iOS recommended games and applications

[bingowings]

I don't think games like that really work on the ipod/itouch - your thumbs seem to obstruct quite a bit of the screen when you have to drag your crosshair over a target.

MGS Touch doesn't work like that, you can place your finger anywhere on the screen and the crosshair moves in relation to your finger - it doesn't have to be directly on it (unlike the woeful Time Crisis).

[Nijo]

I feel developers are now starting to really gel with the platform so where they go from here with Firmware 3.0 due out soon is going to be interesting. I really want to see some form of viable online play even if its limited to over Wifi.

Do you think multiplayer is a big selling point for a game? I mean, how often do you expect to be in a group of 2, 4, or 8 iPhone owners that want to play the same thing?

Take Flight Control, for example. Would it sell more if you could play 2 player vs?

Reason for asking is I've got some game ideas on the go and I'm wondering whether it's worth the effort to implement the networking code for multiplayer. One of the games could even have a 4 or 8 player team based capture-the-flag type mode... but is that only relevant to "hardcore" gamers?

Thoughts?

[ChrisF]

My mate actually wrote a multiplayer Chuck Norris game for when his company was in talks with the Chuck Norris foundation which worked quite well, but I had the same reservations about whether or not anyone would actually want to play together.

I can imagine you may get a load of kids at school/college/wherever wanting to play together, but other than that demographic (i.e. people that know each other in real life!) I'd imagine it may be hard to co-ordinate and/or be bothered.

You need a lot of people getting involved for something to be worth while. Again, the same friend wrote the MTV Watch & Chat (or whatever it's called, sorry Russ!) application - which lets people talk about whatevers on MTV at the moment. A chat room if you like! But if you read the reviews for it, most people are saying no one's ever on! And that's a company as big as MTV!

[Daragon]

MGS Touch doesn't work like that, you can place your finger anywhere on the screen and the crosshair moves in relation to your finger - it doesn't have to be directly on it (unlike the woeful Time Crisis).

So the full version is different to the trial one?

[bingowings]

So the full version is different to the trial one?

the version i have, yeah. i can't see why they changed it just for the lite version :/ it takes a little getting used to, it works almost like a mouse does and after a (very) short time you can get 100% accuracy and pick off even the most distant enemies with headshots.

it's one of my favourite iPhone games because of it - i have no idea why a similar control method hasn't been used in other games, it works so well. very rarely does the screen get obstructed.

[CMcK]

WWII Alone - It's NAM 1975 for the iDevices!

Siberian Strike - High quality update of a classic mobile phone game. One for all the shooter fans out there.

[EvilBoris]

the version i have, yeah. i can't see why they changed it just for the lite version :/ it takes a little getting used to, it works almost like a mouse does and after a (very) short time you can get 100% accuracy and pick off even the most distant enemies with headshots.

it's one of my favourite iPhone games because of it - i have no idea why a similar control method hasn't been used in other games, it works so well. very rarely does the screen get obstructed.

all I can say is thank god they released a demo, I can't believe that it is all based on screenshots from MGS4, without a bit of 3D! Skanky

[Malc]

It works well for an Itouch. Have you seen some games that attempt 3D? The majority of them are terrible. The Iphone/Itouch is still too early for really decent 3D.

[Brad]

Uniwar - Advance wars clone but hex based. Not too shabby so far and only 59 pence!

[Silvergun X]

Been on a recent buying spree of iPhone games, so i'm going to go over a complete recap of games i've bought and have thoroughly enjoyed. I know a lot of these are getting quite old now but I just wanted to do a more 'complete' list of games i'm still playing and enjoying:

Wolfenstein 3d - It's just a very very good version with new high-res textures, not that it says much on a game of this age, but the controls are very customisable and work like an absolute dream.

Abigale - Fun shmuppy type game with an interesting bullet catching gameplay gimmick. Well worth a try for anyone interested in their shmups.

