In celebration of this holiday weekend, several game companies are hoping that you'll load up on some new games while loading up on burgers and hot dogs. Four of the biggest iPhone developers have discounted a selection of their games for this event, and a few other random sales are occurring as well. There's bound to be something on this massive list that piques your interest, so in between lighting off tiny explosives in the name of freedom and stuffing your face with barbecued treats make sure you hit up these sales before they're gone.
It's no secret we love Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor [$2.99 for the iPhone. We gushed about it in our review, interviewed the developers, sat in on on of their talks at GDC, invited them as guests on episode #8 of our podcast, and finally went on to name Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor our 2009 game of the year. While Tiger Style Games is hard at work building whatever their successor to Spider will be, they've also had time to crank out the free Spider: Hornet Smash [Free], and Spider: Bryce Manor HD for the iPad which they're hoping to submit to the App Store very soon.
Like similar HD releases, Spider HD is little more than the iPhone game with the resolution of everything cranked up to fill the screen of the iPad. This allows you to see much more of your surroundings, making clues regarding the secrets of Bryce Manor much easier to spot than on the iPhone version, where your somewhat limited viewpoint could result in missing certain things if you weren't properly exploring some levels. Also, like most games built around fantastic art, the entire game experience is so much better in high resolution.
All four of the game modes from the iPhone game are included, as well as a brand new two player "sidekicks" game mode where two spiders are on screen, and each spider is controlled by the finger nearest to it. It's actually a surprising amount of fun, as like most games played in cooperative mode it's entirely up to you whether you want to help each other build webs, or simply race all over the screen trying to munch up bugs before the other player. Tiger Style is still working on how sidekick mode is going to be scored, so we'll have to wait and see whether or not they encourage cooperative, competitive, or both types of play style in the two player mode.
Here's a brief video demonstrating how it works, but since shooting iPad video is such a hassle my second player is actually playing the role of the camera man so in this case, yes, I am playing a two player game by myself:
As mentioned, Tiger Style hopes to submit Spider: Bryce Manor HD this weekend which means unless there are any significant bugs or approval issues we should be playing Spider on our iPads early this month. When asked about whether or not Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor for the iPhone was going to see an update to support the iPhone 4's Retina Display, they said that they don't have plans yet, but mostly because they just have yet to get their hands on an iPhone 4. Either way, here's to hoping for a quick approval of Spider HD, and some high-definition love for the iPhone Spider in the not too distant future.
Per a recent posting on the Myst forums, Myst [$4.99 / Free] just had an update submitted to Apple to add iOS 4 compatibility. Interestingly enough, also mentioned in the same thread by Cyan employee Chogon is the fact that yet another Cyan classic is coming to the App Store: The Manhole.
The Manhole is a children's adventure game written by Rand and Robyn Miller, founders of Cyan (and creators of Myst). It was developed for the early Macintosh using Apple's HyperCard, one of the first available hypermedia authoring systems. The game was Cyan's first release and was published on floppy disk in 1988.
In The Manhole, you open a manhole revealing a giant beanstalk which can either be climbed up or down with no real objective other than to simply explore the game world and have fun. The Manhole has since been re-released in a number of forms on various platforms, including Brøderbund's 1995 re-release, The Manhole: CD-ROM Masterpiece Edition, and its release on GameTap in 2007. According to Cyan, the graphics in the iPhone version of The Manhole have been enhanced even further than the Masterpiece Edition.
Per Chogon's post on the Myst forums, The Manhole was submitted on June 30th, so barring any issues it should hopefully appear on the App Store sometime next week. While I'm sure quite a few people have never heard of The Manhole before, I expect this announcement will be a delightful blast from the past for some.
The original Missile Command was released to arcades in 1980, and aside from being played by John Connor in Terminator 2, Missile Command has provided a solid core gameplay element which has been either the direct inspiration of evolved upon in far too many video games than I could even attempt to list-- Also, it just so happens that this gameplay mechanic works fantastic with the touchscreen of iOS devices, which explains why so many developers are eager to take their shot at a Missile Defense inspired game.
Fishlabs, the guys behind Rally Master Pro 3D [$4.99], Galaxy on Fire 3D [$2.99 / Free] (as well as its sequel) and many other games are soon bringing Earth Defender to the App Store. Earth Defender puts players to the task of, well, defending Earth. An array of aliens are attacking, and you've got to drop strategically placed bombs up in space for them to run in to and blow up. Enemies that explode will also cause chain reactions of explosions to other nearby enemies often creating massive and often unintentional screen-clearing combos.
Fishlabs mixes things up a bit with some fantastic graphics, cool sound effects, and multiple enemy types that require you to either tap them directly to fire a laser from Earth in order to destroy them, or tap and hold to fire a concentrated beam in some instances. Power-ups are plentiful which modify your default bombs in to having additional effects, such as the lightning bomb which seems to chain easier. Like any good Missile Defense game, there are also bigger bombs that clear the entire screen which are initiated by shaking your device.
You can see how all these things go together in the following gameplay video:
One final thing, and probably my favorite thing about Earth Defender is the introduction of bosses that take up the whole screen. Nothing makes a space game (or really any game) better than absolutely gigantic boss battles. Earth Defender is coming soon, and we will post more information as we hear it from Fishlabs. In the meantime, if you're like me and somehow can still have fun playing Missile Command style games 30 years later, make sure Earth Defender is on your App Store watch list.
A set of screenshots were just released mere moments ago on EA Mobile's fantastic Facebook page of R-Type, a classic arcade style side scrolling shooter originally released in 1987 which has since been ported to almost every platform imaginable. Set in the future, players control a futuristic fighter and set off to destroy Byrdo Empire. Along the way you basically shoot everything that moves (which also consequently is often shooting back at you), avoid constant bullet spam, and pick up various power-ups. R-Type is side scrolling shooting at its finest, and the game has become infamous over the years for its incredible level of difficulty.
EA has yet to announce a release date or pricing, but judging by how they've handled other pre-release games in the past on their Facebook, R-Type will likely appear on the App Store very soon. They're claiming the game will be 100% true to the original, which seems like a lofty promise to make, but I'm keeping everything I have crossed that they manage to deliver. Tilt, touch, and virtual d-pad controls are included with multiple difficulty levels which will hopefully bring the difficulty of the game down to something a normal human can complete in their lifetime.
As we are all aware, the Football World Cup (the one with the round ball) is now entering its final stages (without the US unfortunately, who made a brilliant show of themselves to get into the final 16) with only 8 teams left and a further two teams facing elimination later today. It's an event that surpasses even the Olympics in scale and world-wide traction. In fact, it is only really matched by the sheer number of football 'set-piece' games that have spewed forth unto the App Store as developers capitalize on the momentum of South Africa.
We've compiled this little short-list for anyone looking to while away the increasing wait between matches on their iOS devices. Looking at our list, we had two far and away favorites, and from polar ends of the free kick game spectrum.
Deadball Specialist
Deadball Specialist by FullFat Games is without a doubt the football purists' creme de la creme-- the most realistic interpretation of the free kick. The base gameplay has you at various angles in front of goal, with a wall to beat and a pinpoint target to hit. All the players are excellently crafted and fully animated 3D models (that duly hold their hands over the privates as they nervously await the kick). Even the on-looking crowd is animated, waving banners and flags for their teams.
For all this winning presentation, it is the kicking mechanic in Deadball Specialist that makes it shine. An on-screen circle is depicted around the ball at the bottom of the screen, with various segments highlighted. These are your kicking areas, and swiping in a particular area will affect your kick's trajectory and spin. Flicking the ball in the lower right area for example, will apply inwards spin, curving the ball to the left. It's ball physics at its best-- utterly believable. Our only criticism is that there is no flicking sensitivity, and the default flick is weighted too lightly-- even a slight flick can send the ball over the bar.
There are two gameplay modes, Quick Fire and Challenge Mode, with the former offering no goal obstructions, a 60 second timer, and a range of targets to hit to maximize your score. The latter has no time limited and poses a number of set-pieces over 5 difficulty levels from trainee to superstar. Your goal is to meet a target score to proceed; a greater score granted for hitting closer to the bullseye. At the apex of these challenges are long-range, wide-angled kicks with a full wall to negotiate-- certainly no mean feat.
Each gameplay mode has its top scores recorded with OpenFeint, which also boasts 20 achievements to unlock too. Deadball Specialist really is the most gruellingly difficult package, but also the most comprehensive and delightful to uphold.
Flick Kick Football by PikPok Games -- not to be confused with Flick Football-- is the clear winner of the more casual footy variants. With an excellent presentation and style about it-- we particularly loved the cardboard cut-out defenders, roaming keeper and slow-motion replays-- Flick Kick Football had all the right stuff to make our short list.
One of the best things Flick Kick Football has going for it, is the accuracy of its flicking mechanism. We felt it was the best 'weighted' flick of all the games, and it was effortless to direct the ball exactly where we wanted it. When the ball went over the crossbar, or wide of the post, it felt as if it were actually an error on our part, and not just us battling with the controls.
Flick Kick Football has two game modes to tackle; an Arcade mode and a Time Attack mode. Arcade mode has an interesting spin on the set-piece formula by rewarding pidgeon-hole shots and just-under-the-crossbar shots (aptly dubbed 'skill zones') with extra lives. If you miss a shot, either by firing wide or hitting a defender, you lose a life. You start out with no lives too, so precision kick taking is a must from the get-go.
Time Attack mode differs from time-restricted modes in other games. You start with 2 minutes to kick as many goals as possible. Roaming defenders and goalkeepers will gradually pepper your shot sightline as you proceed through your kicks, and provide obstacles that soak up your shot clock if hit. Time is gained when goals are scored, and courtesy of the 'skill zone' system, hitting the sweet spots nets you bonus time. In a nod to a classic arcade game, NBA Jam, scoring three goals in a row without falter sets your ball on fire, able to move right through a defender if hit and active until you next miss or hit an opponent.
We really enjoyed the ultra long distance shots in Flick Kick Football, which provided some of the most 'whoa' moments in all the games we played. The OpenFeint platform is again used to record high scores in both game modes, and offers a full suite of 16 achievements to work towards too. Overall, Flick Kick Football has what is best described as a great Paper Toss vibe to it that just had us coming back.
Our third short-listed footy game went to a game with a completely different take on the free-kick. Reigning supreme over the spot-kick, Penalkick 2010 takes what is-- in other apps-- an overly simplified concept of swiping left and right in front of goals, and adds the important element of psychology to the penalty kick. Indeed, psychology is 50% of the act in penalty shoot-outs, with some of the more experienced goalkeepers and kick-takers attempting to read their opponent's visual cues.
And that is precisely the feeling captured by Creative Patterns in Penalkick 2010. As kick-taker, you first press the screen to start your run to the ball. As you get closer, it's a battle of nerves as you attempt to psyche out the keeper to see who moves first. Wait until you see the keeper lean in his favored direction (or indicate in his thought bubble which way he'll jump), get your flick in on time, and you'll be rewarded with glory. If you flick first, the keeper will have the advantage instead, and pounce readily onto your wayward strike. It's not as simple as it sounds, with the better keepers being far more reluctant to disclose their plans early.
The penalty-kick gameplay is then embodied in a championship mode, which does wonders to show off the great cartoon-like graphics and caricatures. Essentially a simulation of the final 32 World Cup, Penalkick 2010 kicks off your group games by providing a brief running commentary, as if you were an onlooker. All of a sudden-- 'lo and behold! -- a penalty situation occurs, and the game commences. It's a clever implementation that speaks volumes of Creative Patterns's efforts to go beyond the basic gameplay. After the group stage, each game stages you in a penalty shoot-out situation, where it's do-or-die.
Though the actual flicking mechanic is simpler than in the other two games, its psychological meta-game and world cup modes provide an interesting enough twist to stand it comfortably alongside the best of the flickin' lot of the them.
The original Predator movie back in 1987 sparked a huge cult following and a subsequent movie and various crossovers with Aliens. Acclaimed producer Robert Rodriguez is set to rekindle that flame on the big-screen with a stand-alone movie, Predators, with Chillingo and Angry Mob Games stepping up for the mandatory small-screen game tie-in.
Like Guerilla Bob (Angry Mob's last project), Predators is a dual-stick shooter, though distinguishing itself with a unique focus on melee combat to satiate that staple Predator action. Where would Predator be without the wicked arsenal that we all know and love? Angry Mob Games has taken heed and supplemented the melee combat with his many useful longer-range attacks (such as the Plasma Cannon and Disc Weapon) and sensory abilities too.
These all come together in arena-like combat scenarios-- 24 of them to be exact-- where you are tasked with dispatching the supple human prey wandering into your predatory habitat. To begin with, your Predator has only the use of his claws, which are single target shredding machines, and only a single combo. The first few levels operate as an introduction sequence to familiarise yourself with the 6 melee combos at your disposal. Subsequent levels gradually unlock weapons and abilities that are all required to continue.
A couple weeks ago we first caught wind of Archetype, an online first person shooter by iPhone developer MunkyFun which is comprised of veterans of LucasArts and the creators of both Shift [99¢] and Ivory Tiles [99¢] for the iPhone. Much like ngmoco's Eliminate [Free], Archetype is said to work over WiFi, 3G, and also EDGE connections. Players will rank up as they play, earning experience and winning medals along the way.
The main differentiator between Archetype and other similar online shooters is that Archetype will be playable with up to ten players at once, in teams of five, with an assortment of six different weapons to choose from. We're anxious to see how the game works, and likely won't have to wait too long as per the Archetype web site the game is launching in "early July" for $2.99.
For more information on the game, including a few hands-on impressions from a few people who managed to snag the game early, check out the thread in our forums. I'm not entirely sure how MunkyFun is going to be able to provide a solid 5v5 first person shooter experience that will even play well over EDGE, but needless to say we're going to be keeping a very close eye on this game to give it a try once its released.
TechCrunch reports this afternoon that iPhone startup Tapulous has been acquired by Disney. With meager beginnings on the App Store between the photo sharing app Collage [Free], their Twitter client Twinkle [Free], and the original Tap Tap Revenge [$1.99], Tapulous later went on to releasing additional licensed Tap Tap games with music from bands ranging from Metallica to Coldplay, and even Justin Bieber.
It's hard to say what this means for the future of Tapulous, as being owned by Disney presumably now gives them access to Disney's amazing library of music owned by the Disney Music Group. This includes soundtracks to Disney movies, and other bands covering a wide spectrum of music from They Might Be Giants to Miley Cyrus and an amazing amount in between. We'll have to wait and see if this means more individually licensed games, additional DLC for Tap Tap Revenge 3 [Free], or other potential games we can't even imagine yet.
Likely the most recognizable game out of the Physics Gamebox is going to be Ragdoll Cannon, which actually has been a free Flash game quite a long time before Backflip Studios' Ragdoll Blaster [$1.99] landed on the App Store. Gameplay is practically identical, right down to the art style. In Ragdoll Cannon, you touch the screen to launch ragdolls to hit a box marked "HERE". Just like Ragdoll Blaster, you can either play Ragdoll Cannon valuing accuracy and precision and attempt to clear levels in as few ragdolls as possible, or you can just go to town spamming ragdolls to your heart's content until one of them manages to run in to the target.
200 levels are included for Ragdoll Cannon, and there is a good difficulty curve which didn't take long before I found myself stuck on a level hopelessly spamming ragdolls trying to figure out what to do. Thankfully, in these instances, you're able to skip forward up to five levels so you're never really ever stuck in the game... Unless of course the five levels you can skip to you're also incapable of solving.
The second game in Physics Gamebox, Roly-Poly Cannon, is actually much more fun than I was expecting it to be. It uses an identical control system, where you tap on the screen to aim and fire bombs with the power controlled by how far away from the cannon you're tapping. Instead of shooting ragdolls at a target, you're firing bombs at enemies on screen. Killing all the bad guys on screen often requires the clever use of other bombs that are already set up on a level, and an additional layer of complexity is quickly thrown in with good guys that you don't want to blow up.
Only 100 levels are included in Roly-Poly Cannon, but they seem to be much more complicated on average so it wouldn't surprise me if you got just as much (if not more) playtime out of this half of the game, especially if you find yourself getting in to clearing levels using as few bombs as possible. Just like Ragdoll Cannon, if you find yourself stuck, you can also skip ahead up to five levels in Roly-Poly Cannon.
Forum members are having a lot of fun with the game per responses in the Physics Gamebox thread, and I've had a great time so far playing through levels in both Ragdoll Cannon and Roly-Poly Cannon. If you were among the millions of people who have downloaded physics games like Ragdoll Blaster or its sequel, Angry Birds, and other similar "shoot things at other things" games, Physics Gamebox should be an easy purchase.
Something to look forward to in the future is the fact that the original creator of these games, Johnny-K, has created quite a few sequels and level packs for both Roly-Poly Cannon, Ragdoll Cannon, and other similar cannon games. Hopefully these will eventually also be released, either as separate game boxes, updates, or DLC addons. Or, at least, I've got my fingers crossed.
Aqueduct is a new puzzle game from developer Kieffer Bros. that combines the concepts of pipe connecting games like Pipe Mania with classic tile sliding puzzles that have been around for ages. It's a really clever idea and Aqueduct manages to pull it off with a style and simplicity that's perfectly suited to the iPhone. The result is a beautiful game with a ton of brain-taxing content that lends itself well to just a few minutes of play or hours upon hours of puzzling goodness.
The underlying goal of Aqueduct is to connect a starting valve piece to an ending drain piece using various segments of pipe. The type of pipe segments available are predetermined, so rotating them to fit isn't part of the equation. Each game board is laid out on a grid, so each piece must be moved and dropped onto a square of the grid. Sometimes stationary segments are placed on the grid that you must connect to (but not always) on your way to completing the pipe to the drain. Various other elements enter the game like conveyor belts that will move your pieces if not blocked properly, switches that will open gates, or moveable pieces of the grid that act like bridges to get segments across gaps.
Aqueduct features over 140 levels grouped together in 5 different sets. The first set of 23 levels basically serves as a tutorial and gently guides you through the various elements described above. It's easy to breeze through this portion of the game, but once you start in on the second set of puzzles and beyond, difficulty ramps up appropriately. Some of the puzzles are serious mind benders, and the solutions can be so clever you can't help but grin when you finally figure one out. What's really cool about Aqueduct is how it retains the characteristic of a slide puzzle and forces you to use what free space you have to maneuver the pieces around. Sometimes there's only just enough room to move the pipe segments where they need to go, and beyond thinking logically how the pipe fits together you must think spatially as well.
Aqueduct has a captivating visual style, using a hand drawn colored pencil look that's really appealing. The ambient music is similarly enjoyable and non-intrusive, and gives you something nice to listen to while you play. There's no time limit or scoring of any kind, just the goal of making a completed pipe in each unique situation you're given. It reminds me a lot of Blocked in it's elegant simplicity, although some would argue that it's missing features like high scores or social network integration. For my money, I prefer Aqueduct how it is.
One thing that can be frustrating is how each level is only unlocked one after the other, so if you get stuck on one you won't progress until you finally figure it out. Still, Aqueduct is a fresh take on two classic formulas with hours of content that should please the puzzle fans out there.
In celebration of this holiday weekend, several game companies are hoping that you'll load up on some new games while loading up on burgers and hot dogs. Four of the biggest iPhone developers have discounted a selection of their games for this event, and a few other random sales are occurring as well. There's bound to be something on this massive list that piques your interest, so in between lighting off tiny explosives in the name of freedom and stuffing your face with barbecued treats make sure you hit up these sales before they're gone.
It's no secret we love Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor [
A set of screenshots were just released mere moments ago on 
In late May 
Aqueduct is a new puzzle game from developer Kieffer Bros. that combines the concepts of pipe connecting games like Pipe Mania with classic 
