With the iPhone 5 officially out, I honestly can’t hold all of these Apps I need to review. Dave and I are working overtime to sort through them all, but until then you can enjoy the Friday News Wrap-Up for the 21st of September, 2012.
Coaster Crazy - Out Later This Year
Those familiar with Frontier Developments will remember their work on LostWinds and LostWinds 2, and in particular, the solid iOS adaptions of both titles. Coaster Crazy is set to also hit the App Store and places you in charge of designing roller-coasters that need to cater to every patron’s whim, be it fast loops, speedy turns, or scary drops. There’s a sort of Rollercoaster Tycoon vibe, albeit with a lot of charm dripping off each character. The game is set to release later this year.
Layton Brothers: Mystery Room - Japan only, for now.
If you’ve been keeping tabs on Level-5 and their Professor Layton series, then you’d already be aware of their upcoming title ‘Century of the Seven Phantom Thieves’, which is set to be a freemium social game set in London. However, right now there’s a new Layton title out on the Japanese iTunes store - Layton Brothers: Mystery Room. What was formerly designed as a DS title in the ‘Atamania’ series, the game has been re-branded with the Layton name and we’ll have to wait to see if an English version is eventually released.
Verticus - From The Mind Of Stan Lee
Stan Lee is, by now, a household name despite his firm roots in the comic industry - then again it’s no surprise given the popularity of his characters. Lee has placed his hat in the iOS arena as well, spawning the concept behind ‘Verticus’, a game in the same vein as ‘A reckless disregard for gravity’ and ‘Falling Fred’, albeit with some combat features to round it out. Those interested in picking it up can place a circle around October.
Bad Piggies - Same world, new franchise... I want it.
The pop-culture status of Angry Birds is, at times, overwhelming - especially if you find yourself in a mall surrounded by air fresheners, t-shirts, iPhone cases, and many other tie-in products featuring the recognizable characters. Bad Piggies is Rovio’s attempt to break free of the rather limited world of physics-flingers and in to brand-new territory. Now you’ll be working for the pigs as you craft contraptions that must then be controlled by the player via switches to complete various objectives. While I’m sure there are clear and simple solutions to many of its problems, the idea of being able to use novel ideas to solve puzzles is extremely appealing. We’ll have more for you when it releases on the 27th of September.
Mini-Review: Spectromancer (Three Donkeys) $1.99/$3.99
If you’ve played Hothead’s ‘Kard Combat’ then you’ll know what you’re in for with Three Donkeys’ iPhone and iPad title ‘Spectromancer’. Players are handed a ‘deck’ comprised of an infinite amount of various cards, each requiring a certain amount of ‘mana’ to cast. Each turn you’ll earn a base amount of mana for each type (fire, water, air, earth, and a fifth ‘special’ category) and can cast spells or creatures in to one of the six slots available in the middle of the screen. Opposing creatures will attack each other directly, while empty slots can be attacked to deal direct damage to the player. So far so similar - indeed many of the cards find direct comparisons to those in Hothead’s title, which is no surprise as Kard Combat is a licensed port of Spectromancer... which is itself based on Astral Tournament... and the rabbit hole goes even deeper. The salient point here is that those who enjoy playing against real opponents, rather than AI ones, will be delighted to know that Spectromancer’s servers are cross-platform, meaning you can play against the PC players as well as iOS gamers. Sure the visuals aren’t as gritty as Kard Combat’s and the cluttered interface is unsuited to a touch-screen device, but if you love this style of card gameplay, then this is most definitely worth picking up. (4/5)
Pick of the Week: STREET FIGHTER X TEKKEN MOBILE (CAPCOM NAMCO BANDAI) $2.99 Univ.
By sneaking in on to the App Store just before the Thursday cut-off, Street Fighter X Tekken Mobile has secured itself as the pick of the week, though it would have been a strong contender even without such technicalities. While other Capcom titles seem to flounder on the App Store, the Street Fighter series is still punching above its weight, managing to retain much of its Arcade come-one-come-all competitive feel. It’s still only a slice of what the console version has to offer, but at least you can play this on the go.
And that’s all we have for this week! Don’t forget you can catch us on Twitter and Facebook, but more importantly start heading to our site to make use of our features including a price-tracker and daily updates for free titles. Have a great weekend!
Additional Links:
Verticus Teaser - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGOvIizb91Y
Bad Piggies Gameplay Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMXaAdCaqJQ
Layton Brothers: Mystery Room Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZa_QO58Mkk
Crazy Coaster First Look - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcWynZjzkHs
Spectromancer Review - https://www.appspy.com/spectromancer-review
Street Fighter X Tekken Mobile Review - https://www.appspy.com/street-fighter-x-tekken-mobile-review
