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If your iPhone or iPad’s memory still isn’t full after you gorged on the various Cyber Monday and Thanksgiving deals, know this: most of the celebratory sales are still active on the App Store. In fact, we’ve discovered a couple more that we couldn’t fit in before the holiday break. That’s what this post is all about — the leftovers.

For example, Telltale Games has lowered its games’ prices 55-80 percent from the usual. The savings began on November 23, but will continue until tomorrow, November 30. Arghata Studio also bashed the prices of its 1112 series in honor of our Turkey Day, and those sales are still continuing, too, well into this week.

Here’s a short list of some notables:

Odds And Ends

• The 7th Guest – $5.99 → $1.99 [Universal]
• Age of Zombies – $2.99 → $.99 [Universal]
• Burn the Rope Worlds – $.99 → Free
• Corpse Craft – $1.99 → $.99
• Fling A Thing – $.99 → Free
• The King of Fighters – $6.99 → $3.99
• Scribblenauts Remix – $4.99 → $2.99 [Universal]
• Spirits for iPad – $4.99 → $.99
• Split / Second on iPad – $6.99 → $.99
• XIII – Lost Identity – $3.99 → $.99

Agharta Studios

• 1112 episode 01 – $4.99 → Free
• 1112 episode 01 HD – $6.99 → Free
• 1112 episode 02 – $4.99 → $.99
• 1112 episode 02 HD – $6.99 → $1.99
• 1112 episode 03 – $4.99 → $1.99
• 1112 episode 03 HD – $6.99 → $2.99

Telltale Games

• Back to the Future Episode 1 HD – $6.99 → $2.99
• Back to the Future Episode 2 HD – $6.99 → $2.99
• Back to the Future Episode 3 HD – $6.99 → $2.99
• Back to the Future Episode 4 HD – $6.99 → $2.99
• Back to the Future Episode 5 HD – $6.99 → $2.99
• Hector Episode 1 – $3.99 → $.99
• Hector Episode 1 HD – $6.99 → $2.99
• Hector Episode 2 – $4.99 → $.99
• Hector Episode 2 HD – $6.99 → $2.99
• Hector Episode 3 – $4.99 → $.99
• Hector Episode 3 HD – $6.99 → $2.99
• Monkey Island Tales 1 – $6.99 → $4.99
• Monkey Island Tales 1 HD – $6.99 → $2.99
• Monkey Island Tales 2 HD – $6.99 → $2.99
• Monkey Island Tales 3 HD – $6.99 → $2.99
• Monkey Island Tales 4 HD – $6.99 → $2.99
• Monkey Island Tales 5 HD – $6.99 → $2.99
• Puzzle Agent – $4.99 → $.99
• Puzzle Agent HD – $6.99 → $2.99
• Puzzle Agent 2 – $4.99 → $.99
• Puzzle Agent 2 HD – $6.99 → $2.99

Cool deals, right? As a side-note, if you feel like you’ve been left out of the initial extravaganza, App Shopper [Free] remains an incredible tool to keep on the up and up. You can read more about it here.

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There’s hype building publicity stunts, then there’s hype building publicity stunts. Pre-release excitement for Chair’s upcoming Infinity Blade 2 is already at an all time high, which apparently has left Chair’s PR department scratching their collective heads to come up with what else they could do to promote a game that’s already on cruise control for greatness.

I’m guessing this eureka moment coincided with late night fitness-centric infomercials, resulting in a promotion that’s so silly we couldn’t help but post about it. Anyway, Chair has partnered up with musclebound bro Nate Green who is known for The Hero Handbook, a free fitness-oriented self-help eBook. Nate (who can be seen above working out at the local playground) put together a list of exercises which should help prepare even the weakest of hands for Infinity Blade 2.

So, without further ado, we present to you, the unedited Infinity Blade 2 workout in its entirety:

1. Rubberband Splay: This is the reverse movement of gripping something. Train the reverse muscles in your hands and wrist to strengthen them.

Take a rubber band and place it around your thumb and fingertips. Touch all of your fingers together. Splay your fingers as far as you can stretch them and fight the resistance of the rubberband. Touch all of your fingers together again. That’s one rep. Do 20 on each hand.

2. Book Grip: Test your grip endurance. Can you hold for 20 seconds with just your index finger and thumb?

• Beginner: Grab two heavy books, hold them together, and grip them with your thumb and all of your fingers. Shoot for 20 seconds.
• Intermediate: Grip with your thumb and only your middle and ring finger. Shoot for 20 seconds.
• Hero: Grip with your thumb and index finger. Shoot for 20 seconds.

3. Quarter Toss: Improve your reflexes and hand-eye coordination.

Grab a quarter, lay your hand flat, and place it on your fingers. In one motion, flick your wrist, sending the quarter flying through the air. Grab the quarter mid-air quickly. That’s one rep. Perform 10 reps on each hand.

4. Sandbag or Tennis Ball Dynamic Grip: Strengthen the muscles in your hands, fingers and wrists.

Hold a hot pad (shown) or a tennis ball in your hand with an underhand grip. Squeeze as hard as you can and hold for 2 seconds. Release your grip and repeat. Go for 30 reps on each hand.

5. Wrist and Forearm Stretch: After all that hardcore hero finger training, stretch your muscles in your wrist and forearms before you play Infinity Blade 2.

Put your hand flat in front of you. Grab the fingers of that hand with your other hand and gently pull your fingers toward your body, keeping your arm straight. You should feel a pull in your forearm and wrist. Hold for 30 seconds. Do 1 set for each hand.

Neat, right — and all in the name of fun. Regardless if you’re into pumping up your fingers and hands, Infinity Blade 2 hits in the next couple of days at $6.99. If you haven’t yet, give our preview a look, and chat with fellow finger-working buddies in the Infinity Blade 2 forum thread.

Meanwhile, we’re putting the finishing touches on our review which will go live with the launch of the game. Spoilers: It’s awesome.

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We recorded this week’s The TouchArcade Show in the interest of keeping you entertained and (maybe up to date on iOS) while traveling during Thanksgiving break. At the top, we dive into Infinity Blade 2 and our coverage of it. Later, we cover Desert Bus, dabble in video game books, and discuss next-gen iPod Touches. Oh! We also get into the latest and hottest news of the week. Hit those show notes for the appropriate links.

We hope you’re having a great little holiday. If you’re interested in joining us, please feel free to do so via those handy-dandy links just below. Additionally, you could hop aboard the TouchArcade Show Express on iTunes and Zune. These places are the easiest way to get our material day and date, so do it already!

iTunes Link: The TouchArcade Show
Zune Marketplace: TouchArcade.com Podcasts
RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show
Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-027.mp3, 40MB

Here’s your show notes, and hey, if you’ve got a question, send it! Our e-mail address is podcast@toucharcade.com.
GAMES

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Bloomberg reports that Apple has opened up a new class of App Store offerings, allowing game publisher Big Fish Games to offer a monthly subscription package that will allow provide users with access to a number of the company’s games through a dedicated iPad app.

The setup is similar to Netflix Inc. (NFLX)’s streaming application for the iPad. Subscribers can get unlimited access to games such as “Mystery Case Files” and the “Mahjong Towers” series from inside the Big Fish app.

Games played through the subscription service, which are streamed to a user’s iPad from Big Fish’s data centers, will initially require Wi-Fi access to play.

The standard package from Big Fish Games will launch as a $4.99 monthly subscription, increasing to $6.99 per month early next year as more game titles become available for the app. A free ad-supported option limiting play to 30 minutes per day will also be available.

[Originally Posted on MacRumors]

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Chair Entertainment’s mucho-celebrated and super popular hack-and-slash RPG, Infinity Blade, is on sale right now for $2.99. We’re not sure if it’s on the cheap because of Black Friday, Thanksgiving or the latest surge of mentions courtesy Infinity Blade 2 coverage, but hey, that’s not what’s important here. The fact that it’s three dollars cheaper and also an awesome game seems like the jucier material at the moment.

We’re pretty sure 99 percent of you know, own, and probably dig Infinity Blade, so for you one percent-ers out there? Do yourself a favor: buy this game. Also, keep your heads on a swivel because Infinity Blade 2 is almost here. The follow-up is due out on December 1 and will carry a $6.99 price tag, which is the first game’s usual price plus one. So far, it seems fantastic.

Check out the new video:

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Surprise! Gameloft is holding a sale in honor of Thanksgiving. For a limited time, the studio is tossing out the regular price of a select 20 of its titles and lowering them to an agreeable ninety-nine cents. It wouldn’t be a seasonal break without this kind of slash-and-burn sale from the mega publisher, so we’re pretty relieved Gameloft stepped up and confirmed this year’s Thanksgiving week. Thanks, guys!

