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. Wow, some really great games got some super-cool updates in the last week. It was hard to pick out the best of the bunch, but I’m nothing if not good at arbitrary selection. 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!
Crashlands, $6.99 Wow, a big update for Crashlands! Another excuse to play Crashlands! This is already getting the coveted UMMSotW award for this week just on that alone. But let’s have a look at what’s actually in here. This update is called COMBOver, because it’s all about making effective use of what hair you have left in a vain attempt to stave off your own mortality. Wait, no. It’s about combos! And new weapons, 36 of them in fact. It also has a couple of new modes, including a hard mode where you can only die once and a creative mode where you can just do whatever the heck you want without worry. Can we change the review to seven stars? No, but you can do it… with your imagination!
Fire Emblem Heroes, Free This month, the regular update for Fire Emblem Heroes is more about tuning the experience rather than introducing anything seriously new. The Arena has been tweaked to offer rewards for running a streak at the expense of the previous offensive rewards. Starting players will be given better units at a higher rank, while established players get a packet of goodies to compensate. Units no longer lose earned experience and SP if they die, and some new weapon skills have been added to the game. There are a few other adjustments that you can check out by reading the in-game notices.
Dan The Man Platformer, Free Dan the Man keeps on keeping on, and its latest version adds some new stuff for players to fool around with. First up, a knight’s costume. Yes, you can make yourself up to look like an angry tin can. But why would you want to do that? Well, the new Medieval Adventure content practically demands it, of course! You really want to show up to a fantasy piece dressed in a T-shirt? There would be sternly-written letters, my friend, and let me tell you from experience: that is no good.
Hosted Games, Free Two! Two updates in one week! The latest update, and the one this app shares with its stablemate Choice of Games, allows you to restore any purchases you’ve made of the stand-alone apps so that you don’t have to buy them again in this hub app. Very nice of the developers. The other update? A new game, naturally. The Kepler Colony: Evacuation is a science-fiction tale penned by Andy Why that sees you making some hard decisions about the evacuation of a colony. Who will you save? What kind of ship will you use? These choices and many more await you, friends. Give it a go.
Pocket Build, $0.99 Lots of neat new things in this update to the popular Pocket Build. The game now has gold, which can be mined by goblins, just as in the real world. Some new tilted camera angles give you the chance to look at your creations in a whole new light, and background mining means that you’ll keep accumulating resources even when the game is paused or closed. Plenty of new items to add to your world, too. New bridges, stairs, fences, props, rocks, buildings, plants, and more await. Finally, a small visual bug was corrected. Not a bad little update at all.
Shooty Skies, Free Yesterday was Mother’s Day in many countries. If you are in one of those countries, have a mommy, and are just finding out now, well… good luck. But in honor of that day, Shooty Skies updated to add some famous mothers to the character roster. Mother Goose, a mummy named Mum-Ra (legally distinct from Mumm-Ra, I’m told), the Queen Aliene (also legally distinct), and Mothmom (look, you get it at this point surely). There are a couple of secrets to uncover, as usual. Plus some bug fixes and stability improvements, not unlike the bug fixing and stability improvements your mother made to you during your childhood. You thankless child, you.
Sonic Forces PvP Racing Battle, Free Frogggggggy! Once reviled by many, Big the Cat has become something of a beloved icon over time due to crossing over the lame barrier straight through to cool again. And now he’s available in Sonic Forces! Coming along for the ride are three new items: the Lilytrap, the Chopper Chomp, and the Umbrella Boost. There’s also a new track called Tangled Tunnels that can be found at Tier 5. Now get out there and party like it’s 1999 and you’re just trying to finish the last character’s story so that you can get the Super Sonic ending!
Ire - Blood Memory, Free The support for Ire – Blood Memory has been great, and it’s nice to see it still getting some great new goodies. There’s a new boss in the latest version named Advocate’s Shadow, some new equipment in the form of the Eastern Flame and the Advocate’s Shadow Armor, an expanded codex, a level cap increase to 90, and some good old-fashioned balance adjustments and bug fixes. It’s up to you to get in there and make the most of all of this. I believe in you. I. BELIEVE. IN. YOU.
Icewind Dale, $9.99 Well, I’m in a bit of a pickle here. This long-awaited update brings the iOS version up to Infinity Engine 2.5, with all the nifty little upgrades that come with that. Where applicable, anyway. Which is the problem! The App Store patch notes don’t give many details, and the notes on the official site have a lot of things that couldn’t possibly apply to the mobile version. So I can’t say for certain what is in here, but the first update in several months for a fantastic classic has to be worth mentioning, right? Right?
Fortnite, Free This is such a small update, but the Fork Knife brings the boys to the yard, so here it is. Wait, I have to say the name right for it to work. It’s like Betelguise. Or the Candy Man. Anyway, this update adds sprays that allow you to tag forts and other surfaces. Make like a hooligan, or just pretend you’re playing a long-lost Jet Set Radio sequel. Wait, I forgot to say the name. It doesn’t work if you don’t say the name. Like the DC Captain Marvel trying to change into his superhero form without saying Shazam! Like Freakazoid trying to get on with the show without saying Freak Out! It’s very important to say the name and… wait, what do you mean I’m all out space for this entry? No, I have to say Fortni
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!
