Tag: Port »

Ubisoft's tear-jerking puzzle adventure, Valiant Hearts: The Great War has just been announced for iOS.

Set during World War I, the game puts players in control of several different characters as they endure all sorts of hardships in an attempt to survive. And some of them may not achieve that goal. So you've been warned: there will be sadness.

The controls have been reworked for touch screens, naturally. You can check out the video below to see it in action.

There's been no word on a price yet, but it stands to reason that Valiant Hearts: The Great War will be a premium release when it comes to the App Store on September 4.

2K Games has officially announced that Bioshock is coming to mobile. The announcement is an exciting one, although there’s also this pervading sense of worry - even anger - that some seem to have about it. So I’d like to take a few moments to try and explain why being able to play Bioshock on your iOS device ain’t so bad.

1 - Rapture in Your Pocket

Some people have asked me why I’d even want to buy a graphically inferior version of a game I probably already own for as much (or possibly more) than I could buy a “better” version for, and the answer is simple: portability. Of course it looks better on the systems that have high-end specs and lack a 2GB install cap, but I’m not about to drag my console of choice and a TV around with me everywhere I go.

Being able to play Bioshock on my phone - even if it’s not graphically up to par with the other versions - means I can return to Rapture any time I want. If I’m traveling, waiting in line, have downtime and no PC/console handy, and so on, I can simply pull out my phone and start throwing plasmids around.

2 - No In-App Purchases

This is another concern/assumption I’ve seen a lot of and it makes me sad. There’s this automatic (and severely biased/unfair) notion that mobile games must include in-app purchases. This is simply not true. There are a number of premium games on mobile that don’t offer any sort of in-app purchases, a couple of which have even come from 2K Games.

Remember XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Civilization Revolution 2? No in-app purchases. So when 2K says Bioshock won’t feature any in-app purchases there’s little reason to doubt them.

3 - More Games Means More Games

Mobile ports of big-name, AAA games tell us one very important thing: mobile ports of big-name, AAA games are possible.

Just about anyone who doesn’t immediately write-off mobile as a gaming platform (perhaps they were bitten as a child?) will admit to thinking things like “I wish this was on iPhone/iPad, then I could play it whenever I want!” With each successive port of a big-name game, the more likely we are to see more of them. It doesn’t have to be big AAA games, either. There have already been ports of other less 'mass-appeal' favorites like The World Ends With You and Dragon Quest VIII, and in the case of the former the port is even arguably (not really arguably) better than the original.

The original Bioshock is pretty much the greatest video game adaptation of an Ayn Rand novel in existence. It’s also a pretty darn awesome game in its own right. And it’s coming to iOS later this summer.

No joke: Bioshock on iOS is a direct port of the classic first-person adventure/shooter. The whole game - all the areas, enemies, dialogue, memorable moments, hidden cats, etc - has been made to work on the iPhone and iPad. There’s even that odd dip in the right-hand staircase in the lighthouse when you find the bathysphere.

The visuals have been scaled-back a bit, of course. Otherwise there’s no way it would clock in at just under Apple’s maximum download size of 2GB. That’s not to say it looks bad, though. There may not be dynamic shadows or fog effects, and the textures may be a lower resolution, but Rapture still the super-creepy underwater dystopia we’ve all come to know and love.

The port supports MFi and other bluetooth controllers, but also sports a set of touch controls that have been optimized for the experience. Naturally a controller is the more comfortable of the two options when it comes to a game like this, but the touch interface is about as accessible as I could’ve hoped for.

Bioshock doesn’t have a concrete release date or price just yet, but it will be available later this Summer as a premium release with no in-app purchases.

Word over at Board Game Geek is that Czech Games Edition has recently announced that work on its iPad port of Galaxy Trucker is almost complete. Kind of.

It's about ready to go now, but the developer would like to spend more time refining the online multiplayer as much as possible - and polish up everything else while they're at it, of course. It's hard to find fault with that logic, especially considering that this multiplayer framework will be used in many of their future releases.

Galaxy Trucker will be coming to the iPad in the beginning of September later this year. A digital version of Through the Ages is also planned.

Lately it seems like at least once per week some fairly big name games just sort of spring up on the App Store overnight. Although I suppose this week it was actually two. Looks like we can add 505 Games' doodle adventure Drawn to Life to that list now.

Back when it was first released for the DS the game attracted a lot of attention due to the way it allowed players to draw their own content. Characters, weapons, vehicles, etc - a significant number of objects could be edited or created entirely from scratch. And now you can do it all on your iPhone or iPad. I shudder to think of some of the screen shots people will inevitably end up sharing...

Anyhow, you can grab Drawn to Life off the App Store right now for $4.99. Keep it PG.

I do love a good SHMUP, and a classic old-school style SHMUP with hand-painted visuals appeals to me even more. It probably appeals to a lot of people, actually, which might have something to do with why publisher Lace Mamba Global and developer Firepixels is bringing Solar Wings to the App Store.

Players will get to blow up all manner of fancy-looking enemy ships as they fight their way through five different worlds. Each with a collection of tough/large bosses and vessels. Power-ups are on hand, naturally, as well as a total of three selectable characters with their own personal ships, although the third character needs to be unlocked before they can be used. And it’s all depicted in that colorful hand-painted style I mentioned. Sounds tasty, right?

Solar Wings should be sitting pretty on the App Store come Saturday, July 28th. Any SHMUP fans can nab it for a very reasonable $0.99, assuming there’s no accident with the listing like there was for the game’s Desura release.

*Note: Images are from the PC version*

Known as Death Sword in the US, the 1987 Commodore 64 classic is coming to PC, Mac, iPhone and iPad as early as February 15, 2012. Also previously known as Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior, the new title will be Barbarian - The Death Sword and is developed by Microids and published by Anuman Interactive. Gameplay will be similar to the original one-on-one fighting style as well as will integrate cross-platform multiplayer. It's not clear as to if Mac warriors will be able to compete against PC warriors or if it will only be Mac versus iOS. I'm sure there would be a lot of happy fighters if one could fight against PC, Mac, iOS or Android. And it's very nice to see that it will still feature the ability to sever opponent's heads and celebrate the ensuing shower of blood. Of course, this time it will be in updated 3D graphics. And yes, there are still scantily clad women involved, if that's something anyone cares about.

For those of you that are not familiar, the date July 7th every year holds quite a bit of significance in the eyes of game developer Bungie.  Celebrated by fans every year as "Bungie Day" it is a time when the studio takes time to look back on the legacy of their work and provide special surprises for their diehard supporters.

This year they decided to do something different, and support a fan-initiated initiative to bring the Mac classic Marathon to the iPad.  Developed completely by hardcore enthusiasts of the original game, Bungie awarded their diligence by publishing the game personally and throwing all of their support behind it.

The base game, which contains the entirety of the single player campaign is completely free.  Available as in-app purchases to augment the experience, you can also choose to add in a $3.99 high definition texture pack, or a $0.99 God mode, aptly named "Master Chief" mode.  Give this classic game another look on your iPad.  I can personally guarantee that this will be one that everyone can enjoy.

[original source: GameSetWatch]