iOS Gaming September 2014: Brace yourselves, 4.7" and 5.5" Hi-Def gaming is coming

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OccamsBlender said:
Bought Lith. I haven't even come CLOSE to finish 80 days. Dammit GAF, my commute is 40 minutes long! I can't handle all the magic!

More_Badass, AUGH!
JUST KIDDING! I've had to buy another $100 iOS giftcard because of you but everything you've posted has been a blast, never stop posting.
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Lol, hey, glad to contribute to the thread and your backlog. I used to be extremely active on the Toucharcade forums if you're a member there too, but now I mainly post here.

...another recommendation, you say? Got reminded of this game earlier, since the dev posted on TIGForum. It's an arcade shooter with crazy particle effects

QB1-0
QB10_1.gif
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My review of the game is literally the only impressions of it online, which is a damn shame:
http://indiegameenthusiast.blogspot.com/2014/07/ios-spotlight-80-qb1-0.html
 
I'm not seeing Banner Saga in the NZ AppStore.

:(

Heringer...what's up? :P

I'm almost tempted by BG on iPhone...I do not need to play it again...I do not....
 
Ace Harding said:
I was actually going to post something very similar to this - I agree with all these points. Motorsport Manager makes you think early on that there is a lot of depth but after a season or two it becomes apparent that it's actually a very shallow game. A very well done shallow game, but still - I wish they'd added another layer or two.

The AI is reeeeally dumb in races and easy to exploit. I can end up lapping the third place finishers even though their cars are clearly faster than mine.

And yeah, I wish I hadn't wasted money on the young driver thing.
Click to expand...

Yep, a very well made but shallow game, exactly what I think.

I went on for another season just to max everything out, got 2 new drivers again and now almost always come in 1st and 2nd in the races. Only qualifying seems to be harder sometimes, in one race my both drivers are 1 and 2 easily but in other races I’m happy if they even make the top-8.

Another minor thing I noticed this season, I have maxed out facilities and workers but still get ‘’twitter messages’’ like : ‘’it’s hard to design stuff when the factory is so old and dated’’ or ‘’we need more mechanics’’.

Oh well, I’ve got hours of enjoyment out of the game and that is all I’m asking for anyways, if I want to play a deep sim I start up my PC at home and play Football Manager f.e. ;-)
 
Loving Lith (edit for hyperbole and spelling). Had to pull myself away around stage 10 to make the purchase. Fantastic design and the ambient music is great. I love the parallax level select art, really beautiful.
 
If you're a fan of puzzle and logic games, you really need to check out this blog. I've downloaded and wishlisted so many good games after reading through the site
http://nontrivialgames.blogspot.com/

My two must-play discoveries from there would have to be Membrane and Qvoid. Qvoid's been out for a while so I'm probably just late to the party, but Membrane is very overlooked and totally free.
 
Shizuka said:
Just teasing a 999 iOS discount.
Click to expand...

I ended up picking this up and "playing" through it yesterday. I'm totally lost regarding the endings I've gotten. I did some googling and after reading about the twist, I'm not sure they do a good job portraying that in this version. I did really enjoy the story though and the characters
 
So I'm enjoying Phantom Rift a lot. The game is essentially divided between two modes: exploration and combat. In exploration, you travel through the overworld to reach portals to new levels and areas, finding chests and encountering enemies along the way. This aspect, I personally feel it seems somewhat extraneous, not quite filler or padding, but I definitely prefer the action over the traveling. But the visuals of the world forming around you makes up for that, just really cool to see the landscape coalesce and collapse in your wake.

Now the combat is Phantom Rift's strongest element, providing challenging action that's both twitchy and tactical. Upon encountering enemies, you're whisked to a grid divided into your half and the enemy's half. Enemies are varied and diverse, offering a strategic challenge as they're able to steal tiles on your side and encroach your territory or perform attacks that affect certain tiles. Knowing how enemies behave and avoid their attacks is the twitch side of Phantom Rift, dodging arrows as hulking beetles charge onto your side and spear-wielding goblins steal tiles.

