Crescent Moon Games is holding a "massive holiday sale." We agree. For a limited time, or presumably until the iTunes freeze is over, you can grab all of its App Store catalogue for up to 80 percent off the normal asking price. The chart-topping and fairly well-received Aralon: Sword and Shadow is headlining the event, but as you'll see, there's a few other good games to grab, too. Like, say, another RPG: Rimelands: Hammer of Thor. Or the physics-based rolling ball game, Gears.
Gotta love Christmas, right? We heartily suggest you grab Aralon if you're a fan of open-world RPGs. It's big, it's deep, and it's mechanically sound for what it is.
As 2011 draws to a close our debate for Game of the Year is heating up. And one of the games we'll be seriously considering as the victor,Jetpack Joyride[$.99], is now free on the App Store. Jetpack Joyride is fantastically good; we're big fans of its irreverent style and its simple, yet stunningly engaging flying action. That's why we're considering it, and why we're endorsing you giving it a free download right now.
If you're a TouchArcade merit badge holder, you're more than aware that we posted about the game once again last week. Halfbrick has continued its commitment to updating the flyer consistently and often. The latest update sees the introduction of seasonal stuff, like Christmas tree-themed jetpacks and festive clothing. Get that now, if you haven't.
Attention: if you're particularly fleet of finger, you can grab PopCap Games's new-fangled Bejeweled [$.99] for the price of $0. Apple is continuing its crazy promotional program via Facebook, and this week it's giving away Bejeweled while supplies last. All you need to do to claim a free copy is hit this link, mash a few buttons including a "Like" or two, and then you can download the game for free, like a boss.
We recently gave Bejeweled a spin and came away thinking, "Yep, this is Bejeweled." That isn't a complaint, either -- this new iteration is as good as any in the franchise, and that means it's really good. Especially in bursts. Give it a shot.
Also, get ready for a bunch of crazy deals in the near future. Ninety-nine cents off is going to be baby stuff compared to what we're going to see later this week.
Just over a year ago, SRRN Games released Ash [99¢/Lite], a fun role-playing game that attempted to be a modern throwback to RPGs of the 16-bit era. It succeeded remarkably well at it too, offering simple but fun RPG gameplay with an interesting story tying everything together. We liked it a whole bunch in our review, and even our complaints about the difficulty and the controls were rectified in a later update.
Sadly, one thing that didn’t seem likely to get rectified was the generic look of the game. Ash was made using assets from RPG Maker, a build-your-own-RPG program of sorts. This made everything look kind of patchwork-ish and cookie cutter, which contrasted poorly with the high quality of the dialogue and storyline. However, it wasn’t anything so off-putting that you couldn’t enjoy the game, it was just the biggest part of the game that could use improvement.
Now, surprisingly, SRRN has actually gone and redrawn all of the artwork to Ash and released it as a free update. The new sprites, backgrounds, and character art all closely mimic the previous version, so it’s not like you’re dealing with entirely new characters, but they’ve all been redrawn or remade beautifully. The game is much more colorful and brighter, and everything has a more cohesive look like it all belongs together. It’s definitely a very welcome improvement. Aside from the new artwork, they also fixed some bugs and toned down the frequency of random encounters.
If you haven’t checked out Ash already, the lovely new artwork is just one more reason to give it a look. For those that already own and have played through Ash, this update is reason enough to dust off that app and give it another run through. If you’re thinking of picking up Ash, right now wouldn’t be a bad time as it's currently on sale for 99¢ and there's a lite version to try which has also been given the visual improvement.
Controversial is probably the best word for War on Terror [$1.99]. Originally a board game conceived by Terror Bull Games in 2003, War on Terror has precipitated everything from bans to death threats - true story, I swear. As you can imagine, when the iOS version was released, there was significant concern about it being forcibly annulled from the App Store. It wasn't, and I'm damn well glad for that because War on Terror is the sort of game you should at least play once.
Fans of the title should be forewarned, however. The iOS version is significantly watered down compared to the original. There is no Axis of Evil. There are no off-board negotiations or dealings. Defeated players do not become terrorist nations. You don't even get situational cards. Nonetheless, that doesn't change the fact that War on Terror is surprisingly fun and, once you've realized the genius behind it, devilishly clever.
It's getting close to the holidays, and for us that means we're going to be posting a lot of deals in the near future. And we're not just talking about your everyday, "Hey, this game is now half off" kind of deals, but also the crazy "Hey, this game is free now for some reason" brand of price cutter-y. Case in point: Mobigame's Edge [Free] is now free on the App Store, for the first time ever, in celebration of the season. Whoa!
If you didn't get Edge the first time around, this is obviously a fantastic opportunity. Sadly, it's probably better known for the legal stir around it, but you should check it out because it's a sharp puzzle game with some really hip inventive mechanics.
In addition to this cut, Mobigames has reduced the price of all of its other App Store titles, including Edge Extended. Here's a list:
Harmonix is giving the gift of VidRhythm [$1.99] away this holiday season. Soon, the crazy, but always hilarious audio and video mash-up app will go free indefinitely. Also, it'll receive one of its biggest updates at the same time -- twelve new tracks, including "Jingle Bells" and "Deck the Halls, six new video styles, an all new pitch correction mechanic, and an iPad 2 and iPhone 4/4S-exclusive YouTube export upgrade to 720p are all a part of the new package.
We spent some time speaking with the man who spearheaded VidRhythm at Harmonix, Josh Randall, in this week's bonus edition podcast. Randall and I go deep on this update and many other things Harmonix, so check it out if you want to hear this news and other bits from one of the creators. And, hey, I also think you'll leave the conversation with a pretty good idea of how much music truly matters to the studio and how iThing stuff figures into its future. Later today!
Games that tie in to major properties are sometimes, shall we say, a little lacking. So you might be tempted to think that Assassin's Creed Recollection [99¢] is just your average cash-in, perhaps a standard collectable card game with images of franchise heroes Altaïr ibn-La'Ahad and Ezio Auditore da Firenze slapped on the cards. You can stop thinking that right about now, because this game is something far more interesting.
That's not to say it's without its problems -- Ubisoft has been chasing down some big-time bugs since the game was released -- but Assassin's Creed Recollection is more than just another coat of paint on the traditional CCG. It takes the formula real time, pitting you and your opponent against the clock as well as each other.
Typically, Monday is the day that people have to say goodbye to their weekend of relaxation and fun and get back to the ol' grindstone. I imagine this is doubly hard for people who work with actual grindstones, like medieval blacksmiths and whatnot. But for your average nine to fiver, Mondays pretty much suck. So I figure, what better way to get through the longest day of the week than with a slew of free games to occupy your attention instead of actual work?
There are quite a few awesome games that have dropped to free over the weekend and into today, so here's a short list compiling them. As with any App Store sale, it's usually best to jump on these as soon as possible if you're interested, as the pricing can change in the bat of an eye if you aren't careful.
Now here's something I was never expecting. As part of the EA Daily Deals program this holiday season, Flight Control [Free] and Flight Control HD [Free] have had their prices slashed to zero dollars.
Flight Control is about as classic as games get for iOS. It not only has won a pile full of awards since it was released, it's single handedly responsible for popularizing the whole "line drawing" and "chaos management" family of games. Everyone needs to download it while it's free, which from the looks of it, is today only.
SpellTower [$.99] is one of those rare titles that come along and completely knock your socks off. Mixing elegance and good word game play, we recommend it to anyone looking for a good game, no less a good word game. And now it's an even better value: version 2.0 of SpellTower adds in achievements and bug fixes on top of Universal support, for free.
Oh! And the price? You probably noticed that it's lower, too. As of yesterday, the game's price has been knocked down to $.99 instead of its usual $1.99. Deal! They happen! I'm excited!
If you're still on the fence after this reduction, take a moment and educate yourself with our review of the game. Spoiler: it's pretty good.
Uppercut Games's ridiculously awesome cover-based shooter, Epoch [$2.99], is seeing its first price reduction since its November launch. For a limited time, you can grab it at $2.99 instead of its usual $5.99. I ran this deal past a few of our math wizards, and they're telling me this is 50 percent off the regular price, so that's cool.
Epoch was a big hit with us. We awarded it a lot of stars, and loved how it made cover actually feel good. That's a rare thing in third-person shooters, even though there's a billion-plus-two of them out there on shelves at the moment. Give it a shot if you didn't grab it yet, or hey, read our full-length review and decide.
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.
One of our several iPad Game of the Year contenders, Anomaly Warzone Earth HD [$1.99], just got a great update and another price drop. The headlining addition in version 1.2 is iCloud support. Starting now, your save games are pushed to the cloud and can be retrieved on any device with the game and rocking iOS 5. 11 Bit has also continued on its incremental visual update spree, too. Multi-sample anti-aliasing, post-processing, and extra details on clouds and dirt have been added, as well as red outlines for enemy towers.
Regular non-Universal Anomaly Warzone Earth [$.99] has also received a price-slashing. It's now $.99 instead of the usual $1.99. The HD version, which as you have observed already hopefully, is now sitting at $1.99 instead of the usual $3.99. If you haven't read our review and don't either version of this game, do yourself a favor and check it out. It's an impressive game that's worth your time.
Zombie Gunship [Free] is easily our favorite zombie game featuring an AC-130. Chances are that it'll be one of yours, too, if you gave it a shot. Normally, Limbic Software asks for a paltry $.99 in return for your fun, but today? It's available at $0. Deals, guys, they happen all the time!
If you'd like to prepare yourself while the game is downloading, spend some time with our review. We were cheeky at the top, there, but this is honestly one of our favorite iOS games and Gunship does a great job differentiating itself in the zombie game "space." Plus, Limbic is really, really good at keeping tabs on the game's community and updating the title consistently.
Crescent Moon Games is holding a "massive holiday sale." We agree. For a limited time, or presumably until the iTunes freeze is over, you can grab all of its App Store catalogue for up to 80 percent off the normal asking price. The chart-topping and fairly well-received Aralon: Sword and Shadow is headlining the event, but as you'll see, there's a few other good games to grab, too. Like, say, another RPG: Rimelands: Hammer of Thor. Or the physics-based rolling ball game, Gears.
As 2011 draws to a close our debate for Game of the Year is heating up. And one of the games we'll be seriously considering as the victor, 
Attention: if you're particularly fleet of finger, you can grab 
It's getting close to the holidays, and for us that means we're going to be posting a lot of deals in the near future. And we're not just talking about your everyday, "Hey, this game is now half off" kind of deals, but also the crazy "Hey, this game is free now for some reason" brand of price cutter-y. Case in point: Mobigame's Edge [
Harmonix is giving the gift of 
SpellTower [$.
Mirror's Edge
One of our several iPad Game of the Year contenders, 
Zombie Gunship
