Archive for the ‘Unreal’ tag
2010: Pushing the iOS Platform Even Further
It's still incredible to me how far portable devices have come. I clearly remember thinking just how fantastically awesome my original Gameboy was in in 1989, and how I could never look at my old Tiger Electronics LCD and older LED-based handhelds the same ever again. If you would have told me back then that I'd have an all in one device that not only had a pixel density higher than my eye was even capable of seeing, but it was also constantly connected to the Internet, allowing me to download high quality games over the air… Well, I'd probably ask you what "the Internet" is.
While we finalize our game of the year picks, we thought it was important to mention the games that pushed the technical limits of the iOS platform even further. We've covered these games at length before, but all of them clearly stick out as the titles that we'll remember for pushing the boundaries of our iPhones in 2010, and are worth picking up if you want to see what your device is capable of:
Graphics: Infinity Blade, $5.99 & RAGE HD, $1.99 – "Console quality graphics" is a phrase often thrown around on our forums, and it wasn't until Rage and Infinity Blade that I could ever really got behind describing anything that way. Both games flat out look incredible, and we cannot wait to see what comes of both Epic's Unreal Engine and Id's IdTech engine on the iOS platform in 2011. This seems like the tip of the iceberg, as the potential both engines have once developers really start getting the hang of them is out of this world.
Game World: Aralon: Sword and Shadow HD – There have been many RPGs released since the inception of the App Store, but none have this level of depth and complexity. Before we found ourselves immersed in Aralon, we thought game worlds this expansive were going to be reserved for the PC and home consoles. Being able to take the whole universe of Aralon with you in your pocket is awesome, and now that Crescent Moon has upped the ante this far, we're extremely excited of what other developers release to up it even further in 2011.
Multiplayer: Real Racing 2, $9.99 – I still remember just how blown away I was when I played my first online game of Mario Kart on the Nintendo DS in 2005, and the crazy WiFi setup it required. (No WPA, still!) Fast forward five years, and we're playing 16 player online races via 3G networks anywhere that you've got cellular service and enough battery left to play. The matchmaking in Real Racing 2 works well, and is fast enough to be able to play a quick race whenever you have a few minutes to spare.
Similarly, games like Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus [$6.99 / Lite / HD] and N.O.V.A. 2 [$6.99 / HD] bring familiar console-like FPS multiplayer experiences with increasing player limits and game types with each iteration. The advent of Game Center and how developers are pushing both the complexity of multiplayer games and the number of players playing at once upward, 2011 should be incredible.
What's even more amazing is considering that we're basically in the middle of the fourth generation iPod touch, iPhone 4, and iPad product cycles. There's so much more these devices are capable of, and it's hard to even imagine what their successors will be able to do. 2010 was filled with advancements both in iOS hardware and software, I can't wait to see what happens next year.
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Best iPod Touch and iPhone Games: 2010 Buyer’s Guide
The App Store has continued to grow in leaps and bounds in 2010. The number of apps in the App Store soared past 300,000 with hundreds of new games being released every day.
We sat down trying to figure out the best iPhone games of 2010 and found the task of narrowing down the list to a select few to be near impossible. Instead, we've organized our year in review into categories with what we feel is an excellent cross section of games from 2010. If you just got an iPhone or iPod Touch for Christmas, this list is an excellent starting place to catch you up. Note that many of the games also have iPad versions which are also linked.
Casual
Cut the Rope, $0.99 – [Lite / iPad] – [Review] – [] – Proving that a cute main character, clever level designs, and simple touch screen controls are a formula for success, Cut the Rope has ridden the top of the charts practically since it was first released. The goal is to navigate a dangling bit of candy into the mouth of the adorable and hungry Om Nom by cutting the correct ropes to set it free. Just feeding the lil' guy isn't so hard, but getting 3 stars and a high score on each level can be, and is what has brought people back to Cut the Rope time and time again.
Fruit Ninja, $0.99 – [Lite / iPad] – [Review] – [] – When Fruit Ninja was first released, it was novel for using a simple swiping mechanic to slice fruit out of the air. It was hard to explain the appeal, but it was an oddly satisfying experience and quickly shot up to the top of the charts. Since then it's gained new modes, unlockable items, and online multiplayer, and has become a mainstay on my device. Who would have though slicing fruit could be so much fun?
Robot Unicorn Attack, $0.99 – [iPad] – [Review] – [] – The iOS port of this popular Flash game from Adult Swim meant you could have all the rainbows, fairies, unicorns, and as much Erasure's Always in your pocket with you at all times. This endless running game adds additional moves like double jumps and dashes to the formula, wrapping everything in a sugary sweet graphical package that is the epitome of “ironically cool” and also a ton of fun.
Tilt to Live, $2.99 – [Lite / iPad] – [Review] – [] – In its intial release, the game was based around a simple but fun formula of frantically avoiding red dots and using various power-ups to dispatch them. Since then, several updates have been released adding great new power-ups, game modes, and more.
Solipskier, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – A universal game where you draw the slope for a skier to ski down. To make him speed up, you draw a downward slope, and to make him jump you simply draw a ramp. It works incredibly well both on the iPhone and iPad.
