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Archive for June, 2010

Hands on Video with 'Eliminate: Gun Range' and iPhone 4 Gyroscope

Friday, June 25th, 2010

Engadget posts a hands on video of the iPhone 4 in action with ngmoco's new Eliminate: Gun Range game that supports the gyroscope.

As you can see in the video, the game is a gallery shooter but the use of the gyroscope can add more precision to the movements. (Sorry, not viewable on iPhone)


Not entirely well shown in the video is the fact that you can also move the phone in 3d space to change your aim. While some of the same gameplay can be reproduced with the accelerometers, the gyroscope adds more precision and also allows you to, for example, translate the device in 3d space. Rotating your body to the left, for example, will shift your aim accordingly.

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Apple Features "The Best Games You've Never Played"

Friday, June 25th, 2010

If our App Store Gaming Guide that we posted yesterday wasn't a big enough list of awesome games worth checking out on your new iPhone 4, it would appear Apple has thrown their own hat in to the game listing ring with their The Best Games You've Never Played list.

50 games are included in said list, and while they cover quite a bit of games that we hit in ours, there are quite a few games we left out. Here are just a handful of the games from the Apple list that we think are worth checking out that we haven't already mentioned in either the recent App Store gaming guide or our 2009 buyer's guide:

Critter Crunch - This game was released all the way back in 2008, and I only discovered it recently as it's made by some of the same guys behind Sword & Sworcery. Critter Crunch reminds me of classic Neo Geo stacking puzzle games, and gameplay amounts to feeding smaller critters to larger critters to score massive combos and clear the game board. (Review, App Store)

Dungeon Scroll - Developed by the same person responsible for the classic BBS game Legend of the Red Dragon, Dungeon Scroll is a marvelous twist on word finding games. In the game, you crawl through dungeons fighting monsters by casting spells. The strength of the spell you cast is directly related to the word you spell from your random tiles, creating an awesome amount of strategy as you save big words for tougher enemies and work out smaller words for weaker ones. (Review, App Store)

HECTOR: Badge of Carnage Ep1 - This point and click (point and tap?) adventure game really pushes the boundaries of the App Store approval process. Filled with dirty humor and raunchy references, Hector won't take you more than a few hours to beat... But those few hours will be amazing. (Review, App Store)

Pix'n Love Rush - I really don't think this game could come packed with any more stylized pixel art. With graphical themes ranging from the classic Gameboy to the Virtual Boy that change on the fly depending on your performance in the game, Pix'n Love Rush is a high scoring game that not only looks great, but is really hard to put down once you get going. (Review, App Store)

Robot Unicorn Attack - An iPhone port of Adult Swim's extremely popular free Flash game, Robot Unicorn Attack preserves everything from the original, including the fantastic Erasure soundtrack. If you like survival platformers, you need to at least give the Flash version a spin. (Review, App Store)

These are just five of the fifty games included in Apple's listing, so be sure to load that up in iTunes and give it a peek if none of these games suit your fancy.

Gaming on an iPhone 4: First Impressions

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

After an epic wait this morning, I managed to get my hot little hands on an iPhone 4. After rushing home and loading it up with every game I thought would be worth trying on the device, the results were somewhat predictable. The small handful of games that have been released or updated to with support for the Retina Display are gorgeous, and everything else both loads faster and performs better. If for any reason you were sitting on the fence trying to decide if upgrading to an iPhone 4 (or the presumed 4th generation iPod touch when it's released) is worth it for gaming, it absolutely is.

I know we're kind of beating a dead horse at this point, what with posting high-resolution screenshots of the few games that take advantage of the Retina Display already, but the quality of the screen is truly something you need to see with your own eyes to fully appreciate. I was at the WWDC keynote, heard everything Steve had to say about it first hand, spent the following weeks wondering what it was going to be like, and it still exceeded my expectations. The pixels are so tightly packed on the 3.5" screen that games running at 960x640 look more like screenshot renderings you'd see in some kind of a magazine advertisement than any actual game you've played before.

Being unable to distinguish individual pixels really does make things look like they're just printed on the screen. Flight Control [99¢] is unbelievably crisp, and while better graphics doesn't change the gameplay in the slightest, the difference is even more amazing when I run the game side by side both on my new iPhone 4 and old iPhone 3GS. 3D games like Real Racing [$4.99] look absolutely fantastic, and even run at a great frame rate to boot.

