Archive for the ‘3.99’ tag
Capcom Releases ‘Final Fight’ And ‘Street Fighter 2 Collection’ On The App Store
Whoa, hey, Capcom Mobile is on a roll. After releasing a pretty hefty and free content update to Street Fighter 4: Volt this morning, the publisher has released two new (old) games on the App Store. Starting now, you can re-live some of your old coin-op beat-em-up memories with Final Fight iOS [$.99]. Or, if classic Street Fighter is more your thing, you can also check out three different versions of Street Fighter 2 in Street Fighter 2 Collection [$3.99].
Final Fight, as you’ve probably noticed, is carrying a promotional $.99 price tag, which strikes us as pretty appropriate considering you’ve probably purchased this game in some shape or form a billion times already. This specific version, however, does roll in virtual controls and a finishing move button. Also, if you’ve got pals with phones, you can connect with one via Bluetooth for co-op action. And before you ask: dibs on Haggar.
In bummer news, Street Fighter II Collection is also shackled by Bluetooth. In much brighter news, it’s a heck of a package for fans of the series — it rolls in the original game, Street Fighter II: Championship Edition, and Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting all in one app. They all appear to be relatively untouched content-wise, but like with Final Fight the notable iOS tweak is an “easy-to-use one button finishing move.”
One note: both games require iOS 4.1 (or better) and don’t support a lot of older devices. Check the game notes before you go nuts.
STREET FIGHTER II COLLECTION, $3.99
Final Fight, $0.99
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‘Grand Prix Story’ Review – Kairosoft Goes to the Races
’s Grand Prix Story [$2.99] feels more like Game Dev Story [$3.99 / HD] than any of the other studio’s subsequent releases following the launch of the overly-cutesy and absorbing simulation game about making games. In both games, there’s a lot of overhead before you can see any practical applications or meaningful progress. There are also a ton of hidden systems and mechanics to find and discover as the game moves you along with its forty foot stick with a dangling carrot on the end. Also, in both games your race to be the best is often determined by the time you put in being the worst. You have to click with and then master both games’ mechanics in order to see profit and, yeah, that can a tall order for mobile.
Grand Prix Story specifically is a painfully slow-burning simulation with a familiar set of problems that plague almost every Kairosoft release — lack of feedback, too many hidden or unexplained systems or mechanics, a bad tutorial, and a steep difficulty curve — but it’s also a fun title that hits all the notes that it needs to. Its systems are deep and defined enough, the racing is oddly entertaining even though its just a conglomeration of dice rolls, it’s burst-y, and the overall atmosphere, action, and theme play well off each other.
In the game, you’ll play the manager of several racing teams. You’ll never strap into a car, but you’ll make them and research them, tune parts and find new ones, set up and cancel a conga line of lucrative sponsorships, and subtly guide your guys to victory by putting all the materials and constituent parts of the simulation into your cars. It’s a bit heady, but once you put in a couple of hours, you’ll quickly grasp all the concepts. I realize that we all can’t spend our lives indebted to Kairosoft though, so if time is an issue, this isn’t the game for you at all.
At first, you’ll be given a single car and a few races to compete in. You’ll need to hire mechanics to fix your car, contract a driver, add new parts, and discover research points while racing this vehicle. There are tons of cars to build and even more parts to apply to your car, most of which have standard “you get this, but you lose a bit of this” stat-lines. Interestingly, Grand Prix Story sets itself up for you to compete against the simulation; by increasing the parameters of your driver, mechanics, and your parts, you’ll receive way better performance results from a car and in races.
There are no actual racing mechanics — when you enter into a race, you simply watch how your driver and car perform… over and over and over and over again. It’s really quite mind-numbing to watch hundreds of of races over the haul of the experience, yet there’s something oddly compelling about each outing. Hilariously, I’m personally connecting with my team and my cars and I want to see races through regardless of the outcome. I know that’s cheesy, but when you spend hours and hours of time beefing up team members, vehicles, and individual parts, there’s a certain thrill in seeing the fruits of your labor in motion.
It's important to note that you’ll randomly earn research points as you race. And as you place higher and higher, you’ll earn more points with sponsorships. After enough of the latter, you’ll receive new parts and new sponsorships, as well as a little side-dough to spend on better drivers and better team members.
