The TouchArcade Show - 168 - A Post-Monster Trucks World Posted: 15 Aug 2014 05:00 PM PDT
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TouchArcade Game of the Week: 'Pako - Car Chase Simulator' Posted: 15 Aug 2014 04:00 PM PDT The idea behind the TouchArcade Game of the Week is that every Friday afternoon we post the one game that came out this week that we think is worth giving a special nod to. Now, before anyone goes over-thinking this, it doesn't necessarily mean our Game of the Week pick is the highest scoring game in a review, the game with the best graphics, or really any other quantifiable "best" thing. Instead, it's more just us picking out the single game out of the week's releases that we think is the most noteworthy, surprising, interesting, or really any other hard to describe quality that makes it worth having if you were just going to pick up one. These picks might be controversial, and that's OK. If you disagree with what we've chosen, let's try to use the comments of these articles to have conversations about what game is your game of the week and why. Without further ado… Pako - Car Chase SimulatorThe crazy thing about the App Store is that even if you think a particular week is a "bad" or "weak" week, there's always at least something quirky and interesting being released, even if there aren't any heavy-hitter, big-name games in the mix. This week there actually was a pretty big release with Ace Attorney 5, but it was one of the quirky, little games that has hooked me more than anything else. That game is Pako - Car Chase Simulator [$0.99], and as you might imagine, it's a car chase simulator. Well, sort of. The game uses an isometric view similar to something like Smash Cops, though in Pako, the goal is to NOT smash into anything. You're set free in one of five different areas, each putting you behind the wheel of a unique vehicle. The vehicle has no brakes, so once the game begins you're off and running with tapping either side of the screen to steer being the only thing under your control. It's a high-scoring game, so you simply drive around each area for as long as possible avoiding all obstacles as more and more police chase you.
It's a simple game, but nails that "one more go" feeling that high score games thrive on. It also looks and sounds great, with a very slick visual style. My favorite part of Pako though is how different each of the environments and vehicles feel from one another. From the all-around good compact car in the mall level, to the heavy and sluggish hearse in the Cemetery level, to the insanely nimble three-wheeled "meter maid" vehicle in the Square level. There's just a lot of variety and a lot of ways to build up your skills to earn high scores on each level. Players in our forums have been enjoying Pako too, though a few minor issues like frame stuttering and Game Center not always working right have cropped up. I'm sure they'll be ironed out quickly though, and for a buck, there's really a lot of fun to be had with Pako - Car Chase Simulator, tiny flaws and all. |
Posted: 15 Aug 2014 01:39 PM PDT Well this is kind of awkward. Last week when we came up with the idea of doing these roundups weekly, no one really threw out the idea of what happens when we don't have any really high review scores that week. This week, the highest score we gave our was four stars, so, those are our best games of the week. It's a little weird, I guess, but, if there's one word I'd use to describe the App Store in general it'd probably be "Weird." When you look at it that way, this all makes perfect sense. 4 Stars
 Joe Dever's Lone Wolf , $0.99 [Review] - This episodic game book is arguably one of the coolest ways we've seen game books executed on the App Store so far. It's got all the text and decision making you're used to, mixed with actual 3D battles when the time comes. The "wow factor" this induces is sky high, particularly when you're just used to game books that might have some 3D dice roll across the screen. With the third act recently upon us, now is a very good time to jump in.
 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies , Free [Review] - Capcom is on a roll lately with absolutely fabulous ports of their games to iOS, and the latest Phoenix Wright is no exception. The port is amazing, the graphics look great, and the pay model is even awesome- You get your first taste for free, then can unlock the rest via IAP. By the time you've got to whip your virtual wallet out, you've already got a great idea of what you're buying.
 Sentinel 4: Dark Star , $4.99 [Review] - The Sentinel series is easily up there with Fieldrunners when it comes to some of the best tower defense games on the App Store, and with three other great titles under its belt, it's not like there's much that could go wrong with Sentinel 4. Four years between games is a long time though, and if there's any drawback to the latest installment, it's that it feels a little dated compared to what we've come to expect out of the App Store. Additionally, we reviewed a bunch of other games this week. As always, you can dig into all of our reviews by clicking here. Alternatively, you can hit up specific scores by using these links: |
Top Pokemon YouTuber Claims 'Pokemon: The Trading Card Game Online' is Coming to iPad Posted: 15 Aug 2014 01:37 PM PDT As pointed out by Gamezebo earlier this afternoon, strange things are afoot in the world of Pokemon. Pokemon YouTuber TheJWittz tweeted the following photo and said, "It looks like Pokémon TCGO is in works for the iPad! Should be a huge way to expand the game."
The Pokemon World Championship is going down right now, so if there ever was a time to tease a Pokemon iPad game, this would be it. It seems crazy to think that we'd see such a big franchise from Nintendo on the App Store, but we used to think that about Phoenix Wright… Which just got its second game this week. Is this real? An elaborate hoax? Who knows, but it's fun to think about. |
Check Out 'Skater', an Upcoming Skateboard Simulation Game that Features Real World Skate Spots Posted: 15 Aug 2014 01:35 PM PDT
First off obviously is its focus on real skate locations, be that famous street spots or actual skateparks from around the world. The other cool thing was that it features tiny virtual sneakers on top of the skateboard, meaning that it actually gave you a proper sense of which stance your skater was using and whether tricks were backside, frontside, switch or regular. It's a tiny thing, but it makes a difference. Here's a few early screens of Skater, two showing shots from actual gameplay. The one on the left is a trick down the famous Carlsbad gap, and the one on the right is a trick down the hefty 16-stair rail at Hollywood High School. Below that is just a long-lens shot of the Hollywood High stairs.
In addition to the street spots shown above, Skater will have skateparks like Stoner Park, Woodward Plaza and The Berrics. Along with featuring real locations, Skater is also partnering up with a ton of skateboarding brands to be featured in the game, like Zero, Toy Machine, Baker and Lakai. Finally, Skater will include a heavy social component that allows players to save their favorite lines and challenges and then send them out into the world for other players to complete. It all sounds really awesome, and I'm incredibly excited to get my hands on Skater which should be launching before the end of August or in early September. I was impressed by the very early prototype I was shown, and it seems like it's come a really long way since then. Stay tuned for more details as we get them and once a firm release date for Skater is set we'll let you know. |
Following monster trucks and just before Summer Slam, there's loads of cool crap going on this month. Oh, and lots of iOS games. We talk about the latest and greatest, whether or not we need another matching game in our lives, and much, much more.
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