Platformer
Bounce On 2: Drallo’s Demise, $3.99 – [Lite / iPad] – [Review] – [] – Bounce On 2: Drallo's Demise succeeds in delivering highly enjoyable platform gameplay to the iPhone. The original was fun, but the sequel goes well beyond, feeling notably more "fleshed out," with a good deal more eye-candy. While there's certainly room for more quality platformers in the App Store, Bounce On 2 is among the best.
Fastar!, $1.99 – [Review] – [] – Fight angry squares in this action RPG. The name of the game is speed runs, and the goal of Fastar is to play the game faster and faster. There's a cool magic system, online leaderboards, and squares that explode coins when they die. What's not to love?
Dark Nebula – Episode Two, $1.99 – [Review] – [] – We loved the first installment, and the second is even better. You control a disc-like object by tilting, but to call this game a simple ball roller hardly seems to do it justice. The level design is amazing, and there's even a new combat system to allow for boss fights.
Babylonian Twins Premium, $1.99 – [iPad] – [Review] – [] – Sixteen years in the making, Babylonian Twins delivers an amazingly challenging yet satisfying iPhone and iPad puzzle platformer. In many modern platformers, I've felt like I'm just mindlessly going through the motions to make it to the end of each level. Babylonian Twins, however, really keeps you enthralled throughout.
Hook Worlds, $0.99 – [Review] – [] – Developer Rocketcat Games practically perfected the “hooking game” genre with their previous two App Store releases, and Hook Worlds is a culmination of that expertise. Offering 3 (soon to be 4) endless running games injected with the hooking mechanic, Hook Worlds manages to make each one feel unique despite using the same core gameplay. This is topped off with tight controls, charming pixel art, and the humorous tidings that Rocketcat is known for.
Retro
Pix’n Love Rush, $0.99 – [iPad] – [Review] – [] – Like a platforming game with ADD, Pix'n Love Rush offers bite sized levels with constantly changing themes. The themes run the gamut of retro consoles, including the greyscale screen of the Game Boy and headache inducing red of the Virtual Boy. The jumping, shooting, and coin collecting is complemented with solid virtual controls, and every facet of the visuals just ooze style. On top of that Pix'n Love Rush is just a frantically fun good time.
The Incident, $1.99 – [Review] – [] – This curious tilt-based game has you climbing a seemingly never-ending pile of junk all the way in to space. It's packed with some really great pixel art, and is even universal with some cool interaction between devices allowing you to do things like use an iPhone to control the iPad game via Bluetooth.
Vector Tanks EXTREME!, $1.99 – [Review] – [] – We're not entirely sure it's possible to pack more retro charm in to this game. As the title may hint, you compete in battles against other tanks, and the whole game is drawn in glorious vector graphics. If you were around during the 80's to play Battlezone, you need this game.
FINAL FANTASY, $3.99 – [Review] – [] – A great port of the classic NES title that started it all. Final Fantasy II is also available, but this is the game you should start with. If you were around for the original release of the game, hearing the opening theme again will likely be worth the price of admission alone.
Secret of Mana, $8.99 – [Review] – [] – One of the timeless role-playing games from the bygone SNES era, Secret of Mana is a huge fan favorite among RPG gamers and has finally arrived on iOS. Practically everything you remember about Secret of Mana is intact in this new version, both the good and the bad, and has been reworked effectively for virtual touch screen controls. If you loved this classic title nearly two decades ago, then it's practically essential to have in your iOS library.
Role Playing
Infinity Blade, $5.99 – [Review] – [] – ChAIR's amazing gesture-based swordfighter which utilizes the Unreal Engine to provide the best graphics we've seen so far on the platform. Sadly, you'll need a 3rd generation iPod, iPhone 3GS, or later to enjoy them. If you've got a recent device, this is not a game to miss.
Aralon: Sword and Shadow HD, $6.99 – [Review] – [] – There have been many RPGs released on the App Store, but none with the depth and scope of Aralon. The game is home to an epic game world complete with multiple races, classes, mounts to ride, crafting recipes to master, and quests to complete.
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, $4.99 – [Review] – [] – A fantastic port of Years 1-4. It's universal, has Retina Display support, and just as much content and depth as the full console counterparts. Unfortunately, since it's a port it also retains the console-style save system which isn't as mobile friendly as we'd like it to be.
CHAOS RINGS, $5.99 – [iPad] – [Review] – [] – One of the most ambitious RPG games we've seen so far for the iPhone. The graphics and gameplay are exactly what you'd expect out of a Square Enix RPG. Battle in parties of two in classic turn-based battles as you make your way through a story that's just as ridiculous as any other Japanese RPG.
Strategy / Sim
Sword & Poker, $2.99 – [Lite] – [Review] – [] – At the core Sword & Poker is a card-based strategy/adventure game where battles take place by making poker hands on a 5×5 grid. The "Sword" portion of Sword & Poker comes from the roleplaying game layered on top of these poker battles. The strange blend of genres works quite well and is a game we really loved.
Warpgate, $4.99 – [Lite / iPad] – [Review] – [] – A space conquest game with an amazing sense of scope. Warpgate has cool graphics, an interesting faction system to get involved in, and a dynamic in-game economy that can keep you busy for as long as you remain interested in the game.
