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. Things are starting to pick up again on the update front, albeit pretty slowly. There are some really good ones this week, at least, even if we’re not exactly swimming in them. Of course, you can keep an eye out for updates yourself using AppShopper Social (Free), the watchlist in the TouchArcade App (Free), or by participating in the TouchArcade forums, but this weekly summary is here to fill in the things you might have missed. Let’s dig in!
Sky Force Reloaded, Free Sky Force Reloaded kicks off the year the right way with a new version containing a bunch of goodies. There’s a new bonus level to play, some new upgrades for the double shot weapon, and a whole whack of bug fixes and performance improvements. See, this is what’s good about not affixing a specific year to the title of your game. Years come and go, but Reloading is forever.
Siralim 2 (Monster Taming RPG), $4.99 Another Update Mondays all-star, Siralim 2 keeps on adding on the good stuff with every new version. This time around, we’ve got a number of tweaks designed to level out the difficulty curve in some places, while making it harder in areas that make sense. The other big news is that the game’s overall performance has been seriously optimized. I know, every update says that, but this one is legit. Loading times are faster, overall performance is dramatically improved on older devices, and hey, even the fog of war is better.
Demon's Rise, $7.99 Oh what the-! The sequel is out and this game is still getting updates? Wave Light Games, it’s okay to take a break now and then. Anyway, version 4.0 brings a bunch of the improvements and additions from the sequel back to the original. That means iCloud save support, the ability to move characters multiple times on one turn, a dramatically improved UI, and a more sensible listing of goods in the game’s shop. A couple of the characters got some graphical improvements, and there were some small changes to certain characters for the sake of balance.
Templar Battleforce Elite, $9.99 Still one of the best SRPGs on iOS, Templar Battleforce got a nice update to start off 2017. There’s a new sniper enemy that can so some serious damage to your team from a distance, so stay on your toes. All of the human enemies have been rebalanced to make them stronger and more difficult to take down past level 10, and their animations and sound effects have gotten a little tender-loving care, too. There are some new armor designs, two new types of xeno, and some new Relic Wargear with the Requisition levels to go with them. It’s a tough decision this week, but I think I’m going to go with this game for the coveted Update Mondays Most Spider-Mans of the Week award.
Don't Grind, Free Sure, it’s good advice for enjoying RPGs to the fullest, but it’s also the name of a game from Laser Dog. This update adds a whopping 64 new Grindables to the game for you to collect and… not grind? Grind? I’m not sure which the game really wants you to do here. But by Carter’s bristly beard, do something with them! Or don’t.
Le Parker Extraordinaire, Free Sometimes it’s the little things that make a big difference when it comes to updates. The newest version of Le Parker: Sous Chef Extraordinaire has a few little tweaks that should have players enjoying the dish a little more. First, the minimum required iOS version has been reduced to iOS 9, so more people can play. The Game Over screen now goes by more quickly so that you can get right back into the action faster, and a few sections of some stages have been slightly altered. When you collect 50 macarons, you’ll now receive a heart bonus, giving you an extra incentive to grab them. All that, plus fixes and improvements! And now, I have to do it. Le Parker! I want pictures of Le Spider-Man! Now!
Crowntakers - The Ultimate Strategy RPG, $2.99 Not much to summarize here. Crowntakers is now a universal app, so iPhone players can enjoy one of the more criminally-overlooked strategy games of the last couple of years. It’s a little bit roguelike and a little bit SRPG, but whatever you want to call it, it’s certainly worth checking out.
Cookie Jam: Match 3 Games, Free Here’s the obligatory “new episode of never-ending puzzle game" update for this week. Cookie Jam has a new episode called CandyShack that offers up 20 new levels to beat. That title has me thinking of some dreadfully awesome pun names and such, but I doubt it lives up to all of that. Oh well, if matching sweets is your thing and you simply can’t abide King, here you go.
Trials Frontier, Free Trials Frontier has a new challenge to take on, the KTM Rally Challenge. You’ll ride the new KTM 450 Rally through a four-week event, with each week focusing on 10 tracks. If you do well enough, you could win a bunch of rewards, including the blueprints for the KTM 450 Rally and eight new tracks. Well, that’s your January settled, then.
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!
