Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn iphone games. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn iphone games. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng

Thứ Ba, 10 tháng 1, 2012

Virtual City Playground for iOS looks like HD CityVille ... on your phone

So, CityVille Hometown is great, but I get the feeling some fans were looking for something more like the actual web game. It looks like G5, a Stockholm, Sweden-based developer of mobile games for iOS, might bring the goods. Virtual City Playground, a free version of the original with a much more social twist, is set to hit the App Store this Aug. 25, Pocket Gamer reports.

The game will allow players to create and cultivate their own city on an enormous scale in pseudo-3D, isometric graphics. The game will guide players much like Zynga's city-builder does, but offers support for far more friend interaction through Game Center Support and Facebook friend challenges.

Your job, essentially, is to grow your city by populating it with homes and businesses that grow off of one another all the while being supplied by agriculture, like any old city game. This updated version also brings an in-game currency, completing that old quarter pit feeling. That's right, Virtual City Playground is 100 percent free to play.

Virtual City Playground
However, to speed things up, players will have the option to purchase 85 of the game's quests, if they really can't wait. The game could be the city-builder of scale you've been looking for, but check the trailer below to see what we mean:

Thứ Hai, 26 tháng 12, 2011

Buddy Rush for iPhone (and Facebook): The time for adventure is all the time

Cross platform social games can be a drag--just look at FarmVille. (Alright, so it's come a long ways, I still don't wanna hear it.) They're rarely, if ever, like their core counterpart, which in most cases lives on Facebook or elsewhere. However, Sollmo might have found the answer in Buddy Rush for the iPhone (and Facebook): asynchronous gameplay. You know, what we've been trying to move away from as a genre? That's exactly what makes Buddy Rush, a free game on the iOS App Store, work so well. After downloading and installing the game, you'll need to log in using Facebook Connect. From there, you can add all of your Facebook friends by sending them in-game gifts. And trust us when we say you will need lots of friends. This is because, at the heart of it, you're never actually playing with your friends. (Stay with us, people.) You're slaying blue monsters and giant bugs with AI-controlled versions of your friends' characters. However, having a large pool of friend friend characters available for whatever trials you might face would be a good idea.

Gallery: Buddy Rush
And those trial are faced in real time for you, but your partying adventurers, if used by you, we imagine will receive bonuses upon logging into his game. And that's the number one flaw and point of brilliance in Buddy Rush. While not being able to play with your friends in real time through your phones or on Facebook is a bummer, that's not the point. The aim of the game is to be there to provide a dungeon-diving adventure whenever you're ready, with your friends. And since today's gamer has little interest in setting up times to play a massively multiplayer game, here you go.

The asynchronous gameplay allows players to enjoy the game whenever they want, and have their friends be right there with them, fighting back hordes of beasts. The combat and aesthetic are standard fantasy fare with a twist of humor and a kid-friendly style. There are several character classes to choose from the standard warrior/wizard/archer trio to strange character types like the Vampino (a vampire that wears copious amounts of sunblock) and Skully (a revolver-wielding pirate), which unlock in time.

Buddy Rush for Facebook
As for actually dispatching enemies, Missions are displayed isometrically, with the player touching (or clicking) the areas on the ground he wants his avatar to run to. Honestly, the controls are all very intuitive: tap enemies to kill them, then tap different abilities and items to use them. (Visions of a cuter Diablo might dance in your head while playing this game.)Your party members contribute to combat automatically, and can be healed--remember that. Each Mission rewards XP and Chips, the game's currency, as well as costs Stamina. This slowly refilling statistic is similar to the Energy system in most social games, but can be restored with potions either earned or purchased for Chips.

All in all, Buddy Rush for the iPhone would stand on its as a single player game (by technicality, it is), but the inclusion of Facebook friends, regardless of whether its asynchronous, opens up whole new possibilities. And you can access that content whenever you want--forget waiting around for your friends to make the monster raid. Buddy Rush is an elegant solution to a common problem in mobile social gaming crossovers: simply make both versions as similar in form, function and style as possible (the Facebook and iPhone versions are nearly identical). And for the mobile monster-slaying crowd, this game is a fashion do.

Click here to play Buddy Rush on Facebook Now >

Have you tried Buddy Rush on either platform? What do you think of cross-platform social games? Are games generally headed this way?

Chủ Nhật, 11 tháng 12, 2011

PapayaMobile's mobile social game network gets friendly with iOS

OpenFeint and Mobage might want to watch out ... or get a delicious fruit in their logo somehow. Beijing-based PapayaMobile announced that it has expanded its mobile social game network from Android to iOS devices. iPhone and iPad game developers can now incorporate PapayaMobile into their game much like they would OpenFeint or Apple's Game Center.

But not only that, developers can create their own social games from scratch through PapayaMobile's Social Game Engine, and launch said games across both iOS and Android devices at once. PapayaMobile's social game network works across both iOS and Android. This means that if a mobile game uses PapayaMobile on both its iOS and Android versions, players can issue challenges, send game invitations, view leaderboards and more between both versions of the game.

PapayaMobile's main goal is to connect both Android and iOS gamers through a single network, something that can't be said for most mobile social game networks (well, aside from OpenFeint). Surely PapayaMobile hopes this cross-platform move will boost its player base of over 30 million. It looks like the mobile social games arena just met a new challenger.

Well, make that a few new challengers. The first games to hit iOS with PapayaMobile include X-City by Aidi Game, Contagion by 2Clams, and Burger Joint by Arctic Empire. Something tells us Facebook missed a golden opportunity with Connect.

Do you think there's room for another mobile social games network? Which network do you prefer using right now with your mobile games?

Thứ Ba, 11 tháng 10, 2011

Apple's Game Center hits 67M users, new version hits Oct. 12 in iOS 5

Mark your calendars, proud iPhone owners. Apple announced today at its iPhone 4S event that the next version of its mobile operating system, iOS 5, will launch Oct. 12 as a free update. And with it comes a brand new Game Center, Apple's answer to existing mobile social game networks like OpenFeint and Mobage (and before that, Ngmoco's Plus network). You see, the company has been dragging its feet somewhat into the mobile social games space.

Regardless, the existing version of Game Center has welcomes 67 million able-thumbed mobile gamers, Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the event. (OpenFeint boasts 115 million users for comparison.) The service will be vastly improved next week with achievements, the ability to find new friends to play with and customizable profiles.

These features have been a part of Game Center's mobile competitors for some time, but despite being a latecomer, the service has managed to garner tens of millions of players. When Apple first revealed Game Center, it was already behind these independent services that have gone on to become, or rather be acquired by, major gaming companies.

Game Center, even with the advantage of being baked directly into iOS rather than individual games like Openfeint, has lots of work to do before it will trump its competitors. It proves that even if the iPod Touch is "the most popular portable game player in the world," according to Cook, it's still not the most popular social mobile game player in the world. That's gonna' take some time.

[Via Gamasutra, Gdgt]

Do you think Apple's Game Center could ever catch up to OpenFeint or even Mobage in the mobile social game space? What do you think the company needs to do in order to make that happen? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment

Thứ Tư, 5 tháng 10, 2011

Apple's Game Center hits 67M users, new version hits Oct. 12 in iOS 5

Mark your calendars, proud iPhone owners. Apple announced today at its iPhone 4S event that the next version of its mobile operating system, iOS 5, will launch Oct. 12 as a free update. And with it comes a brand new Game Center, Apple's answer to existing mobile social game networks like OpenFeint and Mobage (and before that, Ngmoco's Plus network). You see, the company has been dragging its feet somewhat into the mobile social games space.

Regardless, the existing version of Game Center has welcomes 67 million able-thumbed mobile gamers, Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the event. (OpenFeint boasts 115 million users for comparison.) The service will be vastly improved next week with achievements, the ability to find new friends to play with and customizable profiles.

These features have been a part of Game Center's mobile competitors for some time, but despite being a latecomer, the service has managed to garner tens of millions of players. When Apple first revealed Game Center, it was already behind these independent services that have gone on to become, or rather be acquired by, major gaming companies.

Game Center, even with the advantage of being baked directly into iOS rather than individual games like Openfeint, has lots of work to do before it will trump its competitors. It proves that even if the iPod Touch is "the most popular portable game player in the world," according to Cook, it's still not the most popular social mobile game player in the world. That's gonna' take some time.

[Via Gamasutra, Gdgt]

Do you think Apple's Game Center could ever catch up to OpenFeint or even Mobage in the mobile social game space? What do you think the company needs to do in order to make that happen? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment

Thứ Bảy, 1 tháng 10, 2011

The Top 10 Free iOS and Android Games -- September 2011

Alright, now the summer is really over. As we dry our eyes of those final sun-soaked tears, we at least have one thing to cheer us up: games. Ah yes, the ultimate digital pastime-meets-picker-upper just gets better and better now that we have access to a myriad of games right within our iPhones and Android phones.

And while the lot of them cost little more than $.99, the number of full-featured, free games on both platforms is only growing. Just for you, we've pruned the games that hit the top 10 on both platforms by the end of September.

You can expect to see everyone's favorite angst-ridden, wingless birds more than once among the newcomers. Rather than simply shut them out as we have before, how's about we take each opportunity to highlight some of the crazy news surrounding them? Away we go:

Top 10 Free iOS Games
1. Cross Fingers
Mobigame's goofy and visibly confusing puzzle game is free for a limited time only. The name of the game is tangrams, and it's up to you to use the oddly-shaped puzzle pieces provided to form the shapes featured in each level. The game also contains an Arcade Mode in which players must keep up with a "frenetic machine," solving puzzles rapidly to survive.
Oregon Trail iPhone
2. The Oregon Trail
Famed (or infamous) developer Gameloft and The Learning Company have made their mobile take on this classic PC adventure game free for a limited time. Frankly, the game looks and seems to play a lot like its Facebook counterpart created by Blue Fang, so check out our preview to get an idea of how it might work. Get this: It has Facebook Connect, too ... hmm.

3. Texas Poker
Another newcomer by Kamagames brings the live multiplayer poker experience to your iPhone. Players can invite friends to play with them via email, Facebook and Twitter. While it's free to play, players can, of course, buy chips with real dough from inside the game. Oh, and there's live chat, too. So, you can trash talk while you lay down that straight.

4. Card Ace: Casino
Boy, do people enjoy gamblin'. This game by Self Aware Games allows players to sit in on more than just poker like Blackjack (21), slots and the creator's very own "word-game-meets-Texas-Hold-'Em masterpiece." Of course, players can buy more chips within in the game with real cash, and each casino game has real-time chat and public rooms for live play.

5. Traffic Rush
Only free until Oct. 3, this game courtesy of Donut Games tasks players with keeping an intersection accident-free by touching and guiding vehicles away from one another. Oh, and the cross streets are two-way (and with two lanes), so we can already see this one getting crazy rather quickly. And the creators threw in a Rail Rush mode, too, which can only spell trouble.

6. Office Zombie
Just in time for Halloween, Fluik released this haunted take on its Office Jerk game. Ad-supported, the game lets players torment, well, a zombified office employee with anything they can dig up. We're not sure what the objective of this game is, really, but at least it might serve as a stress reliever? That's all I got.
High Caliber Hunting iPhone
7. High Caliber Hunting
EA's mobile take on the popular hunting sub genre of hunting games like Cabela's is free for a limited time. And it looks surprisingly graphic, displaying the vitals of the game's various, um, game as if you had x-ray vision. Simulation is the goal in this game, with real brand name rifles and equipment featured as well as a up close-and-personal "Bullet-Cam". Ew.

8. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12
Another of EA's popular franchises is free on iOS for a limited time. Of course, you can play across multiple real-life golf courses controlling a number of professional athletes. But the most interesting news here is the Closest to the Pin Challenge, an asynchronous social mini game in which Facebook friends post their best shots and talk trash.

9. Pretty Pet Pony
Ready to overload your iPhone with cute? Good, because this game by Dream Cortex and Animoca has the pink stuff in spades. It's your job to clean, pamper and raise your own ponies in Cuby the Bear's stables. Then, it's off to the race track to compete with your friends on tracks made of rainbows ... I think I just threw up a little bit.

10. Stupid Ninjas
Stupid Zombies maker GameResort takes the same concept from its first game to the Far East: try to kill all the ninjas on screen with as few sword swipes as possible. Cause chain reactions from the shurikens that each ninja holds. The game comes with 180 levels and Game Center support to boast your ninja-slicing prowess.

Top 10 Free Android Games
Hanging With Friends Android
1. Angry Birds
Did you know that soon, you might be able to play Angry Birds with thousands of people through the sound of your collective cacophony? Crazy, we know.

2. Hanging with Friends
Zynga's adorable take on the classic game of Hangman was recently released to Android devices, and it's apparently already heating things up. The game is essentially identical to the iOS version released earlier this summer, so check out our full preview to get a better idea of what it's like.

3. Angry Birds Rio
Hey, did you know that co-star of the NBC show Chuck, Yvonne Strahovski, is an Angry Birds master? Yeah, we know, her and everybody else at this point. But hey, maybe there's a chance she'll become the next Rovio spokeswoman--yowza!

4. Words with Friends
Yup, Zynga is killing it on Android, we know. But what's more interesting about Words with Friends is that you can not only now play it on Facebook, but pick up your existing games on either platform through Facebook Connect. Living in the 21st century has its perks.

5. Bunny Shooter Free Game
Yes, that is the game's real title. (But finally, a new game!) Created by the painfully literal dudes at Best, Cool & Fun Games, this puzzler (picture below) tasks players with shooting these poor pink bunnies with as few arrows as possible. You'll do this across over 180 levels filled with obstacles and explosions ... and probably feel a tinge of guilt about it afterward.

6. Angry Birds Seasons
Dude, seriously--oh, sorry. Did you know that Rovio might be looking to get into publishing other indie games? Maybe that way, the company can turn around the next hit game to dominate the charts. (At least it'll be something new?)

7. Drag Racing
Creative Mobile's Drag Racing has enjoyed the same spot for two months now, and it's probably thanks to the support it has from real-life car brands. Players can also race each other in real time through the Pro League, which again is likely a major selling point. Oh, and watch out for when this game hits Facebook--come on, cross-platform play.
Bunny Shooter Android
8. Lane Splitter
Fractiv hits the top 10 with this "motorcycle survival game" in which players must make it to their wedding with a new character that sports a special ability. Players tilt their device to steer the motorcycle as it (hopefully) weaves in and out of traffic. With Facebook Connect, players can compete for the high score between their friends and post achievements.

9. Fruit Ninja
Guys, it has finally happened: The real Fruit Ninja by Halfbrick Studios has made it into the top 10. By now, you should know the drill--this game is dang near everywhere. Also, it just launched on Facebook, if you want to slice up even bigger fruit.

10. Tetris
A game as iconic as Tetris probably deserves to be much higher on this list, but hey, at least it's a spot. While there's not much to be said of Tetris after some 27 years, that doesn't mean the game is not worthy of your time. Just give it go already, will ya?

[Sources and Image Credits: Apple, Google]

Which of these games have you tried so far, and what do you think? What free iOS or Android games have you been playing lately that you want to share? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment