iPhone/iTouch app and game thread

[DonD]

My understanding on Uniwar is that it is multiplayer focussed.  It has a SP campaign, but is it more than just an extended tutorial?

[Canuck]

I think that for 99 cents you could probably take the chance.  I'm only in Mission 5 right now but so far even just that has been worth it.  Yes right now it's still basically an extended tutorial but the gameplay is still fun.  I think it must have a fairly hefty single player portion because you can either play the Campaign or play Solo (I haven't checked that one out yet-maybe it's like skirmish?)  Anyone who loves Advance Wars will love this game.

[rittchard]

Another interesting new release: Underworlds.  Looks like a Diablo clone with lead artist from the original Ultima games...

http://toucharcade.com/2009/04/21/underworlds-rpg-crawls-into-app-store/

[ROTC1983]

Another interesting new release: Underworlds.  Looks like a Diablo clone with lead artist from the original Ultima games...

http://toucharcade.com/2009/04/21/underworlds-rpg-crawls-into-app-store/

I am thinking about actually purchasing this   So many other games to play...ack! 

[Gratch]

Another interesting new release: Underworlds.  Looks like a Diablo clone with lead artist from the original Ultima games...

http://toucharcade.com/2009/04/21/underworlds-rpg-crawls-into-app-store/

This is tempting, but after my experience with Orions, Hero of Sparta and The Quest, I've decided to give up on anything except casual puzzle games on my iPhone.  Maybe its just a mental block, because while all three of these games were extremely well done, I simply can't get into any sort of "serious" game on my phone.  Stuff like Scrabble, Bejewled, etc is fine and I'll play the hell out of them, but I find myself basically ignoring anything that takes more effort that that.  Probably because I only game on my phone in short bursts, and most of the more complex games don't lend themselves to that very well.

That being said, if anyone tries Underworlds, let us know how it is.  If it's the end-all-be-all of hack & slash games, I might consider giving it a look.

[Isgrimnur]

Come play chess with me!  You already know my tag.

Seriously?  We have no chess fans around here?  Or is it me?   

[ROTC1983]

Come play chess with me!  You already know my tag.

Seriously?  We have no chess fans around here?  Or is it me?   

Hmm, I am going to have to check that out.  I miss playing chess and would definitely be a tad bit rusty

[Canuck]

I'm with Gratch on this one-I want games that I can play in about 1 minute or so.  As awesome as The Quest sounds, I couldn't imagine playing it on the iPhone-I'd completely lose track of what I was supposed to do.  That's why I love Baseball Superstars 2009.  It's completely mindless and in My League mode (where you can play as just a single batter) you can do about 6 or 7 games in only 5 minutes.  I played through twelve 36 game seasons in My League mode before my player had to retire and now I don't feel like starting up a new one.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Come play chess with me!  You already know my tag.

Seriously?  We have no chess fans around here?  Or is it me?   

I'd be up for this, but I'm not good. Downloading now.

[Godzilla Blitz]

This thread is getting expensive.

Every time I read this I end up buying a half dozen apps at $1 to $3 each. I think, "Ah, $2, that's nothing! Buy!". Ten minutes later I've blown $10 yet again.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Come play chess with me!  You already know my tag.

Seriously?  We have no chess fans around here?  Or is it me?   

I'd be up for this, but I'm not good. Downloading now.

Account created (Godzilla Blitz). Game started. Your move!

By the way, this is pretty slick. I've got two games going now. I've been helping coach at my kids' elementary school club, but it's been hard because I have little clue beyond the fundamentals. This will give me some practice.

[Isgrimnur]

Yay! 

I learned a lot as a kid from Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess.  It's almost like a choose your own adventure book of chess.  You read it the correct way with scenarios laid out and questions as to the appropriate move, turn the page to see the answer, then flip the book and do it again going back upside down!

[DonD]

Come play chess with me!  You already know my tag.

Seriously?  We have no chess fans around here?  Or is it me?  

Alright, since Godzilla broke the ice, I'll give this a shot as well.

I used to be pretty decent, but it's been a -long- time, so no promises as to the level of challenge you'll be up against.

