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Are you ready for this! It’s giveaway time over here at TheAppShack. Today the first 2 lucky readers can snatch a code for Hungribles [$1.99 (Universal)]. I previously reviewed this game on the site before which you can read my review here. We loved this game in our review! The two codes are right below this paragraph. Hurry up and get a copy before it’s too late!

Mighty Fin is a new arcade game from Launching Pad Games. In it, you’ll control a fish named Fin by tapping to dive, and letting go to fly up in the air. The further you dive down, the higher up in the air you’ll go, all the while collecting bubbles, and costume pieces, while avoiding obstacles, sharks, lobsters, and more. There’s 16 levels that change up each time you play them, meaning that you’ll never play the exact same level twice.

The gameplay is a lot like Tiny Wings, which means that yes, this game is great for everyone, from hardcore gamers to casual gamers, and everyone in-between. With 16 levels, each randomly generated, you also get Survival and Endless Modes with each one of them, meaning that there’s essentially endless replay value with Mighty Fin, and that’s always a great selling point. Each of the levels has scores for bronze, silver and gold medals, and a bubble path for you to try and follow, along with gold bubbles that help boost your score, and 60 different costumes to find and unlock so you can dress Fin up throughout the game.
The graphics in Mighty Fin are outstanding. Very polished, and very cute. Along with great animations for each object and life-form, the whole world of Fin is one that’s very vibrant and colorful, and pops with retina supported devices. The controls are tight and very responsive, and along with the physics, it makes for a game full of great arcade type action and you’ll never experience accidental deaths at the hands of the game.

The endless and survival modes for the beginning of the game can be quite easy, but don’t let that turn you off from the modes, because once you unlock some of the later levels, you’ll have your hands full trying to climb your way up the 24 GameCenter leaderboards. There are, however, no achievements, which is strange, because this game could have quite a few challenges that would be great if added to an achievement list.
The latest update for Mighty Fin was HUGE, doubling the size of the game. This gives me loads of hope for the future of Fin, especially if the developers keep adding content like this. It has certainly become a game that every gamer should have, joining the ranks of Angry Birds, Tiny Wings, Cut The Rope and Fruit Ninja, which is quite the achievement for any company. Being Universal, priced only at a buck, and full of content and endless replayability, it’s definitely worth more than you’ll pay for it.

I’m giving Mighty Fin a score of 5/5, and it’s really a game that’s recommended to everyone.

Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mighty-fin/id434539624?mt=8

iBlast Moki needs no real introduction, the physics-puzzle game from Godzilab is one of the most popular on the iOS, snagging the #2 game spot of all time on metacritic. So when iBlast Moki 2 was announced, everyone was eagerly anticipating this sequel, and for good reason. In iBlast Moki, you use bombs and other items to get Moki’s into the portal at the end of each level. The physics are amazing, the level design is top notch, and the environments are varied, and extremely vibrant. The sequel includes even more kinds of bombs and items to help the Moki’s reach the portals, the same amazing physics, even more interesting level design, and more vibrant environments, and it takes advantage of retina and HD display. There’s also a level editor and a level sharing service thrown in for endless hours of entertainment and fun.

In iBlast Moki 2, you’ll encounter some very interesting bombs, and you don’t need to play for hours to get into the new game mechanics. They are thrown at you almost from the beginning. Paint bombs that each have different characteristics, ropes, and balloons are some of the first you’ll see. There’s also objects that you can stick your Moki’s to in order to get them to the portals at the end of the levels. In the game, it’s your job to place bombs throughout the levels, and set them to go off at specific times in order to fling the Moki’s to the end while collecting all the flowers in each stage, and doing it as fast as you can. Your regular bombs are the ones that you’ll really have to play with trial and error getting the timing just right, making them explode at just the right time to send your characters off in another direction. This is done easily because the level resets every time you press the stop button in the lower left corner. The paint bombs, however, are more about where you place them, and timing isn’t really an issue with these. You’re given red, green, and orange bombs. The red acts as a bouncy liquid, and once your characters or any other objects touch it, they bounce up into the air. Green bombs act as glue, making your characters stick to whatever objects get covered in the liquid when the bomb goes off, and orange bombs act as turbo speed bombs, drawing your Moki to them, and shooting them forward at faster speeds.

