As we reported late last month, Touch Arcade had the opportunity to visit Gameloft's Manhattan offices and spend a bit of hands-on time with their upcoming WWII-based first person shooter, Brother in Arms 2: Global Front. Tonight the game landed in the App Store and, after spending a few days with this final build, we have some thoughts to share on Gameloft's latest.
When the first Brothers in Arms title for the iPhone landed in the App Store back in November 2008, it was a highly notable release and almost certainly the most complex 3D game to be released for the platform at the time. It was (and is) a well executed iPhone take on an extremely popular console / PC franchise, wowing most but drawing criticism for a "difficult" control system.
Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front, designed from the ground up specifically for the iPhone, comes to us over a year later. So what has a year brought us in the sequel to such a bold initial platform release? Quite a bit, it turns out.
Brothers in Arms 2, weighing in at over three times the filesize of its predecessor, brings to the iPhone a much larger game experience. This time around it's a first person affair, as opposed to the third-person, over-the-shoulder experience that is the first title. Actually, when in duck-and-cover mode, BIA2 does jump out to third person — and that's something you'll see often, as using crates, walls, and tanks for cover is pretty much par for the course in this title. That is, when you're not sprinting across the battlefield, manning the turret in a jeep or tank, or piloting a "glider" through heavy flack. Yea, it's pretty intense.
BIA2 drops you neatly into WWII as the young American soldier David Wilson on a mission to push back the Germans and Japanese and get the backs of his brothers in arms in the thick of battle. But, before long, an ominous bit of correspondence reveals that his actual brother, Eric, has been killed and was given the medal of honor — but that medal was revoked due to uncertain circumstances. It's Wilson's additional mission to get to the bottom of the mystery and clear his brother's good name. Pretty heavy stuff, really.
The tools of the trade are many. Available weapons include bazookas, fixed machine guns, flame throwers, Thompson submachine guns, and grenades. (The default play mode offers targeting assistance, which I find helpful, but it can be disabled.) There are three different modes of play, in all, to choose from. The default is a mission to mission progression through 13 levels across five different locales: Pacific, Sicily, Normandy, Germany, and North Africa. Any unlocked locale can also be chosen for quick play in Campaign mode. And, finally, local network play is possible by way of either WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity.
The game's control system feels a bit more workable than that of the original iPhone release. This is due, in part, to the various refined methods of multitouch, onscreen controls offered, but also to the fact that, during the year that's gone by since the originals release, we've come to know a great many 3D shooters utilizing dual-stick (and the like) controls. We're just far more used to this iPhone control mechanic than we were back in November 2008. Whatever the precise combination of reasons, you're going to find BIA2 to feel more comfortable than did the original release.
While BIA brought impressive visuals when it made its debut, so too does BIA2, and that's said taking into account the significant raising of the bar that's taken place over the past year. The environment models have indeed grown in complexity, but more impressive are the subtle visual touches that BIA2 brings. Shafts of light through the trees, HDR blooms (there's an options toggle there) — it all comes together to make for a pretty amazing looking game, very "modern console"-like (on my 3GS).
The game features various trophies that are granted based upon particularly savvy battlefield performance, as well as for finding as many "Kilroy was here" tags as possible. Performance is tracked by way of the integrated Gameloft LIVE network.
And, while the game offers excellent action, often at a frantic pace, it does have a few shortcomings. Framerate is generally quite high on the iPhone 3GS, but occasional (loading?) lags do occur, causing brief pauses in the action and studders to the audio at times. As well, in an apparent glitch where I went off the expected story line, I entered a room and wiped out everything alive, exited the room, only to find it once again full of enemies upon revisiting said room — though this was an isolated occurrence.
And, about that room full of soldiers, or soldiers anywhere in the game, really — the enemy AI that commands them is quite basic. If you're re-playing a scenario after having died, the enemy does the exact same thing the second time around, making it quite easy to wipe out the lot. A little more complex / varied AI would certainly add depth to the battle experience.
See Gameloft's recent trailer video for a look at a variety of in-game scenarios.
That I can pick a few nits in the title does not mark Brothers in Arms 2 a game to avoid. On the contrary, it is a highly enjoyable, action-packed shooter that offers some of the most intense battle sequences you'll find on the iPhone, making this latest from Gameloft a gaming experience that's rather hard to pass up.
