Games

Microsoft’s Halo: Spartan Strike and Halo: Spartan Assault hit iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 31, 2018

Thursday, Microsoft Studios unleashed a pair of new triple-A games for the iPhone and iPad unto the App Store. Both Halo: Spartan Strike and Halo: Spartan Assault pit you against an insurmountable Covenant force and are now available at $5.99 each.

Spartan Strike files as a top-down shooter which makes you a Spartan supersoldier tasked with battling evil forces.

Spartan Assault is the original Halo top-down shooter that plays through the historic first missions of the Spartan Ops program featured in Halo 4 as Commander Palmer.

Smove review: use your best moves to get a high score

Josh Gallagher ∙ April 15, 2015

There aren’t many classic arcade style action games that are able to compensate for the iPhone's lack of physical buttons. The loss of tactile feedback is just too much to overcome, but this doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy a nice score chasing romp on our phones. It just means that developers have to create new games that rely on completely different control schemes. Simple Machine’s Smove does just that.

You can now play Blizzard’s Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft on iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Fans of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft will be happy to hear that you can now play the game on your iPhone. Blizzard pushed out an update today for the popular card battler that, among other improvements, brings about support for Apple's handset.

Blizzard says the new iPhone version features an all-new intuitive interface, handcrafted specifically for smaller mobile devices. Those devices, however, are limited to the iPhone 4s, or later models, or the fifth-generation iPod touch (iPad 2 for tablets).

Activision bringing new Guitar Hero game to mobile this year

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Gamers rejoice, Activision Blizzard Inc. has confirmed that it's reviving its Guitar Hero franchise this year, and it's bringing it to mobile. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that, after a five-year hiatus, the California-based publisher has begun work on a new version of the popular video game for consoles, tablets and smartphones.

"Now fans can unleash their inner rock star anytime, anyplace using a phone or a game console,” Activision Chief Executive Officer Bobby Kotick said in a statement. The new product is said to cost $99, and will follow tradition in allowing players to jam on a toy guitar to music from artists such as the Black Keys and Fall Out Boy.

Crowntakers brings tabletop RPGing to the iPad

Lory Gil ∙ April 14, 2015

There are plenty of dungeon crawl style role-playing games (RPG) in the App Store. Many of them are worthy of many hours of your time. Most of them follow a video game format of rules and alter the role-playing element of such tabletop classics as Dungeons and Dragons.

Crowntakers takes into account the little elements, like time passing or attacks of opportunity. In this adventure, every minute counts and every day brings more danger.

App Recap: notable discounts, updates and releases for April 13

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 17, 2019

The App Recap is iDB’s daily roundup of notable news from the wonderful world of iOS software. Below you’ll find a list of discounts, updates and new releases we think are worth checking out. Today's selections include some great updates for your favorite apps and a handful of app deals you don't want to miss.

Rules! available for free within the Apple Store app

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Those of you who enjoy app deals may be interested to know that Rules! has gone free for a limited time. Apple is currently offering promo codes for the popular brain-teasing puzzler, which typically costs $2.99, within its Apple Store app.

For those who haven't played it before, Rules! is a well-designed puzzle game that puts your memory and reflex skills to the test. Players are presented with a 16-card board, and asked to remove cards based on increasingly difficult guidelines.

2048oard brings the popular puzzle game to the iPhone’s Home screen

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

2048oard is a jailbreak tweak that allows users to play a version os 2048 directly on the iPhone’s Home screen. 2048, as you’re likely aware of, is the popular Sudoku-inspired game that involves combining like numbers of tiles to eventually add up to 2048.

The ability to quickly play a game like 2048 directly on the iPhone’s SpringBoard certainly has appeal, because nothing more than swipe gestures are required to play the game. Have a look at our video walkthrough for more details.

Apple names popular puzzler ‘Twisty Hollow’ its free App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

Apple has named Twisty Hollow its App of the Week for this week. This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the popular puzzler for both iPhone and iPad, for free—saving you a solid $3.

In the game, you must support the imputation citizens of Twisty Hollow by fulfilling their increasingly eccentric needs. You do this by combining items to make requested goods, so for example, Bessie + cow + bucket = milk.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper review: grind through battles with iconic characters

Lory Gil ∙ Updated June 22, 2018

Fans of the Final Fantasy franchise have probably already checked out Square Enix’s latest mobile adventure and made their judgments quickly.

However, there are probably some gamers that haven’t delved into the Final Fantasy Record Keeper (dubbed FFRK) world yet, mostly because of the free-to-play red flag. We’ve got a game review of Final Fantasy Record Keeper to help you decide if it is worth your time.

Compass Point: West review – hire a posse with a deck of cards

Lory Gil ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

If there is anything that the HBO television show “Deadwood” has taught us, it is that building a life for yourself in the Old West was difficult. Whether you are trying to keep residents entertained with a lively saloon or protect your land from invaders, settling out West was dangerous.

Compass Point: West is a land expansion free-to-play game that puts players in the gold rush days, fighting to survive against bandits, bullies, and an oil tycoon with a bad attitude. We’ve got a game review of Compass Point: West for you today.

Rebus review: a puzzle worth 1,000 words

Josh Gallagher ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

Whether or not you recognize the term, it's safe to say we've all encountered a rebus before. These popular puzzles are subtlety hidden throughout our daily lives. They sneak onto billboards in the form of company logos. They appear in text messages as strings of emojis. They even infiltrate Instagram without people realizing they are creating them. Now these complex image puzzles have ambushed the App Store in the form of REBUS by Jutiful.