On this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show, I brave a tropical storm, Jared survives a day without hits toilet, and Eli fights through the dulcet tones of a weed whacker. Amazingly, we came together and managed to talk about games while doing all of this. Topics include Halfbrick’s latest game, a premium listing in the App Store, Steve Jobs retirement, and other fascinating things.
As usual you can download or stream the podcast just below. You could also throw us a bone and subscribe to us on iTunes or the Zune Marketplace where you’ll get all our episodes the very second they hit our server for the awesome price of $0. What a deal!
I'll cut right to the chase here, as there is no reason to beat around the bush when it comes to a game this awesome: Jetpack Joyride is one of the best iOS games I've played in a very long time. It's typical Halfbrick from top to bottom. If you're not familiar with their previous titles, I'll quickly outline what makes them so good, as all of this applies to describing Jetpack Joyride.
Halfbrick seems to have a nearly supernatural ability to take a genre on the App Store that's totally flooded, tired, and jam packed with stale iteration from way too many developers attempting to get in on that particular craze and make it incredible. They do this by nailing the core gameplay in every way it could possibly be nailed, applying their flawless pixel-art, deploying Barry Steakfries, and adding all kinds of hooks to keep you playing.
Both Vlambeer and Halfbot have been teasing up a storm on Twitter about their upcoming iOS title, leaving those of us who are both Vlambeer and Halfbot fans anxiously awaiting what could be coming. Well, the curtain has been pulled away today to reveal Super Crate Box, a totally free Mac and PC game coming to the App Store. It'll even support the iCade.
Check out the trailer:
If this is the first time you've heard of Super Crate Box, seriously, give it a download for your computer. The game itself has won tons of awards, and basically swept the free game category last year along with getting nominated for Excellence in Design in the Independent Games Festival. Pricing has yet to be announced, but if all goes as planned, Super Crate Box will be available sometime next month.
Com2uS is certainly no stranger when it comes to minigame compilations. We recently coveredPuzzle Family [$0.99 / Lite], a collection of minigames all focused around the puzzle genre. While we definitely enjoyed the adventure, we did have some reservations about the amount of playtime needed in order to unlock all the games (without resorting to IAP).
MiniGame Paradise [$0.99], Com2Us’s latest minigame compilation to hit the App Store, looks to continue the tradition of wacky fun-filled Korean minigames. While it certainly succeeds at creating a collection of games that are just as much fun if not more so than its previous title, the dreaded star currency makes a return. Make no mistake, the star currency is a bit more forgiving this time around, but that still means that you may not have as much fun with MiniGame Paradise out the gate as you would like.
Velocispider [$.99 / Lite] is one of a handful of games that absolutely nails tilt controls. It reacts well to minor movements and feels pretty precise, which is a requirement for any game starring a four-legged raptor and features horizontal, bullet-hell-y action. I use that genre categorization rather loosely, by the way. In this game, it’s more about your bullets than the spew of ever-marching conga line of opponents, but still, this is inarguably a game, about bullets, the avoidance thereof, and your ability to throw your own into the mix.
You and I can both recite the billions and billions of games this is a derivative of and wax fondly over the arcade cabinets these predecessors sat in. Instead of that, I’d like to shoot straight for the heart of this article: I played Velocispider on an iCade and it felt good and I liked it. Wow. That felt good, too. (more...)
The name Bullet has been thrown around for a while now as one of Gameloft's upcoming games by loose-lipped beta testers, and we've really had no idea what to expect given it's basically impossible for them to come up with a game title (Or, codename, I suppose) than that. Today's details come care of apparent YouTube watchdog Rafael Forse who caught Gameloft in the process of uploading two trailers, apparently forgetting to hit the ever-important "private video" checkbox in the process. This is easier than it sounds, and has caused some drama for us too in the past-- Oddly enough, with a Gameloft game.
Knowing what we know about Gameloft, and how much they re-purpose their various game types, it seems reasonable to think that Bullet is either a third person adventure game sort of like BackStab [$6.99] or even a Grand Theft Auto style game like Gangstar: Miami Vindication [$6.99]. Either way, it seems clear that it's western themed.
Personally, I'm betting on it being closer to a Grand Theft Auto-esque game similar to Red Dead Redemption since that seems to make the most sense with the horse screenshot. Although, I could just be seeing that because I really enjoyed Red Dead and would love to see something similar on the App Store.
