posted May 17th, 2013 5:00 PM EDT by Brad Nicholson in Podcast
In this week's episode of The TouchArcade Show, we make the best of an (arguably) "slow" week by discussing the issues revolving around this week's latest releases. For example, we dig into runner fatigue and Chillingo's brand image. We also talk about what kids are playing and why genres that our touch devices don't do so great tend to click with them. In addition to this, we dive into Trucker: Parking Simulator (don't laugh), Gravity Guy 2, Blitz Brigade and more.
If you'd like to give us a listen this week -- and you do want to listen because this week's opening story is, like, woah -- go ahead and click a link below. You could also subscribe to us on iTunes or Xbox Music. That's a neat way to get us, as the downloads are instant and effortless.
We know what you're thinking, but give Trucker: Parking Simulator [Free] a chance. Parking a massive truck with a stupid big trailer can be as rewarding as landing a video game airplane. It takes a lot of skill, a lot of understanding of how physics, momentum, and trajectory play into the perfect parking job. It's kinda surprising (and awesome), as Eli and I discovered today.
This sim's a particularly hard sale because the titling is so awful, so we decided to do a little video of the game in action to show it off. In the below, Eli and I power through several levels, carefully avoiding all road cones and parking like pros. Give it a look and, hey, maybe get as hooked on this thing as we are at the moment:
You can grab this right now, by the way, and you should if you need another simulator in your life. Here's a Steam link to Eurotruck Simulator 2 for PC, as well, since we talked about it so much.
There was a time when pretty much every movie tie-in game was just plain awful, but for some reason in the mobile gaming world there have been quite a few really good ones. Games like Temple Run Oz or Fruit Ninja Puss in Boots take an already proven formula for a game and weave the movie theme around it to make a natural fit.
One of the newest movie tie-in games released is a joint venture between PikPok and Dreamworks Studios for the upcoming movie Turbo. The movie is about a snail named Turbo who dreams of being a race car driver, and following a freak accident involving a nitrous oxide spill that gives him turbo speed he sets out to make his dream come true.
PikPok's take on the movie is called Turbo Racing League [Free], and follows Turbo's escapades on his way to becoming the fastest snail in the universe. Is that even something to be proud of? That's like being called the smartest dumb person in the world. But I digress.
Turbo Racing League itself is actually a very fun kart-style racing game. By that I mean it's very casual and arcadey, with a heavy emphasis on drifting and hitting turbo pads spread along the track. The game's 9 courses are all made out of real-life mini locations like a kitchen table or a garage, and you can trick Turbo out with spoilers for his shell that give him improved attributes.
It's all pretty standard racing game stuff, but it's very well done, like most PikPok games. What sort of blew my mind is that in conjunction with the release of Turbo Racing League, Verizon has stepped in to throw a competition called the $1,000,000 Shell Out and are giving away a million dollars in prize money. For the next 8 weeks the top 10 racers per week will each win prizes from a $500,000 pool, then all 8 of the 1st place winners will fly out to Los Angeles for the finals and a chance to win the grand prize which is the other half of the million.
A million dollar prize for a mobile movie tie-in game seems nuts to me, but here we are. You can get the full rules and all that jazz from the official $1,000,000 Shell Out website if you're interested in entering, but even if not, Turbo Racing League is a pretty neat racing game that's free to check out. People in our forums have been enjoying it as well, and as for the actual movie, that'll be opening in theaters in July.
Gangstar Rio: City of Saints, Free - Gameloft is offering up a couple of freebies this weekend on two games which have never been free before. First up is Gangstar Rio: City of Saints [Free], their take on the whole Grand Theft Auto open-world sandbox game. We reviewed Gangstar Rio when it released back in late 2011, and despite some typical Gameloft-isms like terrible voice work and a paper thin story, we thought it offered up a fairly robust open-world crime game experience.
It's been pretty regularly updated too, adding in new content and most recently widescreen support for the iPhone 5.
N.O.V.A. 3 - Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance, Free - The second game being offered up for free is N.O.V.A. 3 [Free]. Previously, the N.O.V.A. series had been mostly a riff on the Halo games, but this most recent entry more closely resembles something like Crysis. Either way, expect lots of sci-fi first-person shooting action and impressive visuals. As with most Gameloft entries, there's a robust online multiplayer offering in N.O.V.A. 3, and as such we gave it its own review back when the game released in May of last year. We also reviewed the single-player campaign, which is pretty excellent as well.
Gameloft has been flirting more with free-to-play games as of late, but both N.O.V.A. 3 and Gangstar Rio are premium-priced games that you can snag for zero dollars right now and through this weekend. Don't miss out.
EA's The Simpsons: Tapped Out [Free] received a new update the other day, adding in a bunch of new stuff especially for maxed out players. Of most note, the update expands the cap to level 29 and allows you to pick up Agnes Skinner. Also, new buildings, including Sprawl-Mart have been added in addition to a new quest involving Agnes and new Springfield Park Entrance and Cobblestone Wall decorations.
The Simpsons: Tapped Out, for the 12 of you or so who haven't seen it yet, is a free-to-play city simulation game that tasks you with building a new Springfield after the first one got blown up. Along the way, you'll meet familiar faces and build familiar places. EA constantly updates the app, adding in stuff like the above for users.
You can download Tapped Out now, of course, but be warned: this thing seems to eat up folks' time.
While tower defense is one of those genres that I can't seem to get enough of, even I have to admit that it's high-time for some innovation. Enter Go Home Dinosaurs [$4.99 (HD)], the latest title from Fire Hose Games and a TD game that looks to carve its own niche.
While a first glance might lead one to believe its primarily for kids, beneath the playful, cartoony exterior lies a game that expertly combines tower defense with puzzle elements, making it one of my current favorites of the genre.
Apparently the love for BBQ is so great it extends across time periods and species. As such, Dinosaurs puts you in command of an army of gophers that must guard their delectable BBQ pit against an onslaught of hungry dinosaurs.
When it comes to basic tower defense gameplay, Go Home Dinosaurs plays similar to many other titles. Dinosaurs run down a pre-set path towards the BBQ pit with two pieces of dynamite acting as last-second defenses against impending BBQ devouring. Meanwhile, players place a variety of gopher-manned weapons around the path in an attempt to drive the dinos towards extinction. A coin system rounds out the gameplay, allowing players to earn currency in-game (no IAPs) and purchase supplemental towers with limited, but powerful effects.
The introduction of airplanes changed the face of warfare. The same could be said of Firaxis' entry to the iOS gaming scene: when a Triple-A studio headed by the cherished game designer Sid Meier starts putting out iOS exclusives, you just know things are never going to be the same. Only, instead of bringing about unparalleled death and destruction, this watershed moment marks a new era of quality mobile gaming.
Firaxis has stormed on to the mobile scene: first came last week's spooky strategy game, Haunted Hollow [Free] (see our review here), and later this summer should see the release of the much-anticipated iOS port of XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Sid Meier's Ace Patrol [Free] completes this strategy trifecta, and is the first iOS exclusive to bear the legendary designer's name. His involvement shows: Ace Patrol is a fantastic, meaty title well-deserving of your time and gaming dollar.
Ace Patrol sees the player leading a squadron of pilots in World War I, witnessing the infancy of aerial combat. Ace Patrol is a premium game masquerading as a freemium title: the free download serves as a demo and gives you a portion of the British campaign to play. The full British, French, German and American campaigns are unlocked as IAP for $0.99 a piece.
posted May 16th, 2013 5:38 PM EDT by Jared Nelson in News, Upcoming Games
Back in March, renowned game designer Ron Gilbert left Double Fine Productions in order to branch out and do his own thing. Following that, Gilbert revealed that he was working on a new iPhone game called Scurvy Scallywags in The Voyage to Discover the Ultimate Sea Shanty. Seriously, that's the name. It almost seemed like a joke at the time, but Scurvy Scallywags was actually a real thing – a match-3 style game with RPG trappings.
Looking to differentiate itself from the glut of matching games on the App Store, Scurvy Scallywags uses an interesting mechanic where after a match is made the game board collapses in the direction of the match to fill in gaps, rather than just dropping all the blocks downwards like most matching games. Seems like a small change but a potentially significant one, and you can tell that Scurvy Scallywags has a ton of personality in its first official trailer.
Gilbert is not alone on Scurvy Scallywags, either. He has partnered up with Clayton Kauzlaric, the designer of the 2003 Xbox titleVoodoo Vince. Gilbert and Kauzlaric have teamed up in the past too, for the 2010 action-RPG DeathSpank and more recently for the quirky and enjoyable iPad game The Big Big Castle! [$0.99 (HD)] last July. Can a proven developer power couple like Gilbert and Kauzlaric reinvigorate a tired genre like match-3? I hope so, and I'm looking forward to finding out when Scurvy Scallywags launches sometime in the near future.
With the recent announcement that Diablo would be making its way to consoles, gamers have been looking for something to satisfy their hack-and-slash needs on their iOS device. Gameloft recently released the fourth installment of their dungeon crawler, Dungeon Hunter 4, and less than two weeks after, Gamevil has come out with their first foray into dungeon crawlers with Dark Avenger [Free]
Dark Avenger is all action with little in the way of overall substance. As of this review, there is only one playable class, the Templar, with a second class “coming soon”, the Ranger. Despite having only one type of character at the moment, the game gives you three save game slots. You're tasked with killing bad things from bad places because... well, it's a game without a story. Perhaps because some evil convenience store clerk looked at your grandma the wrong way and now you're exacting sweet revenge.
Delving into the game proper is as easy as choosing your character and selecting your mode. Single player consists of progressing through multiple levels, all within the same basic environment. The virtual joystick is dead simple to use; one joystick on your left controls movement and direction, while the icon on your right controls attacks. Tap it once for a basic attack, tap it up to three times for a combo attack.
Veteran designer John Butterfield's Batle of the Bulge [$9.99 (HD)] is one of the best historical wargames we've played. Designed from the ground up for the iPad, it feels perfectly suited to that device - so much so that one of its few flaws is that it isn't quite as perfect a fit on the iPad Mini's smaller screen. With it's Avalon Hill-esque gameplay, appealing and unintrusive winter campaign styling, and inspired mix of original and sampled period music, the main thing we wanted in our review of it was more.
Shenandoah Studio delivers in a new update that includes three additional scenarios (two free, one IAP) and two new AI generals. They're so confident that the new AIs, modeled on Omar Bradley and Hasso Von Manteuffel, are going to your socks off that each one is a $1.99 IAP. I was initially skeptical of that decision, but having played against each one, I have to say that Von Manteuffel is, as advertized, a tricky bastard. He stole a draw from me in what should have been a clear win for the Allies. When I played Axis against Omar Bradley in the shortest scenario, "Race to the Meuse," I won easily, but I noticed that he'd done a good job of flanking me: if I'd been playing the full Battle of the Bulge scenario, I would have been in a lot of trouble going forward.
The scenarios are more straightforward: "Bitter End" appeals to those with no patience for victory points and conditional wins by playing out to the, ahem, bitter end of the engagement. That's a feature many players had been clamoring for. There's also added replayability with "Luck of the Draw" which deviates from history by shuffling starting unit placement and reinforcements. Both "Bitter End" and "Luck of the Draw" are free, and are more oriented to players who want some of the options commonly found in strategy videogames.
For the grognards, there's "The Endgame," featuring the siege of Bastogne, which some of you may know from Band of Brothers, and famous for Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe's laconic response to a demand that he surrender: "NUTS!" If you've ever wanted to stand with the 101st Airborne at Bastogne, or if want to see if you can break McAuliffe for his impudence, "The Endgame" will let you fulfill that fantasy for $3.99.
