Hello everyone, and welcome to the year! It’s time once again for our look back at the noteworthy updates of the last seven days. As you might have expected, the week betweeen Christmas and New Year’s Day wasn’t exactly a hot-bed of updates. Still, there were a couple of really great ones, so here we are. Of course, you can keep an eye out for updates yourself using AppShopper or by participating in the TouchArcade forums. This weekly summary is just here to fill you in on the things you might have missed. Let’s dig in!
Exiled Kingdoms RPG, Free Exiled Kingdoms continues to get great updates featuring new content to play around with. This one includes a new location called Thuram that adds four new outdoor areas and two new towns to the game, making for a total of ten new maps to explore. There are five new quests, and a new mage class packing twenty new skills. The number of skill slots has been doubled, and there are more than 120 new items. On top of all that, the free version of the game now lets you play a little further into the game. Give it a shot if you haven’t already. Yes, I’m giving out the coveted UMMSotW award on the first entry this week. That’s the way it is.
Nimian Legends: BrightRidge HD, $3.99 Okay, this is another huge update that I really cannot detail in its entirety. While there’s no new content, there are tons of improvements to the visuals, the UI, compatibility, and the camera controls. There are also a number of changes and optimizations to everything from sunlight intensity to camera height options. It’s really incredible the way this game and its engine keep on getting better. Certainly one of the best show-pieces for modern iOS devices, if you ask me, yet strangely one of the lesser-known ones.
Shadowverse CCG, Free If you’re tired of Hearthstone and are on the look-out for something similar yet different, you may want to look into Shadowverse. Its latest update adds a new card pack called Chronogenesis, a new class called Portalcraft, and some new chapters for the main story. The gameplay isn’t particularly original, but the artwork is great and the whole game has a really nice polished feel to it. With the new additions, it might be a good time to check it out.
Subway Surfers, Free The Subway Surfers kids don’t take many holidays. They’re off to Cairo next, where you need to surf through a mythical subway surrounded by statues and temples. Collect colorful falcons, unlock the new Croc board, and see if you can earn the new Ankh outfit for Jasmine. So yeah, fantasy Cairo. But it’s colorful and it looks really warm, and that sounds pretty good to me right about now.
Disco Ducks, Free Oh, Disco Ducks. You’re always there when I need another game to fill out this feature. And here you are again. This time, you’re taking a trip to a viking village for 30 new levels. I guess there are vikings and smithies? Ehn, it’s as good a reason as any. And of course, some sweet new music to enjoy. It is Disco Ducks, after all. If there weren’t any cool tunes it would be called Nickelback Ducks or something.
Trials Frontier, Free I’m not going to snow you, friends. Most of what I know about the Dakar Rally is from the weird Famicom game Paris-Dakar Rally. I realize it’s a very big event and all that, but I am but a humble Canadian boy from a small Canadian town. Our most prominent race is also off-road but involves bears, moose, and ill-tempered beavers rather than motorbikes, cars, and quads. I’m getting off-road myself here, though. Um, the Dakar Rally event has begun in Trials Frontier. There are six legs of racing with eleven new tracks you can win. Rewards are promised. Probably they will not involve bears. Or will they?
Hungry Shark Evolution, Free Haha, awkward. There’s always one game whose Christmas update misses Christmas, and this year it is Hungry Shark Evolution. In the game’s defense, sharks have a totally different culture and may very well celebrate Christmas on a different day due to, um, tides and… whirlpools, and I guess coral reefs? The important thing is that there is an elf you can catch. There is also a new sidekick called the Gingerbread Baby, and I’ve got some bad news for our Shark-friend about the effects of salt water on gingerbread cookies. Prizes and presents? Why not, it’s Sharkmas after all.
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!
