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A Look at Platform Adventure "Wizzley Presto and the Vampire’s Tomb"

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Back in April of last year we ran a story about mobile developer ZodTTD's announcement of the forthcoming platform puzzle adventure game Wizzley Presto and the Mysterious Time Machine. What made the project interesting was the fact that the developers set a goal to complete the development of the game within 30 days, publicly documenting their progress along the way at 30daygame.com.

A cool element of this project is the blog. We are doing this game in 30 days, from an idea to a finished product for AppStore. Best of all we’re showing all of what is involved along the way. Expect lots of interesting posts for all those who wonder what it’s like programming a game on the iPhone & iPod Touch!

Early this month the game (renamed Wizzley Presto and the Vampire's Tomb) went live in the App Store [link]. But hey — wait a minute — that's a lot more than 30 days! I contacted the developers to find out what gives.

I spoke with project programmer Craig Rothwell, who also happens to be the person behind the OpenPandora handheld and the iControlPad iPhone accessory. He indicates that he achieved "mission accomplished" within 30 days, as planned, but the decision was made to expand the title into something overall more complete.

We did indeed complete the 30 day game but it was rather nice and we decided rather than releasing it then as a 'tech demo' we would like to make it bigger and better.

Now one thing a lot of people don't realise is that 90% of 'full' games which have development started are never finished, team members get bored, people move to other projects, the steam runs out and the 'on no! real work!' syndrome starts. Fortunately I've worked on games before (for the Gameboy color and GBA) so I knew how to just knuckle down and get on with it, sleepless nights and all.

So over the space of 8 months we worked on a proper plot, scenes, monsters and dialogue.

By Christmas 2009, the game was ready to go — as developed and tested in the iPhone simulator — but, when it was loaded onto an actual device, it didn't work. (The simulator is not the perfect testing ground…) Work began to get the game running on actual metal, and in March a few extra features (such as egg throwing) were added in before submission to Apple. And, after a rejection / resubmission snafu, Wizzley Presto has landed in the App Store.

It's a pretty nice title, actually. It features extremely impressive oldschool artwork reminiscent of  by pixel artist Ruckage along with a nice audio track. The goal of the game is to traverse screen after screen of obstacle, puzzle, and enemy-laden platforms, by way of button touch controls, in order to make it through all three "chapters," each bringing a save point. It's not so much a Turrican or Mario affair, but more a modestly-paced puzzle solving experience reminiscent of the classic Dizzy series. Stand on a switch to activate a sliding bridge, find the appropriate tool to make it past an obstacle, etc. Less arcade action and more problem solving. Kind of a Babylonian Twins — without the twins, to reference an existing iPhone title.

Wizzley Presto and the Vampires Tomb is lovely, clever, and quite enjoyable. I'm pleased the team took the extra time needed to build the game up to its current form. And, if you have what it takes to be the first to finish the challenge, the developers have a $1,500 prize waiting for you.

App Store Link: Wizzley Presto and the Vampires Tomb, $4.99

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Written by admin

July 19, 2010 at 10:15

‘iBomber 2′ Review – Bombs Away (Again!)

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One of the mainstays on our devices since its release almost a year ago is Cobra Mobile's aerial bombardment game, iBomber. Evidently many of you liked it too as it enjoyed long bouts as the #1 best selling game on the App Store last year. And now, Cobra Mobile has bought us the long-awaited sequel as iBomber 2 [AppStore] finally deploys.

iBomber 2 theatre of war takes place over North Africa and Europe between 1943 and 1944, prompting a change in scenery from the Pacific Island setting of the original game to also include deserts, frozen tundras and forests too. The game engine otherwise remains untouched, so expect no graphical improvements beyond the new landscapes, which are all richly drawn and detailed.

Instead, iBomber 2 focuses on a few added features to sell its sequel. Naturally, the stars of the show– the artillery– had to receive an update. They now include torpedos and depth charges (specifically designed to fight submarines), artillery strikes (which places a marker for a broad-ranged attack to commence) and carpet bombs (a lot of ordinance, all in a neat row). Other new, non-artillery power-ups include the wingman ability, which calls in 2 wingmen to fly below you and soak up your damage for a time.

