'Tis the season for Halloween-themed updates, and you betcha' that Phosphor Games decided to celebrate the spookiest of days with a free update to its horror game, The Dark Meadow [$2.99]. The biggest game-changing tweak we've seen is the increased level cap, which has been bumped to 50 from its previous high of 40. This update also packs in optimization for the iPhone 4S, a few more save slots, some notable bug fixes, a new game+ mode, and lowered creature spawning inside the level "Montclair Hospital."
Oh! And the game is now cheaper. Until October 31, you'll be able to grab it at $2.99 instead of its premium-ish price of $5.99. That's quite a savings for a game we liked a lot. You can read our criticisms and praise in our full review right here.
Just for fun, here's a, uh… decidedly uncreepy shot of the game. Chew on this:
The price change is live now, and the update is going live in the "very near future," so keep an eye out for it.
Our main man at Kode 80, Ben Hopkins, launched a huge update to 1-Bit Ninja [$1.99] yesterday, adding in the ability to save video and export your game replays from your photo roll. Making this sweeter, the game now also supports an unlockable "follow-cam" that should add to the dramatic flair of whatever you choose to unleash on the Internet. This update comes as a free download to a platformer built around the pride of a perfect run and the thrill of accomplishing ridiculous feats of skill and memorization.
Another thing to mention about this update? 1-Bit Ninja now has Game Center support. You'll be able to earn some achievements, as well as see your times on an in-game leaderboard. Neat!
We're pretty big fans of 1-Bit Ninja, so we're stoked to see a new iteration. On an unrelated note, we spoke with Kode 80's Hopkins earlier this September on The TouchArcade Show and got a good sense that things like this update were coming down the pipe. He also spoke to an HD version for the iPad, which we sincerely hope is still something he's interested in.
Hey, have you recently found yourself wondering what Phil Hassey, the creator of the award winning multiplayer strategy game Galcon [$1.99/Lite], has planned for his next game? Well, if you have, then I've got some news for you. Unfortunately, it isn't the highly detailed kind of news, but today Phil has sent over some teaser information for his upcoming game Chickon. So, what do we know about Chickon? So far we know it involves chickens, and it's from the maker of Galcon. Chickens + Galcon = Chickon. You may be able to see where this is going.
According to Phil, the game will involve chickens battling robots in order to save roosters who are dressed up as...pimps? Yep, rooster pimps. It sounds like this game is not trying to take itself seriously at all, and he describes that it's a game he made over this past summer just as a silly distraction. Silly or not, Galcon had some serious gameplay chops, so if Chickon is following in the same vein then it could end up being a surprisingly engaging affair. Go ahead and check out the first teaser trailer for the game, which doesn't actually show any gameplay or even anything from a video game at all, but it does feature a guy in a chicken suit, which is always fine by me:
Aside from the odd live-action guy in a chicken suit video, Chickon also has its own landing page on the Galcon website. There isn't exactly any more information there either, but it's probably a good place to keep your eyes on to see any new developments. Chickon is aiming to launch in the next few weeks according to Mr. Hassey, that is, as long as everything goes nice with Apple approval and all that. We'll try to sniff out some more details on Chickon before its release, and in the meantime, if you're looking for some good strategic gameplay to pass the time, then definitely make sure you own a copy of Galcon or the iPad equivalent Galcon Fusion [$1.99]. They're truly excellent.
Galaxy Pirate Adventure [$4.99] is one of those games that seems to have doubled down on an impressive graphics system while not giving as much attention to the rest of the gameplay. Rest assured, if you’re running Galaxy Pirate on an iPad 2 or iPhone 4S, you will be impressed with how this game looks. However, if you’re expecting a title with an actual story or a novel battle system, you will most likely be disappointed.
Billed as a Space RPG, Galaxy Pirate Adventure follows the son of the Galaxy Pirate King as he sets out on his own adventure. In order to succeed, you’ll have to build up a convoy of ships, which in itself will require cash and parts. The meat of Galaxy Pirate involves taking on missions that fall in one of three general categories: Smuggling, which has you taking commodities to other systems, Pirating, which pits you against other ships with the reward being raw materials, and Mercenary, which is similar to pirating, but you’re rewarding with cash instead of materials.
Not to be left out in the holiday liquidation going on in the App Store at the moment, Namco Bandai has been conducting some price-slashery magics of its own. Starting today and rolling into the weekend, you can save oodles on the publisher's stable of titles. Games like Pac-Man and Mr. Driller and even its Universal selection of titles including Fossil Feast are available at either at $.99 to $3.99. That's not bad, really, considering what price these things usually sit at when there isn't a holiday to celebrate. Yay, Halloween!
Here's the full list of the sales we've caught so far:
I'm a huge fan of Puzzle Quest 2, and even though it's hovering around a "premium" price point during this ale, it's still worth picking up. The match-3 component is as rich and strong as ever, and the dungeon-crawling and RPG aspects do wonders for the title. You can check out our review here.
Yesterday in Unexpected and Weird News, Ubisoft announced plans for an Assassin's Creed board game for the iPad. According to a press release Kotaku obtained, Assassin's Creed Recollection is a real-time strategy "political battle" board game that combines characters and locations from Assassin's Creed 2 and its sequel AC: Brotherhood. Ubisoft says it'll pack in an 8-10 hour campaign, as well as multiplayer upon its release this holiday.
You definitely aren't alone if you're confused by this move or wondering what exactly this thing is. All we have to go on at the moment aside from the vague press release boilerplate are images of the game's cards. My gut tells me that this will be a simple line-up and battle kind of game, like the one featured INSIDE of id's FPS Rage. Could be totally wrong, though.
What a weird announcement and idea, right? Also, wouldn't it be weird if Ubisoft just stopped here with these board game tie-ins? Then again, I don't make the big money decisions at these publishers who want iOS tie-ins or cross-overs.
The original Zombieville USA [$1.99 / Lite] hit very early in the life of the App Store and was one of the many initial indie success stories that helped to spur the whole iOS development gold rush. Heck, it wasn't even called iOS back then. Since then, Mika Mobile has gone on to release OMG Pirates! [$1.99] and the absolutely fabulous Battleheart [$2.99]. In fact, if you haven't played or heard of Battleheart, you really need to take a time out and our review of it.
Anyway, Zombieville USA 2 [99¢] seems to be a great sequel so far in every way. It takes the formula from the original, adds tons of unlockable content, full Game Center integration, iCloud support for cross-device syncing… And best yet, co-op multiplayer either locally via Bluetooth or online via WiFi.
We're going to give the game a thorough once over in our upcoming review, but our initial impressions are remarkably positive, folks on the forums like it, and the developer is already talking about tweaks for the first update.
It's becoming more and more difficult to get excited for social games these days, especially as everyone and their second cousin jumps on the free to play bandwagon, but the guys from Appy Entertainment just announced their next title, SpellCraft School of Magic utilizing some key words that almost never fail to pique my interest. According to Appy, the gameplay will a mixture between Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons. I'm skeptical, but that's one glorious combination.
Anyway, the game seems to revolve around tricking out your avatar while raising various magical plants which serve as the reagents for crafting spells which seems to involve a potion brewing mechanic of sorts. From there, you'll explore the dungeons beneath your wizard school and battle monsters that take the form of cards. Defeating monsters results in gold and experience, and leveling up progresses the game through unlocking spells, new plants, and more.
Details aside from what I've already mentioned are few and far between at the moment, but I'm always willing to try out a new social game that at least sounds like it's trying to do something to differentiate itself from your typical Farmville clone. Appy has had a good track record of releases, so I'm anxious to see how they take on the whole social game phenomenon taking the App Store by storm. If all goes as planned, SpellCraft should be available next month.
Back in May, we reviewed a clever little game called Foodies [99¢] from developer Nano Titans. It featured a rotund little creature named Sam who was in love with his best gal Pam, and proposed marriage to her. Unfortunately, Sam wasn't quite rotund enough for Pam's taste. She gives Sam exactly one week to eat everything in sight and gain enough weight to appease her before she would agree to marry him. Ah, unhealthy eating and forced obesity, the signs of true love.
While the story is certainly silly, and the graphics and presentation are appropriately adorable, the thing that really stood out in Foodies was the clever mechanics and controls. Each level in Foodies is littered with different kinds of food items, and the goal is to bounce Sam around the screen to collect them all. This is accomplished in an intuitive way by placing both thumbs on the screen which creates a bouncy platform in the space in-between them. You can change the size and angle of this platform by adjusting the placement of your thumbs, and the whole system just works incredibly well as you bounce Sam around the levels in the game.
Penny Parlor [$1.99] wraps four antique coin-operated sports games into one release. But we're not talking about classic arcade games ...no, Australian-based GamesLab Apps are taking us further back in time, like pre-1950's, to the era of mechanical arcade machines which used to cost one penny to play.
The game displays a room (parlor) with four antique amusement machines shown in 3D, including: American Pro Football, Super Swing Baseball, The Amazing Golf Game and Smack'n'Whack Cricket. The old-fashioned color schemes, carnival music, and mechanical style movements and controls are all designed to convey the original feeling of playing these games at the fairground.
Halloween is great. It's the only day of the year you can get away with dressing as the bug-eyed rabbit from Donnie Darko and not immediately be sent to a crisis center. Also, it turns out that it's also a great holiday to save some cash on video games. 2K Games has joined the price-cut party with some stellar deals of its own, all of which are slated to run into this weekend. And if you decide to buy, they could possibly occupy the entire thing. Games like Civilization Revolution are time warps -- you boot them up and all of a sudden it's 4AM .
Here's the full list of what 2K is offering on the cheap. Take note that Sid Meier's Pirates, which is another great time sink, has hit rockbottom sales-wise, too:
I've been playing Civ Rev on my iPad for a long, long time now, so I've got zero problems with telling you to buy this thing now. Despite being a simpler version of Civilization proper, Civ Rev's easily manageable strategy components are deep, compelling and satisfying. Give it like an hour or so to learn and then wave goodbye to your fun-fun iPad free time for a couple of months. Also, this is the biggest sale it's ever seen. I mean, it's eleven dollars off! Definitely jump all over that while you have the chance.
Apple has been doing a variety of crazy promotions on iTunes for, well, basically forever. Free songs given away in all kinds of ways, free apps through Starbucks, and now, apparently, promo code generation through Facebook? I don't understand the dark rituals taking place behind the scenes to extract promo codes from the ether, but here's what I do know:
Following this link and mashing a few buttons on Facebook will get you a promo code to download Halfbrick's Jetpack Joyride [99¢] for free. It's the first of a new promotion process courtesy of Apple, and I can't wait to see what else they end up giving away for free. Now, I've got no idea either how long this promotion is going to last, when it's going to rotate to something else, and how many promo codes there are to give away. This news is so hot off the press I burnt my hands.
Seriously, we love Jetpack Joyride and there is absolutely no reason to not take advantage of this offer. Also, it seems you can even generate a code if you already own the game, and then give that code to someone else.
Hey it's Wednesday again, and time for another onslaught of iOS releases. If you're looking for something to do while you inevitably wait for the Battlefield 3 servers to come back up (if tonight is anything like last night), here are a ton of games to keep you occupied. Also, speaking of Battlefield 3, we've seen no sign of the Battlefield 3 Aftershock iOS title that EA has been teasing. I would have bet on that launching along side the PC and console versions of the game… But, I suppose that's why I don't gamble. If you want to get in on the iOS Battlefield 3 anticipation, head on over to this thread which seems like it has been going for an eternity in App Store time.
Anyway, it's the same old song and dance as last week, the week before that, and basically every Wednesday night. All of these games will be available on the US App Store at 11:00 PM Eastern. Although, if you live east of us, chances are they're available now, or will be very soon.
We're taking a break from our regularly scheduled iOS game programming to get the word out about a really sweet rapid prototyping tool for the iPad released by Two Lives Left, creators of Wheeler's Treasure [$2.99] and Pilot Winds [Free]. It's called Codify [$7.99], and utilizing the Lua programming language along with a ton of clever touch-based interface elements lets you quickly and easily throw together whatever game prototype you might be dreaming of.
I've heard more than a few developers attempting to create similar tools for the iPad, but all of them have hit various roadblocks in the Apple approval process because they all (in one way or another) allowed you to get code and assets onto the device and execute it. Codify sidesteps this by coming with a wide variety of assets, but unfortunately all of your creations will be trapped on your own device. Right now, there's no way to export (or import) anything, although Two Lives Left have told us they've submitted an update to Apple that has this functionality and they're planning on working with the approval teams to come to some kind of solution.
Either way, Lua is easy to learn and even with your prototypes stuck on your own iPad Codify can be an incredibly useful tool. If you come up with a game idea, you can quickly toss it together and see if it's worth pursuing. In fact, I'd almost say keeping these prototypes trapped on your device is a good thing as it serves as a fantastic rough draft to then redo in a more serious development environment.
Last week ustwo™'s Whale Trail [99¢] hit the App Store. It was quickly featured as game of the week, and was met with tons of critical acclaim. We thought it was great in our review, and most other reviews online that I've seen mention similar feelings. Sure, the gameplay is a little on the basic side but Whale Trail's production values are absolutely through the roof.
A behind the scenes video from ustwoâ„¢ recently was released, and aside from the game's producers and designers providing their thoughts on the game, ustwoâ„¢ also revealed the staggering amounts of time, energy, and money that went into the project. "Chief Wonka" Mills also discusses the concept of a "succailure," citing previous apps Papercut [$5.99] and Nursery Rhymes with StoryTime [$3.99]. Both well received, with tons of support from Apple, but neither turning a profit.
Take a look:
Another interesting point raised in the video is the significant advantage that indie developers can have. Running a design firm like ustwo™ is expensive, and investing in the App Store is risky business when you've got a full office, staff of employees, and all the other expenses that come with that. The App Store is a curious place, as it really makes no difference to the end user if you're working out of your bedroom or releasing projects from a design firm that have invested over £500,000 into them. Every iOS developer has equal chances of discovery, visibility, and success-- Assuming of course that they put out a good product.
We're anxious to see what ustwo™'s next move is going to be. Whale Trail is going to need to be downloaded a ton to break even, especially at a 99¢ price point. I'd love to say "hopefully this doesn't discourage them from iOS development," as I think it's outfits like ustwo™ that seem the most likely to push the platform forward, but how much of a financial hole can they dig themselves keeping their fingers crossed that critical acclaim and love from Apple eventually turns into the hundreds of thousands of downloads they need?
'Tis the season for Halloween-themed updates, and you betcha' that Phosphor Games decided to celebrate the spookiest of days with a free update to its horror game, The Dark Meadow [$2.99]. The biggest game-changing tweak we've seen is the increased level cap, which has been bumped to 50 from its previous high of 40. This update also packs in optimization for the iPhone 4S, a few more save slots, some notable bug fixes, a new game+ mode, and lowered creature spawning inside the level "Montclair Hospital."
Our main man at 
Not to be left out in the holiday liquidation going on in the App Store at the moment, Namco Bandai has been conducting some price-slashery magics of its own. Starting today and rolling into the weekend, you can save oodles on the publisher's stable of titles. Games like Pac-Man and Mr. Driller and even its Universal selection of titles including Fossil Feast are available at either at $.99 to $3.99. That's not bad, really, considering what price these things usually sit at when there isn't a holiday to celebrate. Yay, Halloween!
The original Zombieville USA [
It's becoming more and more difficult to get excited for social games these days, especially as everyone and their second cousin jumps on the free to play bandwagon, but the guys from 
Halloween is great. It's the only day of the year you can get away with dressing as the 
Apple has been doing a variety of crazy promotions on iTunes for, well, basically forever. Free songs given away in all kinds of ways, free apps through Starbucks, and now, apparently, promo code generation through Facebook? I don't understand the dark rituals taking place behind the scenes to extract promo codes from the ether, but here's what I do know:
Hey it's Wednesday again, and time for another onslaught of iOS releases. If you're looking for something to do while you inevitably wait for the Battlefield 3 servers to come back up (if tonight is anything like last night), here are a ton of games to keep you occupied. Also, speaking of Battlefield 3, we've seen no sign of the Battlefield 3 Aftershock iOS title that 
We're taking a break from our regularly scheduled iOS game programming to get the word out about a really sweet rapid prototyping tool for the iPad released by 
Last week ustwoâ„¢'s Whale Trail [
