The iOS gaming thread

I don't know how much an update could've done; I remember that even at the time it was kind of clunky. I love the presentation and it's a great port to the iPad, but I got frustrated and lost interested at exactly the same point I did with the original. (The only thing that seems weird is that the original really pushed the "everything is happening in REAL TIME!" while the current presentation almost treats it as an afterthought). If ever there was a game that I wanted desperately to love but couldn't, The Last Express would be it.

We all knew you have a PC already, so we made sure to leave TLE off our must-get lists.

I never compared people who like the game to illiterates. I said the banter was so bad it makes you wish you were illiterate. There was a tremendous storytelling opportunity here that was not only missed, but turned into absolute drek.

I also had no idea that me grousing about a game and you dismissing it as bullshit is the message board equivalent of a reach-around.

I don't care what sort of indy cred a studio has if it puts out a dull game with bad writing that pisses away a compelling premise. But if you'd rather play it than finish The Last Express, which is an entertaining game with great writing that does amazing things with a compelling premise, have fun.

Whatever. I used to think that constantly overreacting to simple disagreements was just a bunch of unfortunate misunderstandings, but now I think "tedious and one-note" is the best description. Can't believe "How could you chose Waking Mars over The Last Express I mean really I said GOOD DAY SIR" is what constitutes adult conversation now.

And yeah, when someone says a game is good and you respond with "Unless you can read", you are 1) comparing him to an illiterate, and 2) acting like a 5-year-old.

What's particularly stupid is that Waking Mars is the perfect example of the inoffensive game, and it's ridiculous for anyone to feel strongly about it one way or the other.

We should definitely resume our policy of having no conversations with one another, adult or otherwise.

Haggis is on sale (but not enough for me), and the new Shinobi War of Clans looks interesting.

Oooh Cards and Maps and Samurai. Very interested. I'd like to see this reviewed on Pocket Tactics.

EDIT: Hmm the text description makes it clear that English is not their first language. But thats not necessarily an issue for a boardgamey game like this.

Swords and Sorcery is excellent, highly recommend it.

Also think about King of Dragon Pass (might already have it for iPhone, its universal)

Space Miner HD is fun for a few hours.

SUPER expensive, but Battle Academy kept me entertained for large portions of an international flight. There is acres and acres of content in there.

I liked Waking Mars. I thought it was polished, had an interesting premise, nonviolent mechanics, and is worth trying.

If you haven't played Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, I'd recommend that. The iPad is the perfect platform for it. It can be a little frustrating in that Zelda "ok, but WHAT DO I DO NEXT?" sort of way, but I really liked it.

I'm playing the trial tutorial, and as a wargamer I'm just a bit nonplussed by the game. I feel like I'm not getting it, or maybe I am and I'm not impressed. Too bad, because the campaigns are all on sale now.

They have never improved the Haggis AI (which is one of the worst I've ever played), nor have they implemented any sort of multiplayer (not even pass-and-play).

It gets better and tougher as the campaign progresses. It's a bit of a puzzle game, but one that relies on proper use of combined arms for solutions. I really got into it and will snag the add-on campaigns now that you've alerted me to the sale. Thanks!

Man. I never used to mind to mind Gameloft. Their games were ripoffs, but they were ripoffs of things that weren't on iOS anyway and they were usually decent to great ripoffs. But what the hell? Did they seriously remove the incredibly awesome Let's Golf 2 from the store so they could push their shitty fremium Let's Golf 3? Boo! I say boo to them!

Titan HD has updated to v2.0, featuring asynchronous online multiplayer.

Fuck. Yes. I haven't tried it yet but that is what I've been waiting for.

Purely out of curiosity, are any of you playing Battle Nations? They just pushed a large update introducing more units and more levels, and it would be nice to have friends playing the game, so I could raid help them.

Lost Cities is on sale for $2. It's a great implementation of a simple but surprisingly deep classic Knizia card game.

Yeah, Lost Cities is amazingly addictive, and the iOS version is the best implementation I've seen. It's better than the (still good) Live Arcade version, and also has stronger AI.

Lum - what's your GameCenter ID, I'll send you a Titan HD challenge. I guess we should do a 4 person game if there's enough interest.

GREAT idea!

sent you an invite. Natus, PM me your ID.

As I posted elsewhere, Stone Age comes out tonight.

In other news, so does Artemis, the completely bananas spaceship bridge sim. I played it several times at a recent board game gathering and it could very well be the most fun I've ever had with five other people split up across two rooms with six different computers and lots of shouting. It's not really the best space game and the tasks of each role are fairly limited, but if you have a group who are really getting into it, the game is downright awesome. Comms officer is the best! "Sir, deep space 3 has informed us that we accidentally destroyed deep space 2!"

Wait, Stone Age is tonight? I thought it was Thursday.

Stone Age is iPad only, too, isn't it? Dammit! I need an iPad. My money is going for a new water pump in the wife's car and pay off the CC debt for these dead and rotten trees I had to have removed from my yard. Why must life get in the way of my toys!!!

Well you were WROOOOOOOOOOOOOOONGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nope. It's actually iPhone only! With a universal update to come!

I COVERED BOTH OF THESE POINTS IN THE MOBILE BOARD GAMES THREAD! IF I WERE ELYSCAPE I'D CALL YOU GUYS NAMES AND TRY TO MAKE YOU FEEL BAD!

I got Artemis and it looks like pure garbage on a retina display.

EDIT: OK, I take it back. It looks better when you're playing on the iPad. Text is fuzzy on the iPhone for some reason. Can't wait to try this with a full crew.

Man, I can't wait to play Stone Age on Thursday!

Impressive: the Titan HD "start game by invitation" UI doesn't scroll the friends list.

So, I, uh, might need someone with fewer gamecenter friends to start the game.

EDIT: wait, I got it. I will start a 3 person game once Natus accepts my friend request. Natus, make sure you run Titan at least once so GC knows you play it. If anyone else wants in PM me posthaste.
EDIT EDIT: Invites theoretically sent.

OMG Stone Age came out early! WTFLOLERSKATES?! My early impressions:

1. Really, really nice implementation. The UI does a fantabulous job at squeezing a ton of information onto a very small screen, without feeling crowded. It's like the TARDIS of iOS board games.

2. The tutorial AI guy kicked my ass, so either the AI is good, or I suck, or some combination of the two.

Playdek's Fluxx comes out tonight.

I assume everyone is DLing it and we will be sending out invitations for the huge ELO Fluxx tournament shortly thereafter?

I'll add:

3. The fact that the game depicts workers as bearded dudes instead of generic meeples (as in the board game) makes the Mating Hut a little weird. How does that work, exactly?

I assume that's where workers go to play chess.

Man I was in the wrong chess club.

Today is Battle of the Bulge day. Owen likes it.

Man, do not make fun of Fluxx on BGG. People get very upset.

Also the dude at Playdek insinuated that if we were excited for Fluxx, we'll be blown away by next week's release. Not sure what that means. Doubt we can expect Agricola. I wonder if they're going to do a surprise drop of Immortal Heroes or the Summoner Wars Master Set armies.

Edit: Popular theory (which is to say wild speculation fueled by desperate hope) seems to suggest Smash Up or the Penny Arcade deck builder. I wouldn't be surprised if it's Smash Up. That can't be a hard game to program.

!!!
God DAMN it, I have to work tonight.

Looks like it's probably Penny Arcade: Gamers vs Evil, since Fluxx's Coming Soon button shows PA:GvE is currently available.

George at Playdek sent me an email that strongly suggests Penny Arcade.

God I really do.