One thing that is apparent in these 3D games is that while the output resolution has been increased, the polygon count of the in-game models seems to have remained the same. This can make blocky models stand out even more, and while it wasn't much of an issue in Real Racing, the low-detail players in the recently releasedNCAA Football HD [$7.99] really do stick out like a sore thumb as their little 3D stick legs prance about the field. I expect this to improve over time, as both of these games were likely quick and dirty upscale jobs. 3D games designed from the get go with the iPhone 4 in mind in the future will likely be where the true eye candy is.

Speaking of EA's NCAA Football HD, having yet another platform for developers to target could lead to an even messier App Store. It's too early to really tell how this is going to play out, but currently it seems EA is content splitting their releases in to a normal release for the iPhone 3G, 3GS, and the iPod Touch along with a "HD" release for the iPhone 4, and finally a "for iPad" release for the iPad. This gets even more confusing when you consider how many developers are already labeling things as "HD" for the iPad even though technically speaking neither the iPhone 4 or the iPad are a HD device. Let's all just cross our fingers that developers eventually just settle on single universal releases of their games as I'm sure everyone would rather deal with larger file sizes than potentially purchasing the same game three (or more) times.

Currently the best demonstration of the new gyroscope controls available on the iPhone 4 is ngmoco's Eliminate: Gun Range [99¢]. While the game is just a basic shooting gallery, controlling your aim both by tilting the iPhone 4 as well as moving it about in 3D space is worth 99¢ for the novelty alone. Real Racing also has gyroscope controls but overall they didn't make much of a difference compared to the regular version.

After fiddling around in both games, however, I was really am impressed with just how precise the sensor inside the iPhone is... Although the current implementations feel a tad gimmicky at this point instead of really adding any real benefits to gameplay similar to the iPhone 3GS compass-controlled games. To be fair, we don't believe either Firemint or ngmoco had actual devices in hand to test these games with, and it stands to reason that each implementation will improve once they're able to work outside of the iPhone simulator.

Just like 3D games that fully harness the power of the A4 chip, I expect it will also be a while before developers realize what's possible with the gyroscope. There's definitely some amazing potential waiting to be unleashed here, and maybe not even by using the gyroscope strictly as an input method. For instance, I suspect using gyroscope data could even allow you to play tilt controlled games in a moving vehicle, though haven't gotten confirmation on that possibility.

As far as older games running on the iPhone 4, they load tons faster, so much so that many of my favorite simple games (obligatory Doodle Jump [99¢] plug) have almost no load time at all. Also, unlike the iPad where running games in 2X mode makes most games look blurry or blocky, since the screen size in the iPhone 4 is identical all the old games look just like they did on the previous iPhones. In fact, I'd even go as far as to say they look a little better as often times text is rendered at the higher resolution, and the Retina Display has better color reproduction.

In my initial tests, the battery life on the iPhone 4 seems in line with what Apple has been boasting, and I've both been able to play games and use my phone for other tasks with substantially less drain on my overall battery percentage. None of my tests have been that scientific, but practically everyone with an iPhone 4 is reporting similar battery experiences. A bigger battery obviously means more play time, and who doesn't want that?

Overall the iPhone 4 is most definitely a worthy upgrade for any serious App Store gamer. I'm sure we'll see a similarly specced out iPod touch this fall (or potentially even sooner) that might be worth waiting for if you dislike AT&T, but overall I've been extremely happy with my day of gaming on the iPhone 4.

'NCAA Football by EA Sports' for iPhone and iPhone 4

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

In the midst of the excitement of the iPhone 4 launch today, EA launched its NCAA Football game for iPhone. In a somewhat surprise move, EA has released two different versions to the App Store. One for the usual iPhone/iPod touch market and one that's specifically rendered for the iPhone 4's high resolution Retina display. The iPhone 4 version of the game costs a dollar more ($7.99) than its standard counterpart ($6.99).

We're not sure why they choose to confusingly name the iPhone 4 counterpart as an "HD" title which has up until this time been reserved for iPad versions. One interesting side effect of having two different versions like this is that we are able to do direct screenshot comparisons of the "pixel doubled" regular version and the full resolution version on our brand new iPhone 4s.

We haven't yet had a chance to delve too much into the game, though on first blush it appears similar to their Madden NFL 2010 title.

Now, as for the screenshots and comparison. First, everything you've heard about the iPhone 4's Retina display is true - it looks amazing. And games optimized for it also look amazing. The problem is it's impossible to really tell based on screenshots, you need to see it in real life. But, absent that, these comparison shots are probably the next best thing.

Left: Pixel Doubled on iPhone 4, Right: Native resolution on iPhone 4

You need to click to the full size versions to appreciate the difference. But the blockiness apparently in the standard versions are apparent when playing on the iPhone 4. It'll be hard to go back to regular iPhone gaming after you start playing on an iPhone 4.

