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Number of Results: 160

Squids goes Universal, Crimson: Steam Pirates goes FREE, and more!

–=UPDATES=–
Since the turn-based RPG, Squids, by The Game Bakers, was released, gamers have been begging for a HD iPad version of the beautiful game. Now, instead of releasing a separate build for the iPad, The Game Bakers decided to update the iPhone version, and make it UNIVERSAL. That’s right, now, you can install that original iPhone copy that you bought onto your iPad, and view the game in all of it’s amazing graphical glory, and it’s not going to cost you one penny extra! Adding to this already HUGE update, a new mission for the Halloween map has been added, Localization in Japanese, Chinese and Russian, Pearls are now won wether you win or loose a stage, you can now listen to your own music while playing, the screen rotation has been fixed, and a couple of bugs have been squashed! Now THAT, my friends, is what you can call a MASSIVE update! If you haven’t picked this one up yet, we HIGHLY recommend that you do. It’s an awesome gameplay experience that you won’t soon forget.
Quarter Circle Punch’s recent shoot-em-up, Wonton 51, had quite a few mixed reviews. On one hand, simply put, the game is friggin awesome. On the other hand, the controls didn’t really let you experience the game how you’d want to experience it. A new game type with Auto-fire has been added, with rebalanced gameplay, and a totally separate leaderboard! Also added to the game; a new boss type with a new attack, showing up in both modes, and some fixes for iOS5 and Twitter compatibility, along with some bug fixes. So if you ended up throwing your iPod against a wall while playing Wonton 51 the first time around, now would be a great time to take a crack at it again. With the Auto-Fire mode, the game feels a lot more like a shmup, and a lot less like a game that’s being hidden under your fingers.
OrangePixel’s GameBoy inspired platformer, Stardash, has also received an update, this time bringing gamers a whole new world with 10 great levels, a few bug fixes, and a device rotation fix! Stardash is easily one of our favorite platformers of the year, so if you haven’t checked it out yet, you really should, especially if you grew up with an original GameBoy.
–=FREEBIES=–
[Colorbox]
Puzzle-Platformer
$0.99 -> FREE
[Bungie Aerospace Corporation]
Turn-Based Strategy
$0.99 -> FREE
[Perio Games]
Side-Scrolling Beat-em-up
$0.99 -> FREE
[Swag Soft LLP]
Stationary Arcade Tap-shooter
$1.99 -> FREE
[Cascadia Games LLC]
Puzzle-Platformer
$1.99 -> FREE

[Studio Yomi]
Tilt-controlled Platformer
$0.99 -> FREE
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December 3, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Countdown to Christmas Giveaway

On every day before Christmas we will give away 2 promo codes of any game to all of our deserving site visitors. We will contact you through the way you entered and deliver the promo code into your hands at exactly 4:00(or later)

You can enter in one of three ways:

  • Tweeting about the site or the contest. Include our account name in your tweet (@TheAppShack) 

Sample Tweet – Follow @TheAppShack for your chance to win codes every day including EPOCH and Mage Gauntlet. 2 winners a day.

  • Liking us on Facebook. (Email us with the name you liked us under)
  • Emailing us at TheAppShack@gmail.com with suggestions and tips for the giveaway or the site in general.

Be sure to follow our Twitter account to stay up to date on what apps are included in the giveaway and who won the latest contest.

Promo Codes you could win:
Flight Unlimited (3 codes)
Commander Pixman (4 codes)
EPOCH. (3 codes)
Mage Gauntlet (2 codes)
Fargoal (5 codes)
Saucelifter (5 codes)
Phoenix(10 codes)
Cosmic Cab (1 code)
Bridge the Gap (1 code)
More apps will be added to the contest shortly

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December 3, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

The Sims, Need For Speed and more go FREE!

