It’s Wednesday again, which doesn’t mean a whole lot other than we’re that much closer to Thor being released in theaters this Friday. I’ve heard good things about it, but I’m always a sucker for comic book movies. If you don’t care about Thor, chances are you care about the bucket full of iOS games that are being released this evening.
The way this works is that developers can set a specific release date for their games on the App Store, but since it’s a global market, games are released on that date in each region. Fellow sorcerers who have unlocked the mysteries of time zones will know that this means since it’s Thursday in New Zealand first, games are released there nearly a day ahead of the US market. All of these games should be available tonight on the American App Store at 11:00 PM EST:
Enduro, 99¢ / Lite – Forum Thread – We previewed this game a few days ago, and interestingly enough, the developers don’t have any of the rights for the game. Who knows whether or not it will get pulled, but if you were intrigued by our preview, you better not wait too long before downloading it.
Frisbee Forever, Free – Forum Thread – Judging by the response on our forums, I’m not the only one surprised to see that this game is free. We were impressed by its feature list a while back, and I can’t wait to give it a spin. 100 tracks to play and 100 frisbees to connect? I’m in.
Imaginary Range, Free / HD – Forum Thread – An odd hybrid by Square Enix that seems to take a comic book and add mini-games to it. Regardless, it’s free, so as skeptical as you may be regarding Squeenix’s new project, it at least seems worth checking out.
iOOTP Baseball 2011, $4.99 – Forum Thread – Another game that we previewed not long ago! iOOTP brings a similar simulation-style management game that soccer fans have been enjoying for quite a while in other similar games. There’s no actual baseball gameplay here, instead you just manage the teams and focus on the stats. Sounds neat.
Piclings, 99¢ – Forum Thread – I love games that use the iPhone camera in clever ways. Piclings allows you to take photos, then play those photos as a platformer. I can’t wait to see how photos of my cat turns into levels in the game.
Pulse: Volume One, $4.99 – Forum Thread – Auditorium [Free] was a really clever music game, and Pulse is by the same developers, so I’m expecting good things. Eight levels are included, and there’s even talk of free updates.
Spider Jack, 99¢ / HD – Forum Thread – With gameplay that seems to be fairly obviously inspired by Cut the Rope, Spider Jack puts you in charge of, well, Spider Jack who has an appetite for bugs instead of candy. I had a lot of fun with Cut the Rope, so if Spider Jack provides more of the same, I’m OK with that.
That trailer owes me some whelm
Don't forget there are honest-to-goodness Julian Gollop games available on iOS through the Commodore 64 and Spectrum ZX epps! (Lazer Squad on both platforms and a whole IAP pack dedicated to his games on the Speccy!)
I'd love to see a scientific study of how many "Episode 1" apps get an Episode 2. Just a thought.
so...how much is it? Lol.
Free for the "demo". $4.99/$7.99 USD for IAP to unlock. Then you can spend money on game credits as well thru IAP.
Seems steep to me. But, I've paid way more for apps I use never. So, take it as you will.
Sounds like another promising game ruined by gimmicky, pushy "marketing" via IAP and network connectivity.
Most of us prefer to buy a complete game and enjoy it at our leisure, not having to be online or having to purchase the core levels, (especially if they're only available for 24 hours at a time?)
Sad also because there are so few good games in this genre as it is.
For now, I'll pass.
Hi Jay,
My name's Ben Murch. I'm one of the four man team at Rodeo Games, the creators of Hunters: Episode One.
Let me re-assure you. There is no network connectivity required to play Hunters. It is very much an off-line game. The reason we chose to make the game free, then unlock with IAP was so players could test it out, then make an informed choice as to whether or not they want to buy the full game. Doing it this way also allows players to continue using their team of Hunters and not have to start again.
Hunters is perfectly playable without having to buy in game credits too. The only reason we included those was to help players who were struggling to complete missions and wanted the option of a boost.
If you, like us, are a fan of the TBS genre, then give Hunters a try. As you say, there are so few good games in this genre as it is. We're trying our best to remedy that, one step at a time.
Best regards,
- Ben
Good to hear from the Devs of this game, I really like Hunters as I used to love Space Hulk type Games and this is a very good adaptation of that, some of the levels are very clever as well like the one where all the enemies are hammer weilding nutters so you have to stand your men back to back to avoid getting pummled.
Only critisms are although the missions refresh every day, they are still quite samey (either protect the VIP/reactor, find the valuable object or kill everyone on the map), it would be great to see some more variations, like perhaps:
1) A variation of the protect/salvage map where you have to both protect something (a door perhaps that can be destroyed) but also go find an object that you have to collect and take back to the door to complete the mission - adds the strategic element of deciding how many to send to get the object without sacrificing the protection of the door
2) A "rush" mission, a map where the player has to find a spot to hunker down and defend, once he has done so a never ending flow of enemies are unleashed and the player has to survive for a set number of turns
Ben, thanks for taking the time to reply and allay some concerns. That's actually really cool of you to do that.
Just wanted to say that I gave in and tried it out and you were right. This game is really well made and enjoyable. I sprung for the $8 full version. My presumptions were incorrect and I see now how the game offers daily Contracts and such without needing to be online. Very cool. Thanks again for your reply.
(Note: I tried to leave this same comment several days ago with my primary Discus account but for some reason every attempt to post here no longer seems to actually appear. My account works just fine on other sites so it must be a TouchArcade issue.)
I've enjoyed it so far.
My only criticism is the lack of cover on the maps - I keep thinking I'm hiding behind a wall, only to find out that it's not a wall at all when some big dude with an assault rifle starts shooting at me. Turns out it was just a big whole in the floor.
I guess this all adds to the strategy, where you have to move in and out of range etc, but I like a more duck and cover style of combat.
I've been loving this game. Granted it's not as deep or strategic as X-COM, but its lighter nature means I can squeeze in a mission in as little as 15 minutes. This game reminds me of Laser Squad so freaking much!
I'm almost to level 10 with all my hunters, so hopefully this title continues to see some developer love. Even though there are new mission every day, they're starting to grow repetitious, so I'm not sure the urge to play this game will still be there once I max everyone out. Fan made maps and missions could go a real long way to help this...hint, hint, as well as a more cohesive story mode.
I so wanted to like this game. I remember those nights with X-COM back in the day, where my palms would get sweaty with every turn and my men would get picked off oen by one by the slimy violence of the evil alien invaders. Even with the 90s graphics, music and sound effects, I was hooked. Each alien reveal from the black areas my men couldn't see would surprise me and make my heart race. Watching my heroes being picked off one by one felt like, well, the movie Aliens.
With Hunters HD, I find myself yawning as I play. The muted graphics are only part of the problem. The music and sound effects are okay but nothing seems designed to give me an intense gaming experience. So few surprises, no connection to the characters I'm controling. Seeing my generic men die one by one by the generic men they are fighting is like playing chess, without the complex strategy. This is so close to being good, but yet so far from what I wanted.
I downloaded the free version and bought the full version. I like it. It has a few quirks and glitches but nothing I can't deal with. I'd definitely like a few more weapon and equipment choices. That and more variability in missions. On the whole it's a decent game. The ads are there but you can easily ignore them.
I'd say the game has a lot of unexplored potential. Alien races to fight. Maybe some sort of boss character. Lots of possibilities.
from a technical perspective, this is the best TBS game I've played on iPhone. I also dig the art style, the controls are solid, and it's just a lot of fun. Big fan!
good game