TouchArcade.ru

An interesting game was released over this past weekend called Blind World [99¢] from developer Dmitriy Kuzmenko. In Blind World you're given a series of levels comprised of designs on a 2D plane. The catch is that the level designs are invisible from the start, and you can slowly uncover them by rolling a wheel along their edges by tilting the device or touching and dragging the screen. You're given points for revealing the lines that make up the level, with bonus points for uncovering large portions at a time without your wheel leaving the surface. A set amount of points must be achieved in order to complete a level. Adding to the challenge is the addition of objects inside of the level structure itself that react to the gravity along with your wheel and can hinder your progress.

What really stands out about Blind World is the excellent visual and aural experience it gives you when playing. Each increment of surface that you reveal with the wheel is a different colored splotch of color, and a moody piano piece serves as the soundtrack. Just rolling your wheel around the level and slowly uncovering the surfaces has an almost zen-like appeal to it. OpenFeint is integrated with leaderboards for each of the game's 40 levels, and a neat challenge system has you earning as many points as you can in 30 seconds on any unlocked level and then sending that score to a friend to try and beat.

It's an incredibly unique concept, but also one that is very hard to explain. This demonstration video gives you a good idea of how Blind World works:

While there are many positive points about Blind World, the one thing that really drags it down is the frustrating physics in the game. The wheel gains momentum too quickly and is hard to control once it gets going. Also it can bounce around very easily making it too difficult to control where you want it to go. If you plan to use tilt controls, then get ready for some manic spinning of your device, which is especially awkward with an iPad. I prefer the touch and drag controls myself, as you have a bit more control over how much you tilt the level and get your wheel moving, but neither really feel ideal. Another sore point to Blind World is that it has a tendency to crash fairly often, which can be infuriating if you're just about to finish a level when it happens. The developer has acknowledged working on a fix in our forums.

Blind World has the potential to stand out as something very different from what is available on the App Store. It's a really unique and artistic experience that's well suited to the platform. The crashing problem and the physics engine, however, can make it a bit of a chore to play, so we are hoping they can be tweaked in the updates.

[source]

Vikings are widely considered a gruff and fearsome group, but what many people may not know is that they have a softer side as well. This has never been more readily apparent than it is in the game Axe in Face [99¢] from Blue Carrot Games. The Norse gardener Red Beard, when he's not looting and pillaging, likes to tend to his beautiful plot of yellow daffodils. His fellow Viking peers apparently don't share this appreciation of fine horticulture and will brazenly trample through Red Beard's garden, crushing the delicate flowers beneath their feet. This enrages Red Beard, and he deals with it in typical Viking fashion – by throwing an axe at the offenders and lopping off their heads.

Okay, so that part doesn't exactly qualify as the “softer” side of Red Beard, but it is an effective way to keep people out of your garden. Axe in Face can best be described as a line drawing defense game. Your daffodils occupy the left edge of the screen while waves of impolite Vikings approach from the right. Drawing a line from Red Beard creates a path for the axe to travel on before returning to him like a boomerang, and the goal is to behead as many Vikings as possible with each throw while not allowing any of them to get by you and into the garden. You can only throw one axe at a time and must wait for it to return to Red Beard before throwing again, and if even one Viking gets into the daffodils it's game over.

There's also some strategic elements to Axe in Face that add challenge and variety to the gameplay. Since the waves of Vikings are constantly moving forward, you'll need to lead each axe throw in order to ensure it crosses their path. There are different types of Vikings moving at different speeds, and it can be really satisfying to time your throw just right as to hit a group of them in one throw. One type of Viking is holding a tree as he walks, and your axe must first pass through a fire at the bottom of the screen before it will do damage to these enemies. Also, orbs can be collected from beheaded Vikings which contribute to a special meter which can allow you to either zap three Vikings with lightning or freeze the playfield and slow down their movement.

All of these elements come together really well in Axe in Face providing a simple concept with just enough depth and strategy to keep things interesting. It can be an incredibly challenging game too, but not overly frustrating. Rather than get mad at failing a level I can't help but smile as Red Beard bursts into tears when his flowers are trampled. The graphics and sound effects are really well done too, and Axe in Face contains 32 increasingly difficult levels and a number of achievements which should keep you busy for quite a while. Players in our forums are really enjoying the game, and the developer is there as well to answer questions and take suggestions for future updates. If you're looking for a game that blends elements from different genres in a fun way and provides a hearty challenge, Axe in Face is definitely a solid choice.

