We recorded this week's The TouchArcade Show in the interest of keeping you entertained and (maybe up to date on iOS) while traveling during Thanksgiving break. At the top, we dive into Infinity Blade 2 and our coverage of it. Later, we cover Desert Bus, dabble in video game books, and discuss next-gen iPod Touches. Oh! We also get into the latest and hottest news of the week. Hit those show notes for the appropriate links.
We hope you're having a great little holiday. If you're interested in joining us, please feel free to do so via those handy-dandy links just below. Additionally, you could hop aboard the TouchArcade Show Express on iTunes and Zune. These places are the easiest way to get our material day and date, so do it already!
If you've been checking out our front page over this break, then you've probably seen or read about two billion different sales posts. What's up with that? Well, we've split our holiday sales coverage into as many studio-centric posts as possible for the sake of readability. But with any big holiday App Store bonanza, we've come across more than a couple of individual sales that don't jive with this kind of format.
That's what this post is all about -- the catch-all for the various independent studios out there with a notable game on sale. Here's a quick hit list:
Oh, hey, Kairosoft is getting into sales during the holidays! Starting now, and for a "limited time," two of the studio's lesser known but-still-as-awesome-as-ever simulation games are available on the App Store on the cheap. Both Pocket Academy and Hot Springs Story are seeing a drop from $3.99 to an agreeable $1.99. Money saved! Exclamation marks!
Before you take the plunge, you probably want to read our respectivereviews for the titles in question. While they combine the same charm and spirit of Game Dev Story, they both have angles and mechanics that may or may not appeal to you. Hot Springs Story, by the way, looks like awesome prep for the next game the studio has coming down the pipe: World Cruise Story.
Konami is getting into the Thanksgiving mood, too, though in a less bombastic fashion than most of the "big" publishers currently invested in the App Store. Starting this week, you can grab two of its better titles, Gesundheit and Pro Evolution Soccer 2011, for the generous price of $.99. These two games usually sell at around $1.99 or $2.99, so there's a decent chunk of change to be saved here if you choose to buy.
Why aren't more games going on the cheap, you ask? We were pondering the same query until we browsed the publisher's catalogue this morning. Turns out that the lion's share of its games are being offered at $.99 nowadays. You can't really go down from there -- unless you want to start competing on the free charts ... with games that aren't ad supported and have a couple or fewer free-to-play hooks.
Another App Store heavy hitter, The Dark Meadow, is the focus of a big old-fashioned sale. Starting just a while ago Phosphor Games's imaginative, cruel, and dark action game is available at $.99. After consulting with a math wiz, we've confirmed that you'll save some big time money in 'Store if you buy, as the game usually sits at $5.99.
We dug The Dark Meadow when it debuted this year and are equally digging Phosphor Games desire to keep rolling in new content. Since October, the game has seen three updates of varying sizes and intensity, each tightening up and adding to the core game. We'd love to see more, and we're guessing that we probably will in the future.
I've seen a few strange hybrids in my day. Many of them have been described in sentences that end with "... meets Angry Birds," but I'm not complaining. Some of the most interesting games on the App Store have taken unusual inspirations and combined them. Still, I'm not sure what inspired developer Phil Hassey to create a version of Galcon [$1.99 / Lite], his 2008 galactic strategy game, that replaces the planets and ships with chickens and nests. A joke that went a bit too far, maybe?
But while Chickon [Free] may have started as a joke, it has ended up as an interesting alternative to Galcon. It isn't a game for big Galcon fans -- you'll probably find it far too simple if you've already spent time with its older sibling -- but for folks who like freemium games, barnyard animals and a bit of light strategy, it's not a bad choice.
The Bard's Tale originally began as a trilogy of hardcore dungeon crawling RPGs released in the mid-80s for desktop computers and gaming consoles. In 2004, InXile Entertainment created a new The Bard's Tale for Playstation 2, Xbox, and PC. This game was related to the original series in name only, and featured 3D action-adventure gameplay rather than first-person dungeon crawling.
The Bard's Tale didn't take itself too seriously, and poked fun at all sorts of RPG and fantasy clichés, many of which were present in the original games in the series. For its humor and storytelling, The Bard's Tale is a fondly remembered adventure from the previous console generation.
And, we've now learned that this adventure is making its way to the iOS platform. The Bard's Tale on iOS will feature all of the content of the 2004 release, as well as iOS exclusive leaderboards and achievements. It will also have an in-app purchase system that will let you deck out your character with some sweet gear, but everything available here will also be available to earn through normal gameplay. The IAP is just for the impatient folk.
We're eager to get our hands on The Bard's Tale to see just how well the game translates to the touch screen platform. It's currently submitted to Apple, so if all goes well it will be launching soon. We'll let you know once we get a firm launch date or pricing info for The Bard's Tale on iOS.
Saving Yello [99¢] from Tactile Entertainment and published by Dreamfab is a new physics-based puzzler about a pet goldfish named 'Yello'. Poor Yello has been plucked from his bowl and dumped on the floor by his young 7-year old owner who doesn't appreciate that fish are actually water-based creatures. Yello needs your help to return to his fishbowl, within a limited number of turns, but along the way he wants to destroy some of his owners toys as revenge. Since its release, this quality game has immediately shot into the top-40 on the US App Store.
You can fling Yello across the level, back towards his bowl, by stretching his tail to determine the trajectory and power, then releasing. If you pull his tail back far enough, his little tongue pokes out, he gasps and his eyes go bloodshot from being stretched. Assuming you aim successfully, Yello eventually plops back into his glass bowl and swims around happily (and you score a star and the next level is unlocked). If you don't reach the bowl within the allocated turns, or send Yello into an out-of-bounds area, the level is over and the poor fish starts crying.
Com2uS and I have a love-hate thing going on. I love many of their games but I absolutely loath their aggressive marketing tactics. Nothing in the world is going to convince me to give you an unwarranted 5-star review. No, not even a small pile of virtual currency. As you might have already guessed, Homerun Battle 2 [$4.99] is the latest in the long line of Com2uS games that I despise myself for enjoying.
Distilled into its most basic form, Homerun Battle 2, much like its predecessor, is a batting simulation. A 'casual' sports game, if you will. The goal here is to hit as many home runs as is humanly possible. Sometimes. Depending on which game mode you've selected, you might occasionally be called upon to hit a number of fouls in rapid succession instead. It varies. If you're experiencing vague feelings of deja vu, I don't blame you. Com2uS is clearly a firm believer in the old adage, 'If it isn't broke, don't fix it' and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Instead of venturing away from a beloved formula, they've added more to the fix. But, we're getting ahead of ourselves.
Bloomberg reports that Apple has opened up a new class of App Store offerings, allowing game publisher Big Fish Games to offer a monthly subscription package that will allow provide users with access to a number of the company's games through a dedicated iPad app.
The setup is similar to Netflix Inc. (NFLX)’s streaming application for the iPad. Subscribers can get unlimited access to games such as “Mystery Case Files” and the “Mahjong Towers” series from inside the Big Fish app.
Games played through the subscription service, which are streamed to a user’s iPad from Big Fish’s data centers, will initially require Wi-Fi access to play.
The standard package from Big Fish Games will launch as a $4.99 monthly subscription, increasing to $6.99 per month early next year as more game titles become available for the app. A free ad-supported option limiting play to 30 minutes per day will also be available.
Chair Entertainment's mucho-celebrated and super popular hack-and-slash RPG, Infinity Blade, is on sale right now for $2.99. We're not sure if it's on the cheap because of Black Friday, Thanksgiving or the latest surge of mentions courtesy Infinity Blade 2 coverage, but hey, that's not what's important here. The fact that it's three dollars cheaper and also an awesome game seems like the jucier material at the moment.
We're pretty sure 99 percent of you know, own, and probably dig Infinity Blade, so for you one percent-ers out there? Do yourself a favor: buy this game. Also, keep your heads on a swivel because Infinity Blade 2 is almost here. The follow-up is due out on December 1 and will carry a $6.99 price tag, which is the first game's usual price plus one. So far, it seems fantastic.
Surprise! Gameloft is holding a sale in honor of Thanksgiving. For a limited time, the studio is tossing out the regular price of a select 20 of its titles and lowering them to an agreeable ninety-nine cents. It wouldn't be a seasonal break without this kind of slash-and-burn sale from the mega publisher, so we're pretty relieved Gameloft stepped up and confirmed this year's Thanksgiving week. Thanks, guys!
Oh! And what's up for grabs? Surprisingly, a few uber-popular titles. Price of Persia: Warrior Within, Splinter Cell Conviction, and its Zelda clone Sacred Odyssey: Rise of Ayden are all on the list with a few other notables. Check it out:
Com2Us is getting in on the Thanksgiving slash Black Friday action alongside a bunch of other publishers. Starting now and, presumably, rolling until early next week, a smattering of titles in the studio's massive App Store catalogue have been reduced to a hair under a buck. What this means for your wallet is savings. Also, a heavier load. Poor little guy.
