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Gene Effect gets it’s first update, includes Universal support with Retina Display for the iPad 3 and TONS more!

Lightstorm3D’s first foray into iOS gaming hit the AppStore about 2 weeks ago. Since then, Gene Effect has received 4 reviews, all giving the game perfect scores. SlideToPlay also gave Gene Effect their ‘Must Have’ award. It also won 2nd place on Touch Arcade’s Game Of The Week vote, placing right under King Of Fighters 2012. Considering it was up against some other big name games from big name companies (Including Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7, My Little Hero, Dreamworks Dragons, Brainsss, Luxor Evolved, Tractor Trails and more), it was a pretty big deal.

Lightstorm3D was fairly active on the TA Forums, as well as with gamers through e-mail, Facebook and Twitter, all the while, gathering information on what could be fixed, what players wanted, and just general suggestions. A couple hours ago the first update for Gene Effect went live, and believe me when I say – it’s one hell of an update!

Here’s what’s new in Version 1.1.0 —

New
-iPad HD resolution is now fully supported
-Added animated plasma effect to Jukebox that reacts to the music
-Added brightness graphics option
-Landscape left/right display switching is now supported
-Size of controls can now be adjusted in control options
-Added color grading post effect
-Added screen based light radius falloff
-Anomaly now uses color grading post effect
-Menu voice can now be turned off in sound options
-New ship warp-in sound added at level start
-Collisions now cause a short, global light failure
Improvements
-Increased texture and font resolution for iPad display
-Dynamic frame rate throttling added
-Collision detection performance improvements
-Sound performance optimized
-Game HUD performance improved
-False ancient door switch order effect enhanced
-Warp gate teleportation effect enhanced
Changes
-The game no longer exits on suspend
-Removed exit button from main menu (iOS build)
-Warp gate engine’s sound volume lowered, audibel distance increased
-Post bloom settings have been adjusted to reduce artifacts
-Mission 1: More animated spiderwebs
-Time trophy limits have been increased by 2 – 6 seconds
-Increased camera distance
Fixes
-Sound effect volume setting will now be applied properly
-Lens flare post effect settings will now be recalled properly
-Fixed audio click when leaving anomaly
-Tank HUDs will now properly show an empty tank after withdrawel
-Warp gate’s sound will now properly pitch up when engine starts running
-Fixed rock vertex colors that caused black gaps
-Fixed some text passages and typos
-Menu frame rate will now properly revert to 30 FPS after leaving a mission
-Text slider will now reset when changing chronicle page
-Mission 1: Fixed spiderweb causing z sorting problem
-Mission 2: Corrected floating background plants
-Mission 9: Fixed light flicker problem at scanner
-Mission 19: Fixed invisible spore plant
Now if that doesn’t get your blood pumping, I don’t know what will. Gene Effect has already found itself in the #1 spot on my Favorite Game of 2012 list, and judging by this update, will not be knocked down any time soon. It definitely brings console gaming to the iDevice, and offers up a large 8-12 hour campaign, depending on how many of the secret items, some used to upgrade your ship, you’re determined to find. After that, there’s still 4 medals and 2 awards for each of the 21 stages to try and grab, and a Hard Difficulty Mode which is unlocked after beating the game on Normal. The graphics, physics, music… everything about the game is reminiscent of a true console experience. So if you’re a hardcore gamer looking for games that push the iDevice forward in the best way, Gene Effect is definitely a title you need to check out. This first update for Gene Effect also proves that Lightstorm3D is dedicated to making Gene Effect one of the best gameplay experiences that they can. $5 for this now Universal version of the game is a steal. If you’re even remotely interested in exploration, adventure, action, arcade, or cave/mining games, GRAB GENE EFFECT NOW! If you were waiting to see if Retina Support for the new iPad was coming, you now have nothing to keep you from taking the plunge. My hats off to Lightstorm3D!
Also, the next update for Gene Effect will include grammatical fixes for all of the text in the game, so be on the look-out for that. Once that’s fixed, Gene Effect will be one of the very few perfect games available for the iOS.
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May 17, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Tentacle Wars HD (FDG Entertainment) – $2.99

