TouchArcade.ru

It was back in October of 2010 that Sega first released Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I [$3.99 / $4.99 (HD)], a direct sequel to the original 16-bit Sonic trilogy on Genesis and the much ballyhooed return to its classic 2D roots after more than a decade of mostly mediocre Sonic games. While we did enjoy Episode I in our review, I don’t think it exactly lived up to the expectations set by the rabid Sonic fan base (could anything, though?).

In short, Sonic 4 Episode I brought modern visuals, great level designs, and a Sonic experience that was decidedly better than the majority of recent entries in the series. However, it didn’t quite feel like the Sonic games of old. Sonic’s movement in-game felt both slippery and sluggish, and it seemed much too easy to lose momentum and speed while playing, which isn’t a good thing for a character that has made his name by blasting through levels in a blue blur. Still, with the right expectations Sonic 4 Episode I was a pretty darn fun platformer that worked well on the touch screen, and was a huge step in the right direction for a faltering Sonic franchise.

Then, for the next year or so, Sega seemed happy to almost forget that Sonic 4 even happened as they hyped the impending release of an enhanced port of Sonic CD for iOS and other major platforms. And, last December, Sonic CD [ $4.99 ] finally hit and it was simply phenomenal. Since a lot of people might have missed out on Sonic CD the first time around back in the ‘90s, in a way it was almost like the new Sonic game that fans had been clamoring for for years, and really served to highlight just how much Sonic 4 Episode I missed that mark.

But, Sonic 4 wasn’t terrible by any means, and it wasn’t quite through just yet. Just a couple of weeks after Sonic CD’s release, Sega announced that Sonic 4 Episode II was slated for 2012. They would be using a new game engine for this latest episode in order to provide better visuals and address the complaints from fans over the wonky “feel” of Sonic’s movement.

So, with the convoluted backstory of Sonic 4’s rocky development road out of the way, this week finally saw Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II [ $6.99 ] hit all the major platforms. And, just like Episode I, it makes many great strides forward for the series, but some hiccups keep it from being the second coming of the original Sonic games that everybody hoped it would be.

Sonic 4 Episode II will look very familiar if you’ve played Episode I. There are 4 worlds to explore, each with 3 stages and a boss fight, and you can again play every stage in the default Score attack mode or a speed run-focused Time Attack mode with Game Center leaderboard support. This is all pretty much right in line with how the first game works, except that all levels aren’t available right off the bat which gives the game a much better sense of progression.

Additionally, in the same way that Episode I drew a ton of inspiration from the original Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode II draws a similar inspiration from Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Many of the level elements and themes will seem quite familiar, the bonus stages are similar 3rd-person half-pipe coin-grabbing runs (which are incredibly fun I might add), and of course Episode II also contains Tails as a semi-controllable secondary character. You can even connect locally with another device and a second player who can control Tails while you control Sonic, just like back in the Genesis days.

During solo play Tails is controlled by the AI and just follows you around like a puppy dog, but you can also use him to pull off some team moves like him lifting you through the air using his helicopter-like tails, or a powerful combined spin dash move that will blast through enemies and obstacles like butter. These team-up moves are designed to be necessary to pass certain parts of the game, and add some nice variety to the platforming.

Speaking of level designs, I felt that the levels in Episode II weren’t quite up to snuff with what was in Episode I. The general flow of a level is often ground to a halt due to an oddly placed dead end, and there are far too many underwater sections which really slow down the pace. That’s not to say there aren’t any bright spots, and in fact there are a lot of really fantastic interactive elements in the environments – like bouncing back and forth between the foreground and background, or snowboarding down a snowy mountain – that really break up the action nicely. Overall though, the levels really feel more choppy and slower than you’d like a Sonic game to feel.

One majorly cool addition to Episode II is the inclusion of the bonus Episode Metal content that will unlock if you have Episode I installed on your device along with Episode II. Episode Metal shows how Metal Sonic rises from the ashes after being defeated in Sonic CD, and follows his adventures through 4 reworked levels from Episode I leading up to his reintroduction in the story of Episode II. These levels are short, but it’s incredibly fun to play as Metal Sonic and see just how he rises back to prominence to team up with Dr. Robotnik.

Another real bright spot for Sonic 4 Episode II is its visuals. It’s an absolutely huge upgrade from Episode I, which despite not supporting Retina Displays was still a very good looking game. However, Episode II blows it out of the water. From the fantastic lighting effects to the parallax scrolling to the incredible water effects, around every bend some sort of new visual treat is waiting for you in Episode II. And, at long last, this includes support for Retina Displays on iPhone and iPod touch, though sadly not for the new iPad (though it still looks great on that device).

Much like Sonic 4 Episode I, Episode II is an overall enjoyable platformer with a few relatively minor quirks that hold it back from greatness. No, it’s not going to replace any of the original trilogy’s games as the greatest of all time, and it doesn’t even approach the high level of quality of Sonic CD on iOS. But at this point, I think those are unrealistic expectations. The bottom line is that Sonic 4 Episode II is a great modern day 2D Sonic game, and I’d love to see a third episode that is inspired by Sonic 3 in the same way the previous Sonic 4 episodes were inspired by the original two games.

If you’re a Sonic fan that can deal with the differences from Sonic’s ’90s greatness, or if you just like fun platformers in general, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II has a lot to offer and is a worthy entry in this new era of classically-inspired Sonic games.

TouchArcade Rating:

[source]

Late last month Everplay and FruitFireForge released Spellsword [ $0.99 ], a game we really enjoyed in our review. It took the arena-style action platforming of Super Crate Box [ $1.99 ] and added a ton of variety in the form of RPG-like upgradeable items and abilities. Even though the two titles shared a core idea, Spellsword really stood on its own as a different experience.

However, one of the main problems we had with the game had to do with the controls. They worked well on the smaller screen of the iPhone and iPod touch, but failed to scale very well to the iPad’s big screen. Today’s update addresses this very problem by allowing you to move the virtual buttons to wherever you feel is most comfortable. Also, an new option for “Pro Swipe Controls” has been added that makes the movement controls center on wherever you place down your thumb.

Speaking of options, there’s an actual Options screen you can access from the main menu. It’s here you can configure the controls and also some basic stuff like volume sliders, an option for disabling hints, and a new option to reset your current character if you want to start over.

In addition to all the new options, Everplay has also sent over a teaser for a new upcoming level which you can see above. This new stage will contain new enemies as well as new items for your character to unlock. No word on just when this new level will hit, but it shouldn’t be too far off. In the meantime enjoy the latest update which tightened up an already great overall package in Spellsword.

[source]

On this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show, we battle through conversations about muscle retention and HHH’s taste in order to bring you the latest and greatest in the world of iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. We get off to a running start by discussing the hottest real-time strategy game at the moment, Total War Battles, and then quickly dive into a flurry of oral reviews courtesy Mr. Hodapp. Later, we pan Kickstarter again, talk about Rovio Mobile’s weird IAP plans, and the themes of Minecraft.

If you’d like to listen this week’s episode, please do so via the handy-dandy links just below. If you’d rather get our podcasts the second they hit the Internet, consider subscribing to us on iTunes or Zune Marketplace.

iTunes Link: The TouchArcade Show
Zune Marketplace: TouchArcade.com Podcasts
RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show
Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-049.mp3, 41.9MB

Oh! And if you have interest in joining our Minecraft server, send us another e-mail, as we might end up opening our stuff to all. E-mail podcast@toucharcade.com. Thanks!

Here are your show notes:

GAMES

• Total War Battles [$6.99]
• SpellTower [$.99]
• Polymer [$.99]
• Escape from the Age of Monsters [$.99 / HD]
• Bubble Pig [$.99]
• Aby Escape [Free]
• Ballistic SE [$1.99]
• Ski Safari [$.99]
• Wormholes [Free]
• Bus Turbo Racing [$.99]
• Marvel Vs Capcom 2 [$2.99]

JARED’S KITTY KORNER

• catnapper [Free]

FRONT PAGE

• ‘Minecraft – Pocket Edition’ Now Supports Crafting
• Robert Bowling Announces His New Studio
• ‘Angry Birds Space’ / ‘Jetpack Joyride’ / ‘Sword & Sworcery’ / ‘Anomaly Warzone Earth’ Updates

Aralon: Sword and Shadow HD, $0.99 Aralon: Sword and Shadow by Crescent Moon Games is a huge open world action RPG. It has more than 30 hours of gameplay in a massive 3D world, the biggest landscape ever to grace a mobile device. A full night and day system, complex quests, crafting, swimming, fishing, pipe smoking, pick-pocketing, and much, much more. Play as an elf, troll, or human, pick various classes, and go on an epic journey through the Kingdoms of Aralon.

Aralon: Sword and Shadow is now available for the discounted price of 99 cents, over 80% off for a limited time only!

[source]

It looks like today is the day of really good updates for really good games that we really like a lot. Really? Yes, really. We were just treated to an update for our Game of the Year 2011 runner-up Anomaly Warzone Earth [ $1.99 ] that added support for the new iPad, and there was plenty of rejoicing.

Now, the rejoicing gets cranked up to 11 as our actual Game of the Year 2011, Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP [ $4.99 ], has been given a similar treatment, bringing the visuals up to par for the beautiful Retina Display of the new iPad.

Sword & Sworcery has been on fire as of late, with a PC version of the game hitting Steam last week and then taking home no less than 5 awards against some stiff competition in the Canadian Video Game Awards show this past weekend. All this comes just about a month after the 1 year anniversary of the game’s release.

To celebrate the update, the developers have posted on their blog this awesome Sworcery wallpaper made specifically in high resolution for the new iPad (click for full size version).

If you’ve accidentally had your head buried in the sand for the past year and have no idea what Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP is all about, be sure and read our full review of the game for the skinny. It’s one of the most imaginative and beautiful point and click adventure games around, and the soundtrack by Jim Guthrie is absolutely phenomenal.

It’s an essential experience for iOS gamers, and with today’s new update it’s the most gorgeous the game has ever looked. And much like Anomaly, if you aren’t an iPad owner but want to get in on the fun, you can check out the iPhone/iPod touch only version Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP Micro [ $2.99 ]

[source]

One of the absolute finest games available on the App Store is 11 Bit Studios’ Anomaly Warzone Earth [ $1.99 ]. Don’t believe me? Well check out our glowing 5 star review of the game from when it launched on iPad last August, and then consider that we chose it as our runner up for Game of the Year 2011. It’s not just us, either, as Anomaly has received critical praise across the gaming universe as well as plenty of award consideration, including winning a prestigious Apple Design Award for the Mac version.

So yeah, Anomaly Warzone Earth is good. And today it gets even better, as 11 Bit has just released the latest update for the game which adds high resolution Retina Display support for the new iPad. Anomaly was a gorgeous game to begin with, and it held up pretty well even on the new iPad anyway, but the difference this update makes is quite dramatic. All the text and UI elements are razor sharp and the in-game visuals are as crisp as they’ve ever been, practically popping right off the screen.

Of course, while Anomaly Warzone Earth really sings on the iPad, it can also be played just as well on the smaller screens of the iPhone and iPod touch. The original iPad version became Universal late last year, and to celebrate the new update it is currently on sale for just $1.99. If iPads aren’t your thing, the iPhone/iPod touch only version is also on sale for 99¢ [Link]. Basically what I’m getting at is that no matter how you do it, you must experience Anomaly one way or the other, and with the new update and sale now is a fantastic time to dive in.

[source]

Tentacle Wars HD [ $2.99 (HD)], the new title from FDG Entertainment, is a port of the online Flash game of the same name by Lumarama. It’s a fast-paced iPad strategy game that reminds me a lot of Galcon [$1.99 / Free ], another iOS strategy game from 2008. In fact, I’d go as far as to say it’s “Galcon with tentacles” …along with superior graphics, ambient music and better sound effects.

Playing Tentacle Wars is like being a general overlooking a battlefield. Although in this case the battlefield exists inside the body of an alien life-form. The battles are between antibodies, spores, pulsars and embryos. Each cell can use DNA energy tentacles to attack each other. If your green antibody cells can turn all the other cells green, you’ve cured the zone. Once you clear all the zones, you’ve saved the alien life-form.

To launch an attack, you swipe a line from your green cell to any other cell in range. The more powerful your cell (as indicated by a number inside it), the further it’s tentacles can extend. You can target a red cell (enemy) to engage in battle, target a neutral grey cell to claim it, or target one of your own cells to transfer energy to where it’s needed.

The battles are based on a simple premise: The more powerful cell(s) always win, every time. So if your cell has a weaker strength it will slowly be drained until it’s defeated. But, if you attack the same opponent with tentacles from another cell simultaneously, you can defeat it, because your two cells are collectively more powerful. So, as in real war, choosing your targets carefully (but quickly) is important.

