Touch Arcade » Eli Hodapp

Freebie Friday & Game Sales: 'Earth Vs Moon', 'Transformers', Gameloft Games & Others

Eli Hodapp — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:03:04 +0000

I'm still kind of stunned it's already Friday, after GDC madness last week and playing catch up this week I'm not even sure where all the time went. Regardless, we missed our sales and freebies post this week, so I've dug up an extra helping of freebies in attempt to make amends this week. As always, the standard iTunes price change disclaimer is in effect. These prices are all current as of Friday afternoon, but due to the nature of the App Store are subject to change at any time. If you've got your eye on one or more of these games, you're probably better off grabbing them ASAP.

Earth Vs Moon, 99¢ → FREE

Quite possibly one of the best missile command spinoffs on the App Store, we loved Earth Vs Moon in our review, and since then it has only gotten better with updates. This one has been free for a few days now, and likely will return to normal price any time now, so grab it while you still can… And if you miss the free promotion, it's still totally worth a buck if you haven't heard of it before.

Other notable freebies include:

As far as game sales are concerned, a few Gameloft games were recently dropped to 99¢. I've had a good time playing through all of these, so if you don't own them yet, I can think of worse ways to spend $5:

And of course, there are a ton of other games with recent price drops:

There are many other games with recent price changes, and you can see a listing of popular games and all games on sale over on AppShopper. Stay tuned for more freebies and sales next week, same bat time, same bat channel.

'Blast Off' – There Sure Are a Lot of Lost Astronauts

Eli Hodapp — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:00:45 +0000

Halfbrick's latest game actually started its life on the PlayStation Network as a PSP Mini, along side Fieldrunners and a small hand full of other similar bite-sized titles. Recently making its way to the iPhone, Blast Off is nearly identical to its PSP counterpart, with the control scheme as the main differentiator.

In Blast Off, you control a tiny rocket ship blasting through space rescuing astronauts. Touching the screen tilts your ship in that direction and fires your rocket, usually sending you off that way. Your enemy in the game is gravity, and the game is over when you crash– Numerous celestial bodies are scattered across each level, each which have a different effect on your ships trajectory.

As you blast through space, you have to keep an eye on your air and fuel gauges. Air serves as the timer for the levels, and fuel is consumed as you touch the screen to let off rocket burns. Once you get a feel for how the ship performs in space, it won't take long for you to sling shot around planets and use gravity to your advantage to really only need to fire your rocket for minor course changes.

Two different game modes are included, endless mode where you need to rescue as many astronauts as possible while picking up power ups to refuel and refill your air supply. Classic mode consists of 45 levels with multiple difficulties where players must collect as many astronauts on screen as possible then make their way to the warpgate without running out of air or fuel. Both game modes are a lot of fun, although I've found myself preferring endless mode.

Online scores and achievements are tracked via OpenFeint, and Halfbrick has even released the game's soundtrack as a free download on their site. If you've had fun with these kinds of gravity puzzle games in the past, Blast Off is really worth a look.

App Store Link: Blast Off, 99¢

EA's 'Sim City Deluxe', 'The Sims 3 World Adventures', and '2010 FIFA World Cup' Screenshots released.

Eli Hodapp — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:41:39 +0000

It seems as if EA's rapid fire release schedule we saw in 2009 is continuing right through to 2010 with the three games that they just revealed new screenshots of today. We don't know that much about these games yet, but should very soon judging by how EA has handled iPhone game launches in the past.

Sim City Deluxe

Coming this summer, Sim City Deluxe looks to be a significant upgrade from the original iPhone Sim City released in late 2008. The interface appears to have been tweaked, and the game also is loaded with new natural disasters and a pinch-zoom function.

The Sims 3 World Adventures

Yet another Sims expansion, this time focusing on exotic destinations such as Egypt and the far east. World Adventures for the PC includes tons of hidden treasures and new things for your Sims to discover, and it seems like we can expect the same out of the iPhone port. Oh, and of course, what would a Sims expansion be without new clothes and furniture?

2010 FIFA World Cup

Set in South Africa, this game appears to be an evolution of FIFA 10 which we enjoyed in our review. If you're a soccer fan, this is likely the soccer game to look forward to on the iPhone.

We will be following up with all of these games as more details are revealed.

'Flick Bowling 2' Hands-On Preview with Video

Eli Hodapp — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:56:22 +0000

In late 2008, Freeverse released the original Flick Bowling, the first of what has since become the Flick Sports franchise. Next week they plan on launching its sequel, Flick Bowling 2, which improves upon the original in every way imaginable. In fact, it's really sort of amazing to go back and look at the original Flick Bowling trailer in comparison to see how much more detailed something as simple as a bowling game has become.

