Mobile developer Magic Team this week released an iPhone port of the highly popular Amiga / Atari ST platformer Rick Dangerous [link] through the App Store.
Originally developed by Core Design and released on multiple platforms in 1989, Rick Dangerous is an Indiana Jones-inspired platformer set in 1945. As the tale goes, British agent Rick Dangerous (who had to have known from childhood that he was destined for adventure) travels to the jungles of the Amazon in search of a lost tribe. The game opens with Rick being chased through a ruinous cave by a boulder, in true Indiana Jones fashion. Armed with a pistol and sticks of dynamite Rick traverses four levels in all: the Amazon, an Egyptian pyramid, the Nazi stronghold of Schwarzendump, and a secret Nazi missile base.
The iPhone version features updated graphics, audio, and intro / outro sequences. An on-screen D-pad and button system provide game control. It works well enough, but feels a little cramped / oversensitive as compared to most other iPhone virtual D-pad implementations.
I've spent only a brief time with the iPhone version but can verify that it feels quite like the Rick Dangerous I knew enjoyed on the Amiga -- and every bit as maddeningly challenging. Fans of the original should feel right at home with the iPhone release, and those unfamiliar with the game can try out the free Flash version before making the jump.
With major sales of big name titles like Peggle, Let's Golf, and Hero of Sparta, there's been even more competition and downward pricing pressure for all the games shooting for a spot in the App Store Top 100.
Here are a few more notable titles that have seen price drops in the past few days.
Fast & Furious ($5.99->$1.99) - This fun arcade racer was developed by Firemint for I-play and has dropped in price all the way down to $1.99 in the past few days. I-play has also release a Lite version [link] thjat lets you try the game out before you buy.
Knights On-Rush ($2.99 -> $0.99) - A deeper version of Castle Defense with elements of Pocket God in it. If you love Castle Defense games, this is one of the best.
F.A.S.T. ($4.99 -> $3.99) - Not a dramatic price drop, but a title we really loved. If you're looking for some aerial combat online action, this is the best there is.
Sony Pictures Television has given Touch Arcade an exclusive preview of their upcoming iPhone remake of the 1982 isometric arcade classicQ*Bert.
Q*bert is back! After more than 25 years, the colorful, lovable, jumpy arcade character of the 80's is now available on iPhone and iPod Touch. And he's got his very own blog too at www.qbert.com!
Kick it old school and play retro Q*bert in Arcade mode with authentic graphics and gameplay through 20 rounds across 5 challenging levels. Or, if you prefer your Q*bert smooooth, choose Modern mode for updated graphics. That's just the beginning. Regular updates will bring really new gameplay!
Q*Bert for the iPhone features two play modes to satisfy whatever level of retro gamer you happen to be. Modern mode features updated graphics with a music track that gives the game a clean, modern feel. Arcade mode features the original graphics and sounds and delivers that pixellized, jaggy fix that hardcore retro fans hunger for. Both modes include the standard five different enemy types and four different friendly objects that carry the player from level to level.
The goal of the game is to traverse every cube in each level's pyramid. Landing on a cube changes its color and once a pyramid has been fully changed, the player moves to the next level. But watch out -- roving villains wander the map, trying to squash our orange, tube-nosed hero. And while, in the original, pyramids were the whole deal, Sony will soon be releasing all new kinds of levels with new characters to add variety to the game.
Being an isometric game (the first?), Q*Bert involves diagonal movement across those ziggurats of glowing pixel goodness that is, by default, controlled with directional swipes anywhere on the screen. Alternate accelerometer controls are also offered and work better than one might expect. The controls work very well and anyone who ever fed a stream of quarters to the original stand-up cabinet way back when should thoroughly enjoy the iPhone remake.
See our gameplay video of the pre-release version for a closer look.
We recently reported the existence of a full-featured licensed Commodore 64 emulator, developed for the iPhone by Manomio. Sadly, it was rejected from the App Store and may never see the light of day in its current form.
That said, we have high hopes that Apple and Manomio will reach an arrangement such that everyone can have as much retro gaming fun as I've had with the ad hoc build of this app that the developer was kind enough to provide for review.