Once your tentacle has latched on to another cell, you can either remain connected to slowly drain it or swipe across your tentacle to cut it. Interestingly, it makes a difference where you sever your tentacle. So, if you slice it right in the middle, half the resources return to the attacking cell and the other half do a rapid attack-burst (ie: a 50-50 split). Whereas, if you cut your tentacle right at one end, all the resources in the tentacle will quickly retreat or attack, depending which end you slice.

To add variation, there’s impenetrable barriers within some levels, purple cells with superior intelligence to overcome, and limits for how powerful a single cell can become within each level. Each cell type also has a limit to the number of tentacles it can extend at one. These factors, plus some interesting level designs, encourage you to modify your strategies to suit each level.

The single player campaign (2 worlds, 40 levels total) is entertaining and satisfying, but far too short. By the time you’re settling in, the single player campaign is over. Additional levels are promised – but randomly-generated levels would be better. Lastly, the campaigns are rather anti-climatic once you complete each world, as nothing really happens, except a small note in the corner of the iPad screen confirming a Game Center achievement.

Multiplayer mode offers two-player online action via a random match-up or by challenging a friend, via Game Center. Choose an arena and color, then engage in a microscopic war ….and in my case, get totally owned by superior players. The online play worked flawlessly once started, but it was often unable or slow to complete a random match-up. That isn’t ideal since the single player mode is completed so quickly, but isn’t a problem if you’re playing friends online.

Tentacle Wars blends strategic gameplay with arcade-style swipes and cuts to create a fast-paced strategy game that’s ideally suited for touch screens. The game is similar to Galcon, but has enough innovation to feel fresh and new. Yet, it needs more levels and online players, otherwise the fun feels as if it’s over too quickly. According to our discussion thread, an iPhone/iPod touch version is expected around May or June.

TouchArcade Rating:

[source]

“I’ve kind of been the driving force behind this.” Chris Ewington describes what board games mean to him in passionate bursts. “It’s who I am. It’s what I do. It’s what I was meant to do.” Chris is the head honcho at Codito Development, an outfit that specializes in securing licensing and then reproducing tabletop games on iPad under the banner of Sage Games. Chris’ experience with porting the tabletop experience stretches long before iPad came into our lives. He used to make “homegrown” computer versions of his favorites to share with friends and family.

In a lot of ways, he’s the perfect guy to be doing this. His studio has the talent, and he has an astounding amount of reverence for the art form and what it does differently in today’s modern gaming landscape, which is dominated by stupid games like Angry Birds.

iTunes Link: The TouchArcade Show
Zune Marketplace: TouchArcade.com Podcasts
RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show
Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-Bonus-035.mp3, 20MB

“There’s a lot to be said I think in terms of entertainment value for things like Angry Birds and those huge hits out there where you can go play for 10 seconds and get some fun out of that, but with board games there’s a little more thought involved,” he tells us on this week’s bonus episode of the TouchArcade Show.

“They offer a lot of the other great things that some of those hit titles have, and particularly these euro board games have really great theming. You can kind of get into the world of the game if you will. They also have the replayability and fun factor — there isn’t just one way to win this game,” he says, picturing a title. “If I play it again, even with the same people, it’s going to be a completely different experience.”

Before iPad was even announced, Chris was thinking about iPad. He and his pals had been talking about playing board games on something just a little bit bigger than an iPhone or iPod Touch. He describes the announcement of iPad as an “Apple Saves The Day” kind of moment, as it gave him a legitimate outlet to take his passion and put it into a series of digital products. The list of official ports since is long: Chris has had a hand in Puerto Rico, Ra, Medici, and most recently, Tigris & Euphrates.

In a weird twist, the growth of the App Store has given Chris a calling. The majority of App Store consumers are casual-leaning, so they aren’t familiar with titles like Puerto Rico [$7.99] or Tigris & Euphrates [$4.99]. Chris says its his studio’s mission to get people to play these kinds of games, to show them that games can offer so much more than cheap thrills.

“…it’s part of our mission to open some eyes and introduce people to the joys of it. You can sit down and play a game like Puerto Rico or Tigris and you don’t know what’s going to happen. You have a rough idea how to play the game, but you don’t know what the interactions are going to be.” Chris says that the fact that most board games don’t have a single win condition is one of the most interesting things about them. The high-level strategy, complex theming, and even proximity are several of his other favorite aspects on his personal list.

His goal is lofty, but Chris is still grounded. He realizes that the world of gaming has moved on from tabletop. Much more visceral games like Pong, Mario, and Call of Duty have been re-defining what games are. It’s a new landscape, new audience, new world. But the things he most celebrates about board games are what he thinks will keep people around.

