Firemint CEO Robert Murray

We've been closely following Firemint's Real Racing game since its initial preview back in August 2008. We were very impressed by the brief clip that was provided at that time and have been anxiously awaiting its release.

Now, seven months later, we are finally approaching the game's release, and despite the number of existing of iPhone racing titles, Real Racing seems even more impressive than ever. Since that time, Firemint has also released Flight Control which is a wonderfully polished and addictive original iPhone game. While Flight Control was a much simpler project, the quality of that title makes us believe that Firemint's Real Racing will deliver on the hype.

Firemint's CEO Robert Murray has provided TouchArcade with this exclusive interview to reveal some details about his company, the game, and why Real Racing should stand out amongst the competition. They've also provided new screenshots and a new high definition video:

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

Both Robert Murray and Alex Peters of Firemint have also been active in our forums and have also agreed to field some of our reader's followup questions in this forum thread.

Q: Thanks for speaking with us Robert. Can you tell us a little about Firemint, the company's background. How long you've been around etc...
 
Rob: I founded Firemint in 1999. I’d been working on PC and console games for a medium sized game development company and decided to start my own business. Initially I focused on providing high-end technology products to game development studios, but in 2001 I had the opportunity to develop a Nintendo GBA game, Nicktoons Racing, which led to further titles. Firemint really took off in 2003 when we started recruiting additional staff. 

Since then we’ve had growth bursts where we sometimes doubled in size in a short period. We now have 40 full-time people in our team and close to 30 published titles, mostly on mobile phone,  including three years of EA Sports Madden NFL 3D, The Fast and the Furious: Fugitive and Pink Slip, FIA World Rally Championship and also The Sims DJ for click-wheel iPod.

Our core business is still developing games commissioned by top tier publishers, however we are increasingly working on original IP, both for ourselves and for our publishers.
 

Q: So, getting straight to the heart of the matter, as you know, there's no shortage of racing games in the App Store. Tell us about Real Racing and what makes it different or better?
 
Rob: Well, Firemint Real Racing is a high calibre pro racing game. I haven’t seen anything like that on iPhone yet. I think there are a lot of racing games on iPhone because it is a genre that the platform lends itself to very naturally. Similarly you will find lots of great first person shooters on the PC, simply because the controls work so elegantly.  I think this is a great thing for racing fans with an iPhone.

As for what makes Real Racing special, we have a lot of unique features that I think people are really going to love.

For example, we have a cockpit view with animated driver and integrated instrumentation.  In other camera views we have a HUDless UI (that is, there is no head up display cluttering the user interface).

The game has amazing graphics and effects like lighting, specular highlights, filtered light effects, shadows, reflection mapping, smoke and skid marks. Our engine delivers extremely high polygon and texture throughput, optimised through years of work on lower spec’d hardware. The control system works the way you want it to; holding it in front of your face, in your lap, upside down in bed or using the touch screen if you choose.  We’ve brought together a brilliant physics engine with the right camera and control systems to produce that elusive ‘feels right’ vibe.  The game has a massive amount of high definition content , with 12 uniquely built tracks, 36 cars and numerous online leagues.

The other unique aspect is the connectivity built into the game [with YouTube and other social media networks].

However, what’s really important to Real Racing is not just the unique features, but how polished they are and how well they fit together into the whole game.  Some games feel so polished, so whole and complete that everyone appreciates them, whether they are fans of the genre or not. When you deliver a game like that, all people can say is “it’s great, you have to play it”, they can’t always explain why in terms of features. That sort of game, and that sort of polish is the holy grail for us and it is what we want to achieve with Firemint Real Racing.

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Laminar Research has just released X-Plane Helicopter Lite [App Store], a free, time-limited version of their helicopter flight simulator.

X-Plane Helicopter Lite includes all the aircraft of the $9.99 original:

• Robinson R-22: The lightweight, efficient trainer
• Bell-206: The turbine-powered mainstay of the helicopter fleet
• BlackHawk: The massive military cargo and troop mover
• Sea King: The huge land/sea rescue helicopter

...but restricts flights to 35 seconds only, with an on-screen badge that ticks off the in-flight seconds as they're spent.  The game does allow for an unlimited number of 35-second flights in a play session, however.  Anyone considering the purchase of the full, paid app should have a look at this trial version before making the plunge.

Laminar has also released a trial version of X-Plane Racing [App Store].

We can't say we are entirely surprised, but today Mirage Lab's Riccardo Tognin let us know that their Hill Billy game has been rejected from the App Store. The game was an impressive (but strange) first person shooter that was submitted back in February.

The game, of course, was rejected due to an inappropriate game advisory rating because of its content. The video of the game does show a significant amount of gore during gameplay.

Rest assured, however, that Mirage Labs is reworking the game to make it more suitable for the App Store and will be resubmitted, hopefully, in the next few days.

Everyone was pleasantly surprised when Metal Gear Solid Touch [App Store] went online two days earlier than the supposed launch date.

We quickly downloaded it, and were pretty happy with our initial impressions. However, this morning the honeymoon is over and I’ve really been struggling to come up with the best way to review this game. So to start, let’s just ignore the price tag and look at Metal Gear Solid Touch the game.

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Ngmoco has released a new screenshot (above) and gameplay video (below) of their just announced 1st person shooter LiveFire which was demoed at Apple's iPhone 3.0 media event. The video shows of a 4-player multiplayer clip of LiveFire which will allow you to play over both Wifi or 3G networks. The game's control system is described as an evolution of the "touch anywhere" system first developed for Dropship and further refined for a first person shooter.

News of the game itself, however, may have been overshadowed by the demonstration of how one might purchase an in-game add-on such as a rocket launcher for $0.99. This new capability to be offered in iPhone 3.0 has generated some understandable concern from our readers, who are worried that some developers may abuse this system.

Ngmoco's Neil Young, however, reassured our readers in the iPhone 3.0 event comment thread that their company would not let in-app commerce trump gameplay balance. Chris from Ngmoco further expanded on this point in a lengthy blog post on their site.

Chris's first point was that the $0.99 rocket launcher shown during the event was simply an artificial scenario set up for demo purposes and that nothing they showed was final. The game design is already centered around allowing players to earn credits/experience during the game itself that can be used to upgrade to new weapons, armor or capabilities. This sort of upgrade system should be familiar to most modern gamers.

The next obvious step, of course, is allowing other users who are unable or unwilling to put in the time to earn these experience points to be able to buy them directly. On this possibility, they are keeping their options open:

...I think we need to keep all options on the table, even if it means breaking with certain conventions from packaged games if we can improve the entertainment value for the maximum number of people playing our games. We will probably end up with traditional expansion packs for LiveFire as well as individual player upgrades you can purchase from iTunes instead of earning them all through gameplay achievement. But we’ll definitely allow players to have a meaningful, balanced and fun gaming experience directly after download from the app store. We’ll closely consider each decision related to In-app Commerce to ensure we’re doing the right thing for the game.

The entire blog post is an interesting read and discussion on in-app commerce and how it may apply to the iPhone.

There is no known release date for LiveFire.

We last looked at Zombieville USA when it was first released in mid-February.

The survival shooter has since rocketed up the charts to the top 10 position in the App Store, and for very good reason. Despite its seemingly simple gameplay, Zombieville actually requires some strategy to progress and is a whole lot of fun.

Last week, Mika Mobile updated the app with a number of requested improvements including:

• Two new zombie types that appear in high levels
• 3 different difficulty choices
• Pause button
• Improved firing controls
• Weapon balance tweaks

A Lite version has also bee introduced [App Store] which gives you a single level to play to get a feel for the mechanics. If you haven't tried this game yet, we give it a solid recommendation.

App Store Link: Zombieville USA, $1.99

Luc Bernard of Oyaji Games sent us these exclusive screenshots of their upcoming Mecho Wars for the iPhone. We previously covered this indie game that is said to be a direct prequel to the PC game Eternity's Child.

Mecho Wars tells the story of the war between the mechanical Landians and the Winged, which left protagonist Angel as one of the last of his kind in Eternity’s Child. Inspired by Advance Wars and Fire Emblem, among other things, it looks to be exactly the sort of tactical strategy game that could be perfect for the iPhone format. The game contains nine different units on both sides of the conflict, with three gameplay modes - Campaign, Tutorial, and Challenge.

Oyaji games is also hosting a live session starting at 2 p.m. ET at http://seanbeeson.com/live.html where you can watch Sean Beeson write music for the game with Luc Bernard also available in the web chat to answer questions about the game. It's starting now, so check out this unique opportunity.

Independent developer Mike Smith let us know that his third person shooter game Caster has been successfully ported to the iPhone. The game should be available next month through the App Store.

The game has been a project of his since college and has taken him just over five years to release. It finally came out in January of this year for PC and Mac and seems to have gotten positive reviews.

Caster involves running, jumping and shooting your way around the environments while collecting energy balls and destroying enemies. The game includes deformable landscapes as well as an upgrade system for movement and weapons.

Smith seems particularly pleased with the control scheme on the iPhone, which is certainly a challenge for a third person shooter. Video of iPhone gameplay:

Demos of the Mac and PC version can be downloaded at his site.

Like most people, I wasn’t expecting Metal Gear Solid Touch [App Store] for another couple days. Imagine my surprise when forum member 1337brian discovered the game on the App Store well before its expected launch!

After spending the last hour or so downloading, syncing, and playing, I believe fans of the Metal Gear series will enjoy this latest pocket-sized entry in Kojima’s twenty-year running dynasty of action packed games. I admit I was skeptical when I initially read about the control scheme of Metal Gear Solid Touch, but after blowing through seven levels, each more hectic than the last, I'm surprised at how well they work.

Moving your finger anywhere on the touch screen allows you to aim using a circular targeting crosshair. Tapping shoots, and to seek cover to avoid enemy fire all you have to do is take your finger off the screen. Not all enemies will be in range of your M4 assault rifle, and this is where my favorite part of the game comes in--pinching your two fingers on the screen switches weapons to the SVD sniper rifle, perfect for picking off far away enemy soldiers. Moving your two fingers apart zooms back out and Snake switches guns again for close range combat.

Power-ups randomly appear, which either give you a more powerful weapon or refill a part of your health bar. Like many shooting games, conveniently placed explosive barrels that can be used to blow up nearby enemies litter the playing field. The game quickly gets tricky, and after only a few levels in, you will find yourself frantically juggling between seeking cover and alternating between your assault and sniper rifles.

Taking down enemy combatants isn’t the only thing you have to worry about, however. Standard for most shooter games, friendly units will also randomly pop out of cover, and shooting them takes off a portion of your health bar. It really should go without saying, but if you ever find yourself caught in the crossfire between Solid Snake and a platoon of angry enemy soldiers, I would really advise getting out of there fast!

The graphics consist of pre-rendered 3D backgrounds and character models which work quite well for the game. The animations are well done, and run at a high frame rate. The music fits right in with the Metal Gear universe and the sound effects are spot-on. The loading screens are beautiful, and are totally screenshot-worthy to use as iPhone wallpaper.

Gameplay video:

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

My initial impressions of this game are positive, but I still can’t disregard the associated price tag. Metal Gear Solid Touch is without a doubt one of the better tap-shooters on the iPhone, but at $7.99 you’re definitely paying a premium for the Metal Gear name. Keep your eye on Touch Arcade for an in-depth review soon; in the meantime, I’ve got some more baddies to shoot.

App Store Link: Metal Gear Solid Touch, $7.99

This first impressions article was written by Eli Hodapp, a guest contributor at TouchArcade.

Congrats to all the winners of our Anniversary giveaway. Emails have already been sent to the winners at their given email addresses. We'd also like to thank the developers who contributed promo codes to this giveaway.

We received 1391 entries for the giveaway in all. A full list of the winners is included after the break. If you didn't win, then you should consider buying the game(s) that were on the top of your list. Our list of giveaway games did include some of the best games available on the iPhone.

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A few hours ago we posted our summary (with an eye towards gaming) of Today's Apple iPhone 3.0 OS media event.  During the event Apple SVP of iPhone Software Scott Forestall walked the crowd through the many innovations this upcoming OS update will bring.  Among the applications demonstrated were EA's The Sims 3 and two upcoming ngmoco titles, Touch Pets and LiveFire.

Apple has just posted a video (Quicktime) of the entire event.  Have a look.

Apple's iPhone OS 3.0 event, mentioned in the previous post, has drawn to a close.  The media event, held at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, was an advanced preview of the upcoming iPhone 3.0 firmware that will be released "this summer."  As of today, Apple is making a beta version of the new firmware available to developers so that they can begin utilizing the new features it brings.

And those features are many.

As Apple SVP of iPhone Software Scott Forestall revealed, iPhone OS 3.0 brings 1,000 new APIs for developers to use in their applications.  These APIs, along with various App Store enhancements, bring a wide range of new capabilities to the iPhone, such as:

• MMS messaging
• Cut, copy, and paste
• Push notifications
• In-application purchasing
• Peer-to-peer connectivity
• In game voice
• Live streaming audio
• iPod library access
• Stereo Bluetooth audio support
• Audio recording
• Shake API

Prior to the event, Apple asked several developers to spend two weeks with the beta firmware and produce applications that showcase some of the new capabilities.  A number of applications were demonstrated but, of course, Touch Arcade readers will be most interested in how the 3.0 OS will improve gaming on the device, and so I'll focus on the game demonstration's from today's event.

Apple's Greg Jos introduced a short film piece that takes a look at Steve Demeter, author of Trism [App Store], one of the early App Store successes.  The piece points out that Steve developed Trism entirely outside his dayjob and the game's success allowed him to transition to full-time iPhone development.

