to-play digital games. They never had a hand in actual game development, but a retailer wouldn’t make games, right?

    My assumption was wrong as Amazon announced yesterday afternoon that they are indeed now in the business of making games. The retailer revealed the existence of Amazon Game Studios and their first game, Living Classics, on the newly minted Amazon Game Studios Web site.

    So why would Amazon, a retailer, get in the business of making games? The company says that they’re providing additional entertainment and value to their customer base that plays a lot of free-to-play social games. To ensure they have a hit with their first game, Amazon Game Studios plays it a little too safe with Living Classics. Here’s the description:

    Living Classics, our first major release, is what we call a “moving object game.” In the game, a family of foxes have wandered into vibrant, animated illustrations from their favorite books including Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, and King Arthur. Players help to reunite the foxes by exploring beautifully illustrated scenes and spotting moving objects. You can visit friends, share rewards you’ve earned, rediscover famous stories, and reunite fox families.

    Regardless, Amazon entering the actual game creation business is pretty big news. While their first game is only available on Facebook, what’s to stop them from making free-to-play desktop games? They already have a portal for other publishers to distribute their games and content to players. Will Amazon use their power to push their games over those of others? It’s too early to tell, but they are questions that we must keep in mind going forward.

    If you want to see how Amazon’s first game turned out, check out Living Classics on Facebook. If you’re unwary, check out the trailer first to see if this “moving object” game is right for you.