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Number of Results: 160

Cubes Vs. Spheres goes FREE for a Limited Time!!

Last month, The App Shack was lucky enough to be given the chance to review ShockPanda’s game, Cubes Vs. Spheres. Since then, it has become one of our favorite games of the year. The graphics are awesome, modern minimal, and very stylish, and the gameplay is intense, yet easily accessible to casual gamers as well as hardcore gamers.

Cubes vs. Spheres is exactly what it sounds like. You’ll toss cubes at spheres, trying to take them out before they reach your area. Now you’re able to check out this awesome game for free. ShockPanda has given gamers the chance to see what all of us who already have the game have been obsessing about. And once you do, you’ll be hooked.
There’s GameCenter integration, upgrades, unlockable cubes, amazing level designs, exceptional graphics, and gameplay that will stick with you for quite some time. So head on over to the AppStore, and pick up this amazing game for free while you can, because this offer will not last long. You’ve got nothing to loose, and an amazing gaming experience to gain. What are you waiting for? GO GO GO!


Blast Zone Mega Gets Updated With GAMECENTER!

Last month, I was lucky enough to get my hands on, and review, Blast Zone Mega, a retro styled arcade game where you maneuver a bomb through rings in the sky, upgrading the bomb with each ring you go through, and causing massive destruction when the bomb hits the ground. Unfortunately, the game, which is centered around blowing up as much as you can, and in turn, getting the highest score you can, was released without any online leaderboard support, leaving your hard earned scores trapped on your device, and your device only.

Thankfully, Maximilian Bode was paying close attention to what players wanted, and has just released an update that incorporates GameCenter leaderboards and achievements. Now, you can compete with your friends, and other players around the world, for top scores. This update adds quite a bit of replay value to the game, so get ready to sink quite a bit of time into this retro action title.


Jelly Invaders goes FREE to celebrate the release of Jelly Defense!

Infinite Dreams is giving away Jelly Invaders to celebrate the release of their highly anticipated game, Jelly Defense, to be released this Thursday, September 29th. In the game, you press down on your little defender jelly on the bottom of the screen in order to make him shoot. There are two modes – Tactical; which is sort of a mixture of bubble shooter and arcade defense shooter. You have a bar at the top of the screen which lets you know what color shot you’ll have, and you’ll need to match the colored shot with the different colored enemies. Once they make it to the bottom of the screen, taking your crystals, it’s game over.
There’s also a Survival Mode, which lets you fire constantly at falling enemies, no matter their color. However, different colored enemies require different amounts of firepower to take them out. As in Tactical Mode, once the jellies hit the bottom of the screen, taking your crystals, the game is over.
Both modes include power-ups and multipliers to help you get the best score possible. Jelly Invaders was actually the very first Infinite Dreams game I ever got, and ever since, I’ve been hooked on their releases. So while it’s free, I highly recommend you check it out. There’s also other Jelly apps by Infinite Dreams that are available for free – including the Talking Jelly Clock (click to download) – and Jelly Chronicles (click to download) which is a “find the difference” game. Also, remember to keep an eye open for Jelly Defense, the new jelly Tower Defense game, coming out on the 29th!


QuBIT Gets a Major Update and Goes Free!

QuBIT, a crystal smashing, color matching racer from Secret Sauce Studios, just got it’s 1.2.0 update, and it’s a big one! This debut release from the UK company caught my attention the moment I saw the release trailer. I ended up staying up the night of it’s release to check it out, and even ended up updating my iPod from iOS 4.0 to iOS 4.3, which I previously swore I would never do for any game. But boy was I so happy that I finally did.

