Even More Holiday Sales Hit the App Store, Including 'Banner Saga' and 'Hitman GO' Posted: 23 Dec 2014 12:30 PM PST With the iTunes freeze of charts, updates, and price changes seemingly in place, the number of new sales hitting is sure to slow down. Developers can plan sales in advance for during the freeze, but can't change them manually until it ends next week. The idea behind getting price drops before the sale is of course to have discounts for people buying apps for the new devices they get for Christmas or whatever equally-rad holiday people choose to celebrate, and to help climb up the charts before they freeze. Well, we caught a bunch of discounted games before the freeze yesterday, but a few are still trickling out there, like the Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars sale and the 2K Games sale. Here's a list of some additional discounts to keep an eye on:
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Predictably, 'Floppy Cloud' is Gone From the App Store Posted: 23 Dec 2014 12:27 PM PST
This once again goes to show that if you really care about running emulators on your iOS devices, the best thing to do is follow our guide on jailbreaking and installing emulators. Apple has shown over and over they're not cool with emulators on the App Store, and if playing old games is what you're into, you're just going to have a way better experience in the jailbreak emulation ecosystem than keeping your fingers crossed that you don't miss out on the next sub-24 hour window that an emulator sneaks out and gets popular. But, hey, if you were lucky enough to snag it while it was up on the App Store, you've got a neat piece of App Store history to keep in a folder along with Awesome Baby Names and other sneaky apps. |
2K Puts 'BioShock', 'XCOM: Enemy Within', and More on Sale Posted: 23 Dec 2014 11:40 AM PST 2K's got a big sale of their 2014 games going on right now, so it's as good a time as any to check out some of the bigger titles they've been putting out. XCOM: Enemy Within [$6.99] is $6.99, about half-off of its $12.99 regular price. This may be the right time to check out this expansion/enhanced version of the now-unavailable XCOM: Enemy Unknown, particularly if you've been looking to upgrade to the new version. BioShock [$4.99] is at a new low price, dropping to $4.99 from $10.99 (itself a drop from the original $14.99 price). This is one of the best games of the past decade or so, and $4.99 is a steal for it, especially so if you have a controller.
Additionally, Civilization Revolution 2 [$7.99] is $7.99, down from $14.99. It's got new visuals and some new units compared to the original Civilization Revolution [$2.99 / $6.99 (HD)] along with no in-app purchases, but caveat emptor as it may not be too much different, and lacks multiplayer. Shaun Musgrave's review may enlighten you on that one. NBA 2K15 [$3.99] is $3.99 down from $7.99, and so is 2K's popular hockey franchise NHL 2K [$3.99] if you're looking for some sportsball on the go. Or sportspuck, in NHL 2K's case. |
'Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars' Gets $2.99 Sale Right After Major Update Posted: 23 Dec 2014 09:59 AM PST Last week saw the surprise update of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars [$2.99], which was a welcome surprise because it's a darn fine Grand Theft Auto game. If you haven't checked out this game in the series, now is as good a time as ever, as the game's dropped in price to $2.99. This was initially a DS spinoff of the GTA series, but a fantastic game nonetheless, with all the crime action of the series represented well in a scaled-down form, and with a rather compelling drug dealing economy to play with. Granted, there are Grand Theft Auto 3 [$4.99] and its sequels on the App Store now, but this one actually holds its own.
Both the regular version and the HD version [$2.99] of the game are on sale, which may be confusing to some folks. The game launched on iPhone before the iPad existed, then got a separate iPad version. Last week, both versions were updated to be universal, but the HD version is set to be removed from sale eventually so that there's only the one universal version on the store – the HD version only still exists so that people who bought that version get the benefits of the universal app. This is a better, albeit more complicated way of handling it, versus Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light [$4.99] which just updated one version and left the other out in the cold. |
Christmas Pro Tip: Charge and Update All Gifts With Batteries and/or Firmware Posted: 23 Dec 2014 08:58 AM PST
If you're planning on giving anyone a gift this Christmas which has batteries or firmware, the absolute best thing you can do today or tomorrow is get them all set up beforehand. iOS devices won't come loaded with iOS 8.1.2, which doesn't take that long to update but you're likely far better off doing it today than being on the Zerg rush of new device activations/updates Christmas morning. Similarly, while iOS devices typically come with a decent charge out of the box, there's no harm in making sure they're topped off for the inevitable marathon usage session any new iPhone or iPad receives the first day you've got it. If you're gifting someone a game console, you need to get that puppy cooking with both updates and (depending on the system) game installs. Like, right now. Even under ideal conditions, the Wii U, Xbox One, and PS4 will take hours to get updated. To speed things up further, insert the disc of whatever the most recent game you're getting with the system is. Game discs these days include the minimum firmware version they need to run. Installing your first huge firmware update from disc will be much faster than downloading it. From there, you should only need to do some minor point updates which likely won't be that big of a deal comparatively.
Nearly all console games now require some form of patching or install before they'll run. This can also take a very long time, particularly when it comes to huge PS4 or Xbox One games. Updating the console firmware is a major step forward, but if you really want to give an awesome out of the box experience where your gift recipient can just play everything right away, load up each game and do everything you need to do to get to the point where it will allow you to play it. If you don't know that much about consoles, that's fine, these updates and installs are incredibly self explanatory and usually only require hitting one or two buttons. From there, just like iOS devices, it's not a bad idea to top off the included batteries of any controllers. The Wii U game pad doesn't come with much of a charge, and neither do PS4 controllers. (I don't have an Xbox One yet, but I assume they're also similar.) It's wild we live in a world where you basically have to pre-game your gadget gifts, but, here we are. Obviously the only exception to doing this is if you think there's a chance any of your gifts will need to be returned. Many places have pretty brutal return policies when it comes to open box games and electronics, but this varies wildly by retailer. Usually all that info is on the back of your receipt, or if nothing else a quick Google search should be able to tell you how much of a hit (if any) you'll take on a restocking fee if you crack open your games/consoles/iPhones/iPads to get them rolling beforehand. Happy Holidays! UPDATE: Guys, this advice is intended for people giving tech gifts to people who aren't tech savvy. No one is trying to deprive you of your fresh hard drive smell or the exquisite pleasure of slowly peeling off pieces of protective plastic. Since it wasn't clear enough, if you're giving a gift to someone who is very young, very old, or otherwise doesn't understand the concept of "OK now wait two hours while updating before you can use it," consider doing them a solid and updating/charging your gifts first. |
'SimCity BuildIt' Review - Actual City Planning Has Timers Too Posted: 23 Dec 2014 08:00 AM PST Considering EA's recent trend of reviving old IPs in a freemium world, it's safe to say that expectations weren't high when it was announced that SimCity would return to iOS with a free-to-play model. Yet, SimCity BuildIt [Free] is surprisingly tolerable with impressible visuals and a somewhat fair monetization system. Sure, it's not the SimCity game that most fans of the series probably want but I think it manages to do the franchise some small justice. For folks thinking that BuildIt is the second coming of classic SimCity gameplay, you're going to be disappointed. At its core, BuildIt is a standard crafting freemium title with timers. Basic factories create building block materials that are used as the foundation to building more advanced items, all of which are used to upgrade residences. Residences award money, population and experience. Money is used to build and upgrade factories, stores and public facilities. Population and experience go towards separate systems for unlocking new buildings to construct. Later levels allow players to apply those crafting materials to other objectives, such as satisfying shipping orders to obtain special keys that can be used to construct specialty buildings.
While BuildIt's gameplay obviously centers around the crafting mechanic, there are lots of nods to classic SimCity fare that make appearances. Fire and police coverage become essentials the further you advance, while placement of those departments become an exercise in strategic zoning to try and get the most bang out of your buck for each building placed. I really enjoy the fact that there are actual (albeit simple) strategic decisions you can make regarding building placement. The same goes for parks, cultural landmarks, and specialty buildings such as transportation and education departments. Power, water and sewage also become important facets as keeping them up to date allow you to build more residences and expand your city. Sure, in the great scheme of things all of the above essentially amounts to coin sinks, but BuildIt does a great job of hiding the obviousness behind the SimCity sheen. Speaking of coin sinks, the biggest question I'm sure folks will have is how fair the game's freemium elements work. For the most part, I'll say that they are pretty fair for the type of game it is. Timers are pretty reasonable and there aren't any hard pay walls that I can see. Coin shortage is a constant problem but BuildIt throws a few avenues your way towards earning more, such as selling crafting materials to the AI (not worth it), selling materials to other players (pretty cool) and, of course, saving them to upgrade residences and earning coins that way. The random nature of acquiring special items for inventory and land expansion is a bit frustrating but again, you can always purchase them from other players if the RNG doesn't treat you well. My biggest complaint has to do with the game's decision to limit some of the cooler buildings to premium currency buys (and at amounts that you'll never earn in-game). Meanwhile, BuildIt's strongest facet is its graphics. Simply put, I absolutely love the visuals in SimCity BuildIt. Players have full rotational control of their town and all the structures are highly detailed and simply look great. Your city is also teeming with life — zoom in and you'll see cars on the street, stoplights, and even traffic jams when that becomes a problem for your city. In fact, BuildIt is probably the first timer-based freemium game I've played where I actually just want to watch my city while waiting for timers to go by. Sure, a lot of the visuals are superficial in nature, but it's still a welcome sight and means a lot towards keeping me engage in the game rather than simply setting timers and quitting the app.
There are a lot of folks that aren't going to be happy with SimCity BuildIt purely because it's not a classic SimCity title. However, I'd caution against taking such a hard stance and enjoying BuildIt for what it is. It's a freemium title sure, but it's a relatively fair freemium game in terms of free-to-play barriers. It's also a visually appealing title that pays homage to SimCity in a variety of ways. Most importantly, even though it's obviously not a traditional SimCity title, it feels like it even through its free-to-play gameplay, and that's worth something. If you're in the mood for a crafting freemium title, you can do a lot worse than checking out BuildIt. |
Posted: 23 Dec 2014 07:16 AM PST Tequila Games has been hard at work on their upcoming card battler Earthcore: Shattered Elements for a while now, and if you want to give it a shot, the game has soft launched in Canada. The game is currently only available for iPad in the soft launch, but it will be coming to iPhone down the road. Card crafting is a core part of this game, with the developers claiming that it will be possible to create hundreds of thousands of new cards by fusing together existing ones. As well, a risk system is in play, where more powerful cards can be played, but at a potential greater loss of health to the player in battle.
