iPhone/iPod Touch Apps Discussion Thread
 

The Apple App store has been open for a few months now, and there's a sizable collection of free and paid apps to choose from. Much of the selection is complete crap, but there are some gems to be had as well. Mainstream gaming sites aren't really reviewing the games that have come out, and I thought it might be useful for GFF users to sound off on apps they've enjoyed or felt they wasted their money on. I'm putting this thread in Video Gaming because a good portion of the apps are games, but feel free to discuss anything in the store.

I just bought my iPod Touch last weekend, and I've only paid money for a few apps so far (Trism and Topple). Everyone and their uncle buys Trism, and for good reason since it's a nifty puzzle game. Topple reminds me of the Balance game from Clubhouse Games DS; it's not the most exciting thing in the world, but it was only 99 cents. I'll probably buy Galcon and either Asphalt 4 or Need for Speed. What are some other apps no one should be without?

Hey fans, I have access to the German App Store so I am not able to give you weirdos any tips, but I guess the Apple Texas Hold'Em game is available in every App Store, so you should get that because it's rather good.

That means you can download the controversial Berlin subway app.

I can download it, but I didn't since I don't live in Berlin.

Concerning other apps, you guys should get Shazam, Wikiamo, AroundMe, iTranslate, AirSharing, Firemail and Palringo. At least these are some of the apps that can be found on my iPhone.

On the gaming front, anyone bothered to check out the Metal Gear Solid game on the iPhone? It looks interesting, but a bit too pricey. I'm kind of a fan of cheap fun on the iPhone since I don't play anything serious on it.

That said, I did blast through the 100 levels of Blocked over the last month or so. It's dirt cheap (59p) and if you like block puzzles I'd highly recommend it.

Anyone got any particularly good games they'd recommend?

Textropolis ($1-2?) doesn't seem like it would be anything special, but it's amazingly addictive. It's just a list of cities with 9 letter names, and you make as many words as possible out of those letters. Every time you get a tenth of the possible words, and new building pops up and fireworks go off; you'll find yourself trying for just one more word to get that next star. Omagnus didn't mention Solebon Solitaire, which I bought after seeing it in his blog. It's an excellent selection of timewasting solitaire games. My time is often split between Solebon and Textropolis.

I'm partial to Pinball Dreams ($6), but mostly because I remember playing it on my PC years ago. The four tables included aren't spectacular, but they're solid, and the superior sequel is forthcoming. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention 10 Balls 7 Cups, which is a skee-ball simulator. Only 99 cents and you get a free taco.

YouTube Video

Solebon is indeed an ace game, definitely one for the solitaire (and pretty much any other style of solo card game) fans to check out. I've already enjoyed playing Imagini, which is another word game, and one that's worth paying a look.

I have been tempted by the Towers 3D game (I forget the full name) that is on there, though it's a little pricey for what I'd like to play (only £3.50, but still). It's an update to a game I used to play on one of my old mobiles. Really simple stuff, but quite addictive, and great for passing the odd minute or two here and there. Just not sure if I can justify the cost, and the free version was too heavily restricted.

If I see one more person with that fucking gay thing where you slide a pint down a bar and if you catch it you tip up the iPod and pretend to drink it I swear I'll punch them in the face.

Then, if it's an iPhone I'll take a picture of them and send it to all my mates and laugh at the loser for having a shit phone that he paid a fortune for.

That aside, my housemate downloaded an app which lets him use his iPhone as a wireless network hub which is pretty handy. I couldn't tell you what it was called and it's probably not an official one out of the app store but then if you bought an iPhone and didn't jailbreak it then you're probably an idiot anyway and wouldn't be interested in such things.

Also, my two mates with iPod touches play nothing but that game where you have to tap the bombs to stop them going off. It's maddeningly addictive too and leads to physical fights in the pub. My record is a paltry 50 odd I think, the guy whose iPod it is got up to 200+ the other night...

If cheap fun is what you're looking for, then Metal Gear Solid Touch might suffice. However, for the price that it's selling at I don't think it justifies a purchase (that is unless you've got money to throw around). To sum it up, it's pretty much just a typical touchscreen shooter; tap to shoot, defeat x amount of enemies. That, with the Metal Gear license. There's no moving and the controls can be a bit fiddly (although with time, they're not bad).

Speaking of iPhone/iPod Touch games, Hero of Sparta is a fun God of War rip-off. I <3 Katamari is also available, although the tilt controls are pretty horrible. Blackbeard, Topple and Subway are three puzzle games that have been eating up my time and are definitely worth the purchase for bite-sized gaming impulses.

I bought Sim City some weeks ago but I cannot recommend it since it freezes up every now and then :mad:

This is iphone/ipod we're talking about. When doesn't it freeze up or reboot?

I ... know?
You guys don't have Sim City in the AppStore over there?

Well, it randomly freezes up, especially if you have a large city (pop over 500,000)

No, we have SimCity. I'm just saying that I've had my iPod reboot on various things (playing music, pinball, etc), and I don't think I'm the only one. I've got SimCity on my DS, so the iPod version doesn't really appeal to me.