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The Official iPhone/iPod Touch Gaming Thread

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Zozobra said:
I've never even heard of Harbor Master but there is seriously no way you can go wrong by spending $0.99 on Flight Control.
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This is Harbor Master:
20kx6x4.jpg

There's a lite version out too.

They're the same idea just one has planes, the other has boats. They're both 99 cents too, but I figured I'd ask. I'll start with Flight Control, and probably end up with both.
 
DyslexicAlucard said:
For those of you with cold feet about iMech at $2.99, it's on sale for $0.99. Sold.
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It's gotten very busy, which is to be expected since it's climbing up the charts. A fun game but seems to get chuggy when there's tons of mechs battling it out, which also results in weird things like enemies not getting hurt by your ammo. Needs some polish, but still tons of fun.
 
If you don't already own Critter Crunch...

I have 2 download codes up for grabs. The first 2 people to request them will get them.

If you miss out this time, I'll have more available shortly. If you already own the game, thanks for supporting.
 
Cromulent_Word said:
If you don't already own Critter Crunch...

I have 2 download codes up for grabs. The first 2 people to request them will get them.

If you miss out this time, I'll have more available shortly. If you already own the game, thanks for supporting.
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Yes please. I'll grab me one of those! looks like a fun game! :D
Cheers!!!
 
Cromulent_Word said:
If you don't already own Critter Crunch...

I have 2 download codes up for grabs. The first 2 people to request them will get them.

If you miss out this time, I'll have more available shortly. If you already own the game, thanks for supporting.
Click to expand...
Please?
 
I would love to have one. Been interested in the game since it came out, just never really had the chance to get it

oh fuck that guy who just posted ahead of me
 
Cromulent_Word said:
If you don't already own Critter Crunch...

I have 2 download codes up for grabs. The first 2 people to request them will get them.

If you miss out this time, I'll have more available shortly. If you already own the game, thanks for supporting.
Click to expand...

Me!

edit - I can't read. Three other guys already posted, aww... :(
 
went on a splurge. got the following games:

melongolf - nice for 59p
electric box - finally decided to get it, still 59p, should keep me busy

surprise package: battle bears - surprisingly funny game about a commando bear who gets stranded and has to defend himself from a swarm of cute bears who want to hug him. pretty samey so far but its quite more-ish and cheap at 59p
 
Hands on with FIFA 10 on iPhone
EA makes a late run into the App Store

Product: FIFA 10 (iPhone) | Publisher: Electronic Arts | Genre: Sports
by Jon Mundy


One glance at a list of the big hitters on the App Store will reveal a notable omission. One franchise that sells millions worldwide on any platform it graces - and it graces them all - is missing. Strange as it may sound, there is no FIFA on iPhone.

That's about to change.

We had the opportunity to play a fairly complete build of the game during a recent visit to EA. The one thing that's instantly apparent is that the time spent out of the Apple spotlight has been spent pondering, observing the design decisions of rivals such as Real Football and trying to hone a more complete iPhone footy experience.

EA hasn't cut any corners with FIFA 10. It features loads of teams across all the major leagues, plus a good few smaller ones (stretching right down to English League 2). It's got full commentary, licensed tracks (though you can personalise these, so there'll be no more instances of growing to hate a once-loved anthem after hearing it for the 200th time) and all the slick presentation you'd expect from an EA Sports title.

That's the checklist of minor details done. What you want to know is how it plays.

EA has maintained the use of a virtual analogue stick and buttons - what other way is there? - but it's taken a few wise steps to minimise some of the fumbling inherent with such a system. For starters, it's opted to provide only two command buttons (ostensibly pass and shoot).

It's a feature shared with Real Football, but FIFA has always prided itself on being a deeper, more sim-like representation of the sport.

The developers have maintained this by adding some clever combination commands. Through balls and one-twos are activated by touching and sliding either way between the two buttons, while skills are activated by touching and sliding up towards the action.

Long balls and finesse shots are activated by double taps of the respective buttons (with the second touch being held for the appropriate length during a lofted pass). Sprinting is merely a case of pushing further in the appropriate direction.

Perhaps the most subtly revolutionary aspect appears to be the ability to select a player by touching them. It promises to be the best solution yet to the classic "no, not him, him!" rage experienced by all footy game fans.

Other notable features include the implementation of 'Be a Pro' mode from the recent console versions. This tasks you with creating a player and seeing them through a full career. During games, you control only him (leading to a 90 degree switch in perspective), following an indicator to ensure you're in the correct area of the pitch and making the right decision when you receive the ball.

