The iPhone/iPod Touch Multiplayer Gaming Bible

Thanks - Live Poker and Checkers Online added to the chart.

 

UPDATE (08/16/2009 0:19 CET):

1.) iFPS is currently available for free. Go get it if you’re into multiplayer first person shooters. While I don’t recommend it at its regular price point, it’s still nice to have for free. You might also want to check out the user comments HERE.



2.) Let me also elaborate on the most advanced multiplayer feature: inviting buddies via the new Push feature of iPhone OS3.

If you read my Instant Messaging (IM) bible, you become aware of the brand new and revolutionary feature of the new iPhone OS: Push. It lets you notified of certain events even when the phone is suspended (by, for example, pressing the Power button – this will only work via cellular connections, not Wi-Fi ones; that is, iPod Touch devices won’t work in this state). With IM apps, these can be, among other things, new messages sent to you by your buddies.

Some (unfortunately, not all) multiplayer games also incorporate Push notification. This lets the players send out game requests in real time that will surely be received as soon as you issue them. This also means you don’t need to use the traditional, manual ways (email, IM, giving them a call etc.) of notifying your buddies of your invitation. Much cleaner, it involves much less effort on both (but, particularly, on the person that invites the other – no need to fire up an IM / mail client and enter your invitation etc.) sides and, as opposed to e-mail, it surely gets read by the invited buddy at once. That is, the person sending out the invitation can safely stay in the game: if his (her) buddy does want to play, he (she) will see him (her) joining the game in 1-2 minutes at most. The situation on the invited buddy’s side is equally easy: when an invitation arrives, he’ll be notified right away. Then, he (she) only needs to tap “Play” and will be immediately taken to the game. (Unfortunately, for example UNO doesn’t take you to the game started by your buddy – you must search it yourself. Nevertheless, this doesn’t really ruin the easiness and simplicity of the concept.)

Currently, very few games support Push invitation: currently, of the tested games (this doesn’t necessarily mean I haven’t missed one or some!) UNO by Gameloft, the excellent musical instrument game Leaf Trombone: World Stage by Smule, the excellent and free poker app “Live Poker” and, finally, Storm8’s titles (which I don’t really like – but, again, your mileage may vary):


(Here, “Racing” and “Vampires” are Storm8 titles.)

Hope that, currently now that I’m recommending this for game developers, more of them follow suit and implement this functionality.

Let me show you some examples of how this works. First, let’s create a game and tap “Invite”:



There, tap the buddies (here: Menne2) to invite. An invitation will be sent out to him; at the same time, on the inviter’s screen, “Waiting for Menne.” will be displayed:


Your buddy’s iPhone (assuming it’s not switched entirely off [by pressing and holding the Power button and slide the “Power off?” slider], has cellular coverage and Push isn’t disabled), a new dialog will be shown telling you you’ve been invited for a game:



(Note that, here, “Menne2” should be the inviter instead. I didn’t want to swap iPhones on the sync cable and collect screenshots from two of them – instead of one -; this is why I show you a screenshot of an invitation coming from another iPhone and not the state of it)

Just tap Play and, then, navigate to online play (again, UNO doesn’t automatically take you to the game created by your buddy – you need to find it manually) and select the game created:



Finally, note that, in order to make a certain UNO instance know of another player, you will be required to send a Friend request to your buddy and approve it from inside the “mailbox” at “Gameloft Live” (accessible from the main menu). These mails aren’t delivered to your regular e-mail address but will only be accessible here. (I don’t think this is the best [read: most newbie-friendly] solution: a regular e-mail with an online activation / “make friends” link would have been much easier.):

 

UPDATE (08/17/2009):

a. A brand new Scorched earth / Worms clone, KIL.A.TON, has just been released. It has lounge-based multiplayer (albeit, at the time of writing, it’s still empty, which may change in the future). A decent alternative to, for example, Star Hogs by IUGO and Iron Sight by Polarbit; particularly if you take into account that, in KIL.A.TON, you can have up to six players (while in Star Hogs “only” up to four, and, in Iron Sight, only two) . See THIS for more info.

b. iFPS is free now. Nevertheless, it’s not really that good.

c. I’ve played a lot with Reign of Swords Episode 2. Frankly, I didn’t find the graphics of the first part any good and, consequently, passed it. The second part seems to be a lot cooler. I’m still in the process of learning to play the game and playing through “A Timely Resuce” in the Sabbi Amar. Currently, at least in single player mode, it (EP 2) seems to be a keeper. I can’t really comment on the multiplayer functionality as yet; that is, how it compares to e.g. that of UniWar, which uses an excellent asynchronous approach. Some people stated it’s really nice in multiplayer – far better than the first episode. That is, it seems you can safely purchase this game if you’re bored with UniWar and want some challenge. I’ll later comment on whether EP2 can be mastered without playing EP1 first.

d. Unfortunately, it seems the excellent card-based strategy game Orions won’t receive any update

e. A new version of Galcon (one of the best multiplayer games) has been released:

 

Thanks

 

UPDATE (08/20/2009):

The following multiplayer-enabled games have been released in the meantime:

Office Tanks by ET NETERA 1.0 (highly recommended for local Wi-Fi players)

Bust-A-Move by TAITO Corporation 1.0.0 (kinda like it but I think it’s overpriced and it isn’t really multiplayer [only a competitive / parallel one])

Along with evaluating an quickly reviewing these titles, I’ve also reviewed a recently released title, Tank War - Bluetooth Battle by 6tags.com 1.0.
Please see the last four rows of the chart for more info.

