Echosevens' comments make me excited for the game but I'm not sure if he made a comment on the super presise gameplay they mention in the app description
And of course the official videos : Tuturial and a gameplay Gameplay : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIiKzdQM8yY&feature=plcp Tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5o9H9Dmkfs&feature=plcp Note : The videos are played on an Ipad 1, The game launch instantaneously and run 60fps without a hitch This thing is beautifull on Retina ipad and Iphone btw. Ipad 2 has Antialias option ON too
I... don't quite know what to say. This is absolutely incredible. Freemium-wise and -style, but perhaps even had the game launched at several dollars. This is the most polished free to play game I have EVER had the pleasure of not paying for (yes, possibly including Tribes: Ascend, DDO, Age of Empires Online, PotBS, WoT, LoL, Savage 2, Smite, AirMech and Firefall. And if not, then at least for iOS ). The graphics are possibly some of the best on the platform. The animations are the stuff of AAA gaming, and occasionally even entertaining. The music, while absolutely positively rip-offedly dangerouslyclosetolawsuitedly derivative, is great. The sounds are atmospheric, funny and fitting. UI and HUD are just nice and well integrated. Presentation-wise, in spite of probably dancing dangerously close to several lawsuits, the game has tons of (partially borrowed) character. There is TONS to do. 250+ missions to complete, 51 achievements, LOTS of stuff to purchase in the in-game store (60 items, stuff that has both visual effects, and plenty effect on gameplay, plus 171 biography entries for opponents), lots of player stats, lots of player ranks which confer special passive abilities, the possibility to learn and use your opponents' special abilities and personas, a mini-game, opponent biographies to read, a local two-player mode, several locales with different opponents (and apparently more on the way in free patches, one of the great trends bestowed in greater quantities upon gaming with the coming of the otherwise sometimes terrible age of freemium), and several games modes for each opponent. And the IAP? Only mildly pushed at you if you run out of funds in the store, not advertised anywhere else. Will you run out? The stuff in the store runs from 1000 to 15000 credz. I can (literally, timed and tested several times) defeat the first opponent, the slightly manic-obsessive and pervertedly furry little dude, in 40 seconds, 5-0. That nets me 50 credits. As if that isn't good enough, in that time I might have completed some missions (such as a gold medal, plus perhaps an "Ace" mission for scoring irectly form my "serve"), yielding perhaps another 100 credz. That means 100-150 credz in less than a minute. Ten minutes of play for the cheapest items, little more than an hour for the top-prized item in the store. Quite a far cry from the hours and days of grinding required to procure top-rated stuff in a freemium Gameloft title (and the grinding in Shufflepuck Cantina IS the gameplay, no time is lost). HOWEVER, this is only in a quick test against the first little dude. You can also bet on matches, or play in survival mode, potentially increasing the credz gain drastically. Playing M4rv1n, the not so depressed but possibly paranoid android, increased my credz gain by approximately 20%. And there are many more floors of progressively harder opponents, which might also affect credz gain. Skill (and the game is VERY skill-based) also increases credz gain, as not only can you defeat opponents faster, but also gain rewards from winning by a larger margin, scoring more missions, etc. In the end, I doubt players will feel strapped for credz. Perhaps rarely. If ever. If anything, I'd say Agartha might have problems making money off the IAP currency with such generous payouts (and que the horrified replies hushing me up before Agharta spots this comment and cuts credz gain in half ). Luckily, there are some other IAP options, with one "I love Agharta Studios" tip jar that might just attract some takers, for once. And we finally have a poor, unsuspecting test subject to show us whether to give might actually be a good way to gain in the mobile market... The App Store description is not even laying it on thick, at least not shamelessly so. "Check the newest wonder from the Appstore!" might not even be a hyperbole. (And, yeah, by the way, the actual gameplay is quite fun as well ) (But really, I think the actual game mechanics might play second fiddle to all the polish, progression systems and atmosphere. In the end, in spite of upgrades and special abilities, the gameplay IS simple, albeit pleasing and very reflex- and precision-based.) But comes the bad part, the heart of darkness beneath this surface of gold. Prepare to face criticism to mirror all my rabid praise: I'm not terribly fond of the achievements and missions Yep, that's all. While there are delightfully many of them, both achievements and missions are largely, no, almost completely of an either incremental ("win x silver medals", "obtain x biographies", "win x duels against opponent x") or eventual ("reach rank x", "play for x hours") nature. Hardly any achievements deal with actual skill, or that pose any challenge beyond playing the game for long enough. (I'm curious: are there any players out there experiencing any sense of achievement when told that they've done something reasonably trivial a hundred times (as opposed to performing a really challenging action a set number of times, which is another matter entirely), or when informed that they've accomplished something anyone can do if they play long enough?) But apart from that very heavy, dark cloud that few will even notice and less care about , this is not just freemium and IAP done right. This is the entire new paradigm of gaming, done and polished to near-perfection, mirroring and echoing Chair's proud words that we might actually just be living in the golden age of gaming... So, in the spirit of new gaming paradigms, Agharta... online multiplayer, social mechanics and cleverly integrated score comparison mechanics, pretty plz? You wanna know the most amazing part? The game is just friggin' 38mb installed, in spite of having some of the most amazing graphics I've seen in an iOS title, so you can keep those MP3s, and have Hogarth's voice lull you into audio-visual bliss while you play! (If only there had been a jukebox option in the game, that is )
I don`t wanna sound like an Asshole but please don`t tell me you Guys haven`t created an Launch Trailer for that Game because after... Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel ...I had expected an Launch Trailer for Shufflepuck Cantina that would blow my Mind up!
wow! thanks I don't know what to say ! You totally share my view about Freemium and IAP I'm certain there is a way to have honnest freemium game, I liked Tiny tower a lot at the time because of that, you can play and evolve by yourself and not by paying. I really hope the TA reviewer will share your opinion of the game^^ PS : for the "easy" side of the game, think there are 3 floors currently accessible in the game, they are a LOT harder to beat, and you'll see there are tons of strategies and equipement combination you haven't seen yet). Opponents there have more expensive bios and equipement, but reward you more.
I agree, it certainly shows polish, and it's a nice homage to Star Wars and the original Shufflepuck Cafe. JUST ONE THING ... Am I alone in thinking the action part really needs to be in tall-screen orientation? It feels quite awkward and cramped to play on the horizontal, and this would presumably be even worse on the iPhone 5.
It is, indeed, super-precise. Never, not once, had a loss made me think it was the game's fault. Even on the iPhone, while I wish I had a little more room below my finger, the controls are spectacularly good. Honestly, at this rate, I have no qualms about getting the $3 "I love Agharta" IAP, as well as maybe the coin doubler. Apart from Raptisoft's games, this is the first time I'd ever considered doing this. I can't state it enough, this game is awesome and my personal pick for GOTW this week. Fantastic.
Maybe it's just me but I find this game way too tough! I can't even win a single game...I feel like real air hockey is much easier!
Awesome, definitely have to check this out when the new iPhone comes (previous one dead), had a lot of fun with the original on the Mac Classic back in the day. Always found it very interesting that the game sped up with CPU speed, such that playing on a Classic II was much harder and I still believe impossible from Eneg onwards, just too fast - that was 20 years ago mind, maybe my reactions were still improving back then .
The first few matches for me were pretty tough, and I kept losing. After a little while though, it's much easier. Just give it a bit of time and you might find yourself more used to the controls.
Well, you could always spring for the IAP and make it a fair bit easier with a larger paddle or such... Oh.
