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Hands-on with Pentumble, the fast-paced platformer that sucks (but doesn't suck)
Pentumble has you rolling around environments, sticking to walls, hanging upside down off of platforms, zipping around cogs, leaping over hazards, and so on. It's quick, it's tricky, and the controls are spot on. Here's me rocking through some early parts of the game for your viewing pleasure.…
PlatformerAll aboard the hype train from Valadeline: Syberia 3 screenshots revealed
Fans of the Syberia games have been waiting since 2004 to see how the events of Syberia 2 would resolve. Ten years is a very long time to wait, but finally there are now more details (and a few tantalising screens) of Benoît Sokal and Microids' third Syberia title. Syberia 3 is an adventure game, as you'd expect, and kicks off immediately after Syberia 2. New York corporate lawyer Kate Walker will uncover more of the mysteries surrounding Syberia, all the while interacting with the Youkol tribespeople. These screens show a marketplace of the Youkol, complete with Snow Ostriches, and our heroine Kate Walker. I'm currently working my way through the PC versions of the first Syber…
Angels In The Sky is an Unreal Engine 4-powered strategic shooter with gorgeous graphics
Angels In The Sky, a stunning-looking Unreal Engine 4-powered strategic shooter, was released onto the App Store by developer AimToG late last month. This action-packed title thrusts you into the role of a fighter pilot, and tasks you with taking out wave after wave of alien ships that won’t hesitate to take you down at a moment’s notice. These ships can move at blistering speeds, so you’re forced to think on your feet at all times. You wouldn’t be much of a fighter pilot if you didn’t have access to weaponry, which is why your craft can be equipped with up to two of the game’s many firearms (which include a weapon that’s capable of destroying your…
Pokemon Trading Card Game heads to iPad, AppSpy team expecting Hell to freeze over any time now
Josh Wittenkeller - an extremely likeable chap who talks about Pokemon on The Internet - tweeted a very interesting picture from The Pokemon World Championship in Washington DC this weekend. As you can see in that link (and the pic below), it's the Pokemon Trading Card Game running on an iPad, the first time the game has been available on a non-Nintendo portable device. According to various poke-sources, it appears to be a version of the Windows and Mac game Pokemon Trading Card Game Online, but running on a tablet. So why's this exciting? First, the Pokemon TCG is a pretty cool card game that's been going since 1996 and has a loyal following, and getting to play it on iPad is going to…
Hands-on with Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf, where XCOM, CCGs, and Space Marines become one
HeroCraft popped over an early build of Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf the other day and, by gum, it's shaping up to be something pretty special. It's a turn-based strategy game, with card collecting elements, squad levelling, and an intriguing plot that's only just beginning to get started in the section of the game I'm showing you in the video below. It also features the Space Wolves, a legion of the Space Marines that has a mysterious and brutal past that's rarely explored in video games. So click play below for a super early look at Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf.…
Super Hexagon - EncyclAPPedia
In today's EncyclAPPedia, we get incredibly frustrated that we can't last longer than 60 seconds in Terry Cavanagh's Super Hexagon. EncyclAPPpediaɛnˌsʌɪklə(ʊ)ˈpiːdɪənounA video or set of videos giving information on many mobile games or on many aspects of one game and typically arranged entirely at random.…
Hands-on with Armello, the beautiful boardgame which conquered my heart
Armello has been generating a bit of buzz within the PC community recently. Something of a genre hybrid, it combines elements from tactical RPGs, strategy games and CCGs, and wraps them in a big boardgame-shaped package. Yesterday, we learned that the dev team behind this colourful and charming project is also hard at work on an iPad version of the game. Naturally we were curious, and managed to get our hands on a very early build of the iOS version. And, after spending around 30 minutes with Armello, I can safely say that the game has worked its way into my top 10 most anticipated games for 2015. It's beautiful and beguiling, and though the systems are diverse, it doesn't overwhel…
Hands-on with Fifa 15: Ultimate Team, EA's latest mobile football sim
While I've seen some surprising things at this year's Gamescom, there are a few constants which provide comfort amidst the madness. The Fifa franchise is one of these constants, the latest iteration of which takes the form of Fifa 15: Ultimate Team, and is due to arrive on iOS in the very near future. Taking onboard the negative feedback Fifa 14 received regarding its gesture controls, the team has opted to return to a button-based control scheme this year. There's now a dedicated throughball button, and the ability to active close ball control by double-tapping the floating joystick. The other big change is the franchise's new focus on Ultimate Team mode, which proved the mo…
Hands-on with Rules!, where following commands is all sorts of stressful fun
The rules of Rules! are very simple: you simply follow the rules. That might be to only tap green cards, or tap cards in descending order, or only animal cards. Whatever the rules, if you follow them then you remove cards from play, can keep playing, and are then given more rules to follow. If you don't, you run out of time and it's game over. Sounds boring, but it's actually lots of fun. Here's video proof.…
Goat Simulator set to charge onto iPhone and iPad later this year
Bonkers sandbox destruction game Goat Simulator is set to charge onto iPhone and iPad sometime later this year. Having already wormed its way into the hearts of millions of PC gamers via a series of viral videos, Coffee Stains studio's surprise novelty hit is making the transition to mobile. Though it's still early days - the video above showcases the roughness of the current interface - the current build already lets you charge about the streets, ram pedestrians, and attach yourself to passing vehicles using only your tongue. Pocket Gamer's Mark Brown and I went hands-on with the game in a darkened Gamescom corridor. You can see the result in the video above. …
Hands-on with Dante's Fall, the auto-faller with the hellish difficulty curve
In Dante's Fall you fall continually and at very high speed, until you come into contact with something. At which point it's game over, you check to see if you beat your high score, and then try again. The controls are thankfully simple: just tap either side of the screen to move left or right. It's a hard game, and while that's totally fine with me, it feels like it's too hard too quickly, giving you no time to learn the subtleties of its play. I explain in the video below that I believe those that thought Super Hexagon was kid's stuff will lap this up, but for everyone else, from what I've played so far, Dante's Fall is an exercise in punishment and frustration.…
Kroll - EncyclAPPedia
We take a closer look at early iOS beat-em-up Kroll in today's entry of the EncyclAPPedia, seeing whether time has been kind to its "cinematic" visuals. EncyclAPPpediaɛnˌsʌɪklə(ʊ)ˈpiːdɪənounA video or set of videos giving information on many mobile games or on many aspects of one game and typically arranged entirely at random.…
Hands-on with One Tap RPG, the roguelike crossed with Pachinko
One Tap RPG is a blend of roguelike and Pachinko, two types of game that you rarely see combined. The result is a curiously entertaining, but heavily luck-based affair in which you tap where you want your hero to begin, cross your fingers, and hope that he / she makes it through the dungeon safely whilst racking up as high a score as possible. I was completely taken by One Tap RPG's pixel art aesthetic, but I definitely had my concerns as to how long the gameplay would remain appealing. This one's an interesting one, so take a look at my hands-on below for more info.…
Elysian Shadows promises to be a next-gen 2D RPG
If you're itching for something like the RPGs of 16-bit yore, only with a modern sheen, then by jove you're in luck. Elysian Shadows is an upcoming Kickstarter-backed isometric 2D Action RPG that's managed to nab well over half its required funding in just 10 days. Yes, we have the odd retro-inspired RPG plop on to the App Store every fortnight or so, but this team is aiming to "push the envelope" by fusing 16-bit charm with modern techniques. In Elysian Shadows, you'll be able to lob anything in your inventory at baddies, bask in 3D lighting for 2D sprites, and witness the spectacle of particle physics that I have no idea how to explain. Check out the video below for a glimpse of the ga…
Hands-on with Murl the Squirrel, where you shoot one squirrel out of lots of cannons
The peeps at Ravenous Games are behind Murl the Squirrel, and they're the lot responsible for the high action platformer League of Evil. But this isn't a game about brutally killing evil scientists. Oh no, it's not as ludicrous as that. Instead, it's about firing a cute squirrel out of floating cannons to climb as far as possible into the sky. Obviously. Murl the Squirrel reminds me a lot of the barrel sections of Donkey Kong Country, and that's a very good thing indeed. Here's my video explaining a bit more about the game.…