A full appraisal of the game will reveal how effective the AI is at providing a believable game, but the early signs are that FIFA 10 will deliver a flowing, technical passing game for those willing to learn its intricacies.

Stay tuned for our final verdict when the game's released next month. In the meantime keep an eye out for some screen shots, which should be coming our way shortly.
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http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/FIFA+10+(iPhone)/news.asp?c=15236
 
Kung Fu Jedi said:
What did he do?
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I don't know. I looked at his last few posts and didn't notice anything especially heinous. I think he was arguing with some PS3 people after the PS 3 price drop and since there were a lot of dumb threads around that point the mods were especially ban happy.
 
Cromulent_Word said:
Check your PM's for codey goodness.

To the 3rd and 4th people that posted, I'll try to get more for this week. no promises though.
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Thanks! :D
Pristine_Condition said:
Waiting to buy a new iPod Touch? Your wait may be over soon...


Event invite for Sept. 9 @ the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco:
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I bought my iPod from Costco, and it will still be in the 90 day return policy! So if something good comes out, I will be there! :D
 
Fuck all that noise! This is the biggest news of the day!

@popcap_games: Just found out that there will be a [Bejeweled] Blitz add-on mode for Bejeweled2 on the iPhone!
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I DON'T HAVE TO BUY ANOTHER iPHONE GAME AGAIN OMGGGGGGGGGG
 
Dear Neogaf:

It's come to our attention, Race to the Moon, the developers of 'Synth Racing'. A fun to play game that’s very much a WIP, has been the target of a PR firm.

Hired by a competing title, a PR firm is giving us 1 or 2 star reviews any time we receive a 4 or 5 star rating in iTunes. Yes, an indie game, made by three people has been getting slammed by a professional PR firm as an attempt to further someone else’s agenda. This has been going on for a little over two weeks now.

While we understand it's an open capitalist market. One that's free and open to all business practices (as long as people don’t get caught). Tactics like these are just plain dirty, and for the long term prosperity of the App store marketplace should not, and cannot, be accepted by the community.

Please don't see this as a complaint; people are surely able to pull whatever tactics they deem necessary to get an upper hand. We don't have the money to hire a lawyer to send out cease and desists. However, that doesn't preclude us from trying to counter that action.

So we/I figured why not go to the next best place I know, GAF.

So what do we need from the community?

Through our source, it has come to our attention that the PR firm charges per (negative) review given. Thus meaning, if a bunch of 4 and 5 star ratings were to come through the cost to said persons employing the tactic would be charged accordingly. If the cost incurred then became too great.. hopefully this would eliminate others from employing the same tactic.

I’m not pining for sales, and we surely hate to schill for reviews but, we’re just trying to continue making fun games. So far we’re having a lot of fun doing it but if stuff like this continues it's going to be hard/impossible. I’ll be honest, we never factored any of this into the equation, but if we can try to level the playing field.. why not?

We hope the community can help.

I’d also love to hear what everyone’s thoughts are on this.
 
lol. And that's not even a funny lol, but more of a "that's so fucking sad that all I can do is laugh" lol.

I'll pick up a copy of your game and balance out the ratings on principle alone.
 
That's absolutely shithouse... yours was one of the first games I bought, and easily one of the most enjoyable. I'm going to give it 5-stars and an awesome review, because it deserves it.
 
Cheers!

It's shitty for sure, but in a dog eat dog marketplace not completely surprising, I suppose. :lol

You can be assured I really didn't know how to take the news either.. was a little shocking to say the least. I thought, on a whole, my karma was rather decent.

As a side note.. we're about to submit the next version of the game.. a couple new ships are set to enter the fold. I'm still pushing to get GP mode back in too.
 
Their "tactic" had opposite effect I think, first I ever heard of the game, looked it up and I'll definitely buy it when my iPhone arrives :D
 
Easy_D said:
Their "tactic" had opposite effect I think, first I ever heard of the game, looked it up and I'll definitely buy it when my iPhone arrives :D
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Well.. the biggest reason you may have not heard of us is because we've not asked for, or granted any reviews of the game.

Our first goal was to get something in the market that was fun to play. Something that utilized the strengths of the platform. The tilt function and short game sessions seemed to be the two main things the iPhone does best. So we felt confident releasing what we had.. especially when we looked at the mountain of content we still want(ed) to add. Which just wasn't going to be possible with the resources we have available (ie. three guys in three separate cities).

