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Car Toons! [FDG] – $0.99/$1.99

Sometimes it seems like physics puzzlers have taken over the AppStore. Ever since the success of Angry Birds, everyone realized the potential for hooking casual gamers. But FDG, a publication/development company that we here at TAS highly respect, and that has been on a roll lately, releasing quite a few titles over the last couple months, has jumped on the physics puzzler bandwagon, and is taking it in an entirely different direction. With Blosics, Expand It!, Cover Orange, Beyond Ynth and more under their belt, they’re continuously releasing new and unique physics puzzlers on the iOS. 
Their newest release, Car Toons!, is another great example of this. With simple gameplay that can also provide a nice little challenge, it’s another physics puzzler that doesn’t follow in the footsteps of any previous iOS releases. The goal of the game is to get your good cars (ie; cop cars, ambulances, fire trucks, ect) into the parking zones while knocking any bad cars (the black cars) off of the screen. Sounds simple enough, maybe even too simple. But when you take into account the level designs, as well as the hazards and other various puzzle elements, it actually offers up a decent challenge while still remaining casual and simple enough to just jump on into when you’ve got a couple of minutes to spare. 
With 100 levels, and possible 3 star rankings on each stage, with more levels coming soon, there’s quite a bit of content. The 100 levels is split up across 9 different worlds, each with different hazards and objects as well as mechanics to help keep the game fresh. When you start out, you’re only able to touch each good car to make them start, and then touch them again to stop them. Doing this, you’ll need to knock all of the bad cars off of the platforms, and stop the cars in the correct parking spots (each parking spot’s color matches the good cars lights). As you progress through the game, disappearing platforms, the ability to jump, nitro boosters, doors that open when you drive into buttons, exploding barrels and loads more are just some of the things that you’ll end up using in order to complete levels.
The graphics and animations are very well done, with each car having a set of eyes, making the graphics pretty cutesy. But the animations really bring it all together, with wheels turning, smoke flying up from breaks, the expressions of the cars’ eyes, explosions, and more showcasing the polish of the graphics, and making the gameplay fun and entertaining. The music sounds like your typical classic 80’s pop tunes, reminiscent of an underrated nerd winning over a jock jerk in a John Hughes flick. 
Rounding it all out is GameCenter support with a leaderboard for your overall time and 23 great achievements. However, the board for time could use some tweaking, as the longer you play, the further down the board you’ll go. This could be fixed by not submitting a time until the game is completed, or by doing that as well as having leaderboards for each world, but right now, it’s pretty pointless. However, priced at $0.99 for the SD build, and $1.99 for the HD version, it’s a pretty unique casual puzzler, and one that fans of puzzle games should definitely check out. With the support that FDG has given their previous releases, I have complete confidence that the leaderboard issue will be sorted out and know that more levels will definitely be included in the future. Another great release to throw on the list that FDG is quickly building up. 
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July 27, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Witching Hour Studios TBS Title, Ravenmark gets a new campaign!

Witching Hour Studios fantastic Turn-Based Strategy game, Ravenmark: Scourge of Estellion, has just gotten a new update, and what an update it is! Check out what’s new in Version 1.08;
>The Deepwood Dragoons campaign is now available as an In-App Purchase! Players can purchase this campaign from the Campaign Menu for $1.99
>An option that increases the speed at which the Battle Phase plays out is now available via the Options Menu. A 3X Speed Option is available as an In-App Purchase.
>The first missions of the Ravenhood and Suneaters campaigns will now be accessible by default. Players no longer need to complete preceding campaigns to ‘unlock’ these campaigns. 
>A button to Restore past transactions has been added to the Options menu. This allows users who reinstall the game to verify and unlock previously purchased items from the AppStore.
WHS Account (Witching Hour Studios Account)
>Players may now create a WHS Account which synchronizes mission progress across multiple devices. This will not interfere with iCloud sync.
>Players who complete Ravenmakr missions while logged in on their WHS account will be eligible for future benefits. This will be elaborated at a future time.
>Facebook Connect is now available and supported, but it optional.
>While connected to the WHS Account, the game may prompt the player to post his success to his Facebook wall.
Gameplay Changes
>The difficulty of Ravenhood Mission 9 (the ‘Sunsoul Mission’) has been reduced.
>Reduced the amount of time it takes for the World Map to fade in and out at the start of missions and dialogues. 
>After completing the last mission of each campaign, the ending dialogue will now lead the player to the Campaign Menu.
>Dwight has grown stronger. His Pit Fighter ability now also gives him (his parent Element) 4 additional health (on top of the original 20 bonus armor). He also gains a new Active Ability called Low Blow. This change is retroactive and is applied to all Ravenhood missions he appears in.
Yup, HUGE update! But aside from the gameplay changes and the addition of the WHS Account, the new campaign is a big deal! For those of you who have had Ravenmark from the beginning, you know how great the developers are with content updates, though none of them have previously included a new campaign through IAP. However, the previous 2 campaigns that were added could very well have been introduced to the game through IAP, especially with how large they are, and how much content they added to the game. So seeing Witching Hour Studios finally charge for additional content is a great thing. Hopefully this will result in them getting some more money so that they can keep developing games for the iOS. 
With as great as Ravenmark is, I can only imagine what the developers over at WHS have learned since it was released. Ravenmark completely blew me away when it came out, and is still easily one of my favorite Turn-Based Strategy games on any platform. If you’re interested in reading more about it, feel free to check out our review, or visit the Official WHS/Ravenmark site. You can also watch the trailer below, it shows some great gameplay, and gives you an idea of what this amazing game delivers. I’d love to see more releases come out of WHS in the future, and this update is definitely a step in that direction. Let’s just hope it works out for the best. If you don’t yet have Ravenmark, be sure and head on over to the AppStore and pick it up! Priced at $4.99, and being Universal, containing some HUGE campaigns that offer up some incredible challenge, you won’t regret it.
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July 25, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Jewels With Buddies [Stofle Designs] – FREE

A couple of months ago, I wouldn’t have really called myself an online multiplayer fan. But with all of the great MP games being released lately, I’ve definitely been turned into one. Now, being a pretty big fan of Match-3 games, and with this new-found enjoyment of online gameplay, Stofle Designs Jewels with Buddies has wound up in my current rotation of games that I play every day. Battling it out against another player, trying to get the best combined score for 3 rounds of match-3 mayhem is a lot more fun than I thought it would be.
Once you register, or connect to your Facebook profile, you’re able to start games with friends from yoru contacts list, find a random buddy, have a rematch with someone you’ve already played, search for a username, or have a pass-n-play session with a friend on the same device. 
As you play, you’ll earn coins. These are used to pick power-up animals who are able to help you out throughout your game, and also to take spins on the slots. Each animal has a different ability, and is charged up by making certain types of matches while you play. For instance, the Panda Bear eats a whole row of gems and is charged up when you make white matches, while the Elephant destroys half of the board, and is recharged by matching purple gems, and so on. 

The scoring system is definitely a plus. With each match you make, you earn points, and if there’s a coin inside one of the gems, you’ll gain coins as well. But if you keep making matches quickly, the amount of points you’ll earn will keep rising. There are also multipliers randomly found on the gems which increase as time counts down. If you tap the gems with a multiplier before making a match with them, the multiplier will be applied to that match. 
You’re given 3 rounds, each being 60 seconds long, to earn as many points as you can. After each round, your score is sent to the other player, and then you wait for them to play a round and send it back. I haven’t ever had this much fun with a match-3 MP game. Witch Wars and Matching With Friends both seemed way too unbalanced, and pushed towards IAP, and Syntax Match, while decent, is a little too difficult when it comes to quickly finding matches because of the tiles used. Don’t get me wrong, there are IAPs included in Jewels with Friends, and if you want the best animal power-ups every time you play, you’ll probably need to purchase some coins, but with the coins earned at a decent rate, and being able to choose some of the better animals every 3 or so games, even without purchasing IAPs, it’s very well balanced, and doesn’t feel like you’re constantly being pushed towards the IAPs, which is becoming more and more rare with free games. 
So, if you’re looking for an online asynchronous match 3 title, you should definitely check out Jewels with Friends. Even though there’s no extra modes, and no single player gameplay, what is there is done very well, and priced at FREE, there’s really no reason not to give it a try. It’s definitely a title that’ll wind up staying on my device for quite some time. 

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July 22, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Mr. Dreamer – Strapped To A Meteor’s new Endless Runner, coming the 31st!

Last August, the iOS world was shown the second release from the development studio, Strapped To A Meteor; DEO. Mixing platforming elements with fairly strict timing to get around rotating levels set in a gloomy universe, the game received some very positive reviews and great player feedback. Since then, the STAM team has had their work cut out for themselves, trying to come up with something new that would match the uniqueness of the 7-person team’s previous releases (Go Go Giraffe being the other, and first iOS title); Enter Mr. Dreamer. 
Mr. Dreamer is a score-chasing, endless runner, of sorts. On the main menu, you’re shown a strange little guy who’s stuck in an office’s cubicle with a stuffed animal by his side, pictures of his family on the walls, and the sounds of a keyboard clicking and phones ringing in the background, set to a pensive background musical loop. Looking bored and staring off into space, once you hit the ‘Play’ button, you’re off into a dream world, running up a two sided pathway in a dream world ripe with candy and sweets. 

What makes the game interesting, and adds to the challenge, is that while you’re running up this pathway, you need to stay up-right. There’s a gauge at the top of the screen, which is kind of like your life bar. Every time you’re up-side-down, this bar goes down, and once it’s empty, it’s Game Over, but to keep it from being a fairly short game, collecting candies will re-fill this gauge. 
We’re pretty psyched about Mr. Dreamer, as Strapped To A Meteor’s previous titles definitely added something new to the AppStore, and had us stuck on em for quite a while. We’ll be able to find out more and will have a review for you once the game is officially released on July 31st. If you’re a fan of endless runners, be sure to keep an eye out for this one. 
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July 21, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

True Axis’ Jet Car Stunts goes UNIVERSAL!

One of the very first games I ever bought for my 2nd Generation iPod Touch was True Axis’ Jet Car Stunts. Released in November of 2009, it’s gone through quite a few updates, but none of them have been as highly anticipated as the Version 1.5.0 update which hit the AppStore late last night. 
Jet Car Stunts now runs at a solid 60 Frames-Per-Second and includes Full Screen Anti-Aliasing for smooth edges on the iPhone 4S, iPad 2 and iPad 3. This is all to help make the main reason for the update even better. Jet Car Stunts is now UNIVERSAL. That’s right, you can now play JCS in native resolution on the iPad!
If you’ve yet to check out Jet Car Stunts, you should know that it won Apple’s Best Game of 2009, was TouchGen’s biggest surprise of 2009, was Touch Arcade’s best iPhone and iPod Touch game in 2009, as well as receiving numerous other awards and rankings. The game has 36 incredibly well designed tracks, and 3 separate gameplay modes; Platforming, Time Trial and Ghost Racing. It’s been one of my favorite games since I first got into iOS gaming, and now, with this recent update, I’m looking forward to playing through it all again on my iPad. Be sure you check this one out, it’s a fantastic mix of racing, platforming, and flying, and offers up an insane amount of replayability. 
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July 21, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

