Who knew the world could be saved simply by drawing lines? Developers On5, creators of both Charadium [iPhone: $2.99 / Free - iPad: $4.99] and Quizarium [99¢ / Free] comes TipTop: The Last March [$1.99], a Lemmings-like game with a good control method, great art and music, as well as a silly game premise that seems to really enhance the overall experience.
The game begins with you assisting Dr. House Dr. Jose in saving the world from the swine flu epidemic. Much like Lemmings, gameplay consists of you guiding your seemingly mindless squad of Dr. Joses to the end of the level. Instead of using different types of Lemmings, you draw lines for your units to walk over, or run in to and turn the other way. The line drawing control method works quite well, although I did run in to a few situations where I wish I could have drawn more precisely, as currently there is no way to zoom in so you are always limited by how clean of a line you can draw with your finger at the default zoom level.
You are limited by the number of lines you can draw by the amount of ink you have, a resource indicated by a bar on the top of the screen which slowly recharges as the lines you had previously drawn disappear. As you progress through the game, successfully making your way through levels requires very sparing ink usage, as drawing a line too long can result in your team of dudes fall to their death without you having enough ink to be able to stop them.
Depending on how you feel about perfecting games and unlocking achievements, there is a decent amount of replay value in TipTop even though there are only 20 levels included as getting all of your units to the exit of each level is much easier said than done. Thankfully, levels can be completed without escorting your whole team to the end if you don't care about achievements.
Out of the 20 levels, you'll visit 5 distinctly different locales with increasing difficulty. (And the later levels do get difficult.) TipTop: The Last March has a fun core gameplay mechanic, and is oozing with style between the excellent art and sound design. If you've been looking for a good Lemmings-like game on the iPhone, look no further.
Football Manager is a brand name that extends right back to the very first concept of the round-ball management simulator in the early 80's. In recent years, Sports Interactive has grown the franchise into a title that is consistently (and arguably) the most authentic of the batch and if nothing else, certainly enjoys the most faithful following. To date the iPhone has been the subject of a number of smaller titles in the genre, but nothing has quite made a splash like the release of Football Manager Handheld 2010 [AppStore].
The hallmark of the bigger football management simulators is without a doubt the staggering extent of official licenses included in the game. Football Manager Handheld 2010 supports updated teamsheets for 34 leagues in 11 countries; an impressive amount of statistical data to hold in the palm of your hand. The Football Manager franchise is especially well known for its professional, orderly and clean layout; and we're delighted to see this has been successfully carried over to the handheld adaptation.
One would expect that in order to cram a feasible management sim onto the iPhone, a sizeable trimming down of features would have to occur. Though there has been a little slimming, the majority of content and features-- certainly much more than we anticipated-- has been retained in full. To cut down on the size, Football Manager Handheld 2010, however, does do away with player portraits and the glossy 3D game engines the last iteration of management sims have been known for. Game highlights only are portrayed in the traditional 2D full-pitch view, so that goals and set-pieces (and gruelling shots-on target that always seem to hit the woodwork) can all be visualized. The rest of the match is played out through text commentary with visual aids to assist you in keeping track of morale and momentum. Match tactics like substitutions, formations, team mentality and also specific strategies (such as the Offside Trap), can all be changed through the Tactics menu during a game, to offer that minute-by-minute control needed to overcome the best tactical minds and teams in the business.
Of the features omitted, the most sorely missed is undoubtedly the customization of individual plays and the ability to create your own formations. When one factors into it the processing undoubtedly needed for the former, and that there are 17 preset formations included to satisfy the latter, it's not that big a deal though. The new touchline instructions added in the PC version of 2010 won't be found here either; though as this was a feature added ultimately to support the 3D match engine, its omission is not unexpected.
To accomodate the issue of portability and the presumably shorter play sessions, Football Manager Handheld 2010 puts more focus on squad management than overseeing staff or stadium facilities. Scouts and assistant managers perform their duties diligently but cannot be replaced. There is still a constantly nagging board to please, who vigilantly watch your performance and spending and are more than happy to replace you though. Though some may disagree, we appreciate the refocus on what's really important in the handheld addition, and the essence of Football Managerdefinitely remains -- the sheer depth of control and attention to the very finest detail.
There is potentially more gameplay to experience here than in your entire game library, particularly if you're trying to promote a lowly League club to Premiership level. Coupled with the large licensed player and team rosters that are accurate up to the latest transfer window (with minor omissions noted by readers), Football Manager Handheld 2010 is an authentic port that should have football management enthusiasts champing at the bit. For those that have never played a football sim before, we do recommend caution, as the game is ultimately designed for those who already know their way around (particularly where the football stat lingo is concerned) and already enjoy the genre. If you're eager to try it out though, SEGA have thoughtfully released a free companion application to show you the ropes.
Favorable impressions from our readers have been pouring in to our forums. It has been noted by several readers too that your own music can be played Football Manager Handheld 2010, but only after turning off the in-game sounds in the game options. 1st Generation iPod Touch users should be warned that performance is particularly sub-par on this device, with excessive load times hampering gameplay according to user, ITRocks.
The story revolves around a dark tournament in a mysterious place known as the Arka Arena. Take control of one of four two-person teams as you advance through the arena's enemy-laden dungeons, ultimately preparing to square off against the opposing teams themselves in a fight to the death. The last ones standing are promised eternal youth and immortality. The reason each combatant has been summoned to this tournament and exactly why they have been paired with their particular partner slowly unfold via text cutscenes as the game progresses. Each team has their own storyline to play through, and they all intertwine with one another in intriguing ways. It's all very well written and remains interesting while still being suitable for on-the-go play, avoiding the problem of an overly convoluted story that is hard to follow in short bursts.
The bulk of the game is spent traversing through the Arka Arena's four distinct dungeon locations. Here you'll engage enemies randomly in a combination of indoor and outdoor settings, and each dungeon has a mid-level and end-level boss encounter. The random fighting is broken up with an occasional logic puzzle that must be beaten to advance in the game by granting an item or access to a new area. The style of the puzzles varies based on which dungeon you're in and what team you're playing with. They're a fun distraction, and force you to think hard while delivering a breather from the constant enemy confrontations.
The battle system is turn-based and has you controlling both characters in your party with an easy to use touch menu interface. The two members of your team can either attack individually or pair-up for a combined strike. This collaborative effort can deliver a more devastating blow, but leaves your combatants vulnerable to being counter-attacked in tandem. There's also a number of upgradeable magic abilities and weapons in the game that are obtained from defeated enemies, treasure chests, or the in-game shop. Control outside of battle is handled simply with an analog stick that appears anywhere the screen is touched, and one multi-use action button in the corner.
The structure of Chaos Rings is intelligently designed, and caters to a broad variety of players. Before entering a dungeon, you can choose the difficulty level of the enemies you face within. The higher the level you play on, the more treasure and rare items you will come across. A more casual gamer can choose to fight the easiest tier of enemies as they make their way through the story. In addition, you can toggle random enemy encounters on or off at any time for a more streamlined play experience. On the other hand, you can spend as much time on character leveling as you want. Any of the dungeons can be replayed at any time, so feel free to go back and endlessly grind your way to more powerful weapons and spells. It's a smart, flexible system that allows you to choose how to tackle the different aspects of the game. It took about 8 hours to beat the game with my first team, and once finished you can start a new game using the same characters and retaining much of your equipment and experience from the previous playthrough. Coupled with three additional teams to play as, there is a mountain of content here that should last most players a long time.
Graphically Chaos Rings really impresses. Beautifully illustrated 2D backgrounds make up the environments, while characters and monsters consist of detailed 3D models. It has a look that's evocative of classic Playstation-era RPGs. The battle sequences are fully rendered in 3D and really showcase the gorgeous enemy designs and fluid animations. The huge bosses in particular are downright intimidating as they fill your touch screen with their presence. A dramatic soundtrack accompanies the action and provides a unique sound for each of the locations in the game.
In the end, it's not really about how Chaos Rings does anything especially new, but rather how it takes all the pieces of a traditional role-playing game and packages it together in a way that feels natural to the platform. The result is something more akin to an action-adventure game with heavy RPG elements. The turn-based fighting is gratifying and never got old, and the story and character development remains immersive even in short play sessions. The entire experience feels like a high quality console offering shrunk down to portable size. Chaos Rings is executed brilliantly on just about every level, and has all the makings of a true classic. The fact that it's exclusively available for the iPhone makes a huge statement for the legitimacy of gaming on Apple's device, and is hopefully a symbol of many great things to come in the future of App Store gaming.
Back in January, we caught wind of plans for a Sega emulator that was going to serve as a repository for all kinds of different classic Genesis games. Originally slated for release in February, the Ultimate Genesis emulator was planned to be free and come loaded with Space Harrier II. We haven't heard anything about it since then, and it's hard to say where the fate of the emulator lies as Sega is still releasing standalone emulator games such as Sonic 2 [App Store] which was released mere moments ago.
