Archive for September, 2011
Friday, September 2nd, 2011
Is Gameloft holding a sale in honor of Labor Day, too? Of course! I suppose you didn’t need to lick a frog or contact your local Magic 8-Ball agent to predict this, but I really, really wanted to open up this post about the sale with a question. So, here we are.
I can’t really figure out Gameloft’s price-cutting angle aside from “we should probably sell more copies of these,” and I suppose that’s a good enough reason. Until the end of this Labor Day celebration, you can download a variety of shooters and action games from the studio at just $.99. Take note that a good portion of these are based on actual properties. Take a look:
The packs at the bottom of the list are really brilliant for new owners of iOS devices, so if yours still smells like the packaging, you might want to scope those. Shadow Guardian, the Uncharted knock-off, is a good grab, too, if you’re in the mood for climbing things.
Posted in $0.99, iPad Games, iPhone games, iPod touch games, News, Sales | 4 Comments »
Support Our Sponsors:
Friday, September 2nd, 2011
Capcom is in the middle of throwing a wave-based sale. Did you know that? I didn’t either until I took a gander at our deals message board earlier this afternoon. With that thread’s help I discovered that the second wave, which ends this September and starts this Friday alongside everyone else’s sales, boasts a stunning total of two games. The catch is that both of which demand your attention if you’re a Resident Evil freak:
Straight-up, Mercenaries VS isn’t that great of a multiplayer shooter. The touch controls are pretty good, but the visual quality and the franchise’s meat turret controls don’t bode well for a competitive romp. With that said, I can see fans of the series really getting into the action, the same as they probably would with the iOS version of Resident Evil 4, which in my opinion, is a’ight -- especially at a buck.
Posted in $0.99, Action, iPhone 4, iPod touch games, News, Sales, Shooter | No Comments »
Friday, September 2nd, 2011
Hey, more sales! We’re not too sure if SEGA is celebrating Labor Day with its Sonic the Hedgehog sale or just cutting the price because it can, but it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, the games are a hair or two cheaper for a limited time, which means you can walk away with a heavier wallet if this is the first time you’ve bothered looking at the games. And, really, at these prices you should.
Here’s the short list, and just in case anything else comes up, we’ll update accordingly:
Sonic fans give Sonic the Hedgehog 4 a lot of grief — if you’ve ever read the Internet or Googled the game's name, you probably already know this. This is why I feel like I need to add that we loved it and think it feels exactly how Sonic should on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Check it out.
Posted in $3.99, $4.99, Action, Adventure, iPhone games, iPod touch games, Platform, Sales | 14 Comments »
Friday, September 2nd, 2011
Like EA, Namco is missing out on the brilliant opportunity to hack and slash at the prices of its App Store games in time with the impending Labor Day weekend. Until the end of this very, very important and glorious holiday window, the studio is offering multitudes of its titles for fairly generous price points. The Pac-Man franchise in particular sees the most cuts, but I suppose it’d have to with a big sale considering it composes the majority of its portfolio.
Regardless, there are sales to be taken advantage of and we’re bringing you that information. Here’s a handy list:
Pac-Man Championship for $.99? On it like a fat kid on buttery bread.
Posted in $0.99, $1.99, $2.99, iPad Games, iPhone games, iPod touch games, Sales | 7 Comments »
Friday, September 2nd, 2011
Hey, guys, did you know it’s Labor Day weekend? It is. And because it’s a weekend in which some people are finding something to celebrate, Electronic Arts has decided to throw a big sale on the App Store. Imagine that.
This latest price-slashing jamboree isn’t the most spectacular it has ever thrown, but it’s still one of the hardest hitting of the current crop of Labor Day sales we’ve seen thus far, especially when it comes to big name and budget properties.
For a limited time, you can grab a bunch of racing, sports, action, and other assorted titles for $.99. The iPad companions (where applicable) to these, on the other hand, have all been reduced to $1.99. Here’s a list:
If you're looking for a key pick in all of this, I would definitely take a gander at Dead Space or Tetris. The latter is a classic and works surprisingly well with touch, while the former is a ridiculously sharp touch-specific iteration of the horror franchise that actually has something to say.
Posted in $0.99, $1.99, iPad 2, iPad Games, iPhone games, iPod touch games, News | 4 Comments »
Friday, September 2nd, 2011
Earlier this summer at WWDC 2011, we chilled with Get Set Games and discussed its plans for a huge new update to its money-printing machine, Mega Jump [Free]. That update is now available on the App Store and we’ve grabbed some details that’ll whet your appetite while you wait for it to download.
The headliner of the overall package is, of course, the brand new world. “Magica,” as it’s called, is a conglomeration of 20 brand new stages that provide more challenges with fresh backgrounds. A new character, Rolf the Wolf, has also been added to a steadily growing cast of freakishly cute and enlarged animal-like... things. One of the finer additions being pointed out is the fact that free MP has returned. The sticking point is that you’ll have to “watch videos” in order to participate. (more...)
Posted in News | 1 Comment »
Friday, September 2nd, 2011
RedLynx's original DrawRace [$2.99] sucked up a large amount of my time, so when DrawRace 2 [99¢ / HD] was first announced, I had a small panic attack thinking of the amount of time it would kill in my day. Turns out, the attack was well warranted, because the sequel steps it up in every way imaginable.
The first game introduced us to the mechanic and it hasn't changed much this time around. You draw a line around a track, moving your finger quickly or slowly depending on how fast you want to go during that time, then you watch your car try to follow the line. The only difference is an added turbo button, which helps keep you engaged while you watch. (more...)
TouchArcade Rating:
Posted in $0.99, $2.99, 4.5 stars, Game Center, Games, iPad Games, iPhone games, iPod touch games, Puzzle, Racing, Reviews | 11 Comments »
Friday, September 2nd, 2011
Back in May, we were quite taken with the crazy trailer for Techno Kitten Adventure [Free], mostly due to it featuring a large man in a horrible cat suit. Techno Kitten Adventure was released last year as an Xbox Live Indie Game, and has a pretty dedicated following. Developer Elite Gudz was in the process of revamping the entire game with shiny new graphics and playable kittens, as well as bringing it on over to the iOS platform.
A couple of weeks later, Techno Kitten Adventure did launch in the App Store, and got a solid stamp of approval from yours truly during our podcast that following week. In fact, that was the first inklings of the now world famous Jared’s Kitty Korner portion of our podcast, which makes Techno Kitten Adventure somewhat historically significant. (more...)
Posted in Cave-Flyer, Free, Game Center, Games, iPad Games, iPhone games, iPod touch games, News, Universal, Updates | 3 Comments »
Friday, September 2nd, 2011
If you've ever played a puzzle game on iOS, you're probably familiar with the three-star ranking systems that plague the genre. Is plague too harsh a word? Certainly some games benefit from being able to offer a scale of difficulty, especially physics puzzles. But other games use them as a way to reward failure. Sure, you did the puzzle wrong, but you tried, and that's what matters. Here's a participation ribbon. Feel good about yourself.
Whenever I completed a puzzle in Punch A Hole [$0.99] with one or two stars, I felt that patronizing head pat. I might as well have pressed a level skip button (absent here, but also unneeded), because I certainly didn't solve the puzzle correctly. Played for one or two stars, Punch a Hole is a lifeless thing, barely able to hold my interest long enough to punch the necessary holes. Play for three stars and it comes to life, a mind-bending challenge that kept me captivated beyond any distraction while I tried and retried single levels over and over, knowing the solution was just out of my reach. (more...)
TouchArcade Rating:
Posted in $0.99, 3.5 stars, Game Center, Games, iPad Games, iPhone games, iPod touch games, Puzzle, Reviews, Universal | 2 Comments »
Thursday, September 1st, 2011
The original Doodle Jump [99¢] hit the App Store in early 2009, and before the rise of Angry Birds was the undisputed king of casual gaming. The doodler has been spotted on stage at Lady Gaga concerts, and the game has even been mentioned on sitcoms as well as seen on late night talk shows. Doodle Jump was also amongst the first of the true indie success stories, created entirely by two brothers who went on to enjoy millions of downloads of the game.
The gameplay itself is ridiculously simple, and is controlled entirely by tilting, and jumping from platform to platform. Over time, and through various updates, all sorts of different power-ups, enemies, and graphical skins were also thrown into the mix. Doodle Jump was also one of the first game to feature online leader boards displayed in game by little hash marks along the side as you made your ascent, a feature that is now practically standard in any vertical jumper. (more...)
TouchArcade Rating:
Posted in $2.99, 4 stars, Games, iPad Games, Platform, Reviews | 26 Comments »
Thursday, September 1st, 2011
Big Blue Bubble’s Burn the Rope [$.99 / HD] made a big splash last December when it debuted on the App Store. Droves of consumers and critics ate up its simple, yet distressingly engaging fire mechanic and over-the-top puzzle design. And while I’d imagine a healthy population of its base is still trying to burn all the way though the title, it’s time to look to the future of the franchise and its forthcoming sequel, Burn the Rope: Worlds.
On our message board the other afternoon, Big Blue Bubble announced the new game iteration alongside a few images, stating that it will bring “totally new and unique” mechanics to the series without sacrificing the original vision. Naturally, Worlds will continue to use the ever-upwards burning and tilt mechanic and wrap that around some neat-looking puzzles. (more...)
Posted in iPad Games, iPhone games, iPod touch games, Puzzle, Upcoming Games | 1 Comment »
Thursday, September 1st, 2011
Rubicon’s Great Little War Game [$.99 / UHD / UHD Lite], a turn-based delight that marries conventional micro-based troop management and action with over-the-top art direction and style, can now boast a new campaign and more skirmish maps thanks to a recent update. Dubbed “Call of Booty,” the free campaign adds ten additional levels to an already packed core offering. The skirmish levels number exactly five, which seems like a lot to us.
While that stuff is definitely the most important part of the update, it does also do this: it strips the IAP from the additional voice packages. From now until “forever,” you can grab the additional voice packs for no cost. That’s cool, right? (more...)
Posted in $0.99, $2.99, iPad Games, iPhone games, iPod touch games, News, Strategy, Updates | 3 Comments »
Thursday, September 1st, 2011
The “Engineer Update” to Trainyard [$.99 / Free] creator Matt Rix was teasing earlier this month is out now and available as a free download for owners of the title. The big ticket item is the addition of a level editor, but the update also brings a bunch of new stuff to the table including Universal support for those of you with an iPad, Game Center, fresh puzzles, and “hundreds of other bug fixes and improvements,” according to Rix.
Focusing on the level editor for a second, you can see it in action in the video embedded just below. It looks like the natural evolution of the puzzle game that we expected it to be when we reported on the fact that the update was happening earlier this month. Games like LBP have taught me that I should never, ever try my hands at level design, but I think I’ll give this a try. Basically, I just want Matt to smile and say encouraging words to me. (more...)
Posted in $0.99, iPad Games, iPhone games, iPod touch games, Puzzle, Universal, Updates | 6 Comments »
Thursday, September 1st, 2011
Neat! id Software’s parent company, ZeniMax Media, just won an important appeal for the Doom franchise in Germany. According to an official post on the Bethesda blog, Doom and Doom II have been de-listed by the Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons following some smart court action. This will undoubtedly pave the way for unedited versions of the PC games to hit the country and, hey, presumably even an App Store release or two if things swing our way.
For you score keepers out there, id Software has released three games in the franchise on the US App Store so far: Doom Classic [$6.99], Doom II RPG [$4.99], and Doom: Resurrection [$6.99]. (more...)
Posted in Action, News, Shooter | 15 Comments »
Thursday, September 1st, 2011
When I hit up the Sega preview event this past Tuesday, there was definitely a running theme. Held at the Kabuki hotel in San Francisco’s Japantown, there was an overwhelming amount of Asian decor in the lounge Sega had reserved as well as a delicious spread of gourmet sushi, pork buns, and veggie spring rolls. It turns out that this choice of venue by Sega was deliberate and fitting, as the main title they were showcasing at this event is a game called Samurai Bloodshow [$1.99].
Out of respect for Sega’s embargo wishes, we weren’t able to talk about Samurai Bloodshow until now, but the game has been available in Japan since June and we have even had a thread in our forums for discussing the game since then. Due to the popularity of the title in Japan, Sega has now officially brought the game to the US App Store. (more...)
Posted in $1.99, Castle Defense, Game Center, Games, iPad Games, iPhone games, iPod touch games, Strategy, Universal | 16 Comments »