“Team” is the most interesting concept introduced in Grand Prix Story. You’ll eventually get to control several and you’ll have to babysit all of them. Eventually, you’ll be able to race a handful of cars at once, ratcheting up your potential to earn research and extra cash in a single race. Once a year in the simulation, you’ll participate in the Grand Prix, which is a series of races. When you conquer it, you’ll get a chance to upgrade your garage and give yourself even more to do.
Aside from the frustration of having to wait and watch for most of the game’s finer points of its simulation — and that might be more a result of the reviewing process than anything else — I’ve been having a positive and good time with Grand Prix Story. Sadly, for those of you who really like fancy outros with big and impactful things to bear, Grand Prix Story has been entertaining me for the exact same reasons that Game Dev Story did. It’s a sharp simulation with a ton of systems to look at, use, and then abuse wrapped up in a playful and cutesy little package. It’s great on the go, fun to play regardless, and a neat little break from the studio’s more recent games. I recommend it.
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Best iOS Games August 2011
Our ratings for games we reviewed in August are now in place, and we now present to you the ones that are on the top of the heap. Each game reviewed receives a 1-5 star rating relative to the other games from that month. Generally, a 3 or higher is considered a "good" rating.
Our final scores are not the product of any traditionally objective measures such as graphics or sound, but simply reflect the games we would most recommend to others.
5 Stars
Jetpack Joyride, $0.99 – [Review] – [] – This is our favorite game of the month, as this endless power-up packed single-button flying game is responsible for sapping days of productivity across the entire TouchArcade staff. There are so many hooks to keep you playing that you can do "one more game" for hours through achievements, missions, unlockables, and all sorts of cosmetic customizations.
SPY mouse, $0.99 – [Review] – [] – Firemint has managed to de-throne Angry Birds from the #1 position on the App Store with this line-drawing-powered stealth game. Collect cheese, evade cats, use various tricks, and even fight bosses. All the gameplay elements go together incredibly well, and Firemint even managed to remove a lot of things that have historically annoyed us about stealth games in the process.
EDGE Extended, $0.99 – [Review] – [] – We thought the original Edge was incredible, and Extended somehow takes that same game formula, applies a substantial layer of awesome, then knocks it out of the park. Clever platforming mechanics combined with fantastic music really just create an experience that you can't miss.
iBlast Moki 2, $0.99 / Universal HD – [Review] – [] – This game sets the standard of what gamers should expect of sequels. It's got familiar puzzle-centric physics mechanics of the original with tons of new features that add complexity and all kinds of new ways to solve puzzles. Additionally, a perfectly integrated solution system can show you how your friends completed a level if you get stuck.
The Last Rocket, $2.99 – [Review] – [] – Retro-inspired games are fairly common on the App Store, but The Last Rocket is one of the best examples we've seen of a modern-day title that could have easily passed as an absolutely fabulous NES game. The Graphics and music are all delightfully 8-bit, but even without all these retro trimmings the gameplay could stand on its own.
Anomaly Warzone Earth, $1.99 / HD – [Review] – [] – Who knew that turning tower defense in reverse would make for such an incredible game? If you're even vaguely interested in anything to do to tower defense, Anomaly: Warzone Earth needs to be on your iOS device. The mechanics are solid, the atmosphere is cool, and it'll leave you wanting for a sequel.
4.5 Stars
Contre Jour, $0.99 / Universal HD – [Review] – [] – If you take the environmental modification mechanic found in Bumpy Road and combine it with a stupidly cool amount of style, you've got Contre Jour. Chillingo is on a serious streak of releasing incredible games, and Contre Jour fits that description in every way.
Sprinkle: Water splashing fire fighting fun!, $0.99 – [Review] – [] – Who knew that putting out fires could be so much fun? In Sprinkle, you've got to control a crazy fire hose to complete various physics-centric water puzzles. As an added bonus, the water looks and behaves beautifully and how well this mechanic is done makes Sprinkle worth picking up even if you're not normally that crazy about physics games.
