The Lone Gamer

Fast Tube by Casper
Who’d have thought we’d be able to play THIS on a phone?

Darn, it truly IS the greatest time to be a gamer. It’s that day when we can have console-quality fun on devices once thought limited to just calling and texting. Yeah, I knew smartphones were supposed to be cool- and yeah, years ago I could play some PSOne classics on my Windows smartphone… but this! Arcade classic and 2D madhouse of Capcom-powered crazy brawling action, Marvel VS Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, is now available (or will be later today) on the iOS platform. Yes, THAT Marvel VS Capcom 2… the one with the 54-strong roster that includes Ruby Heart, Son-Son, effin’ CABLE, Blackheart and so forth. All playable, with supposedly no cutbacks- super combos, super attacks, special techniques, hidden characters… the works! Even better, this is a Universal release, meaning it’s made for both iPhones/iPod Touch AND iPads. Some bad news though- iPhone 3GS and original iPad owners, as well as those owning iPod Touch 3rd Gen and lower are out of luck… you’re going to need the more advanced iDevices to play.

That said, this is looking freakin’ amazing. I was never really a big MvC fan, but man- just the sheer ability to have this on my iPad (and yes, thankfully I have the new iPad) is amazing and just a MUST for a beat ‘em up fan. I’ll be sure to grab this from the appstore once it appears (hopefully sometime tomorrow night). At an opening sale of $2.99, this seems as inexpensive as it is awesome.

Man, if this is possible, what other fighting games may we see on our Apple devices someday? Streetfighter III? Third Strike? Darkstalkers? GIMME A TEKKEN iOS, PLEASE!

Fast Tube by Casper
Console quality fighting action on the go?

Perhaps as a nice prelude to the big release of Soul Calibur V at the end of the month, Namco-Bandai got their mobile guys to port the classic Soul Calibur (back from the days of the Dreamcast and Original Xbox) to their iOS platform. While this kinda sounds cool, there are a lot of caveats.
First off, the game costs $11.99- pretty pricey for an app, but still I guess nowhere near as expensive as some Square RPGs on the appstore. The complete game roster of 19 fighters is available, with Arcade, Survival, Extra Survival (Sudden Death), Time Attack, Museum and Practice modes on offer. No Story Mode it seems, at least for now.

The files size is about 215 MB, which is large but not overly so. However, it requires an iPhone 4 or 4S, iPod Touch 4th Generaton or an iPad2 to run- and from the vid above it doesn’t seem to run that smoothly. If you factor in that much of SC’s appeal is silky-smooth animation, this may dash quite a few gamers’ dreams of heavenly beat ‘em up action on the go.

Lastly, despite being called Universal, the game apparently won’t run on iPad1. So if I get this, I’ll only be able to play it (at least until some patch addresses this) on my iTouch.

My Touch is already full of fighters- Streetfighter IV Volt, King of Fighters, Mortal Kombat 3 and Infinity Blade 2. Adding in Soul Calibur would probably be another nice feather in that cap. I’ll decide if I get this or not later tonight when I get home to the Sanctum and have access to my iTunes. So far though I’m at 40-60, against getting it. What I actually, really, totally and truly want, after all, is Soul Calibur V. Oh well…

Old-school RPG gaming coming to iOS, Android!

Ever heard of The Shadow Sun? It’s an RPG that’s got some really incredible graphics and seemingly good mechanics, and it’s coming to iOS. Well, good news for all the Android owners groaning at yet another great RPG title missing their platform out completely, as it’s also going to be released there, too, eventually. Some bits of info on The Shadow Sun- it was produced by staff with a lot of experience making games for that particular genre- specifically, one of them was even a staffer on Baldur’s Gate, to give you a rough idea of how far back their experience stretches.
It’s essentially a mish-mash of the old and the new – the tactical, think-carefully aspect of older PC RPG titles, and the newer console-inspired action-combat games inspired by recent fantasy efforts. Whether you’re new to the genre and tend to play PartyPoker espanol rather than FFXIII, or you’re an old hand at RPGs and you’re looking for something to suck up your time on one of the new Android tablets, this should come as welcome news.

The combination of old and new continues in the features list, with standard RPG mechanics like character and ability customization standing alongside a good/evil choices mechanic, plus it promises a dramatic story full of “complex characters, intrigue, danger, and shocking surprises.” It remains to be seen how good the story actually is, but given that Baldur’s Gate is the bar for quality here, it may turn out to be a platform-defining title.

If you haven’t tried RPG titles on your phone yet- everything from retro-style gem Legends of Yore to MMORPG Pocket Legends- then you’re missing out. So until The Shadow Sun comes out for iOS in the later half of 2011 (Android release is still TBA), so stay tuned for another game to suck you in for hours and hours. More as we get it then!

The iOS version is optimized with full touchscreen controls. Swipe that job wheel!

Famitsu has just announced that their long-awaited classic strategy-RPG, Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, will FINALLY hit the appstore on Thursday, August 4. Delayed several times after initially being announced for a 2010 release, this PS1 classic has been on iGamers’ wish lists for a loong time. That it’s a perfect fit for iOS devices is demonstrated in a demo vid over at Famitsu- the iPhone version of FFT has been given fully-functioning touchscreen controls- swipe physics are implemented, and navigating through menus looks pretty intuitive and easy. In battle, you can conveniently rotate the battlefields to get a better view of the action, and pinch to zoom in or out. Pretty slick!

