Archive for February, 2012
‘Gridrunner’ Review – A Retro Remake Done Right
I came to oeuvre late, around the time of the XBLA release of Space Giraffe. I mention this not (only) to display the depths of my ignorance, but to provide context: there’s more to love in Gridrunner [$0.99] than just nostalgia. For anyone who missed the heyday of the Commodore 64, Minter’s iOS titles might seem a bit unapproachable, but consider giving them a shot – they might surprise you.
Gridrunner wears its roots proudly, but it isn’t a dogmatically faithful recreation of the 1982 original. Or, rather, it isn’t only that: both the Vic-20 and Commodore 64 version of the title are present here as optional modes. The real fun is in the remake, which takes the things that made Gridrunner great from the start and runs with them. The grid and its cruel lasers, the little ship that faces them down alone, the flying droids and the missile pods they leave behind – all these things return. This time they bring along retina graphics, power ups, new foes and moments of bullet-pulsing glory.
This isn’t the first time that Minter has revisited Gridrunner—it’s the third in the last decade alone. Gridrunner++ was released in 2002 and Gridrunner Revolution came out in 2009. Both brought in big changes. They were trippy, colorful departures, introducing features like score multipliers and ship rotation. This new iteration hews a little closer to the original, but Minter has clearly brought in much of the game design wisdom he’s picked up in the interim. The resulting game looks and plays like the original – assuming your memories of the original come with a big helping of rose-tinted nostalgia.
This new Gridrunner is a great little vertical shooter, the classic turned on its side. There is only one potential problem standing in the way of enjoying it as much as any retroesque shooter on iOS – its controls. If you play on an iPhone or iPod touch, you might be in for trouble. If you play on iPad, have patience. Once you’re past the learning curve, things will be just fine.
The controls feel quite a bit like Mage Gauntlet’s [$2.99] Pro Stick. As with that game’s superb virtual joystick, you can put your finger nearly anywhere on screen and move your fingertip minutely to move your ship in any direction. This took some adjustment. Most vertical shooters I’ve played use 1:1 movement ratios, and emulating that had hilarious but wildly ineffective results. I had to learn to move gently, and to stop lifting my finger (for goodness’ sake). Once I got over that hump I was very satisfied with the precision of the controls, especially once I switched to my iPad. They’re equally precise on smaller devices, but I can’t find a spot to comfortably rest my finger without regularly blocking important stuff like my ship and the things coming to kill it.
After moving over to iPad, I could finally see what all the fuss was about. It’s hard to survive in the world of Gridrunner. As with any shooter, there’s a mess of enemies to deal with. Centipedes that travel back and forth and diagonally, blobs that travel erratically, shrapnel bombs, ships that hunt you—the list goes on. Some leave behind static pods that must be destroyed before they drop missiles (though those missiles are worth quite a few points if shot down…), and all the while a laser travels across the edge of the grid, firing downward every few seconds.
Defeating enemies is particularly rewarding in this iteration, as many drop rings that power up your shots. There are eight different powerups, and they can be stacked and combined in interesting ways. There are spread shots and directional shots that can speed up, spread out, last longer and ultimately explode into bullet hell when upgraded far enough. This lasts only moments, but it’s an incredibly satisfying few seconds while it does.
Without multipliers or any other finicky scoring mechanics to worry about, surviving is the only real mark of success. With so much out to kill you, you can’t afford to let your focus drift for even a moment. You’ll die a lot, but Gridrunner has that covered: at the end of each level it awards an extra life. This won’t always be enough. Eventually you’ll burn out your last life, and then it’s game over.
For players who are more concerned with seeing all the levels than earning the most prestigious scores, Gridrunner has a casual mode. This saves your best scores and life count every four levels and lets your restart there when you fail. Casual mode is ranked on its own leaderboard, but it’s still worth playing for those of us who need a little help progressing. For the hardcore, Pure mode is where it’s at.
As I mentioned, you can also play the original Vic-20 and Commodore 64 versions of the game. It took me a little while to find them, but I adore the way they’re accessed: just turn your device on its side. Either side will do, as each offers its own alternate mode. Cool, no? Also a bit opaque, but them’s the breaks when Minter’s involved. Similarly, the game is paused by tapping a spot in the middle of the upper half of the screen. There’s an invisible paw/heart shape there, I’m sure you’ll manage to find it.
There are more than a few other Minterisms to be found – odd text splashes as you progress, ridiculous kudos for passing each level, that sort of thing. Still, this is one of the more restrained games of his I’ve played, easy on goat breeding, llamas, wacky visuals and awkward sound effects. I rather miss those things, but I suppose we’ll always have GoatUp [$1.99].
