Hello everyone, and welcome to the week! I hope you all had a great Christmas if that’s your bag, and if it’s not, I hope your Monday agreed with you. It’s time once again for our look back at the noteworthy updates of the last seven days. The App Store doesn’t quite freeze the way it used to these days, so there were actually a fair number of updates compared to usual. Not a large amount in the absolute sense, but hey, enough to put this article together. Of course, you can keep an eye out for updates yourself using AppShopper or by participating in the TouchArcade forums. This weekly summary is just here to fill you in on the things you might have missed. Let’s dig in!
Pinball Arcade Plus, $0.99 This month’s new addition to the Pinball Arcade line-up is another relative obscurity. Pistol Poker is a 1993 table from the ill-fated Alvin G. and Co. pinball company, designed by Michael Gottlieb and produced in extremely limited quantities. The table itself is pretty average, but its rarity makes it an excellent choice to add some extra depth and texture to the impressive line-up found in this app. As usual, the new table is available through IAP for $4.99.
Shadow Fight 3 - RPG Fighting, Free Delivered just in time for Christmas, this update to Shadow Fight 3 is a pretty big one. It adds a third chapter to the game, which brings a lot of extra goodies with it. You can look forward to a bunch of new quests, a new playable Herald faction that offers up six new fighting styles, some new bosses, tons of new side quests, new equipment, fresh locations, and more. It also adds an item shop, fixes up some bugs, and tilts the balance a little in the player’s favor. That seems to be enough this week to earn the covered UMMSotW award. Enjoy!
Vignettes, $2.99 Vignettes is a cool little game that you can pick up for a nice price at the moment. Unless it’s off sale by the time you read this, in which case it’s still pretty reasonable and a good pick-up. Anyway, the latest update adds a brand new area to the game that includes new objects, puzzles, and secrets. The witch lair is a dangerous place to venture into. The spirits of the dead are about, so watch your step carefully.
King of Thieves, Free Huff, huff, huff… am I… am I too late to tell you about the Christmas event in King of Thieves? It’s probably still going on, right? Well, whether it is or isn’t, there are still some things in the new version of the game that are worth checking out. A new trap call the Roaster, for starters. I’ll let you figure out just what it does. There are also three new dungeons and nine new layouts, with more apparently on the way. If you’re just hearing about it now, pretend it’s a slightly late Christmas present. Wow, perspectives!
Dashy Crashy, Free The makers of Dashy Crashy released a new game recently called Smash Tanks. It uses AR to put tanks in your real room, but only as viewed through your device, so don’t get any weird ideas, alright? Anyway, to celebrate that game coming out, they’ve decided to let players of Dashy Crashy unlock the Smash Tanks tank for free until January 8th. You’ve got plenty of time, so you can probably finish whatever it is you’re doing in there before grabbing it. But don’t wait too long, okay?
Nexomon, $0.99 With Pokemon games being almost as beloved for their post-game content as anything else in the games, it seems fitting that this, er, homage should have a nice bit of post-game stuff to do as well. Head into the Netherworld, explore tons of new maps, dive into five new dungeons, and dig the new grind-friendly Rebirth system that allows you to level your monsters past level 50. There are also some balance changes and bug fixes in case new content isn’t your particular flavor of update. Hey, we all have our faves.
Super Phantom Cat 2, Free Gulp! Lady Kitty-chan! I… I was just coming to offer you your tribute, honest! But what are you doing here? Surely an adorable little girl such as yourself has no need to be around lowly cat-beasts like this one? Oh? Very well, I shall announce you. Hello Kitty, the famous character from Japan, is now making an appearance in Super Phantom Cat 2. There are some special new levels, accessories to collect, and of course Kitty-chan herself stepping in as an avatar. Do not mess with the Kitty-chan. Don’t do it.
Knives Out, Free If your chosen mobile PUBG clone is Knives Out, you’re surely enjoying the latest additions to the game already. A new Snowfield Battle teaches you to be careful where you leave your footprints, and the Christmas Battle might allow you to step into the boots of St. Nick himself for some… killing, I guess. Look, he knew what he was getting into when he signed up for this. I guess there’s also a trike vehicle coming soon, and there are some new duds in the shop for you to craft your ever-so-important image from.
Mortal Kombat, Free Lots of new stuff in this update, so let’s get right to it. Three new characters join the roster: Klassic Mileena, Kosplay Jacqui Briggs, and Injustice 2 Raiden. Yes, a Mortal Kombat character guest-starred in a DC fighting game and now the DC fighting game version of the Mortal Kombat character is guest-starring back in a Mortal Kombat game. Yeesh, I hope I still have some nog left. There are some new Tier 4 Weapons, and the Faction Wars mode has seen further adjustments. Finally, there are new Quests. Send your characters on these Quests to earn some rewards. Certain Quests need certain character types, so it’s a good incentive to build your collection and also something to do with said collection after they stop being useful fighters.
World of Tanks Blitz - Mobile, Free There’s a new map in the latest version of World of Tanks Blitz. It’s called Dynasty’s Pearl, and it’s set in the streets of Shanghai circa the mid-20th century. There are also a number of events going on in coordination with the holidays, but the description wasn’t specific and I don’t feel like going on a goose hunt this soon after the holiday. Sorry, I’m sure you’ll sort it out on your own if you care about the details.
That about wraps it up for last week’s significant updates. I’m sure I’ve missed some, though, so please feel free to comment below and let everyone know if you think something should be mentioned. As usual, major updates will likely get their own news stories throughout this week, and I’ll be back next Tuesday to summarize and fill in the blanks. Have a great week, and a Happy New Year!
