iPad (and now possibly other tablet) Gaming

[henke]

It is now a week since my iPad arrived. I have little memory of the time before iPad. I can only speculate how I spent my evenings when I wasn't playing iPad games or pouring over freebie and "best of" lists trying to track down the next killer gem in the myriad of titles in the AppStore.

Here are 10 of my favourite games of the past week:
GTA Chinatown Wars - I am now hooked on this. I crave more of it's gameplay and am eager to find out what happens next in the plotline. Who will be the new Triad boss? That dumbass Chan or that psychopath Zhou? I like Zhou more.

Infinity Blade - plays great and looks fantastic.

Alpine Crawler (free) - I've spent numerous hours with this one. It's a 2D sidescrolling offroad truck driving game and while it may look simple it requires a careful combination of speed and precision to beat the clock. I have yet to master that last track.

Here is a gameplay video wherein the guy narrating it spends 60% of the video explaining the fucking menu-items instead of actually playing the game. The majority of gameplayvideos of iPad games do this. You know, because not everyone might know what a volume-slider does so better spend a few seconds going over that!

Mr. Karoshi - I guess this is a Flashgame as well but I never played it on PC. Laughing my ass off at the iPad version though.

Valet Hero (free) - a line-drawing game, you know, like Flight Control. This one is really good and features a good set of levels for a freebie.

Jet Car Stunts Lite - very Trackmania-ish. Great controls. Might have to buy the full version.

Superbrothers - Sword & Sworcery EP - dunno what to think of this one. I've reached chapter 3 and kinda run out of steam. The story isn't very engaging, the characters are mostly just annoying and - after I started playing Infinity Blade - the combat seems hopelessly simplistic.

Railroad Madness & Paper Train HD (both free) - two great train conductor games! What are the odds? Found these through Free App Hero(thanks for the tip Matthew!).

Perfect Cell - I just bought this one. Now here is a game TTLG would like. You play as a floating alien lifeform and you have to sneak through vents and stealthily take out scientists and soldiers in order to escape the underground research facility you're trapped in.

Trailer

Oh yes, and my Game Center username is "raindawg henke" and on OpenFeint I am "LeeMajorz" in case anyone wants to add me.

[Renzatic]

You should consider jailbreaking, Henke. I've been playing Maniac Mansion through ScummVM, and even on the tiny iPhone screen, it works beautifully. I could imagine the experience would be that much better on an iPad.

And my personal theories about touchscreen gaming have been confirmed. The iDevices are a perfect fit for RPGs, strategy, and adventure games. But for genres that normally rely on an analog stick or two, it absolutely BLOWS. I tried the Chinatown Wars demo, and couldn't even stomach 5 minutes with that fiddly faux analog BS. Same thing with a digital control setup. Even when your movement is constrained to up-down-left-right, a'la Zelda, it's still feels sloppy and unresponsive.

Maybe it's the games I played. I dunno. But for now, I'll stick to the more point and click stuff on my iPhone.

[henke]

Is that risky? Will it affect whether you can access the AppStore or anything like that? Can you reset the iPad to it's original state after you've done it?

I did see a video where someone had jailbroken their pad and was playing SNES emulators using a Wiimote. Looks cool indeed.

Also 5 minutes with Chinatown Wars isn't nearly enough to get the hang of the controls. It took me a good half hour with it before I wasn't crashing into every car on the street.

[Renzatic]

Is that risky? Will it affect whether you can access the AppStore or anything like that? Can you reset the iPad to it's original state after you've done it?

Think of jailbreaking as forcing administrator access to your iPad (or in Unix terms, which is exactly what iOS is, you're logging in as root). Normally, you're running under a lower level user account with limited permissions, and Apple, playing as a global admin, only lets you install what they've deemed safe. When you jailbreak, you can do whatever, up to and including getting stuff off the official app store.

And yeah, you can restore to an unjailbroken state quite easily. Due to some Cydia apps being a little flaky, I've been forced to do it three times now. It's not at all difficult to do, and only takes up a few minutes of your time if you're restoring from an unmodified copy of iOS on your harddrive (which you'll have if you've already jailbroken).

