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iOS fighting game fans know that The King of Fighters-i [$6.99], SNK Playmore’s longtime rival to the Street Fighter series, is one of the best fighting games on the App Store. We absolutely loved it when it released last July, and the following September saw a new update that sweetened the pot with 6 new characters and a new Challenge Mode.

We haven’t really heard much from the game since then, but yesterday a new update hit for King of Fighters-i that was pretty confusing. The update text listed all of the “new” characters that were already a part of last September’s update, and it didn’t really sound like there was actually anything new being added.

As it turns out, there was some sort of glitch with the update and if you download it and sync it to your device, you’ll actually LOSE those 6 additional characters as well as any of the items or data that you’ve accumulated. Since some of that stuff can be really time consuming to unlock, this can be pretty devastating if you’ve invested heavily in The King of Fighters-i.

SNK Playmore is aware of the problem, and warns in the app description not to update your game until they figure out what the heck is going on. It sounds like they actually DO have some new content planned, and they guess it should be about a week before they figure out what happened and come out with a fix for The King of Fighters-i. We’ll keep our eye out for that but in the meantime hold off on updating your game so you don’t end up losing your data.

[Thanks Ben]

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Fans of tower defense should feel lucky; it seems like we get at least one marquee release every month. Following this trend is iBomber Defense Pacific [$2.99], sequel to Cobra’s iBomber Defense [$2.99] and the latest Chillingo TD title. Building on everything we loved in the original, Pacific does a great job adding new gameplay twists while fine-tuning the traditional TD formula that has made the genre so popular.

From a gameplay perspective, iBomber Defense Pacific is a great mix of old and new tower defense elements that combine to create an experience that is far more ‘interactive’ than most traditional TD titles. Like its predecessor, Pacific still has the armor/tower repair mechanic (along with the rewind function), as well as the standard tower archetypes and upgrade levels. Pacific changes up some of the tower names, but they’re really nothing new and should be instantly be familiar for all TD veterans. New to the mix, however, is the ‘Dig In’ mechanic, which is a good addition and puts a greater emphasis on micromanagement and strategy.

By telling a tower to dig in, you can increase the range, damage, and armor of the tower but at the sacrifice of vision (instead of attacking from all angles, a frontal cone becomes your only attack range). However, you can rotate the tower’s cone of range at any time which basically provides an inexpensive (and significant) upgrade to your towers, assuming you can effectively manage your aiming.

I’m a huge fan of this mechanic because it feels like tower defense finally has a nice supplemental mechanic that rewards extra interaction. This is also shown in the ‘Bomb’ tower, which is a passive tower that slowly builds bombs that can be dropped on any part of the map. These sorts of interactive elements are certainly not unique to Pacific, but the quality in which they’re implemented is something not usually seen.

Other nice additions include a ‘perk system’ that allows players to assign three perks that range from starting with more money to faster tower targeting (and are unlockable via a variety of objectives). Pacific also greatly expands on the ‘Victory Point’ leveling system from the original – allowing for a bit more customizability and thus strategic play styles.

Besides gameplay, most other aspects of Pacific share the same devotion to detail that Cobra has provided in the past. Visuals are fast, fluid and colorful, although the backdrops at this point aren’t as special as the original. Maps start off simple and end up large and hectic, with some missions having you defend on multiple fronts including simultaneous land, water, and air attacks. Three difficulties, multiple objectives per map, and bonus missions provide a wealth of replayability. Even the sound effects are well done, especially when heard via headphones.

Complaints in iBomber Defense Pacific are few and usually limited to minor issues such as the occasional miscue when trying to rotate your dug in tower and a few random crashes. The biggest issue, however, deals with the lack of a mid-mission save state outside of keeping the game in memory. Considering the fact that iOS devices love to quit apps while multitasking, this is a glaring omission and could lead to a lot of lost progress if you quit the game before completing a mission. Players looking for a striking narrative will also need to look elsewhere, as Pacific offers the bare minimum in story to keep the action going.

Still, you’re not going to be playing a game like iBomber Defense Pacific for the story. You’re going to play it because you’re looking for the next big TD game to get your fix. In this regard, Pacific offers nearly everything you need for an enjoyable and deep tower defense game.

TouchArcade Rating:

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Are you into Japanese RPGs with turn-based combat and slightly stilted translations? Do you crave a game that’s best played with a spreadsheet and a community of other players close at hand? Do you keep buying crafting or management sims in search of something truly deep? If so, get excited. Adventure Bar Story [$0.99] fills that niche beautifully. As a big fan of games like Harvest Moon and the fabulous Recettear I consider myself among that elite crew, and I love this game, flaws and all.

While it isn’t the best in its class if you look across platforms, there really aren’t any quality games similar to Adventure Bar Story on iOS. There are RPGs, yes, and there are management sims (so often presented in freemium grind-fests), but a deep combination of the two has been noticeably absent before now. Rideon Japan brings us a game settles right into that gap, offering many hours of entertainment for a remarkably low price.

When our story starts, our heroine Siela and her sister Kamerina are apparently competing to see whose apathy can run the family bar into the ground first. When a buyout offer arrives, Siela is inspired to actually try to get things up and running again. Her friend Fred offers to help. Fred owns the only shop in town, so he’s a good guy to have on her side. He lets Siela in on a little secret: there’s a field nearby where you can literally gather cooking ingredients from the ground.

After a trip to the meadow, Siela returns to the bar to cook up a few dishes. Once she’s got a few things worth selling she gives them to her sister, who opens the bar and sells the goods off-screen (no interacting with the customers for you). This is all a little silly, admittedly: icons indicating produce, meat, dairy and other supplies litter the ground of the meadow, and at first it seems there’s little to do but gather them up and head back to the bar to paw through menus and create inspired dishes like “Salted Daikon” and, um, “Salted Cucumber.”

But Adventure Bar Story slowly reveals itself to be atypical, even in the world of management RPGs. Everything in the game revolves around food. To level up, you eat. To earn money, you create dishes to sell. To advance the plot, you run your restaurant as well as you can. In fact, the game can be played nearly entirely as a restaurant management sim, finding the best prices for the best goods to make a self sustaining menu. Siela and her party only need to venture out into dungeons only when they’re high enough level to complete them and advance the plot. Or you can play traditionally, grinding monsters and looking for hidden secrets.

After a couple days of gathering and cooking the basics, the game opens up. A new dungeon unlocks and the story moves forward. New dungeons are filled with new ingredients, and this is when the cooking sim starts to shine. Trying to discover recipes from scratch feels similar to playing something like Doodle God [$0.99]: there is a collection of ingredients and tools to work with, and you’re left to discover the internal logic that drives the combinations. Once you get one recipe down, you can usually iterate on it to create other, similar things. A basic understanding of cooking helps, but if you hit a wall there are recipes to be bought. Hint recipes with a few blanks filled in open up as you discover new ingredients, too.

Each new ingredient dramatically increases the number of recipes that can be completed, so the bar really starts to hustle after a few days. Once its profile is high enough, Siela is invited to participate in local cooking contests. If she can cook something popular enough to take first place (something that can be worked out by paying attention to what sells in the bar), there will be big rewards and more interest in her bar.

I’m impressed by the depth of strategy Adventure Bar Story offers. Each day’s menu takes consideration: is it better to list high-cost foods, or use them for experience? Recipes that go particularly well together unlock combos that make them hot ticket items. And since the party can only head out once per day, deciding where to go to farm which ingredients is a challenge.

While combat follows a typical turn-based, random encounter RPG formula, that doesn’t mean it’s dull for long. Many of the skills effect the food that drops from battle. Dispatch an enemy with “Butcher” and it will drop extra items; skills like that abound. You don’t unlock them by levelling up with food, you unlock them automatically with points earned in battle.

Adventure Bar Story does contain IAP, but it’s ridiculously optional. Jewels, the premium currency, were added in on top of the existing content, and they add a couple shortcuts and a few handy weapons and items. You might want to use them to solve a particularly tough recipe or to get ahead on equipment, but they’re never, ever necessary.

The game doesn’t particularly distinguish itself on aesthetic levels. The music is enjoyable enough without being distracting, the environments and sprites are RPG-standard. The dialog often feels forced, but generally the translation is serviceable. There are a few language and cultural gaps to watch out for when working through recipes, though, and a handful are completely lost in translation. A word of warning, while we’re discussing flaws: save often. The game supports multitasking but no auto-save, so it’s easy to set yourself back by switching apps and taking too long to return.