The tactical side is even more engrossing, and makes every battle of Phantom Rift a test of timing, positioning, and smart use of your spells. You're presented a selection of five spells from your spell pouch at certain intervals, allowing you to tailor your strategies to the foes you're facing and the play style you prefer. Would you rather steal tiles and attack up close? Or use range attacks that effect certain tiles? Or summon phantom helpers? Or buff your armor and deflect projectiles? And these strategies are possible with only a fraction of the myriad spells available in the game.

Phantom Rift impresses not only on a mechanical level, but visually as well. While the game certainly isn't the next Infinity Blade, it's charming and loaded with great details, from the lighting to the effects of your spells. I haven't touched the multiplayer or unlocked new armor or equipment yet, so there's a ton of depth here.

So yeah, this is a great game. I think it'll probably top Block Fortress and Bug Heroes 2 as my favorite Foursaken game.
 
More_Badass said:
6XsgtaO.jpg


The first four give you increasing amount of random spell orbs (6, 8, 10, 50), and range from $0.99 to $9.99. The fifth IAP gives you 1,000 Soul Energy for $0.99
Click to expand...

Thanks. Foursaken has a history of not needing IAP in their games so I am in with Phantom Rift. Please post also gameplay impressions :)
 
PittaGAF said:
I'm almost tempted by BG on iPhone...I do not need to play it again...I do not....
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It's straight up broken on iPhone. To start off, an NPC tells you to use space or left mouse button for pause. Granted, that's in one of the localizations and not the English text, but still, first impressions.

The font is way too small - you have to enlarge it in the options but it's not easy with super small tap areas and a size slider that works only 15% of the time.

Most damningly, once you minimize the left hand bar - by mistake of course - there is no way to make it appear again. The tap area to do so is in a dead space at the bottom of the screen that doesn't register taps.

Since it's universal, I've fired it up on the iPad afterwards and it plays decently there, but the iPhone version should never have been released without some serious UI redesign.
 
Radogol said:
It's straight up broken on iPhone. To start off, an NPC tells you to use space or left mouse button for pause. Granted, that's in one of the localizations and not the English text, but still, first impressions.

The font is way too small - you have to enlarge it in the options but it's not easy with super small tap areas and a size slider that works only 15% of the time.

Most damningly, once you minimize the left hand bar - by mistake of course - there is no way to make it appear again. The tap area to do so is in a dead space at the bottom of the screen that doesn't register taps.

Since it's universal, I've fired it up on the iPad afterwards and it plays decently there, but the iPhone version should never have been released without some serious UI redesign.
Click to expand...

But 5.5" phones and app updates... lol. Good to hear Beamdog is still being Beamdog. Wouldn't be the real Beamdog experience if it didn't have tons of problems going by the initial iPad/PC releases.
 
Radogol said:
It's straight up broken on iPhone. To start off, an NPC tells you to use space or left mouse button for pause. Granted, that's in one of the localizations and not the English text, but still, first impressions.

The font is way too small - you have to enlarge it in the options but it's not easy with super small tap areas and a size slider that works only 15% of the time.

Most damningly, once you minimize the left hand bar - by mistake of course - there is no way to make it appear again. The tap area to do so is in a dead space at the bottom of the screen that doesn't register taps.

Since it's universal, I've fired it up on the iPad afterwards and it plays decently there, but the iPhone version should never have been released without some serious UI redesign.
Click to expand...
Have to agree here. Can't even get past the tutorial since I closed the side bars and couldn't reopen them.
 
Weird, I just made it to the Friendly Arm Inn.
But ehi, I didn't close anything...almost tempted now :D

EDIT: these kind of games scream iCloud save sync tough.

EDIT 2: temptation was too much so I closed the side bars...LOL.
Fortunately reloading the game ripristined them. Ridiculous anyway.
 
More_Badass said:
So I'm enjoying Phantom Rift a lot. The game is essentially divided between two modes: exploration and combat. In exploration, you travel through the overworld to reach portals to new levels and areas, finding chests and encountering enemies along the way. This aspect, I personally feel it seems somewhat extraneous, not quite filler or padding, but I definitely prefer the action over the traveling. But the visuals of the world forming around you makes up for that, just really cool to see the landscape coalesce and collapse in your wake.

