On a regular basis, I’m wowed by the impressive graphics we’re seeing on the latest iOS games. None more so than in the case of Battlefield 3 Aftershock from EA. It’s only in an early alpha state but already it’s looking pretty amazing for an iPhone or iPad game.

Scant details have been released so far but there will be a single player mode as well as multiplayer fun to be had. EA promises ragdoll physics and a combat engine built around facing up against hordes of enemies in wave formations, hopefully providing an experience ideal for the brief game sessions many get with their iOS devices.

Intriguingly there will also be connectivity with Battlefield 3 on other platforms with achievements and weapon unlocks suggested to be the result of this. As a fan of the BattleLog available for PC and console gamers, I’ve got my fingers crossed that the iOS version has some kind of connection to this.

No release date has been announced other than sometime this Winter. For now, take in the delights of these screenshots that look darn impressive for any iOS device.

Nexon Mobile, developers of Maple Story Cygnus Knights Edition, has announced a new first person shooter for iOS, Combat Arms: Zombies. The game will be based off Combat Arms, a free to play game for PC. Specifically, this game is based off of the Fireteam mode of the original, which puts players against oncoming enemy hordes, trying to survive and advance from checkpoint to checkpoint. As the title insinuates, the iOS version features that latest cultural craze, zombies, as the foe of choice. Nexon Mobile plans to release the game later this November after debuting the game at South Korea’s G-Star gaming expo on November 10th. The game will be available for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, amd while there has been no confirmation, it will likely be a free to play title like the PC version. The game will be running on Unreal Engine 3, and according to Nexon Mobile CEO, Albert Rim, it “will set a new standard for graphics…on mobile devices.” Check out a teaser trailer for the game below.

Having been big fans of Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus, we’re pretty excited to announce that Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation is on its way to iOS devices this fall.

Not many details have been released yet but the key facts are as follows:

• An intense 13-mission campaign with immersive cinematics and memorable moments.
• A frantic multiplayer with up to 12 players, 6 maps and 6 different modes.
• An addictive ranking system with more than 90 experience ranks.
• High-tech modern weaponry with modifications and attachments.
• Next-gen high quality visuals that will compete with the RAGE and UNREAL engines.

Visuals that promise to compete with the RAGE and UNREAL engines sound particularly exciting and looking at the two screenshots released so far and the trailer, high hopes are understandable.

For those yet to play Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus, this is the ideal time as currently both iPhone and iPad versions are on sale at a very reasonable $0.99 each.

Roll on Fall for the third instalment!

$6.99

Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Our Rating: :: SOLID
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2010-10-07 :: Category: Games

$6.99

Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus HD

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2010-10-21 :: Category: Games

Archetype, the online multiplayer-focused first-person shooter from Villain, is getting a major content update with the now available 1.5 update. Not only have 12 new maps been added, but a new free for all mode is available as well, with 6 levels of its own to play. As well, the Capture the Flag mode and other maps that were previously only available through the “Frontier” DLC now are available to all players, in an attempt to get more people playing the mode. As well, the game’s menus have been redesigned to be more streamlined, and new anti-cheating measures have been implemented, because wanting to exact fictional violence on your opponents is far better than wanting to exact real violence because they’re cheating. Archetype HD is getting the exact same updates as well, so iPad shooter fans won’t be left out of the new content fun. The game updates are now available in the App Store.

$0.99

Archetype

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Our Rating: :: WHERE'S THE BEEF?
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2010-07-01 :: Category: Games

$2.99

Archetype HD

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-08-19 :: Category: Games

Gameloft gave us a chance to get hands on with their latest shooter, Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus — and it’s a good one.

I’ll be the first to admit that when the earliest first person shooters came out for the iPhone, I was very critical and just didn’t think they would work. But Gameloft has, with each of their FPS releases, gotten better and better. To the point that I now think we can say that they work fairly well. I do, at times, still miss the hardware buttons, but the progress is amazing. Throw in the excellent screen on the iPhone 4, gyro controls (optional), and faster and faster processors helps too.

Gameloft has loaded MC2 with 12 missions in 3 environments utilizing 15 different weapons. But the thing that has me most interested is the 6 player multiplayer — even over the Internet. Multiple modes too — deathmatch, team deathmatch, and capture the flag too. The game is shaping up to be a pretty good one. Take a look at this video from Gameloft for a quick look.

We can expect to see Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus in the App Store sometime in October. Hit the jump for some more screenshots.

To most people, QuakeCon is an event that is custom built for showing off the latest and greatest in big gaming software. John Carmack, the genius behind id Software, usually gets up on stage and wows the crowd with his new FPS, but this year, it was a bit different.

In his keynote he whiped out his iPhone 4 and said, “iPhone. Rage. 60 frames per second”. Rage, his newest FPS, was only expected to be released on the current generation mega machines, so when his iPhone came out, the crowd let out a pretty hearty cheer. What Carmack showed was only a tech demo, but it had all of the textures, lighting effects, and speed that you would expect a solid FPS to have.

