One of the best Real Time Strategy (RTS) games for the platform, Autumn Dynasty, has seen its first ever sale today (Thanks Bulkypix!) dropping its’ price from $6.99 to $2.99. Our ‘On Sale’ section is updated throughout the day with this information as well, but this game is just so awesome, I really wanted to alert you all as many places as I could!
I can’t say enough on how much this game rocks, and it has seen a few fabulous updates as of late which allows this game to be played as a casual pick-up and play, then save game, as well as game that you can sink massive amounts of time into. Something I still find myself doing, even with the plethora of new titles to the genre ever emerging. This is an iPad only game, but plays on all versions of the device.
Please check out our original review on this epic game for more information, or just do yourself favor if you are remotely interested in RTS games and hit that DL button!
FireFruitForge and Everplay, developers of the fantastic retro-platformer Terra Noctis, released their second collaboration game, Spellsword, an arena platformer like Super Crate Box with an RPG influence, back in April of this year. Even though we had some problems with the way the two development teams handled the issues that came along with Terra Noctis, an update was FINALLY sent in, and the way that the teams have handled the issues with Spellsword have totally reaffirmed my faith that Everplay, and possibly F.F.F., are here to stay, and that the iOS world is that much better because of that fact.
If you haven’t had a chance to grab Spellsword yet, now would be your chance, as it’s gone free with the popular Free App A Day service to help support the release of Everplay’s new CO-OP dual-stick zombie shooter, Left2Die. If you’re a fan of platformers, or RPG titles, get ready to have hours upon hours of your life sucked away with this fantastic title. It includes iCade support, as well as being Universal, and having GameCenter integration with leaderboards for the endless levels and loads of achievements. Don’t let yourself miss out on this one, even being unsure if the game would receive updates when it first came out, and not being too trusting of Everplay or Fire Fruit Forge, the game managed to shoot up my favorites list, and completely took over my gaming world for the couple weeks after it’s release. Check the vid below for some in-game scenes, click the ‘Download on iTunes’ icon below to be taken to the AppStore and get this game. You won’t be disappointed.
Angry Birds is easily one of the most popular iOS games to ever hit the AppStore. Since it’s release, it’s been downloaded millions of times, and had 3 sequels; Seasons, Rio, and Space. It’s resulted in thousands of physics based puzzlers, and clones and basically pushed the genre into the hands of casual and hardcore gamers alike. Well now, if for whatever reason, you don’t yet have Angry Birds Seasons, you can pick the game up for free. That’s right. FREE. Both the iPhone and iPad versions of the game have just gone free as Apple’s App Of The Week. So be sure and pick this one up if you don’t already have it, or weren’t wanting to double dip after getting a new iPad or iPhone, and already having one version. It just might wind up turning you into a closet Angry Birds fan. Don’t worry, we won’t tell. 😉
Action RPGs have quite a fan following in the AppStore. I’ll admit that since Hybrid and Zenonia, I’ve been hooked on them. But there comes a time when the same thing over and over again becomes dull, and with the crazy amount of Action RPGs available for the iOS, it’s no surprise that seemingly everything that can be done with them has been done, and, aside from an interesting story, the genre is in kind of a slump for the time being. Fortunately, there is light at the end of the tunnel. South Korea’s own Oozoo Inc., a new studio on the iOS gaming scene, has given gamers a very interesting new Action RPG title, Brandnew Boy, developed with one of the best engines available, Unreal.
Brandnew Boy is the story of Rookie, a young boy who’s lost his memory, but happens to have a little TV robot to help him out. As you’ll quickly find out, to figure out who you are, where you are, and what has happened in your past, you’ll need to fight. Various enemies are attacking you for no reason, but you appear to have what it takes to survive, and find yourself.
Brandnew Boy is a 3D game with 3rd person view, something that’s rarely done with iOS RPG titles. What makes Brandnew Boy really stand out is the combat system. To attack an enemy, you just need to tap on them, and then tap in time with the attack animations. There’s also a gauge at the bottom of the screen which lets you know when the optimum time to tap is. This isn’t required, but tapping right when you hit an enemy results in a lot more damage. Once the enemies are about to attack you, an exclamation point appears above their head. To avoid their attack, you can swipe on the screen in any direction, and Rookie will dive out of the way. The movement controls are simple as well, tap to move, and swipe on the screen to change the direction of Rookie. To stop moving, simply tap on the screen again. These controls allow for a clean UI, and work great.
There are two game modes to choose from, Scenario Mode, which is the basic campaign/story mode, and Infinity Mode, which lets you battle it out with various enemies, trying to get the best score you can before you die. As you can imagine, the graphics are top notch. Oozoo Inc has done a fantastic job creating a wonderful world with vibrant colors, loads of detail, amazing animations, and great character designs. The music and effects also help to create an incredibly immersive gameplay experience.
As you level up, and your stats increase, you’re also able to unlock and purchase more items from the shop. Here, you can buy various gloves, shirts, accessories, skills, rings, potions, and more. There are IAPs available, but you can earn quite a few coins just by going through the stages, and playing in the Infinity Mode. You’re also able to replay levels, which is great, because if you get stuck on a stage that’s too difficult, you’re able to go back and earn more coins, and maybe level up some more, increasing your stats.
Brandnew Boy is above and beyond, one of the best Action RPG/3D Action-Combat titles available for the iOS. The great graphics, and superb gameplay offer up a fantastic gaming experience. For $3.99, it’s a great buy for anyone remotely interested in Action RPGs, and a must buy for fans of the genre who have gotten tired of the same old recipe developers have been using. Including 99 achievements 6 leaderboards in GameCenter, coupled with the Infinite Mode, there’s endless replayability. Right now, Brandnew Boy is on sale for $0.99, so it’s an even better time to snag this great game. With more updates in the works, I can’t wait to see what Oozoo has in store for us in the future.
Seems like a lot of FANTASTIC games have been going free lately , and here are 4 more that you can add to your device at no charge to you. If you don’t have these already, they’re great games to check out, especially Project 83113, which is sitting comfortably at #2 on my favorite games of 2012 list right now. If you’re a platformer fan, Blobster is a nice one to check out, and Avenger is heavily influenced by Castlevania. Monster Shooter: The Lost Levels is a great dual stick shooter that feels like a cheat version if you’re familiar and use to playing the freemium version of Monster Shooter. So go ahead, spend some of your bandwidth, because these games are all worthy of snagging. =o)
My personal top contender for iOS Game Of The Year (so far) is definitely, without a doubt, Lightstorm3D’s cave exploration adventure title, Gene Effect. Since it’s release, it’s undergone quite the change; being released as an iPhone only game, lots of gamers were upset with the $5 price tag being that the game was from a basically unheard of company, and wasn’t Universal. About a week and a half ago, this all changed. Lightstorm3D added Universal support, along with Retina Display support for the new iPad, and loads of improvements, changes, additions and optimizations.
Unfortunately, Gene Effect’s sales haven’t been so great, and it’s always terrible seeing a developer you completely and totally respect, and a game you’ve come to absolutely LOVE not get the attention and sales that they/it deserve. Hopefully this price drop from $4.99 down to $2.99 will help stir up the gaming community, and get more gamers to check this mind-blowing game out.
If you’ve yet to hear about Gene Effect, or how amazingly fantastic it is, be sure to check out our review, as well as other reviews from around the net (getting a 5 out of 5 from iPhoneGamerUK, a 4 out of 4 at SlideToPlay [including their Must Have award], and others). It’s definitely a title you don’t want to miss out on, and encompasses everything iOS gamers have been begging for since the Free To Play model got so popular. No IAPs instead of a low price and the game pushing you towards additional purchases after your original purchase, a fantastically supportive and responsive indie development team, amazing graphics, an awesome story, and basically, a console game for the iOS, at an incredibly reasonable price, even by the AppStore’s standards. So be sure and check it out while it’s on sale, and tell everyone you know about this hidden gem of a game.
One of our favorite Turn-Based RPG developers, Kemco, is having another sale on one of their fantasticly crafted titles. This time around, it’s the cyberpunk-fantasy Eve of the Genesis. The story takes place in the Empire of Gadalia. It’s kind of a matrix type story, with humans battling machines that ruled the empire, but were defeated 2,000 years ago. Now they’re back, and somehow able to travel through space, seemingly appearing anywhere they want to attack. Your characters are on a quest to try and find out how the machines are able to just appear anywhere they want, and eventually find a way to stop them from taking over the empire yet again.
If you’re a fan of Kemco’s titles, then you already know the quality of their games is fairly high. Eve of the Genesis is one of very few games here on The App Shack to earn a perfect 5 out of 5 stars. If you’ve never heard of Kemco, well… they’re comparable to the Square (Enix) of old, with their titles bringing back memories of playing Final Fantasy titles 3 through 7. The writing is fantastic, and the translations are just shy of perfect. There’s usually some pretty interesting equip or leveling up mechanics, and exploration for special items is something can be found in all of their titles.
So if you haven’t picked up any of Kemco’s titles yet, or have yet to pick up Eve of the Genesis because you’ve been busy playing one of their other great RPGs, now would be a great time to, with the price dropping from $8.99 down to $0.99. It’s definitely a Turn Based RPG that will have you hooked until you complete it, and have you ready to jump into another fantastic Kemco title.
Kemco, one of our favorite RPG developers here at The App Shack, has just dropped the price on one of their best Turn-Based RPG titles, Fantasy Chronicle. If you’ve never heard of Kemco, definitely take this opportunity to become aquatinted with them. They happen to release some of the most engaging, well written, immersive RPG titles I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing. Personally, Kemco is my 2nd Square-Enix of old (back when they were just Square), and if you’re a fan of the genre, Kemco’s releases are must have games.
For more info, feel free to check out The App Shack’s Review of Fantasy Chronicle, which received a 5 out of 5 star rating. So make sure you pick this up, either as a new-comer or as a hardcore RPG fan. It’s one title that will have you glued to your iDevice until you complete the game.
Brawsome’s unique Universal puzzle game, MacGuffin’s Curse, published by Ayopa, launched this Thursday. If you haven’t decided wether or not to pick it up, head on over to our review, and get a better idea of what the game is about and how it plays. You can also check out the Ayopa and Brawsome sites to get even more info. If you’re a puzzle fan, you really should check this one out. Especially while it’s on sale for $1.99, because soon, it’s going to go up to it’s regular $4.99 price-tag.
Ayopa has also put up a new trailer for MacGuffin’s Curse, which had me genuinely laughing. Check it out;
Last year, we were fortunate enough to be able to review a fantastic tap-arcade game, Explodables. It was the first release from iOS new-comer, Mark Peach. Even though it’s one of the best tap based arcade games available in the AppStore, it didn’t get much attention. Sadly, like so many great games, it was pushed down under a slew of sales and high-profile games. But since it’s release, Mr. Peach has given the game quite a bit of attention with updates, fixes and additions, sticking with it, even though sales were pretty much non-existent. It’s hard to not respect that kind of commitment these days with quite a few developers either abandoning, removing so that they can re-release as a freemium game, throwing ads into their paid game, or just pulling a game all together if sales aren’t where they want them to be.
Well, now, with Mark awaiting the birth of his son, who was due to see this miraculous world on the 29th of February, he has decided to make Explodables FREE, either until the most recent update goes live in the AppStore, or his son is born, whichever happens first.
So make sure you don’t miss this opportunity to snag one of the few games to get a perfect 5 out of 5 stars here on The App Shack. It’s definitely a game that’s worth checking out. Maybe let your friends know, and help out a developer with an amazing game, both deserving of loads of support from the iOS community.
