TouchArcade.ru

Smash Cops [$2.99] from Hutch reminds me of Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, as the main objective is to take bad guys off the road by catching up with them and then ramming their vehicles until they catch fire and roll in slow-motion. Sounds good, right? In Smash Cops the police pursuit is set in an urban neighborhood more like Grand Theft Auto, so there’s heaps of intersections and front lawns to skid around.

The most distinctive feature of Smash Cops are the controls, which have become a talking point in our discussion thread. The default touch controls involve placing one finger behind your police car and using it to “push” your vehicle along, like a toy car, with acceleration being automatic. This “push” mechanism has received mixed feedback, with some absolutely loving it and others loathing it and preferring the alternate virtual joystick option. Personally, I enjoyed the new push controls, but found the virtual joystick jerky and awkward for steering.

While driving, tapping the screen anywhere causes your police vehicle to lunge forward in a ramming maneuver. Smacking into the side or front of a fleeing vehicle is the most effective and can lead to the criminal’s car smashing, rolling and possibly catching fire. There’s no warnings, issuing tickets or police diplomacy, you just smash into the criminals as hard as possible each time your RAM meter has fully recharged.

Smash Cops has 22 missions to unlock, with each mission worth six stars. The missions include pursuits, emergency response calls and driving challenges. Pursuits involve racing alone or working with other cops to take down a suspect’s vehicle, like multiple sports cars, stolen security trucks or an ATV, before the criminals escape across the state line. However, the other cops are actually more of a hinderance as they drive badly, swerve around, get in your way and appear to purposely take you out. Basically they’re more frustrating than the bad guys and civilian drivers themselves.

Responding to emergency dispatch calls involves following a series of markers to the crime-scene within a time limit, speeding around the neighborhood while dodging traffic and bad guys. But the driving challenges proved hardest, like staying between the traffic cones – which is when you realize how poor your driving is. If only the goal was to knock down as many cones as possible! Completing a challenge mission earns you a “Super-Cop” vehicle power-up for one mission, to “Drive faster. Hit harder. Last longer”.

The game tries to sell you “Super Cop” upgrades as an in-app purchase, with IAP messages in the game over screen, upgrade notification screen, in the tips and on the main menu screen. And when you restart the game, a red “buy all” button appears. This felt a little pushy, however the IAP is not necessary as you can unlock everything without too much grinding. And when you do replay missions, it’s often with a new vehicle so it’s still fun.

The graphics are excellent, with the game presented as if being filmed from an overhead police chopper for a live television feed. Check out the trailer below, for a taste of the sweet graphics used for the vehicles and city setting. Smash Cops scores high marks for being visually appealing.

You start out as a new police cadet, in a regular police car, but by completing levels and earning stars you can unlock four other vehicles like the speedy ‘Interceptor’ or the aggressive ‘Brutus’. Vehicle upgrades make it easier to replay levels for more stars, plus because the mission routes don’t appear to change, you can learn the route and identify short-cuts for better ramming opportunities. This helps you gain promotions up the five ranks to “Captain.”

Smash Cops is a great-looking police-pursuit game, with an innovative “push” control system that’s a refreshing variation from regular car racing controls. Opinions on the push controls are polarized, but if they click with you they actually offer a simple and fun way to control the game. It’s nice to see developers using touch controls in new and innovative ways, especially when it involves car chases, 360 degree burn-outs, ramming, and slow motion vehicle smashes.

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We’ve come to expect EA to never mess around with its sales, and we’re pleased to report that it certainly isn’t messing around with its latest. From now, and presumably until shortly after New Years Day, all of the publisher’s gargantuan premium catalogue is an agreeable $.99. That means games like Madden 12, Trenches II, and many others have been reduced up to 90-percent off the original asking price. Whoa, right?

This same sale happened last year around this time, too. You probably know the story, but EA managed to choke the App Store’s charts with its titles and pushed everyone out of its way. It was a powerful move that set the yuletide savings tone moving forward.