Missions and enemies are the second spruced up feature in iBomber 2. There are now tanks to contend with, some of which may even fire surface-to-air missiles (leaving a great looking smoke trail) that you have to avoid or suffer a huge damage hit. Additionally, some of the 12 new missions require you to protect or destroy a number of fleeing vehicles, assisting to mix up the usual search and destroy objectives of other levels. We were particularly fond of one level where you supported a spy to flee after he comes under fire when infiltrating an enemy base. Seeing other units benefiting from your actions gave added context to the ongoing war, something we felt should have featured more prominently.

Another major inclusion to iBomber 2 is the new touch control scheme. Cobra Mobile have listened to cries for a non-tilt option, and have implemented a virtual thumb-stick of sorts. Swiping your finger on the left of the screen reveals a small analogue stick, indicating the direction you are currently heading. Swiping left and right steers the bomber, whilst swiping up and down changes your speed. We felt that while the new touch controls were a thoughtful addition, they proved too fiddly to master and were prone to causing your ship to spin erratically. For a change, the tilt mechanism is tried and true, and continues to work best here.

We were surprised to see a rather paltry list of added features in iBomber 2, appearing to be little more than a map expansion despite the addition of a few fun new weapons. We were really hoping for an improvement to the core gameplay of the first game, but aside from the abovementioned chase missions, other objectives are largely the same. That said, when your original game is met with the sort of success that iBomber enjoyed, perhaps more of the same is exactly what customers are demanding.

If this sounds to your liking, then we're confident you'll enjoy playing through the 12 missions in iBomber 2 and seeing how you'll fare against your friends via the new Plus+ high score integration. If you're still not sure though, check out the developer's trailer above for a look and flick through other users' impressions on our forums.

App Store Link: iBomber 2, $2.99.

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Written by admin

May 11, 2010 at 2:15

‘Armada — Galactic War’ Review: Who Needs Starcraft on the App Store Anyway?

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It was little more than a week ago that we were lamenting that Starcraft 2 would not be coming to the AppStore any time soon. Unbeknownst to us, indie developer Pixel Stream has been working on the silver lining to that news for almost 8 months, with the release of their Starcraft-esque real-time strategy game, Armada – Galactic War [AppStore].

Firstly, let's dispense with one important fact early– Armada is a no-nonsense, online-only RTS, at least until a promised future update releases offline play too. This means from your very first game you'll be facing real competitors over your WiFi or 3G networks and won't be charging through a pre-scripted, story-based set of missions. Fortunately, you aren't thrown entirely in the deep end, as a brief page-by-page tutorial offers an introduction to the game's mechanics and features.

Each Armada army, of which there are 3 — the Humans, Cyborgs and Aliens — has 4 distinct classes of units. There are no buildings to concern yourself with, so the scope of your campaign is entirely in considering whether to deploy your Mechs, Tanks, (flying) Ships or your solitary Mothership. Unit effectiveness is determined by a loose rock, paper, scissors formula, where Mechs are effective against Ships, Ships are best against Tanks (who are the only units that can't attack air units) and Tanks use their splash damage to chew through Mechs. Each unit class (with the exception of the Mothership) is further broken down into 3 units of increasing strength and cost. The Mothership is the hub of each team, a goliath of a ship that is both your source of units and a competent fighter against all the other classes. Its destruction serves as the overall objective to achieve victory in Armada.

Your entire army is funded by sending your Mechs to harvest the green crystals scattered across the map (sounds familiar?). Selecting units and ordering them to a task is ingeniously simple in Armada. You enter select mode by holding one finger on the yellow square at the top left of the screen and can either drag a box around your units, or tap them individually to select them. Releasing the select box allows you to then issue commands by tapping on-screen, such as sending Mech units to mine crystal.

