TouchArcade.ru

It’s hard to appreciate a novel game when clunky stuff enters the picture. Sminis [$.99] is one of the few Unreal Engine 3 games on the App Store that doesn’t look like an Unreal Engine 3 game, and it’s one of the few puzzlers out there that tries to be something different. I also have a man-crush on its attempt to feel at home on touch devices, as it doesn’t try to do too much despite being rendered in 3D. On the other hand, it suffers from a hairy problem: its core design flashes ruthlessness too often, leaving you squirming helplessly in the hands of overindulgent design decisions.

Sminis are tiny, and supposedly sentient, robot beings crafted by an evil scientist in order to help him do, uh, evil stuff. After a “freak accident,” the Sminis are free to bust out from the scientist’s contraption-filled lair. You play as a maestro-god tasked with guiding entire groups of Sminis simultaneously through the scientist’s Frankenstein machines. Lose too many Sminis to a saw, hydraulic press, or a moving platform, and it’s game over.

Think of Sminis like a new-age Lemmings. Sminis act on their own accord unless you tell them to start or stop with a simple tap on the screen. Presented in a couple of different perspectives, each level has you actively guiding these little guys through various timing-based traps. Sminis are a manufactured good, however, so they’ll keep spilling out of spawns as you guide one or two along a level’s rote path. The catch is that Sminis also possess timers. Stopping one may start others, and so on. If two Sminis touch, you lose both. Each level has a cap of Sminis you can lose. Greater difficulties stress increasingly clean runs.

In the smaller and more focused levels, the individual Sminis timer is an enjoyable, if not wholly pleasant, aspect. It’s a second layer of complexity that compliments the other perfectly. But later, the individuality of the game’s parts can feel overwhelming. Quickly enough, gone is the air of coherent, puzzle-driven play, as the entire experience devolves into a mess of sloppy reactions and stupidity thanks to the sheer amount of moving stuff on-screen. In these moments, it’s like Sminis is afraid to let you breathe.

In one level, for example, you’ll be forced to navigate Sminis moving from three spawns onto three moving platforms set at a very, very specific pace. The timing here seems to revolve more around luck. Take a second to think, and you’ll lose a Smini. Watch the platforms, and you’ll lose a Smini. I should note that, all too often, it’s possible to glean an absolute solution by peering into the level designer’s mind and synching each Smini at specific, undrawn checkpoints. Levels all have a specific rhythm, and you’ll squirm while trying to figure them out.

There’s some solace to take in the schizophrenic pacing; some levels indisputable walks in the park compared to their predecessors. Another helpful thing when you come down with the Sminis blues? The fact that it’s clearly different. It isn’t a match-three. It isn’t a block rotating game. And it isn’t a word game. It’s a novel experience, so that keeps you moving.

It’s disturbing that the consistently awesome look of Sminis hasn’t influenced what goes on in the game. It looks good, if not unique. Only a handful of UE3 titles on the App Store attempt to be something more than “Shiny Dude Kills Everything Part 3.” This has some touch and character, as well as a fun, cutesy vibe.

But while Sminis always looks good, it tends to take big, scary dives in puzzle quality. At the same time, it’s hard not to recommend it alongside a few caveats. Sure, it can be a tad ruthless, and yeah, the mechanics can feel clumsy, but in bursts, Sminis feels good.

TouchArcade Rating:

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I’m sure many of you out there have spent the past week burning through your allotment of sick days at your job so you could spend all day with the shades drawn hunkered down on your couch in front of Mass Effect 3. If this describes you and you have an iOS device to boot, then you’re probably going to want to grab the free Mass Effect 3 Datapad [Free] which has now gone live in the App Store.

We learned a tiny bit about the Mass Effect 3 Datapad last month, and the app description makes it sound like the companion app to the console title is actually even more feature-filled than we originally thought. You’ll can check out codex entries from all three Mass Effect console games to learn more about the lore. There are also videos, screenshots, and a news feed on all things Bioware and Mass Effect.

Most interestingly, the Mass Effect 3 Datapad app can interact directly with the console game. After meeting certain characters in Mass Effect 3, you will receive messages in the iOS Datapad app. Nothing integral to the enjoyment of the console game, but rather additional fan service for those that want to explore even further. Also, you can deploy ships in the app’s Fleet Commander which can increase your chances of success against Reapers in the console game. Pretty neat.

The Mass Effect 3 Datapad is free and a Universal app for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad so if you’re into the Mass Effect universe, are currently playing Mass Effect 3 or plan to in the near future, you should definitely give the app a download.

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As you can hear on our special GDC edition of The TouchArcade Show this week, Ravensword 2 from Crescent Moon Games was the one game out of the dozens that I saw this week that blew me away the most. The original Ravensword redefined what one could expect from a 3D action RPG on the iOS platform back in 2009, and the sequel feels incredibly similar to the first but is bigger and better in every way. The most immediately noticeable improvement in Ravensword 2 is its absolutely fantastic visuals, which you can see in the screens below.

