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[D-Back]

I know it isn't a game, but there is a free Kindle ap on the store now. Pretty damn sweet.

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Twig]

Most games don't really have a beginning, middle and end. That said, the games need greater scope and more depth. I played 1112 Lite today and I found myself really interested in playing more but the developers haven't released any more episodes so I don't want to invest in the full version until I know they are serious about the game and release all the episodes. That's the type of game that will take iPhone/iPod gaming beyond this association with short/disposable games if it hasn't already.

I don't understand why it NEEDS to be disassociated with "disposable" games! The way I see it, that's a strength, not a weakness. No amount of cheap downloadable games on XBLA or WiiWare is going to change the perception that consoles have to have "full" games.

 

[Stoney Mason]

I don't understand why it NEEDS to be disassociated with "disposable" games! The way I see it, that's a strength, not a weakness. No amount of cheap downloadable games on XBLA or WiiWare is going to change the perception that consoles have to have "full" games.

Where I get into arguments with people is that the iphone needs to become more like a psp or a ds. As hardcore gamers I understand the desire and certainly when it makes sense certain ps and ds games should make the transition (or clones of those style games. I would kill for a diablo clone, final fantasy tactics clone, or X-com clone) but the iphone does not need to become a Ds or a psp for me to enjoy the hell out of it. It sort of reminds me of Wii owners wanting their system to be like the 360 or PS3.

The iphone sort of ended up scratching an itch I didn't even know needed scratching. It's a device that fits naturally inbetween sort of indie pc gaming/flash gaming and the Psp and Ds. Which means it can sort of stretch higher and lower if the concept fits the machine and still have a solid base of its own. This is why I'm highly skeptical of the $19.99 premium game section. Not because some people want it but because I'm just not sure enough people do.

 

[Masklinn]

I see... is it that good?

Unless you hate the ambiance (and fairly slow games), then no, definitely not

Spoiler

it's better

.

 

[Twig]

Where I get into arguments with people is that the iphone needs to become more like a psp or a ds. As hardcore gamers I understand the desire and certainly when it makes sense certain ps and ds games should make the transition (or clones of those style games. I would kill for a diablo clone, final fantasy tactics clone, or X-com clone) but the iphone does not need to become a Ds or a psp for me to enjoy the hell out of it. It sort of reminds me of Wii owners wanting their system to be like the 360 or PS3.

The iphone sort of ended up scratching an itch I didn't even know needed scratching. It's a device that fits naturally inbetween sort of indie pc gaming/flash gaming and the Psp and Ds. Which means it can sort of stretch higher and lower if the concept fits the machine and still have a solid base of its own. This is why I'm highly skeptical of the $19.99 premium game section. Not because some people want it but because I'm just not sure enough people do.

Yeah! Exactly.

I mean, certainly it'd be nice to have those types of games available but... I just don't think it's necessary when we already have plenty of systems for those types of games!

 

[bomb_jack]

When is Peggle touch coming?

 

[Stoney Mason]

When is Peggle touch coming?

Peggle, Oregon Trail, and the Hot Shots clone are all hitting relatively soon supposedly but no one knows the exact date.

 

[eznark]

Hot Shots clone? Awesome.

Damn Touch Arcade, promising me Oregon Trail over the weekend!

 

[Diablohead]

Man I'm still playing puzzle quest, best £5 I ever spent so far :lol

I don't even close the app, just stick my touch into sleep when I'm not playing it.

 

[Stoney Mason]

Man I'm still playing puzzle quest, best £5 I ever spent so far :lol

Same. If it had the online multiplayer it would be a true killer app imo.

 

[KingGondo]

I know it isn't a game, but there is a free Kindle ap on the store now. Pretty damn sweet.

Any impressions? I'm thinking about buying Outliers by Gladwell to give it a try, but I don't want to destroy my eyes reading on the iPhone.

 

[Tobor]

Any impressions? I'm thinking about buying Outliers by Gladwell to give it a try, but I don't want to destroy my eyes reading on the iPhone.

There are free books available on Amazon. Try one of those first.

 

[eznark]

Any impressions? I'm thinking about buying Outliers by Gladwell to give it a try, but I don't want to destroy my eyes reading on the iPhone.

