iPhone/iTouch app and game thread

[Dreamshadow]

I'd have to say, I'm enjoying the Clue Iphone game.  It's like the old Sherlock/Moriarty games with a 'time' limit.  More info to come when I can write a capsule review.

Dinner with Moriarty: http://www.kaser.com/moriarty.html
Sherlock: http://www.kaser.com/sherwin.html

Take those games, add a action based time limit and an interface that has you playing the detective.  It's pretty good.  It only has 10 cases, but cases only control how many people, rooms there are and the murder is randomized each time.  Very nice replayability.

[Tokek]

Peggle is on sale for 99 cents until June 14.

[Misguided]

Peggle is on sale for 99 cents until June 14.

That's CRAZY. They did a great job on the iphone version. I love the wheel--wish the DS version had that.

[Gratch]

Peggle is on sale for 99 cents until June 14.

That's CRAZY. They did a great job on the iphone version. I love the wheel--wish the DS version had that.

Peggle was a steal at $5.  At $.99, you're insane not to pick it up.

[Canuck]

I finally got Peggle. It's a fun little game.  Not 5 bucks fun but definitely 1 buck fun.

[kathode]

Peggle is easily $10 fun IMO.  Pretty sure I paid $20 on PC when it first came out!

[ROTC1983]

Picked up Peggle.  Can't go wrong for 99 cent

[Canuck]

Well Peggle has got my girlfriend hooked!!  I tried with Airport Madness but that took a little too much dexterity and timing.  This game is much slower paced.  She wants an iTouch now.

[naednek]

I picked it up, and that has made my commute on the light rail seem like 5 mins instead of 40 mins.  I just wished it wasn't full of rainbows and unicorns.  That's a little embarrassing

[The Grue]

I picked it up, and that has made my commute on the light rail seem like 5 mins instead of 40 mins.  I just wished it wasn't full of rainbows and unicorns.  That's a little embarrassing

Yeah, you really have an awesome rep to protect.  Can't let the public know.

[Dreamshadow]

Is there a GalCiv or Moo2 style game on the Iphone yet? 

[Chaz]

An Advance Wars clone called Mecho Wars just came out.  It's $5.  Don't know how it is, because I haven't tried it yet.  I do very little gaming on my phone, and Peggle takes care of it when I do.

[Canuck]

Haven't played Mecho Wars but it seems to be getting very high ratings.

[whiteboyskim]

Is there a GalCiv or Moo2 style game on the Iphone yet? 

Dark Nova is a great little space sim and supposedly they're planning on expanding it. It's a lot of fun if you like those games.

[Dreamshadow]

Is there a GalCiv or Moo2 style game on the Iphone yet? 

Dark Nova is a great little space sim and supposedly they're planning on expanding it. It's a lot of fun if you like those games.

It's a start.  Didn't realize it was free, but Dark Nova is closer to Space Trader.  I'm looking for a good sci-fi turn based strategy game/empire builder.  It would seem that between the space shoot-em-ups, and the online Space Mafia Wars clones, there isn't yet an app like I am looking for.  I may have to think about writing it.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Peggle is on sale for 99 cents until June 14.

I picked a bad day to get back from vacation.

[Tokek]

"Let's Golf" is on sale for 99 cents

[Canuck]

Now on sale for only 99 cents from $4.99!!

iTunes Link: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=319358443&mt=8













Looks like an Advance Wars clone but it has been very highly reviewed.

[Gratch]

Grabbing now, thanks for the heads up!

[Kurt Stevens]

Good find. Thanks for posting it. 

[Teggy]

Tiger Woods is now on sale for $7. Just got my iPhone so that seemed a good one to pull the trigger on before I start restricting my app purchase budget (also picked up Peggle for 99 cents).

[Godzilla Blitz]

Tiger Woods is now on sale for $7. Just got my iPhone so that seemed a good one to pull the trigger on before I start restricting my app purchase budget (also picked up Peggle for 99 cents).

Does Tiger Woods have any sort of career mode?

[Teggy]

Tiger Woods is now on sale for $7. Just got my iPhone so that seemed a good one to pull the trigger on before I start restricting my app purchase budget (also picked up Peggle for 99 cents).

Does Tiger Woods have any sort of career mode?

I haven't gotten too deep into it, but it is not just single round play. You earn money you can spend towards either increasing your attributes (power, accuracy, etc.) or playing in tour events. The game provides a calendar and events are 4 days long.

[Canuck]

Going through the tutorials of Mecho Wars now.  I don't know why but for some reason it appeals to me more than Uniwar.  Maybe it's the animation or something.

[DonD]

I'm super annoyed that apps that update to 3.0 will no longer install on my iPod Touch 2.2.1.

I really have no desire to update to 3.0 as there are no features I see being worth a $10 price tag, and I would be totally fine with not having access to 3.0 specific features.

I do have a problem with my app updating and then becoming unusable.

Apple should either make the upgrade universal, make some sort of compatibility with 2.2.1, or restrict updates to the 3.0 version unless you have upgraded.

[Blackjack]

Although I bought the 3.0 update, I do agree it seems like a Pandora's Box situation to make a system update "optional" without allowing some workarounds for possible update compability issues when people prefer to stick with an earlier OS version.