Because iBlast Moki 2 is a physics-puzzle game, the physics are a huge part of it, and Godzilab has done an amazing job with them. Everything feels real, and sometimes it might seem like you’ll have to be a physics major in order to get the solutions on the first or second time through the level. I actually would not be surprised if Godzilab had some physics majors help them with this aspect of the game, as they’re done so perfectly. This, coupled with the superb level design, add a ton to the challenge of getting up on the high-score board that’s in-game in the pause menu. The top 3 scores for each level are shown, and if you’d like, you can pay 1 Moki coin, which you earn throughout the game, to see these top solutions. This, is something that’s already upsetting people. Some gamers work for hours on a level trying to get the best score they can, and then their solution, if one of the best, is saved to the server, and accessible to everyone for 1 Moki coin. Godzilab has commented on this issue, and said that they will come up with a fix for it in a future update, but until then, the best solutions for each level are there, ready to be seen by everyone, unless you play offline. This is the only bad issue I can find with iBlast Moki 2 though.

With 90 levels spread across 6 different environments, and a level editor that lets you share and download created levels, there’s pretty much endless gameplay. A cut-throat leaderboard helps immensely with the replay value, and like I’ve said, some people will spend hours with one level, and some might even spend weeks creating one. iBlast Moki 2 could very well end up being the best puzzle game in 2011, maybe even the best puzzle game for the iOS, period. The scoring mechanics are great, the graphics are cute and polished, physics are perfect, level design is mind bending, and the gameplay is endless. For $3, it’ll be pretty much impossible to find a better puzzle game out there. It’s highly recommended to fans of the genre, and new-comers to the scene alike, and is on sale for launch, so you can grab it now for a buck! The universal version is $3, and should shoot up to $5 soon. If you don’t have it yet, make sure you get it soon, because it’s going to be a game that you end up buying eventually after hearing everyone you know talk about it.

I’m giving iBlast Moki 2 a score of 5/5, with a strong recommendation to get it now.

Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iblast-moki-2/id437400857?mt=8

Get ready for a new 8 Bit game that requires strategy and quick reflexes. That game is 8 Bit HD Plus [$0.99 (iPad Only)] by Dumadu Games. In this game you control Speedy a Petite Car and try to save it from the unstoppable enemies. As you play through this never ending game your goal is to try to get as much fruit as possible. You can also gain lives by picking up the 1 UP power-up, but you can only hold up to 9 lives (sort of like a cat). During this game you have to dodge the enemies by tapping on the left side of the screen to move left and the right side to move right. There

is 3 different modes to play through. You can play through 2 track, 3 track, or 4 track mode. Each mode gradually gets faster and with more tracks to dodge enemies that definitely makes the game harder. When you first boot up the game the only track unlocked will be the 2 track mode. The other 2 tracks require you to collect a certain amount of fruits to unlock them. It takes 500 fruits to unlock the 3 track and 1500 fruits to unlock the 4 track mode. That’s pretty much all there is to this game. It’s a simple but yet addictive game that you could spends hours on. I did find an issue when I booted up the game though. There was actually ads on the main menu in a paid game. Which is definitely a no-no in my book. It seems to have been resolved though. I haven’t seen any ads since. I also have one suggestion. It would be great if there were other power-ups in the game that allowed you to freeze the enemies or make Speedy indestructible. That would definitely make the game a hit! Overall I found this game to be really simple, but extremely fun at the same time. The 8 Bit graphics are very nice and the gameplay will have you thinking through the entire game. My final rating is 4 out of 5 stars. If you’re looking for a fun little game for your iPad that’s inexpensive then check out 8 Bit HD Plus for $0.99 by Dumadu Games here.

    Mobigame announced via Twitter that their new iOS game EDGE Extended is going to be  out this wednesday 25.
    Also releasing wednesday night is Contre Jour (should have been released early july), a physics based something from Mokus (also French, like Mobigame) where you can modify the terrain to move our hero, Petit, from portal to portal. Watch the video to get a look at its awesome-ness: 

   The Blocks Cometh is a endless jumping game, but with a twist, as you climb trough falling crates, so you have to avoid them as well as use them to reach higher. When i first found out about this game, I thought it was going to be uncontrolled chaos, with crates continually falling and you jumping between them while falling at a fast pace, but instead we got a slower game… I’m not saying its bad, actually this game stands above the genre because its original, fun, has a lovely pixel-art artwork and the controls are spot-on. 

• Classic: The normal mode, you unlock most of the stuff playing here.
• Casual: Perfect for casual gamers, you have 3 lives, making it easier. Offers players a less aggressive experience
• Arcade: where hardcore gamers will get challenged to new heights. Also with 3 lives.
• Gamebot: And IAP ($0.99) that lets you play is if you were playing in a GameBoy. Visuals and sound have been tweaked to meet the older feel. Its the screenshot on the right. 

   As I said earlier, gameplay consists of climbing while avoiding falling crates, and you have a gun to eliminate crates that left you stuck in the middle (just remember to don’t get crushed). I like to get stuck on purpose and then try to get a solution, all this while the screen get filled and the game gains momentum as we get higher and higher. Another good thing about it is that every 100 meters climbed, the game get faster and faster and faster each time you reach new heights. Perfect for both quick and a long sessions to entertain you on the go.

