View Full Version : Anyone tried any of the new Ipod games yet?
diskoboy
09-16-2006, 06:53 PM
I was debating on getting Pac-Man on my Ipod since it's a measly $5, but the controls seem to me like they would be totally awkward.
Mr.FoodMonster
09-16-2006, 07:13 PM
Unless you've got one of the new ones, my understanding was that it won't work. I could be wrong though, as I've yet to really look into it.
NE146
09-16-2006, 07:38 PM
If I have to pay for it, the answer is 'nah' :P
diskoboy
09-16-2006, 09:44 PM
Unless you've got one of the new ones, my understanding was that it won't work. I could be wrong though, as I've yet to really look into it.
Right - they only work on the 3 video models. I bought a 30GB Video when they dropped to $250.
If you have a Nano, you're out of luck. But I'm guessing that's temporary.
boatofcar
09-16-2006, 10:06 PM
If I had one, I would pick one up--I think $5 is a darn fine price for those games, considering what a palm version goes for.
DocRamon
09-17-2006, 12:29 AM
i tested out texas hold'em, just to see what they were like...
i was actually impressed. poker isn't really an intense game, so i'm not sure that the click wheel would be best for pac-man or not, where the action moves a little faster. but for simply scrolling through some menus and selecting options... it worked just fine.
the graphics and animations are smooth...
but i'm not sure it's worth $5 for the one game. it's a bit overpriced for something so simple.
I sprung for the 9-pack on launch day and have been happily playing them on my 5G iPod Video ever since. The controls are surprisingly good on most of them, and the graphics are bright and pleasing. They have nice sound effects as well, and I presume (though haven't seen confirmed) that they will work though a video-out cable as well.
Pac-Man in particular struck me as well-done. You actually tap the click-wheel in any of the four directions to turn. Not physically clicking the buttons, mind you, or scrolling around a corner, but more like a touch-sensitive D-pad. I didn't realize the scroll wheel could function in that way, but it does so admirably.
Vortex is a Tempest-Breakout combination, destroying rings of blocks while rotating around a cylinder. The movement of the ship corresponds precisely with the tracking of the scroll wheel, so if you place your thumb in the same location as the on-screen ship you will have nice, exact control.
Bejeweled played well also, using the scroll wheel to cycle through all the jewels, then using the same "virtual D-pad" concept as Pac-Man to make the jewels swap in a given direction.
Tetris seems solid, but I haven't spent enough time with it to have the controls as second nature yet. Haven't had a slow enough moment to get into the other games yet, only opened them briefly to test functionality.
Basically, I couldn't be happier with the delivery of the games to the iPod. It is, of course, not the ideal gaming device but Apple seems to be laying a nice foundation. If the next iPod were to have a Bluetooth controller or two and be playable in a TV dock, I think we'd have quite a coup on our hands.
Hope that helps :)