It’s also why he’ll continue doing what he’s doing.

“Board games are a natural fit for my interests and personality. I think more in 2D than 3D. And so, it’s not just … experiencing this big 3D world and trying to blast people. It’s more cerebral than that. It lets you focus more on the interactions between the players and the strategies of the game,” he tells us.

Le Havre

Chris is putting his 2D brain to good use with the studio’s next project, Le Havre. This title will mark the first time Codito Development will ever use a board game’s original art in a port. Chris believes this will add to its appeal for older fans, as it’ll be a much more authentic-looking experience than normal. That said, Codito will do the same thing it always does with its borderline masterful board game ports: honor the design and only streamline the mechanical parts of the experience.

Chris explains what Le Havre is all about. ”It’s largely a card-based game where, rather than having little squares or pieces, it’s based on cards you collect. Those cards represent different buildings you can use in the game. Again, the theming, is really what makes these games stand out above other board games and other games in some cases,” he tells us.

“It’s got this really cool feel of being in the harbor and you’re trying to develop your interests and amass the most amount of wealth at the end of the game. And to crush all of your opponents.”

Le Havre is a fairly recent creation. Publisher Lookout Games released the title in German and Australian English in October 2008. Board Game Geek has a scary breakdown of how it works, but we advise that you not look. The upcoming iPad version, as with all of Codito’s awesome ports, will focus on cleaning up the experience and putting the rules in the background.

“Our challenge is to take care of as much of the mechanics as we can and support the game experience without taking away from it. Let’s get all the other crap out of the way so you guys can just have fun playing the game and have fun with the theme and figuring out how to kick your friends ass without having to remember all the rules and picking up all the pieces and sort them out,” Chris says.

Chris has a lot more to say on this week’s show, so give it a listen. We do podcasts with interesting folks in the iOS space at least twice a month. We’ll be back later this week with another regular episode of the TouchArcade Show.

Oh, and as a special-special bonus to our podcast listeners, Codito is offering up three of its games for $1.99. Here’s some links:

• Reiner Knizia’s Ra [$1.99]
• Tikal [$1.99]
• Reiner Knizia’s Tigris & Euphrates [$1.99]

[source]

In January Namco Bandai released an excellent iOS version of their classic 3D fighter SoulCalibur [ $11.99 ]. A a fan of SoulCalibur on Dreamcast more than a decade ago, the faithful iOS port was a great way to re-experience the game. The virtual controls worked well, the graphics were crisp and high-res, and the finely-tuned mechanics withstood the test of time.

However, as good as iOS SoulCalibur was, it was strangely devoid of any kind of multiplayer, a key component for a fighting game. Over the weekend, Namco Bandai looked to rectify that omission by releasing a new update that adds Bluetooth multiplayer to SoulCalibur. The new versus mode works just as well as you’d expect it to, and squaring off against an opponent face-to-face is just as fun as it was back in the day. It really is crazy just how well SoulCalibur has aged after all these years, especially as a competitive game.

One important thing to note though is that multiplayer isn’t compatible with the iPod touch. SoulCalibur is a pretty technically demanding game anyway, and even upon release required at least an iPhone 4, iPad 2 or 4th generation iPod touch to run. It is likely the lower amount of RAM in that iPod touch device that is the reason multiplayer is a no-go.

If you’re a SoulCalibur fan in the iPhone or iPad camp then get to updating your game and go search out a worthy opponent. Believe it or not, SoulCalibur is actually on sale right now to celebrate the update, down from its normal price of $14.99, so if a lack of multiplayer caused you to pass on the game before now is not a bad time to finally pick it up.

[source]

Well, this was unexpected. A day or so after launching a restaurant simulation game on Android, the simulation gurus at Kairosoft stealth-released Epic Astro Story [$3.99] across the iPhone and iPod Touch. From the look, it appears as if it’s melding the action-y soccer part of Pocket League Story with the city-building of its other recent releases, Oh Edo Town and Venture Town. The key exceptions being that it’s dripping with sci-fi buildings and homes, and the action-y part are actual battles with cutesy aliens.

We’re giving it a spin right now and will definitely deliver you something a little more specific in the near future. If you’re a Kairosoft fan, however, this appears to be the change of pace game you’ve been craving since the company began releasing its city building games on the App Store. Fingers crossed for awesome!

[Thanks, WakeBoardMan10!]

[source]