So You Just Got an iPhone 4 - An App Store Gaming Guide

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

If you're one of the lucky ones you managed to secure themselves an iPhone 4 today (or even the past two days if you're really lucky) you've no doubt marveled at how thin it is, how crisp the Retina Display is, and maybe you've even found someone else to do a FaceTime call with... but what about loading it up with some games? Since we haven't gotten our own iPhone 4's yet, we haven't really been able to put together a "games that are really awesome on the iPhone 4" listing, but I figured we'd start out by compiling a list of some of our favorite games in the App Store.

If you think this looks a lot like our 2009 Buyer's Guide, that's because it does. However, we've updated the list with some of our recent favorites and kept some of the old ones. In the interest of space, we had to drop many off the list, but that doesn't reflect the quality of those games. If you're looking for more suggestions, please check out the 2009 Buyer's Guide for additional titles we also loved.

If you want to play games on your new iPhone, you're in for a treat.

iPhone Classics

Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor - We choose Tiger Style Games' Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor for our 2009 Game of the Year first and foremost because it's a great game, but also because it perfectly represents the promise of iPhone gaming. Spider is an original concept built specifically for the iPhone by a small self funded team. It's this low barrier to entry which provides customers with a huge selection of games including unique and polished gems like Spider. You really should experience this one. (Review, App Store)

Doodle Jump - While we have to give props to PapiJump as the clear inspiration for Doodle Jump, Lima Sky has managed to take the game to a whole new level and succeeded in creating a true iPhone classic. Doodle Jump has sold over a million copies to date and even been casually referenced on primetime TV sitcoms. Every day we hear from up and coming developers who claim they have come up with "the next Doodle Jump" but so far Lima Sky's title hasn't truly been dethroned. (Review, App Store)

Flight Control - Another iPhone game that will go down in history as one of the classics for the platform. Firemint's CEO Rob Murray took some of his free time during last year's Christmas break to whip up a prototype of a game that eventually became Flight Control. The game has single handedly defined a genre on the iPhone of "line drawing" games and has been endlessly imitated. Flight Control is also one of the few games available at the iPhone 4 launch with high-resolution graphics for the Retina Display. (Review, App Store)

Fieldrunners - One of the original tower defense games on the iPhone, and still the best according to many. Fieldrunners was named one of Time Magazine's Top 10 video games of the year in 2008, and since then the game has seen updates adding OpenFeint support as well as additional maps. (Review, App Store)

Angry Birds - We really liked Angry Birds when it was first released, since then it has become a complete App Store sensation with amazing staying power near the top of the top 10 paid app listing. In the game you fling an array of angry birds with different abilities at pigs. Of course it isn't that easy, as the pigs have fortified themselves in makeshift forts. Angry Birds has seen many updates, and now comes loaded with a surprising amount of levels to play through. (Review, App Store)


Only on iPhone

Zen Bound - Ok, technically this started life as a PC Game, but Zen Bound didn't really come into its own until it became an iPhone game in 2009. The game just came to life on the iPhone with multi-touch and tilt controls along with mood and music to perfectly and completely engross you as a player. An experience as much as a game. (Review, App Store)

Eliss - A multi-touch masterpiece. Eliss delivers a unique, challenging and undeniably iPhone experience. Pinching and combining on-screen planets without letting them touch make for some frantic and riveting gameplay. (Review, App Store)

Sway - The unique multi-touch "swinging" controls of Sway may have ultimately been its downfall. If you can master the steep learning curve of the game's controls, an amazing iPhone platforming experience awaits. (Review, App Store)

Space Ninja - A great use of the iPhone's accelerometer that allows you to dodge enemy fire and invoke slow motion "bullet time". Since its original release, 3GS enhancements have been added as well as a new "magnet fluxor" that allows your ship to briefly repel bullets. (Review, App Store)


Arcade

Tilt to Live - Tilt to Live is a game that draws you in with its edgy personality and inescapable 'just one more go' gameplay. It is gorgeously crafted and presented and has a wicked sense of humor to boot (just take a look at the loading screens to see what I mean). Completing its challenges and unlocking weapons has the added benefit of enabling you to achieve even higher scores and multipliers, meaning even those not normally counting themselves as completionists may be eager to experience the width and breadth of what Tilt to Live has to offer. An update added two new game modes since its initial release, making a great game even better. (Review, App Store)

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Espgaluda II - Bullet hell at its best on the iPhone. Even not being a huge fan of the genre, we fell quick and hard in love with Espgaluda II. It is the best 2D shooter experience in the App Store with great touch controls. Note: It will only run on the latest generation devices. (Review, App Store: iPhone 3GS, 3rd Gen iPod Touch, or pixel-doubled on iPad)

