iPhone/iTouch app and game thread

[rittchard]

Ritt, I remember the original Wizardry was a game where you would initially have to flee back to town after every fight. After you'd gained a level or two, you'd be able to safely take more than a few steps and survive more than a couple of encounters. And you'd have to meticulously map everything too.

I thought the Etrian Odyssey games really modernized the formula in a nice way while still keeping much of the hardcore nature.

Yeah I totally agree and I do remember the old fight and then die thing.  But for whatever reason it was pretty easy to get in and out and not be totally lost.  Maybe I took a bad turn but almost immediately I couldn't find my way back and then I was in some weird spot that was 100% pitch black.  Maybe I was supposed to have a torch or something, I dunno.  Nice to hear there is auto-mapping, maybe I'll give it another try some time.

[Misguided]

The original Wizardry had those blacked out areas too. Always hated those. Dark Spire on DS had them too, but I can't remember if Etrian did...I don't think so.

Ritt, I remember the original Wizardry was a game where you would initially have to flee back to town after every fight. After you'd gained a level or two, you'd be able to safely take more than a few steps and survive more than a couple of encounters. And you'd have to meticulously map everything too.

I thought the Etrian Odyssey games really modernized the formula in a nice way while still keeping much of the hardcore nature.

Yeah I totally agree and I do remember the old fight and then die thing.  But for whatever reason it was pretty easy to get in and out and not be totally lost.  Maybe I took a bad turn but almost immediately I couldn't find my way back and then I was in some weird spot that was 100% pitch black.  Maybe I was supposed to have a torch or something, I dunno.  Nice to hear there is auto-mapping, maybe I'll give it another try some time.

[ydejin]

Elder Scrolls Sign: Omens just came out (and an HD version for iPad).

We just started playing the board game this weekend.  It's the most accessible of the Arkham games.  Still complicated, and there's certainly more luck involved than some people like, but it's pretty damned good.

Haven't tried the IOS version yet (which is supposed to be a little different), but it's getting stellar reviews from the BGG crowd.  Gamezebo also gave it 4.5/5 stars.

I own the dice game and bought this on iOS.  Definitely a good version of it with some nice artwork from the game.  Shame it only has one Ancient One to fight, but they picked that one that if you awaken it, it ends the game, so I suppose it was the easiest to code.

I've never played the boardgame, but I picked up Elder Signs HD a few days ago, and have been really enjoying it.  It did take a few games to figure out the rules, but the included documentation is pretty solid, and the video tutorials get you started pretty easily, even if they don't give you a full idea on what's going on.

[Bullwinkle]

Elder Scrolls Sign: Omens just came out (and an HD version for iPad).

We just started playing the board game this weekend.  It's the most accessible of the Arkham games.  Still complicated, and there's certainly more luck involved than some people like, but it's pretty damned good.

Haven't tried the IOS version yet (which is supposed to be a little different), but it's getting stellar reviews from the BGG crowd.  Gamezebo also gave it 4.5/5 stars.

I own the dice game and bought this on iOS.  Definitely a good version of it with some nice artwork from the game.  Shame it only has one Ancient One to fight, but they picked that one that if you awaken it, it ends the game, so I suppose it was the easiest to code.

I've never played the boardgame, but I picked up Elder Signs HD a few days ago, and have been really enjoying it.  It did take a few games to figure out the rules, but the included documentation is pretty solid, and the video tutorials get you started pretty easily, even if they don't give you a full idea on what's going on.

I was curious about this, because having played the board game, I still found I was struggling to remember what was going on the first couple of games.  Now it's clear as a bell, but I wondered how lost I would have been if I hadn't tried it in reality first.

[rittchard]

I wish you guys had not reminded me about Battleheart.  Re-started again and hooked again.  My only complaint is that gold rewards don't seem to scale up as you advance.  This makes upgrading kind of a chore as you pretty much have to grind to get more gold.  It's not that it's horrible re-playing missions, just that it really should scale as the prices of your upgrades scale.  Other than that, still love it.