Rogue Sky, $0.99 / HD – [Review] – [] – This balloon flying and fighting game has fantastically simple controls, both for flying as well as firing your cannons. Great graphics and a cool mood greatly add to the overall experience, and collectable in-game coins do a good job of making the game as difficult as you want it to be. Collectables can be ignored, or hunted down for an additional challenge.
Fractal: Make Blooms Not War, $1.99 – [Review] – [] – It seems that the best puzzle games evoke an argument amongst our community as to whether the game is fun or frustrating, and Fractal certainly has spurred that kind of discussion. We had a great time with it, and loved the ambient soundtrack. This is definitely one game you'll want to play with the sound on.
Mega Mall Story, $3.99 – [Review] – [] – Kairosoft's winning simulation formula, this time applied to a crazy multi-level shopping mall. This both seems significantly deeper, and comes packed with a building mechanic that seems to make significantly more sense to us Americans than previous offerings.
Silverfish MAX, $2.99 – [Review] – [] – We had a great time with the pocket-sized iPhone version of Silverfish in our review, but the game really comes alive on the iPad especially when paired with the iCade. A real joystick turns this game into an action-packed arcade experience that makes us glad that the coin slot on our iCades doesn't actually require quarters.
Kickin Momma, $1.99 / Universal HD – [Review] – [] – Many developers have tried to duplicate the Peggle formula, but it seems like few if any have had much success. Somehow Hothead Games seems to have broken this trend, and created a game that feels just Peggle-y enough to seem familiar, but different enough to be totally enjoyable on its own.
Special Mention
Pocket RPG iPhone Edition, $0.99 / HD – [iPad Review] – [] – Launching last month as an iPad exclusive that we had a great time with, Pocket RPG iPhone Edition brings the same entirely randomized dungeon-crawling gameplay to the smaller screen of the iPhone and iPod touch.
FINAL FANTASY TACTICS: THE WAR OF THE LIONS, $15.99 – [Review] – [] – After a wait that felt like an eternity with how fast the App Store moves, Final Fantasy Tactics landed with a bang. Hardcore fans will likely overlook all of the game's shortcomings, but the fact remains that this is an incredibly lackluster port with many technical issues that prevented us from having anywhere near as much fun as we wanted to with it.
Full Deck Hold’Em, $0.99 – [Review] – [] – While it's a little difficult to get excited for another poker game, Full Deck Hold'Em feels like a game that should come pre-loaded on every iPad 2. Sporting in-game video chat with up to four friends in real-time multiplayer, it makes playing games without video feel archaic in comparison. Alternatively, if you don't have an iPad 2, you can give Word Chat [99¢] a spin with any iPhone 4 or 4th generation iPod touch to see similar video chat magic.
The rest of the game ratings can be seen in their respective rating categories (also found in the sidebar navigation): 5 Stars, 4.5 Stars, 4 Stars, 3.5 Stars, 3 Stars, and 2 Stars.
As always, we expect there will be some debate about relative scores, but keep in mind that everyone's personal ratings may vary based on individual tastes.
For more of our favorite iOS games, check out our "Best iPhone Games" category which includes all of these monthly posts as well as other special compilations of the greatest games the App Store has to offer:
- So You Just Got a Verizon iPhone… Let's Get You Up To Speed!
- So You Just Got an iPhone 4 – An App Store Gaming Guide
- Best iPod Touch and iPhone Games: 2010 Buyer's Guide
- 2010: TouchArcade Staff Favorites – Eli
- 2010: TouchArcade Staff Favorites – Blake
- 2010: TouchArcade Staff Favorites – Brad
- 2010: TouchArcade Staff Favorites – Jared
- Best iPod Touch and iPhone Games: 2009 Buyer's Guide
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SEGA Throws A ‘Sonic’ Sale
Hey, more sales! We’re not too sure if SEGA is celebrating Labor Day with its Sonic the Hedgehog sale or just cutting the price because it can, but it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, the games are a hair or two cheaper for a limited time, which means you can walk away with a heavier wallet if this is the first time you’ve bothered looking at the games. And, really, at these prices you should.