Cubed Rally Racer - This fantastic racing game features retro-inspired 3D graphics and completely randomized tracks which range from a walk in the park to iPhone-smashingly difficult. If you were a fan of RC Pro Am back in the day, pick this one up. (Review, App Store)

Platformer

Babylonian Twins - Sixteen years in the making, Babylonian Twins delivers an amazingly challenging yet satisfying iPhone and iPad puzzle platformer. In many modern platformers, I've felt like I'm just mindlessly going through the motions to make it to the end of each level. Babylonian Twins, however, really keeps you enthralled throughout. (Review, App Store: iPhone, iPad)

Super QuickHook - A sequel of sorts to Hook Champ, Super QuickHook utilizes a similar swinging mechanic with updated "16 bit" graphics and a brand new completely randomized survival mode. If you love this one, don't miss out on the original Hook Champ (Review, App Store)


Retro Games

Karate Champ - Revolutionary Concepts' iPhone conversion is done superbly. The dual-stick control mechanism is handled via on-screen joysticks which, while no match for physical controls, work rather well. As far as I can see, aside from the necessary control alterations for the iPhone's touch screen, Karate Champ for the iPhone is a perfect conversion. (Review, App Store)

Broken Sword - The remake of this 1996 point and click adventure was wonderfully brought to the iPhone. The story and all around high-quality production values of Broken Sword sucked us in. Whether you're an old fan of the original game, a newcomer to the series, or even someone who's never played a point-and-click adventure before, Broken Sword is a game with mass appeal that will draw you in. (Review, App Store)


Racing / Driving

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Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars - A great adaptation of a DS/PSP game, Chinatown Wars offers a level of depth rarely seen on the App Store. If you complete everything in game, playtime will need to be measured in days, not hours. The weapon targeting system can use improvement, but barely detracts from an otherwise phenomenal game. (Review, App Store)

Jet Car Stunts - A remarkably fun jet car racer/platformer that had us coming back again and again due to its great controls, fresh visual style and mind boggling levels. The only real complaint we've seen voiced has been the relative difficulty of the game, but, honestly, that's what made it so addicting. (Review, App Store)

Real Racing - Perhaps we should have categorized this as a "classic", but Real Racing was the first iPhone racing game that really blew us away. The great graphics, perfect controls and AI all combined to make this one of the best iPhone racing games that still holds up today. Like Firemint's other game, Flight Control, Real Racing also has been recently updated with high resolution graphics for the iPhone 4's Retina Display. (Review, App Store)


Casual

Fruit Ninja - This oddly popular game puts players to the task of slicing all kinds of fruit that is thrown up from the bottom of the screen. Swiping with your finger controls your virtual sword, and combos are awarded based on how many fruit you can slice in one swipe... Just look out for bombs. (Review, App Store)

Canabalt - This isn't a particularly deep game. In fact, the average gaming session is probably measured in seconds rather than minutes. But with its simplicity and style, it managed to keep us coming back again and again. You can try out the identical Flash version for free at Canabalt.com. (Review, App Store)

Boost 3D - We might not have been too over the top about the game when we first reviewed it, but over time we realized that Boost 3D is a game that we love to play. There's something hypnotic about this tunnel runner that had us coming back to play it again and again. (Review, App Store)

Harbor Master - Among the first of the avalanche of Flight Control inspired games, Harbor Master mixes things up by having the player dock cargo ships and send them back out to sea on a variety of different levels-- Each with a different layout and some with additional gameplay elements such as pirate ships to shoot or sea monsters to fight off. (Review, App Store)


Word

Bookworm - A game that should need no introduction, Popcap's word searching classic fits great on the iPhone. The touch controls work effortlessly, and the gameplay is perfect for the casual play style of many iPhone gamers. (Review, App Store)

Words with Friends - Asynchronous online multiplayer not-quite-Scrabble that can either be played for free with in-game ads or without for a couple bucks. A recent update added push notifications to tell you when it's your turn and according to Newtoy, the average player spends 1.5 hours each day playing. (Review, App Store)


Strategy

Carcassonne - A fantastic rendition of the classic board game, Carcassonne can be played with 8 different AI players, locally, or online with push notifications. It also has high resolution graphics already in-game to take advantage of the Retina Display. (Review, App Store)

Plants vs. Zombies - Popcap's breakout hit for PC has come to the iPhone -- and it's great. Popcap took the standard tower defense formula and greatly simplified it. Instead of a path to build towers along, you drop seeds in your yard which then grow in to plants that have various offensive or defensive capabilities. While it does lack a few gameplay modes from the original, the iPhone adaption is very well done and highly recommended. (Review, App Store)