Plants vs. Zombies, $2.99 – [iPad] – [Review] – [] – Popcap's casual tower defense game hardly needs an introduction. Plants vs Zombies is a game that's easy enough to appeal to everyone, yet fun enough to warrant multiple play throughs without issue.
Game Dev Story, $2.99 – [Lite] – [Review] – [] – At first glance this appears to be an abysmal port of a J2ME game… Then you play it. A few hours later you will be looking for your charger to keep playing. In the game you run your own game studio, managing staff, making games, and even releasing your own console. Once Game Dev Story sucks you in, it's impossible to put down.
Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge, $0.99 – [Lite / iPad] – [Review] – [] – Few games inspire more heartfelt nostalgia than the classic LucasArts adventure games of the late 80's and early 90's. The improved iOS control scheme in the sequel which works like many other iPhone adventures games where you just touch areas in the game world that you want to move to, or objects you want to interact with. Fans of the series are in for a treat with this installment.
Osmos, $0.99 – [iPad] – [Review] – [] – In this award winning indie game, you control a tiny organism called a "mote". By tapping in a direction, you expel mass towards where you tapped, and your mote goes zooming off the other direction. With each tap you lose a little bit of your mass, so it doesn't take long before you're making extremely calculated taps to get exactly where you want to go with minimal loss of size. Your mote can absorb any mote that it smaller than it, but it also can be absorbed by any mote that is larger than it. The gameplay translates beautifully on both the iPad and iPhone and is a great great experience.
Action / Shooter
STREET FIGHTER IV, $6.99 – [Review] – [] – We were incredibly skeptical of how Street Fighter would work with touch screen controls, but have been pleasantly surprised. Also, since the original release, Capcom has consistently updated the game with new characters to play as. Also, if you've got a friend nearby who also owns the game you can play against each other using Bluetooth.
Chopper 2, $4.99 – [Review] – [] – The long-awaited sequel of one of the most popular action games of the original App Store launch. It also has all kinds of crazy control options utilizing its universal nature on both the iPhone and iPad, and it's everything a great sequel should be. It expands on everything that made the original great, with some new things thrown in to the mix.
Archetype, $0.99 – [iPad] – [Review] – [] – Five on five online deathmatch, capture the flag, and more. Archetype has Retina Display graphics, and the HD version looks great on the iPad. If online FPS games are your thing, this isn't one you should miss.
Dodonpachi Resurrection, $8.99 – [Lite] – [Review] – [] – When it comes to bullet hell shooters, it doesn't get much better than Dodonpachi Resurrection. There is so much going on at once in this game that it can be entirely overwhelming at times (in a good way), but this also prevents it from running on devices older than the iPhone 3GS and 3rd generation iPod touch.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, $9.99 – [Lite / iPad] – [Review] – [] – Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is by far the best open world crime game available on the platform. The sheer amount of content, the amazing graphics, and gameplay that will keep you coming back for more whether you choose to follow the story or rampage through Liberty City on your own is absolutely fantastic.
Racing
Real Racing 2, $9.99 – [Review] – [] – A marvelous sequel to Firemint's original Real Racing, which improves upon the first in every way imaginable. A career mode, licensed cars, and 16 player online multiplayer are just a few of the new features. It also will run on any device, even the first generation iPod touch.
Cubed Rally Racer, $1.99 – [Lite / iPad] – [Review] – [] – A wonderful homage to isometric racing games, Cubed Rally Racer is completely randomized, so you'll never play the same track twice. Similarly, if a particular track is too difficult, you can simply generate a new one to play. The iPad version features split screen single-device multiplayer which is a ton of fun.
Reckless Racing, $0.99 – [Lite / iPad] – [Review] – [] – An incredibly enjoyable top-down arcade racer with multiple cars, game modes, and even online multiplayer. Retina Display graphics and an excellent physics system heighten the experience, although we wish there were more tracks to race on as Deliverace is one of those games you never want to end.
Puzzle / Board
Carcassonne, $9.99 – [Review] – [] – There are many board games that have made their way to the App Store, but Carcassonne is by far the finest. Online asynchronous multiplayer, Retina Display graphics, universal compatibility, and classic gameplay. It doesn't get much better than this.
Trainyard, $0.99 – [Lite] – [Review] – [] – A puzzle game based on laying train tracks to route multi-colored trains around the game board. Solutions can be shared online, and after you beat a level it's even more fun to see the zillion other ways that everyone else solved it.
Zen Bound® 2 Universal, $0.99 [] – Zen Bound 2 is filled with relaxing gameplay supplemented by one of the best (if not the best) soundtrack I've heard in an iPhone game, and the gameplay mechanic of rotating string around a 3D object to cover it in paint works phenomenally with the multi-touch controls of iOS devices– and even more so when you throw the gyroscope of the iPhone 4 in to the mix.
Helsing’s Fire, $0.99 – [Lite / iPad] – [Review] – [] – Helsing's Fire sends you on a quest to destroy Dracula, placing you in 90 randomly generated, dungeon-like levels across three different worlds. The challenge is to eliminate said beasties by moving your torch about the screen, which casts brilliant beams of light and dark shadows about the play area. It's one of the most unique games I've ever played and is a true App Store gem.
Sports
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, $0.99 – [Review] – [] – A surprisingly competent port of the classic skateboarding game. Everything is included from the original, and once you get used to the virtual controls, you'll be performing endless combos in no time in the many included skating locations.
MADDEN NFL 11 by EA SPORTS™, $0.99 – [iPad]- [Review] – [] – The Madden series hardly needs an introduction, as football player turned coach turned commentator John Madden has had his name on football games for the better part of 20 years now. EA introduced a new featured called GameFlow this year which will intelligently chooses plays for you. It is absolutely insane how much this changes both the feel and the pace of the game. Using GameFlow, endless submenus of plays are a thing of the past. Instead, you just play football.
X2 Soccer 10/11, $4.99 – [iPad]- [Review] – [] – X2 Soccer 2010 brings improvements to graphics, controls, computer AI, new game modes and more teams. X2 Soccer 2010 has over 150 club teams to choose from in 10 different leagues, plus international teams from all over the world. X2 Soccer 2010 is one of the top soccer game experiences right now on the App Store.
X2 Snowboarding, $4.99 – [Lite / iPad]- [Review] – [Forum Thread] – X2 Snowboarding from Exient is a highly enjoyable romp on the slopes that sets itself apart from the crowd in a number of ways. All of the aspects of X2 Snowboarding come together to deliver a highly enjoyable game with a surprising sense of speed and immersion.
Odds and Ends
Sketch Nation Shooter, $0.99 – [Review] – [] – While it isn't that great of a game in itself, Sketch Nation Shooter is one of the most creative uses of the iPhone camera we've seen yet. You sketch a doodle on a piece of paper, take a photo of it, and then import it in to little mini games you create. Gameplay is a little limited, but does it really matter if you turn a drawing of your cat in to an end boss?
Godville, Free – [Review] – [] – Godville is a "zero-player game" in that it requires absolutely no interaction from the player at all. Your character in Godville plays himself, all by himself, and you take the role of an omnipotent god and can either encourage or punish your hero, or do nothing at all. It's surprisingly amusing to just be able to load up your Godville character and vicariously live through his randomized adventures without needing to actually do anything at all.
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Unreal Development Kit Now Supports iOS, Jazz Jackrabbit Returns In A Tutorial
Epic Games has released another build of its acclaimed Unreal Engine Development Kit and the reason why we're informing you is because this specific beta has iOS support built-in. Yes, the tech that powered Epic Citadel [Free] and Infinity Blade [$5.99] is now available to us plebs and game developers alike .
We're not tech magicians or cybernetic voodoo priests, so we aren't going to be coding an iOS game or two in the near future, however, you can if you'd like with this specific release, provided it's a non-commercial or educational product. (If you'd like to license it for commercial use, the legal mumbo jumbo of the stuff is available ).
For most of you this probably means nothing. But what if I said there's some cool and fun stuff tucked into this build? Oh, are you a bit more interested? Great, let me share this with you real fast: in addition to adding content streaming functionality and advanced lighting and shadowing junk, this build of UDK iOS offers users the full source and content of Epic Citadel AND an extra castle.
Also, there's a neat proof of concept iOS dual-stick shooter in this build starring Jazz Jackrabbit. Jazz was the star of the PC classic Jazz Jackrabbit, which was originally created by Epic Games in 1994. He hasn't been seen since 2002… until today!
And just so we're clear, we're about 99.9 percent sure this doesn't mean a new Jazz game is happening. It's just, again, a neat little addition to a very important release by Epic Games.
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‘Aralon: Sword and Shadow HD’, ‘Real Racing 2′, ‘World of Goo’, ‘Dungeon Defenders: First Wave’, ‘N.O.V.A. 2′, ‘Geared 2′ ‘Battlefield: Bad Company 2′ And Much More Available Now
Today is the eve of the final Thursday in December before the pre-holiday iTunes Connect freeze. Starting on December 23rd and running until the 28th, developers won't be able to release new games or updates, or change any of the prices of their games. Last year the top sales charts also got frozen, and no one knows if that's going to be the case again this year or not. What we're seeing now is the mad rush to get everyone's games released before the freeze. If you were looking forward to a game with a holiday release date that isn't in this list, it's still possible that it will get released, but it's looking more and more unlikely as we get closer to the 23rd.
All of these games should now be available worldwide. Get mashin' that buy now button-
Aralon: Sword and Shadow HD, $6.99 – [] – The highly anticipated collaboration between Crescent Moon Games and Galoobeth Games is almost upon us. We were impressed with the depth of the game in our preview last week, and the excitement for Aralon couldn't possibly be higher in its in our upcoming games forum.
Real Racing 2, $9.99 – [] – Last week Firemint revealed the full details on just what to expect in Real Racing 2. A career mode, licensed cars, and tons of track are all some of the goodies that we're going to be in store for. Oh, yeah, and there's also 16 player online multiplayer that basically rewrites what to expect of iPhone online multiplayer gaming.
