Archive for the ‘concept’ tag
Ustwo Pulls ‘Papa Quash’ in Light of Cloning Controversy
Yesterday the internet exploded over the latest controversy concerning “cloning” and the App Store. Developer released Papa Quash, a game with a really “out there” concept, which we explain in our article yesterday, but unfortunately one that had already gained a ton of notoriety when it was the basis behind indie developer ’s PC title .
The uniqueness of the gameplay concept is likely the biggest reason that Papa Quash drew so much ire, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Ustwo had previously made statements deriding the act of cloning, and in the case of Papa Quash the story went that former Big Brother UK cast member had actually commissioned Ustwo to help create the project. After being informed by Ustwo that the concept of Papa Quash was the same as J.S. Joust, Sam Pepper allegedly reached out to Die Gute Fabrik for their blessing in creating the game, which Ustwo was assured he received.
Today Ustwo’s head of marketing Steve Bittan made a bold decision in the matter, to state that “We are pulling [Papa Quash] ASAP” in light of the apparent fact that Sam Pepper didn’t really have permission from Die Gute Fabrik to copy the gameplay after all. Whether this whole ordeal really was just a big misunderstanding or if this is severe damage control in light of the huge negative backlash to Papa Quash remains to be seen, and we’re still waiting for official responses from both Sam Pepper as well as Die Gute Fabrik.
As of this moment Papa Quash is indeed removed from the App Store, and if any new information comes to light regarding this situation we’ll be sure to let you know.
[Via , . Image via ]
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‘Crash Mayhem’ Review – Dr. Beat Has Left the Building
Crashing into things and making them explode almost never gets old, and that’s exactly what was banking on when it released Crash Mayhem [ Free ]. Luckily, this game lives up to its name and is just as fun as it may sound.
The thing about Crash Mayhem that immediately sucks you in is the lure of making as big of a crash as possible, racking up repair bills just as high as you can in the process. If this concept sounds familiar, that’s because the Burnout series was basically built on this same premise, even up to the iOS release of Burnout Crash [ $4.99 ].
Let’s preface this by saying that Burnout Crash is a pretty good addition to the Burnout series, and only debuted about a month ago on the App Store. The control style in Crash Mayhem is similar, the camera view is similar, the drivers are still incredibly stupid, and the scoring system is basically the same, too. Now that you know that, you should also know that Mayhem might even improve on Burnout’s formula a bit.
Besides the obvious advantage of Crash Mayhem being free, you can complete other goals that aren’t just blowing up everything in sight, causing catastrophic damage in the process. Instead, this non-stop action is broken up by objectives you’ll find across the game’s open world. Being able to actually explore around a world is quite a nice refresher after spending so much time strictly making things explode.
As previously mentioned, Crash Mayhem is indeed free and as with most free games, it does have some sort of in-app purchase for you to buy if you wish. This game’s pricing scheme is an example of IAP done right because you’ll only have to buy it if you don’t want ads or if you want some extra levels. As it is, the base free game gives you fifteen levels that you unlock as you play, with five more included with purchase.
The ads are persistent throughout the game, not just in menus and such, so if a banner blocking part of the screen will drive you crazy then forking over the 99¢ IAP to remove them will probably be high on your list of things to do. Still, having a game with as much content as Crash Mayhem available for free to try before you buy is a welcome thing.
The visuals in the game tend to be a bit drab and lacking in punch, but are satisfying enough to not be too much of a bother. Variety would have helped out a bit in this area, as you play in the same open world throughout every stage of the game. For the audio, the main theme playing on the main menu is very catchy, and the sound effects do just fine and capture the action happening on screen well.
Game Center integration is a definite advantage that Crash Mayhem has over Burnout, as you won’t have to sign up for another silly account (Origin) just to share your high scores with your friends. Being Universal also helps, so that you can compare with your friends regardless of iOS device.
While it may be easy to say Crash Mayhem is a simple copy-and-paste job of the Burnout series by looking at screenshots, you’d be entirely wrong. Crash Mayhem is certainly derivative of Burnout (and especially Crash), but adds its own flavor and features that make it stand out on its own. With a price tag of free, you’d probably be doing yourself a disservice by passing this one up.