Land Air Sea Warfare - There are quite a few options for RTS fans available on the App Store, but all of varying degrees of quality and none that felt "just right". That all changed last month with the release of Land Air Sea Warfare. LASW gets it “just right”, offering a full console-like RTS experience with brilliantly executed, easy to use touch screen controls.(Review, App Store)

Sword & Poker 2 - This strange game is the sequel to the original Sword & Poker which we loved in our reivew. In the game you play an RPG battling monsters by placing poker hands on a 5x5 grid. The concept sounds crazy, but works very well. If nothing else, give the lite version a try. (Article, App Store, Lite)

Chess with Friends - The iPhone equivalent to snail mail correspondence chess-- You can play the ad-based version for free, or upgrade to the premium version to play without ads. Recently added push notifications that alert you when its your turn and an endless supply of human opponents makes this the best chess game available on the platform. (Article, App Store)


Role Playing

Chaos Rings - One of the most ambitious RPG games we've seen so far for the iPhone. The graphics and gameplay are exactly what you'd expect out of a Square Enix RPG. Battle in parties of two in classic turn-based battles as you make your way through a story that's just as ridiculous as any other Japanese RPG. (Review, App Store: iPhone)

Space Miner - It's probably no surprise that this game topped our list for February. Space Miner: Space Ore Bust has an unusually broad appeal successfully mixing shooter and RPG genres into a humorous and well scripted package. Whatever sort of gamer you are, don't miss out on this one. (Review, App Store)

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Pocket Legends - This free online multiplayer game for both the iPhone and iPad that is a ton of fun and playing in a party with your friends is especially impressive while you're playing via 3G as the netcode does a great job in providing a lag-free experience. Additional content is available via in-game DLC, but you can really get a good feel for the game before you ever need to buy anything. (Review, App Store: iPhone, iPad)

Sports

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Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 - A surprisingly competent port of the classic skateboarding game. Everything is included from the original, and once you get used to the virtual controls, you'll be performing endless combos in no time in the many included skating locations.(Review, App Store:iPhone)

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X2 Snowboarding - X2 Snowboarding from Exient is a highly enjoyable romp on the slopes that sets itself apart from the crowd in graphics, controls and gameplay. With a great sense of speed and immersion, this is our snowboarding game of choice for the iPhone. (Review, App Store / Lite)

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X2 Soccer 2010 - The followup title to their 2009 title, X2 Soccer 2010 is one of the top soccer game experiences right now on the App Store. X2 Soccer 2010 is complete with great AI, impressive 3d graphics and solid controls. (Review, App Store)


To see other iPhone games we've rated, check out the sidebar where you can find: 5 Stars, 4.5 Stars, 4 Stars, 3.5 Stars, 3 Stars, and 2.5 Stars. All of what we have considered to be the best iPhone games are filed under Best iPhone Games, and I'm sure this post will be filled with comments from people suggesting their own favorite iPhone games that we left out of this list.

Good luck to everyone in line today looking to get an iPhone 4, we'll have much more iPhone 4 coverage as soon as we get ours in our greasy little hands.

'FarmVille' Now Available on App Store

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

You saw it demoed at WWDC, you've played it on Facebook... Zynga's FarmVille is now available on the App Store worldwide.

Plow, plant and harvest on the go 24/7! FarmVille, the most popular game on the web, is now available on your iPhone. Current FarmVille players can access their existing Facebook farm, and new users can create a farm.

A Facebook account is still required for gameplay, but they do offer access to existing farms. They promise some exclusive iPhone/iPod items as well. Farmville is a free download.

App Store Link: FarmVille, Free

Currently Free Games Worth A Look – 'Chop Chop Tennis' and 'Shaolin Training'

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

Chop Chop Tennis

From developer Gamerizon, who brought us Chop Chop Ninja and Chop Chop Runner, comes the newest entry in the franchise Chop Chop Tennis. A departure from the style of their first two games, Chop Chop Tennis is a casual arcade-style tennis game with 3D graphics. The controls use a swiping mechanic that's similar to what's found in the other Chop Chop games, and actually proves to be quite intuitive. Since this is more of a casual game, control of the character is automatic and you must only worry about timing return shots and choosing what type of shot to use. The swipe gestures work how you would expect them to, with an upwards arc for a topspin shot or a diagonal swipe for a cross shot, for example.

There are 8 different characters in the game, and although they look cute in 3D they don't look as nice as their 2D sprite counterparts from the other games. The 5 different court environments are colorful, and although not very detailed or lively they get the job done. Content-wise you can take partake in one-off singles or doubles matches, choosing amount of games you'll play and difficulty, or you can partake in one of 3 tournaments. The tournaments are the meat of the single player game and pit you against the other 7 characters over three elimination rounds. There's also a practice round featuring a couple different mini-games that are a fun distraction but get old rather quickly. Local multiplayer over WiFi or Bluetooth was recently added in an update and certainly adds more replay value if you have a friend with the game.

The gameplay is surprisingly fun in Chop Chop Tennis, and our only real complaint is the lack of things to do beyond the short tournaments. If playing endless matches against AI doesn't seem like it will get old to you, or you have a friend close by with the game, then there may be a lot to like here. Chop Chop Tennis was the FAAD game for Tuesday, but as of this writing is still showing up free. If you do miss out on this sale, it's still probably worth the asking price if you are a fan of casual sports games.

App Store Link: Chop Chop Tennis, $0.99 (Universal)

Shaolin Training

Something of a mixture of platforming, physics puzzle, and zen-like meditation, Shaolin Training is a unique concept. You control a monk who must clear boxes from a platform high in the sky without falling over the edge yourself. Cannons surrounding the platform will bombard you, and if you're not careful they'll knock you right off, but can also strategically be used to your benefit to help you shoot off the boxes. It sounds a little strange, but given a few minutes with the game it's actually quite a novel concept.

You control the monk with a d-pad, with a button for jumping and another button for performing a special move. The special move slows down your actions, and releases a burst of force that knocks away anything near your body. There's a recharge time for this move, and typically you'll be pushing boxes towards the edges with good old fashioned strength. Swiping the screen will adjust the camera position on the fly. Boxes come in a variety of sizes, with larger ones being heavier and harder to push. The cannons will always fire towards the monk, so standing in front of a box that's in the line of fire and then quickly jumping out of the way of the cannonball can actually be used to help you with your endeavor. An onscreen counter tells you how many more boxes are left to shove over the edge, and if you fall off yourself the level starts over. There's 15 levels in the game, and the difficulty ramps up rather quickly. The graphics are nicely rendered in 3D, the physics are solid, and the music is peaceful and relaxing – despite the constant cannon fire.

It's an incredibly simple game, with no such frills as online leaderboards (local only), social network integration, or fancy special moves beyond the one your monk already has. But at the same time that's really what we enjoyed about the title, it's just you against the levels, and it's a real test of your skill. Certainly recommended at it's original 99¢ price, Shaolin Training is a must try while free until June 24th.

App Store Link: Shaolin Training, $0.99

iOS 4 Anti-Aliasing Demonstrated in both 'Real Racing' and Upcoming iPhone 'Zen Bound 2'

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

While we're all busy fiddling with multitasking and obsessively organizing our apps in to folders, developers are hard at work to fully utilize all the other things under the hood of iOS 4. Firemint and Secret Exit are among the first studios taking advantage of iOS 4's new anti-aliasing capabilities.

Anti-aliasing is used to minimize jagged edges found in curved and diagonal lines displayed utilizing the grid of square pixels that make up the displays we use today. Using anti-aliasing, the GPU of the iPhone intelligently decides what color to display on pixels that border the edges of 3D objects to make them blend in to the background and appear more crisp.

As you can see from the above image, the A on the left has no aliasing, while the edges of the A on the right have been blended with the background color. This is a gross over-simplification of how anti-aliasing works, but if you weren't aware before it will at least give you an idea of what you're looking at in the following sets of screenshots:

The effects of the anti-aliasing is incredibly apparent when you focus on the bill of the duck in both images. Secret Exit also posted additional screenshots in our forums, and in a second post explaining the technical details of anti-aliasing in Zen Bound 2 which mentions the performance cost being too high to utilize the effect in older devices.

In somewhat related Zen Bound 2 news, they also announced that it will soon be available on multiple platforms. Joining the existing iPad Zen Bound 2 [$4.99] is an upcoming iPhone, iPod touch, PC, and Mac version. Recent MacBook owners will be able to use the multi-touch trackpad or even a Magic Mouse to control the game just like the iPhone.

Real Racing [$4.99] saw an update yesterday which not only made the game iPhone 4 friendly complete with high resolution graphics, but also brought anti-aliasing to the iPhone 3GS and 3rd generation iPod touch. It might not have been immediately obvious when you fired up the game since updating, but take a look at a screenshot I took today compared to a screenshot captured for our our review over a year ago:

Looking at the line following the top of the dashboard, the A pillar of the car, and edges of the banner over the makes the new anti-aliasing really pop out comparing the two screenshots. This is only the tip of the iceberg, too. Now that new features like this have been unlocked for developers, it should be really fun to see what they come up with.

