Out Now: Pizza in Valhalla Edition

[admin]

Welcome to this week's Out Now, your gateway to the weekend. Lots of quality puzzle games hit the digital shelves this week along with a Viking in search of Valhalla...

http://www.pockettactics.com/articles/o ... a-edition/

[Neumannium]

Some of these puzzle games look really cool. I'm particularly interested in Baikoh and and Zhed.

[raindog308]

Is it just me or has Pocket Tactics gradually become "pocket puzzles" or "new games this week"? Very little of the content in recent updates has been even remotely "tactics".

Panzer Corp is tactics. Starbase Orion is tactics. Topsoil a Garden Puzzle?

If the focus is going to be on "a word-smithing game with some Tetris-style pressure" then I guess PT has changed focus...

[EICJoe]

Is it just me or has Pocket Tactics gradually become "pocket puzzles" or "new games this week"? Very little of the content in recent updates has been even remotely "tactics".

Panzer Corp is tactics. Starbase Orion is tactics. Topsoil a Garden Puzzle?

If the focus is going to be on "a word-smithing game with some Tetris-style pressure" then I guess PT has changed focus...

Hey rain,

As it happens, I too have been a little bit worried that perhaps we're not posting as much strategy content as we could be. In terms of the 'Out Now' posts... I mean we focus on premium titles. If there are any premium, strategy titles you think we should have included in this week or any past week, do let me know. I could point you to several F2P games that are 'strategy', but then you guys have said you don't like those either

We can't talk about what's not there!

In terms of general content - there's probably more we can do and I can re-double my efforts to look into this for you, but I think the fact that you had to use two games that are a few years old to illustrate the kind of games you like is telling. What could we say about Panzer Corps that hasn't already been said? Same with Starbase Orion?

Perhaps I'm not being imaginative enough here, but I am willing to listen if you have any specific ideas We're trying to cover all the boardgames and strategy games that come our way, but not all of them lend themselves to follow-up content and I've been trying to fill the gaps with things like card games, and of course we're looking at Asian strategy games at the moment like Shogi and Go.

Thank you for speaking your thoughts though, and hopefully you decide to stick with us.

[raindog308]

As it happens, I too have been a little bit worried that perhaps we're not posting as much strategy content as we could be. In terms of the 'Out Now' posts... I mean we focus on premium titles. If there are any premium, strategy titles you think we should have included in this week or any past week, do let me know. I could point you to several F2P games that are 'strategy', but then you guys have said you don't like those either

We can't talk about what's not there!

Fair enough - that's probably the core problem. I suppose if there was a new Slitherine title every week, that's what you'd be writing about.

But PT doesn't have to be exclusively new content/reviews, does it? Some other things:

• strategy guides/walkthroughs. Maybe I'm just a super grognard geek, but I'd read after action reports for wargames or 4X games. Not turn by turn (OK, I would but maybe not everyone) but something like "Bob is working through Game X on Hard. Last week he nearly died at episode 5 and now he's got a new strategy for dealing with the flaming magpies..." Or just general stuff...I found Orion insanely hard when starting it, but some googled advice brought it under control. Those googles could have landed on PT.
• interviews (you've done this)
• Behind the scenes...what really goes into making a game?
• I really liked the overall guides (If you loved...)
• What hardware is best? Do you need an iPad Pro to play Faeria or is a 1st-gen Mini good enough? Do Bose QC35 headphones make a difference or are tinny Beats OK? etc.

There's probably other stuff...I'm just a dumb reader. Making the exciting content and reaping the massive financial rewards is y'alls job

[biffpow]

Great summary, Nick : ) I agree with Dave that some of the puzzle games look really appealing, and I hadn't heard of most of them.

Random comments everyone should skip:

--I think we are extremely, absurdly spoiled as gamers right now. Ten or even five years ago, if someone had told me about a game that had just been released and said, "There???s castles, armies of undead, rivers of lava, dragons, and time travel," I'd have pushed old ladies in front of trains to buy the thing. Now, I'm all, "Hmmm, guess I'll look at the trailer and see what it costs and who made it and wait for some reviews." Spoiled.

--Same comment regarding Ninja Pizza Girl. Ten years ago, I would need to know nothing more than the title to be reaching for my wallet. Is she a ninja who delivers pizza? Is she a ninja made out of pizza? Is this about gathering ingredients to make a ninja pizza? Wouldn't have mattered, I'd be in. Now, I'm like, "Oh, that's clever, but I don't like platformers, pass." Maybe I am just old. And spoiled.

--Raindog's suggestion about hardware is a potentially good one. I wish someone would tell me which headphones to buy, just for anything I'm listening to. And knowing how much of a difference there is in how popular games run on different ipads would be really useful to a lot of people.

--Now that Die With Glory has been made, could someone please make a Klingon-focused game called Die With Honor? I am still bitter that Medal of Honor had nothing to do with Klingons.

--Maybe I am really old--Topsoil is the game I think I'm most interested in on this list.

[NICKVIGDAHL]

"Out Now" content can be pretty hit or miss based on what's been released. There have been some really strong weeks this year and others have been tougher to fill. I try to pull in games from other genres where they seem interesting and potentially intriguing to strategy-minded players. Puzzles are a natural fit and I know a lot of tactical gamers also dig puzzle games.

--Maybe I am really old--Topsoil is the game I think I'm most interested in on this list.

Topsoil is really well designed, I'm quite impressed, and one of the better puzzle games of the year.

Some of these puzzle games look really cool. I'm particularly interested in Baikoh and Zhed.

These are the other two I'll keep around from this week. I really like Baikoh and wish it had been a premium game, though I don't fault the developer for going the route they did.

--Raindog's suggestion about hardware is a potentially good one. I wish someone would tell me which headphones to buy, just for anything I'm listening to. And knowing how much of a difference there is in how popular games run on different ipads would be really useful to a lot of people.

What hardware is best? Do you need an iPad Pro to play Faeria or is a 1st-gen Mini good enough? Do Bose QC35 headphones make a difference or are tinny Beats OK? etc.

I know it isn't exactly what you're after, but do you guys visit Wirecutter.com? They have a lot on headphones for example.

[biffpow]

I know it isn't exactly what you're after, but do you guys visit Wirecutter.com? They have a lot on headphones for example.

I did not know about that site--thanks, Nick : )

[geigerm]

I really enjoyed Invert. Does a nice job of ramping up difficulty and changing mechanics between the different levels to keep things interesting, and there's plenty of content for the price, IMO. The interplay between campaign (no timer, finish a level in a certain number of moves) and challenge (no move limit, level score based on time to complete) modes is nice, too. When I was stuck on a campaign level, playing a few rounds of challenge mode at that level helped me learn the mechanics I needed to solve the campaign puzzle.

Not sure how much more I'll play--I've got 57/60 on the campaign and 63/60 on challenge (an extra level unlocks if you get all 60 stars)--but I'd definitely recommend the game.

[nikwing]

A lot of puzzle out recently.
i'll add Umbra: Amulet of Light to the list if u like 3d puzzle