Also 5 minutes with Chinatown Wars isn't nearly enough to get the hang of the controls. It took me a good half hour with it before I wasn't crashing into every car on the street.

I think I'm gonna wait until I get an iPad before I really put some time into it. Even if I do get used to the controls, the iPhone screen is still way too small to really enjoy the game. I mean hell, my thumbs take up a good 3rd of the screen when I'm playing it.

edit: by the way, I used Sn0wbreeze 2.7.1 to jailbreak, in case you're wondering.

[Aja]

Is that risky? Will it affect whether you can access the AppStore or anything like that? Can you reset the iPad to it's original state after you've done it?

No, no, and yes.

[Matthew]

Glad to hear FAH has been of some use, henke!

But you're all making me desire an iPad now.

[henke]

Henke's Bi-Weekly "WHAT I HAVE PLAYED ON MY IPAD"-athon

The Little Crane That Could
Do not be fooled by the name, this is one of the best simulators I have ever played on any system. Much like Tricky Truck it is a very barebones game that relies on physics to offer the challenge. Missions consist mainly of various construction, maintenance and logistics-based objectives. But also the occasional more freeform physics-puzzle. There is almost zero gameiness to this game. When you pick up an object it does not snap to your crane, but rather it hangs on realistically on the edges of your gripping-claw, and may well slip from your grip if you haven't done it carefully. The missions, like "transport new ballbearings to the machinery at the top of the tower and install them", or "stack all the boxes on top of eachother" sound easy but might take up to half an hour to complete.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Bottomline: a fantastic simulation that does not compromise realism for accessibility. Not everyone is gonna enjoy this game but I love it. The controls even work well on iPad. My only gripe is the small number of levels. 3-4 levels are available in the free version of the game(for iPad & iPhone) and about 10 more are available as an in-app-puchase. What this thing really needs is a level-editor, so the fans can keep on expanding on it. 10/10

I couldn't find many gameplay videos of this but here's an an excited Spaniard not doing very well at the first 2 missions, and here's a German guy playing the game on an iPhone.

Tiki Totems Premium
Fun and unique physics-based puzzle game. Remove all the blocks, but don't let the Totem fall to the ground or you'll anger the Volcano-Gods! Kinda like Jenga with a twist. 9/10

Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior
Good animations and a fighting system that actually works on an iPad. I've had lots of fun with this one, just reached level 24. 8/10

Trophylite 2XL Rally HD
Simple but very satisfying rally-game. The chase-cam kinda sucks so I stick with the hood-cam. The controlls are perfect and powersliding is as fun as it was in Screamer 2. 7/10

Splinter Cell: Conviction
Only bought this because it was on sale for 79 cents and I wanted to see how the controls would work on an iPad. Not very well, I'm afraid. Third and first person shooters really don't belond on the iPad. Besides dodgy controls the game doesn't look very good either and the story is boring. 3/10



Spirits
Absolutely gorgeous-looking Lemmings-clone, but with more focus on aerodynamics than Lemmings had. 8/10

Trailer

Myst
I've been meaning to play this for the past 20 years so when I saw that there was an iPad version for 79 cents I picked it up. I wish I hadn't. The graphics look awful by todays standards and the story is... I don't even know. Between this and Realms of the Haunting I'm learning that maybe it's best to just leave the games I missed out on the first time around unplayed. Not gonna put a score on this one because I'm not about to give it a proper chance and it'll just piss off the fans.

Reckless Racing HD
Looks great and plays decently. Not many levels though, no Carrer-mode, and in the end probably not worth the 4 bucks I spent on it. 6/10



Tappi Bear Kung Fu
Use kung fu to defend your donuts! Simple as hell but so absurd and laugh-out-loud funny. 7/10

Micro Pool (free 9-ball iPhone version)
I am loving this but the pixelated graphics and only one game-mode leaves me wanting a meatier pool-sim. Can anyone recommend me a good one? Preferably one that forgoes fancy 3D camera-angles in favour of a simple overhead-view.

[henke]

Site recommendation: Kill Screen

This is a quite new site, I like it a lot but then again it's aimed squarely at iDevice-wielding hipsters like me.

