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[Chinner]

I'm stuck in hospital at the moment and looking for something good to play. no idea what, looking for something kinda meaty and console-like that's easy to pick up and play. been having alot of fun with dead trigger but need something else now!

kinda feeling something rpgish/ story driven, but also something kinda open and platforming based.

any suggestions?

 

[SeanR1221]

I'm stuck in hospital at the moment and looking for something good to play. no idea what, looking for something kinda meaty and console-like that's easy to pick up and play. been having alot of fun with dead trigger but need something else now!

kinda feeling something rpgish/ story driven, but also something kinda open and platforming based.

any suggestions?

Horn is getting some good feedback.

 

[Chinner]

got a link? app search on phone just brings up a million horn apps...unless that's the joke!

 

[sladeums]

got a link? app search on phone just brings up a million horn apps...unless that's the joke!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/horn/id549350579?mt=8&ls=1

 

[McBacon]

Bought Puzzle Craft on your recommendation. Got good potential, but has some free-to-play elements snuck in here and there (in-app purchase, wait timers).

Have I just paid for a freemium game?

 

[ferr]

Got Starbase Orion and am confused out of my mind. I think I got it mixed up with another 4x I used to play..

 

[Chinner]

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/horn/id549350579?mt=8&ls=1

looks good, well graphically at least. is it like actually open world or similair to infinity blade?

any other impressions of it?

 

[SeanR1221]

looks good, well graphically at least. is it like actually open world or similair to infinity blade?

any other impressions of it?

http://toucharcade.com/2012/08/17/horn-review-a-lush-fantasy-world-awaits-you/

 

[Jayayess1190]

$100 iTunes digital gc for $80 at Walmart.

 

[Azriell]

Got Starbase Orion and am confused out of my mind. I think I got it mixed up with another 4x I used to play..

Starbase Orion is the first 4x I've ever played, I really like it a lot. It did take a little bit for me to really grasp it, but it's one of the few games that, although I don't play every day or even every week, it always stays on my iPad and I always end up going back to it.

 

[inky]

Bought Puzzle Craft on your recommendation. Got good potential, but has some free-to-play elements snuck in here and there (in-app purchase, wait timers).

Have I just paid for a freemium game?

You can ignore those aspects completely. Don't even worry about the timer either, what you get from it is extra stuff, not things you absolutely need.

If you are constantly running out of coins you are doing it wrong imo (or you are advancing extremely fast by comparatively playing the game very little). Coins are valuable, sure, but they work in a way in which you can always use them to get even more coins. For example: With the correct upgrades, I can get ~50 bread loafs per farm which then I can sell for coins. That's about 8 times as many coins as I put into each time I farm without counting the other much more valuable resources (like chickens, pigs, carrots, apples) I'm also getting. I have 2450 coins right now (LVL 19) and while that kind of money would only buy me a couple of new buildings, if I play the game for 5-10 minutes I can get that building through other resources without using up any of my coins.

In essence, you would only need to pay if you don't want to play the game anymore.

 

[PFD]

Oh god, I just wasted the last 2 days of my life because of Puzzle Craft. So good...

 

[Clunker]

I love Dungeon Raid and 10000000, but so far I am finding Puzzle Craft immensely tedious and unmotivating. It runs into all of the same problems I have with other open-ended freemium games: I have virtually no motivation to play because the only "reward" is to play more. In DR or 10m, I'm playing for efficiency because I'll eventually be killed. Here, no matter how poorly I play, I'll always have the same number of moves (barring tools, of which the only way I earn those is by spending materials), and there's no fail state so it's just grindgrindgrind. The treadmills are bare.

I've put maybe an hour or two into it, but I have zero inspiration to keep playing other than trying to feel like I didn't waste 99 cents. FWIW I also got really bored of Happy Street, Pocket Planes, Tiny Tower, and any other of those ilk of games within an hour or two. I thought the puzzley gameplay would keep me interested, but I can't find anything to hook into. It's just Not For Me, I suppose.

 

[heringer]

I love Dungeon Raid and 10000000, but so far I am finding Puzzle Craft immensely tedious and unmotivating. It runs into all of the same problems I have with other open-ended freemium games: I have virtually no motivation to play because the only "reward" is to play more. In DR or 10m, I'm playing for efficiency because I'll eventually be killed. Here, no matter how poorly I play, I'll always have the same number of moves (barring tools, of which the only way I earn those is by spending materials), and there's no fail state so it's just grindgrindgrind. The treadmills are bare.

I've put maybe an hour or two into it, but I have zero inspiration to keep playing other than trying to feel like I didn't waste 99 cents. FWIW I also got really bored of Happy Street, Pocket Planes, Tiny Tower, and any other of those ilk of games within an hour or two. I thought the puzzley gameplay would keep me interested, but I can't find anything to hook into. It's just Not For Me, I suppose.

Funny because I find Puzzle Craft immensely more motivating than Dungeon Raid. 1000000 is also pretty good at motivating me, it's just that I really don't like the match 3 mechanics in that game.

In Puzzle Craft you are always being rewarded with usefull things. Every upgrade has an impact that can be noticed by the player. You are constantly trying to get that new building, or that new worker, or more tools. Not because it is a fancy new thing that will make your town prettier (that too), but because it matters gameplay wise, because it will make you one step closer to your objective (bulding a castle). And it's rewarding to go into the puzzle and notice how the new upgrades changed the farming/mining. It's also rewarding to see your town growing.

You could try playing some more, since some things you complained about will change. Like the number of moves you have, for instance.

In the end you could say it's all grinding, so maybe it really isn't your thing I guess.

 

[Pachimari]

Any great games playing with the girlfriend online on each our iPhones?

She loves SpellTower and I like Wordfeud, so the word-games are kinda covered. Maybe I can get her to buy Fruit Ninja as well, as I just got her an iTunes card - she's not into boardgames I imagine, so Carcassonne is unfortunately out of the question, and so is card games.

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

How's the new game released by the League of Evil devs? I'm pretty close to redeem a $15 iTunes card on freemyapps, and the game looks good on screenshots.

 

[butzopower]

I've wasted a ton of time on Puzzle Craft now, but I can't help but feel like the game is trying to nickel and dime me. I don't like that it slowly introduces hindrances, and then provides expensive ways to make those hindrances more tolerable. I really find it cheap to not show you how much gold you have when they offer you to spend some at the end of a year / mining. I'll probably keep playing it, but it's super obvious it's trying to manipulate me.

Got Starbase Orion and am confused out of my mind. I think I got it mixed up with another 4x I used to play..

It rips a ton of mechanics from Master of Orion 2, which is a great thing actually.

 

[WoolyNinja]

How's the new game released by the League of Evil devs? I'm pretty close to redeem a $15 iTunes card on freemyapps, and the game looks good on screenshots.

It's a very smooth controlling but overall forgettable action-platformer that gets repetitive and boring quickly. I loved League of Evil and LoE2 but this game doesn't have the time limits to beat, briefcases to find, etc that kept me coming back to play LoE.

Instead you shot fairly repetitive enemies that leave coins when they die. You can use those coins to get better weapons, costumes, etc... and that's about it.

 

[EleventhDoctor]

That feeling in Puzzle Craft when you go mining and realize you didn't bing any gas vents.

 

[dream]

This is going to sound so pretentious, and I am so loathe to post it, but I think the best way to not feel pressured into buying Puzzle Craft IAP is by being good at the game. Every barrier is surmountable if you're very competent at the game and know what to upgrade, who to hire, and how to spend your resources.

 

[Fusebox]

Puzzle Craft Puzzle Craft Puzzle Craft Puzzle Craft .

That was how I spent my weekend.

Waking around the shops and Puzzle Craft eating lunch with Puzzle Craft watching TV while Puzzle Craft.

Brb gotta go Puzzle Craft.

 

[butzopower]

This is going to sound so pretentious, and I am so loathe to post it, but I think the best way to not feel pressured into buying Puzzle Craft IAP is by being good at the game. Every barrier is surmountable if you're very competent at the game and know what to upgrade, who to hire, and how to spend your resources.

I don't feel actual pressure to buy the IAP because I see it as a huge waste of money, but the game is obviously built to exert pressure on consumers who would. The only reason you should feel pretentious is for thinking it's a feat to have figured out how to minmax it, as it really isn't that deep of a game.

That's not to say it didn't entertain me for a few hours, and I definitely got my .99 worth.

 

[SeanR1221]

Level 21 in Puzzle Craft.

 

[KingKong]

I'm level 22 or something and pretty burnt out right now, I've got basically all the materials (don't have gold bars yet but everything else), so there's no new stuff to really go for

is there an end to the game? I guess at some point the buildings run out and you max out the workers, but does it just keep going?

 

[Fezan]

Square has lots of JRPGs out. Chrono Trigger, FF 1-3, the Chaos Rings games, and Final Fantasy Tactics.

Cthulhu Saves The World is great for a more Dragon Quest kind of experience, as is Dragon Fantasy, both of which have surprisingly great writing.

Rogue Touch is my favorite roguelike on the platform. Simple, hard, great. 100 Rogues is good, and Sword of Fargoal is solid.

There are tons of great board/card games, but Summoner Wars has the most RPG elements involved. It's like a card game crossed with a strategy RPG. Best played with friends, of course. If you like this one, you should look into the other Playdek games, they're all amazing and able to justify owning an iOS device on their own.

There are some WRPG attempts and such beyond roguelikes, but I haven't found any I like(The Quest is just okay). Ditto for the 10 or so MMOs I've tried, nothing remotely good there just yet. Somebody else might be able to help you there.

Most games are on iPhone, but for RPGs, you're missing out on the amazing Spiderweb games if you don't get an iPad eventually (or you can get those on PC).

some Square enix games not available in my country.What is this shit.
wanted to play chrono triger so badly as it would've been my first play through .sigh

 

[GeekyDad]

Bought Puzzle Craft on your recommendation. Got good potential, but has some free-to-play elements snuck in here and there (in-app purchase, wait timers).

Have I just paid for a freemium game?

Nah, it's definitely got some design elements similar to freemium, but it doesn't play like it. So long as you don't nonstop farm and mix things up between the mine and farm, you can (and will) play for hours on end. Folks who are getting stopped in their tracks are either doing nothing but farming or are spending money on unnecessary shit, like extending the season/mining rations.

 

[SeanR1221]

Yeah don't be afraid to sell a bunch of wood and bread to get funds. I have like 2k now in coins.

 

[Minsc]

I'm level 22 or something and pretty burnt out right now, I've got basically all the materials (don't have gold bars yet but everything else), so there's no new stuff to really go for

is there an end to the game? I guess at some point the buildings run out and you max out the workers, but does it just keep going?

It's supposed to be 10-15 hours to finish (you get to the castle building, then there's no more). They are planning on a decent show of post-launch update support though, from what I read.

 

[GDJustin]

Beat Puzzle Craft (constructed the Castle).

Folks complaining about IAPs - I'm not sure what game you're playing. I've put hours upon hours in, purchasing every item and upgrade possible, and never once felt the need to spend any additional money.

If anything the game is TOO GENEROUS. Once you get buildings that allow you to match grass AND trees, and buildings that allow you to match rats & wolves to clear them (eliminating the need for those tools), the game becomes a cakewalk.

Likewise, in the mine, you eventually get upgrades that let you match gas, and match coal with stone & silver with iron. Then mining is also very easy.

ANYWAY that's not what this post is about. I'm probably going to write a short IGN opinion piece tomorrow about what could be added Puzzle Craft in future updates. Wanted to see if anyone had any good ideas. I already have a big list of notes/ideas of my own to build from.

What's exciting is there are a LOT of places this game could go. Right now we have two minigames. Why not... add more? Players could construct an arena for their town and with it comes a Dungeon Raid-style fighting puzzle. Construct a harbor and add a fishing puzzle...

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

Fairway Solitaire is pretty great and, as you said, you can completely ignore the IAP. As someone who doesn't enjoy score attacks and infinite runners, this is the perfect "5 minute" game. It's also a great "just one more" game, as I found myself trying to get just one more hole in before putting it down (and often coming back to work from my lunch break late because of it).

So the IAPs are just extra currency and not DLC courses?

Thanks for the impressions. It'll be my next purchase.

As for Puzzle Craft's IAPs, I really don't feel pressured into buying anything. The game does seem like it's designed to make you use real money, but I think IAPs willl make the game less addictive.

Some of these games prey on impatience but we know better than to fall for that! But I can see casuals who will lose patience. I think the game is pretty fair. It's like Dragon Quest with IAPs, if you're willing to spend hours grinding away.

 

[Fusebox]

I think we should all refer to it as Puzzle Crack from now on.

 

[Zeth]

Puzzle Craft Puzzle Craft Puzzle Craft Puzzle Craft .

That was how I spent my weekend.

Waking around the shops and Puzzle Craft eating lunch with Puzzle Craft watching TV while Puzzle Craft.

Brb gotta go Puzzle Craft.

I really regret not starting it on my phone. Looks great on iPad, but I only really play at home. Why don't devs support the syncing again?

 

[matt360]

Loving the Jurassic Park park builder.

Same here, I'm still going strong with that one at level 22 and haven't spent a dime yet.

I know Happy Street is all the rage right now, but does anyone still play Snoopy's Street Fair? My wife has been playing for months and I just got into it after trying Jurassic Park and Monster Life (deleted) and I gotta say, Snoopy is by far the best of the lot for me. It has the most interesting stuff happening on screen at any given time, there are mini-games to play, lots of stuff to collect, and it's oozing with more charm than any of these other freemium games. I guess I just missed the boat on that one, but I think it's great.

Simpson's Tapped Out has also been kind of a letdown for me. I'm not going to delete it just yet, but there's really not a whole lot to do so far. More character interactions would've been nice.

 

[GeekyDad]

I think we should all refer to it as Puzzle Crack from now on.

Ha, ha! Yeah, pretty much. But I'm hoping and praying, now that I'm getting later into the game, I don't get the dreaded bug that kills the game.

 

[EleventhDoctor]

Beat Puzzle Craft (constructed the Castle).

Folks complaining about IAPs - I'm not sure what game you're playing. I've put hours upon hours in, purchasing every item and upgrade possible, and never once felt the need to spend any additional money.

If anything the game is TOO GENEROUS. Once you get buildings that allow you to match grass AND trees, and buildings that allow you to match rats & wolves to clear them (eliminating the need for those tools), the game becomes a cakewalk.

Likewise, in the mine, you eventually get upgrades that let you match gas, and match coal with stone & silver with iron. Then mining is also very easy.

ANYWAY that's not what this post is about. I'm probably going to write a short IGN opinion piece tomorrow about what could be added Puzzle Craft in future updates. Wanted to see if anyone had any good ideas. I already have a big list of notes/ideas of my own to build from.

What's exciting is there are a LOT of places this game could go. Right now we have two minigames. Why not... add more? Players could construct an arena for their town and with it comes a Dungeon Raid-style fighting puzzle. Construct a harbor and add a fishing puzzle...

I feel that the sliding "toolbar" that you use when mining/farming could be improved upon. It's not very intuitive to go up there and slide the slider to find the right tool...maybe if the drop down menu was 2 columns deep?

 

[soldat7]

Nice. Just tried copying a Disney movie for my kids to my iPad through their lame digital copy program. This forced me to connect to iTunes, something I haven't done in ages, and iTunes proceeded to completely nuke my iPad. I lost progress in about a dozen games or more.

Why does iTunes syncing SUCK so bad?

 

[Ranger X]

I don't feel actual pressure to buy the IAP because I see it as a huge waste of money, but the game is obviously built to exert pressure on consumers who would. The only reason you should feel pretentious is for thinking it's a feat to have figured out how to minmax it, as it really isn't that deep of a game.

That's not to say it didn't entertain me for a few hours, and I definitely got my .99 worth.

What a turn off man. Why people are playing games like that? Are we THAT depraved of great and less "commerce oriented" experiences out there? How gaming have changed.
Can't wait for the day progression and design will always be IAPs by default on any gaming platform. That day I won't be a gamer anymore.

 

[xJavonta]

I really need an iPhone. I can't take my Nexus S 4G's terrible battery life anymore, and there are many games that I would rather play on a phone than my iPad.

Is the 4 that far behind the 4S? I can get a 4 for about $100 less than a 4S, so if there's not a huge difference between the two I'll do that.
Or maybe I should hold out for the next iPhone in September...

 

[heringer]

What a turn off man. Why people are playing games like that? Are we THAT depraved of great and less "commerce oriented" experiences out there? How gaming have changed.
Can't wait for the day progression and design will always be IAPs by default on any gaming platform. That day I won't be a gamer anymore.

I know hating on IAP of any kind is all the rage now, but if the developers of Puzzle Craft designed the game to sell IAP they sure did a poor job with it. The game is too generous as it is.

If there was no IAP in the game no one would complain "fuck, this game is unbalanced". But because they are there, people automatically assume they are going for your wallet. I get that, it's a reasonable assumption with iOS games these days, but credit where it's due.

 

[butzopower]

If there was no IAP in the game no one would complain "fuck, this game is unbalanced". But because they are there, people automatically assume they are going for your wallet. I get that, it's a reasonable assumption with iOS games these days, but credit where it's due.

I don't think I've seen anyone complain that the game is unbalanced. My beef is that the game is pushy. It offers extra rounds in the mine, or to save your farm state, and then when you don't have that much gold (which you can't tell if you do or not since this is the one time they don't show you how much gold you have) it immediately pops up the in-app purchase window.

 

[Crimsonclaw111]

Nice. Just tried copying a Disney movie for my kids to my iPad through their lame digital copy program. This forced me to connect to iTunes, something I haven't done in ages, and iTunes proceeded to completely nuke my iPad. I lost progress in about a dozen games or more.

Why does iTunes syncing SUCK so bad?

It depends, did you turn off auto syncing? And have you created backups?

 

[Fusebox]

I don't feel actual pressure to buy the IAP because I see it as a huge waste of money, but the game is obviously built to exert pressure on consumers who would.

You and I have different ideas about what is considered exerting pressure.

 

[inky]

Hmm... I never felt the game was pushy, and believe me, I have complained a lot about games that do, for example Insomniac's Outernauts for Facebook. That game is disgusting. I found it relatively normal that it would offer to save your state or more mining turns (these things are not necessary at all, they offer very few extra value unless you planned your moves pretty badly). 3 more turns to pick one or two diamonds I left on the mining field are useless. I rather use those coins to get tools and food to maximize diamond harvest next round if it's really what I'm after.

I suppose you have played it less time than me, but progression is built in such a way that picking a path and sticking to it leads to getting a significant amount of resources, in fact, more than you'll need of a specific kind. Meh, I don't have any business "defending" the game, but I never really found it aggressive. I found it easily exploitable in a way that you won't ever need to spend a cent. At least up to lvl 21...

 

[Ranger X]

I know hating on IAP of any kind is all the rage now, but if the developers of Puzzle Craft designed the game to sell IAP they sure did a poor job with it. The game is too generous as it is.

If there was no IAP in the game no one would complain "fuck, this game is unbalanced". But because they are there, people automatically assume they are going for your wallet. I get that, it's a reasonable assumption with iOS games these days, but credit where it's due.

The ultimate judgement from me on that game will come when this game will be in promotion (free) at some point. Right now it's just not giving me the best impression. It does look like alot of fun though.

 

[arts&crafts]

Guys for those of you complaining about IAP for Puzzle Craft, play the game. I am pretty sure the game was made to be just a 99 cent app with no IAP. (Which is good) The IAP are just there to make money off people who are really bad at videogames and want to progress without playing. Doesnt angry birds have IAP to get special birds or something? Why would you ever buy special birds in angry birds, its beyond me.

 

[ToxicAdam]

The ultimate judgement from me on that game will come when this game will be in promotion (free) at some point. Right now it's just not giving me the best impression. It does look like alot of fun though.

It's funny that you would buy those (horrible) Kairosoft games day 1, but you have misgivings about this game.

 

[8sanders]

Guys for those of you complaining about IAP for Puzzle Craft, play the game. I am pretty sure the game was made to be just a 99 cent app with no IAP. (Which is good) The IAP are just there to make money off people who are really bad at videogames and want to progress without playing. Doesnt angry birds have IAP to get special birds or something? Why would you ever buy special birds in angry birds, its beyond me.

100 percent agree. I despise freemium games and puzzle craft is just fine.

 

[soldat7]

It depends, did you turn off auto syncing? And have you created backups?

I turned auto-syncing off long ago and I have some data backed up to my 5GB cloud crap. Auto-syncing must have been reenabled with the latest iTunes, for me. Ugh, this is exactly why I try to never use iTunes. /rant

 

[EleventhDoctor]

I turned auto-syncing off long ago and I have some data backed up to my 5GB cloud crap. Auto-syncing must have been reenabled with the latest iTunes, for me. Ugh, this is exactly why I try to never use iTunes. /rant

This makes no sense. I sync all the time and Ive never had a problem. iTunes syncing isn't the problem-there's something else going on here.

 

[Pandemic]

Oooo, just realised they released Cafeteria Nipponica.. I'm hooked on Kairosoft's games, apart from Dungeon Village and Epic Astro Story.. Oh, and Oh! Edo Towns.