Indie game developer Jason Rohrer makes his iPhone debut with this week’s App Store release of Passage ($0.99). Previously available as a PC freeware title, Passage comes to the iPhone this week as a direct port with a new touch-based control interface.
An extremely brief life simulation game (it takes less than five minutes to play to completion), Passage earned acclaim from both the gaming public and the mainstream press upon its PC release last year. Rohrer’s latest efforts include the arthouse title Gravitation and the multiplayer-only puzzler Between.
Passage’s commercial release on the iPhone is an interesting development in the world of independently developed games. The title earned attention and praise when it debuted as freeware, but how will it fare against the thousands of paid apps already available in the iTunes Store? More specifically, how will iPhone users respond to its short length and simple gameplay? You can bet that more than a few iPhone-curious indie developers will be watching this one closely.
Will Wright’s beloved city simulation franchise makes its long-awaited iPhone and iPod Touch debut with this week’s App Store release of SimCity ($9.99). Resembling the 1998 PC release of SimCity 3000 in looks and function, the new iPhone adaptation of SimCity also boasts its own set of exclusive features and control options.
Initial reports and previews indicate that the iPhone SimCity is fully-featured, with all the depth and complexity of its PC predecessors. City builders can expect all the zoning, building, and lawmaking action typical of a SimCity session…after which they have the option to destroy it all by unleashing tornadoes, earthquakes, and an army of UFOs on their too-trusting citizens.
Iphone and iPod Touch-exclusive features include an extended tutorial for first-time players, along with touch functionality for zooming, planning, and construction.
Yoot Saito — the developer behind odd console titles like Odama and the Seaman series, the latter having a cult following — revealed a new iPhone titled called Gabo!, which appears to be a connection to the virtual animal Seaman games.
As with Seaman 2, which released for PlayStation 2 last year and never made it outside of Japan, the iPhone title charges you with rearing a “Peking Man” named Gabo, allowing you to act as a god and alter his island environment to influence his growth. Unlike past Seaman titles, however, you probably won’t use a specialized microphone to command Gabo. Instead, you’ll likely just use the iPhone touchscreen.
According to Saito’s Japanese blog, the game is slated to hit the Japanese market next month, with a possible release for the rest of the world following. For now, enjoy this video preview!
VentureBeat’s MG Siegler says that SimCity is slated to appear in the App Store in December with an expected price of $9.99.
According to Siegler’s impressions, the EA Mobile title has the “look and feel” of SimCity 3000, but with touchscreen controls for tasks like zoning. Players can also use the platform’s multi-touch capabilities for zooming in and out of cities, as well as other functions.
The SimCity 3000 comparison is interesting, as modified and touchscreen-enabled versions of the game were also released for the Nintendo DS, developed by now-shuttered EA Japan and later Hudson Soft. Could the iPhone/iPod Touch game be a further modified version of those titles? And if so, which game is it based on — SimCity DS or SimCity Creator?
Siegler also says that the demo he played suffered “loading time issues,” but an Electronic Arts representative promises that the game will run smoothly by launch.
Bootant, a respected developer in the App Store, released his brand new flight game, BiiPlane ($3.99), to the public yesterday. Similar to his other Bii games, like BiiBall, you cannot hit the sides of the map, and you have to collect items to move on.
At first glance, this game showed a promising fun interface, but ironically, all the levels are potentially the same, and the game can get very boring, very fast. The goal is simple, there’s little air-blimps that float, and they’re holding a small box with a star inside. This box, when ran into it, bursts open, and a star is credited to your player. Miss a star and you usually cannot complete the level. Also, rings appear that you’re forced to fly through; same concept if you are to miss it.
The graphics are brilliant, just like the gameplay, engine, and the accelerometer features, but there’s no story; and no real fun here. This game can really show what the iPod touch or iPhone is capable of, but for all the casual gamers, this game may not last long on your device. I think Bootant should have waited to release their application, maybe add some more challenge (possibly like moving blimps), or actual enemies to avoid.
If you’re curious to see the game in action, you can watch Bootant’s gameplay video below:
Update: Shortly after posting this, Wings dropped in price to $0.99 from $1.99.
X-Plane 9 ($9.99) is no longer the only flight simulator in the App Store, now that Wings ($0.99) from Bottle Rocket Apps has shown up. Although to be fair to X-Plane 9, Wings is more of a flight sim litein that there’s no planes involved, or anything else, other than just floating through a landscape in different weather conditions.
Wings allows you to choose from the four different seasons to fly in - winter, spring, summer, and fall. You can choose from Flying or Floating controls, with flying having actual pitch and yaw, whereas floating is … well, floating along. Wings isn’t really a game, but more of a technology demo, or a way to relax.
The textures of the landscape are a bit too muddy and low resolution to make them enjoyable to look at. Then there’s the draw distance which is too near and features a lot of drawing of the scenery too close to your view. The sky, however, looks very good. There’s no sound effects, but the music within Wings is very nice and relaxing.
Much like Koi Pond ($0.99), Wings is a way to relax with a stripped down version of a flight simulator. If you want a more challenging, combat-oriented flight simulator, check out yesterday’s post about Flying Aces, which is coming soon.
Click on the screenshot above to watch Wings in action.
SnakeHead Software has an upcoming dogfight flight sim game, called Flying Aces, that will be available sometimes in November. Think X-Plane but with combat involved.
Flying Aces is the first true dogfight game for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Sit in the cockpit of an F-15 Eagle flying over the Persian Gulf, you will fly head to head against enemy warplanes and gain rank, competing against other iPhone users by shooting down as many planes as possible.
Some of the features you can expect from Flying Aces are:
Compete against other iPhone players
Accelerometer flight control, just like a real flight-stick
Fantastic graphics and special effects
Power-Ups for added strategy
Ranking system vs. other players
For a sneak peek of Flying Aces, showing off flight and shooting at water, watch below:
Vivendi Games Mobile has brought their popular casual village simulator game, Virtual Villagers, to the iPhone in Virtual Villagers: A New Home ($7.99). The game’s main attractions are the puzzles and mystery on the island you play on, with each section of the island containing its own stories.
The phenomenal web casual game debuts on iPhone! In this real-time simulation, guide your castaway tribe in their survival. Help them solve puzzles and hidden mysteries of the island. They need to become farmers, builders, scientists, parents and more in order to thrive on this isolated paradise.
Features:
The 1st iPhone game that continues to live, even when you turn it off!
The dynamic set-up encourages players to come back everyday and find whole new environments that make a world of its own.
Guide your villagers with 4 occupations (Farming, Building, Research & Breeding) and 5 mini-games
Customize your game experience by renaming your villagers and choosing their outfit!
Recommended for fans of simulation games such as The Sims
A trailer for Virtual Villagers: A New Home on the iPhone can be watched below:
Laminar Research has released an update for their flight simulator, X-Plane 9 ($9.99), now at version 9.02, which adds a number of new features and fixes some bugs.
The biggest additions are the three new airports and runways, although they are pretty bare and basic at the moment. There’s also a map to check out your surroundings, which you can also zoom in/out, and rotate using the pinch gestures. The update also adds the ability to calibrate the accelerometer for roll, as well as pitch, makes the propeller look better on the planes, and the performance improved.
Urban Tycoon puts the city in your hands.. literally! Pinch and swipe your way through your city. The goal of Urban Tycoon is to build a financially flourishing metropolis that’s environmentally safe and low on crime. As an urban tycoon you will have complete control of your urban area’s budget… so spend it wisely.
Urban Tycoon will be on sale for $1.99 until Version 2.0 hits the app store in November. So get it while it’s hot!
Mister Bumblebee and his friends are having a race today!
Because they are flying, this is not just like driving a car - it is a truly
three dimensional experience. Fly over hills, under tree trunks and through caves.
Avoid collisions, collect items and establish new lap records!
Features:
- Completely in 3D
- Four cartoon style hand-drawn tracks
- Choose Mister Bumblebee or three other funny characters
- Smoke bombs and other special items
- Three levels of difficulty
- Compare your lap times in the hall of fame
If you’ve been looking for a game to show off your iPhone’s capabilities to your friends then Nanosaur 2 is it. Nanosaur 2 is the most advanced 3D game yet for the iPhone, and it takes things to a whole new level.
In Nanosaur 2 you pilot a flying dinosaur from the future who is equipped with massive firepower! Your goal is to find and retrieve the missing dinosaur eggs, and to do that you’ll have to blow up a whole lotta stuff! You’ll battle other Nanosaurs and their defense systems, and collect powerups which give you a large array of weaponry ranging from heat seeking missiles to cluster bombs.
If you like flying, you like dinosaurs, and you like to make things go BOOM! then Nanosaur 2 is the game for you!
LED Basketball for the iPhone. touchGrove brings you old-school basketball at it’s very best. Your friends and associates will drool over the creamy orange plastic case… the pulsating bright red LED’s… the razor-sharp, authentic court screen printed with realistic basketball graphics. Run your fingers over the smooth orange basketball”shoot” butttons and you’ll know it’s the real deal. Pass the ball to your teammate or go in for a slam dunk. Because you are the Man. And you know this is gonna be some awesome basketball action. So dig down deep in your pockets and find yourself 99 cents… cuz that’s all it’s gonna cost!!!
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Yoot Saito — the developer behind odd console titles like Odama and the Seaman series, the latter having a cult following — revealed a new iPhone titled called Gabo!, which appears to be a connection to the virtual animal Seaman games.
