There’s nothing like a new Angry Birds title to bring out a fresh batch of competitors. Loads of great looking 99¢ universal titles are headed our way tonight, many of which are physics puzzlers.
First from Chillingo we have two titles, Lock ‘n’ Load and Fleece Lightning.
Lock ‘n’ Load is dual-stick shooter with not only some impressive looking visuals, but loads of content, boasting “16 massive levels in the main campaign, 9 huge additional levels in the unlockable Call of Minions campaign, plus 6 tough challenge maps”. Fleece Lightning features the loveable Shaun The Sheep from Aardman Animations. It is a top-down racer for the iPhone in which players must help Shaun race the pigs “through over 80 farmyard courses, jam packed with jumps, tricky obstacles and awesome power-ups!”. There is even a level editor to make your own courses.
Speaking of sheep, Bulkypix is back with the sequel to their fantastic 2010 physics puzzler, Saving Private Sheep. The sequel, appropriately titled Saving Private Sheep 2 is a universal app this time around, complete with iPad Retina graphics, all the game play you loved from the original game, plus some new surprises including a level editor!
While we are on an animal theme, I should also mention Miniclip’s pig-filled (and cutely named) physics-puzzler Hambo. You are the Rambo-esque, bandana and bandolier wearing pig know as Hambo and it’s up to you to save your best friend Bacon in a rescue mission spread across over 200 “reactive physics puzzles”. This looks like it’s got some really cute cartoony graphics and unlockable costumes for Hambo. Unfortunately this one is not a universal app, and is instead being offered in separate iPhone and iPad releases (boo to Miniclip).
In the new game Burger Cat, from Ravenous Games (yeah those same folks that brought you the awesome League of Evil series) you must solve puzzles using various tools like a magic wand, pickaxe, dynamite, decoys and more to help the cheezeburger-loving feline get to his savory meal. Featuring iCloud game saves and Retina graphics for both the iPhone and iPad, this looks like a deliciously entertaining value menu item at just 99¢. The last of the animal-themed games comes from Gameloft. Shark Dash is (you guessed it) a physics puzzler in which players help Sharkee, a friendly tub toy, rescue his girlfriend Sally from a band of cheaply-made rubber duckies. It too features unlockable upgradeable looks for the main character and the graphics look adorable. This one should be very appealing to casual gamers of all ages.
Okay, so I guess technically I lied, because we have one more animal-related app…well it’s a werewolf, does that count? Ayopa Games’ MacGuffin’s Curse is billed as a “stunning werewolf comedy puzzle-adventure” and had already won awards for its brilliant writing. The backstory is that “when desperate thief Lucas MacGuffin bungles a museum robbery, he finds himself bound to a mysterious ancient amulet. Using its powers to transform between man and wolf, he must sneak and smash his way through a mind-bending series of puzzles, bring down a terrifying criminal mastermind, and hardest of all, convince his daughter it isn’t funny to fill the fridge with dog food.” The game sounds right up my alley and like it’s brimming with character (and logic puzzles) and at a launch sale price of $1.99 (60% off), I think I’ll definitely be picking this one up.
Finally rounding out the notable new releases are ILLUSIA 2, the second title in GAMEVIL’s casual platform action RPG series. It is free-to-play with an in-game currency system. BBC Worldwide launches Ka-Bloom, “a colourful, psychedelic physics-based puzzle game about eating, growing and blooming.” You must touch gems and draw chains with your finger to “feed the ever-hungry Floret, an infinitely cute flower-like creature that brings warmth and life to the cosmos.”
FDG Entertainment’s iPad-only single and multiplayer strategy game, Tentacle Wars HD uses tom rich visuals to catapult players “into a microscopic world of cells, neurons and DNA tentacles”. You must draw lines between green antibody and red enemy cells, to save an entire alien species from extinction. The game sports a single player campaign mode as well as online multiplayer matches via Game Center.
Last but not least is another strategy game, this time from SEGA and the makers of the award-winning Total War series. Designed specifically for touch-screen devices, Total War Battles is a sweeping real-time strategy game set in Medieval Japan. It features a nearly 10-hour story-driven campaign which takes place in the world of Total War: SHOGUN 2. And there is also a 1 vs. 1 local multiplayer mode. It too is a universal app.
Personally I am VERY happy to see so much love for universal apps this week, cheers to the developers for this!
As for which of these I’ll be picking up, I’d say MacGuffin’s Curse, Saving Private Sheep 2 (because I loved the first one) and Burger Cat are strong bets, and then maybe another of the 99¢ titles as well.
How about you?
