iPhone Daily News Digest

A central Place for iPhone News & Reviews

Home
About

iphone.topnewsdigest.com is constantly updated with all the latest news about the iPhone and the AppStore. Enjoy.

Advertising

Games To Download For Free: Spite & Malice, Castle Conflict, And Monkey Flight

March 16th, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

After what was a pretty lackluster last couple of days for free games, today we have three good ones for you to check out by developers Trivial Technology, Broken Kings, and Donut Games.

Spite & Malice ($.99 -> Free): A challenging card game where you must simply be the first person to play all of the cards from your payoff pile, which is a lot easier said than done. Each player has five cards in front of them at all times besides the payoff pile, which contains 20 cards, each only accessible one at a time. To play cards you must follow the sequence with no regards to suit. Kings can be used as wild cards. Keep placing cards as long as you can, and your turn ends when you throw a card into the discard pile.

The game features three game modes including local multiplayer via Bluetooth, three levels of difficulty, progressive stat tracking, and all kinds of gameplay customization options.

Spite & Malice is available for free today only (3/16/10).

Castle Conflict ($.99 -> Free): A real-time strategy/castle defense game that requires you to build up your army and take down your opponent before their forces are too strong. The game features fairly basic graphics, but the gameplay is deep enough to keep you coming back for more. You must balance your units by sending some out to collect trees (resources) while using others to defend and attack. Units move freely once unleashed and can be upgraded to be more effective.

The game features 33 unit types, 39 levels in campaign mode, quickplay for a casual experience, and local multiplayer over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

Castle Conflict is available for free today only (3/16/10).

Monkey Flight ($.99 -> Free): Another great casual and free game from Donut Games. Monkey Flight will have you slinging monkeys through the air order to collect as much fruit as possible. You control the launcher by tapping and holding until the time is right, and your monkey will bounce across the map collecting fruit. You can extend your air time with a single tap, which makes the monkey pass some gas and also helps you avoid obstacles such as rocks and mud puddles that will stop you in your tracks.

The game features an arcade high-score mode, 40 challenges, local and online leaderboards, and progressive stat tracking.

Monkey Flight will be available for free for a limited time.

Review: Castle Conflict

From GDC: Namco Announces UniteSDK, Cross Platform Pool Pro Online 3, and Two New Games

March 14th, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

Namco had big news at GDC, and I was lucky enough to meet with them to find out all about it. The biggest news is that they’re introducing a new cross platform social network called UniteSDK. The platform will include the typical online features of high scores and achievements, but includes so much more than that.

The main feature is that it connects players across platforms, and isn’t limited to the iPhone/iPod Touch like Plus+, OpenFeint, or Crystal to name a few. This means you can play on PC, Mac, iPhone/iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Java, BREW, RIM, and Windows Mobile against users from any of those devices. This instantly increases the number of users which is essential to have a successful online multiplayer system.

Also include is a deluxe chat functionality that allows players to communicate live around the world, and includes translators for all of the languages the iPhone supports, 42 in total. UniteSDK is currently for in house games only, but will soon be available to their publishing partners, and may be available to 3rd party developers in time.

The first game to use this system was also announced at GDC which is Pool Pro Online 3 that was just released on Thursday. It’s a full featured 3D pool game that is the third installment of a series that has been on older mobile phones. The games is focused on multiplayer allowing you to play pool live against other iPhone and iPod Touch users. In the coming months it will roll out to PC, Mac, Android, Java, BREW, RIM and Windows Mobile and then you will be able to play live online against all of those device owners as well.

The online leaderboards will also be cross platform to really show off your pool skills. Now you can play pool against those using android or those on their computer at home all from the comfort of your iPhone. You can chat live with your opponents as well.

Three gameplay modes are included with 8-ball, 9-ball and Snooker. You can make in game wagers to put your money where your mouth is to earn money to be able to purchase table felts, cue sticks and new pool halls. The controls for the iPhone/iPod Touch version are simple dragging mechanics as you would expect. Single player mode is also included to keep the pool action going.

Pool Pro Online 3 will also be coming to the iPad relatively close to launch April 3rd. The game is designed with the iPad in mind, and you can see a couple screenshots below of it running natively on the device.

Namco had other news as well including two upcoming puzzle games. The first is Tinseltown Dreams which is a match three game with a 50’s movie making theme. It plays similar to Bejeweled 2, but with each match earning you credits to buy your entire movie staff to make movies with seven in total. See the screenshots and gameplay video below.

The next game is Lt. Fly Rise of the Arachnids which is mock-up of a match four game and shooter. You swap colored titles to make matches of four which earns you ammo to blast away the invading spider army. Gameplay video and screenshots are also below. Both puzzle games are expected in the coming weeks with Tinseltown Dreams as soon as March 18th.

Miscellaneous notes include Pac-Man Championship Edition will probably be coming to the iPad though no confirmed release schedule. Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man will be getting the UniteSDK in about a month, and a control update is in the works to provide the great Championship Edition controls. Finally of note according to Namco the iPad is just another device to develop for, and simply added to the device list they support.

That’s everything Namco who seem to have all their ducks in a row for the iPhone OS platform. We will have a full review of Pool Pro Online 3 soon, and will cover the two puzzle games as they’re released.

Killbo

March 11th, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

I just love a good word game. So much so that I will effortlessly bypass an adventure, puzzle, or board game app that has great graphics and scores of 5 star ratings in favor of a word game that I believe to be original and offers a good challenge. And if that word game has an online multiplayer element, then so much the better.

John Daniel Bagwell’s first foray into the world of app creation, Killbo, was a word game that took some time for me to warm up to. Its premise is straightforward: There are 9 tiles that appear in the center of the screen and each tile- generally- has a letter written on it. Surrounding the center tiles are 9 outer tiles, also- generally- with letters written on them. The objective of the game is to form words using available tiles. Each time a letter from a center tile is chosen, the letter on the outer tile closest to the chosen tile moves into its place. For every word formed, points are awarded. Longer words translate into more points and it is the player’s task to rack up as high a score as possible.

Sounds simple, right? But there are twists and turns to this. For starters, the game is timed. After the letter on a tile is chosen, only the adjoining tiles are available; the others turn gray and cannot be chosen. So if a gray tile contains a letter you were going to need to build a word, you’ll have to decide whether it’s possible to create a word based on the remaining available tiles or erase the word and start over again. There also exists special point awards for forming predetermined words listed at the top of the screen or for using green or pink-colored tiles in your word formations. There is the option to- when available- select a “wild” tile that can become any letter you wish. And if you’re really struggling to come up with a word, you can shake your iPod or iPhone to get brand new letters. Be careful, though, because doing so will deduct precious seconds from your remaining time.

Killbo will test your ability to think on your feet and adapt to constantly changing circumstances. As I said earlier, it took some time for me to warm up to and get the hang of Killbo. Now that I have, though, I can certainly appreciate its challenge. If you crave word game apps and have a buck burning a hole in your pocket, Killbo is worth adding to your stockpile.

iTunes Link – Killbo

Version 1.2

Tested on an iPod Touch 3.1.3

World Cup 2010 – South Africa Is Only An App Away

March 6th, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

With the FIFA World Cup Finals getting closer everyday, soccer fans all over the world are preparing themselves for the jewel in the footballing calendar. The scene is set for what could be one of the best tournaments in recent years, all we need now is an iPhone app to guide us through it.

WORLD CUP ‘10 from AldunceDesign is a complete guide to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa this Summer. It offers all the News, Views, Match Schedule and Results for the World Cup Finals in 2010.

All 32 National Teams are detailed in their respective groups, with schedule and stadium information on hand so you can track your teams progress on your iPhone all the way to the final (if you’re lucky enough). The in depth team information for each country is great and also comes with player profiles and each teams star players so you have all the information you need before your countries’ big games.

The matches can be displayed graphically on a map of South Africa and come with comprehensive write ups about the stadiums and their history. Another really useful feature is the detailed location map of each host city that could prove to be invulauable for any fans travelling to South Africa for the tournament.

WORLD CUP ‘10 Is Available at $1.99 in The App Store

A Chance To Win 1 Of 10 Durak Promo Codes With A Retweet Or Comment

March 6th, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

AppAdvice has teamed up with Lost Token Software in order to offer you a chance at winning one of ten (10) promo codes for Durak ($4.99).