Commodore 64 for iPhone is an application that, well, turns your iPhone into the most popular computer in history -- more or less. But, happily, it dispenses with all the requisite LOAD "*",8,1 command-line syntax and provides a Delicious-looking program loader to make jumping from game to game a snap. It works like this: the emulator comes bundled with several C64 games (Artic Shipwreck, Dragon's Den, Jack Attack, Jupiter Lander and Lemans) along with standard Commodore BASIC 2.0 interpreter. Users can purchase separately sold program packs (early prices appear to be $0.99-$1.99 each and are determined by original IP holders) from the App Store that, when launched, install a game (or games) into the main application, adding them to the bookcase-like program launcher. It's a simple approach that works well but, as indicated, this arrangement may need to be changed in order for the emulator to ever find App Store acceptance.
Manomio has already licensed the aforementioned games, as well as the titles that make up three different program packs: Bristles, Astro Chase and their Commodore Sports Pack I. Some games seen in our demo video, such as Bruce Lee and International Karate, were provided simply as a demonstration of the emulator and have not yet been licensed, but the developer hopes to secure them, as well as many other 8-bit classics, for use with the emulator.
As can be seen in our gameplay video, Manomio has made it quite simple to jump right into a game. From the main screen, click through to the games library, scroll down the shelves of games and tap the title of your fancy. From there, you're whisked into the emulator where the game automatically loads and the particular keys needed to start a game are presented as simple icons, removing the need to bring up the provided full keyboard in order to begin gameplay. Once in the game, a tap on the joystick tab brings up an on-screen 8-way digital stick and button at the bottom of the screen and it's fire away... Rotating the iPhone to a landscape orientation fills the screen with the game image, and invisible stick and button touch controls are used on the game screen itself. It's a flexible arrangement and the controls work rather well, but we do hope that the developer throws us a bone and writes in support for forthcoming control accessories to bring players that much closer to the feel of the real thing.
I have recently spent some time playing through the bundled games and, as a gamer who still enjoys many a C64 game on my actual Commodore 64 and through various emulators, I can say that Commodore 64 for the iPhone delivers solid, accurate emulation of the classic 8-bit machine and provides the nicest program loader I've seen on any emulator. A particular example of the attention to detail is the simulated picture-tube glare present in two of the game's three display modes -- to play without that glare is to miss out on part of the reality that was 8-bit gaming.
As a child of the 80's, it was a big deal when my school was one of the few in my area that had a complete computer lab in the library with an Apple II for each student in the class. The catch? All the "games" available all had to do with math or typing. Spielhaus's MindRacer Duel [App Store] provides quite a bit of personal nostalgia, as you're forced to solve math problems on one of three difficulty settings to make your car travel down the race track.
Playing on Easy is, as you would expect- quite easy. Expert mode provides math problems filled with parenthesis and negative numbers, which require a little more brain power to quickly figure out on the fly. MindRacer Duel can be played both single player and two player, and at the current price of free, there's not much reason to not pick this one up if you're looking to brush up your math skills, or have kids that need to learn their multiplication tables.
ngmoco's recent winner of a 2009 Apple Design Award, Topple 2 [App Store] is currently on sale for 99¢. Topple 2 takes the original (no longer available on the App Store) Topple formula and adds additional gameplay modes as well as WiFi multiplayer an email challenges.
The premise of the Topple series is simple, you stack blocks of various shapes and sizes to reach a set altitude goal within the provided time limit. Blocks can be rotated to fit better in to the existing stack and the game makes excellent use of the accelerometer. If your tower of multicolored blocks isn’t as sturdy as you would like it to be, tilting the phone left or right causes your stack to lean, potentially giving you the extra bit of stability you need in order to not send everything crashing down.
Mostly due to WiFi challenges, both Topple 2 and WordFu [App Store] have lived long and happy lives on my iPhone. If you're looking for a colorful stacking game filled with smug looking squares and menacing triangles, give Topple 2 a try. The latest update included iPod controls, and with any luck, Plus+ integration will soon follow.
We got a tip today from Conniption Entertainment about their upcoming Tower Defense game, Towers of War. While tower defense is becoming one of the more crowded genres on the App Store, in my opinion, there's always room for another.
What sets Towers of War apart from the competition appears to be a unique upgrade system and an epic in-game story line, which all takes place in a medieval fantasy setting. Conniption will be initially including over 12 tower types, and 9 3D rendered play fields (some with paths the creeps follow and some open field). Each level has its own accompanying cut scene to drive the story as well as many different types of creeps and bosses.
In Towers of War, instead of simply tapping "upgrade" on your towers, players will have to make strategic choices when managing resources and upgrades for each tower. For instance, the Archer Tower can be upgraded to hold 4 Elven archers, and then those archers can be equipped with either crossbows or longbows.