QuBIT turned out to be one of the best and most original racing games I had ever experienced. Everything from the graphics to the gameplay, scoring to the matching, down to the racing, I was completely hooked, and found it hard to play anything else for the first two weeks I had the game on my device. Then the obsession faded, like it does, until last Friday, the 16th, when Secret Sauce released it’s version 1.2.0 update, and the love affair was re-kindled.
Here’s a list of the new features;
–Retina Display Support
–New game mode, Surge
–2 new QuBOTs, QuBYT, and QuTI
–Solid Gold Plated Bot for those who bought the game before it went free back in July

and of course
–QuBIT is now FREE, with the new Surge Mode, and two new characters available through IAP.
Secret Sauce’s decision to make the previously $0.99 app, free, was not one that was taken lightly. Within the first week of the release, 50% of the activity on the leaderboards was from pirated copies. Cracked software has, is, and will always, be a problem for game developers, but it’s especially sad when it happens to such a great game made by such a great development team. With every issue brought up on the Touch Arcade and Secret Sauce Forums, the team has been there to swiftly and quickly address the issue, sending out a fix as soon as possible, and listening to what the gamers had to say.
So here’s hoping that the change to go free does help fight the onslaught of cracked copies, and those of you who bought QuBIT before it went free back in July, or even after it went free, only to see the part of the game that you paid for go free, will be glad to know that your money went back into the development of the game, and the in app purchase of the new Surge Mode, new characters, and unlockables, along with the Retina Display addition, is well worth another $0.99. Especially when coming from such a dedicated developer, who’s sure to put that money back into amazing, mind-bending games for it’s fans, and new-customers.
Be sure and check out QuBIT, now that’s free, you’ve got nothing to loose, except of course, for a buck that you’ll most likely end up spending on the Surge Mode once you get hooked on the Classic Mode that’s, to say the least, VERY addicting. We here at The App Shack wish Secret Sauce the best of luck with this new pricing set-up, and with the game, as it’s one of our favorites.
You can also check out the Secret Sauce team’s blog/forum/webpage at http://www.secretsauce.co/


Fractal Combat – Version 1.1 Update Released!

Fractal Combat, one of the best arial combat games in the AppStore, and one that I was given the chance to review last month, has just had it’s first update to version 1.1 – and damn, is it a nice one!
Version 1.1 has these new features;

– New, more challenging, bosses
– Improved user interface
– Added “Free Flight” mode
– Improved buttons layout on iPad
– Reduced shaking of controls
– Energy is now pulled towards the player
– Fixed bug about 500 enemies down achievement
– New Icon
The new bosses look great, and add a bunch to the already hectic action filled gameplay. As for the new user interface, if you’ve had Fractal Combat for a while, the level select screen might take you by surprise at first, I know it did me. But once you look around, you’ll see how improved it is. You can now see your scores and rankings for each level in each planet. Just tap on the planet in the top left, and all the levels show up on the bottom of the screen, with a list going down the right side of the screen with the rankings and scores for each level. This is awesome for being able to go back and replay the levels that you want to try and get better scores on, or to find that one level that you don’t have 3 starson yet. There is no more scrolling, and the whole look of it is a lot more cleaned up and organized.
The Free Flight Mode is a great addition, letting you visit each of the planets, and gives you an opportunity to play around with different ship set-ups without worrying about enemies. Here, you can master the thruster engines, or get a grip on the rotor powered ships, which in my opinion, are a bit harder to handle. But it’s worth learning how to fly them, as they have quite a bit more defensive strength. Also added is reduced shaking of the controls. This is a huge improvement, as there’s no longer noticeable shaking when you’re holding your device. It makes the flight aspect of the game a whole lot smoother, and in turn improves the gameplay experience.
Now, you are also able to fly by energy pick-ups without worrying about needing to go through them in order to pick them up. You can now fly over, under or beside the energy and it’ll be picked up by your ship. This helps a lot with focusing on the action at hand instead of keeping your eyes on the energy balls and not the enemies. It’s an awesome addition to the game.
Bottom line. If you don’t have Fractal Combat, the price has gone down to $0.99 permanently, and it’s now even better than it was before, you need to buy this game. It’s going to end up in my top 5 favorites of 2011 list for sure. Especially with the next update brining more features, larger enemy bases, more game modes, more game context, new weapons, new ships, and new worlds. The developer is also taking suggestions through a contact page on his blog, which can be found here – Fractal Combat Developers Blog – and is also a great place to stay up to speed with the new features being added to the game.
If you’d like to read the review from The App Shack, it can be found here – Fractal Combat Review – and if you’re ready to jump in and buy possibly the best arial combat game for the iOS for the amazingly low price of $0.99, you can get it here – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fractal-combat/id422010858?mt=8


Best of the Best- Our Pick for the Best Games in August

 I think we all can agree that this August has been an awesome month for game releases and many of my favorites have gotten sequels that drastically reinvented themselves.  There have also been alot of other unique releases that deserve mention as well.   Ladies and Gentlemen this is..The Best of the Best!

Pocket RPG-(Crescent Moon Games) 0.99

Though  released on the iPad before the iPod, this Wednesday it was made Universal. Pocket RPG is now fast becoming our favorite game with three different characters and tons of exploring and looting to do you’ll be spending all your free time with this amazing game. App Store Link

Mega Mall Story-(Kairosoft) 3.99

 If you’ve ever wondered what it would feel like to be the manager of a mall then this game is for you.  It puts all the elements of business and turns them into something extremely fun.  You can build shops, invest in the surrounding community and expand your very own mall.  Pick this one up today! App Store Link

Jetpack Joyride-(Halfbrick) 0.99

There’s no doubt about it that Halfbrick has done it again. This has got to be one of the best releases all summer. Do whatever you have to do to get this game. You won’t regret this purchase. This is truly a fun and addictive game. By addictive I mean you will literally be hooked on this game for hours and hours and hours… well you get it. Go download it now! App Store Link

Edge Extended- (Mobigame) 0.99
Based off of the success of the very first Edge Mobigame went and made a sequel to that game. This definitely feels like a true sequel and is true to the originals length and complexity.  To read up more on this game check out our Review of it.
 App Store Link

Contre Jour- (Mokus) 0.99
 
A blend of game and interactive art this breathtaking puzzler is one of the most innovative games we have ever seen.  With a blend of Cut the Rope, Angry Birds, and other games mechanics you’ll surely be entertained! App Store Link

Infinty Field-(ForzeField) 0.99
This is the first dual stick shooters that has actually stuck on my device for more than a week and is perfect for those few fleeting moments you have during your bathroom breaks and when your teacher is looking the other way.  All in all I highly suggest you try this game out for the low asking price of 0.99.  I promise you wont be disappointed. App Store Link

Temple Run- (Imangi) 0.99
Endless runners are a well done genre in the App Store but this game takes a turn where few other dare to go….3D.  You are frantically running away from the angry temple guardians who feel you violated the sanctity of their temple. By swiping you jump, turn and slide around all sorts of obstacles and passages. The replayabiltiy is off the hook and I have once spent 2 hours straight playing the game.  I highly recommend you try this for the low cost of 0.99. App Store Link


EDGE Extended and Contre Jour releasing this wednesday

    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: 

 Im eagerly awaiting both games. And expect full reviews for both by end of the week. For me, this is the best wednesday night ever for iOS.


NEWS – The CheeseMan Cometh.

Recently, the AppStore has seen it’s fair share of Super Meat Boy influenced platformers. But Hicham Allaoui’s upcoming game, CheeseMan, is the first to add something all of us SMB fans have been begging developers to add for months; VIRTUAL CONTROLS. This slight, but seemingly very important addition to the game, should be what we’ve all been wanting in a Super Meat Boy clone. The graphics and gameplay looks surprisingly polished as well. At the end of this month, The App Shack will, very proudly, be able to have a first look at how CheeseMan plays. And we’re going to be telling you all about it. How it controls, how the physics work, if the level design is up to par, or beyond, and just in general, if you really should be as excited as you think you should be about this up-coming game.
Keep checking back around the end of August, and beginning of September when we will be the first review website to proudly present –
THE SUPER CHEESEMAN PREVIEW+REVIEW!!!
If you would like to stay upto speed with this game and news from the developer, you can follow Hicham Allaoui on Facebook and Twitter, and also be sure to check out his website.