This Coral Game Helps You Train NASA Supercomputer ‘Pleiades’

NASA recently launched a game for iOS called NeMO-NET. In the game, players set forth with their ship Nautilus to scan the ocean floor. You identify and classify different types of corals, earn badges for completing missions, and watch educational videos about sea life. The data from the game is used to train NASA’s supercomputer called Pleiades, located at the Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. The goal is for Pleiades to recognize corals from various scientific instruments so that the agency can map corals across the world. App Store: Free

Command & Conquer Remastered Collection Arrives June 5

Electronic Arts is releasing a Command & Conquer remastered collection on June 5. It features Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert along with their three expansion packs: Covert Ops, Counterstrike, and The Aftermath. They provide a reveal trailer on YouTube. The graphics are in a higher resolution to match modern device screens, up to 4K resolution. Some aspect of gameplay has been changed, but it’s otherwise faithful to the original games. I remember playing Red Alert and liked it, so I look forward to the remastered version It will be available for PC via Steam and Origin.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that it would be released for PC and Mac. It will be available only for Windows.

Atari’s Missile Command Heads to iOS This Spring

2020 is the 40th anniversary of Missile Command and Atari is bringing it to iOS sometime this spring.

Missile Command: Recharged maintains the same perspective of the original game, in which missile silos battle incoming rockets to protect civilian structures. Recharged uses a neon-colored visual design, a la classic arcade game re-imaginings like Pac Man Championship Edition and Space Invaders Extreme. Gameplay has been remixed, with power-ups, an upgrade system, and an augmented reality mode that projects gameplay onto a “virtual arcade cabinet.”

Stardew Valley 1.4 Update Finally Available for iOS

Long awaited by mobile gamers, the huge Stardew Valley 1.4 update is finally available for iOS and iPadOS. There are new 14 heart events for every spouse, a new late-game building upgrade in town, Fish Ponds for farming, over 60 new items, 24 hairstyles, 181 shirts, and other new clothing items, or create your own clothes with the Tailoring skill, sheds can be upgraded, 14 new music tracks, transfer save files on PC to mobile, and various Quality of Life improvements.

Steam Game Terraforming Mars Heads to iOS

Terraforming Mars, a Steam game that was previously only available for PCs, has made its way to iOS. It’s a strategy game in which players try to terraform Mars to make it habitable. You play as a corporation, and each one has a different specialization, like metal, heavy industry, financier, biotech, or energy. You work together with other corporations in the terraforming process, and compete to get points based on your contributions. You can play solo with AI opponents or online with humans. It requires a minimum of iOS 10 to download. App Store: US$8.99

‘Settlers of Catan’ Could be Niantic’s Next AR Game

Niantic has had two popular AR games on its hands in the form of Pokémon Go and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. What possibly be next? Maybe Settlers of Catan.

Late last month, the company behind Catan said during a board games conference in Germany that it was working on a “upcoming massively multiplayer location based game” (albeit with no mention of Niantic). Called Catan: World Explorers, they noted that it “transforms the entire Earth into one giant game of CATAN”.

App Sale: ‘Severed’ Game Goes From $7 to $1

Severed is normally US$6.99 but now it’s just US$0.99 for a limited time. Winner of the Apple Design Award in 2017 and voted iPad Game of the Year in 2016, Severed lets you take control of a one-armed warrior named Sasha, wielding a living sword on her journey through a nightmare world in search of her family. Dungeon Combat: Master offensive and defensive touch combat techniques to survive intense battles against a menagerie of enemies. Severing: Best enemies in combat for a chance at severing their body parts — then wear them to gain new powers or consume them to upgrade your equipment and abilities. Exploration: Follow branching routes through the unknown, using your wits to avoid hazards and solve puzzles. Award-Winning Soundtrack: Immerse yourself in the haunting original score from Juno- and Polaris-nominated band YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN, featuring Pantayo. App Store: Severed – US$0.99

5 New Apple Arcade Games Include Fallen Knight, Yaga, Lifelike, Hogwash, and Tales of Memo

Today Apple has added five new games to its Arcade gaming service, which you can find in the App Store.

Apple Arcade has added five more games to its new $4.99 monthly subscription service on Friday. Players can now check out Fallen Knight, Yaga, Lifelike, Hogwash and Tales of Memo as part of Apple Arcade’s growing catalog of games. The games are available on iPad, iPhone and Apple TV to start, with content slowly coming to Mac as well.

Sayonara Wild Hearts Available on Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4

When Apple said that Apple Arcade games were exclusive, it meant that they won’t be on Android. But these games can be released on other platforms. Like Sayonara Wild Hearts which was shown at Apple’s keynote. It’s available for Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4 for US$12.99. In Sayonara Wild Hearts, players follow a young woman after she experiences heartbreak and finds her other self dubbed “The Fool” in an alternate universe. Play as The Fool and journey through a custom-written pop soundtrack, chase scores, and set out to find the harmony of the universe hidden away in the hearts of Little Death and her star-crossed allies: Dancing Devils, Howling Moons, Stereo Lovers and Hermit 64. Additionally, you can get physical copies as well as a vinyl record at iam8bit.com.