World of Goo for iPad, $9.99 – [] – As mentioned in our recent review, World of Goo on the iPad is simply incredible. It was a remarkable game before it hit the App Store, winning buckets full of awards and scoring many 10/10 reviews… and the touch interface only serves to make the game even better. I've been unable to put this game down since we scored our preview copy. If you have an iPad, you need this game.
Dungeon Defenders: First Wave, $2.99 – [] – This is the second game available on the App Store that utilizes Unreal Engine 3, but the graphics aren't what's impressive about Dungeon Defenders. What's truly awesome about it is the Game Center-powered multiplayer that allows four players to play together in a cooperative mix of tower defense-like gameplay mixed with an action RPG. It's even universal.
N.O.V.A. 2 – Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance, $6.99 – [] – Gameloft is back again with a second installment in the N.O.V.A. series. This one will have you battling through 12 chapters in the singleplayer campaign, which I have a feeling will take a back seat to the 10 player online multiplayer. 10 maps are included for online play with 5 different game modes which include standard and team based deathmatch, capture the flag, freeze tag, and instagib.
Geared 2, 99¢ – [] – We loved the original Geared, and its sequel seems better in every way. Gameplay amounts to figuring out how to place gears to make the target gears spin, and unlike other gear-based games there isn't any kind of grid for the gears to lock on to, allowing you to place them wherever you like. Oh, and to make things better, it's launching at a buck and is universal.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2, 99¢ – 15 missions are included as well as 4 player online multiplayer. In comparison to other games being released today, that doesn't sound like a whole lot, but it's a game from a popular franchise that's also launching at 99¢– A price I'm not sure many expected.
Shadow Guardian, $6.99 – [] – Gameloft's take on the Uncharted series. Gameplay involves lots of running, gunning, jumping, climbing, and of course, treasure hunting.
Hook Worlds, 99¢ – [] – Evolving the Hook Champ and Super QuickHook world even further is Hook Worlds, a swinging game that Rocketcat Games is calling four games in one. Four game worlds are included, and while they all rely on swinging of some sort, each world looks and plays different thanks to four different characters with their own abilities.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, $6.99 – [] – An incredibly unexpected release by Square Enix, especially as I (and I doubt I'm alone on this) were expecting their next games to be their classic ports of RPG's they've been talking about forever now. Sadly, the port leaves much to be desired as mentioned in our first impressions post. Definitely wait for an update to fix critical issues before buying.
Altered Beast, $2.99 – [] – My mother would literally murder me if she had any idea just how many quarters I pumped in to the local Altered Beast machine. I'm surprised it took Sega this long to release this game, as in my eyes it's just as classic as Sonic. Either way, it comes loaded with their new bluetooth multiplayer compatibility for two player beasting.
Broken Sword – The Smoking Mirror: Remastered, $6.99 – [] – The continuation of the Broken Sword series, in a universal app. We loved the first installment, and are expecting great things from its sequel.
The Game of Life for iPad, $6.99 – [] – While The Game of Life is nowhere close to as near and dear to my heart as Monopoly is, I love board games on the iPad. This version has a few exclusive features such as being able to view the whole board and local multiplayer with up to 6 players at once. I'm still waiting for my iPad version of Mouse Trap!
Pix'n Love Rush DX, $3.99 – [] – I still can't get enough of the original Pix'n Love Rush for the iPhone, and the iPad version seems to be dripping with even more high scoring retro charm.
ZombieSmash HD, $2.99 – [] – We thought the original was great in our review, and from the looks of it, the iPad version provides even more zombie punishing action. The HD version adds multitouch controls for even more zombie mayhem.
Pocket God: Journey To Uranus, $4.99 – [] – This not-so pocketable version of Pocket God comes with an awesome new space interface, two new minigames, and other fun things. And of course, Bolt Creative is promising tons of updates.
Space Miner HD, $2.99 – [] – We absolutely adored the original Space Miner in our review, and while it would be cool if the game was universal, this is one HD we don't mind re-buying.
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, $6.99 – [] – Mortal Kombat with Retina Display graphics? Street Fighter proved that a fighter could work well on the iPhone, and hopefully Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 continues that tradition.
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‘Aralon: Sword and Shadow HD’, ‘Real Racing 2′, ‘World of Goo’, ‘Dungeon Defenders: First Wave’, ‘N.O.V.A. 2′, ‘Geared 2′ ‘Battlefield: Bad Company 2′ And So Much More Coming Tonight
Today is the eve of the final Thursday in December before the pre-holiday iTunes Connect freeze. Starting on December 23rd and running until the 28th, developers won't be able to release new games or updates, or change any of the prices of their games. Last year the top sales charts also got frozen, and no one knows if that's going to be the case again this year or not. What we're seeing now is the mad rush to get everyone's games released before the freeze. If you were looking forward to a game with a holiday release date that isn't in this list, it's still possible that it will get released, but it's looking more and more unlikely as we get closer to the 23rd.
All of these releases work just like they do every week. They appear for download in New Zealand first, then as the Earth slowly spins around and it becomes Thursday in more regions the games slowly filter out. For those of us that use the US App Store, all of these games will be available at 11:00 PM Eastern.
