Agharta Studio released the sequel to their 1112 series last month, 1112 episode 02 [$4.99] for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Following up the original, 1112 episode 01 [$4.99 / Free], that came out back in November 2008. And now the iPad version 1112 episode 02 HD [$7.99] has hit the App Store.
If you never played episode 1, we recommend you try out 1112 Episode 01 Lite [Free] to get some background and hands on with, to find out what the type of puzzle game that the 1112 series is like. For the less inclined, episode 2 offers a short summary video to get you up to speed on the story line from the original.
The goal is to help your character, Louis, discover why he has ended up in New York. Through the use of multitouch, you'll be looking for objects and solving puzzles, including some sudoku puzzles, to find your way to completing the mystery of 1112. The game is made up of awesome hand drawn environments to navigate through and admire along the way. Episode 2 includes a multitude amount of new content to interact with;
All new advanced graphical design and artistic direction
25 new larger than life environments
14 new characters
Various puzzles, each with a specific gameplay
An incredibly responsive Multi-Touch user interface
Original score
Elaborate interactive narrative
Totally redesigned game engine
Despite the larger screen and redrawn graphics in HD, the game doesn't play very differently between the iPhone and iPad version. The storyline and gameplay is the same between the two. In fact, aside from the pixelated text, the game plays quite well in pixel-doubling mode. The graphics don't take a major hit at all and look very good still. Because of that, we don't recommend upgrading to the HD version if you already own the iPhone version, as you won't gain much. But if you held out for the HD version, or haven't picked up any of the episodes before, you won't be disappointed by going with the iPad specific version.
The overall consensus in our forums discussing episode 2 seem very positive. The developers have already updated the iPhone version earlier this month to fix some bugs and say the iPad version ships with the fixes already included. With users reporting gameplay length between 3-7 hours long, depending on how long it takes you to solve some of the puzzles, the game offers a fair amount of content. We are already looking forward to episode 3 of the series, so be sure to get your copy of episode 1 and 2 to keep up with the intriguing story.
Freeverse's space conquest game Warpgate [$4.99 / Free] and the high resolution iPad Warpgate HD [$7.99 / Free] both recently had free versions appear on the App Store. If you've been on the fence, you really should give the free version a try, especially with the recent 1.2 update that added save game portability via the Plus+ network.
When Warpgate HD first launched along side the iPad, we loved the game in our review, and later found the only differences between the iPhone and iPads version of the game were minor UI differences. Here's what you're getting in to in the Warpgate universe:
Obviously set in space, Warpgate is host to a gigantic galaxy map that you slowly explore through a seamless set of campaign missions. Once you complete the initial tutorial, and start in on the "real" game, procedurally generated missions begin appearing that have you flying places, delivering things, getting in to battles with other ships, and other objectives. Because of this, the game never technically ends.
Warpgate is remarkably open, so much so that if you're the kind of gamer that requires a rigid goal structure with a concrete "end" to a game, it might just drive you crazy. The end goal of Warpgate is whatever you want it to be. If that means grinding up reputation with the space pirates and piloting the biggest, baddest battleship in the entire galaxy, killing everything in your path, you can. Or, on the opposite side of things, you can be completely lawful and play your cards so you're in good standing with all the factions of space. ...Read More
One of my main concerns from our initial review was the inability to manage your save game data. Since Warpgate is a game you can keep playing for a very long time, not being able to secure my game data from the horrors of iPhone syncing and updating SNAFU's after potentially investing weeks of playtime in to the game made me very nervous. Warpgate 1.2 not only adds online save game storage via the Plus+ network, but these game saves are also portable between devices and versions of the game.
If you own the game for both the iPhone and iPad, all you need to do is open the game's options screen, upload your game save on one device, then do the same thing to download it on to the other device and you will be right where you left off. What's even cooler, is that if you download the lite version for either the iPad or iPhone, you can upload your game save, buy the full version, download it, and keep all of your progress.
Unfortunately, because of the size of the Warpgate game save files, automatic online game save storage like many other Plus+ games simply isn't realistic. According to Warpgate producer Bruce Morrison, Warpgate game saves can grow to upwards of 500 kilobytes once you get farther in to the game. In comparison, Flick Fishing, another Freeverse game that handles all of the Plus+ game save data automatically only uses around 5 kilobytes to save everything it needs.
Warpgate's implementation of online save storage is a little ugly, but it works. It's really great to be able to play my same game on both my iPhone and iPad, and the ability to roll your progress in the lite version straight in to the paid version is really cool. If you haven't yet, you really should give Warpgate a try, or at least download the free version. Aside from being a fun space conquest game, it also looks really great on the iPad.
