Category Archives: Retro

‘Karate Champ’ Sale, Update from Revolutionary Concepts

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‘Karate Champ’ Sale, Update from Revolutionary Concepts is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Wayne Whatford over at Revolutionary Concepts dropped us a line to let us know that '80s arcade classic Karate Champ – both the iPhone [link] and iPad [link] versions — is on sale this weekend for $0.99, down from $1.99 and $2.99, respectively. This marks a great chance for iPad users who grabbed the iPhone version early on to checkout the version tailored for Apple's tablet, featuring split-screen, head-to-head, two-player action.

In other news from the studio, forum readers may have noted the thread recently started by Revolutionary Concepts, challenging readers to guess what the initials of an upcoming game stand for. Those initials are "U. o. T." and some of the suggestions readers have been making are … well … amusing. The studio indicates the game is being created with just two criterion:

  1. It should have ZERO Buttons or onscreen controls of any kind, making it immediately accessible to anyone.
  2. Deliver it to you guys in just 2 weeks from start to finish!

Free copies of the game go to users with the closest (or funniest) guesses, at launch.

Whatford also indicated that his studio's iPhone adaptation of the Data East laserdisc classic Road Blaster is progressing nicely. The only time this game has been seen outside of Japan is in the Sega CD port which not only suffered from the same horrid video compression of all Sega CD games, but also got renamed to Road Avenger. Revolutionary Concepts have completely remastered the game, and when it is finally released, it will play at 60FPS at full iPhone 4 or iPad resolutions. They've also completely redesigned the dashboard of the car, added in tilt controls, and made a whole list of other tweaks. The studio is hoping for an end-of-month release for Road Blaster, we're told.

Whatford tells us that various, unspecified titles will follow shortly behind Road Blaster. Stay tuned.

App Store Link: Karate Champ, $0.99
App Store Link: Karate Champ XL, $0.99 (iPad Only)


‘C64′ v2.0 with BASIC Now Available, What’s Next Details

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‘C64′ v2.0 with BASIC Now Available, What’s Next Details is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Last week we reported that, thanks to Apple recently relaxing its iOS SDK agreement, Manomio submitted a major 2.0 update of Commodore 64, their C64 emulator / game system, to the App Store with BASIC reenabled (and fingers crossed). We're happy to report that the app has been approved and is now available for download [link].

I had a chat with developer Stuart Carnie yesterday, shortly after he received word from Apple that Commodore 64 v2.0 was approved, during which he shared further details concerning this notable update.

With BASIC back, so too is the full C64 keyboard. Carnie is excited about the prospect of users having full and complete access to every game presented, which, in some games, can only happen when a full keyboard is available. And, while it's here in v2.0, the keyboard hasn't gotten any attention since it was removed back in November and, as such, a near-term update will address the absence of a few missing keys (semi-colon, colon) as well as a lock mode for the RUNSTOP, C=, and SHIFT keys, to use in conjunction with others.

A bit further out will come cycle-exact emulation on newer hardware (ARMv7), to resolve digital sound issues with Space Taxi and enable a few free games from Beam Software, such as Exploding Fist.

We've seen a lot of anticipation from readers for an iPad version of C64, and Carnie tells us that it's big on the roadmap. Thanks to Apple allowing BASIC, he really wants to create a great experience for iPad users wanting to experiment with the language, including a finely tuned keyboard and even Bluetooth support. "Think 'full' C64 experience," says Carnie. Due to Manomio's work on the upcoming Amiga classic titles, these more significant upgrades are slated for release next year — and we can't wait.

As for additional games on the horizon, Carnie was able to reveal that they're in the progress of bringing several more Thalamus titles on-board: Creatures I and II and Retrograde. Also on the way is MYTH: History in the Making from System 3, which requires emulated 1541 floppy drive support and a disk-swapping user interface (which is already in the system).

Thanks to Apple for their relaxed stance on the SDK agreement and thanks to the folks at Manomio for giving retro fans like myself so much sweet candy to enjoy.

App Store Link: Commodore 64, $4.99


Old School Inspired RPG ‘Undercroft’ Resurfaces on the App Store for Free

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Old School Inspired RPG ‘Undercroft’ Resurfaces on the App Store for Free is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

If you've been following App Store gaming for a while, you may remember a retro-inspired RPG named Undercroft from developer Rake in Grass. It was a turn-based RPG that replicated the faux first-person exploring of old-school titles that used scaling of 2D images and sprites to simulate a 3D world. Undercroft was released last October to a largely positive reception in our forums, but strangely the title was pulled from the App Store last month. After some confusion as to why, a representative from Rake in Grass informed our forum members that the Undercroft IP and the game engine that it ran on had been sold to fellow developer Jagex, who many may recognize as the creators of the online MMO Runescape but who also have an assortment of titles available for the iPhone.

Due to being busy with several upcoming games, Rake in Grass didn't feel they would have the time or resources to devote to Undercroft and hence turned the title over to Jagex. The old version was taken down, and a new version published under Jagex was sent to the App Store and released earlier today, surprisingly for free. This is essentially the exact same Undercroft that you would have paid $5 for up until last month, and when questioned in our forums about ulterior motives behind this Jagex responded that there are no plans for in-app purchases and Undercroft will remain free for the foreseeable future. There is an unobtrusive advertisement for Runescape on the title screen, but other than that this is the full game for free.

Jagex will support this current version of Undercroft and most likely is working on expansion packs or a sequel to the game. My guess is that they made this version of Undercroft free so as to build up a large user base that would want to buy into these future endeavors. Regardless of any of that, there's no reason not to take a look at Undercroft now that it's free. It may be old-school at the core, but it offers a compelling gameplay experience that lets you build a team from many different classes, complete quests, fight enemies, explore an interesting world, and more. Undercroft was definitely a solid choice for $5 before and is pretty much a no-brainer now that it has returned for free.

App Store Link: Undercroft, Free


‘Buganoids’ – A Free Retro Shooter from Backflip Studios

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‘Buganoids’ – A Free Retro Shooter from Backflip Studios is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Backflip Studios has released their latest free game to the App Store. The release of Buganoids follows their other summer launches including Tunnel Shoot, Graffiti Ball, and Ninjump. We profiled Backflip Studios' success in the App Store back at WWDC. As of this writing, they report that their games have seen over 48 million downloads with up to 2 million unique players playing each day.

For this latest App Store entry, Backflip enlisted the help of a developer we're very familiar with around here – Dan Bliss. Bliss' App Store career [iTunes link] has been pretty much exclusively dedicated to retro-inspired games, so his involvement made a lot of sense for Buganoids.

The developers accurately describe Buganoids as "Tempest" meets "Centipede" with a dash of "Gyruss" thrown in. The game is a circumferential shooter where your goal is to destroy the spawning bugs coming up from the planet. Your only ability is to shoot down — straight into the planet. So, in order to adjust your aim, you need to walk around the planet. If a bug makes its way to the surface, you're going to have to shoot form the opposite side to take it out. It's a pretty simply mechanic that offers a surprising amount of depth.

The game offers five different weapons across seven different globes and includes 3 levels of difficulty. Like all of Backflip's free games, they are ad-supported by offer the customer the ability to buy-out of the ads.

There's both an iPhone and iPad version of the game, and they are both free. So, no reason not to try it out.

App Store Links:
    Buganoids, Free
    Buganoids HD, Free (iPad Only)


Manomio Submits ‘C64′ Update with BASIC (re)Enabled

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Manomio Submits ‘C64′ Update with BASIC (re)Enabled is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

An App Store favorite of our readers who relish the retro is surely Manomio's Commodore 64 [link], the C64 emulation system / game store that does a great job of putting an expanding list of 8-bit classics right in our pockets. We first got wind of Manomio's emulation effort in June of last year, when it was submitted to Apple and rejected, as it was determined to be in violation of the iPhone SDK agreement.

Then said Apple,

Thank you for submitting C64 1.0 to the App Store. We've reviewed C64 1.0 and determined that we cannot post this version of your iPhone application to the App Store because it violates the iPhone SDK Agreement; "3.3.2 An Application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means, including without limitation through the use of a plug-in architecture, calling other frameworks, other APIs or otherwise. No interpreted code may be downloaded and used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple's Published APIs and built-in interpreter(s)."

It was the system's included BASIC interpreter that was the sticking point for Apple, it turned out. Manomio disabled (and then removed, as it was deemed necessary) the BASIC interpreter and the app finally found its place in the store, and in Apple's good graces.

Last Thursday, Apple made significant changes to the iOS SDK agreement, relaxing restrictions on development tools used to create iOS applications. One of the areas of the SDK agreement affected was section 3.3.2, the specific part of the agreement that Apple determined Manomio had violated with the initial releases of C64. Upon hearing this news, Manomio CTO Stuart Carnie was quick to read over the new Apple document and found the following, updated section 3.3.2.