Remembered by Square fans for it’s addictive stat-building, wealth of jobs and classes, compelling storyline and challenging scenarios, Final Fantasy Tactics will surely eat away hours as players build their army of death dealers to survive a treacherous world of ambition, conspiracies, intrigue and demonic invasion. I’m thinking, will I finally be able to figure out what a damn Calculator is for in combat?

The version to be released this week is for iPhone and iPod Touch. An HD iPad version is expected to follow later in the fall. You can find a cool video showing off live gameplay over here.

Fast Tube by Casper
Tekken Hybrid’s gonna be a Must-Buy. Why? Watch.

Just announced at Namco-Bandai’s Fight Club panel, the Tekken Hybrid Blu-ray Package is gonna be the choice buy for Tekken fans this Fall. Not only do you get the Tekken: Blood Vengeance 3D movie (which is looking cooler and cooler each day) and Tekken Tag Tournament HD (the original TTT for PS2 remastered), you will also get an exclusive demo of Tekken Tag Tournament 2!

Entitled Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Prologue, the playable demo will allow gamers to acquaint themselves with the all-new tag-team gameplay of TTT2. Furthermore, the demo will include special Blood Vengeance content: playable characters Ling Xiaoyu and Alisa Bosconovitch will appear as they do in the Blood Vengeance film, plus included will be the character Devil (also from the CG film), who is as yet unavailable in the TTT2 arcade versions!
It is as yet unknown what other characters will be playable in the demo, but details should be made available soon.

With TTT2 Prologue, Tekken fans will have something to practice on as the excruciating wait for the full versions of Tekken Tag 2 continues. Stay tuned for the release date (but I’m counting on this in September). More as we get it then!

Slow-mo Shootouts, sleazy bars and mature language. Nice.

Gameloft continues to bring familiar-looking and playing titles to the iOS (and Android, actually) platform, the latest being 9MM, a run-and-gun action title reminiscent of the classic Max Payne series. You star as John ‘Loose’ Kannon (Heh), a hardcore cop who who’s relentless pursuit of druglords has put him and his team into some hot water. Now John has to take the fight to the kingpin behind it all, chasing down and interrogating fugitives, shooting it out with gangs of thugs and goons through varied locales and environments.

Aside from the high-octane action, array of firepower, large maps and dialogue rich with F-bombs, the game boasts support for Online Multiplayer (Deathmatch and Free-for-All) and a hiphop/rap soundtrack with artists like Freeway and Jake One, Beanie Sigel and Apathy.

That all said along with the teaser trailer above, perhaps the best argument for getting this game would be the vid below, which shows quite a bit of gameplay from a member of the TouchArcade forums. The game looks great, seems to play great and I’m interested. iOS shooters have been getting better and better as of late, so I’m ready to load this 17+ Shooter up on my iDevices (it’s Universal, BTW) and get some killing done. Find it on the appstore now for $6.99.

Fast Tube by Casper
Actual gameplay with lots of guns and F-bombs.

UMK3 on the iPhone/iPad now sports a full roster of Kombatants.

When Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 first debuted on the AppStore, it was pretty iffy. It captured the dark, bloody look of MK, but glaringly had an abnormally small roster- 11 fighters, which was about half the size of the original arcader/console game. That plus laggy controls kept this bloody brawler from being something I could recommend. A recent update however has changed all that.

The game now sports a more robust and full roster of 22 fighters, adding in Smoke, Classic Sub-Zero, Shang Tsung, Mileena, Sektor, Cyrax, Sindel, Kung Lao, Kabal and Reptile to the mix, as well as 6 new arenas. Even better, the controls are noticeably much improved and responsive, making the game overall a lot more playable and enjoyable. With a pretty good and lengthy Arcade Mode, the wacky Shao Karnage Boss Attack Mode and some cool surprises, UMK3 has become a pretty solid, high tier portable fighter.

In terms of fighting games on iOS, while Streetfighter IV is still solidly on top thanks to its great translation of the SF fighting action, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 has shown itself a bloody good contender with it’s large roster and improved gameplay. On the iPhone, this ranks next to SFIV, but for iPad, it’s probably the best fighter you can get. Both iPhone and HD versions are now available on the AppStore for just 99 cents, so grab it now while you can.

Now, where’s the iOS version of the new Mortal Kombat?

Puzzle Quest on speed? That’s Dungeon Raid!

I’ve been avoiding this title for the longest time, even though I’m a fan of Puzzle Quest and games like this: Match 3 puzzlers with RPG elements. I’m such a fan of this genre, that I believe any game can be translated into this kind of thing- I await the day for a Tekken Match ‘Em Up title. Anyways, I finally took the plunge into Dungeon Raid for iPhone and… well… DAMN this game just swallowed me whole. I kid you not, the first night I played this, I DREAMED ABOUT IT. Skulls, Swords, Shields, Potions… all linking, matching, dropping, plunking in my head. Skulls, Swords, Shields, Potions…

An easy way to describe this would be Puzzle Quest, but with very light emphasis on any story. In fact, all you get in terms of narrative is a one-page/screen storyline that frames your character’s reason for entering the dungeon. This pretty much changes every time you play, and it’s random, so it’s just fluff, but I appreciate it. The emphasis is all about grinding and trying to level up and get as far as you can before you die… and die you will, easily and quickly if you don’t take care.
As with most games of this type, you match objects to get ahead- here, you trace your matches instead of just shifting pieces like in Bejeweled or PQ. It’s more like Bookworm in this regard, and it’s pretty neat- you can imagine yourself swinging a weapon or tracing an arcane rune in the air as you match the objects.
Matching Potions heals any injuries, matching Shields replenishes armor. Skulls are monsters which need to be matched with Swords to kill them. At first, monsters are weak and die with just one sword- later enemies have more hit points and take more swords to kill. Fortunately you level up as you go, upgrading your skills, weapons, armor and perks- but just as easily, your enemies get stronger as well. It’s a constant race for resources, keeping your health up, your armor repaired and the whole board managed as you need to keep vital pieces handy to take on progressively stronger Monsters.

There’s gobs of stuff to unlock or discover- hundreds of items, various Character Classes, skills and perks to make your character that much stronger or better equipped. But make no mistake- this is not a persistent saga like Puzzle Quest- basically it’s more akin to Rogue Like or 100 Rogues, where you see how far you can progress in one go- before the inevitable super monster arrives to beat your ass into oblivion. But just as quickly as you die, you’ll probably find yourself restarting the game and matching more Shields and Skulls ad infinitum.

Though the presentation looks simple, the gameplay of Dungeon Raid is mad addictive, and the sound effects are spot on for what it is. This is a perfect game to just whip out and play at anytime, and anyone who loves Match-3 puzzlers and PQ-esque titles need to check this out. Just prepare yourself for sleepless nights afterward, dreaming of growling Skulls and frothy Potions…

Another addictive but IAP-heavy game from Glu.

Lately I’ve been very addicted to Glu Games’ Gun Bros. on my iPad/iPhone, which, despite the heavy emphasis on IAP (In-App Purchases), is still awesomely full of free gameplay and replay value thanks to tons of planets and levels to take on, and, more importantly, a considerable amount of content to unlock without actual money being spent. The same can’t be said for Glu’s other game, BT Gangsta, another port of their social games.

Basically you take the role of an ex-con former gangsta who returns to his old haunts to retake what was his. That means hiring a gang of gun-toting comrades, taking on non-interactive missions, periodically collecting protection money and ‘vials’ (of drugs) from your properties and occasionally engaging other gangs in gun battles. Progress is mainly time-based, but if you’re impatient (which the game is counting on), you can buy ‘credits’ to unlock the strongest guns or hurry up things (like healing wounded gangstas) with real money.

The schtick is, the longer you go, the more expensive things get. After you buy your fourth gangsta, the next one is a whoppin’ 100,000 bucks to hire (what is this guy, some kingpin?), which will take quite a while. Till then, you’ll probably hit a brick wall in gun battles, since enemy groups will usually outnumber your bunch and are seemingly impossible unless you spend on bigger IAP guns.

Of course, I’m not willing to spend on such things, so I’ll probably just keep BT Gangsta as a side thing, and just let things happen as they happen. Yeah, I’ll probably never get Caliente, the one female gangsta, in my group, but heck, who cares. Oh, and also, I’d advise turning the game’s notifications OFF, as they will annoy the heck out of you after a bit, and even butt into your video watching.

This is a nice distraction title- it’s free, but with lots of IAP which I really find no need to get into. It looks slick enough, even if the one music track can grate on you early on. This is best visited from time to time, like a gangsta version of Aquarium. Bang-bang!

Fast Tube by Casper
Is it a game or a work of art? Or both?

The first time I heard about Sword and Sworcery (that’s not a misspelling, by the way), it was probably a year ago. This was a game that struck me with an incredibly endearing visual style- think Atari-style blocks but with updated, modern expression. It walks a fine line between being showing you what the world is yet letting your brain fill in the gaps. There’s a warrior woman, and you know she’s beautiful and strong, but in reality she’s a bunch of blocks and lines. There’s a forested world teeming with life and detail and lots of crawly animals and wild things, but again, all blocks and lines. Aiding the visual punch is the music and sounds- unique, visceral and enchanting. What IS this thing I was seeing? I had no idea… but I wanted it, then and there.

Well, a year later and it’s about here. Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery releases this Thursday on the Appstore, for the iPad (YAHOO!) first, with an iPhone version coming a few weeks after. As before, I have little idea what this is about, save that you control a sword-and-shield-carrying heroine, in a world both beautiful, musical and dangerous. Oh, and there’s a guy in there somewhere with a pipe. But it all looks so damn cool. It’s games like this that truly make me happy that iOS has come so far as a gaming platform. I can’t wait to see what this is all about. Tomorrow then. For now, check out the video above from TouchArcade, but of course, beware ye of Spoilers!