It's a wonder that many developers have cited difficulty in translating traditional mouse controls to the touch interface as the major reason RTS games aren't featuring on the AppStore (just read the comments from Blizzard above). Pixel Stream have managed to come up with a control scheme that feels both intuitive and responsive and allows for a surprising amount of micromanagement too. That's not to say we were completely satisfied with the control options, as we would have liked to see a way of de-selecting units and assigning control groups (to on-screen buttons perhaps?) or selecting all units of the same type to better co-ordinate your army in combat, but the basis for a successful system is certainly in place. A few tweaks could make it really exceptional.

We were very impressed by the online service provided via Pixel Stream's Zing Network. Private matches were simple to setup and the matchup system found opponents nearly instantly, or would revert to an AI player if players weren't available. Games played on WiFi naturally ran very smoothly but we were surprised to find that 3G connections were just as capable. Armada's netcode and graphics performance also appeared to be in peak form, as we piled scores of units on screen at once, upwards of 30 or 40, and noticed no perceivable performance hit on our 3GS device. Our 2G Touch device skipped only a few frames too, but combat certainly remained playable.

The 5 maps initially available in Armada can be played in any configuration from 2-4 players, with 4 player battles being a (manic) highlight in our time with the game. The maps all have different configurations and slightly different themes, though their function is more strategic than aesthetic, as each has a number of crystal farms for you to expand to in order to gain a leg up on opponents. The units themselves are crafted in simple 3D; they are evidently low-poly with low resolution textures. That's not to say they don't look nice though, as they are all easily recognised on the battlefield and get the job done. Each race has a completely unique style individual to their personalities too (for example, the Cyborgs are clean-lined and shiny, whilst the Humans are more rugged looking).

Armada also features an underlying upgrade system called A.R.M.S in-game, which we are admittedly on the fence about. 10 customizable upgrades (in total) can be applied to your profile, each one boosting the abilities of 1 particular unit in your arsenal. For example, a Mech 1 speed upgrade will boost the movement speed of any 1st tier Mech that you create by 30%. There are hundreds of upgrades to choose from covering the whole gamut of attributes for each unit (and the mothership too). Upgrades are purchased by credits which are awarded for playing matches, with wins and larger scale matches equating to larger returns.

The A.R.M.S system was intended to offer an additional layer of strategy, but it ends up playing out more like a ranking system on FPS games, where players that stick with the game have a significant advantage over those who play infrequently. To give an example, one player on our forums, backtothis– who is currently on top of the leaderboards– claims to have upgraded his level 1 Mechs to the point where they can destroy level 3 Tanks. This costs an exorbitant amount of credits to do however and won't be an option available to the average player for quite some time. We sincerely hope the developers will keep an eye on this, as the upgrade system could be a major source of serious imbalance issues in future match-ups, something that is far more detrimental to RTS' than other genres.

Armada makes serious inroads into capturing the essence of popular real time strategy games on a portable device. It is clearly influenced by the greats such as Starcraft, and in some ways actually manages to distil the epic unit-to-unit match-ups and combat strategy that made that game a hit. Its focus on unit management over building management ensures a narrower scope of battle that is well suited to shorter, more intense matches. It already has a tight control setup in place (which could still use some tweaking) and a match-up system that works– and works well. Our major concern is with the potential abuse of the upgrade system, the effect of which largely remains to be seen, and whether the developers can keep up with the inevitable balancing updates required.

At this stage though, we're ultimately impressed by what 3-man developer Pixel Stream have done; they have catered for RTS fans in a way that other larger developers had thought too difficult. With the promise of offline play in the near future, Armada is an effortless recommendation to any RTS buff looking to test their APM on the touch devices in a competitive environment. To check out the gameplay for yourself, take a peek at the developer's trailer above or hit up our forums for other readers' impressions.

App Store Link: Armada – Galactic War, $0.99 (Introductory Sale Price).

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Written by admin

May 10, 2010 at 14:15

‘Monster Mayhem’ Review — A Monster Mash of Zombieville & Plants vs Zombies

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It seems our love affair with monsters and zombies is still as strong as ever, as there seems to be no let-up on these apps appearing on the AppStore. Well, at least Chillingo thinks so, releasing Monster Mayhem [AppStore] — a castle defense game which seems a mash-up of MonsterKill, Zombieville and even a dash of Plants vs Zombies.

