Archive for the ‘4G’ tag
‘Xenome: Episode 1′ Impressions – Grand-Scale Open World RPG Now Available
Last week we previewed developer Nine Pound Studios post-apocalyptic open world RPG Xenome: Episode 1, and the game has since been released worldwide. We've had a chance to give the game a spin, and while it's hard not to be impressed with the scope of the game, there was still a lot left to be desired. Xenome is an ambitious game, claiming 5 square miles of in game territory to explore with nary a load screen to be seen. And while this technically does hold true, it's at the expense of a poor framerate and occasional stutters while the terrain is being drawn.
In fact, due to the immense scale of the game, it's only currently playable on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, or 32 and 64GB 3rd gen iPod touches. An update is in the works to make it playable on 2nd generation iPod touches, but anything older than that will likely not be able to run Xenome. For those that are able to play, the gameplay wasn't particularly enthralling to me. Your character can equip different armors and weapons, and generally level up in traditional RPG fashion, though the combat seemed a bit tedious. There does seem to be a decent storyline to the game, but the presentation of this story amounts to walls of text. The draw distance is phenomenal but the landscape in general is somewhat barren.
This isn't to say that there aren't some good aspects about Xenome, and it's certainly offering a game unlike anything currently available for the iPhone. The developer's roadmap for the franchise is that Episode 1 and 2 of Xenome will be stand alone single player affairs, with Episode 3 being a full blown MMORPG, all set in this same game world. In that regard, Xenome: Episode 1 feels a bit like a working demo for what they have planned down the road.
The developers are actively discussing the game and (both positive and negative) are being collected in our forums.
(Only works on iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS or 32/64GB 3rd Generation iPod Touch)
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The Next iPhone Revealed
On late Saturday, some fairly believable photos of what was believed to be the new iPhone. Apparently it was found on the floor of a bar in San Jose, CA wrapped in a case to have the appearance of a iPhone 3G. Not long afterwards, a photo of a Japanese counterfeit which looked very similar but later found to be fake , adding even more doubt to the seemingly impossible situation that the new iPhone would just wind up in the hands of Engadget months before its expected release this summer.
With message boards everywhere more split than Team Edward and Team Jacob regarding the authenticity of this mysterious device, with a thorough examination of what seems to be the next iPhone.
For a full examination, , but from a gaming perspective the biggest benefits of the new iPhone come from the higher resolution screen, an even larger battery, and the likely inclusion of the Apple A4 processor. Needless to say, we're going to be following the developments of this very closely and hope to see a full teardown of the new iPhone soon to get an idea of the performance to expect from the device.
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Recently Released: ‘Fly Kiwi Fly!’, ‘Stinger Table Hockey’ and ‘Zombie Cannon Carnage’
Three games we recently previewed all have since made their way on to the App Store. If you've been looking for some games to get your kiwi flying, hockey playing, zombie shooting fix, look no further.
Fly Kiwi Fly!, 99¢
From our preview:
In Fly Kiwi Fly, you play as a small yellow kiwi who wants to fly, much like the unrelated Y (which you should really watch if you haven't seen it before).
Motivated by watching the Space Shuttle on TV, you take flight and somehow earn money by constantly jumping off a cliff. This money is then spent on upgrades in the in-game shop that will allow you to jump higher off the start, briefly glide, or even rocket forward among other things.
I shot my own of early gameplay, but this recently released trailer gives you a much better idea of what the game is like once you buy some upgrades:
Stinger Table Hockey, $1.99
From our preview:
Stinger Table Hockey effectively duplicates the same insanity of a real hockey table, and while the controls are still in the process of being tweaked, I thought they worked pretty well. Basically, dragging up and down on a track moves that player back and forth, and swiping right or left on the same track causes the player to spin around. It's pretty intuitive, and works well enough to be fun.
There is a single player mode that allow you to play against an AI opponent which is a little on the lame side since the fun part of hockey tables were always playing with another person. Thankfully, Stinger Table Hockey has both bluetooth and wifi multiplayer that I can't wait to try out. There are also tournament modes, and skill tests that feature shootouts and other challenges.
Zombie Cannon Carnage, $1.99
From our preview:
In Zombie Cannon Carnage, zombies from outer-space have crash landed on Earth. Instead of sticking around to endlessly munch on succulent Earthling brains, they decided to build a makeshift cannon from spare circus parts to fire themselves back in to space. With semi-randomized gameplay, various purchasable power-ups, all kinds of obstacles to run in to, and tons of explosions, Zombie Cannon Carnage is one of the better (and substantially more hectic) cannon firing games I've played recently.
Gameplay is similar to other cannon firing games in that you aim your cannon, fire, and see how much stuff you can hit. Each zombie is equipped with a jet pack that has a limited amount of fuel which is capable of sending you flying forward for a brief period of time. When you finally crash in to the ground, you can self destruct for even more points.
Aside from the , we also shot some gameplay footage:
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