December is a great time for deals in the AppStore, and to start it off right, loads of companies have thrown some awesome titles our way for free. That’s right, free. So get ready to clear up some space on your device, and check out some incredibly fun games;

[Electronic Arts]
Racing
$2.99 down to FREE

[Electronic Arts]
Racing
$4.99 down to FREE
[Ivanovich Games]
Arcade-Platformer
$0.99 down to FREE
[Bulkypix]
Puzzle-Platformer
$0.99 down to FREE
[Electronic Arts]
Simulation
$4.99 down to FREE

[Funfia]
Bullet-Hell
$2.99 down to FREE
[Renown Entertainment]
Casual-Arcade-Endless
$1.99 down to FREE

[Playrix]
Puzzle; Match-3
$2.99 down to FREE
[Dreamfab]
Physics Puzzler
$0.99 down to FREE

[DrewFX]
Arcade; Flick
$0.99 down to FREE

[Venan Entertainment]
Dual-Stick Mining Adventure
$2.99 down to FREE

[Venan Entertainment]
Dual-Stick Mining Adventure
$4.99 down to FREE

[Venan Entertainment]
Endless Climber
$1.99 down to FREE

[Venan Entertainment]
Endless Climber
$2.99 down to FREE

[Patrick Gonzales]
Physics Based Arcade Smasher
$0.99 down to FREE

Each one of these titles is worth picking up, though some more than others, they all have their moments, and are definitely worth checking out, especially while free. A huge thank you to all of the developers and publishers who are letting these titles go for $0.00! Can’t wait to see what else December has in store for us!
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December 2, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

New Trailer for iPad Exclusive Mailmen

Ayopa Games, publisher of the hit word game, W.E.L.D.E.R., the kids game, Chicken Rescue, and the newly released BigBot Smash, have just released a new trailer for the iPad exclusive, Mailmen, coming to the AppStore in February of 2012. Mailmen, developed by Sandstorm Interactive (Blood & Honor and Steampunk Underwater Battles [S.U.B.]), is a stealthy puzzle game set in a cartoony world that’s heavily inspired by The Simpsons. Here’s the description we got from Ayopa;

“A mailman’s task is meant to be simple – pick up and deliver the mail, then return to base. In the leafy suburbs of Greenville though, that seemingly simple job is tougher than expected. Greenville has a seemingly endless array of pesky guard dogs, mind-bending puzzles and ingenious villains trying to stop heroic mailmen Johnny, Charlie, and Dave from completing their objectives. They’ll need to use strategy, teamwork and unique special abilities to stay safe from the subjects of numerous “Beware of the Dog” signs. There must be an evil mastermind behind all of these nefarious obstacles – but who could that be? …“
Judging from the trailer and the little bit of info we’ve received, it looks like it could turn out to be one hell of a game. iPad gamers, be sure and keep your eyes and ears open for more news about Mailmen as February crawls closer and closer. It looks like this could be Ayopa’s next huge hit.
For more information, check out;
and
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December 1, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

OrangePixel’s Retro-Goodness $0.99 Sale!

Meganoid, OrangePixel’s first iOS release, could also be their best. 90 levels, all playable with 3 characters; The Hero, Sarge and Oreah. With The Hero, you’ll learn the levels, going through them, collecting all the gems you can find, and making it to the exit before time runs out. There’s also quite a bit of exploration involved, as a lot of the gems are hidden behind secret passages in walls. With the Sarge, it’s the same levels, but with a bumped up difficulty. These are typically for the hardcore platformer gamer. Then Oreah; with her, you’ll go through all of the levels in reverse. Some have been re-designed to make sure that there’s no spots where you can get stuck (ie; a big drop in regular mode will have an elevator platform in Oreah mode), and you’ll do all of these reversed levels, that’s right, in Sarge’s difficulty. Easily considered a steal for $0.99.
Stardash is OrangePixel’s second platformer to hit the AppStore. In it, you’ll guide your character through a Mario Land (GameBoy) type world. Stardash revolves more around speed-running, and requires you to find the quickest route from beginning to end, ala 1-Bit Ninja, by finding hidden paths that will get you there quicker. There are also hidden items that, if collected in each level, will unlock a hidden level in each of the 4 worlds. 40 levels makes it a bit smaller in size compared to Meganoid, but the challenge is still there, and should last gamers quite a while.
OrangePixel’s latest release, INC, is more a run’n’gun type platformer. You’ll go through 40 levels shooting your way through enemies, activating beacons to get through each level, while fighting bosses at the end of each of the 4 worlds, and finally saving Dr. Robotus. INC could be considered OrangePixel’s casual platformer, as the time requirements aren’t as strict, and the difficulty is no-where near as high as it is for Meganoid or Stardash. If you’re not a real platform gamer, INC should still give you quite a bit of entertainment.
Super Drill Panic, the one OrangePixel game that was originally released for free, and then shortly afterwards, was made into a paid game. The customers that downloaded the game while it was free got upgraded without any extra charge, having the ads removed. This, as you can imagine, showed how much OrangePixel respects their fans. In an AppStore full of developers taking money from gamers, and then “rewarding” them by making previously paid games free, and giving paying customers ads, OrangePixel set themselves apart with this move. You’ll play through 2 different campaigns, one male, making your way through caves, trying to not get squished by a huge boulder, and the other, playing as a female, who is trying to escape from buildings before jail-like bars come down on her. Both campaigns allow gamers to upgrade items and skills, as well as unlock an endless arcade level after completion. Super Drill Panic is by far the most casual game in OrangePixel’s line-up, appealing to hardcore gamers as well as people who got into gaming because of Angry Birds.

