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Last month Minecraft developer Mojang let their legions of fans know that they’d be changing the current direction of their mobile version of the game, Minecraft – Pocket Edition [$6.99/Lite], into something more akin to its PC counterpart. You see, Pocket Edition launched in the App Store in mid-November after a brief stint as an Xperia Play exclusive, but was missing a couple of core components that are key to the Minecraft experience – namely mining and crafting – which is why we didn’t exactly love it in our review.

Mojang has again updated their blog with the latest status of what direction the Minecraft – Pocket Edition project is heading. They admit that they mistakenly thought gamers would want something closer to Minecraft Creative while on the go, so that’s sort of how Pocket Edition was designed from the start. Because of that, now that they want to go back and add in things like enemies, survival, and crafting it’s going to take some pretty hefty rejiggering of the entire game.

And the beginnings of this rejiggering will be what’s in the forthcoming update which Mojang plans to have submitted by February 8th. There will be some pretty heavy behind-the-scenes type stuff in the update which will allow for a smoother transition when survival mode is added in the future. Crafting is also coming, but since it requires a pretty extensive interface overhaul, it’s still a ways out. Survival mode will most likely be hitting pretty soon this year, and the update lays the groundwork for that.

But just because this update is filled with a lot of boring technical foundation which you cannot see, there are still a few minor new content additions to look forward to. There will be some “neat looking animals” and some new blocks, as well as doors and fences. That’s right, doors and fences! The best part of this update though is that with the behind-the-scenes grunt work out of the way then new content should be easier to create and updates should start coming much faster going forward.

We’ll definitely be keeping our eye on how Minecraft – Pocket Edition evolves, and while you wait for the update that’s coming next month you can hit up our forums for discussion of the game.

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While looking at the preview pics for Sleepy Jack [$0.99 / HD], I couldn’t help but recall one of my past favorite titles with a motif that revolved around dreams. That game is NiGHTS Into Dreams, of course, and any other gamer who spent long evenings discovering that magical world will surely feel a bit like Sleepy Jack’s developers might have been fans of it.

In case you have no idea what I’m talking about, both games send you into a universe in your dreams and challenge you to navigate it. In Sleepy Jack, you play Jack, a darling boy who is hurtling through a nighttime world at top speed and needs your assistance to proceed. To help him explore worlds of space, desert and the deep sea, you’ll need to arm your trusty pistol and get your dodging skills ready.

Sleepy Jack runs you through each level on rails, so all you’ll need to be responsible for is moving left and right and shooting your weapon. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? It can be at first, but as the levels become more complex you may find that it requires some real skill to execute those moves and keep from getting hit. While it’s no bullet hell, it certainly does pose a challenge (but if you find it too much you can always adjust the difficulty – easy, medium and hard are all there).

Each level features both Zs to collect (which keep you asleep), obstacles to avoid and rings to aim for in order to collect bonuses. The button you touch to move left and right requires an extra tap in order to do a move called a “barrel roll,” which leaves you momentarily invincible to enemy fire.

This would ultimately be a very useful move, if it was as accurate as I needed it to be. Unfortunately, I often found myself trying to use it and finding it responded just a millisecond too slowly for me, and I would get hit rather than evading a bullet. Perhaps it simply needs more practice to master the timing, but overall I wish this button were more sensitive.

It is worth noting, on this point, that Sleepy Jack features three different control schemes. The one mentioned above is the Classic one, but there is also one called Slider that allows you to simply swipe at the screen with your finger to move Jack around and swipe a bit wider for the barrel roll. Personally I had more luck with this set of controls than the Classic set, and barrel rolls were easier. A third option is called Accelerometer and allows you to tilt the phone to move Jack and press buttons on the side for rolling.

Each area offers ten levels, with a boss waiting for you at the end. Each of these levels is well designed and beautifully presented – in fact, the entire game has a whimsical and charming look you will enjoy. Even the music is nice, and if you navigate each level successfully, you’ll be treated to a nice little graphic of Jack sleeping peacefully in his bed nestled in dreams.

There’s definitely replay value here, with a star rating for each level and a nice list of achievements to unlock.  It’s also enabled for use with Openfeint and GameCenter, so you can get your share on in those forums if you so desire.

Sleepy Jack was, overall, a sweet gaming experience that I think other shooter fans would enjoy. I loved the change in perspective from average shooters and the Pixar look of the game’s characters and settings. This particular execution of the formula came off as pretty unique, and I caught myself thinking about how I could improve on certain levels after I completed it. Guess I’m going back for more – which is the best compliment any game can hope to hear.

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Last week, we told you about Glitchsoft’s upcoming Star Marine: Infinite Ammo, a run ‘n gun shooter that looks to capture the magic of classic action platformers like Contra and Metal Slug. A game like Contra demands precision in its controls due to the hectic action on screen, and it’s hard to say whether or not that type of precision can be possible with virtual touch screen controls. Star Marine is hoping it’s found the answer to this problem by taking a dual-stick approach to its control scheme, which is looking pretty good so far.

In our preview last week there were just screenshots for Star Marine, but Glitchsoft has just released a trailer for the game so you can get an idea of what it looks like in action.

From the trailer, a few things stick out at me as looking particularly awesome. It appears there are quite a few weapons to use, including one that looks a lot like the infamous spread gun from Contra. Also, I really like some of the enemies that are absolutely humongous, sometimes filling up the entire screen. Finally, Star Marine incorporates a feature that slows down your descent when you’re falling through the air, giving you a better opportunity to lay waste to the enemies on the screen. I imagine this coupled with the dual-stick controls will allow a game like Star Marine to be quite playable with a touch screen.

Star Marine: Infinite Ammo is scheduled for a release this week, and we’ll be looking to get our hands on the title to see just how well it turned out when it hits the App Store.

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Wizard Ops [$0.99] by Phykentech is an on-rails 3D shooter with lots going for it. The gameplay is fast, controls are simple, and there’s some variety in the weapons and uniqueness in the sound effects. However, these positives can’t make up for the fact that the game is very short with not much room for replayability. Add in some performance issues, and Wizard Ops becomes one of those frustrating games that have potential but fall short.

Wizard Ops has you playing the role of a fire mage once part of an elite group of wizards that served the royalty of the kingdom. After the queen dies in an accident, the king irrationally imprisons the wizards in dungeons throughout the land. When the king’s daughter is subsequently kidnapped, he reluctantly releases you and charges you with freeing your brethren and taking down the enemy forces that hold the princess captive.

As a fire wizard, your weapon arsenal includes a multitude of fire spells that shoot projectiles. In addition, destroying enemies and bosses occasionally yield additional weapons which can then be purchased in the in-game store. While Wizard Ops has a decent selection of weapons (18 in all), a lot of them follow the same ‘fire magic’ motif and don’t offer much difference other than fire rate and projectile spread. Still, there’s enough variety to provide players with different strategies for taking on the opposition.

The most enjoyable part of Wizard Ops is the fast-paced nature of its gameplay. It plays very similarly to the classic Space Harrier series and retains that sense of speed. The entire game is controlled by just simple swipes, with movement, aiming and shooting being linked. While the obvious goal is to take out as many enemies as you can, you’re going to find that a lot of the gameplay involves dodging the large amount of hazards and projectiles being thrown at you. Some of the later levels up the ante and have you dodging and feinting across the entire screen just to stay alive. It’s fast, frenetic and a joy to play if you’re a fan of twitch-based gameplay.

Special mention should be given to the sound effects in Wizard Ops, which were created by Michael Winslow of Police Academy fame. The game’s thread has a neat video showcasing some of the sound recordings and I’d recommend checking it out. From a gaming perspective the sound effects sound like, well, sound effects. There’s nothing particularly groundbreaking about them but I will admit that I did enjoy the nostalgia trip, as Winslow’s style is very much apparent.

Unfortunately, Wizard Ops has a few annoying problems that detract from the overall experience. First, I experienced several crashes that would occur while either pausing the game during a level or while trying to check out the store after completing one. While I don’t find the occasional crash a big deal, there was one instance where I had lost all the progress I made on the last level I completed. Another issue is in regards to the visuals. Since enemies and projectiles appear to be coming right at you, it can be somewhat hard to figure out just how far away the projectiles are from hitting you. However, this is just a byproduct of the sort of 3D shooter that it is, so I can’t fault the game itself too much for that.

The biggest disappointment I have with Wizard Ops is just how short it is. The entire game encompasses six normal missions, a tutorial level, and a final mission which doubles as a general ‘survival’ mode. Each mission can be beaten in about 3 – 4 minutes, meaning that from a content perspective there isn’t much there. Sure, there’s three difficulties (with hard being incredibly tough), and there’s some replayability in regards to collecting coins and trying all the difference weapons, but it just didn’t seem enough to me.

It’s probably because I greatly enjoyed the core gameplay of Wizard Ops that I’m bitter about the lack of content. I want to see more missions, more enemies, and more weapons. Even the overall story just seems to come to a sudden standstill after playing the few levels that the game offers. I want to recommend Wizard Ops for its gameplay, but I can’t ignore the severe lack of content. I’m certain that the developers will be adding more missions and will hopefully flesh out the complete narrative. Nevertheless, folks looking to try it out now may not get the complete experience hoped for.

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This week on The TouchArcade Show, the usual crew powers through a hostile host takeover, some New Years Eve discussion, and other offbeat topics in order to bring you the latest and greatest in iOS news, reviews, and TouchArcade business. At the top, we dig into Vlambeer’s awesome Super Crate Box. Later, we dive into the wonders of Photo Swap and other awesome games. In the second half, we talk about 60beat’s GamePad and address your awesome user questions!

We’ve set the bar for 2012, so it’s only down (or up) from here. Thanks for being awesome in 2011, and feel free to join us again this year. Speaking of that, if you’d like to listen you can do so via the links just below. The cool kids all listen to us on iTunes and Zune Marketplace, though.

iTunes Link: The TouchArcade Show
Zune Marketplace: TouchArcade.com Podcasts
RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show
Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-033.mp3, 42MB

Here are your show notes (with a bonus retraction at the end):

GAMES

• Super Crate Box [$.99]
• Hatchi
• Photo Swap [Free]
• Dungeon Raid [$2.99 / Lite]
• Justin Smith’s Realistic Sports Simulator [$.99]

JARED’S KITTY KORNER

• Very Hungry Cat [Free]

FRONT PAGE

• ‘Cthulhu Saves The World’ Coming to iOS
• 60beat’s GamePad
• ‘Infinity Blade’ Is Doing Well
• New TouchArcade Logo [Responses]

Retraction: Super Crate Box’s controls have been fixed in an update that hit between the time we recorded and the publishing of the podcast!

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Raising Big Poppa Pump hasn’t been easy. He gets hungry at weird times and doesn’t sleep through the night. He also isn’t the cleanest pocket monster I’ve ever owned. But I have a feeling that all this time spent grooming, teaching, and playing with him will lead to something truly rewarding. I’m talking about evolution, man — an incredible change that takes place because I’ve proved that I’m an awesome owner.

Big Poppa Pump is my little monster dude in Hatchi, Portable Pixel’s game for those of us who remember the Tamagotchi so fondly. The two games — and I use that loosely — are pretty similar. You hatch an egg that contains a monster, and then that monster becomes your digital pet. As an owner, you’ll be responsible for feeding, cleaning, entertaining and even applying first-aid to the little one.

Functionally, this is all really simple to do. If your monster’s “smarts” bar is low, and his energy is high enough for an activity, you click the book button to raise it. If his “hygiene” is low, you hit the baby button to give it a bath. If his energy is low, or if you just want a break, you can hit the lights and that puts him to sleep.

The sleep mechanic rolls in a little save state trickery, by the way. When you put a Hatchi down and exit out of the app, upon returning you’ll notice a slight visual hitch and then magically see the energy bar fill according to the amount of time he’s been doing the bed thing. My experience with this varies; sometimes Big Poppa Pump needs hours of rest, sometimes just dozens of minutes.

Most of my day with Big Poppa Pump isn’t spent doing anything thrilling, complex or even all that fun, which is why I hesitate to call this a game-game. In the mornings, I wake him up and grind until his needs are all completely met. I continue to do this through the afternoon until he gets too tired and needs that big nap. At night, I try to tire him out so he doesn’t wake up angry, unclean, and unsatisfied at 2AM.

My greatest fear as an owner is that he’ll die in the night, which is something that can happen. “Yes, it can die if you don’t look after it,” Portable Pixels tells us. “It will get sick first and you can use the first aid to cure Hatchi.”

It’s hilarious, but I really, really, really don’t want Big Poppa Pump to bite the dust. I’ve somehow bonded with the thing, as silly as that sounds, and the competitive part of my brain wants to see an evolution based on my meticulous play.

Big Poppa Pump isn’t evolving as fast as I’d want it to for our preview coverage, so I asked Playable Pixels how it works. “You’ll need to feed, clean, play with and generally look after your pet to ensure it grows up,” it tells us. “[Pets have] several different forms they can evolve into depending on how you look after them.”

That’s as much detail as we’re getting at the moment, but as you’ll see in the article, there are some pretty hip forms. Big Poppa Pump is getting a lot more exercise than he needs, so here’s to hoping that he evolves into a gigantic muscle monster.

That’s the experience as it stands now — train, wait, train, wait some more, and then receive some sort of evolution. In the future, though, Playable Pixels hopes to add a lot more content, including a social component, if sales are good.

“Initially its a retro theme, but we’ve had lots of ideas about bringing it into the mobile era. Taking him on day trips for example, or socializing with your friends Hatchis,” it tells us.

“One of our beta testers said she would give her left arm for a graveyard for all her past Hatchi’s, and one of our developers wants a defibrillator. Its really a side project inspired by a reddit post back in September.”

Portable Pixels says its been “fairly overwhelmed by the response” so far. In an effort to keep up with it, its set up an e-mail address for people to be notified when the game is hitting and for feedback purposes. That address, if you’d like to get in on this, is: hatchi@portablepixels.com.

Currently, the game is on track for a January 15th release at $.99 for iPhone and iPod Touch. A Universal version isn’t slated to happen yet, but it could if “the need is great enough.”

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In some ways, platformers are the toughest to make on a mobile platform. There’s always questions regarding the length and difficulty of individual levels, as well as whether the developer can successfully implement a control scheme to make the game accessible enough for level completion and item collection. Crazy Hedgy [$1.99] from Cybertime is a great example of how platformers should be done on iOS. Not only does it get the basics (like gameplay and replayability) right, but the tilt-based control scheme works very well with the rest of the game. Assuming you don’t mind tilt controls, Crazy Hedgy is well worth it and highly recommended.

At its core, Crazy Hedgy is an adventure-platformer that has you playing through a large amount of levels with the primary goal being to get to the end. There’s not much of a story to go on, other than the fact that the land of Green Hedges has changed (and not for the better) and you need to save it. Along the way you’ll find various types of diamonds that can be collected and act as the currency to upgrade your character in the in-game store (IAP need no apply here). In addition, players are charged with collecting gold coins, which unlock the ability to purchase upgrades and are used as an artificial barrier between worlds (each world has about ten levels). In your way is a variety of different enemies and traps that you can either avoid or take on (extra points awarded if you can toss the enemies into those traps).

Crazy Hedgy does a great job with pacing, variety, and gameplay introductions. The gold coins and diamond currency act as natural progression tools towards allowing players to learn new and advanced moves as they get further into the game. In addition, Crazy Hedgy succeeds at preserving core gameplay while building upon it with new moves, different enemies and bosses. This is also reflected in the difficulty curve, which slowly introduces more and more complicated enemies and environments to the point while never making you feel overwhelmed. There’s nothing that ever pops out that confuses you or seems out of the ordinary; it’s relatively easy to use techniques you’ve learned in the past to get towards newer strategies in taking on what you’re encountered.

One minor complaint is that the game doesn’t really stress how important gold coins are – if you don’t collect enough of them in a world, you will get to a point where you’ll have to replay levels looking for them until you get enough to unlock the next set of levels. Granted, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it also gives you an opportunity to earn more diamonds and purchase new upgrades. It’s important to note that there is no IAP in Crazy Hedgy; if you want to progress, you’re going to have to play the game to collect enough gold coins and diamonds (what a concept!).

Controls in Crazy Hedgy are divided into two categories: movement and actions. Movement is exclusively controlled by the accelerometer, and is handled very well. I particularly liked the tilt sensitivity and the plentiful opportunities to calibrate your device. A sensitivity meter would have been nice in the options, but I think as it stands it should suffice for most folks. Occasional controls also pop up on the screen during set quick time events. While they don’t detract from the overall experience, they do feel tacked on and unnecessary.

Actions, meanwhile, or controlled by tapping on the left or right sides of the screen. The right controls jumping (double tap for a longer jump) while the left controls punching and attacking. Initial attacks are restricted to simple tap punches, but as you unlock new moves you can also swipe various ways to control your attacks on the baddies. Considering that the game requires quite a bit of precise jumping and aiming as well as fast reflexes (especially in later levels that have faux timers), I’m pleased that  the controls allow me to accomplish everything I need to succeed in Crazy Hedgy with very little distraction from the controls.

It’s rare to see a platformer on iOS that actually understands all the elements required to make it successful and, most importantly, fun. Crazy Hedgy gets it, and not only offers enough variety, great presentation, and replayability to keep you satisfied, but also offers enough compelling gameplay to simply keep you playing. Nice visuals and music, as well as a good control scheme don’t hurt as well. Folks that don’t like tilt-based games may be turned off by Crazy Hedgy’s control scheme, but I implore you to put those feelings aside and check this game out.

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Attention card geeks and all god slayers: the first expansion pack for the outstanding Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer [$4.99] is now available. After grabbing it via IAP, the cleverly titled pack, Ascension: Return of the Fallen, adds even more monsters, new characters, and even mechanics to the core play. Developer Playdek touched base with us on this the other day, and it seemed pretty stoked about how fans will react to it.

Not familiar with Ascension? We got your back. Earlier this summer, we reviewed the game and, obviously, explored its fundamentals. Here’s an excerpt:

The actual game of Ascension is a somewhat refreshing spin on fantasy-based card games in that instead of building a specific deck that you use in battles, you’re building your deck on the fly from game to game. Players start the game with identical basic decks of ten cards consisting of two militia cards which provide the “power” resource and eight apprentice cards which provide the “rune” resource. Using power and runes you’re able to interact with a common pool of cards to either acquire new cards for your deck or defeat monster cards. Most actions you do in the game award different amounts of victory points, and at the end of the game, the player with the most victory points wins.

You gotta love it when a sharp game sees the injection of a bunch of new content — and for a fair price. This expansion is $2.99, so grab it when you can.

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Looks like we’ve got one more big release to add to today’s list. Kairosoft has just released their latest simulation title called Pocket League Story [$2.99]. By now you’re probably familiar with Kairosoft’s method of operation: pick a theme and develop a simplistic but deceptively deep simulation around it, then fill it to the brim with cute and colorful retro-style visuals and mobile friendly gameplay.

Pocket League Story appears to be no exception. The theme of choice this time around is soccer, or football depending on which country you hail from. You’ll build up a team of players, train them, and then take on the rest of the league. You also have the ability to sell your team’s own merchandise, build a gym for training, and even build your own stadium. The goal is to increase your fan base as you progress your team’s abilities through competition.

It looks as though all the components are here of another solid Kairosoft simulation, especially if you’re a fan of footy. We’ll be digging in a lot deeper before passing final judgement on Pocket League Story, but if you’re generally a fan of Kairosoft’s work you probably can pretty much guess what you’re getting here. You can pick it up for $2.99 which is an introductory price, and at some point it will raise up to their usual $3.99.

We’ll have a full review of Pocket League Story in the near future, and until then you can check out impressions in our forums which are starting to trickle in.

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