TouchArcade.ru

Indie development house Spaces of Play has just released their platform puzzle game Spirits for iPad [App Store. Spirits, which won the Best Aesthetics award at this year's IndieCade, is a lovely title featuring Lemmings-like gameplay, but with some notably different elements that help the game deliver a unique experience all its own.

In Spirits, you are faced with a series of hand-drawn platform levels, most of them larger than the iPad's screen (pinch, zoom, swipe to scroll). There are 40 in all. Into each of these environments march a crowd of cute, little spirits who want nothing more than to make it into the swirl found at the far end of each level. But that journey is quite a rocky road.

The landscapes in question are filled with drops, blocks, spikes, and other such dangers. To negotiate the landscapes, you must tap on a spirit to command it to perform an action -- just like in Lemmings. You can dig and climb -- just like in Lemmings. But, you can also blow and block wind -- not at all like in Lemmings. You see, the swirl that your spirits must reach hangs in mid air. To bridge this gap, and to add complexity to the maps in general, there is a strong wind blowing along a particular course through each landscape, indicated by a lazily flowing swarm of particle effects. Part of getting through each level is tapping into this passing breeze -- or creating your own, where needed. It's a mechanic that adds a whole new dimension to the Lemmings formula and is a big part of what makes Spirits special.

Each level has a set number of spirits that must be saved in order to call the round a success. Several sleeping flowers are arranged about each level, and must be brought to life by direct contact or a tap on a spirit flying by, overhead. The game has a kind of "zen" feel about it that the developer calls "poetic," which is enhanced by the orchestral audio tracks that accompany the gameplay. It's, at the same time, engrossing, relaxing, and a bit hectic.

Your success in the game is tracked on a global ranking board that keeps you aware of where you stand, as compared to the other Spirits jockeys around the world.

While there are already a few Lemmings clones in the App Store, Spirits for iPad stands apart. The overall design -- graphics, animation, audio tracks -- as well as the whimsical element of soaring on the wind, really make this an enjoyable title to experience. The game feels an excellent fit for the iPad, and an iPhone version will follow, shortly.

There are a number of titles out there that really ooze that special "indie magic," and Spirits for iPad is one of them.

[source]

Indie development house Spaces of Play has just released their platform puzzle game Spirits for iPad [App Store. Spirits, which won the Best Aesthetics award at this year's IndieCade, is a lovely title featuring Lemmings-like gameplay, but with some notably different elements that help the game deliver a unique experience all its own.

In Spirits, you are faced with a series of hand-drawn platform levels, most of them larger than the iPad's screen (pinch, zoom, swipe to scroll). There are 40 in all. Into each of these environments march a crowd of cute, little spirits who want nothing more than to make it into the swirl found at the far end of each level. But that journey is quite a rocky road.

The landscapes in question are filled with drops, blocks, spikes, and other such dangers. To negotiate the landscapes, you must tap on a spirit to command it to perform an action -- just like in Lemmings. You can dig and climb -- just like in Lemmings. But, you can also blow and block wind -- not at all like in Lemmings. You see, the swirl that your spirits must reach hangs in mid air. To bridge this gap, and to add complexity to the maps in general, there is a strong wind blowing along a particular course through each landscape, indicated by a lazily flowing swarm of particle effects. Part of getting through each level is tapping into this passing breeze -- or creating your own, where needed. It's a mechanic that adds a whole new dimension to the Lemmings formula and is a big part of what makes Spirits special.

Each level has a set number of spirits that must be saved in order to call the round a success. Several sleeping flowers are arranged about each level, and must be brought to life by direct contact or a tap on a spirit flying by, overhead. The game has a kind of "zen" feel about it that the developer calls "poetic," which is enhanced by the orchestral audio tracks that accompany the gameplay. It's, at the same time, engrossing, relaxing, and a bit hectic.

Your success in the game is tracked on a global ranking board that keeps you aware of where you stand, as compared to the other Spirits jockeys around the world.

While there are already a few Lemmings clones in the App Store, Spirits for iPad stands apart. The overall design -- graphics, animation, audio tracks -- as well as the whimsical element of soaring on the wind, really make this an enjoyable title to experience. The game feels an excellent fit for the iPad, and an iPhone version will follow, shortly.

There are a number of titles out there that really ooze that special "indie magic," and Spirits for iPad is one of them.

[source]

Crescent Moon and Galoobeth's upcoming epic RPG Aralon: Sword & Shadow hardly needs an introduction anymore. We've posted about the amazing history of the game in a previous post, later we provided some comparison screenshots that perfectly illustrated the insane transformation that Aralon was experiencing as the Crescent Moon team completely reworked every graphical asset of Galoobeth's initial game world. The most startling comparison came from the latest trailer which when viewed side by side by the original trailer generated enough interest to even get reposted on Gizmodo and countless other blogs (seriously, check it out if you haven't).

Today Crescent Moon sent us a full ten minutes of gameplay, narrated by their own Josh Presseisen, which covers everything from fighting to completing quests, and even eating some magical food you cooked to make your character levitate:

In addition, we've also got a ton of new details about the game. Aralon is going to be available for both the iPhone and the iPad, with a customized UI for each. It's also going to come bundled with Game Center for a slew of achievements and even some online leaderboards. It's even going to support fast-app switching and the Retina Display on the iPhone 4 and 4th generation iPod touch.

Aralon will have over 30 hours of gameplay with over 60 unique locations to visit, along with 3 playable races (human, elves, and trolls). Playable classes include warriors, rogues, rangers, and mages, with each playing differently thanks to a unique set of special powers and abilities for each. Over 500 items in all are packed in the game to tweak out your characters'a appearance and arsenal. Oh, and if you like mounts, there's 4 of those to acquire and ride around. The depth of Aralon sounds crazy, as other things they've mentioned existing in this game include gathering skills, faction systems, dual wielding, lock picking, your own in-game house (complete with fields to farm) and all kinds of other crazy stuff.

It gets even better though, Crescent Moon plans on providing a bunch of post-launch support such as even more character customization and quests. A few of the examples they've given include quests to gain an animal companion to assist you for the rest of the game, and even helping to take down a massive orc fortress. Also, the housing and farming system is going to get fleshed out even further.

Aralon: Sword & Shadow will be released by Christmas, and we're still waiting to hear final pricing details.

[source]

One of the worst things about being an American is that you're unequipped to talk soccer. There's a total of 12 outliers in the US who actually understand the sport, but I'm pretty sure every single one of these freaks play for Team USA. I mention this because I wanted to give you some perspective for this post, which from this point forward, will be all about Championship Manager 2011 [$6.99] and, as a result, my inability to bring up something insightful about the simulation games'… footy-ness? Awesomeness? Something-ness?

Right, so, Championship Manager 2011 for the iPhone (a soccer game) has received what appears to be a solid update that should make the, uh, Champ Man simulation experience that much more fluid and smooth. According to the notes, this update has fixed several crash bugs, as well as the iPad movie issues that have been locking people out of games. It also improves something called "Player Position effect." Now, apparently, playing a soccer player out of soccer position in a game of soccer will "have a greater impact on the team's overall [soccer] performance." Lastly, soccer scorelines have been refined to produce more authentic soccer game results.

Whew. Glad that's over. Eli and I flipped a coin this afternoon. He called both sides, which left it up to me to write this post. We here at TouchArcade treasure our international audience, so we thought you'd like to know, at least, that this game has been updated. Sorry for being stupid Americans, but if you really dig soccer as much as FOX News says you do, well, certainly this post served a purpose!

[source]

This has been quite a week for iPhone game releases and news, and somehow in the process Adult Swim's new Amateur Surgeon 2 [99¢] got lost in the shuffle of typewriters, triplicate carbon copies, punch cards, and tape reels that make up the TouchArcade mobile command center. Not anymore, as after spending some quality time with the game this afternoon, the latest installment of the Amateur Surgeon series is an effortless recommendation to anyone with a dark sense of humor and a taste for gore.

Much like the original Amateur Surgeon [$2.99 / Lite / HD], the sequel follows the adventures of Alan Probe and his series of gruesome surgeries that involve advanced surgical instruments such as a pizza cutter, a car battery, a dust buster, and even a zippo lighter. Similar to the Trauma Center series for the Nintendo Wii and DS, you slowly learn to use all of these tools to successfully complete medical procedures on a number of different patients. We liked the first one a lot, and really my only complaint was that sometimes things were a little too difficult due to the inherent lack of precision from my fat fingers on the iPhone screen. A new pinch to zoom feature completely alleviates this, allowing you to make precise incisions with your rusty pizza cutter. (Or, as precise as a pizza cutter could be, I suppose.)

All in all, Amateur Surgeon 2 is a fantastic sequel. They took everything that was good about the original, tweaked the things that weren't, made the game perform a little better, and loaded it with new content. If you're on the fence, the lite version of the first Amateur Surgeon is a good place to start, as the gameplay is similar enough to give you a fantastic idea of what you're getting involved with in the sequel.

[source]

Despite the overwhelming popularity of the genre, I fully admit I've never been able to get in to most hunting games. The ones I've played on the iPhone either seem entirely too basic, diluting the sport of hunting down to basic wild animal shooting galleries with a few gimmicks or attempting to recreate arcade light gun style gameplay by tapping on the screen. In Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2011 [$4.99], Activision takes some steps in the right direction to make a hunting game that's more entertaining than most by injecting a single player adventure campaign in to the mix.

Instead of just choosing a location, selecting your hunting load out, and just shooting whatever animals are on the horizon, Dangerous Hunts has you actively stalking prey. Also, more often than not, your prey is also stalking you. It sounds like the workings of a real cool game, as you're left wandering about the African wilderness after animals that are just as interested in killing you as you are in killing them. Unfortunately, the cool premise is about all there is to it.

Dangerous Hunts is controlled via a dual-stick setup that anyone who has played an iPhone first person shooter should be immediately familiar with. Virtual buttons handle things like changing weapons, reloading, looking down your sights (or scope), and other tasks. Gameplay consists of following various checkpoints on your mini-map, completing tasks that almost always involve hunting some animals, and making your way to the end of the level.

There's a foundation for something really compelling here, especially in a genre that is overloaded with games that don't offer a whole lot of freedom of movement, story, or gameplay. Sadly, the graphics of the game make it really hard to ever feel immersed in the game world. One of the early levels involves slowly creeping up a winding path to a village that has been decimated by some kind of feral animal. After taking a detour to make your way around a closed gate, you find yourself attacked by wild bloodthirsty hyenas.

There's room for lots of suspense here, as the buildup has potential to really lead to something, but the incredibly low resolution textures, barren landscape (save a few low-res trees and shrubs here and there) and the low polygon poorly animated hyenas themselves all ruin it. Following that, you get alerted via your radio that there's a lion nearby. Moments later, he's pouncing on your face, leading up to what could have been a neat quick-time event. Instead, an image of a lion appears on screen and you simply have to tap the circles that appear to kill it.

A second shooting gallery mode is included in the game as well, but it is basically what you'd expect out of a game that really needs a light gun but instead just has you using your finger to tap. Interestingly enough, Activision did bundle OpenFeint with Dangerous Hunts, so there is a bit of replay value to be had if you find yourself getting involved in the online leaderboards for who can mow down the most wolves.

I admit I was totally stoked to hear that Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2011 was coming to the App Store when we first got news, having followed some of the insanely cool previews of the home console version (which also comes packed with its own light gun). However, visuals that look incredibly dated make any kind of immersion impossible and ultimately ruin what could have been a really cool blend of hunting and adventure/survival games for the iPhone.

[source]

Originally one of the gorier games of the time, Splatterhouse is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released to arcades back in 1988. To coincide with the franchise reboot being released on consoles November 23rd, the original version is making its way to iOS devices on November 18th. From what I can tell from these screenshots, this version will be a port of the arcade game rather than the toned-down Turbografx-16 version, though I'll have to see the game in action to be 100% sure if all the original gory bits will make their way in here.

In addition to containing the 7 stages of West Mansion from the original game, Splatterhouse for iPhone will also contain an exclusive Splatter Rush Mode. This new mode has the protagonist Rick facing off against waves of enemies attacking him in a single room in what essentially sounds like a survival mode. It isn't known whether or not a system like Game Center will be in place for tracking online high scores or achievements.

I was a huge fan of Splatterhouse on the Turbografx-16 back in the day, but I always felt like I was missing out by having a "censored" version of the game. I'm really hoping the iPhone version will be nearly pixel perfect to the original arcade game, as the gore and haunting atmosphere really added a lot to the experience. I also remember Splatterhouse as being an especially difficult game, so it will be interesting to see how well that translates to virtual touch screen controls.

Splatterhouse will be launching next Thursday for iPhone and iPod touch at a price of $2.99. There is a discussion for the game going on in our forums, and we'll be looking forward to checking out the iOS version of Splatterhouse next week.

[source]

According to the Veteran's Day Wikipedia entry I just edited, Veteran's Day is a day in which "young Americans commonly pretend to listen to old people talk while they secretly fondle their phones." Being the expert that I am on this hallowed holiday, I know exactly why the entry makes a passing mention of phones — the entire galaxy often celebrates Veteran's Day with handheld game sales. So, it is with great pleasure and honor that I bring you this post on the Internet about the sales the App Store is throwing today. And, boy, are there some good ones.

Zen Bound®, Free Zen Bound is one of those unusual-in-a-good-way kind of games. I say this up front because this proceeding sentence, if you’re not familiar with Zen Bound, is going to throw you for a loop: Zen Bound is a game about wrapping wooden figurines with rope. I know, I know. But tell you what, go ahead and give ye’ old ZB a try. It’s free today, as developer Secret Exit notes, in celebration of a Mac and PC version of the title, which is set for a November 16 release.

Tilt to Live, $0.99 Tilt To Live is one of those games that just keeps selling and selling, so I’m surprised there’s a few dudes who don’t have the reverse, top-down dual-stick shooter. As I mentioned this morning, Tilt To Live is good according to our review, so there’s little reason not to grab it at its sub-one dollar price point.

Sonic The Hedgehog 4™ Episode I, $6.99 I heard on the Internet that Sonic fans are crazy. I’m not sure if that’s accurate or not, but I’d kinda like to see Sonic 4 get into a many more people’s hands just in case this is true. I feel like if I were successful in making this happen, I’d kinda be like the Scarecrow, minus the whole “gas” thing.

Geometry Wars™: Touch, $0.99 Geometry Wars was a surprise hit on Xbox Live Arcade during the Xbox 360’s fledgling years, and while it’s iDevice counterpart isn’t bad, it’s not quite as good as playing it with a real Xbox controller. Your finger tends to get in the way of the dual-shooter’s action (especially on the iPhone). Still, sub-one dollar makes this really hard to pass on considering this universal game usually sits at six bucks.

ChuChu Rocket! HD, $4.99 A lot of people want a new Chu Chu Rocket title and the only way to make that happen is to give SEGA a lot of money… by buying ChuChu Rocket! and its HD counterpart on the App Store. Luckily, the price is just about right today.

Textropolis, Free Textropolis is a cool word game that may even help you expand your vocabulary. For example, today I told Eli that he was a “sadist” because he beats me all the time. I did good, right? Thanks, Textropolis!

Geared for iPad, Free Geared is a unique puzzle game that has you — wait for it — placing gears to solve puzzles. The iPhone version is great, and the iPad version is even better as the big screen makes moving and placing gears even easier.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, $1.99 THPS2 was the definitive skateboard game of its day, and to some extent, still is. It was designed for a physical controller, so you might not be able to string those infinite combos together on the iPhone as easily as you could the N64, but otherwise this isn’t a game you should miss.

Whoa! Talk about Veteran's Day blowout. What are you grabbing today?

[source]

The Lego games have been insanely popular on the PC and home consoles, which in turn has spawned an entire bookshelf full of Lego games from a ton of different intellectual properties. Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and even Batman have all been the recipients of Lego games in the past. As silly as it sounds, the Lego gimmick is actually a lot of fun as every game involves some kind of building, smashing, and lots of 3D action.

We just got word from Warner Brothers that they're bringing LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 to the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad in the not too distant future. The game already exists for pretty much every platform capable of running a 3D game, and it only makes sense for it to wind up on the App Store as well, especially with the impending release of the next installment of the Harry Potter movie series. Other versions of the game have been well received by the gaming media, so if the port to iOS devices is good, we should be in for a really fun time.

No word yet on a specific release date, but since the movie is coming out on the 19th, I'd guess LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 will be available somewhere around or before then. I've got my fingers crossed that the game does well, especially if it means they'd bring the rest of the Lego action adventure games over to the App Store. The console game supports split screen multiplayer, and while Warner Brothers hasn't mentioned any multiplayer plans for iOS devices, the thought of Game Center-powered online coop Lego games has me really excited, regardless of how unlikely its inclusion may be.

[source]

It seems like everyone is building freemium games for the iOS platform these days, and Capcom is no exception. Their recently released Lil' Pirates [Free], Capcom Arcade [Free], and now Smurf's Village [Free] all are utilizing the free to play model. The premise of Smurf's Village is fairly simple, Gargamel (the bad guy from the series if Smurfs if before your time) found the Smurf's home, sending them scattering. Papa Smurf rounded up all the smurfs and broke ground on a new smurf village, which just so happens to be what you're in charge of building.

First off, as far as retro charm and overwhelming nostalgia is concerned, Smurf's Village couldn't be more spot-on. If you watched Smurfs as a kid, you're going to be blown away by just how good everything looks, especially on the Retina Display. The increased pixel density makes all the sprites and animations that make up the game look incredible, and almost make you forget that you're playing a typical freemium farming game… At least for a little bit.

The problem with Smurf's Village is that for all its retro appeal, at the end of the day, it's just another farming game complete with a horrid withering mechanic to keep you coming back to the game or else your crops will die. Also, like most of these free to play game, it encourages you to build a massive network of friends building their own Smurfville, but it depends on Facebook to do so. This is a major pet peeve of mine since I use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family, and don't want to invite random Smurf's Village players in to my personal social networks just so we can play an iPhone game together. I was really hoping the advent of Game Center would push developers away from Facebook dependency.

Also, smurfberries, the freemium currency used to speed things up and buy premium items in game seem to be a little too close to a required resource if you really want to enjoy Smurf's Village. They're also incredibly expensive, with smurfberries coming in packs starting at $4.99 and incrementing all the way up to $59.99. You can gain smurfberries in game, but they're incredibly rare, and if you want to complete your smurf town you're going to basically be required to spend at least $12 to get the required amount to buy additional buildings.

Truly the most confusing thing about Smurf's Village is why Capcom chose to save all of your data locally. If you delete your game, your smurf village is gone, including any in-app purchases you made of smurfberries. Also, even though the game is universal, no cloud save storage means no cross-device syncing, so you're always stuck playing the game on the device you start on.

Basically, it comes down to this: If you grew up on the Smurfs, you need to download Smurf's Village just to check out how well Capcom nailed the look and feel of the game. Playing through the tutorial introduces some other smurfs, shows you the mini-games, and really just makes you wish they used that talent to build anything that wasn't a cookie cutter freemium farming game with withering. Otherwise, steer clear of this game. There are other freemium games like Pocket Frogs [Free] or Gun Bros [Free] that not only don't require Facebook but also offer much better gameplay that actually feel like you're playing a game instead of a blatant attempt to push you in to buying massive amounts of in-app currency.

[source]