Account name dondesio

[Godzilla Blitz]

Come play chess with me!  You already know my tag.

Seriously?  We have no chess fans around here?  Or is it me?  

Alright, since Godzilla broke the ice, I'll give this a shot as well.

I used to be pretty decent, but it's been a -long- time, so no promises as to the level of challenge you'll be up against.

Account name dondesio

Cool! Thanks! Got it, and have made a move as well. And no worries on good/not good. I'm interested in improving, having fun, and trying new ideas on a chess board. Win, lose, easy, hard, it's all good.

It'd be fun to play against some people here, as I bet games against random opponents could be pretty hit or miss as far as reliability. If anyone else would like a game, send away! It's simple to start a game. If we get a few more people from GT playing, maybe it would make sense to make a separate thread for this Chess app alone.

[Purge]

iNav looks nice, but functionally it's a pain in the ass.

[DonD]

Picked up Word Fu and Freeballin' for 99 cents each.

I think I'm up to 7 pages of apps now.  I can't say I've even played 'em all yet, but I keep grabbing more.

[rittchard]

It's definitely addictive and keep in mind if you get stuff the next day or two you have a good shot at winning the contest for 1 billionth download!

Edit: scratch that they already hit 1 billion.  9 months, 1 billion apps downloaded, damn!

- - -

I do agree about the more simple games getting more play - my favorite as mentioned earlier is that 10 balls 7 cups or whatever it was called.  That said, Underworlds played very well in the short period I played it.  The interface is very accessible and in about 5 minutes I completed the first few quests.  I do wish it offered more classes to choose from.

[Tokek]

I don't have an iPhone but I gave my coworker $1 to buy Flight Control on his and been hooked.  Highest score for me is 131 and I haven't been able to come close to it again.

Zombie Attack is pretty fun, it's like the tower defense game.  They have a free version of it but I think it only has guns, the paid version has flamethrower, axe, guns and I think rocket launcher.

[whiteboyskim]

Come play chess with me!  You already know my tag.

Seriously?  We have no chess fans around here?  Or is it me?  

Alright, since Godzilla broke the ice, I'll give this a shot as well.

I used to be pretty decent, but it's been a -long- time, so no promises as to the level of challenge you'll be up against.

Account name dondesio

Cool! Thanks! Got it, and have made a move as well. And no worries on good/not good. I'm interested in improving, having fun, and trying new ideas on a chess board. Win, lose, easy, hard, it's all good.

It'd be fun to play against some people here, as I bet games against random opponents could be pretty hit or miss as far as reliability. If anyone else would like a game, send away! It's simple to start a game. If we get a few more people from GT playing, maybe it would make sense to make a separate thread for this Chess app alone.

Now I've got three games going - one with you, one with Don, and one with Frogs Honey (aka My Fair Lady). I'm trying different strategies on each so we'll see how effective that winds up being.

[Gratch]

I don't have an iPhone but I gave my coworker $1 to buy Flight Control on his and been hooked.  Highest score for me is 131 and I haven't been able to come close to it again.

I just don't feel all the love for Flight Control. It's sort of fun a couple times through, but gets pretty dull after that.  Slow as hell up until 30-40 planes, then you have 5 minutes of random craziness.  Good diversion for a dollar I suppose, but not something I find myself playing often.

Anyone know of good "match-3" games besides Bejewled and Jewel Quest II?  I tried Aurora Feint, but always ran into "low memory" and framerate issues that made it unplayable.  I know there's a Puzzle Quest version, but $7.99 is awfully pricey.

P.S.  I almost pulled the trigger on Underworlds so I could have something on the flight today, but heard it was only about 2 hours long with not much replay incentive.  Think I'll pass...

[Canuck]

I've been playing a lot of Dark Nova lately which is a space tradiing sim which sort of reminds me a little of Space Rangers.  It's got a lot of potential I think but it's also got a lot of bugs right now.  On the other hand the price is free so I recommend picking it up now.  Apparently the developpers have got some big things in mind for this for the 1.5 and 2.0 releases (right now they're just ironing out the bugs in 1.0xx versions)

[The Grue]

P.S.  I almost pulled the trigger on Underworlds so I could have something on the flight today, but heard it was only about 2 hours long with not much replay incentive.  Think I'll pass...

