Posts tagged Games
Baby Savers game dev wants testers
Aug 20th
Do you remember that bizarre 2D DOS game from 1984 called Bouncing Babies, where you play the role of two firefighters trying to transport – with a trampoline – infants that have been flung out of the windows of a burning building? Me neither, but it did exist, and I’ve embedded a migrane-inducing video below to prove it. Geez, there are a lot of babies in that burning building.
The second video below, however, is the subject of this post. It’s the re-imagining of the old classic by Android devs FatHat Games. The new title, called Baby Savers, features much improved graphics and (thank your lucky stars) new sound effects. I might end up dropping babies on purpose just to hear the sloppy smoosh. *Oh my gosh, that’s terrible.* In the video, you’ll see Alpha-level performance and completeness, but FatHat is nearing beta and they need some testers. If you want a shot at the game and can provide helpful feedback, apply here. Splatt! Splatt!
The original:
The new vision:
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Let’s Golf 2 for iPad- app review
Aug 9th
I was excited to see that Let’s Golf 2 just appeared in the App Store! I am not a golfer in real life, but I enjoy a good golf game every once in a while. Let’s jump right in and see what this new version has to offer.
Let’s Golf 2 is not meant as a real golf simulation like a Tiger Woods Golf. Instead, you are greeted with cute, often funny characters in outlandish environments that are beautiful and colorful. This does not mean that the levels are easy, in fact they become quite challenging later in the game (how can that be a par 4, impossible!)
There are several new characters to select. But in the beginning of the game, you one have two to choose from; Vincent and Jane. As you progress through the levels, you unlock a lot of customizations including clothes, hair, golf balls and clubs. A fun addition is the new Skill for each character. I am using Jade for example and her power is “Power of Charm”. This move is useful when putting as no matter how hard you hit the ball when putting, you can use her power to stop it anywhere on the green. The character powers, once used, have to replenish over time and can’t be used again and again without replenishing; use your characters power wisely.
Single Player has a few different modes to choose from; Instant Play where you play across three random holes from a variety of courses. Career where you complete against other virtual players for the trophy. Challenge where you play a series of “challenges” and score the highest points. Free Hole where you can setup the course you would like to play. As you play courses you earn points and medals that go towards unlocking courses and character customizations as well as increasing your character’s abilities.
Multiplayer uses Gameloft Live for online play, but you can also play locally with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Once online you can create or join a room and view the leaderboard. The game is a blast online as you complete in matches against a competitor from around the world.
Gameplay in Let’s Golf 2 is really straight forward. You can tap on the course map on the left of the screen to view where the ball is going and tap left or right on the screen to adjust or use the zoom controls to pan away form the action for a big picture of the course. You have the option of changing your clubs as well, but I have found for the most part the AI does a good enough job that I don’t have to change clubs too often, I can typically control the outcome of my swing by adjusting the strength I am swinging. Swinging your club is accomplished by tapping the golf ball on the right to start swinging and then tapping it again to center the swing for angle and strength. One feature that is missing is some sort of advanced club swinging mechanic. These swinging moves are typically accomplished by swiping your finger in a direction and letting go at the strength you want. Alas, this feature is not available that I have been able to find it.
I really enjoy Let’s Golf 2, but there is one issue that really bugs me. The framerate/accuracy of your club swings is not spot on. Depending on the course I often find that I have to touch the swinging meter ahead of when I plan to swing in order to assure accuracy. This is really frustrating sometimes as golf is a game that focuses on the smaller number of strokes in a game and I often find that through no mistake of my own, I miss a swing or calculate the incorrect swinging strength because of this flaw.
Don’t let my previous statement sway you from getting this game. Granted, the timing of some swings can be frustrating but the online play coupled with many characters and unlockables makes for a fantastic golf game.
[$4.99- iTunes Link]
Pros
- Colorful graphics
- Diverse courses
- Unlockable characters
- Unlockable character customizations
- Online and local wireless play
- Many different types of golf games to play
Cons
- Framerate can be slow at times
- Easy to miscalculate swing due to input latency
Let’s Golf 2 for iPad- app review is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
App Review: Snapper
Aug 9th
I have played several flashcard memory style games on my Android devices, but Snapper is one of my favorites so far. Snapper comes in a free, lite version, and a full version for £0.59 (about a dollar). When you start up the game it has a very polished look. Game play is also very simple.
There are 2 modes available: Normal and Arcade. In the normal mode, you can set difficulty from the options screen and each level gets a little tougher. If you play on difficult, it takes no time at all for your screen to be full of cards to remember. The arcade mode will randomly generate boards both large and small. In this mode, you may start with four cards, then eight, ten, back to four. The normal mode, on the other hand, continues to get tougher with each level. It is timed, and you get bonus for finishing quickly. Snapper also allows you to post your score on Facebook automatically.
There is also an option to save your game during play by pressing the Menu button. According to Snapper’s website, the differences between the lite and full version are:
- The lite version is restricted to only the first three levels in normal mode, and only the first level in arcade mode.
- You cannot save the game in the lite version.
- The full version allows you to use downloadable image packs, which let you use themed images (cars, flags, etc.) for the cards.
- The peek bonus feature is disabled in the lite version.
I really don’t have anything negative to say about the game. It’s fun, easy and straight-forward.
NOTE: App Review: Snapper originally appeared on AndroidGuys.
iOS4 Apps Updated: Readdle, WeeMee Avatar Creator, Wolfram Alpha, Trism, Reel Director
Aug 8th
And the iOS4 app updates just keep on coming. We’re finding more and more by the day. Whether it’s adding support for the iPhone 4’s awesome retina display or taking advantage of new APIs within iOS4, we’re still watching for them. Here’s the ones we found this time around, and as always, if you see any we missed, be sure to let us know in the comments!
Readdle
Readdle is an incredibly easy to use app that allows you to not only view all kinds of files right on your iPhone, but also allows you to manage and save attachments. It’s one of the better apps we’ve found to handle documents, not to mention reasonably priced. Not only did Readdle’s newest update add multitasking support, it also adds support for USB file transfer through iTunes. Better yet, you can now save attachments via the Mail app.
WeeMee Avatar Creator
WeeMee is an incredibly cool app that allows you to create your own avatars on the fly. (I bet all of you could have guessed who the above avatar was without a name attached!) It’s a great time killer and an awesome way to express yourself on Twitter or whatever social medium you choose. This update fixed a couple bugs found in their initial iOS4 update. It also adds tons of in-app purchases to choose from. If you decide to check it out, let us know!
Wolfram Alpha
If you need a hardcore math application that can handle any formula or calculation you throw at it, Wolfram Alpha is definitely for you. Leanna reviewed this app a while back and had good things to say about it. I don’t know nearly as much about math as she does, so coming from her, you know it’s decent. I use this app for easy to semi-complicated formulas and it’s always performed incredibly well. This update adds support for the iPhone 4’s retina display as well as optimized images. It also adds multitasking support for fast app switching.
Trism
Trism is a long time favorite on the iPhone platform. It was released not long after the app store initially launched and it’s still a favorite of mine. It takes a newer approach on puzzle games like Tetris. This version of Trism adds HD puzzle pieces to support the iPhone 4’s retina display. So if you’re in the mood for a game that never gets old and never ends, Trism is definitely a great time killer at a great price.
Reel Director
Reel Director was here before iMovie for iPhone 4, and unlike Apple’s offering it supports not only older iPhone models but iPod touch and iPad as well. That’s right, it’s a universal binary and the latest update includes:
- Import music from iPod music library (iOS 4 only)
- Support iPhone 4 retina display
- Upload to YouTube within app
- Improved HD video quality on iPhone 4
- Improved photo render quality
iOS4 Apps Updated: Readdle, WeeMee Avatar Creator, Wolfram Alpha, Trism, Reel Director is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
App Store Genius now serving up iPad recommendations
Aug 7th
Apple has added a Genius tab to the iPad version of the App Store. Tap the tab, agree to the terms of service, and Apple will upload an (anonymized) list of all your apps and games, compare them to lists of millions of other (also anonymized) users, and recommend other apps and games you may be interested in.
So if the what’s new and what’s hot sections just don’t strike your fancy, if the top selling, grossing, and free stuff has lost its charm, if the categories are just impossible to sort through, give the Genius tab a try.
Then come back here and let me know just how smart the newly enabled iPad Genius was for you.
(My results so far: it recommended Fruit Ninja based on Angry Birds, Tetris based on Flight Control, iTeleport based on Brushes, Osfooha based on Twitterrific — which is interesting because I already own all of those I just don’t have them installed currently).
[Thanks @ltaylor5311]
App Store Genius now serving up iPad recommendations is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
We Farm for iPad – app review
Aug 6th
We Farm for iPad is a real-time farming game by ngmoco. If you’re familiar with We Rule, We Farm is very similar except that your are building a farm instead of kingdom.
As with most ngmoco games, you must have a plus+ account to play. If you don’t have one already, signing up is simple. When you first start playing We Farm, the game takes you through a little tutorial which is pretty helpful.
The goal of We Farm is to raise money and build your farm. You raise money by growing crops, raising animals, and receiving and placing orders with friends. Almost everything you do yields experience points. As you level, more items are available for purchase; higher level buildings will output more money. You will also be able to upgrade your farm as you level which gives you more space and gives you a nicer looking farmhouse. You can also turn on notifications to alert you when certain tasks are complete. However, they do not work for me. I’ve asked around and apparently I’m the only with this problem.
There are two currencies used in We Farm. The first is gold and is what you make doing various farm tasks and buying items. The other is Gro. This is used to instantly complete tasks like growing crops, building buildings, fulfilling an order, raising animals, and increasing your animals’ happiness. You earn Gro every time you level and is also available as an in-app purchase.
My biggest complaint of We Farm is animal raising. To make your animal happy, you have to periodically “pet” it. Each pet increases the animal’s happiness by 5%. The happier your animal is, the better chance he has of winning a prize at the fair. Once you win a prize, your pen/coop/pasture becomes available for your friends to place orders at. This means you make a lot more money from it. The problem is that if you have an animal that takes 2 hours to raise, you must come back every 6 minutes during that 2 hour period to get the happiness to 100%. This is an unrealistic expectation in my eyes. Of course, you can get around this by using Gro, but We Farm doesn’t provide enough Gro to use it on all animals before needing to spend real money. However, the happier your animal is, the less Gro it takes to bring him to 100% happiness, so my strategy is to pet my animals as much as I can, then use grow at the end to bring it to 100%.
Another small complaint I have is that there isn’t a way to quickly return to your own farm when visiting someone else’s farm. I’d like to a small icon to tap in the corner of all farms that quickly takes to your farm.
All in all, I enjoy playing We Farm. However, you must like time management games to have fun with this one. I have been impressed with the performance of the app; it runs smoothly, I’ve never received a memory error (a common problem with We Rule), nor has it ever crashed. So if you’re a fan of these types of games, check out We Farm – it’s free!
Screenshots after the break!
[Free - iTunes link]
Pros
- Good performance
- Fun
- Easy to tailor around how much you want to play
Cons
- Can’t quickly return to your farm when visiting someone else’s farm.
- Animal petting requirement for a ribbon is unreasonable
- Push notifications not working (for me)
We Farm for iPad – app review is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
iPhone App Store gains “Try Before You Buy”. Sort of.
Aug 6th
As part of their constant tweaking of all things App Store, Apple has added a section to the on-device (i.e. on iPhone or iPod touch) App Store that’s called “try before you buy”.
Here’s the deal, on the Featured tab, under New, there are series of 4 banners at the top. If you’re in the US, the bottom right one now says Free on App Store. Tap on it and you get a list of New and Noteworthy, Try Before You Buy, and Our Favorites.
Tap on Try Before You Buy and you get a listing of free or lite versions of popular apps you can sort by Featured, Popular, and Release Date.
So, it’s not like the Android Marketplace where you can sample any app and get a refund if you hate it; it’s really just the same content repackaged in a new way. However, the new packaging will probably be helpful to users looking for just those kind of free, sample apps.
Note: I’m not seeing it in the Canadian App Store yet.
iPhone App Store gains “Try Before You Buy”. Sort of. is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
