Blog Archives
2K Games Announce ‘Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol’
2K and Firaxis Games have announced Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol, an original iOS title from the creators of Sid Meier’s Civilization. Read the rest of this entry
Could Climax Studios Be Working On Next ‘Prince of Persia’?
Images that have been posted on Climax Studios’ website related to a unannounced “Character Action Platformer“, bare a striking resemblance to the Prince of Persia franchise.
The Walking Dead: Assault Review
The Walking Dead: Assault is a strategy game on iOS game from Skybound, who also made the board game, which was an unexpected release and adds to The Walking Dead games that have been or will be released. The game itself is based on the graphic novels rather than the television show which is a real strength for the game which I will go into more detail later on in this review. The premise for each level is the same through; clear the area of ‘walkers’ in the quickest time possible. Within some of the levels you will see iconic locations from both the TV show and the graphic novel, like the tank for example. Within each level it is not just killing walkers or other groups of humans, you have to collect supplies that are used as currency in between missions. Controlling your characters is as simple as double tapping where your selected character is to go or holding your finger and all of your characters will move to the same area.
The supplies can be used to improve strengthen your squad through each member having more health or more ammo for example. Or the supplies can be used to unlock a new character who can be selected for the next mission. Each character has their own special ability, which can be used throughout the missions, once reloaded. These add a real tactical element, as they take time before they can be reused again, but it’s knowing when to use each characters ability that makes playing through each level unique. In addition, each character has a two weapons; a gun and a hand weapon like a crowbar or an axe. Along with having limited ammo each time your group fire their guns, it naturally makes a sound, if the sound meter reaches above a certain level then you attract a massive swarm of walkers to your area, making it that bit harder to complete the level. This is a brilliant feature to the game and adds another layer to the tactics of completing each of the missions, with Skybound promising more content in the future. Sound can however, be used to your advantage, like sound the alarm of cars to lure walkers into your ambushes. These levels are a visual treat for the eyes, they are in black and white much like the graphic novels. However, the only colour which flesh out the levels are blood red which show where your skirmishes with ‘walkers’ or a member of your team died. The game is faithful to the comic books so if a member of your team or another group member dies, they will regenerate as a ‘walker’.
On the whole, the game looks great and plays well despite the lack of story, with an iOS game that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It doesn’t hinder this game as the game play and purpose isn’t to progress the story, because the people that will buy this are fans of the show, like myself, or the graphic novels so they know what happens. The purpose of the game is to replay the levels, try and beat your best time, beat your friends best times. Try different combinations of people in your group. Maybe saving up your collected supplies to unlock more characters, or just wanting to pick up and have a quick game on the daily commute. In my opinion this is the perfect style of strategy game on iOS, it’s depth comes in the gameplay and the challenge rather than just retreading a story. It isn’t a perfect game by no means, it is a very good game which I recommend to fans of the show or the graphic novel whole heartedly as it’s true to it’s origins. I would still recommend it to those who are unfamiliar with The Walking Dead canon as it’s a highly enjoyable and challenging strategy game.
Overall Score:
8/10
Square Enix “Mystery Title” to be revealed in less than 24 hours!
Recently, Square Enix had posted yet another countdown clock for a mystery title. The last countdown clock was for the announcement that “The World Ends With You” was coming iOS. While the port itself saw the definitive version of one of the best RPGs on the DS, it lacked a certain zeal that seemed foretold by the essence of a countdown clock. Seriously, if you put up a clock to countdown something, it had better be damn special! I digress…
This new countdown clock – found here - is speculated to be another entry into a beloved franchise owned by Square Enix right now: Star Ocean. According to international gaming news site, Siliconera, a patent for something called Star Galaxy right around when this teaser site came out. However, a few things stand out to me that say, “Don’t get too excited Jaime…” First, the teaser itself. Most teasers like this tend to have bad track record, as mentioned before. Secondly, that name that was patented. One of the reasons I picked up Star Ocean was because of its name; I had no idea the game was actually good! Changing the name seems rather unnecessary…unless you account for it being something completely different yet tied to the universe in some way. Im banking on a social/mobile game. It also doesn’t help that tri-Ace, the developer, aren’t seen anywhere on the teaser.
Another factor, albeit less indicative, is that normally their is only one Star Ocean per generation, if that. I doubt Square would allow the number of Star Oceans that come in a generation would match the number of Final Fantasies.
Well, we will all see in due time. If nothing else, there is one small sense of hope:
This small tech-demo from tri-Ace shows some promise, but will it come to fruition this gen? Nothing is for sure until the countdown clock hits zero, so expect a response in less than 24hrs from Analog Addiction regarding the surprise that could be awaiting all of us by 12/12/12. Fingers crossed people…
Jaime is an avid RPG gamer and would be very happy with a new addition to the Star Ocean franchise. He is the current PS Vita and RPG editor for Analog Addiction and can be on Twitter here.
The Official Analog Addiction GOTY Nominees
Welcome to the Official unveiling of Analog Addictions list of Game of the Year nominees, after weeks of discussion, heated debate and voting, oh so much voting, we have narrowed our list down to the selections below.
Analog Addiction has been going for 6 months strong and we have a great selection of professional talent, it is an honor for all of us to share our nominees for GOTY and hope these games are given the recognition they deserve.
Voting and discussion is still on-going for the official winners, but they will be late this month. But while we wait for our first Official GOTY, what are you choices? Let us know what games you think should have made the list and let us all bask in the warm glow of 2012′s best and brightest.
Who will win Analog Addiction’s first Game of the Year? Stay tuned to find out.
Jamie Briggs manages Analog Addiction where you can find all his latest reviews, interviews and features and also like them on Facebook. Also follow his daily life on Twitter @AnalogAddiction and their videos on YouTube.
Game Dev Story Review
Created by Kairosoft in 2010 Game Dev Story is an iOS and Android exclusive title, focusing around the idea of being in charge of your own video game company to be able to create your dream games and make your team of employees the most talented in the industry. GDS (Game Dev Story) is a simulation title, most of your actions will take place within menus and you will sit back and see how your choices unfold, it is very much like a cross between The Sims and a game like Farmville. Each task will take a certain amount of time, once completed however that is when you get the chance to reap the many benefits. GDS offers an entertaining and addictive experience on-the-go, for those who dream of creating a game but do not have the skills to do so; this is a way for them to live out that fantasy. Though the game is not without issues, this certainly scratches those gaming itches on the mobile platforms.
My first iOS game
Game Dev Story oozes style and charisma, graphically the game is created in the 8-bit style of past gaming generations. Even though mobile gaming has proven that graphics can almost rival the console experience, GDS’s 8-bit style is very charming and adds to the aesthetic. Almost the entire game will have you situated within an almost top-down view of your office space, viewing your employees as they work. This space can be upgraded over the 20 year lifespan of any playthrough, upgrading to a larger office space will only allow you to employee more staff, but sadly no further aspects of the space can be upgraded. The games charm comes from the fact the creators really do have a love for the industry, employees will have similar names to those legends in the industry, consoles have similar names to past generations and all of these small aspects will give gamers a small grin as they recognize the nods that Kairosoft has made towards the industry itself. You don’t need to be an avid gamer to enjoy what Game Dev offers, but these easter eggs add to the fun of the experience.
One of the biggest selling points of GDS is its addictive nature; many times I wanted to play for a few minutes and would then find hours of my life taken away. Your company begins with 4 employees and you are given the ability to level them up after earning Skill Points, these Skill Points can also be used to give your games an added boost. From there you choose the console you want to create for, the genre and style of the game you want to create, creating mixtures that make sense will work in your favour when reviews are released. For example a robot, puzzle game may be a very poor combination, when an open-world shooter may excite many. When your game is being created your staff will add to the games fun factor, creativity, sound and art design, these aspects can all be increased by either training your staff or advertising for more skilled employees in many methods such as TV commercials, or internet advertising. Your company can also be advertised to build a loyal fan base; there are numerous amounts of options within GDS that will allow you to control the path your company takes. There are not the most in-depth mechanics on the platform, but they become very addictive on your path to create a Game of the Year product.
The office workplace, where the fun happens
Here in lies one of the game problems, once you are deep into the 20 years that each game playthrough offers, making games becomes too easy. You are able to make a game that scores 10/10 constantly and the amount of time it takes to complete is shortened significantly, I could ship almost 3 perfect games annually and bring in large sums of annual profit. On one hand this feels good because your hard work and training has paid off, but on the other hand the game becomes completely repetitive and the incentive to continue to play wears off. I finished year 14 and gave up, I had experienced everything that the game had to offer and there was no more further rewards to finish the 20 year cycle that I know of. Once you have 3 games a year entering the Hall of Fame and the Game of the Year awards become a clean sweep for your company, the game feels complete, and some added difficulty or possibly some un-lockable content would definitely have made the end game experience better overall.
Hiring new staff improves the games your produce
Adding to the games overall charm is the top quality sound within GDS, the audio style also reflects the 8-bit era, with some excellent catchy tunes that will have you nodding your head to the beat as you play. I have used the words charisma and charming throughout this piece and it is for good reason, everything in this game fits together as a complete dedication to the industry. The 8-bit style, the shout outs to gaming legends and the aesthetic behind the game mechanics all work together to provide this great charming personality. The gaming generations are also represented as many of the consoles announced during your playthrough will be direct reflections of their real life counterparts. These include the GameBoy, Nintendo GameCube and the PlayStation, this overall love of the industry makes this game a definite purchase to lovers of the gaming world.
Some of the consoles you will encounter
The Verdict
Game Dev Story is a title I have been interested in for years, after finally purchasing a phone that could run the game, I am very pleased with the end result. The gameplay is basic but becomes addictive quickly and your hours will magically fly by as you get lost in the world of game development. Leveling up your employees and advertising your company give you a great connection with the world, and the feeling of gratification when getting a perfect game never gets old. Sadly the end game lacks variety and repetition becomes a key issue once the game has become too easy for any challenge. Though getting to this point will take many hours of gameplay, the experience on the way is definitely a charming delight.
Good
- Charming
- Addictive Gameplay
- Dedication to the Gaming World
- 8-Bit Graphics/Audio
Bad
- Boring End Game
- Repetitive
- Lack of Environmental Variety
Overall: 8.4/10
Jamie Briggs runs Analog Addiction where you can find all his latest reviews, interviews and features and also like them on Facebook. Also follow his daily life on Twitter @AnalogAddiction and their videos on YouTube.
Stan Lee Announces New Project Verticus.
We know Stan Lee as the creator of mega popular characters such as the X-Men, The Avengers, Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk and many more. What we don’t know him as is a game creator…until now. Over the weekend, a new trailer emerged on Youtube showing us a hero defending Earth from an invading army of aliens. The trailer showed off Stan Lee narrating the ordeal and some gameplay and the title Verticus.
Today, Stan Lee decided to lift the curtain on this mysterious project at his very own Comickaze Expo. Verticus is a brand new game for IOS that centers us around a brand new hero known as Verticus. Verticus’s name comes from makes him unique. He falls, literally. Stan Lee was interviewed at the expo and revealed that Verticus’s mission is to stop this invading alien race from blowing up the Earth and only he can do it with the aid of his mission commander voiced by none other than Stan Lee himself.
Now at first glance Verticus seems like your average freefall game but Stan Lee assures us that this is not the case as the game will be including phases that will “go on and on”.”After this does as well as we’re sure it will, we will launch Phase 2, where our hero has to do other things to save the Earth that will be even tougher. But by then, those who bought Phase 1 will have developed their skills and they’ll be ready to save the Earth in a more complex way. By the time we’re up to Phase 5 or 6, you’ll have to be an atomic scientist to even handle this game!”
Stan Lee was also asked what drew him into the mobile gaming market to which he said ”Mobile platforms are going to become the biggest things of all for entertainment. It’s so all-encompassing, and everyone’s getting into it. Everybody wants to play mobile games, and that’s why we think that ours is just the perfect game.” Could this mean that Verticus is the first of many Stan Lee games? Stay tuned to Analog Addiction find out more in the coming months.
Verticus is set to come out this Autumn for IOS.
Excited for Verticus? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: IGN
George Sinclair is a contributor to Jamie Briggs‘ site Analog Addiction where you can find all the latest reviews, preview and news. Be sure to follow George on his Twitter and his blog on IGN.
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