Inifity Blade review - this should be a pretty good gague of whether this site is for you or not. If it just makes your eyes spin so hard they almost fall out of their sockets then move on.
Bennet Foddy interview - this is the guy who made GIRP and QWOP, and he also used to be in Cut Copy!

[henke]

Decided to check out what's new on the iPad gaming scene this weekend and found a couple of wonderful innovative new things.

Wildchords
This free game is a fun way to learn how to play the guitar. Seriously if you, like me, have a guitar(that you don't really know how to play) in your house, as well as an iPad then get this thing. Here's a video explaining how it works. I played it a bit but got stuck on the Am chord. It makes my fingers hurt! I shall try again tomorrow when the aching has subsided a bit.

Touchgrind BMX
Maybe you remember that skateboarding game from the early days of the iPhone where you controlled the skateboard with two fingers? Well this is from the same company except a lot more refined. Here's a video that gives you an idea of what it's like. The controls work remarkably well, though there is a bit of a learning curve. For each level you have a list of challenges(much like in the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games), completing challenges unlocks more bikes and tracks. I've only made it to track 3 so far.

I've also been playing some Ininity Blade this weekend. Got the alternate ending, but not the proper ending yet. The sequel is getting good reviews but I hear it's a bit buggy on iPad 1's, so I'm holding off on getting it.

[Renzatic]

Hay guys! I've sold out, too! I'm now the proud owner of a black 16GB iPad 3.

I suck so much.

[henke]

iPad 3!? I didn't even know that thing had come out yet!

[Renzatic]

Yup. It came out earlier this month. If you're like me, you'll drop trow and let Apple have their way with you as soon as you see the screen on the thing. It's almost obscene how sharp it is.

Though admittedly, a part of me is sort of wishing I got a PS3 instead. Oh well. I'll just grab one later, I guess.

[Harvester]

Hay guys! I've sold out, too! I'm now the proud owner of a black 16GB iPad 3.

There's no such thing. Don't you mean "the new iPad"?

[Aja]

My laptop doesn't recognize batteries any more so I decided that instead of replacing it I'd spend my tax return on a new iPad. Now I'm looking for game recommendations.

Bearing in mind my earlier comments: I'm not looking for either time-wasters or console-style games. I want compelling games that are uniquely suited to the format. Things like Osmos HD are a good example, or perhaps adventure or strategy... no angry birds and nothing from Gameloft (oh and it's jailbroken, so if there's anything on Cydia I'm all ears).

[Renzatic]

Snip

My personal recommendations

Avernum: Escape from the Pit: Oldschool as oldschool can get PC RPG. Made better because you can hold it in your lap and stab at the interface with your finger.

Avadon: The Black Fortress: Same as above.

The various Monkey Island, Sam 'n Max, Back to the Future, ect. adventure games. Specifically the Monkey Island 1 & 2 special editions.

The Bards Tale: An iPadification of the recent PC/console release. Not mindblowingly great or anything, but it's still pretty alright.

Final Fantasy Tactics: Yeah, it's a console game, and the controls can be a little funky on the iPad, but...comeon...it's Final Fantasy Tactics. You can't go wrong with FFT.

Frotz: Text adventure games galore.

Midway Arcade: Smash Motherfuckin TV.

Jailbroken

SCUMMVM: Playing Lands of Lore on an iPad with true touch controls is a thing of beauty. Same applies for the countless other adventure games you can choose from through it. I'll be firing up Day of the Tentacle here soon.

DOSPad: While it doesn't offer "true" touchscreen jab-anywhere functionality like SCUMMVM (you control the cursor much like you would on a laptop touchpad), the pain is mitigated by the absolutely huge swaths of old DOS games to choose from.

SNES9x EX: Super Nintendo games. The touchscreen controls work great for slower games, but if you want to play action games such as Mario or Contra, I'd suggest getting a Wiimote and a classic controller.

The Future

Infinity Blade Dungeons: Not your regular swipe at the screen with your finger to beat stuff up "OLOL LOOK MY IPAD IS BETTER THAN A CONSOLE" touchscreen game. Oh no. This is a true and proper diablo-like hack 'n slash with a bunch of neat touchscreen features. Looks pretty cool to me.

