TouchArcade.ru

I'll start out by saying that this is a bit of a curious post. The app I'm highlighting here isn't a game at all — not even sort-of a game. It's a music player, of sorts. But, a music player that should bring a smile to the face of many a gamer who sat in front an Amiga or PC, joystick in hand, back in the late '80s and early '90s. The app I speak of is French developer Yohann Magnien's Modizer [App Store]…and it's a MODplayer.

First, some history for those unfamiliar with MODs, trackers, and all that lot of sampled digital audio goodness. In 1985 the Commodore Amiga was released, bringing with it dramatic innovations on every front, really. And, among them, was its 8-bit, 4-channel, wavetable, stereo audio subsystem offering far better audio playback than any other consumer machine of the time. Digitized sound samples could be loaded into the Amiga's CHIP RAM and triggered for playback (and with zero CPU intervention), with highly realistic results. Two years after the Amiga's release, developer Karsten Obarski decided to create a program that would load samples into said RAM and trigger them for coherent playback using a simple script that's something akin to the scroll of a player piano. That program was called Ultimate Soundtracker. That script, plus its associated audio samples, all bundled together into a single file were called a module or MOD. Since then "trackers" of every sort, along with new MOD-like formats, emerged for platforms far and wide.

Demoscene coders were quick to adopt these trackers to create soundtracks to accompany their onscreen pixel magic and soon the "music guy" became a critical component of every demogroup. Noting this, game developers soon adopted MODs as their solution for in-game music. Back in the day of limited CPU resources, audio boards with real horesepower came onto the scene to enable efficient playback of not just 4 but 8, 16, 32, 64 channels. Demos and games benefitted mightily, and audio geeks had a new scene to drool over. (I was a GUS and CapaMOD man, myself.)

And plenty of iOS games have reach out to MODs, S3Ms, XMs, and other formats of the kind for their soundtrack solutions.

And, so we come back to Modizer. Is it the only MODplayer in the App Store? No, it's not. But it appears to be the most full-featured. Modizer supports a dizzying array of audio formats thanks to its use of the MODPlug and UADE players (the latter of which actually emulates an Amiga 1200 computer), switchable in the settings menu. A variety of OpenGL-based audio visualizers can be enabled to accompany playback, a feature that will be much appreciated by those accustomed to hearing MODs running alongside a demoscene production's onscreen pixel magic. And it all runs smooth as glass without missing a beat.

Modizer is a universal application, natively supporting the iPhone 3G, iPod touch 2G, iPad and up, with specific optimizations for the iPhone 4 and iPad. The app includes a file browser that allows free access to the MODLAND and HVSC collections — about 215,000 tracks in all — that, when downloaded, are stored locally for quick access. The archives contain audio tracks from basically every demo ever made as well as most games for the C64 and Amiga.

See our iPad demo video. The developer provides a few iPhone demo videos, as well.

At a mere $.99, Modizer is a godsend for gamers with a fancy for digital music. And, while indeed not a game, Modizer for iOS seems worth a spot here at Touch Arcade.

UPDATE: We just got word from the developer that he's currently working on a v1.1 update that includes various bugfixes as well as a number of enhancements:

• Some optimization for browser (mainly when browsing modland/artists)
• Sharp X68000 support (mdx/pdx files) with updated Modland lib
• Addressing issue where some formats miss the last second of music
• And more to come, depending on user feedback…

Magnien indicates that he's also considering a network "user stats" sort of ranking system that would let users easily share the overall highest rated songs. We'll keep you posted.

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I'll start out by saying that this is a bit of a curious post. The app I'm highlighting here isn't a game at all — not even sort-of a game. It's a music player, of sorts. But, a music player that should bring a smile to the face of many a gamer who sat in front an Amiga or PC, joystick in hand, back in the late '80s and early '90s. The app I speak of is French developer Yoyofr's Modizer [App Store]…and it's a MODplayer.

First, some history for those unfamiliar with MODs, trackers, and all that lot of sampled digital audio goodness. In 1985 the Commodore Amiga was released, bringing with it dramatic innovations on every front, really. And, among them, was its 8-bit, 4-channel, wavetable, stereo audio subsystem offering far better audio playback than any other consumer machine of the time. Digitized sound samples could be loaded into the Amiga's CHIP RAM and triggered for playback (and with zero CPU intervention), with highly realistic results. Two years after the Amiga's release, developer Karsten Obarski decided to create a program that would load samples into said RAM and trigger them for coherent playback using a simple script that's something akin to the scroll of a player piano. That program was called Ultimate Soundtracker. That script, plus its associated audio samples, all bundled together into a single file were called a module or MOD. Since then "trackers" of every sort, along with new MOD-like formats, emerged for platforms far and wide.

Demoscene coders were quick to adopt these trackers to create soundtracks to accompany their onscreen pixel magic and soon the "music guy" became a critical component of every demogroup. Noting this, game developers soon adopted MODs as their solution for in-game music. Back in the day of limited CPU resources, audio boards with real horesepower came onto the scene to enable efficient playback of not just 4 but 8, 16, 32, 64 channels. Demos and games benefitted mightily, and audio geeks had a new scene to drool over. (I was a GUS and CapaMOD man, myself.)

And plenty of iOS games have reach out to MODs, S3Ms, XMs, and other formats of the kind for their soundtrack solutions.

And, so we come back to Modizer. Is it the only MODplayer in the App Store? No, it's not. But it appears to be the most full-featured. Modizer supports a dizzying array of audio formats and, to accompany them, offers a variety of OpenGL-based visualizations, which is much appreciated by those accustomed to hearing MODs running alongside a demoscene production's onscreen pixel magic.

Modizer is a universal application, natively supporting the iPhone 3G, iPod touch 2G, iPad and up, with specific optimizations for the iPhone 4 and iPad. The app includes a file browser that allows free access to the MODLAND and HVSC collections — about 215,000 tracks in all — that, when downloaded, are stored locally for quick access. The archives contain audio tracks from basically every demo ever made as well as most games for the C64 and Amiga.

See our iPad demo video. The developer provides a few iPhone demo videos, as well.

At a mere $.99, Modizer is a godsend for gamers with a fancy for digital music. And, while indeed not a game, Modizer for iOS seems worth a spot here at Touch Arcade.

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Classic arcade game fans were extremely excited when developer Taito announced at E3 2010 that a Bubble Bobble game would be coming to the App Store. They then revealed at this year's Tokyo Game Show that the game would be called Bubble Bobble Double, and would feature an authentic port of the original arcade game as well as a new style game based on the Bubble Bobble universe. Just a couple of days ago, Taito tweeted a short gameplay video of this new mode, and later tweeted another video of the classic mode in action. Earlier today, Bubble Bobble Double [$4.99] went live in the App Store. After giving both game modes a thorough spin, I'm definitely left with mixed feelings.

On one hand, it's incredible to have the original Bubble Bobble arcade game with me at any time on my device. All one hundred of the original levels are here, with the original music and sound effects that are so near and dear to many gamers' hearts. The problem is that all this nostalgia is represented on a tiny game screen with virtual controls that leave a lot to be desired. I understand Taito's dilemma though, as thumbs would just block too much of the gameplay if they had the game running on a larger portion of the screen. There is a zoom option but it really only makes the screen marginally bigger, and while the game is still very playable it's harder to enjoy on the small screen.

The virtual controls themselves work alright, it's just that Bubble Bobble is a game that really requires tactile feedback while playing. It can be really frustrating trying to focus on the onscreen action and end up losing a life because my finger slipped off of the virtual d-pad, or that I accidentally hit jump instead of shooting a bubble. Again, it's not unplayable by any means, just not ideal. One cool aspect of the classic mode is that you can choose to bring the second player into the game at any time. This player is controlled by AI and helps you defeat the enemies on each level. For a game that was really at its best with two players in the arcade, this is a neat addition, although I'd love to see an actual two-player mode via WiFi or Bluetooth.

The new mode found in Bubble Bobble Double is where the package kind of falls flat. Here, your character sits in a fixed position as enemies attack in various formations from every angle. Tapping an enemy puts them in a bubble, and tapping them again pops that bubble thus defeating the enemy and giving you a fruit bonus. The blast from the bubble popping can destroy other enemies near it, similar to how chain reactions are caused in games like Splode [$1.99] or Sneezies [99¢/Lite]. Enemies trapped in bubbles can also be flicked around the screen to get them near other enemies to set up combos, or combine with others trapped in bubbles to create an even bigger bubble to pop.

The new mode has plenty of levels, collectable items, and online leaderboards through OpenFeint. The problem is that it's just not very much fun. Gameplay consists of mostly mindless tapping, and enemies enter the screen too quickly to really utilize any kind of strategy by flicking them around and creating combos. Most levels can be completed easily by just frantically double tapping every enemy, and you're really only ever in danger if you do try to go for elaborate scoring opportunities. After playing through some of the zones in this new mode, I honestly just wasn't compelled to keep going.

The classic mode in Bubble Bobble Double can still be a lot of fun despite its shortcomings. The ability to continue as many times as you want or start a new game from any previously beaten level are nice touches, and the pseudo two-player aspect actually adds to the experience. As for the new mode, it's just plain underwhelming compared to the timeless gameplay and design found in the original game. Depending on how big a fan of Bubble Bobble you are, you may find Bubble Bobble Double a solid purchase. I've easily spent much more than the price of this game both in arcades and on home console versions over the years, and I'll make do with the less than ideal screen size and controls just to enjoy the game over again. But if you were looking for an innovative twist on a classic game like what was found in Taito's Space Invaders Infinity Gene [$4.99/Lite], then you'll most likely be left disappointed.

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The dual-stick shooter is an overcrowded genre on the App Store, but every once in a while one of them stands out from the pack. Developer Facet Studios is working on a new dual-stick shooter called Etolis: Arena, and based on their preview video it looks like it may just have a chance of standing out. Etolis: Arena is a space-themed game that almost has a Halo-like look to it, with metallic ship chambers and bright neon highlights. Rather than just one big open map like most dual-stick shooters, the levels in Etolis: Arena have a lot more structure, and are made up of different corridors and rooms.

You'll play as a soldier of the United Front Alliance who has been captured during an invasion of the planet Etolis by an army known as the Kraven. The Queen of the Kraven, Natus, has requested that you fight for your life in what is known as the Arena for her amusement. Battles consist of 3 waves of attackers per round, with an endless amount of rounds across 5 different maps. As you defeat each wave, the Queen will give you honor points which can be used to upgrade your weapons to take on the increasingly difficult enemies. The developer details some of the features of Etolis: Arena:

- Battle for survival on 5 different maps
- Use 7 different weapons and 3 grenade types to destroy your enemies
- Battle against 11 different enemy types
- Use 1 of 4 temporary special abilities for those emergency moments (invisibility, invincibility, self explosion, and endless ammo)
- Unlock secret information about the invasion as you play in different locations
- Leader boards and Achievements
- Compelling Music

Etolis: Arena is still one to two months off from release, but is looking pretty nice in the teaser trailer. The structured arenas seem like a fun place to do battle, and the game has a cool style and impressive graphics to complement this aspect. There's also a fairly fleshed-out storyline to accompany all the action, which can be rare in games of this type. More information and screens can be found in the upcoming game thread in our forums, and we'll bring you more news on Etolis: Arena as it becomes available.

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If the Sims is your thing, EA has just launched the latest Sims sequel onto the App Store. Sims 3 Ambitions offers a number of long requested new Sim-capabilities to the App Store game. The latest version actually lets you build your own house or business as well as have babies.

The new features, as listed by EA, include:

• Career mode – For the first time ever on iPhone & iPod touch, turn your Sims’ hobbies into fulfilling jobs. Will your Sim become a Firefighter? Rock Star? Artist? Teacher? Chef? Sports Star? Get down to business with new career-oriented goals, mini-games, outfits, and locations. Follow your Sims to work and see them get happier as they make their dreams come true.
• Build Mode – Think big with the improved and expanded Build Mode feature. Resize, add, or delete rooms, floors, walls, doors, and windows as you make a new home for your success-driven Sim. Buy and sell furniture and objects. And now you can also build workplaces like a Bistro, a Preschool, or a Night Club for your musical Sim to rock.

  

• Babies – Your most requested feature is here! For the first time on iPhone & iPod touch, your Sims can have babies! Feed them, play with them, and put them to bed! Watch Sims babies become Sims toddlers. Take them to the park, play hide-and-seek, or give them a little cuddle. Having Sims children changes everything!
• Import and Export – Bring in your favorite Sims from The Sims™ 3 and The Sims™ 3 World Adventures for iPhone & iPod touch. Give them the chance to pursue their dreams, too!

Here's an early gameplay video:

Meanwhile, impressions are beginning to be collected in the forums.

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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.

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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.

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Swedish iPhone developer Acne Play released their second game on the App Store today. With fantastic art similar to their other title, Comet [99¢], Pizza Boy [$1.99] is a platformer with some of the best controls I've seen in the genre. The story is ridiculous as expected, told through fantastic comic book style sequences that explain that an evil bird has stolen your pizza– of course you need to get it back. Unfortunately, between you and your beloved pizza pie are all kinds of obstacles, enemies, pits, trampolines, and everything else a good platformer needs.

Pizza Boy's graphics are highly reminiscent of excellent platformers of the 16 bit era with some perfectly paired chiptune music to go along with them. (They even put the whole soundtrack up online to listen to.) The game is host to all the gameplay mechanics required for a good platformer, with an odd culinary twist. Instead of collecting coins you pick up strawberries, and 100 strawberries award an extra life. Instead of tossing fireballs you throw soda bottles which are available in a limited quantity from soda machines that you stomp on. In addition, you can collect letters to form the word "pizza," and you can even rescue cats on each level for bonus points.

Where Pizza Boy really shines is in the control department. Pizza Boy's iTunes description mentions something Acne Play is calling the "Smart Touch System," which I'd normally write off as just a gimmick, but the controls are just fantastic. I'm not sure how much magic is in the Smart Touch System but while playing Pizza Boy I never ran in to issues I usually have with platformers on the iPhone such as missing buttons, sliding my finger off the D-Pad, and other fat fingerings that often result in death.

What kills me about Pizza Boy is how little content there is in the game. The developers even went as far as to say in the iTunes description that it would only take a half hour to play through. They later clarified this via email by saying that it was a guesstimate for how long it would take an experienced player, and it took me close to 45 minutes. The worst part about all this is that Pizza Boy is great, and the entire game really leaves you wanting more. The only online scoring there is in the game is the ability to brag via Facebook or Twitter, which pains me even further because a short score-centric game like this could have a decent amount of replay value injected in to it with some form of online leaderboard.

Pizza Boy really reminds me a lot of the recently released physics puzzler No, Human which also was over before you knew it, leaving you wanting much more. Just like No, Human, if you decide to give Pizza Boy a try you'll be rewarded with an awesome platformer, but the credits roll just as you really start to get in to it.

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A couple of weeks ago, we had a chance to get some hands-on time with the iPhone and iPad version of Puzzle Agent from Telltale Games. The story of FBI puzzle detective Nelson Tethers was coming together nicely for the iOS devices, and now the game is finally available. Puzzle Agent succeeds beautifully in the art style and story departments, but falls a little flat with the actual gameplay offered. If you go into Puzzle Agent expecting a robust puzzle game with a lot of content and replayability, you'll likely be disappointed. However, if you're looking for an excellent mystery to solve with humorous characters and an interesting plot, you'll find a lot to enjoy about the overall experience of Puzzle Agent.

The game starts with Nelson sitting at his desk in the FBI headquarters. You can tell he doesn't see a whole lot of action, as he is surprised to receive a phone call asking him to go on an assignment in the field. The eraser factory in Scoggins, Minnesota has ceased production, and thus been unable to supply the White House with their required allotment of erasers. All inquiries as to what the problem is at the eraser factory have resulted in odd puzzle-related responses from the townsfolk in Scoggins, making Nelson the perfect candidate to have investigate the situation. You'll travel to Scoggins to question people, solve puzzles, and uncover a twisted tale of what has gone awry at the eraser factory.

Puzzle Agent functions similar to other point-and-click adventure games, giving you a scene with various interactive elements to investigate. A circle will emanate from wherever you touch on the screen, and an icon will show up within that circle if something can be interacted with. I love this mechanic as it allows me to easily check an entire area for clues without tapping on every square inch of the screen. Talking with characters in the game is definitely the high point of Puzzle Agent. Each character is fully voiced and has multiple points of conversation to engage in. The amount of personality and humor that the characters exude through the dialogue is phenomenal, and playing through Puzzle Agent is analogous to watching a well crafted animated film. The art style is also very pleasing, featuring the minimalist hand drawn style of Graham Annable who created the Grickle comics and animated shorts.

iPad screenshots (click to enlarge):

The actual puzzles you'll be solving in Puzzle Agent are a mixed bag. Some are interesting, intuitive, and fun while others are just plain awkward and frustrating. Many times it's just not clear what you are supposed to be doing in a given puzzle. A hint system is in place in case you get stuck, so it never really prevents you from progressing, but it can be annoying to spend time trying to solve a difficult puzzle with trial and error when you are immersed in the story. Another frustration with Puzzle Agent is the controls. The game is designed very well for touch screen, but the actual responsiveness when touching or dragging items is not so great. It feels like the game is optimized for the mouse and cursor of the Mac/PC version, and using the larger surface of a fingertip doesn't afford the precision needed to perform some of the basic actions in the game.

There also isn't much reason to go back and play the game once you've beaten it, as the puzzles and story don't change. One important point to bring up is that Puzzle Agent looks far better on the iPad than it does on the iPhone. Many of the textures are blurry and show signs of artifacting, and are a far cry from the App Store screen shots that look like they are optimized for Retina Display.  This leads me to believe that it's just a bug with the release version that doesn't allow it to display the game in the proper resolution, although I have yet to confirm this. It doesn't completely ruin the game, but it is a significant distraction. The iPad version doesn't seem to exhibit this problem, and hopefully the issue gets rectified with the iPhone version soon.

Even with these issues, Puzzle Agent is still a really enjoyable experience. And that's what it really boils down to – it's better served as an exceptional entertainment experience rather than an exceptional game. The art style, music, voice acting, and story are incredibly well done, but the controls and puzzles are pretty hit and miss. If you're looking for something akin to an enjoyable interactive movie, Puzzle Agent serves this purpose really well.

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