At this point we've posted about Freeverse's Warpgate so many times that linking to the various previews over the last year just seems excessive. From its very beginnings at WWDC '09, Warpgate piqued my interest, and as information slowly leaked out of Freeverse regarding the game's development, it seemed like it was set to exceed even my wildest expectations-- Provided they could live up to nearly a year of pre-release hype.
Warpgate HD [App Store] was among the initial batch of games available along side the launch of the iPad, and was the first game I loaded up following unboxing mine after waiting what seemed like an eternity to sync. Since then, Warpgate has sucked me in in the worst way. Describing games as "addicting" or "addictive" has become the absolute worst cliche of the App Store, both in descriptions and game reviews, but I'm having a hard time coming up with a better way to describe my attraction to this game.
To give some perspective, things I love in video games in no particular order includes anything to do with space, massive game worlds, warring factions you can take part in, an impressive sense of scale, and as much randomization as possible to provide endless replay value. Warpgate has all of these things and more.
Obviously set in space, Warpgate is host to a gigantic galaxy map that you slowly explore through a seamless set of campaign missions. Once you complete the initial tutorial, and start in on the "real" game, procedurally generated missions begin appearing that have you flying places, delivering things, getting in to battles with other ships, and other objectives. Because of this, the game never technically ends.
Warpgate is remarkably open, so much so that if you're the kind of gamer that requires a rigid goal structure with a concrete "end" to a game, it might just drive you crazy. The end goal of Warpgate is whatever you want it to be. If that means grinding up reputation with the space pirates and piloting the biggest, baddest battleship in the entire galaxy, killing everything in your path, you can. Or, on the opposite side of things, you can be completely lawful and play your cards so you're in good standing with all the factions of space.
Or, if you don't care about that, and you just want to have billions and billions of space bucks, Warpgate is conducive to that play style too. There's an entire dynamic economy in game and if all you want to do is ferry around commodities between planets buying low and selling high, you can. In-game news feeds will help you keep an eye on the pulse of the universe, and you can often make an insane profit by quickly delivering huge loads of much needed cargo to planets that show up in the news.
If you don't like power gaming these kinds of games, and just want to have fun in space, that works too. Warpgate seems to be balanced in a way that both rewards power gaming the economy and in-game faction system as well as being conducive to casual gamers just bouncing between campaign missions without getting too involved in the other parts of the game. Mostly, playing the in-game markets is optional, and you might only have to participate in buying and selling commodities if you're low on money and need to buy an expensive quest item or want to further upgrade your ship's weaponry.
Alternatively, if you really don't want to grind up money to buy things, there's an in-game store where you can buy a huge battle cruiser and tons of space bucks for a few real dollars. Other than that, you can just follow the campaign missions and have a great time.
It seems like App Store gamers are always clamoring for depth in games, something that has become exceedingly rare as pricing across the board has hit rock bottom. Warpgate has depth on top of depth. To give you an idea of how much content is in the game, the galaxy map is host to 36 star systems. Those star systems are home to 120 different planets and space stations. While you're marauding around the galaxy, you can pilot one of 172 different star ships, and equip your ship with the 60 included weapons. It's really just insane how much is packed in to this game.
As far as an iPad game is concerned, Warpgate HD is great. Since the launch of the device, we've played almost everything worth playing, and it seems like the control method that I've been preferring the most is one where you can comfortably rest the iPad in your lap, holding it with one hand, and playing with the other. This is exactly how Warpgate works.
You control your ship either by touching anywhere in the game world to fly there, swiping in the direction you want to fly, or touching one of the icons on the side of the screen indicating the direction of a planet, warpgate, or other point of interest. Context sensitive buttons appear to allow you to warp through a warpgate, land on a planet, scan another ship, answer an incoming communication, or fight another ship.
The camera is controlled using all the same familiar multitouch gestures such as two fingers to rotate and pinching to zoom in or out. Speaking of zooming the camera, this is one of my absolute favorite things about the game. With a pinch of your fingers you can go from seeing the minute details of your ship, then instantly and fluidly pan the camera all the way out to show all the nearby planets. This level of zoom control and sense of scale is so cool that the first hour or two that I played the game I couldn't help myself but just constantly zoom in and out.
If you're looking for a fast paced action game, Warpgate is not it. While narrowly escaping from pirates as you just barely warp before getting hit with a missile that would destroy your ship can be exciting, by and large the game is fairly slow. You will spend a lot of time watching your ship flying from place to place, and when you're actually fighting, combat isn't anywhere near as interactive as I had hoped it would be.
When you tap the button to enter a battle, the screen zooms, twists, and blurs just like a Final Fantasy. The game then quickly loads in to a battle sequence where your ship will be flying in a swarm with the other ship (or ships) you're fighting. You don't have any control over your ship's movement at this point, and all you really do is choose when to fire what weapons by mashing buttons that appear on either side of the screen and select the target you're firing on. It gets the job done, but feels surprisingly remedial compared to the rest of the game. If there's one area that Warpgate needs improvement, it's in fleshing out this battle system to add some strategy beyond mashing your weapon buttons as they come online.
Originally designed as an iPhone game, the non-HD version of Warpgate will be available on the 13th, Warpgate will intelligently scale across the entire iPhone and iPod touch family, enabling the different graphical effects depending on what device you're playing on. If you're playing the game on a 3GS or 3rd generation iPod touch, you'll see all kinds of fancy shader effects. If not, the game should still look good without them and run at a great frame rate to boot. Aside from the smaller screen size and a reworked user interface, the iPhone version of the game will be identical to the iPad.
iPhone Warpgate compared to Warpgate HD.
While I'm having a great time with Warpgate, one thing really makes me nervous about a game of this scope. There's no way to manage your game saves, back up your game, or anything like that. I have invested hours upon hours in to Warpgate, and I'd hate to think that I could lose it all from some update SNAFU, iTunes sync weirdness, and the countless other things I've run in to in the past that have resulted in random save game data loss. Especially with an iPhone version on the horizon, there's nothing more I'd love to see than some kind of online Plus+ powered save game synchronization between devices, or anything else to add some kind of security that my massive space empire is here to stay.
Overall, in my eyes, Warpgate has completely delivered on the months of pre-launch hype. Playing the game on my iPad feels like the future, and something that you would see some space kid playing on a similar tablet device in an 80's sci-fi movie. The mood of the game is great, the graphics are phenomenal, the in-game soundtrack has an epic feel to it, and even the icon is cool. Sure, the battle system could use some work, but that is just a small part of an otherwise remarkable game.
Warpgate HD is currently my favorite iPad game, and if you've ever enjoyed a space conquest game in the past, this is a game you need to download. If you don't have an iPad, the iPhone version will be coming April 13th, so keep an eye out for that.
App Store LInk: Warpgate HD, $7.99 (iPad only, iPhone version coming 4/13.)
I never really was able to get in to Touchgrind [$4.99] because of how zoomed in the camera needed to be to provide a good playing surface on the iPhone and iPod touch. Back before anyone knew the iPad even existed they released a video of the game running on a huge multi-touch surface, and ever since then I've wanted to play the game on a much larger screen.
Anyone with an iPad will be able to enjoy playing the game like this tomorrow with Touchgrind HD [$7.99], and it even includes a two player split screen mode.
Similar to the video of Touchgrind on a huge display, they also released a video of Labyrinth 2 [$4.99 / Free] being played on a 24" LCD with a PlayStation 3 controller taped to the back to capture the tilt controls. Labyrinth 2 is a game we absolutely loved in our review, and I only expect Labyrinth 2 HD [$7.99 / Free] to be even more fun on the big screen of the iPad.
Of course we haven't actually been able to try these two games yet, but both of them are already in my iTunes library ready to be loaded as soon as I get home with my iPad tomorrow.
As we reported late last month, Touch Arcade had the opportunity to visit Gameloft's Manhattan offices and spend a bit of hands-on time with their upcoming WWII-based first person shooter, Brother in Arms 2: Global Front. Tonight the game landed in the App Store and, after spending a few days with this final build, we have some thoughts to share on Gameloft's latest.
When the first Brothers in Arms title for the iPhone landed in the App Store back in November 2008, it was a highly notable release and almost certainly the most complex 3D game to be released for the platform at the time. It was (and is) a well executed iPhone take on an extremely popular console / PC franchise, wowing most but drawing criticism for a "difficult" control system.
Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front, designed from the ground up specifically for the iPhone, comes to us over a year later.  So what has a year brought us in the sequel to such a bold initial platform release? Quite a bit, it turns out.
Brothers in Arms 2, weighing in at over three times the filesize of its predecessor, brings to the iPhone a much larger game experience. This time around it's a first person affair, as opposed to the third-person, over-the-shoulder experience that is the first title. Actually, when in duck-and-cover mode, BIA2 does jump out to third person -- and that's something you'll see often, as using crates, walls, and tanks for cover is pretty much par for the course in this title. That is, when you're not sprinting across the battlefield, manning the turret in a jeep or tank, or piloting a "glider" through heavy flack. Yea, it's pretty intense.
BIA2 drops you neatly into WWII as the young American soldier David Wilson on a mission to push back the Germans and Japanese and get the backs of his brothers in arms in the thick of battle. But, before long, an ominous bit of correspondence reveals that his actual brother, Eric, has been killed and was given the medal of honor -- but that medal was revoked due to uncertain circumstances. It's Wilson's additional mission to get to the bottom of the mystery and clear his brother's good name. Pretty heavy stuff, really.
The tools of the trade are many. Available weapons include bazookas, fixed machine guns, flame throwers, Thompson submachine guns, and grenades. (The default play mode offers targeting assistance, which I find helpful, but it can be disabled.) There are three different modes of play, in all, to choose from. The default is a mission to mission progression through 13 levels across five different locales: Pacific, Sicily, Normandy, Germany, and North Africa. Any unlocked locale can also be chosen for quick play in Campaign mode. And, finally, local network play is possible by way of either WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity.
The game's control system feels a bit more workable than that of the original iPhone release. This is due, in part, to the various refined methods of multitouch, onscreen controls offered, but also to the fact that, during the year that's gone by since the originals release, we've come to know a great many 3D shooters utilizing dual-stick (and the like) controls. We're just far more used to this iPhone control mechanic than we were back in November 2008. Whatever the precise combination of reasons, you're going to find BIA2 to feel more comfortable than did the original release.
While BIA brought impressive visuals when it made its debut, so too does BIA2, and that's said taking into account the significant raising of the bar that's taken place over the past year. The environment models have indeed grown in complexity, but more impressive are the subtle visual touches that BIA2 brings. Shafts of light through the trees, HDR blooms (there's an options toggle there) -- it all comes together to make for a pretty amazing looking game, very "modern console"-like (on my 3GS).
The game features various trophies that are granted based upon particularly savvy battlefield performance, as well as for finding as many "Kilroy was here" tags as possible. Performance is tracked by way of the integrated Gameloft LIVE network.
And, while the game offers excellent action, often at a frantic pace, it does have a few shortcomings. Framerate is generally quite high on the iPhone 3GS, but occasional (loading?) lags do occur, causing brief pauses in the action and studders to the audio at times. As well, in an apparent glitch where I went off the expected story line, I entered a room and wiped out everything alive, exited the room, only to find it once again full of enemies upon revisiting said room -- though this was an isolated occurrence.
And, about that room full of soldiers, or soldiers anywhere in the game, really -- the enemy AI that commands them is quite basic. If you're re-playing a scenario after having died, the enemy does the exact same thing the second time around, making it quite easy to wipe out the lot. A little more complex / varied AI would certainly add depth to the battle experience.
See Gameloft's recent trailer video for a look at a variety of in-game scenarios.
That I can pick a few nits in the title does not mark Brothers in Arms 2 a game to avoid. On the contrary, it is a highly enjoyable, action-packed shooter that offers some of the most intense battle sequences you'll find on the iPhone, making this latest from Gameloft a gaming experience that's rather hard to pass up.
We're still working on the finishing touches of out Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front [App Store] review, but the game was just released on the App Store a few moments ago. This sequel of Brothers in Arms Hour of Heroes [$4.99 / Free] comes with an even larger single player campaign, six player online multiplayer with multiple game modes, and tons of other goodies.
We posted an extensive preview article earlier, and Gameloft recently released the following gameplay trailer:
Our review will be up soon, and in the meantime, there's a very active thread on our forums with forum members discussing the game.
With the slightly bad taste of The Chronicles of Inotia still fresh in the minds of some gamers, the announcement of Inotia 2: A Wanderer of Luone [App Store] was met with some understandable concerns. The first game in the franchise was plagued with a terrible menu/inventory system, boring battles, and extremely limited RPG elements, so is Inotia 2 (pronounced "In-oh-tee-ya," for those curious)even worth taking a glance at? After spending some considerable time in the world of this sequel, I can confidently say that it's a completely different game than its predecessor in all of the best ways.
Inotia 2 isn't really bringing anything new to the table, even in terms of the app store. Games like Dungeon Hunter and (more similarly) Zenonia have already pioneered the action-RPG genre on the platform, but Inotia 2 makes up for that by being more polished, more accessible, and arguably deeper than any that came before it.
This week, 2XL Games' highly anticipated off-road racing game 2XL ATV Offroad [link] hit the App Store. The game is a follow-up to the studio's 2XL Supercross, a technically impressive dirt-track racing title that, physics and visuals aside, felt a little shallow from an overall gameplay perspective. We're happy to report that this latest from 2XL Games takes all of the "good" from Supercross and combines it with highly varied tracks, a proper career mode, and Wi-Fi multiplayer to deliver one of the very best racers in the App Store.
