Whether you love or hate ngmoco's new freemium payment model they've implemented in all of their recent games, it's hard to deny the popularity of Eliminate. Eliminate: CO-OP [Free] was released this evening, and as the title may hint, adds a new co-op mode where players team up to fight swarms of attacking bots.
This new game mode also includes all kinds of new loot to collect to turn in to credits for the various armor and weaponry upgrades included in the game to make your character even more powerful.
The recently released trailer shows co-op gameplay:
If you've grown bored of Eliminate in the past, it might be worth giving this new game mode a spin. It seems pretty fun so far, although having played similar game modes in many XBOX 360 games, it really really makes me wish Eliminate included some kind of voice chat.
Back in May of last year a mysterious video appeared on YouTube showing a surprisingly full featured port of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 for the iPhone. The next day, the developers clarified that while the game was running amazingly on the iPhone, it was unlikely to ever see the light of day. Disappointed, we eventually just gave up on waiting for Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 to be released.
Here is a copy of the original Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 video, although since it was ripped from YouTube and re-uploaded, the quality seems to have taken a substantial hit:
As you can see in the screenshots, it seems that the controls have seen a major overhaul following the initial release of the video. According to Tony Hawk's twitter feed, the game is real, and is going to be available soon.
As someone who played the original Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 until I broke my Nintendo 64 controller, I cannot wait. We will post any other details we're able to dig up on the game in the future.
At GDC 2009 we had chance to sit down with Engineous Games and have a look at their in-development iPhone game construction set, Sketch Nation Shooter. The system was in a very early stage back then and has evolved notably, since. We posted a demo video the developers released back in December.
Sketch Nation Shooter, as Engineous describes it,
…allows users to create their own games by drawing a player, enemies and a level on a piece of paper and taking a picture of the drawing with their iPhone camera. Users can then share their creations with their friends and other users. Our unique image recognition technology automatically detects the objects drawn and calculates collision boundaries. Sketch Nation Shooter is the only game to incorporate the iPhone camera in such a way. iPod Touch users can import their drawings through the Photo Library. After the drawings are imported into the game, users will be able to place enemies and powerups as well as set their properties in our easy to use in-game editor and then play with their unique creations.
Here at GDC 2010 a year later we had a chance to meet up with the developer once again and were shown a rather impressive demo of the app in its current state, in which he created a simple game in under two minutes and took us through the paces of several more complex games. Once created, users can share their games with other players online through their Facebook login and compare global high scores.
Have a look at the video we captured that demonstrates the system in action.
It's an impressive piece of work and we're anxious to see how much gaming goodness iPhone gamers can create with the system. Sketch Nation Shooter for the iPhone is expected to arrive in the App Store in early April. The developer indicates that an iPad-specific version down the road is likely.
Team Phobic's sequel to their popular Bounce On platformer for the iPhone has almost arrived. Team Phobic has released the lite version of Bounce On 2 ahead of the full version's release scheduled for March 29th. The original Bounce On has been a consistently popular platformer for the iPhone that was first released December 2008 but has seen consistent update since that time bringing the total level count to 75.
The Lite version contains 3 levels of the new game which features a much enhanced graphical engine which allows for 3D sprites, special lighting effects and even gravity changes. Team Phobic has also adopted a special alternate "key" level system which opens up different paths/objectives on the same physical levels. Like the original, there are special hidden items, this time represented by "phobic coins". In order to make the game more accessible, Team Phobic removed the limited number of lives, now allowing you unlimited retries from the last checkpoint.
Full version features will include:
3 Worlds
Over 100 keys to collect
Boss fights
21 unique musical tracks
Use the accelerometer or touch controls
Plus+ Enabled
iPhone OS 3.0 is required and Team Phobic plans to update the Lite version with additional levels before the full version's launch on March 29th. Try it now for free.
Gameresort showed us their latest game here at GDC. Downhill Bowling 2 provides a sequel to their strangely fun bowling mashup.
