Search Results for: label/NEWS/index.html

So, it’s finally here, iOS 5 has hit the virtual shelves. Now what? To update, or not to update? Developers generally take a while to update their games so that they work on new i-Operating Systems, so, if you’re lucky, a little more than half of the games and apps that are on your device will keep working after you update, while the other half sit there waiting for updates from developers trying to fix all the reasons their apps won’t run smoothly on the new system. Thankfully, a lot of developers have been anticipating the release of iOS 5, and with that, grabbed the beta version that has been out for a while, and made sure that their games ran, so chances are, if you have mostly new games on your device, those new games should, in theory, all run. But if you’re like a lot of us, and have games on your device that have been around for more than 6 months, you might just be better off waiting about a month until most of the apps and games have had a chance to get updated.

Now, if you’re seriously thinking about updating, here’s some of the AWESOME new features you can expect to see with the new Operating System;

You will no longer have to put up with those big annoying blue text boxes that pop up with no regard as to what you’re doing at that moment in time. Instead, a nice little bar will scroll at the top of your screen, and dragging it down will let you access any and all of the notifications that are waiting for you. It’s a huge improvement over the way notifications have been handled, and you will no longer need to worry about games locking up or lagging when you’re getting a message.

You no longer need a PC to set up your iDevice. This will make it so that your friends with iDevices that don’t have a home PC will stop bugging you to get you to set up their devices. You can also update to a new iOS over Wi-Fi. There’s also Wi-Fi syncing to iTunes, so no more USB cords to get tangled up, or chewed up by pets. Backing up to iCloud is also featured, allowing you to backup and restore your apps and settings.

There are plenty more features and enhancements, like Safari 2.0, Twitter integration, and much, much more. For a full list, you can check out the Apple iOS5 Features page for a full list. But as with every iOS update, it might just be better to hold off on updating, at least for a week or two, until most developers update their games to play on iOS5. If not, you could have a bunch of new features and enhancements on your iDevice, but loose quite a bit of application functionality. But damn, iOS5 sure does look nice, and we here at The App Shack are very impressed by the update, as well as the even more promising future of Apple.

The bird game that has you pooping on people has just got a pretty nice update! You can now control your bird with, are you ready for this?, TILT CONTROLS! It’s something the gamers, and the game itself, have been begging for since the release of Ruffled, back in July. No more swiping un-precisely to try and get your poo to land on the different objects in each level, and no more getting frustrated at just missing those pick-ups because you had to pick your finger up to swipe some more… now the game flows, and it’s a huge improvement. Also added to the game – A new tutorial. This new tutorial gives you all the information you’ll need in order to successfully land poop on everything in the game. It’s also placed as a main button on the main menu, so you shouldn’t have any trouble at all finding it this time around. To top it all off, it also got a nifty new icon! Those of you who had the game will probably fall in love with it all over again, and those of you who haven’t heard of Ruffled, or just haven’t checked it out yet, now would be a great time. Though it’s still missing out on GameCenter (Hopefully we’ll see that added in a shorter amount of time than it took to implement the tilt controls – but the devs are working on the game! And it’s kind of hard to ask for more).

Also, check out the site – Robo-5.com

One of our favorite retro platformer developers, Orange Pixel, has just released an update for their (use-to-be) free game, Super Drill Panic. The first HUGE change that you will notice when updating is that SDP is now a PAID game. That means that Orange Pixel has removed the ad banner across the top of the screen, and the game is now $1.99. This is great news for people who downloaded the game when it was free, and dealt with the banner for all this time, because now we have a full featured ad-free paid game on our devices. Oh yeah, there’s also bug fixes, a “more games” button, and a different Orange Pixel splash screen. But you can now expect to play Super Drill Panic without the ad banner at the top of the screen, slighty covering up the huge boulder falling down at you. If you haven’t picked up SDP before now, it’s still worth getting, as it’s got a bunch of content, and plenty of retro arcade action to keep any arcade junky happy for quite some time. There’s also endless levels for both the male and female characters of the game, as well as GameCenter leaderboards, for that extra boost of replay value. Definitely worth checking out.

Our next updated game is Hypership Out Of Control!, the XBOX Live game turned iOS sensation. You can now listen to your own iPod music while playing HOOC, which is always a nice addition to a game. They have also fixed the bug in Super Speed Mode that made it so that the Max Power power-up wouldn’t activate. Now you can fling yourself through space at blinding speeds in Super Speed Mode, and move further up those leaderboards! The last thing they changed was their icon, making it a little more retro, and taking out the clutter of the old icon. You will now see their big red ship in nice pixelated graphics in a neat and cleaned up icon for your devices.

The last game on our list to get an update is Space Junk. This Asteroids-type space shooter is now supported by GameCenter and OpenFeint, which was one of our biggest gripes with it back when we reviewed it late last month. Now you can compare scores on 9, THAT’S NINE, different leaderboards, as well as go after 22 achievements. There’s also a new unlockable Survival Mode, which unlocks after you manage to get 10 of the 22 achievements. To make it an even bigger and better update, Upside Down Games has made the controls configurable, enhanced the graphics, and added accelerometer support! Now this retro arcade game truly feels like a full fledged multi-featured game, and it’s still just $0.99! Make sure you grab this one and join in on the space shooting action.

Gyro13’s Version1.1 has just gone live in the AppStore, and even though it’s not a large update, it packs quite the punch! The game is now supported by GameCenter! This includes 25 different leaderboards, one for each level, along with a total score leaderboard, adding immensely to the replay value of Gyro13. Now once you complete the game, you can go back and try to get as close to perfect runs as you can on each of the levels, and compete with friends for high scores and fast times. The game has also dropped in price from $5.99 to $2.99! It’s now one of the best times to check out this mind blowing game!

Our favorite of the recent Super Meat Boy clones to hit the AppStore lately, ChocoRun, has just been selected to be OpenFeint’s free game of the day! This AWESOME one touch SMB influenced platformer is one of the most challenging games we’ve had the pleasure of playing. Not only does it make you want to pull your hair out, but it will also suck away hours of your life and give you a rewarding feeling, similar to beating the 8th World of Super Mario Brothers 3, after completing each of the 50 levels. Don’t miss your chance to pick up this great game!

We should also mention that if you beat the first 40 levels on Normal Mode with 3 stars on each level, you will win a CHOCO-PLUSHIE!!! – So go on, you don’t have any logical reason not to check out this amazing game from the very talented indie developer, Alejandro Vilarroya!

This August, The App Shack was able to review 108km Studio’s Robot Bros, a puzzle platformer that had quite a bit of potential, but we felt it didn’t really take advantage of that potential. Well, the developers listened, and took the game mechanics they had, and expanded them quite a bit. Version 1.1 is now live and available for download in the AppStore! What’s new in this version?

Now Robot Bros completly takes advantage of the puzzle mechanics that were initially introduced in the original version of the game, like switching robots, and the oh so cool use of portals! The controls have been tweaked and feel a lot better, and also, the game has a sweet badge system now. There’s also a lite version so you can try the game out. But at $0.99, and after this update, it’s easy to recommend this one to fans of the genre, and anyone else who’s into puzzle game, this is one you’ll definitely enjoy. Also, it’s worth mentioning that it’s (still, yes still…) UNIVERSAL. So head on over to the AppStore, and pick up this little gem!

Ellis, one of the most talked about iOS games of 2009, has just dropped in price from $4.99 to $0.00. You read that right, it’s free. Now is your chance, if you’ve been waiting to snag this one, or haven’t heard of it until now, to check out one hell of an entertaining game.

Download Escape From Cyborgia Now From The iTunes AppStore!

Also, be sure to check out the Maniac Dreamers Website

Gyro13, the amazingly beautiful Unreal Engine powered physics based helicopter arcade game has just had a price drop. $5.99 down to $0.99! We recently got the chance to review this awesome game, and are still blown away by it’s challenging gameplay and fantastic visuals. If the premium pricing was just a little too steep for your wallet, now’s your chance to pick it up.

This sale will not last long, so look under your bed, in-between couch cushions, and in the pockets of the pants in the washer, run up to the bank, and throw a buck in so you can experience one of the best games of 2011.

Cinemax has also made the soundtrack available for online play/listening on their website (http://gyro13.com/) – they’ve also said that they’re thinking about making it available for download (no word on if it will need to be purchased or not yet) – but if you’re enjoying it as much as we are, this is a pretty big deal.