RayStorm [TAITO] – $8.99

Shoot-em-ups are really thriving in the AppStore. But with Cave pretty much having a monopoly on the high-end, extremely polished side of things, it’s hard for others to really compare to the insanely high quality they bring to the table. Fortunately, there are some developers that can compete with this, Taito being one of them. The release of Space Invaders: Infinity Gene, and ports of DariusBurst and RayForce are considered to be some of the best non-Cave shmups available on the iOS, and with good reason. The gameplay, graphics, music and amount of polish are all top-notch. And now they’ve added one more game to the list of ports to hit the AppStore; RayStorm. Originally released for the PSX, SEGA Saturn, and for Arcades, it’s also been ported over to Windows, XBLA and the Playstation Network, it’s now available for your iDevice.
RayStorm is the only Taito Ray-title that’s not connected to the series. Released before RayForce and RayCrisis, what there is of a plot is not connected to the other two in any way. The game takes place between August 4th and 7th, starts on Earth, moves into space, and ends on the planet Secilia. Like RayForce on the iOS, RayStorm contains both an Arcade Mode as well as an iPhone Mode. The two play pretty much exactly the same, but with the iPhone Mode, the enemy placements, game music and color schemes are different, while the difficulty settings have been revised to make the gameplay a little easier. 
In the Options Menu, you’re able to set the difficulty for both modes to Very Easy, Easy, Normal and 5 different Hard Difficulties; Hard 1, Hard 2, Hard 3, Hard 4 and Very Hard. You can also change the movement ratio from 1:1 to 1:1.5, 1:2, 1:2.5, ect, up to 1:4, as well as change the button positioning from left to right. From the first time you start up the game, you’ll be able to start from any of the 7 stages in both modes and select between 2 different fighters. Both of these fighters have fairly different ways of playing and scoring; The R-Gray 1 uses a spread shot and can lock on to 8 enemies at once, while the R-Gray 2 uses a condensed laser shot, but can lock onto 16 enemies at once. The Gray1 is better for new-comers to the game/genre, while the Gray2 is built more for experienced players.
Graphically, RayStorm looks great on the small screen, but unfortunately, the game is only built for the iPod and iPhone, and does not contain retina graphics, so playing on the iPad requires 2X mode, and as a result, is pretty pixilated. But for fans of the genre, this shouldn’t really pose a problem, as there are very few HD/Retina shmups available in the AppStore, so it’s not really a deal breaker. The animations for shooting projectiles, movement and explosions are all fantastic, and with the movement of the backgrounds creating a 3D environment, even though some of the background images can look pretty ugly, coupled with the smooth controls, and great music, RayStorm turned out to be an incredibly immersive shooter.
Priced at $8.99, and including GameCenter integration with 4 leaderboards, one for each ship in each mode, along with 31 achievements, chances are, even though it’s one of the better previously released shmups ported over to the iOS, only hardcore fans of the genre will wind up purchasing it. If you’re new to the genre, you might want to check out some of the cheaper titles before diving right in, but for fans of the genre, RayStorm is a great game, and is really only out-done by Cave’s titles. Taito has shown, once again, why they have been around since 1953, are still highly respected, and have a very loyal fan following. 
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July 20, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Super Ox Wars [Llamasoft] – $1.99

Jeff Minter is sort of a God in the gaming industry. Founder of Llamasoft, he’s been in the business for over 30 years, and has developed numerous games for the Sinclair XZ81, Commodore VIC-20, Atari 2600, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Atari 400/800, Pocket PC, XBLA, PC, and iDevice. Some classic games you might have heard of; Tempest 2000 – 3000 – X3, Traxx, Sheep in Space, Hover Bovver, Abductor, Trip-a-Tron, Virtual Light Machine and loads more. On the iOS, he’s ported over the classics, Minotron: 2112, Minotaur Rescue, Deflex, Caverns of Minos and Gridrunner. He’s best known for his inclusion of llamas, sheep, camels, oxen, and his psychedelic graphics. But his most recent release, Super Ox Wars, an Ikaruga influenced polarity shoot-em-up, could be considered one of his best iOS releases to date. On the distant planet, Parint, two oxen are revered by the people. With each ox representing a valuable characteristic of the society, each person chooses one ox to guide their spirit. Parint was invaded by the Marcab Empire, who enslaved the people. It’s up to you to save the people, and your planet by using the power of the oxen. 

Like most Minter releases, Super Ox Wars is filled with psychedelic graphics and animations, fast moving enemies, a great scoring system, smooth controls and a fantastic challenge. There is only one mode in SOW, but like Gridrunner, you’re able to start from each level that you’ve reached, with your highest score, and lives in-tact. 
As you play through each of the 7 levels, you’ll be able to collect either blue/star or red/heart colors and items. In order to go for a high score, you’ll need to decide which color you want to stick with while going through the stages. As you collect more items from one of the two colors, your firepower will increase, as well as defensive powers; Hearts push back enemy projectiles around your ship, while Stars cause your own shots to push back enemy projectiles. As you collect more items of one color, more power-ups and extra lives will drop more often, but once you collect an item of the opposite color, the polarity is automatically shifted. 

 You’re given 3 different scores at the top of the screen, one for blue, one for red, and one for a combined score. Each of the scores increase depending on your current polarity, so if you’re using blue, your blue score will rise, and if you’re using red, your red score will rise. Both of these are combined together for your total score. Shooting down entire groups of enemies gives you bonuses, and destroying all of the flying enemies in each stage will give you an end of level bonus. 

The graphics and animations are typical of Minter’s past releases, but are not as incredibly crazy. You’re able to very clearly make out enemy ships, and background objects, but there is a psychedelic level to the images, with loads of stars or hearts flying out of your ship when your ship is fully powered up, or explodes, and the animations are reminiscent of Gridrunner. The controls, however, are a very tight and smooth relative touch control scheme at a 1:1 ratio. GameCenter is supported, and with 4 separate leader boards, one for each color, one for a pure run (starting on stage 1), and one for your combined score, as well as 10 achievements, it definitely adds to the already high replay value of the game. Priced at $1.99, and being a Universal build, Super Ox Wars is a fantastic, as well as cheap, polarity based shmup. Fans of the genre, and especially fans of Minter titles, should pick this one up. Though not as psychedelic graphically, and only containing one gameplay mode, it’s one of the most challenging Llamasoft games I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing, will definitely get loads of gameplay out of me and will wind up staying on my device for a long time.

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July 20, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Major Mayhem [Adult Swim + Rocket Jump] – FREE

Adult Swim has published some fantastic games over the last year. Monsters Ate My Condo, Bring Me Sandwiches!!, Snoticles, and more. But recently, a little title that really just seemed to really slide by a lot of gamers, Rocket Jump’s Major Mayhem got a huge, and I mean HUGE update. 3 new gameplay modes, a crazy amount of weapons and equip items and one of the most requested features, GameCenter achievements (100 of them!) have all been added to the game. Major Mayhem has also gone free, following the freemium trends with the hopes of recouping some of the costs of development. Not to worry though, as this has got to be one of the best paid to freemium conversions to ever happen within the AppStore.

Back in November of 2011, Rocket Jump released Major Mayhem. Being published by Adult Swim, and having a bunch of advertising done on late-night TV, and across the net, it was pretty surprising that the game didn’t really sell too well. Maybe it was because gamers were hoping for some more strange and goofy games after Monsters Ate My Condo and Bring Me Sandwiches!, maybe they were let down by Shadowngun and EPOCH, and didn’t really want to take another chance on the cover-based shooter, but whatever it was, Rocket Jump dove back into the game to try and make it stand out in the AppStore, and recoup some of their losses at the same time. 

One week ago, the Version 2.0 update went live, and I, along with others, were thoroughly impressed with the new game. 3 new gameplay modes, TimeBomb, which has you trying to get the best score you can in 60 seconds, Arcade, which has you go through the levels in random order trying to get the best score you can, without getting any health drops throughout the game, and Survival Mode, which has you trying to survive a whole world without any continues. Not only were new modes added, but a whole gang of power-ups, weapons, and cosmetic equip items were thrown into the mix as well. 
On top of all of this, the game was converted to a freemium title, with the hopes that more players would pick it up for free, see how much content the game has, and how incredibly fun it is, and want to support Rocket Jump by purchasing the game’s new currency. Those who still had the game on their device when the update hit also got 20,000 coins, which would have cost them about $1.99 with the new IAPs, as a little thank you. However, not many people did still have the game on their device, but luckily, the IAPs are very unobtrusive, and are not required to unlock or purchase anything new in the game. You’re able to unlock every game mode, and purchase every new weapon and cosmetic item just by playing and progressing through the game. 
Back when the game was originally released, a lot of players were upset that there weren’t any GameCenter achievements. These have also been added to the game, and not just a couple, a whole mass of achievements and objectives were included. Now, you can try and unlock the 100 GameCenter achievements, as well as try and grab all 150 and the game’s objectives. Set up like Jetpack Joyride’s objectives, every time you earn 3 or 4 of them, you gain a new rank. You’re also awarded with a random prize for every rank you reach, as well as 50 coins for each objective you complete. With the GameCenter achievements, you’re given even more coins, depending on how many GC points the achievement is worth. 

Major Mayhem’s move to freemium is easily the best I’ve seen happen with any game in the AppStore. It’s obvious that an incredible amount of time, effort, and work has gone into making Major Mayhem one of the best cover-based shooters available on the iOS, and it’s incredibly surprising that all of this was done for free, with the hopes that people would purchase IAPs. If you haven’t checked it out yet, now would be the perfect time. Rocket Jump has definitely proven that they are in it for the long-haul, and know exactly what it takes to go above and beyond to create an outstanding video game. 

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July 19, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

GOAL DEFENSE – [DYNAMIC PIXELS] – $0.99

Shucks; another skier got through my gauntlet of baseball players, bowlers, cheerleaders, and x-ray wielding boxers. Sounds crazy fun, and it is!
Goal Defense by Dyanmic Pixels is a new sports-themed Tower Defense title, that has loads of charm and all the challenge you could ever thirst. The environment has a light-hearted and fun-loving cartoon atmosphere that provides you with a feeling that ‘this shouldn’t be as hard as this’; but it is.

Goal Defense is not unlike other TD’s as the primary goal is to safeguard your ‘bowl’, but Dynamic Pixels is certainly the first to come up with the idea that centers around your fortifications on the sports field. The contest starts out dispensing you with a baseball player and ‘Hummer Thrower’ that you strategically, and I mean precision-ally strategically, place on the field to battle the onslaught of jump-roping jocks, football players, and other silly oppositions. The key flavor of this adventure is that the ‘tower/player’ locations are not pre-determined, and one placement can highly alter the rival’s intended route.The animations are downright hilarious; the Hummer thrower for one likes to eat a lot, and the cheerleader seems to drop her pom-poms all the time. Problem is, I often got sidetracked in such amusements and before I knew it, I had the foolhardy enemy’s players breathing down on the coveted bowl. The sound effects are fun as well with the cheerleaders chanting you along, and the sound of baseballs beaming your competitors.

You are allotted on average ten(10) players to reach your grail, at which point the level is over. The first few levels are great warm-ups for what is to come, but after that, this game means business. There are obstacles strewn across the field, some that look like equestrian hurdles, that you must use to your advantage to slow down the skiers, yes skiers, as well as foxy cheerleaders that will make any opponent slow down and gawk, allowing your baseball players and bowlers to pummel them when they are at their weakest. My favorite eccentric has to be the x-ray boxer who starts out with a simple one-two KO punch, but upon a few upgrades, draws his power from the almighty lightning gods and shocks the heck out of your rivals. You’ll just have to play it to understand, but it’s awesomely witty and hysterical.