Caster - Recently came out, apart from slightly dodgy movement controls it's an incredibly fun third person shooter. Also available on the PC through Steam.

Crystal Defenders - Quite a pricy TD game, but the latest update really, really streamlined the game for the iPhone instead of just being a phone conversion. Makes it so much more satisfying to play.

Edge - Wow, this is a *stunning* game - Everything about it is very, very good. The controls, the music, the graphical style, brilliant game.

Ferrari GT Evolution - Quite a well done arcade racer. Still very fun to play but not as fun as:

Need for Speed: Undercover - Never played the console versions of this so I can't say how it compares. I wasn't a fan of Carbon but loved Most Wanted. Hated Prostreet or what I played of it anyway. This is very short but quite fun, especially for an iPhone arcade racer. I'd say it was worth picking up.

Internal Force - Nice little free danmaku shooter. Excellent, incredibly smooth and precise controls.

Metal Gear Solid Touch - This seems to have generated so much hate on the Touch Arcade forums and I cannot understand why! Yes, I know it's only a tap shooter, but by god it's a fun, polished, and very very good one. Control scheme is very well implemented and the last 8 levels and survival mode are so, so much fun. (I loved the timed Railgun stage! Really feels like you've got a big beefy weapon to hand.)

Pole Position Remix - You know the score. It's pole position graphically beefed up. I like it, emphasis on passing streak.

Puzzle Quest Chapters 1 and 2 - As far as i'm aware this is exactly... EXACTLY the same as the DS game. But at a fraction of the price.

The Quest - Quite a nifty little RPG in the style of the old Elder Scrolls games. A surprising amount of depth for an iPhone game and possibly the most complex of the games i've listed.

There are loads more i'd recommend but i've forgotten them!

[JP]

Are the iPhone & iPod Touch games exactly the same or does the different hardware mean that different versions are created?

[Btang84]

^Silvergun, thanks for the great post. I only bought my iPod Touch last week and have been trying to discover good apps and games for it. There are a few but I'm mostly unwilling to pay for apps with the odd exception.

I may try out Edge, since that looks really nice and had a good review on videogamer.com, the video on the site appealed and the music was nice.

My recommendations so far would be Remote, an Apple app that allows you to access your entire iTunes library from your iPod. I listen to music when in bed, so it will have varying levels of usefulness for different people.

My second one would be Wikiamo. Wikipanion may be better in terms of design, but Wikiamo allows you to save articles for offline reading! Great for me, since I am a Wikipedia fiend. I may plump for Wikipanion Plus which does allow saving but costs a little bit.

[JamesS]

Are the iPhone & iPod Touch games exactly the same or does the different hardware mean that different versions are created?

I think they're generally the same but some games run a bit better on the Touch, due to the faster CPU.

[nonny]

If you want to tap into a good website for info use http://toucharcade.com

They update with all news info as well as price drops on games. Looks like Wolfenstein 3D just dropped btw... as did Uniwar.

I wholly reccommend the Remote app as well. I've since gone ahead and bought an Apple Airport Express to act as a bridge and plugged it into the back of my Yammy receiver via optical. Now I can use my iPhone as a remote to control all music output in my house: my lounge, my speakers on the balcony (2nd output zone on my reciever) and upstairs out of my PC. Bliss.

Awesome stuff once you get it working. I've also bought the Orb app for the iPhone which lets you stream xvid over Wifi/3g... so if you have a nice collection of video media on your PC you can access it anywhere. Will even stream Live TV provided you have a TV Tuner in your PC.

I find that very handy as I can sit there watching a TV show in bed with my headphones on while the mrs is asleep... amongst other uses.

[fishbowlhead]

BBC have also released an iphone compatible version of the iplayer as well. Just go to bbciplayer.com and save the main screen to your iPhone home screen, the site even lays the menus and interface in an Iphone friendly way straight from the net with no need for extra apps. Bloody handy its been too.