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Car Jack Streets: Directors Cut Review
The original Car Jack Streets is lauded for being one of the first Grand Theft Auto style games to be released on the App Store, in this case emulating the top down perspective of the first two titles in that series. A little over three years later and the Director's Cut is released. What are the differences you ask? Increased frame rate, retina graphics, and achievement and leaderboard support. How does the actual game hold up after all this time, especially now that the GTA games the…
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More Juicy Site Updates!
Good news everyone! Our hard working techies have been mashing together keyboards and wrestling PCs down with network cables (or so is my understanding of these things) and the end result is a working RSS feed. How does this help you? For starters our Twitter and Facebook feeds are back at full speed, so make sure you follow us! Secondly, if you're an RSS afficionado, then you may need to re-add our feed to make sure it's behaving properly - you can use the link above to get things rolling (http://www.appspy.com/rss). Lastly, we have two important updates in the pipeline. We know you've been keen to get updates on when your flagged games get discounted, and Mike should have the system ac…
RSSFAA's Free App of the Day – Blink Walk
We're working together with the team at Free App Alliance to highlight a great free app for you to check out everyday. "Blink Walk is a gorgeous-looking obstacle-packed endless-running title that boasts monochromatic Limbo-esque visuals. In this title, you take on the role of a three-year-old girl who travels to a strange and desolate dreamworld packed with dangerous enemies and hazards. Unlike in most endless-running titles, though, you can't jump over, duck under, or shoot your way through the many dangers that litter your path in Blink Walk. You can, however, close your eyes (for a limited time) and cover the game's world in a veil of darkness. This allows you to bypass hazards…
QI's Top iPhone Games of 2012
I know I know, you're all waiting patiently for the Appspy Top Games of 2012 video. Well Andrew and I spent the afternoon discussing our picks and the video will be out by the end of the week. To hold you over however, the Quality Index has released their list, so let's take a look and see what their aggregating scores have to say. 1. Bastion2. Beat Hazard Ultra3. Interlocked4. Punch Quest5. Word Wonders: The Tower of Babel6. Stone Age: The Board Game7. Reckless Racing 28. Pizza Vs. Skeletons9. Final Fantasy IV10. Wimp: Who Stole My Pants? HD It's an interesting list to be sure. 2012 was no doubt an amazing year for games on the ios platfor…
'Endgame Syria' Rejected by Apple
Endgame: Syria is a game meant to explore and address the current armed conflict happening in that part of the world. Watching an interview with the designer should explain why this was made and the video shows a little about how the game works. The reasons for the rejection according the the press release are that Apple forbids games that quote, "solely target a specific race, culture, a real government or corporation, or any other real entity". The release believes that since the game, "explores a real news event and aims to show users the range of factions and peoples involved in the situation", it fell under these forbidden guidelines and was thus rejected. The designer Tom…
Raiden Legacy Review
If you're at all a fan of the shoot-em-up genre (which are affectionately referred to as SHMUPs), you are probably familiar with Raiden. Alongside such canonical luminaries as Xevious, and R-Type, Raiden is a heavy hitter in a genre known for crazy weapons and having the screen littered with bullets. This release though is something of a compilation, farming together all three titles of the offshoot Raiden Fighters series that developer Seibu Kaihatsu released in the mid to late nineti…
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IGF finalists announced, Super Hexagon and Year Walk up for awards
It's that time of year again, awards season, and while the IGF might have had a shuffle round of their categories, dropping the mobile game section altogether, that doesn't mean there aren't iOS titles vying for some tltles. Four, in fact, have made the shortlists. Simogo's yet to be released, creepy looking adventure Year Walk is up for Excellence in Visual Art; LiquidSkitch for iPad is up for Technical Excellence; Terry Cavanagh's superlative Super Hexagon is up Excellence in Design; and musical tower defence game Bad Hotel is up for Excellence in Audio. It's certainly an eclectic bunch of picks, and it's sad to see that there are no mobile games up for the grand prize, although Sup…
Dropple. Review
For a long time now, games have taken advantage of what seems to be an innate desire to collect things, especially if those things are shiny or have a sense of value to them. In Dropple, you are collecting water droplets, and these water droplets are a currency that allows you to buy all manner of helpful items, from shields, to magnets, to the ability to rewind time. Did I mention that you're a giant water droplet yourself? There's definitely a possible analysis relating to our consum…