Durak has to be my personal favorite card game on the iPhone thanks to its simplicity and elegance. Durak can be played with two to four players locally against the AI or your friends via Bluetooth, or even online via 3G or Wi-Fi. The game is a turn-based affair where each player receives six cards from a 36 card deck, and the objective is to get rid of all of your cards before everyone else does. The last player with cards left is the durak, the loser.

Gameplay goes a little something like this. When it is your turn to attack, you simply place one of your cards face up on the table and the defender must place a card on top of it which exceeds its numerical value or lay a card next to it with an equal value which will pass the turn on to the next player. The defender can also use a trump card which is a predetermined suit that beats all other cards no matter the number or suit (unless the suit is a trump suit of course). If the defender is unable to do any of these things they must take all of the cards into their hand. If the defender is able to defend, the cards on the table simply go into the graveyard. This goes on until only one player has cards left in their hand.

The game is truly hard to put down thanks to its online capabilities, which feature buddy lists, stat tracking, global leaderboards, and the ability to chat with your opponents.

To have a chance at winning one of five Durak promo codes, simply hit that green retweet bottom near the bottom of this page or retweet this post from your favorite Twitter app before 11:59 PM PST tonight (March 6th). We will then search the Twitterverse for all of the retweets and randomly choose our lucky winners. The winners will be notified via Twitter, so please be sure to follow us so we can send you your promo code via a direct message.

Non-Twitter users and those of you who want to increase your odds of winning can simply leave a relevant comment below before 11:59 PM PST tonight to have a chance at winning one of the other five Durak promo codes.

Feel free to participate in the giveaway via either or both methods. This giveaway is only open to U.S. iTunes account users.

Doodle Frog: The Defense os Lost Castle

March 1st, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

A long time ago in a land far, far away, an evil witch turned an arrogant young prince into a frog.

The frog prince, of course, wanted to become human again, but only a fairy could help him. Unfortunately, the fairy resided high in the sky, far above the lily pad land of the prince, though it was rumored that she had sprinkled the sky with special stars that could be followed to find her.

The Frog Prince had a special ability. Not only could he hop lilies, he could also hop the stars. Or at least magical ones, anyway. So it set out on a quest to find the good fairy.

Would he find her and become the human he once was?

Ok, so that’s not really the backstory to this game; I just made it up. Doodle Frog, from Thetis Consulting, bills itself as an addictive game. It does have that potential. Here’s how it works: At the start of each game, a fairy sprinkles stars into the sky and the game pans down a few seconds until it reaches the earth. By using swiping motions at the bottom of the screen, the player controls the frog’s motions so that it can “hop” to a star. If the frog touches a star, the frog is propelled up. The frog’s flight can be managed by swiping right or left, but once a star is touched, it disappears and cannot be touched again.

Points are gained as the frog moves from star to star. Some stars are worth more points than others. And there are witches that periodically fly into the game to steal points. If the frog misses a star and there are no other stars for it to hop onto (or a little flying bug buzzing by), it falls back to the ground.

On the plus side: Doodle Frog was easy to learn to play. It took some time for me to get used to the swiping style of movement, but not too long. It can be a challenging game in much the same way that a lot of the ‘Doodle’ games are.

On the minus side: the game got to be a little repetitive after a while; the pattern of stars never seemed to change all that much. I believe it could benefit from some variance. Maybe different kinds of stars that do different things, witches that hover and cast spells that affect the frog’s jumping, or other bad “guys” might help spice the game up a little. I think the fairy sprinkling star scene at the beginning of every game could either be shortened or cut out entirely. Also, the falling frog scene could be shortened as well. Those two bits take up far too much time and really interrupt the flow of getting into the game and trying to go farther than you did the last time (via the ‘Try Again’ option). When I was first starting to learn the game, it seemed as though I spent far more time falling or waiting for the fairy to do her thing than play. And that quickly became annoying.

Although its playability could be improved a lot with just a few changes, this is- in my opinion- a good start.

iTunes Link – Doodle Frog

Version 1.0

Tested on an Ipod Touch 3.1.3

Reiner Knizia’s Knights of Charlemagne

March 1st, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

Reiner Knizia’s Knights of Charlemagne is another great Dr. Reiner Knizia and Conlan Rios card game. Again, this is based off an actual card game that was published in 1995 to very favorable reviews. The game is themed after knights, estates and… round tables? Really, the theme is not so important because the game is pretty abstract like most of Dr. K’s games. I do love the period background music though. It’s a lute version of Scarborough Fair and it has me singing/mumbling subconsciously “parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme” all day. The newest update allows you to play your own music but I’ll be sticking to Simon and Garfunkel.

Knights of Charlemagne is a two player game that can either be played against several difficulties of AI or a second person on the same device. The basic idea is that you have ten estates in the playing field labeled 1 through 5 and colored blue, violet, green, red and orange. Each player is dealt a hand of eight knight cards, which have both numbers and colors, and plays one per turn. The knights can be played on estates with either the same number or color. The players take turns doing this until they run out of cards, at which point, the player with the most cards played to each estate, wins that estate. The different estates are worth different amounts and there are several bonuses to take into account, so all in all, Knights of Charlemagne is a pretty complex game. It definitely falls into the “easy to learn, hard to master” category.

The original card game plays with 2 to 4 players and from what I’ve read, a three person game is the sweet spot. I would love to see this implemented in the application. I guess we’ll just have to get the real life card game to experience the thrill of three player KoC. It would also be nice to play against people over the Internet, although the AI can still be pretty challenging.

Dr. K is really becoming one of my favorite game designers and not just in the iPhone and iPod Touch world. I challenge you to check out his games and not like them. Good luck. And don’t forget to throw Conlan some love as well for making these games possible on this platform.

When playing a game, the goal is to win, but it is the goal that is important, not the winning. -Dr. Reiner Knizia

iTunes Link – Reiner Knizia’s Knights of Charlemagne
Version 1.1
Reviewed on iPhone 3GS OS 3.1.3

Review: Battle of Puppets

February 28th, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

The Overview

Castle Defense games are a dime a dozen on the App Store (well, at $0.99 each, they are actually $11.88 a dozen, but I digress…) with games like The Wars, Castle Conflict, Galaxy Front, Knights Onrush, Defend Your Castle, and the Top 10 reigning champ for weeks on end, Cartoon Wars.

Then the genre evolved into “Trenches” style games like 2012, Zombies vs Aliens and…well…Trenches, where you get a lot more direct control over your units.

BoP is much more of the classic Castle Defense style game: Build units and send them on their way. Upgrade your castle and build bigger units and send them on their way. Upgrade, build, deploy…of course, there is a little more to it than that…but,in essence, that IS Castle Defense.

So, if you wanted to bring something new to the Castle Defense genre, what would you add? That’s right! Opera and Marionettes! Wait…what?!? Battle of Puppets has you playing a puppeteer for one of five classic operas, Aida, Carmen, Valkiria (Valkyrie), Salome, and Madama Butterfly. And you battle another puppeteer on a unique stage reflecting the local city’s character and regional flavor.

The Features

New in 1.2 is OpenFeint integration. Leaderboards exist for each city and overall score. Achievements are now available, including secret achievements (sorry, I haven’t unlocked any of those, YET!, so I cannot tell you what they are!) plus basic achievements just for doing something the first time, as well as accomplishing feats.

Battle of Puppets provides three different battle modes to provide alternate challenges for each city: Standard Battleground – destroy the enemy castle; Timed Battleground – destroy the enemy castle within a set time limit; and Survival – just keep the enemy from destroying your castle for a specific amount of time (Survival is usually required in cities where you unlock a profession).

Three player slots are included so your kids won’t ruin all your progress and there are three difficulty levels, including and easy one so your kids can actually beat most of the levels.

BoP has twenty-two different cities to beat on your way to Broadway. Each city has its own unique backgrounds related to the region and scenery that changes as day switches to night and then back.

There are six “Professions” to aid your troops. Professions are gestures you perform that have different effects on the gameplay speed up your troops, slow/stop the enemy troops, or toss sacks on the enemies, temporarily take control of enemy soldiers, etc. Professions must take time to recharge after each use, so you cannot constantly use them, though you can choose which to use after each recharge.

