Tag: Pac man »

Remember April Fool’s day 2010? ThinkGeek showcased a retro-fied iPad cabinet, complete with 70’s Mork-suspender's striping as a gag. Well, the laugh was short-lived, as the product took hold and became a top seller. At CES 2012, as we reported, ION AUDIO, who make the real product, announced a new line-up of iOS gear including a line of streamlined iPad controllers with the same arcade style 8-point joystick and 8 buttons, and for the small iOS screens, a controller-case that most resembles the PSP.

But, as 148apps writer Jenifer Allen pointed out in her coverage of the Gametel Controller: There’s “no use [for add-on controllers] without good software support.”

Like many, I’ve been holding out for one very special arcade classic that screams joystick like no other: NAMCO BANDAI’s PAC-MAN for iPad. Actually I’m lying, I really want Ms PAC-MAN, which if the product shot from ION’s press release is any indication is coming soon, but I’ll more likely consider ponying up for just the little male yellow chomper. And now he and his ghostly nemeses are officially iCade compatible.

In the press release Fred Galpern, Brand Manager, at ION says. “It’s thrilling to add Pac-Man to the list of iCADE compatible games … adding this beloved classic is truly exciting.” Thrilling may be overstatement, but if this signals a general alliance with NAMCO BANDAI, and other old-school gamehouses, the exuberance on ION’s part, and mine, is well founded.

Coming soon to the app store is Hard Lines - a game that appears to happily capture the spirit of Pac-Man, Snake and Geometry Wars all in one go.

Like all the best arcade style games, Hard Lines is all about how long the player can last. Players must guide Lionel the line through the Geometry Wars style arena, ensuring that they don't collide with an enemy's tail (just like Snake).

Gaining the best high score is the order of the day here with OpenFeint support allowing for global comparisons, and there will be 6 different gameplay modes providing some fresh but fast paced entertainment. Developers, Split Milk Studios, promise a good healthy dash of humor too so it'll be interesting to see how that works out in the full product.

Hard Lines will be available on the App Store in the near future and we'll be sure to provide more information soon. For now, take a look at the screenshot gallery and trailer below.

Namco, of worldwide PAC-MAN fame, is having a huge iOS Christmas sale that will last until January 3rd. With a ton of apps that are going for $0.99 and $1.99, there's just no reason for people to not play the heck out of all the Namco games they can get their hands on. Enough talk though, here's the Christmas sale!

House of Glass – in-app purchase lowered to $2.99
BIT.TRIP BEAT Blitz – in-app purchase levels lowered to $0.99

BIT.TRIP BEAT - $0.99
BIT.TRIP.BEAT was definitely one of my favorite retro experiences over the past year. Taking the classic Pong game and pumping in some heavy interactive beats and crazy graphics, BIT.TRIP.BEAT will definitely entertain anyone looking for an extremely stylish retro gaming remix. It won't haunt your Pong loving dreams like Be2: Escape From Pongland, but it is definitely a game worth playing.

BIT.TRIP BEAT HD - $0.99
Isaac Newton's Gravity - $0.99
Mishap - $1.99
Mishap for iPad - $1.99

More Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawahsima - $1.99
Dr. Kawashima is the pioneer of tying brain exercise to video games with the huge success of Brain Age on Nintendo DS. After selling millions of copies of his book, many more millions of copies of his branded game on the DS, Namco decided to bring the brain training guru to the App Store. More Brain Exercise isn't quite as advanced as Brain Age, but if brain training is what you are looking for you've come to the right place. At this discounted price you definitely won't be disappointed.

More Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawahsima HD - $1.99
Mr. Driller - $0.99

Ms. PAC-MAN - $1.99
Ms. PAC-MAN, whether you like it or not, was the very first game to tie into Apple's Game Center. While I prefer regular PAC-MAN, gamers looking to capture a bit of gaming history can download the game and attempt to crack the global top 50 list... a list littered with hard core gamers that were patiently waiting for other games to populate the Game Center system. Good luck! The competition is stiff.

PAC-MAN - $1.99
PAC-MAN for iPad - $1.99
PAC-Match Party - $0.99
PAC-Match Party HD - $0.99
Pole Position: Remix - $0.99
Pool Pro Online 3 - $0.99
Pool Pro Online 3 for iPad - $0.99
Star Trigon - $0.99

Tamagotchi: 'Round the World - $0.99
Tamagotchi? In the App Store? As an app reviewer I feel like I should hang my head in shame, but as an adult stuck in the late 90's, all I can say is O.M.G. The App Store's description says that I can "Eat, dance, play and even poop your way to a happier and healthier planet!" Perfect.

If you weren't aware, this year is the 30th anniversary of our beloved PAC-MAN. Hopefully you caught wind a while ago when Google put up its interactive PAC-MAN game that sapped up 4.8 million hours of combined playtime. There were also the massive App Store sales that boosted a few of the PAC-MAN apps, including PAC-MAN Championship Edition and Ms. PAC-MAN into the top 10.

If you missed the boat though, fear not, you'll have another chance to celebrate the occasion. To continue the PAC-MAN love, NAMCO is releasing PAC-Match Party, similar to the Flash game that was released on PAC-MAN's birthday, a match 3 game with a retro flare. It'll be up to you to keep PAC-MAN chomping his way around the maze without running into the evil ghosts with your match 3 prowess. "At $1.99, the title includes 30 levels of exciting power-ups and crazy combos." Expect the iPhone and iPod Touch version to be out shortly and the iPad app to come a bit after that.

In the meantime, here's a promo video to get your blood moving.

Today, Pac-Man turns 30 years old!

I remember the first time I saw Pac-Man. It was in the little dark pizza place near where I lived. I must have been around 11 years old and it was one of the first video games I had ever seen. I remember dumping quarter after quarter into the machine while drinking Pepsi after Pepsi trying to get the high score. I never got the high score. Well, not until the fragile local power grid helped me out.

There had been a thunderstorm that morning, and the power was out in the whole neighborhood for a couple hours. When I went to play Pac-Man later that day, all of the high scores had been zeroed out! I finally had a chance and I did it. I got the high score. Proud of myself I headed home feeling like a king. That was until the next day when I went back and not one, but 4 people had beaten my high score with scores that I had never come close to.

Pac-Man was first released 30 years ago and in that time there have been a couple dozen off-shoot games. It's available on just about every single platform you can imagine. There was even a cartoon series for a short while.

But what we remember most is the original video game. The original is still the best.

To celebrate the birthday, Namco has decided to put all of the Pac-Man games for the iPhone and iPad on sale through Sunday evening.

Also on sale are Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man Championship Edition, Pac-Man Remix.

Happy Birthday Pac-Man! You don't look a day over 25!

Namco has joined the great Holiday sale craze and put many of their games on sale. Some of them at the lowest prices we've ever seen for them. Included in the sale are Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man for $2.99 each. The lowest prices we've seen for those games. Also, the recent release, excellent game Pac-Man Championship Edition is on sale for only $0.99! Another recent release, Garters and Ghouls is also only $0.99.

Other great deals include Star Trigon, Pole Position, Burgertime Deluxe, Brain Exercise, Mr. Driller, and Worst Case Scenario for $0.99 each. The games are on sale for these prices until 12/27. Check out all the Namco sale apps at the App Store.

Random musings of the App Store.

Retro Invasion

Retro games are appearing in the App Store in droves! Pac-Man Remix, Q*Bert Deluxe, and of course, the incredible Space Invaders Infinity Gene. All of these are updated in some way from the classic games. Q*Bert has updated graphics, Pac-Man Remix has updated graphics (though they are still not too hot on the iPhone) along with power-ups that sometimes feel gimmicky, and Space Invaders is a complete re-imagining of the classic game. Of these, the only game that really captivates me is SIIG. In my opinion, retro games are retro for a reason - frankly, they're boring and outdated. However, the concepts are still good, and if they're updated for modern gamers, they can turn out like SIIG. To go with these retro games, there are plenty more on the way: Snood, a classic match-3 shooting game, TAITO's Bust-a-Move, and most importantly, Pac-Man Championship Edition. Pac-Man CE, for XBLA, is, along with SIIG, one of the best re-imaginings of a retro game I have ever played and, if the controls are changed from Remix, should translate fantastically for the iPhone.
[caption id="attachment_15570" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pac-Man CE, a great re-imagining of the classic game"]

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Gameloft coming on strong (maybe)

Along with NFL 2010, Gameloft has an upcoming FPS, Sandstorm, and a GTA knockoff, Gang$tar in the works. These games are particularly of note because it seems as if Gameloft is attempting to directly compete with other developers. NFL 2010 was notably released before EA's upcoming Madden 2010, and at a lower expected price point - $7.99 compared to $9.99. Sandstorm seems to be in line for direct competition with ngmoco's upcoming FPS (as yet unnamed). Gang$tar looks to have a huge advantage on current App Store GTA-a-likes with a fully roam-able 3D world. If I was a betting man (ok, I am a betting man), though, I would count on the other two games losing out. If there's two things Gameloft games have in common, with the notable exception of Castle of Magic, it's lackluster, on-screen controls, and uninspired gameplay. Gameloft seems to put all of the genre "requirements" in their games, without doing anything truly unique to make the game their own. They seem stubborn about their controls as well, always opting for mediocre on-screen d-pads or joysticks, rather than attempting any innovation for the iPhone. NFL 2010 is a solid football game with licensing, and I'm sure Sandstorm will be a decent FPS. However, neither if these titles, probably, will be great.

[caption id="attachment_15571" align="alignright" width="184" caption="Get out of my games, stupid pygmy"]

[/caption]Games requiring 3.0 software

I wanted to briefly address a common complaint springing up various places: games requiring 3.0 software or higher. Developers are excited to utilize 3.0 features and making their apps 2.2.1 compatible takes a lot of time, resources, and extra testing. Look, I know that the update is $10 for iPod touchers (whoops, that sounds weird), but that's really not a lot for a major software upgrade, and if these stubborn users don't update soon, they're going to find themselves left out in the cold for some of the App Store's best apps and games.

This week's sign of the apocalypse

First Doodle Jump, now Harbor Master; the Pocket God pygmies are invading other games! It was bad enough that I had to look at those stupid pygmies while playing Pocket God, thinking I would eventually like it. But no, that wasn't enough, now they have to ruin games that I actually play! I really want to kill a pygmy, and in a way so that they can't be magically dropped from the sky a few seconds later.

Apps of the Week

Gomi

[caption id="attachment_15572" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Gomi, an app of the week!"]

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Last week, I previewed Kevin Calderone's new game Gomi, mentioning the staggering amount of content. Now, the app is out, and not only is it huge, but all that content is actually worth playing! In Gomi, you clean up the world by eating pollution and the like while spitting (?) out trees and flowers. You have to eat smaller things to build your appetite, eventually building up to shopping malls and the like. The regular levels are great, the boss battles are challenging and clever, and the game is seemingly endless with 140+ levels, eight mini games, achievements, and online scoreboards. At the low price of $1.99, Gomi is a unique game and a highly recommended bargain. Expect a full review soon (sorry, I'm on vacation).

BargainBin

BargainBin is an app that allows you track other apps; creating wish lists with target prices and viewing the newest apps, updates, and price drops. BargainBin recently was updated with two major improvements: a nice UI update and a killer feature: push notifications. Now, whenever an app you're tracking reaches your desired price, you'll instantly receive a push notification without ever having to open the app. Finding the App Store's best deals has never been easier!

Well, that's it for this week, and I'm still loving writing this column! Apparently, I messed up the links for the previous articles, so commenting was impossible. This has been fixed, so hopefully this week my begging for feedback/comments will succeed!