Fans of EA’s ever popular SimCity series should be jumping with joy right about now. Later this month EA will be releasing SimCity for the iPhone on the App Store. Kotaku was able to demo the game recently and here is what they had to say:
The controls act the same way they do for Google maps. Sliding your fingers together, inward, zooms out, while sliding them apart zooms in. Touching and dragging moves your view around the map, while continuous taps cycles through the zoom levels. Placing singular objects is simple, but placing large zones or roads can be tricky to maneuver. Once you’ve selected the zone you want, you touch and drag to the appropriate length and width. However, there are times when you may find zones overlapping or roads not lining up properly. EA allows for easy corrections as you can reposition or delete unwanted blocks by the touch of a finger. I found this to be a little wonky at times the more dense an area becomes due to the increased chances of deleting the wrong block or building.
Being a unfinished demo it sounds pretty promising for fans of the series! The bugs and kinks mentioned should be fixed by the time it rolls in to the App Store, at least we are hopeful they are. Price point for this game is expected to be $9.99. We will update you when it drops!
This new game from Gameloft has raised the bar yet again on their games. After finding out that this game has in the App Store I immediately downloaded it and started to play it. The graphics are that of Nintendo64, but the detection, Audio and AI are better than that of the N64. For those of you that remember the ‘ol N64, do you remember shooting the wall and the bullet holes didn’t show up? Or when you would attempt to run over someone with a tank and they wouldn’t die? Well unlike the N64, you can do that in this game, as well as get run over, bombed, shot, or punched in the face.
David Perry of Didev Studios wrote in to tell us about Bugz for the iPhone, and was kind enough to send along some interesting insights into the game, developing for the iPhone, and the App Store.
On the origins of Bugz as a PSP game:
Bugz was originally conceived about 2 years ago as a PSP game. It took me around a year of coding, design, graphics and audio work before I made a release into a competition that was being run at the time. Bugz was well received in the competition and received first place. The public seemed to like Bugz and it’s quirky cuteness.
On moving Bugz to the iPhone:
Recently I decided to look at iPhone development and Bugz was an obvious choice as a first project. The initial version of Bugz for the PSP only had 17 levels – this would obviously need expanding for the iPhone version. Whilst contemplating the iPhone port of Bugz, I asked a friend to join me on the project, he accepted and Didev Studios was born.
Apple has put up a special iTunes page showing off the top free and top paid apps of 2008. In addition to the overall standings, Apps are also broken out according to categories like Games, Entertainment, Music, Utilities, and Social Networks.
Koi Pond leads the paid apps while Facebook owns the free. To see the complete list, head on over to iTunes.
For more, also check out Top Music, Movies, Podcasts, and Audiobooks for iTunes 2008. (And while you’re at it, consider adding Phone different and iPhone Live! to your feeds for 2009 )
We like interesting developers and interesting stories here at TiPb, and Mike Kasprzak of Smiles sent us in this gem:
I don’t know how closely you’ve been following the whole price changing fiasco in the iTunes App Store. Games launching at like $8-$10, then dropping to $1 a day or so later. Or apps jumping between 2 prices every few days to get front page exposure on aggregation sites. That sort of thing. It’s really making things hard for us developers trying to run an honest shop. Well, I did something a little different with my game Smiles. I launched the game at $4.99, but instead of dropping the price like ‘conventional wisdom’ seems to suggest, I cut it in half. This works for me, since Smiles is actually 2 games (a clever business idea that… well… hasn’t work out in my favor yet). Customers can buy my game “Smiles” individual parts (Smiles Zen, and Smiles Drop) for $2.99 each, or save about $1 by purchasing “Smiles” for $4.99.
This next app is perfect for all of you skiers and snowboarders out there. Snow Reports + GPS Ski & Snowboard Trail Maps [iTunes Link] is a great app that uses iPhones GPS to keep track of where you are on the mountain. View all of the trails, lifts, and more! You can now get this app for half off the regular price of $5.99. So if you are hitting the slopes this winter do not pass up on this one for $2.99!
Finally, we have a racer’s delight… Asphalt 4: Elite Racing. [iTunes Link] If you missed out on the reviews for this racer and more, be sure to visit the TiPb Grand Prix! You can now get this top racer for only $5.99, that’s $2.00 off the regular price.
So there you have it folks, just a few sales going on in the ever popular App Store! Enjoy!
Patrik Aronsson let us know that MadInSweden has released their first iPhone game, Whack It: Frogs, intended to deliver a high level of graphics, music, and sound enjoyment. Why target the iPhone? According to Patrik:
The capacity and the possibilities inherent in the iPhone platform is just wonderful. The benefit of having the possibilty to execute a good idea without having to compromise is a thrill. Your own time is the only limitation
If you try it out, be sure to let us know what you think!
Well, not strictly speaking, as some Apps are being discounted for more than just the day, and others have even gone up in price, but if you check out sites like AppShopper’s Price Tracker, you can see that some bargains are to be had!
Some deals are sure sweeter than what Apple Retail is offering off the iPhone (nothing!) and iPod Touch (a tiny bit!).
I might just pick up BeeJive for $9. If you find any sweet App deals, or any great deals on iPhone/iPod Touch outside Apple, please let us know in the comments!
[Ed- Aurora Feint 1: The Beginning, is FREE in the iTunes store. Aurora Feint 2: The Arena is now available for $7.99 and if you head on over to the forum, and ask Chris and Matt, we might just get a review up for that soon too! Meanwhile, here's Chris' review of the original to whet everyone's appetite!]
This is an extremely interesting game that tries to combine elements of a puzzle game with elements of an RPG game.
You start with a map screen. From there, you can go to the mine (the puzzle game), the store (to use your tiles for skills or tools), the smith (to actually obtain the tools), and the tower (to actually learn the skills). You need to start with the puzzle game, and once you start to gain levels and tile,s you can move to the other areas.
Conor sent us a note about the new game from Redwind Software. They’re coming from a .Net background, and this is their first attempt at Cocoa Touch and the iPhone, and it seems from the video they’re embracing the differences whole heartedly!
Movie Challenge is a trivia/quiz style game at its core, but so much more when examined in detail. Rather than the simple question after question after question, leveling up to meaningless levels that seems to be the norm in most trivia games on the platform we have strived to provide more. There are multiple categories, multiple game types, accelerometer action, touch screen drag and drops, power ups and the list goes on.
If you’re a movie trivia buff and you decide to meet this challenge, let us know how you do!
The iPhone Blog merged with the Phone different site in May of 2008. Both sites were founded on a premise that comes one from one of Apple's old slogans: Think different. The iPhone Blog: for people who dare to phone different.
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