Virtual Vox Pop: Can Street Fighter IV be successfully ported to iPhone/iPod touch?

February 15, 2010 by Jeffrey L. Wilson · 3 Comments
Filed under: Fighters, Virtual Vox Pop

Virtual Vox Pop is a weekly open mic in which we ask you, the reader, to sound off on a particular topic. This week, it’s Street Fighter IV for iPhone.

I’ll be frank: the internets can play home to all manner of bullocks. From Tommy Hilfiger dropping the n-word on Oprah to aliens plotting 9-11 to steal NYC’s soul, there’s massive amounts of rubbish to be found. So when I discovered chatter about Street Fighter IV coming to iPhone, and casually dismissed it as the imagination of a mad man. Then I saw this:

I clicked the link out of pure curiosity and was taken to IGN’s coverage of Street Fighter IV for iPhone. My mind raced: I checked the calendar to make sure that it wasn’t April 1st. Nope. I looked at the tweet again–it came Capcom itself. This appeared to be real, but it didn’t make sense.

Tags: 2.5d game, 2d game, 2d graphics, apple ipad, apple iphone, apple ipod touch, capcom, street fighter IV

Plants vs. Zombies sprouts and shuffles onto the Apple iPhone Feb. 15

February 9, 2010 by Jeffrey L. Wilson · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Tower Defense

If it seems as though Popcap Games marvelous cute and inventive take on the tower defense genre, Plants vs. Zombies, has been in the works for the iPhone/iPod touch for a long, long time, it has – the game was first announced in last August. Although Popcap Games didn’t make its “late 2009″ window, I can forgive the kindly team of casual gaming gurus because the trailer for the upcoming Apple port looks really, really good (and they know how to thoroughly rock a Halloween parade).

Judging by Popcap Games’ video, the winning gameplay looks in tact, but I wonder how the multi-touch will be implemented (which has, unfortunately, added a cumbersome elements to many good iPhone/iPod touch titles). Still, the prospect of playing Plants vs. Zombies on the Apple iPad’s slick 9.7-inch display sounds quite delicious, especially on long flights or road trips, if you happen to think the tweener device is worthy the dough.

Tags: apple ipad, halloween parade, iphone, ipod touch, plants vs. zombies, popcap games

Interview: Anthony De Sa Ferreira, Business Development Director, Golgoth Studio

February 8, 2010 by Jeffrey L. Wilson · 2 Comments
Filed under: Interviews

2D ain’t dead – - not by a long shot. Games such as Mega Man 10, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom prove that the art is still viable in the age of open worlds and polygon-counting. French developer Golgoth Studio is currently contributing to the 2D renaissance with its first title, Toki, a remake of an old Amiga side-scroller. We spoke with Anthony De Sa Ferreira, business development director, Golgoth Studio about his company’s plan for 2D gaming.

Golgoth Studio is a relatively new development team. Please tell us a bit about your company’s background.

Golgoth Studio started to exist in my mind sometime in June 2008 after a meeting with Philippe Dessoly in regards of his great skill in 2D arts. At this time, I just lost my job and wished to work in the game industry. I’ve played since I was a little boy; I’m really what people call a hardcore gamer. But as I said often, play with games and make one that is completely different!

So when I started to talk with Philippe about Golgoth Studio, he was very excited and me too, of course. In 2008, it was the beginning of the retro gaming wave on digital platforms. As our studio was absolutely unknown to first-party companies or gamers, our wish was to start making remakes but really good remakes! Keeping old school spirit!

So after many days of searching what games could represent the picture we’d like to give, we agreed on Toki. I was a fan of this game when I was a child, and Philippe was the lead designer on the Amiga version. So, it was natural for us to chose it. We started to find new members for our team and finally today we are seven of us–six guys, one girl.

Tags: 2d graphics, anthony de sa ferreira, apple ipad, apple iphone, apple ipod touch, bad dudes, data east 2d games, gmode, golgoth studios, joe and mac: caveman ninjas

Will the Apple iPad change portable gaming?

January 26, 2010 by Jeffrey L. Wilson · 3 Comments
Filed under: Consoles, Gaming Gear

Everything in the known universe is pointing toward the release of the much-rumored, much-talked about iPad during Apple’s press event tomorrow morning/afternoon. There’s been chatter of how this revolutionary portable computer will save the newspaper and magazine industries, change the way media is distributed, and give parents to lonely orphans, but oddly, there hasn’t been gaming talk, which is surprising considering the number of iPhone/iPod touch games are available in the App Store. Still, a few gaming journies have confessed that they’ve received invites to the big showcase, which hints that gaming will be a significant part of the iPad experience.

So as the Apple iPad is (hopefully) bring prepped for its world debut, take a look back at this article, penned just last month, which explains why I believe the Apple iPad will forever change the Apple video game experience and possibly threaten the big boys.

Agreed?

Tags: app store video games, apple, apple ipad, apple islate, apple itablet, iphone, ipod touch, islate, itablet

Rumored Apple iPad release may improve games, lure developers to Cupertino’s platform

December 29, 2009 by Jeffrey L. Wilson · 1 Comment
Filed under: Consoles, Gaming Gear

apple ipad

2009 was the coming out party for the iPhone/iPod touch gaming. There were certainly quality games in the App Store in 2008, but excellent releases like Alive 4 Ever, Bookworm, iDracula, Magical Drop Touch, Skee Ball, and Strikers 1945 Plus showcased the variety and quality of titles available on Apple’s handhelds. The games were immensely entertaining, visually dynamic, and for the most part, sonically satisfying. The only gripe? The controls.

I hate to divide our brothers and sisters in the gamingverse into separate camps drawn by superficial lines, but I’m going to do just that. Casual gamers, in my experience, are far more acceptable of the flaws of the virtual D-pad. They play in brief spurts during their commutes, doctor visits, and post office waits, so some of the movement issues may not seem as pronounced. The more hardcore (or as one of my former editors would say, “The Nerds”) have to deal with inconsistent input detection during our marathon sessions. Those of us that are continually frustrated in battling the virtual D-pad need a solution, and it may come in the form of Apple’s rumored iPad.

Tags: alive 4 ever, apple, apple ipad, apple islate, bookworm, game controllers, Gaming Gear, idracula, islate, mac, magical drop touch, strikers 1945 plus, tablet