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HeroClix TabApp adds DC Comics figures
The HeroClix TabApp is an interesting, if not all that impressive, app for the iPad that uses HeroClix figurines in conjunction with iOS to make a game featuring the superheroes of the HeroClix series. When it first launched earlier this year, the app featured only Marvel heroes. But apparently the series is doing quite well, because HeroClix has now added some DC heroes to the mix. There are two packs available. One includes Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, and the other is a "Dark Knight Rises" special featuring Batman, Bane and Catwoman. And the app, as you can see above, has been updated with new content for all of the heroes, so if you buy those packs, you can unlock and play the new games and settings. Unfortunately, this app isn't all that great, as I said in the review linked above. But it's good to see that this is getting more popular. Hopefully we'll see more and better interaction between the digital and physical worlds in terms of gameplay on iOS.
Wizkids and Marvel's HeroClix TabApp spoils its chance to innovate
A few weeks ago, I posted about the HeroClix TabApp that was recently released on the App Store, an iPad app that has the ability to interact with a special set of figurines designed to be used with Marvel's very popular HeroClix collectible game. Wizkids kindly got in touch with me after that post and agreed to send along some figures to test out, and I was able to give both the figures and the app a go this week on my iPad 2. Unfortunately, while there is about one second of magic with this setup (which I'll talk about in just a bit), the strangely named "TabApp" wastes most of its potential. It's a free app, so it's basically just designed as a promotional tool (and you can still play through the tutorial and a short demo even if you don't have any of the figures to unlock content with), so if you're a huge fan of HeroClix, there's really no reason to not try it. But the fact is that the game included in the app is more or less a real-time tap-fest than anything else: Any hope of the deeper strategy game behind the little figurines has gone right out the window. The one bit of fun to be had with the app and the figurines is in getting to unlock each set of content by pressing the figure down on the screen. Each little figure has three pads on its base, and these pads are all set up in different places and patterns, so that when you actually press down the figure on the iPad app, it really will recognize which figure you pressed. Putting down Iceman, for example, will open up different levels than pressing down Captain America or Wolverine. That part is really fun -- it's awesome to see the iPad just "know" which figure you placed on it right away. The three levels of gameplay you unlock, however, are not really worth the price. The included game seems only barely similar to HeroClix -- various enemies slide around the screen (with terrible animations), and you just need to tap on them to attack them. There is a little bit of gameplay in terms of using certain powerups and abilities at the right times, but there's no turn-based strategy at all -- it's an arcade game that just not designed well. That's really too bad because it would be awesome to have an iPad app that really does simulate the core HeroClix game, where you could use multiple figures on the iPad's screen to coordinate a full HeroClix battle. Yes, these are meant for kids, so maybe Wizkids thought that a more arcade-style game would be more popular. But let's be honest, the kids playing with these figures and the game behind them clearly want something a little deeper than just smashing fingers on the screen. And especially since these special TabApp figures are completely separate from the main HeroClix line (standard figures don't have the capacitive pads on them, of course), you wouldn't be cannibalizing the core game at all. It would be great to use the power of the iPad to back up what's clearly a strong core strategy game already. But that's not what Wizkids did here, so they'll likely disappoint HeroClix fans and those looking to pick up the figures and play a deeper game. If the idea interests you as is, you can definitely download the TabApp for yourself and see what you think, but I can't really recommend shelling out for the figurines, only to be disappointed with the low-quality gameplay on the app itself. I think there is a lot of power in an app that crosses over between the two worlds of physical and digital gameplay, and we've seen a few other companies working on bridging that gap, including Nukotoys, and the upcoming mobile version of Activision's Skylanders toys. HeroClix had a real opportunity here to tie in the very established physical game with a strong digital version, but I'm sorry to say that most of that opportunity was wasted.
HeroClix gets a TabApp, combining physical figures with digital gameplay
HeroClix is an official superhero collectible figure game that's been around for a while -- I remember the thing first starting to get popular when I was a kid. The company has just released a tie-in app for the iPad called the TabApp, and it sounds very interesting. You can supposedly use the app to unlock special maps and scenarios figures, plus there's a game to play that's tied in to the collectible game. HeroClix fans should give it a download. Unfortunately, for the rest of us, it sounds like the app is disappointing. While there is a little interaction with the figures (you need to place one on the screen at a certain point), it's not like this is a full version of the collectible game, and the app won't do things like animate your own figures. There's one review on the app right now, and it's pretty devastating: Apparently the game has nothing to do with the figures you own, and the feature where you place your HeroClix figure on the iPad is nothing but a button. That's a shame. I'm intrigued by the possibilities of the interaction between established physical games and iOS releases, and an app that really took advantage of the large HeroClix universe would be really cool. It could be that Wizards of the Coast doesn't want to cannibalize the existing figures game, but the Magic app was finally released and that seems to have done well, so maybe the company will reconsider in the future.
Street Fighter HeroClix in the worx
We are almost certainly too old to love HeroClix as much as we do. For us, the miniature action figures/strategy game pieces aren't a fondly remembered childhood pastime but rather a secret, shameful army in a single Ziploc freezer bag that we prayed our loved ones would never find. The toys may not be as popular as they once were (even with those for whom they're age appropriate), and we've gotten a little older ourselves, but if you think that's going to stop us from buying the newly announced line of Street Fighter HeroClix, then you're off your gourd. This new line includes a six-figure starter pack and 27 other assorted Clix (available in single-character boosters) to help you fill out your O-scale outfit. Look for them on store shelves in August.
