I'm not sure what it is about evil seafood from space. I thought Velocispider [99¢] did a great job addressing that danger with its deadly mecha-squiddies, but it looks like Two Lives Left is set to hammer the message home in the newly announced Crabitron -- you can't trust crustaceans. But you can play one, if you're patient.

Two Lives Left is the studio responsible for the excellent Wheeler's Treasure [$2.99] and Pilot Winds [Free] if you're trying to place the name. Here's what they have to say about the game:

Presenting CRABITRON, an iPad game where you take control of a Giant Space Crab. Use your humongous claws to terrorize the universe. Smash, crush and pull spaceships apart to eat their space captains! Deflect missiles, absorb lasers and even fight the devious Space Sharks of the Seafood Nebula. Find awesome and creative ways to use your claws to satisfy your ever increasing appetite... for destruction!

Sounds awesome, right? Ripping stuff apart -- I can get behind that.

I had a chance to get my hands on the game for a very brief preview, and I don't think we'll be disappointed. The controls are perfect - you pinch your finger and thumb together (like a claw, natch) to control each of the Giant Space Crab's claws. You drag your claws around the screen to grab ships that pass by, and pinch your fingers closed to crush them. Then you shovel them into your mouth, because Giant Space Crabs have giant appetites. You also need to deflect projectiles back at the pesky humans who are coming to kill you.

It's early days still, so while I'd love to be able to tell you a lot more, you're just going to have to wait. How long? Two Lives Left ain't telling. Hopefully the brand-spanking-new trailer will tide you over, and we'll be back with more details when we have them.

Is Chillingo moving to free-to-play? That’s a huge question and it’s one we asked ourselves when we saw a re-tooled, free-to-play-ized version of Monster Mayhem [Free] hit the App Store this week. The original game, which we reviewed back in 2010, didn’t ask for cash in exchange for digital cash that you can exchange for weapons. This one does. Also, it wasn’t free like this one is, which you know, is sort of the point of free-to-play.

It’s not a secret that free-to-play is the dominant kind of game on the App Store, so why wouldn’t a publisher like Chillingo start really digging into free-to-play? That’s probably a question it asks itself a lot, but no, this doesn’t signal a larger move. In a response to us, the publisher said that it will continue to institute additional functionality into games where it makes the most sense. For Monster Mayhem, an older game, optional IAP downloads did. But the publisher will continue to offer standard, premium downloads as it has and said it will.

I’ll add that this is a pretty normal tactic for older games: World of Warcraft, actually, just opened up a lot more of the early game to new players for the price of $0. You could also cite titles like Turbine’s Dungeons and Dragons MMO or even Lord of the Rings Online. Of course, the biggest free-to-play move in the recent past was Valve’s Team Fortress 2.

If anything, free-to-play gets the game in more people’s hands and opens up the potential for crazy revenue. Take the Dungeon and Dragons MMO for example: game has done crazy money since switching formats.

I wouldn’t count out a larger move in the mid-to-late future from Chillingo, but as of right now, nothing big is up.

In another “important dude said this” story, we bring you the upbeat words of EA CEO John Riccitiello in a recent interview with games industry web site, Industry Gamers. When the EA head honcho was (apparently) quizzed about his thoughts on the Wii U’s middling power and its late-ish launch, Riccitiello offered up an answer with a measure of dismissiveness about cycles and consoles in general as the digital download-only future looms. His sole surprising (and headline-worthy) statement was that consoles are only 40 percent of the total games industry now.

"I would argue that one of the least interesting things about the games industry was that every 5 years you’d see a new console or platform from everybody at about the same time with about the same or similar upgrades or services,” he said.

“You’d sort of harvest it and then it’d cycle back. We got used to it. It’s what seemed normal. But it’s not a particularly smart way to run an industry… bulges in technology investment followed by harvest.”

“And let’s be realistic. Consoles used to be 80% of the industry as recently as 2000. Consoles today are 40% of the game industry, so what do we really have?”

He, like the company he leads, is heavily invested in a digital future and, of course, his words need to reflect that. Fleshing out those thoughts, Riccitiello said that the iPad, a relatively new platform in this current generation, is the fastest growing platform that the company supports. But, he also noted that a console that marries the iPad with a console is a good move.

"We have a new hardware platform and we’re putting out software every 90 days. Our fastest growing platform is the iPad right now and that didn’t exist 18 months ago. So the idea that we’re categorizing the industry as being [cyclical]... Nintendo is off cycle with what?”

“I mean, the point of reference is gone. And so Nintendo is bringing out a new platform that brings together some of what we’re learning from new media and new platforms like the iPad and then integrating that with a console. It’s the perfect time for that in the industry".

Wait, only 40 percent? Wow — well, I mean, who doesn’t take a rational look at the industry as it is right now with all the social games and mobile titles and think, “well, I bet consoles aren’t so important now.” But 40 percent? No wonder the Wii U does what it does considering the penetration of other platforms.

Riccitiello had more to say about processing power and Nintendo, of course, but you'll have to get those words through the link.

[via Industry Gamers]

There are a lot of fart, business, video game, cooking, and miscellaneous apps on the App Store, but who rules the roost on the Top (paid) Downloads charts? In a not-so-surprising finding by mobile application analytics company Distimo, it’s video games. In its latest report, Distimo reveals that 72 percent of downloads of the top 300 most popular premium applications are video games, leaving a mere 28 percent to stuff like business, writing, education, and other applications. And here’s a surprising thing: even though the selling price of mobile games continues to plummet (down 28 percent from last year in the US), revenue from top free-to-play titles has increased “tenfold” over the App Store in the US.

This latter finding jives with the findings in our last Flurry Analytics column, which covered free-to-play pretty extensively. According to Flurry, the average consumer spends around $14 per transaction on iOS and Android, which is a lot more dough than they would have parted with if a title was a premium, $1 download.

Flurry also pointed out that 30 percent of top tier $20 transactions are over $50, which is, uh, a lot of cash to spend on games like Tiny Tower [Free], but hey, it’s always the consumer’s choice.

Back to Distimo for a few moments: the analytics company also found that ten un-named publishers “account for more than half of all downloads” among the 300 most popular paid games on the App Store. Also, revenue in general on the App Store has increased 79 percent year-on-year, mostly because of the free-to-play explosion, one has to assume after gazing through the rest of the bulleted points regarding the dominance of the model.

If you dig numbers, you can download Distimo’s latest report. It has more charts and more words than we've shared with you today, and it’s a pretty cool (and digestible) read if you’re into App Store analytics. Also, I should note that free-to-play, whether you love it or hate it, is definitely the model of the moment on the App Store. I wonder what kinds of numbers we’ll see in six months.

At the beginning of last month we learned that developer Godzilab was currently in the process of making a sequel to their 2009 hit physics puzzler iBlast Moki [$2.99/HD]. iBlast Moki 2 will feature similar bomb-blasting physics gameplay as the first game but with many new level elements and Moki characters, as well as an improved level editor.

Since our first post about iBlast Moki 2, Godzilab has posted additional screens and new information about the game on their Facebook page. One nugget of information they divulge is that there will be many new Mokis, including this little yellow guy on the right who the developer notes is from the Steam World levels in the game.

Another new element, the pink paint bomb, is shown in the gameplay screen below on the left. The paint bomb will blast its insides all over the ground, creating a rubbery surface for the Moki to bounce off of. In the gameplay screen on the right, you can see a mechanical structure which will move a rudimentary vehicle carrying a couple of cute little Mokis (click images to enlarge):

One of the most exciting new prospects of iBlast Moki 2 is the revamped level editor. Godzilab has improved the editor by adding new features like curves, joints, and many other new elements for even greater flexibility in creating levels. As a testament to how robust the level editor is, they admit that every level in this new game was actually created using the same level editor that will ship with the final product.

Being such a huge fan of the original iBlast Moki, it’s getting pretty painful having to sustain myself on these little tidbits of information that Godzilab keeps trickling out. I’m dying to get my hands on the final game, which they are hoping to have out sometime this Summer, though nothing is concrete. There’s an active thread in our forums for discussing iBlast Moki 2 as we all impatiently wait for the release, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Lavafish Studios' Squirmee and the Puzzling Tree [99¢] might look like another iteration on the tried and true one-screen puzzle game action of the App Store, but even though it initially follows the formula, it quickly turns into a brutally difficult game that will tax your brain and force you to rework your inner circuits to get through it.

You play as Squirmee, a blob-ish thing with the power to manipulate your environment as you attempt to rescue your sister from the top of a tree. To do so, you'll need to move along a track to get to a star at the end, the quicker you do so, the more stars you're awarded.

While it might not make sense until you've actually played it, Squirmee and the Puzzling Tree is a lot like Super Meat Boy flipped on its head. Instead of controlling an avatar, you're controlling the environment, but the same perfectly timed actions are required.

What sets Squirmee apart is its intuitive, albeit slightly complex control scheme. Each of the objects in the game – whether it's the buzz saws, the platform you travel on, the enemies, or the globs of goo – are color-coded. Each color behaves differently depending on the gesture you use. Some stop when you touch the screen or only move when you're not touching the screen, while others can be rewound with a touch and a slide. Each color has its own pattern and reacts depending on how you gesture. Because of the rewind slide, the universal app works a little better on iPad, but once you get the hang of the controls, both work well.

(more...)

All of my two-wheel racing experience resides in that one Moto GP game that came on the Xbox Live demo disc. Because I couldn’t compete, I drove backwards around the tracks while making funny noises over the microphone. I’m not so sure that I’ll be able to rekindle those times in Polish developer Vivid Games’ Speedway GP 2011 for iOS, but it sure does look like a sharp title that strokes all the right notes of a proper simulation racing game.

That was all build-up to get to the point of telling you that Vivid shot us over some fresh images of the racing title. Also, I wanted to give you a release date: August 25th for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad.

As its namesake implies, Speedway GP 2011 is a BSI Speeday game, kinda like how Madden is an NFL game. It’ll launch with, as you see, some pretty hot visuals and, of course, realistic physics. The craziest thing I’ve learned so far while checking out the pre-release intel is that these racers don’t use brakes, nor will you be able to. Yeah, I know. Wild!

Speedway GP 2011 will also launch with 11 stadiums, a “full roster of statistics” and real-time stat-tracking of the Speedway Grand Prix. There’s another app on the App Store that appears to have your back on that, too, if you’re especially interested.

Stay tuned for some more in-depth coverage as the game races (huh, huh!?) to the App Store a little later next month.

Excuse the e-drool, but we’re quickly falling in love with the concepts behind Namco Bandai’s forthcoming Doodle Jump-ish vertical-scrolling platformer, Heli-Awesome. In addition to rocking a fascinatingly beautiful title, the game can boast the following features: spiders with helicopter hats, worms with helicopter hats, a colorful hand drawn-looking world, big and vibrant balls, and even floating pigs.

It’s like Namco Bandai broke into our skulls (or something), pillaged them, and then spit out our feverish video game ideas / dreams into a single title. Thanks, guys!

If you’re interested in hearing some spectacularly light specifics, I can satisfy those interests. Namco has told us that the game will launch this Thursday, July 27, with several levels to play in, as well as variety to characters to control. It’ll also be able to boast both Game Center and Open Feint support for all your service-based needs. Yep. That's all we know at the moment.

But, obviously, we’ll be keeping our eyes on this one as it releases this Thursday. You’ll be able to grab it at $.99, which seems like a steal for a game that has spiders that wear helicopter helmets on their butts. I mean, really. What a great idea.

A free version of everyone’s favorite view-locked, Space Invader-y shooter starting a raptor with spider legs, Velocispider [$.99], is getting a free version soon. Creator Retro Dreamer blogged about it earlier this afternoon, announcing that it’s currently traveling through Apple’s certification bowels. This free version will include all of the content of the paid, premium version with the exception that it’s free-to-play.

This means that it’ll feature all the same levels and the Game Center achievements functionality that was just added in an update a few days ago. It won’t, however, share Game Center leader boards with its other iteration -- according to Retro, the service doesn’t allow for that kind of connectivity.

You know how we said that we’d love to get our hands on more iCade titles? Well, both of these versions will support iCade in the future. Velocispider Zero will right out of the box, while the premium version will receive its own support in an update that’s currently clearing certification. Neat!

Velocispider is an exceedingly awesome game, so definitely check out our review if you’re interested in the game, or hey, just the concept behind it. And really, who isn’t?

The most recent update to Two Worlds II Castle Defense [HD / HD Lite] for the iPad is as curious as the fact that the game is even receiving updates, considering that it’s a weak tie-in title for a niche, PC-focused RPG series. But anyway, the overhead strategy game has just received head-tracking by the way of the iPad 2’s front-facing camera. According to a press release, the title now recognizes the position of your 'eyes' and changes the perspective of the in-game camera accordingly.

The example that’s being throw around for its application are, simply, corners. Apparently, you’ll now be able to see around them -- if you’re playing the game with an iPad 2 and move around your head as the tracking demands. The iPhone version [$4.99 / Lite] hasn't received this update.

“Right now we are adapting the system for more platforms like PC or Mac and will also present some challenging 3D surprises within the next couple of months,” TopWare Interactive’s CEO, Dirk Hassinger, said in a statement.

This update is, of course, free, but this technology support has even been added to the Lite version of the title. So, if you want to give it a spin and haven’t taken the plunge, you can for the price of $0, which seems fair. I’d also like to add that we’re now one or two steps closer to Judgement Day.

[Via Joystiq]

Battleheart [$2.99], as charming and as entertaining as it is, is sorta a one-and-done game -- you beat it, appreciate it, and then you move on. Creator Mika Mobile, however, is attempting to rope us (and maybe even some new folks) back in with an update that's currently worming its way through Apple approval as I write this post. The coolest and most surprising addition in the update is the introduction of two new classes: the Paladin and the Ranger. Two new classes!

As their names imply, the two will specialize in tanking and healing and hardcore damage at range, respectively. In a post on our forums, Mika Mobile expanded on this, adding that the goal was to make the Paladin a special kind of tank, as she sacrifices offensive entirely in service of healing the party and herself. The Ranger, in addition to being able to handle mobs, will also be able to direct enemies into the tank.

Tweaks are coming in this update, too, of course. The Barbarian has been re-tuned to be as powerful as the other specialized classes; if you complete a level with fewer characters, the remaining members will get a larger share of experience points; the spell Mortal Wounds has been replaced with “a cool … skill” called Bloodthirsty; and enemy healers will, thankfully, have finite mana going forward.

There’s more to see on the tweak front by taking a gander at the post.

Battleheart is easily one of the most enjoyable RPG-like battle games available on iOS, so definitely give our review a read if you somehow missed it. Man, I can’t wait to drop my other, less-new ranged dudes for a Ranger.

One of our favorite object avoidance games, Chaotic Boxes’ spectacularly flashy Silverfish [$1.99], is set to be released in HD on the iPad this Thursday, July 28. This new version of the game, dubbed Silverfish Max, will include all the content of the iPhone version we liked quite a bit, but it will also boast a new thing: iCade controller support.

Provided the implementation of the support is sound, the iCade controls should really pump up the experience. Silverfish is a super colorful, psychedelic, hectic, and particle-effect-laden game, just like one of its obvious inspiration, the Geometry Wars series, is as well. And like those games from their now-shuttered developer, Silverfish requires precision and speed, which is something a joystick easily provides.

But, hey, your fingers should work fine, too, if the previous game can be used as an indication of potential quality. This is the second title we’ve covered in as many days that has included iCade support. Hopefully, this is a trend. We need more quality titles for our fake little (and expensive) arcade machines.

It's been almost a year since we looked at Neuroshima Hex [$4.99], Big Daddy's Creations first board game adaptation for iOS. Now they're back with a new hex-based board game adaptation, Army of Frogs [$1.99 / Universal HD).

If you're not familiar with the original board game, you won't be as completely lost as you might have been with Neuroshima Hex. Army of Frogs has a relatively simple ruleset. The goal is to claim territory for your color's frogs. To win, you need to string at least 7 of your frogs together, leaving no loners behind. Your competitors, 1-3 human or AI players, are trying to do the same, and they're also trying to block you from succeeding.

Each turn you can move a frog of your own, jumping as many times as you'd like in a straight line to the next free space. After that, you need to place one of two randomly selected frogs on the board. It might be yours, in which case you'll try to place it somewhere you can easily jump it to your others, or it might belong to an opponent. Then it's your job to try to place it so it can't reach its brethren.

Unfortunately, like it's older sibling Army of Frogs does a fairly poor job of introducing those rules and goals. The game includes a lot of documentation, but a playable tutorial would do a much better job. As it is, expect to flounder around for your first few games while you sort out exactly what you can and can't do, and then re-read the manual to fine-tune the details.

Once you work all that out, Army of Frogs is a lot of fun. If you have someone (or someones) to play with locally, it's a blast. Games are short but sweet, and strategic without being bogged down with complicated rules. If you don't have anyone to play with locally, you're in a bit of a bind. You can play with AI, but victories feel a bit hollow with no overarching campaign. There are Game Center achievements for beating the AI opponents, but they're quick to burn through.

You can also play online, but here Big Daddy's Creations really dropped the ball. The player base isn't yet large enough to find a game quickly, so most people start games and leave them idling while they fill. Since the game currently lacks push notifications for turns, this means most online games never actually get off the ground. I bet it will be a lot of fun to play with three other players online, but I can't say for sure. I'm still waiting for my turn to come around in every game I've joined.

Given a few tweaks, Army of Frogs could be well worth the price of admission. Until then, though, I'd caution you to only hop in if you've got someone local to play with. You'll find a well-designed game that's a lot of fun to play -- but the pond is awful lonely if you go it alone.

If you've never heard of This American Life before, it's never too late to start listening. TAL is a radio show produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. You can listen to it by visiting their web site, subscribe in iTunes, or download the This American Life for the iPhone [$2.99] or for the iPad [$4.99]. Each show centralizes around a particular theme, which is explored over the course of an hour through various "acts" which consist of stories often told as first person narratives which are sometimes followed up with a brief interview. It's fantastic show, with a mood that varies widely depending on the topic ranging from incredibly somber to remarkably humorous, with tons of variance in between.

Why This American Life is relevant to the TouchArcade audience today is because their most recent episode, "When Patents Attack" focuses on patent trolls and does an absolutely fabulous job of demystifying all of the confusing US patent law that gives these patent holders the power to relentlessly sue so many people. Recently, Lodsys has been harassing iOS developers with patent claims on in-app purchase, as well as "more games" links inside of iOS titles, and they even get a brief mention in the show.

If you've found yourself following the various Lodsys drama but don't necessarily understand all the nitty gritty how's and why's of what's happening, you'll be totally up to speed after listening to this episode. Heck, if you like it, listen to other episodes, they're all worth your time.

If you've played Call of Duty, you may remember the levels where you fly in an AC-130 and target the enemies below in a fantastic display of aerial firepower. Well, Zombie Gunship [$0.99] by Limbic Software is based on that idea. In the game, you look down over an apocalyptic landscape and wait for enemies to appear on your radar. Suddenly, a solitary human figure rushes from the shadows, trying to escape from hoards of brain-loving zombies. This is where you step in, to save the day. You must shoot the zombies below, before they eat the few remaining humans or reach the bunker. If one lifeless zombie reaches the bunker, it seals itself to avoid being breached and your mission is over.

There's heaps of defense-type games, but Zombie Gunship stands out because of it's stark realism. Your view of the terrain is provided via a grainy black and white night-vision display, just like using the targeting systems of an AC-130 (or as video games lead us to believe, anyway ). Also, because you're in a plane, your position and perspective slowly change, although this is so subtle you barely notice. There's no music or unrealistic sound effects, just the noise of the airplane engine, occasional military chatter on the radio and the sound of your own gunfire. Even the opening menus have no background music, which seemed odd initially, but now I really appreciate that this all adds to the realistic military feeling.

Weapon upgrades provide a strong incentive to keep playing. There's three different weapons, ranging from a gatling gun for picking off individual zombies, up to a crowd-destroying 105mm howitzer cannon. It's super satisfying to blast those zombies using the various weaponry, and it's even more fun once you start upgrading weapons via coins earned (or bought) in game to fire faster and cause more damage. You'll need that extra fire-power too because there's some bigger zombie "things", down there as well. But be careful, don't shoot too many civilians, or your mission will be aborted. Game Center is used for player rankings, but unfortunately there's no achievements, difficulty modes or career statistics available currently. Limbic has said they plan on supporting the game via updates, and it wouldn't surprise me to see these missing features being patched in first.

The developers have mentioned in our forums that if the game does well they'll look into releasing a iPad version (or potential universal update). The good news is, Zombie Gunship has rocketed up to #2 on the App Store charts, making iPad support seem fairly certain. While this success is deserved, the game definitely needs some more maps, to provide variation from the single landscape provided and it would be great if you could customize the controls, as I'd love to tweak the position of the fire button.

Limbic Software have done a fantastic job with Zombie Gunship. Also, per the iTunes description, the sound design is by the same person responsible for the audio in the Gears of War, so when you download this game (and you really should) be sure to play it with headphones to appreciate the effort that went into the audio. One last thing to keep in mind, Zombie Gunship has entirely optional IAP which only serves to allow you to unlock weapons faster. You never need to buy anything, but it's just something to be aware of if this kind of IAP ruffles your feathers. Now, I've got to get back to raining hell fire upon legions of zombies.