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platformer posts

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Odds and ends, Other Events, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

TUAW at E3: Castle of Magic hands-on


Gameloft was kind enough to show us their whole upcoming stable of iPhone and iPod touch titles at E3 last week, and the most impressive game we saw in their "party bus," parked outside the Los Angeles Convention Center, was Castle of Magic. It's a 2D platformer with colorful and great-looking 3D graphics in which you play a young wizard trying to get a girl back. So it's pretty well-tread ground, especially as platformers go (so named because you spend the game jumping from platform to platform), but it's one of the first straightforward examples of the genre on the iPhone.

The game's controlled with a virtual d-pad right on the screen, as well as two ability buttons that change depending on whatever powerups you have at the time. And powerups are found throughout the game world -- there are five themed overworlds to choose from (space, water, ice, forest, etc.), and three levels each within those worlds, and while the kid can pick up some abilities any time (a magical beam to shoot enemies with is a pretty common one), each world also has its own ability (you can be a spaceman in space, Robin Hood in the forest level, a swordfish while swimming, and so on). The game's graphics are immensely charming, and given that, like most platformers, there's plenty of doohickeys to collect, there's a good amount of replayability here as well.

Continue readingTUAW at E3: Castle of Magic hands-on

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

Toy Bot Diaries drops to 99 cents, is giving away $10,000

Toy Bot Diaries is a fun little series of platforming games with a physics twist -- you probably saw it on those early iPod touch gaming commercials. It features a little robot jumping around levels with a grappling hook and some magnetic boots. If you haven't picked it up yet, now's the time to do so. IUGO has lowered the price on the whole series, and you can get each of the three versions of the game for just 99 cents a piece. At $4, the game wasn't bad, but at just a buck, it's definitely worth picking up.

And that's not all -- they're also giving away $10,000 (and a smattering of gift cards and game codes) for playing through the games. You need to pick up all three games, and then pick up 25 of the "datapad" collectibles from each game, for a total of 75, at which point you'll get a chance to enter your email address for submission into the contest. Getting the datapads isn't hard at all, we're told, and the game is a good time anyway.

The contest ends on Monday March 16th, and IUGO says they're not sure when the prices on the games will go back up, so now's probably the time to get with the playing. No better way to promote a game than make the price cheap and give away lots of money.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Apple, iPhone, iPod touch

TUAW goes hands-on with Rolando


It's no secret that we've been looking forward to Rolando probably more than any other game on the App Store, and now that it's here, we can safely say it doesn't disappoint. From the beginning, Rolando has shown tons of potential as a completely original game that shows off just why mobile game developers should see the iPhone as a dream platform, and creator Simon Oliver has brought that potential to bear in an amazing puzzle/platformer.

There's almost nothing to not like here -- the graphics are colorful and run perfectly, the writing is simple and witty, and the gameplay is not only fun from the beginning, but creatively builds itself over time. Just like any great platformer should, every single level delivers a new way of thinking about the tools you're given, and even when you've conquered the whole game, there are multiple reasons to go back and play again.

TUAW got a copy of the game a few days ago (it's out on the App Store today for the first time since its announcement back in July), and since then we've saved Rolandos aplenty, worked our way through most of Rolandoland, and been charmed endlessly by the App Store's first real, original classic.

Gallery: Rolando

Continue readingTUAW goes hands-on with Rolando

Filed under: Gaming, Tips and tricks, Universal Binary

Gish goes universal



Gish isn't a Mac-only experience, but as a platform game, it's a pretty good one. I played it way back when it was released on Windows, but Inside Mac Games reports that Chronic Logic has released a universal binary of Gish, so now you can play it on Intel or PowerPC Macs alike.

Like I said, I found the game pretty fun. You play a ball of tar (no kidding) that rolls through underground locations in search of his lady friend (isn't that always how it goes), and the fluidity of your main character brings a lot of weird physics manipulation into play-- you can squeeze through small places, and even stick to surfaces like walls and ceilings. It's definitely a fun twist on platforming (and Gish can even invade old platformers with "warp zones," little psuedo stages that let you visit other games with Gish's abilities), and if you're in the mood for a great indie game, make sure to check out the demo. The full game is $20 over at the Chronic Logic website.

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