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Random Musings of the App Store

New iTunes brings fresh App Store

Among the goings-on at the 9.9.09 Apple event was the release of iTunes 9.0 which included a redesigned App Store. To sum up the changes in one word - "clutter." It seems as if Apple has challenged themselves to fit as many app icons on one page as possible. There are some nice changes, but they are masked by the overall clutter. Top 100's are now top 200's, though looking over the lists now causes eye damage. There is now a top grossing app list, though it is hidden at the bottom of the page and used in conjunction with the top volume list making it confusing for all. Tabs at the top of iTunes are nice though the drop down App Store categories are initially hard to find. One of the new iTunes is the ability to organize iPhone app icons from iTunes. Though it's not perfect, this new feature is infinitely preferable to organizing on the iPhone itself.

Gameloft clones

Gameloft is really wearing thin on me with their clones. GTA is more of a genre now, so I was ok with Gangstar, but with their COD4 clone (Modern Combat) and Soul Caliber clone (Blades of Fury), I've had enough. These games certainly show off the iPhone as a gaming platform, but there comes a point when I just can't get excited about exact clones of existing games. These aren't rough clones either, they're almost indistinguishable. Gameloft is a talented developer, but in order to start making memorable games, they're going to have to show the creativity involved in creating games like Sway and Gomi, two indie darlings. For now though, all the upcoming Gameloft games are clones, including a Diablo clone, a Mario Kart clone, and a Halo clone.

Exciting upcoming games

In contrast to Gameloft, here are some trailers for some games I'm really excited about. Enjoy!

iBlast Moki:

In addition to clever physics-based gameplay, iBlast Moki boasts 70 levels and a fully featured in-game level editor. Gozilab, the developer, has been notified that the game could not be posted because the price was included in the App description, but this was fixed so hopefully iBlast Moki will be making an appearance on the App Store soon.

Hybrid: Eternal Whisper:

Gamevil, the developer of the famed Zenonia, has submitted their stylish action RPG to the App Store so hopefully we'll be seeing Hybrid soon.

Ravensword: the Fallen King

Crescent Moon games has estimated a submission date of September 30 for their 3D open-world adventure RPG.
Contest Winner

Well, you were all horribly wrong, but sf49lu wins the $15 gift card for being the most detailed in his wrong predictions. Congratulations, Chris will email you your winnings as soon as he stops watching football.

Apps of the Week

Sadly, there were no apps good enough to be deemed worthy of this award. Blades of Fury was lacking, Madden was disappointing, and I haven't gotten a chance to play Dexter yet. See you all next week!

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)!

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.

Contest!
This, week, as a first for MMAHQ, we're holding a contest where you can be the lucky winner of a $15 iTunes gift card! To enter, simply comment on this article with your prediction for what will happen at the 9.9.09 Apple event on Wednesday. What will the new iPod Touch look like? Will any huge games come out (like Madden)? Will Steve Jobs be there? The winner will be the person who has the most accurate or funniest prediction will be deemed the winner (that's right, this is completely arbitrary)! Hopefully we can get some good participation, and if all goes well, we might have some more contests later on.

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.

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.

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!

Random Musings of the App Store

Gameloft setting new App Store upper limit?

Gameloft's two most recent premium games, Gangstar and Modern Combat: Sandstorm (supposedly due for imminent release) are both priced at $6.99. These are certainly at the highest quality level of the App Store, so normally Gameloft would price these at $9.99. Gameloft has stated, however, that they have priced their games lower because consumers are unwilling to pay $9.99. While Gameloft is probably doing this with their best interests at heart, it could have unintended consequences for developers of AAA titles everywhere. If new Gameloft games are debuting at $6.99, other developers will be pressured to price their premium apps accordingly. While this may be good for the consumer in the short run, it could lead to deflation of app values and discourage premium game production, as you will have to sell a lot more units at $6.99 than at $9.99 to turn the same profit. It seems the guys behind Real Racing, Firemint, are the only ones with enough cojones to steadily price their game at $9.99, and (I think) it's paying off.

Geared takes over number one app spot

To my joy, a game app has finally taken, from Camera Genius (boring), the number one overall paid app spot. Chris found Geared to be a nice little game in his review, and while not to say that it isn't deserving of the number one spot, the App Store still works in mysterious ways to me. This is a game that had no hype, no big name developer or publisher, and that isn't at all the best game on the App Store, even at its price point. Perhaps a well-done lite version is the answer? In any case, congratulations to Bryan Mitchell; good work!

This week's sign of the apocalypse

This week, we know the apocalypse is coming because... there is no app of the week. It seems that since at least March, each week has brought at least one AAA title, but this past week has been something of an oddity. We saw some games that are decently fun (Geared, Ramp Champ, and Alive 4 Ever), but in the end, I decided nothing was App of the Week quality. Rather than besmirch the MMAHQ name with some mediocre apps, I sadly leave this week blank. However, I reserve the right to update this column in the middle of the week if some stellar apps make their way to the app store (Hint - think Sandstorm).

Well folks, that's it for this week. Have a great week, and hopefully app-wise, it will be more interesting than the last.

Fresh off the success of the Gang$tar trailer a few weeks back, Gameloft has come up with another high budget cinematic for its upcoming game, Modern Combat: Sandstorm. I'm not going to lie, I'm a sucker for high quality videos.

They also put out an initial trailer on August 4th that has some gameplay in it. It looks really really good.