The demonstration was built on the id Tech 5 engine, the same engine used for the XBox 360, the PS3, and the PC, which is so advanced that it can run the game at an acceptable speed on a first gen iPhone.

Carmack says in the speech, after explaining how cool the app looks on the iPad, says that the Tech 5 engine could “kill anything done on a previous generation console, like the Xbox or PlayStation 2.”.

He does mention the lack of tactile feedback, but I fully expect John Carmack to fix that too. I’ll be waiting, Carmack.

Unfortunately for us, id will not be licensing Tech 5 like they do with the majority of their other tech. In an interview with Eurogamer, id’s Software boss Todd Hollenshead said that “It’s going to be used within ZeniMax, so we’re not going to license it to external parties. It’s like, look, this is a competitive advantage and we want to keep it within games we publish – not necessarily exclusively to id or id titles, but if you’re going to make a game with id Tech 5 then it needs to be published by Bethesda, which I think is a fair thing.”

Here’s hoping that there will be a slew of great Bethesda titles for the iPhone in 2011.

[Source: Eurogamer, Kotaku]

Archetype 1.3.1 is out now, and it brings even more online shooter madness to your iPhone. In the update, there is a new level, a “Rocket Arena” game mode that makes the Pride level “rockets only”, and “gyroscopic aim assist”, which is the precursor to full gyroscopic controls that will be in a future update.

“Other gameplay improvements include a fix for spawning too close to enemies, a change in the default equipment that starts players with two grenades rather than three to make grenade usage more strategic, and info button that provides information and updates, user controls for inverting yaw and disabling blood effects, automatic screen rotation (iOS4 only), a memory fix for second gen iPod touch owners, and a graphical fix for player who appeared to be holding a melee axe when they had the default rifle.”

Be sure to download the latest update for free in the App Store, and prepare for some rocket attacks!

$0.99

Archetype

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Our Rating: :: WHERE'S THE BEEF?
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2010-07-01 :: Category: Games

Villain and Munkyfun Inc. (Shift, Ivory Tiles), have released Archetype, an online FPS built for console style gaming on the iPhone and iPad. “Archetype brings high quality, console-style Pwnage to iPhone and iPod touch first-person shooter fans at an amazing price with absolutely no strings attached,” said Dane Baker, Lead Producer at Villain. “And we’re absolutely thrilled that our game supports the new iPhone 4, as Archetype takes full advantage of the new ‘Retina Display’ technology which results in new owners experiencing an exceptionally phenomenal view of their fragging glory.”

Archetype supports up to ten players per match over WiFi, 3G, and even Edge. Being a console style shooter, the game has a full ranking system, with match pairing services available to prevent beginners from having no chance. With 5 maps, 6 weapons, and 2 grenade types to play with, Archetype looks to keep people entertained for quite some time. Pick it up for $2.99… and of course, there are more screen after the break.

Note from the Editor: Architype is sponsoring 148Apps currently but that had no influence on this article. This is a significant app release for the iPhone/iPod Touch as it represents the latest of very few multiplayer games for the iPhone and even fewer multiplayer FPS games. 148Apps adheres strictly to the principles of editorial and advertising separation as detailed by O.A.T.S.

$0.99

Archetype

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Our Rating: :: WHERE'S THE BEEF?
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2010-07-01 :: Category: Games

At GDC I had a very quick chance to try out a new zombie (yes, another zombie game) game from Bulkypix called Undead: The Last Refuge. This one is, honestly, very similar to Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies. It’s a very fast FPS that really shows off what the iPhone 3GS can do. The framerate is as good if not better than CoD. The movement and animation is very fluid and quick as you can see in the demo below.

Later in the video you see 32 zombies on the screen at the same time. CoD maxed out at 9 if I remember correctly. Very impressive.

We’ll have to wait for the game to drop before we can see if it’s a really good game. I only had a chance to play a partial level and honestly had pick my chin up off the floor, I was that impressed with the 3D engine they are using. The game should launch by the end of the month for $2.99.

Hit the jump for the full marketing text about the game and a feature list.

Description: The coming of the Apocalypse had been announced for centuries, so we were not to know that it was so close. The dead have risen from the ground and destroyed everything in their path.
You have managed to survive until now, but you are alone and cut off… How long will you be able to survive?

Features:

• Experience fear and stress in a battle for your survival.
• Enjoy being in an entirely 3D-modelled environment with impressive graphics.
• Take on the hordes of dozens of zombies coming to drink your blood. A totally new scenario for the iPhone/iPod Touch.
• Let your weapons do the talking as you drive back your assailants.
• Use OpenFeint to survive and achieve success. Beat the highest scores to become world number one.
• Challenge your friends on Facebook or Twitter by posting your highest scores.

ngmoco:)’s hotly anticipated titles, Touch Pets: Dogs and Eliminate, have finally made their way past Apple’s approval process. For those who don’t know, Touch Pets is a pet sim that focuses on raising and training “the ultimate puppy” and also includes a wide array of social features. Eliminate, meanwhile, is a multiplayer online first person shooter. Both games will be free (yes, you read that right!) but will feature In-App Purchases. Note that IAP’s won’t be necessary to play the game; you’ll just need them to unlock extras. With Eliminate, for example, you get to play a certain number of games per day before your “energy” runs out; you can play without energy but you won’t be able to earn any in-game credits.