Flick Bowling 2 is controlled using simple touch gestures, and once you get the hang of it, flicking your finger across the screen to bowl works really well. Unlike the original where you applied spin to the ball by swiping across the screen, your entire shot is done in one flicking gesture. To throw the ball straight you flick straight up, to curve it in a particular direction, you simply curve your finger flick. It works surprisingly well.

Another new feature in the sequel is the addition of a story mode. Playing as either Jen or Jim, you'll warp through time (somewhat like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure) to face off in bowling matches against famous figures in history who also have similarly themed bowling alleys while you make your way to the ultimate bowling showdown with the evil Baron Von Schtopwatch. The game itself even admits the plot makes no sense. Aside from story mode, you can also play regular bowling games as well as a quick three frame game.

Here is a video of me doing poorly against Cleopatra:

One of the most interesting things about Flick Bowling 2 is how Freeverse is pricing it. While the original Flick Bowling launched at $4.99, the sequel will come in two flavors: A completely free ad-supported version, and a paid ads-free version. The only differences between the two games is advertising, and the paid version also comes with multiplayer. Both games will also come with DLC packs for customizing your bowling balls, as well as an additional Helen of Troy level.

Freeverse is shooting for launching Flick Bowling 2 on the 23rd, and I really recommend keeping an eye out for it, especially if in-game ads don't bother you. The bowling control mechanic is fun, the new physics engine is a massive improvement over the original, and the time traveling premise of the game, which is beyond ridiculous, is hard to not enjoy.

Exclusive 'Revolt' Hands-On Preview with Video

Eli Hodapp — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:00:59 +0000

Revolt is a 3D dual stick shooter created entirely by three people: Kristopher Peterson who handles all the art, design, and sound effects, Jaap Kreijkamp doing the programming, and Sean Neville writing the music. This three man team has managed to come up with what very well may be one of the coolest looking dual stick shooters I've played recently.

We went over the basic premise of the game in our original preview:

Revolt is an exquisite looking shooter that departs from the usual dual-stick model of unlimited ammo run-and-gunning by throwing a surprising amount of strategy into the mix. The gameplay promotes taking cover and rolling to avoid enemy fire, and ammo needs to be carefully managed across 15 weapons and 5 weapon types. A mixture of lasers, grenades and missile launchers serve to create some of the most impressive explosions and combat effects we've seen on the AppStore, too. To boot, Revolt seems to take its storytelling seriously, the gameplay spanning over 8 campaign levels and an impressive 20 survival arenas.

The build we were sent was a preview in every sense of the word, most of the art has yet to be finalized, menus are basic, and they haven't added the story elements yet. However, as far as a beautiful framework for a dual stick shooter is concerned, these guys nailed it.

Check out the gameplay video which shows a bit of story mode and survival mode:

Survival mode is particularly interesting in Revolt, as you fight off enemies in waves and between each wave you're given the opportunity to spend the credits you collect in game on ammo, grenades, and other goodies. I've spent a considerable amount of time trying to make it through the survival mode, and there seems to be an interesting layer of strategy in stocking up on weaponry. The easy levels obviously don't require anything, but once you survive past the first few waves, grenades and other weapons become mandatory.

Revolt is still in development, but shows a considerable amount of promise. We'll be keeping an eye on this game's development, and if you want to know more, stop by the developer's thread on our forums.

'Chaos Ring' Trailer Released – Looks Incredible

Eli Hodapp — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 05:22:51 +0000

We still really don't know anything about Square Enix's upcoming iPhone-exclusive RPG that we haven't already mentioned, but this trailer for Chaos Ring is absolutely amazing. The graphics are insane, and the game looks like a Playstation-era RPG. Needless to say, we're extremely excited about this:

Originally I suspected this might not be released for quite some time, since the only release date we've found anywhere is simply 2010, but the trailer looks like a surprisingly complete game. I wish we had more details to share right now, but needless to say, we're going to be following Chaos Ring very closely.

Update: Forum member GDSage has done a phenomenal job at piecing together tons of details about Chaos Ring in the Chaos Ring thread on our forums.

Six Ngmoco iPad Games Coming Soon

Eli Hodapp — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:17:36 +0000

With less than three weeks to go to the release of the iPad, ngmoco CEO Neil Young revealed to Computerworld at GDC that they have six games on their way to the device. While Young was rather vague at the time, we've since talked to both Freeverse and ngmoco and have the complete list of games that should be available around the launch of the iPad.

Freeverse's highly anticipated space conquest game Warp Gate was specifically held back for the iPad launch. We first revealed Warp Gate at our iPhone Launch Party at WWDC last year, and since then have done an additional sneak peek of the game. Also, we've got a huge thread on our forums where Freeverse Senior Producer Bruce Morrison has been participating in the discussion about the game.

Freeverse classics Flick Fishing and NBA Hotshot will also be making their way to the iPad in addition to a fourth new game, CastleCraft, an MMO strategy game where players build and manage one or more cities, then stockpile resources and military units to wage war on hundreds of other players online. We will have more details on the game soon, but here are a few screenshots of the iPhone version for the time being:

Ngmoco themselves will be contributing iPad versions of both GodFinger and We Rule, two freemium titles that recently saw limited releases in Canada. It also seems likely that both games will be released for the iPhone worldwide at the same time.

We should have many more details on all of these iPad games as April 3rd approaches. In the meantime, I've been assured that Warp Gate looks absolutely amazing, and out of all the games I've heard about so far for the iPad, it's by far the one I'm most excited to fire up.

GDC 2010: 'Assault Squadron' Hands-On

Eli Hodapp — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:00:07 +0000

We sat down with the guys from The Binary Mill late Friday evening at GDC to check out their upcoming shooter, Assault Squadron. The most immediately noticeable feature about the game is the insane frame rate it all runs at, and the developers insist that it even runs at a solid 60 FPS even on the 1st generation iPod touch. These performance levels are important, especially as the game increases in difficulty and you find yourself in "bullet hell," as the developers put it.

The twist of Assault Squadron comes from the two gameplay modes the various levels alternate between. While playing through the game, you'll go through a level where it plays like a vertical shooter with your phone held in portrait mode. Following that, the game might alternate to a horizontal side scrolling level. With each transition you see different sides of both your ship and enemies, and the gameplay feels slightly different as well.

Other than that, Assault Squadron comes with everything you could possibly want in a shooter. There's a crazy scoring system with multipliers galore (and online leaderboards via Crystal), four different ships that all handle differently with their own unique weapon systems, upgrades everywhere, and best yet– Control options that should satisfy everyone between the on-screen touch controls, a virtual joystick, and tilt.

Take a look at the recently release gameplay trailer:

The developers have mentioned they still have balancing a bug fixing to do, but hope to have Assault Squadron on the App Store sometime this spring. For more information on the game, take a look at the thread on our forums which is home to quite a ton of Assault Squadron media.

New Square Enix RPG 'Chaos Ring' Coming in 2010

Eli Hodapp — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:39:12 +0000

To say details are sketchy right now on this game would be an understatement, but what we do know is that Japanese developer Media Vision has a job posting [Translated] up looking for developers for a new RPG for the iPhone coming in 2010.

French Final Fantasy fan site, Final Fantasy Ring via Famitsu noted the game is called Chaos Ring and also in their story [Translated] mention that the team behind it also created the Playstation RPG Wild Arms, a personal favorite of mine.

That's all we know right now, the rest is open to speculation. There is an awful lot of time left in 2010, and if Media Vision is only looking for people now, we might have a long wait in front of us to get our hands on Chaos Ring. Regardless, we're anxious to hear more on the game and will post whatever we can dig up from our Japanese sources.

In the meantime, you can swing by the Chaos Ring thread on our forums and join in on the excitement.

'Ravensword 2' Details Revealed

Eli Hodapp — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:06:30 +0000

The developers behind Ravensword [$4.99] are very active members of our forums, and aside from constantly answering questions in the thread for Ravensword, they also recently used our forums to post the first images from Ravensword 2. Obviously it's hard to discern much about the actual gameplay at this point just by looking at character models and concept drawings, but I really liked the original Ravensword in our review, and there's not much reason to think the sequel wouldn't be just as good– If not better.

These details were revealed a few days ago, but due to the madness that was GDC, we're just catching up on it now. Here's what we know so far:

The Ravensword team is hard at work building a "massive library" of art assets, and with the help of Dicework Games are going to flesh out many of the RPG elements that the original Ravensword was missing. Ravensword 2 isn't coming out anytime soon, but they expect to have it on the App Store sometime this year.

They've also got a secret project in the works that is going to be announced soon, and you can expect to hear about it as soon as we find out more details. In the meantime, check out the Ravensword 2 thread where the Ravensword 2 team have posted a ton of images and have been actively answering questions from forum members.