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Rolling with Rollabear
Usually I have a catchy intro to lead into the trailers for upcoming games, but in the case of Rollabear, I think you would be better served to step into the trailer cold. Here we go! Initially I thought it was a bear-themed Katamari Damacy, but it looks more like a bear-themed platform / bowling game. With the right amount of precision in the controls, this looks wacky and varied enough in its enviroments to be a bit of a giggle. It will be released next week on October 8th, so we'll see if it's worth taking for a spin then. Get it?!…
Ron Gilbert's The Cave due out on October 3rd
SEGA has teamed up with Double Fine to bring The Cave to iOS. Arriving on October 3rd, Ron Gilbert's puzzle platformer about seven adventurers searching for their deepest desires in a talking cave will be available for $4.99. Below is the trailer for the original release. I played this on PC a few months ago, and while I was not impressed with the puzzles or slow movement, the personality and humour were top notch. We'll see if any changes have been made to the gameplay when it releases later this week.…
Paint it Back
[Edit] A release date of October 17th has been announced. Some of you might be familiar with Picross. It's a puzzle game most notably released on Nintendo handheld devices where the solution to the puzzle creates a picture (and the puzzle itself is creating that picture). Using logic for how many blocks are together in a row and where the gaps should go, things can get pretty hectic. It's kind of like Sudoku meets Pathpix (although I am sure that developer took his inspiration from Picross in the first place). Edward Brown, an ex-Popcap developer is bringing Picross to the iPhone with his upcoming game Paint it Back. You use the same process to repai…
Boson X Review
You might have heard that the scientists of CERN are busy smashing atoms together at unbelievable speeds in order to witness what happens upon collision. But the scientist in Boson X takes the dedication to his craft one step further by placing himself directly into the machine. While the game is an endless runner in the style of Temple Run, the developer seems to have drawn some inspiration from Super Hexagon. The influence to Terry Cavanagh's geometric puzzler is evident in everyt…
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Tiny Thief Competition
We don't approve of theft, but we do approve of Tiny Thief, the cutesy stealth puzzler from Rovio Stars. Well it just so happen that we have "acquired" some unique Tiny Thief swag that we're willing to give away to you, the loyal and attractive AppSpy viewer. To stand a chance of winning a Tiny Thief poster and a one-of-a-kind handmade crochet replica of the game's adorable ferret co-star, just click on this Twitter link and hit the retweet button before Monday October 7th. It's that simple. It's practically daylight robbery. We'll announce the winners here, on the AppSpy YouTube channel, and via Twitter, so be sure to get those clicks in before October 7th. Good luck, and k…
The Question
Hello there loyal Appspy readers! It’s finally come to that point. No, not the end of the question and answer segment, but the call out for ideas. Drawing a complete blank on what question to ask you all this week, the idea of asking a question for a question arose. So this week’s question is simply this: What sorts of questions would you like to be asked in future installments of the question and answer column? We have readers with such diverse backgrounds from all around the world, so I’m calling on your individual experience and unique view of not only the world, but the iOS platform to come up with any questions that you would be intrigued to hear other answers to.…
Space Qube
Space Qube is out on the App Store today. Imagine Space Invaders, if you could design your own spacecraft in a voxel editor. Not sure what I'm talking about? This trailer should explain further: Listen to that catchy music! While the gameplay seems to be your standard space shoot-'em-up fare, the ability to create your own ship (well... really create whatever you like), and have the amount of voxels used inversely balance the armour and speed of your vessel is a great idea. Those that wish to give the game a try should follow the link below. [App Store Link]…
Almightree
Oceanhorn isn't the only iOS game inspired by the Zelda franchise arriving these last few months of 2013. Almightree, developed by Chocoarts and published by Crescent Moon, delivers a 3D block-puzzler based around the mechanic of 'plantsportation' (which is apparently teleporting, but with plants). Have a look at the trailer for a better understanding. While the basis of a 3D block-puzzler has some link (heh) to the Zelda series (think about a lot of the infamous dungeon puzzles), it seems more that the game is banking off the name recognition of Zelda more than being directly inspired by it. I could of course be wrong. Nevertheless, it looks enjoyable enough for a puzzle game (inclu…
