Galcon for iPhone
There has been much discussion of the iPhone/iPod Touch as a mobile gaming platform. Certainly the devices have the horsepower to throw up nice graphics, but that alone does not a good game make. My biggest concern with gaming on the device has been the controls. The iPhone isn’t going to give you the best Super Mario Bros. experience possible due to the lack of physical buttons.
But if a game is designed with the limitations and features of the iPhone in mind, then it can be great.
I can’t claim that Galcon was designed for iPhone, because it has existed as a desktop (Windows/Mac/Linux) game for some time now. It is shareware and a worthwhile download.
But the truth of the matter is that Galcon on a PC is an inferior experience. The blame lies squarely on the mouse as an input device. In a game that requires you to click madly all over the screen the mouse is a bit of a hindrance. This doesn’t mean that isn’t a fun game, but playing the iPhone version makes the limitations of the PC version clear.
Galcon is completely at home on the iPhone. The touch interface is faster and more intuitive than the mouse, enabling frantic gameplay without the occasional implulse to smash your mouse.
So now you’re 6 paragraphs into this review and I haven’t actually told you what Galcon is. Galcon is a galactic conquest strategy game. You command fleets of spaceships which you send to conquer other planets. Computer controlled players also control planets and attempt to defeat you. The objective in most game modes is to eradicate your enemies from the galaxy.
The gameplay is simplicity itself. Your planets are a particular color. In the screenshot above the player is green an has a single planet with 15 ships on it. This ships can be sent to colonize unoccupied gray planets or to attack the planets of other players. Once you’ve conquered a planet it begins to produce additional ships for you, with large planets producing them faster than small ones.
There are five modes of play. In Classic you and your enemy each start with one planet. In Stealth you can’t see where your enemy is sending ships. Beast mode presents an enemy that has already conquered much of the galaxy, forcing you to move fast to try to get a foothold. 3-Way mode is similar to classic, but there are two enemies. Finally, if you’re non-confrontational you might appreciate Vacuum mode in which there are no enemies and you must colonize the galaxy while racing against the clock.
There are 10 levels of difficulty, which means the game can be set to provide anything from an impossible challenge to a quick thoughtless diversion. Most games last about a minute, which makes this a perfect time waster when you don’t have much time to spare.
If you lose there is the option of replaying the same map over, which on the difficult levels gives a sense of satisfaction when you finally master a map. As far as I can tell the maps are randomly generated so there is no limit to the number of different games that might be played.
Besides a sense of satisfaction this game gives on the harder levels is a palpable sense of dread. You get to a point at which your options are being shut down one by one and you can feel that doom is near. Of course this also serves to bolster your sense of satisfaction when you finally beat a particular map.
Do I have nitpicks? Yes. Sound is not there yet, and is coming in an update that has already been submitted to Apple. Personally I’ve enjoyed playing in silence (in space no one can hear you scream) but I could imagine that it would be nice if you’ve got headphones one.
Second, I’d like the option to pinch to select multiple planets. Right now that isn’t possible because you can tap and drag from multiple planets at once, which I believe precludes the pinch gesture.
Finally an option to play online would be nice. The update for that is said to be coming, but is still a few months off.
These concerns are minor though. Galcon for iPhone is the best game I’ve played on the iPhone. It is like the game and the device were made for each other as opposed to other iPhone games in which the interfact is limiting. It is also the best $9.99 I’ve ever spent on a videogame. You can get it from the app store here.
I may be taking out of ignorance here, but it seems to me that the iPhone is perfect for games that are ported from the Nintendo DS .
Comment by BTD Greg — July 21, 2008 @ 10:29 am
BTD Greg,
There will probably be many DS games ported to the iPhone, primarily because they have the touch screen in common.
However there are differences between the devices which should be considered. One is that the DS has physical buttons, enabling traditional arcade type controls. Another is that touch screens are different. The DS uses a stylus while you touch an iPhone with your fingers. Also the iPhone can sense multiple touches as once and games that are designed for it will tend to take that into account. Finally there is the accelerometer which the DS lacks. Of course whether the accelerometer is sensitive enough to be fully useful in gaming remains to be seen.
Comment by a random John — July 21, 2008 @ 12:07 pm
I’m actually surprised there weren’t more games. Probably due to the pain of going from Java to Obj-C. A lot of the games are pretty weak or pretty overpriced.
I picked up mainly really, really simple games for my toddlers. Things like bubbles or pop the bubble wrap. They love it. The Guitar Hero one I’m still getting into and think I may really like it. I haven’t decided yet. I was really hoping for more circa 80’s styled games. There are a few now - PacMan - but all overpriced.
The game I think would be great was the old Broderbund one from the AppleII days where you ride a giant worm and eat other ones from behind in a PacMan like maze.
Comment by clark — July 23, 2008 @ 11:52 pm
I was thinking there might be ports of old adventure games like Ultima III or something. Maybe later.
Comment by a random John — July 24, 2008 @ 3:07 pm
OK, I figured since several of us have these things now I’d follow up John’s post with my top picks. I’ve shied away from pay apps for the most part although there are a few in here.
Tap Tap Revenge: Basically a Guitar Hero clone although in addition to hitting the “notes” (there’s only three here) you also have to tilt the ipod like you are drumming. A great game that is surprisingly addictive and best of all its free.
Labyrinth: Remember those mazes with the holes in it that you had to navigate a small metal ball through as a kid? Well this is basically the same thing only on the iPhone. Pretty fun although it responds “slower” than a real one - which actually makes it harder. Best of all it’s free.
Dizzy Bee: An other great game that uses the accelerometer. Basically you twist and turn the iPhone to change gravity which moves a bee to gather flowers through a maze while avoiding enemies. Sort of a throwback to the 80’s while making use of the new innovations in controls. It does cost $3 but is well worth it.
Mr. Shuffle: This one is a tad overpriced for what you get. It allows your kids to drag various eyes, noses and so forth onto a face. Think of it as an electronic Mr. Potato Head. The downside is that there just aren’t enough facial parts. It also is supposed to allow you to use the iPhone’s camera to take a picture of someone’s face to use. (Which my son loved) Unfortunately there’s a bug in the program there as that never worked for me. But you can take the picture separately and then import it. If you have a kid you sometimes need to entertain this has been most successful for me.
Moonlight Mahjong: If this wasn’t free I’d not include it. But it is so… It’s problem is that the pieces are just too small to work well. It is good about how you can use gestures to move the board around but it’s much harder than Mahjong programs on a computer to use. There are several other Mahjong versions ranging from $.99 to $4.99 but I’d lay good odds they suffer the same problems.
Comment by Clark — July 26, 2008 @ 3:14 pm