Among the biggest and brightest titles on sale is Homerun Battle 3D. If you grabbed that one of the billions of other times it's been up for a discount, don't dispair: Inotia 3, Tower Defense: Lost Earth, and Puzzle Family are all great games and involved in this price-slashing endeavor. Here's the list:
One thing about this week: you'll save some money if you're looking to stock up for a big drive or just content to use as "Ignore Family" fuel. The worldwide leaders of Sonic games, for example, is holding a fairly comprehensive sale, so if you were in the mood for a, uh ... more historic afternoon of App Store appreciation, then get your download fingers ready.
The big ticket items, as usual whenever Sega holds a sale, are its Sonic series games. It seems like the general fan audience is mixed on the quality of these, but at prices like one dollar, it's hard to feel too conned by the much-beloved, yet also heatedly criticized publisher. Also, of note? The oft-featured Monkey Ball games have been lowered to a buck.
Even though King of Dragon Pass [$9.99] is one of the nichiest (is that a word?) niche titles that has been released lately, I just can't get enough of it. It's been over two months since our review, and I'm still working towards ascending to the position of king. I love how different each play through is, too. I've lost count of how many times I've needed to reboot my tribe, but each time I've taken a different approach and was met with a substantially different outcome.
The one exception to this is the duck people. They're always jerks, and a few weeks ago I started a "relentlessly murder all ducks" policy that has been met with moderate success. KoDP players know what I'm talking about. Show no mercy.
Anyway, the one thing that I mentioned in our review that I really wish the game had was universal compatibility. These massive text-based games I want to be playing kicked back with my iPad, not hunched over my phone. In a recent blog post, the developers confirmed that the original game will in fact become universal in a future update. (Previously, they were undecided on a universal update or a separate HD version.) Unsurprisingly, the iPad version of the game is going to feature much less scrolling, and better yet, the crazy art that accompanies so much of the game won't be obscured by so much text like it is on the iPhone.
No word on release yet, as the same post mentions that the update hasn't been through any kind of QA yet, but it's still reassuring to know that it's in the pipeline and that it will be universal. Seriously though, check out our review if you haven't. King of Dragon Pass most certainly isn't a game for everyone, but if it hooks you, it won't let go.
We recorded this week's The TouchArcade Show in the interest of keeping you entertained and (maybe up to date on iOS) while traveling during Thanksgiving break. At the top, we dive into Infinity Blade 2 and our coverage of it. Later, we cover Desert Bus, dabble in video game books, and discuss next-gen iPod Touches. Oh! We also get into the latest and hottest news of the week. Hit those show notes for the appropriate links.
If you've been checking out our front page over this break, then you've probably seen or read about two billion different sales posts. What's up with that? Well, we've split our holiday sales coverage into as many studio-centric posts as possible for the sake of readability. But with any big holiday App Store bonanza, we've come across more than a couple of individual sales that don't jive with this kind of format.
Oh, hey, Kairosoft is getting into sales during the holidays! Starting now, and for a "limited time," two of the studio's lesser known but-still-as-awesome-as-ever simulation games are available on the App Store on the cheap. Both Pocket Academy and Hot Springs Story are seeing a drop from $3.99 to an agreeable $1.99. Money saved! Exclamation marks!
Konami is getting into the Thanksgiving mood, too, though in a less bombastic fashion than most of the "big" publishers currently invested in the App Store. Starting this week, you can grab two of its better titles, Gesundheit and Pro Evolution Soccer 2011, for the generous price of $.99. These two games usually sell at around $1.99 or $2.99, so there's a decent chunk of change to be saved here if you choose to buy.
Another App Store heavy hitter, 
Chair Entertainment's mucho-celebrated and super popular hack-and-slash RPG, 
Surprise! Gameloft is holding a sale in honor of Thanksgiving. For a limited time, the studio is tossing out the regular price of a select 20 of its titles and lowering them to an agreeable ninety-nine cents. It wouldn't be a seasonal break without this kind of slash-and-burn sale from the mega publisher, so we're pretty relieved Gameloft stepped up and confirmed this year's Thanksgiving week. Thanks, guys!
Com2Us is getting in on the Thanksgiving slash Black Friday action alongside a bunch of other publishers. Starting now and, presumably, rolling until early next week, a smattering of titles in the studio's massive App Store catalogue have been reduced to a hair under a buck. What this means for your wallet is savings. Also, a heavier load. Poor little guy.
One thing about this week: you'll save some money if you're looking to stock up for a big drive or just content to use as "Ignore Family" fuel. The worldwide leaders of Sonic games, for example, is holding a fairly comprehensive sale, so if you were in the mood for a, uh ... more historic afternoon of App Store appreciation, then get your download fingers ready.
Even though King of Dragon Pass [
