This week has just flown by, I can’t believe it’s already time to talk about the Thursday new releases.

Short of cash? Don’t worry, because there are quite a few new freebies headed your way tonight, the first of which is the delightful Cannon Cat from the freshmen studio Loqheart, consisting of a programmer and a rocket scientist (no, really!). Players must fire Cannon Cat from one cannon to the next dodging penguin-copters, bouncing blowfish, and other obstacles while saving the flying fish. Cute, but challenging, I’ve spent a good deal of time with this free to play title already and it is most definitely worthy of a download.

For time management fans, Juice ‘Em Up! 2 is Minoraxis’ free-to-play version of their popular Fruit Juice Tycoon 2 game. Paramount Digital Entertainment is launching a free game to tie in with their upcoming Sacha Baron Cohen comedic feature film, The Dictator. A universal app, The Dictator: Wadiyan Games puts you in the role of Cohen’s title character, General Aladeen to compete in his four favorite olympic events – running, swimming, fencing and boxing. With South Park-style graphics this might be a fun distraction for fans of Cohen’s films as the await the release of the film next month.

The final freebie comes from Bulkypix and it is a third-person endless runner which is spread across 3 different universes. With both endless and story modes, fans of Temple Run or Zombie Runaway looking for something new (but not too new), may find that the freebie, Aby Escape fits the bill.

Speaking of endless runners…Defiant’s latest offering, Ski Safari, will have you racing down hillsides, riding on the backs of animals as you try to keep from getting swallowed up by the avalanche bearing down on you. Cute and approachable, this looks like a winner to me. Escape from Age of Monsters is an “endless runner” platformer from publisher Ayopa Games and created by Jeff Matsuda, the Emmy award-winning Producer of The Batman cartoon and . Apart from the stunning Retina display visuals, the game features power-ups and bonus items, boss battles Game Center Leaderboards and over 60 Achievements.

Rounding out the new releases is Polymer, the debut title from iOS game composer-turned-developer, Whitaker (Blackall) Trebella. Polymer is a strategic shape-creating game that offers up three game modes to suit all kinds of different play-styles. By sliding rows of tiles you try to form polymers, the larger the better, to score points. This is a really fun casual game that I’ve been playing for a while now (since it was in beta). Currently available at a special launch sale price of 99¢, I’d recommend picking this one up.

Another new title that I’ve also had a had some pre-release play time with is Everplay’ retro-styled Hack N Slash survival game Spellsword. With constant weapon changes, RPG-leveling elements and fast and furious gameplay this one will keep you on your toes. If you enjoy games like Super Crate Box and Muffin Knight, then Spellsword is likely to appeal to you too.

Last but not least is Ballistic SE, a frenetic neon dual-stick space shooter from Radiangames, creators of Super Crossfire and Fireball SE. Whether you decide to tackle an infinite number of Waves, or dive into the challenges, this looks to be a nice addition to the genre, with a great pedigree and some really killer iPad Retina graphics.

Good News for any of you who took my recommendations and picked up previous “New At Eleven” titles, Jetpack Joyride and Smash Cops, tonight you’ll also be enjoying loads of fresh content in these games when they receive their big updates.

Will you be picking up any of these new titles tonight, or are you too busy with today’s Marvel vs. Capcom 2 release?


Cannon Cat
Loqheart
Free

Juice ‘Em Up! 2
Minoraxis, Inc.
Free

Aby Escape
Bulkypix
Free

The Dictator: Wadiyan Games
Paramount Digital Entertainment
Free

Polymer
Whitaker Blackall
99¢

Spellsword
Everplay
99¢

Ski Safari
Defiant Development
99¢

Escape from Age of Monsters
Ayopa Games LLC
99¢

Escape from Age of Monsters HD
Ayopa Games LLC
99¢

Ballistic SE
Radiangames
$1.99

Jetpack Joyride
Halfbrick Studios
Free

Smash Cops
Hutch
$2.99