I've used Stanza with no problems on the iphone. Haven't gotten around to trying out the Kindle. Going to pick up Global Watch (a $3.99 Tom Clancy rip off looking novel written by a guy in my MBA program) to check it out.

EDIT: Wow, I just transferred the free sample to my phone, absolutely seamless and fast as hell.

 

[bryehn]

Can't seem to find Kindle on the Canadian store :/

Not surprised but still...

Just picked up Ancient Frog, Avoidz (Free) and Orbitsu.

Hysteria Project should be out in the next couple of days.

 

[zomboid]

Heavy Mach is incredibly fun! It's like the vehicular parts of the Metal Slug series, but dare I say - more fun (double-jumps rule!). It controls really well, and the presentation and graphics are really slick. The difficulty is far from punishing (if you're into that sort of thing) - and it doesn't have the hand drawn charm and humor of Metal Slug - but it's worth a hell of a lot more than the 99¢ they're asking for it right now.

 

[Mdk7]

Unless you hate the ambiance (and fairly slow games), then no, definitely not

Spoiler

it's better

.

i've eventually bought both.
Chop Sushi is FUCKING AMAZING, really.
i LOVE the art style, they should totally make a full Wii game out of it.

I still have to try Zen Bound.

 

[Mdk7]

HOLY FUCKIN FUCK @ Zen Bound. O_O
It's astonishing, really.
THANKS GAF!!!!

 

[Stoney Mason]

There are literally so many action/arcade titles on the iphone that it is impossible to accurately reflect it in this sort of wrap up which instead is an attempt to hit the highlights or some of the more popular titles. Note there is some crossover between action/arcade and platformer/puzzle which will have its own list but I decided to keep things separate as far as these two lists go.


Wolfenstein 3D Classic
Itunes Link
Review
Video

iDracula -Undead Awakening. Action shooter that combines a robotron philosophy with the aesthetics and action of an intense hardcore title.
Itunes Link
Review
Video

Hero of Sparta. Well reviewed action adventure title. One of the genuine hack and slash representatives on the iphone.
Itunes Link
Review
Video

Dr. Awesome. Trauma Center meets Qix. A superior reinterpretation of a classic.
Itunes Link
Review
Video.

Heavy Mach. Challenging action arcade title. There is an initial learning curve but the game is very playable and fun once it is overcome. Lite version is available.
Itunes Link
Lite Version
Review
Video

iShoot. One of the most popular games on the iphone. Reminiscent of the classic worms. Very full featured via updates. Lite version is available.
Itunes Link
Lite Version
Review
Video

Spore Origins. Essentially an expanded version of the cellular version of the PC game. Reminiscent of Flow. Lite version is available.
Itunes Link
Lite Version
Review
Video

ExZeus. Surprisingly competent port of the ps2 shooter. Reminiscent of Space Harrier. High Learning curve on the controls but playable.
Itunes Link
Review
Video

Blue Series. Blue Attack and Blue Defend are perfect throwbacks to arcade games of the 80's. Lite Version is available for Defend.
Itunes Link
Lite Version
Review
Video

Dropship. Unique action title for the platform. High Learning curve on the controls but playable.
Itunes Link
Review
Video

Rebel Onslaught. Star Fox style rail shooter. Lite version is available.
Itunes Link
Lite Version
Review
Video

Tap Tap Revenge 2. Tapulous has cornered the market on the music tapping genre on the iphone. Revenge 2 is free but Tapulous also offers standalone paid versions based on dance music and Nine inch Nails.
Itunes Link
Tapulous line of music games
Review
Video

Dance Dance Revolution S. A darn good version of the popular Konami franchise. Very well reviewed on the app store. Lite version is available.
Itunes Link
Lite Version
Video

Zombieville USA. Zombieville visually looks like Alien Hominid or Castle Crashers and plays like a survival horror arcade game out of the 80's. Lite version is available.
Itunes Link
Lite Version
Review
Video

Space Ninja. Tough but fair high Intensity bullet dodger. Lite version is available.
Itunes Link
Lite version
Review
Video

Vector Tanks- Retro Tank Combat. Loving homage to Battlezone. Lite version is available.
Itunes Link
Lite Version
Review
Video

