Set in World War II, 33rd Division offers gameplay across four different European battlefields. The goal is to guide soldiers, medics and sergeants entering the battlefield to each of their designated destinations without being seen (shot and killed). This is done by drawing a course across the battlefield (Flight Control style) in and among obstacles and roving patrols.
Sounds just like all the other line-draw games, right? Well, 33rd Division has some interesting variations up its sleeve. The aforementioned roving patrols have a limited field of vision, indicated by a highlighted sight cone that moves as they turn about the battlefield. As long as you stay out of their sight area, you're fine, but enter that cone and, well, let's just call it the cone of death. What's more, if you're trapped and about to be seen, you can lie down, rendering you invisible…unless the patrols walk right up to you, in which case they render you full of lead.
The game offers two playmodes, Life, in which it's game over after you lose all your lives, and Time, where it's an all out race against the clock. Helping you out along the way are eight different power-ups that can be collected on the battlefield, including invincibility, bonus life, extra time, double speed, and frozen enemies. The WWII-era menu music, complete with crackles and pops, adds nicely to the effect, as does the ambient battlefield sound during gameplay. OpenFeint leaderboards provide incentive to hone your skill.
There are a number of line-draw games of this general sort in the App Store. I do have my favorites. And as it turns out, 33rd Division is among them. The temptation to shortcut your way across the battlefield, cutting dangerously close to the patrols and dropping to the ground at the right moment, adds a great sense of danger and exhilaration to the gameplay. But, be careful, you don't want to get stepped on!
Fish Labs' long awaited rally racer that we first heard of back in August has finally arrived on the App Store. Originally a J2ME game released in 2008 that received rave reviews from mobile gaming sites, Rally Master Pro 3D [App Store] for the iPhone is completely remastered with four times the polygon count of the original with all kinds of additional visual effects.
The extra once-over Fish Labs gave Rally Master Pro 3D is amazingly apparent from your first launch of the game. It looks absolutely gorgeous and can easily stand next to the other graphical marvels of the App Store. Your car is one of the best looking car models I've seen on the platform, the weather effects look excellent, the draw distance is far, and pop-in of scenery is minimal. From a technical standpoint, Rally Master Pro 3D is phenomenal.
The game is controlled similar to other racing games. Your steer your car either by tilting your phone, using an analog wheel, or digital buttons to turn right or left. Acceleration can either be handled automatically or via a button, and there is a button for braking. I've found myself preferring the buttons to steer right and left, which seems a little odd as tilt controls have worked so well with other games. Both tilting and using the analog wheel somehow feel significantly less precise than using the digital controls.
When you're doing well, racing through the countryside in Rally Master Pro 3D feels great. As a rally game, you are competing against the clock rather than other racers, and like other rally games, turns are called out and the tracks are mostly easy to navigate with plenty of turns and jumps. Where things start to go pear shaped is when your tires slip off the road, which is where the car damage system comes in.
If you don't maintain a perfect racing line, your car slows significantly whenever you even slightly veer off the road. On top of that, a bar showing your car's current durability is displayed on the top left corner of the screen. In addition to being slowed when you go off road, your car takes constant damage and must be repaired between races.
When I first noticed my car taking damage for sliding off the edge of the track through turns, I suspected that there was going to be some really slick multitouch enabled mini game where you used various gestures to repair your car or some other clever way to play as a member of your pit crew. Instead, you're offered two options– You can either have the game repair automatically to repair some lost durability, or assist the pit crew by playing timing based mini games to do things like refill your tire pressure or tighten the lug nuts of your wheels to repair much more.
What could have been a neat gameplay mechanic similar to how you hot wire cars in Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the DS instead is accomplished by just pressing a virtual button on screen. When you're refilling your tires you hold a button to add or release air in to your tires and must guess the correct duration to get the pressure gauge within the desired range. When tightening lug nuts, you simply tap a button when a series of lines match up inside of a bar similar to how you putt in most golfing games.
