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.
Way back in October of 2010, Goodhustle Studios released Beast Boxing 3D [99¢/Lite], a first-person arcade style boxing game that we thoroughly enjoyed in our review. It utilized pretty simple boxing mechanics, but had intuitive controls and a fantastic art style. The campaign was a bit short, but this was rectified pretty well through an update the following December that added two additional characters and a survival style Endless Mode.
There hasn’t been much activity with Beast Boxing 3D since then, but a brand new update has just been released that addresses two of the biggest requests from users since the game came out: high resolution visuals and Universal iPad support. A lot of the artwork in Beast Boxing is hand drawn, so there isn’t a lot of impact on the Retina Display or the iPad screen, though it does look much cleaner. However, it makes a big difference in the text as well as the actual 3D character models, both of which are razor sharp now.
Check out the comparison screens of the non-HD visuals on the left and the updated screens on the right (click for full size):
There are some other minor fixes in this latest update too, like improved UI elements and issues related to Game Center achievements unlocking. Also, the characters themselves have been given additional sound effects and animations, giving them all a bit more distinction to their personalities.
Beast Boxing 3D has remained one of my favorite games since it came out, and I’m really happy to see such nice improvements so far beyond release. If you hadn’t checked it out before, the lite version has received the same Universal and HD treatment so you can see what you’re getting into without risk. If you like the lite, the full version is currently on sale for 99¢.
iOS fighting game fans know that The King of Fighters-i [$6.99], SNK Playmore’s longtime rival to the Street Fighter series, is one of the best fighting games on the App Store. We absolutely loved it when it released last July, and the following September saw a new update that sweetened the pot with 6 new characters and a new Challenge Mode.
We haven’t really heard much from the game since then, but yesterday a new update hit for King of Fighters-i that was pretty confusing. The update text listed all of the “new” characters that were already a part of last September’s update, and it didn’t really sound like there was actually anything new being added.
As it turns out, there was some sort of glitch with the update and if you download it and sync it to your device, you’ll actually LOSE those 6 additional characters as well as any of the items or data that you’ve accumulated. Since some of that stuff can be really time consuming to unlock, this can be pretty devastating if you’ve invested heavily in The King of Fighters-i.
SNK Playmore is aware of the problem, and warns in the app description not to update your game until they figure out what the heck is going on. It sounds like they actually DO have some new content planned, and they guess it should be about a week before they figure out what happened and come out with a fix for The King of Fighters-i. We’ll keep our eye out for that but in the meantime hold off on updating your game so you don’t end up losing your data.
Last month we reported that an iOS remake of Barbarian - The Ultimate Warrior, aka Death Sword, was in the works courtesy of developer Microids and publisher Anuman Interactive, and after a couple of false starts in the past week, the game does appear to officially be available in the App Store.
Renamed Barbarian - The Death Sword [$1.99/HD] for iOS, the game is a one-on-one fighting game that originally released in 1987 for the Commodore 64 and most of the other popular computers at the time. Gamers lauded the competitive gameplay of Barbarian in the burgeoning fighting game genre, but most of its widespread notoriety was due to some racy packaging and the ability to lop off your opponents head in a shower of blood during battle.
So back in early December, we were kind of caught off guard when Batman Arkham City Lockdown [$5.99] hit the App Store. There had literally been zero hype for the title previously, and to top it off it was developed by Mortal Kombat studio NetherRealm using the Unreal Engine, which was surprising but great at the same time. Besides the interesting peripheral elements though, Arkham City Lockdown itself was actually pretty outstanding.
It used a slightly dumbed-down version of Infinity Blade style combat, but came packed with an interesting character progressions system with tons of upgradeable items and abilities. Maybe an even more important point was that it just oozed that Batman character through every facet of its visuals and presentation, adding a lot of fan appeal to the gameplay.
Last month Namco Bandai treated us to an excellent iOS port of the original SoulCalibur [$14.99]. It was based off of the superior Dreamcast version (or more accurately, the high resolution XBLA remake) rather than the arcade version, and came equipped with just about everything that made it a classic back then, barring a couple of significant things.
First was the baffling lack of any sort of multiplayer, as well as a few missing modes that had been in previous versions. The second big thing was the frame rate. See, one of the things that was so memorable about SoulCalibur on the Dreamcast was just how crazy smooth everything moved. The frame rate rocked a solid 60fps, and it elevated the visuals way beyond anything that was on current consoles, and rivaled much of what was popular in arcades at the time.
Back in the arcade fighting game heyday of the ‘90s, 2D heavyweights like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat had to contend with a new brand of brawler on the block: the 3D fighter. Games like Virtua Fighter and Tekken forewent 2D sprites and single-plane gameplay in favor of 3D polygonal character models and a full range of movement within the combat arenas. Happily, it turned out that there was room for both kinds of fighters to coexist, with gamers enjoying 2D and 3D fighting games in harmony.
One of the most popular 3D fighting franchises to come out of this era was Namco’s Soul Edge, and more prominently its sequel SoulCalibur, both of which were noteworthy for their focus on weapon-based combat. SoulCalibur hit arcades in 1998, and was then ported to the Sega Dreamcast to launch alongside that system in 1999. The Dreamcast version was remarkable, featuring even better graphics than the arcade version and a wealth of additional modes and characters. In 2008 SoulCalibur was again resurrected for Xbox Live Arcade, boasting a high definition makeover but lacking any sort of online play.
Back in October we told you that Namco's classic 3D arcade fighter SoulCalibur was coming to iOS, and now it looks like we have a release date for the game. According to Andriasang (and noted by Joystiq), Namco Bandai will be releasing the iOS SoulCalibur as a Universal app this coming week on the 19th.
SoulCalibur on iOS will feature 19 different fighters and lots of game modes, including arcade, time attack, survival, extra survival, practice and museum modes. Sadly, there is no sign of team battle mode or any kind of multiplayer mode, which is pretty odd for a fighting game. The lack of online multiplayer isn't really surprising, but I sure hope we see some sort of local multiplayer option in an update in the future.
But even with the lack of multiplayer, SoulCalibur is an absolute classic that I spent countless hours with on my Dreamcast and I'm really looking forward to playing again on my iPhone and iPad. There will be Game Center support for 3 of the above modes, so there will be somewhat of a competitive aspect. Unfortunately, it looks like at release only owners of 4th generation devices or either version of the iPad will be able to run the game. Hopefully the hardware requirements will be able to be lowered down the line at some point.
We'll be sure to give SoulCalibur a spin and see how it's stood the test of time when it hits the App Store this week, and you can check out our forums for further discussion of the game.
Back in late October we posted an update on Elite Systems' coming Elite Collection (iPhone) and Elite Collection HD (iPad) apps, which will offer a bundled collection of classic Commodore 8-bit home computer games, as well as an in-app game store for purchasing additional singles and bundled arrangements of games. At that time, Elite indicated that these applications would be delayed due to a trademark complication. We're now happy to report the studio has informed us that the titles will land in the App Store on Friday, December 16th, and at a one-week promotional launch price of $0.99 each. [ UPDATE: Apologies to readers in our overlooking the fact that the stated release date does not apply to the Americas. These titles will see release there in mid-to-late January. ]
Earlier this week, Warner Bros. and Mortal Kombat developer NeatherRealm Studios surprised everybody by dropping Batman Arkham City Lockdown [$5.99], an iOS spinoff of the critically acclaimed console series, into the App Store. Batman Arkham City Lockdown is a streamlined take on its console big brother games, placing you in the role of Batman as he faces off against a stable of Gotham City's infamous villains in one-on-one battles. The presentation and overall "Batman-ness" of the game are absolutely fantastic, and although the combat is a bit rigid and flat, Arkham City Lockdown offers a fun mobile version of The Dark Knight's superhero escapades.
Immediately upon starting up the game, you're thrust into a fight with one of the Joker's thugs which acts as a tutorial in the ways of combat. The controls are fairly straightforward: Tapping the screen allows you to dodge an incoming blow, swiping the screen left or right throws those respective punches, swiping up does an uppercut, and swiping down just when an enemy is about to strike does a deflection move resulting in a dizzied opponent.
We thought the My Xbox Live app would be the surprise of the afternoon, but Warner Bros incoming Batman Arkham City tie-in for iOS is contesting. Earlier today, the New Zealand App Store was updated with a bunch of new apps that we'll see tonight, and Batman Arkham City Lockdown is one of those. In brief, it's an Infinity Blade-style one-on-one fighter that has you, as the Batman, eventually beating up the Joker, Two-Face, "and more" dudes from that universe across several different gritty Gotham environments.
As you'll notice from the screens, there's a little more to the experience. Gadgets and gizmos and upgrades are apparently a threat, as well as "unique gameplay" elements in its boss fights. I wouldn't be surprised if it had a touch more, er, viciousness than your run-of-the-mill Batman game, too, since the guys behind Mortal Kombat, NetherRealm, are behind it and all.
Lockdown should release tonight at around 11PM EST (at $5.99), so we'll be able to get a much better picture then. For other release news, look out for our upcoming post that spills the beans on everything notable hitting tonight.