OrangePixel is definitely one of our favorite developers here at The App Shack, and having all 4 of these games, we can easily recommend each of them. They will all give you hours upon hours of gameplay, and at the sale price of $0.99 each, it’s impossible not to HIGHLY recommend each of these titles. Be sure to check em out if you haven’t already, and get ready to enjoy some awesome retro goodness that’ll bring back memories of old-school gaming.
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November 25, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Dark Meadow goes on sale for 0.99!

Dark Meadow, by Phosphor Games Studio, has just gone on a limited time price drop from $5.99 down to $0.99! For those of you who don’t have this incredibly immersive game yet, now would be the time to pick it up. The developers have nailed the Infinity Blade type equip/upgrade system and gameplay, but thrown you into a creepy world filled with amazingly well created characters. There’s quite a bit of exploration, finding gold, and bits and pieces of the story laying around. It’s definitely worth picking up if you’ve got the space on your device. For a dollar, it’s almost impossible to regret purchasing this one.
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November 23, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

New Updates & A Developer Goes NUTZ-O

Yateland’s physics based puzzle game, Rejoin, has just been updated to include GameCenter, and has an all new scoring system! If you had the chance to read our review of this nice puzzler, you might remember that the lack of GameCenter, and lack of any scoring system were two big things we said would be great to have within the game, and here they are, adding quite a bit of replay value as well as added challenge to the game. Now’s a great time to get your hands on this interesting puzzle game.
iniGames latest shmup, Space Ship Ion, has just received it’s second update, getting one new level, along with a new boss! Definitely nice when shmups add new content, especially when it comes with a new boss.
Orange Pixel’s newest addition to the retro platformer genre, INC, has gone through it’s second update. This time, they’ve done more than bug fixing! Now, you can change the position of the virtual buttons. On the Touch Arcade thread, this was a pretty big deal for a lot of people, especially those playing the game on an iPad. The landscape rotation was also fixed, as well as moving the pause button to the top of the screen, and of course, some bug fixing with the touch input on the level select screens. For those of you who were waiting for some changeable controls, now would be the time to pick up this gem.
Bonpeach, the developer of the fantastic arcade game, Explodables, where you tap on rockets in a certain order to get bonus items and score HUGE points, has just updated this great game with an all new ENDLESS MODE, as well as adding a new Rainbow Frenzy, and streamlining the tutorial into the Endless Mode (which you can turn off in the options). Now the game is easier to understand, and more fun to play. Be sure to check out our Twitter page, in the near near future, for info on how you can snag an Explodables Promo Code!

HotGen’s two titles, Spacelings, and the ever so popular To-Fu: The Trials of Chi, recently had their Free Ad-filled versions pulled from the AppStore. You might be asking yourself why? Well if you’ve updated already, you know the answer, and chances are, you’re not too happy about it.
Spacelings and To-Fu, both paid versions, have been made FREE and have had ADs thrown into them. Not only were ads thrown into both paid versions of these games, but the developers decided to hide the fact by saying that the update was for “iOS5 computability fixes”, and gamers could not be more upset. After the update, their ratings for To-Fu dropped from 4 1/2 stars down to 2 1/2. The developers have also been deleting FaceBook posts asking them about the updates, as well as not responding to their paying customers e-mails, as well as dropping off the face of Touch Arcade, which they were very active on before essentially stealing money from their customers (that’s what they did, right? Offering a paid version next to a free ad filled version, then pulling the ad filled version, and putting the ads into the paid version, then making the paid version free. Gamers had the option to pick up the free version, but instead, they opted to pay for the game, and in return, got the free version. Unless we’re missing something here, that’s essentially stealing).
You can voice your opinion on their FaceBook page, but they’ll just delete it. So go ahead, give the games a 1 star rating in the AppStore, and delete the games on your device. They don’t run like they use to anyway, having constant crashes, skewed gameplay, and the games are now stretched out to make room for the HUGE ads on the bottom of the screen. Watch out for To-Fu 2 to be updated in the near future as well, and keep HotGen on your DO NOT BUY FROM list. They seem to have gone CRAZY stupid.
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November 23, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Mystery Ball Promo Code Giveaway- Ends on 22nd


Want to win a promo code of Mystery Ball by RedNova Labs? All you have to do is compose a tweet with a link to one of our reviews and the hashtag #appreview   We have two codes and the contest will end on Tuesday the 22nd.

Description:
Help FRED overcome his fears by rolling him through dozens of physics-enabled, fully 3D worlds in his search to uncover the Professor’s Mystery in this Grand Experiment! FRED has lost his memory and can’t help but remember one thing: he’s positively terrified of heights, time and being touched. By collecting Bravery Badges, you can help FRED conquer each of his fears, unlocking his true potential and new abilities. FRED can learn how to fly, be picked up and tossed, and eventually even master the very threads of time!

★ Explore 30 worlds in the Grassy Plains, Windy Desert and Rusty Labs
★ Full Game Center support with 30+ achievements & 17 initial Time Trial leaderboards
★ Conquer FRED’s fears to unlock and master his new abilities
★ Avoid scary frenemies like Mr Pail and Mr Thud
★ Uncover unique solutions to physics-based puzzles with Doodads like the Magnet, Bubble Machine, Phase Shifter and many more 
★ Navigate the Clobber Stoppers, Flip Switches, Trap Doors and many other obstacles

Mystery Ball has HD graphics and retina support. Intuitive touch controls make this universal app easy to learn, yet challenging enough to keep you coming back for more. With more than 30 unique achievements that inspire creative thinking and outside-of-the-box solutions, and a Time Trial mode for each of the world’s you’ve completed, there’s still plenty more to do once you’ve finished the Grand Experiment.

****IMPORTANT****
Mystery Ball v1.02 is ONLY compatible with devices iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad, iPad 2, iPod Touch 3rd & 4th generation.
(NOTE: iPod Touch 3rd generation must be 32GB or 64GB – the 8GB model is not a true 3rd generation device). The game now works on devices running iOS 4.0+!

Coming Soon
New fears, doodads and worlds are coming soon, as well as a level editor and sharing community!

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November 20, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Updates/Freebies/Sales

-==UPDATES==-
Orange Pixel’s latest action platformer, INC, has just gone through a bug fixing update. It fixes many of the problems gamers were experiencing when first starting up the game, along with a couple others. The bugs where your character would just fall through the floor when you first started up the game, and players experiencing the no bullets issue have been fixed, as well as fixing the cloudsaving progress issues, and the bug where it would keep saying “Level Up” even after your character got to level 3, the highest level he can reach. This run’n’gun platformer is now fixed and ready to rock, so now you don’t have any reason to skip out on the amazing Orange Pixel’s latest title!
This exciting arcade game where you try and get as many ninjas across a ledge as you can has gained a small following of gamers since it’s release last month. Alien Worm, the development team, put together a small competition recently, giving gamers the opportunity to submit ideas for new hats to be put into the game. A couple of these ideas made it in, and are now in the version 1.05 build of this crazy game. 6 new hats have been added, as well as a new environment to play in. Be sure to snag this modern casual take on an old classic.
Blowup!!, the block matching/destroying arcade puzzle game from Cravemob has recently been updated as well. The 1.0.3 version contains 3 new songs, Twitter and Facebook support, bonus music tracks for levels that you 100% complete, some difficulty adjusting, and bug fixing. This addictive puzzle game is one that incorporates music into the gameplay quite well. If you’re a fan of music or puzzle games, this is one title you should really consider checking out.
-==FREEBIES==-
Most Triniti Games end up going free eventually. God of Fight is the most recent addition to their ‘gone free’ list. The game is basically a clone of Knights Rush, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Knights Rush is a great game. There are a couple of different gaming mechanics within God of Fight, enough to warrant a download while it’s free anyway. Be sure to grab it while you can!
Big Blue Bubble’s sequel to their popular title, Burn The Rope, Burn The Rope: Worlds, has just gone free. The biggest issue people had with the game was seeing the “Remove Ads” IAP. But what they didn’t realize is that the Ads are ONLY shown during the Daily Levels, not through the regular modes of the game, just like in the original title. Sales have suffered because gamers thought they would be paying for a game that had ads in it all the time. Hopefully going free will show people what they’ve been missing out on.
Fabrice Noui’s expanded take on Risk-type gameplay, Empires, has just gone free for thefirst time. This strategy game about conquest is one of the best Risk influenced games we’ve ever had the pleasure of playing. If you’re a fan of the old-school game, or just a strategy fanatic, Empires is a game you shouldn’t miss out on!
4:20 Digital’s interesting arcade game, Chain Surfer, has also just gone free. See how many tricks you can do while rocking back n forth on a chain. Sound dull? We thought so too, until we actually tried it out. The addictive gameplay will have you coming back for more time and time again, trying to pull off more and more tricks, and trying to better your score while moving up the leaderboards. Snag this one while it’s free!
The Ikaruga inspired shoot-em-up by Vidia, Kyotokei – Polarity Shooter, has gone free for the first time since it’s release a month or two ago. The awesome old-school gameplay will probably having you longing for a real Ikaruga port for the iOS, but until shmup fanatics see that day, and probably have a heart-attack because of it, Kyotokei is a great substitute. You’ll fly around level after level, absorbing enemy bullets by changing your character’s color. It recently got updated with GameCenter, bringing the replay value up quite a bit too. If you’re a fan of shmups, Kyotokei is a game you NEED to have on your device, and now you can, for FREE!
-==SALES==-
Image & Form International’s popular line drawing/tower defense game, Anthill: TTD, has just gotten it’s Version 2.0 update. With it, comes the oh-so-cool Infinity Mode. You can now see how far you can make it in the world of ants while competing for scores in an insanely hectic up-the-difficulty every minute of gameplay Mode, and now you can snag it for just $0.99! Don’t miss your chance to grab one of , if not THE BEST, line drawing defense-strategy game available, to date.
Recently, Ayopa Games published two titles. W.E.L.D.E.R. is one of those two. Making it to the AppStore Game Of The Week, Ayopa has decided to drop the launch sale price of $1.99, down to $0.99! W.E.L.D.E.R. is easily one of the best word games to ever hit the AppStore, and was a steal at two bucks, but now, at $0.99, it’s officially hit the ‘must buy’ list for many gamers. Cascading match-3 type strategy gameplay mixed with crazy Scrabble game mechanics makes W.E.L.D.E.R. a game that just about anyone can enjoy, and get hooked on.

SEGA’s card-based strategic defense game, Samurai Bloodshow, has just gone on sale for $0.99! Now you can experience one of the most hardcore real-time defense games available for the iOS. Not only will you get a crazy long, 200 stage, campaign mode, but you’ll also be able to play multiplayer over wi-fi and through GameCenter! Battle it out with gamers around the globe, while collecting the best character cards you can! Definitely a great deal at the low price of $0.99!
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November 17, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Anthill: Tactical Trail Defense gets it’s INFINITY MODE update!

On October 9th of this year, Image & Form released their line drawing tower defense game, Anthill: Tactical Trail Defense. It’s one of the very few games that has gotten a perfect score here on The App Shack. The mix of strategic line drawing mixed with base defense took a hold of us and would not let go. Since the release, I&F have developed quite the following for their title, with over 3,000 iTunes reviews from around the globe giving them an average of 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. One of the most requested features has been a Survival or Infinite Mode, and with their 2.0 update, they’ve given it to us! Not only does it add a ton of replay value to the game, but it’ll test every player who has a copy of it, putting each and every one of us against each other in the GameCenter leaderboard for the mode. Not only can you go up against your friends, but you can see how you stack up against the best of the best. Yes, this is essentially what the level-by-level leaderboards did, but with an Infinite Mode, there’s no limit on the score you can get, and with the Mode getting progressively harder the longer you last, it’s a true test of skills. Be sure to update, or if you don’t have Anthill: TTD yet, you should get it while it’s on sale (for $1.99 at the moment! 66% off, and it’s UNIVERSAL!). You will not regret it.

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November 16, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >