NimbleBit's Tiny Tower [Free] had an update land moments ago that among other things, addresses one of the more valid complaints I've seen about the game in that (previously) aside from building up your tower and keeping your store stocked there wasn't much purpose to the game. That's totally valid, as for some, the drive to simply make your tower taller isn't enough. That's where the new missions system comes in. Check it out:
Now the game has actual objectives which encourage you to have a wide variety of floors so you can stock up items to satisfy the mission requirements. You even get some free Tower Bux for your efforts. In addition, stock can be gifted in between friends, so you don't even need to have those floors in your tower to complete missions if you've got friends willing to send you some stock. Or, stock can be traded between players just for fun.
Some new UI tweaks have been added as well, to make floors with dream jobbers on them easier to spot. And, of course, it wouldn't be a Tiny Tower update without new floors and costumes.
It's been a while since we've done a proper Freebie Friday, mostly because these days it doesn't seem at all rare for great games to randomly show up as free more often than they probably should be. I've cherry picked a few here that are worth checking out, but if you want to see the full list of previously paid games that have gone free, swing on over to AppShopper and wade through the selection yourself. Feel free to post any good ones you find in the comments of this article.
Keep in mind, we don't actually condone horse choking. If you downloading these games somehow threaten's your horse's ability to breath you should slow down a bit.
If you're the kind of person who just can't get enough of Infinity Blade [$5.99] (we couldn't, as evident by our review) and you can't wait for Infinity Blade 2 to launch in the not too distant future… You might be excited that the soundtrack is now available on iTunes for $9.99.
In other Infinity Blade news, the sequel is just around the corner, less than two weeks away, actually. Something tells me that preview coverage all over the internet is going to ramp up as we get closer and closer to release… So, faithful Infinity Blade fans, hold on just a little longer.
We'll get back to our regularly scheduled game-related programming shortly, after this quick developer-centric PSA. The 8th annual International Mobile Gaming Awards is now taking entries from developers. I played a role in the whole process last year, and it was great. The catch, like all of these events, is that only the games that are submitted for consideration are actually judged. Whether it was lack of awareness, lack of effort, or something in between, it seemed like a lot of developers either flat out didn't submit their projects, or didn't put much into the process. This resulted in a lot of games that I knew were good getting passed over because their presentation provided to the judges was so lackluster.
So, here's some tips for doing fantastically in this year's IMGA-
Last year, the process involved an initial pass over all of the entries by a panel of judges from all over the world. This first look is based solely on what you submit, as some of the judges may not have even heard of your game before. The absolute worst thing you can do is just submit your iTunes screenshots and description, dust off your hands, and call it a day. Great games were disqualified last year because you flat out couldn't tell what you even did in the game between screenshots covered in logos and text along side a description detailing how addictive the game is. I wrote up a blog post a while back that might be useful for this.
Making opera and ballet seem fun and accessible must be an uphill battle. There's no shortage of people with preconceptions about the arts, and most of those preconceptions are about how opera houses may be great places to take a nap. But if The Show Must Go On [$0.99] is any indication, the Royal Opera House has what it takes to make opera interesting to any crowd -- or at least, to put it into the hands of those that can.
In this case, that's Hide & Seek and Big Pixel Studios. They've come together to make a sweet and compelling mini-game compilation about the life backstage at the opera house.
Over this past summer, Bungie had everybody guessing as to just what exactly they were up to by trademarking both the "Crimson" and "Bungie Aerospace" monikers. In late August, we learned that Crimson was actually Crimson: Steam Pirates [Free], a new strategy game developed by Harebrained Schemes in conjunction with Bungie. Bungie Aerospace would actually be the name used for publishing the title on the App Store, and we would assume, future titles as well.
With that mystery finally solved, Crimson: Steam Pirates launched for the iPad on September 1st. It turned out to be a pretty decent strategy game too, if not a bit too linear in its progression. It came with a very generous 8 levels as part of the free download, with an additional 8 levels in a Chapter 2 expansion available as an in-app purchase.
Yesterday, Bungie Aerospace launched Crimson: Steam Pirates for iPhone [99¢], a smaller-sized version of the iPad game. The game appears to be identical to the one on the iPad, but the pricing is structured a bit differently. It's 99¢ for the initial download, but it includes both the original Chapter 1 levels and the expansion Chapter 2 levels for the price, which is half of what it initially cost on the iPad. Additionally, a brand new Chapter 3 has launched with the iPhone version, and can be purchased from within the app for another 99¢. Chapter 3 is now available within the iPad version too, also priced at 99¢.
If you are sans iPad and have been interested in Crimson: Steam Pirates, or you're just looking to have a more portable version for your iPhone or iPod touch, then now is a good time to check out the newly released Crimson: Steam Pirates for iPhone.
I think it's fair to say by now that KlickTock is a master of creating tiny slices of gaming. Three of the four iOS games the developer has produced have been delightfully tiny experiences that squeak in under two minutes -- Super Search 60 [Free / $0.99], Doodle Find [Free / $0.99] and now ZONR [Free] all clock in at 60-90 seconds per play session. But while the older two are both simple (if charming) hidden object games, ZONR is something more interesting. It's also free, and (spoiler alert) by the end of this review I'll be telling you to download it, so you might as well get a head start.
Fresh off the heels of releases on XBLA and PC, Robot Entertainment is turning to iOS for its next release. Earlier this afternoon, Robot announced Hero Academy, a "head-to-head tactics" game that has you, and hopefully a pal, moving fantasy characters primed with spells, stabby things, and countermeasures across a virtual board in an attempt to destroy each other's home base crystals.
Hero Academy's core play will be asynchronous like, say, Words With Friends, and launch with all sorts of fun features, including Push notifications, in-game chat, and down the road, IAP options for "heroic teams, avatars, and add-ons." Oh! It also looks cute, too.
Generally speaking, most people are pretty pleased with Robot Entertainment's Orcs Must Die and Age of Empires Online, so we're pretty stoked to see what it has up its sleeves for us. The wait won't be too long, either: Hero Academy is set for a "winter" release.
Jurassic Park: The Game 1 HD [$6.99] is a mixed bag. On one hand, it's a technically messy and poorly optimized iPad 2 exclusive. It stutters and drops frames so consistently that it becomes nearly impossible to enjoy, no less play. And even when you're willing to forgive this fairly fundamental flaw, the roller-coaster-y placement of its sluggish and mundane puzzles has a habit of obliterating the tension it succeeds in building. But on the other hand, this is a Telltale production. The characters, which are newcomers to the universe, are handled with care and written as if they were, actually, people; the story is laced with excitement and drama conveyed with a palpable reverence for the source material; and when the game is actually clicking, the tension and the pull of its beats are enormous.
The story takes place in Jurassic Park sans electrical fences -- basically, right after Dr. Hammond, Malcolm and the rest of the crew bail on Isla Nublar and its new occupying force, dinosaurs. You'll be following a new cast of characters, including a well-equipped ... contractor lady sent in to assist Nedry with his capture of the dinosaur embryos, a veterinarian, and the vet's daughter, who obviously has some issues with her family life.
We had a great time with Limbic Software's Zombie Gunship [99¢] when we first reviewed it, and it's already been updated since then. If you check your pending updates, you'll see that Zombie Gunship 1.3 is waiting for you, which adds a whole new scenario featuring cool environmental objects (like trains) and AirPlay support.
I got a look at the AirPlay functionality back at GDC Austin, and the way they implemented it is actually really cool. Instead of just simply mirroring the display, you will have a radar display of sorts on your device while you see the video output on the TV. What will be interesting to see is whether or not players who play this way have any kind of advantage score-wise from players who play normally. It'd seem to me that a radar display would be pretty powerful, but we'll have to see what happens.
If you haven't grabbed Zombie Gunship yet, now seems like a great time. If you have, make sure you snag this update, it's solid.
If you're not an O.G. iPhone (or maybe even a original 3G) owner, chances are Apple's own Texas Hold'em never even appeared on your radar. There wasn't much reason for it to, either. It was originally released in late August of 2008, updated a few weeks later, then totally abandoned. Even though the presentation at the time was a major step above the other offerings on the App Store, Texas Hold'em was quickly outclassed by third part developers that included things like online multiplayer, multiple game modes, and more.
Apple just pulled Texas Hold'em from the App Store, which was the only game they ever released for iOS devices. If you've got a copy of the .ipa laying around, it's probably a good idea to back it up somewhere if you at all care about keeping it. If you're into reading tea leaves with every minor move Apple makes, this could signal them withdrawing entirely from first-party iOS game development. Although, you could really argue that they've already been withdrawn anyway.
If you're curious what Texas Hold'em was all about, Apple's web site for the game is still online, although don't expect it to be there for long.
Does the world really need another big, brawny, cigar-chomping, generic-looking hero? Adult Swim says yes. Major Mayhem [99¢] is Adult Swim's latest contribution to the mobile marketplace and… a rail shooter, I guess.
Closer in tone to Duck Hunt than Counterstrike, Major Mayhem bears more than a passing resemblance to games like Virtua Cop and Time Crisis. Here, movement is largely independent of the player. You'll be transported to the next zone automatically once you've killed a sufficient number of enemies.
Ticket to Ride is a popular board game created by board game gurus Days of Wonder. Back in May, Ticket to Ride [$6.99] was digitally converted into an iPad game, one which we thoroughly enjoyed in our review. Ticket to Ride had an excellent computer AI to play against, but the real fun was in playing another real life person. The iPad version contained a slick online multiplayer mode for up to 4 players, but was criticized for not having a local pass-n-play mode, something that should be a core element of any game based on a real life board game. Thankfully, pass-n-play did eventually come in an update a couple months following release, and there was much rejoicing.
Whizzers [99¢] by Demonual Studios is an endless-running game, whereas Whizzer (without an "S") is an old restroom-locating application from 2009. This review is for the game, not the toilet finder. Although if you're busting and need some entertainment, you may decide to get both.
The goal of Whizzers is to reach the end of each side-scrolling level, by running, climbing, jumping and dropping. That sounds pretty standard and reasonably easy, until you realize the platforms you're standing on are actually sinking into molten hot lava. The lava eventually floods the platforms, leaving you with fewer and fewer things to stand on, or perhaps nothing to stand on. Therefore, it's advisable to run for your life and to seek higher ground.
Back in 2004, CAVE released the manic shooter Mushihimesama (Bug Princess translated) into arcades to a warm reception from shmup fans, and two years later released a sequel called Mushihimesama Futari, which was also ported to Xbox 360 in 2009. Then, as most of you probably know, an iOS spinoff based on the Mushihimesama series called Mushihimesama Bug Panic [$6.99/Lite] was released late last year to critical acclaim. It wasn't the typical CAVE scrolling shooter, and instead was more of a dual-stick action game with similar bullet hell craziness and over-the-top enemies.
Today, CAVE has released a teaser video for their new forthcoming iOS game, and it looks like they're going back to that original title from 2004 Mushihimesama and bringing it to the App Store as Bug Princess this winter.
Jurassic Park: The Game 1 HD [$
