iPhone/iTouch app and game thread

[Gratch]

Pixel People is getting stellar reviews left and right.  It's free (and apparently perfectly playable as such).

I'm playing it and it is pretty fun if you like these type of building timer games.

I'm typically not big on these things, but Pixel People is actually pretty fun.

[Misguided]

I messed around with it for a few minutes. Seems neat, but I don't like the long timers. I'd rather pay a couple of bucks for the game and ditch the crazy timers.

[Bullwinkle]

I messed around with it for a few minutes. Seems neat, but I don't like the long timers. I'd rather pay a couple of bucks for the game and ditch the crazy timers.

Once you get going, there seem to be enough other things to do while those timers are running down, that it becomes less of an issue.

But they do themselves a disservice by having those timers be as long as they are in the early part of the game.  I almost didn't continue for the same reason.

[Gratch]

I messed around with it for a few minutes. Seems neat, but I don't like the long timers. I'd rather pay a couple of bucks for the game and ditch the crazy timers.

Once you get going, there seem to be enough other things to do while those timers are running down, that it becomes less of an issue.

But they do themselves a disservice by having those timers be as long as they are in the early part of the game.  I almost didn't continue for the same reason.

The timers actually get significantly worse the longer you go.  I'm currently waiting 30-45 minutes for buildings to be built, 10 minutes for new clones, etc.  It means I'm only picking it up once an hour instead of once every few minutes.

[Bullwinkle]

I messed around with it for a few minutes. Seems neat, but I don't like the long timers. I'd rather pay a couple of bucks for the game and ditch the crazy timers.

Once you get going, there seem to be enough other things to do while those timers are running down, that it becomes less of an issue.

But they do themselves a disservice by having those timers be as long as they are in the early part of the game.  I almost didn't continue for the same reason.

The timers actually get significantly worse the longer you go.  I'm currently waiting 30-45 minutes for buildings to be built, 10 minutes for new clones, etc.  It means I'm only picking it up once an hour instead of once every few minutes.

Ah, nevermind then. It'll probably lose me by then, as I hate that style of play.

[heloder]

Is there an actual game in there somewhere or is it just "build this and splice that until you've unlocked everything"?

[Bullwinkle]

That is a game.  I enjoyed the hell out of Doodle God which was similar but didn't have the building aspect.  It was just combine elements to unlock new elements.  Repeat until you've got all the elements.

[heloder]

So there's no story, no challenge, no strategy, and no skill required whatsoever. There's no goal except to place and find everything. There's little room for creativity. And it requires you to spend more time not playing than playing (unless you want to start funneling real money into it). And this is supposed to be a game.

When did this happen? Where am I?

[Suitably Ironic Moniker]

Yes, people complain about gun violence, but this is the real tragedy.

[Gratch]

So there's no story, no challenge, no strategy, and no skill required whatsoever. There's no goal except to place and find everything. There's little room for creativity. And it requires you to spend more time not playing than playing (unless you want to start funneling real money into it). And this is supposed to be a game.

When did this happen? Where am I?

This is all true, but I find it oddly compelling.  YMMV, of course.

[Suitably Ironic Moniker]

Here's a less snarky answer; the game allows for a sense of progression. It allows someone to build a village/tower/space colony bit by bit over an extended period of time without having to spend much time on it. For those with a busy schedule, that's a godsend..

[Hrothgar]

Puzzle Saga is free again.  It's like the high speed action cousin of Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes.  I thought it was mentioned around here, but I couldn't find it doing a quick search.

[wonderpug]

Galaxy on Fire 2 HD and Great Big War Game are free at the moment.

[Gratch]

I know Pixel People is a "game" in only the loosest sense of the word, but I'm having more fun with it than the majority of mobile games I've purchased recently.  They really did a fantastic job creating a unique and compelling app.

[morlac]

Galaxy on Fire 2 HD and Great Big War Game are free at the moment.

GOF2 is $6.99 normally so free is quite the deal.   

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Dungelot has an update today that adds in a whole bunch of things (new monsters, a new class, some new game mechanics such as certain items (the map, the compass, the lantern) that don't take up an inventory slot). It also seems to have been balanced a bit better. At first I thought it would make the game harder, but in the one game I played I managed to go almost twice as far as any previous game; I think I got to level 70 or so. It's worth checking out if you haven't for awhile.

[Misguided]

Personally, I liked it better when just getting to level 10 or 20 your first time felt like an accomplishment. Many complaints this version is much too easy. There's another update (android already has it) that brings things back to earth a bit.