Now the combat is Phantom Rift's strongest element, providing challenging action that's both twitchy and tactical. Upon encountering enemies, you're whisked to a grid divided into your half and the enemy's half. Enemies are varied and diverse, offering a strategic challenge as they're able to steal tiles on your side and encroach your territory or perform attacks that affect certain tiles. Knowing how enemies behave and avoid their attacks is the twitch side of Phantom Rift, dodging arrows as hulking beetles charge onto your side and spear-wielding goblins steal tiles.

The tactical side is even more engrossing, and makes every battle of Phantom Rift a test of timing, positioning, and smart use of your spells. You're presented a selection of five spells from your spell pouch at certain intervals, allowing you to tailor your strategies to the foes you're facing and the play style you prefer. Would you rather steal tiles and attack up close? Or use range attacks that effect certain tiles? Or summon phantom helpers? Or buff your armor and deflect projectiles? And these strategies are possible with only a fraction of the myriad spells available in the game.

Phantom Rift impresses not only on a mechanical level, but visually as well. While the game certainly isn't the next Infinity Blade, it's charming and loaded with great details, from the lighting to the effects of your spells. I haven't touched the multiplayer or unlocked new armor or equipment yet, so there's a ton of depth here.

So yeah, this is a great game. I think it'll probably top Block Fortress and Bug Heroes 2 as my favorite Foursaken game.
Click to expand...

Nice impressions. Hoping it comes out on Android tonight as this seems like the kind of game that I'd enjoy more on a tablet.

This and Goblin Sword are my must haves tonight. Maybe GS to hold me over until tomorrow if PD doesn't hit Android until tomorrow.
 
chris121580 said:
I ended up picking this up and "playing" through it yesterday. I'm totally lost regarding the endings I've gotten. I did some googling and after reading about the twist, I'm not sure they do a good job portraying that in this version. I did really enjoy the story though and the characters
Click to expand...

And that's a bit funny, because the iOS version has seen updates regarding how the endings are organized, it was a mess for the DS version.
 
As if we didn't have enough quality releases tonight, here's another to look out for:

Kapsula (from the devs of Faif)
Universal, $1.99
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf3JrXetiIc
Kapsula is a puzzle/racer set in a Soviet space colony full of clones.
*WARNING: It's a difficult game, comrade!
3p0dEVD.gif
Click to expand...

You can play the free browser version here:
http://playkapsula.com/

The game may seem like simple twitch evasion at a glance, but it's much more. It's tricky and challenging and has a lot of elements you need to wrap your head around at once. The visual style and music is great too
 
More_Badass said:
As if we didn't have enough quality releases tonight, here's another to look out for:

Kapsula (from the devs of Faif)
Universal, $1.99
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf3JrXetiIc


You can play the free browser version here:
http://playkapsula.com/

The game may seem like simple twitch evasion at a glance, but it's much more. It's tricky and challenging and has a lot of elements you need to wrap your head around at once. The visual style and music is great too
Click to expand...

I got a code for this is and it's pretty fun. Mix of a runner and match-3 type games but the speed and reflexes required to succeed definately put it in the hard-as-nails twitch category.
 
So, I'm two objectives away from 100% Hitman GO, but I see no cloud backup save's option?
I'd prefer deleting the game and DL it again when the upcoming new missions pack hits
 
I just spent over an hour playing Kapsul. That is such a fun game. The visual style is really nice, the gameplay is simple and addictive, it's got that twitch difficulty which works well for the one-more-go thought span. It's a really nice game
 
Dash Kappei said:
So, I'm two objectives away from 100% Hitman GO, but I see no cloud backup save's option?
I'd prefer deleting the game and DL it again when the upcoming new missions pack hits
Click to expand...

Sucks right? And it's such a large file. I Have a backup folder on my dropbox with ios saves I pulled with ifunbox-maybe try that.
 
I ended up getting FOTONICA since it was the only premium game released yesterday (along with the platformer.. I am feed with those the atm) so I picked it up. Its a nice first person auto-runner that tasks you to time jumps from platform to platform. There are a few levels, endless and versus. Endless is... plain and doesnt offer real excitement like the levels does.... its not multi-layered... There isnt any depth or any form of currency to buy upgrades. The core of the game is discover the landscapes and run. Oh, and jumping at the correct time.
 
I've suck some time into Goblin Sword. New on the appstore for $1 in un-price gouged regions.

capturep0or1.png


https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/id905488045?mt=8

First the points for originality, zero, 0, None ... 8 from touch arcade. The game seems to be build on the updated "Ravenous Games" engine and the whole thing is inspired by a lot of old games, most obviously Wonderboy in Monsterland/world.

On the other hand, it is inspired by Wonderboy!

Well, with a double jump.... and your sword shoots sometimes. But other than that you have the snakes, the ghosts, the main character that really looks like Wonderboy...and lots and lots of coins to collect.

It is actually a pretty decent effort. The graphics are a step above similar games, the levels are large and have a decent amount of secrets (think super mario world verticality) and the action is decent enough to hold your interest.

It isn't going to be the "next big thing", but for a dollar I think there is plenty of game here. Well worth a look.
 
I just can't get into phantom rift the art is worse than most of the old xblig junk.

Would be better off with a minimalist style
 
dock said:
I bought this without trying the demo, but I can't stand how slow the movement lerping is. It takes forever to start sliding, so it feels super sluggish.
Click to expand...
The levels get pretty complex and interesting once stuff like forcefields, bombs, and other mechanics are added.
 
Wow, I'm not into iOS gaming (only own an original iPad), but I just found out that Lavamind, the creators of business simulation games Gazillionaire and the lesser known games Zapitalism (my favorite) and Profitania have just released a new business simulation game based on Zapitalism on iOS! Unfortunately it's only supported on iOS 6+.

Its name is Biztopia:

http://www.lavamind.com/games/biztopia/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/biztopia/id771289650?ls=1&mt=8

Seems to unlock for $ 6,99. If it's anywhere near as fun as Zapitalism was, it's well worth it. Also on Android soon apparently.

Biztopia-885x400.png


The original (I played it before it was a browser game: http://www.lavamind.com/games/zapitalism/) was a very charming fun turn based game where you (and five others, players or CPUs) start a store where you have to buy goods at the importer / wholesaler and try to sell them. You can change product prices, set marketing, expand your shop, pay wages and keep workers happy, set how much you want to spend on the interior and customer service, pay taxes and even buy import rights. There are different ways in which demand for products can change.

biztopia_03.jpg


You could also travel to different islands or on the main island where your character can either find / win some money or lose some because of whatever he comes across there. You can also come across opportunities where you can sabotage opponents or influence product demand.

biztopia_02.jpg


Every character has its own advantages, like half price building, marketing that is twice as effective, workers that have lower demands and don't go on strike, stuff like that.

Anyway, could be that not all of it was kept intact, but luckily there don't seem any microtransactions, so I hope the core game is the same! :D

I'll ask my GF to try it tonight and I'll add some impressions, hope there's also multiplayer, but information is scarce. Seems to have a free trial though, so anybody who is interested, do try! Very looking forward to it.
 
I wish Apple would copy Google Play's refund policy. You have two hours to ask for a refund with the click of a button, no questions asked. So awesome.
 
heringer said:
I wish Apple would copy Google Play's refund policy. You have two hours to ask for a refund with the click of a button, no questions asked. So awesome.
Click to expand...

I thought it was like 15 minutes on Google Play. But agree that even just that is nice if you play immediately and it's trash, doesn't work, etc.

EDIT: Just saw the news about the 2 hours. That's pretty sweet! Nothing better than basically getting a demo.
 
I can see that thing being heavily abused.

I never asked for a refund but I've read you actually keep the app even after you have been refunded?
I'm sure many will see this like free apps.
 
PittaGAF said:
I can see that thing being heavily abused.

I never asked for a refund but I've read you actually keep the app even after you have been refunded?
I'm sure many will see this like free apps.
Click to expand...

Yes, you keep the app but cant have any updates, and if you want to buy it again you cant. Its locked in version 1.0 (or the first released version) forever.

