AppCraver » Sports Games

Ipong Has a Noble Purpose but it Fails in Accomplishing its Goal

Michael Alexander — Sun, 17 May 2009 21:00:27 +0000

Ipong! Game, from TouchTen.com, was created by a group of Indonesian teenagers with a noble purpose: To sell at least 14,285 copies of their game so they can donate up to $10.000 of proceeds to charity. The group says it hopes to reach its goal — minus Apple’s 30 percent share of sales — by the end of 2009.

I haven’t encountered any other developers in the App Store with such altruistic ambitions but it seems to me that using sales of apps to fund worthwhile causes is a terrific idea.

Unfortunately, I’d be surprised if Ipong! Game hits its top mark. It’s a so-so game in need of improvements to graphics and game play.

The point is to bounce a ping pong ball on a paddle as many times as you can. Hit the ball dead center on the paddle and the ball bounces straight up. Hit the ball on one side of the paddle and it will bounce in that direction.

The concept of Ipong! Game is more like one of those paddle games with the rubber string attached than ping pong because the gamer holds the paddle parallel to the ground and bounces the ball up and down, rather than side-to-side as you would with ping pong. Regardless, the ball’s physics aren’t as realistic as they need to be for an engaging game-playing experience.

Moving the paddle to keep the ball in motion is done by tilting your iPhone or iPod touch in a way to get the paddle under the ball as it falls. The paddle’s movement is not as responsive as I would hoped and I would have liked to have seen an option to adjust the motion control’s sensitivity..

The familiar ping-pong sound effect is off compared to the real thing. When you press start and there’s an obnoxious laugh, and when you miss, you’ll hear the same guffaw.

Finally, there’s no way to return to the main menu—although there’s not much there-other than by quitting the app.

The game is only $0.99 and the cause is worthy, but you should probably forego buying iPong! Game, at least until the developers lets us all know what charity it has in mind for the proceeds.

app_name: Ipong! Game
rating: 4/10

iBox Your Way to Fighting Glory

Derek Walter — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:30:28 +0000

If taking on your shadow is getting old, then iBox from Tractus Design may be the perfect remedy. iBox is designed to give you a faux boxing workout — complete with sound effects. As for damaging your phone by punching too hard and launching it into the wall.. well, that’s entirely up to you.

This boxing game had a bit more substance than Punch-O-Meter, which was just a flurry of throwing mad punches to try and ring the meter. iBox gives enough options to make it fun as a way to mix up the iPhone gaming experience.

There are a series of punching exercises in iBox designed to test how quick you can throw a punch. In the menu you can select such activities as hitting a large punching bag, jumping rope, shadow boxing, or taking quick hits on the speed bag. The sound effects for each of these are pretty cool.

If you want to see how legit your right hook is, take a solid punch and then pause and look at the iPhone screen. The meter will then rise and fall based on your strength. If you really have a solid punch then it will ring the bell. If not, it may barely rise and iBox will then greet you with a chorus of boos. There is no ego booster quite like an iPhone app telling you that you are weak.

If you have iBox down, then give the expert mode a try. It makes it even more challenging to push the meter higher. It also is worth it to try out the various modes iBox offers depending on whether you feel like shadow boxing or just taking the biggest swing possible. Or if you are not ready to spring $1.99 for iBox, then give iJump Rope (which is essentially a lite version of iBox) a try.

Personally, I was not wild about punching over and over with my iPhone in hand, no matter how firmly it was within my grip. But if you think you can hold on then go for it. The iBox app makes for a fun way to get off the couch and get active with your iPhone. Just hold on tight.

app_name: iBox
rating: 7/10

Playman Track & Field Performs Well (No ‘Roids Either)

Michael Alexander — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:30:50 +0000

Unleash your inner athlete with Playman Track & Field, from developer RealArcade. This is the ninth title RealArcade has introduced for the iPhone and iPod touch and the company has a big rep to maintain in the mobile games space.

With great expectations, then, I downloaded Playman Track & Field and ran it through my Olympic-level obstacle course. It’s also Playwoman, by the way.

Right off, I can tell you the graphics and animation are far better than most low-budget games you’ll find, but graphics and animation are things RealArcade has always done well, so I wasn’t surprised.

What really intrigued me was just how well Playman Track & Field would play given it’s overall theme of track and field competition. How do you throw a javelin? How do you run a race? How do you pole vault? What I didn’t want to do was learn different sets of controls for each sport.

I give RealArcade props for coming up with controls that are consistent. To do any sport requires tapping a pair of buttons located on the left and right sides of the playing field. For example, thumb tap the buttons alternately to run. Press and release both buttons simultaneously to throw a javelin or pole vault.

On one hand, the controls in Playman Track & Field are predictable. On the other hand, each event tends to require similar actions and for some game players, that will not provide enough variety. I liked it fine even after I started moving up to more challenging modes, but I’m easy to please about some things.

Playman Track & Field has five events: 100m dash, long jump, 110 hurdles, pole vault and javelin. You compete against a variety of athletes from around the world or against up to six friends. You can choose to play as Playman, Blaise or 1 of 12 other characters.

Playman Track & Field is typical: Begin at an amateur level in challenge mode, beat everyone in sight and move up to the pro challenge mode, and then finally to the survival mode, which takes place in the Arctic. Don’t ask me why the developer thought that would be cool.

Overall, there’s a lot of bang for a buck in Playman Track & Field. Anyone who faults Playman Track & Field for not having deeper game are being particularly persnickety, I think. It’s only $0.99.

app_name: Playman Track & Field
rating: 8/10

iQuarterback Goes Deep And Scores

Keith Lewis — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:30:09 +0000

The iQuarterback iPhone app by FuzzyCube Software LLC puts the football in your hands before, during and after the season. For the football junkie that goes into a state of depression right after the clock runs out on the Pro Bowl, finding something to help wile away the off season months has been a daunting task over the years. There was NFL Europe for a few years, and we suffered through a season of the XFL. What’s left arena football, basketball, baseball, hockey, FUTBOL?! None will do.

iQuarterback may pull you out of that funk. Although not a complete game of football iQuarterback is designed as a passing competition that requires the quarterback to throw passes at moving targets. Different point values are awarded based on where the football strikes the target.

iQuarterback can be played in either Practice or Compete mode. Within each mode the game is played at the College, Pro or All Star level. When playing in practice mode your accumulated stats are not saved. Stats earned within compete mode are posted to the leaderboard allowing you to see how well you do compared to other players. Tap the bottom of the screen and watch a tutorial video on YouTube.

The iQuarterback iPhone app is very easy to understand and play. It also has very nice graphics and sound. The soon to be released version 1.2 will offer some additional challenges, such as many more moving targets moving at faster speeds and bonuses that could lead to 4x the points.

While the iQuarterback iPhone app will never be the same as sitting down in front of your 50 inch flat screen on a Sunday afternoon watching your favorite team rumbling, bumbling, stumbling, across the gridiron, it may be just what you need to get you through the months in between seasons.

app_name: iQuarterback
rating: 7/10

Iron Fist Boxing is Almost Ready for Main Event Status

Shawn Leonard — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 21:30:16 +0000

Iron Fist Boxing - The rise in popularity for Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has been long overdue. MMA is a sport that throws out rules pertaining to fighting styles and gives fans the cross discipline match-ups they want to see. For a while, MMA has been the ignored and vilified proverbial stepbrother of boxing, due to the brutality of the combat. Though that critique may have been relevant in the past, modern organizations have put in a variety of safeguards and rules to help clean up the image of the sport. When you combine skilled, athletic and charismatic fighters with top notch marketing and promotion; a phenomenon is born.

Realtech VR has recognized this phenomenon, and has stepped with the iPhone’s first serious effort at an MMA fighting game. To say this was an ambitious goal is an understatement as there has yet to be a console game that gets it completely right. Iron Fist Boxing is setting out to show everyone how it’s done.

From the get-go, you are introduced to a polished (and fiery) menu that offers up three gameplay modes —Story Mode, Sparring Mode, Training — to dive into. While you’ll spend the majority of your time in Story Mode, the other two modes of Iron Fist Boxing allow quick one-off matches and tutorials for learning the gameplay mechanics.

Speaking of mechanics, they are relatively simple in Iron Fist Boxing. Fans of Nintendo’s classic Punch Out series will be right at home with the close third person view of the action. Throwing punches and kicks are done by tapping to the left or right of your opponent’s head or body region. Super attacks can be unleashed through a combination of tilting and tapping, but it’s a bit clunky and hit or miss. Watching the stamina at the bottom of the screen is crucial as you can’t throw any attacks with a depleted stamina meter. Lastly, blocking is done by holding highlighted areas that correspond to your head and body.

While this scheme should work in theory, lack of responsiveness and instantaneous feedback from the controls are disappointing. This is especially evident with blocking as your opponent will typically be teeing off you while you’re waiting for your character to block. Sigh…

Graphically, Iron Fist Boxing will likely impress you. The polygonal 3D fighters have different looks and styles that separate them fairly well. Touches like flying sweat and blood splatters add to the package and are convincing too. Only blemishes you’ll notice are some blockiness on the fighters and some clipping. Realtech VR has provided an energetic soundtrack to keep you hyped during your fights, and you have the option of listening to your own music from your library too.

Regarding the question whether Iron Fist Boxing is a true MMA game, I’d say not really. Sure Iron Fist Boxing supports three fighting styles — Boxing, Muay Thai, and Kick Boxing — but there’s no real strategic advantages for picking one fighter over another. For example, in Muay Thai, the clinch is considered one of the most popular and effective moves from this style. It’s nowhere to be found here though. So all the usual tactics like grappling, throws, submissions and other standard techniques in MMA are not in Iron Fist Boxing. This is essentially a boxing game (complete with a 10 count for knockdowns) at it’s core with some leg kicks thrown in to justify the claim that this is an MMA game. Whatever sells though…

Iron Fist Boxing has all the pieces in place to be an excellent fighting game. Good presentation, solid graphics, extras, and achievements all come at a fair price. The only thing that prevents me from giving Iron Fist Boxing a completely positive recommendation are the unreliable controls. All the extras in the world don’t matter when you’re consistently frustrated by the lack of response during gameplay. With more time in the gym, Realtech VR’s Iron Fist Boxing can become a champion.

app_name: Iron Fist Boxing
rating: 6/10

Mini Golf Ace is 3D Putt Putt for Your Phone

Jennifer Beam — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:00:54 +0000

Mini Golf Ace – Once in a while, an app comes to my attention that no matter how many times I use it, play it, or share it, I am undecided about it for quite some time. Mini Golf Ace is one of those apps. In fact, everything I feel about it is contradictory — I like the graphics, but I don’t. I like the interface, but I don’t. It’s difficult to decide and while I have no doubt I will keep it on the menu, I do have doubts about how often I’ll actually play it. That said, let’s take a look at what Mini Golf Ace offers.

Touting itself as the first realistic mini golf game for the iPhone, Mini Golf Ace features 18 miniature golf courses, each with varying degrees of difficulty. Since there are other mini golf games in the app store (Mini Touch Golf and Pocket Mini Golf 2), they are mostly animated so the apropos word in the developer’s statement would be “realistic,” and to agree or disagree will all depend largely on your interpretation of simulated reality.

When I first played a round on Mini Golf Ace, I was leaning towards hating it and giving up at the ninth hole. The controls are unlike any golf game I’ve ever played and it took some getting used to. Basically, you touch the ball and then slide and drag your finger to adjust the power and direction of the golf ball when you hit it. To hit it, you simply let go. My frustration was compounded by trying to touch the ball, which covered up the ball and the directional/power circle that surrounds the ball. This left me unable to tell if my swing was engaged and sometimes when I released my touch to check, the ball moved anyway.

After spending some more time with it, I can now admit that part of my frustration was brought on by my own impatient nature. I learned that if I waited for the directional/power circle to flash green around the ball between strokes, it signaled that the ball was ready to be hit. I also learned that you don’t actually have to touch the screen directly on top of the ball. A bit of practice and patience revealed that the swing control isn’t all that difficult to master. I do wonder if people with larger fingers than mine will have problems, though.

Aside from the fortitude it took to master the swing and the fact that sometimes, such as on sloped courses, it takes the ball way too long to come to a full stop, there are a few aspects of Mini Golf Ace that I truly find compelling. Using the tilt function, you can have a complete rotational view of the course. So if you like the cup to be above the ball when you swing, you make it so. The courses are challenging enough and the three-dimensional graphics and relaxing shades of blue aren’t hard to look at, but I think there could be more visual excitement in Mini Golf Ace. I also would have liked par to be displayed for each course.

The one great thing about Mini Golf Ace is the option to play with up to four players in a single round. This enables you to not only compete against the saved high score list, but also against other players in the moment. I am still undecided about whether I like three-2-one’s interpretation of mini golf, but I will definitely keep it around. I have the feeling it may grow on me.

To help decide if Mini Golf Ace might be for you, check out the video of the game in action.

app_name: Mini Golf Ace
rating: 7/10

Hit the Course with Let’s Golf

Derek Walter — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:30:48 +0000

The designers at Gameloft have put together another outstanding iPhone/iPod touch app with Let’s Golf! The game offers a great experience that should satisfy golf fans yet also appeal to a broad audience with its arcade-like features.

Let’s Golf! begins by offering the choice of four different characters. There are some customization options for the clothing, with items that are available for unlocking. The players have different strengths: power, accuracy, recovery and putting. Pick the combination that suits you, change up their clothes and then hit the course.

One of the strengths of Let’s Golf! is the two options available for swinging the club. There is a traditional method where you tap as a scale moves — the more accurate the tapping the better the shot. For more of a challenge choose the advanced option. Slide your finger up and down a scale to shoot. The longer the slide the more power the shot has. Before the shot there are also options to preview where the ball will go. By tapping on the screen you can move around or drag the target to a different location. Changing clubs and adjusting the angle to account for wind are also accomplished with just a few taps. Once the ball is in the air, run your finger over a golf ball icon to put spin on the ball.

One of the few downsides is that every time you fire up Let’s Golf! a 20-second video begins. Fortunately you can tap on the screen and close it by selecting the “done” button just like any YouTube video. Let’s Golf! could also benefit from some more customization options, such as allowing players to increase their abilities in the categories.

There are four play modes in Let’s Golf!: instant play, multiplayer, tournament, and free hole. There is also an options screen that allows for tweaking the sound effects and language. In Let’s Golf! there is also a stats section that tracks past performance through the four courses available.

Let’s Golf! has everything you’d expect from a gold simulator, and it’s wrapped in a nice package. Let’s Golf!

app_name: Let’s Golf
rating: 9/10

Foosball 3D a Kick in the Wrong Direction

Derek Walter — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:00:57 +0000

Foosball 3D attempts to bring the popular table game to the iPhone. Unfortunately the lack of control options makes the game dissolve into a contest of swiping your finger in a maddening flurry.

Foosball works by moving a series of handles that have one or more soccer players stationed on them. Rotate them quickly to slap the ball toward your opponent’s goal. Foosball 3D converts this to the iPhone screen by having the player swipe a finger from left to right to move all of the players at once in those directions. Swiping up and back on the field spins the players and will kick the ball toward the opponent’s goal.

The problem in Foosball 3D is that this control scheme works out to having very little control over the game. Because you control all the players at once, it is hard to keep track of who is doing what.

More importantly, it messes with where you intend to hit the ball. Smash the ball with one of your players near the goal, and one of those in midfield may be in the way because they are in the same position on the field as the one who kicked the ball. There were also a few times when a ball got stuck in a corner or side of the table. This meant some creative use of physics to try and free the ball or waiting for the timer to run out.

Foosball 3D has four options for gameplay: first to score wins, the first to score five wins, a two-minute match or a one-minute match. Unfortunately there are no options for multiplayer (although admittedly it would be hard to share the screen) or a competitive mode through a shared Wi-Fi network, as is becoming more popular in other games.

There are some nice touches in Foosball 3D — an announcer makes a long “Goooal” pronouncement when you score. And with a little practice you are likely to dominate the computer opponent. But overall the Foosball 3D experience is not that compelling and likely will not keep your attention.

app_name: Foosball 3D
rating: 6/10

Bike or Die 2: The Answer is Bike AND Die, it Appears

Tracy Rodgers — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:00:01 +0000

Bike or Die 2 - They say you never forget how to ride a bike. My question is: what about a bike simulator? I think the last video game I played that had me on a bicycle was Paperboy on original Nintendo. How times have changed, right?

Probably the first thing you need to know about Bike or Die 2 – Physics Bike Simulator by Chillingo (other than that, obviously, it’s nothing like Paperboy) is that it’s hard! It’s entirely possible my fine motor skills just aren’t up to par, but wow, Bike or Die 2 gets tough, and it does so fairly quickly. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is probably up to individual users. It certainly should add to the replay value, but it can also get frustrating. I actually thought I was missing something when I played a particular level 30+ times without beating it; then I did a bit of looking around online and realized no, it’s supposed to be this tough!

Luckily, Bike or Die 2 – Physics Bike Simulator begins with several introductory levels that feature tips, tricks and hints, as well as a “ghost bike” to help players see exactly what they need to do to clear the level. In order to clear a given level in Bike or Die 2, players must collect all the flags on that course and/or make it to the finish line. The trouble is that your bike is…a little delicate, we’ll say, so a wrong landing, too much speed, or just about anything can easily result in taking a spill to the ground, which results in your poor rider’s blood spattering all over the place. Ouch!

Despite my personal difficulties, Bike or Die 2 has a lot to offer. There are over 2500 levels (that’s right, two zeros; not a typo!), exciting gameplay and an online Hall of Fame where players can watch videos of top games. The graphics are well-done, the music feels just right…there’s an awful lot to like about Bike or Die 2, and it’s the sort of game that no matter how tough a level may be, you find yourself trying again and again to make it through.

There’s a free lite version of Bike or Die 2 that you might want to check out before spending $7 on the full version. Also, here’s a demo video that gives a decent idea of what gameplay is like:

app_name: Bike or Die 2
rating: 8/10

TouchSports Tennis ‘09: Game, Set, Match

Keith Lewis — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 21:00:18 +0000

If you’d like a to get in a quick set of tennis and wish to do it without all the sweating and running around the court, then the TouchSports Tennis ‘09 iPhone app by Handheld Games Corp may be the just lack of exercise you crave.

Tennis 09 pits you against the CPU for rounds of tennis in either quick play or tournament play. Some of the features listed are a choice of playing US, France or UK courts, improved easy mode and six different players (three males-three Females).

One thing I enjoyed about TouchSports Tennis ‘09 is that it is very intuitive, you can pretty much play it immediately without first reading the instructions. Tap the screen twice to serve. Tap the screen to move my player into position for the return. After I had a couple of games under my belt, I read the instructions to learn some finer points and tips.

The instructions in TouchSports Tennis ‘09 provided a few additional tips for moving the players, serving and returning shots and game options.

There are three levels of play available in both modes (quick play or tournament), easy, medium, or hard. Handheld Games Corp. lists Improved EASY mode as one of their features. I’m not sure what the previous easy mode was like but I found the current version to be really easy.

While playing the easy mode you are prompted by an icon of where to tap the screen to set up your player for your return shot. When playing in the medium mode you are not prompted where to tap. When you tap the screen a shadow appears indicating where you’ve sent your player to receive the shot. Utilizing the hard setting you’ll have no visible indication of where you have tapped.

The graphics, play and sound all serve Tennis ‘09 well. The only issues and I have with the game is that it takes a little too long to load and I found the easy setting to be too easy.

Overall, I enjoy Tennis ‘09. Regardless of which mode you play or settings you use, TouchSports Tennis ‘09 is an excellent way to sneak in a set of tennis without breaking a sweat.

app_name: TouchSports Tennis 09
rating: 7/10