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Last summer Games.On.Net broke a story regarding Glenn Watson, a former Head Studio Programmer at Gameloft’s New Zealand office. Watson alleged he was typically working 100-120 hour work weeks. In his words, “Starting at 9:30 AM, going home at 2:30 AM, and then com­ing back into the office at 8:30 AM to start work again was not unusual”. He went on to whistle blow on poor working conditions, even mentioning that some junior programmers work 24 hour shifts.

These allegations spread like wildfire across the Internet, with little regard to the fact that there wasn’t much backing up these claims other than the single article everyone was sourcing. The New Zealand Labor Department launched an investigation on the matter not long after the allegations hit, and per New Zealand games site GamePlanet, the investigation recently concluded.

According to the Labor Department, Gameloft was not in breach of New Zealand’s Health and Safety Employment act. In fact, Labor Department spokesperson Alisa Mannell even mentioned that there was “no substantial evidence” of any wrongdoing on Gameloft’s part.

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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
• Same OpenGL ES 2.0 retro visual effects currently in progress for iAmiga
• iCADE / iControlPad / Gametel support
• TV-out
• Network play
• More in-app purchases, including existing titles
• A big pack of free games to get you started
• Retina display support
• BASIC mode, with 1541 “disk” save support

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.

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If you're not a Mac user, you likely have never heard of MacHeist, which is really too bad because it's one of the coolest ways to get a bucket full of software on the cheap. The gist of the whole MacHeist promotion is somewhat similar to the various Humble Indie Bundles or Steam bundles, but with a unique twist involving all sorts of puzzles, generally set in a high tech almost hacker-ish safe cracking theme. Like most bundles, there's usually one or two really awesome pieces of software that make it totally worthwhile, then a handful of other stuff that you've never heard of that actually turns out to be pretty useful.

The Heist [99¢] is MacHeist's first foray into the App Store. This 99¢ game comes with 60 different puzzles to solve amongst four different types of puzzles. These puzzles all involve familiar mechanics, with three hinging on sliding blocks around in different ways and a fourth that's a strangely abstract version of sudoku. Solving the puzzles disarms a vault's defense system, allowing you to get to the prize inside.

But what's the prize? Well, since the game came out mere moments ago I haven't had a chance to completely beat it yet. However, I've been told that players who successfully complete the game will be rewarded with a Steam code for a PC/Mac game with a value substantially higher than the 99¢ purchase price of The Heist. We'll have a full review up shortly, but in the meantime, this seems like a ridiculously cool idea for a game. Just the included puzzles easily seem worth the price, and the promise of an actual prize with real-world value on it rewarded for completing the game is just icing on the cake.

Also, I'm not about to spoil it, but The Heist comes with a really cool feature to add some immersion into the game that I can't believe got past the Apple approval process. You'll know what I'm talking about when it happens.

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Even without Game Center support, Carcassonne [$9.99] was our runner-up Game of the Year last year. But now, with the release of a new update adding said support, what’s the GOTY Advisory Board supposed to do? Create a time machine? Nah. How about a “Missed Connections” category? Perfect!

While we figure this issue of great import out, play against some of your Game Center friends in one of the best board game turned video games on the planet. Also, enjoy some of the other perks of Version 2.20, which is sure as sure the last “big” update to the game until the first add-on graces the App Store. New leaderboards, 43 new achievements, score sharing, improved stability, chat time stamping, better power consumption, and an ELO bug fix are all a part of this free update that should see some significant hold-over until game creator The Coding Monkey hits fans with some rivers, Inns, and Cathedrals.

What I didn’t mention ever so slyly in the above is that these expansions won’t see the light of day for three billion years Standard Internet Time — The Coding Monkeys is cautioning fans that it’ll take a couple of months before “The River II” and “Inns and Cathedrals” hit. The good news, however, is that these will be quality bits of content as a result.

It’s hard to believe that someone still hasn’t checked Carcassonne out, but if you’re that dude, give this review a read. Seriously, this is a fantastic title. Just click “Buy app” already. Jeesh.

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Careful watchers of the top charts on the App Store have noticed an interesting trend over the weekend with various apps inexplicably substantially changing position. Previously (and possibly still currently) Apple seemed to use the number of downloads an app had to form both the top free and paid lists. While this method might have made sense originally, gaming these download-only lists has turned into a remarkably profitable enterprise for those that have apps with a large install base which also have a way to push users into downloading other apps.

If you've played a freemium game lately that offered some kind of benefit for downloading a completely different game, chances are the developer behind the title you're being incentivized into downloading paid the original developer a bucket full of money for that promotion. For both developers it's a win/win situation, one (often) gets a fat stack of cash while the other gets a massive boost in overall charting position along with all the benefits that includes. The issue with this is that clicking a link in your favorite social farming time sink to get more virtual oats for your virtual cows to download another game creates a top-download list that might not be entirely representative of what people are actually even using for anything more than that download bonus.

Google's Android rankings also used to work like this until a recent change that substantially altered the algorithm which resulted in apps like Seesmic [Free] jumping from #39 to #10 while Gowalla [Free] went all the way from #78 to #18. Developers speculated that the cause for these jumps were something referred to as the "sticky factor" which instead of relying only on downloads looks at daily active users, or perhaps factoring in a ratio of daily active users compared to monthly active users. Of course Google hasn't commented on what actually is going on behind the scenes, likely out of fear that this new system will be gamed like the old lists.

Chart courtesy of App Annie!

Apple could potentially to be following suit with a similar algorithm which might explain some recent shifts in the free charts. For instance, Facebook [Free] previously had comfortably floating around the middle of the top 25 for quite some time, and recently shot up to #1. Similarly, Pandora [Free] jumped into the top ten after living in the top 20's for ages. Speculating this has to do with engagement-based charting could make sense, as there wasn't any immediately apparent reason (such as a large influx of new devices from a launch or something similar) for Facebook to see a massive surge in downloads over the weekend. Previously, the amount of downloads needed to even climb single positions in top ten free was incredible, making it even more likely that the top lists as they are now factor in something else.

What that something is is anyone's guess. Apple obviously is notoriously secretive, so it will likely be up to developers analyzing their apps' movements on the charts compared to their own analytics inside of those apps. From a gaming perspective, it will be interesting to watch what kind of impact this new charting algorithm has on the freemium market which historically has been heavily influenced by paid installs, incentives, and other tricks to game the charts sending specific games rocketing up the charts. If they are in fact using daily active users to factor in how apps are ranked, developers are going to need to build freemium games that are actually engaging to play which keep people coming back instead of cutting deals with other developers to essentially buy chart positioning.

[via Gigaom]

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Heads up, Potter fans: LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1 – 4 [$2.99] for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch is now just $2.99 on the App Store, coming down from a high of $4.99. Movie tie-in games, in general, stink, so it’s nice to be able to point you in the direction of this fantastic joint, which has a touch of LEGO game whimsy, some serious HP love, and competent bolts and bits of hardcore design. You can read our full review here, but the gist is this: even if you’re not crawling into bed with a Rowling novel every night, there’s still a lot fun to be had with this third-person action / exploration / adventure game.

Video by AppBank

Also, on the update front, you’ll notice that version 2.2 has been pushed out — this is a patch that addresses that nasty red brick glitch that prevented people from accessing their crimson unlockables. Of course, this version of the game also supports Retina display, is universal, and features the same content as its console counterpart which sells for many times more. Pretty sharp package for a low price.

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Back in January, Handbook Inc. released an iPhone title that has hovered near the top of my list, but that I hadn't written up, wanting to afford it the proper amount of time for a focused review. I've finally managed to clear out a few days, however, and can at long last share my thoughts on Nude Girl and Witch [App Store].

Once upon a time, there was a strong empire, where a group of beautiful princesses lived happy life.

one day,however,with an ugly witch sneaking into the empire house, everything changed……

Handbook Inc, who also brought us Naked Girl Encircled [link], Super Girl vs Bat [link], and Hot Girl Zombies Crisis [link], in releasing Nude Girl and Witch has attempted to take the find-the-ball game mechanic to the next level. It was a bold move on their part — and I believe Nude Girl and Witch may not be the first take on this formula in the App Store. But, the question is: did they succeed?

Let's take a look.

The first thing you'll notice in launching the game is the ethereal title screen depicting a beautiful girl gazing off into the distance, as if in contemplation of both the darkness that has befallen the empire house and of the hopeful day sometime in the future where things will be as they once were, when she and the other princesses can again live happy life. Accompanying this title screen is a lovely melody that evokes a sense magic and wonder, underscoring the sentiment of optimism and hope for better things to come.

Upon tapping the 16-pointed start button (five points concealed off-screen), you are presented with the game screen and ushered into a brief tutorial that illustrates the mechanics of the title.

Nude Girl and Witch takes place in an elaborate room bathed in purple light and adorned with pillars, presumably a hall of worship deep inside the empire house. In the center of the room are three cloaked figures standing abreast — several of the aforementioned beautiful princesses. Or, so it would seem — for, an instant after the start of the game, one of the figures reveals her face. And it's no beautiful princess, let me tell you! It is, in fact, the ugly witch who has done the sneaking detailed in the backstory! And, no less quickly than she revealed her face, she conceals it once again.

As the player, you must do your absolute best to remember which of the cloaked figures has revealed herself to be the witch, as a dance of rearrangement designed to vex and confuse ensues just moments later. And, when this dance has come to an end, it is up to you to point out which of these figures is the behaggled imposter.

