Beach Buggy Blitz Winter Update

The new winter expansion update for Beach Buggy Blitz is now available for download on the Google Play Store.  This is a major update to the game, a ton of new content and gameplay options!

First and foremost is the new Snowy Mountain environment, which you can discover when you drive into the hard sections of the mountain after about 6km.  (It shows up around the same time as the Volcano stuff.)  The new environment is full of slip-slidey challenges, including patches of ice and snow, squeaky toy penguins, and howling yeti!  (For memory and perofrmance reasons, this content only appears on devices with dual core CPUs or higher.)

In addition, we've added a new 5th upgrade level for all Powerups in the game.  There's a new +2 second upgrade for the Checkpoint, an even faster Boost, and more!

You'll also find the "Tune Up" Gadget in the menu alongside the Drop Ship and the Extra Life.  It gives your car extra performance for the next race, perfect for a run at the leaderboards!

And -- as if all that wasn't enough -- you also get new achievements!

Happy holidays, everyone, hope you enjoy playing the update as much as we've had making it!

A note to iOS users

The Winter Expansion pack IS going to make it to iOS as well.  We need to do some further optimization, and of course as always wait a little while after we submit the udpate for Apple Approval.  We expect it to be available in mid-January 2013.

Win a Nexus 7 in the Beach Buggy Blitz Thanksgiveaway!

We at Vector Unit have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.  We're thankful that Beach Buggy Blitz just hit 500,000 installs on the Play Store.  [Update:  Just hit 1 MILLION installs!] We're thankful for the Nexus 7, which is pretty much the best gaming hardware you can buy for $199.  And we're thankful to our fans who have made Beach Buggy Blitz one of the highest rated free to play games around!

To give a little something back to our loyal fans, Vector Unit and NVIDIA are joining forces to bring you the first ever Beach Buggy Blitz Thanksgiveaway! We’re giving away a brand spanking new Tegra 3 Powered 16GB Nexus 7 tablet, plus a whole mess of hot-off-the-presses Beach Buggy Blitz T-Shirts!

All you have to do to enter is follow these simple steps:

1. If you haven't already, follow @VectorUnit on Twitter. 
2. Tweet a screen shot* (or a link to an image) of your favorite Beach Buggy Blitz car. It can be a car you upgraded and painted yourself, or just a cool looking picture you found online. Be sure to include @vectorunit AND #beachbuggyblitz in your Tweet. 
3. Sit back and wait for the end of the contest, and hope you get picked! 

The sweepstakes starts on Thursday, November 15, 2012, and ends on Monday, November 26, 2012, at 9am PST.   We’ll choose TWENTY-FIVE (25) winners at random for a T-Shirt, and ONE (1) winner out of those to receive the Nexus 7!  

See below for more detailed rules.  And good luck!

* How to take a screenshot on Android

* How to take a screenshot on iOS

Rules

Competition is open to residents of the US only, over the age of 18. One entry per person. Do NOT tweet multiple entries or tweet from multiple Twitter accounts. Family members of NVIDIA, Google, and Vector Unit are not permitted to enter.

Competition entries are only accepted via the specified Twitter tweet, and must be dated no later than 9am PST on November 26, 2012.   Entries which do not include @vectorunit and #beachbuggyblitz will not be recognized.  Entries left in the comments section of this or any other post, or received by any other means, will not be recognized.

Winners will be contacted by a Vector Unit staff member via direct message in Twitter upon being selected and will be expected to respond to that staff member within 24 hours, else their prize may be forfeit and another winner selected.  Vector Unit’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.  Winners agree that their name and details of their entry may be used for promotional purposes by, but not limited to, NVIDIA and Vector Unit.  

Prizes consist of a 16GB Nexus 7 tablet, and 20 Beach Buggy Blitz T-Shirts (available in S, M, L, and XL, also womens/mens). There are no other alternatives for prize winners unless these prizes become unavailable, in which case Vector Unit reserves the right to substitute another prize of equal or greater value. Giveaway provided by Vector Unit. Prizes provided by NVIDIA and Vector Unit. Any questions regarding this giveaway should be directed to info@vectorunit.com. 

Windows 8 Double Whammy!

You just installed Windows 8, and now you're looking for something awesome to do with it.  What could be more awesome than a high-fidelity water racing game?

I'll tell you what would be more awesome:

TWO high-fidelity water racing games!

This last week Vector Unit released both Hydro Thunder Hurricane (published by Microsoft Studios) and Riptide GP onto the Windows 8 store, and the reviews have been great!

Until last week Hydro Thunder Hurricane was an Xbox 360 exclusive, and now for the very first time PC players around the world can get a faceful of jet-fuel-scented spray with this faithful port.  It even includes all the content of the 360 "Tempest Pack" DLC.  Hydro Thunder Hurricane offers a classic-arcade racing experience for hardcore and mid-level players.

Riptide GP has been making waves on Android and iOS for about a year now, but this is the first time it's been released on the Windows platform.  Riptide GP offers intense hydro jet racing action mixed with high flying stunts and awesome ragdoll wipeouts.  It's easy to pick up and play for beginners, but challenging to master for expert players.

Check them out in the Windows 8 Store today!

Beach Buggy Blitz shreds onto iOS

Vector Unit's driving adventure game Beach Buggy Blitz has hit the iTunes App Store!