Also, in the meantime, the following titles have been updated:

NanoMechs by Theorian to version 1.1 (now, it’s playable on all devices)

Attack PRO – Wireless Bluetooth Spaceship Battle by Poulet Maison to version 1.0.2. (two new levels). Unfortunately, it is still suffering from the same bug when playing between an iPhone 3G and a iPhone 3G S.

 

UPDATE (8/21/2009):

ShapeShape by inXile Entertainment 3.0 is on a 66% sale: now, it costs $1 only. For this price, it seems to be a pretty good choice. In multiplayer, you need to collect the starts as quickly as possible (instead of your opponent) and, then, exit the map. Then, your opponent will have 3 seconds to exit the field. I’ve added the dedicated row in the chart.

10 Pin Shuffle™ (Bowling) by Digital Smoke LLC 1.20: a pretty cool bowling game with (of course) parallel gameplay and pretty flexible (local) play supporting both Wi-Fi and BT.

I’ve also tested AlloWin Pool by Eurocenter 1.1: it, unlike all? most? the other Eurocenter titles, doesn’t offer remote (lounge) multiplayer, only hotseat one. As it isn't very cheap ($3), I'd go right for another MP-enabled title like Virtual Pool Mobile - or Adrenaline Pool Online 2, which still only costs $3 – quite a bargain if you ask me, particularly because of the voice chat features.

 

UPDATE (08/22 19:52 CET): iMech released!

I've quickly made a video demoing it in multiplayer on both the 3G and the 3G S at the same time. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eCjCIFIKJI (3G S on the top, 3G on the bottom).

As you can see, it isn't the best on the 3G – it can be around 15-16 fps. On the 3G S, however, it's working flawlessly.

Given that there're so few FPS games and iFPS, while it's free, is pretty lousy and the only similar multiplayer game I know of, RoboFighters by Team4000 Software LLC, is way worse (while it costs exactly the same), I can recommend this title. Unless, of course, you plan to wait for a price drop

It uses lounge-based (remote) play. On the West/East-American coast, I've seen two players some two hours ago.

Also see http://toucharcade.com/2009/08/22/imech-flying-dinos-online-deathmatch-3rd-person-shooter/ for more info.

 

(UPDATE 08/23 12:14 CET): Reign of Swords Episode II: an excellent multiplayer turn-based strategy

If you like(d) UniWar’s multiplayer (in which UniWar is exceptionally good), you’ll love Reign of Swords Episode 2 (AppStore link) too. Why? It’s simple: it’s a great strategy game with particular emphasis on multiplayer. That is, something painfully (still?) missing from titles like the otherwise excellent Mecho Wars – and, of course, Orions.

Note that, in this quick review, I only discuss the recently released second episode (Ep II for short), not the first one. The reason for this is that Ep I has a vastly inferior multiplayer mode – something more of a joke but definitely not belonging to a decent strategy game. (Please consult the reviews in the last section for more info on the weaknesses of the multiplayer.) That is, if you do want to play multiplayer, go for Ep II (otherwise, the much cheaper ($2 as opposed to $5) Ep I (AppStore link) may do). You will NOT need to play through Ep I either – it won’t teach you any tricks (similar tutorials can be found in Ep II.) The only advantage of playing Ep I through is that you will be able to import the army you create / build / collect in it into Ep II. I, however, didn’t find this essential at all: you can safely build up a decent army without having to play Ep I through at all. Just play through “The Wizard’s Palace” historical battle at least three times (in addition to playing through the other offline games at least once) and you already have a nice, decent army you can already send to even online games. (Other historical battles have considerably fewer spoils of war and, after some practicing, “The Wizard’s Palace” is impossible to lose; that is, it’s probably the quickest way to build up your army.)

Playing the game is far from trivial for a newbie. I too took at least a day (!) to read through the built-in help (which doesn’t seem to have any info on how the multiplayer works and has only vague remarks on what missions need to be completed for multiplayer to become available), replay the tutorials and the intro missions at least three times, until I understood how it needs to be played and how multiplayer should be used. (In addition, due to the bug (?) on the iPhone 3G S, I tended to continuously lose a lot of my progress. It was only later than I found a fix for this.) Both UniWar and Mecho Wars are far-far better in this respect – they have a much more logical single (and, with UniWar, multi-) player interface and tutorials. (Just as a comparison: I’ve played through the entire (!) original [that is, before it receiving a completely new, second part of campaign] Mecho Wars in 4-5 hours after purchasing it and most of the campaign missions of UniWar, particularly on a 3G S where the slowdown of the AI isn’t an issue on large maps with more than, say, 20-30 units used by the computer.) In this title, you are told vague remarks about your “army”, but the game doesn’t really make an attempt of actively trying to explain you how you can systematically build up your army; what the advantage is in re-playing at least twice some of the historical battles (most importantly, “The Wizard’s Palace”) in order to gain as many different, powerful spoils of war as possible. (Of course, you’ll also get some spoils when playing multiplayer games.)