The pricing scheme here is clever: Shenandoah has made the content that will appease those who wanted more "bang for their buck" free, while offering more exotic goodies to the hardcore at a premium. In a move worthy of Von Manteuffel, you have to go to the "purchase" screen to get "Luck of the Draw" (for free), thus ensuring that nearly every player will see the premium IAP. The update is also well-timed, bridging the gap between the winter release of Battle of the Bulge and forthcoming El Alamein, which should be giving us a chance to wage war in the desert sometime this summer.
Horn [$6.99] creator Phosphor Games is working on a World War Z movie tie-in game, IGN reports on its mobile blog. It's scheduled to hit mobile devices this May 30. Details on this one are few and far between, but the teaser trailer IGN secured does shed some light on what this thing will be packing. Notably, it'll have zombies. Also, helicopters. And human arms. And crowbars. Here's the trailer:
Bad movie tie-in games (and even worse zombie games for that matter) are incredibly common on the App Store, so it's probably very wise to keep your expectations in check on this one. Don't get us wrong, it'd be neat to if Phosphor can pull this off, but it seems like time and money are always short on these sorts of projects especially given the typical scope of mobile games and the relatively low development budgets that App Store price points even allow.
At GDC back in March, Sega announced they were remaking and rereleasing the original Sonic the Hedgehog [$2.99], and that it would be coming as a free update to the existing game on the App Store. Today, that update has gone live. For the nitty gritty behind the Christian Whitehead/Sega saga, refer to our previous post on the remake, but to summarize: Christian Whitehead, who is responsible for the sublimeSonic CD [$2.99] remake on iOS, was commissioned by Sega to give a similar treatment to the original two games (and hopefully Sonic 3 & Knuckles too!). This means proper widescreen and Retina Display support for Sonic 1, Universal iPad support, vastly improved virtual controls, 60 frames per second, a new Time Attack mode, unlockable playable characters Tails and Knuckles, and I'm sure tons more little goodies.
I've given just a quick run through the updated Sonic 1 and it's everything I dreamt it would be. This is what it feels like when doves cry. Right from the moment you boot it up, you realize the kind of care that was put into this port as a 3D rendered Japanese Mega Drive game case pops up on the screen. You touch the screen to play and the case opens up, revealing the cartridge itself. You have the option of choosing the Japanese, American, or European versions of the box art and cartridge. It's those little touches that tell you this is by fans, for fans of Sonic The Hedgehog.
It also plays like a dream now, or at least as much of a dream as virtual controls can be. If you have no problems with Sonic CD on iOS, you'll be more than happy here. I can't wait to beat the game yet again today, hopefully unlock a new character, and mess around with Time Attack mode. Oh, and there's Game Center leaderboards and achievements, too. Seriously, if you've suffered through the shoddy original port of Sonic The Hedgehog on iOS for the last several years, this is a handsome reward. Head to the App Store immediately and update, and drop by our forums for discussion from the community.
Few recent tactical strategy games have received such a large amount of attention as Frozen Synapse [$6.99 (HD)]. It has been praised for both its art style and excellent strategy gameplay. Starting on PC and Mac it has now found its way to iOS. While initially overwhelming with a busy interface and lengthy tutorial, Frozen Synapse is able to find a totally appropriate home on iOS.
In Frozen Synapse you take on the role of a tactician. Your task is direct a team of soldiers second by second. They can be ordered to move behind cover, fire a weapon, and many other options. Once all players have decided on the directions for their teams, the actions are carried out simultaneously. It calls to mind the X-wing Miniatures game as your success is based upon the ability to read the other player. Will they take cover or launch an offensive? In some modes of the game you are also locked into seeing only those enemies in your line of sight, which can be challenging. Beware, your sci-fi soldiers are very fragile and a single misstep can mean instant death. Matches usually last only a few rounds as players bluff and bait each other.
