Last month, CAVE announced plans to bring Bug Princess to iOS. Details were vague aside from a teaser video and a "winter 2011" release data. Well, this afternoon CAVE let the proverbial cat out of the bag and revealed that it'll be available on the 15th as a universal app for $4.99.
My favorite part of the trailer is about half way in when they show the side by side gameplay of the different difficulty levels. I've never really been good enough at CAVE games to advance past the easy modes. Thinking that it's possible for someone to rock out in "hell" mode sort of makes my head explode.
Bug Princess is just the latest of the plethora of games that are scheduled to be released on the 15th. Strap in, next week is going to be insane.
My Xbox Live and Dragon Shout have been welcome surprises for Xbox Live or Skyrim users, respectively. Judging by looks and promise alone, we imagine that Halo Waypoint is going to be huge for Halo and Live fans.
On December 10 the slick-looking companion app will see a release across the App Store, Android, and Windows Phone 7. It'll, of course, usher in all the Halo Reach-specific stat-tracking, service details, challenge, and map functionality that a Reach person could want, but it will also include a fun real-time twist to all of this.
Assisted Tactical Assault System is a "companion experience" built into Waypoint that will, essentially, act as a sort of multiplayer GPS. With ATLAS, you'll be able to track weapon and vehicle spawn locations, health pack locations, engagements, teammates, and yourself in near real-time. It'll also spit out weapon loadout information for players, as well as current team scores. This is crazy!
We're not sure what it'll be like to fist a controller and phone while actually playing a game of Reach at the same time, but ATLAS sure does sound like that next-level official companion piece we've been waiting for, so we'll definitely be giving it a spin tomorrow. It's also of note that the app will connect people to the game's web site, which we're guessing is where a lot of this magic will actually be happening.
Halo Waypoint will debut at $4.99 for Android and iOS, and free on Windows Phone 7. Microsoft and 343 have a pretty expansive FAQ and post on the app, if you want some hardcore specific details and technical information.
Mirror's Edge [Free /HD] for iPhone and iPad are dangled at a discount quite a bit, but today's deal is way too juicy for anyone without either to pass up. For a limited time, both games are now free. All you have to do is hit download on either or both, and then you'll be jumping around in the mobile iteration of one of EA DICE's most clever and colorful titles ever, for zero dollars.
This deal, by the way, is brought to us by EA's new Daily Deals program, which we've mentioned in a past post earlier this week and is offering more than just the aforementioned. Dead Space for iPad [$4.99], for example, is also being offered up on the cheap today. It's now $4.99 instead of its usual $9.99. You can read more the gory, ultra-atmospheric title at this convenient link right here.
We've beenkeepingtabs on Paradox Interactive’s Defenders of Ardania [$4.99 / Free] since its initial unveiling way back in February. While Defenders boasts beautiful artwork and a decent amount of content (including multiplayer), the majority of attention is centered on its gameplay, which attempts to move beyond the typical tower defense experience with some new and interesting ideas. Overall, despite some minor concerns with the UI and other areas, Defenders of Ardania is an excellent addition to the tower defense genre and is a must-try for any fan.
One of the first things you’ll notice when playing are the gorgeous visuals. The artwork showcases a variety of fantastical locales and certainly looks as if the developers paid extra attention to setting the scene for the entirety of the campaign. The actual units and towers look a little out of place, but I think that’s mostly a credit to the attention paid to the backdrops. Of course, heightened visuals aren’t going to necessarily make or break a tower defense game, but well done efforts deserve credit nonetheless.
We first heard grumblings of long-time console and PC developer Paradox Interactive's newest title Defenders of Ardania back in February of this year, with a new trailer and release date being revealed just last month. Now, Defenders of Ardania [$4.99/Lite] has finally hit the App Store and is available for purchase as we speak (well maybe not speaking, since I'm typing and you're reading, but you get the point).
We briefly got to check out Defenders of Ardania in an extremely early state at GDC this year, and based on the trailer released last month it's made a ton of progress since then. As you can see for yourself, the visuals look quite splendid, but it's the twist on the traditional tower defense formula that excites me the most. You see, you set up your defensive towers in the most strategic way possible in order to fend of the oncoming hordes of enemies, but you're also able to send out waves of your own troops to get down and dirty with the enemy up close and personal in the battlefield. It's the type of subtle twist that might really make Defenders of Ardania stand out from the pack.
We'll be diving into Defenders of Ardania to see if it's as good as the trailer would have us believe, but I've got a pretty good feeling about it. If you're the "live life on the edge" type and don't want to wait around for our review, or if you're already sold on the pedigree of Paradox Interactive and would like to support their very first iOS effort, then feel free to mash away at the link below. Don't forget that there's a lite version to try first and you can also scour the game's forum thread for player impressions.