[Harkonis]

But was it really reality that you tried it in first? 

[skystride]

I wish you guys had not reminded me about Battleheart.  Re-started again and hooked again.  My only complaint is that gold rewards don't seem to scale up as you advance.  This makes upgrading kind of a chore as you pretty much have to grind to get more gold.  It's not that it's horrible re-playing missions, just that it really should scale as the prices of your upgrades scale.  Other than that, still love it.

I'm spending all my gold buying all the classes.  I think I have to try them all and then find a mix I like.

Also got Pocket RPG and that's pretty fun too.

[ydejin]

Elder Scrolls Sign: Omens just came out (and an HD version for iPad).

We just started playing the board game this weekend.  It's the most accessible of the Arkham games.  Still complicated, and there's certainly more luck involved than some people like, but it's pretty damned good.

Haven't tried the IOS version yet (which is supposed to be a little different), but it's getting stellar reviews from the BGG crowd.  Gamezebo also gave it 4.5/5 stars.

I own the dice game and bought this on iOS.  Definitely a good version of it with some nice artwork from the game.  Shame it only has one Ancient One to fight, but they picked that one that if you awaken it, it ends the game, so I suppose it was the easiest to code.

I've never played the boardgame, but I picked up Elder Signs HD a few days ago, and have been really enjoying it.  It did take a few games to figure out the rules, but the included documentation is pretty solid, and the video tutorials get you started pretty easily, even if they don't give you a full idea on what's going on.

I was curious about this, because having played the board game, I still found I was struggling to remember what was going on the first couple of games.  Now it's clear as a bell, but I wondered how lost I would have been if I hadn't tried it in reality first.

The thing I had the biggest trouble with was understanding the glyphs.  When I first started, I thought if you failed a task and dragged a glyph into the portal to discard that that meant you would never see that specific glyph again (e.g., if you dragged in an "Investigate 1" you wouldn't see another "Investigate 1" again that adventure), of course once I started thinking things through, that was clearly not the case, but that's the way I read it.

I've also had a bit of trouble understanding the adventure rewards, since their definitions aren't AFAIK listed anywhere.  For example, I thought the Pistol represented a better item than the Dagger.  After all, would I rather have a Pistol or a Dagger.  But after careful observation as far as I can tell the Dagger actually represents unique item rewards and the Pistol represents common item rewards. 

Those were the only items I really remember having trouble understanding.  There were certainly other subtleties I didn't understand until I went back and read the "manual" carefully such as how Terror Effects worked.  But those didn't prevent me from playing through games and having fun until I reached the point where I really wanted to understand all the mechanics and went back to do a thorough reading of the in-game manual.

[rittchard]

The latest Kard Combat update now allows asynchronous multiplayer through Game Center and it seems to be running pretty seamlessly.  I've got 2 separate games going at the moment.  Fantastic!!

[skystride]

The latest Kard Combat update now allows asynchronous multiplayer through Game Center and it seems to be running pretty seamlessly.  I've got 2 separate games going at the moment.  Fantastic!!

Why don't they port the Magic game (Duels of the Planeswalker) to iOS already!?!

[Toe]

Looks like Aquaria for Ipad is now available. Looks pretty sweet. Left my ipad at work though so can't get it yet.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/aquaria/id469372252?mt=8

[ravenvii]

The latest Kard Combat update now allows asynchronous multiplayer through Game Center and it seems to be running pretty seamlessly.  I've got 2 separate games going at the moment.  Fantastic!!

I'm seriously considering buying this game just because of this feature.

[whiteboyskim]

Everytime I come into this thread I lose money. Stop it.

[rittchard]

I wish you guys had not reminded me about Battleheart.  Re-started again and hooked again.  My only complaint is that gold rewards don't seem to scale up as you advance.  This makes upgrading kind of a chore as you pretty much have to grind to get more gold.  It's not that it's horrible re-playing missions, just that it really should scale as the prices of your upgrades scale.  Other than that, still love it.

I'm spending all my gold buying all the classes.  I think I have to try them all and then find a mix I like.

You'll be able to get them all fairly quickly.  I didn't yet but might go back and do that later.  The problem is that later upgrades to your equipment cost in the hundreds per item, but the gold reward is almost always around 50-60 and 1 item.  Sometimes the item can be worth a little more but even still it can take multiple grind throughs to get a single upgrade.   There are items that boost gold but then you have to sacrifice an item slot.  I suppose it might be worth it to get a bunch of +gold items and then farm the earlier easy missions.

Also I wish they kept track of your success rate at per mission, as there are some that suddenly become insanely difficult relative to your level.  I'm somewhere in the middle of what I believe is the last mapset, but it just kicks my tail even though the one right before it is not too difficult.

Still loving the game though, would love more classes and levels and items.

[ydejin]

Everytime I come into this thread I lose money. Stop it.

   Me too.  The really sad part is the number of iPad games that I've got that I've never actually played, but have bought because people say they are really great.  Some day I will play you World of Goo, I promise. 

[skystride]

Kard Combat is really fun!  If anyone wants to play, add skystride on game center.  I'm having a really close match with Ritchard right now.

[wonderpug]

These games are just a buck right now:

• Scribblenauts Remix
• Peggle
• World of Goo
• Contre Jour
• Grand Prix Story

Contre Jour is the only one I'm not familiar with.  It looks kind of like World of Goo... Anyone played it?

[Bullwinkle]

These games are just a buck right now:

• Scribblenauts Remix
• Peggle
• World of Goo
• Contre Jour
• Grand Prix Story

Contre Jour is the only one I'm not familiar with.  It looks kind of like World of Goo... Anyone played it?

I just bought it and it's pretty fantastic.  Reviews have been excellent.

[wonderpug]

Looks like I'll have to stop by Starbucks to borrow their WiFi, then.  Already have Peggle and Goo and I think I'll be buying all three of the others.  For less than the price of a cup of coffee, ironically.

This really is the best mobile gaming device this generation.

[Gratch]

Scribblenauts for a buck?  Totally in.

[Crusis]

Scribblenauts for a buck?  Totally in.

My son was playing Scribblenauts on his 3DS last night. He summoned Cthulu and Satan. Chtulu picked up Satan and beat him. This game is such a riot.

[Laner]

Looks like some classic Interplay RPGs might be heading to iOS... Bard's Tale, Wasteland, Neuromancer, Dragon Wars -

http://toucharcade.com/2011/10/31/elite-collection-delayed-bards-tale-wasteland-coming/

[leo8877]

There's a game that's currently #2 on the paid US iPhone app store charts called Amazing Breakers.  It's a puzzle type game where you have these crystal bombs and you try and place them on objects and destroy 100% of the object for stars.  The crystal bombs have different properties for what they do.  It's super fun and only 99 cents.  I've been hooked for a couple days.

[Gratch]

Ticket to Ride now has an iPhone version available.

[Isgrimnur]

I still can't shake the thought that I'm playing a network diagram every time I play the boardgame.

[ras752000]

Ticket to Ride now has an iPhone version available.

Got it and played several games, very happy so far.  Very polished which is no suprise if you are familiar with days of wonder.  Don't have an iPad but do play the board game.  Well worth the $1.

[kathode]

Chrono Trigger got announced for iOS.  I would be excited if I hadn't already played that on at least two platforms.  It really makes me wonder where the hell Final Fantasy Tactics is for ipad though.  What are they doing??

[Gratch]

Ticket to Ride now has an iPhone version available.

Got it and played several games, very happy so far.  Very polished which is no suprise if you are familiar with days of wonder.  Don't have an iPad but do play the board game.  Well worth the $1.

The only problem I have is that the AI isn't very smart.  Of the 25 games I've played, I've only lost 1.

(Yes, I know it's intended to be MP, but I don't have any gamer friends IRL.  )

[wonderpug]

The quality of AI seems to be what makes or breaks an iOS board game translation for me.  I really liked the game mechanics of Kingsburg but it became so easy to win that I had to put self imposed handicaps in order to keep it challenging.  It got silly once I could consistently win even if I was completely idle for an entire game year.

Neuroshima Hex, on the other hand, I've played for several dozen hours, since the hard AI can still give me a challenge and occasionally win.  It also seems to play fairly human-like, with clever combo moves and few "wtf is it thinking" moments.

[Bob]

Neuroshima Hex, on the other hand, I've played for several dozen hours, since the hard AI can still give me a challenge and occasionally win.  It also seems to play fairly human-like, with clever combo moves and few "wtf is it thinking" moments.

AI in that game kicks my ass. I'm still working the puzzle spin-off, hoping I'll be a better player when I'm done with it.

[rittchard]

Couple of fun recent releases:

Spelltower (iPad only, not sure why) - deceptively simple word game but very addictive.

http://toucharcade.com/2011/11/21/spelltower-ipad-review/

Extraction: top-down zombie shooter with RPG elements.  Played the tutiorial, I really like the simplified control scheme.

http://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/extraction-project-outbreak/id459043666?mt=8

[Misguided]

Couple of fun recent releases:

Spelltower (iPad only, not sure why) - deceptively simple word game but very addictive.

http://toucharcade.com/2011/11/21/spelltower-ipad-review/

Just picked up Spelltower yesterday and like it so far. Welder is also a very nice recent word game.

CircuitBreaker is a very nice free logic puzzle game that should be an immediate download for fans of Picross/sudoku/Nurikabe and similar logic puzzlers.

[Bullwinkle]

I got Extraction the day it came out (along with the also good Bullet Time).  Really good.

I'm waiting for a price drop on Spelltower ($2 isn't a lot, but I know it's going free at some point), but I've heard nothing but great things.

I wish Circuit Breaker was iPad or Universal, bu I'm trying it anyway.

[Misguided]

I got Extraction the day it came out (along with the also good Bullet Time).  Really good.

I'm waiting for a price drop on Spelltower ($2 isn't a lot, but I know it's going free at some point), but I've heard nothing but great things.

I wish Circuit Breaker was iPad or Universal, bu I'm trying it anyway.

Yeah I kind of waited a bt on Spelltower, because I got Welder recently but wanted something new to play yesterday.

Circuit Breaker isn't a game that is built on aesthetics. I've been playing it on iPad and finding it very hard to put down. I've actually finished all 50 of the large puzzles. FWIW, the dev is looking into iPad support and making some larger puzzles.

[Gratch]

Infinity Blade II comes out tomorrow, 5 starts from Toucharcade.  I know it's just medieval punch-out, but I had a blast with the original.

[rittchard]

I'm kinda hooked on Rebuild at the moment - it's a zombie apoc strategy game I played a while ago on the web, but now for iPad:

http://toucharcade.com/2011/11/28/rebuild-for-ipad-2-review/

It's not much to look at and fairly simple overall concept that's kind of like a simplified 4X space game - build up a city, kill zombies, explore, recruit people, research.  But for whatever reason it just plays very well and is a perfect fit for the iPad touch interface.  The simplicity actually works in its favor.  As much as I love a deep 4X space game, sometimes it's easy to lose track of things, especially on a "pick up and play" machine like the iPad.

[Dreamshadow]

Heh, the trailer for Bard's Tale references my 2004 review of the game.

[leo8877]

Infinity Blade II comes out tomorrow, 5 starts from Toucharcade.  I know it's just medieval punch-out, but I had a blast with the original.

I wonder how it'll run on the first gen iPad though.

BTW, this is out on the US app store now.

[Gratch]

Heh, the trailer for Bard's Tale references my 2004 review of the game.

I noticed that, was wondering who did the review.     I remember liking Bard's Tale until about the midway point, then it got really frustrating an repetitious.  Will probably wait for a sale before grabbing it.

Now I'm going to have "Oh it's bad luck to be you" stuck in my head all day.

[Dreamshadow]

I've had that and beer beer beer stuck in my head.