ATV Offroad features three different track types in which to compete. Supercross tracks, much like those featured in 2XL Supercross are represented but, in addition, an array of Nationals (outdoor tracks) and Freestyle (it's like stunt racing in a massive fossile pit) tracks have been added to the mix. Whatever track type you're racing in, the visuals are breathtaking -- especially in the two outdoor types. From the impressive draw distance to the overall smoothness of the onscreen action to the clouds of dust kicked up by your competitors, the game is an iPhone eye-candy carnival that the PSP has reason to envy. The visual experience takes me back to the ATV Offroad Fury series on the PS2, but with a better sense of speed. Yes, this truly is one of the most visually impressive games available for the iPhone. It is absolutely a full console experience.
The game features an Arcade mode, which allows racing among any of the 16 available tracks across Supercross, Nationals, and Freestyle, as well as a Career mode (which is really the core playmode) and a Wi-Fi multiplayer mode (with Bluetooth on the way). Online leaderboards provide a skill incentive.
Career mode involves moving through a sequence of 11 Leagues which are events of varied track combinations. Rank high enough and the next League is unlocked. I've spent a great deal of time playing rather deep into the title and can tell you that, at Medium difficulty anyway, it's not a cakewalk. The challenge is apparent and requires some real skill to League up. But the journey to victory is a most satisfying one. The requisite track replays to get the needed ranking are nothing but enjoyable. Adding to the experience is an extensive achievement system that rewards players for skill on the track along the way.
The two available Freestyle tracks, in whichever mode you encounter them, are solo free-for-all's in a large, terraced pit. The goal here is to perform as many tricks as possible to rack up points and medal up from bronze to gold. It's kind of a Tony Hawk experience on an ATV. The draw-distance and physics system exhibited here are impressive.
The game's default control mode is accelerometer tilt, but a virtual stick is available as well. I find the former to be far superior to the latter in any mode of gameplay. Tilt control in this title has been very well tuned and offers excellent vehicle control.
In any playmode you can choose from among 15 different drivers and 15 different ATVs to get the race done. The variation that these choices provide are simply visual rather than physical, but it's nice to have choices. And adding to the experience is an impressive sound system that does a great job of letting you know just where the encroaching competitors are on the track behind you.
See the developer's gameplay video for a closer look.
I am a particular fan of offroad racing games. I enjoy the heightened in-game physics that they exhibit and don't at all mind a little travel on the Z-axis (jump, jump, jump). That said, this is my favorite racing game available for the iPhone. And the replay value is significant. Anyone who enjoys a solid, well-rounded racer -- and offroad racing in particular -- would be a fool to let 2XL Offroad Racing pass them by.
2XL Games' much anticipated ATV game was released into the App Store tonight for $7.99.
The game represents 2XL's followup title to the technically impressive 2XL Supercross and seems to share the same graphics engine. Beyond moving to ATV's, however, 2XL has added a lot of content to this new title, including freestyle levels, career mode, local multiplayer, online leaderboards and more.
The game offers tilt controls with a large number of customizable settings, though the default controls seemed to work reasonably well on our first few spins around the track.
The game shares the same impressive graphics seen in the original 2XL Supercross and are well demonstrated in this hands-on video provided by the developers.
Superficially, the biggest addition to the game is a full career mode that was conspicuously absent from their freshman iPhone release. 2XL ATV Offroad offers 16 ATV Supercross and Outdoor Nationals tracks and 2 Freestyle levels, and 3 levels of difficulty.
We'll be able to spend some more time with the title now that it's been released. Early adopters can share their impressions in our forums.
It's hard to describe the Madden series of games as a franchise anymore, they've been around so long it seems that a more appropriate way to describe the games would be the "Madden dynasty." The first Madden game appeared on the Apple II all the way back in 1989, it wasn't until Madden '94 that the real NFL teams were included, and sports gamers would have to wait another year until the real players were added. When you look back at the 20 years these games have been around, constantly improving each year, it's no surprise that Madden NFL 10 [App Store] is as good as it is.
Madden NFL 10 was one of the titles we previewed at PAX and spent some time with EA who highlighted the many features from the game.
First and foremost, Madden NFL 10 includes all of the NFL players, teams, and stadiums. Around 2000 players are in the game in addition to 200 free agents, and all of these players can be freely traded between teams. Whether you want to follow the real NFL trades and move players around based on the official rosters, or just turn your favorite team in to a dream team of the best players, EA says Madden NFL 10's team management can handle it.
Madden NFL 10 was specifically designed by EA's mobile team, which means it plays nicely as an iPhone game. If you get a phone call, need to answer a text message, or quit the game for some other reason, Madden NFL 10 saves the play you were on and reloads right back at the start of the play without any fumbling around with menus, intros, etc. EA also says they have really put a lot of emphasis on play time. Every cut scene, non-essential player animation, or instant replay can be skipped simply by tapping the screen. While there is a lot of fluff in the game, it's all quickly and easily skipped.