Whether you have reason to be nostalgic for Gridrunner or not, it’s worth checking out. It’s a best-of-both-worlds sort of remake: faithful to its forebearers but filled with clever modern enhancements. If you’re dead-set on believing that the original is best, you can go ahead and play that instead. It even has its own leaderboard. Really, though, newer is better in this case. Hopefully we’ll see an alternative control set for the iPhone and iPod touch crew, but if you’ve got an iPad it’s all systems go. Enjoy, and pop by our to brag about your high score.
TouchArcade Rating: 
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‘The Hacker’ Going Universal in Upcoming Update
One of my favorite recent iOS releases – and really one of my favorite games period – was The Hacker [99¢] from Angry Bugs, which we reviewed earlier this month. It let you play the role of an 80s style superstar hacker by way of a strong selection of cleverly designed and challenging mini-games, and it followed a fairly interesting plot along the way. If The Hacker was merely a collection of mini-games it would have been just another run of the mill puzzler. You know, good… but not memorable. Instead, what made it really stand out was its stellar presentation and attention to detail that did a fantastic job at pulling you into the experience.
A couple of days ago, Angry Bugs announced that an update is submitted to Apple that will add Universal support to The Hacker as well as some new content and fixes. In fact, their commitment to immersion is so great that they even stay in character when posting in the forums. Here’s a quote from them about the impending update:
Glider Operating System is now Universal; prepare your large screens for total immersion.
Expanded the network connection options, adding huge content to the original release of the OS.
Reduced Glider Corp writer’s salary for his horrible grammar, now he is trying his best to keep his job.
Above you can see a screen of what The Hacker will look like on the iPad with the larger screen real estate. That last bit in the quote is a reference to the spelling mistakes and poor grammar that occasionally popped up in the story dialogue, so it sounds like that’s going to be cleaned up as well (even though part of me thought it added to the charm, in a way). As for what the huge new content is, I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I’m already looking forward to playing through the entire game again on my iPad, and with the update already waiting for review, it shouldn’t be too long before we’re all doing just that.
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‘Limbo’ Dev Is Looking For A Mobile Programmer
The creator of Xbox Live Arcade sensation , a Denmark-based studio that goes by the name of Playdead, who can port games to several different mobile platforms, including iPhone and iPad. The job listing doesn’t get into specifics about what games, and it only betrays that Playdead is “investigating” mobile platforms. Still, you can’t help but to wonder if this studio’s only game is up for a little bit of phone and tablet love in light of this listing. Of note, the is also working on a new IP, so that’s a port possibility, too.
Limbo is certainly making the rounds, at least. After a very successful launch on XBLA, the title has seen a PC, PSN, and a Mac release on top of an On Live launch. We’re going to take a wait and see on this one, since, well, that’s our only option. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from Limbo, it’s that assumptions, like spiders and hotel signs, are dangerous.
[via ]
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‘Waking Mars’ Coming In March, New Teaser Trailer Is Hip
Lost Mars, or as its known now, , is on its way to iPad and iPhone this March 1, and will hit at an agreeable $4.99. That’s kinda old news, but no worries. We’ve got something a little fresher to share today: the game’s expertly produced teaser trailer, which, conveniently, does more than stoke your fire. It also shows off what developer ’s Metroid-ish game is all about.
About that name change, by the way. According to , Tiger Style got a little worried about a trademark dispute, so decided to switch from Lost Mars to a name that it could totally own. We would have went with Martha Mars, but hey, we’re not in the titling business for a reason, we suppose.
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‘iBomber Defense Pacific’ Hitting March 1
is lauded for its grip on the tower defense genre, and it’s poised to give us another entry in its tremendous iBomber franchise in the near future. We just got a heads up on iBomber Defense Pacific. Set against a Pacific rim backdrop, the game is ready to deliver new tactics, new strategies, and new weapons like rockets turrets, bomb bases and depth charges. Naturally, new enemies will be thrown into the mix, including hidden or stealth targets, which should make for a more interesting time spent with what is now almost an App Store classic series of games.
We spent some time with Defense Pacific this afternoon and can happily report that, yes, this is a tower defense game. One of the things that struck us as particularly cool is the level of micro-management. You can set your turrets to dig in and pinpoint where you want them to aim, level up specific components to upgrade your turrets, and combine the tools of iBomber’s trade to increase your total damage output.
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It’s Official: Apple Holding iPad 3 Media Event on March 7th
We haven’t been covering the tsunami of rumors surrounding the impending launch of the iPad 3 as our sister-site completely has that on lockdown. Regardless of what of these rumors you personally believe are true, we’ll all find out what’s coming on March 7th. The press conference is being held at the normal 10:00 AM Pacific time at the Yerba Buena Center for Arts. Curiously enough, this is practically across the street from GDC, which we’ll be in town for anyway! Convenient!
Word on the street is that the iPad 3 is going to have a Retina Display sporting a 2048×1536 resolution. That’s higher than what we consider HD in 1080p, and really, a resolution that’s challenging for a desktop GPU’s to push in 3D games, much less mobile GPU’s. The iPad 3 is going to need to sport some serious horsepower under the hood, and finding out what kind of mobile processor technology Apple is implementing to drive this screen is what I’m most looking forward to next week.
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New ‘Rune Raiders’ Trailer Appears
Ah, the all-seeing eye is pleased with this. Earlier this morning, we were turned on by a new trailer for Retro64’s upcoming release, . It’s a turn-based strategy game with light RPG elements. Situated more like a board game than anything else, it’s a title that focuses more on appropriate skill usage than simple strategic placements and your usual tactical fantasy stuff. In the game, you’ll control up to 12 fighters, all of which will have their own special weapons, damage, armor, and speeds, across 15 levels. It’s due to hit in a couple of weeks, and .
Get a taste of what we’re talking about just below. It must suck to be evil in a fantasy world, by the way. Every time a grand plan starts moving along smoothly, a ragtag band of warriors and healers and mages show up and screw everything up. We bet evil insurance rates are through the guild roof.
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It’s My Birthday and Games Are on Sale!
If you listen to The TouchArcade Show, you’ll know that we often joke about just how silly the culture of price changes is on the App Store. Even the most obscure of holidays are fair game for entire-catalog 99¢ sales. Anyway, long story short amounts to me goofing around on Twitter mentioning how my birthday almost seems like a more relevant holiday for iOS sales than Presidents Day. I didn’t really think anyone was going to do it, but it turns out there’s a small number of developers observing my birth as reason to drop prices. So, if you’ve had your eyes on any of these games, I guess thank my parents.
Breakeroids, $1.99 → 99¢
Commander Pixman, $1.99 → 99¢
King Cashing: Slots Adventure, $1.99 → 99¢
Match Panic, $1.99 → 99¢
Outfoxed, $1.99 → 99¢
Pickpawcket $2.99 → 99¢
Pin Fall, $1.99 → 99¢
Pinch n’ Pop, $1.99 → 99¢
Piyo Blocks 2, 99¢ → Free
Pollywog, 99¢ → Free
Power of Logic 99¢ → Free [HD]
Ramps, $1.99 → 99¢
Silverfish, $1.99 → 99¢
Silverfish MAX, $3.99 → 99¢
Soccer Tactics Multiplayer, $1.99 → 99¢
Tripolar, 99¢→ Free
Zen Wars, 99¢ → Free
Oh and SlotZ Racer Caterham Special has always been free, but if you play it today, you’ll get a special track. Exciting, eh?
If you’re looking to find more games on sale on days that aren’t today, the best way to do this is by bookmarking . These days so much stuff goes on sale that we don’t often post about them as pricing is just in a constant state of flux. Keeping a close eye on AppShopper is the best way to not miss anything.
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‘League of Evil 2′ Review – Still As Evil As Ever
The people behind Ravenous Games appear to be firm advocates of a familiar old idiom – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. League of Evil 2 [$2.99/Lite], the much-anticipated sequel to their sadistic platformer from 2011, isn’t anything new but it’s certainly still worth your hard-earned cash. However, before you rush out to grab their latest product, you probably want to ask yourself one question first: how much do you enjoy dying?
Because the game is hard. Really hard. Like its predecessor, League of Evil 2 is jam-packed with things that want to kill you dead. From ninjas with light sabers to shirtless Rambo lookalikes to spike pits, you’re going to see it all. The only thing League of Evil 2 doesn’t throw at you is a ravenous kitchen sink hell-bent on washing you out.
The level design is absolutely nefarious as well. Be prepared to drop down long passages only to explode atop a bed of sharp, pointy things. Be ready to accidentally jump into stray projectiles. The worst thing about this is there’s no one to blame but yourself. League of Evil 2 never really throws you into impossible situations. It merely demands that you have the reflexes of a greased-up mongoose on wheels.
Under ordinary circumstances, all that I’ve said would probably make the game impossible for all but the most hardcore. However, much like its progenitor, League of Evil 2 is blessed with wonderfully responsive virtual controls and a minimal amount of buttons. There are only three, in fact. You move the protagonist, otherwise known as the Agent, with the left and right buttons. To jump, you press B. To double-jump, you, uh, press B twice. And finally, A is for punching and kicking things. It’s pretty straightforward.
Much like in the original League of Evil, the story here is pretty simple. As the Agent, your mission is to stop the League of Evil – a coalition formed from an assortment of identical-looking evil scientists – by punching them in the face. Literally. In fact, that’s the goal of each level: to find the resident researcher and decapitate him with one blow. (Don’t ask how that works.)
And now that we’re done with the mandatory explanations, let’s move on to the differences between League of Evil 2 and the first League of Evil. The biggest change here is the visual style. Instead of retro-looking sprites, Ravenous Games went with a more cartoony, retina-quality approach this time around. I’m not sure if I particularly like the change but it’s certainly appealing, nonetheless. There are also an assortment of boss battles, a hefty 100 levels to start with, costumes, and comic book-style cut-scenes to introduce each new world.
One curious change in this sequel is in how the double jump works. In the first game, you could run off a ledge, jump in mid-air, and then jump again in mid-air. This mid-air double jump was an integral strategy in the first game in order to get difficult level completion times in the first League of Evil, and it seems strange that it would be changed for no discernible reason. However, the developers have acknowledged that the mid-air double jump will be restored in the next update.
I’m not the biggest platformer fan in the world, but I’m in love with this one anyway. Though I could have done with a few more collectibles and a deeper story, there’s not much to complain about here. If you want to experience Super Meat Boy on the go, League of Evil 2 is, well, the way to go.
TouchArcade Rating: 
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‘Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space Ep 2′ Review – Another Entry in the Fantastic Series Comes to iOS
Buying an episodic game is equal parts gambling and Kickstarting. “Moai Better Blues [$4.99],” the second game in Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space, takes place right after the delightful “Ice Station Santa [$4.99],” which means the entire series is meant to be taken as a whole. Telltale is banking on its audience’s willingness to buy every episode, hoping that they feel invested enough in the series’ overarching framework to not skip episode two, even though it’s weaker than the first.
“Moai Better Blues” is still a good iOS port, and the presentation, stability, and touch implementation that made the first episode so successful are still featured. Unfortunately, the clunky, tepid mini-games from ”Ice Station Santa” also return to the fold.
Like “Ice Station,” “Moai” requires a certain amount of preternatural gymnastics: the Freelance Police travel through the Bermuda Triangle to Easter Island, where they’re tasked with appeasing a vengeful, volcanic deity. It’s silly, sure, but it suits Sam & Max’s particular brand of clunky, in-game logic.
The beauty of Sam & Max, though, is that this logic rarely feels unfair or internally inconsistent: “Moai” is a classic inventory-management type of point-and-click adventure, but all of the puzzle solutions are backed up diegetically by conversations with other characters. If you pay attention, “Moai Better Blues” is more than happy to tell you the solution to each puzzle.
This dovetails nicely with Telltale’s efficient use of space, as each area is densely packed with items and off-hand bits of dialogue. Interacting with items and gathering clues is vital to Sam & Max, which creates a sort of self-sustaining momentum: the puzzles force players to search for clues, experiment with items, and talk to people, which in turn reveals the world’s humor and charm. As a result, “Moai”’s Easter Island feels vibrant and well-realized, even though it consists of only five or six screens.
If “Moai” exceeds “Ice Station” at all, it’s that it, mercifully, keeps aimless wandering and backtracking to a minimum. The Bermuda Triangle allows Sam and Max to travel freely between their office and Easter Island, but “Moai Better Blues” is pared down and focused enough that most most of the game is self-contained on the island.
Nevertheless, whereas “Ice Station” was particularly good at allowing players to chart each puzzle to its conclusion, “Moai” trends toward murkiness.I found myself solving puzzles in “Moai Better Blues” simply because they were there, waiting to be tinkered with, but not because I could tell how they would help me in the larger scheme of things. In “Ice Station,” each puzzle has an obvious context in the game as a whole; “Moai” often lacks this context. This might not a problem per se — design by tautology has been a genre staple for a long time by now — but “Ice Station Santa” was refreshing in its clarity, and “Moai Better Blues” is much less explicit in its expectations.
The game’s middle section may stumble about, but its climax is deft: the identity of “Moai”’s volcano-deity antagonist is a perfect marriage of Steve Purcell’s surrealist vision and his acknowledgment that Sam & Max fans need to feel that each episode is connected for the series to work. I don’t want to spoil the big reveal, and it’s a terrible shame that “Moai” deflates all that good will with a particularly boring final puzzle. “Boss fight” puzzles have become a staple of the episodic Sam & Max games, but “Moai”’s finally is derivative, logically obtuse, and awkwardly executed.
“Moai Better Blues” skates by on its pedigree and the humor and charm of Purcell’s vision, and its simplistic final puzzle does little to inspire confidence for the inevitable release of episode 3, “Night of the Raving Dead.” Still, Telltale are skilled craftsmen, and they’ve been refining Sam & Max’s episodic content for a whopping seven years by now — even at its worst, it’s hard to go wrong with “Moai Better Blues.”
TouchArcade Rating: 
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