Payback. If you can come to grips with the controls there is an impressive homage to the older GTA overhead games underneath. Lite version is available.
Itunes Link
Lite Version
Review
Video

Alphabetic. Essentially a look and react timed pattern recognition game Alphabetic is quite addictive. Lite version is available.
Itunes Link
Lite Version
Review
Video

Space Deadbeef. Fun & Free. Tap centric space shooter.
Itunes Link
Review
Video

Amateur Surgeon. Suprisinly good clone of Trauma Center for the iphone.
Itunes Link
Review
Video

Biplane: Wings of Raccoon. PilotWings style flyer.
Itunes Link
Review
Video

Wild West Guns. Well done port of the Wiiware carnival shooting title adapted for the tapping mechanic of the iphone.
Itunes Link
Review
Video

Missile Command. Well reviewed and respected update on the arcade classic.
Itunes Link
Review
Video

3D Brick Breaker Revolution. Really fun 3-d twist on the Arkanoid formula. Lite version is available.
Itunes Link
Lite Version
Review
Video

2079. Ignore the app store reviews in this instance. Probably the best take on the iphone of a Geometry Wars style game once you get use to the controls.
Itunes Link
Review
Video

Belowscape. A Geometry Wars style clone that has improved into a worthy game with updates.
Itunes Link
Review
Video

Metal Gear Solid Touch. Not a lot of depth or lengthy gameplay to be had here but the base mechanics are solid for an action game. Not a personal choice of mine and probably more suited to those who can't get enough Metal Gear in any form.
Itunes Link
Review
Video

Up next. Puzzle/Platformers.

 

[Mdk7]

thanks man for your posts!
I surely appreciate!

 

[Unison]

Yeah, the way the app store is structured, it's impossible to see all the games.... Roundups like this are invaluable.

 

[yurinka]

3D Brick Breaker Revolution. Really fun 3-d twist on the Arkanoid formula.
Itunes Link
Lite version
Review
Video but iphone version looks better than mobile version shown

Fixed
Will ask in the office for a video of the I-Phone version, I think it would be available somewhere.

 

[Stoney Mason]

DDR is out if that is something you were looking forward to.

Lite Version
Full Version $6.99

 

[whatdidyousay]

DDR is out if that is something you were looking forward to.

Lite Version
Full Version $6.99

I'm tempted to get DDR but I have to pass because I was horrible at the demo. Really, really horrible.

 

[AZ Greg]

Need some suggestions. I want a game $2.99 or under. I don't own any games at the moment and if it has multiplayer over wi-fi that is a plus, but not necessarily a requirement. Give me your best GAF!

 

[Tobor]

Geodefense patch is out. Among other things, they smoothed out the difficulty for levels 2-6 in Easy. It ramps up much better. There are some other balancing tweaks as well.

 

[Stoney Mason]

 

[B!TCH]

I don't understand why it NEEDS to be disassociated with "disposable" games! The way I see it, that's a strength, not a weakness. No amount of cheap downloadable games on XBLA or WiiWare is going to change the perception that consoles have to have "full" games.

Maybe I'm interpreting my own comment differently than you are but I'm not saying the iPhone NEEDS to be disassociated with "disposable" games.

 

[mrklaw]

these roundups are ace. Just bought Zen bound, drop7, spin and theseus

 

[badrockjones]

I bought Sway and Zen Bound and they are ZOMGWTF AWESOME. Thanks, GAF!

 

[whatdidyousay]

Stoney your last post was fucking awesome.

 

[mandiller]

Wordjong is now 0.99 for a limited time. I just picked it up.

 

[alanias]

These posts are all great. Once you've wrapped up all the genres, perhaps we should make a new OP/thread with the information? The current one is pretty hard to dig through.

 

[Costanza]

Watchmen MMO is out for 99 cents, probably sucks

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=306630093&mt=8

 

[Surfheart]

Wordjong is now 0.99 for a limited time. I just picked it up.

That is a bargain, thanks for the heads-up!

 

[CrunchinJelly]

These posts are all great. Once you've wrapped up all the genres, perhaps we should make a new OP/thread with the information? The current one is pretty hard to dig through.

agreed.

 

[Stoney Mason]

These posts are all great. Once you've wrapped up all the genres, perhaps we should make a new OP/thread with the information? The current one is pretty hard to dig through.

