Contre Jour [99¢] and its Universal HD brother, Contre Jour HD [$2.99], has always been a looker, but it's now even more impressive on new iPad. Thanks to a late (but welcome) retina update, the HD version puzzle game is fully embracing Apple's new high pixel density screen. As you'll see below, this version is sharper and crisper and cleaner than it ever has been, which is saying something since it looked great pre-update anyway.
No update for a puzzle game is complete without new levels. A brand new jungle-themed chapter has been added to both versions of the game, ushering in some twists on the game's pre-existing moveable tentacle and platform mechanics. Also, a new "bonus" ending has been added for those who can collect the game's (now) 300 lights. Sounds like you've got some work to do, guys.
Flight Control Rocket [99¢] now boasts more content courtesy a content update that hit this morning. Ten new "motherships" (or landing pads) have been added, subtly changing up the action by offering groovier ways to park your spaceships. Four new bots and a fresh game mode called "Rescue" fill out the rest of the meaningful offerings.
Rescue is probably the most interesting add: in it, you're tasked with saving floating astronauts by ramming similarly colored ships into them. After you guide a ship and a victim back to the space harbor, you're awarded with points. We would be equally stoked about the ten new motherships, but most of them require some major in-game scratch in order to use. We're not too sure why this basic feature add has been tied to the game's financial model either, but that's kind of the story of Flight Control Rocket in a nutshell -- beautiful, but weird.
This day of crazy deals just doesn't seem to want to stop. Chair's amazing sword fighter that has since spawned a whole series of games Infinity Blade [ $5.99 ] is on sale once again for 99¢. So, if you missed the last 99¢ sale that took place around a month ago, here's another chance. Also, we've got a review of the game if you want to check that out first.
On the Infinity Blade II [ $2.99 ] front, an update just hit the App Store which addresses some issues people were experiencing with the new ClashMobs add-on. If you were having difficulty claiming rewards, that should be fixed along with "several other" mysterious issues that Chair wasn't too specific about in the patch notes.
Aaaand if you're looking for an Infinity Blade II review, it's right here. Alternatively, if you've already got the game and are looking to find some dudes to join your clash mob, we've got that too.
A couple of months back, Tiger Style Games released Waking Mars [ $1.99 ], the follow-up to our 2009 Game of the Year Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor [$0.99 / $0.99 (HD)], and we thought it was an incredibly unique and enjoyable experience in our review. About a month ago, Waking Mars was updated for the new iPad’s Retina Display, and we noted that the visual improvement really had a big impact on a game that is so much about creating a moody atmosphere.
But wow, as good as we thought the game looked after that last update it turned out to be just a partial Retina update and just a taste of what was to come. Today Tiger Style has released another new update which adds full Retina Display support for Waking Mars in addition to a set of new jetpack types for your character to zip around Martian caves with. Check out this screen from the new iPad, which Tiger Style has cropped in close in order to show off how much detail you can see.
In a blog post detailing this latest update, which is called the May Day Update by the way, Tiger Style notes that the iPad’s beefy hardware generates the 3.1 million onscreen pixels at 60 frames per second, and that all of their artwork had been drawn at an incredibly large scale to begin with so adding support for the new iPad resolution wasn’t terribly difficult. Screens don’t really do it justice though, you have to see Waking Mars running on a new iPad in person to fully appreciate just how gorgeous it is.
In addition to the update for Waking Mars, Tiger Style has also updated the iPad version of Spider with partial Retina Display support. Only select assets have been upgraded, but Spider is still one of the most beautiful games around. Also, all 3 of Tiger Style’s games are currently on sale for a limited time. Waking Mars is down to $2.99 from $4.99 in its first ever sale, and both the iPhone and iPad versions of Spider are just 99¢ each. Finally, you can grab the excellent soundtrack to Waking Mars for just a buck on its Bandcamp page, down from $5.
The awesome match-3 city builder Triple Town [ Free ] from Spry Fox has received a bunch of updates since we first reviewed it this past January, including a juicy update late last month that added two brand new maps to play. One played much like a standard 6x6 grid game but with the added challenge of a body of water right in the middle that you’d need to work around, and the second new map was a smaller 5x5 grid that was devoid of the risk of bears or ninjas and played like a casual freeplay mode.
Today another new update has hit Triple Town adding yet another new map for owners of the game who have unlocked the unlimited play IAP. The game is free-to-play with a limited number of turns, which also regenerate slowly over time. You can purchase coin packs to buy additional turns with or you can pay a flat fee, currently $3.99, to unlock unlimited turns in the game.
I appreciate how the game tries to offer a lot for those who don’t want to pay any money, but I find the usage of consumable IAP kind of confusing, and I’d suggest treating the free game as a limited trial and if you like it then go for the one-time unlimited turn purchase rather than muck around with buying turns. This is especially true if future content updates are only going to come for those who have purchased that option.
Anyhoo, as for the new map it’s actually really great. It’s called Bear Attack and is a 5x6 grid that plays mostly like a normal game except for one huge change: there’s 50% more bears. This obviously requires a certain amount of new strategy to deal with but can also result in some huge scoring opportunities with trapping bears and converting them into churches. Like the 2 new maps before it, Bear Attack tweaks the core formula of Triple Town just right in order to offer a completely different take.
And speaking of tweaks, there's also another round of tweaks and fixes in this latest update as well. If you have yet to try out Triple Town, definitely give the free download a try as it’s easily one of the most refreshing matching games to come along in a long time and it continues to improve with each new update.
The folks at Halfbrick had been teasing their much ballyhooed Gadget update for Jetpack Joyride [ Free ]for the past couple of months, and just last week it finally landed in the App Store. And it was awesome. However, Halfbrick must have still had some gas left in the tank after that massive update because over the weekend they released yet another update for Jetpack Joyride, this time adding support for the Retina Display of the new iPad. Check out some screens from the newest build (click to enlarge):
In addition to the graphics upgrade on the new iPad, the visuals have also been improved for the previous generation iPads as well as the iPhone 4. Loading times have also been improved across the board as well as a whole bunch of minor tweaks and fixes. I was really impressed with the Gadget update that hit for Jetpack Joyride last week, and with this latest Retina Display update the entire package has really been fully fleshed out.
It was just last Wednesday that we expected a huge update for Junk Jack [ $2.99 ] to be hitting soon, and in this case soon meant over the weekend. This massive content update gives the game long-awaited Universal support, and let me tell you it is a dream playing on the larger screen of the iPad. Unfortunately though, there's no Retina support, but it still looks quite good with its simplistic pixel art style. Check out the new trailer showcasing the version 1.1 update features.
Universal support is just one of the many, many new things in this latest Junk Jack update though. More enemies, items, an entire farming system, tons of food recipes and a ridiculous amount of tweaks also grace the game. You can check out the exhaustive list (literally eye-tiring) in the App Store description, but all you really need to know is that Junk Jack continues to significantly improve with each new iteration and looks to continue that trend well into the future.
Note: For some reason the lite version of the game is no longer in the App Store. We'll get to the bottom of this and update the post with a link or a reason for its disappearance as soon as we find out.
One of my personal favorite games of 2011 was the quirky slot machine-meets-role-playing game King Cashing [$1.99 / Free ]. The slot machine battle system was a really different kind of idea that turned out to work great in practice, and the character leveling and upgradeable items drew you in to continue forging on through the campaign. We totally enjoyed King Cashingin our review, and about a month later a big update hit that added new weapons and a new kind of battle, making the whole game just that much better.
Yesterday the second major update hit for King Cashing, this one even bigger than the first. It adds an entire new Survival campaign where you face off against a string of enemies while utilizing the same pool of spin cherries. You can earn a small portion of cherries back by each time you defeat one of these enemies, but you can’t go back and replay levels to grind so efficient play is crucial if you’re going to last until the end of the campaign. It’s quite challenging and a great twist on the normal gameplay found in the original campaign mode.
Speaking of the original campaign this update also brings 3 new battles against “protected” bosses who are covered with shields which must be broken away before inflicting damage on the enemy itself. There’s 3 new weapons too, one for each class member, as well as some new bonus types and a myriad of other tweaks and fixes. The new Survival mode adds a great new way to experience King Cashing, and the other new goodies are all welcome additions as well. If you haven’t checked out King Cashing yet there’s a lite version to try and the full version is currently on sale for 99¢ to celebrate this new update.
Eleven new sneak-tastic levels have been added to Spy Mouse [$.99 / $2.99] courtesy a content update, which also adds several new obstacles, new power-ups, a new item store, and a new breed of foe called the Jungle Cat. All of these news elements are being housed in a volcano-themed world that currently takes 150 points to unlock.
One note on the Jungle Cat: it uses poison darts. We're not exactly sure how a tribal poison-slinging variety of jungle cat is able to even function in Spy Mouse's new Volcano world, but we should probably pull over the Scrutiny Bus before we end up hurting ourselves. This is a game that revolves around a mouse who is also a spy, after all. Screens below!
It looks like today is the day of really good updates for really good games that we really like a lot. Really? Yes, really. We were just treated to an update for our Game of the Year 2011 runner-up Anomaly Warzone Earth [ $1.99 ] that added support for the new iPad, and there was plenty of rejoicing.
Now, the rejoicing gets cranked up to 11 as our actual Game of the Year 2011, Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP [ $2.99 ], has been given a similar treatment, bringing the visuals up to par for the beautiful Retina Display of the new iPad.
One of the absolute finest games available on the App Store is 11 Bit Studios’ Anomaly Warzone Earth [ $1.99 ]. Don’t believe me? Well check out our glowing 5 star review of the game from when it launched on iPad last August, and then consider that we chose it as our runner up for Game of the Year 2011. It’s not just us, either, as Anomaly has received critical praise across the gaming universe as well as plenty of award consideration, including winning a prestigious Apple Design Award for the Mac version.
So yeah, Anomaly Warzone Earth is good. And today it gets even better, as 11 Bit has just released the latest update for the game which adds high resolution Retina Display support for the new iPad. Anomaly was a gorgeous game to begin with, and it held up pretty well even on the new iPad anyway, but the difference this update makes is quite dramatic. All the text and UI elements are razor sharp and the in-game visuals are as crisp as they’ve ever been, practically popping right off the screen.
Of course, while Anomaly Warzone Earth really sings on the iPad, it can also be played just as well on the smaller screens of the iPhone and iPod touch. The original iPad version became Universal late last year, and to celebrate the new update it is currently on sale for just $1.99. If iPads aren’t your thing, the iPhone/iPod touch only version is also on sale for 99¢ [Link]. Basically what I’m getting at is that no matter how you do it, you must experience Anomaly one way or the other, and with the new update and sale now is a fantastic time to dive in.
The highly anticipated update to Jetpack Joyride [ Free ] which Halfbrick has been teasing us with since we first checked it out at GDC has finally gone live in the App Store. Version 1.3 brings the major new addition of Gadgets to good ol’ Barry Steakries’ arsenal. There are 15 Gadgets in all which are unlocked with coins in The Stash area of the game. You can assign up to 2 different Gadgets to Barry at a time, and each one brings with it a special ability.
For example, the “Air Barrys” Gadget gives Barry a pair of sneakers that let him immediately jump into the middle of the screen, rather than waiting for the jetpack to slowly raise him to the same point. Or the Missile Jammer which will cause the missiles that target you from offscreen to come at you wobbly and slow. Or the X-ray Specs, which lets you see ahead of time what vehicle is waiting for you in the icon, as demonstrated in this latest teaser trailer.
As you can tell, these new Gadgets can dramatically change how you play the game, and if you thought you’d had your fill of Jetpack Joyride before there’s now a bunch of new items to unlock and use to reinvigorate you. There’s also new Game Center achievements and new mission types that tie into the use of the new Gadgets. And of course Jetpack Joyride is free to download and play, so if you somehow still haven’t gotten on board yet then what are you waiting for?
Another new Cut the Rope [$.99 / HD] update has tumbled down the pipeline, and our gut says this is easily the most interesting one creator ZeptoLab has put out. Today sees the introduction of 25 new levels packaged within the "DJ Box," which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like -- a new theme for the game that celebrates scratches, vinyl, bass drops, and ... candy.
Much like any other update, the core game isn't being changed for the new box, however it will introduce a couple of new mechanics. Take the turntable for example, which you can see below in the embedded video. Also, don't freak out because it only shows the iPod or iPhone version: this has hit iPad, too.
Heads up: Junk Jack [$2.99 / Lite] is going Universal really, really soon -- provided nothing goes wrong in the certification process. Creator Pixbits has submitted the long-awaited update to Apple and is waiting for it to go live with just as much glee as we imagine the third-person mining game's fans are.
This update also includes an exhaustive amount of fixes, tweaks, and changes, as we've come to expect from Pixbits. Of note, golems, mummies, frogs, new frogs, and headless zombies have joined the list of mobs. The game's visuals have also been tweaked thanks to its "faster engine," and cooking and farming are now a thing you can do. If you're really want to dig in on this update, check out the game's official blog. For example, there is no way you would have known that the maximum stack count is 65535 unless you read it somewhere else.
Even though The Heist's [$.99] puzzle design is sharp enough to stand up alongside some of the better puzzle games on the App Store, its post-game rewards are still what makes waves. If you play and beat all of The Heist's puzzles, you'll be given codes for actual Steam titles, which have generally been worth more than the app itself. It's a neat idea, and now its offerings have been expanded. Starting now, Puzzle Agent and World of Goo can be won by completing the game.
Developer tap tap tap's math wizards say these two prizes, alongside a third game called Eets, total up to $25 worth of gaming goodness. The Heist is currently sitting at $.99, which makes this entire package something of a, uh, decent value.
A word of caution: World of Goo is only being award to the first 25,000 users who make it to 100 percent completion. Play fast!