The iOS gaming thread

[gospvg]

8 ball pool by miniclip is superb - no game centre it uses their own ID system but you can play against friends.

Does the in-app purchases constantly annoy or are they needed?

[Looper]

Absolutely don't need them. They don't advertise them either.

[Davros sock drawer]

I just ordered an Apple TV, anyone know if is there much lag when you play games using it?

[gospvg]

Absolutely don't need them. They don't advertise them either.

Thanks I will download later to give it a bash.

[Froettmaning]

I just ordered an Apple TV, anyone know if is there much lag when you play games using it?

I haven't used it a lot, but I did try AirPlay mirroring Jet Set Radio and there was no lag at all that I could see.

[Davros sock drawer]

Cool. It's not the main thing we'll use it for, but it'll be a nice feature to have.

[JPickford]

Bastion is back down to 69p for anyone that doesn’t already have it

I didn't much like Bastion as a game but it's shocking that something as well crafted as that is going for 69p. Seems wrong to me.

[therearerules]

I bought it, but it felt like 69p wasted. It just doesn't control well at all.

[Davros sock drawer]

It was too fiddly for me on the iPhone, and doesn't work on my lowly iPad 1.

Looked nice though.

[JPickford]

Ah well, maybe it's just not worth any price on this format.

[toythatkills]

It'll probably be about £2 in the next Steam sale, which is probably worth it over iOS for the ability to use a controller.

(Well, insofar as Bastion is worth it.)

[Looper]

I loved it on iPad, thought it controlled fine and was utterly compelling start to finish. By contrast I dislike it on Xbox, I find it boring.

[Rudderless]

I didn't much like Bastion as a game but it's shocking that something as well crafted as that is going for 69p. Seems wrong to me.

Yeah, I'm the same. Wasn't a huge fan, but there's something not quite right about a market that allows a game like Bastion to sell for less than a quid.

[Nifta]

I haven't used it a lot, but I did try AirPlay mirroring Jet Set Radio and there was no lag at all that I could see.

I've got an Apple TV2 and was extremely disappointed by lag. Anything with twitch gameplay was unplayable. I've heard the Apple TV3 is better though. Is that the one you have?

We use our Airplay for streaming video mostly. Works very nicely for that.

[Froettmaning]

No, mine is a 2 - I wonder if it might be affected by the quality of the Wi-Fi network, my iPad mini being about one metre from the router and that being wired to the ATV. In fact, I guess it could also depend on the iOS device and how quickly it encodes the signal, I'm not sure if that varies.

[Paulando]

Yeah, I noticed enough lag to make it annoying. From an iPad 3 and iPhone 5 to an ATV2.

Love my ATV though, for Airplay especially. Coupled with iTunes Match it's bloody marvellous.

[JPickford]

There are always lag deniers.

[Froettmaning]

Aye, it's not something I'm particularly sensitive to or offended by, given that I am mostly shit at twitch games. It's probably horrendous!

[JPickford]

Lag is quite subtle. It makes the game less responsive and often people just blame themselves for being rubbish when in reality the game is forcing you to deal with a large gap between input and visual feedback.

[Davros sock drawer]

I've ordered the latest ATV, but the gaming angle was just a curiosity thing really. I'll mostly be using it for photos, videos, and music.

Downloaded Gemini Rue last night though. Having played the Silent Age sharing the ipad with my Dad on our laps I wonder if that sort of "spectator" game might be nice on the big screen.

[humdrum]

Tiny Troopers 2 is currently free!

[Verdigris Murder]

It's pretty amazing looking at the iOS landscape in 2013, IAPs are pretty much turning me away from most of the stuff out there. And the immoral way companies use children as coin rapists for their parents apple accounts is disgusting.

But hey, Apple aren't really that fussed about that unless its something like, oh I don't know a sweat shop sim or something equally outrageous.

[Verdigris Murder]

It's pretty amazing looking at the iOS landscape in 2013, IAPs are pretty much turning me away from most of the stuff out there. And the immoral way companies use children as coin rapists for their parents apple accounts is disgusting.

But hey, Apple aren't really that fussed about that unless its something like, oh I don't know a sweat shop sim or something equally outrageous.

[Verdigris Murder]

Actually I'm bing slowly driven back to only purchasing games on proper portable platforms ie the Vita. I'd say the 3ds, but there are so many babyish games on it, I don't think it really qualifies as a portable console for grown ups.

[Teeohbee]

I'd say the 3ds, but there are so many babyish games on it, I don't think it really qualifies as a portable console for grown ups.

LOL

[Petrousgyre]

I've got an Apple TV2 and was extremely disappointed by lag. Anything with twitch gameplay was unplayable.

Aye, Real Racing 2 from an iPad3 to an AppleTV2 is super laggy.

I'd say the 3ds, but there are so many babyish games on it, I don't think it really qualifies as a portable console for grown ups.

Wow.

[Sfan]

Sir Benfro’s Brilliant Balloon is currently free.

[toythatkills]

It's pretty amazing looking at the iOS landscape in 2013, IAPs are pretty much turning me away from most of the stuff out there.

The thing turning me away from iOS gaming at the moment is how thoroughly boring it's getting. Every single week I check what's coming out on TouchArcade and it's just exactly the same set of games that came out last week but with new names and new graphics. Shitty 2D platformer? Check. Physics-puzzler with three-star reward system? Check. Freemium endless runner (x4)? Check. It just goes on and on. It's like there's no creativity left anymore.

Obviously occasionally there's a game that really gets its hooks into you, but this seems to be getting rarer and rarer.

[Dudley]

mm, I've not found anything genuinely "new" since Little Inferno and that's not even *really* an iOS game.

Nimble Quest is probably the closest, it's not actually that great but it is the first time I've seen someone try something new in a while.

I think the tipping point for me might be whatever the fuck Real Racing 3 was.

[toythatkills]

Wait until EA's new Tetris comes out here. You can literally spend money on getting better pieces to drop.