There are journeys in the real world that we can't make on our own. We can't travel to the center of the Earth. Most of us won't walk on Mars. And we'll never be tiny enough to explore the innermost reaches of the human body. Instead, we visit these places through fiction and film, through games and stories that transport us. Turns out, sometimes we ought to leave well enough alone. If Tentacles: Enter The Dolphin [$0.99] is any indication, the human body is a complete horror show.
That's not to say it isn't fun to explore, mind. The journey is a blast, but the destination is a little nauseous. You'd think the game's star, the betentacled Lemmy, would be the least pleasant part, all eye and mouth and hooked claws ripping his way through the intestines of Dr. Phluff. Not at all. No, when clambering through the chitinous spikes and grasping cilia, or fighting against the malevolent many-eyed bacteria, you might start to feel sorry for poor little horrifying Lemmy. He's only trying to survive the nightmare world Press Play created.
You've got to stop what you're doing and check Badland out. It's a side-scrolling action adventure game that puts you in control of a small flying creature on a quest that will see it discovering what's going down in its forest. The game's teaser trailer sheds a bit of light on the matter. Surely, all those machine parts and traps weren't there before, right?
What's really exciting about Badland is its vision and its production elements, the latter of which are popping out of the YouTube player for us. On the other hand, its whole "one-touch" control mechanic seems pretty clutch, too. Here's that video, by the way:
Creator Frogmind Games, a new two-man studio composed of RedLynx veterans, says we'll hear more about the game "later this year." We'll definitely be in touch.
I'm not usually a fan of toilet humor, and Wimp: Who Stole My Pants [$0.99 / Free / $2.99 / Free] takes place in a land reached by toilet, more or less. You hunt down stolen underpants, platform through toxic sewage and solve puzzles to claim toilet paper rolls. This hasn't triggered a moment of squeamishness, though. I've been far too busy touring the sights and sounds of the world of Wimp, trying to get every single one of those rolls into my collection and taking in some fantastic puzzle-platforming.
Wimp is one of the better platformers on iOS, but you wouldn't know it from its structure: 60 levels laid out in a menu, a three toilet-roll ranking system, and a handful of thematic worlds to flip between. It's dull, but it works, and lets us focus on the meat of the thing -- the many clever challenges Flexile Studio has prepared. Most of them surround box pushing or button pressing, but that doesn't mean they're boring.
This afternoon, Eli and I sat down with Wimp: Who Stole My Panties [$0.99 / Free / $2.99 / Free]. It's a 2D, physics-based puzzle platforming game, emphasis on the latter. In the game, you play as Wimp, a weird little mutant person thing stuck in a ball of slime. Across the game's dozens and dozens of levels, you'll be tasked with collecting rolls of toilet paper and what apparently is a pair of panties but totally looks more like a diaper. Most of the puzzles in the early game revolve around finding levers and pushing buttons, but there's also a lot of box moving and scaling. And sticking -- Wimp can also stick to surfaces.
We'll continue digging into Wimp for a review, but we've got this if you want to see what's up with the game now:
POST-VID UPDATE: hey, apparently you can customize the controls. How about that?
I was afraid Granny Smith [$1.99] would be one of those games. You know, the ones that are only funny because ha, look, an old lady doing something young people do? Puns might be the lowest form of wit, but that has to be in the bottom ten.
It surprised me, though, with its simple and charming approach. Granny isn't out to be extreme, she just wants her apples. Some young punk wants them too, so she takes off after him. She is on roller skates, sure, but who says Granny can't skate? It's a bit rough, and she needs to use her cane to glide down the occasional power line, but she has it under control. Mediocre Games has made a good-hearted run at this post-Sprinkle release. I find myself cheering for Granny even as I fail, reset, and fail again.
We've had our eyes on Apocalypse Max [$2.99] since it launched on iOS earlier this month (we even took it for a test drive during one of our TA Plays). Now that we've had an opportunity to check it out further, it's obvious that Wandake Games has put a lot of effort into its zombie-killing side-scroller. While Apocalypse Max isn't perfect (particularly in regards to its controls), its impressive visuals, fast-paced gameplay and decent amount of content breathe new life into the somewhat tiring zombie theme.
Apocalypse Max puts you in the role of Max (duh), the only survivor of the zombie infection on Hellthroat Island. Being the sole human on an island of undead, Max does what anyone else would do in the situation: go on a one-man zombie genocide while trying to figure out a way to escape. Max will journey through nine different regions of Hellthroat in a side-scrolling, shoot-em-up platformer taking on a wide variety of zombies. Action is fast, frenetic and challenging as you try to get through each level while holding off the hordes of zombies teleporting onto the field. Thankfully there are also a bevy of different weapons to make the adventure interesting.
Rayman Jungle Run [$2.99] is now my favorite iOS auto-runner. Granted, I wasn't the biggest fan of the genre, especially those with procedural, unending levels. Luckily, Rayman Jungle Run offers 40 distinct levels that require players to jump, hair-copter float, wall run, and punch or kick their way to the goal.
Each of these four overarching worlds tacks on an ability, and three of these worlds play out with tap-anywhere controls. However, the punch mechanic, used only in the final world, is relegated to a virtual button on the lower right.
Getting to the 40 goals is the easy part and adds up to less than an hour of pure gameplay. Getting 100 Lums per level, though, requires hours of practice. Each perfect level earns players a red gem-tooth, and five teeth unlock one crazy-hard race per chapter.
No Lums are in these Land of the Dead levels; it's all about reaching the end for the final tooth and getting the fastest time to place on the leaderboard. Speaking of leaderboards, none of the other stages are timed for online racing, which almost seems like a missed opportunity.
Other than meeting achievement goals, going for 100 Lums in stages unlocks an image gallery full of characters from Rayman Origins. This feels rather bittersweet, as seeing the characters creates nostalgia but serves to remind players what's missing from the Origins universe. How would this auto-runner incorporate bosses? I don't know, but I think the brilliant minds behind Rayman could have found an innovative way.
A few extra music tracks also wouldn't hurt, as they played randomly and grew a little stale after the first hour of playing. These tracks are probably enough for casual plays, but not for those who play over and over to perfect every level. That said, the overall lack of new assets made more sense when I realized Pix'n Love Rush creator Pastagames actually developed Rayman Jungle Run and not the original Ubisoft team.
Fanboy-like complaints aside, Rayman Jungle Run is the most thrilling, gorgeous, charming, and responsive auto-runner I've ever experienced. The stages whip and zip like a rollercoaster set at a perfect speed, which allowed me to take in each colorful character and background.
Each level, while less than a minute long, felt large. In whatever direction Rayman was running, jumping, or floating, I felt like I was exploring nearly every inch.
I don't believe collecting all 3,600 Lums in one play without dying is reasonable replayability, but I will happily pay for more levels to explore. Sadly, the title screen lacks a DLC button to hint of any forthcoming content.
For people who've never experienced Rayman or those who have strayed from the series, this is an excellent (re)introduction. For those who've played Origins, this may feel a bit mechanically and aesthetically familiar. In the case of Rayman Jungle Run, familiarity isn't a bad thing, especially when it stems from creator Michel Ancel.
Earlier this month we told you that Ubisoft was planning on bringing Rayman to iOS in a new adventure on September 20th, but it looks like somebody got antsy and pulled the lever that released Rayman Jungle Run [$2.99] earlier today. It uses the same engine as the critically acclaimed Rayman Origins which launched earlier this year, so it's got some gorgeous visuals tucked under its belt but the gameplay is quite a bit different from that more traditional platform experience.
Rayman Jungle Run is a level-based auto-runner that has you guiding the titular character through various types of terrain, collecting the a string of glowing bugs called Lums which are spread throughout. Strangely, the game is actually broken up into 4 parts from the start, with each section focusing on just one of Rayman's various abilities. The first world starts with just needing to make Rayman jump when needed to get to the end of a level, but later worlds are unlocked which has him floating with his head propeller, wall running, or punching enemies.
