Don’t let the cute looks fool you; Battleheart is hardcore combat.
iOS gamers who love strategic battles are surely looking forward to seeing Square-Enix’s classic turn-based battler, Final Fantasy Tactics, on their iPhones and iPods within the year, but for now there’s more than enough battling and stat-raising with various fantasy RPG class-types in Battleheart. Brought to the appstore by Mika Mobile, the makers of the now-classic Zombieville USA (which shows in BH’s distinct art style and animation), Battleheart is something similar to Final Fantasy Tactics.
Well, really, both titles have as many differences as they have similarities. FFT is in semi-3D, while BH is totally, flatly 2D. Both games have a ‘cutesy’ look which is a bit of a disconnect from the simple fact that they’re both about WAR and COMBAT and KILLING. FFT has a complex, high-hat epic tale with plots within plots, threads that interlock and intertwine. Battlehearts just has you and your comrades defending the kingdom (well, at least, at first). But in the end, both games share one big commonality- you have to take a bunch of cute, SD-looking recruits and turn them into the most bad-ass, efficient and awe-inspiring death-dealers on the battlefield and mow all opposition down in every stage.
The controls in BH are deceptively simple- you can have up to four party members on the field at once. You take control of each one by simply tapping them with your finger to select them, and then drawing a line to any point on the field- on any unoccupied spot to make them move, on an enemy to make them attack, or on a comrade to do some beneficial move (such as healing). For the most part, your members will do their assigned task until you take command of them again and have them go somewhere else or fight something else, or they die.
In between battles you earn gold and experience, which you can parlay for better equipment, armor and weapons, and to access powerful skills and powers as your dudes or dudettes rise in level. You can grind as much as you want in stages you complete. Instead of creating party members from scratch, you recruit them from the local tavern, where unhired warriors, thieves or other potential members (there are supposedly 8 different classes of characters) hang out.
So far I am enjoying BH pretty much- the controls are perfect for the touchscreen of the iOS devices, and whether it’s on an iPhone or a larger iPad, it’s pretty easy to pick your guys out even in the middle of a messy melee (though mistakes can lead to some trouble, but heck- see if in real life giving orders on a chaotic battlefield would be any easier). I’ve yet to plumb the depths or go the distance yet in this game, but so far I’m enjoying taking my time and grinding as I advance.
Battleheart is available now on the appstore for $2.99, and it’s a Universal app, which means it works full-screen in full resolution whatever your iOS device. FFT seems still a ways off, so nicely I’ll be busy and happy till then. Full review to come soon.
2010, I hardly knew you. It was a good year in gaming, for me particularly on portable gaming, but it was still a year with awesome, big-name titles.
Perhaps the biggest title for me in 2010 was, well, Starcraft 2. Blizzard finally delivered on their epic RTS sequel, and I just ate it up. The graphics were amazing, the gameplay engaging and addictive, and the story, well, the story kept me going all the way to the end and left me (and of course countless other fans) wanting MORE. It’s going to be a while till we see Kerrigan return in Heart of the Swarm, but for now we can always keep flying the Wings of Liberty.
This trailer for DC Online is better than most full superhero movies.
Red Dead Redemption has swept the world in a storm of bullets and revenge, and I have to admit i came in late to the party. Still, I totally agree with this western epic’s merits, from the story to the production values and the gameplay- this is as good as a game can get. The last minute addition of Undead Nightmare makes this gem all the more bloody brilliant. If you still don’t have RDR, make it part of your game library if you’re truly a hardcore gamer, casual or not. Heh…
My favorite game trailer of 2010.
In fighting games, my favorite genre, I have to say in particular I had great fun, although most of it came not from actual games but from the hoopla around them.
Super Streetfighter IV took over the spotlight from Tekken 6 once it released in April. Capcom and Namco-Bandai however would share the fighting game arena- not as competitors (well, not totally), surprisingly- but as collaborators.
The Fighting Festival Begins.
Producers Katsuhiro Harada (Tekken) and Yoshinori Ono (Streetfighter) revealed what they termed the Fighting Game Festival, a series of releases that they hope will revitalize the beat ’em up genre: Streetfighter X Tekken, Tekken X Streetfighter and Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Plus, going beyond any gaming company PR move done before, both producers now allow themselves continuous access with their fans over Twitter, giving their gaming public a way to voice opinion during the time when it can actually matter.
Of the Festival games, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is set for release in mid-2011. Streetfighter X Tekken may release within the year as well. For now though, fans look to Twitter for the next little update.
Big Things come to little iPhones.
The biggest surprise for me of all were the many, many little surprises. ‘Little’ in terms of screen size- iPad and iPhone gaming truly took off in 2010, with games coming and going seemingly every week for the iOS4 devices. From casual puzzlers to major time-eaters, fighting games to RPGS, original titles to big-name ports, Apple has set the new standard for portable gaming. I just can’t wait to see what 2011 brings to my iArcade. On my other portable gaming device, the PSP, it was really just about one game- Valkyria Chronicles 2. I await the sequel with great anticipation.
Not so much a trailer but a mini-epic.
Well, that’s that, I guess. It was great, and it still is. Many games I started playing in 2010, I’ll keep playing on and on, I’m sure. But as the Hardcore Casual Gamer that I am, I’m always looking for the next big thing. Always forward! Bring it on, 2011!
Yikes!
Chair and Epic Games’ much-anticipated Unreal-powered hack-and-slash title Infinity Blade has been given a release date and price. The game formerly-known-as-Project-Sword will be out for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, iPod 3 and iPod 4 this coming December 9, at the reasonable price of $5.99. This impressive-looking title is described as an action-RPG swordfighting adventure, putting players in control of an armored warrior searching for treasure and battling various armored foes as you fight your way to the final boss, known as The God King. As with many titles on the iOS platform, updates and patches are expected to come soon after release (though this is dependent on sales), further expanding the game with more content such as new equipment, enemies and so on.
I’m pretty stoked for this title. The graphics alone are worth the price of admission, but if this is as playable as it is pretty, this could be one of the best apps yet on the platform. Expect a full review soon after I get my hands on this one.
Sagat and Deejay are in the house!
The latest download to the iPhone version of Streetfighter IV is available on the appstore. Though previously announced that the update adds Thai boss Sagat, it’s now been revealed that Jamaican whirlwind Deejay is also part of the package. While Sagat is playable off the bat, Deejay has to be unlocked (by playing wirelessly three times). Also available is an ‘Fight Request’ mode so you can take on other players via wifi, Game Center support and the option to play original SF2 music (in-app purchase).
Judging from the pic above, I think there’s at least two more fighters that can be added to the roster after this update. For now though, this should tide us all over.
Among the literal hordes of zombie-themed games on the iOS platform, several titles are head and shoulder above the pack thanks to slick art direction, cool and addictive gameplay and polished production. One of these is Pro-Zombie Soccer from Chillingo. Though it’s basically a zombie shooter but with soccerball-bouncing mechanics and a cool storyline, PZS was awesome enough to be a memorable title in a sea of me-too shamblers. Well, it’s been a while since the release of the original iPhone version, and now Chillingo is set on unleashing a release for the iPad. Suffice to say, they’re not just simply porting over the game as it was on the smaller devices.
This is how the game looks on iPhone.
Now, this is the game on the iPad. See the difference?
Pro-Zombie Soccer: Apocalyptic Edition (iPad) will feature TONS more zombies, HD visuals and redone levels, plus an exclusive new ‘sniper’ mode. Wowers! I really loved this game on iPhone, and man, that one screenshot for the iPad just got me pumped up for lots more soccerball-kicking zombie-exterminating action. Angry Satellite Apocalypse Here We Come!
The game’s set for release on the appstore later this month, according to the devs on the Toucharcade Forums. Man, I can’t wait.
Conquering the kingdom one gem at a time… in High Resolution.
Puzzle Quest is not a new game. In fact, it’s a couple of years old and has come out on a horde of platforms. However, the classic formula of mixing Bejeweled with an RPG just works incredibly well, and no matter how many times this game is resurrected, it seems that fans will always be willing to check it out. I already played this a bit on PSP, bought the iPhone version, but it really took the recently-released iPad version, Puzzle Quest HD, to get me playing this for hours and hours.
Yeah, sad to say, I never really progressed that much in the iPhone game- I could never really play too long since the battery would drain quicker than a your life bar after a particularly lucky enemy combo. It was also draining on my admittedly unfit eyes, staring at a tiny screen, trying to match gems and skulls in an attempt to win the deadly jewel duel. Another major complaint with the iPhone version was frequent bugs with the save files, with much-beloved heroes inexplicably disappearing, wasting hours and hours of grinding time and hard-won battles. Fortunately I never experienced losing a save, but that was poor consolation.
Thankfully now I can play to my heart’s content (or, at least, the length of the iPad’s prodigious battery life) and easily enjoy the lush, sharp visuals on the tablet’s larger real estate.
And so where am I now? My wizard is 16th level, Knight of the realm yet oddly enough ruler of my own little empire of several subjugated cities. Just beat a damn tough boss, and now I’m raring for more. All thanks to HD, baby.
At about $4.99, the iPad version gives you high-res visuals and all the additional content over the original game (that’s three episodes, as far as I know), so this is by far the best version to get. It looks, plays and sounds awesome, and pretty much has conquered my iPad as my most-played game now. This game just never gets old. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I got some giant rats to challenge…
Yet another potentially awesome mobile gaming platform is arriving soon.
Engadget just posted pics of what is supposedly the real deal- A Playstation Phone. The pic above is of a prototype produced by Sony Ericsson, and will run on the Android platform. No analog nubs, instead we get a multitouch pad in between the d-pad and the customary PS buttons. The thing unsurprisingly does not support UMDs or Memory Sticks, but has a Micro-SD slot.
We’ve really heard little about any games for this new Playstation-branded device, but hopefully a strong lineup should appear as it approaches release. Not really thinking this a replacement for my iPhone or iPad as a gaming device or a mobile companion yet… but a strong lineup of games (hopefully including some titles rhyming with Smekken or Petal Ear) may make this a gamer’s phone of choice. This is due out perhaps late 2010 or early 2011.
The Lone Gamer 