The game begins by introducing a horde of incoming monsters, all ready to descend upon the graveyard over which you are custodian. Naturally, this gravekeeper happens to have an arsenal of weapons at his disposal (don't they all?), and that's about all there is to the story. Monster Mayhem plays a lot like MonsterKill, but instead of enemies coming in waves down the screen, they use the horizontal screen real estate to stage their charge. The whole game has a great look that closely resembles the aforementioned PvZ.

At first, Monster Mayhem seems much like other castle defense games. Though you don't have to flick characters around in finger-seizing fits typical of the genre, there is still the need for endless swiping, particularly as you begin with a knife. Here it draws parallels with MonsterKill, where knife attacks are effected by swiping across an enemy. Unfortunately each swipe seems only to hit one monster, only worsening the inevitable digit agony.

Fortunately, the gameplay offers a reprieve of sorts by introducing firearms that are all tap-tap-tap. It means that your finger isn't being worn to a nub by tricky gestures, instead going back to a simple shooting range gameplay where your finger is the trigger. Having said that, you'll be faced with a lot of mad tapping, where finger soreness is still a reality (indeed, a likelihood), something that may still turn people away but at least is a step in the right direction for the genre.

There are 7 different weapons on offer in Monster Mayhem from handguns to flamethrowers and then the ol' room-clearing nuke. Each of these can be upgraded several times, which changes the type of weapon to a more powerful variant (think an Uzi to an MP5). It's nothing amazingly original, but it's still a nice touch to see. What's more, each weapon handles a little differently; grenades are lobbed at the screen for instance, whilst flamethrowers are waved around to devastating effect. Chances are though, you'll stick to powering up and using only a couple of these, as shotguns don't scatter as expected, and the more powerful weapons cost a heap to keep supplied with ammo.

As far as cannon fodder goes, there are 20 different types in Monster Mayhem, from frankensteins to creepy crawlies and 5 additional, huge bosses to defeat. Every time you encounter a new enemy, you get a cool little scorecard that details their strengths and weaknesses, and what weapons will not work on them, and it's all stored in a Monster Handbook available from the menu. It offers a light layer of strategy as you consider what weapons to use on what enemies and which monsters to engage first. Special mention has to go to the use of the old-school Chinese vampires too, which are creepy even in their cute PvZ-like form.

There are over 30 levels to mow through here, with some really gory-but-cute combat spread over 6 different worlds. After completing the game, you'll unlock the Madness difficulty, a self-explanatory Endless mode and a Boss Rush Mode which includes waves of boss-only monsters. The latter is an interesting addition that is unique to Monsters Mayhem.

On the face of the game is a simple looking castle defense game, but peel that back and you'll find more of a gallery shooter than the flicking frenzy of other castle defenders. The various game modes included should keep you engaged for a while, particularly as the campaign mode's high score is recorded on Chillingo's Crystal platform (which also includes a nice selection of achievements). We did encounter a few intermittent stuttering bugs during our play on the 3GS device (where the game pauses for a brief moment) which we're hoping will be remedied in future updates, but other than that Monster Mayhem is a great monster mash that should get castle defense fans thoroughly excited but may still prove too prohibitive to those protective of their fine motor skills.

Be sure to check out the developer's trailer above for your own look at the game, and have a look at our forums to see other users' impressions.

App Store Link: Monster Mayhem, $1.99.

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May 9, 2010 at 10:15

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‘Hand of Greed – dodge the blade!’ Review — Would You Put Your Hand in the Hornet’s Nest?

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The AppStore being the bottomless font of creativity and innovation that it is, developers are constantly finding new ways to engage us with our devices. Tactility is a big draw card here, with simple concepts such as Fruit Ninja proving a hit thanks to the very cool way that we interface with the game. Brainium Studios provided another example of something fresh earlier this year, but their game was pulled due to a new publishing arrangement. Thankfully, it has now re-emerged as Hand of Greed – dodge the blade! [AppStore].