Apparently, the developer has decided to take what he has learned and rebuild the game from scratch as a new app. I've got no problem with that if the balance gets fixed and more features are added. I'd gladly buy it again.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

I'm not sure if it's a fluke and I just got lucky or if previously rare drops are more common than before, but I attribute my success in my last game to getting 3 resurrection stones. Without those I would probably have finished somewhere around level 40.

With the caveat that I haven't tried the new addition, I've also found that the Paladin is the strongest character. A bit odd that the starting character is the most powerful.

[Misguided]

I've actually hardly used the Paladin. Conventional wisdom prior to this update was that the assassin was the strongest.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Once you level up the Paladin, he's hard to beat. The resurrection skill alone guarantees at least an extra 10 levels. And if you manage him carefully, you can do really well. For instance, if there's a monster with more HP than your attack power, the prudent thing to do is fight an undead creature first. Often times the bonus attack power that you get for that will be enough to take down the harder monster in one hit.

[Crawley]

FYI the old Atari ST/Amiga Dungeon Master game - Dungeon Masters - is back up on the App store with a new version. I haven't tried that one yet but if you were looking to give it a while its available. The other version was playable but barely.

Also Shadow Warrior (old 3D Realms game) is free.

[siege]

So I spoiled myself on Valentines and bought an Ipad 4. Never owned an Apple device in my life but it felt like it was time to join the club. What are some must have apps to get started with?

[wonderpug]

So I spoiled myself on Valentines and bought an Ipad 4. Never owned an Apple device in my life but it felt like it was time to join the club. What are some must have apps to get started with?

For non-games:
Kindle
Intellicast HD for your weather
AppShopper to save yourself money on future app purchases
Facebook, Twitter, if you're into that
Flipboard for a snazzier way to digest your news & social apps
Chrome for a better browser
Gmail app, if you use Gmail.  Seems a bit nicer than default Mail app
Pandora

For games, check out the listing over here for a big overview, or list some of your gaming likes/dislikes for some personal recommendations just for you!

[siege]

Thanks, wonder. I grabbed a couple of those as well as Infinity Blade which is free on the App Store. I'm so in love with this thing. 

[KC]

Mr Reader is a great rss reader.

[Crawley]

Pinball Arcade has its 11th table pack out now for $5. Not sure how this one will sell. It has Dr Dude and Firepower. Both are 80's tables. But Dr Dude is 80's TO THE EXTREME!!!! It's got the 80's annoying color scheme, 80's goofy humor, and typical 80's dumb audio phrases. If you can hack that then there's a decent table here with a few fun gimmics.

Firepower is early 80's and is the more serious table. It has a few firsts including the first multiball. You really have to work for that multiball too as each ball lock is a separate shot. The table may not have much on it but it's fast and pretty fun. I can see this one being a challenge to master.

Not sure what's up next for tables but hopefully either Cactus Canyon or Champion Pub which are waiting in the wings. And I'm waiting on my tourney ball. Scraped by on the last night with a decent score on ST:NG and a good one on Gorgar to snag 172th place. I never want to play Gorgar again. So frustrating.

[Destructor]

Just give me Roadshow and I'll be a happy pinball player.

[wonderpug]

Hi, I'm wonderpug! You may remember me from min/maxxing such freemium games such as.... We Rule

So, Pixel People.  I am 2 clones and a building or two away from 'beating it.'  It's been an interesting journey.  I'm at level 16 of land expansion, with 181 land slots.  My income peaks at 1385 coins per second.  In my last sprint to the end I've been scrapping all of my cosmetic use of land, and even deleting trees.  Land expansions have been my biggest bottleneck since the upgrade costs are so high (my next upgrade costs 92,000,000 coins).  The benefit of the 'spirit' you get from decorative additions seems really minimal, and it's a disappointment that you're almost punished for trying to make your city look pretty.  I also highly recommend sticking to the most land-efficient residences you have available.  Once you unlock the Shiny Tower, stop using every other type of residence.  And also: save up your Utopium for that as soon as possible since Shiny Towers cost 6 Utopium a pop.

I know these types of games often get heat for not having any 'gameplay,' but for me they do.  My goals with these games are to spend as little real money as possible (or none), to build things out as quickly as possible, and to minimize the amount of real-life time I need to spend on the 'chores' of the game.  Even though it's not a traditional type of game, with Pixel People I had very gamelike decisions around the use of the Utopium resource, planning ahead to minimize time getting held up by bottlenecks, and planning clone placement and building assignments to maximize income.  The clone pairing mechanic was one of the funnest parts, and entire games have been made on just that (the Doodle God series).

Total real monies spent: $1 on the feature to double the amount of time all my buildings run.  I definitely got my $1 worth.

[Gratch]

Hi, I'm wonderpug! You may remember me from min/maxxing such freemium games such as.... We Rule

So, Pixel People.  I am 2 clones and a building or two away from 'beating it.'  It's been an interesting journey.  I'm at level 16 of land expansion, with 181 land slots.  My income peaks at 1385 coins per second.  In my last sprint to the end I've been scrapping all of my cosmetic use of land, and even deleting trees.  Land expansions have been my biggest bottleneck since the upgrade costs are so high (my next upgrade costs 92,000,000 coins).  The benefit of the 'spirit' you get from decorative additions seems really minimal, and it's a disappointment that you're almost punished for trying to make your city look pretty.  I also highly recommend sticking to the most land-efficient residences you have available.  Once you unlock the Shiny Tower, stop using every other type of residence.  And also: save up your Utopium for that as soon as possible since Shiny Towers cost 6 Utopium a pop.

I know these types of games often get heat for not having any 'gameplay,' but for me they do.  My goals with these games are to spend as little real money as possible (or none), to build things out as quickly as possible, and to minimize the amount of real-life time I need to spend on the 'chores' of the game.  Even though it's not a traditional type of game, with Pixel People I had very gamelike decisions around the use of the Utopium resource, planning ahead to minimize time getting held up by bottlenecks, and planning clone placement and building assignments to maximize income.  The clone pairing mechanic was one of the funnest parts, and entire games have been made on just that (the Doodle God series).

Total real monies spent: $1 on the feature to double the amount of time all my buildings run.  I definitely got my $1 worth.

I'm at the same point, but only have 150/155 clones.  No idea how to get those last 5, as it doesn't show any splicing options available.  I only really had two gripes.  1.  I wish you had the ability to delete old residences if space were available in the Shiny Towers.  2.  I wish there were a way to search for specific clones on the pages.  I needed the recipe for secretary, and for the life of me couldn't figure out which one she was.

I spent about $5 in all (a 250 utopium pack and the $1 doubler...I got impatient), and thought it was absolutely worth it. 

[Gratch]

Pinball Arcade has its 11th table pack out now for $5. Not sure how this one will sell. It has Dr Dude and Firepower. Both are 80's tables. But Dr Dude is 80's TO THE EXTREME!!!! It's got the 80's annoying color scheme, 80's goofy humor, and typical 80's dumb audio phrases. If you can hack that then there's a decent table here with a few fun gimmics.

Firepower is early 80's and is the more serious table. It has a few firsts including the first multiball. You really have to work for that multiball too as each ball lock is a separate shot. The table may not have much on it but it's fast and pretty fun. I can see this one being a challenge to master.

Not sure what's up next for tables but hopefully either Cactus Canyon or Champion Pub which are waiting in the wings. And I'm waiting on my tourney ball. Scraped by on the last night with a decent score on ST:NG and a good one on Gorgar to snag 172th place. I never want to play Gorgar again. So frustrating.

I picked this up yesterday.  I've always been a pinball fan, but never bothered with any of the video game versions because I didn't think they'd translate well.  Was blown away at how well done these tables were, and they brought back lots of great arcade memories.  I'm not terribly fond of the "old school" tables, and my favorite by far is the Medieval Madness table.

[wonderpug]

I'm at the same point, but only have 150/155 clones.

Did you do the Valentine's Day update?  I avoided that one since the update news said some scary stuff about your savefile getting wiped if you don't do a backup, so I only have 150 total clone types.  Did you have to restore from a backup to keep your progress?

[Crawley]

Pinball Arcade has its 11th table pack out now for $5. Not sure how this one will sell. It has Dr Dude and Firepower. Both are 80's tables. But Dr Dude is 80's TO THE EXTREME!!!! It's got the 80's annoying color scheme, 80's goofy humor, and typical 80's dumb audio phrases. If you can hack that then there's a decent table here with a few fun gimmics.

Firepower is early 80's and is the more serious table. It has a few firsts including the first multiball. You really have to work for that multiball too as each ball lock is a separate shot. The table may not have much on it but it's fast and pretty fun. I can see this one being a challenge to master.

Not sure what's up next for tables but hopefully either Cactus Canyon or Champion Pub which are waiting in the wings. And I'm waiting on my tourney ball. Scraped by on the last night with a decent score on ST:NG and a good one on Gorgar to snag 172th place. I never want to play Gorgar again. So frustrating.

