Mobigame’s Perfect Cell [99¢/Lite] was one of my surprise favorites from the onslaught of incredible holiday releases last year. It has you playing a squid-like alien who is captured following a crash landing on Earth and held captive in a research facility deep below the ocean. Obviously, Mr. Alien doesn’t take to kindly to being locked up, and quickly breaks from captivity and searches the facility for a way out. Along the way he’ll find his two alien buddies which he can fuse together with to become stronger and gain extra abilities, or split apart from to solve some of the environmental puzzles in the game.
Perfect Cell is especially cool because of the different ways you can approach completing it. You can go on a murderous rampage, destroying every soldier or scientist you come across on your way out (which is pretty much the attitude they have towards you too, by the way). Or, you can take the stealth route and try to use your cloaking ability and the many passageways hidden throughout the cleverly designed levels in order to never be seen at all. There’s even special achievements for not killing anybody, which is much easier said than done.
We gave a hearty recommendation to Perfect Cellwhen we reviewed it last December at its original price of $6, but starting today you can grab the game for just 99¢ for a limited time. At that price it really is a no brainer, but just to be sure you can check out the lite version and try out the game yourself first. Perfect Cell is an interesting blend of platforming, puzzle elements, exploration, and either slicing up every person you see with gruesome attacks or trying your darndest to avoid them. Definitely check out the lite version of Perfect Cell, and if you’re digging it then don’t hesitate to grab the full game during this 99¢ sale.
Last week a little gem of a game was released into the App Store called Tactical Soldier - Undead Rising [$4.99]. Now, I know what you must be thinking, and yes the whole zombie thing has totally been done to death (undeath?). But the highly tactical turn-based gameplay in Tactical Soldier will have you forgetting all about that, and the zombie theme is actually used to great effect in telling an interesting story and creating tension in the game.
You play as a soldier in a military base where an experiment has gone awfully wrong. Scientists have developed a chemical in an effort to create super soldiers, but instead it ends up turning them into bloodthirsty zombies. Yeah, it’s a bit cliché, but it fits the game well. The graphics are entirely rendered in 3D, and although the character models aren’t the most detailed, the environments have a wonderfully creepy mood to them. The story unfolds with comic book-style cutscenes which do a good job of telling the gritty tale.
I'll be the first to fully admit that I don't really get what made people so crazy about the original Doodle Army [99¢ / Free]. Regardless, the game spawned one of our most popular threads ever which has nearly 12,000 posts in it as of this writing. Its sequel, Doodle Army 2 [Free] hit the App Store last night, and once again, I still don't get it. (This still hasn't stopped the new thread from similarly exploding.)
The second installment of Doodle Army has evolved quite a bit from its predecessor. Instead of just being side scrolling shooter type game, you have complete freedom of movement in two axises thanks to a handy limited-used rechargeable rocket boots. The buttons of the original have been replacement by a pair of virtual joysticks, one that handles your movement in any direction while another handles your shooting.
Doodle Army 2 is the product of massive amounts of feedback from players, and the coolest new feature in my book is the implementation of total online multiplayer via Game Center. Sure it's only four players, but the maps seem to be designed so that you're never really ever hunting for someone to shoot for too long.
We've spent a crazy amount of time both playing and reviewingSuperbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP [$4.99] and as members of our forum have mentioned, Jim Guthrie's music is a major component to the game. If you've been looking to get that same music to accompany you to do other things besides play Sword & Sworcery, the soundtrack went up for sale in a number of different formats last night. Your first option is to swing by Jim Guthrie's Bandcamp where you'll be able to download the digital album for $7.99 in basically any format imaginable. For $30, they're offering a 180g 12" vinyl copy of the soundtrack complete with a limited edition art prints.
Alternatively, for $8.99 you can head over to iTunes and grab the digital album there, although I'm not sure why you'd pay more when Bandcamp offers so much more flexibility... But, anyway, they've also released this incredibly odd video to coincide with the launch of the soundtrack featuring its creator Jim Guthrie:
Some neat news is spilling from PopCap Games this morning. The publisher and creator of titles such as Plants vs. Zombies [$2.99 / HD] and Bejeweled [$.99]has announced the launch of a brand new label called “4th & Battery,” an eclectic name brought about by the actual position of its offices in Seattle, Washington. The mission of 4th & Battery is simple: to put out smaller, much more adventurous titles to handhelds and the social web without concern for business stuff like, say, profit.
In a press release announcing the formation of the label, PopCap takes great care in positioning 4th & Battery as an edgier development house, home to games that are targeted to adults and combine interesting and experimental components. Here's what PopCap Games' CCO Jason Kapalka had to say about in a statement:
You may recall several weeks back at GDC when we previewed the upcoming massively multiplayer online strategy game Empire of the Eclipse from Zarksoft. This ambitious title aims to offer up an experience that is practically unheard of for a mobile title, with an expansive universe to explore and conquer as you build up an army and take on hundreds or even thousands of other players online. The sheer amount of depth in Empire of the Eclipse is incredible, and Zarksoft has done a marvelous job of creating an intuitive and friendly interface for dealing with it all.
Take a look at this hands-on demo from GDC which explains a tiny bit of what Empire of the Eclipse is all about:
The game was originally slated for the end of March, but after showing off the game to their peers at GDC, the main feedback that Zarksoft received was that the battles in the game lacked a visceral quality. As such, they have gone back to work on this element of the game, along with tightening up the rest of the gameplay to ensure that it will be the best that it can be. Unfortunately, that also means the game will be delayed without a firm release date in sight, though Zarksoft is confident they’ll have the game ready by Summer.
Gobtron [$1.99] from Juicy Beast Studio started out as a Flash game a few years ago, and last week an iOS port made its way into the App Store. Gobtron is a type of castle defense game where you play as a gigantic pink monster who must fend off puny human attackers throughout 5 ages of history. The interesting thing is how the Gobtron goes about defending himself, primarily using a string of snot from his nose but also utilizing other bodily functions for additional attack types. It’s a bit on the gross side but done in a lighthearted way, and Gobtron actually offers some pretty fun gameplay with its unique control mechanics and weapon upgrade system.
Gobtron takes place over 18 levels in 5 eras, starting out in the Stone Age and moving to Ancient Egypt, the Middle Ages, modern-day military, and finally a futuristic age. In each level enemies will approach the base of the massive Gobtron in waves, feebly attacking with their weapons which chip away at his health meter. The enemies’ attacks start out as small spears and rocks in the stone age, and evolve into more deadly weapons like guns, aircraft, and ground-based vehicles.
Smuggle Truck has been pouring sand in conservatives’ boxer shorts for a time now, but the game and its... questionable sensibilities won’t be restricted from release on the App Store. In fact, Smuggle Truck is in the approval phase right now, meaning release and word of an actual launch date are on the horizon. Neat!
We connected with co-creator Alex Schwartz earlier this afternoon about this revelation and he had a little bit more to share. Specifically, he dropped us some details about the game’s forthcoming update, which is slated to hit about two weeks after launch. Schwartz confirmed to us that this first update is set to add “full level editor” to the iPad version in addition to “online uploading of custom levels, as well as an entire custom level lobby which allows players to download, rate, and play thousands of user generated levels on both iPhone and iPad,” he said.
Below is the first promotional teaser for Fast Five: The Movie: Official Game, the official tie-in to “Fast Five: The Movie,” a film that will surely earn a place amongst the two greatest films of all time: “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” and “Gigli.” High praise in advance of an actual viewing, I know, but look at its cast for a minute -- Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on-screen at the same time? Sounds like Oscar material to me.
I’m not as learned about The 7th Guest [$2.99 / HD], or as much of a fan of the iOS port as Fearless Leader Eli “7th Guest” Hodapp, but even I’m stoked about this latest shred of news relating to the fabled puzzle game: Trilobyte, the studio behind the original game and its well-received touch-based port, is doing an iPad spin-off called The 7th Guest: Infection, a title solely based around the ridiculous-hard microscope puzzle that had to be cut from the port of The 7th Guest when it came to iOS earlier in 2010.
The microscope puzzle earned its “maddening” descriptor because it was -- and still holds up as -- one of the most convoluted and stressing game puzzles of all time. And since Infection is based around this very puzzle, I’ll go ahead and let Trilobyte do the describing of the game and its mechanics. See if you can follow! It’s fun, I swear!
Someone is listening when I pray. The other afternoon, 2D Boy flung some awesome news one the Internet, confirming that World of Goo [$4.99] is indeed coming to the iPod Touch and iPhone, And it’s coming, like, real soon, according to a post on studio’s blog that explains, additionally, that the title is worming its way through Apple’s approval process at the moment.
Before you get all stupid-happy, check what generation your device is. In the reveal post, 2D Boy warns that World of Goo will require 3GS or better, or in iPod Touch terms, a 3rd Generation Touch or newer. Certainly, this design decision will cut a few of you out of the fun, but I’m sure it’s all for the better, as World of Goo will be poised to remain a visual treat in addition to being a great physics-based puzzle game. Oh, and if you already have the iPad version you'll get this for free. World of Goo will become a Universal App.
Last week, Chillingo released a new gameplay video for their upcoming game Vampire Rush. Vampire Rush is a hack ‘n slash dungeon crawler with tower defense elements, not completely unlike the previously released Dungeon Defenders [99¢]. The difference here, it seems by the video, is that Vampire Rush looks far less complicated and cluttered, which probably bodes well for a mobile title. The artwork is very colorful, which is a nice change from the drab colors that usually make up games of this ilk. Take a look at the video and see for yourself:
Vampire Rush is developed by A-steroids and was released for Samsung phones last October to positive reviews. A-steroids had planned on having an iOS port released this past January, although obviously that date has come and gone. The good news is that the extra development time is going towards making Vampire Rush more than just a simple port of the Samsung version, and should include additional content and enhancements. Also, it’s probably worth noting that despite the vaguely similar style, Vampire Rush doesn’t appear to have anything to do with Chillingo’s previously released Vampire Origins [99¢/Lite/HD].
There’s no solid release date yet, but with Chillingo jumping in to publish the title and releasing this video, I can only hope that this means it’s right around the corner. There’s a discussion for Vampire Rush taking place in our upcoming games forum, and we’ll keep our eye out for any new information on this title.
Last November Capcom released Capcom Arcade [Free], a slick little package that featured a selection of their classic arcade titles in one single app. Capcom Arcade uses an interesting monetary system where you get 3 free tickets per day, with each ticket being good for one play of any of the games. You can also purchase token packs as IAP, where tokens function just like tickets and are good for a single play, or you can purchase any of the arcade games outright for unlimited play. We liked Capcom Arcadein our review, noting that the virtual controls were about as good as can be expected and the performance of the games was pretty solid, though not perfect.
Capcom had promised to add additional arcade games to the package every month, and followed through by adding Street Fighter II Champion Edition in December and Ghosts ‘n Goblins in January. The past two months, though, have not seen any new titles added to the game. Capcom is trying to make up for this with the latest update that hit this past Friday which adds two new games at once to Capcom Arcade. The first game is 1943, the vertically scrolling WWII shooter and the sequel to the already included 1942. 1943 seems to control and perform well, though it feels pretty dated compared to the vast array of shmup options in the App Store and is a fairly underwhelming addition.
As we mentioned in January, we're bringing back our monthly "Best of" roundups. Unfortunately, late February and Early March were absolutely loaded with both GDC and PAX East which left us with little time left to do anything other than handle both events. To make things up, today we've got this awesome "Best of" extra large double feature, with both February and March games.
Our ratings for games we reviewed in both February and March are now in place, and we now present to you the ones that are on the top of the heap. Each game reviewed receives a 1-5 star rating relative to the other games from that month. Generally, a 3 or higher is considered a "good" rating.
Our final scores are not the product of any traditionally objective measures such as graphics or sound, but simply reflect the games we would most recommend to others.
We've often received criticism from readers that they're tired of paying too little for games on the App Store. When you own a piece of premium electronics like the iPhone, the iPod touch, or even the iPad, scrubbing around for price drop alerts and freebie Fridays just seems so... passé. If you consider yourself among the App Store elite, consider playing these games which bring new meaning to the phrase "premium pricing" whilst sunning yourself on your yacht this weekend:
Buddy Repperton Gold, $49.99 - Why simply play a sports game when you can bet real world money on them instead? Well, with the help of Buddy Reperton you're going to be getting the hottest, most elite, premium sports picks in the land.
Crossword Pro Service Update, $99.99 - The developers warn that this hundred dollar version of Crossword Pro [$6.99] is just an update to an existing app, but we all know that isn't true. Why restrict yourself to the crossword game of the proles when you can opt to spend substantially more money on a better, premium game experience?
Mobigame’s Perfect Cell [99¢/Lite] was one of my surprise favorites from the onslaught of incredible holiday releases last year. It has you playing a squid-like alien who is captured following a crash landing on Earth and held captive in a research facility deep below the ocean. Obviously, Mr. Alien doesn’t take to kindly to being locked up, and quickly breaks from captivity and searches the facility for a way out. Along the way he’ll find his two alien buddies which he can fuse together with to become stronger and gain extra abilities, or split apart from to solve some of the environmental puzzles in the game.
I'll be the first to fully admit that I don't really get what made people so crazy about the original Doodle Army [
Someone is listening when I pray. The other afternoon, 2D Boy flung some awesome news one the Internet, confirming that World of Goo [$
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