Hand of Greed is an avoidance game with a twist, forcing you to literally put your hand in the hornet's nest. Where Fruit Ninja had you do the slicing and dicing, Hand of Greed makes you the subject of the slashing– tasked with avoiding the whirling on-screen blades to collect each level's treasures simply by tapping on them. Each time you unsuccessfully jab at a target, the screen is caked with blood and a gut-wrenching stabbing sound emanates from the device, along with a sharp vibrate.

There are 50 levels overall in Hand of Greed spanning over 5 differently themed worlds. Each level is beautifully rendered, with the exceptionally crafted blades stealing the show and occupying most of the screen real estate. This is especially true of the latter levels, where you'll have to face off against a number of wicked looking knives that you certainly will not find in the kitchen.

Each level provides several wave of different treasures to collect, with bonus points awarded for collecting chains of like-treasures. The object of each level is to clear it in its entirety without being sliced more than three times. To help, power-ups are slowly introduced along the way, and provide benefits such as refilling portions of your life bubble located at the top of the screen. They're sorely needed too, as Hand of Greed features a sharp incline (pun intended) in difficulty that requires you to study closely each blade's pattern or face being shredded instead.

Scores are accumulated at the end of each level and high scores recorded on the OpenFeint leaderboards. There are also 17 achievements to unlock, with most of them remaining secret until discovered to further up the ante.

It's a winning formula that is as simple as it is effective. Though there's not a lot of depth to the game, it's a terrific time waster that should keep you occupied for a long while, largely thanks to its gruelling difficulty (which may very well be too much for some). Just don't show it off to anyone with a queasy stomach or penchant for fainting at the sight of blood.

App Store Link: Hand of Greed – dodge the blade!, $0.99.

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Written by admin

May 7, 2010 at 18:15

Video of Jailbroken iPad Running SNES Emulator

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This short video uploaded to youtube shows off the ability to run an emulator on the iPad to play SNES games, while using the Wii Remote to control the character. The game being played is Super Mario World on snes4iphone [$5.99 from Cydia].

The jailbreak for the iPad has not even been out a week yet, and you can clearly see the great possibilities that can come out of this device. As the jailbreak community continues to release new iPad specific applications, that Apple does not allow in their own AppStore, expect to see some really creative ideas unfold.

If your not too sure what jailbreaking your iDevice means, Gizmodo has posted a great overview on what jailbreaking is, how easy it is, and some other common FAQ's regarding jailbreaking. But as always, like the Gizmodo article clearly points out:

And remember, be careful! Jailbreaking is unsupported and something that's very new to the iPad. If in doubt about a particular Cydia app, err on the side of caution. You're better safe than sorry, really.

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Written by admin

May 6, 2010 at 6:15

‘Carcassonne’ — Coming to an iPhone Near You!

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One board game that our readers have continually mentioned as a worthy candidate for the AppStore is the hit German tile-based game, Carcassonne. This is undoubtedly due to Sierra's well-received adaptation of the game for the XBOX Live and several indie spin-offs that we've already seen on the AppStore. In any case, we're pleased to announce that developers The Coding Monkeys together with Hans im Glück, one of the publishers of the original boardgame, have heard your cries, as Carcassonne is almost done and ready to hit the App Store sometime in May.

The Carcassonne website provides a very brief description of the features included in the initial release. From what we can muster, Carcassonne will include all the tiles from the original board game tileset, with the expansion tilesets (of which there were several) coming later as In-App purchases. It also offers the full suite of multiplayer options, including pass-and-play, local (WiFi and Bluetooth) multiplayer and online multiplayer, which is terrific to see as this sort of title would be stunted without the ability to find willing opponents at any given time. Of course, there is also the option to play against the computer, with a range of AI difficulties available to test yourself against.

Screenshots of the game so far are promising, and the game really looks like it's getting a thick layer of polish. So far, the developers have announced an English and German translation for the iPhone/iPod devices only, but have promised that the app itself will be universal, incorporating iPad support at a later date. We're looking forward to getting a hands on preview with the game in the near future where we'll be able to provide further information before its release later this month at the introductory price of $4.99.

