A glorious electronic makeover and new gameplay modes breath new life into the classic Battleship board game.
Free of messy pegs and full of clever touches, Battleship for iPhone and iPod Touch ($2.99) gives the classic board game a terrific 21st-century makeover.
In addition to Classic mode, the game offers two new options: Salvo and Superweapons. In Salvo, you get to select one target for each ship in your fleet--meaning for the first few rounds at least, you get to lob five shots instead of just one.
Suffice it to say, that makes the game go much faster than a traditional Battleship exercise, which can easily last 30-40 minutes.
In Superweapons mode, you get to choose four offensive or defensive weapons for your arsenal. Each one has a different "charge time," meaning you can use it only after a certain number of turns has elapsed.
Air Strike, for example, delivers a line of three bombs (for example, three shots for the price of one), while Decoy gives you a fake ship that registers hits just like a real one.
However, only a handful of superweapons are available at the start of the game. To unlock more, you have to sink ships over the course of many games.
I like the brief but lively cut scenes that appear when you fire a weapon, score a hit, and sink a ship. (You can even see aircraft sliding across the deck of the carrier as it capsizes--one of many nice little touches in the game.)
Because Battleship is best played against other humans, the game offers three multiplayer options: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and "pass & play." Missing, sadly, is Internet multiplayer, which would really be icing on the cake. How about it, EA?
Even without the online element, Battleship for iPhone ranks among my favorite board game adaptations to date. But fellow parents take note: When you play against your children and inevitably cry, "You sank my battleship!", be prepared for blank stares.
Doom Classic brings the ancient, pixelated first-person shooter to the iPhone.
Welcome to today's episode of Recycling Old PC Games for Fun and Profit. Our first contestant: Doom Classic, the first-person shooter that spawned a thousand imitators, several hundred ports, and one horrendous movie.
Next up: Command & Conquer Red Alert, the real-time strategy classic responsible for a massive drop in global productivity.
In my youth I was a tremendous fan of both games, so it stands to reason that I'd welcome them to my iPhone. However, neither is getting a permanent home.
Let's start with Doom. While id Software's official port offers a pixel-perfect recreation, the game is 16 years old--and it shows.
Indeed, juxtaposed with Doom Resurrection, a made-for-iPhone game with 21st century graphics, Doom Classic looks positively ancient. It plays that way, too: You can't even jump.
Part of this is personal bias: I don't think FPS games work well on small screens, especially when touch controls are involved. For me, Doom Classic feels cramped, confined, and seriously out of date.
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Catan brings the complete Settlers of Catan boardgame experience to the iPhone.
If you've never heard of Settlers of Catan, you owe it to yourself to read the Wired story, Monopoly Killer: Perfect German board game redefines genre.
Then you owe it to yourself to buy a copy, as I did, and find two or three friends for one of the best board game experiences you'll ever have.
No friends? No problem: Settlers of Catan just landed on the iPhone and iPod Touch. And you don't need 2-3 available humans, 3-4 available hours, and a flat surface to play it.
For the uninitiated, Catan unfolds on an island. It's your job to score 10 victory points by capturing the most settlements, building the longest roads, and so on.
Once you learn the rules--and there's definitely a learning curve--it's strategy gaming at its finest: fast-moving turns, balanced gameplay, and enough randomness that even a player who falls behind can quickly get back in it.
Thankfully, Catan for iPhone offers excellent built-in tutorials so beginners can learn the ropes.
Unlike Kolonists, a Catan clone that debuted in July (and has since been pulled from the App Store for reasons unknown), the real Catan follows the board game's exact rule-set--including the use of dice for randomized resource gathering (a key gameplay element Kolonists decided to forgo).
Catan requires three or four players. You can assign as many AI opponents as you want, but when other humans are involved, the only option is to gather around the iPhone (board-game-style) or pass it around for each turn--not a great solution, as you need to keep a close watch on the island so you can plan your moves.
The lack of Internet multiplayer seems disappointing at first, but that kind of play would be nearly impossible given the time required to complete a game.
On the plus side, Catan affords plenty of gameplay options, including a "friendly" Robber mode and an adjustable number of Victory Points needed to win the game. Make it eight, for example, and you can finish more quickly.
In other words, there's more than enough variety here to keep Catan newcomers and veterans alike gaming happily for hours, days, even weeks on end. And given that the actual board game routinely sells for around $40, the $4.99 iPhone edition is practically the bargain of the century.
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Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)
If you browse the iTunes Store for iPhone and iPod Touch games, you've probably noticed there is no shortage of Tower Defense titles. It's probably because this genre seems to be a natural fit for the touch-screen interface. I decided to put together a collection of my favorite Tower Defense games (all rated highly), just in case you've been looking for a new time-waster or just want to sample what Tower Defense is all about.
Check out our collection of Top Tower Defense games for iPhone and iPod Touch.
Kolonists looks and plays a lot like the boardgame classic 'Settlers of Catan.'
Good news for fans of the board game Settlers of Catan: There's an app for that. Specifically, the new iPhone game Kolonists offers decidedly Settlers-like gameplay.
In other words, it's a strategy game of empire-building for 3 to 4 players. (If you've never heard of Settlers, check out the Wired story, Monopoly Killer: Perfect German board game redefines genre.)
Like Settlers, Kolonists unfolds on an island, which here fills in for Roman Empire-era Rome. Your goal is to rise to power by developing and capturing territories, which involves resource-gathering, trading, bribery, and some inevitable plundering.
Unlike Settlers, Kolonists plays without dice. That reduces the "chance" aspects of the gameplay while increasing the strategic elements--and makes the game go quite a bit faster.
Settlers die-hards may object to that change, but it's a safe bet that if you like the board game, you'll like Kolonists. And if you're new to both, you'll find the latter thoroughly engaging. After the initial learning curve, it's easy to play and endlessly entertaining. Love the grandiose soundtrack, too.
Unfortunately, version 1.0 has a few significant issues, most notably the lack of a save-game feature: If you exit for any reason, you can't resume.
Making matters worse, Kolonists is fairly crash-prone. Imagine the aggravation of investing, say, 20 minutes in a game when poof, it unceremoniously quits on you--and you can't even return to where you left off.
According to the developer, Kolonists 1.1 is already under review in the App Store, bringing with it an auto-save feature, crash fixes, faster AI, and various new gameplay options.
It can't get here soon enough. With those tweaks and fixes, Kolonists will undoubtedly rank as one of the best strategy games ever to appear on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Grab it now, while it's still at the "introductory" price of $1.99.
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CNET)
This week, Apple surpassed an amazing milestone at the iTunes app store: one billion downloads. Apple had been running a contest called the Billion App Countdown promotion with prizes including a chance to win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card, a MacBook Pro, an iPod Touch, and more. Though the contest ended once they reached their mark (winners will be announced soon), it's still an amazing feat and clearly implies the apps are going to keep on coming. That's great news for iPhone app lovers like us!
It's no secret that the most popular apps at the iTunes Store, paid or free, are largely from the games category, so this week I'm going to talk about two new games on my iPhone you should check out.
Even without a career mode, the graphics and gameplay are excellent
(Credit: CNET)SuperCross ($7.99) lets you jump on a motocross bike and race in full 3D on several unlockable tracks. Choose from a number of color schemes for your bike and your racer and also choose the displacement of your engine (two-stroke and four-stroke machines are available). Use your iPhone or iPod Touch's accelerometer to turn your motocross bike and navigate the best lines over jumps, bumps, banks, and whoop-de-doos. You can choose from several different control schemes if you don't like using the accelerometer for turning (control pad arrows are added onscreen) and each work very well.
Though the look and feel of Supercross is excellent, I can't help but think a career mode in which you could race through a season is a needed addition to this game. The way the game is set up, you simply need to come in first or second in races to unlock more tracks, but there's not much draw beyond that. Even without a career mode, if you love motocross racing, this game is probably the best so far for iPhone, but some may want to wait for a more complete game--especially at $7.99.
As you move each unit, you are given a number of abilities you can perform
(Credit: CNET)Uniwar ($2.99) is a bit more involved than a lot of the pick up and play games for the iPhone, but turn-based strategy game lovers should definitely grab this game. Played on a hexagonal grid map, you must command your army of units with varying abilities to defeat your enemies. Choose from three races with different strengths and weaknesses and slowly build your fighting force using the turn-based system. The player to capture all the bases wins the game, but it takes a lot of thought and strategy to manoeuver your units and use their abilities to get you into a position to win.
Uniwar offers a campaign mode to get you started familiarizing yourself with each units skills and abilities. From there you can play a solo skirmish-like mode or take your battle online against live opponents. Online games can have anywhere between a 10-minute or 72-hour limit between turns with e-mail notifications to let you know when you're supposed to act. But even the solo game against the AI is a lot of fun, with different maps and races to give the game plenty of replay value. Though Uniwar might not appeal to those who are more interested in action-type games, if your a turn-based strategy game enthusiast, I can't recommend this game enough.
What's your current favorite iPhone app? Do you think Supercross offers plenty at the $7.99 price tag? Do you think more involved games like Uniwar have a place on the iPhone? Let me know in the comments!
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CNET)
I write this post every week and while I try to bring you folks all my favorite iPhone app finds, inevitably I end up missing a few along the way. With the current count of apps at the iTunes store now at almost 35,000, it would be impossible to cover everything, but hopefully I can at least bring you a worthy download every week. With that said, this week I'm going to talk about a new game and then grab one app out of the past that's worthy of a look if you haven't checked it out.
This week's apps include an e-reader for classic works of literature and a tower defense game that's extremely difficult to put down.
Books you have already started reading show up with a red bookmark.
(Credit: CNET)Classics (99 cents for a limited time) came out some time ago, but this collection of famous works of literature is worthy of mentioning because the software is both extremely elegant and certain to get more content with updates. When you launch Classics, you're presented with a natural-wood bookshelf containing some of the greatest works of English literature, including Milton's "Paradise Lost," Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein," and H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine." There are 20 books in all, with more to come in future free updates. But famous authors aside, Classics offers an extremely elegant interface for paging through the great works.
Tapping on a book to open it up reveals the title page on a classy brown-on-white-paper interface. Swiping your finger to the left turns the page, complete with an animation and the soft sound of leafing through an old book. The font size is just right for reading on the iPhone or iPod Touch. When you're finished, Classics places a bookmark automatically and indicates you have started the book in the book shelf interface. You can even flip through chapters to find your favorite parts.
Notice the rainbow-colored vortex turrets that give extra power. Also notice I can't pass this @#$% level.
(Credit: CNET)GeoDefense follows a long line of already famous tower defense games for the iPhone, but is a must have for fans of the genre. Like other path-based tower defense games, the object is to place turrets along a path and prevent the baddies from getting to their goals. But GeoDefense injects a measure of style by using vector-based graphics, pixel bursts, and warp effects that culminate in a dazzling display of color when the game starts really getting going. You get 30 maps to play on across three different skill levels. You start with only three turrets to choose from, but later you have five, with one that actually interacts with the others (and makes them stronger).
One thing I should warn everyone about is that this GeoDefense is not easy. You will quickly come to understand that winning levels even half way through the easiest skill setting will be a challenge requiring a solid strategy. I can tell you that I've made it into the medium levels, but I am once again stuck on an extremely hard one. Your mileage may vary. To be honest, the game could use a way to lower the difficulty even further, but I think most serious tower defense fans will think this game is one of the best in the genre. Beginning tower defense players may want to try one of the other popular games before GeoDefense.
What's your favorite iPhone app? Is Classics the best way to read a good book on the iPhone so far, or do you have a better app? Have you passed the second map of the medium levels in GeoDefense? Let me know in the comments!
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CNET)
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) was in San Francisco's Moscone Center this week, and I got a chance to walk the show floor in search of new iPhone games and sample gaming technologies on the horizon for other platforms. As I walked the floor, I was lucky enough to be able to talk to a couple of iPhone game developers, including the guys from Subatomic Studios, developers of Field Runners ($2.99), as well as Phil Hassey who created Galcon, one of the games I mention below.
It's exciting to see the iPhone and iPod Touch on display at a convention like this and it only bodes well for Apple's handhelds as serious gaming platforms. But the most exciting event I attended was a live interview this afternoon with legendary game developer, Hideo Kojima, the creator of the popular Metal Gear Solid series. His most recent game is Metal Gear Solid Touch (link opens iTunes Store) for iPhone and iPod Touch, so Apple set up an eventh at the Apple Store in downtown San Francisco for people to ask questions about the game. With a packed audience and an interpreter by his side, Kojima answered questions about the Metal Gear Solid franchise and why he decided to make a game for the iPhone, and also spoke about several other fascinating topics. With people like Hideo Kojima recognizing the potential for gaming on iPhone and iPod touch, the future for gaming on the platform can only continue to get better.
In recognition of this week's Game Developers Conference (and the fact that I love games), this week's apps are both excellent time killers, and coincidentally, both strategy games.
Battle for different regions on the Gold Rush map and get extra armies from gold mining tiles
(Credit: CNET)Lux DLX ($7.99) is the full version of Lux Touch, which I've talked about before. Though it seemed pricey to me (which kept me from downloading initially), now that I have it, I can't imagine not having it on my iPhone. Played like the classic board game Risk, armies are randomly distributed across a map of the world, and your job is to conquer the entire map. Also like Risk, conquering a country gives you a game card, and once you get three cards of the same type, you get more armies. But what makes Lux DLX even more interesting is the ability to play on several maps so you can reenact historic battles from WWII, the Civil War, and even the conquering of territory during the California Gold rush. The game comes with a bunch of maps, and you can quickly download more from within the game. Though the $7.99 price tag is a little steep, I think people who loved Risk or have tried Lux Touch will appreciate this more feature-packed version.
Touch and drag to send fleets of ships to other planets.
(Credit: CNET)Galcon (99 cents until Monday only!) is a strategy game that, like Lux, challenges you to take over a map. But in Galcon, you're given a map of planets that you must conquer, and quickly move armies to other planets to set up the next assault. What makes this game different than the turn-based Lux, is how the action happens continuously, with enemy ships flying across the screen conquering planets while you try to maneuver your ships. As the game progresses, the screen can be almost filled with ships moving around, adding to the excitement. Once you conquer the entire randomly generated map, you win the game.
There are several difficulty levels and a few different game types, and Phil Hassey explained that each of those games are a way of training you to play against other players online. I should have listened to his advice, but I had to try it out (and lose horribly) to find out how the online game worked. Games are decided fairly quickly in Galcon, making it a great game to play while sitting on the bus or any time you have a few spare moments to kill. I highly recommend it.
What's currently your favorite iPhone app? Have you tried any of the downloadable maps for Lux DLX? Can you beat those Galcon pros online? Let me know in the comments!
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CNET Networks)
Last week I wrote a post about a great deal from Ambrosia Software, which has now sadly lapsed. But the the silver lining to that cloud is that with the end of the sale comes the release of an all-new Mac game: Multiwinia!!
Multiwinia is a ferociously fun real-time strategy game with cool stylistic graphics and challenging gameplay. Those of you who have played Darwinia, also from Ambrosia, will recognize the scenery at once, but that's where the similarity ends.
Make sure to run through the tutorials to find out how to select and maneuver your Multiwinians.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Multiwinia is a geometrically-shaped 3-D land populated by the two-dimensional stick men from Darwinia, except now they're not fighting against a rampant computer virus; they're fighting each other in battles to control Multiwinia.
Your role is that of the General--tell soldiers where to go once they spawn, organize them into better-fighting, but slower-moving battalions, and zoom around the battlefield to plot your next move. There are six game types with more than 40 maps, and you can choose single player against the computer or go online and jump into any of a number of games against real players.
One of my favorite game types challenges you to move a giant statue back to your base.
(Credit: CNET Networks)I should point out that people who have Windows have a head start with this game (released 9/19/2008), so make sure to get some practice in and jump on a server to show those guys who's boss! The free trial has some game types and maps disabled, but you'll be able to get a good feel for the action. The full game costs $19.
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CNET Networks)
Last week I asked readers if they had the same iPhone app update problem I have, and it's good to hear I'm not the only one. I found one method in the comments that seems to work, but it forces you to make a tough decision. Of course, you should only try this if all other update attempts through the usual methods have been unsuccessful.
To get rid of a stubborn program's update notification, you need to delete the app from your iPhone and download it again using the app store on your iPhone or from the iTunes Store on your computer. It's clearly not an ideal method because you will lose all your previous settings in the app (good-bye high scores), but it does get rid of the annoying number on your home screen.
While we wait for a fix from Apple that doesn't include deleting the apps, here are my latest iPhone finds. This week I have two new games on my iPhone.
Your blue team starts off scattered peacefully around the globe, but before long you must attack.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Lux Touch lets you play a fun version of the classic strategy board game Risk. Apparently this is SillySoft Games' first iteration of this game for iPhone (there's a popular shareware version for Mac here), so it doesn't come with anything more than the single world layout and a single challenging difficulty level. Even with only one map, Lux Touch manages to be a great time-waster. Armies are randomly distributed across a map of the world, and your job is to conquer the entire map. Tap on or slide your finger to countries you want to attack. Conquer at least one country during a turn to get a card. Once you have three of the same type of card, you'll get bonus armies. I gave this game a 3-star review for its lack of extra maps and options, but SillySoft promises a future deluxe version for iPhone that will have much more. I think the gameplay is definitely 5 stars.
Slide your finger sideways to select the trajectory of your shot, then take your swing.
(Credit: CNET Networks)GL Golf Lite is an excellent 3D golf game for iPhone, and like Lux Touch, is the mobile version of the already popular GL Golf for Mac. Though the graphics aren't as crisp as they could be, GL Golf Lite offers four holes to play, realistic physics, backspin and punch shots, and plenty of hazards to avoid as you try for your best score. You can play the game with up to four players (by passing the iPhone for each shot), and adjust difficulty level, ball color, and time of day. The game is ad-supported with small banners across the bottom of your screen, but they never get in your way as you play the game. The full version of the game offers five complete 18-hole courses ($7.99). Though the price seems a bit steep to me, once you play through the 4-hole course, you might find it's worth the money.
What are your favorite iPhone apps? Got a better golf or strategy game? Let me know in the comments!