We're still working on the finishing touches of out Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front [App Store] review, but the game was just released on the App Store a few moments ago. This sequel of Brothers in Arms Hour of Heroes [$4.99 / Free] comes with an even larger single player campaign, six player online multiplayer with multiple game modes, and tons of other goodies.
We posted an extensive preview article earlier, and Gameloft recently released the following gameplay trailer:
Our review will be up soon, and in the meantime, there's a very active thread on our forums with forum members discussing the game.
With the slightly bad taste of The Chronicles of Inotia still fresh in the minds of some gamers, the announcement of Inotia 2: A Wanderer of Luone [App Store] was met with some understandable concerns. The first game in the franchise was plagued with a terrible menu/inventory system, boring battles, and extremely limited RPG elements, so is Inotia 2 (pronounced "In-oh-tee-ya," for those curious)even worth taking a glance at? After spending some considerable time in the world of this sequel, I can confidently say that it's a completely different game than its predecessor in all of the best ways.
Inotia 2 isn't really bringing anything new to the table, even in terms of the app store. Games like Dungeon Hunter and (more similarly) Zenonia have already pioneered the action-RPG genre on the platform, but Inotia 2 makes up for that by being more polished, more accessible, and arguably deeper than any that came before it.
Progress is made through the completion of main-story quests and the leveling up of your character, a concept that should be familiar to many gamers. All of the regular trimmings like a skill tree that you can use to customize your character as he/she levels or collectible loot is there, but it's the mercenaries system that really sets Inotia 2 apart. Over the course of the game, players will be able to hire up to two mercenaries, which they can then take with them on all their quests, level up and customize as they grow, and actually manually control while in battle.
This allows for experimentation with each of the five character classes in a single playthrough, regardless of which character you chose at the beginning of the game to be your main. Item customization is another feature that adds to the depth of Inotia 2, as it allows players to attach enchantments (or upgrades) to their weapons and equipment via scrolls found through various methods in the game.
If plot is your main concern when delving into action-RPGs, Inotia 2 is going to disappoint you. The story is cliche-filled and poorly written, with bad dialogue making the already uninteresting conversations between characters only bearable because of the ability to quickly tap your way through them. It does not matter if you choose to play as a male or female character in this game, because everyone in the game will refer to you as though you are male, regardless of actual gender. This is all probably due to the fact that the developers, Com2uS, are from Korea and it seems like quite a bit may have been lost in translation.
Non-Player Characters (NPCs) are scattered about environments and towns with quests to give and generic lines to spew, as is par for the course in games of this genre, but they all seem dead due to their complete lack of animation. Since the NES era, NPCs have always had small movement animations, just to make it clear to the player that they're alive. This is not the case in Inotia 2; NPCs are so still that they could sometimes be mistaken as parts of the environment.
Addressing a common problem with both its predecessor and other games in its genre (I'm looking at you, Zenonia), Inotia 2 has a fantastic menu/inventory system. While the game does limit the number of items that players can carry along with them on the field, it also offers plenty of room for expansion, potentially to quadruple the number of inventory slots available at the start of the game. Touch navigation of the menus makes accessing all of the options, information, and character customization methods easy to get to.
The actual battles in Inotia 2 are extremely well-designed, and there's a lot of fun and satisfaction to be had by taking part in them, especially later in the game, when you'll be managing three characters at once, each with their own complete skill sets. Movement is controlled either by touch or virtual D-pad, the latter of which I found to be much more responsive.
There is a large attack button on the right-hand side of the screen, and tapping this button once while in attacking distance of an enemy will simultaneously auto-turn your character in the right direction and initiate a series of constant attacks until either your character or the enemy is dead. This sounds rather brutish and indelicate, but strategy comes into play when you take advantage of your (up to) four special attacks on your quick menu and the combined skills of your unique party members.
For the first part of the game, I controlled a mage (my main character) and a templar, the latter of whom served as both my healer and frontline. I controlled the templar and led the way into battle, creating a safe environment for my mage to attack from a distance behind me. At first, the only skill that my templar had access to was a basic healing spell, but with a broadsword and careful attention to the health bars of my party members, I was able to make it through most situations with ease. Later, I added a knight to my party, which added even more strategic options due to the fact that my templar was now freed for full time healing duty while my knight charged headfirst into enemies. The combination of class types in my party gave me a lot of wiggle room for experimentation with strategy, making the game much more than a simple hack-and-slasher.
Unfortunately, mercenaries do not have the same potential as your main character. Players are limited to the use of only half of their mercenaries' skills trees, the other half of both passive and active abilities are locked. I suppose that the developers' intentions when designing this system was to increase replayability and encourage second playthroughs as a different character class, but since the game is easily 40+ hours anyway, this is more of an annoyance than anything else. I strongly urge the developers to create some way to open up access to the second half of the mercenaries' skill trees; it's something that everyone who buys the game will want.
Inotia 2 is not lacking in online features, with a ranking system that shows your worldwide rank as measured by either player level or the highest level enchantment on one of your weapons. Players are also given the ability to take their party online in a versus-style environment called "Match Up Mode."
I would generally advise against participating in this mode until you have a full three person party, as you're likely to get totally owned, otherwise. This mode is really nothing more than a fun diversion to take part in after completing the main storyline in the game, but it will add to the overall value to the really hardcore players who pour in the dozens of hours required to fully level their characters.
Visually, Inotia 2 is a real treat, with large, high-quality character portraits that appear during dialogue and an all around clean, top down 2D graphical style that looks several leaps ahead of what was possible on the Super Nintendo, but while still keeping that same sort of feel. The actual animation of characters aren't quite up to par with the art and retro graphics in the game, but they do just well enough to not really be noticable.
The audio is a bit forgettable, with a score that seems uninspired and generic when compared to the approximately 12 million other games that use a fantasy setting, but the option to turn off individual aspects of the sound are allowed via the in-game menu, and music from your iPod itself can be activated in its place.
So is Inotia 2 worth a purchase? With the absolutely enormous story mode, numerous possibilities for customization (whether that be through party configurations, skill sets, or weapon/armor choices), and the online play options, this is by all means a complete package. The level of visual detail and overall fun factor provided by the game is only slightly diminished by weak writing, a problem that most games in the action-RPG genre share.
Casual gamers who are unfamiliar with games of this sort will most likely be turned off by the complexity of the game's inner workings, but those who know what they're getting into and enjoy similar games will probably agree with me when I say that Inotia 2 is one of the best action-RPG's on the App Store.
This week, 2XL Games' highly anticipated off-road racing game 2XL ATV Offroad [link] hit the App Store. The game is a follow-up to the studio's 2XL Supercross, a technically impressive dirt-track racing title that, physics and visuals aside, felt a little shallow from an overall gameplay perspective. We're happy to report that this latest from 2XL Games takes all of the "good" from Supercross and combines it with highly varied tracks, a proper career mode, and Wi-Fi multiplayer to deliver one of the very best racers in the App Store.
ATV Offroad features three different track types in which to compete. Supercross tracks, much like those featured in 2XL Supercross are represented but, in addition, an array of Nationals (outdoor tracks) and Freestyle (it's like stunt racing in a massive fossile pit) tracks have been added to the mix. Whatever track type you're racing in, the visuals are breathtaking — especially in the two outdoor types. From the impressive draw distance to the overall smoothness of the onscreen action to the clouds of dust kicked up by your competitors, the game is an iPhone eye-candy carnival that the PSP has reason to envy. The visual experience takes me back to the ATV Offroad Fury series on the PS2, but with a better sense of speed. Yes, this truly is one of the most visually impressive games available for the iPhone. It is absolutely a full console experience.
The game features an Arcade mode, which allows racing among any of the 16 available tracks across Supercross, Nationals, and Freestyle, as well as a Career mode (which is really the core playmode) and a Wi-Fi multiplayer mode (with Bluetooth on the way). Online leaderboards provide a skill incentive.
Career mode involves moving through a sequence of 11 Leagues which are events of varied track combinations. Rank high enough and the next League is unlocked. I've spent a great deal of time playing rather deep into the title and can tell you that, at Medium difficulty anyway, it's not a cakewalk. The challenge is apparent and requires some real skill to League up. But the journey to victory is a most satisfying one. The requisite track replays to get the needed ranking are nothing but enjoyable. Adding to the experience is an extensive achievement system that rewards players for skill on the track along the way.
The two available Freestyle tracks, in whichever mode you encounter them, are solo free-for-all's in a large, terraced pit. The goal here is to perform as many tricks as possible to rack up points and medal up from bronze to gold. It's kind of a Tony Hawk experience on an ATV. The draw-distance and physics system exhibited here are impressive.
The game's default control mode is accelerometer tilt, but a virtual stick is available as well. I find the former to be far superior to the latter in any mode of gameplay. Tilt control in this title has been very well tuned and offers excellent vehicle control.
In any playmode you can choose from among 15 different drivers and 15 different ATVs to get the race done. The variation that these choices provide are simply visual rather than physical, but it's nice to have choices. And adding to the experience is an impressive sound system that does a great job of letting you know just where the encroaching competitors are on the track behind you.
See the developer's gameplay video for a closer look.
I am a particular fan of offroad racing games. I enjoy the heightened in-game physics that they exhibit and don't at all mind a little travel on the Z-axis (jump, jump, jump). That said, this is my favorite racing game available for the iPhone. And the replay value is significant. Anyone who enjoys a solid, well-rounded racer — and offroad racing in particular — would be a fool to let 2XL Offroad Racing pass them by.
2XL Games' much anticipated ATV game was released into the App Store tonight for $7.99.
The game represents 2XL's followup title to the technically impressive 2XL Supercross and seems to share the same graphics engine. Beyond moving to ATV's, however, 2XL has added a lot of content to this new title, including freestyle levels, career mode, local multiplayer, online leaderboards and more.
The game offers tilt controls with a large number of customizable settings, though the default controls seemed to work reasonably well on our first few spins around the track.
The game shares the same impressive graphics seen in the original 2XL Supercross and are well demonstrated in this hands-on video provided by the developers.
Superficially, the biggest addition to the game is a full career mode that was conspicuously absent from their freshman iPhone release. 2XL ATV Offroad offers 16 ATV Supercross and Outdoor Nationals tracks and 2 Freestyle levels, and 3 levels of difficulty.
We'll be able to spend some more time with the title now that it's been released. Early adopters can share their impressions in our forums.
It's hard to describe the Madden series of games as a franchise anymore, they've been around so long it seems that a more appropriate way to describe the games would be the "Madden dynasty." The first Madden game appeared on the Apple II all the way back in 1989, it wasn't until Madden '94 that the real NFL teams were included, and sports gamers would have to wait another year until the real players were added. When you look back at the 20 years these games have been around, constantly improving each year, it's no surprise that Madden NFL 10 [App Store] is as good as it is.
Madden NFL 10 was one of the titles we previewed at PAX and spent some time with EA who highlighted the many features from the game.
First and foremost, Madden NFL 10 includes all of the NFL players, teams, and stadiums. Around 2000 players are in the game in addition to 200 free agents, and all of these players can be freely traded between teams. Whether you want to follow the real NFL trades and move players around based on the official rosters, or just turn your favorite team in to a dream team of the best players, EA says Madden NFL 10's team management can handle it.
Madden NFL 10 was specifically designed by EA's mobile team, which means it plays nicely as an iPhone game. If you get a phone call, need to answer a text message, or quit the game for some other reason, Madden NFL 10 saves the play you were on and reloads right back at the start of the play without any fumbling around with menus, intros, etc. EA also says they have really put a lot of emphasis on play time. Every cut scene, non-essential player animation, or instant replay can be skipped simply by tapping the screen. While there is a lot of fluff in the game, it's all quickly and easily skipped.
While behaving as a good iPhone app is nice, there were two other feature that I thought really stood out: Action Control Time and Hot Routes.
Madden's "Action Control Time" seems to work so well it wouldn't surprise me if we see a lot more sports games imitating it:. When you're playing regularly, the game runs at normal speed, and while on offense you have buttons to sprint and spin. With Action Control Time enabled, however, the game slows down, and additional controls appear allowing you to do things like juking to the left or to the right. The ability to slow things down allows for extremely precise player movements and changes the game from being action oriented, to a more tactical experience as you're able to avoid tackles exactly when you need to, as well as make for the clearest path you can see to the end zone instead of just catching the ball, running forward, and mashing spin as many times as you can.
Playing defense in Action Control Time works just as well, and with it enabled you can jump for balls, dive tackle, or even go in for a big hit– A move that has a high risk of missing, but offers a higher chance of the opposing player fumbling. Again, slowing things down allows for a much more precise defensive attack instead of just switching to whatever player is closest to the one with the ball and mashing tackle.
The other cool feature of Madden NFL 10 is "Hot Routes". Before the snap, you can press the Hot Routes button and redraw the path of any of your players with your finger on the screen, you can even make nonsensical zigzags and they will follow your every command. This takes the 300 included plays and lets you customize them any way you want.
Passes are controled by tapping on icons appearing above your receivers heads that range from red to green depending on how open they are. When it's time to kick, the kicking controls work just like swinging in Tiger Woods PGA Tour [App Store]. A kicking interface appears on the right hand side of the screen, you drag your finger down to determine the power, then swipe back up to determine the accuracy of where you aimed. All of the player AI, detailed player attributes, and all the other inner workings are in place to allow you to do things like simulate games when playing in season mode instead of playing through each game yourself. And If you're a football statistics nerd, there are a stupid amount of different statistics being tracked with every play you make in Madden NFL 10.
My brief time with Madden NFL 10 was spent on an iPhone 3GS, though I was assured that they've developed the game to run well across the entire iPhone and iPod Touch family. Madden NFL 10 doesn't require 3.0, although you do need it if you want to access your music from inside the game.
Here's our hands on video with the game from PAX:
We'll have the opportunity to spend more time with the game now that it's been released, but it's overall a really impressive package that we expect football fans will love. EA has also announced that a soon to come update will support "multiplayer". Madden has been launched at $7.99 as a one day sale, and will go up to the full price of $9.99 on Thursday evening.
After a cool teaser video and a load of screenshots, Konami's Krazy Kart Racing [App Store] has been high on my list of games I really wanted to play. As of tonight, the wait is (almost) over, and Krazy Kart is actually surprisingly fun, especially when playing against friends in the various online multiplayer modes.
Konami has tried pretty hard to duplicate as much of Mario Kart as they can, with shells replaced with missiles, mushrooms replaced with a generic speed boost item, the lightning bolt replaced with an item that turns everyone in to pigs, and other fairly blatant copies of Mario Kart power-ups. Instead of the highly recognizable Nintendo lineup or characters, Krazy Kart Racing features a slightly more obscure cast of Konami characters such as Sparkster (from the SNES game of the same name), Robbie Rabbit (the mascot from an amusement park found in Silent Hill), and the frog from Frogger along with seven others.
The controls work well and feature both tilt steering and touch controls. I've found myself preferring touch controls, but tilt worked fine as well. Acceleration is handled automatically, and there are virtual buttons on screen to brake and use whatever power-up you've managed to pick up.
16 tracks are included, based on themes of the games the characters are from. For instance, Power Stadium is a baseball diamond shaped track to go along with the baseball player racer from Power Touch Pros and there's a Antarctic themed track to go with the penguin racer from Penguin Adventure. These tracks can be played in grand prix, time attack, and free run modes as well as with friends or random people online in the included internet multiplayer modes.
Online multiplayer works without any kind of registration. You simply enter your name, connect to one of the game servers, and from there you can either create or join a game room with other players. Any track that you have unlocked in single player is playable online with up to five other players and/or bots. Aside from the standard race mode, there are two battle modes, chicken and bomb chaser. In chicken, players accelerate down a straight track and slam on their brakes before reaching the end and flying off in to the pool of water below.
In bomb chaser, one player has the bomb and drives around a circular arena attempting to run in to other players to give them the bomb. Whoever has the bomb drives significantly faster than the other players, so it can get kind of hectic at times, but neither battle mode is very interesting and pales in comparison to Mario Kart. Performance online is surprisingly good, although there was a bit of lag when playing in a full game with bots, it was still completely playable. The online system seems a bit buggy still as I experienced a few instances where games wouldn't launch, game rooms becoming unresponsive and it not releasing my username. Once you're actually connected, however, the gameplay seemed to work fine. We mostly tested on Wi-Fi though 3G worked as well.
This video shows the multiplayer modes as well as single player using touch control:
Our early impressions of Krazy Kart Racing is that it's a fun kart racer, and while it's currently the closest thing to Mario Kart available on the App Store, it's still hard to compare to the original. There already is a menu item in game for downloadable content, so it should be interesting to see what Konami has in store with that. If Krazy Kart's online community takes off, I could see myself spending a serious amount of time racing over the internet. We'll spend some more time with this title this weekend, and we are still looking forward to Gameloft's Shrek Kart which is due next month.
Note: Krazy Kart Racing is not currently available from the US App Store, but has appeared in international stores. With any luck it should appear for download in the US shortly, though there have been instances (such as Silent Hill) where the U.S. release lagged as long as a week after the international release.
Surprisingly enough, Gameloft's NFL 2010 [App Store] came out tonight, only a couple days after it was first revealed. It truly is the App Store's first full football simulation, complete with NFL teams, players, and stadiums.
Inside the game are four modes of play: Quick Play, which just tosses you in to a game with your favorite team (set in the options), as well as the self-explanatory Exhibition, Season, and Playoffs modes. All NFL teams are included, and each are vaguely rated in their overall offensive and defensive power. Graphics are good for an iPhone game, especially considering how many players are on screen moving at once, and the sound can be incredibly immersive. The crowd cheers constantly, and the game comes with an announcer that provides a constant (although sometimes inaccurate) play by play.
Reactions on our forums seem largely positive so far, with most forum members agreeing that the controls are the weak link in the NFL 2010 chain. The game is controlled utilizing an on-screen virtual joystick and an array of buttons depending on what you're doing on the field. Most of the problems with the controls seem to be largely due to the lack of precision inherent in touch screen buttons not having any kind of tactile feedback.
One thing that I thought worked really well in the game is throwing the ball. When you select a throwing play, after the snap various shapes show up that can be touched to throw the ball to the corresponding player. These symbols change from red to green depending on how likely each player is to catch the ball. Also, instead of cycling through which player you're controlling with a button, tapping any character on screen selects them to be controlled.
Like most of these highly ambitious titles for the iPhone, they come with a decent amount of both good and bad things about them. It is really cool to be able to play as any of the NFL teams with the players on my phone, and the way passing works is great. Still, the controls could use some work, and the announcer isn't perfect by any means and can get repetitive. Regardless, NFL 2010 is now the best game on the App Store right now for football fans with a surprising amount of improvements already planned in a future update. Gameloft lists a number of features for the next update including full online, bluetooth, and WiFi multiplayer as well as Gameloft Live, YouTube replay uploads, and even a "Zombies vs Skeletons" special match.
Following the surprising early accidental release of Resident Evil 4 [App Store] in Japan a few weeks ago, iPhone owning Resident Evil fanatics have been anxiously anticipating its official release. The wait is over, but it will likely take a true Resident Evil fan to appreciate the mobile edition of the game (or, ironically, one who has never played the original).
An on-screen D-Pad controls your movement along with a array of buttons lining the right hand side of the screen that control all of your actions. Resident Evil 4 features a slight improvement to the control scheme in Resident Evil: Degeneration [App Store] that we reviewed previously. It seems like Leon moves a little bit faster, and double tapping on the D-Pad while aiming makes you take a step in that direction.
Since in a game like this controls are everything, I highly recommend giving Resident Evil: Degeneration Lite [App Store] a try before picking up Resident Evil 4. They take a lot of getting used to, and the inability to run and aim at the same time doesn't translate particularly well to the virtual D-Pad either.
The thing that gets me about this version of the game is that the console and PC versions of Resident Evil 4 are such amazing games. In fact, RE 4 saw so much critical acclaim that it a "Reception" section summarizing its awards in the Resident Evil 4 Wikipedia article. Many publications listed it as the 2005 game of the year, and Resident Evil 4 even ranked number 1 on the "IGN Readers' Top 99 Games Of All Time" list.
Unfortunately, the iPhone version of the game (ported from BREW) seems so watered down that it's barely even recognizable as Resident Evil 4. All of the amazing plot elements and cut scenes are replaced by brief text introductions to each of the twelve levels, all of the voice overs are gone, and overall this just really feels like what you would expect a cell phone game to be-- which needless to say does not do justice to the original at all.
AppBank posted the following gameplay video of the Japanese version:
If you're interested in the series or enjoyed Resident Evil: Degeneration, chances are you will still have fun with Resident Evil 4 despite its shortfalls. If you're brand new to the game, however, I'd recommend starting with one of the other console versions if you can, but then again, you can't exactly play your GameCube while sitting on the bus.
LucasArts' first entry in the Monkey Island series hit the App Store tonight [$7.99] completely re-imagined with new art, complete voice-overs, and a new live instrumental musical score. Originally released in 1990, and having seen several revisions following the initial release including a port to the Sega CD, this Special Edition of The Secret of Monkey Island [App Store] is the best version of the game we've seen yet.
The game features Guybrush Threepwood, who washes up on the island of Mêlée™ and has high hopes of becoming a pirate. After meeting the pirate leaders in the SCUMM tavern, you're faced with a set of three challenges that involve swordfighting, thievery, and treasure hunting. These goals serve as your initial quests as your adventure begins.
The graphics of this remake are wonderful and have a whimsical hand drawn look to them. The new voiceovers and music add a whole new level of immersion to the game and should give even veterans of the series something new to enjoy as all their favorite characters now have associated voice personalities. The touchscreen interface and the way the pointer works feels a little awkward and does take a little getting used to. Once you get the hang of moving it around and double tapping on things to perform actions the game becomes very workable.
The coolest part though? Swipe with two fingers across the screen and the new graphics and audio work fades away to the game's original graphics. This transition is instant, and you can switch back and forth at any point during the game:
The entire game is an amazing package, and this same remake was also released for both the PC and XBOX Live earlier this month. Official reviews for those versions have been very positive. Here is an excerpt from the Team XBOX review:
If there was a PC Gaming Hall of Fame, The Secret of Monkey Island would be in it. It’s a game that many of us grew up with and to this day refer to regularly. As much as that can be said for the original classic of 1990, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is a welcome addition to XBLA that will give fans an overwhelming sense of nostalgia, bringing them back simpler days in the gaming business, when games didn’t have the multi-million dollar budgets as they do today and they didn’t need high-profile marketing or fancy gimmicks to succeed. For long-time fans, it’s a chance to relive a part of our childhood; for newcomers, it’s a chance to experience what so many of us haven’t stopped talking about for nearly 20 years. Do yourself a favor and download The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition (at the reasonable price of 800 Microsoft Points or about $10). Otherwise, you’ll be wearing my sword like a shish-kebab!
So far we can echo those sentiments, except instead of downloading it from the XBOX Live Arcade for $10, iPhone users can grab it from the App Store for $7.99! Here is a brief gameplay video from the iPhone version:
The Secret of Monkey Island has stood the test of time, and the newly released Special Edition somehow manages to make this classic even better. Refreshingly, it appears that the iPhone version isn't a second class citizen to the Xbox and PC versions of the game. If you're interested in learning about what went into creating this Special Edition of the game, see this "making of" video.
When the first Brothers in Arms title for the iPhone landed in the App Store back in November 2008, it was a highly notable release and almost certainly the most complex 3D game to be released for the platform at the time. It was (and is) a well executed iPhone take on an extremely popular console / PC franchise, wowing most but drawing criticism for a "difficult" control system.
The tools of the trade are many. Available weapons include bazookas, fixed machine guns, flame throwers, Thompson submachine guns, and grenades. (The default play mode offers targeting assistance, which I find helpful, but it can be disabled.) There are three different modes of play, in all, to choose from. The default is a mission to mission progression through 13 levels across five different locales: Pacific, Sicily, Normandy, Germany, and North Africa. Any unlocked locale can also be chosen for quick play in Campaign mode. And, finally, local network play is possible by way of either WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity.
While BIA brought impressive visuals when it made its debut, so too does BIA2, and that's said taking into account the significant raising of the bar that's taken place over the past year. The environment models have indeed grown in complexity, but more impressive are the subtle visual touches that BIA2 brings. Shafts of light through the trees, HDR blooms (there's an options toggle there) — it all comes together to make for a pretty amazing looking game, very "modern console"-like (on my 3GS).
And, while the game offers excellent action, often at a frantic pace, it does have a few shortcomings. Framerate is generally quite high on the iPhone 3GS, but occasional (loading?) lags do occur, causing brief pauses in the action and studders to the audio at times. As well, in an apparent glitch where I went off the expected story line, I entered a room and wiped out everything alive, exited the room, only to find it once again full of enemies upon revisiting said room — though this was an isolated occurrence. 
We're still working on the finishing touches of out Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front [
With the slightly bad taste of The Chronicles of Inotia still fresh in the minds of some gamers, the announcement of Inotia 2: A Wanderer of Luone [
The game features an Arcade mode, which allows racing among any of the 16 available tracks across Supercross, Nationals, and Freestyle, as well as a Career mode (which is really the core playmode) and a Wi-Fi multiplayer mode (with Bluetooth on the way). Online leaderboards provide a skill incentive.
The game's default control mode is accelerometer tilt, but a virtual stick is available as well. I find the former to be far superior to the latter in any mode of gameplay. Tilt control in this title has been very well tuned and offers excellent vehicle control.
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