Like regular bowling… except you control a bowling ball as it charges down some crazy slopes with jumps, coins, bombs, cannons, speedups, sheep, grow and shrink pickups and mushrooms. Did we mention the raccoons?
The sequel offers the same downhill action but in 3 different environments with 10 levels each. It also introduces a jump button which adds a bit of platforming action to the mix as well as the ability to equip powerups at the beginning of each level.
Here's the sequel in action:
Downhill Bowling 2 is expected for release in summer. In the meanwhile you can still play the original on the web or from the App Store [Free / $2.99]. Gameresort has also been busy over the past year with a casual free bowling game Doodle Bowling [Free] which has gained a huge audience.
The final game that Gameloft showed us at GDC was Fishing Kings, a fishing simulator that they're hoping to target the hardcore fisherman iPhone owning market segment with. Freeverse's Flick Fishing has been insanely successful, and Fishing Kings utilizes a similar control method in addition to some new cool features in attempt to add another layer of depth to fishing on the iPhone.
The most substantial addition is an underwater camera that allows you to see all the fish near your lure, as well as what your lure is doing. What lure you choose also apparently has an effect on how effective your fishing is with more fun things to fill your tackle available to unlock later in the game.
15 different fishing spots are included spread across 5 unique locations, each with the proper fish for the water you're fishing in to make up 30 fish in all to catch. Al of these things are secondary to the voice acting included in the game. While you're reeling in a fish, the in-game announcer is constantly cheering you on. It's beyond ridiculous, and only made worse due to the typical Gameloft voice acting quality.
Fishing Kings is expected to be available late March.
Steph Thirion is the brains behind Eliss, an independent game that we fell in love with at last year's GDC. Eliss was an excellent example of the sort of innovative gaming that becomes possible with the incredibly low barrier of entry that the App Store provides.
While Eliss was not a runaway success for Thirion, it performed well enough that he has been able to devote his full time to making more games. His latest project is called Faraway and last night, we sat down with Thirion who gave us a demo and explained the inspiration behind the game.
Thirion reveals the seed idea for Faraway was simply to create a game that involved drawing constellations. From this premise, he began testing and exploring various mechanisms to accomplish this. In the end, he was inspired by Canabalt, a game that uses the iPhone's screen as one single large button. Similarly in Faraway your only control is a single button.
Despite that fact, you actually have a lot of control in the game as demonstrated in the video (button presses are off-screen in this demo):
In Faraway, you control a comet by activating a gravitational pull by simply pressing a single button. Each time, it activates a gravitational pull to the nearest star. Using well timed presses, you can slingshot your comet into the right direction. The goal is to create as many complex constellations in the time allotted. Powerups include speed-ups as well as time-extenders. Creating large and looped constellations add to your high score (which will be recording on a global leaderboard). Once time runs out, you are treated with a panning view of the constellations you've created.
Thirion reports the game is very much still in progress and he's planning on performing significant user testing and balancing before release. I really enjoyed my brief time with the game even at this early stage. The single-button slingshot mechanic works really well and trying to precisely create a constellation remained a just-out-of-reach skill, so I'm looking forward to the final release to get a chance to play some more.
During last night's iPhone Developers Union party, here at GDC 2010, I had the chance to sit down with Dan Bliss of BinarySquare and have a look at his new, retro-styled block elimination title Kerplinkus [App Store].
Now, many of you out there are surely thinking you need to see another block elimination game like you need a hole in the head, but Dan has managed to deliver a fresh take on the formula that's simple and highly challenging — in fact, it can be downright panic inspiring. It works like this: you start off with a playfield consisting of upwardly advancing rows of differing blocks. Particles that match the rising blocks fall from above and, in the case of a match, eliminate the blocks they hit (and any bordering blocks of the same design) or, if the shapes don't match, add a block to the column in question. The goal of the game is to see how long you can keep the tallest column from touching the top of the screen. The real strategy lies in the fact that you can swap any two of the advancing blocks by tapping one and then the other. The trick is to wisely determine which columns to focus on to keep the game going. It's a pretty frantic affair.