Baldurs Gate: BUT WITH TOUCHSCREEN JABBING! If you haven't played it yet, I suggest grabbing it when it comes out for the iPad.

And there you go. If I think of anything else, I'll update my post.

[henke]

Ooooh, Infinity Blade Dungeons looks nice.

Aja, I'm not sure what to recommend. You want something like Osmos but not something like Angry Birds? Em... they're both physics-based puzzlers. And what's a timewaster? Isn't that most games?

[Aja]

Maybe Osmos is a bad example (I just like it because of the style). When I say time-wasters I mean like arcade-style games designed to be played in short bursts on the train or waiting in line or whatever. I'm looking for games that are deeper and more rewarding. Renz is on the right track, I think, although I'm not averse to puzzle games. I noticed Spacechem has an ipad version, and Frozen Synapse, for instance, would be perfect (if the promised ipad port ever gets made).

[henke]

Well Sim City is good. I mean it's pretty much an exact copy of Sim City 2000, but on iPad. The interface works well, especially if you have a stylus. And then there's Spirits, a Lemmings-clone, which is good and has a nice artstyle.

Also, I don't think it's been brought up in this thread yet but BOARDGAMES work great on an iPad. I've played many a game of Trivial Pursuit on the pad with friends and family.

[Thirith]

Got an iPad 3, paid for 50% by the office. I'm not going to use it primarily as a gaming device, but I have installed a couple of games for when I'm travelling for work and need a change of scenery: GTA Chinatown Wars, World of Goo, Plants vs Zombies and two of the free Angry Birds games.

Looking forward to future recommendations here. Also, can any of you point me in the direction of a good beginners guide for the iPad? I'm sure there are tweaks and options that aren't readily apparent to someone new to Apple products...

[The Alchemist]

Air Supremacy. Nuff said.

It's kind of strange really, this is the best airplane sim I've plaid in a long while. Well, scratch that. Airplane dogfight arcade game, cause a sim it is not. Using the tilt controls is not only the most satisfying, but the most accurate, and the multiplayer pvp aspect makes it rather addictive.

[nicked]

I have been spending far too much time in morbid-but-addictive disease simulator Plague Inc. recently. It's a strategy game where you evolve a disease and attempt to spread it to everyone on the planet, and then kill them. I guess it's like a simplified, nihilistic version of the X-COM geoscape , but well worth 69p for the sole reason that you can name your disease anything you like, resulting in messages like "Nutella has doomed the planet. The last remaining humans know they are watching the end of history."

[scumble]

My kids are usually nagging me to get new games on the iPad, and I often relent when we're only talking about 69p.

I had a bit of fun with Bike Baron, which is a simple stunt bike game but quite entertaining.

Contre Jour is quite interesting but my interest didn't hold for long.

There's this duck and cover type shooter called EPOCH that is good for a quick blast. I'm still surprised what developers can get out of the original iPad. Limited resources seem to really focus effort on the essentials.

Also Minecraft Pocket Edition runs quite well although it's not as pretty or complete as the PC/Mac version. More of a demo at the moment mind you as it's an alpha...

At one point I wasted a fair bit of time on Pinball HD, which I think is the best pinball game I came across on the iPad with the least frustrating tables. Some of the other pinball efforts seem to keep dumping balls between the flippers too often.

[henke]

Bike Baron is indeed good. Probably the best Trials-esque game on the pad. Agree about Contre Jour, I got bored of it quickly too.

I rarely play games on the pad any more though, usualy just some boardgames when friends are visiting. Ticket to Ride is pretty good. So is Trivial Pursuit.

edit: looks like the iPad verson of my favourite game of last year is coming along nicely though.



Looks like it might be a nice fit for a touchscreen actually, even though it'll no doubt be a bit more fiddly than the PC version.

[Thirith]

I could imagine they might have to rebalance it a bit, exactly because it'll be more fiddly. Still, I imagine it'll make a good fit for iPad otherwise, especially iPad 3.

[Malf]

I recently picked up the Nexus 7. Does that count?
I've been playing a lot of Pinball Arcade on it, and it's reeeeally good.
I also picked up Shadowgun with some of the free Google money they gave me, and while I've not played a lot of it, it's ridiculously pretty considering what it's running on.