Mashing buttons since 1984
iOS games don’t get a lot of play here, but my #1 iOS game of all time, far and away, is Kingdom Rush. I love Tower Defense games to begin with, but throw in the setting (fantasy) with some of the best “barks” in a game (“Say hello to my little friend!” “Yippe kai-yay mother-“BEEEEP!) and you’ve got quite the charming little game. Add on top of that some seriously challenging levels, and it turns into one of the best portable games available.
Here’s to hoping Frontiers is just as good.
So I finally broke down and got an iPhone. It’s an older, used 3G iPhone that I plan to use mostly as an iPod touch, but I wanted some time with the system before I make the final plunge and get an new iPhone as my primary cell phone. But that still in the future, so for now I’m just having fun playing around with a new(ish) toy.
So please, some gaming recommendations. I’ve already got the wife and my 5 year-old hooked on Angry Birds. What’s next? I need games for myself and for the kids.
Allow me to respond to this video. (If you don’t see it in your reader, come to the site.)
I will admit this video is funny with the whole texting grandma bit. However, this video does not logically make sense. First, some disclaimers:
Sony’s major argument is that you can play high-quality games for only $9.99. I can play three maybe four games on the iPod for that amount.
Second, this doesn’t make sense because there’s hardly anything there for $9.99. Let’s see, I can get GTA: Chinatown Wars for $10 on the App Store or $20 on PSN. Sure.
Certainly the argument can be made that there is a lot of trash on the App Store. I agree, but usually amongst the trash there is a gem or two. Before PSP fanboys get up in arms, I do have some PSN games on it, but I only ever bought them on sale (God of War, Savage Moon, Thexder Neo, Pixel Junk Monsters Deluxe, and a few other unimpressive titles).
The PSPgo had so much potential to be awesome, but there was nothing available for it but full-retail priced titles and a few small games. If the thing had been “opened” up like the App Store they’d be swimming in cash, but no, they had to keep a lid on it and so it’s a loss–for everyone.
This video does not work for me. Curiously, who does it work for? The few 13-30 somethings that are not socially connected and know better?
Almost a year ago, we brought you some news about Space Invaders for all the iDevices. Taito has had a FREE update in the works for some time now that adds a new ship, a sideways mode, and the option to get some more ships via DLC. This was my iPhone FGotY last year and this keeps it right on the homepage of my iPod. The update is on the App store now.
Finally. Something epic ror real life.
We kind of had a little bit of a love/hate relationship with the console version of Mirror’s Edge. Some arguments made online is that the game would have been better in third person. It looks like the game has been shrunk down, put in third person, and married with Canabalt for your iPod/iPhone.
It’s not out yet, but my guess is soon.
Feedburner sometimes does not play nice with video. If you don’t see it in your reader, come home.
We’ll be starting out our list of Fun Games of the Year (hereafter FGotY) with the handheld games. We’ll start with the iPhone. Let’s get right to the list:
Nat – Wow! I spent $22 this year on the App Store and got 15 games. Every one of them was a winner, but I go between eight of the titles a lot. Bookworm, Monster Trucks Nitro, Space Invaders InfinityGene, bitFlip, Spider, Flight Control, Auditorium, and Muppets Animal Drummer suck a lot of my iPod’s battery. Bookworm I spent the most time with, but it’s Space Invaders Infinity Gene that rocked my world with it’s innovative game play, excellent music, simplistic graphics, and it’s retro feel—pre-1980s nostalgia. This little device got more play time than my PSP and DS this year. I see the trend continuing if Nintendo and Sony don’t get on board with the same pricing and open design philosophy for developers.
Brock – I played the “I wish I had an iPhone” game this year. It wasn’t fun, especially after seeing how much fun Nat has had with his cheap yet awesome games. [count me on this one, too – ed.]
Will – Apple’s iPhone OS 3.0 update has pretty much made my iPhone 3G unsuitable for its basic tasks (like phone calls, emails and text messages), so playing games on it can be a challenge. For that reason, I give my FGotY 2009 [iPhone] award to the Zune HD’s Audiosurf Tilt. It plays very much like the PC game’s Mono avatar. I enjoy the very simple controls: tilt the device to the left to go left, and tilt right to go right. All you have to do is avoid the roadblocks and collect as many of the colored blocks as possible. This very simple game is a lot of fun, and whenever I listen to music on my Zune HD, I have a hard time not listening to it through that game.
I’ve spent $15 in the last two weeks on the iTunes store for some games for my iPod Touch (phone coming next week!). Fifteen dollars net me six games and every one of them has been amazing. Assassin’s Creed and I have had an excellent past. I don’t know how Ubisoft did it, but the game on the iPod ($5) is unbelievable. The rest: Mecho Wars, Flight Control, Baseball Superstars 09, and geoDefense.