If you’ve been sitting on a massive emergency food supply waiting for the right occasion to open the first gallon sized can of preserved potato chunks, this might be it. With the holiday season almost upon us and the iTunes freeze quickly approaching, it seems like everyone who has a game to release decided to pull the lever today instead of waiting until next week. The iTunes Connect freeze takes place this year from December 22nd all the way through December 29th, so while there won’t be any games released that week, we have another potential week of release madness ahead of us.
Regardless, there is absolutely no shortage of games to choose from tonight. If everything goes as it usually does, these games should all be available in the USA at 11:00 PM Eastern, or potentially much earlier if you’re in a region east of North America.
Here’s what’s on our radar:
Blobster Christmas, 99¢ – Forum Thread – If you’ve found yourself thinking, “You know, I really liked Blobster but I wish it was more festive," Chillingo totally has your back. We liked the original in our review, and if you did too, give this a spin.
Blockwick, Free – Forum Thread – If sliding puzzles are your cup of tea, Blockwick is the newest kid on the block. (See what I did there?) Anyway, I really dig puzzle games like this which are free with an initial level pack with additional levels available via IAP, so you only ever need to pay if you both enjoy the game and have cleared the free content.
Bloons 2, 99¢ – Forum Thread – The guys from Digital Goldfish are the masters of bringing popular Flash games to iOS, and Bloons 2 is their latest port. You can play it online for free with ads, or spend a buck and have it forever on your iPhone. Not too shabby.
Bug Princess, $4.99 – Forum Thread – It’s a CAVE shooter, it’s $4.99, and it’s universal. What else do you need to know?
Derby Days, Free – Forum Thread – Another free to play farming game from Com2uS, except the gimmick of this one seems to centralize around breeding and racing horses.
FiTS by Reiner Knizia, $3.99 – Forum Thread – The latest from puzzle master Reiner Knizia! Be sure to check out all his other games too.
Frontline Commando, Free – Forum Thread – This third person shooter looks like it could be promising, but it all depends on how Glu implemented their free to play model. I hope there are no $500 guns.
Ice Rage, 99¢ – Forum Thread – An ice hockey game from Mountain Sheep, the dudes behind both Minigore and Death Rally with Enviro-Bear as a playable character? Take my money.
iDamaged, 99¢ – Forum Thread – Looking to shoot tons of stuff with a giant mech? Give iDamaged a look.
Kaptain Brawe: A Brawe New World, Free / HD – Forum Thread – This adventure game unravels the great Space Age conspiracy. It’s also free, with a single $9.99 unlock, assuming you like the taste they give you.
Mad Tracks, Free – Forum Thread – The above video is actually from the Wii version of the game, but judging by screenshots, the iOS version might even look better than that. Hopefully the free to play mechanic is OK.
Marathon 2: Durandal, Free – Forum Thread – I’d explain what this game is all about, but Jared already did all that and more today. Check it out!
Monkey Island Tales 2, $4.99 – Forum Thread – After recent Telltale releases, cautious optimism is the name of the game here.
Monkey Quest: Thunderbow, 99¢ – Forum Thread – This physics-powered game seems to provide a minor variation on Angry Birds style gameplay with monkeys, zombies, scorpions, and mummies. What a mix!
Puppy Panic, 99¢ – Title – An endless runner of sorts featuring a variety of playable puppies? Whatever, I’m in.
Puzzle Quest 2 Freemium, Free – Forum Thread – Oh hey, it’s Puzzle Quest 2 with a free to play spin… Ugh.
Real Football 2012, Free – Forum Thread – Gameloft’s yearly installment of their soccer series, only this time, freemium.
Save The Furries!, $2.99 / HD – Forum Thread – 60 levels are included in this physics-based puzzler where Bulky Pix puts you to the task of making sure no harm comes to the Furries. My question is, what have the furries done for me?
Sin or Win, $1.99 – Forum Thread – Brad was all over this game last week, be sure to give his preview coverage a look.
Snoticles, 99¢ – Forum Thread – Another physics puzzler! This time from Adult Swim, one of the few outfits on the App Store that you can blindly buy games from knowing they’ll be great.
Sonic CD, $1.99 – Forum Thread – I’ve always considered Sonic CD to be the best of the series, and this port is so good it makes me want to cry. Seriously, so much love went into this that it’s incredible, it even features both US and Japanese soundtracks. Download. This. Now.
SubTub, 99¢ – Forum Thread – The iTunes text for this game has left me with practically no clue what you actually do in this game, but I’m always oddly drawn to games with mega-bright art styles like this one.
Tongue Tied!, $1.99 – Forum Thread – One of my favorite things about the App Store is the ridiculous lengths developers need to go to in order to come up with game premises that haven’t been done before. A physics games where two dogs have their tongues tied together. That’s it, pack it up, I’ve seen it all.
Trenches II, $1.99 / HD – Forum Thread – The sequel to Trenches is finally here! Trenches was ridiculously popular, and it seems like this is a great sequel.
Toy Shot, 99¢ – Forum Thread – This catapult-style game from Gamevil actually looks sort of neat, I dig the Lego art style.
Venture Towns, $3.99 – Forum Thread – Hey! It’s the latest Kairosoft game. Expect some hardcore simulation action, this time managing an entire town.
Wind Up Robots, $1.99 – Forum Thread – 7 unique robots to send into the fray, 12 enemies, and tons of hats you can buy. I like hats.