3.3.2 An Application may not download or install executable code. Interpreted code may only be used in an Application if all scripts, code and interpreters are packaged in the Application and not downloaded. The only exception to the foregoing is scripts and code downloaded and run by Apple’s built-in WebKit framework.

As can be seen in the new language, interpreted code is now acceptable under certain circumstances. In light of this fortunate turn of events, the developer has put together an updated version of C64 (v2.0) with BASIC enabled. Wanting Apple to be fully aware of his re-inclusion of the BASIC interpreter, Carnie extensively underscored his changes in the Reviewer Notes section of the submission form and additionally sent a courtesy e-mail to Apple on the issue. Since then, the developer and Apple have had further correspondence regarding the update and the response so far is positive. Apple will, understandably, spend additional time reviewing the application, but Carnie says he remains cautiously optimistic.

If Apple does end up rejecting the update, Manomio's plans are to remove the BASIC interpreter, but leave in place the other enhancement that this update brings, Carnie tells us. Those other enhancements include:

  • FIX – fix crash when attempting to use the "Download All" feature and many games are queue
  • FIX – Add additional controls to Hunter's Moon
  • FIX – iPad landscape view is no longer partially off the screen
  • NEW – Upgraded to OpenFeint 2.6.1 (includes time-scoped leader boards)
  • NEW – iOS 4.1 tested
  • NEW – New "Always use keyboard" option to access additional in-game features

Apple's recent update to the SDK agreement gives developers of all manner of apps more flexibility, but is a particular boon to developers of retro system emulators and games. We've got our fingers crossed that C64 with BASIC enabled is given the nod by Apple and that other developers are inspired to bring others classic systems and games to our favorite mobile device family.

App Store Link: Commodore 64, $4.99


Review: Phantasy Star II

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Review: Phantasy Star II is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Among early console RPGs, Phantasy Star II is typically the most well regarded. It was released one year after Dragon Quest III, and a year prior to the third installment of Final Fantasy. Together, those three titles comprised the pinnacle of classic console RPGs. The primitive look and feel that marred older games had largely been eradicated, and the graphics at last seemed like something more than a thin veil for a rudimentary calculator.

These games are notable not only for being among the earliest of RPGs that are still enjoyable to play, but because they marked a turning point in the evolution of the console RPG. After them, and for better or for worse, the genre made a decisive shift toward narrative-driven games.

Final Fantasy IV’s narrative was infinitely more complex than III’s. Dragon Quest IV was divided into five chapters, telling a unique story for each of the party members. And, disregarding Phantasy Star III (as everyone rightfully should), Phantasy Star IV weaved an elaborate tale that tied together and concluded the plots of the previous installments.

In this regard, Phantasy Star II was a step ahead of its contemporaries. Sure, powerful hardware and a pricey 6-megabit cartridge gave it the edge over its competitors in terms of visual appeal, but even more forward-thinking was its narrative, which, while still barebones, was much more sophisticated and compelling than the archetypal sword and sorcery found in other RPGs at the time.

Phantasy Star II’s story of young Rolf — a government agent investigating an outbreak of bioengineered monsters on a planet where life is sustained by a massive, nebulous computer — is, frankly, better than the majority of scenarios written today.

In terms of its actual nuts and bolts, however, Phantasy Star II is less acceptable by modern standards. Exploring labyrinthine dungeons while intermittently warping back to town to heal your party, stumbling over things you’d never know unless you read them someplace else, and frequent grinding are all part of the design.

Despite this, and in some ways because of it, Phantasy Star II is a significant and, more importantly, truly great game. It’s a game any RPG fan should try.

I hesitate to recommend playing it on the iPhone, though. The usual platform issues combined with less-than-desirable emulation suck a lot of enjoyment out of it. For starters, the small screen obfuscates the charm of the graphics, and the splendid battle animations of the bio-monsters are barely discernible.

On top of that, the playfield is stretched horizontally to fill the screen, and there’s no way to remedy it. The audio quality suffers too, as the excellent soundtrack is compressed to the mediocrity of preset beats on a cheap Casio keyboard.

Virtual buttons are a necessary evil on the iPhone, and the usual complaints apply here. The least Sega could have done is not make them so darn ugly. The default setting superimposes hideous looking, semi-transparent virtual buttons over the game screen, while a secondary option places the buttons beneath the playfield, but shrinks it even smaller (without correcting the aspect ratio).

Phantasy Star II is a masterpiece, but playing it on the iPhone is like playing Chopin on a beginner’s keyboard. Its magnitude is lost.