Like BinarySquare's earlier title, Space Out [App Store], the game features a highly-retro, pixellated graphical treatment that lends the title a distinctive look that some gamers (like me) will love. Old school music and sound effects, created using the Commodore 64's famous SID chip, are also featured.
While it's true that the App Store is flooded with block elimination games, Kirplinkus really does deliver a fresh twist on the formula. See BinarySquare's demonstration video for a look at the gameplay.
Yesterday, we met with Glu mobile a development team that has generated a following with a number of fun and different titles including Glyder and Beat It. We took a look a few of their pending games which we've detailed here:
Escape from Nom
Escape from Nom is an original game from Glu that is coming as early as May. The game is a physics puzzler that I think will be of great appeal to fans of iBlast Moki and Peggle. Since the game is so far out, we don't have any screenshots but I was able to play with an early build of the game at GDC.
The game is a level-based physics puzzler comprised of 5 different worlds each with 10 levels. Each level is a single screen with your circular character (Allen) at the top. Your goal is to simply align Allen left/right and drop him into the water below. Each level, however, introduces more and more obstacles as well as enemy "noms" that will eat poor Allen. You are given a set of tools (bumpers, accelerators etc..) that can be placed on screen to bounce Allen around obstacles and get him to the final destination. The game has a very similar play style to the aforementioned iBlast Moki where trial and error is employed to figure out the best path for Allen to go.
Glu already has a level editor in place and expects to allow users to create and share their levels, allowing potentially endless gameplay. We'll hear more about this title in the coming months.
Stranded 2 Mysteries of Time
Their next title Stranded 2 actually was born on traditional mobile phones and is now being brought to iPhone. This sequel will be arriving in mid April and is an adventure/story game set on an island. The game employs an isometric view with virutal d-pad controls. As you explore the island and speak to characters, you are assigned missions and sub-quests as you unfold the mystery of the island.
The game also incorporates time travel as a component where you are sent back and forth during the course of the game. The main story is expected to take a few hours, while completing the side-quests will take much longer.
We should see the game arrive in mid-April.
How to Train Your Dragon
The last game we saw was actually released just yesterday. Fans of Glyder and Glyder 2 will be interested to hear about this cross-branded game based on the upcoming movie How to Train Your Dragon from Dreamworks. The premise of the movie involves a young Viking named Hiccup who manages to capture one of the dragons that have been attacking their village. Unable to bring himself to kill dragon, Hiccup finds himself developing a new friendship.
The game takes place as a sidestory to the movie plot and is narrative based storyline with individual missions. The game should be quite familiar with fans of Glyder as it's obviously based on the same engine and mechanic. Glu has tweaked the gameplay a bit to accommodate the story line — for example dragon's are not dependent on the thermals to gain altitude.
How to Train Your Dragon is available immediately. Discussion thread available.
The long wait is now over; you can finally play through the whole Puzzle Quest story on your iPhone. Today, TransGaming’s Puzzle Quest was updated to version 1.5 enabling in-app purchases and a few other graphic, sound, and bug fixes.
If you already have Chapters 1 & 2, all you have to do is update your game and visit the in-game store to buy Chapter 3 for only $1.99. If you not sure about buying one of the best RPG puzzlers, download the free version, then purchase chapters 1, 2 and 3 for only $4.99.
TransGaming says that the trilogy includes content from the Revenge of the Plague Lord expansion pack and the original game. Making this a great deal for $4.99 or $6.98 depending on what route you take.
Discussion in our forums has been positive and so far no issues have been reported about the update.
Whether you love or hate ngmoco's new freemium payment model they've implemented in all of their recent games, it's hard to deny the popularity of Eliminate. Eliminate: CO-OP [Free] was released this evening, and as the title may hint, adds a new co-op mode where players team up to fight swarms of attacking bots.
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