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 of good stuff to check out this time around, friends. We’ve got a fine mix of big names and small, the usual suspects and new faces, all assembled for your reading pleasure. 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!
Mario Kart Tour, Free How long has Mario Kart Tour been out now? Feels like a while. I just checked, it came out last September. Anyway, my point is that for whatever reason, Mario Kart Tour launched without multiplayer support. And that’s fine, I guess. Maybe they needed to work out a few kinks or something. But I’m not going to lie, I really didn’t think it would take six months for them to implement such a key feature. It’s finally here, though. You can now race against real humans in live multiplayer if that’s a thing you want to do. There doesn’t seem to be any reward to doing so at this point, but I’m sure they’ll work it out in time for the game’s first anniversary or something.
Marvel Contest of Champions, Free So far this update seems largely connected to new quests and events rather than new playable characters, but I suppose we’ll see how things pan out. Squirrel Girl has an unwanted admirer, and if you’ve read her comic you might be able to guess who it is. If you haven’t, well, it’s the Mole Man. Go read the comic, it was great. Written by Ryan North, one of Canada’s brightest stars. Anyway, this amounts to some special Mole Man expedition missions, which join a new story chapter and a boss rush celebrating International Women’s Day to round out the new content.
Dr. Mario World, Free Dr. Mario World isn’t the worst mobile game Nintendo has released, but it’s probably the least exciting. Wow, Fire Rosalina. That sure is a character that exists in the games. Oh well. This new update adds a Daily Booster stage you can play each day for some extra goodies, along with a new stage mode item in the form of the boomerang. The diamond economy has also been tweaked a bit, and some bugs were fixed. At least the music is awesome?
Fire Emblem Heroes, Free Yes, three Nintendo games this week. Sorry, but they all updated at once and people are really interested in these updates even when they’re kind of nothing-burgers. I’m not saying this one is a nothing-burger, but I’ll tell you what: it’s not a something-burger. You can now compile Combat Manuals from Divine Codes using the new Compile Combat Manuals feature, and Forma units from the Hall of Forms events can be made into allies using the new Forma Soul item. If you aren’t currently playing the game, absolutely none of that will mean a thing to you, and that’s how you know a service game has been out for more than three years.
Subway Surfers, Free The next stop on the never-ending, tireless tour of these delinquent children is apparently Cairo. In this location, the subway tracks run between ancient statues and temples. Collect colorful falcons to earn rewards, and try to unlock the new Ankh outfit for the brave princess Jasmine. Not that princess Jasmine. That’s another country. A fictional one, even. You can also get a cool Croc board to ride along the Nile. Sure, it’s a nice enough place to surf through. Hopefully there aren’t any mummies or, like, giant riddle-giving sphinxes to deal with. I’m not sure these kids are equipped for either of those things.
Homescapes, Free Most of the games in the AustinVerse updated in the last week, but I picked this one because the notes were the most detailed. That always makes my job easier, you see. This update brings in the Candy Day event, which perhaps correlates to White Day? Decorate the garden and you can win the Candy Day contest. If you get all of the decorations, you’ll be given a Royal Cake as a reward. There’s also a Gold Run event that helps you earn more coins, and some new story bits to play through. As for the puzzle side of things, the new Jam Jar requires you to fill jars with jam to clear them from the field.
TEPPEN, Free Is this game the tops, or just some iron scraps? I really can’t say for sure, but its roster sure is growing out nicely. Perhaps in coordination with the recently released Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection on consoles, X’s buddy Zero has been added to the game’s line-up of fighters. This is the Mega Man X version of the character, which seems to be the one most people prefer anyway. A new set, Haunted by Memories, has been added alongside Zero, and some balance changes have also been made.
AFK Arena, Free Away From Keyboard Arena has another update, and as usual that means you can look forward to a brand new hero to try out. She’s a Lightbearer hero named Cecilia – Purger of Sins. She sounds like she’d be a lot of fun at parties, I tell you what. Wait, does she purge sins, or does she purge sinfully? Hm. English is so unclear at times, isn’t it? Anyway, you also get some optimized logic in the Twisted Realm’s leaderboard and a new replay feature for key Campaign stages. Not a bad little update, all things considered.
Transformers: Earth Wars, Free This update is, in fact, not more than meets the eye. Not everything can fit the catch-copy, friends. The latest version of Transformers: Earth Wars brings Headquarters Level 17 to the game, which enables you to increase your bots’ max level to 65, get an extra bot research slot, and extra time in battles. There’s also a new single-player mode called Elimination Mode where you can win Z-Energon. You’ll need to play this mode to earn what you need to upgrade to Headquarters Level 17. Yeah, there’s always a catch. Good luck!
Dandara Trials of Fear Edition, $3.99 If you’ve been reading this article shivering with antici…pation about which game would get the coveted UMMSotW award this time around, here is some satisfaction. The free Trials of Fear update has arrived, adding new areas complete with a new boss, some new powers and gameplay mechanics, and a whole new secret ending. There’s a ton of new music and lots of added story bits to help flesh out the game’s world. In terms of gameplay improvements, you can now rotate the map, which is extremely helpful given how confusing traversal can be in Dandara. There are also some new modifiers that you can turn on or off so that you can find the level of challenge that is right for you.
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!
