Just over a month ago, Avengers Initiative [$1.99] from Marvel and Wideload Games made a surprise debut on the App Store. We were initially quite intrigued by the shiny comic book characters, but after taking the game for a test drive in a TA Plays video, we came to find out that Avengers Initiative was essentially Infinity Blade with a Marvel Universe re-skin and The Hulk as the main playable character. Not necessarily a bad idea on paper, actually, but the extent of the similarities to Infinity Blade made Avengers Initiative feel extremely hollow and uninspired, and kind of boring as evidenced in our review.
Anyway, I don't want to totally be a Negative Nelly about the situation. Since its source material was already a great game, that means that Avengers Initiative wasn't that bad for what it was: an uninspired Infinity Blade clone where you play as The Hulk. I mean, there's got to be some value in smashing on bad dudes as the big green fella, right? Well for the original price of $5.99 that might have been a harder pill to swallow in the iOS game world, but right now you can nab Avengers Initiative for half price, making it a much more attractive prospect if you're a Marvel fan looking for something shiny to play on your device.
Score-oriented 'racers' seem to have a decent following on iOS, with hits such as Mad Skills BMX [$0.99] and MotoHeroz [$0.99 / $0.99 (HD)] garnering fans with their emphasis on speed, precision, and high scores. Stunt Star: The Hollywood Years [$2.99], continues the trend in terms of trial-and-error side scrolling racers. However, while other titles focus entirely on race, Stunt Star does a great job adding personality and presentation with its premise. Sure, Stunt Star's difficulty is exceedingly tough, and its limited-use power-ups don't help the matter, but the game's trick-based gameplay is deep, lengthy and simply fun.
Stunt Star puts you in the role of a prospective stuntman as he gets his start in Hollywood films. Levels are categorized into different films, with each individual mission charging you with performing a specific trick. Players are tasked with getting their vehicle from one point to another in a level, with the goal being to land as close as possible to a checkered flag. Each mission also provides supplemental objectives (typically grabbing a star and using a certain vehicle) which award added points for completion. At the end of each mission players are scored, money is earned, and trophies are awarded based on score.
Back in August, developer The Men Who Wear Many Hats released a strikingly authentic riff on the classic edu-tainment title Oregon Trail with their zombie-infested iOS game Organ Trail [$2.99]. We thought it was pretty darn fantastic in our review, but there were definitely a lot of minor bugs and issues that can be typical of an initial release. Despite the simplistic visuals, there were a lot of complex systems under the hood of Organ Trail, and bugs can easily slip by unnoticed until a game hits a wider audience.
Just a couple of weeks after release, a substantial maintenance update was issued which addressed a ton of those types of problems. It was a great step forward, but some issues still were cropping up as more people continued to pour their time into the game.
Today, The Hats have released a second Organ Trail update, and again it focuses on tons of little tweaks, bug fixes, and optimizations. If you check out the full update notes in the App Store description, you can see all the little nips and tucks the team has given the game. Nothing has ever been completely broken, and we've been enjoying the heck out of Organ Trail even with its minor issues, but it's nice all the same to see them continue to be addressed.
If you're waiting on an actual content update for Organ Trail, that's something that's in the cards as well, but as we've talked about before it somewhat hinges on how their PC version of the game does in the Steam Greenlight program. My gut tells me we'll be seeing new content for the iOS version either way, but we have yet to hear anything definitive.
Anyway, Organ Trail was great when it came out and is an even better, more solid experience thanks to these updates. Next on my wishlist: iPhone 5 and 5th gen iPod touch widescreen support. You hear me, you hat-wearing men? Make it so.
Last November FDG Entertainment released a really interesting and unique puzzle game titled Blueprint 3D [$0.99 / $2.99 (HD)]. It tasked you with aligning pictures, which had been "exploded" out into a 3D cloud of chaos, and getting things lined up properly to put the picture back together again into something recognizable.
It wasn't a hard game, or an especially long one, but we thought Blueprint 3D was satisfying nonetheless in our review, and it's been updated several times since then with new level packs that have fleshed out the whole experience.
Well get ready for the fleshing out to hit an infinite level as with an upcoming 2.0 update to Blueprint 3D you'll actually be able to explode any picture you wish, creating an unlimited amount of puzzles to play through. Check out how it works in the following video:
Capcom delights in updating each Street Fighter at least three times before hunkering down to create a new version. Diehard fans rationalize the updates, touting new special moves and under-the-hood improvements. The rest of us shake our heads and hold out for the inevitable next version, or open our wallets and migrate with the rest of the herd. Street Fighter X Tekken [$2.99] marks the third Street Fighter to land on mobile devices, but unlike the previous and most excellent second release, Street Fighter IV Volt [$4.99], this one's not so easy to recommend.
Like the flagship console version, SFxT for iphone is a two-on-two fighter. Each player chooses two warriors and lays waste to other tag teams using a flurry of combos, special moves, and tag-team attacks. The roster is one of SFxT's weak spots. Volt currently offers a staggering 22 fighters from which to choose. SFxT includes 10, leaving fans of either series with a mere five familiar faces and an anorexic roster. To be fair, Capcom added to Volt's roster over time and they'll likely do the same thing for this game. Or, more likely, you'll have yet another release to add to the army of Street Fighter icons littering your Home screen.
As in previous mobile iterations, SFxT players duke it out using a simplified interface: One punch, one kick, an X button to swap fighters, and a Special button for special moves like fireballs. The streamlined interface benefits both the novice and the pro player looking for on-the-go action away from his fight stick. Novices can tap buttons arbitrarily to string together moves, while veterans can still outperform button mashers by relying on precise execution to pull out longer, flashier combos, or disable simple moves and input specials using the tried-and-true mix of joystick movements and button presses.
Besides tag-team play, SFxT throws a few more elements into the mix. After choosing their team, players choose a Pandora's Box, a powerful but temporary upgrade that sacrifices their partner and a compelling risk-reward mechanic for desperate situations. Gems, another new addition, are awarded in a random roulette-style game triggered when players perform a tag move. Depending on where the wheel stops, you might receive a boost to an in-game stat such as attack, or nothing at all. You're not punished for missing out on a power-up, so the off-chance of netting one is a good way to reinforce using tag attacks, maneuvers that experienced players will want to weave into their strategies.
Technically, the game makes a few minor improvements. Animations are as fluid as ever, characters boast significant detail and crispness. Unlike Street Fighter IV Volt's frozen-in-time environments, all SFxT backgrounds are animated, injecting some liveliness into fights and taking mobile games one step closer to providing a full-on console experience.
SFxT deviates from Volt in other, less fortunate ways. In Volt, players can enter ranked or unranked Wi-Fi matches. SFxT features only ranked and Bluetooth battles, forcing players to put their win-loss record on the line if they want to challenge opponents outside their living rooms. Crippling lag lowers ranked mode's stock even further, as matches outside your home country are often unplayable. More significantly, partaking in ranked battles requires credits. If you want to throw down online, you must either wait for the timer in the upper corner of your screen to expire and grant you a single credit, or buy gold as an in-app purchase and put it toward more credits.
SFxT's most egregious in-app purchase might be a deal breaker for hardcore fighting fans: At any time, players can buy gold and use it to upgrade their Pandora's Box. Honest players can swear off the store and earn points toward upgrades by playing the game, but inevitably they'll run up against players who dropped a Ben Franklin on upgrades. Pay-to-win upgrades don't break the game; skilled players can and usually will come out on top. But their mere existence does tip the balance away from Street Fighter's traditional reliance on skill (and spamming fireballs).
There's no denying that SFxT is a fun game. Like its predecessors, it runs smooth as butter, features a fighting system responsive and robust enough to nearly emulate playing on a stick, and it's a helluva lotta fun to look at. But Capcom's nickel-and-dime multiplayer decisions and the paper-thin roster make it an appetizer to Street Fighter IV Volt's seven-course feast.
One minute spent with God of Blades [$2.99] and it's clear that it isn't the most mechanically complex or the tightest side-scrolling hack-and-slash out there. Its biggest problem is its scenario design, which is ignorant of how floaty the core combat feels. Boss fights in particular are too technical and desire a level of mastery impossible to summon given how your guy kinda glides and bounces through the battlefield.
But what God of Blades lacks in functional mechanical sizzle, it makes up for threefold with amazing art and sound direction. The tortured, veiny world the art conjures and the surreal music it uses to bolster its paranoid sci-fi vibe are both riveting aspects that suck you into a surreal universe and refuse to let go.
In short, God of Blades is one of those style over substance games in which the creative elements manage to trump everything else. Its ability to consistently deliver the exotic and bizarre pays off; its curiosities are the engaging thing here, the mechanics are an oddly secondary kind of thing.
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.
Longtime Mac gamers should already be familiar with Pangea Software, who has been developing games for Apple's desktop computers for the past 25 years. However, in recent years and with the advent of the iPhone, they've turned their focus squarely on the iOS market. They were some of the earliest players in the game when the App Store launched in mid-2008, and although their games can feel a little dated at their core, they've always been really good about updating them for Apple's latest hardware and software advancements.
That's never been more true than right now, as practically their entire catalog of iOS games have been updated for the wider 4-inch screen of the new iPhone 5. Check out the selection.
Cro-Mag Rally, $1.99 - A very Mario Kart-like racing title, Cro-Mag Rally has over-the-top arcade handling and weapon-based gameplay that can be a ton of fun, especially with the online multiplayer component. Not quite Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing [$1.99] level, but fun nonetheless.
Bugdom 2, $1.99 - A Mac classic, Bugdom 2 is a 3D platformer that has you exploring a huge world as a tiny bug person. The controls can be a bit finicky, but with a little patience and practice this is actually a really fun and fully-realized platformer.
Nanosaur 2, $2.99 - Fly around as a dinosaur equipped with weapons as you lay waste to the terrain and enemy dinosaurs below you. Yeah, pretty awesome premise. There's also online multiplayer battling included, or you can check out the free standalone online battle version Nanosaur 2: Battle [Free]
Otto Matic, $1.99 - Another free-roaming action platformer similar to Bugdom, but here you're playing a little robot who must save the human race from an alien invasion and enslavement. Just another day on the job for our future robot overlords!
Enigmo 2, $1.99 - This is a really clever puzzle game that has you setting various items around the screen in an elaborate fashion with the goal of using gravity to direct a stream of liquid into a "goal" container at the bottom of the level.
Warheads, $1.99 - I've somehow never played this myself, but it appears to be a Missile Command-esque type of game that has you defending structures on the ground from airborne threats using various forms of missile defenses. Seems like a sparkly, explodey visual treat as well.
Monkey Bongo, $1.99 - A puzzle game that's sort of a mix between Angry Birds and Cut the Rope. Your goal is to connect monkeys with bananas, and you do this by slingshotting coconuts to knock them loose, swinging your monkey onto a bongo drum and bouncing them into the bananas, and more.
Nucleus™, $1.99 - A fairly simplistic dual-stick space shooter, of which there are many, many of in the App Store. This one seems to be solid though, with lots of different enemy types and weapons to use, and it's one of the only dual-stick shooters I know of that already supports the new iPhone screen.
Air Wings®, Free - An interesting flying game that puts you in control of various types of tiny aircraft, like balsa wood planes, paper airplanes, and even an R/C quad-copter. Fly around the open environments completing objectives or partake in some online multiplayer competition.
