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

TUAW at E3: Robocalypse: Mobile Mayhem for iPhone


I'm spending the week at E3, and while iPhone games are somewhat few and far between (odds are that we'll see most of the App Store's goods next week at WWDC), there are a few gems to find out on the floor. In the Vogster booth, I got to play Robocalypse: Mobile Mayhem. It was originally seen on the DS as a classic real-time strategy title, in the style of Warcraft and Starcraft, and it's kept that standard gameplay on the iPhone -- you can create units and control them along with heroes, tech up with different buildings, and control bases and maps. The top screen of the DS has become two panels on the side of the iPhone's screen, but navigation is still pretty easy -- click to select units, click to direct them. Hardcore strategy fans won't find any surprises, but it is a solid, classic-style RTS that runs well.

There will be 17 singleplayer missions shipping with the game, and the team is working on getting multiplayer to work as well -- it currently works over WiFi, and they're aiming to even allow online play before it releases to the App Store in August. Vogster producer Alan Martin even told us that they found developing for the iPhone even easier than the DS -- different factions in the game are shown by applying different colors to the units, and while on the DS they had to make sprites for each color, the iPhone allowed them to simply change the primary colors with a variable. RTS fans especially should be sure to give the game a look

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

Fieldrunners and other great iPhone games for the holidays

Time Magazine has named Fieldrunners one of the top ten games of the year -- and the only game on the list for the iPhone. Very impressive. The App Store has only officially been out for half a year, and games have been in development for only a little longer than that, but already, we're getting some great games on the iPhone's touchscreen.

And speaking of great games, I've only recently come across Warfare Incorporated, but I know some of our commenters have been waiting for it. I'm no good at RTS games, but the game was award-winning on other handtop platforms, and is apparently doing very well on the iPhone also. If you're looking for real-time strategy on the small screen, there you go.

And finally, Tatomic, which is a game I've really enjoyed (kind of a cross between Lumines and Dr. Mario), sent us a note to say that their full version is on sale for the holidays, for only $2.99. There is still a free version, but even at the normal price of $4.99 Tatomic is a bargain if you at all like falling block games. At just three bucks, it's a steal. Terrific to see the iPhone holding its own with quality games this holiday.

Filed under: Gaming, MacBook

Machines at War: light RTS



I suspect like a lot of you I spent a lot of time visiting family this Christmas season, and while I love to see the folks sometimes you just need a little break from the togetherness. Unfortunately, however, my road machine is a MacBook with its anemic graphics, so I went looking around for a decent game that would run on limited hardware. And I found it. Machines at War is a light-weight 2D real time strategy game in the tradition of StarCraft.

While it's not the deepest RTS available it runs great on the MacBook. The graphics, while limited, are quite serviceable. It doesn't support multiplayer and the total number of units is limited, but it's prefect for whiling away an hour or two on the road. Recommended.

Machines at War is $19.95 from isotope244 and a demo is available.

Incidentally, Apple has suggestions for gaming on various hardware, including the MacBook. What games have you found to run well on limited hardware?

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