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. Lots and lots of interesting updates this week, with some big free-to-play and paid games represented. We’ve got expansions, compatibility updates, seasonal events, and more. Like bug fixes! And other improvements! 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!
MARVEL Avengers Academy, Free Avengers Academy celebrated its second anniversary with a major update that changed a lot of the fundamental systems of the game. On the positive side, a lot of characters can finally be fully upgraded and put into their proper costumes. On the negative side, there’s a lot more grinding involved thanks to the new focus on combat and permanent character upgrades. I’m sure as character abilities open up things will get more interesting, but right now it’s just a lot of pointless busywork.
Chillaxian, $1.99 Chillaxian is back…sian. Okay, it didn’t really go anywhere, but the game did need an update for compatibility with iOS 11 and 64-bit devices. It has those things now! It also has a new modular power-up system, allowing you to mix and match the pieces you recover to create a bunch of different power-ups. There are some new aliens, space hives, and some humans floating around that you need to rescue. I like Chillaxian a lot, so I’m giving this game the coveted UMMSotW award for this week.
Rules of Survival, Free Ha ha ha, gee it’s true. We really are going to be seeing this game get a substantial update every week for the immediate future. Well, at least the notes are detailed and easy to summarize. For example, this week we’ve got a new map, a 300-player solo mode for that new map, ziplines, new weapons, a hovercraft vehicle, a new kind of truck, a feature for underwater breathing, and vehicle camo. That all sounds quite interesting and doesn’t require an in-depth explanation from me, leaving me free to make silly old pop culture references. Dy-no-MITE!
Shadow Fight 3 - RPG Fighting, Free It seems to me like Shadow Fight 3 isn’t getting quite as much attention and praise as Shadow Fight 2 did, but I suppose it can’t be doing that badly since it’s been getting fairly regular updates. The latest one lines up with the Lunar New Year, bringing a special Tournament against the Monkey King and friends. You get a new, unique set of Monkey King equipment, enjoy the cool themed location, and pick up some Lunar Chests as rewards for Duels. Also: bug fixes and balance adjustments.
Noblemen: 1896, Free When it comes to dishing out amazing updates that address player feedback, developer Foursaken takes Noble. Noblemen 1896, that is! Ha ha ha, I am so very much not sorry for that at all! Ah, anyway. This is a really good update. It has official support for the iPhone X and Apple Replaykit. It also has a new survival mode that you can play in single-player or co-op. Oh right! This is kind of burying the lede, but this update also adds online co-op multiplayer. For the aforementioned new mode, natch. The graphics have gotten a nice overhaul, and the developers have also seen fit to do a bunch of balance tweaks and fixes.
Warhammer Quest 2, $4.99 Expansion time! Warhammer Quest 2 has had a, shall we way, rocky start. The developers have been working hard on adjustments and fixes in response to player feedback, so I’m a bit surprised that they also had the time to prepare some new content. But they did! The Lord of Khorne offers a new campaign in a new region packed with new environments and enemies. There are also three new playable characters available: the Ogre, the Wardancer, and the Warrior Priest. Of course, as with the first game these DLCs have to be purchased. With the size of the expansion and how much it builds on the original game, however, I think you’ll find this Khorne quite easy to digest.
Subway Surfers, Free Ah, the city of love. Which is Paris, in case you don’t keep track of these things. The Subway Surfers are headed there, not for l’amour but parkour. Okay, just surfing on subways, but that didn’t fit my rhyming scheme. Collect heart-shaped boxes, get the special Sweetheart board, and take Coco the mime for a ride on the Rose board. Love is a many-splendored thing, but in this case it’s really just the one splendor. The surfing splendor. But it will lift you up where you belong, where the eagles cry on a mountain high. I don’t know, maybe order a pizza or something. Mobile games aren’t to fill that hole in your heart but a double-stuffed crust with extra bacon probably will.
Asphalt 8: Airborne, Free Oh, interesting! It seems that Gameloft added a story mode to the game with this update, which celebrates… the release… of a Fall Out Boy album? Wha? There’s… you… I… bah ha ha ha ha, ah ha ha ha ha ha ha! Why would you? Fall Out Boy? What does that have to do with racing at all? Look, I love senseless cross-overs, so I’m going to give you a high five on this one, but goodness gracious it’s hard to imagine a bigger stretch. There are some new cars in here, and some business about the Lunar New Year, but really. Fall Out Boy. New album drops soon, I guess! Ha ha ha!
MARVEL Future Fight, Free You can probably guess what this update is all about. Yes, Marvel’s got a new movie releasing soon, and that means some of the major characters featured in it are making their Future Fight debut. Ulysses Klaue, Shuri, and Killmonger hop over from Black Panther, and T’Challa himself gets a new uniform inspired by his movie look. Naturally, there are some new battles that are inspired by those in the movie as well. It’s as good a way as any to get warmed up for the movie, I reckon.
Hearthstone, Free Let’s finish things off this week with a good-sized update to a big game. Hearthstone is making some big changes to its ranked play mode, and although they don’t take effect until March 1st, this update sets them all up. This update also makes some adjustments to certain cards, and prepares the app for an event kicking off on February 19th. Add in some bug fixes and other adjustments and you’ve got an update that mostly contains things that will happen, but have not yet happened. Well, that’s kind of a lame note to go out on. They can’t all be winners, I guess!
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!
