iPhone/iPod Touch/Xbox Live Indie Game Review - Twin Blades
Yeah, here's a different one. A game that is available for both the iPhone AND on Xbox Live Indie Games. The iPhone version costs 99 cents while the Xbox 360 version will run you 240 Microsoft Space Bucks.
Tic Tac Toe and “Rage Quitting”
Rage Quitting has been a part of gaming since the beginning. Your friend gets pissed off at you because you’re either winning or about to win and just up and quits. With Xbox Live, it’s a bit more apparent.
But I found out earlier that people will do it with Tic Tac Toe of all things.
I picked up an iPhone/iPod Touch game earlier called Tic Tac Toe Free. It is what it says it is … a free Tic Tac Toe game. Nothing overly fancy or mind blowing about the gameplay. It’s Tic Tac Toe. On a touch screen.
This does however have 3 different difficulty levels, support for OpenFeint achievements which OpenFeint for those who don’t know is in it’s simplest terms is kinda like Xbox Live Gold for iPhones that doesn’t cost anything and doesn’t bother you with loads of ads and has support for chat and forums and all that mess.
The last 5 games I’ve played online, as soon as whoever it was on the other end figured out they were going to lose, they quit. Luckily as far as I know there isn’t any voice support so I don’t have to worry about them calling me some idiotic name before they quit.
But still. That’s hilarious to me that people would Rage Quit THAT game of all games.
But Tic Tac Toe is BEYOND simple. There’s no aiming, no moving, no hiding behind something with a sniper rifle … if nothing else it’s the simplest thing in the world to force the game into a stalemate. Just actually WINNING gets tough sometimes depending on who you’re playing against. :)
I just don’t get it.
But yeah, if you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch check out “Tic Tac Toe Free” … and maybe you’ll see me playin online on there sometimes under the handle Dhalamar … though I just tend to pop in for a round or two out of boredom. That also happens to be my OpenFeint handle as well.
Gameloft is gearing up to release Brothers in Arms 2 for the iPhone/iPod Touch
Why do I bother adding in the iPod Touch? Because I can’t be bothered to get an iPhone because I’m perfectly happy with my iPod Touch. That being said, yeah. It’s set to drop pretty soon, and unlike it’s 2008 predecessor which played in a 3rd person Gears of War-esque perspective this is going to be a first person shooter. Presumably it’s going to run off the same engine that powers Modern Combat : Sandstorm which has a strong Call of Duty style of gameplay.
Which means those of you who are hoping for the more tactical stuff are probably going to be disappointed. People like me who think run and gun style shooters have always been the way to go will probably love it though … even though the Call of Duty style gameplay is a bit slow paced for my tastes. But then again, this is using a touch screen, if it’s too fast it’d be too much of a bitch to play except in multiplayer.
And the story mode according to PocketGamer is no slouch either lasting about 6 hours. Which, in console terms is pathetic BUT for a handheld device like this … that’s a hell of a long time. And a multiplayer mode for up to 6 players, which is definitely a high point due to the fact that Modern Combat only supports 4 (it’s still fun as hell though and highly recommended).
I was a little harsh in my review of the first one Hour of Heroes (still gave it a decent score though), mainly due to the fact it was released when the app store was still relatively new. The control is a little wonky, the animation leaves much to be desired. But these types of games have definitely grown since then as proven by games like Eliminate, Modern Combat and Terminator Salvation.
Either way, I’m personally looking forward to this … I just don’t know if I’ll pick it up on launch day or not. Just depends on what kind of mood I’m in.
Hit the jump for some screenshots courtesy of PocketGamer.
Good Lord I’m glad I don’t have a Nintendo DS anymore.
The Unreal Engine running on an iPhone 3GS
This video is a tech demo of the Unreal Engine 3 running on an iPhone 3GS. And if you don’t know this engine it powers a LOT of games that are nowadays and is kind of the big ticket engine to use. Games like Bioshock, Batman : Arkham Asylum, Shadow Complex, the recently released Alien Breed game on XBLA, Borderlands, the Gears of War games, and not to mention the venerable Unreal Tournament 3 (which, if you haven’t played it by now, there’s seriously something wrong). And that’s only a handful of games that run off of this engine. And now we could possibly see future games on the iPhone running off of this engine.
Unfortunately, it's only for the 3rd generation devices. Something I don't personally have. But depending on the games that get released is dependent on whether or not I upgrade before mine becomes totally useless. :) In any case, this is damned impressive stuff here for the few seconds the video lasts.
And without further ado, here’s the video. And bear in mind, it’s just a tech demo. Not an actual game.
via TouchArcade
An NES emulator for the iPhone/iPod Touch has made it’s way to the AppStore
You can snag it right here for $6.99, it’s called “Nescanline”.
- ”Kick it old school with home-brew games written for the original Nintendo Entertainment System. Nescaline allows you to play public domain NES games, five of which are included, or use Nescaline's download feature to add games to your library from any remote URL.”
- Features:
- Multitouch support; use the directional pad and A+B or many other combinations together.
- Works with many zapper-enabled games. Simply touch the screen where you want to shoot.
- Save-state allows you to save games in progress and later restore them to the state they were in when you left the game.
- Supports both landscape and portrait mode, in both full screen or original resolution
- Enter Game Genie codes to enable cheats for your favorite games.
- Alternate frame skip, palette, and advanced settings.
- Although, this is just a version of the emulator available for jailbroken devices called “NES 3” and from what I’ve heard it doesn’t work very well. And I can’t see those touch screen controls being much use for a game like TMNT 2 or 3 or any games like those. But for an RPG or something it may fit the bill. So it’s up to you as to whether or not this is actually worth the money.
via TouchArcade
iPhone/iPod Touch Review – Revenge of Mad John
This game touts itself as being “The Best Old School Beat ‘Em Up in the AppStore”. And yes, it is old school in nature with the same “someone kidnapped your girlfriend” style story we’ve all seen before. It has a great trailer, advertising, all that.
But does it actually stand up? Let’s have a closer look, shall we?
The game plays, for the most part, like games such as Renegade, Streets of Rage and Final Fight. It has one weapon that’s very easy to lose and health powerups that are plentiful.
Cell & Love : The Fun of Fusion for the iPhone/iPod Touch
A new independent games studio called Mutant Games has released a game with the weird name of “Cell & Love : The Fun of Fusion” to the iTunes store. “A puzzle game with a new gameplay based on merging cells. You have to help a little monster to raise his ultimate evolution stage solving 100 levels of puzzle. The game objective is to clear the screen following four fusion rules.”
Here’s a video showing off the first batch of levels along with some screenshots :
Now I honestly don’t know if this is MY type of game … and being that the above is a video capture instead of a camera pointing at someone playing it it’s a little weird seeing everything happen “by magic”. :) It’s a little easier with beat ‘em ups and games that show on screen controls because you can kind of get a sense as to how it’s played. Regardless of any of that, I may have to give it a try because even though I’m not all that much into puzzle games they’re a much better fit on something like the iPhone and iPod Touch than a full size console like the Xbox 360. And apparently a level editor and multiplayer support is also coming soon. Hit the jump for screenshots.
Pac-Man : Championship Edition for the iPhone/iPod Touch is on sale
Ah how I love this game on the 360. Despite the fact that I’m probably the WORST Pac-Man player on the face of the Earth. I don’t care. I still have fun with it, and now I can play it anywhere because it’s in my jacket pocket.
It came out recently on the iTunes Marketplace for $2.99 and initially comes with 5 championship maps and 20 mission maps. Which will probably be enough for me for quite a while. But there is DLC for $3.99 that adds 10 championship maps, 15 challenge maps and 100 mission maps that I do plan on eventually getting.
In any case, the game itself is on sale right now for $0.99 and if you have an iPhone or (like me) an iPod Touch you owe it to yourself to get this. From what little I’ve played so far it plays beautifully and matches the 360 version in every detail. Well worth the money, and still very much worth the $2.99 starting price. More after the jump.
iPhone/iPod Touch Review – Brothers in Arms : Hour of Heroes
Now, yes, I realize this game came out in 2008. But I don’t care. I just recently got a 2nd generation iPod Touch and this game is new to ME which is the reason I’m writing this. And I should also point out that I have never played any other Brothers in Arms game … which I may have to remedy by getting the PC version eventually. So this is my first foray into the franchise period.
I was on the hunt for some first person shooters to snag for this neat little device, and this (among others) was one of the first ones I grabbed purely because it’s an older title. That and it being .99 cents as a part of Gameloft’s “Black Friday” sales didn’t hurt much either. But is it worth the $4.99 it costs as of this writing?
N.O.V.A. Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance for the iPhone/iPod Touch due out soon
Yeah yeah, it looks a lot like Halo. But Gameloft has proven lately that they can bring a damn good console experience to the iPhone with games like Modern Combat : Sandstorm, Gangstar and Asphault 5. And this game looks to be no exception to that. I can’t wait, and I’m not even a Halo fan. Brothers in Arms was a bit of a letdown control-wise, but that’s also a much earlier game in terms of the iPhone and whatnot. If you want to see a great example of GOOD first person controls on a touch screen, check out Modern Combat. Hopefully this game controls just as good, because it looks like it’s a lot more in your face than the slower paced militiristic shooters.