I will pause here to say that, up to this point, surely Nude Girl and Witch must seem like the perfect game, with no flaw to speak of. This was certainly my feeling as I played through the game for the first time. But, it is here that I must begin to point out the numerous ways in which this title falls flat.

With but three figures to track during the dance of rearrangement, you will likely succeed in fingering the witch through the first few levels. Upon tapping on the figure of your choice, that figure's robes are thrown wide and you will then know if you have exposed the witch. But, as the level number increases, so too do the number of figures presented, as well as the number of rearrangements that take place. And, before long, you will inevitably pick the wrong figure and, in your failing, you will be witness to an uncloaked princess.

And you will come to realize that this girl is not nude.

Seeing the backstory and knowing that this is a game about a witch that has infiltrated a cloister of beautiful princesses, and noting that a decloaking is the mechanism of revelation in this game, I assumed that the non-witches were, in fact, unclad beneath their robes. (And the name of this game is Nude Girl and Witch.) But, it is not so. When you miss the witch and tap upon a princess, you will see that she is clad in a grey bikini. There can be no mistake — she is not nude. In years long past, this might have been considered nude, but not in the world of Retina displays and gigahertz mobile processors. And, frankly, she looks nothing like the beautiful girl on the game's title screen.

If the game had been entitled Naked Girl and Witch, I might be less jarred by the lack of nude girl, as "naked" may be interpreted as unprotected. Vulnerable. Undisguised. But, with "nude," there can be no mistake of what is promised, here.

Because of the outside possibility that only most of the princesses are clad in bikinis under their robes, with a nude one here and there, I spent much of my 39 hours with this this title clicking — knowingly — on those I knew not to be the witch. At no time was I ever presented with an actual nude girl in my time with this game. Not once. It is this wanton bait-and-switch tactic Handbook has taken here that is my main complaint with this title. But, I'm afraid the negatives don't end there.

Another way in which this game disappoints is in the area of difficulty progression. As mentioned previously, as the levels mount, so too do the number of figures onscreen and the number of times they switch position. But this is only up to a point, as the following data plot illustrates.

As the chart above reveals, at level 13 the number of onscreen figures and rearrangements cease to increase, leveling out after just a baker's dozen progressively harder levels. This dramatically impacts the enjoyment of several-hour bouts of witch finding.

Sadly, the lack of nudity and difficulty ramping issues aren't the end of it. Nude Girl and Witch offers no native iPad or Retina display support. And, definitely no shader support. There's no online leaderboard or achievement system and no multiplayer support of any kind. The brief tutorial (with its haunting dismembered finger) must be endured for every game started from the main menu. The game also fails to visibly benefit in any way from the dual-core PowerVR SGX543MP2 graphics processor, as played on the iPad 2.

Taken all together, the weaknesses of this game turn what might have been the perfect iOS game into a title that I have no choice but to advise gamers to avoid. If $.99 is burning a hole in your pocket, you'd do well to spend it someplace other than Nude Girl and Witch.

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If you're at the point where your frog breeding factory in NimbleBit's Pocket Frogs [Free] is running at 110% capacity and you're looking to get your next freemium fix, I've got just what the doctor ordered. Ian and David Marsh, twin brothers behind Pocket Frogs has been hard at work on their next game, titled Tiny Tower. They haven't even started beta testing their game yet, so details are still being worked out, but here's what we've been told:

Tiny Tower tasks you with constructing and managing a tower populated with bitizens and businesses. Put your bitizens to work and keep your businesses stocked to earn enough revenue to expand your tower skyward. Unlock and collect one hundred plus floor blueprints that will make your tower stand out from the rest.

Check out the screenshots from an early development build of the game:

What made Pocket Frogs so awesome was that NimbleBit designed the game from the ground up to be a fun game first, and a freemium money maker second. There never really was a stopping point in Pocket Frogs where you had to pay to continue, unlike far too many freemium games where it's entirely too easy to spot all the time sinks and "optional pay walls which rarely feel optional on any level. We've been told Tiny Tower is going to be the exact same way, and I can't wait to give it a try.

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Back in December, Rocketcat Games released their third grappling hook-themed game Hook Worlds [99¢] into the App Store, following their previous excellent efforts Hook Champ [$2.99/Lite] and Super QuickHook [$2.99]. We liked Hook Worlds an awful lot in our review as it essentially contained four separate endless running games in one package, all based around a novel hooking mechanic. Well, people who bought the game the first weekend received four worlds anyway, as the fourth world was a bonus addition for early adopters of the game.

Late-comers fear not, however, as the latest update to Hook Worlds makes available this special fourth world to all owners of the game. It’s a good thing too, as the fourth world is easily my favorite. The graphics are based on Atari 2600-era games, with extremely basic and blocky graphics, and the gameplay is loosely based on the original Hook Champ. It’s so simple and so elegant, distilling the hooking formula down to its bare essentials, that I find it to be my most played world in the entire game. You’ll have to work for it though, as non-early adopters must earn at least a Silver medal in any of the regular three worlds to unlock the fourth.

Other additions in this meaty update include Game Center support, enhanced visuals for the Retina Display, fast-app switching, and loads of new gear for the characters. Some of these new hats, hooks, and costumes are a free addition to the game but you can also buy a pack of gear for each of the characters as IAP. Each character pack costs 99¢ and adds a number of new items to choose from. It should also be noted that these items are cosmetic only and in no way affect the gameplay, and are entirely optional if you wish to support the development of Rocketcat’s games.

As a huge fan of Hook Champ and Super QuickHook, I can’t recommend Hook Worlds enough. It offers a ton of content, gameplay, and production value for the price. That said, I have definitely heard from players in our forums and elsewhere who have had a difficult time getting the hang of Rocketcat’s hooking games. With that in mind, Hook Worlds is still recommended as it’s a great entry point into the hooking genre. The controls have been simplified to just two buttons so it’s easily the most approachable of the three, and the low price point means there’s not a lot of risk if you decide it’s just not for you. If you end up liking it you can always upgrade to their previous games which offer much more complex gameplay.

Note: There have been a couple of minor hiccups with this latest update that you should be aware of. A menu display bug has crept in there, and for now this can be fixed by turning the screen flip to “off” in the options screen. Also there have been some quirks with uploading score and achievement information to Game Center, though I personally haven’t encountered this. Rocketcat is aware of these issues and is already addressing them with a patch that will be put out as soon as possible.

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There's been a lot of Battle Bears-related news coming from the folks at SkyVu lately. We first took a look at their newest iOS game Battle Bears -1 [Free] back when it was released in June. There was a lot to like about this humorous third-person shooter, stuff that we noted in our review, but there were some negative aspects as well. Then the game was updated over the next couple of months, and version 1.2 of Battle Bears -1 took everything we didn't like about the game and soundly pounded it into pieces, helping realize the potential that was contained in the initial release. Since that 1.2 update in August, Battle Bears -1 has received a ton more goodness in the form of updates, which have culminated in the recent version 1.5 that hit over the weekend.

The version 1.5 update adds the long-awaited third campaign for the lovable, timid, nub-handed, and slightly overweight Wil. Wil's campaign takes place after the other Battle Bears, Oliver and Riggs, have already safely escaped the mothership Ursa Major. Wil is left all alone to fend off an onslaught of zombie huggables over two dimly lit new levels chock full of Portal and 2001: A Space Odyssey references. This campaign is also a little different than the others in that you must negotiate a twisting maze of claustrophobic air vents in order to get to the main levels on the ship's corridors. Wil comes equipped with an arrow that he pulled from his leg as a melee weapon and a shotgun which he lovingly named Boomstick McShootington. Wil's campaign is a lot of fun, with hilarious new cutscenes and a story with a cliffhanger ending.

There have also been a number of other additions to Battle Bears -1 since our last post about the game. You can now obtain super versions of your weapons when playing as Oliver or Riggs. Collecting 3 full clips of ammo for a weapon turns it into a super weapon for the duration of those clips. For example, instead of normal rockets from the Bearzooka you'll fire one huge rocket that does incredible splash damage. Additionally, both the Riggs and Oliver campaigns have been extended, and Oliver's ends in an absolutely epic new boss battle. In it, Oliver transforms into an alternate version of himself and fights against a humongous boss in outer space in a battle that's unlike anything else in the game, and harkens back to some of the epic boss battles from the Star Fox or Legend of Zelda series.

The truly crazy part of all this is that currently every Battle Bears game is available for free. The original Battle Bears: Zombies! and Battle Bears -1 will be free at least until December 28th. The iPad only Battle Bears Go was supposed to be free for only a day, but somebody at SkyVu apparently forgot to flip the price switch back to “on” so at the moment it's still free. Also, the formerly 99¢ downloadable Riggs campaign is now permanently free, with the brand new Wil campaign costing 99¢. As a bonus, if you owned Battle Bears -1 before and had already purchased the Riggs campaign, you'll get the Wil campaign for free when you update.

I'm really impressed with how far Battle Bears -1 has come since it was released, and there's still more planned for the future including additional campaign content, Game Center integration, and Retina Display support. Plus, SkyVu is currently at work on a brand new title that takes place in-between the first two games called Battle Bears: 0. There's plenty of gameplay spread across the three Battle Bears titles, all currently available for free. If you need something to do during the holidays, act quickly and download any or all of these games now, and drop into the thread in our forums where SkyVu actively monitors feedback and suggestions for future updates.

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