June is upon us friends, and while the summer months offer plenty of opportunities to venture out into the great outdoors, sometimes you still just want to unwind with a bit of gaming.
This week’s iOS game picks cover a wide range of play styles, from strategy to FPS, to arcade mayhem — even a bit of law practice! Dive in and find your favourite …
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Warhammer Quest
It seems strange that one of the biggest gaming franchises in history, Warhammer, has taken so long to make an appearance on iOS. Granted, translating the world of a tabletop game onto a mobile platform isn’t easy, but I for one am glad that Rodeo Games, makers of the excellent Hunters series, took a stab at it.
Warhammer Quest is a top-down dungeon crawler of the turn-based strategy variety that does an excellent job of offering a distinctive Warhammer experience that is nevertheless respectful to the franchise. You’ll lead your band of adventurers through many different environments slaying orcs, trolls and Skaven (rat warriors unlockable via IAP). Naturally, you’ll find many items to collect and purchase along the way, and your heroes will gain new skills if they survive.
It’s a bit frustrating that you have a limited range of heroes to choose from (even including the IAP unlockable ones) and cannot assemble a more diverse group, but the current structure makes sense for the game’s focus, which is more on the strategic combat than on the lore. Retina display support and iCloud saving make it easy to take this with you wherever you go, and while it’s deeper than your average casual title, it’s still designed to provide plenty of fun in short gaming sessions. Warhammer fans rejoice, and everyone else … give it a try!
Price: $4.99
Developer: Rodeo Games
Download: App Store
World War Z
Based loosely on the film, which itself is based loosely on the book of the same title, World War Z is basically an excuse to make a badass zombie killing game. And that’s a good thing!
Most people will likely be turning their noses up at the prospect of playing a franchise title, but World War Z is surprisingly good by any standard. The graphics are superb and the game runs extremely smoothly (provided you’re playing on supported hardware). The game’s story is light but action-packed and very engaging, with many set piece sequences and some truly harrowing situations involving giant hordes of the undead. Of course, there’s also an endless challenge mode for less linear gameplay, and the presence of more than a dozen weapons (each of which can be upgraded) makes for a deep and thrilling title with plenty of replay value.
Multiple control schemes and combat styles help tailor the experience to you, and even more patient gamers will find something to love in the BioShock-like moments where you can glean background story elements by reading survivor notes and hearing radio broadcasts. Altogether, World War Z is an exciting and impressive zombie game that absolutely nails the atmosphere of dread. At turns scary, thrilling and tense, this is one title you won’t want to put down in a hurry.
Price: $4.99
Developer: Paramount Digital Entertainment
Download: App Store
Apoc Wars
In case you wanted a different take on the apocalypse, you may want to give Apoc Wars a try. Rather than focusing on zombies, this real-time strategy title plays like an RTS version of Borderlands for your iPhone.
Much of your time will be spent building, expanding and maintaining your base in Apoc Wars. Plenty of structure types allow for interesting strategies, but where the game really shines is in the units. Not only are there many different kinds, but they can be equipped with hundreds of items that can easily turn the tide of battle in your favour. Stealing loot, earning XP and creating alliances with your real-time multiplayer friends keeps things from getting stale — there’s always something to do, and the game rarely makes you grind anything.
Striking a fine balance between depth and accessibility, Apoc Wars sets the bar high for RTS games on the iPhone.
Price: Free
Developer: Gloops International
Download: App Store
SlamBots
From the makers of Velocispider comes a fresh game about slamming things!
An arcade title through and through, SlamBots is a retro title where your goal is to use your robotic vehicles to smash enemies under a ton of spiky fury. Various such robots are available (including a Velocispider cameo), and the pixel art renders everything attractively and with an impressive level of detail. Gameplay is a simple matter of tilting and tapping your iPhone, holding your finger down to execute a powerful slam. Once you’ve mastered that, you’ll be bouncing and bashing enemies in no time.
The game is universal and features full Game Center integration for leaderboards. Fans of pick-up-and-play arcade games will be thrilled by SlamBots, and fans of previous Retro Dreamer games will be relieved to know that they’ve still got it. This is one game you won’t want to miss.
Price: $1.99
Developer: Retro Dreamer
Download: App Store
Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright Trilogy HD
Originally released in Japan way back in the early 2000s (on the Game Boy Advance!), Ace Attorney is one of the longest lived gaming franchises that still lives today. Now, a decade later, CAPCOM has made the original trilogy available on iOS with refreshed graphics and an interesting orientation flexibility.
All of the games are about rookie lawyer Phoenix Wright, and if you thought that courtroom drama would make for a boring video game, then you need to give this one a try. It will change your mind. Cases unfold as you’d expect, with you having to gather evidence from crime scenes, interrogate witnesses, and slowly piece together your defence. Each game unfolds in episodes, the first two of which (from the first game) are available to play through for free. The rest can be unlocked via IAP if you like what you see.
One interesting addition that’s been made to the game, besides the updated graphics, is the fact that you can flip your phone into either landscape or portrait orientation, each of which emphasizes different things: either the graphics, or the gameplay options, respectively. It’s a pretty gimmicky addition, and it’s bewildering that they implemented that instead of adding iPhone 5 support to the game — while the graphics are retina-ready, the game does not make use of the full display size on Apple’s latest devices, which is ridiculous at this point. Nevertheless, Ace Attorney remains a fantastic game series, and if you trust CAPCOM to keep updating things, then you can focus on the fact that this wonderful series can now be taken with you without needing an extra device.
What Have You Been Playing?
Have fun with those titles and make sure to drop into the comments and let us know if you’ve been playing something else fun that we should have a look at!