TouchArcade Rating: 
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Subatomic Talks About What’s New In ‘Fieldrunners 2′ And How Important The Franchise Is To The Studio
This morning unveiled that it has been doing something other than pounding out updates for Fieldrunners on iPhone and iPad. It’s been working on a big budget sequel to that 2008 original. In fact, Subatomic has been building Fieldrunners 2 since Fieldrunner’s initial release, carefully toying around with new concepts while also playing around with other prototypes. So, yeah, this one did take awhile.
It’s true that this sequel ushers in the usual, not-so-exciting follow-up fare: new enemies, new towers, new modes, new progression systems, and new maps. But it’s also doing something great and pure. It’s introducing new mechanics that change up the core experience. These tweaks and changes are radical enough that they had Subatomic floating the idea of calling the game something else.
Jamie Gotch, the CEO of Subatomic Studios, chatted with us this afternoon about some of the game’s biggest changes. He also gave us a brief history lesson on how Subatomic got its start, and how important Fieldrunners is to the studio.
“We formed back in 2008. When we first established, we were virtual. We were just some dudes who were working on this game part-time on the side,” Gotch says. “We saw an opportunity on the iPhone and we went for it. We had this game idea, which was Fieldrunners, and we figured that — this was before any games were released when the iPhone was in its beta phase and we thought tower defense game would be great to put on a mobile device. There wasn’t much of that out at the time. I don’t know if there were any games that were in that genre. We saw it as a great opportunity. We worked really hard and got the game out and it did really, really well.”
Gotch paints an overall picture that has us thinking that Subatomic wouldn’t exist in its current full-time staffed form without Fieldrunners. Subatomic almost … owes that game, and it needs to produce a sequel that feels as honest and hip, but also just as new as Fieldrunners felt at the time.
“We were really fortunate,” Gotch tell us when we ask about how many people were buying into the original. “As you know, there’s so many iPhone games out there. It’s very hard to release a game on a huge budget because it’s a huge risk. Fieldrunners has done well and it allowed us the ability to build this team and the game we wanted to build.”
One of the things the studio wanted to build for Fieldrunners 2 is better AI. It did, and it’s a game-changer. It’s smarter. It’s now aware of itself and the world it inhabits. Enemies can bump into each other at choke points and push to find safer pathways. They can also scramble over and under each other. The original game was as mechanical as other tower defense games. Enemies just plowed straight ahead, totally oblivious to everything around them — no behaviors, no awareness, no brains.
“In Fieldrunners 2 what we did, we actually have this very elaborate swarming behavior,” Gotch says. “Units behave like they would on a real battlefield. If you were to throw hundreds of units on-screen they would all swarm in and take control of the battlefield. Like an army you would see in Braveheart … They actually influence one another. You can build mazes and congest the [pipes you build]. And the guys behind [other enemies] are affected by the guys in the forefront.
Gotch excitedly tells us about other new stuff. Bridges and tunnels are being introduced in addition to environmental hazards and mini-bosses. A really neat sounding collectible card mini-game is in the works, too. As you earn achievements in the game’s modes, you receive cards.
Several of you noted earlier today that the game looks great. It does, and that’s thanks to Fieldrunner 2’s re-written engine, which is what makes all of the game’s new, much more unpredictable action possible. We’ve got a couple of new screens in the article, so give the game a look as you’re reading.
The new engine and the new AI behaviors combine to make a pretty different game, which is what prompted the debate Subatomic had about the Fieldrunner 2’s name. In the App Store world, putting a number instead of a subtitle in a sequel’s name is often said to be sales suicide because people quit buying the original game. Subatomic doesn’t care about this. It thinks it created a better game and if it loses sales, whatever. It wants this to stand proudly on its own.
Fieldrunners 2 is due out this June on iPhone and an iPad version will then follow. We talked with Gotch and the game’s lead designer Sergei Gourski on this week’s episode of our bonus podcast. We’ll blast the audio to your earholes tomorrow.