There's hype building publicity stunts, then there's hype building publicity stunts. Pre-release excitement for Chair's upcoming Infinity Blade 2 is already at an all time high, which apparently has left Chair's PR department scratching their collective heads to come up with what else they could do to promote a game that's already on cruise control for greatness.
I'm guessing this eureka moment coincided with late night fitness-centric infomercials, resulting in a promotion that's so silly we couldn't help but post about it. Anyway, Chair has partnered up with musclebound bro Nate Green who is known for The Hero Handbook, a free fitness-oriented self-help eBook. Nate (who can be seen above working out at the local playground) put together a list of exercises which should help prepare even the weakest of hands for Infinity Blade 2.
Chair's Infinity Blade [$2.99] hit the App Store late last year and was met with nearly flawless critical reception. We couldn't help but give it five stars in our review, saying "It doesn't get much more 'must-have' than this." We then went on to name-drop Infinity Blade all over our Best iPhone Games category, listing it highly in every buyer's guide, and every other opportunity we could think of to tell people to download it.
At the iPhone 4S press event, Chair announced Infinity Blade 2, and I'm not sure it's possible for another iOS title (aside from a potential Infinity Blade 3) to have this much pre-launch hype. It's well deserved, too. The original was fantastic, and really, all Chair would have needed to do is phone in a sequel with new monsters, new equipment, and maybe even a new setting and we all would have been happy. Instead, what they've done, it take nearly every element of the original and turned it up to eleven.
One of the few criticisms people had of Infinity Blade was the oddly cyclical nature of the game, which wasn't held up by any more than a vague shell of a story involving your entire bloodline serving the single purpose of throwing themselves at the God King. Penny Arcade nailed it in a comic, and Infinity Blade was a much better experience if you didn't focus on just how silly it was that you decided to take up the sword after your father, grand father, great grandfather, great great grandfather and however many "greats" you needed to add to get back to the original knight who foolishly decided to make this your family's purpose.
Infinity Blade 2 feels like it has an actual story, and this time it's told through actual voiceovers. It picks up where the first left off, and you've got the God King's Infinity Blade in your hands, and are off to find "The Worker of Secrets" now that every deathless in the world is interested in taking the Infinity Blade from you. The initial hook involves searching for Saydhi, an information dealer. Thankfully, Saydhi seems to love duels, and offers up prizes for winning. I won't spoil more than that (and this hardly counts as spoilers since it all transpires in the first cut scene) but the way things branch out from there is substantially more interesting than the original even though you'll be doing a similar series of loops through the game.
Combat, the main draw of Infinity Blade seems to be greatly improved. Chair must have either tweaked the combat animations themselves, how the swipe input is handled, or both as it feels like you have an even more direct control link to your character. This shines even further in the new combat options which become available, allowing you to trade your shield to either dual wield or carry a massive two handed weapon.
The three fighting styles feel substantially different, and help greatly in making the game feel not quite as repetitive. With two weapons in hand, you attack much faster and blocking with your shield is replaced with being able to duck. Two handed weapons are much slower, and your defensive abilities are swapped with blocking using the actual weapon itself. It's really cool how it all works out.
The item store is back, and just like the first game you'll be trading your gold for gear at regular intervals. A new gem system allows for higher levels of customization though, and it won't take long before your equipped set of gear has all sorts of slots that you can socket gems into which can do basic things like boost stats all the way up to imbuing your items with various magical properties. If coming across gold in battles is a problem, Infinity Blade 2 offers a similar IAP purchase system to buy more gold if you want. Although, like the original, there's really no reason to and buying gold to get the best items seems to just remove any drive to actually play the game since equipment upgrades play such a big role.
Outside of fights, the gameplay is nearly identical with a world you can explore in an on-rails fashion, panning the camera around and tapping to move to the next location. Hidden items are back, encouraging you to stop to look around on every screen so you don't miss anything. You'll want to, too, because Infinity Blade 2 looks gorgeous. While you might be rewarded with items for doing it, you'll also be taking in the scenery just to marvel at the graphics your iPhone is capable of pumping out.
The rest of the game can easily be summed up with, "It's Infinity Blade, but more." There are more enemy types to fight, more visual effects, more flexibility, more customization, and they managed to do all this while removing how repetitive the original felt after blasting through the game a few times. It's everything I wanted in a sequel, and I can't wait for it to be released.
Infinity Blade 2 will be available on December 1st as a universal app for $6.99. We'll have a full review then, so stay tuned.
In January Namco Bandai released 
