I love these kinds of 2D physics-based games, as evident by my unnatural love for JellyCar [Free] (and the rest of the JellyCar series) and I really dig any game that includes online level editing and sharing since it seems to enhance replay value so much. It's hard to say what to make of the release date, as E3 isn't coming until June 7th. Hopefully we won't have to wait that long.
If you think Rovio Mobile is too busy with the construction of high-ceilinged bank vaults to bother with yet another seasonal update to Angry Birds Seasons [$.99 / HD / Free], you are wrong, sir. As indicated previously, the studio is poised to release an Easter update to Seasons, ushering in a total of 15 levels to the game in celebration of bunnies, colored eggs, and Jesus.
The update, which will arrive at some point next week according to Pocket Gamer, will also launch alongside an additional three levels for the Facebook version of the game, as if you didn’t already have enough Angry Birds variants to play. I guess I should mention here that price hasn’t been noted as of yet, but if the current Seasons update trend holds, this will be offered on the house for the App Store folk.
Official word has come in: World of Goo for iPod Touch and iPhone is arriving on April 14, 2011. As we mentioned in a previous post, this particular version of the game will hit at an agreeable price point, a mere 99 cents, for the first 24 hours. After this period, the price will rocket to $2.99.
Also, as we outlined before, World of Goo for iPad will receive an update alongside the release of the smaller handheld versions, making it a Universal app. So, no, 2D Boy won’t be making you pay an additional 99 cents if you’ve purchased the game before, though, really, you should figure out a way to thank these dudes. This is a fun and inventive game, almost perfectly ported to the iPad. Our review goes in-depth about its controls and the mechanics so check it out if you’re out of the loop.
After the huge amount of success and critical acclaim for Mobigame’s Edge [$2.99] (not to mention all of the trademark dispute drama), everyone was curious what game they could release to follow up such a monstrous title. It turned out that game was Cross Fingers [99¢/Lite], a Tangram-style puzzle game that did a fantastic job of utilizing the multi-touch capabilities of Apple’s iOS devices.
Cross Fingers involved completing a series of puzzles by sliding together various pieces into their intended slots to form a complete shape. Some of the harder levels required complex usage of multiple fingers to move each piece to the correct position, often resulting in a fun game of finger Twister on your touch screen. It contained 90 regular levels and an additional 30 master levels, with an endless Arcade mode unlockable as a bonus upon completion of every level. We liked Cross Fingers quite a bit when we reviewed it in November of 2009.
Developer Oniric Games, creators of the clever little stealth action game Silent Swords [$2.99], are throwing their hat into the “metroidvania” style platforming ring with their upcoming Elemental Rage. In case you aren’t familiar with the term, metroidvania refers to action platforming games with a large focus on exploration and acquiring items to unlock additional areas as you progress, and was coined following the popularity of games like Super Metroid and Castlevania Symphony of the Night which used the style to great effect.
Elemental Rage involves an evil sorcerer named Devan who has stolen all of the Elemental Spirits of a faraway planet, turning its inhabitants into dark enemies and threatening to kill off the planet entirely. You play as a character named Huna who must regain the Elemental Spirits and defeat Devan, thus restoring peace to the planet.
While I'm not the retro overlord our own Blake Patterson is, I've always thought it would be super cool to have a cocktail arcade machine. Even though the iPad doesn't have the 30 years worth of pizza grease on it like your typical Pac-Man cocktail table would have, the iPad is a surprisingly good substitute when it comes to face to face single device multiplayer. Where am I going with all this? Well, Super Cosmic Word Snake [$2.99] combines so many things I like in an iPad game it's almost like 3V Games built their game off some design document of mine that I haven't even created yet. It's dripping with retro charm, has simple (but incredibly fun) two player single device multiplayer, and even has Game Center.
To start playing, you need to situate the iPad between you and a friend and flip a coin (or somehow determine) who is going to play which side first. As the first player, you're responsible for growing the super cosmic word snake as much as possible. Adding body segments on to the end of said snake is as simple as hitting the 7 letter buttons at the bottom of the screen to make a word. The first letter of the word you form must start with the last letter of the worm itself. The snake then, well, snakes around the screen towards the opposite side.
