Here’s what you need to know tonight: Jetpack Joyride is coming. Alright, there’s a ton of other great games coming out tonight too, so I hope you’ve got your iTunes account all charged up with credit to go on a massive downloading spree when the time arrives.
Anyway, with our without Mr. Barry Steakfries, it’s the same old song and dance here as it is every week. Games get released first in New Zealand, then slowly filter out over the rest of the world as it becomes (or gets close to) Thursday. For us North Americans, that means all of these games will be unleashed at 11:00 PM Eastern.
Bridge The Gap, 99¢ – Forum Thread – The description of this game is a little vague, but it seems to involve some kind of Lemmings-like physics-centric gameplay where you’re building bridges for your crew of pirates? I think I’m right on that, but I suppose we’ll see.
Bloody Bunnies, Free – Forum Thread – This 2.5D action-centric platformer seems to be built entirely around massive online, err, bunny battles? It sounds crazy, but it might just work. The visuals look great, and I could see things being pretty hectic if you’re ever in a game with as many players as there are in the trailer.
Crimson: Steam Pirates, Free – Forum Thread – This iPad-exclusive title is Bungie’s first foray into publishing iOS games. It’s a top-down line-drawing game where you engage in pirate battles. It’s interesting for a number of reasons, first obviously is its ties with Bungie, and second with the free to play model they’re using which we can’t wait to delve into.
Dimo Eggs, Free – Forum Thread – This game seems to be a little on the kid-friendly side, but that’s never really a bad thing. You’re given an egg, and you need to decorate your egg to match it. Oh, and it’s free to try out.
DrawRace 2, 99¢ / HD – Forum Thread – I’ve got absolutely nothing but good things to say about the original DrawRace, as it takes the line drawing formula and applies it to racing. Overall, it works really great, and the sequel is even more of what made the original amazing.
Frogger Decades, $1.99 – Forum Thread – Jared provided us an incredibly detailed preview of this Frogger-remake earlier this week, and I think it’s safe to say that if you’ve ever even vaguely enjoyed Frogger, then Frogger Decades is the game to get.
Fruit Roll, 99¢ / HD – Forum Thread – The title describes exactly what you do in this game– You play as a fruit, and you roll. As a fruit, you’re also oddly interested in stars, and becoming a giant mega-fruit to allow you to roll over even more stuff.
Jetpack Joyride, 99¢ – Forum Thread – If you couldn’t tell from our glowing preview, this game is awesome. Halfbrick nails the cave flyer formula, and Jetpack Joyride has soaked up a stupid amount of my time as it’s just impossible to put down.
Megastunt Mayhem Pro, $3.99 / Lite – Forum Thread – What’s not to love about monster trucks? And what’s REALLY not to love about a monster truck game with a gesture interface, truck upgrades, and tons of school busses to decimate?
Pioneer Lands: Old West Settlers Strategy, Free / HD – Forum Thread – I’m always skeptical of any free game with a farming mechanic, but I’m willing to give this one the benefit of the doubt because there’s a glimmer of hope that there might be a cool strategic element in it… Although forum members haven’t seemed to be able to find it yet.
Pocket RPG iPhone Edition, 99¢ – Forum Thread – We thought Pocket RPG was great when we reviewed its iPad counterpart, and with tonight’s release it actually will be pocketable. …Although I suppose the iPad always has been pocketable if you’re rocking some old school Jnco jeans or something.
Pod Odyssey, $2.99 – A lunar lander style aerial adventure game of sorts, it seems. There are 27 levels, and the controls are even apparently easy enough that a six year old can play.
Punch a Hole, 99¢ – Forum Thread – I’m really not entirely sure I understand how you play this puzzle game, but it involves punching holes and colored balls. It seems like the best puzzle games on the App Store are always these weird obscure games that don’t even make sense until you try them, and I’m thinking that’s the case here.
Spin the Nut, 99¢ – Forum Thread – Seemingly drawing an awful lot of inspiration from Cut the Rope, Spin the Nut puts you in charge of a physics-based puzzle where you’ve got to assist a squirrel in stockpiling nuts.
Swing the Bat, 99¢ – Forum Thread – Playing as a bat who apparently can’t fly, you’ve got to swing between trees to advance in the game. A hefty objective system seems like it’ll keep the game fresh, but I’m curious to see how the swinging mechanic actually feels in action.
Tiny Invaders, $3.99 – Forum Thread – The premise of this game involves playing as some invading space germs and hopping from host to host to finally infect the president of the United States… Which, really, seems like a noble goal for any germ.
Word Chat, 99¢ – Forum Thread – Following in line with Full Deck Hold’Em, GRL Games has implemented the same awesome video chat functionality, this time to a word game. Getting involved in this is going to make going back to Words With Friends very difficult.