Aralon: Sword and Shadow HD, $6.99 – [] – The highly anticipated collaboration between Crescent Moon Games and Galoobeth Games is almost upon us. We were impressed with the depth of the game in our preview last week, and the excitement for Aralon couldn't possibly be higher in its in our upcoming games forum.
Real Racing 2, $9.99 – [] – Last week Firemint revealed the full details on just what to expect in Real Racing 2. A career mode, licensed cars, and tons of track are all some of the goodies that we're going to be in store for. Oh, yeah, and there's also 16 player online multiplayer that basically rewrites what to expect of iPhone online multiplayer gaming.
World of Goo for iPad, $9.99 – [] – As mentioned in our recent preview, World of Goo on the iPad is simply incredible. It was a remarkable game before it hit the App Store, winning buckets full of awards and scoring many 10/10 reviews… and the touch interface only serves to make the game even better. I've been unable to put this game down since we scored our preview copy. If you have an iPad, you need this game.
Dungeon Defenders: First Wave, $2.99 – [] – This is the second game available on the App Store that utilizes Unreal Engine 3, but the graphics aren't what's impressive about Dungeon Defenders. What's truly awesome about it is the Game Center-powered multiplayer that allows four players to play together in a cooperative mix of tower defense-like gameplay mixed with an action RPG. It's even universal.
N.O.V.A. 2 – Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance, $6.99 – [] – Gameloft is back again with a second installment in the N.O.V.A. series. This one will have you battling through 12 chapters in the singleplayer campaign, which I have a feeling will take a back seat to the 10 player online multiplayer. 10 maps are included for online play with 5 different game modes which include standard and team based deathmatch, capture the flag, freeze tag, and instagib.
Geared 2, 99¢ – [] – We loved the original Geared, and its sequel seems better in every way. Gameplay amounts to figuring out how to place gears to make the target gears spin, and unlike other gear-based games there isn't any kind of grid for the gears to lock on to, allowing you to place them wherever you like. Oh, and to make things better, it's launching at a buck and is universal.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2, 99¢ – 15 missions are included as well as 4 player online multiplayer. In comparison to other games being released today, that doesn't sound like a whole lot, but it's a game from a popular franchise that's also launching at 99¢– A price I'm not sure many expected.
Shadow Guardian, $6.99 – [] – Gameloft's take on the Uncharted series. Gameplay involves lots of running, gunning, jumping, climbing, and of course, treasure hunting.
Hook Worlds, 99¢ – [] – Evolving the Hook Champ and Super QuickHook world even further is Hook Worlds, a swinging game that Rocketcat Games is calling four games in one. Four game worlds are included, and while they all rely on swinging of some sort, each world looks and plays different thanks to four different characters with their own abilities.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, $6.99 – [] – An incredibly unexpected release by Square Enix, especially as I (and I doubt I'm alone on this) were expecting their next games to be their classic ports of RPG's they've been talking about forever now. We don't know a whole lot about this right now other than it's a cooperative spin on a Tomb Raider game with an isometric viewpoint. I admit, my interest has been piqued.
Altered Beast, $2.99 – [] – My mother would literally murder me if she had any idea just how many quarters I pumped in to the local Altered Beast machine. I'm surprised it took Sega this long to release this game, as in my eyes it's just as classic as Sonic. Either way, it comes loaded with their new bluetooth multiplayer compatibility for two player beasting.
Note: Since there is so much stuff coming out today, I'm just posting this early and will be updating it with all the major releases over the next few hours. This list isn't anywhere near complete yet. There is so much more.
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‘Infinity Blade’, ‘Puzzle Quest 2′, ‘Dungeon Hunter 2′, ‘Dead Rising Mobile’, ‘Illusia’ And More Coming Tonight
With one Thursday to go before the iTunes Connect holiday lock out, tonight we're going to see the first of the avalanche of pre-Christmas releases. This Wednesday works the same as every other Wednesday on the App Store, but if you're not familiar, here's the gist- Entirely too many developers have banded together in some kind of secret Dr. Strangelove war room and have determined that releasing games on a Thursday is the best time to do it. When you set the release date in iTunes Connect to Thursday, games launch in international markets as the Earth spins and it slowly becomes Thursday in those areas. New Zealand is first, and us lucky Americans are last. All of these games will be available at 11:00 PM EST tonight, or earlier if you're in a region east of us.
Infinity Blade (Universal), $5.99 – [] – This game hardly needs an introduction anymore. Chair's epic sword fighter is on the verge of finding its way into the grubby hands of iDevice owners. We've been playing the preview version, and it's fantastic. Some will likely be disappointed by what Infinity Blade isn't, as it isn't an open-world game, you can't control your movement, and even calling it any kind RPG is a bit of a stretch. What it is is a really great gesture-controlled sword fighter based on the Unreal Engine that everyone with a recent device really needs to download.
Puzzle Quest 2 (Universal), $9.99 – [] – The original Puzzle Quest [$4.99] was a ton of fun, and Puzzle Quest 2 expands upon the same awesome matching formula with RPG elements layered on top. Try Puzzle Quest Free [Free] first if you'd like, but this game is a safe purchase for any fan of puzzle games with depth.
Illusia, $4.99 – [] – Gamevil is calling Illusia a "casual platform game", which looks an awful lot like Maple Story to us. There are multiple classes, tons of gear to collect, and a bunch of character customization to delve into.
Dead Rising Mobile, $4.99 – [] – We got really in depth with our preview of the game, and despite its flaws, I couldn't help but enjoy it. Dead Rising is one of my favorite zombie slaughtering series, and I'm surprised by how well Capcom managed to translate the game to the iPhone.
TXT Fighter, 99¢ – [] – Similar to Texting of the Bread [$1.99], TXT Fighter puts your typing skills to the test, to, well, fight. We thought the game was cool in our preview, which is filled with more information about the title.
Pogo Games, Free – [] – EA is bringing over some favorite free games from their online Flash game portal . This is totally free, but without a membership to the Pogo service you'll be viewing some ads.
A Moon for the Sky, 99¢ – [] – This looks to be a cool little jumping game with a control mechanic that involves drawing platforms for the little moon to bounce up. 18 levels are included, as well as an endless mode.
Hero Project, Free – [] – A freemium game that revolves around building up a super hero and fighting bad guys. It sounds like an interesting premise, but like all of these free to play games, it really comes down to the balance between playing and paying. I'm just glad developers are breaking away from incredibly tired building and farming game types.
Jenga, $2.99 – [] – A curious title to see on the App Store, considering how much of actually playing Jenga involves such precise finger work. Regardless, the developers build this with the help of Leslie Scott, the inventor of Jenga, so it should be interesting to see how it all works. Jenga comes with multiple game modes as well as pass and play multiplayer.
Pirates vs. Ninjas vs. Zombies vs. Pandas, 99¢ – [] – Another take on the Angry Birds formula, this time with the injection of every cliche imaginable aside from farts. There are 4 campaigns across 45 levels, along with 8 different dudes to fling at the pirates, ninjas, zombies, and pandas.
Monopoly for iPad, $9.99 – [] – Finally, Monopoly for the iPad. I've had a ton of fun playing various board games and other local multiplayer games on my iPad, and I expect Monopoly to be just as good.
Eternal Legacy, $6.99 – [] – Gameloft's take on Final Fantasy XIII, featuring a curiously similar spiky haired protagonist and turn-based battle system. I'm anxious to see how much the story grabs me with this game, as while Gameloft games historically have been technically impressive, the plot and voice work (two things that are fairly important in a Final Fantasy-esque RPG) have left much to be desired.
Update: Oddly enough, Gameloft seems to have released this game early. Eternal Legacy seem to be available everywhere.
Dungeon Hunter 2, $6.99 – [] – We liked the first Dungeon Hunter [$4.99] quite a bit, as it had everything a good dungeon crawler needs: Tons of enemies, loot everywhere, and multiple classes to spice things up. The sequel is said to have all that, in addition to online coop multiplayer. I can't wait to try this out.
In addition to all the above games, the following HD iPad versions are also being released tonight:
- Need for Speed Hot Pursuit for iPad, $9.99
- Assassin's Creed Altair's Chronicles HD, $6.99
- Snood for iPad, $4.99
- A Moon for the Sky HD, $1.99
- Hero Project for iPad, Free
- Hooga HD, $2.99
- Jenga HD, $4.99
Holy cow, now that is a lot of games. Also, EA handles their releases in two different versions, an "international" version and a "US" version. The above links for EA titles are all the international versions, which we'll update with the US links as soon as they are available at 11:00 PM EST tonight.
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Universal ‘Infinity Blade’ to be Released December 9th for $5.99
If you've been wondering when in the world you're going to be able to play Chair's upcoming Unreal Engine powered sword fighter, Infinity Blade, the wait is over. A release date of December 9th was just announced, at a price of $5.99. Infinity Blade will be a universal app, and will run on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, 3rd and 4th generation iPod touch as well as the iPad.
In addition, a new set of screenshots have been released:
Needless to say, as soon as the game appears for download we'll be reviewing it, and we really can't wait to get our hands on it.
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‘The 7th Guest’ iOS Will Have Three Less Puzzles Than The CD-ROM Version At Launch
The 7th Guest for iPhone and iPad won't launch with all the puzzles included in the original CD-ROM version of the title, Trilobyte Games told us over the weekend. A total of three puzzles have been cut out of the original 22, due to various technical challenges that Trilobyte can't tackle before the game's December release.
The cut puzzles, which have been stripped from differing points in the game, won't disrupt your ability to progress in The 7th Guest, nor will you be missing any of the puzzle title's memorable FMV sequences — the scenes that follow or proceed these missing puzzles will remain in their proper places.
To be specific, the three cut puzzles are the "Pentagon / Knife Puzzle," the "Piano Puzzle," and the "Microscope Puzzle." The latter two, according to Trilobyte, are getting cut because they needed to be rebuilt from the ground up, and that's not something that can be done easily. The reason the former is receiving the axe is simply because it doesn't play nice with small screens like the ones on iDevices.
Here's what Trilobyte told us about the puzzles:
The three puzzles we are unable to include in this release are the Pentagon / Knife Puzzle, the Piano Puzzle, and the Microscope Puzzle. The knife puzzle has been taken out because it is too small to be played effectively on the iPhone screen. We are currently testing a mod of that puzzle for the iPad version, and also experimenting with other ways to make it playable on a small screen.
