Hello everyone, and welcome to the week! It’s time once again for our look back at the noteworthy updates of the last seven days. Hey, we’ve got lots of games this week that we don’t usually see in this feature. Some of the usual suspects as well, naturally. Of course, you can keep an eye out for updates yourself using AppShopper Social (Free), the watchlist in the TouchArcade App (Free), or by participating in the TouchArcade forums, but this weekly summary is here to fill in the things you might have missed. Let’s dig in!
Pinball Arcade, Free Another Pinball Arcade update, and you know what that means. Yes, it’s time for another new table of questionable historical value! Okay, I suppose that’s being mean. Gottlieb’s Cactus Jack’s never hurt anyone and doesn’t deserve that kind of put-down. It has dancing cactus toys in the back of the playfield and some really awful music, and if that’s not good enough for a $4.99 IAP, well… that’s actually a sensible conclusion. That said, the ease of activating a multiball on this table makes it a lot of fun for entry-level players, and it’s certainly a colorful game.
MARVEL Avengers Academy, Free Friends! Devil Dinosaur is here! And you can actually add him to your student roster! What a world we live in. Sadly, I have the feeling I’m not going to be able to unlock him, but at least I can get Moon Girl, Elsa Bloodstone, Orrgo, and Hercules. Probably. Those willing to shell out some shards can pick up Amadeus Cho, former Prince of Power and current Totally Awesome Hulk. He’ll not only help you with the event, but also has both his human and Hulked-out forms available to him, each with slightly different ways of performing actions. Neat!
Red's Kingdom, $2.99 The curiously controversial contra-Carter creature puzzle feature Red’s Kingdom has a whole bunch of new stuff for you to enjoy. Or hate. I don’t know, whatever feels right. There are 50 new levels in this update, which also includes new islands, a nut amount indicator, the ability to enable hearts in inventory, and a Solas Oracle that will help you sniff out hidden treasure. The update notes also mention that this version includes more fun! What does that mean? Play Red’s Kingdom and find out the secret that makes Carter FURIOUS. WITH RAGE.
AB Classic, Free No wait, really? Angry Birds is still getting levels? The original Angry Birds? Hunh. Well, there you go, everyone. There’s an all-new episode getting underway in this update called Piggy Farm, and if that doesn’t send a shiver down your spine, you’ve either never seen Snatch or the name Pickton means nothing to you. Setting aside the sheer horror being hinted at here, there are 15 levels of adorable piggy-busting action. Another new addition is that the Mighty League now has six levels per day instead of just three. That means more rewards for you to use against the hungry little pigs. Brrr.
Templar Battleforce Elite, $9.99 Wow, an update to a Trese Brothers game that I can fit in a paragraph without cutting 80% of the details. Cool! So yes, this is a bit of a minor one, but Templar Battleforce has two new faces in the Templar Designer, giving you some extra options for customizing your space maaarrrttemplar. Your templar. Some of the early game Relic RP costs have been reduced so that it’s a little easier to get going at the start, and some bugs have been fixed. Short and sweet.
Vainglory, Free I don’t know, friends. This new character? His name is Grumpjaw. Like, what is that? Is he some lost He-Man character that wandered out of a 1980s Toys R Us bargain bin? Well, okay, the name is silly, but the hero is pretty neat. You like getting into the thick of things? Grumpjaw is your dude. You like getting tougher the more you beat on enemies? Your beast is Grumpjaw. You like eating your enemies like they’re little mobile plates of spaghetti and meatballs with maybe some garlic bread on the side because not all of us are animals, thank you very much Grumpjaw? You know Grumpjaw has your back on that one. Add in some new skins and a few other tweaks, adjustments, and additions, and you’ve got a fine little update.
Toon Shooters 2 Freelancers, Free Did you play this one? You really ought to. It’s quite a nice cute-em-up. Anyway, this update adds two new characters, a whopping five new stages, some balancing adjustments, player ratings, and proper cap for player level so that you don’t get any weird display bugs. Since the game seems to be suffering from the old Parker Luck, I feel like it’s worthy of a coveted Update Mondays Most Spider-Mans of the Week award. Nice job, Mooff. Hey, is the second ‘f’ silent? I can never tell.
Subway Surfers, Free Let’s get this month started right with a visit from our ever-present pals, the Subway Surfers. This time, they’re stopping off in Thailand, where they’ll surf across floating markets and past golden statues, collecting goodies to try to unlock a new outfit for Noon and some upgrades for the Turtle board. If you’re wondering, the outfit this time is a red and gold number with a traditional vibe to it. These kids will find a way to subway surf just about anywhere, I swear.
MOBIUS FINAL FANTASY, Free Mobius Final Fantasy is still chugging along. Newly added is Chapter 4, Doubt and Illusion Part 2. Move the story along another quarter-inch towards a resolution that is never, ever coming. But at least you can get Berserker and Rogue job cards now, right? Along with some ability cards, too. The multiplayer mode has some new Sicariuseses in the form of Anima and Ultima, both time-limited. Oh, and speaking of time-limited stuff, do you have a constant fear of Pupu getting revenge on you for all the crimes you’ve committed against Pupu? The Pupu crimes, I mean. Well, there’s going to be Pupu everywhere because a new limited time event has come, appropriately titled Pupu Strikes Back. Face light and dark UFOs and be careful you don’t step in anything.
Shadowverse CCG, Free Hearthstone‘s anime cousin Shadowverse has a whole ton of new content for you to enjoy. Chapters 9 to 11 have been added to the main story for Arisa, Erika, and Luna, and an Elite 2 difficulty setting has been added to the Practice mode for all leaders. There’s a new option when you’re creating a deck from a code that lets you easily create cards that you don’t have, and some balance adjustments have been made. Also cool is that the game will now shoot you some notifications before any scheduled maintenance so that you know to bring a deck of playing cards to work or whatever.
LUMINES PUZZLE & MUSIC, $2.99 Look, Lumines update. You seem really nice and all, what with your new Time Attack mode, improved achievements, better UI, and bug fixing, but you still don’t have Heavenly Star by the Genki Rockets. You’re not getting a coveted award from me until the sun shines through the clouds, you hear me? We need Lumi right now. We really, really need her. And where is she? Cavorting around with nefarious fellows, no doubt. Heavenly Star. Do it. Give me Breeze on top and I’ll toss in a Spider-Ham Achievement Award, too. Please consider this offer.
That about wraps it up for last week’s significant updates. I’m sure I’ve missed some, though, so please feel free to comment below and let everyone know if you think something should be mentioned. As usual, major updates will likely get their own news stories throughout this week, and I’ll be back next Monday to summarize and fill in the blanks. Have a great week!