Oh! And what’s up for grabs? Surprisingly, a few uber-popular titles. Price of Persia: Warrior Within, Splinter Cell Conviction, and its Zelda clone Sacred Odyssey: Rise of Ayden are all on the list with a few other notables. Check it out:

• Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles – $4.99 → $.99
• Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles for iPad – $6.99 → $.99
• BackStab – $6.99 → $.99
• Eternal Legacy – $4.99 → $.99
• Eternal Legacy for iPad – $4.99 → $.99
• Fast Five the Movie: Official Game – $4.99 → $.99
• Fast Five the Movie: Official Game for iPad – $4.99 → $.99
• Gameloft Action Pack – $4.99 → $.99
• Gameloft Sports Pack – $4.99 → $.99
• Iron Man 2 – $4.99 → $.99
• Iron Man 2 for iPad – $4.99 → $.99
• James Cameron’s Avatar – $4.99 → $.99
• James Cameron’s Avatar for iPad – $4.99 → $.99
• Prince of Persia: Warrior Within – $2.99 → $.99
• Prince of Persia: Warrior Within for iPad – $4.99 → $.99
• Rayman 2: The Great Escape – $4.99 → $.99
• Real Golf 2011 – $4.99 → $.99
• Real Golf 2011 for iPad – $4.99 → $.99
• Sacred Odyssey: Rise of Ayden – $6.99 → $.99
• The Settlers – $4.99 → $.99
• The Settlers for iPad – $4.99 → $.99
• Shadow Guardian – $5.99 → $.99
• Shadow Guardian for iPad – $6.99 → $.99
• Shrek Kart – $4.99 → $.99
• Shrek Kart for iPad – $4.99 → $.99
• Silent Ops – $6.99 → $.99
• Spider-Man: Total Mayhem – $6.99 → $.99
• Spider-Man: Total Mayhem for iPad – $6.99 → $.99
• Splinter Cell Conviction – $4.99 → $.99
• Splinter Cell Conviction for iPad – $4.99 → $.99
• Starfront: Collision – $4.99 → $.99
• Starfront: Collision for iPad – $6.99 → $.99
• Zombie Infection – $4.99 → $.99
• Zombie Infection for iPad – $4.99 → $.99

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Needing no introduction for any iOS Action fans, the Gangstar series has been Gameloft’s answer for folks looking for the city sandbox experience popular on gaming consoles. While we enjoyed the previous two Gangstar titles, there were outstanding issues in both games that prevented each from becoming a truly ‘must-own’ title. With Gangstar Rio: City of Saints [$6.99], Gameloft looks to up the ante in all aspects from the new location to cleaner graphics to even a new character advancement system. While Rio falters in its voice overs and the overarching story, everything else makes this the best Gangstar yet.

Gangstar Rio continues the tried and true gameplay of previous titles that closely mimics the gameplay of sandbox games like the Grand Theft Auto series. All the elements from previous games – from the mission based main story, to the large amount of collectibles, to even the side jobs attached to various vehicles – make a return. However, Gangstar Rio improves on its predecessors by making everything just a little bit better. For example, the Rio de Janeiro locale seems to be bigger and is a lot more unique compared to the previous locations. The entire world just feels more alive than previous titles. In addition, the developers have improved the controls by adding a few new options and tightening the existing schemes. However, I was extremely disappointed in the lack of cloud saving/syncing as that should be an essential requirement for lengthy games such as this (moreso since Rio is a universal title).

Another new feature to the series is the clothing system which works in tandem with the experience/level up system. In addition to gaining experience and earning ‘Respect Levels’, you can now also buy clothing which changes your appearance and provides additional perks beyond the typical stats that you increase with each level up. Some of the perks include ‘Luck,’ which increases the amount of looted money and ammo from enemies, and ‘Look’ which makes it harder to increase your wanted level. This is a significant leap forward from previous Gangstar titles, as there is now more motivation to simply enjoy the sandbox environment and earn exp and money in addition to playing the missions.

Graphics-wise, Gangstar Rio also improves upon the previous two titles. While Rio isn’t the nicest title we’ve seen on iOS, its visuals look much better compared to the previous Gangstar games. In addition, the game loaded extremely quickly and the framerate was relatively smooth (at least on an iPad 2 and iPhone 4S). Gameloft also did a good job improving the building pop-up, an issue we had in previous games. However, it’s important to note that your experience may vary based on the model of iOS device you have, and things may not be as smooth on earlier generation systems.

Gameloft also does a good job in nailing the music in Gangstar Rio. There are several radio stations, each with a decent selection of music. Personally, I could care less about name recognition so long as the music simply sounded good in the flow of the game.  Thankfully, most of the songs succeed in that regard. I did think that the developers were trying a bit too hard with the fake radio commercials, but otherwise, the radio was definitely a plus.

(PSA: Some foul language in the trailer):

Unfortunately, despite all these improvements, one area that Gangstar Rio seems to take a step back in is in regards to its story and voiceovers.  The story is your typical riches-to-rags-to-riches-again novella that really doesn’t have any originality. Granted, I’m not expecting a literary masterpiece while I’m planning a drive-by, but it is one of the weakest parts of an otherwise decent gameplay experience. The voice acting, meanwhile, is by far the worst part of Gangstar Rio. Horrid accents, low sound quality, and simply atrocious acting make the voiceovers so bad that it’s almost funny. In fact, I honestly don’t know if the dreadfulness is a deliberate ploy or not. Either way, it’s one of the few dark spots in Rio.

Regardless, I understand that most folks aren’t playing these games for the voice acting or even for the story. The most important question is whether Gangstar Rio is actually fun to play. The answer to that is definitely a ‘yes.’ Rio’s improvements to the core gameplay system, combined with better visuals and good music make this game the best yet in the series. However, much like the previous iterations, there are a few issues that prevent the game from living up to its full potential.

TouchArcade Rating:

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Chair’s Infinity Blade [$2.99] hit the App Store late last year and was met with nearly flawless critical reception. We couldn’t help but give it five stars in our review, saying “It doesn’t get much more ‘must-have’ than this.” We then went on to name-drop Infinity Blade all over our Best iPhone Games category, listing it highly in every buyer’s guide, and every other opportunity we could think of to tell people to download it.

At the iPhone 4S press event, Chair announced Infinity Blade 2, and I’m not sure it’s possible for another iOS title (aside from a potential Infinity Blade 3) to have this much pre-launch hype. It’s well deserved, too. The original was fantastic, and really, all Chair would have needed to do is phone in a sequel with new monsters, new equipment, and maybe even a new setting and we all would have been happy. Instead, what they’ve done, it take nearly every element of the original and turned it up to eleven.

One of the few criticisms people had of Infinity Blade was the oddly cyclical nature of the game, which wasn’t held up by any more than a vague shell of a story involving your entire bloodline serving the single purpose of throwing themselves at the God King. Penny Arcade nailed it in a comic, and Infinity Blade was a much better experience if you didn’t focus on just how silly it was that you decided to take up the sword after your father, grand father, great grandfather, great great grandfather and however many “greats” you needed to add to get back to the original knight who foolishly decided to make this your family’s purpose.

Infinity Blade 2 feels like it has an actual story, and this time it’s told through actual voiceovers. It picks up where the first left off, and you’ve got the God King’s Infinity Blade in your hands, and are off to find “The Worker of Secrets” now that every deathless in the world is interested in taking the Infinity Blade from you. The initial hook involves searching for Saydhi, an information dealer. Thankfully, Saydhi seems to love duels, and offers up prizes for winning. I won’t spoil more than that (and this hardly counts as spoilers since it all transpires in the first cut scene) but the way things branch out from there is substantially more interesting than the original even though you’ll be doing a similar series of loops through the game.

Combat, the main draw of Infinity Blade seems to be greatly improved. Chair must have either tweaked the combat animations themselves, how the swipe input is handled, or both as it feels like you have an even more direct control link to your character. This shines even further in the new combat options which become available, allowing you to trade your shield to either dual wield or carry a massive two handed weapon.

The three fighting styles feel substantially different, and help greatly in making the game feel not quite as repetitive. With two weapons in hand, you attack much faster and blocking with your shield is replaced with being able to duck. Two handed weapons are much slower, and your defensive abilities are swapped with blocking using the actual weapon itself. It’s really cool how it all works out.

The item store is back, and just like the first game you’ll be trading your gold for gear at regular intervals. A new gem system allows for higher levels of customization though, and it won’t take long before your equipped set of gear has all sorts of slots that you can socket gems into which can do basic things like boost stats all the way up to imbuing your items with various magical properties. If coming across gold in battles is a problem, Infinity Blade 2 offers a similar IAP purchase system to buy more gold if you want. Although, like the original, there’s really no reason to and buying gold to get the best items seems to just remove any drive to actually play the game since equipment upgrades play such a big role.