While behaving as a good iPhone app is nice, there were two other feature that I thought really stood out: Action Control Time and Hot Routes.
Madden's "Action Control Time" seems to work so well it wouldn't surprise me if we see a lot more sports games imitating it:. When you're playing regularly, the game runs at normal speed, and while on offense you have buttons to sprint and spin. With Action Control Time enabled, however, the game slows down, and additional controls appear allowing you to do things like juking to the left or to the right. The ability to slow things down allows for extremely precise player movements and changes the game from being action oriented, to a more tactical experience as you're able to avoid tackles exactly when you need to, as well as make for the clearest path you can see to the end zone instead of just catching the ball, running forward, and mashing spin as many times as you can.
Playing defense in Action Control Time works just as well, and with it enabled you can jump for balls, dive tackle, or even go in for a big hit-- A move that has a high risk of missing, but offers a higher chance of the opposing player fumbling. Again, slowing things down allows for a much more precise defensive attack instead of just switching to whatever player is closest to the one with the ball and mashing tackle.
The other cool feature of Madden NFL 10 is "Hot Routes". Before the snap, you can press the Hot Routes button and redraw the path of any of your players with your finger on the screen, you can even make nonsensical zigzags and they will follow your every command. This takes the 300 included plays and lets you customize them any way you want.
Passes are controled by tapping on icons appearing above your receivers heads that range from red to green depending on how open they are. When it's time to kick, the kicking controls work just like swinging in Tiger Woods PGA Tour [App Store]. A kicking interface appears on the right hand side of the screen, you drag your finger down to determine the power, then swipe back up to determine the accuracy of where you aimed. All of the player AI, detailed player attributes, and all the other inner workings are in place to allow you to do things like simulate games when playing in season mode instead of playing through each game yourself. And If you're a football statistics nerd, there are a stupid amount of different statistics being tracked with every play you make in Madden NFL 10.
My brief time with Madden NFL 10 was spent on an iPhone 3GS, though I was assured that they've developed the game to run well across the entire iPhone and iPod Touch family. Madden NFL 10 doesn't require 3.0, although you do need it if you want to access your music from inside the game.
Here's our hands on video with the game from PAX:
We'll have the opportunity to spend more time with the game now that it's been released, but it's overall a really impressive package that we expect football fans will love. EA has also announced that a soon to come update will support "multiplayer". Madden has been launched at $7.99 as a one day sale, and will go up to the full price of $9.99 on Thursday evening.
After a cool teaser video and a load of screenshots, Konami's Krazy Kart Racing [App Store] has been high on my list of games I really wanted to play. As of tonight, the wait is (almost) over, and Krazy Kart is actually surprisingly fun, especially when playing against friends in the various online multiplayer modes.
Konami has tried pretty hard to duplicate as much of Mario Kart as they can, with shells replaced with missiles, mushrooms replaced with a generic speed boost item, the lightning bolt replaced with an item that turns everyone in to pigs, and other fairly blatant copies of Mario Kart power-ups. Instead of the highly recognizable Nintendo lineup or characters, Krazy Kart Racing features a slightly more obscure cast of Konami characters such as Sparkster (from the SNES game of the same name), Robbie Rabbit (the mascot from an amusement park found in Silent Hill), and the frog from Frogger along with seven others.
The controls work well and feature both tilt steering and touch controls. I've found myself preferring touch controls, but tilt worked fine as well. Acceleration is handled automatically, and there are virtual buttons on screen to brake and use whatever power-up you've managed to pick up.
16 tracks are included, based on themes of the games the characters are from. For instance, Power Stadium is a baseball diamond shaped track to go along with the baseball player racer from Power Touch Pros and there's a Antarctic themed track to go with the penguin racer from Penguin Adventure. These tracks can be played in grand prix, time attack, and free run modes as well as with friends or random people online in the included internet multiplayer modes.
Online multiplayer works without any kind of registration. You simply enter your name, connect to one of the game servers, and from there you can either create or join a game room with other players. Any track that you have unlocked in single player is playable online with up to five other players and/or bots. Aside from the standard race mode, there are two battle modes, chicken and bomb chaser. In chicken, players accelerate down a straight track and slam on their brakes before reaching the end and flying off in to the pool of water below.
In bomb chaser, one player has the bomb and drives around a circular arena attempting to run in to other players to give them the bomb. Whoever has the bomb drives significantly faster than the other players, so it can get kind of hectic at times, but neither battle mode is very interesting and pales in comparison to Mario Kart. Performance online is surprisingly good, although there was a bit of lag when playing in a full game with bots, it was still completely playable. The online system seems a bit buggy still as I experienced a few instances where games wouldn't launch, game rooms becoming unresponsive and it not releasing my username. Once you're actually connected, however, the gameplay seemed to work fine. We mostly tested on Wi-Fi though 3G worked as well.