Much like the original Sonic [App Store], Sonic 2 is wrapped in a seemingly identical emulator wrapper with a fairly awkward menu system glued on top of the original game to handle the various in-game view options as well as starting and resuming your game. Sonic and Tails are controlled with a virtual D-pad and lone button to handle jumping. Just like the original Sonic, these controls work, but things get dicey as soon as you get far enough in the game to need to do more than just run to the left and jump once in a while.
The game can be played in two modes, either full screen and up-scaled or in a smaller window in the native resolution of the game. Like all the other emulated Genesis games, performance is the best on the iPhone 3GS with substantial frame rate drops in previous-generation devices. The performance drop is somewhat mitigated by playing in the smaller native resolution view, but even then significant slowdown is experienced when you drop a lot of rings or when there are a ton of enemies on screen.
The following video shows the performance differences between the devices, although it is much more noticeable when you're actually playing the game:
I feel like until Sega substantially improves their Genesis emulator, we really can just have one review for all of these games, as the following statements really apply to all of them: If you were a fan of the original game, and own a iPhone 3GS or 3rd generation iPod touch, they're worth a look. The controls are far from ideal, but having your favorite classic games in your pocket playable on your phone can be a lot of fun. If you're not particularly tied to the games Sega has released so far, they're completely skippable.
If you have a iPhone 3G of previous device, and haven't played Sonic 2 before, don't let this be your first experience with the game.
Back in February we reported that, in an interview with Retro Gamer magazine, Stuart Carnie of Manomio (who brought us C64 for iPhone [App Store]) indicated that he was currently in the process of readying an Amiga emulation system for the iPhone to be used to wrap licensed Amiga games for release as individual iPhone game titles in the App Store, the emulation layer being invisible to the user.
Manomio has just released a video demonstrating the system that shows the Amiga games International Karate + and Turrican running quite smoothly in an alpha version of their emulation environment on an iPhone 3GS.
This morning, I spoke at length with Stuart regarding his Amiga emulation system. He indicates that his hand-coded 68000 emulator (the Amiga's CPU) was well worth the effort in terms of performance and that the iPhone 3GS is a perfect platform for playing Amiga games in this fashion. Unfortunately, devices lower in spec -- that is, anything that's not an iPhone 3GS, a 3G iPod touch, or an iPad -- are not quite up to the task and, as such, Manomio's coming Amiga releases will not support that hardware. Happily for iPad users though, the coming Amiga games will be universal applications that feature high resolution artwork and interfaces appropriate to the iPad's large screen.
Manomio's emulation system is based on the UAE4All emulator tied to Manomio's own ARM-optimized emulated 68000 CPU core. The system emulates a fairly standard Amiga 500 computer.
As for what Amiga games we can expect to see in the App Store, Stuart indicates that International Karate + is a definite, and that he is currently in negotiations with the Turrican IP holder to bring that classic title to the iPhone. Talks are underway with a number of IP holders who licensed their C64 games to Manomio for use with C64 for iPhone, as well.
An Amiga game that Arnold and I have both long enjoyed is the scrolling space shooter Battle Squadron. Upon informing Stuart that securing this favorite was an obvious necessity, I was shocked and quite pleased to hear that the IP holders of the title had recently contacted him, seeking to bring that very game to the App Store through their emulation system. The deal is in negotiations and both parties are excited about the prospect.
Aside from the games already mentioned, Manomio has tested various other titles, including Xenon II, Ghosts 'n Goblins and R-Type (not that these are necessarily among the IP they have secured for release in the App Store), all of which "are just perfectly smooth."Â The first Amiga game from Manomio to hit the App Store will be International Karate +, which should land sometime in the late June timeframe.
And, while getting their Amiga emulation system finished and in the App Store is Manomio's main push right now, it's not their only one. Alongside the Amiga demonstration video, the studio posted a video demonstrating an Atari 2600 console emulator they've been working on for the iPhone. The video shows an iPhone running the Atari 2600 versions of Space Invaders, Berzerk, and Frogger.
Unlike the case of their Amiga emulation system, the Atari 2600 emulator is not a sure thing for App Store release, as Manomio is still rather early in talks with Atari over the needed rights to make such a system happen.
We will bring further details about Manomio's upcoming efforts as we hear them.
On late Saturday, Engadget posted some fairly believable photos of what was believed to be the new iPhone. Apparently it was found on the floor of a bar in San Jose, CA wrapped in a case to have the appearance of a iPhone 3G. Not long afterwards, a photo of a Japanese counterfeit which looked very similar but later found to be fake hit the Internet, adding even more doubt to the seemingly impossible situation that the new iPhone would just wind up in the hands of Engadget months before its expected release this summer.
With message boards everywhere more split than Team Edward and Team Jacob regarding the authenticity of this mysterious device, Gizmodo did a great job of putting doubts to rest with a thorough examination of what seems to be the next iPhone.
For a full examination, head over to Gizmodo, but from a gaming perspective the biggest benefits of the new iPhone come from the higher resolution screen, an even larger battery, and the likely inclusion of the Apple A4 processor. Needless to say, we're going to be following the developments of this very closely and hope to see a full teardown of the new iPhone soon to get an idea of the performance to expect from the device.
Back at GDC 2010 we got a brief hands-on of Gameloft's upcoming Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction. We thought the game looked cool back then, but this new pack of screenshots includes even more of the game that we didn't have a chance to see in the short amount of time we had with it.
Gameloft's Facebook page is promising a "new revelation" tomorrow, so stay tuned for that if you've been looking forward to this game. Personally, I really want to see how the helicopter battles pan out. That looks insane.
Update: Gameloft also released the following gameplay trailer earlier this week-
Last week we posted details and screenshots of X2 Games' upcoming X2 Football 2010 ("soccer" to us yanks). The studio has since released a teaser trailer video that features in-game action of the upcoming title.
X2 Football 2010 is a follow-up to their popular X2 Football 2009 [App Store]. We'll be taking a close look at the title when it makes it's App Store debut later this quarter.
In today's crowded App Store, it really takes a lot as a tower defense game to stand out from the rest of the pack. Unsurprisingly, Taito, a developer with amazing roots in retro gaming and a fantastic catalog of iPhone games, have managed to cram the required tower defense magic in to Mikado Defenders [App Store] to make the game still worth a look even if you've already got an iPhone full of tower defenders.
Similar to InMotion Software's Dungeon Defense [99¢ / Free], units are built on pre-positioned areas along the path that the enemies travel down. You can build and upgrade a number of different ranged and melee units on each of these locations on the map. Much like Dungeon Defense, it seems that the best strategy involves positioning melee units to hold the line in front while your ranged units pelt the bad guys from afar.
Additional depth is added to the game with the ability to upgrade various components of your castle's defenses along with customizing which guardian spirit and commander you use. Guardian spirits unleash special powers such as clearing most of the units on screen, briefly making your units invulnerable, and other effects once you've killed enough enemies to fill a spirit gauge on screen. New commanders are unlocked as you play through the game, and each offer individual bonuses to your units.
All of this is wrapped in a really slick looking Japanese art style that adds a ton of atmosphere to the game. The actual unit animations are a little lackluster, but considering the sheer amount of units that can be on screen fighting at once I suspect that not having extremely fluid battle animations was a performance trade off. All of this can be seen in the following gameplay trailer:
The tower defense section of the App Store is arguably just as crowded as the match three and line drawing sections, but Taito has managed to create a really cool looking game with a decent amount of depth to it that should make any fan of the genre happy. It comes with multiple difficulty modes, as well as both a story and endless mode. Impressions in the thread in our forums have been positive so far, and much like Taito's other iPhone games, Mikado Defenders is a lot of fun.
By far the most approachable roguelike, Sword of Fargoal is a classic dungeon crawler with randomly generated levels which provide nearly infinite replay value. Aside from being a fantastic game, Sword of Fargoal also serves as an excellent example of how retro ports should be done. The iPhone version preserves the look and feel of the original while adding new OpenGL effects and other modern graphical flare. If you've never played a roguelike before, Sword of Fargoal is a great introduction to the genre.
If you were never sure what all the fuss was about, here's your chance to get the whole game for free. The developers have dropped the price of the game for free for today only. So, download it now.
The recent 1.1 update has even added a number of difficulty levels and additional content.
While we were out at GDC 2010, Capcom released their iPhone version of Street Fighter IV [App Store] for the iPhone. It's a lightweight port of the highly respected arcade release that does an admirable job of putting that arcade experience in your pocket.
The iPhone version delivers eight characters from the various Street Fighter titles: Abel, Blanka, Chun Li, Ryu, Bison, Dhalsim, Guile and Ken. And while this selection allows for some decently varied combat, everyone has their favorite character, and given the size of the Street Fighter universe, many saw their favorite fighter overlooked.
Well, recent news from Capcom should put a smile on the face of at least some of the bereft Street Fighter fans out there. The studio will be adding one more character to the mix in a coming, free update to Street Fighter IV for the iPhone. Cammy, who was introduced in Super Street Fighter II, will soon fall in line as the ninth fighter in the iPhone release. A nice choice, as she is a particular favorite among fans.
See Capcom's video of Cammy in action.
No solid date has been indicated for the update that will add Cammy to the game's lineup.
Data East's '80s laserdisc arcade classic Cobra Command [App Store], which came to the iPhone late last year, is available as a free download for today only. The game is normally priced at $4.99.