Heads up, Potter fans: LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1 - 4 [$2.99] for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch is now just $2.99 on the App Store, coming down from a high of $4.99. Movie tie-in games, in general, stink, so it’s nice to be able to point you in the direction of this fantastic joint, which has a touch of LEGO game whimsy, some serious HP love, and competent bolts and bits of hardcore design. You can read our full review here, but the gist is this: even if you’re not crawling into bed with a Rowling novel every night, there’s still a lot fun to be had with this third-person action / exploration / adventure game.
Also, on the update front, you’ll notice that version 2.2 has been pushed out -- this is a patch that addresses that nasty red brick glitch that prevented people from accessing their crimson unlockables. Of course, this version of the game also supports Retina display, is universal, and features the same content as its console counterpart which sells for many times more. Pretty sharp package for a low price.
We've been shoveling heaps of praise on Death Rally [$2.99] lately between our glowing review and the announcement of the recent update. Well, the update is out now and along with it comes a price drop to $2.99. I've still got my fingers (and toes) crossed for some kind of online multiplayer eventually, but a new car, new weapons, and the new game mode included in this update is a great start.
Death Rally is a remake of the classic topdown racer with the same title. Made by Remedy, the creators of Max Payne and Alan Wake, on top of being universal Death Rally is also one of the few games out there right now that is fully optimized for the iPad 2. With a steady stream of updates on the way, one already dropped, and a recent sale, there's really no reason to not grab this game.
Ever since the introduction of the Unreal Engine on iOS, the graphical capabilities of games have exceeded anything I would have previously thought possible on the platform, as most notoriously evidenced by Epic and Chair Entertainment’s Infinity Blade [$5.99]. A new video for the upcoming game Dream:scape has similarly grabbed my attention with its gorgeous visuals and promise of expansive game world.
Not much is really known about Dream:scape, other than it’s built using the Unreal Engine and is said to contain more than 30 acres of in-game explorable landscape and building interiors. It’s described as an “interactive storytelling experience”, and it looks to be more along the lines of an adventure game rendered in 3D rather than a more traditional role-playing game. The developer offers a bit more information in a comment on his YouTube channel:
The player takes on the persona of a coma patient unlocking his past by exploring the dreamscape of his memories. As the player explores the huge open world, memories are unlocked. These are represented by cut-scenes, featuring audible dialog, and diary entries, which the player reads in-game via a 3-D representation of a leather-bound book. The player must determine which areas to explore so as to find and unlock the story.
Dream:scape is currently in review with Apple, and barring any sort of complications should be released soon. In regards to whether it will run on older devices or not, the developer notes that it’s built on the same Unreal Mobile engine as Infinity Blade, so how that game performs on your particular device may be an indication of how well Dream:scape will run, though no official device support has been finalized. There’s currently a discussion thread for Dream:scape in our forums, and we’ll hopefully have more from this intriguing title in the coming weeks.
As I’m sure many of you have gathered already by the lovely border currently adorning our site, CAVE is running a sale on all 3 of their iOS games for a limited time. Due to the fact that CAVE has never had sales on their games aside from when they are released, and given the sheer quality of each of these titles, it’s definitely worth highlighting this sale some more. This comes as a celebration for the 1 year anniversary of CAVE World, the division of CAVE responsible for iOS development. Take a look at the description and videos for each of these titles and see what strikes your fancy. Also, each game features full Game Center integration with leaderboards and achievements and there's lite versions to try for all of them.
As MCV reports, Apple has just poached two top industry PR execs to help further push iOS as a major gaming platform.
Rob Saunders, who leaves behind his seven year position at Nintendo where he played a key role in the launch of the Nintendo DS and Wii, will be working PR at Apple for applications across all iOS devices. Nick Grange, who departs his role at Activision as the studio's European PR director, will be focused on iPad hardware. Grange comes to Apple with a long history in the industry, having held position with Electronic Arts and Microsoft.
Ever since the launch of the App Store, iOS has shown itself to be a solid games platform, which is something Apple quickly embraced in its iPod touch advertisements. In the years since that launch, we've seen some truly innovative and amazing titles emerge for the platform, which hasevolvedsignificantly from a hardware perspective, as well.
According to a recent report, over 40 million people game on their iOS devices -- and that's in the US alone.
It was all the way back in September of 2010 that we first got wind of Race After 1977 [$4.99] which at the time was "nearing release." Of course things never go as planned, and after many months of delays later, the game if currently live on the App Store. Included is 10 tracks which spread across 5 environments with 9 cars to race. Unlocking all of this content involves competing in tournaments, and placing well.
Xpect Games spent so long on this game tweaking their home-grown game engine to provide the exact kind of crazy physics that you can find in Race After 1977. Jumps are everywhere, crashes are plentiful, and like any arcade racer, you'll almost always be drifting while turning. Check out the launch trailer:
A lite version is planned as well as an iPad version which will be enhanced for the iPad 2. Initial impressions on our forums seem positive, but odd framerate drops and the strange arcade racer style physics have left us not liking it as much as we thought we would.
If you've got an iPad you've likely at least dabbled in the various magazines available on the App Store. The Daily [Free] made the biggest splash with its launch, but there are a number of other iPad-formatted magazines ranging all the way from Popular Science [Free] to Elle [Free]. But, what if you don't particularly care about world events, science, or fashion and you're looking for something that focuses entirely on video games? Well, Area 5 has answered the call with the just-launched Atomix Mag [Free].
Issues are attractively priced at 99¢ each, with subscription options coming in the future. I've been enjoying the first issue, as it really feels like consuming this kind of content in this fashion is one of the things the iPad is amazing for. It really feels like the future too. If I showed this to my 1988 self sitting on the toilet reading Nintendo Power, to say my mind would be blown would be an understatement.
Long-time TouchArcade favorite Harbor Master [$1.99 / Free] was recently updated to add complete Game Center support, transitioning away from Imangi Studio's own proprietary scoring system. Online scoring mostly remains the same, aside from being piped through Game Center now. What Harbor Master didn't have before is achievements, and now there are 38 in all for achievement fanatics to farm up. These achievements range from being simply score based to difficult challenges such as reaching a certain score on Pirate Passage without killing any pirates.
In addition, the controversial rewind feature from Harbor Master HD [Free] has made it over to the iPhone version of the game. Unlike the iPad game, these rewinds aren't IAP, and are simply earned by playing the game.
If you haven't had Harbor Master on your device in a while, this is the perfect opportunity to give the game a spin as shooting for the achievements gives a fantastically tangible goal to a previously endless game. Similarly, if you haven't yet given Harbor Master a try, it's really worth at least checking out a free version of the game especially if you haven't dabbled in the chaos management genre in a while.
If Jeopardy [$4.99 / HD] and Trivial Pursuit [$.99] got together after a drunken night spent staring at YouTube football-in-the-crotch videos, popular culture rags, and irreverent comedy routines, the fruits of that night of passion and drunken perusing of media would be You Don’t Know Jack, one of the most irreverent and entertaining quiz show games ever. And for the first time, it’s poised to grace iOS devices -- though, the question of “when” still remains.
Date and actual hands-on time with it aside, YDKJ iOS has the appearance of being a faithful port of the latest rash of games. In the press release announcing this momentous occasion, the PR firm notes that these particular versions will launch with 20 full episodes (10 questions each) and all those interesting bits and pieces of side content, like the “DisOrDat,” the “Jack Attack,” and even “Who’s the Dummy?” Neat!
If you think Rovio Mobile is too busy with the construction of high-ceilinged bank vaults to bother with yet another seasonal update to Angry Birds Seasons [$
Official word has come in: World of Goo for iPod Touch and iPhone is arriving on April 14, 2011. As we 
Heads up, Potter fans: LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1 - 4 [$
It was all the way back in September of 2010 
Long-time TouchArcade favorite Harbor Master [
If Jeopardy [$