Basically, multiplayer looks like that of UniWar. After, in War Plans, you’ve played through the tutorials (Combat Training) and the raids (Fields of Vuldyne and Palace Assault), a new group (Online Battles) will be displayed. Here, click any of the records:




Then, you create a game (by selecting “Issue new Challenge”), to which you can accept anyone (or your rivals or pre-added friends only):

(After deploying your troops, you can select the type of the game challenge / announcement)

(Creating an open game)

(Creating a game only for a specific buddy)

(The challenge has been registered by the server; now, depending on the settings you’ve used, your buddy or everybody will see it.)

When your would-be opponent (or friend) notices he’s been challenged (instead of “-“, he’ll see “Challenged” in the “Online battles” section of “War plans”), he or she can accept the invitation by selecting Accept challenge:


A welcome dialog of the battle:


If he or she does this, the game starts.

In a pseudo-realtime multiplayer game, basically, currently, there’s not any kind of announcement telling the other gamer you’ve finished making your steps. In this regard, UniWar is far better: in there, “Switch to next game” or “Next turn” becomes immediately available when (any of) your opponent(s) finish(es) his (their) turn. Also, there isn’t any kind of advanced notification features either. While UniWar supports sending out traditional e-mails for notifying your opponents (or you) about their (your) turn, there aren’t such features here. There isn’t Push notification either – unlike in Live Poker or UNO. (Please see bullet 2 in the “UPDATE (08/16/2009 0:19 CET)” section HERE for more info on how it’s working.) Currently, the only way of get notified of your opponents’ finishing their turn is starting up the game, logging in and check the state of your games in either the “Online Battles” section in War plans. If you see a “Your turn, as in the following screenshot, you’ll know it’s your turn:



Also, pressing the sword icon in the upper right corner takes you to a list of current games:



This dialog conveys more information than the “Online Battles” section above; therefore, you may want to prefer it to the former one.

I really hope the developers do introduce some kind of advanced notification scheme (e-mail, OS3 Push etc.) some time.

Currently, if you don’t exit a game you’re playing (because you know your opponent will make his/her turn as quickly as possible; that is, in almost realtime), you need to keep tapping the “Refresh” icon in the upper left corner of the screen:


(after having ended your turn)

(here, you can see the Refresh button in the upper left corner)

Unfortunately, there’s not any kind of in-game or in-lounge chatting. (UniWar is capable of this.) The in-game multiplayer menu:



And, finally, the stats after finishing a battle:


Verdict

This is an excellent game, particularly in multiplayer, assuming you are ready to actively devote some time to learning the physics of the game. Remember: if you are completely lost, you can freely ask for help from me in a public comment (but NOT in a private message).

3G S networking problems

I’ve found the game to continuously become unable to access the net (to synchronize mission data – that is, your new war spoils and the like) on my iPhone 3G S. (OS version 3.0, jailbroken, official, non-pirated copy of the latest (version 1.2) Reign of Swords Episode II, connection via either both 3G and Wi-Fi or via 3G only.) Interestingly, I haven’t run into any problems like this on my iPhone 3G (OS 3.0.1, jailbroken, official copy, Wi-Fi connection only). Then, after finishing a game, when the phone tries to synchronize the new army / inventory state with the server, it fails. Continuous retries (tapping Retry after the timeout) won’t work.

Fortunately, I’ve been able to come up with a decent solution – at least for jailbroken devices only with Backgrounder also installed. Just send ROS Ep II into background (by long-pressing Home until you see “Backgrounding enabled”; if you do it too late, Voice control is activated. Just cancel it and, when you’re automatically returned to the game, just press Home once.) Then, start Sfari or any other Web browser (I’ve also tested this with iCab Mobile) and load any page. When the connection is restarted, you can safely kill the Web browser and go back to the game (by tapping its icon). Then, just select “Retry” in the “no connection” dialog and voilá – the new stuff will be synchronized.

 

Other reviews of the series

pocketgamer.co.uk

Older reviews (of Ep I)
pocketgamer.co.uk
App Advice
Game FAQ’s (it’s a user review; note that the multiplayer in Ep II has been hugely improved from Ep I)
Side to Play (they also elaborate on the weaknesses of the multiplayer mode of Ep I)
IGN Mobile
TA's announcement

 

(Multiplayer) gaming news (09/23/2009):

There have been several multiplayer game releases in the last month (that is, since I’ve published my last major update to the iPhone Multiplayer gaming bible)

In THE MAIN CHART of the roundup, starting with “Aera by iChromo 1.0”, I’ve listed all the new, wireless multiplayer-enabled games released lately. There are some 13 of them.

In addition to the new releases, Attack Pro has received a fix to the 3G vs. 3G S Bluetooth problems; that is, now, it’s working perfectly between these two types of iPhone.