You set up these defenses in a world torn apart by war, where the powerful sorcerer Magog leads a dark army seeking to annihilate the inhabitants of the Eastern Lands. King Seth and his alliance of men, dwarves and elves set up defense outposts throughout the region in attempt to turn the invaders away.
Conniption Entertainment provided us this trailer which shows off how the narrated cut scenes segue in to the start of each level, as well as a few different tower types, creeps, and even a level boss in action:
Towers of War 1.0 will be submitted to the App Store soon, and Conniption Entertainment says they already have plans for two substantial updates down the line. The first of which will allow players to design their own fields and creep waves, then share them with the world. For the second update, they're going to be working towards including an elaborate worldwide multiplayer mode.
Ngmoco has been slowly revealing more and more about their upcoming title Rolando 2 on their website. Rolando 2, of course, is the sequel to their original iPhone platformer developed by Hand Circus.
To date, Ngmoco has released four walkthrough videos narrated by developer Simon Oliver detailing the new features found in Rolando 2. In case you missed them, they include:
Majestic Shores - showing off the new engine and puzzle elements
Ngmoco has provided TouchArcade with an early look at the 5th and final walkthrough video that was due to be released tomorrow. The final video shows an overview of the different worlds in Rolandoland as well as the new use of Push challenges as part of their Plus+ network
Once challenged, you are thrown into the specific level challenged and you run through the level as best as you can. At the end, you find out how you fared against your opponent and have the option of challenging your opponent again.
Ngmoco's Plus+ network has gotten a lot of attention since it's launch with the 3.0 firmware. Plus+ and services like it are trying to build up a cohesive social network for gaming on the iPhone, allowing you to compete against your friends in a single network. Plus+ is presently available on Star Defense [$5.99], but should be integrated with all their future products.
Rolando 2 is expected for release this summer. We had some hands on time with the game at WWDC and feel certain that fans of the original will enjoy the sequel.
From iPhone accessory maker Zagg, this is a casual chaos-management game with a similar feel to Firemint's Flight Control. There have been a number of similar themed games using cars, boats and, of course, trains:
This one offers a bit different gameplay as your sole method of control is tapping on the intersections to change the track directions. Unlike Flight Control, there's no way to redirect a train at the last second, so you need to plan ahead the tracks to avoid collisions. Your goal is to deliver colored cargo to their proper stations. Trains unload automatically as they pass their respective stations and must be led off the screen as well.
While I think I still prefer Flight Control, this one had me coming back more often than the many other similarly themed games.
This tap-to-target game clearly takes inspiration from the Police Trainer arcade game, but that's not a bad thing. I've wasted a lot of time and money on that arcade game, and found this to be a familiar experience.
The game is simple to play but hard to perfect. It offers you 5 different types of skills to test: Accuracy, Reaction, Color & Shape, Judgement and Speed. Check out the video to see how it plays. I tend to find it hard to recommend any tap shooters, but this one carries some familiarity that some may enjoy.
While we've been excited about the 3.0 release, a number of high profile games seem to still be having issues with the latest version of Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch firmware. Forum user skamando and others have compiled a list of games with known issues under the latest firmware. Partial list here:
Toki Tori - Unstable Framerate (Fixable by turning off sound in game)
Underworlds - Sluggish performance (Turn Music Off to Fix)
Many developers have chimed in saying that patches have been submitted, but that Apple's approval process is backlogged even further than usual with the release of 3.0. One common theme seems to be that music or audio may be contributing to the problems due to a change in audio behavior in 3.0. So, if you are noticing problems turning off sound or music may be the first thing to try while you wait for the updates.
iPhone developer Ziconic has released a video that demonstrates usage of the digital compass in the new iPhone 3GS as a view control mechanism.
A prototype build of the developer's AirCoaster 3D [App Store], an app that allows users to design and ride 3D roller coasters on the iPhone and iPod touch, allows the user to move the iPhone about in order to change the viewpoint of the rider.
The compass-based view control is expected to arrive in a future update of the application. Ziconic also recently released a video comparing the 3D performance of the new iPhone 3GS to that of the iPhone 3G, using AirCoaster 3D as a benchmark.
Independent developer Silverlode Interactive released their first iPhone game to the App Store overnight. Saga Catapult is a bit of a combination of a trajectory game and a defense game. We met briefly with Silverload at WWDC and learned a little more about them.
Silverload Interactive has been around since 2005 and has been primarily focused on their persistent online real-time strategy game Saga Online for PC. Silverload explored using many of the assets they'd developed for their PC game and applying it to a mobile game. The result was Saga Catapult in which you are the last catapult operator standing in the way of a horde of enemies trying to destroy your town.
