The developers recently showcased the first gameplay video of the game as part of the Firaxis Games Megapanel at PAX South. According to 2K Beyond Earth and Starships is expected to feature an integration between the two titles which “will enhance and expand the depth of both game experiences.”

Starships is based on a story line that builds up on connecting with other galaxies to engage in duels, diplomacy or trade. The gameplay showcased during the event shows how you will be able to customise your starships with armour, capabilities and wonders.

“When designing Starships, I was intrigued by the idea of exploring the next chapter in the story of Civilization: Beyond Earth. What happens after we colonize our new home and eventually build starships to take to the stars? What has become of our long-lost brothers and sisters from the planet Earth?” said Sid Meier, director of creative development at Firaxis Games. “My goal was to create an experience that focuses on starship design and combat within a universe filled with interstellar adventure, diplomacy, and exploration.”

The interstellar game theme provides maps predominantly defined by asteroids along with quick routes that appear and then disappear. When you attack your opponent their position behind an asteroid will determine how much damage your attack will cause. Planning your attack position to maximise your damage will play a major role in your attack strategy.

Sid Meier’s Starships is expected to be available for Mac, iPad and PC in spring 2015. Watch the gameplay and announcement trailer below. What do you think about the game? Let us know in the comments.

Gameplay video

Announcement trailer

If you’re familiar with the PSOne game by the same title, you’ll be glad to know that come Thursday, August 4th, ‘Final Fantasy Tactics’ will be available for your iPhone.

According to Square Enix the price of the game is expected to be £10.99, which should be somewhere around $15.99. An iPad version is in the works and would be released in a few weeks, but the price of the tablet version hasn’t been announced as yet.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions is a turn-based strategy game that builds upon the Final Fantasy series. Bringing it to iOS devices has been anxiously anticipated.

It’s been a slow process to get it developed, but hopefully the wait will pay off with the better graphics and new touch control interface. Early glimpses make it look like it was time well spent. Fans of this game will want to check it out come Thursday.

Check out the video below and let us know what you think in the comments.

{via Touch Arcade}

The control system In Lead Wars (available on the App Store) can seem pretty confusing but once you walk through the tutorials you’ll see that it takes a little time and you’ll be maneuvering just fine. You use a pencil to mark on the map where you want to go. The thing is, you have to tap and move in the opposite direction and then drag the pencil in the direction you want to go. It sounds more complicated than it really is but it will take a little time to master this so don’t get frustrated right away. The shooting mechanism works in a same fashion. I took some considerable time playing this game because I wanted to get a good feel of how long it took to master the controls. Trust me, at first it seems like you can’t get it just right but over time it gets easier and easier until you’re moving around like a pro. However, once you master this, you have to worry about strategy. Strategy can make or break your game. The first few games I tried the bum rush method and got beat quick. Each player has their own style but I must say you must keep your head about you because someone who knows how to shoot will make you pay for ill-advised moves.
This game is loaded with features that make increase its value everywhere you look. You have the ability to listen to your music as you play the game which I absolutely love. There are several game modes like: You vs. CPU, You vs. Friend (local), You vs. Friend (online) and You vs. Random Person (online). This keeps the opponent different and makes the games more interesting. You can also watch your opponent move about the map in online games to get an idea of their strategy. This is something I recommend doing because it helps add to your ability.

You have three types of pieces at your disposal: Tanks, Artillery Units and Planes. The all serve a purpose but I must say that the planes are my favorite. They all move and shoot which is great but the planes fly and have the ability to fly over trees, walls and barricades. The tanks and artillery units are limited to driving around these obstacles. Something important to keep in mind with the planes is that when they stop they must be over open land. They take off and land like real planes and therefore cannot land if they are over a tree or barricade or they will crash. Planes are one of your biggest assets so be sure to take good care of them and try not to be too reckless with them.

There are six standard maps that come with this game right away. Six seems to be plenty as each map is unique and have their own personality and obstacles. Perhaps my favorite feature is that they have a map creator that allows you to create custom maps to use in the game. I had a blast playing with this feature and really had fun being creative with the layouts. There are also four types of paper and three different pencils since this is a pencil and paper based game I thought that that was pretty cool as well. You have the capability of having up to 25 local games going at the same time with an auto-save feature that allows you to move from game to game without losing your progress.
The presentation of this game is unique in that it is a pencil and paper based game. With that being said, I love it. The sounds are one of my favorite parts. I don’t want to give away that part but I will say that the unique noise when you shoot had me cracking up when I first picked up the game. The visuals are great as they do a great job of making the map as realistic as possible both as a war zone and as a map drawn by pencil. The shooting animations are great and a perfect fit for this game. The entire theme of the game is portrayed by the appearance and sounds of this game and I personally thought they did a great job. The use of Game Center for achievements and online play is awesome as well. I would definitely recommend this game to anyone who likes strategy turn based games. You’ll definitely love this game.

Pros

• Great Presentation
• Map Creator
• Online and Local Gameplay

Cons

• Would like to have a few more pieces to use like helicopters
• A little color would be nice

Tactical Soldier is a squad level turn based game where you control a group of soldiers fending off waves of zombies in an effort to uncover the dark secrets of an Army research base. You will fight your way through the levels searching for answers and meeting new squad members along the way. Your fists, pistols, shotguns, grenades and many other weapons will be your only defense against hoards of zombies.

The controls in this game are fairly simple and pretty standard for a turn based game on the iPhone. Tactical Soldier uses a tap/grid based control system where you tap a grid and you will move to that spot. The catch on this control system is that you only have a certain amount of action points that allow you to do different things each turn. Early you are by yourself and must search for signs of life and clues to uncover the mystery. When you have a zombie near you, you are able to use your action points to move and when you run out it’s the zombies turn. Once you are in range of the zombies you can shoot at them. Each gun has its own range so you must be clear on this or you will put yourself in bad situations, i.e. within striking range of a zombie but outside the range of your shotgun, this is a bad place to be. As the game progresses you will have new items you acquire as well as new weapons but the control system remains the same. You will go through a tutorial early on that teaches you how to move, shoot and complete actions so this is fairly simple to pick up.

The gameplay in Tactical Soldier for iPhone can change quickly. At times the game seems a bit slow but that is generally because you are still feeling out the controls. Once you have those down and you are moving about the base, the breaks in action will become few and far between and you will appreciate a small lull in the action to allow for looking around.

The shooting mechanism in this game took me a minute to get a feel for. That’s not to say that it is complicated because it is not but there is a method to the madness. When a zombie is in range, you can click on your weapon to ready it for firing, you then click on your target (zombie) and then click again to shoot the zombie. This all seems pretty simple and it is but don’t forget to pay attention to the percentage that appears over the zombie’s head when you click on it because this is the percentage you have of actually shooting the zombie. Trust me, bullets are precious and you do not want to run out. It is about 10 times faster killing a zombie with a gun as opposed to bare hands and you don’t want to find that out the hard way. Getting closer to the zombie increases your percentage but don’t get too close or you will have more than one zombie on you in the blink of an eye. The zombies also miss sometime so don’t think that just because you are near, you’re a goner.

Dealing with the squad can be a bit cumbersome at times but it would be a real pain to not have that extra fire power. This game utilizes the squad immensely so don’t ignore your squad. The game makes this difficult because you must move them just as you move your character but it is easy to sometimes forget that you need to equip them with weapons as well. You can actually even pass weapons and other items back and forth throughout the game so that helps as well.

The level design is pretty simple but very nice. The game is set in a military research center so you certainly have that appearance throughout. However, the game throws a steady dosage of doors, long corridors, etc. that change up the way you approach the zombies. These zombies can prove vital to defending your position but also serve as a trap if you let the zombies too close. Write that down.

The overall appearance of this game was pretty impressive. With the ability to pinch to zoom and rotate the angle of the camera with your fingers, you always have the prospective that you want. The level detail is great when you are zoomed in and easily navigated when zoomed out. You don’t gain or lose anything from either angle so you aren’t penalized for your preference and that is awesome. The visual aspects are great and flow well for a turn based game. The audio was one of my favorite parts of the game short of the mumbled commands you receive at the beginning. The music changes when zombies are in your presence and the guns sound great. I was impressed with the overall presentation of this game.

Pros

• Love being able to move the camera
• Great Sounds
• Addictive gameplay

Cons

• A bit slow at times with having only so many actions points to travel a medium distance
• More weapons would be cool, it’s a research facility get creative
• Would be cool if the zombies appearance changed a little more between each zombie

$4.99
Category: Games
Updated: Apr 03, 2011
Current Version: 1.0.1
1.0.1 (iOS 4.0 Tested)
Size: 53.3 MB
Language: English
Seller: Full Control ApS
© Full Control & WIT Entertainment
Rated 9+ for the following:
Infrequent/Mild Horror/Fear Themes
Frequent/Intense Cartoon or Fantasy Violence
Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humor
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), and iPad. Requires iOS 3.2 or later

A 3-person team, from a choice of 4 different specialists (namely, Strong Grunts, Eagle Eye Snipers, Fast Scouts, and Intelligent Engineers) is chosen for each battle. On each turn players make selections of specific tactics for each soldier be it to attack and engage the enemy or defend against incoming multiple sorties. Then watch them play out versus the opposition. The key is being able to predict the next move of your opponent, be it by opting to utilize the Artificial Intelligence or immerse someone you know well through P2P.

As Sun Tsu (600BC) said in the highly respected book, The Art of War “Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy’s unpreparedness; travel by unexpected routes and strike him where he has taken no precautions.”

Some of the other features include:

• A total of 9 levels within 3 Chapters, 3 different difficulty levels
• After Completion of the Mission Mode, there are special missions available in the challenge mode that will unlock after you have completed all the Chapters
• Open Feint Leader Boards. Shared across iPad and iPhone platforms
• Bluetooth Player Vs Player! Challenge family and friends. iPad vs. iPhone available too
• Multi Player on single Ipad device available too, with each player taking turns

An Art Of War is a Universal Application, offering value at $1.99, being targeted to all those who love a multi strategy top down shooting game with rich graphics and different terrains. Designed for multi player interactivity, HG plans to provide multiple updates in coming weeks.

Communications Director for Humble Gaming, Prakash Bharwani says “Inspired by Sun Tsu (600 BC) beliefs of the Art of war where he claims Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat. Our plan was to create a cross genre game that brought familiarity to new gamers and nostalgia for those that are more experienced. The game tests your strategy skills under time pressure situations in various combat scenarios. As a universal application, users get true value as the iPad also allows us to take our graphics to higher levels”.

Device Requirements:
* iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
* Universal Application
* Requires iPhone OS 3.1.2 or later
* 65.6 MB

Pricing and Availability:
An Art Of War 1.0 is $1.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Games category.

Humble Gaming
An Art Of War 1.0
Purchase and Download
Screenshot
App Icon
Press Kit (zip)

Asian based Humble Gaming Limited (HG) offers over a dozen entertaining iPhone and iPod games developed by an international team of experienced game developers. HG has now recently expanded its library to include Productivity Application(s) as well. The HG team prides itself on its ability to combine original content with popular game playing genres and useful applications, whilst continuing to offer value for money. Whether it’s a line drawing, time management or strategy based games or even a Productivity Application, you are sure to be impressed with the attention to detail and impressive graphics. HG team creates the highest level of graphics possible on handsets, and uses its vast development experience to make useful and fun applications. All Material and Software Copyright (C) 2007-2010 Humble Gaming Limited / All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.