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May 4, 2010 at 22:15

‘Alive 4-Ever RETURNS’ Review — Let Loose the Zombie Hounds Once More!

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When we first reviewed Alive 4-Ever back in August 2009, we were thoroughly impressed to see a top-down dual-stick shooter finally delivering both the depth and breadth of content that the genre was really calling for. Since then, we have seen an explosion of dual-stick shooters, with only few really exceeding or even matching the standard set by developer Meridian. Fortunately, the release of Meridian's sequel, Alive 4-Ever RETURNS [AppStore] gives us another look at just how a dual-stick shooter should be delivered.

Alive 4-Ever RETURNS introduces 4 new characters who were fortunate enough to escape the infection that seemed to zombify the planet. The storyline (very) loosely ties in their adventure to the gameplay, providing a short bit of context at the beginning of each level. Meridian have completely overhauled the original game engine, bringing each of the new levels to life with 3D props to give both a sense of depth to the world, and also new obstacles to navigate. If we had to distill just one memorable feature of the original engine, it would undoubtedly be the bloody mess left over at the end of each level. Alive 4-Ever RETURNS amazingly improves on this, adding what must be 10 pints of blood to each zombie you mow down, spraying from each lifeless victim in a satisfying (masochistic) manner.

The whopping 40 new levels in Alive 4-Ever RETURNS are also grislier than their original counterparts. Overall, the mood is darker, there is far more environmental eye-candy, and some of the levels are just downright cool to play through (loved tackling zombies on the football pitch!). Together with the standard mission-based challenges of the first game there is also a self-explanatory Survival Mode and new take on gameplay in the form of Horde mode. In this mode you face wave after wave of increasingly difficult zombies, trying to get through as many waves as possible, with your life and ammo replenished after each wave by spawned items. Each of the new game modes puts you in the role of the character from your challenge mode, meaning they can be revisited each time your character grows to attempt greater feats.

And just as in the first title, there is an impressive laundry list of customization available to your character. The attribute points, equipment slots and the huge armory of weapons featured in Alive 4-Ever make a return, joined by a new skills system. Skills are on-screen button-activated abilities that are made available at certain levels, and give powerful, temporary (but re-usable) boosts to your character. There are 13 skills available which effect anything from health boosts to weapon damage increases, with only 4 slots for skills unlocked as your character progresses. Together with the menu-driven customization, Alive 4-Ever RETURNS also includes a number of new in-game pickups to help you out of tight spots; our favorite easily being the room-clearing dual-wielded handguns, with the new grenade pickups coming in a close second.

Many of the features that made the original great make a return here too, with bonus challenges driving the main source of weapon unlocks and fiercesome, large-scaled boss enemies interspersed throughout the challenge missions. We're also pleased to see that WiFi driven 4-player co-op (with Bluetooth co-op coming in the next update) has been included in the sequel, a feature that was added to the original several months after its release. Competitive types and completionists alike will be pleased to know that the game also makes use of the OpenFeint platform to deliver a full suite of achievements and leaderboards for each of the game modes.

Alive 4-Ever RETURNS is a faithful zombie-massacring sequel, offering a similar experience to the original title albeit in greater quantity and quality. A number of improvements to both the engine and the gameplay itself have solidified Alive 4-Ever RETURNS as much more than just a content update, with some thoughtful touches such as zooming out to see the battlefield when you're not firing or how the gun sounds amplify when a power-up is active really shows how Meridian has really fine-tuned this release. Alive 4-Ever RETURNS is easily recommended for dual-stick shooter fans, and a must-have for fans of the original game. There is an enormous amount of content to shoot through here and the levels themselves are challenging, terrific to explore and look great with a whole heap of zombie blood smeared over them.

Be sure to check out the gameplay trailer above which highlights the new additions to the sequel. So far, comments from our readers in our forums have shown their overwhelming enthusiasm for the sequel and its new features.

App Store Link: Alive 4-Ever RETURNS, $1.99 (Introductory sale until first update).

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Written by admin

April 29, 2010 at 6:15

‘MiniSquadron Special Edition’ Review – Free to Try

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Late last year we reviewed MiniSquadron, a 2D, side-scrolling aerial combat game that we thoroughly enjoyed and was a hit with our readers. Developers MrFungFung have followed up their original title with a content-rich sequel, MiniSquadron Special Edition [AppStore].

Gameplay in the new MiniSquadron Special Edition is identical to that in the original game, so instead of reiterating what we originally reviewed, we'll just cover what has been added.

Primarily, the fee structure has changed. MiniSquadron Special Edition is now a free to download game, offering the first two levels for free and including the remaining 6 levels in the form of 3 separate level packs for $0.99 each. Each level contains waves of progressively harder enemies that you must defeat to continue. Essentially this adds to the same $2.99 price of the first game, but it should now be more accessible to those who never got around to giving the original MiniSquadron a try.

Content-wise, there are a whopping 50+ new aircraft to unlock, which also introduce the helicopter to your squadron ranks. As expected, the helicopter can hover and brings greater manoeuvrability and control. More than that though, it changes up the gameplay you're more than familiar with by now and gives a fresh perspective on how to tackle each of the 8 new levels. MiniSquadron Special Edition also features 2 new power-ups, Freeze and Rapid Fire (which can both be used against you, too) and are rather self-explanatory. Also included is a new fireball weapon-type that is unlocked for certain aircraft.

As in the previous version, the handcrafted levels are all individually themed (you can take your dogfighting into space to fly amongst aliens, or to the arctics to play with penguins) and really present a terrific backdrop to the frantic flying action. There is still a Classic mode (which offers waves of individual challenges per level) and a Survival mode to play through. MiniSquadron Special Edition also allows for Network play via WiFi.

We're a bit disappointed that our biggest wish for the first version hasn't been provided. There is no online multiplayer, and network play is restricted to 1 v 1 battles only– overlooking the opportunity for this game to really shine by offering dogfighting between several players at once.

If you are a big fan of the first Minisquadron, then MiniSquadron Special Edition will be an obvious must-buy for you. The gameplay is identical despite the new additions, so essentially you're purchasing additional levels and a large number of new plane unlocks. We're sad that there is no expanded multiplayer functionality, as it would have offered something fresh for those that had their MiniSquadron fill in the original title.

This doesn't seem to have discouraged our forum readers though, who are already expressing their enthusiasm for the sequel on our forums.

App Store Link: MiniSquadron Special Edition, Free (With 3 In-App Level Packs for $0.99 each).

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Written by admin

April 24, 2010 at 10:15

‘Dizzypad’ by Nimblebit Free Today, iPad version Coming Soon

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NimbleBit is holding another Freebie Friday on April 23rd, this time the free game being offered is their newest release, Dizzypad for the iPhone. It's already gone free for those of you who want to jump on it early.

We gave Dizzypad 4 stars back in February for being a fun casual game.

The goal is to simply get as far as you can while jumping from lily pad to lily pad. Each lily pad is spinning in place, and a well timed tap on the screen will launch you forward. The trick is to wait until you are facing the right direction and off you go. Sounds simple, eh?

In addition to making their iPhone version of Dizzypad free for the day, Nimblebit has announced that Dizzypad is coming to the iPad as well. The iPad version of Dizzypad will be freemium, where you will get the classic game mode, 30 unlockable frog skins, and plus+ with awards and leaderboards included. In addition, there will also be three new game modes available to purchase through DLC for $1.99 each:

Sliders: A fun twist on the classic mode. Test your timing with pads that slide back and forth instead of rotating in place!
Memory: Be a froggy matchmaker and test your memory by picking frog pairs. Guaranteed to sharpen your wits!
Battle: Duke it out on the pond with a friend in this 2 player mode! Try your best to gobble each other up until your frog grows the largest.

Dizzypad for the iPad has already been submitted, so expect to see it soon in the AppStore.

Here's a video of the iPhone version in action:

App Store Link: Dizzy Pad, Free (Today Only)

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Written by admin

April 24, 2010 at 10:15