game posts

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Official Settlers of Catan out now on App Store

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Oct 30th, 2009

Just in case you missed it, I got my wish from a while back: there is an official version of the classic board game Settlers of Catan, called just Catan, on the App Store right now. I'm still playing Kolonists, the unofficial knockoff that got kicked off of the store for infringement, but if you've got wood for sheep, this official version should get you your portable fix. If you're unfamiliar with the Catan juggernaut, check out this thorough piece from Wired.com.

There's hot seat multiplayer gameplay (I assume you just can't cheat by looking at what resources other people have), or a few AIs to tangle with if you don't have friends at hand, and the game includes a scrollable board to play on, game stats to track, and a tutorial for those of you who haven't rolled the dice and tried to build the Longest Road yet.

The game is created by United Soft Media, a German company that's also ported the game to the DS, and while it's not quite as shiny as the Xbox Live port (my personal favorite version of the game, outside of the real thing, of course), the reviews on iTunes say it gets the job done, at least while you're waiting for the next board game night (and while we're talking about board games, can I recommend Dominion? Best table game I've played in years). The game is $4.99 and available right now. Anyone have any ore?

Tags: app-store, board-game, dominion, game, german, iphone, ipod-touch, kolonists, longest-road, settlers-of-catan, united-soft-media, wood-for-sheep

Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, App Review

The dark side of Skee-Ball for iPhone

by Brett Terpstra (RSS feed) on Oct 28th, 2009

I won't make any excuses, and I won't beat around the bush: I'm addicted to Skee-Ball [iTunes link], at least to the very-entertaining iPhone version from Freeverse. In fact, the reason I haven't written about it until now is that every time I get ready, I decide a little more "research" is in order, and I find myself on another Skee-bender. It's getting ridiculous, annoying my friends and upsetting my home life. I'd like to say, "I can stop whenever I want to," but I keep coming back to the warm glow of the LED scoreboard and the comforting sounds of wooden balls racking up just for me.

What makes Skee-Ball so entertaining for me is the realism of the gameplay. It sends me right back to my childhood; carnivals, arcades and Chuck E. Cheese's. The physics of the game are bafflingly realistic, with each roll responding to every nuance of the stroke or swing that launches it. Velocity, top and side-spin, friction... even the effects of bouncing off of the sides of the ramp or the edges of the cups feels natural. The prizes you can purchase with the tickets are reminiscent of the "big scores" of my youth: vampire fangs, bubble gum, fake moustaches, and glitter pencils. There's the occasional oddball prize, too (a banana, a robotic dog, a duck), presumably to remind you that it is, after all, just a game.

Continue reading “The dark side of Skee-Ball for iPhone”

Tags: freeverse, game, games, iphone, skee ball, skee-ball, SkeeBall

Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, iPod touch

Win a copy of Triazzle for iPhone and iPod touch

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (RSS feed) on Sep 4th, 2009

Triazzle [iTunes link] is a fun, quick game for you puzzlers out there. It's a casual thing, but with beautiful graphics and sound and a nice replay factor. David reviewed it here.

Now you can win one of 3 promo codes and get Triazzle for free! Just follow the directions below.

Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
To enter leave a comment on this article.
The comment must be left before Tuesday, September 8, 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time.
You may enter only once.
Three winners will be selected in a random drawing.
Prize: One promo code for Triazzle (Value: US$2.99)
Click Here for complete Official Rules.

Tags: false, game, games, giveaway, iphone, ipod touch, IpodTouch, triazzle

Filed under: Gaming, Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Wolfenstein RPG out now on iPhone and iPod touch

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Aug 12th, 2009

Electronic Arts has released the Wolfenstein RPG for the iPhone and iPod touch -- the game is available on the App Store for $4.99 right now. It's based in the world of Wolfenstein, but it's not your normal first-person shooter. Instead, it's actually a mobile turn-based RPG, adapted from an older cellphone platform for Apple's handheld. Considering its origins, the game looks pretty good, and it's got a silly sense of humor as well -- you can read books to gain abilities and power-ups, or play a chicken-kicking minigame. Reviews are pretty excellent on iTunes, so if you're looking for something a little different to play as a role-playing game, it might be worth a look.

Even more anticipated than this game is the Doom RPG, with the same type of gameplay, but set in id software's Doom universe (notable, among other things, for its BFG weapon). Odds are that if this game does well, the Doom RPG (and maybe even Orcs and Elves, originally seen on the DS) probably won't be far behind.

Tags: app-review, developer, doom-rpg, electronic-arts, fun, game, id-software, iphone, mobile, platform, silly, wolfenstein-rpg

Filed under: Gaming, Rumors, Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Namco's iPhone division considering... Tekken?

