Editorial: iFun!

By Eric 'EJ'
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I am not home in California right now, which is why my last post was late. I’m back in Michigan for the holidays and, gaming-wise, being back here is kind of a bummer for a few reasons:

  1. PixelJunk Shooter is out and I have not played it yet. I reeaaally want to.
  2. Rubber Soul will be downloadable for The Beatles: Rock Band this week, and I will not be able to play that.
  3. I no longer own a portable system. (crap)

Oh, but I kind of do! The iPhone.

Peggle on the iPhone/iPod Touch

Peggle: Worth playing at any price.

There are a few things I enjoy about the iPhone as a gaming platform: it has a comfortable (for me) form factor, it has a beautiful screen, and a wealth of creative games to be had on the cheap. The single best thing about it though has to be that it is always with me, which I never really had with the DS or PSP. I would have to specifically consider whether or not I should take them with me, and often times would decide against it. Not so with the iPhone. If I have a few minutes – BAM! – I’m playing a quick round of Peggle.

iDracula for the iPhone/iPod Touch

iDracula: A rare instance where virtual controls just work.

For all its strengths, however, the iPhone is not without its shortcomings: virtual on-screen controllers are rarely as reliable as their physical counterparts, I have experienced more game crashes on this platform than any other ever, and I will be damned if some games are not a major battery drain (even with some phone functionality turned off or settings decreased). Most of these are easily overlooked in short bursts of play, but are difficult to ignore in longer play sessions.

One thing that is both a blessing and a curse is its selection. The App Store is overflowing with gaming possibilities but can be a bit of a chore to work through, making it hard to really know – at a glance – what is worth it and is worthless. It is great knowing there is something available for everyone, but try finding it without knowing exactly what it is.

Rather than try to solve Apple’s problems in this area, I will focus solely on the games in my next few posts. Until then, I ask if any readers have an iPhone or iPod Touch that they game on and what they play on them to pass the time?

6 Comments

  1. Lusipurr
    Posted 2009.12.15 at 12:46 | Permalink

    I’m actually quite fond of Square-Enix’s Crystal Defenders for iPhone. Apart from that, there are several other games that I enjoy:

    - Scrabble (EA, connects to Facebook through the Scrabble application for FB)
    - Glaurung Chess (Independent, and probably the best chess app. in terms of strength/capability on the iPhone)
    - GeoDefence (Independent, another really good tower defense game if you want something more serious than Crystal Defenders)

  2. Eric J
    Posted 2009.12.15 at 13:18 | Permalink

    I neeeeeed to get Scrabble, that’s for sure.

    I enjoy tower defense games enough but there are so many to choose from that I haven’t chosen any. GeoDefence seems to be getting some great buzz, so maybe that(?).

  3. Lusipurr
    Posted 2009.12.15 at 15:40 | Permalink

    GeoDefence is a really good one (though as I’ve said I prefer Crystal Defenders these days). It’s quite difficult, is well-polished, and has a sort of ‘puzzle’ mentality to the design of its levels. It has graphics akin to those of Geometry Wars with colourful wireframes and neat particle effects.

  4. Lane
    Posted 2009.12.16 at 10:37 | Permalink

    Crystal Defenders was just awful. Defender Chronicles is both well done and better supported.

    Gameloft continues to churn out clones that are as fun as the originals. Check out their catalog. Avoid the Korean grindfest action RPGs like Inotia or Zenonia.

  5. Ethos
    Posted 2009.12.17 at 15:45 | Permalink

    Bring on the Peggle love!

  6. Eric J
    Posted 2009.12.22 at 02:09 | Permalink

    I was STOKED when Peggle came out on PSN. Love the poop out of that poop!