The game plays and looks great on the hottest new iOS devices like the iPhone 5 and the new iPad.  The iOS version sports full Game Center integration, with Achievements and Leaderboards.  It's really fun to challenge your friends back and forth with your high score!  We also support saving your game to iCloud, so you always have a backup of your progress, and you can even continue your game on multiple devices with the same iCloud account.

In addition, we've added a new item to the store -- a Coin Doubler that allows you to earn in-game money at a faster rate.  Perfect for those more expensive upgrades!  The Coin Doubler will be making its way to the Android version soon as well.

Download Beach Buggy Blitz for free from the App Store today!

Beach Buggy Blitz is out, and the reviews are in!

It's finally here!  After almost a solid year of work, Beach Buggy Blitz is now available for Tegra 3 (and some Tegra 2) devices in the Google Play Store.  The community seems to like it (4+ stars in Google Play) and we couldn't be happier with the response from the reviewers.  

Here's a sampling from some of the game journal reviews that have come out so far:

All-in-all a breathtaking dollop of gorgeous eye-candy that blows the mittens off most other games. A real highlight is the lighting when you burn through a cave- check out those headlights!

- Android Tapp, Rating: 4/5

Vector Unit has really delivered a great title here... Detailed graphics, fun gameplay, very solid controls, and lots of unlockable features make Beach Buggy Blitz a very fun game.

- Android PIT

A variety of powerups and gadgets are available to improve your chances of success. ... That’s where Beach Buggy Blitz excels: It boasts an In-App-Purchase (IAP) model which isn’t outright greedy.

- Forbes, Rating: 9/10

Another awesome racing game with heavy physics coming at you from all angles. 

- Slash Gear

Got Tegra?  Check out Beach Buggy Blitz in the Play store today.  What have you got to lose?  It's freakin' FREE!

Hydro Thunder Hurricane announced for Windows 8 launch

Our good ol pal Major Nelson today announced the lineup of games appearing at launch for Windows 8, and guess who's listed among them?  That's right, our OTHER good ol pal Hydro Thunder Hurricane.

HTH will be available day 1 on the Windows 8 store in all it's hydro-thundering glory.  Catch some massive air off the broken dam in Lake Powell, dodge the hammer-blows of mighty Thor, and try to escape unscathed through the mysterious portal in Area 51....all your favorite tracks (and boats) from Hydro Thunder Hurricane on Xbox LIVE Arcade are there, plus the 3 bonus tracks and 2 extra boats from the Tempest Pack DLC.

One other feature that HTH Win8 brings to the table is Ghost Race.  Download your Friends' best performances and race against their ghosts to really prove once and for all who's got bragging rights for the fastest rocket-propelled speedboats in town.  

No price announced yet, but we'll let you know when we know ourselves.

Major Nelson:  First Wave of Xbox LIVE Games That Will Be Coming to Windows 8

Nabi 2 kids tablet is awesome and Riptide-o-licious

We sometimes get approached by companies coming out with new hardware who want to talk to us about putting a demo version of one of our games on their devices.  Usually we politely decline, either because we don't like the device, or because it seems like it's going to be a lot of work and we don't have time.

But every so often a device comes along that we feel really fortunate to be able to be a part of.  The new Nabi 2 tablet for kids is one of those products.  

The Nabi 2 is an Android tablet with a whopping-fast Tegra 3 quad-core processor in it.  It has a cool looking shock-proof case.  It comes preinstalled with a bunch of family-friendly games (including our very own Riptide GP).  It has non-obnoxious parental filters and controls.  It's a full-on tablet, not just a toy.  And it only costs $199.  

It's coming out really soon, and the reviews are starting to come in.  This is definitely one we're recommending to our friends with kids.  Check it out!

Wired - Is the Best Android Tablet Available Made for Kids?

Android Police - Fuhu Nabi 2 Review

SlashGear Nabi 2 Kids Tablet Review

Vector Unit showing new game at Google I/O 2012

The good people at Google have invited us to participate in the Developer Sandbox at Google I/O this year, and we couldn't be more thrilled.  

First of all, we're excited because we love Google I/O.  We were fortunate enough to be part of the Sandbox last year with Riptide GP.  We got to meet a ton of other developers working on amazing new projects, participate in the conference, and of course managed to score some of that sweet Google I/O swag.

On top of just getting to attend the conference, of course, it also feels really good to have the Android team at Google recognize our work and invite us to join them. 

But the other reason we're excited is because the game we're going to be showing is our brand new, as yet unannounced title.  

No details yet about what the game actually is -- attendees at Google I/O are going to be the first people outside of Vector Unit to see and play it.  

So stay tuned for the official announcement next week.   We hope you like it -- and if you're attending, we hope to see you in the Google I/O Developer Sandbox in a couple of weeks!

Hydro Thunder Hurricane coming to Win8

A blast from the Vector Unit past is back!  Hydro Thunder Hurricane, the Xbox LIVE Arcade hit game from 2010, is revving up its boost engines for another run -- this time for Windows 8!

We've been hard at working porting the game over to PC over the last few months.  In particular we've been optimizing the game to run on tablet PCs, so Hydro Thunder fans can pick up their slates and enjoy rocket-powered speedboat racing out in the real world.  You know, at work, at school, at your in-law's place....wherever portable entertainment is necessary.

HTH will be available for Windows 8 in the Store when the OS launches later this year.  The game will feature all the levels and tracks from the XBLA version, as well as the bonus tracks and levels from the Tempest Pack DLC.

No word on pricing yet.  Stay tuned!