Few releases on the App Store have made me squeal in greater delight than Hudson's TurboGrafx-16 GameBox [Free], for several reasons. First off, while most were busy arguing whether or not Sega does what Nintendon't, I was busy having the time of my life playing classics such as Blazing Lazers, Keith Courage in Alpha Zones, and Bonk's Adventure. Secondly, this might be one of the best implementations of a console emulator we've seen so far on the App Store.
Downloading the actual emulator itself is completely free, which gets you access to World Sports Competition as well as a daily rotating free demo game which you can play for three minutes. (Today's is Salamander.) From there, you can view the catalog of currently available games, which it sounds like Husdon has plans to constantly expand. These games are $2.99 each, and once you unlock them via in-app purchase you can play them to your heart's content.
Much like the original TurboGrafx-16 system, the emulator has a D-pad and two buttons, along with a turbo mode for each button that can be toggled on and off. The games I've tried control about as well as you would expect a console game designed for a controller to play with virtual controls. They're entirely workable, but don't expect the same precision as a physical controller.
The controls situation is alleviated somewhat by a great save state system that allows you to save and resume games at any time. If a jump is coming up that's particularly tricky, just save your game state, attempt it, and instantly load where you were again if you fail. Sure, it's a little cheesy, but it has substantially lessened the frustration I usually experience when I die in these types of classic ports due to the lack of precision from virtual controls.
Right now the game selection in the emulator isn't the best, and aside from the previously mentioned World Sports Competiton and Salamander, it also comes packed with Gradius, R-Type, Bonk's Adventure, Bomberman '94, New Adventure Island, Vigilante, Ninja Spirit, Military Madness, Victor Run, Soldier Blade, Jaseiken Necromander, Dungeon Explorer, World Class Baseball, and China Warrior.
TurboGrafx-16 GameBox is a marvelous emulator packed with nostalgia for anyone around during the TurboGrafx-16 glory days. It's substantially cheaper than picking up a TurboExpress and the real game cards... which is easier said than done due to the systems being afflicted by the capacitor plague, making functional units very hard to come by. There are a ton of games I'd like to see included with future updates, but this is a great start. Now only if Sega would release something like this instead of packaging all their games individually...
Now this is a curious development. According to the PlayStation Blog, Sony is on the verge of releasing an official PlayStation iPhone app. In the initial version, which is launching "very soon," players will be able to connect to PSN to see their trophies and see what their friends are doing. In addition, you'll be able to browse through game listings, get hardware information, see announcement, and then share those things via Twitter, Facebook, and Email. The free app is also going to be updated with "tons more features" in the future.
What's got us scratching our heads about this is that it's no secret that the iOS platform is a fierce competitor not only to the Nintendo DS, but also to Sony's own PSP. Historically, console rivals have taken great pride in the exclusivity of their associated networks. You can't access PSN via a Xbox 360, much like how you can't access Xbox Live via a PlayStation 3. Microsoft has even had apps removed that connect to Xbox Live profiles.
Either way, we're incredibly curious what these additional features are going to be. Just for the sake of wild speculation-- The Psx4iphone emulator available for jailbroken devices can run PSone games at respectable frame rates on newer iOS devices, meaning that eventually this PlayStation app could technically be capable of running the same PSone classics currently available for sale on PSN. Realistically, we don't ever see that happening, but at the same time... Who ever thought we'd be playing Sonic games on a non-Sega console?
We'll have to wait and see what this app evolves in to, but in the meantime, I can't help but wonder what Marcus thinks of all this.
Indie development studio Manomio, whose proud motto is "in retro we trust," first grabbed our attention last summer when their Commodore 64 for iPhone [link] emulation app was rejected by Apple, putting some of the App Store's boundaries under the spotlight. Happily, though, C64 eventually got the green light and has been warming the hearts of retro gaming enthusiasts for just over a year, now. It's beautifully executed and is a favorite here at Touch Arcade.
Early this year, Manomio let us know that they had a whole lot more retro heart warming in store and shared details of their upcoming Amiga emulation system, now known as iAmiga, that would allow them to license and release various classic Amiga titles to be faithfully rendered on your iPhone screen. On hearing this we were -- readers and editors alike -- thrilled at the prospect of enjoying some of the true gaming gems that sit among the vast library of Amiga releases. A short tech demo video was provided in short order, showing two games in play, that served as quite a teaser, making us very anxious to get our hands on the studio's latest.
I'm happy to report that, yesterday, Manomio CTO Stuart Carnie was merciful enough to finally put an end to our suffering and provide us with an exclusive early build of the iAmiga system, packed with a bundle of sample games, to put through its paces. Yea, it's dirty work, but somebody's got to do it.
After spending some serious time with the iAmiga system, I can tell you that, for an early build, it is truly impressive. While it's true that a few of the games that I tried glitched at some point, the vast majority ran perfectly and buttery smoothly on my iPhone 4. I'm talking about totally accurate sound, flawless graphics, glass smooth animation -- just as if the games were being played on the standard config Amiga 500 that iAmiga emulates. Right now there are keyboard, mouse, and joystick input systems that can be activated with a tap, but (especially in the case of the keyboard) they are quick and dirty solutions that will be replaced with much more refined components before anything lands in the App Store, Stuart assures me. The overall portrait / landscape control mechanics, like those found in the studio's C64, will be preserved, however.
As for what's under the hood of the iAmiga system, Manomio has taken the UAE4All Amiga emulator and tied it to Stuart's own ARM assembly optimized, emulated 68000 CPU core. In the name of performance, the core relies upon the ARM7x architecture and, as such, only iPhone 3GS / 3rd gen. iPod touch devices and up can play. iPad support is coming, as well.
The original plan was to take this emulator and wrap it around various licensed Amiga titles and release them as stand-alone games. That's still part of the plan, but as certain App Store restrictions have loosened a bit of late, there will likely also be a sort of Amiga shell app released that that allows the stand-alone games to be played in a richer Amiga emulation environment that may offers things like OpenGL ES 2.0 shader effects to add scan-lines, CRT glare, and even TV-out and iPad play using a tethered iPhone as a controller. Just the kind of things that make die-hard retro nuts rather weak in the knees.
Stuart has given the okay for us to record and share sample gameplay footage of his emulation system, and so I've put together a fairly lengthy mix of 10 Amiga games that you just might remember.
The games shown in the video are the following, in order: Defender of the Crown, Battle Squadron, International Karate +, R-Type, R-Type II, Speedball, Stunt Car Racer, Shadow of the Beast, Virus, and Xenon 2: Megablast. It should be noted that this list does not represent the list of games that will necessarily be coming to the App Store through the iAmiga system -- these are games simply used to test the system in its developmental state. (In fact, some of these I added from my own collection of Amiga disk images.)
As far as what we will be seeing in the way of iOS Amiga releases, Manomio has licensed various titles from Cinemaware, so Defender of the Crown, It Came from the Desert, Wings, and others are on the way. The studio is currently in licensing discussions with several other IP holders to secure additional titles for iOS release, including Factor 5 (Turrican I, II, III), The Bitmap Brothers (Xenon II: Megablast), Magnetic Fields (Supercars), Cope-Com (Battle Squadron), and Archer MacLean (IK+). Additionally, they are in talks with an unnamed major mobile publisher that's very interested in putting Amiga classics in the hands of today's gamers.
As you can see from the video, what we're in for is a wave of excellent games that are retro, true, but not so retro that they lack mainstream appeal. (Yes, the Amiga was that advanced 25 years ago.) This is big news, not only for iOS gamers, but for mobile gaming in general. In my personal experience, Amiga emulation has been quite a bit more difficult to manage than other age-old platforms on proper Macs and PCs due to the complexity of the original hardware. The thought of having easy access to these games in a tap-and-go fashion -- even standing in line at the bank -- is just amazing. I call this some of the very biggest news in iOS gaming that we've ever covered and can't wait until all of you out there get a chance to enjoy these great Amiga titles on your iOS devices, as well.
For readers unfamiliar with the Amiga, it is a 16-bit computer released by Commodore in 1985. A far more complex system than the C64, the Amiga featured a powerful central processor (the same found in the early Macintosh), various custom co-processors, and a multitasking operating system that, together, enabled audiovisual feats previously unseen in a consumer system at that point in time. While it did not see enormous popularity in the United States, it was wildly popular in Europe and is considered by many to be one of the very best game platforms ever created. InfoWorld called the Amiga the "third milestone" in computing after the Apple II and IBM PC.
We'll be tracking Manomio's iAmiga project closely and will pass along any further details that emerge, as we get them.
UPDATE: The developer has indicated that iAmiga will gain AGA support sometime after the first version is out the door. AGA (for Advanced Graphics Architecture) is the third generation Amiga chipset that brought a 24-bit color palette and more overall graphics horsepower to the platform. (Many of the most recent Amiga games are AGA-only.)
Early last month we took a look at Elite's ZX Spectrum: Elite Collection (Vol. 1) for the iPhone, a collection of 8-bit, British classics wrapped in a capable emulator, designed to deliver nostalgic gaming reverie to the iPhone- or iPod touch-wielding player. Late last week Elite released ZX Spectrum: Elite Collection HD [App Shop] for the iPad, featuring not only Vol. 1 but Vol. 2 of their game collection, making it the ultimate iOS ZX Spectrum experience.
The Elite Collection HD features all of the games from Vol. 1:
As with the earlier iPhone release, the iPad Elite Collection plays the games very smoothly with decent controls -- about as good as can be managed in a multi-touchscreen adaptation of a system of this sort. I've particularly appreciated these collections as I've long had an interest in experiencing the UK games of the 8-bit era but, being unfamiliar with the ins and outs of the Spectrum systems, I've had trouble with traditional emulators. Having everything neatly packaged up here has been a big win for me.
Though U.S. gamers never really had the chance to play many of these classics on their 8-bits back in the day, classics they are, and ZX Spectrum: Elite Collection HD is a great way to get to know these titles.
Last week we reported that premier '80s game studio Elite Systems would soon begin bringing classic ZX Spectrum game titles to iOS (via emulation) with the coming release of ZX Spectrum: Elite Collection (Vol. #1) [App Store]. This weekend the game went live in the App Store, shortly following a press release issued by Elite, meant to manage expectations of the unreleased title.
In the release, Elite's Steve Wilcox said,
The media and consumer reaction to the announcement, in late September, of Apple's approval of ZX Spectrum: Elite Collection has been extensive and enthusiastic. Our concerns now are to ensure that both groups understand that Vol. #1 of the App is a work in-progress, a rough diamond if you like and that we're committed to developing the App (eliminating some of its more obvious shortcomings and adding new features) over the weeks and months ahead.
...
If we're to achieve our goal of offering (and enabling others to offer) access - via mobile and wireless devices - to many of the thousands of fantastic ZX Spectrum games, we need to restore some order to the market and adjust expectations amongst developers, publishers and players.
Wilcox promises that the application will always be priced at £0.59 (Euro 0.79, US $0.99) and that within a month, six more game will be released via a free update (Vol. #2), with a further free update to come within the following month (Vol. #3), bringing with it an in-app game shop.
This Volume 1 release features the following six popular Spectrum titles:
The bundled games in this release features on-screen, directional "key" controls configured for each specific title. Gameplay can be carried out in either portrait or landscape mode, depending on player preference. Audio is fully reproduced, as well, bringing the Spectrum's lavish soundscape to discerning iPhone gamers. (A bit of wit there...)
See Elite's brief trailer video.
I've not yet spent a great deal of time with this one, but can say that the emulation seems to be running games at full ZX Spectrum speed. (And I'm happy to say I've not hit a single R Tape loading error.) We'll be following Elite's progressive releases in this series closely.
I'll start out by saying that this is a bit of a curious post. The app I'm highlighting here isn't a game at all -- not even sort-of a game. It's a music player, of sorts. But, a music player that should bring a smile to the face of many a gamer who sat in front an Amiga or PC, joystick in hand, back in the late '80s and early '90s. The app I speak of is French developer Yohann Magnien's Modizer[App Store]...and it's a MODplayer.
First, some history for those unfamiliar with MODs, trackers, and all that lot of sampled digital audio goodness. In 1985 the Commodore Amiga was released, bringing with it dramatic innovations on every front, really. And, among them, was its 8-bit, 4-channel, wavetable, stereo audio subsystem offering far better audio playback than any other consumer machine of the time. Digitized sound samples could be loaded into the Amiga's CHIP RAM and triggered for playback (and with zero CPU intervention), with highly realistic results.
Two years after the Amiga's release, developer Karsten Obarski decided to create a program that would load samples into said RAM and trigger them for coherent playback using a simple script that's something akin to the scroll of a player piano. That program was called Ultimate Soundtracker. And that script, plus its associated audio samples all bundled together into a single file, is called a module or MOD. Since then "trackers" of every sort, along with new MOD-like formats, emerged for platforms far and wide.
Demoscene coders were quick to adopt these trackers to create soundtracks to accompany their onscreen pixel magic and soon the "music guy" became a critical component of every demogroup. Noting this, game developers began adopting tracker modules as their solution for in-game music. Back in the day of limited CPU resources, audio boards with real horesepower came onto the scene to enable efficient playback of not just 4 but 8, 16, 32, 64 channels. Demos and games benefitted mightily, and audio geeks had a new scene to drool over. (I was a GUS and CapaMOD man, myself.)
And plenty of iOS games have reach out to MODs, S3Ms, XMs, and other formats of the kind for their soundtrack solutions.
And, so we come back to Modizer. Is it the only MODplayer in the App Store? No, it's not. But it appears to be the most full-featured. Modizer supports a dizzying array of audio formats thanks to its use of the MODPlug and UADE players (the latter of which actually emulates an Amiga 1200 computer), switchable in the settings menu. A variety of OpenGL-based audio visualizers can be enabled to accompany playback, a feature that will be much appreciated by those accustomed to hearing MODs running alongside a demoscene production's onscreen pixel magic. And it all runs smooth as glass without missing a beat.
Modizer is a universal application, natively supporting the iPhone 3G, iPod touch 2G, iPad and up, with specific optimizations for the iPhone 4 and iPad. The app includes a file browser that allows free access to the MODLAND and HVSC collections -- about 215,000 tracks in all -- that, when downloaded, are stored locally for quick access. The archives contain audio tracks from basically every demo ever made as well as most games for the C64 and Amiga.
See our iPad demo video. The developer provides a few iPhonedemovideos, as well.
At a mere $.99, Modizer is a godsend for gamers with a fancy for digital music. And, while indeed not a game, Modizer for iOS seems worth a spot here at Touch Arcade.
UPDATE: We just got word from the developer that he's currently working on a v1.1 update that includes various bugfixes as well as a number of enhancements:
Some optimization for browser (mainly when browsing modland/artists)
Sharp X68000 support (mdx/pdx files) with updated Modland lib
Addressing issue where some formats miss the last second of music
And more to come, depending on user feedback...
Magnien indicates that he's also considering a network "user stats" sort of ranking system that would let users easily share the overall highest rated songs. We'll keep you posted.
Last week we reported that, thanks to Apple recently relaxing its iOS SDK agreement, Manomio submitted a major 2.0 update of Commodore 64, their C64 emulator / game system, to the App Store with BASIC reenabled (and fingers crossed). We're happy to report that the app has been approved and is now available for download [link].
I had a chat with developer Stuart Carnie yesterday, shortly after he received word from Apple that Commodore 64 v2.0 was approved, during which he shared further details concerning this notable update.
With BASIC back, so too is the full C64 keyboard. Carnie is excited about the prospect of users having full and complete access to every game presented, which, in some games, can only happen when a full keyboard is available. And, while it's here in v2.0, the keyboard hasn't gotten any attention since it was removed back in November and, as such, a near-term update will address the absence of a few missing keys (semi-colon, colon) as well as a lock mode for the RUNSTOP, C=, and SHIFT keys, to use in conjunction with others.
A bit further out will come cycle-exact emulation on newer hardware (ARMv7), to resolve digital sound issues with Space Taxi and enable a few free games from Beam Software, such as Exploding Fist.
We've seen a lot of anticipation from readers for an iPad version of C64, and Carnie tells us that it's big on the roadmap. Thanks to Apple allowing BASIC, he really wants to create a great experience for iPad users wanting to experiment with the language, including a finely tuned keyboard and even Bluetooth support. "Think 'full' C64 experience," says Carnie. Due to Manomio's work on the upcoming Amiga classic titles, these more significant upgrades are slated for release next year -- and we can't wait.
As for additional games on the horizon, Carnie was able to reveal that they're in the progress of bringing several more Thalamus titles on-board: Creatures I and II and Retrograde. Also on the way is MYTH: History in the Making from System 3, which requires emulated 1541 floppy drive support and a disk-swapping user interface (which is already in the system).
Thanks to Apple for their relaxed stance on the SDK agreement and thanks to the folks at Manomio for giving retro fans like myself so much sweet candy to enjoy.
Yesterday we caught wind of a set of Gundam games and apps courtesy of Japanese video game magazine Famitsu. All of these games are currently playable at the Tokyo Game Show, and our friends over at AppBank have posted hands-on videos. We still don't know much about these games, or if they'll even be released in English on the US App Store, but quite a few people are excited for them judging by the comments from yesterday.
Gundam Fighting Spirit - A fighting game where players are pit against other mobile suits.
Gundam G Generation Touch - A strategy RPG with what sounds like tons of content with additional suits to unlock.
NDAM Tool Box - A Gundam-themed dashboard-like app lets you launch things like Safari, Mail, and other apps.
The Gundam suite of games and apps is scheduled for release this winter, but as I already mentioned, we still haven't heard whether this will be a Japanese-only release or not.
An App Store favorite of our readers who relish the retro is surely Manomio's Commodore 64 [link], the C64 emulation system / game store that does a great job of putting an expanding list of 8-bit classics right in our pockets. We first got wind of Manomio's emulation effort in June of last year, when it was submitted to Apple and rejected, as it was determined to be in violation of the iPhone SDK agreement.
Then said Apple,
Thank you for submitting C64 1.0 to the App Store. We've reviewed C64 1.0 and determined that we cannot post this version of your iPhone application to the App Store because it violates the iPhone SDK Agreement; "3.3.2 An Application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means, including without limitation through the use of a plug-in architecture, calling other frameworks, other APIs or otherwise. No interpreted code may be downloaded and used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple's Published APIs and built-in interpreter(s)."
It was the system's included BASIC interpreter that was the sticking point for Apple, it turned out. Manomio disabled (and then removed, as it was deemed necessary) the BASIC interpreter and the app finally found its place in the store, and in Apple's good graces.
Last Thursday, Apple made significant changes to the iOS SDK agreement, relaxing restrictions on development tools used to create iOS applications. One of the areas of the SDK agreement affected was section 3.3.2, the specific part of the agreement that Apple determined Manomio had violated with the initial releases of C64. Upon hearing this news, Manomio CTO Stuart Carnie was quick to read over the new Apple document and found the following, updated section 3.3.2.
3.3.2 An Application may not download or install executable code. Interpreted code may only be used in an Application if all scripts, code and interpreters are packaged in the Application and not downloaded. The only exception to the foregoing is scripts and code downloaded and run by Apple’s built-in WebKit framework.
As can be seen in the new language, interpreted code is now acceptable under certain circumstances. In light of this fortunate turn of events, the developer has put together an updated version of C64 (v2.0) with BASIC enabled. Wanting Apple to be fully aware of his re-inclusion of the BASIC interpreter, Carnie extensively underscored his changes in the Reviewer Notes section of the submission form and additionally sent a courtesy e-mail to Apple on the issue. Since then, the developer and Apple have had further correspondence regarding the update and the response so far is positive. Apple will, understandably, spend additional time reviewing the application, but Carnie says he remains cautiously optimistic.
If Apple does end up rejecting the update, Manomio's plans are to remove the BASIC interpreter, but leave in place the other enhancement that this update brings, Carnie tells us. Those other enhancements include:
FIX - fix crash when attempting to use the "Download All" feature and many games are queue
FIX - Add additional controls to Hunter's Moon
FIX - iPad landscape view is no longer partially off the screen
NEW - Upgraded to OpenFeint 2.6.1 (includes time-scoped leader boards)
NEW - iOS 4.1 tested
NEW - New "Always use keyboard" option to access additional in-game features
Apple's recent update to the SDK agreement gives developers of all manner of apps more flexibility, but is a particular boon to developers of retro system emulators and games. We've got our fingers crossed that C64 with BASIC enabled is given the nod by Apple and that other developers are inspired to bring others classic systems and games to our favorite mobile device family.
This isn't a game by any means, so if you're looking for the next cool iPhone game to download, keep on scrollin'. If you like games, RPG's specifically, and have always wondered what would happen if you combined the functionality of a to do list app with an experience bar, Epic Win [$2.99] is right up your alley. Created by Rex Crowle, responsible for the visual design of Little Big Planet, and Tak Fung, the developer behind MiniSquadron [$2.99 / Free], Epic Win is a list keeping app by gamers for gamers.
On your first launch of the app, you choose one of five avatars. Three are unlocked initially, with the other two available via in-app purchase. Which avatar you choose has no bearing on how the rest of the app works, and you can change them at any time in the options. Tapping the pencil icon opens up a new task, at which point you set its "epicness" and date along with what type of feat said task is. These feats range from feats of strength, stamina, intellect, social, and spirit.
As you complete items off your to do list, you're awarded experience for the level of epicness you set and your avatar gains a point on your profile page for the type of feat the task was. When each task is completed, your dude travels down a curvy road, and eventually is awarded various pieces of ridiculous loot... And that's really all there is to Epic Win. Sure, there are more full featured gettin' things done apps on the App Store, but how many of them have loot or experience bars?
Yeah, you can technically "cheat" in Epic Win really easily by just constantly making and completing tasks, but the "game" portion of Epic Win really has no competition, and only serves as a neat little bonus for checking things off of a list. If you've found yourself looking for some more motivation to get things done on your to do list, and filling an experience bar is your carrot on a stick that will actually lead you to do things, Epic Win is what you need.
Earlier this month, we detailed an update for the Commodore 64 iPhone app that developer Manomio had been busy working on for the past several months. This update would bring some much needed control optimizations both to the overall functionality of games and added flexibility for specific titles that would need more than a standard control stick and button setup. And of course, a nice selection of new downloadable titles would be included in this update as well.
As of earlier today, the update has gone live in the App Store. Here is the list of features from the App Store description:
NEW - Lots of new games, including Last Ninja series, International Karate, Armalyte and Druid
IMPROVED - Upgraded to OpenFeint 2.5
IMPROVED - Reimplementation of control layout system, to support the complex controls scenarios for games like The Last Ninja
IMPROVED - Display OF notifications at top rather than bottom
IMPROVED - Removed bottom bar in full-screen landscape to prevent obscuring screen in games like Wizball
NEW - Fixed-mode joystick in landscape mode, automatically selected for specific games
NEW - Option to force fixed-mode joystick in landscape mode for all games
FIX - Borders correctly drawn in landscape (Wizball)
FIX - Corrected dead zone area at side of screen in landscape, rendering controls unresponsive
NEW - Added grouping to In App Store to separate downloaded / purchases
IMPROVED - Hi-res icons added for retina and iPad displays
NEW - Option to adjust dead zone / sensitivity of joystick
IMPROVED - Shop now separates downloaded games
I've given the update a spin and can really tell the improvement in controls across all of the games that I tried. I'm especially fond of being able to adjust the dead zone of the control stick, as that has been a point of frustration for me when playing certain games before. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, not every new game is available in the in-game store. Apparently the problem lies on Apple's end at the moment, and developer Stuart Carnie has stated in our forums that he contacted Apple to correct the situation, and is hoping to have the games become available in the next few days.
Until then, definitely make sure to update your C64 for iPhone app to take advantage of the revamped controls, as well as the other tweaks and optimizations contained within.
Retro overlord Stuart Carnie of Manomio contacted Touch Arcade to let us know that after months of work, the C64 for iPhonev1.7 update will shortly be arriving in the App Store. This is a major update that brings numerous enhancements as well as a nice list of additional games available through the app's integrated game store.
Control Improvements:
Corrected dead area at side of screen in landscape, rendering controls unresponsive for a small strip
New fixed-mode joystick in landscape mode, automatically selected for specific games
Option on the settings screen to force fixed-mode joystick in landscape mode for all games
File-based disk support for multi-disk games. Does not work for those games requiring true 1541 support. (No virtual swapping of disks)
Option to adjust dead zone / sensitivity of joystick
Updates Fixes:
Upgraded to OpenFeint 2.5
Removed bottom bar in full-screen landscape to prevent obscuring screen in games like Wizball
Reimplementation of control layout system, to support the complex controls scenarios for games like The Last Ninja and Druid
Borders are correctly drawn in landscape (Wizball looks better now)
Hi-res icons added for retina and iPad displays so C64 looks better on your home screen
Usability Improvements:
Display OpenFeint notifications at top rather than bottom
Added grouping to In App Store to separate downloaded / purchased titles
Stuart indicates that, despite this major update, C64 is not the studio's only focus, by any means. Their brainteaser-style game Nerve Jangler-- a NinjaDoodle license that's been played over 22 million times -- will be complete and out the door in the next few weeks, and then it's all focus on the Amiga games. We hope to have some early ad hoc builds of a few Amiga classic nicely packaged up for the iPhone in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!
The long awaited comic app for the iPhone sensation Pocket God [99¢], which we previewed way back in February, has just been released on the App Store. Titled Pocket God Comics [99¢], it follows the hilarious (and often destructive) antics of the pygmies from the Pocket God universe. It's a universal app, and has been designed with higher resolution artwork for running on the iPad, although it looks quite sharp and colorful on the iPhone. The initial app purchase comes with the first issue of the comic, which was created by Ape Entertainment, that runs inside of a reader shell that was developed by publisher iVerse Media. This allows future issues to be bought directly from inside the app, and the shell even features a GPS comic book shop locator to find your nearest local retail outlet for purchasing the physical version of Pocket God Comics.
Also forthcoming is the latest episode to the Pocket God game titled “A Pygmy a Day Keeps the Ape Away”. This 33rd episode was inspired by the comic content creators Ape Entertainment, and features a mountain top with an altar where you can sacrifice pygmies to a gigantic ape, as well as a number of other interactive elements. There is also a new skin pack available in this new update, which developer Dave Castelnuovo has detailed in our forums. The update has been timed to (sort of) coincide with the launch of Pocket God Comics, and should be available sometime this morning or early afternoon.
The iPad version of the game, titled Pocket God: Journey to Uranus, is a much different game than the iPhone version, most notably by partially taking place in an outer space environment. We previewed the game in early July, but Dave has also dropped some new info on us regarding some of the mini-games planned for the release. The first is called Volcano Blast and takes place on the new high def version of the original Pocket God island, and is an expanded take on the “flick pygmies into the volcano” mechanic. Multiple volcanoes will be present and you must flick as many pygmies into them as you can without missing. A retooled flick mechanic and brand new wind element make the task at hand more challenging this time around. As Dave puts it, “think Paper Toss with burnt pygmies”. Sounds good to us.
Here's a new screenshot from Pocket God: Journey to Uranus (click to enlarge):
The other mini-game mentioned hasn't received a final name yet, but takes place in outer space and is an homage to the Atari Jaguar title Tempest 2000 (which was a personal favorite of mine as well). Expect to be shooting pygmies at enemies as they advance up different styles of wormholes from the middle of the screen. Pocket God: Journey to Uranus doesn't have a firm release date set yet, but should be available sometime this year and you can follow along in the forum thread for the latest information.
Pocket God Comics is available now, and the printed versions will be arriving in comic book shops in September. The physical books will also contain 4 page mini stories that won't be available in the digital versions, and if you happen to be attending the Wizard World comic convention in Chicago August 19th-22nd then you'll have a chance to meet Pocket God creators Dave and Allan and possibly score a limited edition of the Pocket God comic book. They will also be running a contest for $1000 Apple gift card starting today, which is detailed on the Pocket God Blog.
Back in May when the first videos started appearing of jailbroken iPads playing SNES games, it definitely piqued our interest as few things would have blown my mind more back when the SNES hit North America in 1991. (Actually, come to think of it, just seeing the iPad 19 years ago would be a mind-blowing experience in itself.) The emulator in question in the original videos, as well as the one capable of pairing with a Wii controller is snes4iphone, but if you'd rather have an emulator that runs natively, SNES HD will do the trick, you just won't have Wii controller support.
The entire guide itelf with a bunch of photos and links is over on Lifehacker, and they've also explained the whole thing in the following video:
Keep in mind that according to Apple "unauthorized modification of iOS has been a major source of instability, disruption of services, and other issues", and obviously the jailbreak community completely disagrees. Either way, the entire jailbreak process is entirely unsupported, so just be sure to do some research to make sure you know what you're getting in to before blindly mashing the "jailbreak" button in Spirit.
Many who grew up on "home computers" in the '80s, and retro gaming fans in general, have been enjoying Manomio's Commodore 64 emulator on the iPhone. A new app that appeared in the App Store this morning should have particular appeal to our European readers who match that description. ZX Nostalgia [App Store], from Manuel Cabello, is a Sinclair ZX Spectrum emulator that comes bundled with 14 games that, according to the developer, run at full ZX Spectrum speed on all models of the iPhone and iPod touch.
ZX Nostalgia sports a minimal, multitouch interface that provides interaction with the bundled games via screen taps (for in-game menu selection), virtual joystick, and a fire / action button. Games are selected for execution in the emulator by way of a simple menu and can be played in both portrait and landscape mode, depending on the device's orientation.
The following games are included:
Ad Astra
Android Two
Barmy Burgers
Bugaboo the Flea
Chuckie Egg
Deathchase
Fantastic Voyage
Fred
Horace Goes Skiing
Manic Miner
Rescate del Tesoro
Starstrike 3D
Trashman
Wheelie
It's a rather solid list of games, with a few true classics in the mix. Unfortunately, it's unclear what the developer's plans are concerning the potential addition of more games down the road. A screenshot of the game's App Store page shows an "ADD" button on the game list screen that is not present in the release version, and there's scant contact info for the developer on the web, so that's a big question mark right now.
ZX Nostalgia does a rather nice job of running the included games, with a very functional control system to boot. Readers who have already grabbed the title are impressed. If you've ever been faced with the dreaded "R Tape loading error," then this one's probably for you.
(ZX Nostalgia is not the first Spectrum emulator to appear in the App Store. ZXGamer was released last year, but offered abysmal performance and was pulled after it became apparent that it was a WebKit-based rip of another's emulator.)
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit home computer that was released by Sinclair Research in the UK in 1982. It is based on the Z-80 processor running at 3.5MHz and features a 256x192 pixel display in 16 colors (with notable restrictions). The Spectrum was available with either 16K or 48K of RAM and was followed up by several models offering more memory, enhanced audio, and such. The American gamer who was around to see home computers in the '80s probably best remembers Sinclair Research from the Timex Sinclair 1000, an extremely inexpensive, black & white 4K computer sold in America, itself a take on the European Sinclair Zx81. A later attempt was made to actually bring a modified version of the ZX Spectrum to the US in the form of the Timex Sinclair 2068, but it failed badly for a number of reasons and is remembered by few.
Right now the game selection in the emulator isn't the best, and aside from the previously mentioned World Sports Competiton and Salamander, it also comes packed with Gradius, R-Type, Bonk's Adventure, Bomberman '94, New Adventure Island, Vigilante, Ninja Spirit, Military Madness, Victor Run, Soldier Blade, Jaseiken Necromander, Dungeon Explorer, World Class Baseball, and China Warrior.
Early this year, Manomio 
For readers unfamiliar with 
This isn't a game by any means, so if you're looking for the next cool iPhone game to download, keep on scrollin'. If you like games, RPG's specifically, and have always wondered what would happen if you combined the functionality of a to do list app with an experience bar, Epic Win [
Back in May when 
