Perhaps it's just me, but I have noticed over the last 2 years with the exception of MC3, Nova, Infinity Blade, and RR, there is nothing really exciting about the recent releases (past 6 months). Game releases seemed much more exciting around a year ago. We were seeing more progress towards "console-like" games in 2009/2010. Mobile gaming was really breaking out of its shell, and now there are hardly any "mainstream" type games to get hyped about anymore. As always though, there is never a shortage of hybrid-crap.
I think its just you. You are the type of person that goes for the big, fancy, console type games. So do I but, I also like simple games like Where's my Water? Jaws Revenge and the usuals like Angry Birds and Doodle Jump. If your any bit sporty try Madden 12 or Fifa 12. Both are brilliant. Right now the 'big' games im playing are, Fifa 12, ShadowGun, Dead Space, NOVA 2, and Galaxy On Fire 2. By the way, what is MC3? Modern Combat 3? Is that even out yet? :/ Oh and, if you were alive for it, do you not remember the Nintendo, it wasn't all about fancy graphics it was all about gameplay, thats why games like tetris and super mario are so popular. The Gameplay was awesome. Just think about it. And anyway, console like games are awkward and barely playable with touch screen controls. I would play NOVA 2 more if they made it so fire button was the sound button. Edit: Exciting future releases: MC3, Battlefield 3, Grand Theft Auto III. Looks good to me, people need to stop being so negative.
@weehoo: Yup, all new iOS games totally suck. You might as well just get rid of your iPhone4 right now. I'll send you an SASE with return postage to Drelbs HQ so that you can be ensured of it's proper "gotten-ridof-ness."
Its just you. I think you should get a PSVita if you want more console like on the go, because I honestly think that the iOS devices arent equipped to handle certain "console-like" experiences because of a lack of hardware input devices. This does NOT mean i am saying that iOS devices arent great gaming devices. In fact, I've come to realize that the part of this current generation of consoles, waht i love the most about it, is the same thing that i love the most about iOS: it gives indie devs a platform to peddle their goods. The best part of iOS are the indie games, fresh ideas with simplistic gameplay maybe but they're fresh ideas and you can get 60 of them for the price of a single console game. The indie devs seem to get the best out of the touch controls always and dont leave me thinking the controls are just slightly off. IMO, shooters could be great on the iPhone/iPod touches if the volume button could be used as a trigger of sorts, it would fix my issues with shooters on the devices. I dont know what could be done about iPads though i have never used one so i wouldnt know, but i assume its a different experience anyway with more screen real estate.
iOS games have lost some of the charm for me. It's still a great platform, especially for inventive indie games as stated above. But after 2 years of hardcore iOS gaming, I played my PSP again and realized how much I miss having real controls and stuff. I'm done struggling with virtual controls and pretending that they're OK. They suck, and even though I bought an iControlPad and an iCade, few games can use them, so it's a farce. I'm done lying to myself. What I really want/need is a new handheld that can play exciting new games with real controls. So... Yeah, I'm getting a PS Vita. Already sold my Touch 4 (got more than enough to pay for the Vita). I will still play some games on my iPad 2, but I won't be bothering with the bigger titles (i.e. Soul Calibur... GTA3...without real controls?! I'l pass.). The Vita will be my primary game system, and my iPad 2 will mostly be used for browsing and media. I _will_ miss the cheap prices of iOS games, but hey, to some degree you do get what you pay for. I'll be a bit poorer, but I'll also be playing games like Uncharted, Wipeout, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Gravity Rush etc. with real controls, and on a sweet 5" OLED screen. Oh yeah!
Hardly true, instead, now there's an increased number of both casual and hardcore games releasing on the AppStore. You have to remember what types of games 90% of AppStore customers are looking for in any case. There's not one, but three, Angry Birds games in the top ten paid games for a reason; it's what people want, and it's where the money is at. However, in 2011, we've seen tons of quality mainstream releases including, but not limited to, Dead Space, FFIII, Starfront: Collision, Rainbow Six, World of Goo, Sonic Racing, Order & Chaos, NBA Jam, Chaos Rings Omega, Deathsmiles, King of Fighters, Street Fight IV Volt, NBA 2K12, FIFA 12, etc. Those are just a few of the ones that popped up instantly without having to actually try remember what came out this year. It's amazing seeing something like Order & Chaos play perfectly on a phone: a full MMORPG with servers that constantly have thousands of players on at any time of the day. Hell, in the past month, we've had Shadowgun, Dark Meadow, Warm Gun, Scribblenauts Remix, Galaxy on Fire 2 HD, and Galaxy Pirate Adventure pop up one after another, sometimes two per week, and these are just what you'd consider the "big" releases. We've got Modern Combat 3, Battlefield 3, GTA III, Soul Calibur, Infinity Blade 2, and much more coming out this holiday season. I'm a huge fan of these "console-type" games as well, but I have to admit, we've seen many quality casual titles in 2011 as well. I think the iOS is doing great and right on schedule as far as evolving into a significant portable gaming device is concerned. But as others have stated, grab a Vita if you're looking for a market completely dedicated to hardcore gamers.
I'm going to try my best not to rant, so to start, I agree with these two posts. It probably is just you, especially if your title hunting. there are plenty of amazing games that have been released here lately. To Name A Few Galaxy Pirate Adventure Starbase Orion Shadowgun Galaxy on Fire 2 Whale Trail The first four are bigger titles and utilize the iOS platform pretty dang well. The last game, Whale trail, is a casual endless runner. The reason I included it was to show that casual games will always have a place on iOS and some will be absolutely amazing. iOS is not necessarily about simplicity, but how you interact with the game on a touchscreen device. Play Whale Trail and tell me it doesn't put a smile on your face. I consider myself a hardcore gamer, but Whale Trail is amazing; so are other casual games. Haha! Check the Whale Trail music video out! Trippy!
If you are implying games like Shadowgun, then i think you are partially right. In all honesty, Shadowgun's single player was around the normal length for shooters. The only problem was that it didn't include multiplayer, so I think some people undervalue it. However, they have tweeted that they are going to include multiplayer in their first major update. But yeah, with the Unity and Unreal engines running rampant some games will possibly feel like tech demos.
It's just you. The problem is that you are only paying attention to the games made by large companies, and not to the thousands of fantastic indie prjects that came out this year. Games like Sword and Sworcery, Mage Gauntelet, Mos Speedrun, and Mission Europa. In fact, I probably have more GOTY picks this year than 2009 and 2010 combined.
Have iOS games grown stale? No. But this type of pointless, ridiculously generalizing thread certainly has.
