2011
Still drunk on December’s games, we expected to see a big slow down in released come January. But then EA launched Dead Space on the iPhone.
The game could have easily been an on-rails shooter, as with the Doom game in 2010, but EA had somehow managed to get most of the elements from the Console game in to the iPhone version. There was also a new story which helped set the background for Dead Space 2.
EA’s game looked amazing and played just as well. The review summed the experience up as “Thanks to the graphical flare, a fantastic control scheme and atmospheric sound, the sum of Ironmonkey’s efforts come together to create a stand-out survival horror experience second to none on iOS.”
And Dead Space was just the beginning of what promises to be another great year, both for indie hits likeGrim Joggers and the incredibly addictive Tiny Wings, which again brought offices to a complete standstill as high scores were beaten and then triumphantly regained, and for the new big hitters of the year.
Gameloft were at it again. Starfront: Collision brought Starcraft to the iPhone in all but name. Gamers are now patiently waiting for an iPad version which will give them even more control over the 3 factions. Online modes and a great single player campaign made the iPhone version of the game an instant hit, though their brief brush with a freemium system didn’t work out quite so well for Gameloft.
The Bitmap Brothers returned, alongside Tower Games, to bring back another classic game. Speedball II: Evolution didn’t mess with the original formula from the Amiga, and rightly so, only adding a graphical sheen and an interesting swipe control mechanic which worked surprisingly well.
EA then brought Fight Night Champion to the table. Another game which chucked virtual controls out the window and went for a touch based mechanic paid off, once you mastered it. The game looked fantastic and after a slight learning curve it played like a pro.
Then Apple had another hardware launch. The iPad 2 didn’t reinvent the wheel, but it did bring in a new A5 processor which was twice as fast and initial figures showed graphics running nine times faster.
Though the expected retina Display for iPad never materialised, the extra power meant that developers could squeeze far more out of the machine. Almost immediately, Firemint released Real Racing 2 and EA produced an upgraded version of the iPad Dead Space game, both taking advantage of the new hardware.
Which brings us bang up-to-date and wondering where the future takes us from here. Apple are preparing another launch, with an event most probably around June, for the iPhone 5 (or 4GS or whatever it will be called). We have no idea what the specs will be, but with Apple now realising that gaming is an integral part of the phone’s future, we’re confident that they will make steps to improve further on what is already an amazing portable gaming machine.
As for games themselves, the market is now aware of the iPhone’s place in portable gaming. Gaming Phones are no longer laughed off as a gimmick and with pressure from a growing Android and Windows Mobile 7 market, Apple needs to keep up the pace and ensure developers have a platform they are happy with. We wouldn’t be surprised to see a few more of the big console development teams and distributors turn their efforts towards the format either.
Whatever happens, we’re going to have another great year of gaming in 2011 and AppGamer.net will be here with you all the way.