The Breakdown

The Good

BoP has five different styles of opera puppets (one, Salome, has to be unlocked) that fight better or worse depending on the local theater’s weather.

There are gorgeous graphics for each of the army units and for the individual backgrounds of each city’s theater (is anyone else getting a little tired of of the slapdash cartoon/stick style of so many games – a little spit and polish goes a long way, people).

You can take multiple routes to get to Broadway taking advantage of the weather that helps out your troops or going off path to unlock specific Professions.

The Bad

It’s a Castle Defense game…meaning the game play gets a bit redundant after a while. After you have mastered the basics, defeating each city consists of using your favorite strategy of troop deployment and utilizing your favorite of the six Professions.

Cartoony opera music is still opera music.

The Verdict

Battle of Puppets is a beautiful Castle Defense game. It does not really bring anything new to the genre…but…Damn!…did I mention that it was beautiful? If you dig Castle Defense games, pick Battle of Puppets up and enjoy all that it has to offer…it is leaps and bounds above The Wars and many other CD games in the fun department.

Quitters Beware! Durak Update Punishes Sore Losers

February 24th, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

Near the beginning of the month, Lost Token Software released a rather ambitious update to their quirky card game Durak, which brought local and online multiplayer. This added so much more excitement to the game, because playing against real people is always more fun than playing against an AI opponent, or so we thought.

The problem with real people is that they have real emotions, emotions that cause them to do irrational things when losing, like quit right before the game is over, and in Durak when a player quits, everyone is booted from the game. This wouldn’t be so bad if the player was penalized for their silly actions, but in the initial v2.0 release that wasn’t the case, which resulted in droves of players quitting right before they lost. But thankfully that has all has finally been remedied in v2.2.

Durak v2.2 now gives sore losers what they deserve, a loss! So now if someone quits during a match for any reason, such as exiting to the main menu, exiting the game entirely, or answering a phone call, they get a big fat one in the loss column. This, of course, penalizes those who are quitting the game for a good reason, but that’s just something we will all have to live with. The select group of people who choose to do wrong always seem to ruin it for the rest of us, but that’s just the way it works.

If you would like to learn more about Durak, including a quick rundown on how to play, check out our original v2.0 post. Let’s just say if you like card games in general, you will love Durak ($4.99) on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Reiner Knizia’s Robot Master

February 20th, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

Reiner Knizia and Conlan Rios are at it again with Robot Master. Unlike Reiner Knizia’s Monumental, Robot Master was actually based on a real life card game. Basically, that means the card game was good enough to port over to the iPhone and iPod Touch. I’m here to back that up and to even suggest that this version is superior to it’s predecessor. How could that be? Read on, my friends.

Robot Master is a puzzle/card game with several twists. You start out with a deck of cards numbered 0 to 5. You have six of each number and you proceed to lay these cards down one by one on a 5×5 grid. The totals for each row and column are added up as you go and are always displayed in their respective location. The first twist is that when you have two of the same number in the same row or column, the score of that number is doubled for that row or column. And when you have three of the same number, the score is increased by 100 points for that row or column. As you play, these individual scores seem to increase like crazy. This is where the final twist comes into play. Your final score is the row or column with the lowest score. Inevitably, one or two rows or columns will be neglected throughout the game so even if you have amazing scores for 9 of your rows and columns, your lowest score is what matters. This can be frustrating as well as addicting. Seeing some of the high scores for other people made me want to vomit. My highest score so far is a mere 41 points!

There are a few more game modes that give Robot Master loads more replayability. Easy mode allows you to skip one card per turn, giving you another chance for that perfect row. You are not able to post your scores online in this mode, though. Tournament mode is pretty much your standard game and you could end up on the high score table if you’re freaking awesome. Versus mode puts you up against either a friend or the computer. You take turns placing cards the same way you normally would except that one player is the rows and one player is columns. The lowest score on any of these loses the game. Pretty cool idea and drastically changes the game.

You probably still want to know why I think this version would be better than the original card game. Well, it’s because there would be way too much math in this game for my tastes. I like all my math behind the scenes where it belongs. Alright, so that’s kind of a lame reason but it’s all I’ve got. Reiner Knizia’s Robot Master has earned a permanent place on my phone and I suggest you check it out.