We’ve got a list, but just as a note, we haven’t listed every single EA game, just the ones in this “holiday sale.”

• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – $2.99 → $.99
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 HD – $9.99 → $.99
• Battleship HD – $2.99 → $.99
• Bop it! for iPad – $ → $.99
• Coconut Dodge HD – $1.99 → $.99
• Command & Conquer: Red Alert HD – $4.99 → $.99
• Dead Space – $6.99 → $.99
• Dead Space HD – $9.99 → $.99
• Draw Jump HD – $2.99 → $.99
• Dragon’s Lair 2: Time Warp – $2.99 → $.99
• FIFA 12 – $4.99 → $.99
• FIFA 12 for iPad – $9.99 → $.99
• Fight Night Champion – $4.99 → $.99
• The Game of Life for iPad – $6.99 → $.99
• High Caliber Hunting - $2.99 – $.99
• Madden NFL 12 – $4.99 → $.99
• Madden NFL 12 for iPad – $12.99 → $.99
• Max And the Magic Marker HD – $2.99 → $.99
• Mirror’s Edge HD – $9.99 → $.99
• Monopoly for iPad – $9.99 → $.99
• Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition – $2.99 → $.99
• Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition for iPad – $ → $.99
• NBA Jam HD – $4.99 → $.99
• NCAA Football – $2.99 → $.99
• Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit – $4.99 → $.99
• Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit HD – $9.99 → $.99
• Need For Speed Shift 2 Unleashed – $2.99 → $.99
• Need For Speed Shift 2 Unleashed for iPad – $4.99 → $.99
• Need for Speed Undercover – $2.99 → $.99
• PICTUREKA! HD – $4.99 → $.99
• Reckless Racing HD – $4.99 → $.99
• RISK -$2.99 → $.99
• RISK HD -$6.99 → $.99
• Scrabble -$2.99 → $.99
• Scrabble HD – $9.99 → $.99
• SimCity Deluxe HD – $6.99 → $.99
• Snood HD – $4.99 → $.99
• Spy Mouse HD – $2.99 → $.99
• TETRIS HD – $7.99 → $.99
• Trenches II – $1.99 → $.99
• Trenches II for iPad – $2.99 → $.99
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 – $4.99 → $.99
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 for iPad – $6.99 → $.99
• Trivial Pursuit Master Edition for iPad – $ – $.99
• The Sims 3 -$6.99 → $.99
• The Sims 3: Ambitions – $4.99 → $.99
• The Sims Medieval – $4.99 – $.99
• The Sims 3: World Adventures – $2.99 → $.99
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon – $2.99 → $.99
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon HD – $4.99 → $.99
• Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 HD – $4.99 → $.99

If you’re looking for something else, hit up EA’s publisher page on the App Store. You’ll see its entire selection, including games that were already $.99 courtesy its Daily Deals seasonal program.

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In 3D Pixel Racing [$1.99] the car graphics look extremely blocky – there's simply no anti-aliasing (or smoothing of the edges) …but that's not a bad thing, because it's completely intentional! This car racing game uses 8-bit pixelated graphics to depict the 3D cars, tracks and menus, so they look like they're constructed from tiny blocks of Lego. You might think this sounds like 8-bit Rally [99¢], but no, this is far more pixelated than that.

While the unusual "pixel" graphics are definitely the main draw, there's also quite a few other features, including 5 game modes, 11 cars, 10 tracks, and various weather conditions, which all sounds really good on paper. However, this game has received mixed feedback in our discussion thread, with the menu system in particular being singled out for criticism.

The developers advise the menu system was ported across from the Wii version and it is, quite frankly, one of the worst menu interfaces I've encountered on any iOS game. Basically, two buttons labeled "1" and "2"  are assigned different purposes depending on the screen.  It's astounding that after investing in a game, producing such interesting graphics, and delivering multiple game modes that anyone would implement a user interface that's so obviously unpleasant to navigate. As a rule of thumb: If you need to display instructions for your menu buttons, it's too complex.