Anti-aliasing being supported by the iPhone 3GS and 3rd generation iPod touch is also good news for people who might not be immediately upgrading to the iPhone 4. While you'll obviously be lacking the Retina Display, if developers start implementing anti-aliasing in all their 3D games, everything will look substantially better on your existing device without needing to do anything other than download some game updates.

iPhone 4 Game Sale Extravaganza

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

Following EA's lead of their massive 99¢ sale, quite a few other developers are slashing prices in hopes of being on the charts for the influx of new iPhone 4 owners powering up their devices for the first time today or tomorrow and checking out this "App Store" they've heard so much about. We're going to be putting together another "So you just got an iPhone..." post similar to the one we did last year for the launch of the 3GS, but in the meantime you might not want to miss some of these sales as there's no telling how long they will last:

Of course there are always tons of sales taking place on the App Store, this is just a short listing of popular games with price drops. Head on over to AppShopper to see a list of popular games and all games with recent price drops.

Full Size 'Real Racing' iPhone 4 Screenshots

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

We mentioned earlier that Firemint was one of the first on the scene with "Retina"-display enhanced versions of their game. We managed to get some full-size iPhone 4 screenshots of the game which are included below.

Firemint lists the following features for the free update:

  • Gorgeous new graphics perfect for showing off the Retina display with high resolution textures, more detailed car interiors, improved track corners, beautifully updated menus and exceptionally smooth graphical performance on iPhone 4
  • Even more responsive and accurate controls on iPhone 4, with three-axis gyro support in addition to accelerometer
  • Smoother graphics on iPhone 3GS and iPod touch 3 with iOS4 anti-aliasing
  • Support for iOS4 multitasking on compatible devices: switch effortlessly between your favourite apps

Screenshots off of an iPhone 4 (click for full size):


In many ways, its silly to be posting these screens since most of you are viewing them on a standard monitor. The appeal of the iPhone 4's display is said to be the extremely high dots per inch (DPI) that it outputs that results in a particularly smooth image. Still, we were just as curious to see the full size screens even if we can't fully appreciate them until Thursday.

App Store Link: Real Racing, $2.99

'Eliminate: Gun Range' - with iPhone 4 Gyroscope and Hi-Rez Graphics

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Ngmoco has just released their first iPhone 4-specific title. Eliminate: Gun Range is presently an iPhone 4 only game that offers you a virtual firing range with full support for the high-resolution Retina display graphics as well as support for the iPhone 4's gyroscope.

The developer lists the following features:

  • G-scope™ virtual aiming control system with 3D gyroscopic precision
  • 12 high fidelity weapons from the arsenals of today's elite militaries
  • 144 target-shooting challenges set in three different HD firing ranges
  • Win medals and compare your results with others on global leaderboards
  • Requires iPhone4 technology. 3GS support and new content coming soon!

Here are full resolution screenshots. Click on the images for full size:

Obviously, we haven't played it yet, but it's great to see some early games with gyroscope support. We've been told that gyroscope controls will "feel" much better and far more accurate than existing accelerometer controls. We're anxious to give it a try.

App Store Link: Eliminate: Gun Range, $0.99 (iPhone 4 Only)

Full Size iPhone 4 Flight Control Screenshots Posted

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Twitter user @loyalmoses is one of the lucky people who got their iPhone 4 today who posted three full resolution screenshots of Flight Control [99¢] with the new iPhone 4 enhanced update that hit the App Store today. Click these images to see them full size, then imagine that number of pixels on a 3.5" screen. Yes, it blows my mind too.

We likely won't get our iPhone 4's until we pick them up on Thursday (I'm going to be at the flagship store at 5th Ave in New York City... yeesh.) so if you're one of the lucky ones who managed to get an iPhone 4 we're looking for impressions on gaming on the device. Please shoot us an email at tips@toucharcade.com if you'd like to be an official TouchArcade test bunny.

App Store Link: Flight Control, $0.99

iPhone 4 Ships Early, iPhone 4 Optimized Game Updates Landing on App Store

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

In a completely unexpected turn of events, Apple seems to have authorized FedEx and UPS to begin delivering iPhone 4's early. Some people are lucky enough to have their devices out for delivery today or in some cases even already delivered. Also, Apple has confirmed that other preorders will be arriving tomorrow, an entire day ahead of the original launch date. It's hard to say whether or not Apple is just throwing ravenous preorderers a bone, or if they're potentially attempting to defray the nearly inevitable launch fiasco experienced with the iPhone 3G when AT&T's servers simply could not handle all the activations on launch day.

Yesterday the developers of Carcassonne [$4.99] mentioned on Twitter that they've already got 1.1 submitted which contains high-resolution artwork for the iPhone 4, and if you own either Flight Control [99¢] or Real Racing [$4.99 / Free] updates are already on the App Store that take advantage of iOS 4 and the Retina Display of the iPhone 4.

One other thing that has us raising our eyebrow is that Real Racing just added full gyroscope support, which presumably means they've been testing on an actual device. This makes us wonder what other developers have been blessed by Apple with actual iPhone 4 hardware that will also have enhanced versions of their games appearing on the App Store shortly.

In the meantime, I've created a thread on our forums for any other confirmed iPhone 4 enhanced games that I encourage everyone to post in if they stumble across any other updates that mention anything to do with taking advantage of the iPhone 4.

'Bar Oasis' Review - A Tale of Cocktails

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Last month the free version of Bar Oasis [99¢ / Free] hit the App Store, and really took me by surprise by how oddly unique the entire game is. There are some elements of time management, a tilt-powered drink pouring gameplay component, and a fairly captivating story told through your encounters with the various customers of your bar. I had some minor annoyances playing the game, but thankfully the free version is fully featured enough that you will be able to tell whether or not you can deal with these before jumping in to the paid game.

The center of the game, which strangely enough is barely touched on in the iTunes description, is the first person narrative that begins with you stumbling across the Bar Oasis, seeing a job posting, and deciding to try your hand at mixing drinks. You are instantly hired by a character known as "the Boss", who shows you the ropes and explains that drinks are never poured using jiggers because pouring straight from the bottle looks so much cooler. (A point that is hard to argue.) This is where the tutorial begins, as the Boss shows you around the bar and explains how to mix drinks.

The main view of the game has you facing across from your customers, and swiping right or left moves from seat to seat. Swiping down shifts the view to the shelves behind the bar where you will find various bottles of liquor and glassware. Just like when looking at the bar, swiping right or left switches shelves, and swiping up takes you back to the bar. When the game starts, you have a bare minimum of available liquor to mix with, but as the game progresses you slowly unlock more types of booze to make even more complicated drinks.

Dragging up looks below the bar where you'll find a cash register and telephone, along with a menu and recipe book. Mixing drinks feels a lot like a time management game, as you're balancing seven different customers with indicators that show their mood which changes based on how long they're waiting. When a customer arrives, you slide them a coaster, take their order, then consult the menu to select their drink. From there, you turn around to the liquor shelves, select the glass and ingredients, then proceed to pouring.

Pouring drinks requires tilting the iPhone like a bottle, and pouring out the various liquors in to your glass. It's cool the first few times you do it, but begins to get repetitive especially since when you mess up when pouring a drink you have to go all the way back to the menu, re-select the drink, pull all the ingredients off the shelf, and start over again.

The game continues like this, with more and more customers entering the bar, each with their own associated story they reveal as you get to know them. Overall, it's a really cool experience, but you will need a lot of patience to make your way through the whole game. Everything seems to take a very long time, from switching screens from the bar, to below the bar, back to the liquor shelves, and when you're making drinks. It doesn't take a very long time until you get tired of the different screens fading in and out, and all the different popup confirmations you need to tap through to make drinks.

The pay off is in the story, which you will either get sucked in to or be annoyed by its pacing. There is a LOT of text in this game, and it's often presented in single sentences which also take a long time to get through. Personally, I read extremely quickly and often find myself annoyed with any RPG that restricts how fast you can blow through text. You can tap to make text appear quicker, but it still feels like the whole pace of the game is much slower than it should be.

Bar Oasis is a game you really should try if you've found yourself sucked in to games like Phoenix Wright [$4.99] and other story-driven RPG's. The lite version features a full tutorial, and it won't take long at all for you to determine whether or not this is a game you can get in to or if like me you're frustrated by the slow pacing. The full version features a full story mode and 100 drink recipes that you slowly come across and can access in the secondary "Make Drinks" mode where the game acts like a virtual recipe book of sorts.

App Store Links:
    BAR OASIS, $0.99
    BAR OASIS LITE, Free

TouchArcade Rating:

EA Holding Massive $0.99 Sale for 48 Hours

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

EA is holding a massive $0.99 sale on over a dozen titles. The sale will only last 48 hours, so you have to act quickly. The games have been nicely organized by niezam into games that have never been $0.99 before, and ones that have (U.S. Links):

$.99 for the first time

$.99 once or several time before

While all the games are good values for only $0.99, we'd probably say Need for Speed: Shift is the "must get" game from the list. It has frequently been cited as one of the best racing games for the iPhone, so it's a good one to have.


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