Latest Articles
The pay-to-pay problem: An IAP too far
After dealing with the cooldown timer-packed abomination that was Rollercoaster Tycoon 4, I decided that it was time to address an issue that has been bothering me for a while. We're starting to see more and more premium mobile games appearing with free-to-play-style timers and energy systems secreted in their menus. Despite charging a flat fee up front, hese games will still throw up artificial barriers - and even lock you out altogether - unless you buy in-app purchases. The way I see it, this transparently unscrupulous practise - which I'm labelling "pay-to-pay" - is bang out of order. Here's why:…
Turn-based assassination game Hitman GO will sneak onto the App Store at midnight
Hitman GO, a turn-based translation of the Hitman series, is making its move on the App Store at midnight tonight. We have been keeping an excited eye on Hitman GO since it was announced back in February. Square Enix Montreal’s new take on the franchise sends Agent 47 on a number of hits, each one styled as its own board game. Each board sets the scene with diorama environments for the infamous assassin to advance through. Though this change in scene has shifted the gameplay to a turn-based format, you will have to plan the barcoded assassin’s route to his target, and decide whether to sneak in and shank your unsuspecting victim, or charge in for a full-frontal assault.…
board gameComic book racing game SXPD: The Rookie is coming to iPad this May
Blending a comic book story with fast-paced motorbike racing, SXPD: The Rookie is the new game from non-profit publisher OneBigGame. Directed by Earthworm Jim designer Dave Perry in collaboration with Little Chicken Games Company, SXPD’s gameplay draws inspiration from the classic ZX Spectrum game 3D Deathchase. Taking the handlebars of an SXPD police bike, you race through the streets of the new 52nd American state of New Royal, trying to take down outlaws with missiles and machine guns. The black-and-white 3D tracks that your bike speeds around could have fallen straight from a comic book panel, with occasional flashes of red and blue colour injecting some colour into the procee…
RollerCoaster Tycoon® 4 Mobile™ Review
Initital impressions of Rollercoaster Tycoon 4 are decent. As with previous entries in the PC series, you must build up your theme park in order to attract customers and their money. Any cash you make can then be poured back into your park, creating an endless but satisfying cycle of development and expansion. Constructing your park is simple. You select the desired building from a list, and then drag it into place using the touchscreen controls. Every building, be it a merry-go-…
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AppSpy Plays: The Wolf Among Us – Part 3 live on Twitch (5pm BDT | 9am PDT | 12pm EDT)
In just a short while we’ll be streaming the third part of our playthrough of The Wolf Among Us, Telltale's moody point-and-click adventure game. We're fairly far into the first episode now, and from here on out we plan to cover the entire series as each episode is released. When we last left our protagonist, Bigby Wolf, he'd just gotten a bit huffy and puffy and blew a Grendel (from Beowulf) in a bar fight. After choosing to arrest Tweedle Dee (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), the Woodsman (Little Red Riding Hood) escaped. As you may have noticed, The Wolf Among Us draws characters from folklore and fairytales, with its storyline taking place before Vertigo’s cult classic co…
Watch Wizards of the Coast walk us through Magic 2015: Duels of the Planeswalkers
Recently, I headed on over to Uxbridge in the UK to call on Hasbro and check out how CCG behemoth Magic 2015 is progressing. Dan Barrett, the EU Social Media & Community Manager at Wizards of the Coast, was on-hand to give me a walkthrough of the first proper match in the new game, and to highlight what we'll see when the game launches this summer. He also explained a few of the basics of the game, showed off some of the new cards you can expect to wield during battles, and talked about much more besides. Take a look, and let us know if you're a fan of Magic: The Gathering in the comments.…
Try and survive Hopeless: Space Shooter on the App Store now
Upopa has just fired the latest installment of its arcade Hopeless series, Hopeless: Space Shooter, onto the App Store,. Hopeless: Space Shooter has a lot in common Hopeless: The Dark Cave. You take control of armed glowing blobs and try to stay alive as monsters attack. The difference here is that rather than being attacked in the dark of a cave, the blobs must try and survive the emptiness of space. You must tap the attacking aliens as they approach the blobs. The dark levels have attackers popping in from nowhere. Some take two shots, so you'll have to pay attention to what is attacking, as well as where they are coming from. It isn't all mindless trigger twitching, however, as th…
Reaction-testing endless runner Unpossible coming to the App Store on April 17th
Unpossible, a new Tron-styled auto runner from Acceleroto, will be dashing onto the App Store this Thursday. The game plays out on the back of a pipe. You have to dodge left and right past its various obstacles as you are propelled ever forward, testing both you reflexes and memory as you try and beat your previous best time. Spinning around the pipe in first person looks like it will be a disorientating and dizzying experience, but the stylish world and fast twitch gameplay seen in the trailer have caught our interest. If you like your auto-runners bright and stylish, then keep your eyes peeled for Unpossible when it hits iPhone and iPad later this week.…
Robots Love Ice Cream™ Review
Any dimension where ice cream can be used to save humanity is okay by us. Robots Love Ice Cream inhabits just such a dimension. With robots trying to steal vital dessert supplies, you must cruise the galaxy in your weaponized ice-cream truck, blasting mechanical agressors out of the sky. Each invading robot looks like it has been taken straight out of a toy box. Their distinct appearances make each one easily identifiable, even during hectic moments. This ensures that you can ins…
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Theme park management game RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 Mobile is out now
Atari’s new mobile entry in the RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise, RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 Mobile, has just come screaming onto the App Store. Keeping the franchise's core theme, RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 Mobile has you building your own theme park and thrilling roller coasters in order to attract digital punters. The new touch interface is intended to make this easier than ever, letting you place your snack stands and haunted houses exactly where you want them in the game’s isometric landscape. The mobile game comes with 20 pre-designed coasters, but also offers you the chance to design your own. Unlocking new materials will let you build taller, longer, and faster coasters…
The Boom Beach Diary - Week 2
I'm into my second week of The Boom Beach Diary, in which I've been documenting my recent progress through the game. Since episode one, I've been upgrading my base and changing up my layout based on the excellent guidance I've been receiving from you via the comments here on AppSpy, on YouTube, and on The Boom Beach Community. This week, I show off all my hard work, nab another Resource Base, and highlight my next big challenge: bettering my battle strategies. Have yourself a watch of this week's entry in The Boom Beach Diary below, then chuck any pearls of wisdom you might have in the comments.…
Harmonix announces music-powered auto-runner Record Run
Rock Band developer Harmonix has announced its new free-to-play runner, Record Run, is expected to hit iOS in May. Revealed at PAX East, Record Run appears at first glance to be a pretty standard runner. Where the game differs from other runners on the App Store is that you can import your own music to generate levels, with the song's beat dictating the pace. Once you've completed a level you can share your highscore with the world, and give other players the chance to purchase and download the song to challenge your leaderboard dominance. In his PAX East panel, Harmonix’s studio head Alex Rigopulos said that Record Run is just one of several “very different" mobile gam…
AppSpy Plays: FTL: Faster Than Light live on Twitch (5pm BST | 9am PDT | 12pm EDT)
The end of the week is finally upon us. Our plans to start the evening include cosy slippers, a warm cup of hot chocolate and, of course, a nice bit of streaming. Each week we play recent App Store releases we believe will be a spot of fun, so today we’re going to start playing fiendishly popular starship roguelike FTL: Faster Than Light over on the AppSpy Twitch channel. If you haven’t yet seen or played the iPad version, but have heard people rambling on about how swish it is, come watch us invariably run out of fuel, get attacked, and have our entire crew die from suffocation. As per usual, feel free to ask us any questions you have, offer advice, say hello, or just fill ou…
Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff Review
Our feelings towards Family Guy as a show oscillate wildly. While at times its offensive jokes can seem cruel and almost bigoted, when they hit their stride the writers and performers can deliver big laughs. What Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff manages to do is strip away any uncertainty, handing you a package containing the show's worst aspects in a box that looks remarkable similar to the one which houses The Simpsons: Tapped Out. The game is predicated on rebuilding the…
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Age of Empires: World Domination is planning to conquer touchscreens this summer
Klab Inc. is bringing Microsoft’s real-time strategy franchise Age of Empires to iOS this summer in the form of Age of Empires: World Domination. The mobile reimagining of the RTS classic will bring with it a number of changes. If you were a fan of the series on PC, then the most important of these alterations will be the touchscreen controls. Removing the quick clicks of the mouse controlled originals, Klab Inc’s are promising intuitive gesture controls and a "revolutionary battle system". Like the original games, World Domination will feature the ability to build your empire from history's great civilizations. Your choice of faction will dictate the structures available whe…