The other two puzzles with outstanding technical issues are the microscope and the piano puzzles. With a hint of sadness and note of admiration, the original Microscope and Piano puzzles are not going to be in this December / holiday release. Our engineers have carefully studied the code and determined that we would have to rebuild these puzzles from scratch to put them back in the game. Even so, we’re not ruling-out the reappearance of the Microscope puzzle in a future version, or as a standalone app. It will likely go down as one of the most legendary AI puzzles ever created for a video game.
Just as a quick reminder if your humours are beginning to rattle out of place or you feel your choler rising: The 7th Guest was one of the first CD-ROM games, created back in 1993 for computers. If you thought that everything in The 7th Guest would translate to modern touch screen platforms, well, let's just say your expectations were unrealistic.
However, there's at least a chance we could see these puzzles in future updates to the game or even in separate Apps. As noted in the above, Trilobyte Games isn't ruling anything out post-release and is even looking into dropping the Knife puzzle into the iPad version of the game. Keep the faith!
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Speck Case Haiku Contest Winners
On Friday we started a haiku contest to win some CandyShell cases from in honor of the release of their new gamer-centric 4th generation iPod touch . There were a ton of awesome entries, so much so, that picking our favorites was incredibly difficult. It was a ton of fun reading through them all, and we're really going to have to do more stuff like this in the future as I think everyone here was amazed by the creativity of our community.
Winners and their associated haikus are all after the jump.
COME OUT ALREADY
IT HAS BEEN A YEAR EA
MIRRORS EDGE IS HERE
-by Jake Shore
Space Invaders Infinity Gene
Evolution of a '70s classic
and TA logo
-by ovalprocess
Unreal engine 3
A full 3D rpg
Yet still we complain
-by J07994n
Oh how times have changed
infinity blade comes soon
Mr. Papi weeps
-by Battle Born
Protecting the world
from apples and bananas,
I'm a fruit ninja.
-by Adjusting
Can you overdose
on haiku and flattery?
We'll find out, it seems.
-by HelperMonkey
Oh no, a typo!
Pictured above is white case
Not black as described
-by Sarah
I get nothing done.
Reading Touch Arcade all day.
The boss has no clue.
-by Longdukdong44
Plants Ropes Birds Ninjas
Finger Dances on the Screen
Late For Work Again!
-by Daena
Half of the people
Who write haiku for the case
Can't count syllables
-by HAIKUWINNER
Complaining, with my
four dollar coffee in hand,
"Money-hungry Dev"
-by cjsbug
Four bucks ninety-nine
Are you ****ing retarded
I'm not Donald Trump
-by Populashuntire
Yikes broken iphone
Hide it in your glass of milk
Mom will not find it
-by Ann Gith Sachn
Hope I win this case
Yeah right who am I kidding
Never win a thing
-by Wolfman
Can't get that third star
Sitting on the toilet so long
I hate you Angry Birds
-by joe bob
CandyShell Case wow!
I needed this three weeks back
When ipod went SMACK!
-by anister
He RAGEs at rails
As his life passes him by
He never tries it
-by Frumius
"Tee Oh Eff Tee Tee?"
Well it's only a buck, man
Don't be such a wuss
-by Tharvey81
Compelled to comment
But I have nothing to say
Thus: "Downloading now!"
-by DrjD
Oh so that's it huh
All I get is a case
Throw in a game too
-by Andre_deal
We'll be contacting the winners shortly with more details. Thanks for entering, everyone!
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‘Dungeon Defenders: First Wave’ Launching in December for iOS, Powered by Unreal Engine 3
Last month we came across some interesting news about an iOS version of the upcoming Dungeon Defenders game that will be launching for PC/Xbox Live/Playstation Network early next year. Dungeon Defenders is a tower defense game with a healthy dose of action/RPG elements thrown into the mix, though at the time of our preview there were scant details available about the looming iOS version of the game. Late last night, developer released a brand new video of the mobile version of Dungeon Defenders, which will be called Dungeon Defenders: First Wave.
While the core gameplay of Dungeon Defenders: First Wave appears to be rooted in the tower defense genre, players will seemingly have a ton of freedom to roam around the battlefield using their created character, giving it an added action/RPG element. The characters you create will also be able to transfer to the PC version of the game for cross-platform play, though this feature won't make it to the more closed Xbox or PS3 versions. Also included in the description of the video is that Dungeon Defenders: First Wave will be powered by Unreal Engine 3, which explains why this video looks so gorgeous and very near to its console counterparts:
Other tidbits of information that can be found in is that Dungeon Defenders: First Wave will launch around the middle of December for $2.99 with an accompanying lite version. The game will support Game Center for achievements and multiplayer between iOS devices, and will support Retina Display. Like many of the more advanced titles coming out as of late, Dungeon Defenders: First Wave will only be available for 3rd generation devices and above, including the iPad. This definitely looks like one of the more interesting titles to be hitting the App Store this year, and we'll be looking forward to bringing you more information on Dungeon Defenders: First Wave when it releases next month.
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