Paper Titans just doesn't have enough to it. It's too small in scope and scale, for one, but it's also utterly unremarkable. The mechanics are stale, the amount of repetition it has you do is absolutely numbing, and the 3D puzzles are dull at best. You might want to look over this one tonight as you pick and choose releases. There's just no oomph here outside of the visuals.

To rewind, Paper Titans is a 3D puzzle platform game. In it, you "make" a bunch of odd-looking paper creatures and then search for stars and postcards across a host of same-y, or even recycled, levels. Each one has three stars that you can collect, but the card is the end goal for whatever reason. Monster movement is handled by a line-drawing mechanic similar to the one in, say, Spy Mouse. Just tap the monster and drag a line to where you want him.

Each monster has a special ability. The first one you build is a Collector. He collects things. The next one is a Thrower. He can throw Collectors to raised platforms. There's also a guy that uses a rocket pack, as well as a shaman that can raise platforms.

Once you start diving deeper into the game, you unlock the ability to spawn more and more of these dudes into a level at the same time, which allows you to move around a handful of paper dudes at once. Slow movement mechanics and too simple tasks keep this from being interesting, though. From the minute you load into a level you know exactly what you need to do, so it's just a matter of waiting for your monsters to waddle their way over to the obvious.

I wish I liked this one more. The art style is OK and the sound design is stellar, but the game part is ultimately just ... competent, if not straight-up flat at times. Some folks are probably disagreeing with me, though, so give the game's thread a look as you ponder a purchasing decision as the game hits tonight alongside the rest of the world's new releases.

International App Store Link: Paper Titans, $2.99

It's happening: War Balloon's sci-fi ship tragedy simulator, Star Command, is available on the New Zealand App Store. Basically, this is the first stop on its automated global release tour that will see the game finally released everywhere. For realsies.

Back in April, I took a look at a build that's pretty representative of the one you'll be checking out tonight. In a nutshell, Star Command is good. It's hard. But it's good. Here's what I mean:

At the top level, Star Command is a sci-fi simulation game that focuses on the real guts of an interstellar ship -- you know, the people, the facilities, and the technology that makes travel and battle possible. As far as feel goes, it's something of sci-fi slugfest where you find yourself limping out of every battle in a charred ship that's being staffed by a skeleton crew because everyone either (a) got sucked out of the hull, (b) got incinerated by phasers, or (c) died in a fire. I'm not really sure that this is the feel that creator War Balloon was ultimately looking for, but this is how it came across to us for the first couple of hours. And, spoiler, this is a pretty cool thing.

If you'd like to see more of Star Command, we've got your back. We've got two TA Plays, and of course, that preview. We're working on a review at the moment, so stay tuned for that if you're on the fence.

Of course, if you want a reminder when Star Command hits, go ahead and add it to your Watch List on the TouchArcade app [Free]. You can also watch the game's thread on our forum.

International App Store Link, $2.99

This past December, Games Workshop announced that a new iteration of Space Hulk, a turn-based strategy game based in the Warhammer 40k universe, would be coming to PC, Mac, and iOS devices this year. We talked with the developers in a bonus podcast back in March, and our pals over at Board Game Geek got some time with the PC version at GDC, which should be comparable to the iPad version, and posted a hands-on video earlier this month. Today, Full Control, who are developing Space Hulk for Games Workshop, posted a developer Q&A video talking about some of the aspects of the upcoming title. Check it out.

It sounds like Full Control has more of these Q&A videos planned, so if you have a question you want to ask the developers head over to the Space Hulk Facebook page and ask away. We'll keep you in the loop as more information is released, including a firm launch date when there is one, as Space Hulk works its way towards the desktop and iOS platforms later this year.

Firehose Games's PC tower defense game, Go Home Dinosaurs, is a game about protecting an army of gopher's midsummer stash of BBQ from a toothy, slow-walking horde of prehistoric foes. Let that sink in for a moment. In the upbeat, ridiculous world of Go Home, gophers and dinosaurs come together to fight over delicious meat after the dinosaurs try to take said meat from the gophers. It's a crazy conceit, but it works because Firehose embraces it totally and molds a uniquely irreverent look and feel for a tower defense game around it. Also, Go Home isn't slouch where it counts: mechanically, it's a solid TD game.

And now it's coming to iPad. Firehose Games has revealed to us that it's heading to iPad 2 and up later next month for $4.99. Neat!

If you've played a TD game, like, ever before, you'll feel pretty at home with this one in short order. In every level, a conga line of dinosaurs descend from a spawn and walk along a lane. Your job, as the gophers, is to put down turrets that'll stop them. Easy!

(more...)

Is five different Angry Birds games enough for you? If not, then Rovio has your back this coming Thursday as they've announced over Twitter one of the newer spinoff versions of the series, called Angry Birds Friends, is set for release on the App Store. Here's an accompanying teaser image.

We first caught wind earlier this month that Angry Birds Friends, which began life on Facebook about a year ago and has amassed more than 60 million downloads and 15 million daily users, would be heading to iOS, and now we have a set date for release. If flinging birds with your buddies sounds appealing, keep an eye out for it later this week.