What could have been a great opportunity to inject some mini games that suit the unique controls of the iPhone instead just come off as shallow and contrived. The vehicle durability and repair system really seem to be the fly in the ointment of an otherwise phenomenal iPhone game.
At the end of the day, Rally Master Pro 3D is still worth checking out. It's a fun racing game with great graphics. Once you eventually get good enough at the game your car doesn't take very much damage, and you can begin to mostly ignore the durability system. There is a ton to unlock by playing through the three difficulties of career mode, each with a rally course set up over 9 individual legs. Times are tracked locally as well as online, creating a sizable amount of replay value if you enjoy competing in online leaderboards.
EA should be commended for its efforts to bring full-fledged sports games such as Madden 10 and FIFA 10 to the iPhone/iPod Touch platform. While they haven’t been perfect, they certainly have elevated the playing field for competitors. The latest addition is targeted at the basketball aficionados with NBA Live 10, which is probably the best of the bunch with balanced AI, easy-to-use controls, and most importantly, engaging gameplay. While those looking for a true console-quality experience should stick to your PC, PSP or XBox, those simply looking for a high-quality basketball game on the iPhone platform should strongly consider NBA Live 10.
NBA Live has all 30 NBA teams and their player rosters with photos and statistics are at your disposal. The game has several play modes—Exhibition, Season and Playoff. Exhibition mode allows you to play a quick single game using your favorite team. Season mode takes you through a choice of 12, 20, 41 or 82-game season tracking season statistics and standings leading to the playoffs. Playoff mode gives you the option to play a single, 3, 5 or 7-game playoff series. Each mode provides numerous customization options such as quarter length from 1-12 minutes each, but two areas worth noting are penalty enforcement (easy, medium, hard), and most importantly, 3 levels of gameplay difficulty (Rookie, Veteran, All-Star).
The AI can become significantly challenging based on how you set the penalty enforcement and gameplay difficulty. Shot clock violations, out of bounds, reach-in fouls and shooting are all enforced. By increasing the degree of penalty enforcement, additional penalties are leveled. With medium, fouling out and goal tending are included, while hard adds backcourt violations, charging and 8-second violations.
The graphics and animation are solid for the device with minimal lag on my iPod Touch 2g. The different stadiums and arenas are well represented, although the players can look Lego-like. Running up and down the court with multiple simultaneous animations, NBA Live doesn’t experience much stutter. The game includes optional commentary from Marv Albert. Like most games, the commentary is repetitive, but generally fit with the current game situation. In addition, 15 music tracks from artists like Matt and Kim, Snoop Dogg and Xzibit are included and playing your own music is also allowed. Other options are choice of camera angles (broadcast and baseline), left/right flip controls, and horizontal or vertical button layouts.
NBA Live’s two-button control set-up may appear limiting, but it does make the game intuitively easier and more responsive than FIFA 10. NBA Live uses a virtual control stick for maneuvering players up and down the court along with a pair of blue and red buttons. These action buttons can be used to do different actions depending on if your team is on offense or defense. On offense, the blue button is used for passing and the red button to shoot. Depending on how long you hold a button, other options appear. For example, holding down the blue (pass) button will bring up icons for other players each identified by risk for making a pass. Tapping a player icon will then deliver the pass. Meanwhile, flicking the blue button will bring up juke and crossover moves. Pressing and holding on the red button lets you shoot the ball and releasing at the peak of the jump increases your chances of scoring. Simply tapping the red button will create a pump fake, while flicking when driving to the basket will result in a dunk. And depending on the direction you flick, different dunks can be unleashed. Blocking, rebounding and stealing controls are also offered.
One of the game's nicer features is the ability to call plays. The Clipboard icon in the top right is used to select plays on offense and defense. For example, you can select zone or a 4-1 offensive play set as well as specific plays such as a pick and roll or set up for a 3-pointer. On defense, a limited set of play sets are available such as man to man, and various zone set ups.
