FingerGaming

Japanese shoot-’em-up developer Cave announced that its latest iPhone release, Dodonpachi Resurrection, has sold more than 30,000 units worldwide since its launch on August 26th.

Originally released in arcades as Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu in Japan in 2008, Cave’s App Store adaptation marks the first time the sequel to Dodonpachi Daioujou has seen a port to home consoles or mobile devices.

Dodonpachi Resurrection’s release follows up on Cave’s App Store debut earlier this year. The company’s first effort for iOS devices, a port of its arcade-born shoot-’em-up Espgaluda II, was met with widespread critical acclaim and was honored by Apple as a featured application in the iTunes App Store.

Though many of Cave’s shooters are notorious for their high levels of difficulty, all of the company’s App Store releases to date include new features and simplified gameplay modes suited for touch screen devices.

Cave notes that Dodonpachi Resurrection topped the App Store’s iPhone sales charts in Japan and in Hong Kong upon its initial release. The game currently ranks among the platform’s top 50 highest-grossing sellers in the App Store’s “Games” category in the United States.

Tags: cave, dodonpachi resurrection, Industry News, shooter

It’s a great day for shooters in the App Store, with Cave’s modern-day shoot-’em-up Dodonpachi Resurrection now joined by one of the genre’s best-remembered hits from the 1980s.

R-Type ($1.99) is a port of Irem’s 1987 horizontally scrolling shooter, adapted by Golvellius developer DotEmu and published by Electronic Arts.

R-Type set high standards for the shooters that followed in the wake of its initial arcade release. R-Type boasts multiple subweapons, a chargeable laser, and a deployable force unit that doubles as a shield when attached to your ship.

It’s also maddeningly, hair-pullingly difficult. While modern shooters attempt to overwhelm the player with showers of bullets, R-Type’s difficulty lies in its unforgiving enemy placement and brutal attack patterns. Succeeding at R-Type requires equal parts skill and memorization. Be warned: it’s not for the easily frustrated.

The iPhone version of R-Type includes two difficulty levels, along with tilt, touch, and virtual d-pad control options.

Tags: dotemu, electronic arts, irem, port, r-type, retro, shoot-em-up, shooter

ESPGaluda II developer Cave has released its second arcade-ported shooter for the iPhone — Dodonpachi Resurrection ($4.99), an enhanced version of its 2008 vertically scrolling bullet hell-styled shoot-’em-up.

Dodonpachi Resurrection is the latest in Cave’s Donpachi series, which grew more frenzied and difficult with each successive sequel. Today’s iPhone debut marks the first time the game has ever seen an English-language release.

In addition to including the original arcade version in its entirety, Cave has outfitted the App Store version of Dodonpachi Resurrection with an all-new iPhone Mode, which features a reworked scoring system.

In iPhone Mode, players switch between two powerful weapons — a multidirectional laser that can be manually aimed by the player, or a screen-filling Hyper Cannon that delivers critical damage to boss enemies.

As with ESPGaluda II, Dodonpachi Resurrection is only compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, third-generation iPod Touch, and iPad devices. Earlier generations of hardware are not supported. Judging by the quality of ESPGaluda II’s port, though, the steep hardware requirements should ensure a fluid experience worthy of the franchise’s reputation.

Tags: bullet hell, cave, dodonpachi resurrection, shooter

During a live keynote at QuakeCon, id Software’s John Carmack announced apocalyptic first-person shooter title Rage is going to the iPhone. The game will be released later this year — ahead of 2011′s PC, Mac, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions.

Carmack demonstrated the game running on iPhone 4, but said it can also run on 3GS, and that it looks best on the iPad. According to a report from consumer weblog Joystiq, the small-sized Rage was born of experiments on the Wii.

The iOS version of Rage will run at 60 frames-per-second. A second Rage iPhone game will also be coming next year, launching simultaneously with the PC and console releases.

During the presentation, Carmack also said that id Software is considering the Android market for Rage as well, but has not made a final decision as of yet.

Rage walked away from E3 this year with three Game Critics Awards, including best console game, best action game and “special commendation for graphics.” It also held the record for highest number of nominations with a total of five.

Tags: id software, rage, Upcoming

Espgaluda II developer Cave has released new details and a gameplay trailer for its upcoming App Store adaptation of the bullet-hell shooter DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu.

To be titled DoDonPachi Resurrection upon its release in North America, the app will include all content from the original arcade release, along with a new iPhone-exclusive “SM Mode,” which introduces new weapons and gameplay mechanics.

As seen in the trailer above, players can engage a multi-directional laser attack in SM Mode. Using the iPhone’s touch screen, players can aim the ship’s lasers in any direction while protected by a bullet-canceling shield. Also exclusive to this mode is the “Hyper Cannon,” a screen-filling attack that annihilates incoming enemies and does major damage to bosses.

Cave’s Masa KING notes that the iPhone version of DoDonPachi Resurrection will additionally feature remixed music from Kenichi Maeyamada and longtime Beatmania composer Shoichiro Hirata when it launches in the App Store in “the middle of this summer.”

Tags: cave, dodonpachi resurrection, shooter, Upcoming

Secret Exit’s formerly iPad-exclusive puzzler Zen Bound 2 ($2.99) has received a universal update, adding compatibility for all iOS devices.

Though the title remains an impressive showcase of the iPad’s hardware capabilities, iPhone and iPod Touch owners may now play a fully-featured version of Zen Bound 2, with only a slight loss in visual fidelity.

Owners of iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, and third-generation iPod Touch devices can enjoy OpenGL ES 2.0-enhanced graphics with smoother visuals and anti-aliasing.

The iPhone 4 receives further enhancements with the introduction of a new gyroscope-enabled control method and graphics that take advantage of the device’s Retina Display.

Gameloft’s Halo-like FPS N.O.V.A. ($4.99) has also seen a selection of iPhone 4-specific upgrades, including a new gyroscope control mode that tracks complete 3D range of movement.

Players can now aim and shoot in N.O.V.A. using a combination of taps, swipes, and physical movements. Using the iPhone 4′s gyroscope, players can fine-tune aiming and line up shots more effectively than by using traditional swipes and gestures.

N.O.V.A.’s latest update additionally features graphics suited for the iPhone 4′s Retina Display and support for iOS 4 multitasking.

Tags: n.o.v.a., Updates, zen bound 2

Espgaluda II developer Cave announced today that it plans to port its 2008 arcade shoot-’em-up DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu to the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The DonPachi series is obviously near and dear to Cave’s heart. DonPachi was the first game the studio created after its formation, with the follow-up DoDonPachi considered by many to be one of the best vertically scrolling shoot-’em-ups of its time.

The series saw two more sequels developed by Cave, including the Xbox 360-ported DoDonPachi Daioujou and the latest entry, DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu, which has not yet been released for home consoles.

Cave plans a global App Store release for Daifukkatsu in the summer of 2010. As with Espgaluda II, the game requires an iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, third-generation iPod Touch, or iPad to play — earlier hardware generations are not supported.

(Side note: Cave has also released a teaser trailer for its next arcade shooter, Akai Katana. The game will go on location test in Japan next week. It’s way, way too soon to speculate on a future iPhone port, but here’s hoping!)

[via GameSetWatch, @rdb_aaa]

Tags: cave, dodonpachi daifukkatsu, shooter, Upcoming

Independent mobile publisher Villain LLC announced today that its online multiplayer first-person shooter Archetype sold 160,000 units in its first week of release, and is currently featured as Apple’s iPhone App of the Week.

Since Archetype’s launch on July 6th, players have engaged in over 320,000 sessions of the game’s “iPwnage” arena deathmatch mode. Villain notes that over 2 million in-game kills were logged in the game’s launch week, with an average of 20,000 additional kills arriving hourly.

Archetype is developed by the San Francisco-based MunkyFun, an independent studio staffed by a core team of LucasArts veterans.

“We are beyond thrilled to see how Archetype in the short amount of time it’s been officially released has found such an amazing and enthusiastic fan base, along with the high praise from the editorial community,” said Dane Baker, Lead Producer at Villain.

“This has been an amazing project for all involved, and speaks to our love for games, so we’re taking this warm reception to further fuel our passion to work even harder on future updates, offerings and new game features to support our community of iPwnage fanatics.”

Tags: archetype, Industry News, Multiplayer, shooter

In a surprise development, a new Resident Evil game has been released exclusively for iOS devices. Wha…huh?!

Sorry, didn’t mean to get your hopes up. Resident Evil: Afterlife Movie Game is a free promotional title published by Sony Pictures to promote the upcoming Paul W.S. Anderson film Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D. The game is available as a universal app, optimized for both the iPhone and iPad.

Afterlife Movie Game ditches the franchise’s survival horror roots, instead offering up a fixed-position first-person shooter. As Milla Jovovich’s character Alice, players will battle the evil Umbrella Corporation on the way to a showdown with unkillable series antagonist Albert Wesker.

Oh, and there’s lots and lots of zombies. But you probably already knew that.

Be warned that Capcom had no involvement with this game’s creation, so it likely won’t live up to anyone’s expectations. At least it’s free, I guess!

Tags: capcom, Free Games, resident evil afterlife, shooter, sony pictures

Rating:

• Price: $2.99 (Download here)
• Version: 1.0
• Official Site: Retroflux

There are quite a few scrolling shooters to choose from on the App Store, and right off the bat Ultrablast sets itself among the best simply by getting so much right.

I’m not damning with faint praise here; as we get further from the heyday of the shoot-‘em-up, new offerings seem to retain less and less of the magic of their forebears.

Whether it’s from misguided experimentation in an effort to reboot the genre, or simple lack of developer experience (most new releases these days are coming from small and independent studios), modern shmups all too often lack the feel of the arcade shooters many of us grew up with.

Ultrablast, on the other hand, is chock-full of this “arcade feel,” which is actually quite a feat considering it has a somewhat slower, more methodical pace than the frenetic, screen-filling action that was popular as the genre reached its zenith.

All the elements are in their proper place, though: enemies move in familiar formations, and appear at just the right pace to keep the player constantly busy. Bosses are formidable, and you’ll need to learn their attack patterns and exploit their weaknesses to be successful. Your weapons cover the genre mainstays of the rapid-fire spread gun, powerful focused laser, and vaguely homing energy beam.

All of the familiar shooter bases are covered, and done so in a high-fidelity manner that keeps it from feeling like just a rehash. One of my favorite features is that the game does not allow you to continue, but instead provides a practice mode where you can play through any stage you have previously beaten.

While it sounds — and at times, is – frustrating, I appreciate the chutzpah in forcing the player to truly master the game in a way that’s become so unfamiliar in an era of checkpoints and autosaves.

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Tags: retroflux, reviews, shoot-em-up, shooter, ultrablast