TouchArcade.ru

The newest iteration of Gameloft's officially licensed football game NFL 2011 [$6.99] was released on the App Store this past weekend. While featuring a significant graphical update and some other enhancements, this new version appears to be largely unchanged from the NFL 2010 that was released a year ago. Not necessarily a bad thing, as we enjoyed last year's version, but that was partly due to the “wow” factor of having such a comprehensive football game running on a mobile phone. Since that time, and especially with the release of the new iPhone, the bar of expectations for what is possible in a mobile game have been raised significantly. Because of this, NFL 2011 feels a bit underwhelming.

The improved graphics in NFL 2011 do look great though. The blocky and low-poly player models of NFL 2010 have been largely improved. What really stands out are the excellent animations in the game, replacing the somewhat stiff and repetitive animations from last year's version. Players now exude a lot more personality with celebrations after what can seem like every play. It goes without saying that everything looks all that much better running on an iPhone 4.

Another improvement in NFL 2011 is the move to replace some of the use of virtual buttons (which was complaint we had in the original game) with more natural iPhone specific controls. Certain moves will be performed with a tilt of the device rather than an onscreen icon, and kicking takes the form of swiping on the screen rather than the traditional power meter set with button taps. Also new this year are the addition of replays from the pause menu after any completed play and the removal of the “time freeze” element when dictating what actions your player performs on the field, which gives the game a much more natural feel.

NFL 2011 seems to be a decent package if you enjoy football games, and if you liked last years version then you should definitely enjoy this one as well. If you're looking for a completely different experience, you'll likely feel disappointed. Not coincidently, this release comes just over a week before the release of EA's Madden NFL 11, which we recently previewed and is set to release on August 10th. Last year it seemed that all the positive reactions to Gameloft's NFL entry were trampled by the bull that is the Madden franchise. We'll see if history repeats itself next week when both NFL titles are finally available.

[source]

The long awaited comic app for the iPhone sensation Pocket God [99¢], which we previewed way back in February, has just been released on the App Store. Titled Pocket God Comics [99¢], it follows the hilarious (and often destructive) antics of the pygmies from the Pocket God universe. It's a universal app, and has been designed with higher resolution artwork for running on the iPad, although it looks quite sharp and colorful on the iPhone. The initial app purchase comes with the first issue of the comic, which was created by Ape Entertainment, that runs inside of a reader shell that was developed by publisher iVerse Media. This allows future issues to be bought directly from inside the app, and the shell even features a GPS comic book shop locator to find your nearest local retail outlet for purchasing the physical version of Pocket God Comics.

Also forthcoming is the latest episode to the Pocket God game titled “A Pygmy a Day Keeps the Ape Away”. This 33rd episode was inspired by the comic content creators Ape Entertainment, and features a mountain top with an altar where you can sacrifice pygmies to a gigantic ape, as well as a number of other interactive elements. There is also a new skin pack available in this new update, which developer Dave Castelnuovo has detailed in our forums. The update has been timed to (sort of) coincide with the launch of Pocket God Comics, and should be available sometime this morning or early afternoon.

The iPad version of the game, titled Pocket God: Journey to Uranus, is a much different game than the iPhone version, most notably by partially taking place in an outer space environment. We previewed the game in early July, but Dave has also dropped some new info on us regarding some of the mini-games planned for the release. The first is called Volcano Blast and takes place on the new high def version of the original Pocket God island, and is an expanded take on the “flick pygmies into the volcano” mechanic. Multiple volcanoes will be present and you must flick as many pygmies into them as you can without missing. A retooled flick mechanic and brand new wind element make the task at hand more challenging this time around. As Dave puts it, “think Paper Toss with burnt pygmies”. Sounds good to us.

Here's a new screenshot from Pocket God: Journey to Uranus (click to enlarge):

The other mini-game mentioned hasn't received a final name yet, but takes place in outer space and is an homage to the Atari Jaguar title Tempest 2000 (which was a personal favorite of mine as well). Expect to be shooting pygmies at enemies as they advance up different styles of wormholes from the middle of the screen. Pocket God: Journey to Uranus doesn't have a firm release date set yet, but should be available sometime this year and you can follow along in the forum thread for the latest information.

Pocket God Comics is available now, and the printed versions will be arriving in comic book shops in September. The physical books will also contain 4 page mini stories that won't be available in the digital versions, and if you happen to be attending the Wizard World comic convention in Chicago August 19th-22nd then you'll have a chance to meet Pocket God creators Dave and Allan and possibly score a limited edition of the Pocket God comic book. They will also be running a contest for $1000 Apple gift card starting today, which is detailed on the Pocket God Blog.

[source]

In the hit-based market of the App Store, it's somewhat expected at this point to see developers building games which seem to be highly inspired by other extremely successful games– In this case, Angry Birds [99¢ / Free / HD]. When Flight Control [99¢ / HD] was burning up the charts, Harbor Master [$1.99 / Free / HD] was released, providing some variety on an incredibly popular game type which iPhone gamers gobbled up at the time. It's hard to say if Cannon Cadets will be able to duplicate the same phenomenon, but judging by the trailer it seems to have some very familiar physics-powered cannon gameplay with some new twists such as moving platforms and hidden levels accessible by hitting targets.

As someone who has completely obliterated every level of Angry Birds on both my iPhone and then again on the iPad, I can't wait for more content both from Angry Birds updates and any other developer who wants to deliver similar gameplay. If XMG Studio can provide that, all I can say is that I can't wait to play it.

Cannon Cadets is coming soon, and according to TUAW will come packed with Retina Display support as well as a version for the iPad following after the initial iPhone release.

[source]

Earlier this year we took a look at Ynth [$2.99], a puzzle platformer that never really seemed to catch on which we ended up enjoying quite a bit in our review. In the game you play as a small red bug who has to cross a deadly swamp using nothing more than an array of oddly shaped boxes that you're able to rotate about using touch controls. Completing Ynth required a surprising amount of brain power, and from the looks of it, the sequel looks even more challenging.

We don't really know much more about Beyond Ynth, other than it's coming in September, but hopefully posting this trailer generates some interest for the original game as I'm sure quite a few people missed it the first time around. Beyond Ynth will support the Retina Display of the iPhone 4, as well as the iPad along with the rest of the iOS device family.

[source]

There are tons of tower defense games on the App Store, and for good reason– The touch interface and fairly slow-paced gameplay just works fantastic on iOS devices. I have quite a few favorites in the genre, but Origin8's Sentinel 2: Earth Defense [Free] is always on the top of any list of tower defense games I recommend. There is just so much I like about this game which I explained in my review.

In a nutshell, Sentinel 2 has great graphics, good sound effects, a nice variety in both towers and enemies, and the inclusion of both repair drones as well as different destructible barriers to defend really adds an interesting layer of strategy to the game. There are also mega weapons that are fired from your orbiting space ship that slowly recharge over time, my personal favorite being a massive orbital laser strike that destroys anything it comes in contact with. The best thing about Sentinel 2, at least in my opinion, is how well the game is balanced.

There doesn't seem to be any "right" way to beat the included levels, as quite a wide variety of different tower constructing and upgrading strategies all seem to work. This makes the game a lot more fun than a lot of other tower defenders which often seem to be games of how intelligently you can manage your resources to ramp up to whatever the fully upgraded ultimate tower is that kills everything in one hit– Allowing you to just put your phone down and wait for all the waves to just die to your defenses and for the next level to start.

If you even have a vague interest in tower defense games, or even have never played one before, you should download Sentinel 2 while it's free. If you miss the window of the freebie promotion, I'd even recommend buying it.

[source]

Crescent Moon Games has a lot going on recently between the price drop of Ravensword: The Fallen King [99¢ / Free], the upcoming Ultra Kid: Mystery of the Mutants, and two different collaborations with other studios: Aralon: Sword and Shadow with Galoobeth Games, and Rimelands: Hammer of Thor with Dicework Games. We've been following Rimelands for a while, and have made mention of both their teaser trailer and web site which features oodles of information both about the gameplay of Rimelands and the lore behind the game world itself.

Today a new video was released showing a surprising amount of gameplay footage as developer Josh Presseisen goes over the various parts of the game including the battle system, inventory management, skills, and even a boss battle. The video is a little long, but will show you more than enough to get you excited about this turn-based RPG:

Rimelands: Hammer of Thor development is nearing completion and is expected to be available for download inside the next month or so. Of course, when the time finally comes, you can expect a full review from us. In the meantime, swing by the official thread on our forums where the developers are actively participating in discussion about the game.

[source]