Having condemned the nasty menu system, let's examine the gameplay. The five different game modes provide a nice range of racing formats, including single race, championship races over five random tracks, and a "capture-the-flag" mode where you gain points by stealing or driving with the flag. There's also a "Hot Pursuit" mode where you play either a fleeing criminal or a chasing policeman, just like Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit [$4.99 / HD]. And finally, there's a time trial mode. There's no multiplayer mode, but five game modes is still a pretty decent offering.

Each of the 11 cars has speed, grip, and handling attributes, with one model being a Formula One vehicle. In addition to day-time / night-time racing, the cars are affected by the weather conditions, including sun, snow, rain and fog, which all affect the amount of tire grip and visibility. Although according to the help screen, rain causes very low visibility, while there's good visibility in foggy conditions. Remind me not to go driving with those guys!

Pitstops are available in Championship and Single race modes, for changing tires and refueling.  An indicator tells you how damaged your tires are, which reduces their grip.  You also have a fuel gauge. If the fuel tank is empty, the car emits smoke and moves jerkily. Pitstops can be turned off in the settings, if you prefer.

The control systems differ depending on which device you're using. iPad users can choose either virtual joystick controls, or tilt.  There's no need to select one option or the other, you simply start tilting, or using the on-screen controls. The infamous "1" button is used for brake and reverse, while "2" is your accelerator. Any iPhone / iPod users are limited to tilt controls.

The virtual stick controls are reasonable, but not perfect. If your finger moves too far off the pad, it stops controlling the car. And the tilt controls felt awkward on the iPad, with no option for adjusting tilt sensitivity.  On my first race my driving seemed pretty decent, as I managed to hold an almost reasonable racing line, but apparently I was playing easy mode, with the "drive assist" option set to high by default (Off, Low, Med, High). The car was almost driving itself around corners.

(Trailer from the original WiiWare version)

There were a couple of other issues:  There's no high score leaderboards, which is unusual for a racing game. This is crying out for Game Center. Also, some options like drive assist, CPU difficulty, and number of laps should really be presented as options when starting the race, not hidden away inconveniently in the options screen. And lastly, the English is confusing at times, like when you press a button and it says "Confirm or continue?"

3D Pixel Racing is a winner in the categories of graphical creativity and delivery of plenty of game modes, but it comes last for user-interface design due to cluttered menus and buttons which make it unpleasant to navigate. This game seems to polarize people, with some loving it and others wanting to delete it. Personally, I'm in the middle.  If you survive the menus and adjust to the controls, there's certainly some fun to be found, at a lower price than many big-name racing games.

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EA is hoping to grab some big-time love from new iPhone 4S owners this week. The publisher is throwing a sale in celebration of the new hot-ness’ impending official release, offering up a good portion of its more technically impressive titles on the super cheap. Starting now games like Dead Space or Shift 2 are now just $.99 instead of their usual premium prices. Good deals all-around, and hey, obviously you don’t need a 4S to enjoy them.

Here’s the big list:

• Madden NFL 12 – $4.99 → $2.99
• Dead Space – $6.99 → $.99
• The Sims 3 – $6.99 → $.99
• Battlefield Bad Company 2 – $2.99 → $.99
• Fight Night Champion – $4.99 → $.99
• RISK – $2.99 → $.99
• The Sims Medieval – $4.99 → $.99
• SHIFT 2 – $4.99 → $.99
• Need for Speed Hot Pursuit – $4.99 → $.99
• Need for Speed Undercover – $2.99 → $.99
• Real Racing – $2.99 → $.99
• Dragon's Lair II Time Warp – $2.99 → $.99
• Scrabble – $1.99 → $.99
• Tetris – $2.99 → $.99
• The Sims 3 Ambitions – $4.99 → $.99
• The Sims 3 World Adventures – $4.99 → $.99
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon -$2.99 → $.99

Whenever we do these sales we usually tell people to go download Dead Space since it's the best game on the list. This is true yet again, but I will add that Tetris is a mighty fine touch-based title. You won't be writing home about its graphics regardless of your hardware, but it's pretty fun.

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It’s not a holiday weekend, but EA doesn’t need one in order to drum up a sale. Proof: until the end of this very weekend, you can grab a huge assortment of the publisher’s iPad-specific titles for up to 70 percent off their normal value. In the case of games like Tetris this translates to several, several dollars worth of savings, which is always pretty cool. Here’s a big fat old list of everything it’s marking off and the original price point:

• Scrabble - $9.99 → $2.99
• Risk: The Official Game – $6.99 → $2.99
• Sim City Deluxe - $6.99 → $2.99
• Monopoly – $9.99 → $2.99
• Monopoly Here and Now: The World Edition – $9.99 → $2.99
• Shift 2 Unleashed – $4.99 → $2.99
• Command and Conquer: Red Alert – $4.99 → $2.99
• Max and the Magic Marker – $2.99 → $0.99
• Battleship – $2.99 → $0.99
• Clue: Secrets and Spies – $4.99 → $2.99
• Reckless Racing – $4.99 → $2.99
• Snood – $4.99 → $2.99
• The Game of Life – $6.99 → $2.99
• Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit – $6.99 → $2.99
• NBA Jam – $4.99 → $2.99
• Yahtzee HD – $4.99 → $2.99
• Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 – $4.99 → $2.99
• Dead Space – $9.99 → $2.99
• Mirror's Edge – $4.99 → $2.99
• Tetris – $7.99 → $2.99
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – $9.99 → $2.99

If you're in the market for some wholesome family-oriented entertainment, this is definitely your kind of sale considering the amount of board games available on the cheap. Dead Space, though, will continue to be our number one pick whenever EA throws these sales — it's mad good, guys. Mad good.

[Via Destructoid]

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Hey, guys, did you know it’s Labor Day weekend? It is. And because it’s a weekend in which some people are finding something to celebrate, Electronic Arts has decided to throw a big sale on the App Store. Imagine that.

This latest price-slashing jamboree isn’t the most spectacular it has ever thrown, but it’s still one of the hardest hitting of the current crop of Labor Day sales we’ve seen thus far, especially when it comes to big name and budget properties.

For a limited time, you can grab a bunch of racing, sports, action, and other assorted titles for $.99. The iPad companions (where applicable) to these, on the other hand, have all been reduced to $1.99. Here’s a list:

• SHIFT 2 Unleashed – $2.99 → $0.99
• SHIFT 2 Unleashed for iPad – $4.99 → $1.99
• Need for Speed Hot Pursuit- $4.99 → $0.99
• Need for Speed Hot Pursuit for iPad – $9.99 → $1.99
• Need For Speed Undercover – $2.99 → $0.99
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12 – $4.99 → $0.99
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12 for iPad – $6.99 → $1.99
• Tetris – $2.99 → $.99
• Tetris for iPad – $7.99 → $1.99
• Dead Space - $6.99 → $0.99
• Dead Space for iPad – $9.99 → $1.99
• Dragon’s Lair 2: Time Warp – $2.99 → $0.99
• Fight Night Champion – $4.99 → $0.99
• FIFA 10 – $2.99 → $0.99
• FIFA 11 – $2.99 → $0.99
• FIFA 11 for iPad – $9.99 → $1.99
• The Sims 3 – $6.99 → $0.99
• The Sims 3 World Adventures – $2.99 → $0.99
• The Sims 3 Ambitions – $4.99 → $0.99
• Scrabble – $1.99 → $0.99
• Scrabble for iPad – $9.99 → $1.99
• The Game of Life: Classic Edition – $2.99 → $0.99
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – $2.99 → $0.99
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 for iPad – $9.99 → $1.99
• RISK – $2.99 → $0.99
• RISK for iPad – $6.99 → $1.99
• NCAA Football – $2.99 → $0.99

If you're looking for a key pick in all of this, I would definitely take a gander at Dead Space or Tetris. The latter is a classic and works surprisingly well with touch, while the former is a ridiculously sharp touch-specific iteration of the horror franchise that actually has something to say.