The game boasts both a singleplayer campaign to go along with online PvP battles, with both leagues and tournaments to take part in. Card games are rather popular, and the crafting system sounds interesting enough, so this is one worth keeping an eye on. Plus, if you're a fan of playing soft launch games, this is the last one you might get to try out for a bit as the iTunes freeze is on. You can join our forum thread to chat about the game with others who have already been playing. |
'Floppy Cloud' Is the Latest NES and Super Nintendo Emulator to Sneak onto the App Store Posted: 22 Dec 2014 03:51 PM PST
This time around, Floppy Cloud [$1.99] has grabbed the iTunes freeze emulation torch. It's masquerading as a file management app, which technically lets you manage your files, but if you let it "manage" a .nes NES ROM or a .smc Super Nintendo ROM in a very special way: It'll load right up inside of the appropriate emulator. Both iCade and MFi controllers are supported too, making this a particularly sweet find for someone who owns any kind of controller accessory. Using Floppy Cloud is super easy. Download the app onto your iOS device, load it up, and hit the "+" in the top right corner to connect to your Dropbox account. Don't have a free Dropbox account? Click one of these links to show you love Eric Ford or Carter Dotson more. (They get a little extra space free when you sign up through their referral link.) Once you've got Dropbox, log in, and navigate to where you have your .nes or .smc files stored. Tap the one you want to "manage" and blammo, you're playing a SNES or NES game.
Now, just so you know what you're getting into when you download one of these: As mentioned, it'll likely be pulled from the App Store pretty quickly. Back up your Floppy Cloud .ipa somewhere safe (Like the Dropbox account you just signed up for!) as it might not be available in your previous purchases after it gets removed. Additionally, NES and SNES games were very much designed with the tactile feedback of a controller in mind, and often the ability to press two buttons at once, or press a button while holding another. This is nearly impossible with virtual controls. Unless you plan on exclusively playing turn-based RPGs and similar, you're going to be in for a frustrating time. That being said, I have completed full games using virtual controls in emulators like GBA4iOS. Anything is possible with a little patience, particularly with the right kind of game (i.e. RPGs, as mentioned), and the experience gets exponentially better once you add a MFi controller into the mix. If you're at all into emulation this is very much worth picking up, as it not only runs on the latest versions of iOS but it's also universal. Now, to start the clock to see how long it lasts... |
Put Your Giant-Pocket Jeans Away: 'Galaxy Trucker' Now Available for iPhone Posted: 22 Dec 2014 03:45 PM PST Do you love Galaxy Trucker [$7.99 (HD)] on iPad but are sick of having to squeeze your iPad into your JNCO jeans? Well good news then, as a pocket-friendly iPhone version appropriately called Galaxy Trucker Pocket [$2.99] snuck its way into the App Store over the weekend just beating out the dreaded iTunes freeze. As you may or may not know, Galaxy Trucker is originally a physical board game, but made the transition to the digital world with the iPad version that was released back in September. Despite some questionable aspects to the core design of the game (both board and digital), we liked the iPad version quite a bit, giving it 4 stars in our review. The new iPhone version appears to be identical save for the fact that it's been revamped to work well on the smaller iPhone screens. Here's the iPad version trailer so you can see what Galaxy Trucker is all about.
If you had your eye on Galaxy Trucker but either didn't have an iPad or simply wanted a more portable version for your iPhone, check out Galaxy Trucker Pocket and join in on the discussion in our forums. |
'ESFLC' is a Challenging and Personal High Score Game from 'Superhyper' Creator Folmer Kelly Posted: 22 Dec 2014 02:37 PM PST Folmer Kelly is the developer of Superhyper [$1.99] and its spinoff Ultrahyper [Free] that released a few weeks later that are each worth playing. And just last week, a game he contributed art for, Golf is Hard [Free], hit the App Store. He recently made a game for the most recent Ludum Dare, and it's now out on iOS, entitled ESFLC. [$0.99] An acronym for "Entertainment Software for Lonely Children," the game is at its heart a singleplayer version of multiplayer Pong, where you control each paddle, and try to keep the rally going for as long as possible, earning a point for each hit.
The game is designed to be a kind of simulation of trying to play a two-player game by yourself, where tapping on one side of the screen moves that paddle on that side of the screen down, but it moves the other one up, so it requires a bit of mental gymnastics to get the inputs just right. ESFLC also has a bit of a personal connection to the developer, as there are messages written after each game over, meant to be the things that he would wish he could tell his younger self. It's an interesting and challenging little game for $0.99. |
Tuesday 23 December 2014
Touch Arcade
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