Something strange is afoot on the App Store. First Rayman Jungle Run hits at a strange time yesterday, now Capcom's Street Fighter X Tekken [$2.99] appears out of the blue, breaking traditional weekly international release store cycles. Normally, these games would be appearing in New Zealand later this morning. ...Not available in the US now.
We'll have more information on Street Fighter X Tekken as we spend some more time with it tomorrow. But, it's on the App Store now, and seems like it'd be just as solid as Capcom's previous iOS fighter offerings. I expect impressions will be rolling in on our forums fairly quickly.
Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there was a game called Infinity Blade [$5.99] about slicing people up with a sword, and another game called Temple Run [Free], about looting and running. After a hard day's work hacking and sliding, they went out for drinks together and one thing let to another. Nine months later, a stork dropped dead out of the sky, and there, crushing the stork's carcass beneath a heavy boot, was Infinite Warrior [$3.99].
We really got into stabbing some fools back before the official release of Infinite Warrior, and the release version dishes violent death just as gleefully as expected. Still, the question remains: is there more to Infinite Warrior than step, slash, repeat?
Despite one's personal feelings on the Marvel universe (or comic books in general) you cannot deny the sheer rejuvenation in popularity for the series, culminating in the recently released Avengers film. Marvel (via Wideload Games) has decided to take advantage of this popularity with its release of Avengers Initiative [$6.99], a new title for iOS. While Initiative looks stunning and models its gameplay after the incredibly successful Infinity Blade series, a distinct lack of innovation coupled with a weary reliance on IAP make it fall disappointingly short.
Avengers Initiative puts you in the role of Bruce Banner's green alter-ego as he's sent on a mission by Nick Fury to bag and tag a variety of super-villains that have escaped from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s high-tech prison. Initiative's story has some interesting facets due mostly to its Marvel underpinnings but for the most part the tale is fairly mundane with Hulk moving from location to location battling generic minions while looking for the next villain, with the occasional cutscene thrown in. Supplementals like dossiers that include additional info on the main players is a nice touch, but fan service only goes so far.
Avengers Initiative is the first in a series of episodic Avengers games. This one stars the Hulk, and it should hit later tonight as the game sees separate releases around the globe. Eli and I shot some footage of the game in action, and that's available below if you're wondering exactly what this game is all about.
You won't need to see any moving pictures if you've played Infinity Blade, though, as this is basically that game. In your mind's eye, just substitute the swords for punches and the demons for the colorful villains of the Marvel universe, and you've got a great idea of what Avengers Initiative is all about.
If you're not in the loop, think of Avengers Initiative as a brawler. In the game, you control the Hulk across a series of one-on-one, gesture-based fights where attacks are generally 1:1. Swipe left, and Hulk throws out a left-hand punch. Swipe up, Hulk throws a vicious uppercut. When enemies dish out attacks, you can counter them with blocks or counters or even side-steps. Perfect timing of these moves dazes bad guys, allowing you to go nuts on them for a few undefended seconds.
We'd love to point out a lot of points of differentiation in the combat sub-systems, but there aren't many. Like in Infinity Blade, Hulk has a special meter that, when charged and used, dazes the opponent. But he can, however, spend block stamina to get off free shots that would normally just graze an opponent in Infinity Blade. Also, after each fight, you can build up a meter to do a devastating finishing move.
Anyway, the point of the game seems to be to subdue "big" bad guys while slugging your way through regular ones. In the second level, you've got to take care of an electric dude who kinda looks like Venom but is totally not. In the first, you fight a werewolf-man. In both, you're fighting random Krull dudes on the way to reaching these guys. The game is guided much like Infinity Blade, so you'll be tapping on specific points to advance through the game's levels.
There's also a currency: gems. With these, you can buy augments that give you health or rage or damage bonuses among other abilities. You can also buy special costumes that add modifiers to gem drop rates, give you XP bonuses, or bump up the possibility of a med or rage healing item dropping. Gems can be purchased with IAP.
It's kinda wild how closely Avengers Initiative copies Infinity Blade. Even the UI pause button that appears in the center top of that game's screen makes an appearance in this. For what it is, though, Avengers Initiative is OK. We're more interested in where the series is going. Will the Captain America game be totally different, for example?
Avengers Initiative will be available tonight. We have a full review forthcoming.
So, Wild Blood is finally coming out. The 3D, character action game should see a release later tonight, as the app slowly worms its way around the world. In our hour or so with it, we've noticed that it doesn't have any shocking mechanics or systems. It's a pretty straight-forward brawler filled with tons of demonic fodder to brutalize, broken cities, and bosses to fight. But, it is an original game -- a notable quality since its creator Gameloft rarely stretches its creative legs.
