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Top 5 iOS Games from the Past 5 Years
As it's the App Store's 5th birthday today, we thought it was the perfect time to take a look back at some of our favourite iOS titles. Let us know your 5 App Store favourites in the comments below. Alternatively, to share your picks with the PocketGamer.com, PocketGamer.Biz, and 148apps communities, head over to our Best App Ever page and post your list there. You can also join the discussion on Twitter by using #AppStoreTurns5.…
Designing for a Touch Screen
Do you watch Extra Credits? If you have a deep passion for designing or examining games critically, you should. Week after week they deliver insightful discussion on areas of our industry, complete with some doses of humour for good measure. The reason I bring this up is the latest episode is all about designing for touchscreens, and how the strengths of the mobile platform require a fundamental change in the way developers approach control input. This resonated with us, as this point has often been raised in our reviews. It's an important topic, and it's nice to see others addressing the issue as well. If you wanted to take a look, you'll find the video below. With any luck, more iPhone d…
Savant
Move over Elevator Action, a new challenger has appeared to take the mantle of top action game primarily involving elevators. Savant releases on July 30th across the PC, Android, and iOS platforms. While the trailer below makes it look like an enjoyable action packed experience, most likely the footage is from the PC version, and we have to wonder with everything going on, if the touch controls will be a detriment to the experience. I guess we'll know upon release.…
Plants vs Zombies 2 Soft Launch in Australia & New Zealand
Similar to the release of Real Racing 3 earlier this year, Plants vs Zombies 2 is getting a soft launch in the Australia and New Zealand stores. The purpose is much the same. Popcap wish to test out not only the online functionality with the cloud saving feature, but also using a single account across all platforms. In addition, they wanted to witness how the monetization options were recieved on a smaller economic scale than that of North America or Europe (though one that operates similarly). This soft launch is set to take place over a number of weeks to make sure the final product is stable for a world-wide release. Now seeing that I live in Australia, I have already acquired…
Knightmare Tower Released on August 1st
[Edit: The developers have contacted us and aside from getting the price wrong (it will be $2,99), speculations about the control scheme are off as well. It will be a touch based game with tilt movement. That's sure to bring less of a headache than a swipe mechanic!] Juicy Beast are best known for their iOS of the PC Flash game Burrito Bison (our review can be found here), and for their next release on the platform, they're bringing across another popular game. This time it's an extended remake of Knightmare Tower. It's being released on August 1st for $2.99, and to be honest, it looks like a lot of fun. Watch the trailer and see for yourselves. It looks like attacking enemies…
Celebrate the App Store's birthday with Best App Ever
It's hard to believe that just half a decade ago, apps weren't a "thing". Back then,if you wanted to game on the go or be productive while mobile, your choices were few. Plus, you were often limited to the in-built software on your phone. With apps, though, pretty much anything is possible. You can use your phone to call, text, write documents, find recipes, DJ, play all manner of games, and much more. So with this in mind, we're celebrating this landmark along with our friends at Pocket Gamer, PocketGamer.biz, 148Apps and beyond, over on the Best App Ever Facebook Page. Our editors and regular contributors will be documenting their five favourite apps and games of the last five years, al…
The Color Gray
With the success of Telltale's The Walking Dead, and the increase of what I've come to call the interactive fiction genre (games like Dear Esther, To the Moon, Heavy Rain etc), we see that there is indeed a market for a narrative that puts the player in control, without the added involvement of gameplay. The merit of these games is highly subjective, but to deny their influence and the growth of this genre, would be foolhardy. The Color Gray announces in its trailer that it is an adventure game without puzzles. Little is known aside from a very science fiction themed world and the title of the game alluding to a handful of morally grey choices that the player must make…
Deus Ex: The Fall to be released this Thursday
The middle of the year usually has the reputation of being rather barren when it comes to big releases, but with Limbo last week and now Deus Ex: The Fall this week, that's becoming untrue. The looks to be the true sequel to the excellent Deus Ex: Human Revolution, is iPad exclusive and will cost $6.99. The game looks absolutely great in the trailers, but the big question will be how it controls and performs on the hardware. Stay tuned for our review. In the meantime you can tide yourself over by watching the announcement trailer again.…
Leaping Legend Review
Any platforming fan will gladly talk endlessly about the virtues of the wall jump. Given its consistant use in both 2D and 3D platforming games - and its inherent awesomeness - it wasn't going to be too long before someone had the bright idea to build an endless-runner around the concept. Enter Leaping Legend. A princess has been kidnapped and held in a tower, and as per usual, it is up to an intrepid adventurer to save her. Little do both parties know that this tower never ends. The…
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LAYTON BROTHERS MYSTERY ROOM Review
If you own a Nintendo DS, chances are you've heard of the Professor Layton games. If not, they're a series of puzzle adventures in which Hershel Layton and his apprentices solve mysteries, riddles, and logic problems. A hallmark of the series has been its charming art style, memorable music, and likeable characters. Thankfully, all of this applies to iOS spin-off Layton Brothers: Mystery Room as well. You control Lucy Baker, a rookie cop who works for the enigmatic Alfendi Layton, one…
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Sponsored Feature: Visit a sprawling fantasy world in Digital Cloud Dragon Bane Elite
Dragons aren't exactly new concepts in gaming. In both Skyrim and DragonVale, for example, these powerful and mysterious fabled creatures are part of the reason for the games' successes. Dragon Bane Elite represents an attempt on the part of its developer to illustrate the true might of the dragons in a portable game. Oh, and to reproduce the sprawling scale and depth of a desktop MMORPG on your iPhone. I spoke to Jianbo Tang from Digital Cloud, the creators of Dragon Bane Elite, to find out why this particular fantasy world is worth exploring... "Dragon Bane Elite is an MMORPG game with an epic history. The game is set in a fantasy past over 10,000 years ago. Players build their…
UpdateThe Shadow and the Flame Release Date
Back in April I excitedly wrote about Ubisoft's upcoming remake to Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame. I loved the reimagining of the first title years ago, and have high hopes for this one as well. We know its release date now, it's the 25th of July. To tide you over, here's the trailer again. I can't wait to give it a go!…
Tiny Thief gets Release Date
Icebreaker: a Viking Voyage was the first game to come out under the heading of Rovio's new publishing firm Rovio Stars. Tiny Thief is the second. It will be released next week on July 11th. It's certainly the more potentially interesting of the two in my eyes, but we'll see how it plays upon release. Mark your calendars and in the meantime have a look at the trailer again.…
Return to Castlerama Review
When Castlerama was released in 2011, it was described by its creators as a “photo-realistic walk”. Its apparent success has led to a full fledged game known as Return to Castlerama. In this case, the term 'photo-realistic walk' is only partially apt. While the are some nice lighting effects, it's hardly what we would call photo-realistic. But you definitely do a lot of walking. You play as David, the son of a herbalist who discovers that he has a greater destiny as saviou…
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LIMBO Game Review
There's a recurring set piece in Limbo which involves a spider. You're making your way through the grey fog, plodding towards the next jump or physics puzzle, when a set of spindly legs hove into view behind you. You can't run especially fast, but the spider is in no hurry. A rising terror creeps up your back as you push forward, desperate to escape the advancing arachnid's hairy, stabbing limbs. If you don't think fast, a grisly death awaits you. You run. You jump. You hope. You'll e…
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