So anyway.. that's the reason why we haven't asked for, or granted reviews, because the game isn't really ready to be put under a microscope. For 99 cents tho it hardly seemed like we were ripping people off. :lol

Thanks again for the support.. you guys are the best!
 
Can you tell us who the competitor that commissioned this App Store smear campaign is? A little public shaming might be what the situation calls for.
 
mrWalrus said:
Dear Neogaf:

...
Click to expand...
You can't contact Apple about this? If you have evidence then surely they can do something about it. It would probably be your best bet to try and get the fraudulent reviews removed. Try calling out the PR firm (GAF could do it...), and the rival application. Name names, etc, etc.

I remember reading something about this the other day, where a PR firm got called out for this sort of thing. They replied and stated that the reviews from people employed by them were done by people who had actually played the game, and were supposed to accurately rate the games they played. Likely bullshit, but if that's there claim I guess it would be hard to do anything about it, but it's still worth a shot.

Anyway, I personally understand what you're driving for here. But I think that by appealing to what would likely be a biased community for 4/5 star reviews could be interpreted as doing almost the same thing as them, and you probably won't win by just by leveling the playing field. If you call out the people who are using underhanded tactics it would probably be more beneficial to both you guys (lets be honest, if it's a PR firm... they can keep laying on these reviews until they're content, and if someones already paying to bring down your app, they probably have some disposable funds), and for the app store in general.

I gave your game a 5 star review a while ago because it deserves it, and I'll tell the people I recommended the game to put up some reviews. I really hope you guys can deal with the assholes who are doing this, especially since this isn't a rare thing in the app store. But just be weary.
 
mrWalrus said:
Dear Neogaf:

It's come to our attention, Race to the Moon, the developers of 'Synth Racing'. A fun to play game that’s very much a WIP, has been the target of a PR firm.

Hired by a competing title, a PR firm is giving us 1 or 2 star reviews any time we receive a 4 or 5 star rating in iTunes. Yes, an indie game, made by three people has been getting slammed by a professional PR firm as an attempt to further someone else’s agenda. This has been going on for a little over two weeks now.

While we understand it's an open capitalist market. One that's free and open to all business practices (as long as people don’t get caught). Tactics like these are just plain dirty, and for the long term prosperity of the App store marketplace should not, and cannot, be accepted by the community.

Please don't see this as a complaint; people are surely able to pull whatever tactics they deem necessary to get an upper hand. We don't have the money to hire a lawyer to send out cease and desists. However, that doesn't preclude us from trying to counter that action.

So we/I figured why not go to the next best place I know, GAF.

So what do we need from the community?

Through our source, it has come to our attention that the PR firm charges per (negative) review given. Thus meaning, if a bunch of 4 and 5 star ratings were to come through the cost to said persons employing the tactic would be charged accordingly. If the cost incurred then became too great.. hopefully this would eliminate others from employing the same tactic.

I’m not pining for sales, and we surely hate to schill for reviews but, we’re just trying to continue making fun games. So far we’re having a lot of fun doing it but if stuff like this continues it's going to be hard/impossible. I’ll be honest, we never factored any of this into the equation, but if we can try to level the playing field.. why not?

We hope the community can help.

I’d also love to hear what everyone’s thoughts are on this.
Click to expand...
As soon as I get the $10 giftcard from that survey i will be buying your game. This is sickening.
 
BUT BUT BUT THE FREE MARKET DOES BEST..

To be fair, that is pretty shameful. I haven't bought your game yet, but I was intending to when the next update but I may just do now to support a fellow gaffer. Anyway, if you want to make a bigger dent I would suggest posting this on TA.
 
dream said:
Can you tell us who the competitor that commissioned this App Store smear campaign is? A little public shaming might be what the situation calls for.
Click to expand...

Yeah.. I don't know if that's the road we want to go down.

Public shaming, or calling people out starts to cause trouble in all the wrong ways. We would really just prefer it stay gentlemanly, if it can. I realize that's what I asked for with this type of post but that's not what I'm out for.

The people doing this stuff just need to stop. That's really the only goal here. I'm still going to attempt to seek legal consul. Especially since I really don't know the ramifications of any of these practices are, but believe me when I say, hiring anyone is out of the question. We haven't made any funds worth noting.

Same thing with the piracy issue. We've got rather definitive numbers on that stuff too.. at the end of the day, it's just not something to harp on. With this though, I just want to call it out and try to get it to stop. Let the market decide what's right and what's not. We're not trying to get anything that's undeserved.. We/I just want what's fair.
 
Does "customer reviews" on itunes really have an impact? I know i havent looked at them once, and ive picked up a decent amount of apps
 
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