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If there were ever a genre in need of reinvention, it’s the marble shooter. As a genre it’s been around for nearly 15 years now, and the two big names, Luxor and Zuma, are pretty much indistinguishable. Swap ancient Egypt for the Inca Empire and you’ve pretty much got the same game. PopCap stepped things up recently with Zuma’s Revenge [$1.99 / $4.99 ], which added boss fights and made a few alterations to the formula. But Luxor Evolved [ $0.99 ], MumboJumbo’s answer to Zuma’s evolution, is feeling like the genre’s next frontier.

It shouldn’t be mind blowing that Luxor Evolved looks different from its predecessors, but it sort of is. Between a new setting in space and wild geometric art it hardly looks like the same game at all, making this the genre’s first serious face lift since 2003. Of course, it is the same game—it’s still about matching and destroying strings of colored marbles, and it even has Luxor’s usual ancient Egyptian theme. But this time it’s space Egypt, and space Egypt has a few new tricks.

Like the last two Luxor titles, you control a ball launcher that moves along the bottom of the screen. Strings of colored marbles follow complicated tracks toward your (space) pyramid, which is unusually prone to death by colored marble. You stop them by launching other colored marbles into the strings to match three or more of the same color. With the help of a little aim assistance, this can all be managed on a touch screen as easily as it ever was with a mouse.

Luxor Evolved has a ton going on at any given moment. Not only are you matching marbles, you’re grabbing the treasures and heart pieces that explode out of them. Treasures are tallied to unlock secret levels, and heart pieces add up into extra lives when you’ve collected a few. You also need to rock your score if you want to level up, because the better you do the more powerups you get.

The powerups are my favorite feature of Luxor Evolved. Every point you earn goes to filling up a progress bar after each level. Whenever it hits its limit something new unlocks. This might be a brand new powerup—and they can do a ton of things, like blow up marbles, paint them in a single color, reverse their path and so on—or it might be an upgrade to an existing powerup. They have a lot of room to grow.

The extra-nice thing about the way the progress is measured is that doing poorly on a boss level means unlocking a huge pile of things. The bosses are complicated. Taking inspiration from bullet hell shooters, they protect their weak points with huge streams of marbles. You have to clear away enough of them to reach the weapons, and then the central ring of marbles. The only problem is that they keep coming back. If you manage to shoot your way through everything you expose the core, and one more shot will destroy it.

This can all be a little challenging, especially if, like me, you aim poorly when it counts. But there’s a bonus: if you really struggle and take a long time on a boss, you’ll pick up a ton of extra treasures and hearts and points. When you finally succeed you’ll be well rewarded with a pile of upgrades and unlocks. If one of them is a secret level, you’re in for an even better reward: they’re built as homages to classic games like Pac-Man and Marble Madness.

And let’s not downplay the new aesthetic. With its intentionally retro stylings, it looks like nothing we’ve seen from any of the big marble shooters before. That new style extends to every part of the game, right down to the interface, and a collection of techno tracks really rounds out the package. For the choosy, Luxor Evolved includes a selection of aim assist options and control tweaks—all of them variations on drag and tap controls. There are multiple difficulty modes to play through, too, and the usual assortment of achievements and leaderboards.

It’s not all good, though. The game currently doesn’t work for anyone who isn’t on iOS 5 (a patch is in the works), and even there I ran into a few bad crashes. One took a good chunk of progress with it. There’s also a popup for MumboJumbo’s other games on load, so heads up to the ad averse. I’m not the biggest fan of the series of aggressive price drops that have occurred since launch either, seeing the game drop from $6.99 to 99¢ incrementally over just the first several days, but at least that means those of you hopping on now will get a great deal.

Honestly, this game surprised me. Marble shooters have a real been-there, done-that vibe for me. I love them, but how many times can you play the same game with a new name? Luxor Evolved isn’t a full reimagining, but it’s different enough to feel exciting again, and it’s hooked me thoroughly. The issues are worth being aware of, but if you’re on iOS 5 and you hop on now you should be just fine. And really, classic marble-shooting gameplay in a fresh new package? That’s an evolution I can get behind.