Mr. Fireworks
If you enjoy fireworks set to the crescendos of classical music, the upcoming Mr. Fireworks might be the game for you. Controlling a fireworks mortar, you have to hit targets to increase your timer and to collect coins to upgrade your fireworks. The video shows off the gameplay. Whether it has any staying power or is a flash in the pan experience (like a firework itself), we won't know till its release on October 10th.…
Appseed - creating prototypes from sketches
For a site called Appspy, we don't cover a lot of non-game apps, and there's a reason for that. Most apps are variations on productivity software that while useful, is more a case of preference, and not worth mentioning when new programs appear. We also tend not to cover Kickstarter campaigns, because there's a good chance that what we cover won't end up being funded, so creating hype can seem disingenuous. Every now and then though, we rethink these policies when we receive certain submissions, and Appseed is interesting enough to inform our readers about. It's an app that can turn a drawn concept into an actual working prototype. Watch the video below to understand. Seeing ho…
The Answer
Hey there loyal Appspy readers! Not much of a response this week, but we did have those site issues over last weekend. I do want to thank Taekon and DarkScience for their replies. I had completely overlooked the possible positives of the push notification, or more specifically, why they were created in the first place. For many of the games I review, push notifications will appear regularly as long as the app is on my phone. It’s not exactly the concept itself that annoys me, but rather at the start of every app with them, it gives you an option to turn push notifications off. I always do this, and even so, these games will always notify me to keep playing, to return. Perhaps it&rsqu…
Orborun Review
If I was describe Orborun using one of those 'it's x meets y' comparisons, I'd say Orborun is Super Monkey Ball meets Tron. By that I mean that you guide a spinning ball though a futuristic neon blue environment, not that you control a banana-crazed Jeff Bridges. In fact, your rotund robotic pal is trying to reach the end of each stage by rolling along tubular platforms, trying to collect as many points as possible without falling into the abyss below. Each stage starts with a choice…
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News Wrap-Up | 27th September 2013
We love Cut the Rope here at AppSpy. We're not sure whether it's the clever physics puzzles, the vicarious sugar rush that comes from delivering all that candy, or the fact that Om Nom is the cutest thing I've ever seen. But whatever the reason, we think its great. So, great, in fact, that we named it one of our Top 5 games from the past 5 years. Though we've had a couple of spin-offs since the original landed - Cut the Rope: Experiments and Cut the Rope: Time Travel - we've been waiting for developer Zeptolab to get to work on a proper sequel. Well, wait no more, candy fans: Cut the Rope 2 has been confirmed, and is coming to the App Store this very winter. According to Zeptolab, Cut…
The Junk Jack X Files: Case 1
Okay. So we know many of you have been waiting for our review of 2D craft-'em-up Junk Jack X. We reviewed Terreria, the other iOS-based 2D Minecraft-a-like, a couple of weeks ago, but are aware that we have yet to share our views on its similarly blocky rival. Spolier: This isn't a review of Junk Jack X. Instead, I have teamed up with Peter Willington, handheld editor for sister site Pocket Gamer, to explore Junk Jack X in a different way. Welcome to The Junk Jack X Files.…
Sponsored Feature: Top 5 Everyplay videos of the week - Volume 3
Everything is about sharing nowadays. Whether we're expressing ourselves in 140 characters on Twitter or posting pictures of our cats on Facebook, we always seem to be searching for new ways to share our day-to-day experiences. But what about sharing your gaming glory? Unless you shell out hundreds of pounds on recording software, how will the rest of the world learn of your record-breaking speedrun or awe-inspiring killstreak? This is your moment Everyplay is an app which lets you share and watch replays from over 150 mobile games. It lets you record and share your more awesome gaming moments on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. It also lets you share your video with Everyplay's own onli…