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‘Whale Trail’ Creators Release ‘Johann Sebastian Joust’ Clone
There was quite a debate in the TouchArcade command center today regarding whether or not we were even going to post this, as our community seems to simultaneously hate it when we post about clones, but absolutely loves talking about them. So, we’re going ahead with this along with the caveat that we’re trying to get in touch with all parties involved to get to the bottom of things. With that out of the way, let’s back things up a bit.
is a no-graphics game designed for the PlayStation Move controller by . The game seems to be a staple at any indie game developer party, and features Bach’s as the soundtrack. The idea of the game is to jostle the PlayStation Move controllers of the other players to get them out. The threshold of how much the controller can be jostled is adjusted in time with the music, and it’s a ton of fun to watch people playing. It’s a very difficult game to explain, so, watch this trailer:
Today, released an eerily similar game called Papa Quash [ Free ]. I suppose we should cut right to the chase here, so, assuming you’ve watched the above video, imagine that… But with dub step:
The rabbit hole goes much deeper here than your typical tale of game cloning. According to , the concept of the game was actually cooked up by , a YouTube pseudo-celebrity whose original claim to fame was appearing on the TV series Big Brother.
Allegedly, Pepper contacted the guys at Die Gute Fabrik who gave him to go ahead with the game and wished him luck. Die Gute Fabrik fired back by saying, “Just to be clear, we have never and would never approve, give permission, or encourage anyone to clone of any of our games.” Where things get interesting in all this is that Mills, the ustwo co-founder and self-proclaimed Chief Wonka, has been very vocal in the past regarding cloning. In the past, he’s told :
“Making games, entertainment, a new design, a product should always be about unearthing something that makes you proud no matter what happens on the financial side… Fakes and copycats quite simply have to absolutely f**k off to another paradigm.”
Bittan, speaking with continues:
“This is a quick, short-term project, in and out of the door very quick. Obviously the concept is quite similar. We don’t want to be dragged into it too much – it’s not anything to do with our app division.
We don’t copy – everyone is influenced by certain things. It’s like saying Sega is copying Mario or something. Whale Trail people said was similar to Tiny Wings, but we went back to the drawing board with that. If people think we’re happy to clone people they’re very much mistaken.”
We’ll see how it all shakes out once more people start talking. We’ve yet to hear back from ustwo ourselves, and Die Gut Fabrik is preparing a statement on the matter. Now, I’m going to go sigh a lot.
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‘Jumping Knights’ Review – Soar Into the Sky in an Endless Quest for Cuteness
One glance at Jumping Knights [ $0.99 ] ought to pretty much explain the premise – it’s Doodle Jump with a -inspired art style. I was expecting to pick it up, go a few rounds, and be able to name it as a clone and get on with my day. Except hours went by, and I was still playing, and thinking with tinges of guilt about the To Do list that I was ignoring. A little more time spent, and I had forgotten completely what a To Do list even was. Responsibilities? Don’t be silly, I just got sight of the princess, which means I’m getting closer. Who cares about grocery shopping?
Jumping Knights might share a lot of format similarities with Doodle Jump, but one can’t help feel it’s embroidered on the concept. In fact, Jumping Knights is actually one of those genre hybrids that I always tend to be so crazy about, a la Puzzle Quest. It takes a cute, cartoonlike world and puts you in the role of a determined little knight, jumping from platform to platform with a trusty sword in hand. Just like Doodle Jump, control is managed by simply tilting the phone left and right.
As you go, the aim is to avoid falling, collect power-ups along the way that make your ascent easier, and to beat the bosses you meet at the top of each level in order to save a princess. It’s an action game, but it also has a taste of RPG spliced in since your character can gain levels. It also racks up items as you collect them, so you have a little inventory to use at will. There is no shortage of items either, so it’s a waste to try to hoard them in wait for the boss at the end. You’ll have more than enough to go around.
One area that Jumping Knights improves upon Doodle Jump is variety. Every time I played, I saw different power-ups, and I quickly learned that some were more rare than others. I looked forward to getting items like the kiss, which turns your eyes into hearts and sends you hurtling upwards into a momentary love frenzy. Or the dragon egg, which sets you upon a winged companion that soars towards the goal much more quickly than you can leap. Accompanied by basics such as shield power and weapons power-ups, it keeps you always aware of what’s coming next and what powers you always want to have at your disposal.
There are creepy crawlies in the world too, but they can be avoided fairly easily if you aren’t in a sword swinging mood. Bosses are a bit harder, but I wouldn’t call them difficult. “Suitably challenging” is probably a better descriptor, which means if you don’t defeat them, you don’t feel too frustrated to try again right away (which I consider to be a very good thing). The game is connected to Game Center as well, so you can go there and check out how many other players are whipping your ass.
Bouncy music, crisp and colorful graphics and a basic but effective formula make Jumping Knights the kind of thing that I immediately considered to be one of those games that I will never delete from my phone. When an entire game lasts 25 seconds, it’s all too easy to say “just one more round” and keep going. I did that about thirty times, until I realized that it had gotten dark outside and I had been trying to beat my high score for way too long. Not a deep experience, but when you need something to play for your commute or while you waste ten minutes waiting for your take out order, Jumping Knights is sure to please.
TouchArcade Rating: 
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Why ‘Whale Trail’ Is Going Free-To-Play, And How A Flop Is Seen As A Journey
London-based design studio created a heck of a game in Whale Trail, but it’s failing as a commercial entity. It’ll never hit the App Store top 10. The face of its bubbly and wide-eyed mascot, Willow, will never grace products like panties or fruit snacks. And at its current pace, it’ll be awhile before it generates a decent profit.
The studio has huge expectations that aren’t being met, and just based on trends, it’s clear that Whale Trail will continue not meeting them. It’s a failure in this life. But will it be one in its next? Again, ustwo is spending money on Whale Trail, giving it a second wind via creative mouth-to-mouth. It’s retooling and redesigning the oddball flying game as a free-to-play title in a high-bandwidth effort to attract the casual audience that the original version failed to reach, but managed to brush.
The hope is that this model, alongside some fresh content, will finally put the game over the top and onto hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of phones and tablets across the world. It’s a crazy plan. Crazy, however, is kinda its project lead’s thing.
On Conversion, Failure, And Journeys
I’ve been speaking with ustwo co-founder Mills about the upcoming transformation. Mills is like a bizarro Clint Eastwood. In the face of adversity he has the same grit and air of determination, but instead of a cowboy hat and a killer squint Mills rocks a long, flowing red wig and eyeglasses with thick, black frames. When he talks to you, even via e-mail, you feel his warmth, energy, and passion. He’s funny, too, and you see a lot of his brand of humor in his game. As we talk, he refuses to call the original Whale Trail a failure despite being able to produce evidence indicating as much. Instead, he calls it a “succailure” and the process of making it a F2P title a “journey.”
“Whale Trail was our first proper game release,” Mills tells TouchArcade. “Full heart, full passion. The launch was a success for our studio, showering loads of eyeballs on us but something didn’t quite click. Although we were hitting 12,000 downloads a day at launch, it tailed off pretty quick.”
In fact, Whale Trail has just hit over 188,000 total sales, and it shifts around 250 units a day across Android and iPhone and iPad. These kind of numbers would be enough for a lot of studios, but ustwo spent . It needed Whale Trail to be up there with the Angry Birds and Fruit Ninjas and the Cut the Ropes of the world.
How those titles manage to stay up top is a matter of debate. Mills doesn’t believe that featuring, reviews, or exposure brings in new downloads. He thinks that word of mouth is now driving sales. As evidence, he notes that the game’s trailers still get around 500 new views a day and the drives interest, too. Riding on a wave of featuring, however, Whale Trail managed to light up the charts for a short period. Mills shot us the following handy chart, for those of you into the numbers:
Learning about why the game didn’t keep selling at its initial, breakneck pace is an important component of its upcoming transformation. Mills is soaking up everything he can. He frequently frames this entire ordeal as a learning experience.
“We went back to the drawing board and dove deep into the blue waters to understand why Whale Trail wasn’t quite able to take off. We had made a wonderful experience but there wasn’t enough ‘replay’ value in the current game. The new challenge levels added in iteration release two and three helped, but we needed more. Much more,” he adds.
The new version of the game is, indeed, functionally different. As you collect bubbles and travel, you’ll collect an in-game currency called Krill. With Krill, you can buy new powers, “useable treats,” costumes for Willow and its five new playable friends. If you want this stuff without the grind, you can buy Krill straight-up.
“The game is so much better. Players are now in full control of their destiny and each play rewards them. This was missing before,” he says.
If you’ve already purchased Whale Trail, Mills says you’ll receive a “BIG” bag of Krill when you update to the new version. Additionally, you’ll receive a message designed to make you feel “special.” Mills worries about how the current install base is going to react to this massive change, since the regular version will essentially die after this update. Perhaps that’s why this message to fans will be “like finding a bag of money in your house that you can use to pimp it right up 50 style” or “like finding a bag of candy that is so sweet, yet so sticky.”
When I bring up failure, Mills says I have a point, but he describes the experience so far as a “journey.” His studio has had opportunities to sell off the IP or actually make money, but ustwo as a whole is more interested in learning at this point.
“You can look at it as a failure, but I see it as journey,” Mills says. “Each iteration of Whale Trail has created a new buzz and has engaged the players more. It’s been a big lesson for me especially in regards to releasing something I wanted and releasing something that the majority of players want. We were very successful at creating buzz, we were very open about the whole experience and the story of Whale Trail will now be ,” he tells us. He means the publishing company, not an actual penguin.
“We had two Whale Trail acquisition offers for the game as it currently stands now, but we were not interested in money. We were interested in better understanding what we could do to make the game better. I couldn’t walk away from it now, knowing it was not the game we wanted it to be. The game we have since built and are testing now with players is the game we should have released back then but didn’t realize it at the time.”
Even though the Whale Trail flopped, Mills notes some positives. It gave his studio new business opportunities, a higher-profile in the development community, and a lot of good will. These things, however, aren’t going to make new Whale Trail sail. A balance of IAP and fun mechanics are the only thing that’ll save it.
“I want to know more about free-to-play,” Mills says. “We are not being aggressive with the monetization potential. Players need never spend, but the joy they feel should allow the game to be pretty viral. We get a small social virility through Twitter right now, but the potential at the higher numbers is unreal. I guess the plan is for Willow to find some real Whales!”
We’ll have to see if the new version of Whale Trail hits the heights that Mills thinks it can reach. Regardless if it does or not, it’s going to be hard to call this iteration a failure. To Mills, success is all about what you do as you try to succeed.
“We didn’t set out to make something generic. Success is about crafting something you believe in and telling that story, granted it may never be a smash hit as the very concept of a little fat flying whale called Willow who lives in a psychedelic land is too far out for many to stomach, but we made something we are so proud of.”
We’ll have hands-on impressions in the near future.
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‘Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space Ep 5′ Review – To Hell and Back
Season finales are undeniably difficult to pull off: they need to pull the disparate plots of the story together in a way that feels satisfying but not hackneyed, while still maintaining a sense of self-contained narrative. A serialized game like Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space carries the added weight of presenting us with the highest expression of the puzzles and mechanics its introduced thus far.
I’ve come to realize that the second half of Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space — say, starting with “Night of the Raving Dead,” [$4.99] and continuing through the finale, “What’s New Beelzebub?” [$4.99] — are funnier and generally better than the first two episodes. This is largely because the last three episodes are more tightly connected, with each cliffhanger transitioning smoothly into the next episode. They feel cohesive, and that makes me feel invested.
But it’s also because, in contrast to the procedural feel of the first two entries in the series “Ice Station Santa” and “Moai Better Blues,” these latter episodes are a perfect fit for the point-and-click adventure genre.
“Beelzebub”’s only narrative blunder comes during the series’ antagonists’ big reveal, which is funny enough on its own, but is probably much better if you’ve played Sam & Max Save the World as well. (This is a recurring problem for Beyond Time and Space as a whole, especially since Save the World isn’t available on the App Store.) Every thing else in “Beelzebub” – every piece of dialogue, every joke, every plot twist, every fan-service callback — feels earned, not only because it has the rest of the series supporting it, but also because the audience has had to work for it.
Steve Purcell’s writing doesn’t waste time with exposition or lengthy explanations, and players who haven’t been paying attention since “Ice Station Santa” probably won’t make sense of each villain’s plans or of the haphazard and absurd sequence of events that lead up to “Beelzebub.” The jokes, the dialogue, and even the over-arching plot of the series come tumbling out, rapid-fire, and only the quick-witted and observant will get much out of it. Beyond Time and Space hedges its bets, of course: even if you miss something ostensibly important, the games are light-hearted and silly enough to keep moving forward. Nevertheless, Sam & Max hews to point-and-click mechanics that prize attentiveness and lateral thinking, and “Beelzebub,” more than any other episode in the series provides a narrative structure and presentation to match.
Beyond Time and Space is at its best deconstructing horror tropes and, while I liked the time travel puzzles from “Chariots of the Dogs [$4.99],” “Beelzebub” and “Raving Dead” have the best settings and ambiance. The finale tasks the Freelance Police with scrambling between the well-worn block near their office, caught in the middle of the apocalypse, and a snarky, tongue-in-cheek version of Fortune 500 Hell. It’s clever and atmospheric, and it drives the games most interesting puzzles, which involve attempting to disrupt Hell’s operations long enough to free some damned souls.
“Beelzebub”’s narrative hook literalizes an abstract idea like the afterlife and reduces it to another explorable screen to interact with. In other words, there’s no difference between Hell and the “real” world for Sam and Max, in the same way that there’s no difference between 1967 and 2008, or between being alive and being a zombie. It’s right there in the title: Beyond Time and Space. Without intellectualizing too much, that’s a pretty sophisticated concept, but Sam & Max is charming and self-aware enough to keep it in check. Purcell doesn’t let metaphysics get in the way of Max’ fart humor, and the result is a series that allows for outlandish puzzles and silly in-game logic without sacrificing pithy dialogue or character interaction. It’s also why, for example, one of “Beelzebub”’s puzzles can call for the death of Jimmy Two-Teeth’s entire family, and no one really has to feel bad about it.
There’s a lot to admire about the way “Beelzebub” illuminates and caps off the various narrative and thematic threads running through a five-game series, but its puzzles generally lack punch, an unfortunate side-effect of following the preternaturally clever “Chariots of the Dogs.” Over the course of Beyond Time and Space, the best puzzles have challenged our perception of the game world, mutating and iterating on inventory-based puzzle design with portals, zombies, and time travel. “Beelzebub” has a few standout puzzles, including a fourth-wall-breaking language trick, but is generally less ambitious in its design than previous titles.
Telltale is, as a rule, well-versed in designing accessible, intuitive puzzle games and “Beelzebub” is generally no exception, despite featuring a few textbook examples of adventure game pratfalls: guess-what-the-developer-is-thinking crops up once or twice, as do scenarios that require thorough, exhaustive clicking and hunting instead of puzzle-solving. “Beelzebub”’s occasional clunkiness is somewhat mitigated by a retroactive appreciation of the funny in-game logic, but that’s to substitute for the thrill that accompanies solving Sam & Max‘ best puzzles.
While “Beelzebub” lacks the unified theme of “Chariots of the Dogs,” it’s no slouch. A few missteps aside, the puzzles — while of the traditional match-this-item-with-this-NPC sort — are clever and well-realized, even if they tend to be a little on the nose. It’s still one of the best in the series, funnier than “Moai Better Blues” and with clearer puzzle design than “Raving Dead.” If you haven’t played any of Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space, now’s a good time to start: “What’s New Beelzebub” is a fine capstone to a great series.
TouchArcade Rating: 
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‘Bubble Pig’ Review – Pigs Don’t Fly, They Bounce
Donut Games has seemingly always had the philosophy of making small, simple games that only have a few bits of gameplay to speak of. Bubble Pig [ $0.99 ] continues that trend by having one touch gameplay that is both fun and rewarding time after time.
While pigs don’t exactly fly, their rubbery skins and rotund bodies do lend well to bouncing, and Bubble Pig’s gameplay takes full advantage of this. Bouncing the pig around each level is easy; all you have to do is tap where you’d like the pig to bounce to, and he’ll continue to bounce automatically in that direction.
One-touch controls can feel too simplistic if not done well, but this game manages to do it without making it feel like an effortless experience. As some of our have pointed out, the gameplay is remarkably similar to Bean’s Quest [ $1.99 ] or Superstar Chefs [ $0.99 ].
Making the pig bounce all around the level may be fun, but you will need to complete goals along the way to keep things moving smoothly. Using the pig, you’ll need to activate switches scattered throughout each stage, with the level completing once you’ve hit them all. What makes the stages fun isn’t just moving around and hitting the switches however, the gimmicks involved in each stage are.
Just about every level has a unique gimmick you’ll need to overcome, keeping things fresh each time you play. In one level, you may need to dodge angry foxes that threaten to slaughter your poor pig, or perhaps you’ll need to navigate a series of pipes to find all of the switches in another. Having a new type of concept introduced in almost each new level will keep you thirsty for more and more every time you pick up the game.
Also scattered through each level are various fruits and coins for you to collect. Collecting these items (especially all of them if you can) will reward you with achievements and a special star rating for each level. To further incentivize collecting, you can also compare scores with your friends to make sure you’re as hot as you think you are. Sharing and comparing is key for longevity in these types of games, so it’s nice to see the leaderboards and achievements integrated so tightly.
We’ve probably all come to expect by now that Donut has a unique style that every one of their games uses, and Bubble Pig is no exception. Each stage is colorful and the animations are incredibly smooth, keeping with the standards already set. Being a universal app also helps, as playing on the iPad makes controlling the pig a bit easier, and the colors pop just a bit more.
Bubble Pig is one of those games that achieves a great balance between being straightforward, while still managing to be challenging too. Dismissing the game as being too formulaic would be unfair, as it manages to be very fun despite its simplistic premise.
TouchArcade Rating: 
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‘Bar Oasis 1.5′ Review – Get the Shaker Back Out
TouchArcade has gone a round with Bar Oasis before, back in 2010 when the first installment came out. However, I was completely unfamiliar with the game when I got word of Bar Oasis 1.5 [Free], which promises to bridge the gap between the first game and the sequel. I wasn’t sure what the difference was exactly until I read the fine print: the second game will give you access to tons of extra content, so we’re just getting a taste here. But the taste I got left me ready for much, more more.
For those of you who never played the first game in the series, Bar Oasis 1.5 offers an experience much like that of the Phoenix Wright series and other text-heavy games. In reality, it resembles a visual novel more than the Phoenix Wright series does, so if you don’t like lots of dialogue, don’t download this one. However, if witty banter and great mini-games appeal to you, you’re going to adore this. It also feels a bit like playing a really good anime, which is the ticket straight to my heart with no stops inbetween.
In Bar Oasis 1.5, you play the role of an attractive girl named Carla who loses her job and finds herself at Bar Oasis much by accident. Despite your relative lack of experience, you quickly find out from the head bartender that the guy they usually count on (Vincent, from the first game) has gone running off to China after some elusive woman. And so, they’re desperate for help. You get drafted into his old spot, with lots of characters waiting to get to know you as you learn how to be a great bartender.
Bar Oasis 1.5 has two main modes: story and making drinks. The game utilizes motion, so you will actually tilt the phone to pour and shake it when you use the mixer. One of my only complaints about the game was trying to master the timing (but I think that’s part of the point). Sometimes it seems like timing is the key, as there is a timer in the top right corner that tells you how well you are doing.
It says “Pro” if you’re fast enough, and will eventually tick down to “Amateur” if you take way too long. Making the mix drinks also means memorizing the backbar and where things are, which will come naturally after you’ve made enough preliminary drinks. The game is very smart about this as you serve a whole lot of bottled beer and whisky shots before you get down to more varied orders.
One really cool thing about the game is that all the drink recipes are accurate, so as you unlock them all, you’re also getting a handy recipe app to make cocktails with in the process. It’s when you notice little details like that that you start to realize how clever this game’s entire concept really is. You also have a drink making mode available right from the menu, so you can access the recipes easily and also practice making the drinks. This comes in really handy if you are struggling with getting the drinks right in story mode.
Bar Oasis 1.5 is easily the best title I’ve played on my phone in ages, but that’s also a matter of personal taste. I’m a huge fan of innovative concepts, and in a sea of physics puzzlers, you really notice when something swims to the forefront. The character development is clearly the focus of this game, and it’s nicely balanced with the drink making mechanic.
There are only 20 drinks available in this limited free teaser version, but the developers promise 100 in the upcoming Bar Oasis 2. Frankly, I would have come back just to spend more time with the characters, but I’ll take more drinks to learn as a backup excuse. Don’t miss this one. It might be free, but I’d have easily paid for a title as interesting as this and am eagerly looking forward to Bar Oasis 2.
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‘Amoebattle’ Review – A Great RTS of Minuscule Proportions
While iOS has become a haven for a large variety of strategy games, good RTS titles seem to come few and far between. Enter Amoebattle [$4.99], the latest title from and . Hitting all the cues, Amoebattle does a good job providing a full RTS experience while making its own mark on the genre.
Amoebattle’s tale centers on your role as a new microbiologist exploring the microscopic world with the Amoeba Control System along with your AI assistant AMI. After some introductory research, you encounter rogue amoebas disturbing the ecosystem, which leads to a quest to discover the origin of these hostile beings. The overall narrative does an adequate job moving the story forward while not detracting from the overall experience. For most RTS titles, that’s all you can really ask for.
When it comes to gameplay, Amoebattle implements the standard RTS mechanics while infusing it with some novel elements. Missions are primarily linear advancement, with some stealth, defense and open-ended objectives thrown in for good measure. Amoebattle is also very unit-centric – there aren’t any buildings to produce units or gather resources.
Instead, your amoeba can simply replicate if they have a full ‘Food Point’ (FP) meter and sufficient power. FP can be acquired in a variety of ways depending on if your amoeba is an omnivore, carnivore, or herbivore (each classification also affects other attributes). For example, carnivores gain FP exclusively through attacking other units while herbivores can eat various plants to build FP. While you can use a full FP meter to reproduce, it also bestows increased stats, adding to the strategy.
Power, meanwhile, is a secondary resource that is slowly produced in the background (but can be sped up by capturing fossil artifacts). Players can utilize power to replicate or to launch a variety of probes onto the battlefield. Probes range from slowing down opponents to infecting them with a long-term poison and work well in providing additional battle options.
In addition to replication, your amoebas can also mutate into a variety of different units. Initially the unit pool is small, but as you journey through the campaign you unlock stronger and more varied units, each with their own stats and appropriate strategies. Mutation also requires power, meaning you can’t just wield it arbitrarily.
The above elements lead to a surprisingly deep gameplay experience. Each mission provides suggestions for completion, but as you unlock more options players can begin to experiment with different play styles. Whether you choose to bum-rush with close-range carnivores or utilize a balanced approach with ranged and support units, Amoebattle certainly keeps your options open.
Props also go to the control scheme, which offers an intuitive approach that works well on both iPad and iPhone. Amoebattle uses a combination of taps, drags, and scrolls (single and two-fingered) to control all aspects of the game. Admittedly, it’s a bit tougher to control on the smaller iPhone screen, but it still works surprisingly well. As expected, the game works best on the larger iPad screen.
There’s something to be said about Amoebattle’s difficulty. In short, this is one challenging game. The tutorial and introductory levels do an excellent job introducing core concepts, but once you reach the middle tier of missions, the game quickly stops holding your hand and leaves you to figure out the increasingly tough objectives. It’s important to note that despite the challenge, Amoebattle’s levels are fair. Just don’t expect to steamroll through all the levels with relative ease (especially if you’re new to RTS games).
Amoebattle’s other weaknesses are few, but do hold the game back from RTS perfection. The lack of a skirmish mode hurts replayability, as the game certainly has a deep enough system to make it enjoyable. The same goes for multiplayer, which would be perfect for this style of RTS. As it stands, Amoebattle has a decent amount of content with its campaign, but it would have been nice to have more to do outside campaign completion (besides achievement hunting).
Regardless, Amoebattle succeeds wonderfully at creating a touch-based RTS for iOS. When you take into account the deep gameplay, beautiful visuals (iPad-retina compatible, no less) and approachable control scheme, Amoebattle is a title well worth checking out and joins the short list of great iOS RTS titles.
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