TouchArcade Rating:

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It was in July of last year that SNK Playmore brought their classic fighting game franchise to iOS with The King of Fighters-i [ $4.99 ], and it was the only game that could really stand up to the then current standard for touch screen fighters Street Fighter IV [ $4.99 ], and in many ways it even exceeded it. Which series you prefer is largely a personal preference thing, but I always felt that The King of Fighters-i edged out Street Fighter IV in overall quality and playability.

The problem was that by the time The King of Fighters-i hit the App Store, the superior sequel to Street Fighter IV had already been out for a month. It was called Street Fighter IV Volt [ $6.99 ] and it came packing everything that made the original game so great plus additional characters, new features, and most importantly online multiplayer. The online matchmaking worked surprisingly well in Volt, and despite The King of Fighters-i being absolutely fantastic it was still just a single player- or Bluetooth multiplayer-only game, and online battling was the new hotness.

Now nearly a year later SNK Playmore is taking a page out of the Volt handbook with the just-released The King of Fighters-i 2012 [ $6.99 ]. This latest entry in the iOS KOF series contains everything from the first game that was great in addition to – much like the release of Volt – new characters, new features, and online WiFi multiplayer. Since basically everything from the first game is included in the 2012 edition, you might want to read our original review of KOF-i as well as the details of its extensive update to get the nitty gritty on the game.

As for what’s improved in The King of Fighters-i 2012, for starters the roster has been significantly expanded from 20 playable characters to 32. Art of Fighting, Psycho Soldier, Kim and Ikari are the 4 new teams of 3 that make up the new additions. Also, there are 2 more characters – Nests-style Kyo and Classic Iori – available as DLC for $1.99 each. These are alternate versions of existing characters, and they’re certainly entirely optional purchases, but it will be interesting to see if more characters end up coming down the road and if they’ll be paid or as a part of free updates.

The single player part of the game includes everything that was in last year’s version: an arcade ladder in 3v3 team battles or 1v1 flavors, an endless survival mode, and an excellent training mode. The lengthy Challenge mode from the original game returns, with some new challenges thrown in for good measure. A brand new single player addition to KOF-i 2012 is a Time Attack mode. Here you must battle through 10 straight opponents as quickly as possible, with a Game Center leaderboard tracking your best overall time.

Time Attack is a nice addition to an already great single player offering in The King of Fighters-i 2012, but that’s not why we’re here. We came for the multiplayer. Naturally, the Bluetooth local multiplayer mode from the original game made its way into 2012, and remains a fine option for squaring off against a buddy in your same vicinity. However, the real draw in the new online WiFi multiplayer mode.

The online portion for KOF-i 2012 works about how you might expect if you’re familiar with Volt – that is, it’s pretty good but not great. Naturally there is a bit of lag at times, but nothing too earth-shattering. Finding a match can also take a long time but I imagine that will clear up a lot as more people get the game. When talking about real-time multiplayer on a mobile device like the iPhone, it’s hard to expect perfection. For what it is the online matchmaking in KOF-i 2012 is really fun for people who get tired of fighting against the CPU all the time. With the right expectations, it really is a killer feature of the new game.

So, with a large portion of The King of Fighters-i 2012 being nearly identical to last year’s release, whether or not you should buy this new edition will hinge on how important new characters and online play is to you. With a whopping 12 new fighters added to the roster, I think it’s worth upgrading just for that, and people in our forums are totally digging the new version too. Along with a decent online offering and KOF-i 12 is likely a worthy upgrade for fans of iOS fighters. One thing is for sure though, Street Fighter IV Volt now has some serious competition, and it looks like the future is pretty bright for fighting games on the App Store.

TouchArcade Rating:

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This day of crazy deals just doesn’t seem to want to stop. Chair’s amazing sword fighter that has since spawned a whole series of games Infinity Blade [ $0.99 ] is on sale once again for 99¢. So, if you missed the last 99¢ sale that took place around a month ago, here’s another chance. Also, we’ve got a review of the game if you want to check that out first.

On the Infinity Blade II [ $6.99 ] front, an update just hit the App Store which addresses some issues people were experiencing with the new ClashMobs add-on. If you were having difficulty claiming rewards, that should be fixed along with “several other” mysterious issues that Chair wasn’t too specific about in the patch notes.