Strategy titles have found a new home, it seems, on the touch screen of the iDevice. More and more real time, turn based, and 4X strategy titles, along with board games are finding their way into the AppStore, taking full advantage of the multitouch screen. FDG has brought Tentacle Wars, the Flash game available from Lumarama, to the iPad, and it feels like the game was specifically made to be played on the touch screen platform. 
Tentacle Wars looks a lot like a Galcon clone on the surface, but once you get into it, the depth starts to show. You’ll need to take control of cells inside an infected alien organism by branching out, and using tentacles to connect from cell to cell. Each cell that you have control of is only allowed a certain number of tentacles, so deciding which cells to attach to is very important. 
To connect to another cell, you need to make sure you have enough energy in your starting cell. Each link in your tentacle requires energy, so if you don’t have enough, you won’t be able to make a tentacle long enough to connect. Once you do connect, depending on your situation, you can either sit there and feed energy into the cell, or cut your tentacle and send all of the links, and their energy into the cell, which is much quicker. 
Connecting to an enemy cell will start feeding energy into it right away. If you have enough links and the enemy cell is low enough on energy, you can cut the tentacle, and send all of the links into the cell, taking it over. If the enemy cell has enough energy to make a tentacle, it will almost always battle it out by sending a tentacle back towards you. This sends half of your tentacle back to your cell, and you’ll send energy through the tentacle until either cell runs out of energy. The cell left wins, and gets both cells. To complete each mission, you will need to form a strategy and pull it off fairly quickly, or else you’ll be overrun by the invading cell in no time. You should be able to complete each mission with plenty of time left. If you’re cutting it close, chances are you should rethink your strategy. As you progress through the game, you’ll come across different enemies which are more intelligent, but the rise in difficulty is handled very well. There are no crazy difficulty spikes. 
Throughout the 40 campaign missions, there are some stages with empty cells that you’ll be fighting to take over, barriers blocking your way so that you can’t connect directly with another cell, and multiple infections fighting for control of the area. Each mission has a 3 star rating system based on how much energy you have at the end of the stage, and how quickly you complete the mission. The number of swipes you make is listed as well, but has no effect on how many stars you receive. 
There are two organisms to try and save, each having 20 missions. The mission selection screen shows a path of cells, with some branching off to other areas. This opens up two or three different missions, so if you’re having trouble with one mission, you almost always have the option to play others, and come back to missions you’re having a hard time with later on.  
There’s also a Multiplayer Mode, which matches you up through GameCenter, and has you battle over an arena. It’s just like completing a mission level, with the objective being to take over all of the enemy’s cells. I was really surprised at how many people were playing online. It only took between 5 and 10 seconds to be matched up every time I went looking for a match. 
The controls in Tentacle Wars are flawless. To connect two cells, you just draw a path from one to the other. Tentacles are cut by swiping a line through them, and will be cut right where you swipe. Since those are the only controls you have, keeping an eye on all of the cells, and quickly deciding what to do next is never hindered by imprecise or unresponsive controls. 
To further draw you in, the graphics, animations, and environments are fantastic. Graphics wise, it does look a lot like Galcon, but under the cells, there’s a black and white background with various moving cells and other objects, which definitely gives the feeling of being deep inside an organism. Completing the atmosphere is the music. Taken from www.strategicmusic.com, it’s some of the best background music I’ve heard in an iOS game, and fits perfectly with the game’s graphics and feeling. 
Tentacle Wars is only available for the iPad, but FDG is working on making an iPhone version as well. Priced at $2.99, having a great challenging campaign mode, with more organisms to save coming in future updates, and a multiplayer mode that gives the game endless replay value, it’s a great buy for fans of strategy games. There’s also GameCenter support with two leader boards, one for your total campaign score, and another for the total number of multiplayer wins, and 11 achievements most of which having to do with multiplayer battles. This also offers up quite a bit of replay value even if you’re not too keen on playing online. FDG has done a wonderful job porting this flash game to the iOS. I’m pretty excited to get into the future levels, and sink more time into the multiplayer battles. Tentacle Wars is definitely a game that will be staying on my iPad for a long, long time.
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April 20, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Spaceward Ho! (Ariton) – $4.99

There are some genres that have truly embraced the AppStore, using the iDevice’s unique touch screen capabilities, and basically feeling right at home on the platform. Puzzlers, Racers and Point n’ Click titles really make it feel like the iDevice was made to perfectly suit them. Strategy games are also definitely falling into this grouping of genres, and slowly, but surely, 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) titles are finding their way as well, and these are being sucked up by fans of this niche genre like an addicts choice substance. It also helps when these titles are ports of old-school titles, as a lot of iOS gamers are 30-40 year olds who found out they can fit gaming into their lives again by playing on their phones.
Spaceward Ho!, originally an Amiga and Mac title released in 1990 released by Delta Tao Software, has made its way into the AppStore, accompanying Ascendancy as two of the more notable old-school 4X games that have graced the iDevice, and the two man California based development team, Ariton (who also developed the Spaceward Ho! port for the Palm Pilot), has done a fantastic job transferring the game over to the touch screen.
Spaceward Ho! is not your typical depthy 4X Strategy game. Actually, on the surface, it’s very basic when compared to titles like Master of Orion or Starbase Orion, but underneath the surface, it does have quite a bit of depth. It’s probably better placed next to titles like 9 Colonies and Vincere Totus Astrum, offering up gameplay that can last an hour, or even play through as quick as 10 minutes.
When starting a game, you’re able to decide exactly what kind of game you’ll be playing. You’ll be able to choose what kind of system you’ll be thrown into; Thriving, Abundant, Advanced, Normal, Backward, Barren, or Outpost. How many other empires you want in the star system, choosing between 1 and 8, as well as their IQ, being able to pick between 50 and 200, in increments of 10. The enemies home system, like yours, Thriving, Abundant, ect… but you can also decide to have this be based on their IQ. How many years to advance with every turn, 10, 20, 30 or 50, whether or not to allow Best Buddies, and the Shape, size, and Density of the universe. All but the size influences the difficulty, which you’ll be able to see go up and down based on your choices.
Once you decide the settings, you’re taken to the Galaxy screen. Here, you can see your home planet, as well as all the other planets in the galaxy. To get started, you can double tap on your home planet, and be taken to the ship/satellite creation screen. Here, you can build various ships and satellites, adjusting their Range, Speed, Weapons, Shields, and Mini (amount of material used to build them). As you progress through the game, your researchers will automatically research different technologies, increasing what you can use as stats for your ships.
In the Info section, along the left side of the screen, you can adjust how much money you’ll spend on the different technologies by dragging the gauge’s. In this area, you can also view your entire list of planets that you’ve colonized, adjusting how much money you spend on the planet. You can adjust it so that you spend more on technologies, or put the money back into your savings. At the top of this bar you’ll find your total money and metal (the only resource that you’ll need to worry about in the game). The metal that you collect from around the galaxy is used to build your satellites and ships, so sometimes colonizing a planet just to take the metal from it, and then evacuating is a very good idea. At the bottom of the info section, you’re able to either hide the information or change to view your history, which is a list of every major event that has happened in the game. There is also a little box which tells you who the other players are, and if they’re an enemy or ally.
The game is complete when you either friend or defeat all of the other players. You can keep playing, colonizing the rest of the planets, or seeing how strong you can make your ships until you run out of metal, but it’ll be pretty boring since there won’t be any opponents. If you’re familiar with the original Spaceward Ho! this is basically an exact port. You can not view your technology level vs. the other players, there’s no ‘browse all fleets’ or ‘browse all planets’ and network play has not been implemented yet, but the developers have said that they are working hard on giving us GameCenter Support, Multiplayer features, and an iPhone build of the game. Being priced at $5, it’s a great title to pick up if you’re a fan of the 4X genre. It’s also one of the best 4X games you could pick up if you’re new to the genre. It’s very easy to learn, has a great ‘help’ section, which is also pretty short (unlike some other tutorial or help sections in other 4X games that are 50 pages long, and would take 2 hours to read through) because all of the unnecessary complexity that’s in other 4X games has either been weeded out, or is taken care of automatically. There is also an Auto-Play option, which lets you watch the game take over your decisions, which is a great way to learn how to play the game quickly. The developers are very active on the Touch Arcade Forums, and have an ‘Ask Us’ section on their website dedicated to answering questions. Having such active and supportive developers makes wanting to support them very easy.
[iPad Only]
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April 9, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Unstoppable Gorg Landing This Thursday!

