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iOS Gaming Dec/Jan: GET

N

Necrovex

Member
Any rumors or idea if the Apple Store will be doing any big holiday sales on games? I want to fill my iPad up with a few classics (Banner Saga, Final Fantasy Tactics, X-com) before I leave the country at the end of January.
 
C

Corgi

Banned
Necrovex said:
Any rumors or idea if the Apple Store will be doing any big holiday sales on games? I want to fill my iPad up with a few classics (Banner Saga, Final Fantasy Tactics, X-com) before I leave the country at the end of January.
Click to expand...

not really a rumor thing. it happens every year before the store freezes of changes like the last week of dec.
 
F

Flunkie

Banned
Necrovex said:
Any rumors or idea if the Apple Store will be doing any big holiday sales on games? I want to fill my iPad up with a few classics (Banner Saga, Final Fantasy Tactics, X-com) before I leave the country at the end of January.
Click to expand...
Yup, hold off if you don't need to play them immediately.
 
A

awp69

Member
Necrovex said:
Sweet. Thanks for the heads up.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't count on the specific titles you mentioned. Banner Saga was literally just on sale for half off, Square Enix had a big FF sale a week or two ago (not sure if it included Tactics) and The new Xcom is, well, pretty new.

Feel free to wait but, as with most iOS titles, it's not like they're outrageously priced to begin with. You'd be getting three PC quality games less than the price of one.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
awp69 said:
I wouldn't count on the specific titles you mentioned. Banner Saga was literally just on sale for half off, Square Enix had a big FF sale a week or two ago (not sure if it included Tactics) and The new Xcom is, well, pretty new.

Feel free to wait but, as with most iOS titles, it's not like they're outrageously priced to begin with. You'd be getting three PC quality games less than the price of one.
Click to expand...
Pretty much. Banner Saga was actually on sale for $4.99 on GOG. I think I got XCOM for $7.50 during one of the Steam sales
 
M

More_Badass

Member
A recent game I've been playing, This War of Mine, delves into the horrors of war from the rarely explored perspective of citizens trapped amidst the battle. Games about war are nothing new, but war games tend to focus on the shootouts. It's the rare game that uses war for more than just crafting set pieces and chaotic spectacle. This War of Mine is one of those games.

And Valiant Hearts: The Great War is another, a puzzle adventure that masterfully blends the grime and grit of WWI with an intimate tale of four characters

Karl, a new father torn from his family to fight for the Germans. Emile, Karl's father-in-law fighting for the French. Freddie, an American soldier seeking vengeance. Anna, a nurse doing her best to save soldiers on the battlefield and rescue her father. You follow these characters through their trials and tribulations, as they eventually cross paths and become friends. Walt, your faithful canine companion. They're characters you care for, as their stories often unfold wordlessly save for the narrator.

Valiant Hearts presents its characters and wartorn world in a comic book-esque drawn style, brought to life with smooth animations. But don't be deceived by that vibrant charming aesthetic. Valiant Hearts doesn't shy away from portraying the hellish meat grinder that was World War 1. Charges across no-man's land. Sneaking through muddy trenches. Corpses and wounded everywhere. A gutted ruined landscape, smoke and debris and explosions and the screams of the dying. Evading poison gas and avoiding machine gun fire. The game unfolds mainly through point and click puzzles, figuring out what items to use to clear paths, open doors, reach objects. These puzzles are interspersed with other varied moments: avoiding patrols and spotlights, firing cannons, healing wounded through a Guitar Hero-style mini game, twitchy driving portions, controlling a tank, and more. There's even the odd boss fight.

Valiant Hearts is a wonderful package, that tells a story of warfare and friendship, and explores a period not often touched by the medium. It's equally charming and cute, and depressing and grim. An experience that's not only engrossing and engaging, but also educational, as you learn about real facts and photos of the Word War I.

All in all, a must play and a game that will definitely be on my GOTY 2014 list
 
M

mrklaw

MrArseFace
putermcgee said:
And finally, I got to the first reset point in Bitcoin Billionaire recently, and am just working on reaching 50 of each investment, and upgrading them all to level 5. Whatever is messing up games with Vungle ads is slowing my progress greatly as I can't take advantage of half of the offers that come in. Tiny Tower Vegas is the same story, and my progress in that has slowed so much that I'm only able to build a new floor maybe once a week.
Click to expand...


I'm earning 1Bb coins overnight now, so I'my waiting on an update to add more stuff. Just collecting hyperbits at the moment. I am curious to see if I can get a time machine to cost 1Bb though..
 
Matt Frost

Matt Frost

Member
Valiant Hearts is one of the best games of this new generation without doubt, I played it on PS4 otherwise could be this years second place on my iOS GOTY list. So worth the 12$ and then even more.
 
A

Anilones

Member
The App Store (iPhone, UK) has listed the top apps of this year (I'll only list the games):

Winner: Threes

Runner Up: Leo's Fortune

Others:
Monument Valley
Hitman GO
Ruzzle Adventure
Battleheart Legacy
80 Days
World of Warriors
XCOM: Enemy Within
Rules!
Smash Hit
Spellfall - Puzzle Adventure
Spider-Man Unlimited
Wayward Souls
Trials Frontier
Adventure Beaks
FarmVille 2: Country Escape
RETRY
Micromon
Rival Knights
Godus
Crazy Taxi City Rush
The Sailor's Dream
Bicolor
Royal Revolt 2 - RPG
ALONE...
FOTONICA
 
P

PalaceBrother

Member
Does anybody here have experience with the non-retina iPad mini?

Does it handle most applications competently or are there significant performance concerns (I'm thinking of the iPad 3's issues).

We're debating getting one for a four year old (I know, I know - but they use them in her classroom and she is always using learning apps on mine) but obviously don't want to spend a ton of money on something which will likely get some rough use.
 
A

Anilones

Member
PalaceBrother said:
Does anybody here have experience with the non-retina iPad mini?

Does it handle most applications competently or are there significant performance concerns (I'm thinking of the iPad 3's issues).

We're debating getting one for a four year old (I know, I know - but they use them in her classroom and she is always using learning apps on mine) but obviously don't want to spend a ton of money on something which will likely get some rough use.
Click to expand...

I still use an original-gen iPad Mini and since iOS8 I am noticing significant slowdown; however, if I had a child I would not think twice about getting them one for the current prices available. Ultimately, I am a heavy user of up to the minute games and can still use it.
 
P

PalaceBrother

Member
Anilones said:
I still use an original-gen iPad Mini and since iOS8 I am noticing significant slowdown; however, if I had a child I would not think twice about getting them one for the current prices available. Ultimately, I am a heavy user of up to the minute games and can still use it.
Click to expand...

Awesome - thank you!
 
M

mrklaw

MrArseFace
PalaceBrother said:
Does anybody here have experience with the non-retina iPad mini?

Does it handle most applications competently or are there significant performance concerns (I'm thinking of the iPad 3's issues).

We're debating getting one for a four year old (I know, I know - but they use them in her classroom and she is always using learning apps on mine) but obviously don't want to spend a ton of money on something which will likely get some rough use.
Click to expand...

I'd definitely still consider a mini 2 (refurb if you want to save some money). original ipad mini is ipad 2 based, and that is no longer for sale on the apple store, and is likely to be the next one obsoleted. You'll also get much better resale value for the mini 2, and it'll generally last your daughter for years.

Certainly for the sake of $50 I'd try and bridge that gap to get the mini 2.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Awesome! Volt finally released on IOS
https://appsto.re/us/qWDk4.i

Played this on PC last year and it was always evident that it was the kind of game best suited for touch controls. I definitely recommend checking it out. It's a challenging precision platformer/speed runner

Here's the PC trailer
http://youtu.be/Av6zYlA4vwI

Now your goal is to escape from the facility, which is an extremely difficult task due to the fact that you are a battery without legs. Equipped with a limited number of electric beams, you can connect to walls, move or destroy objects, turn switches, and charge generators.
You also have the ability to jump or push off the walls - the rest is up to physics and gravity.

screen1136x1136.jpeg
yVsY72r.jpg
Click to expand...
 
A

awp69

Member
mrklaw said:
I'd definitely still consider a mini 2 (refurb if you want to save some money). original ipad mini is ipad 2 based, and that is no longer for sale on the apple store, and is likely to be the next one obsoleted. You'll also get much better resale value for the mini 2, and it'll generally last your daughter for years.

Certainly for the sake of $50 I'd try and bridge that gap to get the mini 2.
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree with this. I LOVE my mini 2 and with it being no different than the mini 3, except Touch ID, I think it'll have a much longer life span than what's left on the first mini
 
A

awp69

Member
More_Badass said:
Awesome! Volt finally released on IOS
https://appsto.re/us/qWDk4.i

Played this on PC last year and it was always evident that it was the kind of game best suited for touch controls. I definitely recommend checking it out. It's a challenging precision platformer/speed runner

Here's the PC trailer
http://youtu.be/Av6zYlA4vwI
Click to expand...

Looks fantastic! Downloading. Thanks for the heads up!

EDIT: Great game and looks beautiful, which leads me to my only complaint --- it's not Universal. Hope the dev gets a chance to update it because it'd be quite lovely on a full iPad screen. Still well worth a look.

EDIT2: My bad. Didn't realize there were separate versions for iPhone/iPad and bought the wrong one. Duh
 
M

Mario

Sidhe / PikPok
Tunesmith said:
Seabeard's softlaunch F2P balance got atrocious after a little while, I stopped playing it completely at that point. Really hope it's been tweaked for global launch because I really liked the mechanics it has apart from that.
Click to expand...

The problem with soft launches is there tends to be a lot of aggressive AB testing going on, so quite possible you got caught on the wrong side of that.

But in general, towards the end of soft launch the game should already be tuned towards the launch parameters for the majority of players, so I'm not sure you should expect much change there.
 
Matt Frost

Matt Frost

Member
Mario said:
The problem with soft launches is there tends to be a lot of aggressive AB testing going on, so quite possible you got caught on the wrong side of that.

But in general, towards the end of soft launch the game should already be tuned towards the launch parameters for the majority of players, so I'm not sure you should expect much change there.
Click to expand...

And the majority of gamers that play that are casuals that dont really care just buy IAP, so there is not tuning at all since they buy everything in sight. They dont do squat from what I experienced with them. 99% of them remains the same. I bet they actually test if people spend money on their games rather than tuning it to make it more fair.
 
M

Mario

Sidhe / PikPok
Matt Frost said:
And the majority of gamers that play that are casuals that dont really care just buy IAP, so there is not tuning at all since they buy everything in sight.
Click to expand...

This is a common misconception. The biggest spenders are "hardcore gamers", not casuals.


They dont do squat from what I experienced with them. 99% of them remains the same.
Click to expand...

Depends on the nature of the soft launch. If it is just short to the tune of a couple of weeks, then it might be just testing the build stability and functionality, servers, etc. Over a month and chances are they are running AB tests remotely as well as making changes via updates, and you may never notice anything there depending on how they run those.


I bet they actually test if people spend money on their games rather than tuning it to make it more fair.
Click to expand...

More fair? What does that mean?

And of course soft launches would be designed to maximize commercial outcomes. Most of the games released including those both loved and not loved here are intended to make money. Soft launches are generally focused on key metrics like retention which is how long someone will spend in your game (the longer someone plays, the higher the perception of quality, the more ads, more IAP, and more word of mouth will be generated on average).
 
F

Fuu

Formerly Alaluef (not Aladuf)
Been playing The Battle Cats.

Just got past South Africa, I maxed Cat Study for maximum XP gain and now I'm focusing on different upgrades. My code is who3u if you want to input it for XP and help me get Moneko, but you can only do it after you beat Japan (level 7).

I actually downloaded a version of this that was in Japanese a long time ago, but I couldn't find it on the store again back then and forgot about it. A few days ago I saw someone playing it on a video, downloaded it again and I've been having a blast. According to version history data this English release is from September 2014. A 3DS version was announced too apparently.

Game is hilarious and fun, it also scratches my Alpaca Evolution itch with all the wackiness, progressively weirder cats, offbeat text in the enemy encyclopedia etc (The Battle Cats is an actual game though).

irYIQD4TG4bhE.png
 
J

JCho133

Member
New steampunk fantasy RPG from the devs of Rimelands: Hammer of Thor. Great art and some interesting card mechanics

Trulon is a turn-based RPG with a unique card combat mechanic. It is inspired by JRPGs such as Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and Dragon Quest, but adds its own twist to the gameplay with a card combat mechanism.

Trulon is a steampunk fantasy world created by a Finnish amusement park Powerpark (http://powerpark.fi/etusivu_en).

Features:

* Four unique playable characters with individual strengths and play styles
* Explore the unique steampunk fantasy world of Trulon in this over six hour adventure
* Solve puzzles and interact with over a hundred NPCs
* Battle enemies with a collection of over 50 unique cards
* Find the many secrets and optional quests littered around the world
* Follow the story of young monster hunter Gladia, as she faces her greatest challenge yet

screen06.png


screen03.png


screen01.png


screen04.png


We are looking for 10 beta testers for the game. The requirements are:

* Testflight account

* iPad3 or later iPad device with a Retina display (iPad Minis with Retina are also ok)

If you're interested, please send me a private message with your Testflight account name.


Final clarification: The game is being developed by Kyy Games, with whom we (Dicework Games) merged with this year.
Click to expand...

Looks sweet, you can sign up for beta testing here
http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=250132
 
F

Fuu

Formerly Alaluef (not Aladuf)
oracrest said:
Is there a way to flag/star/"save for later" a title from within the iTunes window, similar to how it is on Steam?
Click to expand...
http://support.apple.com/en-us/ht1368

It's not as feature-filled as Steam's with notifications for price drops and whatnot, but you get a similar list that you can check at any time with current prices of what you put there.

edit: I assume this is what you're asking about. :p
 
Matt Frost

Matt Frost

Member
New game released today, looks great. GameCenter, 40 levels, no IAP, 2$,...

screen640x640.jpeg


https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id933627896?mt=8

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stencyl.owen

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Smp49cnCHLg


Mario said:
This is a common misconception. The biggest spenders are "hardcore gamers", not casuals.
Click to expand...

To me (and I consider myself one) hardcore gamers know their stuff. We know our games, our history and how to differentiate the bs from the rest, I dont know any hardcore gamer (I know quite a lot where I live) who invests money on free to play games. Actually none do. Expansion packs yes, those are different, buy consumable IAP? Never. Those that do should be called slot machine tactics hardcore addicts, not gamers. IMO.
 
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