"Silent Hill" and "Time Crisis" are shadows of their former selves on iPhone, but we're getting closer to companies making our favorite franchises work, and this week I found two games that convinced me "Madden NFL" and "Twisted Metal" are possible.
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We're only a little over six months into iPhone gaming and we're already seeing developers make the kinds of leaps and bounds in innovation we all shouted for during the early Wii and DS days. More time is needed to work out the kinks, but the foundation is being laid for some exceptional stuff in the years to come.
"Pocket Sports Football" and "Automangle" are two iPhone games that, except for the truly curious, aren't worth your money, but when I played around with both this week, they convinced me some games I didn't even consider were possible on the iPhone -- in this case, "Madden NFL" and "Twisted Metal" -- could be pulled off with the right team.
Solus Games' attempt to bring 3D, touch screen-enabled football to the iPhone has essentially created a proof-of-concept for someone with the right resources -- say, Electronic Arts -- to come in and make something really special.
Developing a high-quality football game would be no easy feat, but "Pocket Sports Football" has the basics down: using your finger to both pick plays and toss the ball and a rudimentary 3D engine. It doesn't have competent A.I., pulling off the "special moves" is tremendously difficult and tossing the ball is hit-or-miss. But on a very basic level, it works, and I'm excited to see someone else -- or even Solus Games! -- hit this out of the park.
Possibly more exciting, however, is "Automangle," which feels much more like a real game. "Automangle" is one of the few iPhone games that maps steering to the accelerometer and doesn't overdo it, especially impressive given that "Automangle"'s gameplay is based on aiming weapons. What's missing from "Automangle" at this point is content, style and a better name.
"Twisted Metal" would be a perfect fit for "Automangle"'s cosmetic makeover, but "Vigilante 8" wouldn't be a terrible choice, either. Activision, you listening?
What other games have you seen for the iPhone that make you think "hmm, this would work really well for this favorite game of mine"?
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