I guess this is more of a games thread, but a few apps that I've bought or added (just got my Touch the other day):

Strip (password manager, about a zillion times easier to use/better thought out, than the old non-Strip manager I used on my Palm)
http://www.zetetic.net/products/strip

Groceries (not that a grocery list program should get one excited, but I quite liked it)
http://www.ontomni.com/Groceries.htm

News Addict (very nice Free "mobile format" news aggregator)
http://freeiphoneapps4u.blogspot.com/2009/06/news-addict.html
*Couldn't find an official site/page on it, that's a mention at a blog that focuses on "free to $5" iPhone/Touch apps.

Although I was fretting about moving over my Palm's contacts info, I was able to export the Palm Desktop's contacts over to Windows Contacts (in Vista), and synch those fairly accurately onto the Touch. Very happy about that.  Transferring my password stuff over to Strip was somewhat time consuming, but Strip's keen design eased it, and in a way it was a good way to get used to the on screen keyboard.

Since it is Father's Day, Time has its...
Ten Best iPhone Apps for Dad
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1906008_1906001,00.html

OK, sorry to be boring (I love my Touch so far, fwiw  ). Back to the games. 


Is there a good free Tetris clone of some sort anyone can recommend? I'm mostly just adding some time-waster puzzle and word search type games to my Touch for now.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Tiger Woods is now on sale for $7. Just got my iPhone so that seemed a good one to pull the trigger on before I start restricting my app purchase budget (also picked up Peggle for 99 cents).

Does Tiger Woods have any sort of career mode?

I haven't gotten too deep into it, but it is not just single round play. You earn money you can spend towards either increasing your attributes (power, accuracy, etc.) or playing in tour events. The game provides a calendar and events are 4 days long.

Thanks! That makes it more appealing. Might grab this later, but I've already got so many apps/games that I don't play.

[Godzilla Blitz]

I mentioned this in the main Gaming Trend forum, but thought it might be better mentioned here...

The Geocaching app from Groundspeak has quickly gotten our family into the hobby. The app is awesome, and the iPhone works fine as a GPS receiver. The app displays which caches are near your current location, has a "navigate to cache" feature that gets you close, and lists information/notes/hints on every cache as well. If you're looking for a new hobby to get you outside and walking more, this $10 app might be worth a look.

Linkies:
Geocaching Application Info
Basic info on Geocaching

[DonD]

Is there a good free Tetris clone of some sort anyone can recommend? I'm mostly just adding some time-waster puzzle and word search type games to my Touch for now.

I love Drop 7.  There's a lite version you can try too.  It isn't Tetris (only 1 block falls at a time), but it does have the same sort of vibe.

[Tokek]

Hero of Sparta is on sale for 99 cents, not sure for how long.

[Blackjack]

Is there a good free Tetris clone of some sort anyone can recommend? I'm mostly just adding some time-waster puzzle and word search type games to my Touch for now.

I love Drop 7.  There's a lite version you can try too.  It isn't Tetris (only 1 block falls at a time), but it does have the same sort of vibe.

Thanks, I'll check it out.   Here's a page on it:
http://playareacode.com/drop7/

App-wise, I've also found the free CheckPlease Lite useful. It calculates tips, including divvying bills when you have like 8 people and a $93 tab or whatever:
http://appshopper.com/finance/checkplease
I'm sure there are umpteen other tip-calculators, but this was the first one I found and I quite like it.

[Isgrimnur]

Assuming an even distribution, that's $11.625 per person.  15% tip would be $1.74.
...
Who needs a tip calculator? I do that stuff in my head for fun.

[Misguided]

Some great looking new titles in the last few days:

Galactic Gunner
MUST.EAT.BIRDS
Mevo and the Grooveriders

[WinoMcCougarstein]

Wild West Pinball is pretty decent for a free pinball game.  It's only one board but I enjoy it.

[Purge]

Assuming an even distribution, that's $11.625 per person.  15% tip would be $1.74.
...
Who needs a tip calculator? I do that stuff in my head for fun.

Inside your head doesn't sound like much fun.

[Isgrimnur]

Oh, it's tons of fun.  It's just that being a computer programmer means that you need to know what the answer is before you feed it into a program so you know when the computer gets it right. 

[Blackjack]

Great, you can go to iPod Touch/iPhone conventions and go, "I don't need no apps, Isgrimnur's BRAIN is the Ultimate App!" I predict many iPhones and iPod Touches will get thrown at your head in response, so wear a helmet.  

I just like straightforward apps that are quick to use and do one thing well that I do or need often (thus a password manager, a groceries list and a tip calculator are things I found I could use right away). I'm convinced a lot of "veteran" users who warned me they don't find many apps useful are trying too many fancy pants apps that don't do something repeatedly-useful. In just a few days I've probably seen a few hundred apps that do impressive things that aren't remotely useful to me (or most people I imagine).

I mean, it's great iTunes has a bazillion apps, but wading through all that dross to find practical gems is practically a job in itself.

And I dig Drop 7, but lacking Isgrimnur's BRAIN, I am having trouble grasping some of the gameplay concepts.  

[Isgrimnur]

  

[Purge]

Need for Speed is pretty good.

[Tokek]

App-wise, I've also found the free CheckPlease Lite useful. It calculates tips, including divvying bills when you have like 8 people and a $93 tab or whatever:
http://appshopper.com/finance/checkplease
I'm sure there are umpteen other tip-calculators, but this was the first one I found and I quite like it.

I use CheckPlease Lite with PocketMoney to manage my money a bit better and to see what I spend it on. So far, games for the iPhones tops the chart, lol.

Real Soccer 09 is dropped to 99 cents.