iPhone and iPod Touch Games - Ongoing Sales

ryanflucas

ryanflucas

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Since the old thread was getting too large, I made this new thread to continue.

Apple iPhone & iPod Touch games in the App store are constantly going on sale. While I originally posted games and prices in this post, it's become almost impossible to keep up with it all. Feel free to post in this topic on good deals and games you enjoy. Developers are also encouraged to join in, especially if they are running promos or sales.

If you want to check out a particular game, try the following review sites, or ask in here so fellow CAG's can assist you.

Price Drop Sites

App & Game Review Sites

Apple iPad Information


Important Notes:

  1. Make sure to check for periodic updates either in iTunes or on your iPod\iPhone. For each release of new firmware, there's usually a bunch of games updated right afterward.
  2. Some applications also go on sale by their authors when they reach 1 million download and similar milestones.
  3. Apps often have specials the day before, during, and after holidays, regardless if said game/app is related to the holiday.
  4. Newly released apps will often have a % or dollar amount off for a limited period of time to gain a large following quicker. While browsing the app store you can go to a particular type or genre and order according to release date. This can make finding new app discounts faster.
  5. Make sure to backup your purchases in iTunes to CD/DVD for safe keeping. You can do this by clicking File-->Library-->Backup to Disc. Then choose all purchases, applications only, and full or incremental backup. How often is up to you, but I do this monthly, or more often if I buy a lot of apps.
  6. Apps can be redownloaded without incurring an extra charge if you previously purchased it. This is good if you have a crash and forget to backup your purchases. I don't know if this is a permanent feature so backing up regularly is still important.
  7. I strongly advise not to buy iTunes Gift Cards by 3rd parties unless you know they can be trusted. Retail stores, receiving cards as gifts, etc are the best ways. There are many credit card scams, stolen cards, hacked cards going around, especially on Ebay.
  8. If you are the victim of a iTunes Card scam or get your account locked due to one not all hope is lost. Apple has been fairly lenient on these issues. Call Apple directly at 1-800-MY-APPLE, or check the iTunes Store support site. Also going to your local Apple Store to discuss it can help. The account locking is an automated process and can be reversed. This can take time so be cautious if you use gift cards from 3rd party sources.
  9. If you somehow break your iPhone or iPod Touch, you have some options. If you bought the Applecare warranty it should be covered for most items. If your Applecare ran out or you don't have one, try these sites for do it yourself replacement parts & fixes.
    iFixit Touch Repair Guide ; iFixit iPhone Repair Guide ; TechRestore
 
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[quote name='jcp42877']That's funny because most all the reviews praised the stuff you didn't find that enjoyable...i mean, they said it was probably the best pulled-off FPS for the iTouch. I have yet to play it, but that's because i'm a bit cautious to drop $7 on it...plus i'm still considering this or CoD: Zombies

Interesting though...[/QUOTE]

I reviewed games myself for 8 years. Of course, I didn't play this long enough to "review" it.

I don't want to play games that are "good for the console's limits." I want to play good games period. Angry Birds. Mystery Mania. Those are just straight-up good games, no disclaimer needed.

I used to be a big Gameloft fan (dating back to N-Gage). But after some of their iPhone games, they may be relying too much on cribbing/dumbing down hits from other platforms.
 
[quote name='ViolentLee']Played a bit of NOVA last night. Really wasn't impressed. Yes, they pulled off an iPhone FPS, but it's not very good. Bad control, ugly characters, terrible VO... I know I shouldn't expect a $7 iPhone game to compare with a $60 console game, but I do at least expect it to be good. But again, I only played a short bit of it.[/QUOTE]

Contradicted yourself.
 
I can't see how you can complain about NOVA. For 7.00 the game is beautiful and the sound is great. I am extremely impressed with the quality of the game. I think some of you are losing site that this is a 7.00 game and in no way should you be comparing it to a console game.
 
[quote name='dsullo']I can't see how you can complain about NOVA. For 7.00 the game is beautiful and the sound is great. I am extremely impressed with the quality of the game. I think some of you are losing site that this is a 7.00 game and in no way should you be comparing it to a console game.[/QUOTE]

I agree. ViolentLee seems to have unrealistic expectations and is simply being too hard on it.
 
[quote name='eastx']I agree. ViolentLee seems to have unrealistic expectations and is simply being too hard on it.[/QUOTE]

Nova's voice over sucks. Its writing is awful. I'm not even talking about their wholesale theft of Halo's aesthetic, but the voiceover is actively awful, and it doesn't matter if you're a $7 game or a $60 game. Maybe you won't get Nolan North, but good voiceover and bad voiceover can cost exactly the same.

Yes, finding a decent actor instead of one that's absolute crap may be difficult, or doing multiple passes on a script takes time - and you can argue that in the end, it doesn't make a difference to their sales, so maybe it's not worth the investment, but it does make the game *worse*.

seppo
 
I'm not saying we shouldn't criticize the game's flaws. But to blow them out of proportion isn't productive at all. If qualiuty voice acting is your number one criteria for enjoying iPhone games (above things like gameplay, graphics, multiplayer features, etc.), then you must hate the vast majority of iPhone titles.
 
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Voice acting in an iphone game is uncommon to begin with, so if you start criticizing the voice acting, you have to ask yourself if it would be better if it were like 90% of iphone games and had no voice acting.

Don't get me wrong, I hate games with poor VA and poor writing, but I do believe that you have to judge a game as it compares to its peers on the same platform, not by comparing it to the cream of the crop in the overall industry. I haven't played NOVA yet, but I will play it at some point and I'll be more concerned about the gameplay mechanics and graphics over the storyline or voice acting. My bottom line is whether it's fun to play or not ... from previews it looks fun and pushes the iphone as a gaming platform forward and that's what matters to me. I could be wrong, perhaps it's an awful game ... but I'll be judging it against other iphone games ... not DS, PSP and especially not console platforms.
 
Wow. Heaven forbid anyone ever have and express a different opinion than the majority one. At least he gave his reasons for his opinion, and, though obviously subjective, they were valid enough (i.e., he didn't just say "it sucks"). No matter how great a game is, not everyone's going to like it. I haven't played the game yet myself (and for $7, I probably won't, mostly because I'm not a big FPS fan to begin with), but personally I'm glad to see a different take on it than all of the fawning over it that everyone else has been doing.
 
[quote name='arcane93']Wow. Heaven forbid anyone ever have and express a different opinion than the majority one. At least he gave his reasons for his opinion, and, though obviously subjective, they were valid enough (i.e., he didn't just say "it sucks"). [/QUOTE]

Yeah, and once someone gives his reasons, everyone else is free to respond to them. I would argue that they are flawed or unfair criticisms.
First, Violent Lee openly stated that he was comparing the game to console games. If that's fair to you, fine, but many of us would disagree. It's like comparing an indie title to a big-budget mainstream release - they're not in the same league and everyone should understand that.
And like I said, citing an iPhone game's story and voice acting as primary reasons for disliking the game is silly. Etcrane explained why already so I'm not going to repeat it.
 
I may be in the minority but I actually really like how Gameloft has been ripping of notable console franchises and porting them to the iphone. Case in point being Blades of Fury ... the story is awful, the character art is debatable, but it's a really really fun rip off of Soulcalibur when I have a few minutes and want a time waster. I rarely sit down for hardcore gaming sessions on my iphone, the way I would with a console or PC, so I enjoy games I can hop into and just play for a bit here and there.

To be honest, I wouldn't want a game with the depth of Halo's story on my iphone because I doubt I would commit enough time to it to really appreciate a strong story on my iphone (and yes, I realize Halo is not deep for a console game ... but you can see my point when compared to NOVA). This is the problem I had with Monkey Island ... sure it's a great game but I had real trouble playing it on my iphone because it's not the ideal format to get swept away by a game that relies predominantly on story and character development as its main draw.

So if NOVA can allow me to hop online for a few minutes, frag a few folks with decent graphics and controls, well then I suppose that fills many of the criteria I look for in my iphone games. I'm not saying that there isn't a place for iphone games with great stories, long drawn out campaigns and engrossing gameplay, but I've found that in the 2 years I've owned an iphone, I continually go back to the pick up and play games that are easy to pick up and put down.

Perhaps with the next iphone, if Apple can deal with the weak battery life, I'll feel like the iPhone is a suitable replacement for a DS or PSP, but for the time being, I see my iphone as a multipurpose device that can play some really great games and I don't expect those games to meet huge expectations ... yet I find myself continually blown away by the leaps that gaming has taken on the iphone since Kroll was announced a couple years ago.
 
[quote name='eastx']First, Violent Lee openly stated that he was comparing the game to console games. If that's fair to you, fine, but many of us would disagree. It's like comparing an indie title to a big-budget mainstream release - they're not in the same league and everyone should understand that. [/QUOTE]

Please cite for me the point at which he said anything about comparing the game to console games, because I sure as hell don't see it. As far as I can tell, other people came up with that out of misreading what he said. In fact, he very specifically stated that he knows that he shouldn't expect it to compare to a console game. I mean, really, I've read what he said about ten times now, and I don't see how you're getting from it that he's comparing it to a console game. He said that regardless of the platform, he expects a game to be good (and cited examples of iPhone games that he finds to be good), and he doesn't find this one to be good. Subjective, yes, but then whose opinion of a game isn't subjective?

[quote name='eastx']And like I said, citing an iPhone game's story and voice acting as primary reasons for disliking the game is silly. Etcrane explained why already so I'm not going to repeat it.[/QUOTE]

Eh, yeah, but in contradiction to what etcrane said (and in answer to his "ask yourself" question), honestly yes, I'd much rather have no voice acting than bad voice acting in a game. Personally, I find bad voice acting to be distracting at best and off-putting at worst. I really would prefer that they not bother at all if they can't do it right.

That being said, I have no opinion about the voice acting, story, gameplay, or anything else regarding this particular game, as I have not played it. But if someone finds one or more of these things problematic, and it detracts from their enjoyment of the game, then it's their right to feel that way. I don't see what everyone else is getting out of piling onto them and telling them they're wrong.
 
[quote name='arcane93']Please cite for me the point at which he said anything about comparing the game to console games, because I sure as hell don't see it. In fact, he very specifically stated that he knows that he shouldn't expect it to compare to a console game. I mean, really, I've read what he said about ten times now, and I don't see how you're getting from it that he's comparing it to a console game. He said that regardless of the platform, he expects a game to be good, and he doesn't find this one to be good. Subjective, yes, but then whose opinion of a game isn't subjective?
[/QUOTE]

He said this:

[quote name='ViolentLee']
I don't want to play games that are "good for the console's limits." I want to play good games period.[/QUOTE]

It's open to interpretation, but I read that as meaning: It's not good enough for an iPhone game to be exceptional compared to other iPhone games. It must be exceptional compared to games across all platforms.

By that logic, while Nova may be far and away the best FPS on its platform, Nova is not a good game because it's not as good as FPS games on the Xbox 360, PC, or whatever platform you're adding to the mix.

I'm not picking on Violent Lee, especially since he's not hear to defend his position, but that's my interpretation of what he said.

[quote name='arcane93']
That being said, I have no opinion about the voice acting, story, gameplay, or anything else regarding this particular game, as I have not played it. But if someone finds one or more of these things problematic, and it detracts from their enjoyment of the game, then it's their right to feel that way. I don't see what everyone else is getting out of piling onto them and telling them they're wrong.[/QUOTE]

I'd just call it having unreasonable expectations or being overly picky - not wrong, per se.
 
[quote name='eastx']It's open to interpretation, but I read that as meaning: It's not good enough for an iPhone game to be exceptional compared to other iPhone games. It must be exceptional compared to games across all platforms.[/QUOTE]

And my interpretation of it, especially since he cited other iPhone games that don't push the iPhone's limits as "good" games, was that he was saying that a game is not good simply because it pushes the iPhone's limits. Nowhere in that do I see a comparison to games on other platforms. A game may be cool in that it pushes the iPhone's limits and does things that no other iPhone game has done, but if you don't enjoy playing it, it's still not a good game (by your own subjective opinion, of course).
 
I guess that's what happens when you have an unpopular opinion: a few hours later, people have shit on it, misinterpreted it, and insulted you in the process. Awesome!

I like good games, I don't care what platform. To me, NOVA is not good so far - not on iPhone nor period. And it isn't just because of the bad VO, whoever got stuck on that point. If it has a story, I'm at liberty to critique it. I don't like its control - in part because aiming's a bitch and I often move the cam when I'm trying to walk. The space marines are the dumbest looking I've seen. The sound is bad - playing ambient jungle noise while a massive space ship takes off silently.

Some of these more minor complaints may not bother you. If the core gameplay was more fun (so far), they might not bug me - though I doubt it. Bad design is bad design. If a low budget film shows a boom mic in the shot, is it not still a mistake? If you cut your mouth on a bone in your Chik Fil-A sandwich, is it more excuseable because it's fast food?

If you love the game, great for you. I spent $7 and I tend to know my shit, so I'm entitled to my opinion. Even if you don't agree with it.

I swear, some people defend certain games so dilligently, you'd think they made 'em. Hell, I've been a game designer 3 years and I'm not even that sensitive about my own games!
 
I don't think anyone said you weren't entitled to your opinion. Maybe you're not used to being disagreed with though. :p
Anyway, I think the VO got focused on because another guy harped on it right after you.
 
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NOVA may be derivative, but I don't think it has bad design. In fact, I think the game is rather well designed, particularly given the demands of the genre and the platform it's on. I don't think FPSes are a good fit with this kind of device as the input/interface is not something any of us are used to. You might dismiss the game for being bad for any number of reasons, but the bottom line is, it's an FPS on a small screen that only uses touchscreen controls--it's never going to overcome that no matter what kind of level design, story, voiceovers or whatever you're going to focus on.

For $7, it does all I'd ever expect it do, and yes, I really don't expect all that much gaming out of a touchscreen mobile phone.
 
A few folks seem to be running into the issue of having an argument vs. a discussion, I haven't really seen anyone throwing expletives around or shitting on people's opinions (at least not in this thread ... god knows there have been plenty of others on CAG lately), so I'm not sure where the tension is coming from in this discussion of NOVA. Hell, if anything, I'm more tempted to throw down the $7 to see if it truly is as good or bad as some folks are saying it is.

I know the opinion of the masses doesn't always represent how good or bad a game truly is, but damn that is a ton of 5 star ratings on iTunes. I don't recall many new apps with that many reviews ... I'm very curious about NOVA's multiplayer component though, because I'd love for more iphone games to start supporting true multiplayer on a wider scale (and I don't mean pho multiplayer like Mafia, etc).
 
I think NOVA sucks balls too, it has no challenge, and the levels are lacking in any form of design we've grown used to in our shooters. Doom Classic is a much better FPS experience on the iPhone. It doesn't ahve the best designed levels too but it has adrenaline pumping action in spades.

Heck I just bought Ravensword since it went on sale yesterday, and that game is also a boringly simple. I need to stop buying these 'premium' priced games that get rave reviews for being good on the iPhone, especially given their price points (though I normally wait for sales -- there's too many good games at the 1-3 dolalr range to waste time on these two). If they were on the PSP or DS they'd get left behind. And yes I can compare it to those because there are PLENTY of games on the iphone that are good enough to be toe to toe with games from those two platforms.

And games should always be compared cross platform. Why settle for less just because you think something can't be done as well on one platform vs another?

If you're thinking of getting NOVA, I'd strongly suggest Doom Classic, and with the extra paper, get some good iPhone action games. NOVA is seriously forgettable. It sat on my phone unplayed for a week so I removed it (I'm always fighting with my list of apps to fit on the limited pages we get from Apple).
 
Didn't play Multi at all. I made it to the planet and one extra stage in. Was about 1.5-2 hours I'd guess? I'd go back to find out for sure...but the iPhone doesn't save yoru saves once an app is removed :(.

It reminded me of a poor PSone-era shooter. The controls also didn't mesh well with me. All 3 of the schemes didn't offer what I would have liked. The dual stick was far too sensitive, the touch screen was what I ended up using but it felt pretty bothersome. That's probably got more to do with why I didn't like it than the ease of the game (on the middle setting) and boring levels. The voice acting is bad, and the whole thing felt like it was trying to rip off the game we know it's trying to be. But it didn't do a good job at it.
 
All FPS are turds on the iPhone. I haven't played one that has good controls and is fun to play. Can we get back to deals in this thread?
 
I thought this was a topic on "iPhone and iPod Touch Games Ongoing Sales" and not about discussing how good/bad NOVA is or who's got an opinion or not. If there is a disagreement, those matters should be held privately through private messages and not on a public forum.

That's what I think at least :)

Let's just all get along and do what we do best. Letting everyone about deals and recommending some games that went on sale! :D
 
So for those who aren't too...keen...on NOVA, would you recommend Modern Combat instead?

It looks fun, not to mention $2 cheaper
 
[quote name='jcp42877']So for those who aren't too...keen...on NOVA, would you recommend Modern Combat instead?

It looks fun, not to mention $2 cheaper[/QUOTE]

Sure, granted I've only played the 'demo' level but it felt pretty solid ... but of course it's another Gameloft 'tribute.' The iPhone definitely isn't ideal for FPS' but it felt like it did a solid job given that fact. And for the people bitching and whining about the NOVA discussion, go ahead and post some god damn deals if you're so adamant about finding deals ... every thread has discussions interspersed with the actual deals so big fucking deal if some folks actually want to debate whether a sale game or *gasp* brand new $7 game is worth picking up. No one is stopping people from posting new deals here, but seriously it adds absolutely nothing to bitch about a discussion regarding an iPhone game without adding to that discussion or posting a deal.
 
I was interested in NOVA until people likened it to a cheap knock off of Halo. I can't imagine anything being worse.
 
I was hoping for more "ring in the New Year deals" but what I'be seen so far has been pretty disappointing considering the amount of new platform holders are out there after Christmas
 
[quote name='mailman27']I was hoping for more "ring in the New Year deals" but what I'be seen so far has been pretty disappointing considering the amount of new platform holders are out there after Christmas[/QUOTE]


bChamp Beatbox, 99¢ → Free
Vector Tanks, $2.99 → Free
Aera, $1.99 → 99¢
Cell War, $2.99 → 99¢
Harbor Havoc 3D, $1.99 → 99¢
Harry Potter: Spells, $2.99 → 99¢
Liberty Boom, $1.99 → 99¢
Navy Patrol: Coastal Defense, $2.99 → 99¢
Sword of Fargoal, $4.99 → $2.99 (Sale Extended)
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, $7.99 → $3.99
Ravensword: The Fallen King, $6.99 → $4.99
The Settlers, $6.99 → $4.99

James Cameron's Avatar, $9.99 → $6.99
 
Downloaded Navy Patrol, it looks good from the screen shots. None of the other free games posted look too good, and the games that I want like Avatar, Ravensword, and The Settlers are on sale, but still expensive for iPod games, so I'll skip those for now. I want NOVA just to see what all the excitement's about but I'll wait. I don't think it will ever hit my $2.99 barrier that I have, though since that Modern Combat game never got cheaper that $5. Oh well, maybe I'll bite for $7 soon.
 
Also mildly interested in NOVA, but in my opinion, FPS games with a y-axis aiming system just don't work well on the iPhone. DOOM Classic and Wolfenstein 3D nailed it, but I think it is because of the lack of the y-axis. I would love to see that issue in a new era of "old-school" FPS games. Personally, the last ones that I remember were the GBA Ecks vs. Sever games (urg...) and I would really love a comeback.

Also, finally bought Space Invaders: Infinity Gene. Yes, yes, it wasn't on sale, but I caved. It was worth it. :)
 
This game "Sway" kinda flew under the thread's radar but it's pretty rad. I only played the demo but the $4.99 price tag is prohibitive. According to apptism, it's never been on sale. Anyone vouch for it?
 
Some real good points from both sides since my last post. I'll drop it in the interest of staying on topic. I just thought some would want a dissenting opinion on a hyped, costly game.
Is there a general iPhone discussion thread?
 
As far as I'm concerned, this is the only iPhone discussion thread that matters.

I bought Doom just because it seemed like the only FPS on the iPhone that might possible work. The demo of Modern Combat showed me that there was no point trying to make a triple A FPS on the iPhone.

That was a mistake as now I remember that Doom is only slightly fun.
 
[quote name='RollingSkull']As far as I'm concerned, this is the only iPhone discussion thread that matters.

I bought Doom just because it seemed like the only FPS on the iPhone that might possible work. The demo of Modern Combat showed me that there was no point trying to make a triple A FPS on the iPhone.

That was a mistake as now I remember that Doom is only slightly fun.[/QUOTE]

Doom Resurrection is pretty fun...an on-rail shooter sure, but for the $1.99 i picked it up for a while back, it gave me a good mini dose of FPS action i was looking for.

On a side note, it's not FPS, but The Fallen Ep. 1 is pretty fun. Played about an hour's worth in bed last night and it was very old school RE-esque
 
[quote name='Fire_Thief']What games are coming out soon?[/QUOTE]

It seems that GTA: Chinatown Wars isn't ever coming out ... anyone have any inside knowledge or details on that, speaking of games that are coming out?
 
I just got an iPod Touch for Christmas,
any suggestions on apps and games?

I know of most the bigger titles,
what are some lesser known good apps?

Thanks
 
[quote name='sandman8288']I just got an iPod Touch for Christmas,
any suggestions on apps and games?

I know of most the bigger titles,
what are some lesser known good apps?

Thanks[/QUOTE]

Doom Resurrection
The Fallen Ep. 1
Mystique
The Creeps!
Zombieville
Baseball Superstars
Modern Combat
Ravensword
Flight Control
Assassin's Creed Altair Chronicles
Hero of Sparta
The Deep Pinball
Dexter The Game
Alive 4 Ever
iShoot
Tap Tap 1-3, Coldplay, DMB, etc etc
Mass Effect Galaxy
Let's Golf
Monopoly (Regular or World Ed.)
PocketGod
Rolando
Underworlds
Terminator Salvation
Surviving High School
Wolfenstein RPG
Canabalt
Zenonia
 
[quote name='GamerChris']Sandman just check the last few pages of this thread. Plenty of suggestions.[/QUOTE]

I've read the last few pages,
but have most of those apps....
 
[quote name='jcp42877']Doom Resurrection
The Fallen Ep. 1
Mystique
The Creeps!
Zombieville
Baseball Superstars
Modern Combat
Ravensword
Flight Control
Assassin's Creed Altair Chronicles
Hero of Sparta
The Deep Pinball
Dexter The Game
Alive 4 Ever
iShoot
Tap Tap 1-3, Coldplay, DMB, etc etc
Mass Effect Galaxy
Let's Golf
Monopoly (Regular or World Ed.)
PocketGod
Rolando
Underworlds
Terminator Salvation
Surviving High School
Wolfenstein RPG
Canabalt
Zenonia[/QUOTE]

Thanks, some good looking apps in there...
 
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