The game places you in control of a catapult which you must use to take out the enemy invaders as they run left to right across the playfield. Since the catapult shots take a little time to arc their way to their targets, you typically need to aim ahead of the enemies. There are 30 levels in all with about 15 different attackers. Each attacker has a different set of attributes to keep things interesting. Early orcs are slow moving and might take a single shot while later creatures and vehicles may take multiple shots. Flying enemies including dragons and zepplins offer an additional challenge. We've been told later dark elves will even try to dodge your shots.
Each kill gives you a little extra gold which you can apply to upgrades to your catapult. These upgrades include: more damage, faster fire rate, larger explosion radius, projectile control, and more lives. Most are self explanatory, but the "projectile control" upgrade allows you to tilt the iPhone left/right to affect the trajectory of your shot. This can be very helpful for fast moving targets.
We played the game a bit at WWDC and tonight after its release and found it to be pretty fun. While it's a simple mechanic, they've done a good job keeping it interesting with new enemies and the use of upgrades. In particular, I suspect fans of trajectory games or castle defense games will probably enjoy this the most.
The big industry news that came out today was the acquisition of id Software by ZeniMax Media. ZeniMax is the parent company of Bethesda Softworks who is notably responsible for Fallout 3. id Software, of course, has been responsible for the Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake franchises.
The press release insists that operations at id Software will continue as usual:
id Software will continue to operate as a studio under the direction of its founder, John Carmack. No changes will be made in the operations of id Software in the development of its games. All the principals at id Software have signed long-term employment contracts, assuring they will continue in their roles developing games at the studio.
The news likely doesn't directly impact the iPhone scene significantly but is notable as id's John Carmack has been a strong proponent of the iPhone platform for gaming. id Software had also worked on the upcoming iPhone-specific Doom Resurrection title alongside Escalation Studios. Meanwhile, ZeniMax has had it's hand in some early iPhone titles through it's mobile studio Vir2l.
Bethesda Softworks game director and executive producer Todd Howard admitted to Joystiq that they have been experimenting with versions of Fallout 3 for the iPhone.
"We've looked into those things, we just haven't found the thing that supports the brand well. I wouldn't be surprised if it does happen one day. The iPhone versions that we've designed and said 'Ehh, we don't think we're going to do that right now,' there are ... there are a lot of them."
Howard also happens to be a big fan of the iPhone and revealed in an interview that he's addicted to his iPhone and gets a game for it every few days. In the interview, he even reveals that Touch Arcade is a website that he visits every day (Hi Todd.)
You know it's a tough market when mega publisher Gameloft starts slashing their prices on their games. Real Soccer 2009 [App Store] is the latest Gameloft title to find a price drop to $0.99.
This particular game has seen increased competition with the release of X2 Football [$6.99] which has seen solid reviews favoring it over Real Soccer:
I enjoy the gameplay in X2 Football more than in Real Soccer because the controls are so much more intuitive and responsive.
.... For me, the game seems to flow better in X2 Football, but I will say that Real Soccer has more depth in terms of teams, the use of real player names, and the ability to choose different stadiums.
Still, $0.99 can be hard to compete against, and Real Soccer 2009 is remains a pretty solid title. Here's our early video of Real Soccer 2009 when it was first released:
Eurocenter recently released the first iPhone game that supports in game voice chat: Adrenaline Pool 2 [App Store]. The $2.99 game is actually an entirely separate version from their existing game called Adrenaline Pool Online. Voice chat is a new 3.0 firmware-specific feature.
The core game is a rather straightforward top-down pool game that offers online head-to-head multiplayer.
We tested the game briefly, mostly focusing on the Voice-chat capabilities which seemed to work as advertised. The voice quality was a bit inconsistent in our tests over Wi-Fi, however. We're not sure if head-to-head pool is really a game you want to be voice chatting with your opponent with, but it's an interesting demo of what's possible in the 3.0 firmware. And for those lonely souls out there, they do offer an option to preferentially match up with girls.
Here's a demo of the voice chat:
I'd suggest trying out the Lite version to see if you actually enjoy the game itself before upgrading... that is, unless you just really have an itch to voice-chat with strangers.
Mobile developer Magic Team this week released an iPhone port of the highly popular Amiga / Atari ST platformer Rick Dangerous [link] through the App Store.
ngmoco's recent winner of a 2009 Apple Design Award, Topple 2 [
The big industry news that came out today was the acquisition of 
