2012 has been a particularly fantastic year for ports, what's your favorite?

Discussion in 'General Game Discussion and Questions' started by Eli, Dec 10, 2012.

  1. Eli

    Eli ᕕ┌◕ᗜ◕┐ᕗ
    Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold

    Just something I was talking about with Brad, this year has been bananas for iOS ports. GTA (3 and Vice City), Walking Dead, Jet Set Radio, and so much more. These are so tricky for working in to consideration for our "official" best of's as it's really easy to argue that even though a game like Vice City is an INCREDIBLE game, it's a bad iOS game.

    I mean, its save system blows, the virtual controls are far less than ideal, checkpointing is basically non-existent, etc. But, you could argue none of this matters because there's not really anything on the App Store that rivals the depth of a game like Vice City so you should just suck it up and deal with weird technical issues.

    TRICKY!

    Anyway, just curious what everyone's favorite 2012 released iOS ports have been and why.
     
  2. defred34

    defred34 Well-Known Member

    Aug 27, 2012
    1,408
    0
    0
    Earth
    #2 defred34, Dec 10, 2012
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2012
    Bastion.. I tell you what I had to make a US account just for this since it wasn't available in my region.

    What they said was true. Really great experience. The fact it's a fairly Newport means the graphics are good too. Started off slow, but picked up soon enough.

    Ps: Graphics are very important to me so I don't really bother with all the ancient ports like gta vc jet set radio, crazy taxi, final fantasy and baldurs gate among others.
     
  3. JBRUU

    JBRUU Well-Known Member

    May 9, 2012
    6,758
    0
    36
    USA
    #3 JBRUU, Dec 10, 2012
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2012
    Save system? It's the same as GTA 3 to my knowledge. If anything the controls are greatly improved on from 3, as you can tap to aim and it automatically prioritized enemy targets. Plus the camera is easier to adjust. I don't have any issues at all with the game and I'm about 15% through...

    I'd say that it's a toss up between the Walking Dead and Vice City for this year's ports. Both are fantastic games, Walking Dead plays very well on a touchscreen while VC is easily manageable and offers many, many times more hours of gameplay and replay value. I really can't decide.

    Edit: Bastion would place after Walking Dead or VC IMO, just my preference. Haven't bought Baldur's Gate yet; MC4 and VC are eating my gaming time atm.
     
  4. SkyMuffin

    SkyMuffin Well-Known Member

    May 24, 2010
    2,377
    0
    36
    college student, ENG/WGS major
    Lexington, KY
    I really want Lunar and Baldur's Gate to be my favorite ports, but they both suffer from control issues. :(

    Bastion is flawless.
     
  5. iVaro

    iVaro Well-Known Member

    Dec 18, 2009
    4,079
    3
    38
    FFIV may beat them all
     
  6. psj3809

    psj3809 Moderator

    Jan 13, 2011
    12,741
    535
    113
    England
    Bastion for me

    I thought Vice City plays just like it did on the PSX2, you can only save in your hotel ? Didnt expect to have save points all over the place. I'm getting used to the controls so i'm still over the moon about having it on my device.

    Bastion 1st followed by Vice City for me
     
  7. amusing Grace

    amusing Grace Well-Known Member

    Dec 23, 2008
    1,681
    7
    38
    Music, Muse, Magick
    Berlin, Germany
    Bastion and The Walking Dead are great games.
    But the ancient Crazy Taxi does surprisingly well on iOS
     
  8. TheFrost

    TheFrost Well-Known Member

    Nov 18, 2010
    5,772
    0
    0
    Both LostWinds games for me
     
  9. violentv

    violentv Well-Known Member

    Nov 4, 2010
    912
    0
    16
    The World Ends With You... unlike other PC/Console ports etc, I don't think many people actually own a DS.
     
  10. ninjackid

    ninjackid Well-Known Member

    May 27, 2010
    9,380
    2
    38
    Mutant Mudds for me. Works perfectly on iOS.
     
  11. Exact-Psience

    Exact-Psience Well-Known Member

    Jan 12, 2012
    22,664
    2
    38
    The Work-At-Home Guy
    Philippines
    TWEWY, The Walking Dead and Bastion.