Team management is probably one of the weak spots for NBA Live. Trading and customizing rosters is done by dragging and dropping player names and profiles between select teams. Like Madden 10, there are no roster limitations based on salaries, although teams are required to have certain position players, which tends to make team management shallow and less than fulfilling. You can easily create your own dream team without too many restrictions. A nice touch, however, is the addition of Legend Players such as Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Dr. J, which are unlocked based on your progress through the season.
The gameplay is as good as you would expect with NBA Live, and a lot of this goes back to the controls and AI. The simplified control set up should make this game accessible to a broader audience. The AI works smoothly and ratchets up nicely playing an intelligent offensive and defensive game. NBA Live 10 delivers a fun and immersive basketball game. Whether playing a quick game or a more prolonged season mode, the game is a solid offering and provides a good degree customization without too many complex controls. Given the overly easy AI in Madden 10 and the high learning curve of FIFA 10, NBA Live 10 seems to be right in the middle balancing the appropriate challenge within a manageable environment.
I’m always on the lookout for new twists on puzzles. Sometimes these new twists or elements work and often times, they don’t. Besides the degree of fun which is highly subjective, the ideas that generally work and succeed are the ones that add complexity without complicating the game. When I first started playing Wriggle, I was lured in by the fun looking graphics, but what’s kept me playing is the mind benders that at first glance look simple enough. As you play with Wriggle, it becomes a test of logic all presented in a lighthearted package.
Wriggle is all about squirmy worms that come in a variety of colors. The only one you really care about is the blue one that must get to the exit within a certain number of moves. While the goal sounds mundane on paper, in practice, Wriggle is brain teasing at its best.
The control scheme involves your finger and the ability to drag Blue and the other worms in whatever direction. Wriggle has 4 levels of difficulty—easy, medium, hard and expert—with 80 total puzzles. In order to unlock the puzzles at the higher difficulty, you must complete 50% of the puzzles at the previous difficulty.
Each puzzle has a number of moves in which you must get Mr. Blue to the exit if you’re to receive an award. This involves strategically moving the other worms out of your way. Worms can be moved by dragging the head or the tail, and moves are counted when you drag a new worm. In terms of other features, once you’ve unlocked a set of puzzles in a difficulty level, you can choose to play any of the puzzles, skipping forward or replaying previous puzzles. Within each puzzles, a handy undo button is available so you can re-think your strategy without having to start from scratch. Plus, the game has auto save so your progress is saved regardless of where you left off.
Wriggle fits in that category of “simple to play but difficult to master”. It provides enough puzzles with a range of difficulty levels that novice and advanced puzzlers will enjoy, and provides enough to keep you coming back
Earthworm Jim [App Store] is a game that should need no introduction if you are old enough to have been around to enjoy the golden age of 16 bit gaming. Originally released in 1994 for the Sega Genesis, and quickly ported to several other platforms shortly thereafter including the Super Nintendo and a "Special Edition" on the Sega CD. Recently this Sega CD version of the game made it to the Wii Virtual Console, and as of this evening Earthworm Jim has yet another new home– The iPhone.
So what's Earthworm Jim all about? Well, you play as an earth worm (named Jim) who was powered up by a super suit that crashed down to Earth. Like all good video games, your quest involves saving a princess from her evil captor, in this case, Queen Slug-for-a-Butt. Along the way you'll jump, whip, and shoot yourself through different obstacles and bosses in pure-16 bit platforming bliss.
The best thing about Gameloft's Earthworm Jim for the iPhone is that it's Earthworm Jim for the iPhone. Consequently, this is also the worst thing about the game as Earthworm Jim shares some of the relative control imprecision that is unavoidable when mapping traditional joysticks to on-screen virtual controls.
A virtual D-Pad (or joystick, configurable in the game's options) controls your movement, and a set of three buttons in the opposite corner of the screen handle jumping and attacking. The controls work well enough for the game to still be fun, but if you remember playing the game on previous consoles, you will likely have a awkward adjustment period as you bumble through the first level.
