We’re long overdue in our Chopper 2 review, but I have to say that it’s been a blast so far (hopefully we’ll have a review up shortly). We’re pretty excited to hear that Majic Jungle Software will be bringing their game to the Mac App Store. They sent us a quick email with video footage today, and we’ve attached the video below.
The game has been submitted to Apple for review, and the development team is hoping that it will ship around the same time that the Mac App Store opens for business. That’s awesome for them, but what’s awesome for us is that the Mac version of the game will let you control your Chopper from your iPhone.
I’ve long wanted to have my iPhone as a controller for games on my Mac, and it seems like this might be the first of its kind. Majic Jungle Software also seems to pull it off quite effectively.
Will Chopper 2 have AirPlay soon?
We spoke (over email) with Dave Frampton about the possibility of adding AirPlay capabilities to the iPad and iPhone versions, hoping for a scoop. Turns out we’re a little ahead of our time with the hope. Frampton pointed out that real-time games won’t be AirPlay compatible any time soon because the bandwidth and compression rates required to effectively pull it off are still a little to high for the current hardware in the products.
He did, however, leave us with this: “you can be sure that as soon as it is technically possible to play Chopper 2 on an Apple TV I’ll be all over it :)”
So there you have it. The problem isn’t developers or consumer interest; it’s the lack of hardware capabilities. Hopefully the next couple of iPhones come loaded with enough power to pull this kind of stuff off. Hear that Apple?
Currently you can connect Chopper 2 to your television using an AV Cable for your iPhone. If you’ve got one kicking around, you’ve got to try it. It’s pretty awesome.
No Universal Apps in the Mac App Store
Some more news you probably didn’t hear elsewhere. Gamers will have to buy both the Mac App Store version and the iPhone version if they’re hoping to use the iPhone as a controller on their Mac.
Currently Apple’s not letting developers create “universal” applications for iOS and Mac OS X. Frampton was quick to point out that had he had the option to submit a universal application, he would have done it.
He’s also planning on releasing a stand-alone free iPhone controller application as well, but it likely won’t be available in time for the initial launch.
The good news is that if you’re already a fan of the game, and have it on your iOS device, you’ll be able to get up and running immediately with the iPhone controller when the game is released on the Mac App Store.
We have to give a huge props to Dave Frampton of Majic Jungle Software for both answering our questions, and caring so much about the community.
You can buy the universal iOS application on the App Store for $4.99.
