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. This is a rather different assortment from our usual list for the most part, with lots of great games getting some nifty updates. I couldn’t resist including a couple familiar faces, mind you. Gotta keep you all updated on Toy Blast or else someone’s head might fall off or something. 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 go for it!
Carcassonne, $4.99 After ten great years, the iOS version of Carcassonne from The Coding Monkeys is going to be delisted as of March 1st, to be replaced by a new version from Asmodee. While many publishers tend to be quiet about such situations, The Coding Monkeys have not only given the heads-up that the game is on its way out, they’ve also pushed out one last update so that the app can last as long as possible. They’ve also committed to keeping the online servers going for at least one year. Anyway, this update isn’t too fancy. The iPad version got major improvements to make better use of the screen real estate, a voluntary in-app subscription was added for those who want to support the continued online service, and some little UI fixes have been implemented. Many bugs were also fixed. Sayonara to an excellent version of Carcassonne!
Mars Power Industries, $1.99 This excellent update brings the iOS version of Mars Powers Industries up to Deluxe Edition standards. There’s a ton of new content here, including new buildings, a new world, a new ending, and even some new music. It also implements cloud saves, fixes a bunch of bugs, and of course does some extra optimizations. Finally, you can now turn off and on music and sound effects separately. Can’t argue with a bunch of free content, especially for such a reasonably-priced game.
Respawnables - Special Forces, Free Respawnables has enjoyed a lot of interesting collaboration events with movies, particularly those from Sony Pictures. And here’s the latest one! Bloodshot is the newest action flick starring Vin Diesel, set to debut on March 13th. This Respawnables event allows you to play as Bloodshot and use his powers and an assortment of weapons from the movie in order to destroy your enemies. The movie looks interesting and I find Respawnables always handles these cross-overs quite well, so I’m sure this will be another good match for Sony and Digital Legends.
Doug dug., Free This is how it goes sometimes. No updates for two years, then two updates in one week. Okay, this is one of those cases where the update caused some unexpected issues and another update had to be issued to fix them. But still! This is an awesome game and I’m happy to see it still going. This update makes the game fully compatible with iOS devices that have the notch at the top. No more letterboxing, just a big full screen of dirt, treasure, and dreams. The second update hides the home bar whenever it’s possible, which is always a nice thing to see.
Imbroglio, $3.99 Oh geez, here comes a giant balance update. So big that Mr. Brough opted to refresh the scoreboards, with your old scores saved so that you don’t lose your unlocks. It would be impossible to list all of the little changes and adjustments here, so if you’re interested do check the detailed update notes. Some people might be sad about all of this, but for me? This gives me a new reason to check out an amazing game. Old strategies go in the garbage, time to make some new ones! I’ll give this the coveted UMMSotW award this time because I rarely get to give them to Michael Brough games.
The Quest, $7.99 As is often the case when The Quest updates, this new version signals the release of a new expansion pack for the game. Well, not a new one exactly. It’s Hero of Lukomorye V, all spiffed up and ready for the current version of The Quest. While I’m not quite as big of a fan of this one as I was of earlier installments of Hero of Lukomorye, it’s still got plenty of good questing fun in it. This update also fixes a few bugs in addition to preparing the game for the expansion. As always, you need to buy the expansion separately, after which you can activate it in this main app or play it as a standalone.
MARVEL Strike Force: Squad RPG, Free We seldom get through one of these articles without one Marvel game or another making an appearance, and this time it’s the more uncommonly updated Marvel Strike Force. You get four new playable characters with this update: Ironheart, Blob, Toad, and Red Skull. There are also stat increases and ability upgrades for many of the Hydra units, along with minor ability enhancements for Iron Man, War Machine, Magneto, and the Juggernaut. A new Contact List feature has also been implemented where you can add up to 100 friends for easy messaging access. Other than that it’s a lot of bug fixes, and that’s not bad at all.
AFK Arena, Free Usually when AFK Arena updates, it means there’s a new hero to try out. That’s the case with this latest version, which adds a new Wilder hero in the form of Solise – The Floral Wonder. What a great title that is. I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am the unpaid Columbia House bill that drags down your credit rating! I AM… THE FLORAL WONDER! Yeah, that’s metal as heck. Uh, this update also adds a couple of new Unions. The names are “The Young & Old" and “Titans of Time". Anyway, I’m going to go design a costume.
Toy Blast, Free Obligatory free-to-play puzzle game update incoming! It’s Toy Blast again, and that means I get to try to stretch an entire paragraph out of the usual 50 new levels and whatever blurb they stuck in the notes. Something about a fair coming to town. Delicious ice cream. Can toys be lactose intolerant? I mean, they must be. They don’t have digestive systems so they obviously can’t process dairy. Or anything, really. And then there’s some nonsense about winning a prize at the shooting gallery? Isn’t a toy winning a toy as a prize in some rigged carnival game a bit of a dark storyline? Well, that’s a paragraph. Ta-ta, friends!
Hatch - GameClub, Free The usual disclosure: I do paid freelance work for GameClub in the form of historical articles that introduce the games on their service. That means I am certainly biased. Luckily, I am not reviewing this game but instead giving you a heads-up on it being back on the App Store. Hatch is a really cute virtual pet game that unfolds in interesting ways as you play it. This update not only brings the game back to life after almost four years of inactivity, it also makes it look really nice on the newer, larger displays that modern devices have. I love seeing old games make a comeback, and I know lots of people were really attached to this one.
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!