One other thing worth mentioning about all these updated games from Pangea is that besides supporting the new aspect ratio of the iPhone 5 screen, all games are also Universal so they'll work on the iPad as well and they all support AirPlay mirroring, which if you've got an Apple TV then you can beam the game from your iOS device to your TV wirelessly and play like it's a home console system. Pretty cool, and these updated games are definitely a good way to try out your new iPhone 5.
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.
Something strange is afoot on the App Store. First Rayman Jungle Run hits at a strange time yesterday, now Capcom's Street Fighter X Tekken [$2.99] appears out of the blue, breaking traditional weekly international release store cycles. Normally, these games would be appearing in New Zealand later this morning. ...Not available in the US now.
We'll have more information on Street Fighter X Tekken as we spend some more time with it tomorrow. But, it's on the App Store now, and seems like it'd be just as solid as Capcom's previous iOS fighter offerings. I expect impressions will be rolling in on our forums fairly quickly.
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.
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.
Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there was a game called Infinity Blade [$5.99] about slicing people up with a sword, and another game called Temple Run [Free], about looting and running. After a hard day's work hacking and sliding, they went out for drinks together and one thing let to another. Nine months later, a stork dropped dead out of the sky, and there, crushing the stork's carcass beneath a heavy boot, was Infinite Warrior [$3.99].
We really got into stabbing some fools back before the official release of Infinite Warrior, and the release version dishes violent death just as gleefully as expected. Still, the question remains: is there more to Infinite Warrior than step, slash, repeat?
Gameprom is one of the developers that really saw the potential of iOS devices as digital pinball havens. The elongated screens, the intuitive touch screen controls, the accelerometer that let you “shake” a table to give it a proper nudge. It just seems a perfect fit.
Since their iOS debut of Wild West Pinball [$0.99] all the way back in April of 2009, Gameprom have gone on to release a number of different pinball games, each typically being more elaborate and technically advanced than the last. It’s up for debate whether you can jive with Gameprom’s brand of ball physics compared to real life tables, but the bottom line is they perform well, look spectacular, and are lots of fun.
Over the weekend, Gameprom released their latest table simply title Arcade Pinball. The theme this time around is classic arcade games. There’s a huge display screen in the middle of the table that plays various mini-games that have passing resemblances to ones you might have grown up with in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. There’s also a mini-table in the upper corner that looks like it’s modeled after Q-Bert but plays more like a little pachinko machine. Check out the dubstep-laden trailer below.
The new Arcade Pinball is pretty cool, and should feel right in line with Gameprom’s other offerings if you’re into them. Here’s where things get tricky though: due to some weird licensing issues, there are several ways you can actually buy the different Gameprom games. Let me see if I can break it down for you in the least complicated way possible.
Their original 3 pinball games, Wild West [$0.99], Jungle Style [$0.99], and The Deep [$0.99], are all currently free in their iPhone standalone versions. A good way to gauge if you’ll like Gameprom’s brand of silver ball is to download any or all 3 of them and check them out, since you know, they’re free and everything.
However, a better and cleaner alternative is to buy one of their pinball collection apps. There’s Pinball HD [$1.99 / $1.99] which includes the 3 previously mentioned tables plus has access to most of their other collection by way of in-app purchase: AC/DC Pinball, Da Vinci Pinball, Snow Pinball, Slayer Pinball, and the new Arcade Pinball.
Then there’s yet another collection, aptly named Pinball HD Collection [Free / Free], which includes all the previous tables mentioned for purchase as well as the 3 licensed ‘80s movie tables from the standalone War Pinball [$1.99 / $1.99 (HD)] app (those 3 tables are based on the movies Platoon, Navy Seals, and Missing in Action, and are all pretty sweet). Pinball HD Collection is the way to go if you want all of Gameprom’s pinball games in one single app (or theoretically 2 apps, since none of their pinball games are Universal). Also, none of your purchases transfer between apps, which is kind of unfortunate.
Aside from a confusing amount of ways to buy their tables, I love Gameprom’s pinball games and will continue to buy and re-buy them if I have to, though I seriously hope there’s not yet another collection on the horizon. At least their prices are pretty cheap, with all tables running beweeen 99¢ and $2.99, and the new Arcade Pinball clocking in at $1.99. For sake of simplicity I’ll just list the links to the Pinball HD Collections below, since they're currently the most definitive collections, but definitely check out their free offerings if you haven't yet and at the very least there are enough different options for buying these games that something is bound to suit you.
Zombie stories boil down to cat-and-mouse tales, with us human beans unwillingly playing the part of the mice running from all the undead kitties. Plight of the Zombie [$2.99 / Free] is a little different. You play as Craig, an average slob who stays home channel-surfing while a zombie apocalypse transpires right outside his window. He decides to venture out for a burger when a zombie shambles in from the side and passes along a severe case of rotting flesh and a healthy appetite for protein. Tragically, Craig can't roam the city munching on brains by himself, because as any student of popular culture knows, zombies are dumb.
Luckily, Craig has you to guide him. You use your finger to trace a path from Craig to the survivors scattered around the environment. It's a simple goal in theory and equally simple in practice for the first couple of levels. Steadily, you'll come up against proactive survivors more interested in filling you with lead than filling your belly. The moment your prey's survival instinct kicks in, Plight of the Zombie comes into its own as a satisfying puzzle game.
Trace Craig a path and he'll follow it without hesitation, walking right into the double barrels of shotguns and other nasty weapons en route to his destination. You'll need to bop him on the head with your finger to make him hit the brakes, wait for the survivor to move on by, then send Craig on his way or re-think your strategy and draw him a new path. Each survivor you gobble up becomes a new undead mouth for you to feed, and the key to passing most later stages. Some survivors wisely hide behind obstacles like road cones and stacks of tires. To get at them, you'll sometimes need to send a zombie to the front lines, let the survivor waste him, then send another zombie (sometimes more than one) rushing in while your prey reloads.
In addition to humans, each level contains three brains to collect. Collecting brains is optional, but the more you devour, the more coins you earn to purchase content like new levels and attire. New zombie types become available over time. The fat, slow-moving zombies can absorb several rounds of ammunition, making for the perfect distraction while your slimmer, quicker zombies zip around survivors to nab brains. Another type goes invisible while standing stock still, making for covert-ops-like levels where you memorize survivor movement patterns and sneak around while they've got their backs turned.
The introduction of these new elements and others such as brains that vanish after a short time and enemies toting different types of guns, thickens Plight's already meaty content. Solving many later stages involves lots of forethought, and successfully munching up every survivor plus collecting every coin-packed brain carries ample satisfaction.
There's not much bad to say about Plight of the Zombie. Zombies boot-scoot along the paths you draw for them as soon as you lift your finger, which means you'll often hold your finger to the screen waiting for a survivor to turn or move before sending a zombie on its way, and your fat digit makes a better finger than a window. I occasionally had to beat a zombie on the head because the tiny splotch of pixels that makes up his body didn't register the first tap or the second, and the load times are much slower than your average walker. Lastly, the game might seem steep at three bucks, but you organically unlock new packs of levels as you go, making Plight a more complete experience than most nickel-and-dime iOS games available these days.
None of those marks detract from Plight of the Zombie's satisfying and strategic experience that offers a fresh take on the zombie formula. Puzzle fans shouldn't hesitate to devour this one. (I know: groan. Grrroooaaaannnnn! Like a zombie!)
Just over a month ago, Avengers Initiative [$1.99] from Marvel and Wideload Games made a surprise debut on the App Store. We were initially quite intrigued by the shiny comic book characters, but after taking the game for a test drive in a TA Plays video, we came to find out that Avengers Initiative was essentially Infinity Blade with a Marvel Universe re-skin and The Hulk as the main playable character. Not necessarily a bad idea on paper, actually, but the extent of the similarities to Infinity Blade made Avengers Initiative feel extremely hollow and uninspired, and kind of boring as evidenced in our review.
