It seems there was some reason behind Atari’s recent legal interest in the App Store.
Atari has released and official version of their brick breaking game called Super Breakout [App Store] tonight.
Move the paddle and deflect the ball. Super Breakout for the iPhone is a true evolution of Atari’s classic. For the first time ever, players use the iPhone’s tilt feature for a super power up, creating an exciting experience for this beloved game. Upload your favorite picture to create your own background. Chose to listen to your tunes while playing. Includes two player support.
The game offers both Classic and Super modes. Classic mode relives the novelty of the original game, while the Super mode adds powerups and special blocks. The game starts by using a touch control for the paddle which works well, and based on the description there is use for the accelerometer on later levels. The game is priced at $4.99.
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[ Thanks Rocketman919 ]
Wow. Looks good. I'm a bit dissappointed with not being able to choose what type of shot you can make, but i guess that's hard to implement, with the screen being it's size and lack of physical butons. By 'affordable' i hope they mean 1.79? :P
yeah... the game looks great. We'll have to see if tapping on the screen is enough gameplay to make it a good game.
arn
Yeah yeah, looks alone don't make the game, but the graphics on this are impressive. Making it the kinda game you buy just to show of to all your friends!
Haha, that reminds me a bit of Kroll. 'WOW STUNNING GRAPHICS!' and the 'WTF IS THIS' reaction from Catch the egg. Lmao.
I was wondering about the controls. I like the sound of it, tapping where you want the player to be, and tilting to determine shot direction. It would be nice to press on-screen buttons to determine the type of shot. But I'll reserve any more judgement till I play it. Looks great though.
i hope the gamplay is good !
the GRAPHICS is wow !
man..i love iphone
Graphics: 10
Gameplay: 2
Looks like all eye candy and no substance. I almost rather they moved to spots automatically and the touch screen was used solely for taking the shot. I can't imagine that only playing positional tennis would be all that entertaining. People would probably prefer worse graphics and better gameplay mechanics.
nickels, that actually sounds like a really decent idea. i don't think running around's really fun. maybe like putting pasted buttons on like real soccer 09? i dunno
too bad a two finger press or other gesture wasn't used for a different type of shot
Wow, it looks amazing, but I bet it could burn a pretty big hole through your wallet too.
Wow... that was amazing. This is a buy for me when it comes out.
Looks slow and boring. I would like some Virtua Tennis action, Sega.
Hey everyone! Just to reassure, the gameplay has been our number one priority! And it rocks. I'll leave the eval up to the reviewers. Were trying hard, in our first release to deliver an arcade experience with balanced gameplay, simple controls and a high replay value. Complexity can be added in as most comments here have been already discussed. Again, our goal is a control system that everyone can pick up and enjoy. Wait until you see the camera controls for multiple in game perspectives!
hmmmmmm. How would one control vitrua tennis on iphone? Oh yeah! A touchscreen dpad? LAME! This game is far from slow and boring. Then again, why not just play Tennis Slam! LOL.
Graphics look a bit slow...
How did they get Stephen Hawkins to present the game?
Part of the strategy of tennis is to use different shots to outfox the opponent (ie. Lob them when they're at the net). Couldn't it be re-worked to have you place a finger at your intended destination, and then swipe in a direction to indicate the shot?
eg.
- flick forwards with one finger for topspin
- flick backwards with one finger for backspin
- flick two fingers forwards for power shot or smash
- flick forwards with a curl for a lob (like drawing letter "r")
- ball direction is indicated by the direction of your swipes
- ball power indicated by the length of your swipe (two-finger swipe already maxes power)
- tilt accelerometer let or right to add curve
Sigh... a pity I only have PPC mac mini, otherwise would like to try this (after afew months of learning how to program)
^^ as in try to develop a tennis game with the above functions... iPhone developer program only works on intel-based macs. :'(
Hopefully can get the new MacBook within the next 4mths
What about tilting to move the player around the court, with swiping to hit the ball- wouldn't that work?
@ Barry:
Good suggestion. However, the accelerometer is pretty sensitive, so unless there's a reasonable deadspot in the middle, the character on the screen will look really jittery as they're rapidly moving out of the equilibrium point.
Agreed. The deadspot will need to be just the right size, or preferably customizable to suit each person who plays.
The accelerometer is just too sensitive for quick and precise game play for Mass Market casual games. A good example is 3D Vector pong. The game looks awesome, but the difficulty in controls is just too high for the mass market audience we are trying to reach on the title.
Initially, I designed the product to click on the location then to swipe in the precise direction you wanted the ball to go... BUT.... I am going to save that for an incremental release - it was just too much of a last minute add-on approaching release. Probably in an incremental update.
Using the tilt - left and right was a great leverage of the accelerometer and was easy to implement. There may be more in store for tilt, just not in this release.
Were just sewing up the menus, polish and more polish of gameplay.
@ HHG,
Its nice to know that you had already explored those possibilities and decided to attempt them at a later stage. Keep going! :)
"The game should be ready for release next week in the App Store"
What happened to it???
Title is going through last polish for submission to Apple. We could have released it, but it needed just a bit more time. Were hoping for tomorrow.