[source]

A few weeks ago we showed a new trailer for an upcoming gravity-based puzzle platforming game called GravBot from Team Phobic. They have since sent us a near-final build of the game, and after completing nearly all of it, I'm thoroughly impressed with just about everything that GravBot has to offer. Team Phobic has already proven that they know how to bring cute, colorful graphics and excellent level designs with Bounce On [$1.99/Lite] and Bounce On 2 [$3.99/Lite], and those skills have translated well into the creation of GravBot. The levels start out simple enough and ease you into the different elements in the game, but as you progress GravBot will really test your puzzle solving skills and force you to look at each level from every angle.

In GravBot, you'll play as a tiny robot who must collect all of the batteries on each perilous level. In order to accomplish this, you can spin the entire level either 90 degrees left or right or entirely upside down to change the direction of gravity. Your robot can travel left and right on its single tire, and will fall towards whichever way happens to be down at the time. Levels are filled with hazards like spikes, enemies, and lasers which will kill instantly if not avoided. The batteries can be tricky to get to, and a color-coded system of trapdoors, elevators, and various other obstacles will need to be triggered by switching a lever or pushing blocks onto buttons – all in the name of snagging every last battery on a given level.

While just completing each level is sufficiently challenging and fun, the real hook to GravBot is trying to obtain gold medals for each one. The game keeps track of how many times you switched gravity to complete a level, with bronze/silver/gold medals awarded for using it efficiently. What is really satisfying is when you figure out a way to win gold using fewer gravity switches than is required. Due to the physics engine in the game, you can sometimes make it to a hard to reach area without changing the gravity and instead gliding through the air or just barely catching the edge of a platform and hanging on. These types of moves can be risky however, and if you don't pull one off just right you can easily fall to your death. If you do happen to beat a level using a ridiculously low number of gravity switches, you will be immortalized in leaderboard form thanks to the Plus+ network, and there are a number of achievements to obtain as well.

GravBot looks and sounds absolutely great, with Retina Display enhanced graphics and catchy music and sound effects. I especially love the little blips and bloops that your robot will spout out during the game, and he has a ton of personality for essentially being a TV set with a wheel. GravBot has already been submitted and Team Phobic is shooting for a September 30^th release. The game will be free to download and comes with 12 levels, with two additional 20 level packs available as in-app purchase for 99¢ apiece. The 12 free levels aren't terribly difficult and serve mostly to get you familiar with the game, but the additional level packs contain some seriously challenging stuff that should keep you busy for quite a while. Make sure to head over to the upcoming thread in our forums to check out more about GravBot, and we'll take another look at the game when it hits the App Store later this month.

[source]

Earlier this month we took a look at the upcoming bullet hell shooter Phoenix from Firi Games. Phoenix claims to be able to push hundreds of bullets onscreen at a time and still run smoothly even on the oldest of Apple iOS devices. Firi recently sent us a work in progress build of the game and after spending some time playing it seems they are well on their way to bringing another solid entry into the shmup genre on the App Store. The preview build we were given is missing some key elements like music, some sound effects, and graphical variety, but the core of the gameplay is in place and it's definitely a lot of fun.

Phoenix is a little bit different from other scrolling shooters in that there aren't set levels. Instead, the entire game is an endless randomly generated level with a difficulty that scales based on how well you are performing. Think of it as the Canabalt [$2.99] of shmups. Controls are of the relative touch variety, meaning you can touch anywhere on the screen to control your ship instead of it always following closely to your fingertip. Defeated enemies will drop upgrades to your main weapon, health packs that repair your ship, temporary shield powerups, and a super weapon of sorts called the Alpha Strike Attack which gives your ship incredibly strong firepower for a limited time.