The wait for Grand Theft Auto 3 on iOS and Android is almost over. On its blog a few minutes ago, Rockstar revealed that the 10 Year Anniversary Edition port of the game-changing open-world title will hit the App Store and Android Marketplace on December 15th at an agreeable price point of $4.99. A new trailer giving you another taste of what's to come is expected to release next week, but we've got some new screens right now to hold you over.
It's been over a year since the last update, and many in our forums were worried that the app had been abandoned, but I'm happy to report that Manomio has released an update to C64 for iPhone [App Store], the Commodore 64 emulator and game store (at over 50 titles right now) for iOS, that we've been tracking since way back in 2008.
Stuart Carnie of Manomio filled me in on the license tangles he's been dealing with since late last year which stymied work on the app, but indicates all is now resolved and that he's excited to bring this update, as well as return his focus to development and the acquisition of new licenses for C64-loving iOS gamers.
The big news in this latest version of C64 for iPhone, version 2.2, is the addition of support for the iCade and compatible devices (such as the iControlPad and Gametel controller we recently covered), which is huge news given the nature of the typical Commodore 64 game title. In this initial implementation, iCade support means joystick and fire button emulation -- certain games with extended features, such as The Last Ninja, still require tapping the screen for key input and the like. This update also brings full support for iOS 5.
It's worth pointing out that, presently, C64 is not a Universal application, and so using it on an iPad in the iCade means running the iPhone app at 2x video magnification. However, Stuart has big plans for the app and shared a short-list of what's coming, down the road...
A new, Universal app!
This is a rewrite in order to add all the required features
PRO: By not replacing the iPhone version, we can keep existing users with old hardware on the current builds
PRO: For compatible games, we'll continue to add them to C64 for iPhone
Activate your original C64 for iPhone purchases if you have it installed
Cycle-exact emulation -- will require ARMv7 devices
The following demo video taken by one of our readers shows C64 for iPhone running on an iPad, being controlled with an iControlPad (in iCade emulation mode).
We're very glad to see Stuart out of the woods and moving forward with his efforts to bring retro fun to today's gamers. We will keep readers in the loop on the latest from Manomio as the news unfolds.
Have you ever secretly wanted to live the life of a taxonomer, pouring over the details of new species to discover their histories? No? How about blocks -- do you like to play with blocks? You might need to fall somewhere within that spectrum to really appreciate Gua-Le-Ni [$4.99], my new favorite taxonomic game. It's a rapid-fire puzzle game with a fantastical approach to the vagaries of animal kind.
From moment to moment you're tasked with the categorization of brand new animal hybrids. While you might be familiar with the dreaded CA-MEL or TI-GER, would you recognize a RAB-HOG on sight? How about a WART-DOR-PUS-STER? Anything goes in Gua-Le-Ni, and you'll need to be quick enough to go along with it.
Com2uS and I have a love-hate thing going on. I love many of their games but I absolutely loath their aggressive marketing tactics. Nothing in the world is going to convince me to give you an unwarranted 5-star review. No, not even a small pile of virtual currency. As you might have already guessed, Homerun Battle 2 [$4.99] is the latest in the long line of Com2uS games that I despise myself for enjoying.
Distilled into its most basic form, Homerun Battle 2, much like its predecessor, is a batting simulation. A 'casual' sports game, if you will. The goal here is to hit as many home runs as is humanly possible. Sometimes. Depending on which game mode you've selected, you might occasionally be called upon to hit a number of fouls in rapid succession instead. It varies. If you're experiencing vague feelings of deja vu, I don't blame you. Com2uS is clearly a firm believer in the old adage, 'If it isn't broke, don't fix it' and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Instead of venturing away from a beloved formula, they've added more to the fix. But, we're getting ahead of ourselves.
If you're a 90s-era adventure game enthusiast, then you are no doubt familiar with the Monkey Island series from LucasArts. These classic games have gotten the facelift and rerelease treatment on the App Store in recent years, with the excellent Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition [$2.99/Lite/HD/Lite HD] and Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge [$2.99/Lite/HD/Lite HD]. Each of these titles retains the core gameplay of the original versions while also adding optional updated visuals and additional modern features, and are pretty essential for iOS-owning fans of the series.
But if you weren't around for the originals, then there's a good chance you know Monkey Island from the episodic series reboot that Telltale Games codeveloped with LucasArts for the WiiWare and PC in 2009, called Monkey Island Tales. We quite enjoyed the game in our review from when the first episode came to the iPad last December, and the remainder of the 5 episode collection of Monkey Island Tales was released on iOS earlier this year with equally enjoyable results.
Bit Blot's 2D side-scrolling adventure game Aquaria [$4.99] for the iPad is a gorgeous and well-produced title with a sharp emphasis on world-building and character growth. It's good, and I think the reason why it strikes me as such a quality download has more to do with its atmospheric allure than anything else. Aquaria begs you to explore with every ounce of its being by consistently introducing mechanical novelties, alien setpieces, fascinating creatures, and drip-feeding a not-quite-but-totally convoluted story that keeps you thinking that you're on the precipice of figuring out what's going on with your mercreature in the game's beautiful underwater world. It has a few minor problems, though.
One of the bigger missteps in Aquaria is tied to the limitations of its new platform. Indie developer Bit Blot and its partners have masterfully replaced the cursor with finger, allowing for complete character movement without virtual pads. But the shooting and "singing" components? Those require virtual buttons and that sticks out. Also, when these actions are coupled with the need to evade, you may inadvertently start playing Finger Twister instead of Aquaria.
There's something particularly apt about the timing of the iPad release of Greed Corp HD [$4.99]. While Occupiers around the world freeze and protest sociopathically greedy behavior by major corporations, Greed Corp explores the ultimate end of that behavior. What happens when you're so bent on profit that you'd destroy even the ground under your own feet to keep the other guy from getting it? Greed Corp has the answer.
It's a turn-based strategy game that encourages players to engage in something one step shy of mutually assured destruction. You destroy the lands you harvest, and firing on your enemies crumbles away the ground beneath them.You win as long as you have at least a single unit on a single hex and your enemies don't. This brutally aggressive game first made its debut on Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network in the early months of 2010, but it's hardly aged in the time it's taken to arrive on iPad. It's also extremely well done for the most part, offering a natural touch interface and both single and multiplayer content.
New weapons, monsters, and features continue to drip into Capcom's Monster Hunter Dynamic Hunting [$4.99].  The latest update, which hit pretty late this October, packs a social media twist. In addition to combat video saving and sharing, players can now tweet their scores and communicate with other users from within the game. Huge!
Late October's update also has a couple of new monsters and weapons. Diablos, Lunastra, Azure Rathalos, and Kirin have joined the ranks of enemies, while the Gunlace and its auto guard skill have joined the weapon list. Another camera tweak has been introduced as well, allowing players to see scenes from above.
The sharing stuff in particular strikes us as a really meaningful addition. Monster Hunter has always been a game about exploitation. Talking with dudes about what you've done is a big part of the meta game, so being able to really get your voice and actions out there is a huge plus.
Vector Unit has already made a name for itself with water-based racing games -- especially when you consider the developers release last year of the stupid-entertaining Hydro Thunder Hurricane for XBLA. Now, they've ported the initially Android only Riptide GP [$4.99] to iOS and the arcade action racer is boasting some of, if not the best water physics on the platform, but the game itself might not totally live up to the impressive water effects.
That said, those impressive water physics come at a cost -- namely that they're only really impressive on the new devices. The game plays significantly different on a 4S than on, say, an original iPad, because the waves move and change in real time on newer devices, but are flat on older ones. It's not just a visual thing -- you'll feel like you're playing a different game.
Galaxy Pirate Adventure [$4.99] is one of those games that seems to have doubled down on an impressive graphics system while not giving as much attention to the rest of the gameplay. Rest assured, if you’re running Galaxy Pirate on an iPad 2 or iPhone 4S, you will be impressed with how this game looks. However, if you’re expecting a title with an actual story or a novel battle system, you will most likely be disappointed.
Billed as a Space RPG, Galaxy Pirate Adventure follows the son of the Galaxy Pirate King as he sets out on his own adventure. In order to succeed, you’ll have to build up a convoy of ships, which in itself will require cash and parts. The meat of Galaxy Pirate involves taking on missions that fall in one of three general categories: Smuggling, which has you taking commodities to other systems, Pirating, which pits you against other ships with the reward being raw materials, and Mercenary, which is similar to pirating, but you’re rewarding with cash instead of materials.
My Xbox Live
Mirror's Edge
The wait for 
Bit Blot
New weapons, monsters, and features continue to drip into Capcom's Monster Hunter Dynamic Hunting [$
Vector Unit has already made a name for itself with water-based racing games -- especially when you consider the developers release last year of the stupid-entertaining Hydro Thunder Hurricane for XBLA. Now, they've ported the initially Android only Riptide GP [
