Tag: Touch pets cats »

The appeal of virtual pet games is obvious: you get all the cute and cuddly, but without any of the mess or financial obligations. I still remember playing the old Petz games on my computer when I was little. A few months ago ngmoco brought the basic premise of the Petz games to the iPhone with Touch Pets Dogs; now, however, cat lovers can finally join in the fun.

Touch Pets Cats, like Touch Pets Dogs, is a free app that lets you adopt the pet of your dreams. It then tasks you with caring for and playing with your newfound companion. In addition to caring for your kitten's basic needs, you can play with your cat using a variety of toys, have playdates with other cats, and spend time hunting for money to spruce up your house. Unlike Touch Pets Dogs, however, there are no careers; one can only assume that cats are too proud to stoop to such levels.

Touch Pets Cats continues ngmoco's "freemium" strategy—the app itself is free, but those willing to shell out real money for "catnip" don't have to spend as long doing repetitive tasks. As a consequence of it being free, you also can't play constantly. Hmm - ngmoco, we're on to you.

If virtual cats tickle your fancy, Touch Pets Cats is now available in the App Store for "free." But please, if you're handing this to your four-year-old, set the Parental Controls to disallow in-app purchases. The last thing you need is to realize that you've just been charged $50 for some digital "catnip."

We got a chance to stop in ay the new office of ngmoco:) recently for a quick rundown on some of their upcoming apps. As you may remember, they made a business switch recently and are moving completely to the free to play model where the games are free to download and play, but have some form of in-app purchases to give you a better experience. Their latest creations all fall into that model and include a spin-off from Touch Pets Dogs, Eliminate, and two from We Rule.

We Farm

First up is ngmoco:)'s answer to Farmville. Built from the We Rule engine, this game will look familiar to those of you who have played We Rule. But this time around the focus is on farming. Both raising crops (like in We Rule), and raising livestock are the prime methods to earning in-game cash. To keep things a little friendlier though, animals are never sent off to slaughter. Instead, after raising them they are sent to be judged.

We City

Next up, also built on the We Rule engine, We City. While We Farm is fairly similar to We Rule, this one changes things up a little bit. Instead of building a farm/kingdom, you are building a city. Think of this is a very simplified, friendly and social version of SimCity.

In both We City and We Farm, you can visit your friends creations and interact by purchasing services and goods from them, much like in We Rule. It should be noted that ngmoco:) have made the odd decision to have each individual game, even though they are very similar and are targeting a similar audience, have their own unique version of We Rule's mojo. Players would, I'm sure, greatly appreciate a common in-game bonus currency so that if you excel in one game you can speed up another. But alas, this is not to be.

Touch Pets Cats

Touch Pets Cats is the answer to Touch Pets Dogs for you feline lovers. Similar game, but there are a few small changes in how it's played. For one, since cats generally stay inside, the whole experience is indoors. You have the option to decorate your living space with earned and purchasable items and furniture.

The Next Version of Eliminate

By far the most interesting title we saw was the next version of Eliminate. Currently without a final title, this version will be set in the current time instead of the future -- think US military fighting in the middle east. Much like Eliminate, it's multiplayer over the Internet and works butter smooth. The game itself reminded me very much of Counterstrike and had some really good action. No images of the game yet, but keep an eye out for full details.