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Be careful - Don't Shoot Yourself

News By Dave Flodine, 10 years, 5 months ago
Be careful - Don't Shoot Yourself

Now this is the type of game I live for as a reviewer - a simple concept with clear design that we haven't seen before. Don't Shoot Yourself is a game of avoidance. If you can avoid the one hundred bullets that fire from your gun and ricochet around the enclosure you are trapped in, a magic bullet will fire, freeing you from your prison. It looks like it will take skill, ingenuity, and more than a little luck. Have a watch of the trailer! Precision will be key, and one hopes that with the levels being in the middle of the screen, the outer edges can be used for finger control, as to not obscure any of the action. The game will be available as a universal app on November 13th for $0.9…

The Answer

Feature By Dave Flodine, 10 years, 5 months ago
The Answer

Hey there loyal Appspy readers! It was quite a question this week right? It can be hard to answer just what kind of game you wish to make when no boundaries are set on the question. Jastootie, Darkscience, and Taekon all dreamed big to create a magnum opus, and they all agreed on no IAPs and a higher price point to accommodate it. While their pitches lacked specifics, they obviously see the strength and potential of the iOS platform and would be interested in creating significant gaming experiences for it. To be honest, I went the completely opposite path. One thing I enjoy is to look at a classic game or a modern game with simple mechanics and then to think of how to use what they did as…

Rolling Coins looks to satisfy that Rube Goldberg itch

News By Dave Flodine, 10 years, 5 months ago
Rolling Coins looks to satisfy that Rube Goldberg itch

Physics puzzlers are a dime a dozen, so it's quite appropriate that we have one that focuses around rolling coins. Through manipulation of the environment and travelling through these crazy contraptions, the coin eventually will reach its destination, with a lot of candy tagging along for the ride. Check out the trailer for further edification. Rolling Coins is $0.99 and is available on the App Store now. [App Store Link]…

10 is for those who like math in their puzzle games

News By Dave Flodine, 10 years, 5 months ago
10 is for those who like math in their puzzle games

Despite 10's humourous GLaDOS inspired trailer, we here at Appspy can already see that as simple and intriguing as this puzzler might be, it is only going to appeal to those who enjoy the process of iterative arithmetic as they slide numbers around a game board. Have a look at the trailer for a greater understanding. While the uniqueness of the game speaks to me, maths was always one of my worst subjects at school, so I might have to give this one a miss. It's a shame though. If I had a head for numbers, I think i'd really enjoy it, and I think our readers who are mathematically inclined will agree. 10 is out now on the App Store as a free download. [App Store Link]…

Abstract racer Proun rolling towards the App Store

News By James Gilmour, 10 years, 5 months ago
Abstract racer Proun rolling towards the App Store

Thanks to the recent deluge of rotation-based puzzlers like Pivvot, Super Hexagon, and the recently-released Duet, the App Store has become a dizzying place to explore. You'd best grab your sick bags, however, as things are about to get even spinnier. It turns out the abstract PC racer Proun is rolling towards is on track for an App Store release in the not-too distant future. If Proun didn't appear on your radar when it arrived on the PC back in 2011, then let us fill you in. You take control of ball which is rolling down a cylindrical track. Your job is to move the ball around the circumference of the track to avoid objects and obstructions. Watching the PC trailer (above) Proun rese…

Rabbids Big Bang exploding onto iOS on October 17th

News By James Gilmour, 10 years, 5 months ago
Rabbids Big Bang exploding onto iOS on October 17th

Furry physics-puzzler Rabbids Big Bang is set to come crashing into the App Store's atmosphere next week.  An offshoot of Ubisoft's anarchic and far-reaching Rabbids franchise, Rabbids Big Bang is a single game with a single goal: keep your rabbid in orbit. You take control of two of the floppy-eared rabbids: one to venture boldy forth into the great unknown, and one to swing a baseball bat big enough to propell his buddy into the inky blackness of space. Once your rabbid astronaut has been whacked out of the planet's atmosphere, you need to fire off his jetback to guide him into the gravitation fields of suns, moons, and other planets. There you will find collectible coins…

Galaxy on Fire: Alliances delayed until 2014

News By James Gilmour, 10 years, 5 months ago
Galaxy on Fire: Alliances delayed until 2014

A few months back, we had a chat with Fishlabs CEO Michael Schade about the studio's upcoming sci-fi MMO Galaxy on Fire: Alliances. Here's the video to prove it: Anyhow, at the time of the interview, Schade said that the ambitious spin-off from the Galaxy on Fire space shooter series was on track to be released this November. Unfortunately, we've just learned through our sister site PocketGamer.biz that Fishlabs has decided to extend the beta testing period into November. This means that we won't see Galaxy on Fire: Alliances on the App Store until early next year. While this announcement might be a bit of a bummer for strategy fans, you should take solace in the knowledge that the clo…

F1™ Challenge Review

F1™ Challenge Review

Formula 1 is all about precision. Brake too late going into corner or accelerate too quickly coming out of one, and your championship hopes can be drowned in a pool of your opponent's victory champagne. Perhaps that's why The Codemaster's latest take on F1, a top-down arcade-style racer, feels a little strange. It presents you with a format usually reserved for skid-tastic, tyre-squealing follies like Micro Machines, and then asks you to control some of the fastest racing cars on the…

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First footage of Dragon Quest VIII on iPhone

News By James Gilmour, 10 years, 5 months ago
First footage of Dragon Quest VIII on iPhone

A couple of days ago, it came to our attention that Square Enix, custodian of the Final Fantasy series and purveyor of expensive iOS remakes, was planning to bring the Dragon Quest franchise to the App Store. It seems the task of converting the PlayStation 2-era RPG into a touchscreen-friendly format is already well underway. In fact, the folks over at Siliconera have managed to rustle up some screenshots of the iPhone version of Dragon Quest VIII. As you can see, the biggest difference between the iPhone version and the PS2 original is the orientation of the screen, with Square Enix choosing to pair down the previously TV-optimised visuals into a portrait format.  While Dragon Que…

Duet Game Review

Review Kumobius By James Gilmour, 10 years, 5 months ago
Duet Game Review

Things have been getting terribly twisty in the world of iOS gaming lately. Duet, the twitch-based game of rotation and avoidance, is the latest in the recent spat of lo-fi spinathons. Like Pivvot and Super Hexagon before it, Duet takes a simple concept, dresses it up in basic block colours, and then begins to mercilessly test your reflexes without giving a second thought to your sanity or self worth. You take charge of two coloured orbs which are linked by a circle. It's your job to…

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The Junk Jack X Files: Case 3

Feature By James Gilmour, 10 years, 5 months ago
The Junk Jack X Files: Case 3

AppSpy editor James Gilmour (@Metal_Slag) and Pocket Gamer handheld editor Peter Willington (@xeroxeroxero) continue their adventures into the world of 2D craft-'em-up Junk Jack X. This week, James cooks an egg, and Peter gets lost in the wilderness. Will Peter find his way home? Will James find any toasty soldiers to go with his egg? Will either of them ever work out how to play this bloody game?! All this and more in The Junk Jack X Files: Case 3.…

XCOM: Enemy Unknown gets asynchronous multiplayer

News By James Gilmour, 10 years, 5 months ago
XCOM: Enemy Unknown gets asynchronous multiplayer

We've been waiting for this since launch day, and the moment is finally here: You can now face off against your Game Centre buddies in tactical strategy hit XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Essentially a full port of the highly acclaimed PC and console title, the iOS version of XCOM: Enemy Unknown is the bees knees. If those bees were alien bees, and we got to blast their extra-terrestrial knees off with our top-secret military laser cannons, that is. Bar the absence of a few maps, we had few complaints about this tip-top mobile part. The only thing it was lacking was the multiplayer mode, which allowed you to assume command of either an XCOM squad or an alien brood, and see who is the toughest: man o…

Costume Quest gets dressed up and struts onto iOS

News By James Gilmour, 10 years, 5 months ago
Costume Quest gets dressed up and struts onto iOS

Getting in the mood for Halloween? Not sure which ghoulish costume to wear? Well here’s a suggestion: why not grab your iPhone or iPad, and draw some inspiration from Double Fine’s newly-ported fancy dress extravaganza Costume Quest. Previously available on XBLA and PSN, Costume Quest is a cutesy (but creepy) RPG, which casts you as one of two twins who have decided to go trick-or-treating. As well as gathering the obligatory handfuls of delicious candy, you must also locate items of clothing to build your perfect Halloween costume. Handilky, these costumes have transformative powers, allowing the adorable young tykes to turn into savage monsters and do battle with a host of…

Machinarium coming to iPhone next Thursday

News By James Gilmour, 10 years, 5 months ago
Machinarium coming to iPhone next Thursday

Anamita Design's wonderfully quirky point-and-click puzzler Machinarium will finally be available on iPhone from next week. Though the hand-drawn puzzle adventure game arrived on the iPad last year, iPhone owners have had to look on with envy as iPad gamers tapped their way through Machinarium's charming world of gambling robots and dilapidated cityscapes. However, thanks to a newly-implemented pinch-to-zoom function, the Czech developer has been able to cram Machinarium's detailed world onto the iPhone's comparatively diddy screen. And in case iPad owners are feeling left out, the existing version Machinarium (which will become a Universal app) is also set to gain the pinch-to-zoom featu…