The customary upgrade system exists, and is imperative to stand a chance at keeping your bowl intact, let alone passing the level. Currently, there are four worlds, 40 levels, including each world ending with a jocular, albeit difficult boss battle. Considering the bullet hard difficulty (in a good way!) you may find yourself replaying levels to figure out your best placements, such as how to reroute the skiers to slow them down, and where its best to place your batters in line with your pitchers to maximize effectiveness. The whole game seeps with allure, and you’ll be captivated from the get-go.

The in-game currency is in the form of ‘crystals’ which are rewarded based on effectiveness, wins, and other enticing factors. There is an IAP system as well, and unless you are incredibly adapt at TD’s, and if you want to keep your bowl un-violated, this is a viable option. Also of note, is that you start out with only a few different players, but the others are unlocked as you progress; this is all detailed in the shop via a simple click on the respective sportsman to see when they will automatically appear for usage.
The sportsman and power-ups are available to be unlocked earlier so you desire as well, but I found it quite fun learning each athlete over a few levels and figuring out their ranges etc. The power-ups are also unique; rain down a barrage of tennis balls on your foes, throw up a ‘false bowl’ temporarily drawing the enemies to itself, and a bowl ‘mine’ where you can set up explosives to guard it from a limited number of adversaries.

I have been having a ton of fun with Goal Defense, and considering the freedom of placements, it really gives you a great feeling of accomplishment when you finish those super tough levels. Being Universal, and only a measly .99, it is hard to not recommend this all-around lively Tower Defense title. You will instantly tell the developers had a blast creating this, and right thereafter, you’ll have even more fun playing it. Just keep your eyes on the enemies, not those foxy cheerleaders, and try not to laugh at the animations as you’ll get carried away and have to start over! Well, that’s not a bad thing.

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July 19, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Mikey Shorts; A new platformer coming this summer!

About a year ago, on the Touch Arcade Forums, I got involved in the GameCenter boards for Mos Speedrun with a couple of other players. Much to my surprise, a couple of those players went off, and created their own development studio, BeaverTap Games, and now they’re getting wildly close to the release of their own plat former, Mikey Shorts. Lucky me, I’ve been helping to beta test the game, and when I asked the crew if I could post up some pre-release images and share a little bit of info, they were happy to let me. So here it is.
Mikey Shorts is a sort of casual speed run plat former. The times for 3 staring each level are not as strict as they are in, say, League of Evil, Mos Speedrun, or many other speed run plat formers out there now. There are also no enemies. That’s right. No enemies at all. But that doesn’t mean that you won’t be running into little creatures that you can destroy. Throughout each of the levels there are tons of little robots which you can either destroy or use to jump off of and reach higher platforms. It’s a great little gameplay mechanic, and really does come in handy later on in the game.
The gameplay, like most titles in the genre, is fairly simple, but with it’s simplicity, and the amazing level designs, can get very challenging. You’re given left/right buttons, a jump button, and a slide button. With the slide button, you’re able to slide into the robots, destroying them, as well as slide under paths in the levels, which you wouldn’t be able to reach otherwise. This constant running, jumping and sliding is all centered around collecting statues of Mikey. In order to pass through each of the levels checkpoints, you’ll need to collect all of the statues between them. They are usually set up on one path from point A to B, but the addition of the enemies, as well as coins, throughout the levels, branching off on separate paths, will have you needing to quickly decide if you want to try and collect all the coins you can, or get to the end of the level as fast as you can. It kind of reminds me of Hypership Out Of Control, with the coins leading you right into a wall at high speeds. Same thing here. 
Mikey Shorts is full of content, including 24 main levels split up between 6 worlds, 48 challenge levels, and an insane amount of unlockable cosmetic features which you can dress Mikey up with. It’ll be Universal, priced at $0.99, and hit the AppStore sometime this summer. We’ll get more information as the release date approaches, but until then, check out the screens, and the sneak peak video. 
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July 19, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >