2761

My iPhone 4 has arrived and is now syncing.
http://bestc.am/gg8k5

I just downloaded the first app with native gyro support, can’t wait to see how well it works:
http://toucharcade.com/2010/06/22/eliminate-gun-range-with-iphone-4-gyroscope-and-hi-rez-graphics/

2762

Urge to kill…rising…;)

2763

Hey I paid my dues on this one, I sat around for 8 hours trying to get my preorder in, I earned it!

2764

Urge to kill…fading…

2765

Dammit, I still don’t have tracking info on my phone yet. Hoping it arrives tomorrow.

2766

This “sale” that is going on overall in the appstrore right now is crazy enough to rival Steams sale events. I bought tons of games already all for 79 cents. Loving it and gifting stuff to friends like a maniac. Gameloft has followed EAs example and also reduced some stuff. As have other devs. My “Price reduced” rss feed was exploding earlier, I could not keep up.

2767

Doodle God is repetitive but fun and zen, and I really like its style. I wish they added more combinations but apparently a future version will include more.

2768

What killed Doodle God for me was that there isn’t any logic underpinning what works and what doesn’t. There’s nothing to learn, it’s just pure guess n’ click. It’s an anti-game. It’s Progress Quest.

2769

Yeah, I agree. For some reason I still like it. For what it’s worth, according to someone on MeFi (where I learned about the game), “They said the next version would have different story legs depending on what you chose and possible failure for bad choices.” I think it’s that potential (implicit in the design) that attracts me so much. Probably not the best reason to pull the trigger on a purchase, needless to say.

2770

Eliminate GunRange is an awesome tech demo for the iPhone 4. It’s basically a really nicely-rendered gun range where you aim with the gyroscope - as in, actually moving your body rather than tilting your wrists.

Fun, in a Link’s Crossbow Training for a dollar kind of way.

2771

Agree, Eliminate Gun Range is an enjoyable iPhone 4 demo for $0.99

2772

I didn’t even notice you could do this, I was just tilting my wrists and it was more precise than before. Awesome.

2773

Angry Birds update is out, and I love it. Some of these levels are brutal for 3 stars, but none are to hard to just beat, which is nice.

2774

Here’s some quick thoughts on a the iPhone games I’ve played based on recommendations in this thread:

Sword and Poker:
Addictive at first, but the gameplay gets extremely repetitive, without many strategic or tactical decisions. Any monster with high hit points just becomes a slog. Some of the levels are hard enough I felt like I needed fully upgraded weapons and armor, at which point I needed to grind for points. I finished the core game, but more out of a sense of obligation (and a long train ride) than true enjoyment. Worth $2.99, but should be shorter.

100 Rogues
Intriguing, but I thought the touch controls were awful. I’d often move when I wanted to attack, and vice versa. So after 10 minutes I gave up, but intend to try it again, maybe on my next long trip.

Space Miner
Pick up and play action, with addictive leveling. What’s not to like?

Uniwar
Scratches the turn based strategy/tactics itch, but I haven’t had the opportunity to try multiplayer yet, and lost interest partway through the campaign.

GeoSpark
My go-to game on the Metro, but I still haven’t quite grokked it–and then I get frustrated since I have to go through the slow bits again before it gets challenging. I may be over thinking things, and should try to clear sparks as fast as possible rather than trying to get huge multipliers.

Spider
I appreciate the unique gameplay, but it hasn’t grabbed me. Still, I got back to it every month or so, and make it through a few more levels.

Defender Chronicles
I love the concept, but I suck, so I end up grinding. I played it a ton, however, so it must be doing something right.

Civ Rev
Awesome, but it always makes me want to play grown-up Civ, since it’s a touch too simple. Sometimes frustrating due to the small screen size.

The Quest
Tried to start it up while severely jetlagged, and couldn’t pay attention. Not impressed by the graphics or writing, but I didn’t get much further than the first dialog box.

Bejeweled 2
Great, great time-waster, especially Bejeweled Blitz. I eventually discovered that the time limit was stressing me out too much, so I quit. I’m also convinced the touch screen is slower than a mouse, since I felt like a plateaued with much lower scores than some of my Facebook friends.

Fieldrunners
Pretty much just a variant of Desktop Tower Defense.

StarDefense
Mario Galaxy style globes feel like a gimmick added on to a pretty standard tower defense game.

Ancient Frog
I love the style and feel, but got stuck pretty early on and haven’t had the patience to figure it out.

Zen Bound
Again, I love the style. But it’s boring.

Enigmo
I’m drawn to the unique puzzle system, but ultimately got frustrated by the small screen size. It would be much more playable on a big screen.

Archon
My favorite game as a kid (the first I ever bought when my brother and I got a floppy drive for the C64, along with Suspended.) Unfortunately, it hasn’t aged well, and the controls are mediocre. The strategy layer is super-simple, and seems almost superfluous. I’d love to try it with an old Wico joystick, however.

2775

Sword and Poker:
Yeah, I agree. I was really enjoying it at first, enough so to purchase Sword and Poker 2, but on my last trip it kept putting me to sleep. The biggest tactical decision is “do I use my wild card power now?”

Uniwar
I should really like this, but I found it dull. I’ve kept it on my iPod with the idea that I’ll return to it, someday.

Spider
It’s interesting looking, it’s different, and the music is pretty good. But ultimately it’s just not very interesting. Another game that’s sitting at the end of my icon list with Uniwar.

Civ Rev
I’ve come to appreciate the 360 version for its own sake, enough so that it doesn’t push me toward Civ 4. Playing the DS version was close enough but missing enough key features that it made me yearn for the 360 version. The iPod version looks like a direct port of the DS version, which is why I haven’t picked it up. I should, though.

Archon
Don’t have this because I didn’t think Archon was very good even back in the day. The concept grabbed me back then, chess where the pieces actually have to fight it out, except that they threw out the chess rules and replaced them with the uninteresting light / dark square system.

  • Gus
2776

Interesting. I thought all versions of civilization revolution were the same. What are the differences?

2777

I don’t think anyone would recommend Uniwar for its sp campaign. Mp is where it’s at.

2778

The XBox 360 version shows which technologies still have the “first to research” bonus with a (1) in tech tree. The DS version doesn’t. At Deity difficulty level, this is a critical piece of information.

The 360 version has a useful dialog listing all your cities and their stats. The DS version’s “city list” is useless, since it shows only one city at a time. You might as well just scroll through the city screens directly.

When considering a combat, on the 360 you get a preview of the final combat strengths of both units before you attack. This is missing from the DS version.

I think that’s it. It’s been a while since I played the DS version, so my memory isn’t fresh.

  • Gus
2779

Multiplayer games on the iPod baffle me. Something I’ve found common with portable gaming is interruptions. I usually need to be shut the game down at a moment’s notice, unlike a console or PC gaming session. That seems completely at odds with multiplayer games unless you’re talking about games with delayed player interaction, like We Rule. Which I haven’t played, personally, but seems like the most workable solution, like the play-by-mail games of old.

  • Gus
2780

You aren’t incorrect. Uniwar, however, is a turn based strategy game. Think of it like play by email but 1) without that email stuff and 2) with your computer always inyour pocket. We really need more games like this on the iPhone.