That pretty much sums up the way most people feel about it, me included. I'm finding it much better on the phone than on the pad though. I think the auto aim/lock wasn't implemented well. With a controller you can lock on and switch targets at will, on this version Claude locks onto whoever is closest (in front of him) which makes moving and shooting a nightmare. The driving controls, specifically the turning aspect are far too sensitive when trying to make minor adjustments. I'm pretty sure people have made their feelings known to Rockstar so I'm hoping they'll listen and greatly improve the controls for Vice City. That's literally the only complaint I've heard about the iOS version of GTA3, poor controls, but EVERYONE is complaining about. Only one downside but it's pretty big. It's crazy to think how amazing this game was 10 years ago, breaking records, everyone was loving it. Now we have it on our mobile phones and complain about it, crazy.
So I ordered an iPhone 5 and I've got $50 in Apple gift cards. What are some must have games that I should get when I get my phone?
Drop7 - good puzzle game, great for short bursts. Enscripted - movie quote decoding/deciphering game. You get one puzzle a day, I really like it. Orbital - good local two player game. Plants v Zombies, Peggle - both popcap's games work well, probably PvZ's the better one. GameDevStory - very simple game company sim but is utterly charming and lots of fun. Happy Street - a simple town RPG thing, my wife loves it. I think it's run but I'm not sure I'd get as obsessed as she has with it. Think it's free, has IAPs that don't totally limit the game.
I purchased ARC Squadron yesterday, and it's a very good game for mobile. Simple, yet addicting. It has an old school flavor to it, as the enemies and collectables follow a set pattern in each level (sort of like a 3D Galaga), but there's enough challenge to it that you'll find yourself replaying the levels again and again to try and max the score...because your score per level = your cash reward for ship upgrades. The controls are interesting, as they're a combo of auto-shoot (crosshairs over target for primary weapon) and tap-to-target for the secondary weapon. Barrel rolls are accomplished simply by swiping to left or right.
Rockstar has made the official announcement that GTA: Vice City will be available on Dec. 6th for $4.99. iOS device compatibility is fairly wide as well...looks like A4 chip or higher for iPhone/iPad.
It's the week of heavyweight retro releases apparently: Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition has finally made it's way onto the App store. It's listing as only compatible with iOS 6, so apparently original iPad owners are probably not going to have any luck running this one.
So tempted with BG. The size and cost put me off, as I'm somewhat concerned with how it controls. What to do, what to do.
It seems to be getting rather good feedback, with much less b*tching about controls than I thought it might. I think the most common beef seems to be the touch substitute for right click. I'm going to wait a week or two before I pick up BG, as I bought Vice City and want to put some time into it before I get sucked into BG. This vid is a capture from iOS that shows some Black Pits expansion gameplay.
Wow, the RC helicopter mission in Vice City is really annoying, and it's not the iOS controls. The helicopter moves so slowly and the camera doesn't always reorient to face the way the helicopter is facing. 3 out of 4 bombs placed seems to be the best I can do in the time limit.
The helicopter controls on the PC version were awful, made that mission hell. I still remember struggling with it all these years later.
One of the co-founders of Bungie is going to release a game for iOS in 2013 that intends to be "a complete re-imagining of the sci-fi shooter for touch"... Morning Star.