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We’ve covered the various gamebooks on the App Store quite a bit in the past, and we’re overdue for a refresher on all the offerings of Tin Man Games– Especially with the release of their latest gamebook, Temple of the Spider God [$2.99]. If you’re new to the whole gamebook thing, here’s the gist- Remember Choose Your Own Adventure books back in the day? Well, imagine those, with greater levels of interactivity via dice rolling, character skills, battles, and more. If this even vaguely sounds interesting to you, you should snag the free version of their first gamebook to give it a try. I’ve had an absolutely fabulous time playing through them, and highly encourage anyone interested in fantasy novels to check ‘em out.

Tin Man Games’ series of Gamebook Adventures all are set in the same universe, and even though they were released as a continuing series of sorts, you really don’t need to read them in order at all. If the premise of a particular gamebook jumps out at you, you can dive right in without feeling like you’re missing much of anything by not reading previous installments.

Here’s the current lineup, which are all universal apps:

Gamebook Adventures: Temple of the Spider God, $2.99 – “Cesaro Cortez, a famed explorer-conquistador, set out three years ago on his last great expedition. His ships never returned to an Orlandrian port and he was feared lost until a mysterious cargo appeared recently in Miramar. The nature of this cargo will put Orlandes in jeopardy, sending you on an epic journey to find Cortez, save the country and face your darkest fear!”

Gamebook Adventures 1: An Assassin in Orlandes, $2.99 – “Set within Orlandes City, nobles are being systematically murdered by a ruthless assassin no-one seems able to catch. Finding yourself thrust in the middle of a large conspiracy, you must make decisions that may put yourself and one other most precious to you in great danger. Can you locate the Assassin in Orlandes before it is too late?”

Gamebook Adventures 2: The Siege of the Necromancer, $1.99 – “Set in the coastal town of Myr, you have returned home after a long Summer in the mines of Durath Tor to find your hometown besieged by strange creatures. A dark presence has taken over the town and you are the only one who can rid the stronghold of Erid Buul, the mysterious new Lord and his ghastly cohorts.”

Gamebook Adventures 3: Slaves of Rema, $1.99 – “Cruelly taken from your homeland of Orlandes, you find yourself in a far off land at the mercy of a gladiatorial arena. Somehow trying to find a way to escape overseas, can you also unravel a potentially dangerous mystery that puts two nations on the brink of war?”

Gamebook Adventures 4: Revenant Rising, $1.99 – “The mighty city of Falavia, the military backbone of Orlandes, is under attack from an army lead by a man claiming to be a God. How did this come to pass you ask yourself? You’re sure it all started as some innocent adventure in search of treasure but somehow it turned into a nightmare. Also, why are people staring at you strangely? It’s not as if you look like you’ve recently been brought back from the dead or something. Oh yes, that’s right. You remember now… “

Gamebook Adventures 5: Catacombs of the Undercity, $1.99 – “Captured by one of Orlandes City’s most infamous brotherhoods, the Red Hand Guild, you are thrown to the mercy of the subterranean world deep beneath the streets of the great capital. Wading through the sewers and other dark menacing places, your goal is to reach Undercity, the City beneath the City! Only there can you find the help you need to escape this underground horror and bring down the dark brotherhood from within.”

Gamebook Adventures 6: The Wizard from Tarnath Tor, $1.99 – “Two hundred years ago, the legendary City of Tarnath Tor was destroyed as it’s defenders, the mighty wizards valiantly tried to repel an orcun horde. Now just a place set within stories and myths, it has been lost to the outside world. A chance encounter with one who claims to be a time traveller sends you on a mission to recover some magical artifacts. This search will lead you to great ruins and the dark forces who have made it their home. Who is this wizard from Tarnath Tor and how can you trust him?”

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This past May, developer Dingo Games brought Laser Dolphin [$2.99/HD] to the App Store, a game that wins all sorts of brownie points from me just based on the name alone. However, before that the developer had released another iOS game that actually proved to be quite popular in an under the radar sort of way. It was called Tasty Planet [$2.99/Lite/HD], and the best way I could describe it would be if Katamari Damacy and Spore Origins [99¢] had a gooey grey baby.

As the story goes in Tasty Planet, one day an enterprising scientist was looking to create a more efficient way to clean. He creates a microbial speck of grey goo that he hopes will feast on dirt and grime, but it turns out it has more of a hunger for anything and everything. Naturally the goo gets set free into the wild, and the game follows its journey through different locations as it grows larger and larger by eating everything in sight.

Dingo Games has sent word that they’re readying an iOS port of the sequel to Tasty Planet, which is called Tasty Planet: Back for Seconds. The scientist has recklessly created another goo, and once again it gets free. This time though, the goo grows large enough to chomp down on the scientist’s latest creation, a time machine, and proceeds to travel throughout history chowing down on everything it can.

I’ve been playing through a preview copy of Tasty Planet: Back for Seconds, and if you were a fan of the first game then you’ll feel right at home with this new one. The biggest change, aside from improved visuals, is the new dynamic level structures. In the first game, you would start out small and would go to town eating the small objects around you, eventually graduating to larger objects as you increased in size. Once a level was complete, you’d move on to the next one, which typically featured the previously large objects as your starter food, with even bigger objects entering the fray after that.

In Back for Seconds, this is still pretty much the formula, but the levels change dynamically as you grow. So for example, in the first level you’ll start out as a tiny goo, eating little candies and other small items on the desk in the scientist’s laboratory. Once you grow large enough, the view will zoom out and you’ll begin eating larger objects and eventually graduate to objects on the floor. Once you become big enough, you’ll gobble up the time machine in the lab which will set off your time traveling journey.

The dynamic level changing softens the linear progression that was in the first game, and makes it feel more like you’re an actual goo who is constantly growing larger with every meal. While both Tasty Planet games are not much more than simple avoidance/collection games at their core, it’s the environments in the games that really make them fun. In the same way that I used to love playing the Micro Machines games and racing around a track lined with pencils, staplers, and paper clips, it’s just fun to start out in the tiny worlds of Tasty Planet and eventually grow your way into scarfing down large animals, cars, trees, and even dinosaurs. And from what I’ve played so far, Back for Seconds does this aspect even better than the original game did.

Another thing worth noting is that Tasty Planet utilizes several control options. The default is tilt controls, but as I’m not typically a big fan of those I appreciate that there’s several other touch control options. Also, there’s a good amount of variety to the missions beyond just eating larger and larger items, like eating a certain number of items within a time limit or negotiating mazes to collect specific items. Don’t get me wrong, the majority of the game is mindless arcade-style fun, but it’s nice to break up the gameplay now and then with these sorts of elements, and I’m looking forward to digging even deeper into this sequel to see what other kinds of things are waiting for me.

Tasty Planet: Back for Seconds seems to be in a fairly complete state, so should hopefully be releasing in the not too distant future. We’ll have another look at the final product when it eventually hits the App Store.

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While in-app purchases have certainly made their mark across a wide variety of genres of iOS games, it has yet to clearly take root with classic role playing games. Dawn of Magic [Free], the latest game from Lakoo, is an experiment in infusing certain elements of in-app purchasing with classic RPG gameplay. For some gamers, such a combination may be a turnoff towards investing a substantial amount of time in Dawn of Magic. However, for those willing to check it out, this classic RPG succeeds in recreating the old school RPG experience, for better or worse.

You won’t find any novel gameplay quirks in Dawn of Magic. Everything from the sprite based graphics to the turn based battles is classic RPG, pure and simple. In addition, don’t expect much in terms of side quests, as Dawn of Magic is extremely linear and runs through the story relatively quickly (assuming you’re able to grind out levels and gold in good order). While I had no problem with Dawn of Magic’s linear style and somewhat generic gameplay, I could imagine others looking for something new might not appreciate the game’s homage to the classic gameplay.

As mentioned earlier, one of the big questions surrounding Dawn of Magic is how well it integrates IAP into the standard RPG formula. Overall, Dawn of Magic succeeds in successfully implementing the system by leveraging the standard grind that’s prevalent in classic RPGs. In addition to the standard experience/leveling and gold/equipment systems, Dawn of Magic also tosses in a few extra perks, such as instant leveling up, and the ability to equip more magic spells on each character. Each of these perks cost standard gold to activate. The IAP comes into play by allowing players to obtain additional gold by purchase or by participating in its sponsorship program (which typically has you sign up for a free deal or download and run an app).

Since gold is earned after each battle, it is definitely possible to earn all of these extra perks simply by grinding gold during battles. However, even if you don’t feel like grinding, there are certainly enough free apps you can download in order to earn gold in that manner as well. For folks that don’t want to do either of those things (or pay outright for gold), then Dawn of Magic loses its appeal. However, considering that one of the perks of using such a system is the lower barrier to entry, I think it works well in giving most gamers an opportunity to check it out.

The one glaring issue with Dawn of Magic is with its translation. From the start, you’ll find grammatical issues and a lot of strange sentence choices. True, the overarching story of a world filled with magic and a young adventurer on a quest to save the world won’t offer any surprises for anyone familiar with classic RPG stories. Still, the disjointed grammar is certainly out of place for a genre that relies on heavy story elements. One other complaint was with its touch based controls, which were occasionally annoying but adequate enough for an RPG.

Translation issues aside, Dawn of Magic does provide a solid RPG experience. While the overarching story is a bit generic, the gameplay is there and survives the freemium/IAP infusion. If you’re a fan of classic RPGs and are looking for a new title to grind through, then Dawn of Magic may be worth checking out, particularly with its current deal of being free.

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In this week’s bonus episode of The TouchArcade show, we hook up with Limbic Software to talk about independent video games, Zombie Gunship and where it’s headed, and to also discuss how Limbic’s approach to development inform the decisions and games it makes today. I think we all had a blast putting this podcast together and you’ll probably learn a thing or two about how Limbic rolls and who they are as designers and programmers. It’s good stuff overall.

If you’d like to listen to us, the links below this text should do the trick. If you’d like to avoid the hassle of clicking and then popping our latest episodes onto your music machine of choice, feel free to subscribe to us on iTunes or Zune Marketplace. It’s free!

iTunes Link: The TouchArcade Show
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Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-Bonus-023.mp3, 29MB

We’ll be back at your earholes this coming Friday with another regular episode of The TouchArcade Show.

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We’ve been following GameStop’s entry into the tablet gaming world for some time now. Rumblings started when GameStop started taking iOS devices on trade-in, which we determined utilizing the latest tinfoil hat and witching stick technology might mean they were going to start selling iOS devices soon. A few days later, news hit that GameStop wouldn’t be selling iOS devices, and instead is launching it’s own Android gaming tablet. Since then, we’ve speculated heavily on our podcast regarding what this tablet will be like, if GameStop will have a proprietary storefront for it, and whether or not that storefront will offer some kind of trade-in gimmick.

Per a recent report from PC Mag, GameStop just started a pilot program where they will be selling not one but three Android tablets in 200 locations. The lineup includes the Acer A100 at $329, the Asus Transformer at $399, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab at $499. Naturally, these are coming pre-loaded with GameStop software, and they’ll be promoting tablet-optimized games to play on them. Interestingly enough, it doesn’t sound like GameStop is going to be pushing touch-based games, as all but the low-end tablet will come packaged with a Bluetooth controller.

We’ll have to wait and see how this pilot program does, as it’s very interesting seeing GameStop respond to iOS games taking off the way they have as well as online game distributors and streaming services like Steam and OnLive eating so much of their proverbial lunch. I tend to think for this to get anywhere GameStop will need to take a much more unified and powerful approach to the whole thing, far beyond the “Oh hey, here’s three Android tablets and two of them come with Bluetooth controllers” thing they’re doing now.

[via PC Mag]

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With the proliferation of camera-equipped smartphones that also double as mobile gaming systems in the last few years, the amount of augmented reality apps and games has surged. While there are a ton of ingenious non-gaming ways to use AR on your smartphone, the vast majority of the games that used the technology boiled down to slapping some graphical assets onto your device’s camera view and calling it a game, with little regard for how the augmented reality portion actually affected or enhanced the gameplay.

One title that bucked that trend and changed how I feel about most AR games was last year’s ARDefender [99¢] from French developer Int 13. ARDefender had you printing out a special diagram from the ARDefender website (or as we’ve come to find, just displaying the diagram on a separate device or computer screen) which would then be read by the game using the camera on your iPhone or iPod touch. The game would create a tower on top of this diagram, making it appear that it was actually there in the space where your camera was pointed. Then enemies would come after this tower in waves, and you’d use an assortment of weaponry affixed to the top of your tower to fend them off.

Essentially, ARDefender was nothing more than a tower defense game at the most basic level, but the augmented reality portion was so convincing and the technology worked so well that it really became quite a little showpiece for what was possible on an iOS device. Plus, while simplistic, the actual gameplay involved was also pretty darn fun, which didn’t hurt either.

Now, just a little over a year after release, and ARDefender has received a fairly substantial update just in time for Halloween. First of all, the AR engine used in the game has been upgraded, and ARDefender now runs at a solid 60fps on an iPhone 4 or iPad 2. Also, it now has high resolution graphical assets for the iPad and Retina Display devices. The game looks incredibly sharp and ultra smooth now, as these improvements have really made a big difference.

Additionally, in celebration of the holiday today, ARDefender now has an entire Halloween theme. Your tower structure now looks more like a sibling of the Bates Motel and the enemies who will be swarming the tower include skeletons, pumpkin heads, laser-shooting Frankenstein’s monsters, witches, and more. It’s all quite well done, but if Halloween isn’t your thing then you can easily switch back to the classic theme if you want.

Besides the technical upgrades and Halloween theme, ARDefender also received some other really nice improvements in this latest update. There are now new towers to unlock and use, as well as a couple of new upgrades like a defense drone that will fly around the battlefield and assist you by blasting away at approaching enemies. You can now save your game’s progress, and there are also 22 achievements to unlock, but unfortunately they are just in-game and not tied into Game Center. Finally, a host of smaller gameplay tweaks and optimizations rounds out the update.

ARDefender is definitely my top augmented reality game for the iPhone. It would be nice if the developers expanded on the solid foundation with more game modes or some sort of campaign, but what’s here now is still a lot of fun. With this new update it’s an even better experience overall, and if you own at least a 3rd generation device or higher that’s equipped with a camera then ARDefender is a dollar well spent for both a fun gaming distraction and something cool to show your friends.

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First there was Modern Combat: Sandstorm [$4.99 / HD] which we described as one of the most impressive gaming experiences on the App Store at that time.  Next came MC2: Black Pegasus [$6.99 / HD /  Free], which we called ” A new standard in online multiplayer”. Now, Gameloft has released their much anticipated third installment, MC3: Fallen Nation [$6.99], which although not revolutionary, is easily one of the best first-person shooters available for iOS devices.

This release is named “Fallen Nation” because America is under attack. The enemies are KPR (Korea, Pakistan and Russia), who have declared war on America and invaded US cities, reportedly destroying Chicago. Anyone familiar with the earlier games will find more of the same non-stop action in this military shooter, but Gameloft have extended their previous efforts to ensure this latest release is the best in the series.

Because this game has so much going on, we’ll focus primarily on highlighting the new features. If you’re not familiar with the earlier games, you might want to read the review links above.

The single player campaign has 13 missions and four levels of difficulty, with combat in different vehicles, settings, and six different countries. There are plenty of cinematic cutscenes between gun-fights to shape the story-line, some of which require swipes when directed. The voice-over acting sounds good considering Gameloft’s previous efforts, and the graphics and level of detail in the levels is already being praised as “better than MC2” in the games busy discussion thread.

The highlight for many players will be the expanded multiplayer mode which is available via local WiFi or online via Gameloft Live. It now supports up to 12 players, compared to 10 previously, and delivers six much larger maps, which is more maps than MC2 had at release. Bluetooth multiplayer mode, which was available in MC2, has now been removed. Some users have experienced lag at times, which has caused stuttering graphics, but the general indication is that it’s nothing unreasonable.

Seven multiplayer modes are provided. The four MC2 modes are still present (Battle, Team battle, Capture the flag and Defuse the bomb), but now there’s also “Manhunt”  where you hold a flag for as long as possible, “Zone control” where you capture and hold locations, and “Destruction” where one team defends multiple devices from an attacking team. Multiplayer mode also has a list of challenges to complete, like achieving a certain number of head-shots, beating each game mode, and achieving the required number of kills with each weapon / attachment.

By killing other players and completing objectives and challenges, you’ll gain the experience points (XP) necessary for promotions to higher ranks. This is important because your rank now determines which new weapons, attachments, equipment, and skills are available in the armory.

In multiplayer mode, you can pick one skill per weapon kit. A gun expert loads his weapons quicker, an athlete runs faster while an anatomy scientist heals in half the time. The meanest skill is “One more thing”, which drops an incendiary grenade upon death, as a good-bye present to anyone nearby, like the person who shot you.

The expected diverse arsenal of weapons is available, plus equipment like remotely activated C4 explosives, sensors to display position of enemies, radar jammers, mines, and camouflage to avoid satellite scans. However, the process for unlocking weapons has changed, with guns being unlocked progressively once your character reaches certain levels while in-game currency is used to buy ammunition or attachments. That’s right, you can now add various attachments to customize your weaponry, like: Red dot sights, thermal scopes, and suppressors, which help you stay invisible on enemies radar while shooting.

There are two forms of in-game currency: Blue credits are used to buy or upgrade items in the single player shop, or to unlock items in WiFi multiplayer. Gold credits are used in online multiplayer, to unlock items in the online armory. You can buy additional credits as an In-App Purchase, but this is not really necessary as playing the game can yield the same results without extra cost.

Kill signatures have been added, so you can unlock and choose a message, picture, background and sound to be displayed to your victims after you kill them.  So when your opponents die, they might get a message like: “PWNED!” or “Would you like fries with that?”  along with a flatulence or baby crying sound effect. It’s a final slap in the face for your dead opponent.

Gameloft has added rewards for killing sprees this time around as well. In multiplayer mode you can earn “kill-chains” by killing multiple enemies without dying. These kill-chains can be used to buy military support. For example, three kill-chains will get you a satellite scan, showing all hostiles briefly. You can also request air strikes, turret deployments or helicopter / bomber support. With 20 kill-chains, you can obtain the much coveted nuclear missile and drop this WMD to end the conflict in 15 seconds.

There are three different control options, including “Classic Controls” like MC2 (but with a new sliding move by pressing crouch when running), but this set-up is not the default.  You can adjust the sensitivity of the controls, which was handy as I didn’t like the default controls at all, finding them too fast and floaty and the sprint button was in an uncomfortable position. Fortunately, there’s an option to customize the position of each control individually, although this is hidden away in the pause menu. It’s worth taking a few minutes to get the controls right for you.

Your progress and ranking is stored on Gameloft’s servers, so even if you delete the game, you can re-install it and resume without needing to start over. This means you can login from another device if the game is installed. And a multiplayer headquarters menu now presents all your stats, leaderboards, challenges, match history, and military support options. Finally, there’s now an online armory where you can save your weapon sets (primary, secondary, weapons attachments and extras like equipment or skills). Additional weapon kit slots can be unlocked. This isn’t as good as having direct access to all weapons, but it’s still nice to have this ability.

A few teething issues have been reported, with some ranks being listed incorrectly / inconsistently or progress being lost altogether. This is a major inconvenience which Gameloft is likely to investigate as a priority. And if you have a hyphen in your Gameloft Live login (as one of our editors does) you may have trouble logging in for online multiplayer, so avoid using dashes if you’re signing up.

This Universal game is larger than most and requires additional room for the install process, so gamers all over the world are busy deleting other large games to free up a couple of gigabytes. If you want to play first person shooters on your iOS device, Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation is a must-buy game, so start making room for it.  Although, with Gameloft  reportedly committed to releasing frequent updates sooner this time around (in contrast to previous versions), we may have to delete even more games for the future updates.

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This week on The TouchArcade Show, we fight through conversations about Soft Paws, Modern Warfare 3, leather couches and Battlefield 3 in order to bring you the hottest front page and reviews action of the week. For example, we dig into Shantae: Risky’s Revenge and get into lengthier discussions on subjects such as battery life across new mobile gaming devices, the impact of sales on revenue, and game saves. Overall, I really dug this week and we all hope you do, too.

If you’d like to give us a try, feel free via the streaming and download links below. If you want plugged in to The TouchArcade Show and receive our episodes the second they hit, just go ahead and subscribe to us on iTunes and Zune. While you’re there, we’d really like for you to drop your positive feedback in the reviews section. We need your help!

iTunes Link: The TouchArcade Show
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Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-023.mp3, 42MB

The show notes are coming, but before you leave us, know this: we’ll be back next week with another regular episode of the show and another great bonus podcast.

GAMES

• Shantae: Risky’s Revenge [Free]
• League of Evil [$.99]
• Blosics [$.99 / HD]
• Riptide GP [$4.99]

JARED’S KITTY KORNER

• Cat’s Comming [$.99]

FRONT PAGE

Have a good weekend, guys!

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Penny Parlor [$1.99] wraps four antique coin-operated sports games into one release. But we’re not talking about classic arcade games …no, Australian-based  GamesLab Apps are taking us further back in time, like pre-1950’s, to the era of mechanical arcade machines which used to cost one penny to play.

The game displays a room (parlor) with four antique amusement machines shown in 3D, including: American Pro Football, Super Swing Baseball, The Amazing Golf Game and Smack’n'Whack Cricket. The old-fashioned color schemes, carnival music, and mechanical style movements and controls are all designed to convey the original feeling of playing these games at the fairground.

My favorite mini-game is ‘American Pro Football‘, which challenges you to flick a football with your finger to avoid three defenders (who move on tracks) and score touchdowns. The end-zone is divided into different gates, which represent either a touchdown or the amount of yards gained. If you accrue 100 yards you score a touchdown. You can bounce the football off the sides to sneak around the defenders or double-tap to quickly reset the football, ready for another attempt. Each time you score a touchdown, extra time is added to your play clock.

In ‘Super Swing Baseball‘, a ball rolls down a track towards home plate and you have to tap at the right time to swing the bat. You can either score a home run or help your team progress around the bases by hitting the ball into targets. As always, three strikes and: “you’re out!”, and three outs means game over, unless you hit the “extra innings” target. As you move up the levels, the balls are bowled more frequently, testing your hand eye coordination.

The ‘Amazing Golf Game‘ involves sinking 9 holes of golf, although you have to sink the ball in one shot from the tee. You rotate a little man to aim, then hold down the red button to determine the power of your swing. Initially you have 10 credits, but each time you go over par you lose a credit. Sinking the ball earns a point, while a hole-in-one scores 2 points. The par for each hole starts at four attempts, but this decreases each round, making it progressively harder. For me, this mini-game doesn’t live up to it’s name, unless you’re interested in memorizing the correct angle and power for each hole.

Finally, in ‘Smack’n'Whack Cricket‘ you’re the batter standing at the crease, trying to score as many runs as possible. You drag your finger downwards to determine the power of your swing and slide left/right to aim, then release to swing the bat at the right time. In the field, there are targets representing 2,4 and 6 runs. If you hit a target, it’s knocked over until all targets have been hit or the batsman is given out for either missing the ball or hitting an “Out!” target.

Each game has four levels of difficulty to progress through, with nine achievements to complete. Game Center wasn’t included initially, but online leaderboards and  achievements were released as an update, along with iPad support (Universal).

It’s impossible to review this game without using the word “nostalgic”, even if you weren’t alive when these vintage mechanical games were originally available. In that regard, it’s a charming “feel-good” game and an interesting experience, almost like visiting a game museum. However, it’s also extremely basic and repetitive game-play which may not hold your attention for long once the initial novelty wears off. But for a quick go-to game on your mobile when you have just a few moments to spare, Penny Parlor does the trick, and is executed with great presentation and style.

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