Tag: Midway Arcade »

I can’t count the number of times I have had the iCade – the retrofied arcade control cabinet with a real eight-point joystick and eight real buttons – in a physical or virtual shopping cart and put it back because the compatible games list just didn’t warrant the hundred dollar investment. Well, I’m still holding out for Ms. Pac Man, but thanks to Warner Bros Interactive, the next time I’m squandering money and tempted by the flashback accessory, I just may keep it. Why? Because Midway Arcade, with it’s catalog of killer classic games like Joust, Spy Hunter, Defender and a true favortie of mine, RootBeer Tapper, is now iCade compatible too.

The app was already treat for anyone who spent hours and rolls of quarters in arcades as a kid. Players wander through a virtual showroom with classic cabinet games - all played in portrait mode which is ideal for the original iCade with the groovy casing. There are also four table top games including air hockey and pool and even a juke box to complete the late 70’s -early 80’s vibe. In fact, Midway is my favorite of all the classic collections on iOS because of its immersive design. But like Atari’s Greatest Hits, the first iCade compatible classics collection, these iconic titles just beg for physical controls. Now they have them.

On top of the generous content that comes with the $.99 download, Midway Arcade offers two $.99 in-app purchases to unlock fantasy and action three-game packs. Midway Arcade’s realistic setting is ideally suited to the iCade’s original design, but of course the app also works with the newer iCade models like the iCade Core as well.

The year is picking up pace. We're already nearing the end of February, with this marking the final Five For Friday of the month. While there's not a lot I can do about slowing down time, I can pick out five apps and games from the past week that are each worth checking out over the coming days.

Name That Movie
Movie Awards season is culminating this weekend with the Academy Awards, or Oscars, ceremony on Sunday night. While the official app has been out for the past month, an ideal app has just hit the Store for those after movie themed trivia. Name That Movie is inexpensive at the moment and offers 5 different rounds, consisting of Clips, Posters, Still shots, Hangman, Clues and more. It's an ideal game to play in preparation for the ceremony.

Midway Arcade
Nostalgia fans will love this. For $0.99, fans of Midway's Arcade classics can enjoy the delights of Spy Hunter, Rampage, Joust, Root Beer Tapper, Defender, and Arch Rivals. The asking price is more than reasonable for smashing up buildings in Rampage alone. In-app purchases extend the fun with the ability to unlock NARC, Total Carnage, APB, Gauntlet I and II, and Wizard of Wor.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
New to the iPad, Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions is a classic of the strategy roleplaying genre remade for the PSP then enhanced for iOS. The iPhone conversion was a strong one but on the iPad, the extra screen space makes it all the more appealing. Controlling characters is arguably simpler than on the original PSP version with touch based controls immediately intuitive and the graphics have been optimised. The asking price may be hefty but there's a heck of a lot of game playing time here.

Mosaic Creator
Fast yet beautiful results aren't hard to come by when it comes to many photo filtering apps. Mosaic Creator is another satisfying gem. It lets users easily create mosaic images which involve all the photos on an iPhone or iPad, even up to tens of thousands of different images. Everything's optimised for the best results and users can check a real-time preview as the mosaic effect is created. It's clever stuff.

Towers N' Trolls
The App Store isn't short of a good Tower Defense game but that doesn't mean there isn't room for another title of great quality. Towers N' Trolls is that game, featuring hand-painted environments across 30 unique maps and six different worlds to explore. It might be a concept we've seen before, but the different enemy types and general charm of the game could keep things feeling fresh and fun.