If this is your first foray into the Earthworm Jimiverse, just be aware the game has numerous tiny platforms to jump on and airborne monsters to shoot. So, depending on how good you are with virtual D-Pads, this can either be very fun or very frustrating.
Between levels, Jim will take out his pocket rocket and you will race Psycrow (another one of the in-game baddies) to the next level. These levels play exactly like the tunnel racing games that have become so popular on the App Store. Tilting the iPhone moves your rocket right or left and you complete the level by beating Psycrow to the finish.
The odd part about these levels is they feel remarkably natural on the iPhone. Tilting right or left to move your rocket works just as well as all the other games on the platform with a similar racing gameplay mechanic. This provides a stark contrast between the regular levels of the game, which work, but feel just as out of place as most other games with virtual controls.
So do I recommend picking up Earthworm Jim? How could I say no? Earthworm Jim is a classic, and the iPhone port has completely remastered art and sound, making it quite possibly one of the best looking and sounding versions of the game. (Note that Jim does have different voice acting, so fair warning for you Earthworm Jim purists.) The controls are as good as can be expected, and the game only saves your progress as you complete each level, but Earthworm Jim for the iPhone can still be a lot of fun.
If you played the original release of the game, Earthworm Jim will stoke the coals of nostalgia in to a blazing inferno of worm whipping and rocket riding. If this is the first you've heard of the series, it still may be worth navigating the virtual control scheme to enjoy Gameloft's refined version of one of the best platformers of the 90's.
Last weekend we took a look at a preview release of React Games' Archon Conquest and, as fans of the 25 year old EA original, we liked what we saw. The game has since gone live in the App Store [link] and we've spent a bit more time with this variation on the studio's remake of the chess-like action strategy game.
Back in June, React brought a revamped take on EA's 1983 classic Archon [App Store] to the iPhone. Archon is an action / strategy game set on a 9×9 chess-like board arrayed with a variety of Light and Dark game pieces, each with its own set of battle attributes. When two pieces come face-to-face on the same board square, action turns to the battle arena where the enemies do battle, arcade style. The winner takes the square.
Archon Conquest stays close to the original formula, but in place of the chess board setting is a variety of different environments in which to play — four maps or campaigns with 60 different quests or puzzles to complete in all. As mentioned in our preview, Archon Conquest looks visually closer to EA's 1984 sequel, Archon II: Adpet, but the similarity ends there. It's still a matter of controlling power squares or wiping out the enemy wholesale, but in new, obstacle-laden environments.
Archon Conquest allows the player to earn medals on each quest, depending on overall success and tracks skill through (Plus+) online leaderboards. Power characters can cast spells, including new spells as compared to the original, and characters can level up and collect various power-ups in the combat arena.
The differing available characters through the game's various quests, along with the need to negotiate the new board environments, mixes the game up tangibly from the more ordered gameplay of the original. It feels very much like the new take on Archon that it is, and as a big fan of the original, I find it pleasantly refreshing. There's definitely more long-term playability here than in the classic title. In fact, the full play time is estimated at 16 hours to complete all four maps.
Those familiar and fond of the original should find the variety that Archon Conquest brings a welcome twist on a solid formula. And, thanks to the variation that the game brings (not to mention a lower cost of entry), those who've never commanded the Light or the Dark before might just find React's latest to be more appealing than classic Archon.
Wherever you fall, if a well-balanced fusion of action and strategy sounds appealing, you'd do well to give Archon Conquest a try.
Dark Nebula is described as a "skill-based action game" which we previewed back in August. The game is brought to us in part by Anders Hejdenberg, the lead designer of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat.
Dark Nebula is a tilt-controlled ball roller, but one that adopts an action/arcade vibe rather than the more tedious precision work found in many others. In fact, it feels so different, I'd hesitate to put it in the same genre. The game proceeds across 10 levels of action-packed gaming. Each level is very well designed with a variety of obstacles introduced along the way. Your tasks include the avoiding of spikes, triggering switches, avoiding laser fire, and more. And despite no calibration options, the game's controls seemed perfect.
Each of the 10 levels are primarily vertical scrolling scenes with distinct start and end points. Your ball has a single shield that can be replenished along the way. Get hit with your shield down or fall off the level and you have to restart at the beginning of the level poriton you are died on. If you lose all your lives, you can restart at the beginning of any level you've unlocked. There are 10 levels in all.
In fact, it seems the developers have gone to special trouble to avoid user frustration in the game. For example, if you get killed by a laser shot or spinning spikes, these elements actually slow down so it's easier to get through on your next life. The result is a game that you will enjoy immensely to the end, though one that will end relatively quickly.
Dark Nebula is billed at offering an hour's play time to make it through the entire game. If you are particularly coordinated, you will be able to make it through in a significantly shorter amount of time, though going back to get gold stars on each level do offer a legitimate amount of replay value.
Overall, Dark Nebula offers a very fun, action-arcade experience that we loved every second of. The game's rather short length, however, is a legitimate point of concern, but at only $0.99 and high quality of the overall experience, we still recommend it.
Tapulous's Tap Tap Revenge 3 [App Store] is the third generation of Tap Tap Revenge games, and with the inclusion of downloadable content (DLC), Tap Tap Revenge 3 finally has become what the series should have been from the start, with a complete in-game store to buy all kinds of licensed music tracks to play.
If you're unfamiliar with the series, Tap Tap Revenge is a rhythm game similar to Dance Dance Revolution that you play by tapping with your fingers and shaking the phone. The game's roots go all the way back before the App Store even existed, and was one of the first jailbreak games for the iPhone that was more than a simple card or marble rolling game.
Prior to OS 3.0 and the advent of in-game DLC, Tapulous sold music packs through separate games on the App Store. Available for $4.99, these individually bundled games featured music from Weezer, Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Nine Inch Nails, and Dave Matthews Band.
In Tap Tap Revenge 3, there are close to 50 bundles of music that can be purchased in game. 6 track bundles are sold for $2.99, and 2 track bundles for 99¢. Each of these bundles also comes with their own theme with various art from each of the bands that scroll across the screen as you play their corresponding songs. (Full track list available on TUAW.)
Aside from the array of optional music to buy, Tap Tap Revenge 3 has over 100 free indie songs, and Tapulous plans on adding free music every week for users to download. TTR3 also has a full online component with various multiplayer modes, avatars to choose from, and tons of other social features like in-game chat.
If you've never played a Tap Tap Revenge game, Tap Tap Revenge 2.6 [App Store] is free and will give you a good idea in what to expect in the sequel. Otherwise, Tap Tap Revenge 3 is available for 99¢, and with the potential of nearly unlimited content to be added to the game via the DLC store, there's not much reason to not pick this up if you're a fan of rhythm games.
I've been slowly playing through Dr. Fun Fun's Hi, How Are You [App Store] since it came out nearly two weeks ago now, completely unaware of the phenomenon that is Daniel Johnston. I originally intended on writing about this game because I hadn't seen another cell shaded platformer on the App Store. However, after doing some research on the history of Hi, How Are You's development, I got turned on to the world of Daniel Johnston and quickly became aware that this is Johnston's life of art and music distilled into a iPhone game.
The premise of Hi, How Are You follows the theme of most of Johnston's music in that you're battling the forces of Satan to find love. Playing as Jeremiah the Innocent, you will make your way through over 25 levels to remove the curse of Satan. As the game progresses, you slowly change from a frog, to a block, to a ball, and finally back to human form.
Your movement in the game is controlled using the accelerometer and the two stop signs in both lower corners of the screen instantly stops your character from moving. Initially this seemed like such an odd set of buttons to have cluttering the screen, but it didn't take long for this seemingly strange control element to really grow on me as you never need to worry about finding the exact center of where you calibrated the accelerometer to in order to stay in place.
Instead, you hold the stop button, tilt the direction you want to move, let go, and you're off. This control method allows you to navigate the different obstacles in game with ease. The camera can be panned right of left by pressing either side of the screen, and to zoom out you press both sides at once.
Completing the levels in game involves hopping over every tile, turning them green, then finding the exit. It's not that easy though, as you quickly come across all kinds of obstacles, moving platforms, and other puzzles. The bottom of the screen displays your life, along with the time, the number of tiles left to turn green, and the number of bonus tiles on the level to be turned red. While each level is timed, you can keep playing and complete each level even if you run out of time, you just won't be awarded for beating the clock.
Hi, How Are You has a soundtrack featuring several of Daniel Johnston's songs, and an art style matching Johnston's drawings. The difficulty ramps up nicely, and with each achievement you unlock a unique piece of artwork to view. I had fun playing the game, but after doing some reading on the life of Daniel Johnston, Hi, How Are You has taken on a whole new layer of awesome. Dr. Fun Fun not only created a game with a neat style that's fun to play for people who have never heard of Johnston, but also an amazing piece of fan service for those who have.
If you'd like to know more about the world of Daniel Johnston, he has his own Wikipedia article, and his life is detailed in the 2005 documentary, The Devil and Daniel Johnston which is available on iTunes along with all of his music and several music videos.
Hi, How Are You is a fun platform puzzle game with a unique art style. If you're not a fan of Daniel Johnston, playing through this game might just make you become one.
iPhone developer Eurocenter has applied their expertise in online gaming to a new Kart racer called Cocoto Kart Online. Eurocenter is a 20 year old company that has had decades of experience with multiplayer games and since 2008 has been working on the iPhone. Their previous online games have included Ace Tennis, Adrenaline Pool and the frantic deathmatch game DinoSmash.
This time Eurocenter teamed up with Neko Entertainment to port their Wii/DS title Cocoto Kart Racer to the iPhone. This Mario Kart-alike features 10 tracks with 12 unique animated drivers. Most notable, however, is the addition of online multiplayer with both racing and battle modes.
Neko Entertainment and Eurocenter teamed up to bring the most console-quality like kart racer to the iPhone and iPod touch. Drive in volcano worlds, in the sky, up in the trees, slide on ice, use turbos, take shortcuts by jumping over platforms. 12 unique drivers are fully animated. The online mode includes multiplayer races and battle mode where you try to shoot the opponents 3 times.
The developer shows the game in action:
The game has generated quite a following in our forums and our brief time with the game has demonstrated a really great online experience. Our matches tended to find other players quickly, and even when it didn't, it allowed me to play single player while it kept looking. Game controls offer both touch and tilt steering with auto-acceleration optional. Collected power-ups are triggered by shaking the device. While this sounds unappealing at first, only a slight jiggle is really required as shown in the video.
Predictably, reviews of the Wii/DS version were handicapped with unavoidable comparisons to Mario Kart which is also available natively on those platforms. But for the iPhone platform, online multi-player Kart racing for $0.99? Seems hard to go wrong.
Sounds just like all the other line-draw games, right? Well, 33rd Division has some interesting variations up its sleeve. The aforementioned roving patrols have a limited field of vision, indicated by a highlighted sight cone that moves as they turn about the battlefield. As long as you stay out of their sight area, you're fine, but enter that cone and, well, let's just call it the cone of death. What's more, if you're trapped and about to be seen, you can lie down, rendering you invisible…unless the patrols walk right up to you, in which case they render you full of lead.
Back in June, React brought a revamped take on EA's 1983 classic 
Archon Conquest allows the player to earn medals on each quest, depending on overall success and tracks skill through (
I've been slowly playing through Dr. Fun Fun's Hi, How Are You [