There are a myriad of ways to enjoy this title whether alone or with others. There is a fully functional AI in the game which can allow for quick matches. This little buddy is no pushover; you will die often. It is no wonder the developers recommend this mode as the best teacher after finishing the tutorial. The game also features an excellent campaign mode with a story spanning several levels. These range from straightforward skirmishes to more complex missions of capture or defense. It is the gameplay that stands out, but the story certainly has its strong points.
Frozen Synapse really shines when playing with others. The online play features a separate login and a full blown PC-esque lobby. There are always plenty of people online and games can be completed live or in an asynchronous fashion. You can play with friends, complete strangers, or participate in tournaments. It really is a full fledged online system, the likes of which is rarely seen on iOS. This version also features Hotseat mode which is great for mobile as you can pass the iPad around a room and play with your friends in one location. If you find online play too insular or intimidating, this is an excellent way to play with friends on your terms.
This game comes packed with many hours of content- The campaign will take you some time to complete and then there are untold hours of play both online and off. There are dozens of maps, different unit types, several game modes, and on and on. I was impressed by the amount of things to do. Frozen Synapse is an exercise in complex simplicity. On the service the controls are simple taps and turns, but to really succeed it will require practice. This process can be terribly rewarding, and even games you struggle in will end quickly.
It is this hidden complexity that provides some challenges for this app. The number of choices available to you at any moment make the interface large and somewhat confusing. To really succeed at the game you will have to learn all of these options and know when best to ask them. For a new player they can look downright baffling and it would be great to see a more interactive tutorial that guides a player through step by step. This UI difficulty is paired with the games overall menu system which has a decidedly PC feeling. There are cases of strange pop-up issues and overlays that seem traditional reserved to the wild world of PC gaming. While the gameplay fits perfectly on iOS, the surrounding menus seem to miss the boat.
Frozen Synapse succeeds at bringing a beloved PC game to iOS. It is fiercely faithful in bringing the whole experience to mobile which has its own pros (tons of content, great online experience) and cons (archaic menu system, hard to manage UI). This is a great strategy title which is enjoyable on many levels. There is complexity there if you want it or you can stay on the surface and have a great tactical experience.
Eli and I opened up a lot about the movies that made us cry while we gave Trigger City [$0.99] a spin the other afternoon. If you don't know about it, it's a retro-inspired brawler that plays pretty much just like... a retro brawler. In the game, you're tasked with punching and kicking a bunch of bad dudes while eternally moving to the right. Sadly, there's not much more to see here outside of a currency system. Basically, you get cash for beating up folks and then you can use that to buy permanent boosts and new combos.
I'm not a big fan of this. It's pretty clear that a lot of love went into the look and sound and feel, but it fails in delivering a reason for me to feel like I need to keep fighting and moving to the right. It's kinda hollow, in a way.
You can see for yourself in our look, which includes a lot of real talk.
posted May 15th, 2013 11:00 PM EDT by Eli Hodapp in Featured, News
It's kind of a weird week this week, there's a lot of games coming out at least compared to previous weeks but quite a few of them aren't spinning our proverbial clocks- At least in first impressions. Regardless, we look forward to spending more time with these titles to see how many of them grow on us. Also, if you've got an iPad just stop what you're doing and scroll down to Frozen Synapse.
All Glory to the Pixel King!
iTunes Description:
Exciting news citizen! Our glorious King has passed a new law, specifically stating that 'The King's castle must at all times be at least 42% grander, cooler and shinier than those of his enemies.' The time has come for you, brave citizen, to fight for, and almost certainly die for, your King's noble dream to one day have his own private waterpark!
Build an awesome fortress, stuff it with soldiers, catapults and whatnot, and lead your army into battle against other players' castles in devious turn-based combat!
In case you hadn't noticed, Chillingo had taken a short hiatus from their normal weekly release pace, but are back this week with – wait for it – a physics puzzler. It's called Bombcats and being a fan of both cats and explosions I took it for a quick spin this morning. It's cute, plays well, seemingly has loads of content, and it's also somewhat unremarkable.
Challenge your aim, hone your precision, and push your puzzle-solving skills to the next level in this insanely addictive game. This installment takes the critically acclaimed Can Knockdown series to all new heights- the physics-based carnival gameplay you know and love- and adds unique puzzles, adrenaline-charged challenges, and even more explosive action!
Defend your castle from the evils that lurk below in this unique strategy game! You will need to dig deep into the earth to uncover treasures and destroy the enemies threatening your castle.
- Challenge Yello fans from all over the world!
- Race against your friends in real time!
- Endless number of random tracks!
- Avoid the obstacles and catch all the power-ups to get to the finish line first!
Fire & Forget: The Final Assault is an arcade post-apocalyptic racing game that's set to debut tonight alongside a bunch of other new releases. You can catch a look at it below, but you should probably avoid the actual product. It's not good. The driving feels super floaty, the car-to-car combat is bland, and the production elements aren't stellar. That isn't to say there aren't some neat ideas buried in it. After all, who doesn't like the idea of driving around a laser-equipped car that can spontaneously morph into a fighter plane? But, the execution isn't great, making it a pretty forgettable game as a whole.
Frozen Synapse on iPad is one of the few notable "core" kinda releases this week, and it is what you think it is: a pretty straight-up port of an imaginative PC title that got a bunch of awards and praise. This version sees the addition of one-tap touch controls, as well as cross-platform play.
The original Gravity Guy [Free / Free (HD)] popularized the whole "gravity flipping" mechanic on mobile back in 2010, but the long-awaited sequel does away with that entirely in favor of a more traditional – though still innovative – endless runner formula. Gravity Guy 2 won't have you frantically switching between running on the ground or the ceiling in order to get through its puzzle-like levels, as in the original.
Last year, Jordan Mechner teamed up with Liquid Entertainment to create a modern remake of his 1984 beat 'em up classic, Karateka. The modern, 3D recreation of Karateka [$1.99] (which we reviewed in December) does an excellent job of conveying the tragic tale of the poor, imprisoned princess Mariko and the bold quest to rescue her to today's gamers using modern visuals, an original score, and unique, new fight mechanics. Another thing it does is give old school gamers a real itch to go back and play through the 8-bit original. Happily, as of tonight, that itch is easily scratched.
Run, jump and slide from ropes, dodge rocks! Not enough? There is much more in Manuganu. Avoid swinging hammers and jump over moving ice blocks. Don’t get burned and jump between walls to collect coins and medallions. Break stone blocks and activate platforms before you fall into fog and much more...
...That's what caught my eye about Nikko RC Racer from Paladin Studios, who you might remember as creators of the awesome Momonga Pinball Adventures [$2.99]. This is an official Nikko-endorsed racing game featuring 10 actual RC cars from across the company's 55 year history. The download itself is free and comes with 2 cars unlocked and 1 unlocked via "Liking" a Facebook page. The other 7 cars are 99¢ each to unlock or you can unlock the whole bundle for $2.99. You can also get a promo code to unlock cars by buying an actual Nikko RC car in real life, so there's that too, I guess.
I actually spent a bit of time with this today, and while this game is going to be hard to write about in a "full" article, it's free, and driving around with any kind of precision in a semi truck is actually surprisingly difficult- Particularly while backing up.
In this week's episode of The TouchArcade Show, we make the best of an (arguably) "slow" week by discussing the issues revolving around this week's latest releases. For example, we dig into runner fatigue and Chillingo's brand image. We also talk about what kids are playing and why genres that our touch devices don't do so great tend to click with them. In addition to this, we dive into Trucker: Parking Simulator (don't laugh), Gravity Guy 2, Blitz Brigade and more.
