LostWinds [$3.99] from Frontier was originally released for the Wii in 2008 and we've been waiting for the iOS port since it was reported in July. It's a beautiful adventure platforming game with puzzle elements, which rates highly in almost every way.
The story opens with little Toku asleep on the grass, but once you swipe him awake, there's a lovely layered platform world to explore, with pink trees, waterfalls, caves, villages and other characters to discover. Just tap the screen to walk in that direction, or hold your finger down for a second to keep moving automatically.
On the first level, you discover Enril the wind spirit and gain the ability to generate gusts of wind with a finger swipe. So if you swipe a plant it sways in the breeze, swiping a tree causes it to shake and rustle, while swiping a waterfall splashes water around. You can also swipe at objects - like large rock balls - to move them, or swipe burning fires to fan or direct the flames. These abilities help your search for the evil Balasar, so you can lift his dark curse.
Dead Space [$.99 / HD] is one of the seemingly billions of EA-published games on sale right now, and it's also received a new update. On both iPad and iPhone, Dead Space now supports EA's polarizing social UI, Origin. In more satisfying news, it also now supports Game Center integration by the way of leaderboards and apparently runs "smoother" thanks to some technical tinkering on the back-end.
If you didn't know, by the way, this portable spin on the ridiculously good horror-action franchise is also ridiculously good. And not in that Game Boy port kind of way, either -- this thing is a full, complete product that has its own feel, mechanics, pull. In other words, it easily stands on its own. You should check it out while it's on sale for $.99 and get familiar. We'll be talking about it again this year.
Want more Junk Jack [$2.99 / Lite]? You got it. Approaching the game as if it were Notch's own, the team behind Junk Jack have consistently added to and improved upon Junk Jack since its release this November. The latest two updates for example -- which will see the game through until at least New Years Day -- are incredibly focused, addressing a myriad of technical and mechanical oddities users have been experiencing.
Now you can hold to break blocks, stop worrying about consuming healing items when at maximum health, fight mobs that spawn properly according to their light and dark values, spruce trees, forget about vine glitches, and climb spiderwebs.
On the flip-side, the game now has three new looks for its cold dirt, cobblestone, and its clay blocks. Several new mobs, including chicken, birds, skulls, and even rabbits, have been introduced. And you can now rock out with a Mithril Sword, use healing potions and place Christmas balls on trees.
These are just a taste of what's been added -- we've got a huge list from the game's prior update included in the text below. The latest update, which addresses some saving and loading woes, has text that can be seen here.
Chances are that we're not done covering Junk Jack in the very least, and that's a good thing considering the tremendous value the game is -- and presumably will continue to be as the team keeps piling on layers of new mechanics and tune-ups.
Oh, it's that time again. Capybara Games's Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery [$.99 / UHD] is on sale for one day in pre-celebration of the solstice. Normally $4.99 as a Universal app or $2.99 in its "micro" variation, the game is now just $1.99 or $.99 respectively. In a post on the game's blog about this sale, the Superbrothers team also extended a thanks to the game's current fans and noted that this "has been a heckuva a year and we're all profoundly grateful."
Sword and Sworcery will, no doubt, be in our discussion for Game of the Year, so we highly advise you to grab it while it's on the cheap. If you'd like a couple of in-depth reasons why you should own this thing, feel free to read our review.
Every iOS game has a story behind its development, but the one behind MinoMonsters [$0.99] may have been one you've already heard if you pay attention to iOS news. Like that the guys that founded the company that made the game are some of the youngest game designers to score an investment of this size for their project ( a cool million, to be exact), but they have some meaty people on board too, such as TJ Murphy, who co-founded the Social Gaming Network. In other words, MinoMonsters has a hell of a pedigree. And with that kind of story behind it, well, it's hard not to expect one hell of a game.
Luckily, the final product is pretty stellar. MinoMonsters operates off the Pokemon strategy, as it puts you in the role of an (unseen) hero who collects adorable creatures and trains them to fight on your behalf as you progress through a lush world populated by a series of different stages. The game looks like a comic book in action, and is absolutely gorgeous to play -- definitely a standout when it comes to what's on the App Store. There are tons of cute titles out there, but MinoMonsters looks and plays like a really handsome action RPG. Since I love that genre, I was instantly hooked on the combination of monster training and exploring.
One genre that seems to be overlooked a bit on the App Store is tank games. Sure, there’s certainly a ton of them available for download, but it always seems as if they contain the same boring gameplay, drab military-esque visuals, and awkward controls. Enter Tank Riders [$1.99], the latest title from Polarbit (maker of Reckless Getaway) which attempts to differentiate itself from the rest of the genre with vibrant visuals and objective-based campaign gameplay. Unfortunately, the lack of content, multiplayer issues and frustrating controls keep Tank Riders from reaching its true potential.
At its core, Tank Riders is a somewhat simplistic, top-down 3D tank driving game. Players run through approximately 25 colorful levels (with five additional tutorial levels) with the goal of either getting to the other end of the map or collecting items to advance to the next mission. At the completion of each level, players are scored via a number of categories (such as health and speed) and are ranked via a 3-star system.
Earlier this summer, we caught word that Frontier Developments's LostWindswas headed to iOS and Android. Now, we've got a great first-look at the iOS version title in action -- and, guys, it's silly gorgeous.
Once an acclaimed WiiWare title, Frontier has obviously pushed the visuals to the max for our phones and tablets. And if you look, you'll notice that it's a fairly HUD-free port with specific touch actions, which has us thinking that we're actually in for an all mobiled-out experience.
No solid date or price point have been announced, but we do know that LostWinds is coming to every iDevice this holiday as a Universal app. Also, it'll ship with a "new map feature" specific to touch devices. Our popcorn is ready, for sure.
UPDATE: Yay, technology! The trailer we originally posted was cut short for some... reason. This is the full thing.
Earlier this afternoon, Telltale Games revealed when we'll see the next two chapters of the Tales of Monkey Island series on iPhone and iPod Touch: December 15 and December 22, respectively. For fans of the series on these smaller devices, we'd imagine that this is a very welcome turnaround between episode releases. The gap between initial chapter and the upcoming second chapter will have been more than a month when it releases.
For those not in the know, Monkey Island Chapter 2, or The Siege of Spinner Cay, follows the Mighty Pirate (TM) as he interacts with the world's Mer-folk. Monkey Island Chapter 3, or Lair of the Leviathan, deals almost exclusively with the latest, and probably most moist, mess Guybrush has ever been in. Both are cool, so definitely give them a shot if you're really feeling Tales of Monkey Island.
I have a confession to make: I never played The Bard’s Tale [$6.99] when it hit consoles back in 2004 (nor did I ever play the original 1985 version on PC). So, when the game made its recent debut on the App Store, I welcomed the opportunity to check out the quirky action-RPG. As it turns out, not only does The Bard’s Tale make a smooth transition to the small screen, but the great tongue-in-cheek story still works for folks that are looking to try it out for the first time, assuming they can get past the simplistic (and somewhat stale) gameplay mechanics.
Minecraft: Pocket Edition [$6.99] is cool, yet it lacks almost everything that makes Minecraft on other platforms pop -- you know, crafting and monsters and all of that jazz. Thankfully, and as we all expected given Mojang's rich history of updating the other versions of the game, Pocket Edition is set to receive most of the meaningful game-defining features that its sister games have, either through a series of updates or a big one.
Daniel Kaplan, a business dude over at the studio, laid out an upcoming feature list on Mojang's official blog. As you'll see, the list notes that a crafting system with a specialized interface is coming down the pipes alongside the introduction of animals and enemies and, most probably importantly, a new file system that will support all of this new, really promising stuff.
Kaplan also notes that the studio will continue to optimize Pocket Edition, which is great hear. Speaking of that, actually, a "small bug fix" is coming to iOS specifically in the near future. Neat!
Guys, Christmas is right around the corner. Real Racing creators Firemint delicately reminded us of that we're zeroing in on the holiest of holidays with one well-positioned holiday-themed update to its awesome puzzle game, Spy Mouse [$.99 / HD].
Starting now with an update, World 1 in Spy Mouse and Spy Mouse HD have been turned into winter-y paradises, complete with snow, candy canes, and other decorations. The team has also turned the game's icon on its head with a bit of Christmas cheer and even added a new challenge to Agent Squeak's backpack.
Flight Control [$.99 / Lite] for the iPhone and iPod Touch have also been updated, though not with anything Christmas-related. These two versions now have a new level featuring a vicious thunderstorm with lightning that can damage your planes. The HD version [$4.99], on the other hand, now rocks a "Moon Base" map with asteroids and four new vehicles: land shuttles, satellites, rockets, and UFOs.
Interestingly, all three versions of Flight Control now have a "rewind" feature, which allows you to, er, rewind time in order to, say, avoid a collision. The catch? They need to be purchased.
Did you ever wonder about what happened to your settlers after you finished a classic game of Oregon Trail (or the newer iOS remake)? Yeah, me neither. However, the folks over at Gameloft have taken that premise and used it to build a free-to-play town builder game. Set in the frontier wilds, The Oregon Trail: American Settler [Free] tasks you with building a new town from scratch. While many folks will no doubt be somewhat perturbed by this classic series going freemium, those that are willing to check it out will find a potentially decent game with more gameplay and content than similar titles (along with more annoyances).
Gameplay-wise American Settler generally plays like most other freemium town builders. Players chop trees for wood and grow crops for food with the intent of building houses and businesses to make cash. You then use that cash to build bigger and better businesses to make more coin, and so on. Each action rewards you with experience for leveling up, which subsequently unlock better things to build. Folks familiar with freemium building games should feel right at home. In addition, the visuals in American Settler are quite colorful and look very similar to those found in the recent iOS remake of the original Oregon Trail. In other words, if you were able to accept the cartoony graphics of the remake, you’ll be fine with American Settler.
Love or hate Square Enix, you gotta appreciate the support its throwing behind Chaos Rings Omega [$11.99 / HD] for the iPhone and iPad. For the sixth month in a row, the studio has put together a substantial update to Omega. This latest, which hit the App Store yesterday, raises the bonus content level cap to 150 and adds a new hidden boss, more treasure, two new Piu-Piu collections, and fresh weapons. Huge, right?
Square seems to be missing more than its hitting on the App Store, but the Chaos Rings series falls into the latter pretty safely. Both are fun, iOS-native RPGs with tons of unique content from the get-go. These updates to Omega are icing on an already delicious, and fairly well-rounded cake. Here's hoping more are to come, though. We like free content.
If you're a fan of Red Dead Redemption and similar western-themed horse riding games with lots (and lots) of fighting, Gameloft's upcoming Six-Guns might just be what you're looking for. The environments look pretty impressive, although I'm not entirely sure which games Gameloft will be borrowing the combat mechanic from just yet. Take a look:
One curious thing that sticks out in the trailer is the whole "play for free" thing. Gameloft has been predictably vague in just how players will actually pay for the game, but hopefully whatever free to play model they settle on won't be too offensive to gamers.
Like it or not, more and more games in a wide variety of genres appear to be taking the freemium route in an effort to be more profitable. Rather than simply taking a binary stance as to the merits of freemium, I’d prefer to look at each game on a case by case basis to see if the developers manage to strike that balance of freemium elements versus playability and, most importantly, fun. Bullet Time HD [Free], the latest title from Kiloo Games, hits that balance perfectly and leaves me hoping that future developers will create freemium games like this.
Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Bullet Time follows John Irish, a man out to rescue his family from the mutated creatures inhabiting the land. You’ll lead John through a variety of locales that look striking and definitely give off a Borderlands sort of vibe. The game looks great and runs amazingly well on an iPhone 4S, although there was some minor slowdown on a 4th generation iPod touch.
Control-wise, Bullet Time plays like your standard dual stick shooter, with no significant positives or negatives to the standard formula. In addition, from a gameplay perspective, you’ll always have a primary mission to accomplish, but the game also throws a few side missions and secret locales at you if you’re willing to look for them. Bullet Time also features a lot of excellent ambient sounds and hard rock music that do a great job setting the tone of the game. From a presentation standpoint, Bullet Time simply rocks.
LostWinds [$3.99] from Frontier was originally released for the Wii in 2008 and we've been waiting for the iOS port since it was reported in July. It's a beautiful adventure platforming game with puzzle elements, which rates highly in almost every way.
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Oh, it's that time again. Capybara Games's 
Earlier this summer, we caught word that 
Earlier this afternoon, Telltale Games 
Guys, Christmas is right around the corner. Real Racing creators 
