We kick off this week’s notable new releases with EA’s Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 12. It’s been nearly 2 years since EA released their origoinal Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® BY EA SPORTS™ for iOS and now they’ve finally decided to revisit the franchise with an all new title, with upgrades to both the graphics and gameplay. If you liked the original, they you’ll definitely want to upgrade. The game comes in three versions: Free, iPhone and iPad, so at the very least you should check out the a href=”http://rfly.me/9vax”>free version to see what the gameplay is like.
Next up is a re-release of one of my all-time favorite puzzle games on the platform, Drop7. It seems that Zynga has purchased the rights to release Area/Code’s game under the “by Zynga” banner. It comes in both free (ad supported) and paid releases. This is a universal app, and the really nice thing is that if you already own Area/Code’s release of Drop7, you can boot it up and download the free version of Zynga’s app from within the original game and it will be ad-free as well! Zynga’s release also sports some really crisp retina graphics as well as gameplay improvements for the iPad.
This week we have a number of ports, starting off with Big Fish Games’ Big City Adventure: New York City. It is a hidden object game (Big Fish Games’ bread and butter) in their Big City Adventure series, originally available on Windows. The iOS platform is perfectly suited to this genre of games and the title is available in separate iPhone and iPad releases. Big City Adventure: New York City boasts platform-specific optimized graphics as well as multiplayer gameplay and mini games.
Another classic title, Death Rally, also makes it’s way to iOS this week. Originally appearing for DOS machines in 1996 and then for Windows in 2009, Remedy Entertainment’s top-down racer Death Rally was released as a Universal app. Amazing graphics, a huge single player career mode, loads of weapons, guest drivers including DUKE NUKEM, BARRY WHEELER and JOHN GORE, and it even runs at a full 60fps on the iPad2. Remedy has already promised more tracks, cars, weapons and challenges & multiplayer are coming soon in free updates.
The final port I want to mention is Fast Striker from NGDev Team. The classic 2D arcade shooter from NEOGEO and Dreamcast makes its triumphant return on the iOS platform. “This game features six stages of excellent 2D arcade game play with over 40 unique enemy types, super smooth 3D scrolling backgrounds, huge CGI bosses.” For fans of this genre this is certain to be a must-have title.
BulkyPix tries their hand at something new this week, with what they have dubbed “Jump in a Book” gameplay. Their latest title The Deskplorers – Episode One: “Knights” blends storytelling and gaming to create a rich experience for 6 to 11 year-olds. The Deskplorers contains media-rich stories which encourage positive values (friendship, trust, respect, helping people) and fun puzzles aimed at getting your child’s creative juices flowing. While a bit of a departure from their usual fare, as a parent, this looks like fun concept. The first episode of The Deskplorers is available in separate iPhone and iPad releases.
If, like me, you simply can’t get enough physics-based puzzlers, then you may want to take a look at Drop The Chicken by Sharp Creative Agency. While the similarities to Cut the Rope are undeniable, the gameplay is rather different. In each level you must plan out a path to your nest, collecting the bugs along the way. Use a variety of special tools such as balloons, fans, mouse holes, conveyor belts, rubber bands and springs to bounce, slide and float yourself to your home. Sort of like Cut the Rope meets iBlast Moki.
Finally we have City of Secrets, the latest flagship title from aideMMedia. It is a point-and-click mystery adventure available for both the iPad and iPhone. The game boasts stunning graphics and logic puzzles, while challenging, are approachable by players of any age through an in-game hint system. The game’s lead characters, Rex (The Brave Dog) and Mr. Moles “have been on adventures across Europe for many years and are making their debut globally on iOS.”
As always, please leave a comment below letting us know what new releases you picked up this week.
