Video game movie tie-ins have a long, rich history of being messy, sub-par affairs, but Gameloft avoids the pitfalls with its official adaptation of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. The $6.99 iPad game isn’t an exact movie port; instead, it serves as a look at what happens between scenes. It doesn’t matter, really. The Dark Knight Rises is an enjoyable iOS game featuring solid combat, atmospheric visuals, and great voice acting that would make it a game of note, movie tie-in or not.
I was walking through Square Enix’ sizable booth at E3 this year, y’know, minding my own business when, out of the corner my eye, I saw a row of iPads. One of those iPads had Darius Burst, a horizontal space shooter in the vein of Square’s own forgotten Einhander.
It’s a simple throwback kind of game, nothing elabroate, nothing too flashy, but it’s solid and a great fit for the iPad. The touchpad controls work well. I used my left thumb on the left side of the screen and pressed some “fake” buttons on the right side to shoot and to use a “burst” move that made my fighter invincible for a while so long as I followed an energy ball thing it produced.
When Capcom announced that one of my favorite fighters–Marvel vs. Capcom 2– was making its way to the iPhone and iPad I was overwhelmed with joy. But the excitement wore off seconds after I launched the app.
Let’s get this out the way early: The iPhone’s touchscreen isn’t conducive for recreating the hardcore fighting game experience. I felt this way while playing Street Fighter IV: Volt Battle Protocol and The King of Fighters-i, but after playing the Marvel vs. Capcom 2 port I appreciate those games a bit more. Trying to play Marvel vs. Capcom 2 on the iPhone is just ludicrous and destroys the experience. On paper its a great idea, but Capcom failed in execution. Instead, we’re left with a $2.99 piece of nostalgia that’s found on half a dozen consoles.
Capcom and SNK have churned out stellar fighting games since the halcyon arcade days, with each company pushing the other in a competitive war for quarters. Between the pair, they’ve produced gems such as Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, King of Fighters ’98: Ultimate Match, Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Capcom vs. SNK 2, SNK vs Capcom: The Match of the Millenium, and dozens others.
Flash forward to 2011. Both 2D fighting game giants have released iOS fighters: King of Fighters-i and Street Fighter IV: Volt. Both are incredibly fun and surprisingly deep iPhone games, but only one can take the crown as the Apple fighting game champ. So we’re forcing them into battle with a head-to-head comparison.
CES kicks off this week, and ION is wasting no time in unveiling a pair of gamer friendly products. The company has introduced the iCade Core (the successor to the original iCade), and iCade Mobile. Both look to give gamers an easier way to enjoy the plethora of apps on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
Hiyah! Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior HD kicks onto the scene with the best fighting experience on the iPad hands down. The skepticism was there, from the second I began downloading the game; I thought to myself “another company trying to profit off a legendary name.” Rest assured this isn’t the case here; Digital Legends took the time out to capture everything fans love about the king of martial arts. This is easily one of the best iPad games in the App Store right now.
Everyone who has fancied themselves gamer have at one point dreamed of crafting their very own video games. After all, with so many games sopping in the juice called suck, their ideas would succeed because they know games better than some passionless suit, right? Kairosoft tests your game design, marketing, and employee management skills with Game Dev Story, a $3.99 universal iPhone and iPad game. You play the role of a game development company president who attempts to transform a small, indie company into a gigantic AAA level studio over two decades while staying within budget and appealing to the whims of game players and reviewers.
When a game stars a protagonist named John “Loose” Kannon, you know that there’s going to be a high body count. Gameloft gives gamers exactly that with 9MM, a hardcore, third-person shooter inspired by Max Payne. In it, you guide Mr. Kannon through a series of urban stages dispensing justice one bullet at a time. 9MM, overall, is a solid action romp that delivers an entertaining (albeit very clichéd) gaming experience.
Wesley Snipes stars as Julius Styles, an international man of butt-kicking mystery who is here to rid the world of hooligans.
Despite writing extensively about the greatest sports video game athletes, I am not one you would call a sports gamer. Tracking stats, and jockeying for playoff spots is insta-snooze from my point of view. I’ve always been more partial to sillier endeavors such as Tecmo Super Bowl and Mutant League Football, titles that have more liberal interpretations of the sports on which they’re based. They feature accessible controls and fun, over-the-top action that appeals to audience that wouldn’t normally pick up a sports simulation title. That’s why EA Sports’ NBA Jam for iPad is most excellent. It’s missing some modes found in the NBA Jam console releases, but makes up for it in other ways.
