Wow! I’ve barely even scratched the surface on playing with last week’s new releases and there is yet another fresh batch of great looking apps vying for my attention. Here are just some of the fresh apps that I thought looked most promising.
It’s worth noting that some of these games are currently available at special launch prices, so if they interest you, you may not want to wait too long to buy.
For All The Puzzlers & Adventurers
Let’s start things off with a few new releases for those of you who like puzzle games or just being taken on adventures, there are a number of new titles for you. The first of which is the stunning looking port of the PC/Mac point and click adventure game Machinarium from developer Amanita Design whcih is ONLY available for the iPad 2. There are a couple of hidden object games Million Dollar Quest from Nevosoft and Kate Arrow – Deserted Wood from Big Fish Games, a developer which is rather prolific in this particular genre.
Newcomers, the Ladia Group, released their inaugural title Running Sheep HD, a stylize logic puzzle game for the iPad. A Sharp released King of Dragon Pass, which “blends interactive stories and resource management” to create what looks to be an engaging experience for Fantasy fans. Finally we round things out with HotGen’s To-Fu 2, the sequel to their hit game To-Fu. Featuring 100 new levels, this time around it is a universal app.
For The Creative and/or Kid-Minded
Next up we have some new titles that will help you explore your creative side, so let’s kick that right brain into gear. Smule, known for their off-beat audio-based apps, launched MadPad, which allows users to sample everyday sounds from their own personal real-world environments and use them to create their own songs and music. Harmonix, known for their rhythm games like Rock Band and Dance Central in the console space, make their way to the iPhone with VidRhythm, which allows you to “video-sample yourself, your friends, your pets, ANYTHING, and mash it up into a crazy video remix”.
Cateater, LLC wants to spark the imagination of the budding Tim Burtons, Nick Park’s and Ray Harryhausens out there with their new app Stop Motion Studio, which appears to be a nice and easy way to use your iPhone or iPad to create your own stop motion animated movies. If there are two things little kids like, they are monsters and pirates and this week we got both! Beeline Interactive wants you to run your own Monster Pet Shop and Michelangelo Capraro’s Kidoodle app will let your kids draw and interact with their very own pirate story.
 MadPad – Remix Your Life 99¢ |
 MadPad HD – Remix Your Life $2.99 |
 VidRhythm $1.99 |
 Stop Motion Studio 99¢ |
 Kidoodle: Pirate Scribblebeard’s Treasure with Oscar & Josephine $3.99 |
 Monster Pet Shop Free |
For Those Who Want To Test Their Reflexes
Sketch Games brings a Steampunk sensibility to the brick breaking genre with ArkanoArena for the iPhone. Chillingo tries their hand at the racing genre with their 99¢ universal app Race illegal: High Speed 3D. Fresh face SevenOnly release a 99¢ racing game of their own, a fun looking gravity-centric kart racer called jAggy Race. Finally NaturalMotion is back on the field with NFL Rivals, which appears to be a NFL-branded version of their popular Backbreaker games series with a neat social aspect. “Every time you play, your score gets uploaded to your selected NFL team’s global ranking.” A neat way to keep your chip and beer-fueled fans playing. Finally we have the DJ Hero-like rhythm game Skillz for iPad from Playpen Studios.
 NFL RIVALS $2.99 |
 Race illegal: High Speed 3D 99¢ |
 jAggy Race 99¢ |
 ArkanoArena for iPhone $1.99 |
 Skillz for iPad $5.99 |
For Those Who Just Like To Shoot Stuff
We start things off with Dobsoft Studios’ Gun Fu, a title which probably could have been included in the previous category as it sees players trying to quickly get off rounds as your character pulls off Holywood-style contortions to put down the surrounding hoard of attackers. Twist Education’s Lemonocity, offers a “twist” on traditional castle games, substituting guns for Tuscany lemons (yes I said lemons) as you attempt to defend Galileo’s villa. Ziisoltd released IRON SKY, a time-bending revisionist history space shooter. Simutronics Corp bring us Tiny Heroes, an impressive looking dungeon defense game from geoDefense creator, David Whatley.
 Gun Fu 99¢ |
 Tiny Heroes $2.99 |
 IRON SKY $1.99 |
 Lemonocity $2.99 |
For The Casual Gamers
This week’s critter-filled more casual fare, run the gambit from Blacksmith Games’ mini-game collection in Plushed Gold Fever to TransGaming’s free-falling survival game KULA BLOX. Metamoki shows us where the Wildlings are i what appears to be a nicely animated castle defense style game. Chillingo and Bulkypix reveal their sweet tooths with their new releases. Chillingo is back with their second game of the week, Gum Drop!, a cute looking matching game that tests your ability to use both halves of your brain. Bulkypix’s Fruity Jelly is an equally adorable looking platformer starring of all things…a little colored jelly.
Finally if time management is more your style, then you’ll be happy to see that Kairosoft Co.,Ltd is back with another title in their ‘Story’ series, Grand Prix Story. This time around you’ll be trying your hand at managing an auto racing team. Last but not least, G5 Entertainment released the second game in their Jane’s Hotel series.
 Plushed Gold Fever Free |
 Gum Drop! 99¢ |
 Gum Drop! HD $1.99 |
 Grand Prix Story $2.99 |
 KULA BLOX 99¢ |
 KULA BLOX HD $1.99 |
 Fruity Jelly 99¢ |
 Wildlings 99¢ |
 Jane’s Hotel 2: Family Hero Free (full game unlock $2.99 until tomorrow) |
