iPhone/iTouch gaming

[miffy495]

Just picked up Galcon based on playing the PC demo and thinking that it could really work. Once I was hooked on the concept, I discovered that there was actually a demo of the iPhone version. So I played that for a while, then realized it does work. Actually really fun. There are actually strategies you need to work out, too. Discovering which planets to go for, how to distract your opponent while you go for the ones that matter. It all works. It doesn't have a whole lot of deep strategy, but for a game you can play a round of in less than 5 minutes, it's a quick, intense distillation of what makes RTS fun. I really enjoy it. I'll be playing it a bunch on my lunch break tomorrow. For $5, you could do a lot worse.

[SiN]

Quick heads up guys.

I made a free demo version of Geomex, called Geomex lite:

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=295904628&mt=8

It features a pretty awesome Time Attack mode.

Also, I cut the price on Geomex. It's now $4.99.

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=290383926&mt=8

Enjoy!

SiN

[n0wak]

Resurrecting this old thread because there've been a lot of good games for the iDevice lately. I've been enjoying

SimCity A very competent port. Some complain about bugs/crashes, but I haven't encountered any.

Space Deadbeef. FREE side scrolling shooter that is fairly impressive visually and has a good interface -- it plays kind of like a Rez/Panzer Dragoon "lock-on" type of game. Oh yeah, and it's FREE.

Edge :tup: Play this, it's awesome. BUY NOW

[miffy495]

Um... before I spend my money, what exactly is it?

[n0wak]

Rather than repeat myself, I'll link http://the-inbetween.com/2009/01/08/edge-for-the-idevice/#content

[taronish]

Edge :tup: Play this, it's awesome. BUY NOW

I'll second this - it's pretty fun and has a nice retro vibe to it, and more importantly you can play it for just a few minutes at a time, which is almost a requirement for me on a phone.

[Chris]

Does Edge's control rely on the accelerometer? I'm getting pretty tired of games that involve tilting.

[Nappi]

Seems that you can use either tilting or the touch screen.

[Scrobbs]

Does Edge's control rely on the accelerometer? I'm getting pretty tired of games that involve tilting.

It's a drag game, but the cube has inertia. You get some kind of bonus for managing to balance it on its edges as well (a little timer appears), but I haven't worked out what/how much yet.

[n0wak]

You can play it either by tilting the thing or dragging your finger across the screen. It's pretty playable either way, it's just a matter of preference. Personally, I find the tilting control to be a little too touchy and just stick with dragging.

It's a drag game, but the cube has inertia. You get some kind of bonus for managing to balance it on its edges as well (a little timer appears), but I haven't worked out what/how much yet.

You better practice this because it becomes an essential skill in the later stages. It's quite devious. Especially this one part on level 25...

[VectorJKL]

I have been enjoying Field Runners ($4.99); it is a Tower Defense game in the vein of Desktop Defense.

Topple is fun as well as Cube Runner. Cube runner has a neat feature in that you can easily create your own levels using a text editor. It is a fairly simple game and free. Sim City is $9.99 and is an excellent city building game. I have not had any problems with it. Trism is fun as well and can be quite challenging.

[Chris]

I bought Edge and powered through it in two sittings. I should have spaced it out more.

[Scrobbs]

Has anyone noticed in Fieldrunners that the slightly harder guys look like the red heavy and the weaker guys look like the red soldier from TF2? Is this co-incidental or deliberate homage.

[SiN]

Alright, time for a bit more shameless pimping.

Geomex is all updated with online hiscores, achievements and I tightened up those graphics!!111!!

It's also a super-cheap $1.99.

It's fun, actually innovative, and it totally gets the whole "this is a mobile device" thing that way too many iPhone games fail to grasp. Give it a try!

http://www.caffeinemonstersoftware.com/geomex/

Cheers,

Mo

[Nachimir]

Everyone around me with an iphone seems to be addicted to Flight Control at the moment. It's very well designed.

[Scrobbs]

I think I got it after you twittered it the other week. It is quite good. I find it hard to get more than 64 though.

[zomboid]

I like:

[zomboid]

So, WWDC just ended. Kind of a dud for me personally. I was really hoping they'd announce some kind of Bluetooth d-pad, or a Bluetooth case that the phone snaps into with a d-pad and buttons. I realize a 3rd party can make one, but if Apple did it - more app devs would be inclined to support it right away.

Also, the rumored 3-D graphics upgrade in the new iPhone was a no-show. And also also - what the fuck is up with no flash support? I mean I get why they're scared of it - but c'mon, they're going to have to cave in at some point. I want hulu on my phone!

Oh well, 3.0 OS looks pretty good otherwise.

[SiN]

Also, the rumored 3-D graphics upgrade in the new iPhone was a no-show.

The processor is around twice the speed. That's pretty much a graphics update.

[zomboid]

The processor is around twice the speed. That's pretty much a graphics update.

I'll take your word for it that graphics for games created for all iPhones/iPod touches will look better on the new iPhones.

[toblix]

MUST TRY NOT TO BUY AN IPHONE!

[SiN]

I'll take your word for it that graphics for games created for all iPhones/iPod touches will look better on the new iPhones.

Well obviously not, but a "graphics update" that magically makes all games look better isn't really possible. Anti-aliasing maybe, but everything else would have to be done on the developers side.

Still, it does mean games will probably start having graphics quality sliders like PC games have.

Cheers,

Mo

[zomboid]

Well obviously not, but a "graphics update" that magically makes all games look better isn't really possible. Anti-aliasing maybe, but everything else would have to be done on the developers side.

Still, it does mean games will probably start having graphics quality sliders like PC games have.

Cheers,

Mo

It appears I was wrong in my first post:

http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/iPhone+3G+S/feature.asp?c=13757

[SiN]

Oh neat, OpenGL ES 2.0 support. Mind you, it still isn't going to make games retroactively look better.

Mo

[Scrobbs]

I was reading one dev forum, and they say it's already got that OpenGL ES 2.0 support - it's just that the CPU is too crap to run it fast enough. Moot point I suppose really!