Here’s the short list, and just in case anything else comes up, we’ll update accordingly:
- Sonic the Hedgehog – $4.99 → $3.99
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – $4.99 → $3.99
- Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I – $6.99 → $4.99
Sonic fans give Sonic the Hedgehog 4 a lot of grief — if you’ve ever read the Internet or Googled the game's name, you probably already know this. This is why I feel like I need to add that we loved it and think it feels exactly how Sonic should on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Check it out.
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‘Tiny Invaders’ Review – He Who Controls the Bloodstream Controls the World
Just last week we brought you the news that several employees of the now-shuttered Bizarre Creations had formed a new studio, Hogrocket, with a new iOS property hitting the App Store in September. Well time flies, September is here and so is that title, which we're now at liberty to discuss. It's called Tiny Invaders [$3.99] and it's a quest to take over humanity — from the inside out.
In Tiny Invaders you control microscopic aliens who are here to dominate the human race. To take on such a gargantuan task they delve into the bloodstream of the first person they find, a hick stereotype that just so happens to be in the path of their crash landing. Once inside his body they race through his bloodstream, collecting his white blood cells (or so I assume his "human orbs" to be) and infecting him piece by piece.
The target for infection has systems of veins and arteries laid out as tracks. The invaders automatically travel along those tracks, following the path of least resistance. The player has two pieces of input: switching the track to make the invaders take a different path, and tapping them to make them travel faster.
That doesn't sound like much to keep on top of, but it's enough that the game eventually becomes entirely overwhelming. Each level is ranked with time limits, and to earn the top honors you'll need to plan carefully and execute efficiently. The levels become increasingly devilish, wrapping track over track in intricate knots. Getting through the early levels is simple enough, though finding the perfect route to slip in under the time limit is always delightfully difficult. In later levels, however, all bets are off.
As you make your way through Tiny Invaders' 60 levels, you'll run into all manner of things to hinder or assist your progress. The first is the glowing orb: when brought back to your base, this creates a new invader. To earn the best completion times you'll need to think carefully about how to claim those orbs on your first pass. Then come the enemies, who travel along tracks just like your invaders do. Precise timing is required to keep your invaders slipping past them instead of slamming into them.
Then the going gets really tough. Later levels are littered with gadgets that will speed up any critters that pass by, or clone them, or teleport them. These affect foes as well as friends, so staying safe becomes harder than ever. With all of these elements in place, Tiny Invaders strikes a great balance — you'll need to plan your route out in advance and then react quickly to the changing environment.
This is where Tiny Invaders excels, but it's also where the game falters. I appreciate its dedication to one-touch controls, but there have been moments where I've wanted to throw my phone in frustration as the game made a seemingly arbitrary choice between speeding up my invaders, speeding up the enemy units and swapping a track. The death of your invaders holds no serious consequences, but when you're aiming for three stars and an imprecise tap gums up the works it can be a bit irritating. At least the reset button is just a tap away and every level can be skipped freely, so no irritation is too lasting.
Beyond the occasional muddled input, Tiny Invaders is an excellent debut from the folks at Hogrocket. Its puzzles are infused with such urgency that you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat, mashing reset to take one more shot at beating the timer. But speed is no excuse to get sloppy — you'll need to think several steps ahead to master each level. It's a great pairing of action and puzzle, one that deserves your time and attention. If, on the other hand, you think the price is just too darn high, I'm sure you'll find people to commiserate with in our .
TouchArcade Rating: 
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Coming Tonight: ‘Crimson: Steam Pirates’, ‘DrawRace 2′, ‘Frogger Decades’, ‘Jetpack Joyride’, ‘Pocket RPG iPhone Edition’, ‘Word Chat’ and More
‘Grand Prix Story’ Probably Coming To iOS On September 8th
Looks like we were right. Kairosoft’s next English iOS release will indeed be Grand Prix Story, the racing simulation game that hit Android devices earlier this year. According to a , it’s heavily suggested that it’ll see a September 8 launch, which gives it exactly four weeks worth of breathing room from Mega Mall Story [$3.99 / Lite].
Previously, we reported on the game’s launch on the Japanese App Store and speculated that, since the English translation work is already done, it would be the next release. Word on the street was that this specific version also included an English language toggle, so no wonder we’re receiving it so soon.
Grand Prix Story thrusts you in the role of a manager of an auto racing team. As such, you’ll be expected to gather sponsors, drivers, and develop new cars and their respective parts. The app description on the Android market says that no formal racing knowledge is needed, just like how you don’t need to be a hot spring owner to really come to grips with Hot Springs Story [$4.99 / Lite].
Obviously, we’ll be all over this when it hits. As a personal aside here, I’m ready to explode from anticipation. Kairosoft makes my gym time that much better.
[Thanks for everyone who sent this in - via ]
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‘Real Racing’ Goes Cheap For The Weekend
sales used to be a much more rare occurrence, but they still have an electricity to them that other creators can’t capture with their own price-slashing parties. I’m guessing it has more to do with the quality of the wares, than it does with dramatic price shifts. While I pointlessly ponder this, go ahead and grab Real Racing and Real Racing 2 for the iPhone or iPad. All four games have been dramatically reduced in price for this weekend in celebration of… well, nothing that we can discern. Still! They’re cheaper!
- Real Racing – $4.99 → $.99
- Real Racing HD – $6.99 → $3.99
- Real Racing 2 - $6.99 → $2.99
- Real Racing 2 HD – $9.99 → $4.99
Real Racing 2 is, we reckon, the best racing game Firemint has produced. That doesn’t mean the original Real Racing is a slouch, though. Fans of simulation racing games can and will enjoy both; it’s just that Real Racing 2 is a fantastic iteration on that original foundation. If you want to know way more about either of these titles, we’ve got your back. You can check out a review of the follow-up here and a review of Real Racing here. Non-spoiler: they’re good.
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‘Fractal: Make Blooms Not War’ for iPad Review – A Challenging, Beautiful Puzzle Game
Cipher Prime has a history of bringing out games that are beautiful, engaging and just a little light on length. Auditorium [Free] locked many of its levels behind paywalls, and originally carried a premium price. Pulse: Volume One [$3.99] started its life with only a handful of levels, and has been slowly adding more since its launch. Fractal: Make Blooms Not War [$1.99] is, like its older siblings, a beautiful, engaging experience. Unlike the others, it's also bursting with content.
But be warned: this is not a game for the faint of heart. Cipher Prime doesn't walk players through most of Fractal's intricacies, and it's easy to play yourself into a corner. The puzzles change and evolve as time goes by, and you'll be given only the barest introduction to the new elements. This is a game that can be played wrong, and it doesn't concern itself with guiding you back to the right track.
To begin with, you're presented with a hex grid laid out with fractals (hexagons). You can tap any open space to push adjoining fractals away. Your goal is to push them into blooms — clusters of seven fractals — which clear themselves off the board. Each level of the game's Campaign mode requires you to clear a certain number of fractals before you can progress. You have all the time in the world to do so, but you have a limited number of pushes, so you have to think carefully before making a move.
The beginning of the campaign is where most players will run into trouble. It's easy to breeze through the first few levels to the first soft checkpoint at level 5. My first time through, I skimmed through the early levels with only a few pushes left, but that didn't seem like a problem. I reached the checkpoint and then proceeded to throw myself fruitlessly against the next few levels over and over. The game never chided me, and I kept restarting from the checkpoint hoping for a better result.
That was, as it turns out, a huge mistake. If you pay attention, you'll note that your pushes carry over from level to level in Fractal's campaign. By continuing from the checkpoint I was starting with the bare minimum of pushes, and since I wasn't yet skilled at the game I would run out by level 7 or so. Once I figured this out I started from scratch, and made it to the push-resetting checkpoint at level 10 without a problem.
That's not to say the game gets easy after that. Fractal's campaign is quite challenging. New elements are introduced every few levels, forcing you to adapt your strategy. Not only are you pressed to reach the next checkpoint and keep your push total high, but as you reach your last few pushes the game's visuals dim and the music slows like a fading heartbeat. The tension is nearly unbearable.
Fractal offers two modes beyond the campaign: Arcade and Puzzle. Arcade is a fast-paced version of the game with three difficulty settings. It's more of a survival mode — you have unlimited pushes but tight time limits, and you have to collect timer powerups to keep going. It's good for a few minutes of mindless fun or a serious high-score push on the Game Center leaderboards. Puzzle mode strips the game's mechanics down into 60 individual challenges. The first few serve as a good introduction to the game if you're struggling, but the difficulty quickly ramps up. I'm still beating my head against a few of the later ones, but thankfully they're divided into 10-level sections that are all unlocked at once, so you'll never get stuck with just one puzzle to work through.
If you're easily frustrated, Fractal may not be for you. But if you're up for the challenge and you aren't looking for your hand to be held, it's an outstanding experience. The ambient soundtrack is gorgeous, the visuals are crisp and stylish and the game is strikingly original and fun. There are hours of mind-bending entertainment here. There's some disagreement on as to whether Fractal's campaign is a good challenge or a frustrating experience, and there are certainly tweaks that could be made to help players along. But while the game may not invite you in, it's all the more satisfying when it all comes together. When played well, Fractal is explosive, an experience that makes the struggle feel worthwhile.
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‘Spellsquares’ Review – Puzzle Out the Magic Words
Spellsquares [$1.99 / HD], an atmospheric word puzzle game from , hit the App Store with its iPad version back in June. We missed out on it then, but we picked the game up on its iPhone release this month. It's right at home on the small screen, maintaining an enchanting mix of exploration and challenging puzzles.
In Spellsquares' story mode, you find yourself wandering a castle with a mystery to solve. A mysterious stranger has left notes to guide you on your way (kind of him, since you're out to foil his nefarious plan). Each door, treasure and point of interest is blocked with a word puzzle that you'll need to solve. The puzzles are crafted like Sudoku for words. A square grid is laid out with a few letters already in place. A pool of available letters sits to the side. Your job is to use those letters to make words in every row and column at once — easy puzzles require three-letter words and the hardest require five. Solving them takes a little bit of logic and a touch of vocabulary. Once you factor in hints, you'll also need a dash of strategy.
As you explore the castle, you'll discover hidden coins in every room. Those can be taken back to the Oracle, a ghostly automaton that entreats you to pick a card, any card. In exchange for your coin, you'll receive one of three hint items to help you on your way: two that reveal correct letters in single squares, and one that will confirm every correct letter you've placed in a particular puzzle. The hints are plentiful, but they aren't unlimited. Conserve them, but don't go overboard. There's no benefit to making it through the game without turning to hints aside from personal pride.
I found the game challenging enough that I was pumping coins into the Oracle fairly often, but your mileage may vary. If you find the game too easy and you didn't choose the hardest mode, restart and push it up a notch. Rushing through on Easy and then replaying on Medium or Hard will be a disappointment. The puzzles are the same; they just give away fewer revealed letters, so you'll be redoing puzzles you've already solved.
Spellsquares' story barely deserves to be described as such, but I don't count that against the game. It's a familiar tale: evil wizard does something evil, and an anonymous hero comes to uncover the mystery and defeat the plot. It serves to add a sense of exploration and purpose to the puzzling, and does an admirable job of that. Exploring the castle wasn't a thrill, but it was a nice break to clear my head between puzzles.
The story comes to a conclusion after you explore 14 rooms and solve a few dozen puzzles. But the game isn't over at that point. Completing the game unlocks Quick Play mode, with 60 puzzles of varying difficulty. You're given no hints for these ones, so they'll add a dose of challenge if you're still hooked.
An excellent user interface rounds out the Spellsquares experience. It isn't flawless — I found trouble placing letter tiles in lower squares at times, for instance — but it has one feature that every similar game should learn from. You can walk away from a puzzle at any time, and when you return your tiles will still be where you left them. If you need to head back to the Oracle mid-puzzle or you decide to move to a different room and return later, your progress remains intact. Saved me a headache or two, that's certain.
With over 100 puzzles to work through, Spellsquares offers the word-puzzle fan a lengthy and entertaining experience. It won't last forever, but its well-crafted puzzles are a joy to work through once. If you missed out when the iPad version was released, now's your chance. While you're at it, pop into our to share your impressions.
Spellsquares, $1.99
Spellsquares: Cursed Moon, $3.99 (iPad Only)
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