2 hours is too much, some games can be even finished within than time. I hope that doesnt get too abused. The indie developers (since the mayor ones are all freemium) are the ones to loose the most with this move.
 
awp69 said:
I thought it was like 15 minutes on Google Play. But agree that even just that is nice if you play immediately and it's trash, doesn't work, etc.

EDIT: Just saw the news about the 2 hours. That's pretty sweet! Nothing better than basically getting a demo.
Click to expand...

It was officially 15 min but from my experience they are allowing up to two hours for quite some time now.

PittaGAF said:
I can see that thing being heavily abused.

I never asked for a refund but I've read you actually keep the app even after you have been refunded?
I'm sure many will see this like free apps.
Click to expand...

You don't keep the app. You get refunded and it is automatically uninstalled from your device. You can only get a refund once per app. I don't see how it can be abused.

Edit:

Matt Frost said:
Yes, you keep the app but cant have any updates, and if you want to buy it again you cant. Its locked in version 1.0 (or the first released version) forever.

2 hours is too much, some games can be even finished within than time. I hope that doesnt get too abused. The indie developers (since the mayor ones are all freemium) are the ones to loose the most with this move.
Click to expand...

What? Maybe you are referring to iOS? On Android you definitely don't keep the app. It's uninstalled from your device.
 
toddhunter said:
I've suck some time into Goblin Sword. New on the appstore for $1 in un-price gouged regions.

capturep0or1.png


https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/id905488045?mt=8

First the points for originality, zero, 0, None ... 8 from touch arcade. The game seems to be build on the updated "Ravenous Games" engine and the whole thing is inspired by a lot of old games, most obviously Wonderboy in Monsterland/world.

On the other hand, it is inspired by Wonderboy!

Well, with a double jump.... and your sword shoots sometimes. But other than that you have the snakes, the ghosts, the main character that really looks like Wonderboy...and lots and lots of coins to collect.

It is actually a pretty decent effort. The graphics are a step above similar games, the levels are large and have a decent amount of secrets (think super mario world verticality) and the action is decent enough to hold your interest.

It isn't going to be the "next big thing", but for a dollar I think there is plenty of game here. Well worth a look.
Click to expand...

Bought because you said Wonderboy several times!
I presume you mean Wonderboy 3 Dragon's Trap etc.

Does this have cloud sync?
 
Matt Frost said:
Yes, you keep the app but cant have any updates, and if you want to buy it again you cant. Its locked in version 1.0 (or the first released version) forever.

2 hours is too much, some games can be even finished within than time. I hope that doesnt get too abused. The indie developers (since the mayor ones are all freemium) are the ones to loose the most with this move.
Click to expand...

I'm wondering if it will be abused too. I understand you can't keep doing it over and over for an app. But like you said, there are some games that are short enough to be completed that quickly.

On the other hand, it may help some devs as well. I know there's plenty of times when I have been on the fence about something and wished there were "lite" versions. So now, if I feel that way I can try something without hesitation. If I like it, I'll keep it.

In those cases, some devs -- hopefully -- will get some sales they may have never received since the "risk" isn't there. Yeah, we're generally talking about a buck or two for most apps but it adds up and it does get to a point where I often have to not buy something if I'm not entirely sure about it. So this may end up hurting my wallet more (while also ridding myself from regretful impulse purchases).
 
I was referring to iOS too for the matter, didn't know you couldn't re buy the app (which is silly because you could have asked a refund because it didn't work but then devs could have patched it later).

But still I can see this heavily abused expecially considering how cheap the iOS crowd can be.
And it would damage indies in particular (I've read even just lite versions hurt sales).

I can already see people waiting for a patched and stable version (so no needs for updates) buying a game, asking a refund, playing it till completion then deleting it.
Rinse and repeat.

Of course, for 'normal' people (meaning honest etc...like here) this could be handy but all that considered, I'm highly skeptical Apple will do this (I do not know how they handle refunds and which 'proofs' they need now tough).

EDIT: I know they could limit this to X requests and such, and it's probably meant for kids and accidental purchases more than anything else...but still I'm skeptical and have little faith in the human behavior :)
 
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