This video shows the multiplayer modes as well as single player using touch control:
Our early impressions of Krazy Kart Racing is that it's a fun kart racer, and while it's currently the closest thing to Mario Kart available on the App Store, it's still hard to compare to the original. There already is a menu item in game for downloadable content, so it should be interesting to see what Konami has in store with that. If Krazy Kart's online community takes off, I could see myself spending a serious amount of time racing over the internet. We'll spend some more time with this title this weekend, and we are still looking forward to Gameloft's Shrek Kart which is due next month.
Note: Krazy Kart Racing is not currently available from the US App Store, but has appeared in international stores. With any luck it should appear for download in the US shortly, though there have been instances (such as Silent Hill) where the U.S. release lagged as long as a week after the international release.
Surprisingly enough, Gameloft's NFL 2010 [App Store] came out tonight, only a couple days after it was first revealed. It truly is the App Store's first full football simulation, complete with NFL teams, players, and stadiums.
Inside the game are four modes of play: Quick Play, which just tosses you in to a game with your favorite team (set in the options), as well as the self-explanatory Exhibition, Season, and Playoffs modes. All NFL teams are included, and each are vaguely rated in their overall offensive and defensive power. Graphics are good for an iPhone game, especially considering how many players are on screen moving at once, and the sound can be incredibly immersive. The crowd cheers constantly, and the game comes with an announcer that provides a constant (although sometimes inaccurate) play by play.
Reactions on our forums seem largely positive so far, with most forum members agreeing that the controls are the weak link in the NFL 2010 chain. The game is controlled utilizing an on-screen virtual joystick and an array of buttons depending on what you're doing on the field. Most of the problems with the controls seem to be largely due to the lack of precision inherent in touch screen buttons not having any kind of tactile feedback.
One thing that I thought worked really well in the game is throwing the ball. When you select a throwing play, after the snap various shapes show up that can be touched to throw the ball to the corresponding player. These symbols change from red to green depending on how likely each player is to catch the ball. Also, instead of cycling through which player you're controlling with a button, tapping any character on screen selects them to be controlled.
Like most of these highly ambitious titles for the iPhone, they come with a decent amount of both good and bad things about them. It is really cool to be able to play as any of the NFL teams with the players on my phone, and the way passing works is great. Still, the controls could use some work, and the announcer isn't perfect by any means and can get repetitive. Regardless, NFL 2010 is now the best game on the App Store right now for football fans with a surprising amount of improvements already planned in a future update. Gameloft lists a number of features for the next update including full online, bluetooth, and WiFi multiplayer as well as Gameloft Live, YouTube replay uploads, and even a "Zombies vs Skeletons" special match.
Following the surprising early accidental release of Resident Evil 4 [App Store] in Japan a few weeks ago, iPhone owning Resident Evil fanatics have been anxiously anticipating its official release. The wait is over, but it will likely take a true Resident Evil fan to appreciate the mobile edition of the game (or, ironically, one who has never played the original).
An on-screen D-Pad controls your movement along with a array of buttons lining the right hand side of the screen that control all of your actions. Resident Evil 4 features a slight improvement to the control scheme in Resident Evil: Degeneration [App Store] that we reviewed previously. It seems like Leon moves a little bit faster, and double tapping on the D-Pad while aiming makes you take a step in that direction.
Since in a game like this controls are everything, I highly recommend giving Resident Evil: Degeneration Lite [App Store] a try before picking up Resident Evil 4. They take a lot of getting used to, and the inability to run and aim at the same time doesn't translate particularly well to the virtual D-Pad either.
The thing that gets me about this version of the game is that the console and PC versions of Resident Evil 4 are such amazing games. In fact, RE 4 saw so much critical acclaim that it a "Reception" section summarizing its awards in the Resident Evil 4 Wikipedia article. Many publications listed it as the 2005 game of the year, and Resident Evil 4 even ranked number 1 on the "IGN Readers' Top 99 Games Of All Time" list.
Unfortunately, the iPhone version of the game (ported from BREW) seems so watered down that it's barely even recognizable as Resident Evil 4. All of the amazing plot elements and cut scenes are replaced by brief text introductions to each of the twelve levels, all of the voice overs are gone, and overall this just really feels like what you would expect a cell phone game to be-- which needless to say does not do justice to the original at all.
AppBank posted the following gameplay video of the Japanese version:
If you're interested in the series or enjoyed Resident Evil: Degeneration, chances are you will still have fun with Resident Evil 4 despite its shortfalls. If you're brand new to the game, however, I'd recommend starting with one of the other console versions if you can, but then again, you can't exactly play your GameCube while sitting on the bus.
LucasArts' first entry in the Monkey Island series hit the App Store tonight [$7.99] completely re-imagined with new art, complete voice-overs, and a new live instrumental musical score. Originally released in 1990, and having seen several revisions following the initial release including a port to the Sega CD, this Special Edition of The Secret of Monkey Island [App Store] is the best version of the game we've seen yet.
The graphics of this remake are wonderful and have a whimsical hand drawn look to them. The new voiceovers and music add a whole new level of immersion to the game and should give even veterans of the series something new to enjoy as all their favorite characters now have associated voice personalities. The touchscreen interface and the way the pointer works feels a little awkward and does take a little getting used to. Once you get the hang of moving it around and double tapping on things to perform actions the game becomes very workable.
The coolest part though? Swipe with two fingers across the screen and the new graphics and audio work fades away to the game's original graphics. This transition is instant, and you can switch back and forth at any point during the game:
The entire game is an amazing package, and this same remake was also released for both the PC and XBOX Live earlier this month. Official reviews for those versions have been very positive. Here is an excerpt from the Team XBOX review:
If there was a PC Gaming Hall of Fame, The Secret of Monkey Island would be in it. It’s a game that many of us grew up with and to this day refer to regularly. As much as that can be said for the original classic of 1990, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is a welcome addition to XBLA that will give fans an overwhelming sense of nostalgia, bringing them back simpler days in the gaming business, when games didn’t have the multi-million dollar budgets as they do today and they didn’t need high-profile marketing or fancy gimmicks to succeed. For long-time fans, it’s a chance to relive a part of our childhood; for newcomers, it’s a chance to experience what so many of us haven’t stopped talking about for nearly 20 years. Do yourself a favor and download The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition (at the reasonable price of 800 Microsoft Points or about $10). Otherwise, you’ll be wearing my sword like a shish-kebab!
So far we can echo those sentiments, except instead of downloading it from the XBOX Live Arcade for $10, iPhone users can grab it from the App Store for $7.99! Here is a brief gameplay video from the iPhone version:
The Secret of Monkey Island has stood the test of time, and the newly released Special Edition somehow manages to make this classic even better. Refreshingly, it appears that the iPhone version isn't a second class citizen to the Xbox and PC versions of the game. If you're interested in learning about what went into creating this Special Edition of the game, see this "making of" video.
MLB.com has released an official Major League Baseball World Series 2009 game into the App Store [link]. The $7.99 offers players an officially licensed product featuring 30 Major League Clubs and four MLB ballparks.
Game features include:
Multi-Touch Pitching Mechanics - Choose between fastball, curve, change-up or slider and swipe correctly to execute the perfect pitch
Accelerometer Targeting: Tilt the device to aim your pitch and line up your swing.
World Series mode, Season mode, Exhibition mode
Fielding modes - let the computer play defense or switch to manual for an added challenge
We've included a number of screenshots from the game (click thumbnails to enlarge):
And also included is a gameplay video. We've started the embedded video mid game, but if you're interested in team selection and player substitutions, rewind to the beginning:
The game itself allows you to play a season from the start or straight to the World Series. Games can be setup with different teams and substitutions can be made mid-game based on player stats or fatigue. The video shows off batting and pitching.
Batting is performed using the accelerometer to match the ball while pressing the "swing" button at the right moment. Pitching is performed using swipe gestures which influence power and accuracy of your pitches. Accelerometer controls also help target the location of your pitches.
Fielding can be performed automatically (the default), but if you're interested in more of a challenge, you can turn this to "manual" and then decide where to throw the ball after it's hit. The embedded video shows manual fielding.
An ongoing discussion thread has some first impressions. As noted by one forum user, individual player names are not included in this game, only team names.
Agharta Studio released the sequel to their 1112 series last month, 1112 episode 02 [$4.99] for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Following up the original, 1112 episode 01 [$4.99 / Free], that came out back in November 2008. And now the iPad version 1112 episode 02 HD [$7.99] has hit the App Store.
Freeverse's space conquest game Warpgate [
We're still working on the finishing touches of out Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front [
With the slightly bad taste of The Chronicles of Inotia still fresh in the minds of some gamers, the announcement of Inotia 2: A Wanderer of Luone [
The game features an Arcade mode, which allows racing among any of the 16 available tracks across Supercross, Nationals, and Freestyle, as well as a Career mode (which is really the core playmode) and a Wi-Fi multiplayer mode (with Bluetooth on the way). Online leaderboards provide a skill incentive.
The game's default control mode is accelerometer tilt, but a virtual stick is available as well. I find the former to be far superior to the latter in any mode of gameplay. Tilt control in this title has been very well tuned and offers excellent vehicle control.