In the game, you control a bizarro version of Lancelot who journeys to a Camelot that is being besieged by demons. As Lancelot, you'll be tasked with destroying these demons and saving people from the attack.
Functionally, Wild Blood is a simple hack-and-slash affair with a focus on combo and one-on-one mechanics and systems. Quick taps on the normal attack activate a three hit combo. Later, you'll be able to roll in evade and magic abilities that build even bigger combos, allowing you to "juggle" enemies that pop out from all over the fighting area, including behind your character.
We've been following the strange release of Chair's VOTE!!! [$0.99] since it popped up on international App Stores this morning, and it looks like someone has flipped the switch to make it live everywhere including the US App Store. It's even under 50MB so you can beat up Romney and/or Obama without needing to find WiFi to download it.
For more on the game, check out VOTE!!!'s unveiling for the official trailer or our TA Plays: 'Vote!!!' for a look at what the game is like when you're actually playing it. Anyway, now that we've got Infinity Blade: Romney vs Obama, how about some Infinity Blade: Dungeons?
So, Chair Entertainment has been making a new brawler. It's called Vote, and it'll be available a little later tonight, as international releases make their way across the world. If you've been playing Infinity Blade over the years, you'll be comfortable with this, as it plops the same gesture-based fighting mechanics into a much slower, goofier, and simple shell.
In the game, you'll be able play as Barack Obama or Mitt Romney and take part in one-on-one "brawls" where hits are called "debates" and parries "rebuttals." Each hit is scored and boosted by a bonus meter. The goal of a fight is, simply, to score a ton of points.
This afternoon, Jared and I sat down with SuperCock [$0.99]. It's a 2D, side-scrolling action game in which you play as a man dressed up as a rooster. Also, you kill zombies. We're not sure of the whys and wheres and hows, either. But zombies.
What caught our all-seeing eye -- outside of the title, of course -- is its slick, no-button core action mechanic. Unfortunately, its simplicity might be also be a downfall, as the game doesn't have a lot to offer outside of mindless bashing.
Of course, a lot of free-to-play functionality compliments the moment-to-moment action. When you beat a level you earn currency that you can use to level up your character and add new spells to your repertoire. You can also buy characters, but you'll probably need to spend real money on the fake money in order to do the latter -- unless you're really into what this game has to offer.
Anyway, there's a solid look. We don't recommend this game straight-up, so check that out and see if it clicks with you.
The guys at Vivid Games just dispatched a raven in our direction to tell us about their upcoming boxing game, cleverly titled Real Boxing. The game is coming later this year, and while there aren't many specifics to speak of yet, the guys at Vivid are quick to boast about all the details of the game. Not only is it powered by the Unreal engine, but the game was built using state of the art motion capture technology featuring real Polish professional boxers and realistic physics to tie all their moves together.
There's a full career mode where you can build up the stats of your boxer, plenty of unlockables to work towards, and what sounds like tons of customization for your fighter including everything from shoes all the way to tattoos. Check out the teaser trailer:
They're not talking release dates yet aside from "Q4", but there is mention of the game being optimized for iOS 6, so we're likely at least looking at after that launches. Hopefully there's still time for the inclusion of Brad Nicholson, our resident sweaty muscular man, although I'm not sure if the Unreal engine can accurately render his hair. I've got my fingers crossed.
It was in July of last year that SNK Playmore brought their classic fighting game franchise to iOS with The King of Fighters-i [$2.99], and it was the only game that could really stand up to the then current standard for touch screen fighters Street Fighter IV [$0.99], and in many ways it even exceeded it. Which series you prefer is largely a personal preference thing, but I always felt that The King of Fighters-i edged out Street Fighter IV in overall quality and playability.
The problem was that by the time The King of Fighters-i hit the App Store, the superior sequel to Street Fighter IV had already been out for a month. It was called Street Fighter IV Volt [$4.99] and it came packing everything that made the original game so great plus additional characters, new features, and most importantly online multiplayer. The online matchmaking worked surprisingly well in Volt, and despite The King of Fighters-i being absolutely fantastic it was still just a single player- or Bluetooth multiplayer-only game, and online battling was the new hotness.
Late last week Capcom surprised everybody by announcing an iOS port of their classic arcade fighter Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 [$4.99]. In all honesty, I suspect this was a cleverly timed release to casually tie in with 'The Avengers' movie coming out next week, but whatever the motivation I’m not complaining. Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 is one of the most beloved fighting games in history, and prior to the downloadable rerelease on XBL and PSN in 2009 it could be kind of a difficult game to play unless you owned the Dreamcast or the somewhat rare PS2 or Xbox versions.
With that said it’s fairly mind blowing then that today you can download the entire original game onto a device that fits snugly in your pocket (or to your iPad if you’d rather, since the game is Universal, though it’s extra snug trying to jam that in your pocket). The iOS version of Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 is really cool for what it is, basically a cheap nostalgic trip, but it’s plagued with several major problems that drag the experience down, making it feel more like a novelty rather than another solid iOS fighter.
The major sticking points in Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 are that it’s difficult to control compared to the other top iOS fighters, the 12 year old visuals have not aged gracefully, and the overall performance leaves a lot to be desired. However, the virtual control setup that Capcom has come up with for the game is pretty clever, and just having a classic like Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 in my pocket is worth putting up with its shortcomings. It’s just a shame because with a little more care I think this port could have been a whole lot better.
When we said that Marvel vs Capcom 2 was hitting the App Store "next week" last week, I think we all assumed that meant it'd be in the standard barrage of Wednesday night releases. Well, this is not the case, as the game is already available in most international regions and should appear for download on the U.S. App Store at 11:00 PM Eastern tonight.
First impressions on our forums are starting to roll in, and so far it seems like the game is what you'd expect in that if you can handle the virtual controls, you'll be in for a good time. Some forum members with 3GS-level hardware are noting some slowdown, but anything more recent than that seems to be A-OK. Also, the game is universal, which only makes things more awesome.
We'll take a closer look at the game in the not too distant future.
Originally released over a decade ago, Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes was a hell of a fighting game in its day. The iOS version features all 28 characters from the Marvel side of the fence and 28 characters from the Capcom dojos. As far as we can tell, this is a very complete port of the game, although it all obviously comes down to how well it controls.
Marvel vs. Capcom 2 should be available next week at 11:00 PM Eastern on Wednesday night with all the rest of the new game releases. …And I can't wait to beat up Mega Man with Wolverine.
In January Namco Bandai released an excellent iOS version of their classic 3D fighter SoulCalibur [$14.99]. A a fan of SoulCalibur on Dreamcast more than a decade ago, the faithful iOS port was a great way to re-experience the game. The virtual controls worked well, the graphics were crisp and high-res, and the finely-tuned mechanics withstood the test of time.
However, as good as iOS SoulCalibur was, it was strangely devoid of any kind of multiplayer, a key component for a fighting game. Over the weekend, Namco Bandai looked to rectify that omission by releasing a new update that adds Bluetooth multiplayer to SoulCalibur. The new versus mode works just as well as you’d expect it to, and squaring off against an opponent face-to-face is just as fun as it was back in the day. It really is crazy just how well SoulCalibur has aged after all these years, especially as a competitive game.
One important thing to note though is that multiplayer isn’t compatible with the iPod touch. SoulCalibur is a pretty technically demanding game anyway, and even upon release required at least an iPhone 4, iPad 2 or 4th generation iPod touch to run. It is likely the lower amount of RAM in that iPod touch device that is the reason multiplayer is a no-go.
If you’re a SoulCalibur fan in the iPhone or iPad camp then get to updating your game and go search out a worthy opponent. Believe it or not, SoulCalibur is actually on sale right now to celebrate the update, down from its normal price of $14.99, so if a lack of multiplayer caused you to pass on the game before now is not a bad time to finally pick it up.
Earlier this month, SNK Playmore released an update for their excellent iOS version of their popular fighting game franchise King of Fighters-i [$6.99]. Unfortunately, there was a huge SNAFU with the update, and for a lot of people downloading it would wipe out all of their data as well as take away 6 characters which had been added in a previous update.
The good news is that SNK Playmore has released a new update for King of Fighters-i that fixes the issue of deleting the additional characters. The bad news is that if your data was previously erased, then you aren't getting it back. At least not in my case. If you held off on the last update or your data wasn't erased as a result of it then you should be good to go with the new update. Emphasis on the word "should" because at this point I'm sure anything could happen, so maybe you should proceed with caution.
The strange thing about all of this update drama is that in the end, it looks like the original offending update was merely an iOS 5 compatibility fix, and didn't offer any new content or features. Sadly, the new update that fixes the old update doesn't have any goodies in it either, unless you count the fun I'll be having re-unlocking everything in the game over again.
I know that sounded snarky, but actually King of Fighters-i kicks all sorts of ass, and I really don't have a problem playing through it all again. Still, I'd love to see an actual content update released someday, and hopefully there's one in the works. In the meantime, make sure to grab the newest update if you were among those who were affected by the bug.