It’s finally official. Unstoppable Gorg will be landing on the App Store this Thursday. If you don’t know anything about this game, then you must be living under a box. It’s a new tower defense game that allows you to move your satellites once you place them. Check out the trailer below to get a sense of what I’m talking about.

The game will be released on the following platforms:
Thursday January 19, 2012
PC & Mac (through Steam)
$9.99
iPad
$4.99
First half of 2012
Xbox LIVE Arcade
Price: TBA
Make sure you keep an eye out for the game once it releases!
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January 16, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

JAZZ: Trumps Journey – An Upcoming Platformer with an unique musical twist


JAZZ: Trumps Journey is an unusual game that strays from the accepted norm in the AppStore. JAZZ is a platformer with a strong emphasis on music. Namely the jazz that New Orleans is so well known for.
You play as Trump, a famous jazzman in the early 1920’s who is trying to create his own jazz band.  There are platforms, bosses, warpzones and all sorts of other platforming ingredients that can be found on your journey, including a beautiful lady whose heart you have to win.
But what really differentiates this game from the crowd is the way music is incorporated into the game.  In the beginning the background music consists only of percussion. When you find your first band member the music changes to incorporate the instrument each band member plays. The music gets richer as you find new members to add to your band and was composed by real musicians in a recording studio. Music also plays another part in the game, specifically as a tool used by Trump to stop time.
The graphics are inspired by old pictures of New Orleans in the 1920’s.  In the screenshots it is increasingly apparent that a lot of time was spent perfecting them and keeping the graphics true to their orgins.  The story is also rich as it is based off of the biography of Louis Armstrong, a very influential musician back then.
The game also delves into controversial topics such as racism and injustice. I applaud the developers efforts to be as realistic as possible and show the way things were back then, rather than sweeping those issues under the carpet. I am certainly looking forward to this game and will be available on January 19th for download.  It will be released for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and the Mac AppStore. I imagine it will be universal and work on most devices but we will have to see.  We plan to have a full review up for the game around the time it launches so stay tuned!

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January 4, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Top 10 iPad Games that you should download right now

Many people around the globe received and/or bought the new iPad 2 around Christmas time.  When I unwrapped my iPad I was overwhelmed with the many options and games that I had been previously unable to play. Here are some of the games that really stood out and utilize the iPad’s innovative features
——————————————————————————
Lost Winds by Frontier Developments ($3.99)
Universal
Lost Winds certainly has an unique control method which we praised in our review of it. But what really makes this a star is the fact that it is way easier to control on the big screen. Add the awesome graphics and amazing gameplay experience and you get an absolutle must for the cheap asking price.
Review: http://www.the-app-shack.com/2011/12/lost-winds-review-gusty-new-take-on_21.html
iTunes Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lostwinds/id477973472?mt=8

Infinity Blade 2 by Chair Games ($6.99) 
Universal

With awesome graphics tailored to the iPad 2 display and frantic fighting action this is an easy buy. The  larger display and room to manuever make it much easier to swipe and doge in the game.  It has a long lasting story which should keep you playing for a long time.

Galaxy on Fire 2 HD by Fishlabs ($9.99) 
The original Galaxy on Fire certainly has a big fan following and is quite the experience. It is basically a space simulation game where you can choose your own destiny and where your actions have consequences.  You can choose to be a pirate blowing up ships and stealing packages or a humble trader making money by buying and selling commodities to galaxys.  Fishlabs has redone the original game and boosted the graphics substantialy. It is simply amazing how much detail has been put into the artwork and it certainly takes advantage of the A5 processor chip in the iPad. 
Aquaria by Semi Secret Software LLC (4.99)

Aquaria is a 2d RPG with a huge exploratory element. You explore the ocean blue searching for answers into your mysterous predicament. Originally a computer game, it has been adapted for the touch screen and works magnificently with it. It is iPad exclusive as the experience wouldnt have been the same on devices with smaller screens like the iPhone. It has a massive amount of exploration and combat so it should keep you intrigued for a long time.
Pocket RPG by Crescent Moon Games ($2.99)
This dual stick shooter esc RPG game has all the right elements to make it a huge success: innovative gameplay mechanics, easy to get used to controls, great graphics and an increasing difficulty level.  It was originally an iPad only game before it was ported over to smartphone size. This is definitely a quality purchase and made our top 5 games of 2011 list.
Grand Theft Auto 3 by Rockstar ($2.99 originally $4.99) 
Universal
The GTA franchise has been revitalized in this port of the third game in the series.  There really isnt too much to say about this game because it is so wide known by many people. It is basically a free roaming game in which you can steal cars, shoot people, and drive crazily around Liberty City.  At $2.99 until the 29th you have no excuse to not pick this up.
Battleheart by Mika Mobile ($2.99) 
Universal
Battleheart is a line-drawing action strategy RPG with an extensive class and shop system.  It is truly one of the best strategy games on the Appstore and the larger screen size certainly makes it easier to plan out your attacks. A very innovative take on the RPG genre and is very approachable by newbies to that niche.
Flipboard (Free)
Universal
Though this is not a game I felt it seemed necessary to include in this list. It works perfectly to bring you the news you want about exactly what topics you enjoy most. 
Carcassonne by The Coding Monkeys ($9.99)
Universal
Carcassonne is a great strategy board game that is fun for the whole family. If you or all of your relatives/friends play this you can connect via GameCenter and play asynchronously. Though it may be a bit pricey it is definitely worth it.
Machinarium by Animata Design ($4.99)
iPad 2 only
Machinarium is a point and click adventure game which has been adapted from the PC version.  It has a very intriguing storyline and one of the best soundtracks in a game of all time. Highly reommended for puzzle fans
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December 26, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Gua-Le-Ni- $4.99 (Double Jungle S.a.s.)

Get ready iPad owners for tons of puzzling fun in Gua-Le-Ni, or: The Horrendous Parade. This new iPad puzzle game comes from Stefano Gualeni and Double Jump. You’ll be able to get your hands on it very soon with it’s release date for November 28, 2011 (NOW AVAILABLE! CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD IT). The main objective in this game is to categorize beasts who are combinations of different types of animals. It’s actually a very intriguing game. The beast walks across the screen, one at a time. The only way to successfully categorize the beast is to use the cubes at the bottom of the screen before the beast walks to the other side of the screen out of view. Let’s say your beast is a mixture of a rhino and a condor (the rhino body part is first and the condor body part is second). This means that you’ll have to arrange the cubes to read rhi-dor. You can spin the cube around with one finger. If you have the cubes in the wrong order or if it’s upside down, then you can use two fingers to lift or rotate the cube. You can also add more cubes (which means more of the beast) for an even greater challenge. As you progress, food becomes a factor. If a beast is hungry then it’ll move faster. This is where you have to feed it a certain item for it to slow down. This is a really interesting game. It’ll certainly have your brain thinking (which is always a good thing). If you’re a little confused about the game then you can view the trailer directly below.

My overall rating for this game is 4.5 out of 5 stars. The interface in this game is very well-done, the visuals are nice, and rotating/spinning the cubes is extremely responsive. My only thing is that starting up the game is a little slow, since the game sort of acts like a book. Remember that this is an iPad only app and it’ll be available November 28th. You can pick it up for $4.99.

NOW AVAILABLE FOR $4.99

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November 28, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Homerun Battle 2 Beta Testing!


Most people may remember the very popular Com2uS game called Homerun Battle. Well if you’re a fan of that game and you’ve been waiting for a sequel, then you’re in luck! Com2uS will be conducting beta testing for the sequel from October 12th through the 20th. Recruiting started September 30th and will conclude on the 7th. If you’re lucky enough to get in then you should be receiving an email on the 10th stating that you’ve gotten in. You can check out how to apply and all that good stuff directly down below.

Recruiting periodSep.30th-Oct.7th

Result announcement
Oct.10th.

How to apply
Create a facebook account
Send an email to cbeta06@gmail.com with below details.



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October 5, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Hungribles FREE Now Available & Giveaway

Great news for everyone who’s been wanting to play Hungribles by Futuremark Games Studio! There’s now a free (lite) version avaible. The free version has 15 levels from the paid version that you can try out first before you decide to buy the game. The free version is also universal just like the paid version. Even though there’s a free version, I say skip it. Just go download the full version today! You definitely won’t regret it for just $1.99.

Hungribles FREE
Hungribles $1.99
If you read the title then you may have noticed that we’re having a giveaway! We have a couple of codes to giveaway for the full version. The first two codes are directly below this post. So if you’re lucky enough to snag a code then kudos to you! The rest of the codes will be given out on our Twitter account. So follow us @TheAppShack for your chance to win more codes if you missed out here! If you do get a code make sure to leave the developer a review on iTunes!
First two codes coming….NOW!
LXJKFXYKTHHH
XNWMXEEF4JJ3


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September 26, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

HECTOR: Ep2 – Senseless Acts of Justice – 4.99 (Telltale Inc)

The long awaited sequel to HECTOR: Badge of Carnage Ep1 [$3.99] is finally upon us! HECTOR: Ep2 – Senseless Acts of Justice [$4.99] is the second episode of the humorous trilogy. I’ve actually never gotten the chance to play the first episode, shocker right! Since I haven’t played the first episode I can’t really compare them to which one’s the best. If you’re new to the series like me then you ought to know who the main characters are. The game follows Detective Hector and his assistant Lambert throughout the series. The Hector: Badge of Carnage series is a point-and-click adventure game where you have to interact with people and objects to complete your tasks. There’s a lot of silly crude humor, so this game isn’t for the young. It’s also not for people who don’t have a sense of humor. So, if you were born without that then you should probably stay far away from this game. I mean it. Even though this is a funny game it’ll require you

to use your brain every now and then to complete the task on hand. The controls are very simple. Just tap anywhere to move around. To interact with objects and people just tap once to do so. If you need to use an item then just double tap to use it. You can gather objects and store them into your inventory. Sometimes you’ll have to combine objects that you’re carrying to get the job done. Throughout the game you can switch back and forth between Hector and Lambert to perform the various duties. If you’re ever stuck, then you can use the hint menu, but I’m afraid to use it… it makes me feel dumb, because of how easy some of the tasks are. There’s not much more I can say about the game without spoiling the story. After playing HECTOR: Ep2 – Senseless Acts of Justice, I’ve found myself to truly love the series. I definitely need to go pick up the first game ASAP! If you’re new to the Badge of Carnage series like me then I suggest you go play the first one 
before you play this one. You don’t really have to though. You’ll be fine by just hopping into episode 2, but if you would like to know the main plot then you should just start of at #1. Also, if you’ve played the first one before then there’s no way in the world that you can’t pick up this one. Come on for Pete’s sake! It’s Hector!!!! Overall, the dialogue in this game is fantastic and it’s hilarious. The graphics are nicely done and everything seems to flow very well. HECTOR: Ep2 – Senseless Acts of Justice is definitely worth $5… probably more! My final rating is 5 out of 5 stars. If your looking for a great puzzle adventure game and a nice long game then HECTOR: Ep2 – Senseless Acts of Justice for [$4.99] is definitely worth your time and hard earned money. Have an iPad? Well don’t worry! You can pick up the HD version for iPad for just $6.99 by clicking here. 
Trailer:
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September 18, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >