Latest Articles
World of Tanks Blitz has just rolled onto iPhone and iPad
Having been soft-launched in selected territories a number of weeks ago, World of Tanks Blitz is now available in App Stores everywhere. If you're not familiar, World of Tanks Blitz is Wargaming’s iOS interpretation of its incredibly popular PC and Xbox free-to-play MMO World of Tanks. However, this seven-on-seven tank combat game is not a straight port of the original series. Wargaming has created it from the ground up for touchscreen, and optimised the historically-inspired military battles mobile online play. Though it is free-to-play, World of Tanks Blitz doesn't feature timers or energy systems. Instead, in-app purchases allow you to buy and upgrade the game's…
multiplayerHands-on with Romans in my Carpet!, the teeny-tiny strategy game from the creators of Ravenmark
Witching Hour Studios is best known for the Ravenmark games: titles where strategy is of paramount importance, and just one wrong move could lead to the total annihilation of your entire army. Romans in my Carpet! is the team's next game, and it's a fair bit different from the Ravenmark series. It's visually much cuter than the po-faced fantasy realism of previous efforts, and it seems a little less ultra-hardcore strategy, and a little more Advance Wars. Here's Brian Kwek of Witching Hour Studios to explain more:…
Eye on the App Store: World of Tanks Blitz, Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake, and more on Twitch! (5pm UK | 9am Pacific | 12 noon Eastern)
Hello all you lovely AppSpies out there! We may have missed Eye on the App Store last week with the boys being away in Helsinki, but James and Peter are back in tip-top form to bedazzle you with the best that the App Store will have to offer you from midnight tonight. To get you hyped up for our forthcoming World of Tanks Blitz multiplayer mayhem this Friday (details to follow tomorrow), General James Gilmour will venture onto the Battlefield to blow the opposition to smithereens. We'll also show you the pretty puzzler with a Zelda-inspired overworld Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake, the superhero-led social city-builder Supernauts, silhouetted sequel Oscura: Second Shadow, and maybe…
UMAI! Review
Like a good plate of sashimi, Umai! understands that less is more. This sushi-munching puzzler has you controlling a monster's tongue as it tries to eat its way through a conveyer belt of fishy treats. You begin by selecting one of five peckish creatures. Each has a unique pixel art design that sits somewhere on a spectrum between distressing and wonderful. Once you've chosen, you are instantly surrounded by twelve plates of sushi. You control your hungry beast's frog-like tongue wit…
Watch The Video Review
Hands-on with Oscura: Second Shadow, the light gathering silhouette platformer
Oscura was a fairly decent platformer. A moody, silhouette-styled game with creepy enemies and evil-looking machinery, it appeared on iOS back in 2011 in the wake of Limbo. Tonight, Oscura: Second Shadow hits the App Store, and aims to continue the journey of the light-bearing imp at the centre of the first game. As before, you'll be guiding him around hazardous environments filled with spiked beasties, water pits, lava, and other unpleasant obstructions. As you collect light shards, you open doors, and gain the ability to slow down time for a short period. This bullet-time effect helps you leg it past enemies who might otherwise outrun you, and can save your life if used wisely. The mos…
Hands-on with The Rhythm of Fighters, SNK Playmore's rhythm-action brawler
Whether its Han Solo busting moves in Star Wars Kinect, or Cloud Strife busting moves in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, it seems there's no franchise which can't be turned into a rhythm action game. The latest series to fall victim to the beat is The King of Fighters, the 2D brawler from SNK Playmore, which has been reinvented as a music-based tap-'em-up called The Rhythm of Fighters. While the visuals remain faithful to the series, the violence is controlled by tapping in time with dots which appear on the screen. Before long, you'll have to use expertly judged swipes and flicks to build combos and unleash special moves. The character list is a who's who of SNK characters, including fan favo…
Hands-on with Ocmo, the hardcore platformer that AAAAAAARGH ALIEN SPIDER THINGIES!
If there's one thing that freaks me out almost as much as zombies, it's spiders. So when I was shown the creepy and crawly Ocmo, I took an immediate (and totally unfair) dislike to its star: a weird hybrid of spider, shadow, and alien. But after a while, Ocmo won me over. I think it was its innocent little eyes that, if you squint, form a grin as large as its fragile body can muster. The game is rock hard, mostly because moving through the environments is a tricky skill that you'll have to learn and master to finish the tougher levels. Your limbs are stretchy and can attach to the environment, but your only forward movement comes from a small jump, and your own inertia as you swing throu…
Plants vs Zombies 2 gets medieval with the first Dark Ages update
PopCap is sending Plants vs Zombies 2 back to days of yore with its new Dark Ages Part 1 update. These new levels take place at night. With no sun to help your plants grow you are forced rely on shine-creating flora like the Sun-shroom, the Puff-shroom (which costs nothing to grow), and a host of other new night loving plants. Gravestones have also been added to levels. These creepy monoliths can be smashed to give sunshine or plant food bonuses. Don't get too excited about your beefed up abourial arsenal, however, because the zombies have also had their numbers bolstered. An undead peasant zombie has taken its place among the shambling masses, while the medieval Gargantuar’s hul…
Hands-on with Size Does Matter, the bleeping tough chiptune rhythm-action game
If you like rhythm action games, you'll likely be feeling a little unloved after Activision decided to stop making Guitar Hero every year, and Harmonix distanced itself from Rock Band. Not to worry though, as Size Does Matter is on the horizon. Developed by DOS Studios and published by Channel 4, the game is all about changing the size of a line of blocks you control so that it fits perfectly through walls of neon, all in time with a chiptune soundtrack that features music from Chipzel, Savant, Philter, and more. It's no walk over either: even the guy showing the game confesses he can't beat the later levels. Sounds cool, right? Plug in some headphones and watch our hands-on for more inf…
Powerpuff Girls: Defenders of Townsville Review
From the moment Powerpuff Girls: Defenders of Townsville starts it shows a clear love of its source material. The first choice the game has you make is between two different visual and audio treatments for the girls: one that matches the original series, and one for their new CGI interpretation. While this has no impact on gameplay, it shows a respect for the fans, letting them enjoy their favorite version of the heroes. The action begins when the evil monkey Mojo Jojo lures the…
Watch The Video Review
Hands-on with Mucho Party, the iPhone and iPad's spiritual successor to Bishi Bashi
Mucho Party is big and colourful and inclusive and straight out of a French development house at Globz. The idea is that you and a pal (or the AI, if you're pal-less) play a series of minigames on the same screen of your iPad. These range from shooting asteroids at your opponents to tango dancing, and pretty much everything in-between. It reminds me of Bishi Bashi, the crazy good multiplayer minigame collection that hit arcades and PlayStations back in the nineties. Or if that reference flew over your head, think WarioWare, but with a bit more time on the clock. Here's what it looks like in motion...…
Assassin's Creed Pirates gets a new mission with the Freedom update
Ubisoft has added yet more content to Assassin's Creed Pirates, this time with the Freedom update. The update brings with it a wealth of riches, but the biggest haul is a new chapter appendix. This additional mission has you destroying the jail fortress in La Isla de la Juventud in order to free slaves and unlock an exclusive bonus. An improved daily reward system also lets you gain increasingly valuable treasures for repeat visits to the game. Random booty has been scattered throughout the Caribbean seas, too, while syncing your account with your Facebook profile will earn you a special gift. The new features don’t end there, with the update offering you more freedom in how you c…
Hands-on with Dungeons of Evilibrium, the epic F2P CCG RPG with PVP
If I were being a bit flippant, I might immediately write off Dungeons of Evilibrium as another take on Rage of Bahamut. But upon closer inspection there's more to this new collectible card game with role playing game elements than you see at first blush. I asked Ksenia of Zillion Whales - the development team behind Dungeons of Evilibrium - to walk me through the game during Pocket Gamer Connects. She highlights a few of the cool visual elements, the focus on multiplayer, and the new approach to exploring the single player campaign.…
Canabalt receives widescreen support and new runners
With appeal seemingly as endless as its roof-hopping gameplay, Canabalt, the game that started our love of endless-runners, is has been dragged into line with the latest iPhone generation. This update finally adds widescreen support for iPhone 5 and above. While in many games a wider aspect ratio doesn't bring a huge amount, in a title that requires you to react to upcoming obstacles it make a huge difference. We are already noticing our average run times creeping up, and it's been months since we last played. Three additional runners have also been thrown into the mix. These characters are not selectable, seeming to spawn randomly at the start of your run. Unfortunately, so far we…
Hands-on with Appointment with F.E.A.R., the latest Fighting Fantasy gamebook from Tin Man Games
If you don't know what a gamebook is then boy-oh-boy have you been missing out. Back in the dark days of gaming, when people still read words on dead trees, the concept of interacting with a narrative - one, say, featuring heroic adventurers and daring deeds - was pretty new. Gamebooks were the closest thing to a one player Dungeons & Dragons game, and were a lifesaver for many a young gamer on a boring car journey / school lesson / family occasion. Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone came up with the idea, and their work is still the best example of the format, which is probably partly why Tin Man Games has been bringing the oeuvre to iOS. Appointment with F.E.A.R. is the latest gameb…