Even without its new juggernaut publisher, PopCap Games has managed to inject a zillion-dy different platforms with Peggle [$2.99 / HD]. To its credit, each iteration of has its own unique feel and appropriate mechanical tweaks, as the designers at the Seattle-based studio apparently don’t take ports as lightly as most other development houses. The not-so-recent iPhone version, for example, rocked. The newly-released HD version does, too.
In the year 2011, I feel like we’re at a point where we all know what Peggle is and I can just cut to the chase. Peggle HD is a smart and solid offering that takes advantage of the iPad hardware and its advanced screen real estate. The controls aren’t as precise as other versions of the game, and it doesn’t really own the platform, but the game part feels right and just as entertaining as it is on anything else out there. (more...)
There is no shortage of fantastic retro-RPGs in the App Store at the moment, but Muteki Corporation's Dragon Fantasy [$2.99] hopes to set itself apart from the rest with tongue-in-cheek dialogue and an authentic 8-bit look and feel.
The game sticks to its roots in more than just its look, the world is populated with things you've seen before like trees, mountains, plenty of grassland and monsters. But where most retro-RPGs are content to ape not only their context, but also their story and heroic mannerisms, Dragon Fantasy sidesteps the hero-journey slightly by offering a different take on the hero and his enemies.
It was just last week that we were getting excited for Descend, a classic first-person grid-based RPG that is coming to iOS soon. Now, this week, we’ve come across another upcoming RPG of the same style. It’s called Legend of Grimrock and it’s from a new development studio called Almost Human Ltd. Also, it looks simply stunning. Check the following gameplay video which, while from the PC version of the game, should give you an idea of what the game will look like in action on iOS.
Back in July of 2009, mine, yours, and everybody else’s lives were changed forever when a little game known as Enviro-Bear 2010 [99¢] recklessly drove its way into the App Store. More than just a video game, though, Enviro-Bear 2010 may quite possibly be the most important artistic work of our time. It’s also hands down the most accurate and fully featured bear-driving-a-car simulator available anywhere. In short, I am who I am today because of Enviro-Bear 2010 and its influences on my life, and I know I’m not alone in saying that.
We let the world know about Enviro-Bear 2010in our review, and the game went on to see a crazy amount of popularity following shortly after, including being featured on G4 TV’s Attack of the Show and landing a spot on our Best of 2009 Buyer’s Guide. In all seriousness, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the so-bad-it’s-good nature of Enviro-Bear 2010, what with the complete absurdity of the premise and its lovingly crafted MS Paint quality graphics. But, there’s actually quite a bit of depth to the gameplay with the purposely awkward controls and the level of interactivity with the various objects in the game. Doing well in Enviro-Bear 2010 actually takes a decent level of skill and tons of practice.
Hardly even needing an introduction, PopCap’s Bejeweled 2 [Free] is the grandaddy of all the match-3 puzzle games that have ever graced the App Store. The Bejeweled franchise itself is more than 10 years old, and it’s hard to come across somebody who HASN’T played a version of this game at some point. Many titles have innovated on the match-3 formula since Bejeweled 2’s release shortly following the opening of the App Store, but somehow it still remains one of the most compelling and fun entries in the genre.
Now, for reasons unknown, PopCap has dropped the price of the iOS version of Bejeweled 2 to free. This marks the first time the game has ever been free on the App Store, and as part of the first run of iOS games back in mid-2008 Bejeweled 2 used to be a $9.99 title. It’s been living the 99¢ dream for about the past year though, but the fact that it’s now free is still pretty significant. If don’t yet have Bejeweled 2 on your iOS device, now would be a great time to snatch it up, because I really don’t know how long it will remain free.
Like word games? Great! Graeme Devine’s studio, GRL Games, is launching a new front-facing camera-enabled game this coming September 1 across the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. It’s titled Word Chat, and it’ll release with a total four modes, one of which is an online mode that’ll let you chat face-to-face with your pals similarly to how GRL Games’ last title, Full Deck Hold 'Em [$2.99], allowed.
The online mode you’ll see just below is pretty simple. In 100 second timed rounds, you and your bud are tasked with spelling as many words as you can out of an endless set of tiles. As more words are forged, the tiles are removed and the highest score wins.
The other modes are basic solitaire modes designed for challenge as well as learning. In one, you’ll be given 200 titles and an infinite amount of time to come to grips with the game’s mechanic. In another, you’ll get 200 tiles and the aforementioned timer. The last mode is an infinite mode in which you can juice the game for more time after using every fourth letter.
We’re just now getting this into our hands, and will report back to you. If you have faith in Devine like we do, though, this seems like a no-brainer.
Crescent Moon Games missed a fantastic opportunity to help everyone on the PAX Prime exodus have something to do on their respective trips, but it is throwing a sale for the rest of us who need something to do… over the weekend, I suppose? On the toilet? While waiting for Deus Ex: Human Revolution to load?
Anyway, kicking off tomorrow, August 26, the publisher is hacking at the prices of its catalogue of RPGs and offering them all for a meagre $.99. In the case of most of titles, this will be a savings of several dollars for games that should keep you occupied for hours and hours on end.
Here’s the list and the prices of what these games will be tomorrow:
The iPhone version of Pocket RPG [$4.99], which is making its debut next Thursday, will also be listed at $.99 and join in on this deal, somehow. We're not sure what the normal price of the app will be otherwise, though I'd imagine you'll at least be saving a dollar here.
If I may suggest, Aralon seems to be the steal here. Granted, it's a little clunky, but overall it's an entertaining and deep RPG experience. Above all, though, it's like nothing else on the platform, and that kind of novelty has its draws, too.
UPDATE:Pocket RPG iPhone launches on the September 1 alongside everything else on the planet, not tomorrow as I stated. Sorry!
Earlier this year, Activision decided that it was done with Bizarre Creations and closed the studio after not being able to find an adequate buyer for it, which stuck me as unfathomable since this is the studio responsible for fantastic games like Blur, Project Gotham Racing, and so on and so forth. Regardless, since then, creators at the studio have made their own independent studios. Hogrocket, led by former Bizarre designer Pete Collier, Geometry Wars [$.99] creator Stephen Cakebread, and community manager Ben Ward, is one of those, and thankfully, they’re pooling their talents in service of an iOS game.
Todays news is a release date: the first game from the studio -- which remains unannounced for the time being -- is coming September 1. In a recent chat with Eurogamer, Collier talked up the release and the challenge:
"We're mega excited to be releasing our very first game here at Hogrocket. The shift from AAA to mobile has been a really rewarding challenge and this launch marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for us. We hope you enjoy the game,” he said.
We’ve played the game and can’t comment on it at the moment, but what we really wanted to do here is throw down some context. We’re currently trying to wrangle a good time to talk to Hogrocket for an episode of The TouchArcade Show, so we thought it best to give you some sort of foundation to work with. We’re awesome like that.
But, seriously, keep your eyes on these guys. They know what they’re doing and it’ll be great to bring you more in the near future.
When I first heard about Match Panic [$.99], I had the same reaction to it that a lab ape does to a banana attached to an electrical current. Its super casual conceit and its ridiculously cute aesthetic are as sweet as banana juice, but there is a price in succumbing to cutesy and simple in the form of credibility and overall well-being. In this delightful scenario, I’m referring to mental health, as opposed to physical health which our dear lab ape would be short of if it happened to be really, really hungry one afternoon.
As flat-out stated in our original review, the core play boils down to this: moving a cartoon object to one of two columns with a matching object. There's a gentle escalation of action as the columns fill up with more objects to match, but that's it. On the iPad or iPhone it feels great since all you’re doing is flicking, so this isn't the kind of game that begs for iCade support. Still, a torrent of surprise drizzled me when I rigged it into my device and gave it a go. (more...)
On this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show, I brave a tropical storm, Jared survives a day without hits toilet, and Eli fights through the dulcet tones of a weed whacker. Amazingly, we came together and managed to talk about games while doing all of this. Topics include Halfbrick’s latest game, a premium listing in the App Store, Steve Jobs retirement, and other fascinating things.
Com2uS is certainly no stranger when it comes to minigame compilations. We 
Even without its new juggernaut publisher, 
Crescent Moon Games
Earlier this year, Activision decided that it was done with Bizarre Creations and 
When I first heard about 