Perhaps making a new thread is a good idea with this info but the only problem is that it would split off this thread or kill it.

 

[mrkgoo]

Question:

I have a NZ iTunes account, which I have been using, even though I am in the States. This is mostly because of simplicity, as well as the current exchange rate means I'm paying only US 65c per app.

However, I want DDR - is it better to just change countries on my account, or to create a US account? I understand there is seamless integration of multiple accounts, but do I get anything out of managing a single account from various countries (I guess it's a pain to switch back and forth), or should I just go for two accounts?

 

[blu]

I'm tempted to get DDR but I have to pass because I was horrible at the demo. Really, really horrible.

i'm getting it tonight. while the game is borderline uplayable on the original ipod due to performance issues, it's spot on on the G2 ipods. i'll need to borrow my wife's G2 until completion, though : )

 

[fse]

bobby carrot fuck yeah!

 

[jts]

Question:

I have a NZ iTunes account, which I have been using, even though I am in the States. This is mostly because of simplicity, as well as the current exchange rate means I'm paying only US 65c per app.

However, I want DDR - is it better to just change countries on my account, or to create a US account? I understand there is seamless integration of multiple accounts, but do I get anything out of managing a single account from various countries (I guess it's a pain to switch back and forth), or should I just go for two accounts?

Wait, it's possible to have more than one country's store linked to one account only? Damn, just yesterday I created a new US account to get the ebay app.

Any link with instructions to do that thing?

 

[LCfiner]

A word about EDGE and controls.

The latest update 1.1 adds a new onscreen d-pad control option which is much easier to use.

it's not as cool as dragging your finger on the screen but it makes the edge hanging sections incredibly easier and offers more precision.

that, coupled with the (i think) 17 new levels and I'm replaying the entire game again and loving it more than ever.

I think EDGE might be my favorite iPhone game.

Spoiler

I would love to hear John talk about this one on ListenUp instead of the more casual "find a beachball in a yard sale" stuff

 

[bryehn]

Lack of Monospace in that puzzle post is a bit unsettling, but otherwise, great job on those summaries.

 

[mrkgoo]

Wait, it's possible to have more than one country's store linked to one account only? Damn, just yesterday I created a new US account to get the ebay app.

Any link with instructions to do that thing?

Link? You just go into your account and click 'change country'. Obviously, you need an address, and possibly a payment method for that location...

I was just wondering if there were, say, a limited number of changes, or a default period that won't let you switch back etc. Just wondering what the advantages/disadvantages to creating a second acount vs. just changing countries were.

For example, having apps and/or songs purchased from different stores under the same account. I expect they would work like having multiple accounts, but just wanted to be sure.

 

[Raide]

There are some awesome games for the iPhone/iPod Touch! Zombieville USA and iDracula -Undead Awakening look really good.

Any good RPG's out there yet?

 

[Stoney Mason]

Lack of Monospace in that puzzle post is a bit unsettling, but otherwise, great job on those summaries.

Added.

If anybody is insistent upon a specific game being added just say so. It's impossible for one person to catch them all.

Any good RPG's out there yet?

There are a few rpg's but outside of the quest I'm not sure any of them are really must owns. Rpgs are an advanced genre that require a bit more dev time and in addition someone has to take a chance to see if the iphone market will buy an rpg in big numbers.

 

[Slacker]

I've been meaning to check out Reign of Swords for a while now, so I'll be doing that soon. Are there any other Advance Wars/Fire Emblem type turn-based strategy games out there worth a look?

 

[Stoney Mason]

I've been meaning to check out Reign of Swords for a while now, so I'll be doing that soon. Are there any other Advance Wars/Fire Emblem type turn-based strategy games out there worth a look?

Agile Forces and Mechos war. I'll post both when I do the strategy roundup today.

 

[Fletcher]

anyone tried the Watchmen MMO?

 

[mrWalrus]

anyone tried the Watchmen MMO?

yes. Turns out it's a poorly executed game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.

The thing is full of glitches and bugs too.. it's clear Apple looked the other way on a lot of issues to make sure it came out today. Kinda of shady but not unexpected.

 

[Costanza]

Yeah it's really shitty. Hopefully they make it better in the promised updates.