    These three easily fit into anyone's GotY list too. For those who have played it at least.
     
  12. Definitely The World Ends With You. The iOS port had a simplified battle system that worried me at first, but it works just as well as the original.
     
  13. Primoz

    Primoz Well-Known Member

    Aug 14, 2012
    2,075
    0
    0
    Vice city, Organ trail and Carmageddon.
     
  14. AppealPlay

    AppealPlay Well-Known Member

    Nov 17, 2012
    51
    0
    0
    USA
    Organ Trail's control scheme is a nightmare. I want to like the game but it makes me so frustrated! Why couldn't the controls have been more intuitive? :(
     
  15. awp69

    awp69 Well-Known Member

    Oct 30, 2009
    8,249
    0
    36
    Greenville, SC
    Definitely has been a big year for ports, here's what I got and didn't get based on my thoughts:

    What I got:

    Lost Winds 1 & 2 - Got these on sales even though my kids have the first one on the Wii. I actually enjoy them better on the iOS.

    Carmageddon and Crazy Taxi - Merely for nostalgic purposes. And despite what newer gamers may think, they're very faithful ports as far as floaty physics and all. Still fun to this day.

    Mutant Mudds - A game I can't really compare since I don't have a 3DS, but controls seem to work great and I was pleasantly surprised as the PC version was not received very well.

    What I didn't get:

    GTA 3 & GTA Vice City, Final Fantasy games - I've both GTAs and a number of FF games on consoles. The GTA games I just feel are not going to be any better on the iOS. The Final Fantasy games that have been ported I just didn't feel a longing desire to play them on the iOS. If FF VII was ever ported, that may be different story.

    Bastion and Walking Dead - Have played both on the 360. I know everyone's raved about the Walking Dead, but I've realized over the years that for some reason I just don't get into Telltale games. So I also passed. I really like Bastion and wouldn't mind having it on the go, but my device won't support it.

    The World Ends With You - no device support for me....

    Jet Set Radio - Loved it on my original Xbox but sounded like the controls were a mess on the iOS version so I passed.

    If you include old arcade games Raiden Legacy is a great port.

    All-in-all, there was a pretty good track record for ports this year.
     
  16. injuwarrior

    injuwarrior Well-Known Member

    Apr 18, 2011
    1,502
    0
    0
    USA
    I would have to say Lost Winds and Bastion for me as well. Both ooze quality and feel like they could stand with the best of ios exclusives.
     
  17. crex

    crex Doctor of Game of the Week-ology

    Oct 18, 2010
    7,679
    10
    0
    Everywhere and Nowhere
    Hands down The Walking Dead. Not only my personal GOTY but one of the best games I've ever played period. Every episode left me in awe and shock.

    Supergiant Games did a wonderful job as well porting Bastion to iOS devices. Surprised they managed to make it work so well on an iPhone.

    GTA Vice City has some kinks in it, but overall it delivers a great experience.
     
  18. lepeos

    lepeos Well-Known Member

    Jan 22, 2010
    448
    0
    16
    If the aim in porting a game is to make it just as accessible, if not more, so on another platform then I think Walking Dead and Mutant Mudds were pretty perfect shots. I have high hopes for FF IV next week too
     
  19. Primoz

    Primoz Well-Known Member

    Aug 14, 2012
    2,075
    0
    0
    #19 Primoz, Dec 11, 2012
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2012
    They are intuitive. I guess you're complaining over the tap to move and the swipe to shoot mechanics. I have no problems with that. I hit almost everything even without the aim-help-dots.
    The controls are quite "realistic" too. When the zombie is far away you can take your time and slowly draw a precise line between you and the zombie. When they're near or if there are many, you have to draw only a part of the line or draw it really fast - which reduces the accuracy of course. If there were dual stick controls then you would miss EVERY BULLET. Remember that Organ trail (scavenging mode) is not just a mindless zombie shooter, because every bullet you miss counts.

    You can also pull down (in the other direction of the zombie) to shoot, but that's way less accurate and you can't shoot that way if you're near the end of the screen. (perhaps you were doing this, that's why you're complaining).
     
  20. Raiden, Blazing star, and Metal slug.
     

Share This Page