Travis Boatman from Electronic Arts took the stage to demonstrate the company's forthcoming iPhone version of The Sims 3.  The game demonstrated the 3.0 OS support of in-game purchasing.  Boatman bought several items through an in-game store system for the Sims at a price of $0.99 each.  The title also showed off 3.0's iPod library access capabilities by having a Sim turn on his in-game stereo and play back music directly from the unit's onboard music library.

Ngmoco's Neil Young took the stage and discussed the company's upcoming titles Touch Pets, the electronic pet simulator, and LiveFire, a first person shooter with 3G and WiFi multiplayer support.  Touch Pets was used to demonstrate 3.0's new push notification system.  An onscreen notification was shown of a requested "play date" with someone else's dog.  In-game purchasing of doggie sweaters, hats, bones, and the like was also shown.

LiveFire was news to everyone (see more images in our previous post).  It's a touch-controlled FPS (slide to move, tap to fire) that supports multiplayer matches over a 3G or WiFi network and lets you send push notifications to a friend list, inviting them into your game.  LiveFire features the ability to purchase various weapons through a store system within the game.  In a bind and need a rocket launcher?  That'll be $0.99, please.  (Ngmoco has confirmed that the shown pricing was just for the purpose of demonstration.)

Apple shared a few statistics with the crowd during today's presentation, as well.  Forestall indicated that, through December 2008, 17 million iPhone were sold.  Adding iPod touch sales to the mix brings the number sold up to 30 million devices.  The free iPhone SDK has been downloaded over 800,000 times and over 50,000 companies and individuals have signed on to Apple's development program--over 60% of them having never developed anything for an Apple platform previously.  Forestall also indicated that the 25,000 applications currently in the store represent 96% of all apps that have been submitted, and that 98% of those were approved in a week or less.

The iPhone is an amazing success for Apple.  The company exceeded their target 2008 sales figures and has the most versatile and elegant mobile / smartphone on the market.  iPhone 3.0 greatly expands the unit's capabilities and should bring a wave of applications that exploit the iPhone's capabilities on a whole new level--and among those applications, of course, are games.

Apple will be releasing the iPhone OS 3.0 upgrade this summer, free to all iPhone owners.  The iPod touch upgrade will be available at a cost of $9.95.

[ Photos 1 & 3 courtesy of Engadget, photo 2 courtesy of Gizmodo ]

The Sims

A number of iPhone gaming demos have been given at Apple's iPhone 3.0 Media event. This includes demos of EA's The Sims, Ngmoco's Touch Pets and a newly announced multi-player 1st person shooter from Ngmoco LiveFire.

We'll post more photos as we get them.

Touch Pets

LiveFire images

Images reproduced with permission

The iPhone 3.0 Media Event is has generated a lot of interesting announcements and remains ongoing. A few highlights for iPhone gamers:

• iPhone 3.0: 1000 new APIs. New In-App purchases with support for Subscriptions, Additional Levels (ex. games), New Content (ex. ebooks)
• In-App purchases also use iTunes accounts. 70% to developer. 30% to Apple. Restricted to paid apps only. Free apps remain free.
• Peer-to-Peer connectivity. Automatic discovery over bluetooth. good for games and other apps. (send business cards, playing backgammon)
• SDK support for hardware accessories via dock. Examples: FM Transmitter with radio app to tune. Also Blood Pressure cuff with app.
• A slide shows lots of new APIs: "in game voice", "in app email", "proximity sensor", "iPod library access", "text selection".
• EA The Sims with in-game items for $0.99 each. Playing in-game stereo plays music from your library.

We'll provide more comprehensive coverage after the event is complete. Live coverage can be found at Gizmodo.

Gnizama has released their first iPhone game into the App Store today called Sliders [App Store]. While this $1.99 game is yet-another Match 3 game, it more closely resembles Rubic's Cube or Imangi rather than Bejeweled.

You slide rows and columns of blocks with your finger to line up blocks of the same color. When a match is made, the blocks implode and new ones drop in from the top to take their place.

The game allows you to slide rows or columns of blocks in order to make matches. Blocks wrap around the edges of the board. Aside from 3, 4 or 5 in-a-row matches, there are also special shapes that can be made for extra bonus points. These special matches include crosses, plus signs, T shapes, brackets or double-wide rows.

The gameplay is simple to start but seems to offer a significant margin for improving your skills over time. The game can be played in either Timed (120 seconds) or Strategy (50 moves). We spent some time with the game and feel that spacial/puzzle gamers will really enjoy it.

The developer's video gives a good picture of gameplay. We started it 41 seconds so you can see the actual gameplay. Rewind, if you want to see the app launch and help screens.

App Store Link: Sliders, $1.99