Nintaii 2 Comes to iPhone
Gamers on the iPhone have long sense shown a love of using Apple’s star mobile device to play a range of puzzle games, but Nintaii, which derives its name from the Japanese word for ‘patience’, has been a real favorite. That is why reviewers were not surprised to see Nintaii 2 coming out from Concrete Software, Inc. recently. The first version of the game had developed a strong following that Concrete had planned to build upon early on and the challenging game play promised to invoke the tradition of increasing level count in this latest version. In all there will be one hundred brand new levels in Nintaii 2 to test the gamer’s patience and endurance at this strategic puzzle title. Since the first version was a huge seller in the App Store, the follow up will offer obstacles and challenges that push gamers to their intellectual limits using the same format that earned the first title its fame for ease of play and thrill.
An increasing complexity is part of the package and gamers can expect to be faced with some of the most extreme challenges of the Nintaii series so far in this second game. A social media aspect has been added so that players can join a gaming community for Nintaii 2 fans where they will be able to check out tips and strategies, plus share some of their own if they are so inclined. The core game of rolling the block through a maze has been preserved, but more interaction means more chances for bobbles that can cost players the puzzle.
Super Monkey Ball 2
When game developer SEGA of Japan first unveiled its hit game Super Monkey Ball for Apple’s iPhone, gamers were delighted, anticipating the port of one of the most popular video games in recent history. However, much to the dismay of gamers worldwide, while the tilting mechanism built into iPhones functioned in favor of intriguing play, the game itself received poor reviews due to what many felt were poor controls. Now, SEGA plans to remedy this situation by introducing a sequel to its popular puzzle game. The decidedly cute graphics helped the game sell well across the gender lines, but the company hopes its future release will please the more hard core gaming audience.
By teaming up with developer Other Ocean, SEGA seeks to improve the controls in Super Monkey Ball 2 by focusing on what it learned from customer feedback it garnered after the initial title’s release. By taking a lesson from Nintendo’s Wii console, the gaming giant is employing massive development efforts to upgrade the precision of controls and make the game far more playable than their last go around. Gamers will be able to calibrate the controls to suit their own styles of movement, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the controls to suit the individual user.
Battle Bears
When it comes to iPhone games, few are as unique in their approach as the recently released Battle Bears title from developer SkyVu Pictures. Players control a rampaging teddy bear and gun down opposing bears in this first person shooter. All of the violence in the game is cartoonish and over the top, but still the title is not geared towards children.
Players will take on the role of a teddy bear that has been caught behind enemy lines and must battle its way out by choosing from a large arsenal of weapons including an assault rifle that contains unlimited ammo and secondary weapons such as unicorn blood toxic to your opponents, a crossbow made from a unicorn’s horn, a profanity megaphone, a pot of gold used to devour their souls and a bearzooka to shoot the limbs of your fallen enemies. Sand bags and other defensive counter measures are also available to protect the player as the rounds progress and the action grows more intense. The controls were designed to be easily grasped after a brief tutorial so that players can get directly into the action within minutes.
SkyVu intended the game as a comical farce of fairy tale violence, but potential gamers will want to take note that the gore can be intense if the gore mode is turned on. The protagonist featured in the game does tend towards high levels of what many may consider to be inappropriate language so the game is clearly aimed at a more mature audience.
Battle Bears is available for download with a $1.00 price tag.
Touch Squash: World Championship 09
Game developer Rolocule Studios is releasing the first ever squash 3D sports game for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch. The game is titled Touch Squash: World Championship 09 and will attempt to capitalize upon the growing global popularity of this tennis-like sport. It will use the PARS scoring system adopted by the World Squash Federation and offer unique third person perspective as players square off against artificially intelligent opponents, each designed to provide a level of challenge for players that ranges from beginner up to expert levels of difficulty. Players will be able to participate in matches on courts in 24 countries and even compete in 4 unique tournaments around the world.
Touch Squash is the seminal title from Rolocule and the company’s hope is that the game will provide not only an outlet for those who enjoy this more obscure sport, but a means through which those interested in squash can learn more of what the sport is all about. Due to the speed at which the ball moves, squash is not suited for televised presentation and as of yet, is not an official Olympic sport.
The recently released v2.0 of Touch Squash also features worldwide multiplayer functionality via the AGON Online social platform for iPhone games. This service allows players to compete against those in other nations to win awards and publish their stories on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites.
Touch Squash is available to those with the iPhone 2.2.1 or later update and costs $0.99 from Apple’s App Store.
Torque Game Engine for the iPhone?
GarageGames, providers of game development tools and software, recently announced that their game engine Torque could be used to create iPhone games. Torque is an affordable technology for game developers to create their own 2D/3D games with. Developers can license torque and use it to launch games on the iPhone platform. The Torque Game Engine has been used to create many games such as Marble Blast, Minigolf mania and tube twist. The game engine is also being used in upcoming games such as the Afterworld [An MMOG] and Penny Arcade Adventures. The Torque Game Engine can be licensed by Indie developers for $150 and by commercial developers for $749. GarageGames has also provided additional iPhone specific functionality for Torque such as multi-touch input support, touch screen gesture recognition and compressed textures optimized for the iPhone.