While both apps are approved, don’t get too excited: ngmoco is doing a Canada-only release first, to make sure that “all Eliminate systems are online and all puppies are house broken before unleashing upon the world,” according to their tweet. It’s an interesting strategy that will have non-Canadian fans grumbling, but given that ngmoco is releasing two extremely hyped games with heavy online components at once, it makes sense. Once the games make their USA debut, we’ll post our reviews; for now, you can check out our preview coverage from earlier this month.

Update: Eliminate is now out worldwide. Make sure you grab it! It generally takes a few hours for new apps to show up in the App Store, so don’t worry if you can’t see it yet.

Canadians can get Touch Pets here, though the rest of the world is still waiting.

Random musings of the app store

GTA: Chinatown Wars coming to the iPhone

Last week, as most of you know, Rockstar Games announced that it was porting its critically acclaimed GTA: Chinatown Wars to the iPhone. Not only is this great news for fans of the game, though we do already have the superb Gangstar, but it also shows how seriously the iPhone is taken as a gaming platform. Rockstar is not a company to make gratuitous ports for every platform available (I don’t think the Wii will be getting GTA anytime soon), so this upcoming port shows that Rockstar believes in the power of the iPhone. If Rockstar will port GTA for the iPhone, what other big-name developers will follow? The days of the iPhone being a phone that you could play some gimmicky accelerometer games on are over. Sony, I would be afraid.

New ngmoco FPS trailer, now called Eliminate, reveals the use of micro-transactions

Ngmoco has released a new trailer for their upcoming Eliminate, and while the game is looking awesome, most people are fixating on another detail: you will only be able to play so many matches online for credits in one day, and if you want to play for credits again without waiting a day, you have to buy an “energy pack” using real money. So what’s the big deal? Well if you ask me, as long as ngmoco doesn’t abuse this, nothing. Here’s the kicker: if you run out of energy, you can still play online, you just won’t win credits. So the only people who will buy extra energy are the perfectionists who have to show how good they are. For people like me, who just want to play a game to have fun (isn’t that what a game is for), you can play however much you want and still have fun. So really, this is a great idea as long as two things hold true: the game is not originally priced above $6.99 and the amount of energy you get per day is reasonable. What do you guys think? Sound off in our comments below.

C64 Emulator finally approved by Apple

After months of back room deals, Apple rejections, and Apple non-communication, Manomio has finally gotten their superb C64 emulator has been approved! Obviously this won’t appeal to everyone, but if you’re one for nostalgia, at $4.99, it’s worth picking up because of the high level of polish and solid controls. The emulator comes with five fully licensed games, but no BASIC emulator as was originally included, though it’s apparently suspiciously easy to enable the BASIC if you’re SSH savvy. Future games will be available via DLC at prices to be determined by the original IP holders. Next up, Manomio, a legal Atari emulator (I wish)!

$4.99

Commodore 64

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Our Rating: :: LIMITED APPEAL
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2009-09-05 :: Category: Games

This week’s sign of the apocalypse

Smule’s “I Am T-Pain” is the number one paid app in the entire app store. Enough said.

$0.99

I Am T-Pain 2.0

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-09-04 :: Category: Music

Apps of the Week

Modern Combat: Sandstorm

Modern Combat is the most visually impressive title on the iPhone to date, bar none. Models are good, textures are sharp, and everything is fully and accurately 3D. Not only this, but Gameloft actually nailed the controls, a first for an FPS on the iPhone. The gameplay, specifically the AI and level structure leave something to be desired, but Sandstorm remains a great accomplishment nonetheless, and it comes with a solid recommendation at the low price of $6.99.

$4.99

Modern Combat: Sandstorm

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Our Rating: :: TECHNICAL BEAUTY
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2009-09-02 :: Category: Games

Samurai: Way of the Warrior

Samurai is one of the coolest games I’ve played on the iPhone. It’s a hack-and-slasher with great graphics, perfect controls, and gratuitous blood! Controls involve different combinations of swipes, and the gameplay is actually somewhat strategic – you have to balance small attacks with huge combos, because if you miss a huge combo, you leave yourself very prone to an attack. Execute moves correctly, and you might be lucky enough to see the body of the opponent samurai stop, then fall on the ground in two pieces, with blood squirting across the screen. Samurai comes with both a story mode and an endless or “dojo” mode. My only complaints about this game are that once you figure out the controls, it’s too easy – there’s an uneven difficulty curve, and that it does get repetitive at times. Still, I found myself playing this $2.99 gem much more than Sandstorm. Expect a full review soon, but until then, you really have to see a video to appreciate the awesomeness of this game.

$0.99

Samurai: Way of the Warrior

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-09-01 :: Category: Games

That’s it for this week, tune back in next week for the winner of the contest and some more MMAHQ. Have a great week!