I picked this up yesterday.  I've always been a pinball fan, but never bothered with any of the video game versions because I didn't think they'd translate well.  Was blown away at how well done these tables were, and they brought back lots of great arcade memories.  I'm not terribly fond of the "old school" tables, and my favorite by far is the Medieval Madness table.

Yeah they do a great job with digitizing these tables.

I didn't like the old tables at first either but now I'm playing them more often for the challenge. I like both Big Shot and Genie quite a bit. Gorgar I burnt out on during the last Tournament but I can see liking that table if the iPad had actually bump control. I haven't played enough Black Hole or Black Knight to like or dislike them - other than I know I suck at them right now.

Best of the bunch for me are (in no particular order):

Bride of Pinbot
Tales of the Arabian Knights
Theatre of Magic
Scared Stiff
ST: NG
Attack from Mars
Genie
Big Shot

Circus Voltarie would be up there too but there's a nasty stuck camera bug they need to fix.

The tables I pretty much don't touch so much anymore are Ripley's, Harley, and Taxi. The others I'll usually play every once in awhile.

The company had a hint for next months tables and it sounds like Cactus Canyon is a shoe in, and either Shuttle or Central Park is the other likely table. Looking forward to Cactus Canyon as the Visual Pinball version is pretty fun.

[wonderpug]

Both versions of Plants vs Zombies are currently free (normally $3 and $7)

[Isgrimnur]

Been playing Pinball Arcade.  Going from Attack from Mars to the older games like Big Shot and even Dr. Dude that lack a Ball Index save feature for losing the ball quickly makes quite a bit of difference. 

[Gratch]

Just played the ESB Star Wars Pinball table.  It's neat, but the ball physics feel completely off.  The ball bounces in totally bizarre ways, it seems to "stick" to things it shouldn't, there's a weird lag as it goes around ramps, etc.  Kinda ruins the whole thing...it's so bad that I doubt I'll bother with the other two SW tables.

[Gratch]

While I have zero interest in the film, the "Oz" version of Temple Run 2 is actually very good.  It's basically a very pretty new skin which adds a couple of additional gameplay elements (i.e. flying) to the mix.  Definitely worth the buck if you enjoy the Temple Run games.

Given the popularity of the licenses (and how often they're whored out), I'm shocked that there isn't either a Star Wars or Final Fantasy-themed endless runner yet.  Seems like either would be a license to print money.

Just played the ESB Star Wars Pinball table.  It's neat, but the ball physics feel completely off.  The ball bounces in totally bizarre ways, it seems to "stick" to things it shouldn't, there's a weird lag as it goes around ramps, etc.  Kinda ruins the whole thing...it's so bad that I doubt I'll bother with the other two SW tables.

Having spent much more time with this, I'm finally getting the hang of it and retract my initial negative reaction.  It's actually an extremely good table...just takes a while to get used to.

[rittchard]

King Cashing 2 just came out recently, lot of fun if you liked the first one.

Plague Inc updated with a zombie theme (costs $1.99), which changes the game significantly.

Dungeon Plunder sounds like it might be worth a whirl as well.

[Misguided]

King Cashing 2 just came out recently, lot of fun if you liked the first one.

Plague Inc updated with a zombie theme (costs $1.99), which changes the game significantly.

Dungeon Plunder sounds like it might be worth a whirl as well.

King Cashing is a no-brainer if you liked the first. More interesting gameplay and much better presentation.

Dungeon Plunder is pretty neat. Expect to die. Lots. Like Dark Souls lots. I've got my best run going so far at level 6 with a warrior. But I am out of dudes my level to fight, so I think I'm screwed.

[rittchard]

Dungeon Plunder is definitely a lot of fun.  It was going along too easily for me at first and then suddenly I wasn't paying enough attention and lost my first guy.  But certainly it lasted a lot longer than a general roguelike.  Coolest thing is you retain "legacy" bonuses to your next character, very cool idea so you don't feel like your earlier efforts were just lost in the wind.

[Gratch]

King Cashing is a no-brainer if you liked the first. More interesting gameplay and much better presentation.

Dungeon Plunder is pretty neat. Expect to die. Lots. Like Dark Souls lots. I've got my best run going so far at level 6 with a warrior. But I am out of dudes my level to fight, so I think I'm screwed.

Both of these are awesome.  I prefer King Cashing as my slot/RPG hybrid of choice, but Dungeon Plunder is very well done and a great concept.