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One thing about Shift 2: Unleashed [$5.99/HD], just real quick: Don't bother. If I had to summarize EA's latest Need for Speed sim, it certainly wouldn't involve the word "unleashed." This is about as misleading a subtitle you could attach to something so tame and afraid to do anything outside its comfort zone.

I'm still high off the faster, crazier NFS: Hot Pursuit and the dialed back Real Racing 2, I think. Shift 2 exists in a limbo-like spot somewhere in between those titles, with a slightly heavier weight toward the realistic racing, which is something the franchise has only recently started dabbling in. We loved the first Need for Speed: Shift because it nailed what we wanted from a console approximation and it was a convincing, competitive iOS sim-racer. This sequel hits those same notes, but the standard, and thus what I expect, has raised since.

The idiots on your morning commute are probably evidence enough that passing the driver's test doesn't make you a great driver, just the same as Shift 2's isn't a great game because its basics are up to snuff. The sum of A Bunch of Cars and A Bunch of Tracks doesn't amount to much, particularly because there's little to differentiate the vehicles from one another beyond their look and stats. At least upgrading the speed, tires, brakes and all that jazz gives your ride a feel akin to actual driving. The tilt-turning sensitivity is as stellar as it's ever been in these iOS versions of NFS, particularly when turning off the driving assists.

Vehicles move faster as you move up the tiers, graduating from the D-class to C to B and so on, which is a structure so straightforward I found myself struggling to stay interested. I didn't feel like I was grew and improved as I moved up the ladder–more like I was checking chores off a to-do list that rewarded me with more mediocrity. Unleashed worked great for scratching the upgrade itch the series always gives me, at least.

Speaking of which, EA, it'd be far more enjoyable to let me improve cars at my own pace. Stop nagging me to spend real money on in-game cash every couple of races, yeah? Those incessant pop-up ads are really annoying. On the other hand, I didn't mind the interruptions encouraging me to use Origin, EA's new digital distribution service. I dig its implementation here–I tap the Origin icon and I can send challenges to current friends, add new ones, and play around with my profile. It's early, but the potential here for a universal in-game social network for EA titles is fantastic, and I can't wait to see how future games expand on the basics of daring someone to do better than you.

Most of all, I was caught off guard by the demanding difficulty of Unleashed, actually, and I consider myself a solid driver (at least when it comes to video games, let's not talk about my real-world insurance). Earning stars for first-place finishes and stylish, flawless maneuvering earns stars, and even at the C-level I struggled to earn enough to advance to the next set of time trials or 1v1 duels. I ended up replaying older races endlessly before burning out on Need for Speed playing it safe.

Shift 2 understands the racing genre like the best of 'em, but coasting on its competence and expecting us to adore what others (including EA) have done better isn't enough. So, yeah, once again: Don't bother. This is a bland, boring racing game compared not only to previous iOS Need For Speed titles, but also other racers already on the App Store. Wait for the inevitable iOS port of Need for Speed: The Run, which is so fundamentally different from the rest of the series that I gotta believe it'll be the refreshing change of pace we all wanted.

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If you've been waiting for Final Fantasy Tactics for the past few months… Tonight is the night. In fact, there's so many awesome games coming tonight that I'm just skipping the normal pleasantries of easing everyone into the game releases via a smart introduction.

Instead, I'll just go over how this works for first timers out there. iOS developers are able to set specific release dates for their games/apps. Since the App Store is a global market with tons of different regions, and time zones exist, that particular date arrives earlier in some corners of the world than it does other. New Zealand due to their proximity to the International Date Line gets first crack at new releases, followed by Asian markets, then European markets before things finally appear in the US App Store at 11:00 PM Eastern.

Arenas, Trial of Valor, $3.99 – Forum Thread – This universal online turn based strategy game has a feature list that has piqued my interest. There's both a PvP and PvE battle system, five types of arenas, ten available races, thousands of unique objects with more on the way, along with hundreds of different spells and creatures. We'll have to see how big of a component the online stuff is, as a $3.99 price tag combined with a (somewhat) obscure online game never seems to be conducive to building a large online pool of players.

Colosseum Heroes, 99¢ – Forum Thread – These sidescrolling beat 'em ups have been surprisingly popular on the App Store, and Gamevil seems to have nailed the formula very well. Multiple skills to use, along with several playable characters fighting their way through seemingly endless waves of varied bad guys. It looks like there's oodles of things you can customize, with 7 levels of 126 different spells.

Cut The Rope: Experiments, 99¢ / HD – Forum Thread – ZeptoLab seems to be following in the footsteps of Rovio's Angry Birds Seasons and are going it alone in self publishing this Cut The Rope pseudo-sequel. Anyway, it's safe to say that if you even vaguely enjoyed Cut The Rope, this is a game you need. More of the same with a few new twists is hardly ever a bad thing.

Desert Quest, Free – Forum Thread – I'm not entirely sure I'm sold on the gameplay of this game, but I think the art style is really slick. It's free too, so it seems worth checking out if for no reason other than it has a cool look to it.

Emberwind, 99¢ / HD – Forum Thread – This game puts you in charge of a gnome fighting off a legion of gremlins. It sounds crazy, and it looks crazy from the above trailer which seems oddly reminiscent of obscure 16-bit era action-centric platformers. We'll see how that all translates to gameplay, and I'm curious to see how the controls work.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of The Lions, $15.99 – Forum Thread – This game hardly needs an introduction. It's Final Fantasy Tactics… Finally on the iPhone after months and months of delays. We're overjoyed it's finally here.

Frankenstein Matchmaker, $1.99 / Lite – Forum Thread – This word game comes with the odd premise of needing you to match various words in order to make Frankenstein some love connections. Hopefully its difficulty level is adult-appropriate, as it seems like it could be a little on the simple side.

Kickin Mama, $1.99 / Universal HD – Forum Thread – If you've found yourself awake at night wondering what would happen if you combined Peggle-like gameplay with kicking babies… Well, here's what happens. This game.

Ninja Fishing, 99¢ – Forum Thread – Despite a hefty amount of drama with Radical Fishing, Ninja Fishing looks like it could be pretty cool– Especially if they deliver on all the planned updates mentioned in the iTunes description.

Puerto Rico HD for iPad, $7.99 – Forum Thread – This game is based on a board game which I have no experience with but it's apparently won all kinds of international gaming awards. It's rated incredibly highly on boardgamegeek.com, which has a massive amount of information on the game.

Shift 2 Unleashed, $4.99 / HD – Forum Thread – We loved all the previous Need For Speed games for iOS devices that EA has released in the past, so it would stand to reason this one would be just as good. Like most EA franchises, this seems to include tons of incremental improvements and boasts Origin support as well.

Snowball Run, 99¢ – A simple looking endless running avoidance game, only this time you're running towards the camera instead of away from it… And you play as a yeti.

Super Granny, Free – Forum Thread – The iTunes description is a little vague on how the digging mechanic of this game works, but it sounds a lot like Lode Runner and it looks a lot like Lode Runner. And hey, I remember my grandma liking Lode Runner, so it makes sense in a roundabout way.

Taco Master, 99¢ / HD – Forum Thread – This time management game puts you in charge of making… Tacos! (If the title wasn't a big enough clue on that for you.) Also, the trailer seems to be voiced by the guy from Zombo.com.

Temple Run, 99¢ – Forum Thread – We've had our hands on Temple Run a few times in the past, and it's safe to say if you love endless runners this is a game you need to get.

Toss The Ball, Free – Forum Thread – Namco's latest foray into casual gaming involves, as you may have guessed, tossing balls. It's free, and offers different bonuses for coming back every day, but the question is, is tossing balls compelling enough for you to want to?

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