More from Sega: Kingdom Conquest, Altered Beast, Gunstar Heroes

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More from Sega: Kingdom Conquest, Altered Beast, Gunstar Heroes is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

In addition to detailing its upcoming iPhone and iPad port of Chu Chu Rocket yesterday, Sega also revealed its upcoming iOS-exclusive MMORPG Kingdom Conquest, along with emulated versions of the Sega Genesis classics Altered Beast and Gunstar Heroes.

Kingdom Conquest is an ambitious title that aims to combine elements from the real-time strategy and role-playing genres, with gameplay that features a mix of brawling, dungeon exploration, and card battling.

Players can cooperatively explore dungeons and share loot with up to four friends over a Wi-Fi, Edge, or 3G connection.

Kingdom Conquest boasts the following feature set:

  • Compete or form alliances with other players from around the world.
  • Earn new Items and powerful weapons by defeating beasts in the dungeon-crawling Action Mode, and use these spoils to defeat other players in the strategy-focused Simulation Mode.
  • Unlock more than 100 types of collectible monsters like Crimson Gargoyles, Ice Golems, and Dark Steam Knights.
  • Synthesize new monsters with skills that can turn the tide in a crucial battle.
  • Trade weapons and monsters with other players via the integrated auction house.
  • Communicate with alliance members by using the in-game forums.
  • Improve chances of success by purchasing resource stones via Apple’s micro-payment system.

Originally packaged with the Sega Genesis console upon its U.S. launch in 1989, Altered Beast was an impressively faithful port of what was, at best, a serviceable arcade beat-’em-up. The App Store edition aims to bring all the beast-transforming, goat-kicking action of the original game to the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad later this year.

Gunstar Heroes, on the other hand, is a genuine classic, and ranks among the best games to be released during the 16-bit era. Developed by Ikaruga and Sin & Punishment creator Treasure, Gunstar Heroes is a side-scrolling run-and-gun shooter featuring numerous weapon combinations and some of gaming’s most memorable boss battles.

Both Altered Beast and Gunstar Heroes will support cooperative two-player gameplay over a Bluetooth connection when they launch in the App Store this Fall.


‘Pizza Boy’ Review – A Bite-Sized Pizza-Packed Platformer

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‘Pizza Boy’ Review – A Bite-Sized Pizza-Packed Platformer is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Swedish iPhone developer Acne Play released their second game on the App Store today. With fantastic art similar to their other title, Comet [99¢], Pizza Boy [$1.99] is a platformer with some of the best controls I've seen in the genre. The story is ridiculous as expected, told through fantastic comic book style sequences that explain that an evil bird has stolen your pizza– of course you need to get it back. Unfortunately, between you and your beloved pizza pie are all kinds of obstacles, enemies, pits, trampolines, and everything else a good platformer needs.

Pizza Boy's graphics are highly reminiscent of excellent platformers of the 16 bit era with some perfectly paired chiptune music to go along with them. (They even put the whole soundtrack up online to listen to.) The game is host to all the gameplay mechanics required for a good platformer, with an odd culinary twist. Instead of collecting coins you pick up strawberries, and 100 strawberries award an extra life. Instead of tossing fireballs you throw soda bottles which are available in a limited quantity from soda machines that you stomp on. In addition, you can collect letters to form the word "pizza," and you can even rescue cats on each level for bonus points.

Where Pizza Boy really shines is in the control department. Pizza Boy's iTunes description mentions something Acne Play is calling the "Smart Touch System," which I'd normally write off as just a gimmick, but the controls are just fantastic. I'm not sure how much magic is in the Smart Touch System but while playing Pizza Boy I never ran in to issues I usually have with platformers on the iPhone such as missing buttons, sliding my finger off the D-Pad, and other fat fingerings that often result in death.

What kills me about Pizza Boy is how little content there is in the game. The developers even went as far as to say in the iTunes description that it would only take a half hour to play through. They later clarified this via email by saying that it was a guesstimate for how long it would take an experienced player, and it took me close to 45 minutes. The worst part about all this is that Pizza Boy is great, and the entire game really leaves you wanting more. The only online scoring there is in the game is the ability to brag via Facebook or Twitter, which pains me even further because a short score-centric game like this could have a decent amount of replay value injected in to it with some form of online leaderboard.

Pizza Boy really reminds me a lot of the recently released physics puzzler No, Human which also was over before you knew it, leaving you wanting much more. Just like No, Human, if you decide to give Pizza Boy a try you'll be rewarded with an awesome platformer, but the credits roll just as you really start to get in to it.

App Store Link: Pizza Boy, $1.99


Rocket Raider

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Rocket Raider is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

A real blast from the past, Rocket Raider brings the hugely popular ‘80s arcade game “Scramble” to the iPhone. The mission remains the same – stay alive as long as you can to find and destroy the enemy’s base, shooting and bombing everything in your path. Game play doesn’t get much simpler, or much more addictive, than this classic. There is also a “training” mode which allows you to practise any section for as many times as you like, which is a luxury you certainly wouldn’t have had on those old arcade machines…


Irem’s Landmark Arcade Shoot-’Em-Up R-Type Arrives on iPhone

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Irem’s Landmark Arcade Shoot-’Em-Up R-Type Arrives on iPhone is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

It’s a great day for shooters in the App Store, with Cave’s modern-day shoot-’em-up Dodonpachi Resurrection now joined by one of the genre’s best-remembered hits from the 1980s.

R-Type ($1.99) is a port of Irem’s 1987 horizontally scrolling shooter, adapted by Golvellius developer DotEmu and published by Electronic Arts.

R-Type set high standards for the shooters that followed in the wake of its initial arcade release. R-Type boasts multiple subweapons, a chargeable laser, and a deployable force unit that doubles as a shield when attached to your ship.

It’s also maddeningly, hair-pullingly difficult. While modern shooters attempt to overwhelm the player with showers of bullets, R-Type’s difficulty lies in its unforgiving enemy placement and brutal attack patterns. Succeeding at R-Type requires equal parts skill and memorization. Be warned: it’s not for the easily frustrated.

The iPhone version of R-Type includes two difficulty levels, along with tilt, touch, and virtual d-pad control options.


‘R-Type’ Review – The Classic Shooter Arrives on the App Store

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‘R-Type’ Review – The Classic Shooter Arrives on the App Store is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Originally released in 1987, R-Type [$1.99] is almost as classic as it gets when it comes to arcade shooters. Since its initial release, the game has seen many sequels, as well as ports to nearly ever platform ranging from the Amiga all the way up to the XBOX 360. Like most arcade games of the era, the game is framed in a vague story with the player piloting the space fighter Arrowhead to defend humanity from aliens. The original R-Type (and competent ports) have been well received by almost everyone, as the gameplay and level design are still considered by many to be among the best the genre has to offer.

If you've never played R-Type before, you might be in for a surprise as the game's notorious level of difficulty has landed it in lists such as IGN's Top 10 Toughest Games to Beat. The levels are crafted in such a way that you likely won't have much luck playing the game in a reactionary manner, and instead, will need to beat them through trial and error, learning the levels as you go. R-Type plays like what we now know as a typical shooter. You need to kill everything that moves, avoid bullets and enemies, fight massive bosses, all while collecting a wide array of power-ups on the way.

As far as the port is concerned, from a technical standpoint it's great. To make things easier on new players there's an unlimited mode with never-ending lives, as well as the standard normal difficulty and an unlockable insane difficulty. Three control options are included, touch controls which work like most other shooters where you drag your finger around the screen to move the ship along with tilt controls and even a virtual D-Pad. The virtual D-Pad is actually surprisingly cool too, as it changes the perspective of the game to look more like an arcade cabinet so your fingers don't cover any of the action. Auto-fire can be enabled or disabled, and you can move the on-screen buttons to the right or left side in the options.

The developers really did everything they could do to bring a faithful port of R-Type to the App Store, but I'm really torn on how I feel with it. R-Type reminds me of last year's Earthworm Jim port in that it's hard to imagine a better port of the game, but the control constraints of the platform almost feel like it's holding it back. Using your finger often obstructs the screen. Tilting feels off because your ship just moves at one speed regardless of how much you tilt. The virtual D-pad is good, but only as good as a virtual D-pad can be.

If you have fond memories of the original (or any of the ports), you'll likely love having the game on your phone and will be able to make whichever control option you prefer work well enough to get through the game. Also, at $1.99 it likely is the cheapest way to play the game, since it would cost at least that in quarters at the arcade to make it through the first levels. If this review is the first time you've heard of R-Type, you might find yourself frustrated with the way things used to be with brutally difficult arcade shooters designed to extract every quarter from your pocket. In that case, you might be better off checking out some of the other more forgiving shooters that feature modern day conveniences such as checkpoints.

App Store Link: Link