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Aug 5th, 2009

Actually, I'd play that. Namco recently announced that they were forming an Apple Games division to head up game development for Apple platforms like the iPhone, and in this interview, a producer for them who used to work for Apple says that they're excited to work on bringing great games to the handheld device. Like, for example, Pac-man, Galaga, and... Soulcaliber and Tekken. You heard that right -- fighting games haven't exactly made a splash on the iPhone, as they're primarily a button-based genre, and the iPhone, of course, has no buttons.

But that won't stop Namco's guy from putting the old head gears into motion: "It's just the controls that are a challenge. We are thinking about that." Think away, crazy man -- I'd love to pull out Yoshimitsu for a few rounds while waiting at a bus stop. Obviously, the easiest way to try and port these would be to put overlaid buttons on the screen, but that doesn't leave a lot of room for the fighting (and not having the tactile feedback would probably be a problem as well). Maybe some gesture-based accelerometer movement? Sky's the limit, right?. Your call, Namco -- can't wait to see what you come up with.

[via Joystiq]

Tags: buttons, challenge, controls, design, development, fighting, fighting-games, galaga, game, gaming, iphone, namco, overlay, pac-man, producer, rumor, soulcalibur, tekken

Filed under: Gaming, Reviews, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Triazzle 3.0 comes to life on the iPhone

by David Winograd (RSS feed) on Jul 17th, 2009

Triazzle 3.0 is one of the most uniquely beautifully and ultimately playable games I have yet to see on the iPhone. Truthfully, I am nothing more than a casual gamer and find most games too complex or time consuming, but I was sucked in immediately. it's a bit like chess in that it's very easy to learn, but mastering it? Well, that's something else again.

Triazzle, in one form or another, has been around since 1991 (when it appeared as a paper cut-out game). Later it was developed as software and sold by Berkeley Systems and then Activision. Like a fine wine, the game has aged well and the iPhone 3.0 version proves to be the best version yet

The game presents you with a large triangle board and either 9 or 16 smaller triangular pieces with repeating graphical images that fit onto the larger triangle. Each piece can be rotated and moved onto the board. When all the small triangles are in the right places, you win. Sounds easy, right? Well it isn't.

There is only one possible solution and since many of the pieces look amazingly similar, you are bound to come up with what looks like a perfect solution, but isn't quite right. It takes strategy and a good sense of spatial relationships to get things just so. You are also helped a bit by little insects that become animated when you get a piece in the right position.

Continue reading “Triazzle 3.0 comes to life on the iPhone ”

Tags: app store, AppStore, game, games, puzzle, triazzle

Filed under: Gaming, WWDC, iPhone, iPod touch

WWDC Demo (and sneak peek): SciFly 2, a dogfight app for your iPhone or iPod touch

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (RSS feed) on Jul 14th, 2009

I was shocked to discover the young author of SciFly (iTunes link) hadn't even graduated high school when he first started coding, and wrote the original game while in high school. Based on his success with the first version, he dropped out of high school and has dedicated himself to iPhone development. From what I saw of SciFly 2, it may pay off. The sequel is a massive expansion on the original, with every bit of it written by a young man who seemed to have a versatile skill set and a passion for mobile development. We'll post on Twitter and Facebook when the sequel is available on the store. You can also try a a Lite version of the original here (iTunes link).

Tags: app, dogfight, fly, flying, game, iphone, ipod touch, IpodTouch, simulation, sneak peek, SneakPeek, video, wwdc

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

WWDC Demo: Coolness Test and Spin the Ball

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (RSS feed) on Jul 7th, 2009

Coolness Test (iTunes link) is a well-executed game of skill where you tap a green button as it moves around the screen. You have to avoid the red button, and both move around the screen with each tap. The developers found people were playing for extraordinary lengths of time, and I can see why. You can enter a sort of trance as you focus on the movement of the buttons. It might even improve hand/eye coordination, but all videogames say that, don't they?

Unfortunately Coolness Test, despite the low price of being free, suffers from over 3,000 negative reviews and less than 600 positive ones. Why? If you read the reviews, it's pretty much the deal with any of these one-trick pony apps: you either love it or hate it. I think it's unfortunate the developers called it a "coolness" test, when wrapping it in the obvious skill test it is would have been more apropos. But it is free, and if you're into button-induced trances, it'll do the trick. There's nothing functionally deficient about the game that I saw, so the reviews are simply people who thought it would determine their actual coolness, I guess.

Spin the Ball (iTunes link) is a bit more toy than game but it is what it is. Swipe your finger quickly across the ball on the screen, then use the accelerometer to "balance" the spinning ball on your finger. Just like a Globetrotter, you can keep spinning the ball with your finger, thus infuriating the Generals. Spin the Ball is also free, and seems to summon less rage by reviewers than Coolness Test, but I'd say it's the lesser of these two apps.

Tags: game, iphone, toy, video, wwdc, wwdc09

Filed under: Gaming, Software, iPhone, iPod touch

First Look and giveaway: iShotgun Pro

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Jul 7th, 2009

I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to iPhone games. For example, I've had Monopoly [App Store] on my iPhones since the app first appeared, and so far I've played 201 games. My other favorite? Apple's Texas Hold'em. So why would a shooting app be interesting to me?

iShotgun Pro [US$1.99, App Store] is a fun little shooting game from developer Yossi Malki in which you use a pump-action shotgun like my trusty Remington Model 870 to shoot clay targets. You go through 15 timed rounds shooting at single and multiple clay targets or falling bullseyes and bombs. There are three different levels of play so you can build your skills.

Just like in real clay pigeon shooting, you can yell "Pull!" to have the targets launched. There are also ways to launch the clays automatically or by tapping a button on the screen. You get different point levels for hitting various colors of clays, and try to avoid the black targets which reduce your point total. In the rounds where bullseyes and bombs are dropping, you need to avoid hitting the bombs. To aim, you can either use the iPhone's accelerometer or just tap where you want to shoot.

Continue reading “First Look and giveaway: iShotgun Pro ”

Tags: app review, AppReview, game, giveaway, iphone, ipod touch, IpodTouch

Filed under: Gaming, WWDC, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review

WWDC Demo: Ow My Balls!

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (RSS feed) on Jul 6th, 2009

Yeah, so did you see Idiocracy? While I'm convinced it's merely a documentary sent to us from a future Mike Judge, warning us of the dangers of Brawndo and poor math education, one of the takeaway phrases from the movie has made its way into an iPhone app. Yes, Martha, you can say "balls" on the App Store. While tasteful slideshow apps like Minipops are rejected without so much as a "get bent," somehow Ow My Balls! became the first app on the store to use "balls" in this sense. Apple: always on the cutting edge.

Anyway, I wound up trying Ow My Balls! (iTunes link) on the plane back from San Francisco, and guess what? It really is strangely addictive. Not like Fieldrunners-grade addiction, mind you, but it's a low level thing that makes you play for a much longer time than you'd ever think you'd be playing. Is it worth $.99? Yeah, if you're into this sort of thing.

The game mechanic is simple: kick the guy off a ledge (in the aforementioned nether regions), tap him to "fart" and make him stay in the air longer. You have small goals like hitting every target and getting maximum rackage by hitting more stuff on the way down. That's really about it, but as I said, it's more fun than you'd imagine. My only problem: I can't find the very last object to run into. Ow, my finger!

The video of the app in action is next...

Continue reading “WWDC Demo: Ow My Balls!”

Tags: app review, app store, AppReview, AppStore, game, humor, iphone, ipod touch, IpodTouch, ow my balls, OwMyBalls

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Freeware, iPhone, iPod touch

Get Astraware Solitaire and some free fireworks

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Jul 4th, 2009

Last week, Handmark announced the release of Astraware Solitaire [App Store] for iPhone and iPod touch. Solitaire features a dozen different games, including the classics Klondike, Free Cell, Canfield, and Pyramid. As with most of Astraware's games, the 12 solitaire games are nicely animated, easy to play, and hard to master. The game is currently on sale for just US$0.99, so grab it before it goes up to the normal price of US$4.99.

I personally love playing solitaire as a way to pass time on planes and while waiting for meetings to start. After installing Astraware Solitaire on my iPhone 3GS, I erased four other solitaire games that just didn't match up to the quality and variety of play. The new Trophy Deck feature will keep you playing for weeks, trying to collect all of the cards by achieving goals.

Since it's Independence Day here in the U.S., you might also want to download Handmark's free fireworks app, featuring patriotic backdrops, festive fireworks, and music. From all of us here at TUAW, have a safe Fourth of July weekend!

Tags: fireworks, freeware, game, iphone, ipod touch, IpodTouch, solitaire

Filed under: WWDC, iPhone, iPod touch

WWDC Demo: Zombies, a modern update of Daleks (preview)

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (RSS feed) on Jul 2nd, 2009

I can't count the number of hours I spent at the UT Music Library on a Performa or Quadra or Centris (I had a Centris 610 at the time) playing Daleks. Strangely addicting but incredibly simple, the game mechanic has been repeated often in the casual game universe, and Daleks was essentially a rip of Robots on UNIX. You try to get away from something, one step at a time, as those somethings inch ever closer, one step at a time. It's turn-based "tag." There's a terribly unsatisfying and buggy version called SuperDaleks for OS X here.

Zombies is a bit of an update for the venerable classic, although there's also a classic game called Zombies using the very same mechanic -- nothing new under the sun, eh? But intead of dusting off that old IIsi, you can play Zombies on your iPhone or iPod touch. The developer added spells, allowing you to do something out of the norm each round. So, for example, you could teleport (sometimes seen in variations of this game). You can also destroy zombies with a spell, handy when you're in a no-win position.

The preview you see here is the unfinished version, but it's shaping up to be a pleasant reimagining of a classic. We'll post on Twitter when it's available.

Tags: app store, AppStore, daleks, game, iphone, ipod touch, IpodTouch, preview, robots, video, wwdc, wwdc09, zombies

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Doom Resurrection on the iPhone now, lots more id games to come

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Jun 30th, 2009

Fellow shooter fans rejoice -- id software's John Carmack has begun delivering on his love of the iPhone with a brand new game made just for the platform called Doom Resurrection, available right now on the App Store for the price of $9.99. There's nothing small about this game at all -- it offers up 76 mb of original id shooter, including eight levels total, six on Mars, and two more (spoiler?) in Hell, all set in a graphics and control engine designed just for Apple's handhelds (you control aiming with the accelerometer while the game runs you around on rails, and hit the various on-screen buttons to shoot or jump into cover). Unfortunately, there's no lite version to test out (though we can probably expect one eventually, considering Wolfenstein Classic got one), but early reviews say that if you like Doom, you'll enjoy the game.

And that's not all -- besides this original version of Doom, Carmack and id continue to have big plans for the iPhone: Quake and Quake 2 are headed there for sure, and Quake 3 probably isn't far behind, as well as a RAGE-related title. And that doesn't even include the rest of the mobile stuff they have planned: apparently Wolfenstein RPG is ready to go, and Carmack hints that they've got even more original titles like Doom Resurrection here up their sleeve. Good to see a major, established developer like id is really committing to delivering new games for the iPhone.

Tags: doom, doom-resurrection, game, hell, id-software, iphone, john-carmack, levels, mars, on-rails, quake, quake-3, rage, shooter, wolfenstein

Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review

WWDC Demo: Harbor Master

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (RSS feed) on Jun 25th, 2009

I shot some video of a preview build for Harbor Master back at WWDC, and I'll upload that to our Facebook page later, but I also shot a quick video of Harbor Master's gameplay (on the next page). If you play Flight Control -- and those who do find it hard to put down -- you will absolutely love Harbor Master (iTunes link). The mechanism for control is the same: use your finger to draw a path to direct vehicles to their destination.

In this case you are controlling boats in a harbor. However, instead of merely docking them, you must juggle unloading their cargo (automated, but larger boats take longer) and sending them on their merry way. This pleasant twist on Flight Control's mechanics allows players of Harbor Master to steer clear of boredom.

Later levels add further twists, literally. One of the developers, Natalia, demonstrated a tiny hurricane, which will spin your boat around no matter what intended path you draw. Harbor Master also includes the requisite leaderboard, so if you like the high scores, you're covered (although you'll need to provide an email address and username).

The folks behind Harbor Master, Imangi Studios, have partnered with some other iPhone developers to provide some in-app promotion for each other in a service called App Treasures. Imagni also demoed another clever app, PhotoMarkr, at WWDC. It quickly and easily adds watermarks to photos on your iPhone. Check it out on the App Store here.

Update: fixed the Harbor Master link.

Continue reading “WWDC Demo: Harbor Master”

Tags: app review, app store, AppReview, AppStore, flight control, FlightControl, game, harbor master, HarborMaster, iphone, ipod touch, IpodTouch, photomarkr

Filed under: Humor, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Retiring from Flight Control

by Sang Tang (RSS feed) on Jun 25th, 2009

I just uninstalled it from my iPhone, and am officially retiring from Flight Control (iTunes link). It was a great four month career, I tell ya. I wanted to go out at the top of my game, and on my own terms. Despite its minimal $4.99 price tag (I think that was the price when it first came out), it has cost me much more in terms of lost bets against friends (~$20), sleepless nights, hour long stops to the restroom, and lost productivity.

Continue reading “Retiring from Flight Control”

Tags: addiction, flightcontrol, fun, gambling, game, humor, restroom, retire, sleeplessness

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F11 moves all your windows off the screen so you can quickly glance at your desktop. F10 shows you every open window in an application. F9 shows every open window for every application that isn't hidden or in the dock.

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