Once you get the basics down, Adventure Bar Story can get pretty rote. You unlock new characters from time to time, find secrets and improve your bar, but it all happens slowly. So goes the story, too, so most of the playtime is spent navigating long lists of items and putting together recipes. It’s fun for a while if you’re in it for the RPG, but it’s great for a lot longer if you’re the sort of person who can’t resist a checklist or a spreadsheet. On the whole, this game is a steal—but only for the right sort of person. Many of them are hanging out in our forums, working on divining the game’s depths. Trust me, you’ll want their help.

TouchArcade Rating:

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Earlier this week at GDC 2012, we sat down with members of three iOS game studios to discuss their upcoming collaborative project, Zombie Track Meat (do you see what they did there?), which will see a release to coincide with the 2012 Summer Olympics in July.

Studios Pixelocity Software, Fuzzycube Software, and Streaming Colour Stufios came together to create a zombie-themed, olympic style sports game that adds a little bit of the undead into the mix.

Zombie Track Meat is a game where a collection of various zombies (clowns, cheerleaders, CEOs, etc.) compete in eight different sports mini-games, lavishly set in a wasteland world, years after the unfortunate apocalypse of 2012. The mini games seek to challenge players’ timing, tap, and swipe skills with events such as the Sewage Swim Meet, the Head Shotput, the Yardsale Javelin, and the Corpse Car Crash. The embedded video gives a taste of the action.

There is an in-app currency in the game, and that currency is brains. You can collect and accrue brains through standard play, or purchase it for cash to speed things along. As you progress through the game, you unlock various special abilities (six per game), and brains let you purchase instances of those abilities for use in the game.

Three months prior to the iOS release — in April — the crew will be releasing a Google Chrome native client version of the app with just five mini-games included. Zombie Track Meat will be a free download.

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Be-Rad Entertainment gained notoriety on the App Store with Lame Castle [99¢/UHD/Lite], a game inspired by Sony’s advertising jab at iOS gaming, and more recently with the well-received Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack [$1.99/Lite]. At GDC this week, they were showing off their newest iOS title, a strategic matching game based on the movie ‘WarGames‘.

‘WarGames’, if you aren’t aware, is a classic early 80s hacking tale where a young computer enthusiast inadvertently hacks into a military missile strike system. He thinks he’s merely playing a game, but in reality, he is setting off a series of events that will eventually lead to World War III. When he realizes what has happened, it’s a mad scramble to reverse what he has done. Here’s a short teaser featuring clips from the ‘WarGames’ movie itself:

In the WarGames iOS game, you’ll play as the WOPR computer system. As a computer who merely wants to carry out its orders, you’re constantly battling against the people who are trying to shut down the missile launching process. You’ll battle against 6 characters from the movie in matching gameplay that is highly reminiscent of the excellent RPG puzzle title Dungeon Raid [$2.99/Lite].

WarGames isn’t just a Dungeon Raid clone, though. There isn’t a huge focus on persistent RPG leveling, but the drag-to-make-matches mechanic is basically the same. You battle against each of the movie characters by making matches to earn cash, replenish your health, increase experience, and of course deal damage. Certain items on the board with a circle around them will act as your opponents offense if you don’t match them quickly enough, adding a highly strategic layer to the gameplay.

There are other aspects like unlockable power-ups that can increase what you earn for matches or deal additional damage to your opponent. Be-Rad also hopes to implement even more fan service directly from the movie, like sound effects and voice samples. I expected a WarGames game to be more along the lines of The Hacker [99¢] which we recently really enjoyed, but I was pleasantly surprised by the matching game and I think it works really well with the movie IP.

Be on the lookout for WarGames to be hitting sometime in the next couple of months.

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Earlier this afternoon in San Francisco, we got a quick look at the HD version of Galaxy On Fire 2’s first expansion, Valkyrie. As fans would expect, Fish Labs has significantly ramped up the visuals in its now, second, HD re-release. Valkyrie HD boasts new models, a new lighting model, and significantly improved assets all around.

We also got to see a few moments of Fish Labs upcoming expansion for Galaxy on Fire 2, Super Nova. Fish Labs says it’ll match the content present in both the core game and its first expansion, Valkyrie HD. The build was early, but it was clear that Fish Labs has built several new assets, including ship models, and integrated a few new mechanics. Of note, users will have to monitor a “gamma” bar in addition to health. The super nova, in general, radically alters the game’s world. In one mission, we observed flares pummeling a sky spire. In another, a mission revolved around saving people before the explosion.