A movie is more expensive and lasts about the same amount of time.

[Gratch]

If anyone's looking for a fun "match-3" game, give Treasures of Montezuma a try.  It's sort of like Bejewelled on speed, complete with purty graphics and RPG level-up elements.

[kathode]

I just don't feel all the love for Flight Control. It's sort of fun a couple times through, but gets pretty dull after that.  Slow as hell up until 30-40 planes, then you have 5 minutes of random craziness.  Good diversion for a dollar I suppose, but not something I find myself playing often.

Not that it will matter if you don't like the basic gameplay, but they're expanding it soon with more airports and leaderboards.  The leaderboards look cool.  You can search and see the high scores of people in your local area.  I fully expect people will be posting obscene scores.  I already saw someone on GAF with 359  

[DonD]

If anyone's looking for a fun "match-3" game, give Treasures of Montezuma a try.  It's sort of like Bejewelled on speed, complete with purty graphics and RPG level-up elements.

Fun game.  Worth 2 bucks for sure.

iDracula has been growing on me.  It didn't grab me right away, but every so often, I try again, and now I can control the little guy a bit better (those onscreen control wheels aren't easy for me to use) and have found my weapon of choice.  The crossbow upgraded with the 3 shots seems to be the winner and there are plenty of ammo drops for it, so now I'm actually getting somewhere.

[whiteboyskim]

Dammit. Now I'm totally hooked on Dark Nova. And I just snagged Treasures of Mont. I hate you all.

[Canuck]

They released an update for Dark Nova which fixes a lot of bugs.  It will be nice to finally be able to plunder a ship instead of having the game crash.  I've got about a million and a half credits (I actually have no idea how it got up that high) so I can pretty much by whatever I want.  Definitely a good game but not really one for playing in short bursts in my opinion.

[whiteboyskim]

They released an update for Dark Nova which fixes a lot of bugs.  It will be nice to finally be able to plunder a ship instead of having the game crash.  I've got about a million and a half credits (I actually have no idea how it got up that high) so I can pretty much by whatever I want.  Definitely a good game but not really one for playing in short bursts in my opinion.

Yeah money isn't an issue once you figure out the trading scheme. I lucked out and had a 20 hold filled with firearms I sold at +500 something and my finances skyrocketed. Outside of buying new ships (key - check the number of parsecs they can jump as less than 15 can screw you) I haven't lacked for funding since. Now that the update is out I may have to start plundering ships to get rid of my "Harmless" ranking.

EDIT: HOLY SHIT! One of the ships you can buy is a YT-1300, aka the Millennium Falcon. Hahahahahaha.

[Canuck]

Well I had a 60 hold Uberhauler and was smuggling drugs and robots for +1500.  I guess that's how it got up so high

[Canuck]

Oh I downloaded Wolfenstein 3D Lite-man am I ever glad that I didn't get suckered out of 5 bucks on that one!  Download the lite version by all means. I only needed a single level to get my nostalgic kick and to remember why no games like Wolfenstein have been released for the past 15 years.

[kathode]

remember why no games like Wolfenstein have been released for the past 15 years.

  What does that even mean?  It's like saying "This is why no games like Pong have been released in the past 15 years!"  FWIW, I had a lot of fun with it (iphone Wolfenstein that is).

[DonD]

Online leaderboards for Flight Control are in.  No sortable friends list like XBLA games have though.   There's some sort of ranking according to max planes landed as well.  I'm a First Officer with 123 as my highest.

http://flightcontrol.cloudcell.com/Member.php?nId=56477

[Canuck]

I just grabbed iTrade, a stockmarket trading game for the iPhone.  It seems pretty darn sleek and it's free! So why don't we all grab it and see who can make the most loot with our imaginary money?

[Canuck]

It's only 10:30 and I've already made $330 bucks! I'm gonna take the rest of the day off!

[Canuck]

Christ now I'm down almost 300 bucks! Oh well, back to work!

[Jeff]

Dark Nova is currently free.

Tiger Woods 2009 for the iPhone is $9.99 and looks really good.

Ars Technica says:

"Tiger Woods on the iPhone justifies $10 price"

"All these bullet-points and options don't mean anything if the game doesn't play well, however, and this is where the $10 price tag really justifies itself. To swing you touch the top of an on-screen meter, bring your finger back to a certain point, and then push forward in as straight of a line as you can muster. The mechanic looks and feels great; it's easily one of the best golfing experiences I've seen on a portable system."


You can play as Tiger, or as Annika Sorrenstam, Vjiay Singh, Natalie Gulbis or Retief Goosen... or you can create your own character. The game starts you off with $50,000 in cash to upgrade your character, but after that it's up to you. The game includes seven fully licensed courses, including St. Andrews, Pebble Beach, TPC Sawgrass, Doral, The K Club, TPC Boston, and Fancourt.

[Canuck]

I just picked up Airport Mania for 99 cents after trying the lite version.  Man is that game ever addictive! Basically you're landing planes at an airport and sending them to unload/load, refuel, etc before eventually sending them on their way.  The quicker you do it the more cash you get and if you can make combos (unloading same colored planes at same colored gates or take off or land within a certain time since the previous plane) then you get even more cash.   There are 4 levels you can achieve, Goal, Expert, Master and something else.  Trying to get to the highest achievement in every level is really fun.

God I gotta say I'm loving this. I'm tired of paying $60 for a PC game and then only playing it for an hour or two before never picking it up again.  My gaming time per dollar spent has never been higher.

By the way, for those of you who missed out the first time around, UNIWAR is back down to 99cents.  It's a great Advance Wars clone with better multiplayer.  I wouldn't mind trying out a PBEM game with someone.

[Gratch]

Just FYI, Treasures of Montezuma is quickly becoming my favorite iPhone game.  It's an awesome take on the standard match-3 formula, and while it starts out pretty easy (match 10 gems within the time limit), the later levels are absolute madness (I currently have to match 200 gems within the time limit).  It's completely frantic and requires you to constantly be looking one step ahead for the next match.   The difficulty steadily ramps up by adding blank spaces, locked gems, and tough matches, watching the screen explode when you trigger a half dozen special powers effect is pretty damn awesome.  I highly, highly recommend this one.

[whiteboyskim]

Just FYI, Treasures of Montezuma is quickly becoming my favorite iPhone game.  It's an awesome take on the standard match-3 formula, and while it starts out pretty easy (match 10 gems within the time limit), the later levels are absolute madness (I currently have to match 200 gems within the time limit).  It's completely frantic and requires you to constantly be looking one step ahead for the next match.   The difficulty steadily ramps up by adding blank spaces, locked gems, and tough matches, watching the screen explode when you trigger a half dozen special powers effect is pretty damn awesome.  I highly, highly recommend this one.

It's great but buggy as hell. I'm thrilled when it works instead of crashing out. Dark Nova though is pure crack to me. I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE space trading sims, and ye olde school ones like this are pure crack to me.

[Gratch]

Just FYI, Treasures of Montezuma is quickly becoming my favorite iPhone game.  It's an awesome take on the standard match-3 formula, and while it starts out pretty easy (match 10 gems within the time limit), the later levels are absolute madness (I currently have to match 200 gems within the time limit).  It's completely frantic and requires you to constantly be looking one step ahead for the next match.   The difficulty steadily ramps up by adding blank spaces, locked gems, and tough matches, watching the screen explode when you trigger a half dozen special powers effect is pretty damn awesome.  I highly, highly recommend this one.

It's great but buggy as hell. I'm thrilled when it works instead of crashing out. Dark Nova though is pure crack to me. I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE space trading sims, and ye olde school ones like this are pure crack to me.

Huh, I've only had the very occasional crash on launch (maybe 5 times total).  Everything else works just fine.

I can't make heads nor tails of Dark Nova.   Seems like a glorified spreadsheet to me...am I missing something?