   Replayabitity is big, apart from the 3 modes available from the beginning, you have a total of 9 unlockable characters – plus the Gamebot character if you bought the IAP. And they unlock by doing specific things that the games wants you to, like climbing 10,000 meters in total to unlock the League of Evil character (a crossover they did with League of Evil devs, something i would like to see more). All character have different jump, speed and attack stats, so they are different and you can find one that fits you abilities better. Theres one of every jumping taste. Theres also leaderboards, one for each mode displaying your total height, and 32 achievements to collect. As you can see, its very complete and offer plenty for you to play with. I like to compare myself with my friends, this gives the game a healthy competition, as long term appeal. This app has survived every app mas deletion Ive done so far, and it doesn’t seem that it will go away any time soon.

Destructopus: Total Rampage is a side-scrolling destruction game from GlitchSoft. In it, you play as The Destructopus, a normally peaceful creature, able to sleep at the bottom of the ocean for centuries, you’ve been awakened by greedy oil drillers. Coming to the surface, you see a polluted and dying world. Overtaken by rage, you vow revenge; Now it’s time to make the world green again. It is worth mentioning that Destructopus just went through a pretty major update recently, adding GameCenter support, a new campaign, new map, new areas, new levels, a new boss, and much, much more.

So in the game, you’ll go through 20 campaign levels, causing as much destruction as possible by hitting your tail and mouth attack buttons, as well as shooting a laser out of your eye. There’s loads of upgrades in the shop, but I’ll come back to that. You can press down on the joystick to dodge higher attacks, and lower attacks just go right by you, there’s red attack points on buildings which you need to hit with either your tail or mouth attacks in order to destroy them, and at the end of the level, you release some captured animals, which is a big theme in the game, and you can actually share posts on FaceBook about endangered animals right through the game. The destruction aspect, graphics, and controls, remind me of when I use to sit in front of the TV playing old 8 and 16-bit games. The difficulty is great, and there’s always that ‘one more time’ feeling after beating a level, or dying. There’s also some great scoring mechanics going on in the game, including a hit multiplier. If you can manage to not be hit during a level, your multiplier will shoot up, increasing the amount of money you’ll have to use for upgrades.

The shop in Destructopus is pretty large, and in it you can buy more attacks, defense upgrades, and if you’re good enough to earn loads of coinage pretty fast, you can unlock the two extra characters in the shop as well. There’s also IAPs for more coins if you’d like to upgrade right at the beginning of the game, or if you’re finding the game too difficult. But you can also always go back and replay previously beaten levels to gain some extra in-game cash, and unlock some more upgrades if you’re finding a particular level too hard to get through. The prices in the shop are a tad on the high side, but if you don’t mind a little grinding, can all be bought with gameplay. The higher leveled upgrades unlock as you make your way through the campaign, adding quite a bit to the drive of the game.

The graphics that GlitchSoft has used in Destructopus are great; Very vibrant and colorful, and spread over 4 environments. There’s loads of enemies to take on, ranging from airplanes and helicopters to army men and missiles, and some very interesting boss battles are thrown into the mix as well. The animations in the game are very good, adding a whole lot the gameplay. Seeing the little innocent pedestrians running away is always good for a laugh, and the movement is very fluid. It would be nice seeing more added to the debris with the explosions, but as they are now, they’re still pretty nice. The physics also work pretty well, when you destroy something and it comes falling down or flying forward, killing more enemies and pedestrians in the process, it does feel like it has some weight to it. The music and effects are also very nice, and add to the whole atmosphere of the game.

There’s a whole lot going for Destructopus, especially after the major content update it recently received. Great controls, nice graphics, smooth gameplay, a great upgrade shop, unlockables, spreading awareness of endangered animals, and more; Along with 35 GameCenter achievements, there’s plenty of content. But there are no GC leaderboards, and the story could use a little more plot. You don’t know why the animals you’re freeing were captured, or why they’re being eatin by bosses, and there’s no push in the progress of the story while you’re moving through the environments. Having some sort of news broadcast or something would be a nice addition. But these points don’t really effect the overall gameplay, or replayability of the game, even though leaderboards would help quite a bit to nab the attention of you score mongers out there. It’s a great side-scrolling destruction based game, filled with hours upon hours of awesome, entertaining gameplay. For $0.99, it’s a great game, and the developers have stated on the Touch Arcade Forums that they’re going to include retina graphics and make the game Universal in a future update, so be on the look-out for that.

I’m giving Destructopus: Total Rampage a score of 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/destructopus-total-ramage!/id414603435?mt=8