In an attempt to calm the Internet fury over the incoming HD expansion being released, Fish Labs is planning to put Galaxy On Fire 2 SD. Also, anyone with Galaxy On Fire 2 SD on their devices, will be able to unlock Valkyrie for free.

Here’s some screens of Valkyrie HD:

And here’s some concept art of Super Nova:

Of note, Fish Labs will continue support Apple’s latest tablets with HD versions. Valkyrie, for example, will be optimized for the third-gen iPad.

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Our Australian friends from Halfbrick are large and in charge at GDC this week, showing anyone willing to listen to their endearing accents the upcoming Jetpack Joyride [Free]. First off, we absolutely loved the game in our review, but since then it’s gone totally free and there’s absolutely no reason to not download it.

The new update is slated to land in April, and introduces a “gadget” system which works a lot like the perks system from Call of Duty and other similar games. Using coins, you can unlock different gadgets to equip on Barry which provide constant passive benefits. For instance, there are shoes that allow you to quickly jump to the middle of the screen before needing to use the jetpack. There’s a gadget that allows you to start while riding a vehicle, one that adds valuable gems to be collected in game, and so much more. There’s 15 in all, and two can be equipped at a time.

There’s also talks of more of these awesome trailers coming, showing off some more of the gadgets before the update hits.

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Before I get started here, let me offer two disclaimers: First off, the guys from NimbleBit asked me to make it very clear that this game is a work in progress and absolutely everything is subject to change. Traditionally, NimbleBit does extensive beta testing and implements tons of user feedback, Pocket Planes is nowhere near that stage left. Secondly, this is a very difficult game to describe, as I’m really not sure what to compare it to or what genre to classify it in. It definitely has elements of time management, but seems substantially more strategic than your typical time management game. Pocket Planes is definitely a much more “gamery” game, which even has NimbleBit a little worried with how the game will do as free to play games typically require a very large mainstream casual player base to be successful.

With that out of the way, let’s chat Pocket Planes.

At the highest level, Pocket Planes is a game of ferrying people and cargo around the world. Each city is home to its own airport, where players will find anxious passengers and cargo waiting to go somewhere else. You must manage your own budding airline, starting at the very small regional level and eventually expanding into a global empire of complete air superiority with planes flying to even the most exotic of locations.

You increase your fleet of planes using what we’ll call “Plane Bucks” for the sake of this article, although NimbleBit admits they’ve yet to decide on a witty name for the IAP currency. Also, since IAP is a bit of a sore subject around here for some of our readers, keep in mind that NimbleBit intends to balance the game just like Tiny Tower and Pocket Frogs, in that they aim to make the game fun, even if you never buy a single IAP item. Just like Tower Bucks, players will have plenty of opportunities to rack up Plane Bucks via various in-game goals, promotions, and other things.

The in-game planes are not only totally customizable via various options (such as color) but they’re also all based on real-world statistics when it comes to range, speed, capacity, and the other values under that make the whole simulation work under the hood. Of course they’re named something different, but aviation fans should find lots of very familiar planes to load their fleet up with.

With your planes, you’ll initially have access to a small pool of local airports. The world map is still in flux, but say for instance you could start off in Los Angeles, where you might initially have access to a few airports in the area, let’s say Tucson, Phoenix, and San Francisco. (Keep in mind these cities might not be in the final game, I’m just using this as an example.)

Starting in Los Angeles, you’ll have people and cargo that want to go to these different airports, the strategy of the game comes in with how you do this, as flying your planes cost coins the farther you go. So, you could potentially load your plane up with people who want to go to Phoenix and Tucson, potentially making the flight a better bang for the buck since you fly from Los Angeles with tons of people, then dump them off at two very nearby airports. Doing this would net more profit than just flying a couple people up to San Francisco, which is farther away.

As you earn more coins, you’re able to buy access to additional airports. Doing so not only unlocks additional destinations to pick up (and drop off) people and cargo, but will also open new flight routes through that airport. With this example we’ve been using, you’d eventually unlock cities across the southwest towards the east, then eventually get a flight path to Europe, where you’ll be able to start unlocking airports over there.

With each new airport, you’re potentially unlocking much more efficient and direct flight routes, allowing you to turn even greater profits by offering much more direct flights to destinations. It seems like you can get really obsessive too about your strategy with buying both planes with Plane Bucks and unlocking airports with coins. Also, the game will totally let you lose coins if you’re not playing smart and efficiently using your fleet. But, don’t worry, you can never go negative.

NimbleBit explained several different viable play styles, such as investing in large and slow planes and doing long haul flights trying to carve your niche in the world as an international airline. Alternatively (or additionally) you could have a fleet of small fast planes to carry passengers that want to go on a long-haul flight to a central “hub” of sorts, where you keep your huge slow planes to do a long-haul flight for tons of coins.

It’s surprising how deep this game feels, even at this post-prototype pre-beta phase. I’m sure it won’t be long before NimbleBit starts engaging the community and more information on Pocket Planes comes flowing out. If all goes as planned, Pocket Planes will be released sometime this summer.

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If you value productivity, don’t make the same mistake that I did. Don’t fire up Tobe & Friends’ Hookshot Escape [$1.99]. Just don’t. Trust me on this. I know what you’re thinking. You’re an App Store veteran. You’ve survived a Tiny Tower addiction. You’re on top of your game. One round won’t hurt.

Well, the cake is a lie, my friends. Tobe & Friends Hookshot Escape sucks you in in all the right ways. It’s simple, it’s easy to get into, and it has the whole unlockable things down pat. There’s a rhythm to Secret Base’s cloyingly cute endless vertical runner that would do Beat Sneak Bandit proud – it’s all too easy to get lulled into a pattern of discovery.

Tobe & Friends’ Hookshot Escape has a knack for slyly ensuring that the next unlockable is always ‘a few more rounds’ away. There are a total of twenty to unlock, by the way. Additionally, asides from Tobe, you also get to make use of three other characters. Asides from being able to run and jump, each individual has a special ability of their own. For example, the tousled-haired Tobe has a hookshot that permits him to catapult himself upwards.

A decidedly retro-looking endeavor, Tobe & Friends’ Hookshot Escape is a game with a simple demand: climb. For reasons unknown, the various worlds you find yourself ensnared are crumbling away, and you must engage in a futile attempt to escape the inevitable for as long as possible. Depressing as that description might sound, Tobe & Friends’ Hookshot Escape is actually rather adorable. This solid little iOS port (there’s a slightly watered-down Flash version in the wilderness out there) features Secret Base’s distinctive art style and an infectiously chirpy soundtrack.

For the hardcore out there, you needn’t worry. The saccharine-sweet exterior is just a deceptive facade. Underneath, Tobe & Friends’ Hookshot Escape is as demanding as any arcade title from the good old days. The action starts out slow. You’ll have the opportunity to leisurely vault onto platforms and beat on the local subterranean fauna. Is there a chest on that other ledge? Go ahead and grab it. Make mistakes. It’s okay.

However, as you move higher up, the velocity will increase accordingly. Before you realize what’s going on, Tobe & Friends’ Hookshot Escape will have you eschewing treasure in favor of simple survival. Along the way, you’re also going to be mindful of the combo system. While not an essential part of the experience, it can add drastically to your overall score (the combo system will reward you with bonus cash should you be able to chain certain actions together in rapid succession).

The only problem here is the virtual controls and the way the game makes you play it portrait-style. It can be taxing to clutch at your phone so desperately. Because of how cramped everything is, there is a chance for mistakes and in a game like Tobe & Friends’ Hookshot Escape, a mistake can cost you everything. Fortunately, however, this is something that can be overcome with a little bit of practice and perseverance (and an obsessive-compulsive need to unlock everything in the game).

In spite of the fact it demands pin-point precision, Tobe & Friends’ Hookshot Escape is not completely sadistic. Casual players will be able to pile on a variety of equipment to make their escapades easier. However, if you’re a high score fanatic, you’re probably going to go without – the usage of items will lower your final tally.

I don’t have much that’s bad to say about the game. Outside of the fact it might aggravate your Carpel Tunnel Syndrome or demolish what little free time you have, this game is impossible not to love. You would need a heart of stone. Tobe & Friends’ Hookshot Escape is a fine game and I say this with only a minimal amount of bias – a Dragon Punch-enabled character just makes things so much better.

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