It's been 2 years now since I really started paying attention to the weekly influx of games that iOS has to offer. Over that time it seems like week after week we've been treated to at least 2-4 must have games. This year has been great for iOS games with such releases as FTL, Wayward Souls, Battleheart: Legacy, Darkin, 99 Bricks, Hearthstone, Leo's Fortune, OTTTD, and Bug Heroes 2. Seems like I was having a problem keeping my spending under control for the past 2 years as there were a number of games each week to warrant throwing down the dough. I kind of feel like we've had a serious lull lately though. Instead of having 2-4 must have games every week, it seems like there have been 1 maybe 2 games a week that seem worthwhile. Anyone else been thinking the same thing?
Of the games you name, one came out just 2 weeks ago, and another just 3. Last week we had VVVVVV and Fluid SE, which made it a pretty strong week in my book. It's really just your perception and taste if anything.
I agree with Royce. There are so many different games that have been released lately-some that one would find high quality and others that simply would not. Your statement which is very respectful is also generic. What makes a quality game? The audio/visuals? Replayability factor? Genre? Amount of levels? 2d vs 3d? etc...
It could be to do with development apps such as unity3D, unReal engine, GameSalad, Corona all making it easier for people to create a game and distribute it themselves? Hence the present glut of games.
It seems like this comment is made every few months. There is a ring of truth to it in the sense that the sheer volume of games released every week, including poorly made and insignificant games, continued to increase exponentially and has in fact been doing so since the inception of the Appstore. At the inception of the AppStore developers were trying to learn how to design for the fledgling mobile touch device and sloughing off the old preconceived notions of how a game should work according to the history of console games. Every new idea was fresh and revelatory and there was an abundance of creativite output. Over time developers seemed to solidify certain control and design techniques that seemed to work especially well on the device and a number of genres emerged. On the one hand games in the early days seemed more creative as there was a lot of exploration being done. On the other hand, the bar has been raised in more recently developed games as they have more powerful devices to work with and a strong foundation of proven techniques. Some of the highly rated premium games of years ago seem mediocre and dated compared to some of the lower rated games of today's standards. This is of course not univarsality true, but it may be generally so. A peek through the Touch Arcade review archives makes for a good illustration.
I wouldnt say the golden years were 2010-2012, just like with memories you tend to forget the crap which went on and often think of just the good things. I mean look at this year, Leos Fortune, Monument Valley, Traps n Gemstones and many others. I've had a fair few weeks where i've hardly bought anything (previously i used to buy 5 apps a week) but then a gem appears and with a huge backlog i'm not too worried. Plus we have Crescent Games and their RPG's coming soon, the sci-fi one, the Aralon sequel as well at some point. Plus those two highly anticipated games (The Wild and the other one) which will come out at some point. Plus an updated Oceanhorn Plus i'm sure we'll get more big titles on the run up to Xmas. Think its been a good year so far, nothing to worry about. Again with 400+ games in my backlog i dont mind too much if things are quiet the odd week
I can't say I've bought or downloaded anything for a fair while, largely due to developers shifting their premium games to freemium, or freemium games that are sold as premium. There's been a couple of games I've been interested in but I've spent enough money to later find out I no longer own a game. I'd rather pay a little bit more (although pricing on some titles lately matches what I would pay for similar on other platforms) but have the security that what I bought is what I'll get to keep.
Well I mean 2013 was a good year. We got great ports like San Andreas. 'Twas a great year for new releases, and major updates. I'd say 2010 to 2013 as the golden years. Many really good games are still in development such as The Wild or Exiles: Far Colony, or simply haven't been announced, or heard of from a while ( Insert Brother In Arms 3 and Car Jack Streets 2 ) Maybe this will change in the months to come, or else it'll be quiet fo the iOS community in the years to come.
I'm bit really a fan of RPG's on iOS, as a lot of them are freemuim or require interent. (On a side note, didn't know anyone else here played Xenosaga)
Finished Xenosaga too y'know. All of it. I wouldnt dismiss iOS as a gaming platform though. I agree that there are lesser premium titles each year, but there are still premium titles that even surpass those from before. MHFU for one. And then there are titles like the VVVVVV port, KOTOR, and even indies like Traps n Gemstones and Monument Valley. Even with the lesser numbers of premium games, there is still enough to make it worthy of being a gaming gadget.
Lack of quality games lately I think iOS gaming will be complete when it'll have is own Shin Megami Tensei game. Exclu i mean not a port. Most wanted games incoming on iOS : - Chroma Squad - Dofus (yes, the MMO game on tablet is coming) - the two Level 5 games - Shadowrun DLC - the next Frozen game by Mode7 - Mew genics by Teammeat.