Code your robot to life with Hakitzu: Code of the Warrior

By Lory Gil on May 3, 2013

I like to pretend that I know a thing or two about computers. When I’m around my mom or friends that don’t play around with tech stuff too much, I always sound like a real pro. However, when I’m around my IT buddies, I tend to clam up. Throw around the word JavaScript and you have me running for the hills.

When I first discovered the universal app Hakitzu: Code of the Warrior, I was already excited about building giant fighting robots before I even found out that I’d be writing their movements in JavaScript.

If it sounds intimidating, don’t worry. Hakitzu was created for the purpose of teaching code. Everything you need to know to make your robot move, attack, and destroy is available as a learning tool in this game… Read More

 

As seen on TV: Heads Up! arrives on iPhone

By Christian Zibreg on May 2, 2013

If you’re a fan of the Ellen DeGeneres Show, you must be aware of an amusing party game Impending created specifically for the show. Hellen can be seen using the app to challenge her guests to name celebrities, sing, decipher silly accents, guess words written on the card on the guest’s head and much more.

Guess what? Now everyone can become Ellen by downloading the Heads Up! to their iPhone.

Just invite your smartypants friends and let the party begin. The game is getting some surprisingly good reviews, it’s backed by the Ellen brand and created by the same guys who brought you popular to-do list app Clear. What more could you want? Read More

 

Facebook-enabled Angry Birds Friends launches free on App Store

By Christian Zibreg on May 2, 2013

As promised, Finnish mobile games maker Rovio today launched the mobile edition of Angry Birds Friends. The Facebook edition launched on Facebook a year ago.

Given that the Facebook edition of Angry Birds Friends sees 60+ million monthly installs and has over 1.2 million daily users, the iOS and Android editions of Angry Birds Friends should prove pretty popular.

If you’re a fan of social gaming experiences, Angry Birds Friends will let you invite your Facebook friends to play, brag about your achievements by spamming your Facebook friends’ Newsfeed, spend cash on virtual gifts and coins, earn bronze, silver and gold trophies and more. I’ve included the launch trailer, screenies and more info after the break… Read More

 

Vendetta Online now available on iPad [review]

By Lory Gil on Apr 30, 2013

When I got my hands on an iPad more than three years ago, the first thing that crossed my mind was how to get World of Warcraft onto it. Even though Apple has improved the gaming capabilities of their tablet, Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game developers, like Blizzard, tend to steer clear of the platform, somewhat of a disappointment for a decade-long fan of the epic fantasy game.

Lucky for fans of space-themed player-versus-player (PVP) MMO gaming, Vendetta Online has taken the leap into iOS and is now available on the iPad. If you are already a subscriber to the all-encompassing sci-fi game, welcome to the pocket version. If you’ve never played Vendetta Online, but fancy yourself an experienced simulation space trade and fighter, you are in for a real treat… Read More

 

Angry Birds Friends landing on iOS and Android this Thursday

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 29, 2013

Finnish mobile games developer Rovio announced earlier in the month plans to bring its social Facebook game, Angry Birds Friends, to iOS and Android devices. Today, developers confirmed on Twitter that Angry Birds Friends will be hitting iOS and Android devices this coming Thursday, May 2, a year following its launch on Facebook in May 2012. The Facebook version now sees 60+ million monthly installs and has over 1.2 million daily users…

Read More

 

LEGO Batman: DC Super Heroes arrives to iOS

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 26, 2013

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes landed on the Mac last year and now an iOS version is here for your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Produced by TT Games under license from the Lego Group and published by Warner Bros. Entertainment, LEGO Batman: DC Super Heroes (I hate capitalized brand names so I’ll just write ‘Lego’ henceforth) has Batman and Robin characters joining forces with other Dark Comics heroes like Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and others.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to stop the notorious villains Lex Luthor and The Joker from destroying Gotham City. The game scored nice reviews due to its 3D platforming mechanics and light puzzle solving. I’ve include the launch trailer and more in way of detail after the fold… Read More

 

Suit up, Iron Man 3 lands on iOS

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 25, 2013

Iron Man 3, the movie, is premiering today in select few market outside the United States. Even though the flick won’t hit silver screens in the US until May 3, French games developer Gameloft today released the official game of the third movie on iPhone, iPad and Android devices. As previously mentioned, Iron Man 3 is a free-to-play download, increasingly the norm these days.

Hopefully, it won’t constantly ask for cash as Gameloft’s recently released Dungeon Hunter 4 does. You can download the Iron Man 3 universal binary for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices from the App Store. A build for Android devices is available from Google’s Play Store.

I’ve included a few screenshots and the launch trailer right after the break… Read More

 

Draw Something 2 now available

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 25, 2013

Having landed on the Canada and Sweden App Store earlier this month, a highly-anticipated sequel to the popular Draw Something game is now available for download on the US App Store.

The original game pitted two players against each other in a word guessing challenge where each player gets assigned three random words and would draw a picture to convey the guessword.

The sequel contains more than 5,000 new words, all-new 9-letter words, the new free draw mode, a gallery of your favorite drawings, additional drawing tools like pixel pen, crayon, marker, stamps and much more… Read More

 

Fight the good fight with your team of RAD Soldiers [review]

By Lory Gil on Apr 23, 2013

Nothing settles you in for the night more than a good old-fashioned turn-based strategy game. It is even better when you can compete against your self-righteous brother who thinks he is better at war games than you. OK, maybe I’m projecting a bit here. However, RAD Soldiers is an easy pick-up-and-play game with funny quips and cartoon graphics.

RAD Soldiers is a turn-based strategy game that puts you in charge of a team of fighters. Send them to the front line, or direct them to the shadows. Which ever you decide, remember that you have a limited number of actions before your opponent moves in. So, be sure to plan your strategy wisely… Read More

 

ZodTTD seeds public beta of new gpSPhone GBA emulator

By Cody Lee on Apr 22, 2013

Fans of legacy console video game systems rejoice! The well-known iOS emulator developer ZodTTD is back in action. Zod has been absent from the jailbreak scene for a while, but there’s been plenty of talk of him coming back to update N64iOS and other popular ports.

That speculation materialized last night, as the developer announced that he had created a Cydia repo where he would be posting public betas of his updated emulators. And he’s already seeded his first beta: gpSPhone v8.0.0, an emulator for Game Boy Advance ROMS… Read More

 

Fruit Ninja developer releases new iPhone game, Fish Out of Water

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 22, 2013

Halfbrick Studios, as any avid gamer could tell you, is the brains behind the popular mobile franchises like Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride. Not content with resting on its laurels, the Queensland, Australia-headquartered developer has released its brand new iOS game, Fish Out of Water, which wants to become your new favorite time-killer. The premise in Fish Out of Water couldn’t be simpler.

Billed as “an adventure across the sun, sand and surf,” the game, as the name suggests, plays a bit like Tiny Wings in that you’re controlling a fish which wants to get airborne and soar above the ocean for as long as possible… Read More

 

Cut the Rope: Time Travel is now available

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 18, 2013

Om Nom, a charming little green monster, is back to collect some more stars in a Cut the Rope sequel, titled Cut the Rope: Time Travel. UK-based developer ZeptoLab, which last week teased the game, didn’t embark much from the originally physics-based concept but it did bring something new to the table: time travel.

Cut the Rope: Time Travel has you playing in six different settings, including the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, a Pirate Ship, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and the Stone Age. Read on for more details… Read More

 

Rolomotion turns your iDevice into Wii-like console

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 17, 2013

Pune, India-based Rolocule creates games for a living and earlier today the team teased an interesting solution aimed at bringing Nintendo Wii-style gaming to your big screen TV via Apple TV and some clever iPhone and iPod touch software. Rolomotion is the name of the game (pun intended).

It’s basically a dedicated app that wirelessly beams specially-designed games to your telly through the Apple TV while using your iPhone or iPod touch as a Wii-style controller.

The game running on the device reads data from the iPhone’s gyroscope, magnetometer and accelerometer sensors to make possible motion-based action via Apple’s set-top box. I’ve included a nice demo clip right past the fold… Read More

 

Top Bot review: this multiplayer racing game challenges gravity

By Jim Gresham on Apr 13, 2013

Slowly, I am becoming more of an iOS multiplayer fan. Original hesitancy spawned from my unwillingness to invest large quantities of time hovered over my iOS device learning the ropes on a new app. As I have said time again, there is no personal interest in long complicated games for my portable Apple products.

Because of my predilection for quick pick up and play games, multiplayer was typically out of the question. However, with the advent of time shifted multiplayer, made famous but not created by Real Racing 3, I now dabble in other similarly crafted apps. For example, one of my new favorite games, that I never knew existed, is Top Bot, a multiplayer robot racing challenge for best speed… Read More

 

Prince of Persia: The Shadow and The Flame coming to iOS this summer

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 13, 2013

French games makers are responsible for some of the juiciest titles on Apple’s platform. Gameloft, for example, is a household name on the App Store and Ubisoft is no exception.

Headquartered in Montreuil, France, Ubisoft is behind some of the world’s top entertainment franchises, among them one of my favorites, Prince of Persia.

Created by Jordan Mechner and originally developed for and released on the Apple II in 1989, the Prince of Persia series has undergone several reboots, but they all share similar story elements, settings and characters. Their latest addition to the series, Prince of Persia: The Shadow and The Flame, is scheduled to hit iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices this summer.

Developed by Ubisoft Pune, the studio focused on mobile and console gaming, Prince of Persia: The Shadow and The Flame is being billed as a pick up and play adaptation of the classic Prince of Persia franchise, “easy to handle but challenging to master.” You, of course, play as the Prince who must save his Princess and kingdom “on a journey that will pave the path to his origins.”

To me, that’s good enough an excuse to run, climb, swing, vault and jump from rooftop to rooftop, all over again. I’ve included more highlights, screenshots and a trailer right past the fold… Read More

 

Cut the Rope: Time Travel teased, is ‘almost here’

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 11, 2013

UK-based developer ZeptoLab really hit the bull’s eye with the main premise behind its adorable iOS puzzler dubbed Cut the Rope. In case you’ve been living under a rock, your objective is to feed candy to a little green monster named Om Nom while collecting stars.

Since making its debut in October 2010, Cut the Rope, a BAFTA winner, has been downloaded more than a hundred million times across various platforms.

Taking the franchise to the next level, ZeptoLab has just posted a teaser video announcing a sequel titled Cut the Rope: Time TravelRead More

 

Gameloft’s free to play Dungeon Hunter 4 hits iOS

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 11, 2013

French publisher Gameloft, one of the most prolific iOS games publishers, has joined Electronic Arts in offering latest triple-A titles for free, a major shift in strategy in recognition of the free-to-play concept. Today, Gameloft’s Dungeon Hunter 4, a major new release, has hit the App Store as a free download.

The Diablo-like title is classes as a role-playing game set in the land of Valenthia and you’re tasked with saving the mortal realms from darkness. It includes the usual assortment of potions, daggers, swords, monsters and character classes such as Sentinels, Imps (compared in savagery to a wolverine) and what not… Read More

 

Major Real Racing 3 update is out: cloud saves, new Chevy cars, 100+ events

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 11, 2013

As promised, super publisher Electronic Arts and developer Firemonkeys just rolled out a major update to the awesome free-to-play Real Racing 3, bringing out over a hundred new events and two Chevy vehicles. The one feature I’ve been waiting for is an improved game saving capability: in Real Racing 3 version 1.1, your progress is now saved and synced across all your devices via the cloud.

This finally lets me to kill a few minutes on my iPhone while standing in the line at a bank and then continue playing right where I left off on my iPad. More tidbits and some nice screenies right below the fold… Read More

 

Mittens by Disney pounces onto iPhone and iPad [review]

By Jim Gresham on Apr 11, 2013

Disney made quite the name for themselves in the iOS app world with hit titles like Where’s My Water?, Where’s My Perry?, and more recently Monsters, Inc. Run. Christian previously mentioned Disney’s new physics puzzler Mittens would be a good one to keep your eye on. After spending a bit of my weekend with my new favorite feline friend, alley cat Mittens, I am happy to report that Disney has done it again.

The physics based puzzler is everything I have come to expect from my preferred iOS games. I’m not one to sit on the couch and plow through games on my iPad mini, but I do really like the pick up and play nature of this particular genre. It seems Disney may be perfecting this style game as it continues to develop quick, fun, and pleasing games anyone can immediately play with a small learning curve… Read More

 

Mr. Runner 2: The Masks confirmed for April 24

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 10, 2013

Mr. Runner, in case you aren’t aware of it, is Zing Games’ endless runner with an interesting side-scrolling twist and nice retro-like graphics. People downloaded it over five million times so it has some respectable following out there. Two and a half years later, Zing is set to release a sequel, titled Mr. Runner 2: The Masks.

Exploiting the side-scrolling mechanics further, Mr. Runner 2 adds a bunch of colorful backgrounds that should shine on Retina screens (art direction indeed looks stunning), 32 level across four dream-like worlds worlds with different themes and challenges, plus the new cartoony characters.

I’ll be on the lookout for this one when it hits the App Store on April 24, that’s for sure. By the way, there’s more to this trailer than meets the eye. Read on for the full disclosure… Read More