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TUAW's Daily App: Raging Thunder 2
Polarbit released Raging Thunder 2 a while back -- it's the sequel to their App Store launch title that's serving up solid racing on both the iPhone and the iPad. It's not the best pure racing game out there (Real Racing HD has gotten exposure, even in Apple stores, for that), but Raging Thunder has quite a bit of fun and depth added to it, allowing you to upgrade cars and even go for some Burnout and Mario Kart-style arcade action. And the latest update to the title, released about a week ago, adds online leader boards and touch controls for racing (in case you don't want to tilt your iPad or iPhone around as you play). Raging Thunder 2 is definitely a respectable racing title, especially good if you're an arcade racing fan, and the price is just as temptingl: US$2.99 on both the iPhone and the iPad. If you're in the mood for a little action with your racing, and a deeper experience than some of the pick-up-and-play racing titles, Raging Thunder 2 is worth checking out.
A tale of two iPhone sequels: Zenonia 2 and Raging Thunder 2
It looks like 2010 will be the year of the iPhone game sequels -- we first saw Zen Bound 2 the other day and now Touch Arcade has news of two more sequels to popular iPhone games. Zenonia 2 brings back one of the App Store's first RPGs, Zenonia [iTunes link], with a whole new adventure and four different classes, compared to the last game's three. Ranged attacks will also be possible, as well as new difficulty modes and even an asynchronous multiplayer mode. Sounds like fun -- the new version of the game is due out in March. And from Polarbit comes Raging Thunder 2, another sequel to one of the first games to make a splash on the iPhone, even before the App Store. As you can see above, the sequel will have some shinier graphics, what looks like smoother gameplay, a bigger variety of powerups, and (we presume) the same accelerometer steering that made the iPhone platform such a hit for the genre out of the gate. No date for Raging Thunder 2 yet, but we'll keep our eyes out for it later this year.
Raging Thunder tries online multiplayer
Raging Thunder is one of those games we've been watching since the App Store was first announced, and now it may have reached another milestone. Polarbit says that with version 1.0.3, which is in the App Store now, they've released online, real-time competitive multiplayer. They say it's an App Store first, and I think they're right -- a few games have offered wifi multiplayer before (Apple's Hold'em does, and Raging Thunder did previously), and some games have done some non-real time multiplayer (Loot Wars is interesting in that way) but allowing players to play competitively online in real-time is something that hasn't been done much.It's not quite on the level of Xbox Live yet -- Polarbit is offering a free beta of their server software on the website, so you've apparently got to have your own server running (or sign on to someone else's) to race against your friends online. I just gave it a shot, and it worked well. The lobby system is a little awkward and without voice chat (strange how much I've just taken it for granted in multiplayer nowadays), it's hard to tell whether people are playing or just waiting in a room (or why they're dropping out of the race, as a few players did while I played). But once you get into the game, it's Raging Thunder with other people driving the cars. Well done.It would be nice to see player names above cars. Easier to do trash talking when you know who you're talking about. This is only the beginning, however -- here's to many, many great online multiplayer experiences on the iPhone.Update: Commenters have piped up (thanks!) with some other games that have attempted online multiplayer, including Tap Tap, Galcon, and Adrenaline Pool. Keep in mind that we're not talking about wifi multiplayer here, though that's cool, too -- this is real-time multiplayer with other people who are around the world.
Raging Thunder in the App Store
We've come full circle on the Thunder that Rages -- after first releasing their game on a jailbroken iPhone, and then switching off to do a Crash Kart game, developer Polarbit has now brought it out onto the official store for release. It rings in at a relatively pricey $7.99, but it does look terrific with a little physics built in and (and here's the kicker) features WiFi multiplayer (Polarbit said they were working on it in our interview with them a while back). Multiplayer is one place that iPhone games haven't quite reached their potential yet, and if Raging Thunder delivers as nice a multiplayer experience as it claims to, it's worth the price of admission.Once again, this is a title that could definitely use a demo, but if you're already sold, you know the drill: hit up the App Store, download away, and use the accelerometer to race off into the Raging Thunder.
Polarbit makes Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D for the iPhone
Of all the racers we've seen for the iPhone so far (and there are quite a few), this might be the one I'm most interested in -- Polarbit, who've already dipped into the iPhone's racing game capabilities with Raging Thunder, is working on a Crash Bandicoot-branded kart racing game for the iPhone (video here). And it sounds like it's got everything you'd want in a kart racing game on a console, much less on a smartphone platform -- twelve tracks, lots of characters, lots of weapons and powerups, and configurable controls. There are going to be a ton of racing games out when the App Store drops, but something silly and fun like this, crafted by a developer who knows their way around the fledgling platform, will probably be very near the top of the list.Can't wait to play it. No exact word on when Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D is coming, but it can't be too late after the App Store releases, and we'd guess $10 for a price, since that's what most of these things will be going for. Definitely looks like it might be a standout among the plethora of accelerometer racing games we'll be sure to have.
iPhone's Raging Thunder: the Developer Interview
TUAW was lucky enough to spend a little time recently chatting with Anders Nilsson of Polarbit.com. Polarbit is an independent game developer based in Europe. They recently ported their mobile Raging Thunder racing game to the iPhone and released it as a free beta to the jailbreak community. (It's hosted at the Big Boss repository.) Built around the iPhone's accelerometer, Raging Thunder really expresses the fun, interactive potential of the iPhone as a gaming platform. Read on past the jump for the full transcript of our interview.
Raging Thunder races onto the iPhone (unofficially for now)
The iPhone continues to impress in terms of gaming possibility. Raging Thunder isn't actually done yet on the iPhone (obviously -- judging by this video there are more glitches on this thing than a Matrix full of black cats), but once it gets rolling, the award-winning game, put together by Polarbit, looks like a pretty sweet racing experience. The accelerometer actually serves as a nice wheel (with a little help from the Wii wheel), and the graphics aren't too shabby, either.We've already seen a few different games like this floating around at TUAW (including one from a big developer that we can't tell you about), but with a little bug fixing and optimization, the right tuning, and a horizontal mode, the iPhone could easily have a great accelerometer-controlled racing game available at launch. And that's just launch -- we can't wait to see what happens when a game like the Wii's latest Boom Blox (which lets you push and pull Jenga-type block structures around -- multitouch, anyone?) makes its way over to our little Apple handheld.Racing Thunder is available right now on Installer.app, but this kind of stuff is what we're really looking for in the SDK when it comes out in June.
