The iOS gaming thread

[toythatkills]

i got Bejeweled Blitz, which is great. more like that.

If you want this kind of "puzzle" game, you could also try Shibuya, which people seem fond of, Candy Train as above, Sigma, Zookeeper, and ZONR.

[CrispinG]

is Peggle amazing?

[Paulando]

It's fucking astounding. Have you never played it?

[Kryptonian]

is Peggle amazing?

Yes.

[Camel]

Coin Drop is better IMO. None are puzzle games, mind.

[sammy]

Epic Quest table is out now on Zen Pinball. And runs like a dog on first gen iPad.

[Kramer]

Epic Quest table is out now on Zen Pinball. And runs like a dog on first gen iPad.

It works fine on 4S. Shame it runs poorly on iPad 1, as I also play Zen Pinball on that.

Great to have a new table though.

[sammy]

My iPad 2 is away for repair at the moment, I dont think I tried Zen Pinball at all on iPad 1, as I just tried Sorcerers Lair and that runs like crap as well, pretty much unplayable.

[Mr Do 71]

The Blocks Cometh is currently free, it's like Tetris but as a platforming game.

[Qazimod]

Beat Sneak Bandit is apparently out now - an awesome looking rhythm and stealth game from Simogo (who also did Bumpy Road):

[Mr Do 71]

GTA 3 just 69p on iPhone/iPad

GTA: Chinatown Wars 69p on iPad

[Gotters]

Diggin Dogs is nice, typical iphone 69p polished Chillingo puzzle fare, its like Wheres My Water crossed with Mr Driller.

[Nifta]

Everybody else getting This App Is Currently Being Updated error for GTA3?

[rumblecat]

There's been a bunch of them for games recently- I had that problem with both Rebuild and Plunderland. I've read there's some issues on the App store end causing them, not sure how true that is. In the end I did some complicated work around where I gifted Rebuild to my second email account and downloaded it onto my laptop and then synced it to the iPhone... although I could probably have waited a few days like a normal human being.

On the subject of Rockstar- their latest newswire has some nice news about Max Payne.

...following the release of Grand Theft Auto III for iOS (and Android devices) late last year, the original Max Payne will be our next release for mobile devices. We will have an official announcement soon confirming the release date, but you can expect it to finally be released sometime in the next couple months.

[RickyDVT]

I cannot stop playing Drawrace 2, after playing Drawrace a couple of years ago, the improvements to the new one are unbelievable. The career mode is great, unlocking different maps and cars constantly, but the real fun is playing against a friend online, challenging him to a track and you both have 24 hours to put in the best lap time possible, and at the end the quickest lap gets the trophy, it then keeps a log of who has won the most so far.

Similarly Reckless Racing 2 is also fantastic, not tried it online yet, but the career mode, with upgrading cars / buying new ones has kept me entertained, and the controls are great!

No doubt i'm late to both of these games and they have been discussed in length already

[Fierce Poodle]

My gf and I played through Grisly Manor over the course of our commute home the other night, and really enjoyed it. It's gentle enough stuff, but you can get a little bit stuck here and there. Thanks to whoever recommended it.

Anyway, paid 69p for the Lost City which is the sequel, and it's even better. Lots of nice, gentle exploration, and a constant supply of puzzles. Recommended.

http://itunes.apple....d414835676?mt=8

Looks quite nice zoomed on the iPad too.

Yeah, Grisly Manor was really nice although I did have to cheat slightly for the Globe puzzle. I've also got no idea how I solved the clock puzzle!

Any other recommendations for this kind of game? I picked up Broken Sword when it was on offer recently but haven't started that yet.

[Mr Do 71]

Everybody else getting This App Is Currently Being Updated error for GTA3?

Should be alright now.

[Stanley]

what is the best strategy and the best puzzle game for iOS? it's important that the art style not be repugnant (Plants vs. Zombies). thank you.

Push Panic is a nice take on the match three puzzle game. For strategy you could try Tiny Heroes. It's not a deep strategy title and in fact is more a tower defence type of game, but don't let that put you off if it's not normally your thing. Looks nice too

[jonnatar]

My brain is dead, any clues for the last two days of Enscripted would be great. Solved both just a mo ago. I really should watch more films.

[Davros sock drawer]

Yeah, Grisly Manor was really nice although I did have to cheat slightly for the Globe puzzle. I've also got no idea how I solved the clock puzzle!

Any other recommendations for this kind of game? I picked up Broken Sword when it was on offer recently but haven't started that yet.

Have you bought The Lost City? It's ace, loads better than Grisly Manor. The graphics and puzzles are much better, the Four Seasons puzzle framework is nice, effectively quadrupling the play area, and it's large enough to need a map anyway. We've spent about 3 hours on it so far I think, nearly finished though. Still really good value for 69p,

[Wroth]

Yeah, Grisly Manor was really nice although I did have to cheat slightly for the Globe puzzle. I've also got no idea how I solved the clock puzzle!

Any other recommendations for this kind of game? I picked up Broken Sword when it was on offer recently but haven't started that yet.

Drawn: The Painted Tower is great, but it's iPad only.

[Rudderless]

Beat Sneak Bandit is apparently out now - an awesome looking rhythm and stealth game from Simogo (who also did Bumpy Road):

One of the best iOS games I've ever played. I can't recommend it highly enough.

[toythatkills]

We have a new record! Normally games don't have very long to impress me on iOS before they get deleted. Shit controls are incredibly easy to notice and so many games get deleted within thirty seconds.

Tune Pilot is surely unbeatable though, in that it got deleted before I even played the game! Impressive.

Downloaded it because it was free. FREE! All free! Yay! And it looks pretty cool, with levels based on the music. "Instead of just listening to your favorite tunes like you normally would, you can fly through them. Stay in-tune with the music by flying the musical orb inside the liquid audiostream."

FEATURES:

- Pick any songs from your iPod library

So I download it, press "play," and it tells me that to play my own music, I have to pay £1.49. Fuck off. I'd have bought it if they'd been up front about it but the app description makes no mention of it at all, there's no suggestion of IAP when you download it, and then basically the whole game is locked out. Deleted. Didn't even try it.

[Davros sock drawer]

Drawn: The Painted Tower is great, but it's iPad only.

Cool, I gots me one of them. Will check it out.

[Asura]

Can anyone recommend a good Roguelike? Ideally something that looks and plays like Shiren the Wanderer on DS?

[bobontheway]

Beat Sneak Bandit is apparently out now - an awesome looking rhythm and stealth game from Simogo (who also did Bumpy Road):

Took the plunge after my train was delayed earlier today. What a fantastic game! I can't thank you enough for sticking that video up as I usually don't buy that many iPhone games and was stuck for something to do (and had just finished The Lost City).

My faith in (non-fiddly) iOS gaming has been restored!

[Nifta]

Everybody else getting This App Is Currently Being Updated error for GTA3?

It's still giving the same error on the Canadian store. I gifted it to myself and it worked though. Hurrah!

[kyletherobot]

Have you bought The Lost City? It's ace, loads better than Grisly Manor. The graphics and puzzles are much better, the Four Seasons puzzle framework is nice, effectively quadrupling the play area, and it's large enough to need a map anyway. We've spent about 3 hours on it so far I think, nearly finished though. Still really good value for 69p,

Is The Lost City inspired by Bioshock? The art-deco logo looks pretty similar.

[MK-1601]

I've been on a bit of an iOS binge this week.

Easily the best thing I've downloaded is Fairway Solitaire. Anyone who's played the desktop version won't need any further encouragement. It's an insanely addictive version of solitaire with golf rules/metaphors. Designed by the designer of Betrayal at Krondor, oddly enough. The iOS version is ludicrously polished - it looks like Gamevil and BigFish (and a few others) are now locked in an arms race to make the most insanely AAA-looking freemium game. The downside is it's 450MB+, and the free version is technically just a demo (although unlocking all the 100s of courses is only 69p).

Two other developments fucked me off. Firstly, after Dream Heights (Zynga's unauthorised Tiny Tower clone) got a kicking in the app store reviews for the first 24 hours after launch, Marc Pinkus obviously released the hounds (bot farms) and the game now has thousands of five star reviews. Fucking bullshit. Apple should be penalising Zynga for abusing the rules everyone else has to stick by, but they're turning a blind eye of course. I wouldn't be surprised if they gave Dream Heights a GOTW slot, even after giving Tiny Tower GOTY last year.

Secondly, The Blocks Cometh is free this week. This is cool, but in playing it I discovered it has (Destructoid writer and all-round boorish misogynist fucknut) Jim Sterling as a playable character. It runs unplayably badly on 3rd gen devices anyway. Bleh. I'm kind of disappointed Vlambeer partnered with these guys to port Super Crate Box, there are surely loads of better iOS coders they could have approached.

[Nifta]

Wow, you're right! On the Canadian store (where it had its test-release) it was at 2 stars for the last few weeks. Today it's jumped up to 4.5 stars, with loads of generic reviews. Half of these new 'reviews' use the non-word "addicting" which makes my blood boil even more...