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FAA's Free App of the Day – Shark Dash
We're working together with the team at Free App Alliance to highlight a great free app for you to check out everyday. Today's title has a special place in AppSpy's collection of reviews as it completely defied expectations from Gameloft for 2012. A genuinely fun physics puzzler that we heartily recommend. "In Gameloft's Silver Award-winning physics-puzzler, you're tasked with helping a young plastic shark and his gang of miffed sea critters battle it out with a gang of ruthless rubber duckies. You do this across more than 96 levels and four colourful environments by launching your water-dwelling creatures through the air in the direction of their foes. Along the way, you can nab co…
Top 3 iOS Games for December 2012
The Top 3 Games for December always feels like a bit of a tease when everyone knows the Top 10 for 2012 is just around the corner, but we've got to fulfill our obligations and chief amongst these is letting people know what's worth grabbing right now. So lets cut to the chase and showcase AppSpy.com's Top 3 iOS Games for December, 2012. Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour (Gameloft) $6.99 Univ. After having about a month's worth of distance to consider Gameloft's latest entry in its modern-day shooter series, Zero Hour remains a solid shooter worth picking up, even if it doesn't match the highs of previous releases. Gameloft have deployed this title with the practiced skill that comes from having…
App Wrap Up (Weekend Edition, 7th Jan 2013)
Well aren't you lucky readers! Not only did you get to end last week with myself and the App Wrap Up, but you get to start this week exactly the same way! As always we are going to be looking at a collection of game trailers that look like they have something interesting to offer, and I will make brief comments on them, and then link to the App Store in case you wish to purchase them for yourself (and if you do, be sure to tell us what you think of the game in the comments). Without further ado, let's get started! Pixel Defenders Puzzle (Social Titans) You know how Puzzle Quest took Bejeweled, added some RPG mechanics and made a really engaging game? Well it looks…
NVIDIA announces new Android powered handheld console
CES 2013 is set to kick off today in Las Vegas, but we've already had the first big surprise of the show in the shape of NVIDIA's Project Shield, a portable, Android powered console that also streams PC games into the palms of your hand. Powered by the forthcoming Tegra 4 processor, which features a dedicated 72 core GPU as well as a quad core Cortex-A15, it's fair to say that Project Shield packs more punch than any Android device that's available on the market now. Couple that with a five inch screen that runs at a resolution of 1280x720, giving it a PPI of 294, and the fact that using a wireless connection you can stream games from your NVIDIA powered PC direct to your handheld, and you…
Luna Bears Review
I posit a question. Can it still be called a platformer if the character isn't technically jumping? Luna Bears has all the hallmarks of a traditional platformer; death defying physicality, coins, stars, and other special collectibles, and even Mario Bros-esque sound effects. The thing is that Luna, the character the player controls is a star, and stars are mostly known for floating. This is exactly what Luna does... it's just that through this mechanic, there's also plenty of somersaul…
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Impossible Pixel Review
In the last few years we've seen a surge in what might be called 'pure platforming'. Games that center around the platforming mechanics we're all familiar with, that put them to use in gauntlet after gauntlet of skill based prowess and mastery. Impossible Pixel is this type of game. Each level has the goal of reaching the exit (and collecting a secret coin along the way if you are so inclined), but the trick is mastery over the jumps and leaps available to you to avoid the sting of dea…
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App Wrap Up (Week Ending, 4th January 2013)
Look at this, the first App Wrap Up of 2013! *sniff* I might get emotional. True story, I had one planned a couple days ago, but dealing with the new backend ate it... so I've let some time drift between and now I'm ready to have a look at some game trailers for ios games that might have fallen under the rader, and look like they might have something interesting to offer. Let's kick off the year right and begin! Delta Looper (Ratjutsu LLP) Kind of like Tilt to Live with a trapping mechanic (although power-ups allow you to shoot as well). Looks like a solid engaging high score title with decent enough presentation. [App Store Link] Daredevil Rider (Bravo Game St…
