What is the logical replacement for dice in a dice rolling game? Pigs, of course. Pass the Pigs's objective is to roll the pigs for the highest possible score. Based on the position in which the pigs land, between 0 and 20 points are awarded. There are two competent throwing options to choose from, but the pigs' landing positions seem pretty random.
In "Pig's Life", players progress from childhood to old age, unlocking hats along the way. Thankfully, statistics are kept from game to game which eventually lead to the availability of other gameplay options.
The cartoonish look works well on the portable device, but you won't be in awe of the visuals. It is worth noting that there is a decent amount of load time before each game. Sound effects are equally polished.
Pass the Pigs is a strange variation of a dice game, but it works well. If you are looking for a goofy pickup and play on-the-go game, Pass the Pigs is worth a download.Verdict: Buy
The Info: Platform: iPhone/iPod Touch, Seller: THQ Wireless, Rating: 4+, Players: 1, Price: $4.99
Second in a series of minireviews of iPhone/iPod Touch reviews. Verdicts will be given as Buy or Skip.
Billy Frontier, a western themed shooter (with aliens), offers a variety of game modes but no depth whatsoever. Play the level and return to the menu screen. That's it. Modes include shootout, stampede, duel and target practice. Shooting is performed by tapping the screen at the bad guys and reloading is done automatically.
The environments are bland and it's graphics are not something to marvel at.
Pangea Software continues its sale of App Store games and Billy Frontier is no exception. While Billy Frontier is not a great game, at the limited time price of $.99, it is hard not to recommend giving this title a download.
Verdict: Buy
The Info: Platform: iPhone/iPod Touch, Seller: Pangea Software, Rating: 9+, Players: 1, Price: $.99
GamePro: How did your company get started?
Brian Greenstone: I started it in 1986 when I was on Christmas break in college. I was working on a game that was eventually known as Xenocide, and since it was my first really big game I decided to form a company for it.
GP: How has it been to have each of your games as a top seller in the App store?
BG: Pretty awesome! The competition is heating up, so it is getting harder and harder to stay up there, but still, all of our apps are in the Top 50 out of thousands and thousands of apps, so I'm quite pleased.
GP: It seems like more and more applications are lowering prices. Talk about the decision to cut prices and how has it affected sales? Can companies profit even though you keep lowering prices?
BG: I think we were the trendsetter in this because we were the first to dramatically lower our prices. Other publishes saw that when we dropped our prices our apps rocketed up the rankings, so they got the clue and started doing it themselves. Generally speaking, apps sell a lot more at lower prices, and the increase in volume more than makes up for the drop in price. Each game seems to have a sweet spot, so dropping everything to 99 cents isn't necessarily the right thing to do. You sorta have to "fish" for the sweet spot for each game - the perfect balance between sales volume and price per unit.
Star Wars The Force Unleashed was released for almost every current platform known to man. As a game built from the ground up for the iPhone and iPod Touch, The Force Unleashed chooses to use a screen swiping method to control all game related activities. You have no control over the movement of your character, just the battles that take place in each area. This method of gameplay doesn't have much room for true variety. Drawing onscreen becomes repetitive quickly.
The graphics are impressive for a portable device and multiple points of view keep the fighting from becoming boring more quickly. After learning a number of screen swipes, you perform the same motions on countless enemies. At one point, I fought storm troopers for about 10 minutes without moving at all! The boss battles also have a rinse and repeat feel to them.
With an array of new iPhone games appearing each day, Cro-Mag Rally attempts to speed ahead of its competition with its fast paced driving gameplay.
Racing consists of a standard four-player, three-lap race around the track. An impressive nine courses are available, ranging from a desert to a medieval setting. Instead of moving forward and reverse by tilting the iPhone, the user needs to press on a forward/reverse button throughout the race. Ten cart racers are available from the start with different strengths for each. Pickups similar to what are found in Mario Kart are placed throughout the levels.
The biggest issue with Cro-Mag Rally is the lack of any progression. Everything is unlocked from the start and there are no stats compiled. Developer Pangea Software designed this as the ultimate pick up and play experience.
Controlling your character is a bit of a chore. The game is extremely sensitive to even the slightest movement; however there are options to change the sensitivity. Cro-Mag Rally's graphics are nothing special but get the job done for the handheld experience. However, heavy pop in occurs, especially when using a speed boost.
The price has recently been lowered from $10 to $6, which makes this shallow, yet fun, title easier to recommend to on-the-go gamers.
Enigmo, which was first released for Mac OS X in 2003, is one of the first puzzle games to make its way to the iPhone. Throughout the 50 game levels, the objective is to move various forms of liquid from point A to point B in the quickest time possible. Players use items to change the direction of falling water, oil and lava drops. The level ends when 40 drops move into the proper container. Touch controls are used to zoom in and out and for positioning pieces throughout the levels.
If 50 levels aren't enough to satisfy, there are numerous additional downloadable levels available for no additional charge.
This title is not for the casual puzzle genre fan. Each level will take a while to figure out and it will be tempting to check YouTube for the solutions, especially in later levels. However, it makes it all the more satisfying when discovering the solution.
The 3-D levels work perfectly on the iPhone with simple but crisp visuals. Enigmo is unique to the app store and a refreshing puzzler that does not involve block movement found in so many of the available puzzlers out there.
A new release parodying classic video game characters sounds like a sure fire hit. However, that is not necessarily the case with the new N-Gage game, Reset Generation. Available for a fee on Nokia phones and for free online at www.resetgeneration.com, this combination of puzzle and strategy will not hold the attention of most people looking for an easy to play, quick time filling experience. Reset Generation would have been better suited for a traditional console rather than a cell phone because it is overly complex. However, with the amount of gameplay depth; a small devoted fan base is likely to develop.
Mobile and casual games are growing in popularity, a trend with no end in sight, and one of the most well received titles has been Aurora Feint. If you've never heard of it, the free iPhone game is part RPG, part puzzler. Most will compare it to Tetris but it's much more than that.
Recently I discussed Aurora Feint with first time game designers Danielle Cassley and Jason Citron. They talked about AF's unique appeal, cleared the air about its brief absence from the iTunes App Store, and exuded a level of excitement that only comes from making your own game.
Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes is a tactical role-playing game for the iPod from the minds behind the prestigious Final Fantasy series that features a fantastic story, deep gameplay, and utterly addictive combat. Song Summoner chronicles the ongoing war between humans and machines, with music the deciding factor in their conflict. When the silver haired youth Ziggy witnesses the kidnapping of his brother at the hands of the Mechanical Militia, he's taken in by a kind Conductor that teaches him the ways of applying music to the battlefield. Five years later, Ziggy takes the mantle of Conductor himself, and sets off on a quest to save his brother from the mechanized evil.
In yet another sign that companies see untapped potential (meaning: $$$) in the mobile gaming market, Sony Ericsson recently released the details of a new phone with casual gamers as its target audience. From the description in the press release the Sony Ericsson F305 with Motion Gaming (the name just rolls off the tongue) sounds like the love child of a cell phone and a Wii but looks like a digital camera.
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