Aaaand if you’re looking for an Infinity Blade II review, it’s right here. Alternatively, if you’ve already got the game and are looking to find some dudes to join your clash mob, we’ve got that too.

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On this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show, we battle through conversations about muscle retention and HHH’s taste in order to bring you the latest and greatest in the world of iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. We get off to a running start by discussing the hottest real-time strategy game at the moment, Total War Battles, and then quickly dive into a flurry of oral reviews courtesy Mr. Hodapp. Later, we pan Kickstarter again, talk about Rovio Mobile’s weird IAP plans, and the themes of Minecraft.

If you’d like to listen this week’s episode, please do so via the handy-dandy links just below. If you’d rather get our podcasts the second they hit the Internet, consider subscribing to us on iTunes or Zune Marketplace.

iTunes Link: The TouchArcade Show
Zune Marketplace: TouchArcade.com Podcasts
RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show
Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-049.mp3, 41.9MB

Oh! And if you have interest in joining our Minecraft server, send us another e-mail, as we might end up opening our stuff to all. E-mail podcast@toucharcade.com. Thanks!

Here are your show notes:

GAMES

• Total War Battles [$6.99]
• SpellTower [$.99]
• Polymer [$.99]
• Escape from the Age of Monsters [$.99 / HD]
• Bubble Pig [$.99]
• Aby Escape [Free]
• Ballistic SE [$1.99]
• Ski Safari [$.99]
• Wormholes [Free]
• Bus Turbo Racing [$.99]
• Marvel Vs Capcom 2 [$2.99]

JARED’S KITTY KORNER

• catnapper [Free]

FRONT PAGE

• ‘Minecraft – Pocket Edition’ Now Supports Crafting
• Robert Bowling Announces His New Studio
• ‘Angry Birds Space’ / ‘Jetpack Joyride’ / ‘Sword & Sworcery’ / ‘Anomaly Warzone Earth’ Updates

Aralon: Sword and Shadow HD, $0.99 Aralon: Sword and Shadow by Crescent Moon Games is a huge open world action RPG. It has more than 30 hours of gameplay in a massive 3D world, the biggest landscape ever to grace a mobile device. A full night and day system, complex quests, crafting, swimming, fishing, pipe smoking, pick-pocketing, and much, much more. Play as an elf, troll, or human, pick various classes, and go on an epic journey through the Kingdoms of Aralon.

Aralon: Sword and Shadow is now available for the discounted price of 99 cents, over 80% off for a limited time only!

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Late last week Capcom surprised everybody by announcing an iOS port of their classic arcade fighter Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 [ $2.99 ]. In all honesty, I suspect this was a cleverly timed release to casually tie in with ‘The Avengers’ movie coming out next week, but whatever the motivation I’m not complaining. Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 is one of the most beloved fighting games in history, and prior to the downloadable rerelease on XBL and PSN in 2009 it could be kind of a difficult game to play unless you owned the Dreamcast or the somewhat rare PS2 or Xbox versions.

With that said it’s fairly mind blowing then that today you can download the entire original game onto a device that fits snugly in your pocket (or to your iPad if you’d rather, since the game is Universal, though it’s extra snug trying to jam that in your pocket). The iOS version of Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 is really cool for what it is, basically a cheap nostalgic trip, but it’s plagued with several major problems that drag the experience down, making it feel more like a novelty rather than another solid iOS fighter.

The major sticking points in Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 are that it’s difficult to control compared to the other top iOS fighters, the 12 year old visuals have not aged gracefully, and the overall performance leaves a lot to be desired. However, the virtual control setup that Capcom has come up with for the game is pretty clever, and just having a classic like Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 in my pocket is worth putting up with its shortcomings. It’s just a shame because with a little more care I think this port could have been a whole lot better.

Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 features a whopping 56 playable characters, 28 from the Marvel camp and 28 from Capcom. Only 24 are available from the start, with the rest being unlocked from an in-game store using coins earned through play, or for performing certain tasks like completing the arcade mode with different characters.

In the XBL and PSN versions of the game, all characters are unlocked from the start, but I far prefer having to unlock them on my own as it gives you a sense of progress and some goals to shoot for while playing. However, if you’re dying to download the iOS version and bust out some local Bluetooth multiplayer with a buddy (sadly there is no online) right out of the gate, then you might find it annoying to have to spend significant time earning enough coins to unlock your favorite characters. Surprisingly, there is no sort of in-app purchase option to unlock everything.

Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 is all about 3-on-3 tag team matches where characters can be swapped in and out at will, there’s a crazy emphasis on battles in the air, and the combos and special moves are all outrageous and over the top. Unfortunately, the iOS version runs so sluggishly that much of those fun moments are turned to frustration. The framerate can be a bit choppy and the virtual controls don’t seem to respond as well as even other Capcom fighters available on the App Store. This makes pulling off elaborate combos and air battling nearly impossible.

Despite the controls being sometimes unreliable, the default controls that Capcom implemented to simplify the experience are pretty nifty. There’s just a single button each for punch and kick, then there is a special button for controlling teammates and another for special moves. Besides just tapping these special buttons, each one can also be flicked in 4 different directions in order to perform additional moves. For example you can simply tap the special move button to shoot out a hadoken (fireball), but if you flick it to the side instead you can instantly launch into a shoryuken (dragon punch).

It’s a really cool idea and when it works well it’s brilliant, but for some reason much of the time it feels like the special buttons don’t respond to many of your flicks. There is the option to go with the original arcade game controls, which means no flicking for special moves, and I found that this option is much more reliable but does require more work on your part.

The visuals in Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 are also a pretty big letdown. I expect a 12 year old game to look dated, but for some reason the iOS version looks worse than any previous version. Sprites are noticeably jagged and pixelated, something that is accentuated on the iPad’s bigger screen. On the bright side, the fully 3D animated backgrounds are intact here and actually look quite good, especially when you consider the boring static backgrounds used in Street Fighter IV Volt on iOS.

So, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 has a lot of issues, but nothing that renders the game completely unplayable. The controls work well enough but are far from as good as other iOS fighters, and definitely not good enough to fully pull off some of the game’s more complicated techniques. If you’re a fan of the game on other platforms and can accept the problems it has on iOS for the sake of having it in your pocket, then I think it’s definitely worth the $3 price of admission (or $5 when the intro sale ends). Personally, I’m having a ton of fun playing through the game again, even with the inherent frustrations.

If you don’t have any particular affinity for the original game but are just looking for a new iOS fighter, then Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 is a tougher sell. The controls are passable, but nowhere near the likes of Street Fighter IV Volt [ $6.99 ], King of Fighters-i [ $6.99 ], or SoulCalibur [ $11.99 ] on iOS. It’s frustrating because those examples prove that Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 could have been such a better port, and it may be in the future after some updating, but if nostalgia isn’t playing a big role in your desire for having this game on iPhone then I’d suggest waiting to see how things shake out down the line.

TouchArcade Rating:

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Minecraft – Pocket Edition [$6.99] took another step towards becoming what the series’ fans had expected and wanted from the tablet and phone version of the PC indie darling. To put it another way, its name actually makes sense now courtesy last night’s update, which added crafting, damageable items, and tool-specific gathering.

We all knew this update was coming, but what’s interesting is the way the crafting part of the experience is presented. Unlike the PC version, Pocket Edition tells you what you can make and how to make it. Swathes of well-realized UI — which look a lot like the Xbox 360 version of the game’s UI — hold your hand while crafting, pointing out recipes and giving you feedback on what you need to gather next.

Image via Cult of Mac

Even though it might not jive with the game’s spirit or themes, we think this bit of added functionality is pretty neat. If anything, though, you can finally enjoy survival mode as it was basically intended. Go nuts!

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Total War Battles: Shogun [ $6.99 ] is not perfect. Anyone who tells you differently is either lying or particularly forgiving in regards to an absence of visual cues. Nonetheless, while Creative Assembly and Sega’s first attempt to bring their award-winning franchise to the iOS platform is one pockmarked with problems, it doesn’t change the fact that this real-time strategy game remains an excellent addition to the App Store.

Set somewhere in late 16th century Japan, Total War Battles opens to a familiar tune: an overcast sky, one army torching another army’s infrastructure to the ground, a father passing on his final instructions to his son. As the earnest heir, it is your responsibility to seek out those who are responsible for the tragedy that befell your clan and to exterminate them with extreme prejudice.

While hardly the most inspired premise out there, the story works well enough as an excuse to visit slow, well thought-out havoc onto opposing factions. Of course, it kind of helps that the game is also lovely to behold. Though not on par with games like Infinity Blade II, Total War Battles: Shogun still boasts of well-animated military men, excellent weather effects, decent voice acting and a suitably epic soundtrack.

Gameplay in Total War Battles: Shogun consists of you first picking one of the campaign-based missions currently available to you or an EXP stage from the world map. Depending on the nature of the level you’ve selected, you can either expect to be called upon to beat down on a number of units, defeats a certain type of enemy or to participate in a round of city planning.

Yes, you heard me. Should you choose to accept the responsibility, you’ll find yourself taking a break from the rampant warfare to work on stuff like figuring out how to jam eight shrines into a less-than-spacious map. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Buildings here come with their own set of requirements and restrictions. For example, shrines will not permit themselves to be constructed next to the vice-den that is your average trading post but will require the proximity of a lumber mill in order to exist. (No, I have no idea why either).

As for the rest of the game, it’s a little more straightforward. In between assembling the correct assortment of unit-producing buildings and ensuring that they remain in serviceable condition (enemies will do their best to burn them down), you’re going to have to send your army at your foes. Simple, right? There’s a small twist. While you’re capable of manipulating their frontal charge, you will not be able to tell your units to move back. Retreat is impossible for them as they apparently subscribe to the laws of Bushido. Additionally, you’re also going to have to take the fact that your battalions are incapable of turning on a dime and the fact that there’s a cooldown associated with your navigation-related commands into consideration.

Needless to say, this isn’t your average hair-trigger, ‘300 actions-per-minute or bust’ sort of RTS. Forethought is mandatory here. To make matters more interesting, you’ll be able to utilize a certain amount of units at a time, something that can spell life or death. If you throw everything you own into a frontal assault, you may find your home base decimated even as you watch on helplessly. Mistakes aren’t easily forgiven here.

There’s a fairly decent variety of units and buildings, by the way, one augmented by a considerable amount of available upgrades. With more than 10 hours of expected game time, gorgeous aesthetics and half-decent voice acting, Total War Battles: Shogun should represent one of the pinnacles of the iOS-based real-time strategy genre, right? Maybe.

As I’ve mentioned early on, Total War Battles: Shogun is not without its flaws. To be fair, they aren’t big flaws but they’re certainly the sort that can niggle. Units don’t come with health bars and buildings will not provide information about their structural integrity in an easy accessible fashion. There is nary a number to be found; you won’t ever get to figure out precisely how much of a defense boost your monks provide. These issues aren’t exactly game changers but if you’re the sort who likes their statistics, you might find yourself bristling at your inability to accurately calculate the likelihood of a win.

As for the multiplayer, I haven’t had the chance to get someone to sit down to poke at it with me. Unsurprisingly, Total War Battles: Shogun only supports 1vs1 same-device multiplayer, something that is generally best played on the iPad as opposed to its more diminutive cousins.

Still, if you’re willing to overlook the aforementioned issues, Total War Battles: Shogun is a refreshing change from the App Store’s barrage of angry avians, physics-based puzzler and match-3 games.

TouchArcade Rating:

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Plants vs. Zombies for iPhone [$2.99] and iPad [$6.99] both received some content loving while you were in bed last night. Plants vs. Zombies iPhone received Vasebreaker Endless mode, which packs in a total of nine levels. The iPad version, on the other hand, now supports Zen Garden, Vasebreaker Endless, “I, Zombies” mode, and four new mini-games: Slot Machine, Portal Combat, Beghouled Twist, and Zombiquarium have been included. The Plants vs. Zombies wiki has delightfully ridiculously in-depth looks on each of these modes, if you need to know exactly what you’ll be getting into before updating.

It’s notable that PopCap is continuing to push the free-to-play aspect of Plants vs. Zombies mobile. As Kotaku reports, only the first levels of Vasebreaker and I, Zombie are available from the get-go. The rest of these game’s respective levels, and the other mentioned modes, need to be purchased with in-game coins, which of course can be earned or purchased straight-up.

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