In the game, you play as a pilot in the world's most advanced helicopter, the LX-3 Super Cobra. Your enemies consist of an elite terrorist group, who also fly around in helicopters (although presumably nowhere near as advanced as yours). Gameplay involves an interactive movie playing behind a cockpit overlay with on-screen controls to move a crosshair around the screen to fire at enemies. There are also points in the game where you will need to follow the audio prompts of your commander and steer your helicopter, this is accomplished by tilting, or using the virtual joystick depending on what method you select in the game's options.
The game should appeal to fans of the long-gone, sparse genre of laserdisc games such as Dragon's Lair, Space Ace, and Firefox. Cobra Command has been well updated since its release, the most recent update allowing it to run properly on the iPad (though at the iPhone's screen resolution).
Venan Entertainment, who brought us the exceptional action RPG Space Miner: Space Ore Bust [App Store], has just announced that they have reconnected with toy studio Shawnimals to create Ninjatown: Trees of Doom! for the iPhone. The two studios previously collaborated to create the BAFTA-nominated 2008 title Ninjatown for the Nintendo DS.
In Ninjatown: Trees of Doom! , the player is a Wee Ninja who must impress his wise mentor Ol’ Master Ninja by running straight up a pair of towering trees, jumping between the two to avoid treacherous hazards. The trees become more deadly as the Wee Ninja ascends – watch out for slippery patches, untouchable Dark Syrup, Deadly Swarms, and demonic enemies like Flying Devils, Syrup Devils, and spear-wielding Tribal Devils. Oh, there is also a live volcano spewing lava balls nearby! On the bright side, you can launch upwards by using flexible branches like catapults and there are power ups galore, including the ability to hitch a ride up the tree on the flying mucho macho Moustachio.
Venan CEO Brandon Curiel indicates that his studio has a strong relationship with Shawnimals and that they've had a great time working together on the upcoming title. The goal of their combined efforts is to bring the world of plush toys to life in a whole new way, leveraging the unique features of the iPhone platform in so doing.
Ninjatown: Trees of Doom! will feature Plus+ integration for awards and global leaderboards, as well as Twitter and Facebook connectivity options. The game is set to land in the App Store under the Venan Arcade label later this spring at a price of $1.99.
Electronic Arts has just made Auditorium for the iPhone free. The game was originally released for $2.99 for the base 25 levels with $0.99 downloadable level packs. It appear the new pricing drops the core game to Free while the DLC level packs remain.
In Auditorium you have to guide a flow of light particles into the audio containers on the game board. Each level has a different set of movable pieces that all have different effects on the flow of these particles, from simply controlling its direction, speed, or even attracting or repelling the flow. The early levels start in grayscale, but quickly give way to vibrant colors and different audio containers that can hold each of the various particle colors.
Auditorium began life as a Flash game and is worth a try if you've never experienced it before.
Perhaps the most significant thing about the iPad is that it's a "large"-screen, multitouch platform. And, while that's certainly so, it's also a "large"-form factor, accelerometer-enabled platform -- though I've not seen that detail run up the flagpole nearly as often. Noting that, you know what feels more like a steering wheel than an iPhone? An iPad! And iPad gamers with any sense, who grabbed Firemint's Real Racing HD [App Store] on iPad day one, have been enjoying this fact in a high-speed, realistic racing setting for some time now.
But realism can be overrated. And that's why things like the movie Shrek exists. And, following that, it's why racing titles like Gameloft's Shrek Kart [App Store] exist for the iPhone. But, today, in a move that adds a bit of realism (a larger "steering wheel") to fancy, Gameloft released Shrek Kart HD [App Store] for the iPad.
We took a look at Shrek Kart for the iPhone during PAX 2009 and found it to be surprisingly enjoyable. The iPad version brings all that we liked about the initial release to Apple's new wonder-device and sprinkles a few new features into the mix, like a redesigned mini-map and a customizable onscreen interface -- not to mention the high resolution visuals and, again, the more steering wheel-like host device, namely the iPad.
Shrek Kart for the iPhone was a lot of fun. Shrek Kart HD does justice to the original, as rendered on a larger, more powerful device. Racing fans should give it a look (or at least give Shrek Kart FREE [App Store], for the iPhone, a try).
Who knew the world could be saved simply by drawing lines? Developers On5, creators of both Charadium [iPhone: $2.99 / Free - iPad: $4.99] and Quizarium [99¢ / Free] comes TipTop: The Last March [$1.99], a Lemmings-like game with a good control method, great art and music, as well as a silly game premise that seems to really enhance the overall experience.