I was a bit skeptical about the scaling difficulty in Phoenix at first, but in practice it actually seems to work as intended. When you are doing well the game throws bigger and more difficult enemies at you who will fire faster and spray more bullets in your direction. Scoring also scales with the difficulty, which can be seen with a tiny meter next to your score display. As you avoid damage, the meter increases and so do the points you earn for defeating enemies. Due to this, you score doesn't necessarily reflect on how long you survive in the game, but rather how efficiently you can avoid damage. Scores are tracked by an in-game global and regional leaderboard.

So far Phoenix has nailed the groundwork for an interesting take on the bullet hell shmup. Controls work well, and I was easily able to narrowly dodge the multitude of bullets being fired at me while simultaneously dishing out my own offensive onslaught. Visually Phoenix is looking very nice as well, although having only one scrolling background image got a little old. I'm told that this is something being worked on and there should be some more variety in locations in the final release. The leaderboards are also being tweaked, as right now they are somewhat basic and allow multiple entries per user which really clutters things up for such a high score focused game. Phoenix seems really well suited for something like Game Center, but it remains to be seen if the developer has any plans to implement this.

All in all I'm really impressed with what I've played of Phoenix at this point, and if Firi Games can polish up some of the rough edges in the game shooter fans can look forward to some bullet hell action no matter which iOS device they own. Firi had been shooting for a September release, so barring any unforeseen issues cropping up we should be seeing Phoenix arrive in the coming weeks. In the meantime you can follow along with the discussion for Phoenix in our forums, and we'll take a closer look at the game when it hits the App Store.

[source]

If you were around for the arcade craze of the 80's, you no doubt have seen a coin pusher at some point. Basically, a traditional coin pusher is a machine loaded with quarters or whatever tokens the arcade used with a mechanical "broom" that pushes back and forth at the back of the machine. The goal of the game is to drop a quarter in to the machine, and when it gets pushed forward it pushes all the other coins in front of it forward, hopefully resulting in said coins falling to the collection tray below.

Here is a video I found on YouTube of a real coin push machine in action:

While I'm sure there are more games with similar gameplay mechanics on the App Store, the big three seem to be Dungeon & Coin, Coin Push Frenzy, and Coin Dozer. Each have their strengths and weaknesses, but they're all free so you might as well just download them all if you're remotely interested. All of the games work in a similar manner in that you start with an allotment of coins, you drop them in to the game, then you can either wait for your coins to recharge or you can buy more via an in-app purchase.

When you take a game like a coin pusher machine and compact it down to the iPhone, quite a bit is lost in translation. Coin pushing machines invoke the same emotion as gambling in that you could just be one coin away from starting a massive coin avalanche, or in the case of the video above, making a $5 bill drop in to the collection tray. This feeling is extremely difficult to duplicate with an iPhone game especially since all the prizes are virtual, and feel entirely meaningless in comparison.

Because of this, I really don't recommend buying more coins in any of the games. Only having five coins left and strategically dropping them to try to get more is a lot more fun than I originally thought it would be, and having to wait to get more coins really makes you think about how you're going to use the existing coins you have more. In comparison, once I bought a bucket full of coins as an in-app purchase for a couple bucks, I just started spamming them everywhere because I had so many. Managing a limited pool of coins is just much more fun.

Dungeons and Coins, Free An odd conglomeration of a coin push machine and light RPG elements. You battle monsters by pushing coins of the edge, and unlike the other two games, you’re not limited by the amount of coins you can chuck in at once– often resulting in hilarious coin explosions as the physics engine tries to figure out what to do.

Coin Push Frenzy, Free Packed with the best graphics and physics of the three, Coin Push Frenzy has a bunch of different power-ups, collectable prizes, and additional unlockable coin pusher machines. Currently there seems to be some bugs that effect coin generation, but Freeverse is aware of the issue and an update is on the way but in the meantime putting your device to sleep and waking it back up again should make coins appear.

Coin Dozer, Free Downloaded over 2.5 million times, Coin Dozer has been somewhat of a sensation in Asian App Store markets. With gameplay very similar to Coin Push Frenzy, I like that you can actually see what prizes are coming up instead of just spawning mysterious chests or boxes like the other two games.

I've been enjoying all three of these games much more than I thought I would when I first caught wind of them. Like all freemium games, they're designed to be played randomly throughout the day, and it's fun loading up the various games, dropping a few coins, and seeing what you get. If you remember staring at real coin push machines in the 80's with wide eyes, dropping pocket full of coins and getting nothing but a few coins back, definitely give these games a try.

[source]

Yesterday during Sega's iPhone Games Day, easily the most impressive and fun game that I had a chance to play was Sonic 4. It finally feels like the Sonic game that we've all been wanting for the past 15 years, with no gimmicks, unnecessary characters or outlandish stories. Just pure 2D side-scrolling Sonic goodness, with heaps of Blast Processing. We previewed Sonic 4 during E3 in June, where we had a chance to play an early version of the game. Yesterday at Sega I was shown a nearly complete build of the game that included the previously unannounced Labyrinth Zone, two exclusive iPhone levels, and the special Chaos Emerald bonus stages.

The best thing about Sonic 4 is that it's incredibly simple to play, to the point of almost rendering the virtual controls a non-issue. I say almost because it still can be tricky playing a platformer without tactile feedback, but with only an analog stick and one button to worry about it certainly simplifies matters. Sonic 4 plays similarly to the original trilogy where you can run down hills and roll through loops or perform a spin dash by crouching and mashing the button to build up speed, but one significant new maneuver has been added to Sonic's repertoire. After performing a jump, you can hit jump in mid-air and execute a homing attack that will send Sonic spinning into nearby enemies or interactive objects which get target locked automatically. This adds an interesting dynamic to the game and makes it far more playable on the touch screen, as you don't have to be quite as precise when trying to defeat enemies.

Previously, Sega has shown off the first area of Sonic 4 called Splash Hill Zone. This zone is reminiscent of the beginning stage in earlier Sonic the Hedgehog games, with bright blue skies, green grass, and plenty of loops and hills. Yesterday they revealed Labyrinth Zone, which is also akin to levels from the old Sonic games. It's an underground cavern area with moving platforms, boulders falling from the roof, and underwater portions. This is also where one of the iPhone exclusive levels is based, called Lost Labyrinth Zone. This level has Sonic riding in a mine cart that is controlled by tilting the device while negotiating maze-like caverns. Sonic 4 deviates from the linear level progression of the originals, and once you've completed the initial Splash Hill Zone all three areas in each of the four zones are made available to play in any order. The catch is that you will not be able to play the fourth boss area for each zone until you've completed the previous three.

Another returning feature from the classic Sonic games is the addition of bonus levels. If you complete an area with at least 50 rings in your possession, you'll have a chance to jump into a gigantic spinning ring at the end which will take you to a special stage and give you an opportunity to earn a Chaos Emerald. These stages are re-imagined versions of the ones from Sonic 1, and if you remember those stages you'll understand just how well suited they are for tilt control. Whereas you controlled Sonic himself as the stage spun around you in the originals, in this iPhone version you'll actually be controlling the stage by tilting and twisting the device while trying to get a stationary Sonic to the Chaos Emerald in the middle. Collecting a total of 7 Chaos Emeralds and completing the game will yield an alternate cliffhanger ending that will hint at things to come in Sonic 4: Episode 2.

Yes, Sonic 4 will be an episodic release. Sega couldn't comment on how many episodes will make up the entire experience, but have assured me that there is a definitive end to Sonic 4 and they won't just be releasing a new episode whenever they feel like adding a new set of levels. Sonic 4 is also looking quite stunning visually, and will be nearly identical to the console versions save for the 2 exclusive iPhone levels and tilt controls. Remarkably, the game runs at an incredibly smooth rate, and I didn't experience even one hiccup during my time with the game. Also of interesting note is that Sonic 4, the long awaited spiritual sequel to the classic original trilogy that fans have been clamoring for for years, will not be appearing on either the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP. While this may have Marcus in a huff, it shows just how committed Sega is to this platform and its fans.

This hands-on video from our E3 preview in June demonstrates Sonic 4 in action:

I can hardly describe just how much I enjoyed Sonic 4, and I cannot wait for the final version to be released. Sega won't pin down anything more exact than “sometime this Fall” but the game was looking mostly complete and hopefully it won't be too much longer before we can all finally play Sonic 4: Episode 1.

[source]

One of the more interesting titles I got to see a demonstration of at Sega's iPhone Games Day today was Kingdom Conquest. The game is attempting to blend aspects of MMOs, real-time strategies, card battling, and dungeon crawlers all in one combined online experience. It may sound like a tall order, but it appears that Sega is actually on their way to pulling off this unique idea.

The RTS part of the game has you building up a city by placing buildings and using resources much like you would set up a base camp in typical RTS fashion. Harnessing resources like stone, iron, and wood allow you to build up different structures with different purposes. You'll also need to amass an army to capture territories of opponents. The different types of units you can use in your army are portrayed in a card-battling style similar to games like Magic the Gathering. Each card has its own attributes and special abilities, and there will be ways to earn unique cards to add to your collection. Winning in battle will depend on the effectiveness of the cards that comprise your army.

The dungeon crawling comes in to play when you try to take control of special towers around the map. Once you attempt completing a tower, the game switches into a 3^rd person hack 'n slash game controlled with an analog stick and buttons where you must complete 5 levels of a dungeon floor filled with enemies and a huge final boss. Beating a tower can net you special items and resources for use in your city, as well as new monster cards and experience points. There will be 3 types of characters to play as in this part of the game – a barbarian, a swordsman, and a cleric. These characters can be outfitted with various weapons and equipment, and can be leveled up as you progress in the game.

Finally, the MMO portion comes into play with the online components of the game. Kingdom Conquest requires an EDGE, 3G, or WiFi internet connection to play. You can view other players cities and face off against them in an effort to take over their territory. The online progress is persistent, and you can join with other players and form alliances as you play through a season in the game. You can join into online auctions with other players to trade and buy items, as well as send messages and check various online statistics and rankings. Additionally, the dungeon crawling portion of the game can be played with up to 4 other players cooperatively, similar to raiding in other MMO games.

If this all sounds complicated, a “messenger” character in the game will give you various quests to complete that help you learn the different facets of playing before engaging in online battle. Kingdom Conquest will be a freemium title, which will be free to play but contain a shop full of various in-app purchases. These purchases can do things like increase your production, attack, or defense, as well as other offensive boosts. It remains to be seen how this will affect the balance of the game, and if spending more money will allow you to conquer players unfairly over those that choose not to spend anything. At any rate, the game looks great so far, and you'll be able to try out Kingdom Conquest for yourself sometime late this fall.

[source]

“Promoting synergy” is a pretty common mantra in today's corporate culture. It encourages all employees to work together in harmony to be stronger and more productive as a unit than they each would have been by working individually. The new game Corporate Fury [$1.99] from developer Swinecrafters is the exact opposite of this type of thinking. Instead, you are encouraged to battle coworkers in violent 3D arena brawls in an attempt to take their jobs away from them. There are a ton of wacky characters, plenty of crude humor, and enough fighting to satisfy any gamers needs in Corporate Fury, and it stands out as one of the more unique offerings for the iPhone.

The game takes place in a semi-open world that acts a large hub connecting the fighting arenas and story-related locations together. You start off as a lowly production worker who awakens after taking a brutal beating from your boss. Your buddy Mike, who also acts as the point man for setting up fights, is there to help you on your feet and explain what is going on since you can't quite remember after being beaten senseless. The first order of business is to visit the in-game shop called Frank's Goods, then head back to Mike to fight in some low-level matches until you are strong enough to defeat your boss and take his job from him. You will continue this process as the storyline unfolds and as you defeat the team of increasingly higher ranked corporate executives, culminating with defeating the top CEO and taking over control of the company.

The overworld in Corporate Fury is fairly large, although not exactly as big as something you would find in a Grand Theft Auto or similar game. In this world the atmosphere has been rendered uninhabitable, so you are left with a large indoor city filled with plenty of areas to explore and crazy characters to talk to. An automap in the pause screen lets you pick from the key areas and set a handy waypoint that guides your character to them so you don't get lost. Graphically the game looks pretty decent, and runs fairly smoothly even on older devices. There are some jagged edges and characters aren't exactly rife with detail, but the overall style of the game works really well and looks good. Most impressive is that the entire game loads quickly upon booting up, and there is no loading at all while playing the game itself.

Fighting in Corporate Fury is fun and totally over the top. An analog stick controls your movement with a button each for jump, punch, kick, and using a weapon. Early in the game it's pretty basic, but as you defeat opponents you earn credits to use at Frank's Goods. Here you can purchase an assortment of weapons, armors, special moves, and increased attributes. Once you've beefed up your fighter a bit, fighting gets more complex and satisfying. It's reminiscent of fighting enemies in the newer Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry games, as you can pull off crazy multi-hit combos on the ground and in the air. The weapons you can use are truly awesome, from hammers and knives to explosives and plasma cannons. The armor and accessories are equally interesting, and change the look of your character when equipped.

While Corporate Fury is a ton of fun to play, there are some issues in the game that really bothered me. Some of the opponents you must face to advance the story can be incredibly powerful, and you're stuck grinding away fighting random opponents until you can level up high enough to compete with them. Luckily the fighting is enjoyable and the assortment of random enemies is varied, so it's not too much of an issue, but it can feel repetitive at times. Also, traveling around the city by foot can feel a bit arduous, and a quick teleport to the main locations in the game would be a welcome addition. Finally, while you can save manually at your apartment and the game saves automatically when exiting with the home button, in my experience this hasn't always been reliable and I've lost progress because of it. It doesn't seem to be a widespread problem, and the developer is already working towards fixing these issues, but it's worth mentioning.

Corporate Fury is an incredibly ambitious title for a mobile platform, and while there are some technical and game design related issues due to this fact, the good far outweighs the bad. With a competent fighting system, dozens of crazy characters, and an interesting world to explore, there is plenty here to keep you busy for quite a while. Just be prepared for the crude humor in the game that is full of sexual tones, foul language, and midget references aplenty. The trailer above will give you a great idea of what you're in store for, and could easily sell the game on its own. Players in our forums are loving the game, and Corporate Fury is one of those titles you just have to see to believe.

[source]

All the way back in the middle of December of last year we first got our hands on EA's Mirror's Edge [$4.99] for the iPhone, but it came without any solid release date. Mirror's Edge then disappeared until the iPad launch when Mirror's Edge for iPad [$9.99] popped up once again. Back then, we figured the iPhone release was immanent, but once again, it never came. Tonight is finally the night, and after spending quite a bit of time with the game today, it seems remarkably similar to the iPad version, downsized to the iPhone. In fact, it's so similar to our preview from last year that everything I said back then is still relevant.

The world of Mirror's Edge is set in the future, where a totalitarian regime is in power and an underground resistance powered by runners move information around on foot to avoid to watchful eye of the government which have implemented intense levels of surveillance across all communication mediums. You play as Faith, one of these runners.

The game is controlled using very simple swiping gestures that all feel very natural. Swiping right or left makes you run in that direction, swiping up makes you jump, and swiping down makes you slide. When you run across opposition, you can also use similar gestures to take them out with a variety of moves such as sweeping their legs out from under them or jump kicking them. There are many other interactions with different obstacles you come across, like jumping off spring boards, sliding down zip lines, and wall-running across billboards.

All of these things can be seen in the following gameplay video:

If you are like me and enjoyed the idea behind the console version of Mirror's Edge, but didn't really like the first person viewpoint and all the issues that caused in a platforming environment, you will love the iPhone version of the game. All of the visibility problems are gone thanks to the 3rd person view, and the game as a whole has been transformed in to a fun reaction game instead of an often frustrating and sometimes motion-sickness inducing first person experience.

New additions to Mirror's Edge since last year include new leaderboards that track your time through every level along with a whole heap of achievements to soak up and artwork to unlock. The whole game is optimized for the Retina Display of the iPhone 4, and looks really great in motion. This doesn't mean it won't run well on older devices, as forum members are reporting that Mirror's Edge even runs just fine on the first generation iPod touch.

Mirror's Edge is an effortless recommendation, and while I'm not sure waiting all this time has made the game any better, I'm glad it's finally here. Sure, there have been tons of running games in the past year but Mirror's Edge still is able to stand on its own, even after all this time. Playing through the game is a really cool experience, the controls work well, and just like the iPad game EA did a fantastic job of nailing the look and feel of the Mirror's Edge universe.

[source]