The splitting up of abilities is likely to keep the gameplay simple and focused on just one-button control, which is probably a smart design choice for the pick-up-and-play type of mobile experience Ubisoft is shooting for with Rayman Jungle Run. I've only made my way through the first world so far, but I'm really having fun with it and am already hooked on trying to complete every level 100% and unlock the next world.
I'm not going to lie and say I wouldn't love a full port of Rayman Origins on iOS, because I desperately would, but Rayman Jungle Run so far looks to offer a great mobile experience in its own right, with the kind of high production values you would expect from a full console release. We'll have more on Rayman Jungle Run soon, but in my short time with the game I think it's already going to be a pretty big hit with gamers. If you are a Rayman fan that likes to live on the edge you can just grab the game from the link below, or check in with the forum crowd to get some more early impressions.
Last month, BeaverTap Games released Mikey Shorts [$0.99 / Free], a platforming game with a retro-inspired look and a focus on speedrunning. In short, we gave Mikey Shorts5 stars in our review and it’s easily one of the best platformers that I’ve ever played on iOS, or any platform for that matter. Not bad for a two-man studio’s first ever release.
Acclaim for Mikey Shorts swelled as it received critical praise from outlets across the ‘net, and it’s been one of the most popular games in our forums with players battling back and forth for leaderboard supremacy. Today, Mikey Shorts gets even sweeter with its first significant content update.
First there’s a set of 12 brand new Challenge levels, bringing the total number of levels to 60 not including the 24 found in Story mode. These new levels are just as devious as the others, begging you to try and retry endlessly to find that best route and discover those extra little design nuances that will let you score the quickest time possible.
Along with the new Challenge levels comes 24 new shop items to outfit your character with. Mixing and matching gear to create different avatars has been an unexpected joy in Mikey Shorts, and with this latest batch of items you can even create near-lifelike representations of the TouchArcade Crew: myself, Brad and Eli, as you can see from the header image at the top of this post. Fulfill your fantasies of playing with the digital us!
In addition, support has been built in for both the iCade and the Joypad controller app, if you feel you need some options other than the virtual controls. Speaking of those, you can also now change the opacity of those virtual buttons to suit your tastes. Finally, a lite version of Mikey Shorts has just appeared, in case you’ve been wrestling with whether or not to spend your hard earned dollar on the game. The first 4 Story levels are available in the lite version.
Mikey Shorts is something special. I think I’ve logged more time with it than any other game released this year, and as long as they keep on adding new content that probably won’t change. If you’ve been on the fence because you aren’t sure how well platformers work on the touch screen, then at least give the new lite version a try and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Also, be sure to swing by the forum thread where BeaverTap are actively taking suggestions for future costume ideas.
We've been working on a horrible "when pigs fly" joke for, like, the last hour and have nothing to show for it, so we'll just give you the news sans hilarity: Bad Piggies, Rovio Mobile's next game, is a physics-based puzzler that'll put you in charge of building custom vehicles and aircraft designed to carry the game's pigs in an epic quest to steal eggs.
At least, this is what the game's latest trailer seems to be screaming at us. When the game was announced a week or so ago, Rovio didn't talk about any of the game's specifics, including this part.
This building mechanic is a neat one that we've seen before in, most notably, Banjo-Kazooie Nuts & Bolts. It'll be interesting to see how streamlined Bad Piggies will feel in comparison, as we've got a feeling Rovio is going to do its best to keep the casuals on board with its games.
We'll see soon enough. Bad Piggies is due out this September 27 across iPhone, iPad, and Android, with other platforms to follow.
It’s always nice to break the Wednesday night release routine, and today Wandake’s Apocalypse Max [$2.99] does just that. It’s a side-scrolling action platformer with a really sharp look and great presentation, and an especially nice control scheme. Brad and Eli kicked the tires a bit in a TA Plays video, and liked what they saw.
If you like your gameplay videos with a hot dose of off-topic discussion about early nineties television programming, give the TA Plays a look. Or you can check out the official Apocalypse Max trailer below.
I’ve played Apocalypse Max a bit as well, and it’s a really stylish game. It employs an auto-aiming feature to keep things simple for the touch screen, which I think was the right move, and I’m enjoying the balance between the swipe-based melee attacks and the gunplay.
We’ll continue to plug away at Apocalypse Max and see how it holds up in the long haul, but if you’re the spontaneous type you can check out our forums for more impressions or just live on the wild side and take that $3 leap of faith that it’s up your alley.
Everyone was curious what 5th Cell’s follow-up title would be after bringing Scribblenauts Remix [$0.99] to the App Store, and it turned out to be a game called Run Roo Run [$0.99]. It’s a platformer of sorts with a very heavy emphasis on timing. Let your little Roo loose in a level, then simply tap the screen to jump or interact with items at the exact right moments to get past any objects or hazards.
It’s a game that we really liked in our review, and just this week Run Roo Run was updated with Universal iPad support and currently the price has dropped to free to celebrate.
It’s pretty darn simple to play, but in the later levels things can get downright tricky, and will require pinpoint precision on your part. Speaking of levels, Run Roo Run has literally hundreds of them, so it should keep you busy for a good long while.
If you already own the iPhone version of Run Roo Run, then grab this Universal update and throw this bad boy on your iPad (if you have one, that is). If you are an owner of the iPad-native version Run Roo Run HD [$1.99 (HD)], you should probably grab this new Universal version anyway since it’s free, so you’ll always have the advantage of putting it on an iPhone or iPod touch.
The bottom line, though, is that Run Roo Run is a pretty fantastic game, and you should definitely grab it one way or the other while it’s free.
For the first couple of years of the App Store, it seemed like virtual controls would never be up to snuff enough for a traditional platforming game. Sure games like Bounce On [$1.99 / Free] with its tilt+tap control scheme showed that with some creativity a precision platformer could be done on iOS, but sometimes you just yearn for that classic feel of a d-pad and buttons, and although a few games came close nobody had really figured out how to make that feel right on a touch screen just yet.
Then, two years ago this week in fact, Pizza Boy [$1.99 / Free] came along and showed us the way. We praised Pizza Boyin our review for its fantastic virtual control setup, something developer Acne Play dubbed the “Smart Touch System.” Well, whatever you want to call it, it just plain worked, and made you forget you were playing a game with virtual buttons in the first place. Instead you could just focus on the action at hand.
You know a game's good when you have a hard time putting it down to write the review. I confess, I was skeptical, watching video of Coconut Island's One Tap Hero [$0.99]. Could a puzzle platformer whose only interface is "touch anywhere" actually deliver on gameplay? Sure, One Tap Hero was a finalist at IGF China, but a lot of original concepts get lost or played out in the transition to being a commercial game.
One Tap Hero pulls it off brilliantly. The controls are beyond simple and perfectly responsive (tap, or for jumping, tap and hold for a longer jump), the level design is varied and remains interesting and challenging throughout the game, the IAP is unobtrusive and truly optional, and the game is really cute without ever being cloying.
When I was six or so, I spent my afternoons in the house of a woman named Joan, tagging along with her three kids in an after-school care situation. It was there I got my first introduction to console games, playing things like Paperboy and Jeopardy! on their NES. But my first true love was Super Mario Bros. I wasn't very good, but whenever my turn came around I'd play my little heart out, running across World 1-1, memorizing the jumps, eventually picking up the trickier hops in 1-2, and barrelling through over, and over, and over. Mikey Shorts [$0.99] brings that feeling back like it's brand new.
Now, Mikey Shorts isn't quite as complicated a game as Super Mario Bros. But that transcendent feeling, when you time each jump perfectly and soar past every enemy? It's right here, and it brings me back to the late '80s, piling on Joan's sofa with a bunch of other kids and passing the controller back and forth. If I could just keep playing without dying, I'd get to go a little longer. That mindset makes it awfully hard to put Mikey Shorts back down. Just one more level, please?
There are journeys in the real world that we can't make on our own. We can't travel to the center of the Earth. Most of us won't walk on Mars. And we'll never be tiny enough to explore the innermost reaches of the human body. Instead, we visit these places through fiction and film, through games and stories that transport us. Turns out, sometimes we ought to leave well enough alone. If Tentacles: Enter The Dolphin [$0.99] is any indication, the human body is a complete horror show.
