The remastered version of Driver was the game that we were most impressed with when we sat down with Gameloft last week. Gameloft has brought nearly everything from the original Driver to the iPhone, including the exact same physics and driving engine present in the PC original.
Here's a hands on gameplay video of Driver which is due in the coming weeks.
Gameloft has released a new trailer for their much anticipated Halo-like first person shooter NOVA.
After their usual cinematic introduction, the video also includes new clips of actual gameplay. We'll have more information of the game soon as it's said to be due "this holiday season".
I had planned on settling in tonight, sifting through the tons of emails we've received from developers who are planning to or have put their games on sale, and forming some kind of massive list… Only to discover that TouchArcade forum superstar and all around cool dude Djflippy had completely one-upped me, not only posting a thread with a remarkably comprehensive list, but also alphabetizing said list.
All of these games are either on sale currently or either have prices that are currently being modified or will be changed shortly. If something you're looking for isn't the price that we've published, just check back later:
There are some serious bargains to be had in that list, and most of these sales are only going to last through the day with some of them extending over the weekend. It's probably not a good idea to wait on downloading any of these games if you've been waiting for anything in the above list to go on sale.
It will likely be a slow day around here at TouchArcade today as we're busy stuffing our faces full of Turkey and White Castle stuffing instead of obsessively watching over the App Store. While we were barely able to keep our heads above water in the flood of Halloween-themed games, there seem to be surprisingly few Thanksgiving themed ones. Regardless, we've dug up a few that are worth a look if you need a distraction while everyone else watches football.
Crazy Turkey Blast, 99¢ – The guys at Ezone released this surprisingly full featured accelerometer controlled turkey hunting game comes with a shocking amount of customization. The above trailer shows how the game works, and all the different ways you can tweak the game. If an incessant amount of unlockables is your thing, look no further than Crazy Turkey Blast.
iShootTurkey Pro, 99¢ & iShootTurkey, Free – With tap to shoot mechanics similar to Big Buck Hunter Pro, see how many turkeys you can shoot down within the time limit. While lacking the customization and unlockables of Crazy Turkey Blast, this one has a free version that you can try.
Rocket Bird, Free – While not strictly a turkey game, you're at least playing as poultry. In the game, you see how far you can fly while tilting to avoid the various obstacles that stand in the way of you… and wherever it is you're trying to get to. The cell shaded graphics look wonderful in motion, and while the gameplay isn't anything revolutionary, it's still a fun time waster. Rocket Bird will be free until the end of the month.
If you're looking for some other games to play, there are a ton of games on sale (popular sales tracked by AppShopper) this weekend. We'll post a Black Friday game sale round up once all the price changes we've heard about go in to effect. In the meantime, have a great Thanksgiving!
Square Enix appears to be dipping its toes into the App Store once again, releasing another title with little fanfare, Hills and Rivers Remain [App Store]. Square Enix has released a light strategy game that is best be described as a Galcon-a-like. Fortunately, it does do enough different that it can be distinguished on its own merits, though it continues to disappoint that a developer of Square Enix's calibre could not bring something to the table that really redefines the platform.
Hills and Rivers Remain wraps the traditional Galcon model in a typical Japanese RPG wrapper, with grandiose story telling, an abundance of dialogue and the typically overly dramatic anime characters that have been a hallmark of Square Enix's franchises. Unfortunately the story in Hills and Rivers Remain isn't its shining point, being loaded to the brim with clichés, uninspired characters, and banter that will likely make one wince more often than not.
The gameplay itself sees you directing your forces around a grid of linked bases, reinforcing the troops at each base and sending them on their way to overwhelm and capture the enemies' bases. Your troop numbers are replenished only when the constantly circulating green frame around the screen depletes, and only at a HQ that you can designate by pressing on an existing base. This summarizes much of the gameplay; frantically selecting the appropriate base to reinforce depending on the enemies' moves and your own strategy, a fact that is compounded when you are faced with more than one enemy.
In what must have been an App Store approval quirk, Illusion Labs has released updates to both Labyrinth and Labyrinth Lite which offers customers an early peek at the gameplay from Labyrinth 2.
The 1.7.0 version update includes the following features:
Improved performance
User interface improvements
Improved in-game graphics
Sound system improvements
Stability improvements
5 Labyrinth 2 levels
Yep, play some of the new levels, complete with the new additional obstacles from within the original version. Labyrinth 2 has not yet appeared in the App Store, though we assume that it will appear at any moment. In the meanwhile, give the new levels a spin — though they do feel a bit out of place in the old versions of the game, and you miss out on the more gradual introduction of elements that is found in Labyrinth 2.
Gameloft has released their much anticipated skateboarding game Skater Nation into the App Store this evening. We already had some brief hands on time with the game last week and really enjoyed what we saw of it.
Skater Nation is an open-world skateboarding game which really puts the other skateboarding titles available on the platform to shame when it comes to overall depth and complexity. Obviously inspired by the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series of games, Skater Nation runs inside of a game engine that was described as a "sibling" to the one used in Gangstar to have a completely open city with multiple environments with absolutely no loading time as you travel from place to place.
The city consists of ten highly skater-friendly locales that range from indoor factories to an outdoor skate park, and even a street that was inspired by Lombard Street in San Francisco and two main game modes, you can either freely skate around the city, or progress through a career mode.
Unlockable equipment includes 10 skateboard decks, 10 trucks, and 10 wheel sets, each of which enhance your skater's stats. The game is controlled using a virtual joystick and two buttons which handle all the different moves your skater is capable of. Skater Nation also has a nice replay mode where you can rewind the last 3-4 minutes of gameplay to save replays of cool tricks, jumps, or combos you were able to pull off. These replays can then be uploaded to YouTube.
Early impressions are being collected in our forums.
When I Dig It was released this summer, I downloaded the game and enjoyed it, but had a feeling the game might be just a little too niche to have much widespread appeal. I turned out to be amazingly incorrect, as the game was both somewhat of a sensation on our forums, and spent a surprising amount of time at the top of the App Store sales charts. If you were one of the many people who enjoyed I Dig It, you will be happy to know that I Dig It Expeditions [App Store] takes the same popular formula of the original and improves upon it in nearly every way imaginable.
In the first game, you played as a farmer who was down on his luck and was just mere hours away from getting his farm taken by the bank when he decided to outfit his tractor as a digger and go hunting for subterranean treasures beneath his homestead. The sequel assumes that you successfully paid the bank back, and have decided to travel the world with your digger seeking even more exotic underground treasures.
I Dig It Expeditions shares the same virtual joystick controls as the original to control your digger's movement along with a series of new buttons that allow you to access all the new goodies. My favorite addition is an in-game map and waypoint system, which has made the game much more fun to play as getting lost in your series of tunnels and running out of gas is a thing of the past.
Another substantial improvement is a complete overhaul to the inventory system in game, along with a whole bundle of new consumable items to buy. These items take space in your digger, and you must intelligently manage how many of these consumables you carry while still leaving enough room left over for the various things you will dig up in order for the trip below to be profitable.
Consumables range from all kinds of different explosives to things which have an effect on your digger itself such as boosting the power of your radar temporarily or repairing a small amount of hull damage. And of course just like the original, with enough money you can upgrade nearly every aspect of the digger.
As mentioned previously, the gimmick of I Dig It Expeditions is that you're taking your digger on a worldwide journey, and some of the locales will require further modifications of your digger. For instance, there's a level where you go digging in an underwater trench, and instead of managing your fuel and heat levels, you need to keep an eye on your oxygen and water pressure gauges.
Each level has a distinct look and feel to it, and each level can either be played in expedition, free play, and money or points challenge. In expedition mode, you follow what could be best described as a basic quest system which will have you looking for certain locations, items, or other objectives. Free play is self explanatory, and while doing money or points challenges you see how quickly you can reach the goals for each level.
The graphics and sound in the game are even more impressive than the original, and the amount of style on even the most seemingly insignificant user interface elements really exhibits how much time and effort went in to this game. For instance, the new map system could have been as simple as just a basic set of lines showing your path, but instead the map screen is animated with visual effects to make it look like you're viewing your path on an old green screened oscilloscope.
If you enjoyed the original, there is absolutely no reason to not pick up the sequel. They took everything about the original, freshened it up, and repackaged it in to something that feels like an entirely new game instead of just an expansion of the first. Of course, if you never played I Dig It, I recommend giving the free lite version a try. It's obviously lacking the upgrades and improvements found in the sequel, but it will give you a good idea of what the core gameplay is like.
If you want to know more about I Dig It Expeditions, check out the thread in our forums and be sure to listen to next week's podcast where we will discuss the past, present, and future of the world of I Dig It with the game's developers.
Turn-based strategy games have popped up here and there in the App Store, but none have really gained the traction that games like Advance Wars or Final Fantasy Tactics have on other consoles. With the exception of a small but devoted UniWar following, the iPhone has yet to see a breakthrough success in the world of turn-based battalions. Rogue Planet is looking to change all that.
Returning from a 35 year mission in space, the Nimeh is loaded with crew longing to see home. But when they return to earth they discover a horrible situation – the machines have taken over! Yes, that’s right – Rogue Planet is Macross Saga meets Terminator. As any science fiction fanboy will attest, the combination of these two scratches a certain nerd itch that we didn’t even know we had and we’re all the better for it.
Despite drawing from some obvious inspiration, the story in Rogue Planet ends up feeling wholly original and fairly well told. Each mission is a part of the larger story, unfolding as the Nimeh travels in search of any human survivors. Decent writing and a compelling plot keep things moving along nicely throughout. But what is a compelling story without some equally compelling gameplay?
Thankfully Rogue Planet delivers where it counts. Basic mechanics feel like a stripped down version of what Advance Wars offers. You’ll move, attack, and produce units. In terms of actual gameplay, that’s the bulk of what you’ll need to know. The touch screen interface feels like a perfect fit for the genre. You just tap a unit, tap where you want to go, and confirm your intentions. Depending on your situation you’ll attack, rest, heal, bomb, or commit suicide. It’s important that you know what you want to do, because unlike many of its competitors Rogue Planet doesn’t offer an undo button. The game is fairly unforgiving in this way, forcing you to think your strategies through before jumping into action.
Never one to let EA steal the spotlight for very long, Gameloft also is having their own sale today with a few of their games reduced to 99¢. We're not sure how long this is going to last, so if you've been thinking about picking any of these up it probably isn't a good idea to wait as they likely won't get any cheaper than this.
I had planned on settling in tonight, sifting through the tons of emails we've received from developers who are planning to or have put their games on sale, and forming some kind of massive list… Only to discover that TouchArcade forum superstar and all around cool dude Djflippy had completely one-upped me, not only 
Square Enix appears to be dipping its toes into the App Store once again, releasing another title with little fanfare, Hills and Rivers Remain [
Gameloft has released their much anticipated skateboarding game Skater Nation into the App Store this evening. We already had 