One thing you can see is that there are now dinosaur-like beasts roaming the lands of Ravensword 2, and in my brief demo these bad boys offered up some visceral combat experiences. Other more typical enemies, like a troll, have been redesigned and look totally fearsome. The world itself is also highly detailed and teeming with life, and as I can’t seem to quit saying, everything looks gorgeous. There’s still a lot of work to be done in Ravensword 2, but if everything goes according to plan we should be seeing it hit the App Store in mid-2012 or so.

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TUAW’s Kelly Guimont has spotted some interesting language in yesterday’s iTunes Terms And Conditions update. Here’s the text in question:

Certain paid In App Subscriptions may offer a free trial period prior to charging your Account. If you decide you do not want to purchase the In App Subscription, turn off auto-renewal in your Account settings during the free trial period.

Guimont speculates that this could indicate that Apple is preparing to offer developers an easy way to offer time-limited trials of their apps, like game demos. This would be a fantastic change. Developers wouldn’t need to support extra lite versions of their titles, non-game apps could finally offer quick peeks at their content, and the rest of us would have a chance to try before we buy.

Now, while it seems at least as likely that this functionality is meant for magazine publishers, the new terms address that specifically:

Certain In App Subscriptions may be designated as “Newsstand” products, in which case they will appear only within the Newsstand application on your device after download.

Sounds like there will be some support for non-Newsstand apps to take advantage of free trial periods, which (intentionally or not) may open the door for other app developers. We’ll keep an ear to the ground and let you know if anything comes of this

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As if there wasn’t already enough reasons out there to love the Unity game engine, and its whole development environment, try this on for size: Until April 8th, the add-on licenses to build iOS and Android games using Unity are totally free.

The main Unity tool kit has always been free, but limited to exporting your games to the PC. If you want to get rid of the Unity splash screens and pick up some additional advanced features in the process, the Unity Pro license runs $1,500. Regardless of whether or not you used the Pro version or the free version, exporting to an iOS (or Android) game was a $400 add-on.

If you even have a vague interest of dabbling in building a mobile game, this is an offer you need to take advantage of. It’s not every day you can save $800 on software. Head over to the Unity store and secure your license while you can.

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Hungry Game released Fly Kiwi, Fly! [99¢] in early 2010, and I liked it quite a bit. It’s one of those “see how far you can go” flying games with all sorts of upgrades, all themed around the hit YouTube video “Kiwi!“. Well, in the meantime, Hungry Game merged with NGD Studios, and they’ve been working all sorts of other non-iOS things before shifting to the sequel to Fly Kiwi, Fly!. The difference between the original and the sequel should be immediately obvious:

It sounds like it’s going to be a pretty standard sequel. The big feature is the new 3D graphics, combined with more gizmos to equip the Kiwi with to fly even further. If all goes as planned, we should by flying as Kiwis in 3D sometime this summer.

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Today at GDC 2012 we sat down with the folks from BulkyPix to have a look at a host of new titles they will soon be releasing, both internally developed and those from outside development groups.

The SandBox

The SandBox, which BukyPix co-produced with Pixowl, is a charming little pixellated 2D world-creation game — and, by world, I mean the space inside of a literal sandbox. The player starts out with the four basic elements and combines them in an on-screen sandbox to create vastly more elements — 40 or so — and, with those, worlds limited by the player’s own imagination (and the bounds of the iPhone or iPad screen).

There is both a story mode with ~30 levels (which serve as a kind of tutorial) as well as a free play mode, which is where the real creation can take place. Once a world has been created, it can be shared with others online, through the game. Players who download others’ levels can then have fun, oh, inserting TNT and other nice little items into them and watching the fireworks unfold. New element packs can be purchased with mana, the game’s virtual currency, which can be accumulated with skilled play or purchased for cash through the app.

The SandBox is being discussed in a lengthy thread in our forums and will be released as a freemium universal app in May.

Lightopus

“When the Gloom came, we were unprepared. They took away everything, including our homes and our young ones, the bulbies. They took away our light. Now the time has come to take back what’s ours. Go, Lightopus. You are the last of our kind. Go into the Abyss, save the bulbies and bring back the Light!”

Thus is the story of Lightopus, a game which challenges the player to steer a strange creature through an aquatic abyss on a mission to save the tiny bulbies in the face of an increasingly menacing enemy horde. The visuals and accompanying ambient audio are similarly eerie and deliver an ambience reminiscent of the PS3 title Flow.

Lightopus is expected to go live on Thursday of this week as a universal game at the price of $2.99.

Kung Fu Rabbit

Internally developed at BulkyPix, Kung Fu Rabbit is a cartoonish platformer that puts you and your on-screen rabbit on a quest for carrots. Carrots are the game’s virtual currency, and the more you grab, the more game perks you have access to, such as the ability to skin out the levels to entirely change their look. While carrots can be accumulated by standard play, they can also be purchased in-app for cash.

Kung Fu Rabbit brings the standard mix of platformer features — the ability to jump off of walls, enemies that can be crush with a jump (Mario style), and substances to avoid (a tarry goo and the like). The game is a universal app that features iCade support and is set to arrive on March 15 for $0.99.

Saving Private Sheep 2

Like its App Store forerunner which we enjoyed, Saving Private Sheep 2 is set to bring a silly / fun play experience to the iOS screen. The game’s challenge is one of trajectory, much like that of Angry Birds.

As it turns out, a wolf has eaten some sheep pals and it’s up to your sheep (and uneaten friends) to aim precisely and toss a (poor, little) hedgehog through various structural arrangements in order to whack the wolf and free the sheep that were recently a meal.

The game features a level creation tool that allows users to create their own set of obstacles to augment the 60 built-in levels and upload them for others to play. The catch, however, is that the player must be able to win their own level before they go online. Levels placed online can be ranked by other users, to create a curated set of challenges.

Aby Escape

In the area of 3D run-and-jumps, BulkyPix demonstrated Aby Escape, a title co-produced with Spanish game studio Pixel Ratio. The game puts you over the shoulder of a purple raccoon that has managed to piss off a bunch of locals who got into hot pursuit of the pesky varmint that is you. In a bid to escape with your hide intact, you must run, jump, duck, dodge, and slide your way to freedom, collecting coins on the way, in a fashion with which Temple Run fans will be quite familiar.

Aby Escape features a story mode with three different settings — a forest park, a city, and Route 66.5 — at 10 levels each, as well as an unlimited running play mode. Little in-game objectives surface during gameplay to mix things up in a manner similar to that of Tiny Wings. The game can be expanded with power-ups and environment enhancements using coins collected or purchased in-app.

Aby Escape will land as a universal freemium title, sometime in May.

Hidden Runaway

Building on the long-running Runaway point-and-click adventure series from Péndulo Studios, Hidden Runaway for iOS, which BulkyPix co-produced with Péndulo, brings a Monkey Island-like mystery to iOS. The game features a hidden object adventure dynamic, wrapped in a thick backstory, peppered with 12 different mini games.

The title will launch for iOS in May and will also be making its way to OS X and Windows PCs.

Yesterday

Another point-and-click adventure from Péndulo, co-produced by BulkyPix is Yesterday. This one is also a Monkey Island sort of game, and places you in the role of a depraved serial killer who must try and piece together just what happened over the last 24 hours. Unsurprisingly, it’s a very dark title, exuding an eerie ambience.

Yesterday, which offers around nine hours of play time, will arrive in the App Store in May and will arrive on the Mac and PC sometime beforehand. Price on this one is undecided as yet.

Gnu Revenge

Developed by Vaze and publishde by BulkyPix, Gnu Revenge is a cartoonish planetary gravity game that drops you into a universe of long-running galactic conflict between the gnus and the crocodiles. You, on the side of the gnus, must fire gnus from orbiting cannons with utmost precision in order to rescue your imprisoned ungulate brethren and knock out your despicable crocodile enemies.

Gnu Revenge is a universal title that will arrive at the end of March at a price of $0.99.

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"Soon" means “timed to the theatrical release.”

Hunger Games: Girl on Fire sounds about as good as it looks. This afternoon, we nabbed a few in-game images of the runner-meets-shooter for our audience’s viewing pleasure. Girl on Fire, is of course, the “teaser” tie-in to the upcoming Hunger Games flick, which is based on the first book in a massively popular book trilogy. We’ve been advised that the events in this game will actually take place “towards the beginning” of the series.

Right, the images. Below, we’ve got an actual in-game look of lead protagonist Katniss Everdeen, as well as a shot of a level. Adam Saltsman, a member of the indie dream team heading up the title, describes Girl on Fire as a runner-y, shooter-y kind of thing. Like us, we think you’ll understand the categorization immediately after peering at the level specifically.

Katniss in 16-bit. Gotta love how Lionsgate decided to go indie.

We had a Pitfall flashback when we first looked at this.

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Prepare for a new, much more modern version of Myst [$4.99 / Lite] to hit this spring. Earlier this morning, we caught an awesome video from Cyan Worlds demonstrating the first footage of its next release, “RealMyst.” In brief, it’s a fully 3D, real-time version of the title being made exclusively for iPad 2. The version of Myst currently on the App Store is a straight-up port of the original title, which only sports static images and some pretty limited navigation. Back when Myst first hit, it’d take a supercomputer to render to do what this newer version is doing, and it’s coming to a device that fits in our laps.

In the below, you’ll notice some improvements. The lighting model seems better, as well as the texture filtering and all of that kind of jazz. We’re stoked, though also a bit frightened by the prospect of getting stuck in Myst all over again. What was the formula for the circuit breaker puzzle again?

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