Outside of fights, the gameplay is nearly identical with a world you can explore in an on-rails fashion, panning the camera around and tapping to move to the next location. Hidden items are back, encouraging you to stop to look around on every screen so you don’t miss anything. You’ll want to, too, because Infinity Blade 2 looks gorgeous. While you might be rewarded with items for doing it, you’ll also be taking in the scenery just to marvel at the graphics your iPhone is capable of pumping out.

The rest of the game can easily be summed up with, “It’s Infinity Blade, but more.” There are more enemy types to fight, more visual effects, more flexibility, more customization, and they managed to do all this while removing how repetitive the original felt after blasting through the game a few times. It’s everything I wanted in a sequel, and I can’t wait for it to be released.

Infinity Blade 2 will be available on December 1st as a universal app for $6.99. We’ll have a full review then, so stay tuned.

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Namco Bandai is getting into the gorging spirit of Thanksgiving Day here in the US and encouraging gamers to gorge on new games for their iOS devices with a week long Thanksgiving sale. There’s a staggering amount of games listed on sale, so surely something to pique anyone’s interest.

Personally, I’m quite partial to Pac-Man Championship Edition, Puzzle Quest 2, and Time Crisis 2nd Strike. Oh, and Splatterhouse. Yeah I said it. Sure, it takes a brutally difficult arcade game and makes it that much more difficult with the addition of virtual controls, but I’m just a sucker for nostalgia.

• Ace Combat Xi Skies of Incursion, $4.99 → $0.99
• Buccaneer Blitz, (Universal) $2.99 → $0.99
• Dig Dug Remix, $2.99 → $0.99
• Fossil Feast, (Universal) $1.99 → $0.99
• Galaga Remix, $2.99 → $0.99
• House of Glass, (iPad Only) Free+ $4.99IAP → $2.99IAP
• Isaac Newton’s Gravity HD, (iPad Only) Free+ $4.99IAP → $2.99IAP
• Isaac Newton’s Gravity, $2.99 → $0.99
• Lost in Time: The Clockwork Tower, (iPad Only) Free+ $4.99IAP → $2.99IAP
• Mappy by Namco, $1.99 → $0.99
• Mishap, $4.99 → $2.99
• Mishap for iPad, (iPad Only) $4.99 → $2.99
• PAC-MAN CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION, $4.99 → $0.99
• PAC-CHOMP, (Universal) $1.99 → $0.99
• PAC-MAN REMIX, $2.99 → $0.99
• PAC’N-JUMP, (Universal) $1.99 → $0.99
• Pool Pro Online 3, $1.99 → $0.99
• Pool Pro Online 3 for iPad, (iPad Only) $1.99 → $0.99
• Puzzle Quest 2, (Universal) $4.99 → $2.99
• RALLY-X Rumble, (Universal) $1.99 → $0.99
• Ridge Racer Accelerated, $6.99 → $1.99
• Sky Gamblers: Rise of Glory, (Universal) $4.99 → $2.99
• SPLATTERHOUSE, $2.99 → $0.99
• Time Crisis Strike, $2.99 → $0.99
• Time Crisis 2nd Strike, $6.99 → $1.99

I noticed that not every sale seems to be active yet in the App Store as of this writing, so it’s probably a good idea to double check the pricing before blindly mashing the purchase button. If a price hasn’t dropped yet for you, just give it a bit and check back. You’ve got all the way until Monday the 28th to take advantage of these sales.

Also, prepare yourself for the likely onslaught of other Thanksgiving Day related sales during this week and into the coming weekend.

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On this week’s TouchArcade Show, we spend a good chunk of the introductory phase of the show talking about the latest and hottest … in console games. But immediately after my Skyrim outburst and our shared Modern Warfare 3 discussion, we DO dig into iOS. Jurassic Park: The Game leads the foray. Games like Minecraft: Pocket Edition and Space Tripper, as well as news stories including Apple’s decision to pull Texas Hold’Em round out the rest of one of our rocking-est podcasts yet.

If you’d like to give us a listen (and you should) hit one of the links below to stream or direct download. If you’d like to subscribe, definitely do so via iTunes or, hey, even Zune. Options, you have them!

iTunes Link: The TouchArcade Show
Zune Marketplace: TouchArcade.com Podcasts
RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show
Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-026.mp3, 38MB

Show notes just below, and please, if you have the time, throw us a question! We’re open to whatever. The e-mail is podcast@toucharcade.com

GAMES

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