Here's another Video Game Release Update: Mode 7 has revealed that Frozen Synapse is set to hit iPad this coming May 16. No price has been set, though Mode 7 is saying in a chat with Eurogamer that it'll be "competitive," whatever that means. An Android version will launch shortly after Synapse makes it to the App Store first.

Probably best described as a "turn-based tactics" game, Frozen Synapse has you assigning a squad of soldiers orders in an effort that basically boils down blasting everything in your path. This video from last summer should give you a solid heads up on what to expect:

The PC and Mac versions of Synapse have been received well, so I'm psyched to give my build of the game a go in the near future here. I'll get back to ya, though from all appearances it's also pretty good. Yay!

[via Eurogamer]

We've already posted quite an extensive preview of Paradox Interactive's Leviathan: Warships, a totally cross-platform multiplayer game filled with ship on ship action. Whether or not you read the preview, or are even vaguely interested in anything to do with strategic ship battles, you've got to watch the trailer, or even watch it again:

Leviathan: Warships is an iPad exclusive, largely because I'm not really sure how the in-game UI could ever really translate to the smaller screen of the iPhone. But, if you're lacking an iPad, just go ahead and grab the game for your PC via the bazillion different digital download options available. Leviathan: Warships should be available in the US App Store at 11:00 PM tonight.

We're currently fighting over who is going to review the game, and I'm thinking the best way to decide who is worthy is through one massive winner-takes-all in-game battle, right?

International App Store Link: Leviathan: Warships, $4.99

The wait is almost over: Star Command is coming to iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on May 2. Yup, you read that right -- War Balloon's sci-fi battle and tragedy simulation game is coming later this week. As planned, it'll debut as a Universal app for $2.99. Also, it apparently won't support in-app purchases, which is neat.

If you haven't been in the loop, this celebratory launch trailer should get you up to speed in no time. Watch as the player's ship turns into a burning, useless husk! Note how hull breaches create vacuums and suck crew members out of their rooms! When things go bad in Star Command, they go real bad, man.

We'll continue covering the game, of course and should have a review and some other nice things ready around launch. But, anyway: hey, guys, Star Command! It's finally coming!

Lucid Games has released a short teaser and some screens for their upcoming mobile, PlayStation Vita and PC title Jacob Jones and the Bigfoot Mystery, and it's looking very interesting so far.

It's an adventure game involving a young boy named Jacob who goes to summer camp and stumbles across the legendary Bigfoot. It seems the big, hairy fella isn't such a bad guy after all, and the two partner up to solve various kinds of puzzles together and unlock the mysteries of Camp Eagle Feather.

Jacob Jones and the Bigfoot Mystery is being designed for all ages, but Lucid mentions a "wicked adult undertone" that you can sort of catch the vibe of by watching the brief teaser trailer below.

The game is being developed in the Unreal Engine and its visual style and tone is what has caught my attention so far. It's a very neat looking game. The plan is to launch Jacob Jones and the Bigfoot Mystery on the same day next month, so keep your eye out for that and check the source link below for even more screens from the game.

[Polygon]

Get pumped: A native mobile take on the Final Fantasy Tactics franchise is heading to Android and iOS, Square Enix has revealed via a Japanese language teaser site dedicated to the game and pre-registration for it. Get sad: according to the signage on the site, it'll be a Mobage release, which pretty much promises that it'll be filled with various free-to-play hooks, twists, and shenanigans.

Final Fantasy dot net has a breakdown of what you can learn from the page:

Square Enix has opened a new Japanese website and pre-registration for a new smartphone title called Final Fantasy Tactics S. This “social” game, something of a spinoff of the Ivalice Alliance, will feature designs originally created by Ryoma Ito. The game will also include races, jobs, and monsters featured in 2008′s Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift for the Nintendo DS.

It'll be interesting to see where Square Enix decides to weave the social hooks into the Tactics experience. Considering it's a turn-based strategy series, there'll be a lot of good places to sneak them in. Just imagine the possibilities! Timers, and slot machine mechanics, and IAP weaponry oh my!

No release date or territories have been announced. We'll keep our eyes out for any more intel, though.

[via FinalFantasy.net]

Early last month, Squids developer The Game Bakers announced their forthcoming iOS game Combo Crew. It's a beat 'em up inspired by the greats of the '80s and '90s like Final Fight and Streets of Rage, but with modern visuals and a gesture-based control scheme built specifically with the touchscreen in mind. No virtual d-pad or buttons here folks. You can see the controls in action in the developer's hands-on video from the announcement.

Today The Game Bakers have announced that Combo Crew is nearing the finish line and is set to launch next month, and they've released a brand new trailer and a few more details about the game.

The controls sound simpler than I first thought after seeing them in the video. Basically you'll use a single finger swipe to punch and kick, tap to counter attack, and a two-finger swipe for special moves. It sounds almost too simple, but then again traditional brawlers are typically just flimsy button mashers so a control scheme that allows you to focus on beating the crap out of stuff sounds like a smart choice.

In addition, Combo Crew will be arena style with a structure geared for quick play sessions, and will include a few different modes. You can battle your way to the top of the tower in the campaign or see how long you can last in an endless mode, and a co-op mode lets you team up with a buddy to beat up bad guys and compete for high scores. The co-op play will be cross-platform between iOS and Android devices, too. Finally, The Game Bakers promises plenty of unlockable power-ups and bonus moves in Combo Crew.

I'm pretty psyched for this one based on what I've seen so far, and I'm really intrigued by the control scheme. Button-mashing just plain doesn't work with virtual buttons, but I could see swipe-mashing being pretty satisfying. Also I'm really digging the animation and visuals in Combo Crew, and The Game Bakers are known for quality stuff.

If your interest is piqued like mine then add Combo Crew to your TouchArcade [Free] app Watch List and we'll let you know when more news hits as next month's release approaches.

There's a little story behind this one. A disastrous, no-good, very bad technical hiccup kept us from covering Lone Wolf: Blood On The Snow at GDC 2013. For whatever reason, our capture rig pooped out during the live demo Forge Reply gave us. And what a demo it was, man. Dazzling comes to mind as a word to describe it, even though that sounds a wee bit hyperbolic. You gotta understand, Lone Wolf holds a surprise within its pages. It's the kind of surprise that you don't want to just tell people about, you want to show them.

So, here we are, circling back to Lone Wolf with a build in our hands. This is an effort to give you the same shot in the arm that the demo managed to give us.

Anyway, what is Lone Wolf? It's a game-book, but not your everyday game-book with a few interactive elements and nothing more. This is a GAME-book, and you'll see what we mean if you catch the video we've got just above.

We're really impressed with the effort that is going into every part of this. The page-turning effects are rad, the text is great (Forge has brought in the series' original author Joe Dever), and the art direction is superb. Also, dat surprise.

If you'd like to keep tabs on Lone Wolf, just add it on your Watch List via our app [Free]. I think we'll be talking about it a lot more before it hits digital shelves this year.

It's hard to think of a more unimaginative name for a video game than Hell Invaders, but don't hold that against Spicy Horse. It's just the working title for its Next Big Thing, a collectible card game with RTS mechanics. That caught you off guard, didn't it? This certainly isn't the type of game that I thought it would try to tackle coming off the latest Alice, but hey, I'll take it. Just look at those graphics. The spit and polish in the visual arena already puts this leagues ahead of other CCGs.

Hell Invaders is due out this fall across Mac, PC, Linux, and tablets. According to the announcement materials I've received, it'll feature the usual bits and bobs, including trading, a PVP arena, and a single-player campaign.

More details are coming down the line. One of those details will apparently be a final, actual title, which suggests Spicy Horse is still working that out. Let's help! I put forth this banger of a name: Dungeons of Darkness Battle Arena: Origins.

I feel like we've been waiting so long for the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Trilogy HD that asking where it is in comments on Wednesdays has practically ascended to meme status. Regardless, this morning our pals at Joystiq spotted a surprisingly candid post on the Capcom forums where Christian Svensson, Corporate Officer and Senior Vice-President of Capcom USA, simply says:

For reasons unknown to me, the release has slid another several months to July. Sorry guys.

Originally slated for release last year, fans of the DS trilogy of Phoenix Wright games have just a little more waiting to do, assuming there aren't any further delays. Something to consider though, a release window of July could mean the game just might be playable at E3, which certainly would be a promising sign that it's actually coming.

Late last year Lost Treasures of Infocom [Free] hit the App Store, and all sorts of horrifying traumatic memories of my childhood came flooding back to me as I inevitably got stuck in each of the games I tried following unlocking the whole $9.99 library of ancient interactive text-only adventure gaming. The sad thing (Well, that's debatable, I suppose.) is that once the advent of computer graphics hit, these text-only adventure games quickly became extinct.

The good news is that indie duo Carlos and Javier Cabrera (Who together make up The Cabrera Brothers, shockingly enough) have been bringing back this method of storytelling with the (relatively) recently released Mac and PC game Cypher which is billed as a "cyberpunk text adventure." Weirder yet, it's made in Unity, the game engine you probably know best from amazing looking 3D games like Dead Trigger [Free]. Cypher reviewed well, although it came with the obvious caveat of "You've got to be in to text adventures."

The reason this is all relevant is becomes The Cabrera Brothers are working on a new project, a horror adventure, that's going to be making its way to iOS devices as well. As someone who would've vastly preferred playing Cypher on the iPad, I'm pretty stoked to hear this news. One of my favorite things about the App Store is its ease of access facilitates crazy projects like this. I mean, a brand new text adventure in 2013? That's crazy, but I love it.

If you're interested in checking out Cypher for the Mac or PC, head over to The Cabrera Brothers' web site where you can download a DRM-free copy for anywhere between $15 and $25 depending on how many "bonus" items you want with it. Additionally, If you want to be alerted for news (and a potential release) of their upcoming horror game, make sure to add this game to your TouchArcade app [Free] watch list.