This week it seems to be all about the FREEMIUM.
Over half of our featured Thursday new releases are free-to-play titles from CAPCOM, G5 Entertainment, Big Pixel Studios, Everplay Interactive and even Chillingo.
Big Pixel Studios’ Off The Leash is a one-handed tilt controlled game where you are a dog trying to out-run the cops and evade capture, while at the same time attempting to rescue as many of your ‘doggy pals’ as you can. The game features Big Pixel’s signature blocky-bit graphical style and is sure to please the casual crowd. Next up is Chillingo’s space-themed tower defense game, Spice Invaders. You control an invading pirate force, and must ‘protect them as they mine the Earth’s resources for the precious mineral, Spice’. Meant to be played online, this multiplayer game features some nice visuals, challenging and a massive amount of upgrades, this title will keep you busy for a while.
G5 Entertainment is back with a new hidden object adventure title called Royal Trouble: Hidden Adventures. >GHOST TRICK: Phantom Detective is CAPCOM’s stylized looking interactive mystery adventure game based on the critically acclaimed Nintendo DS game. You can check out the first two chapters for free, the rest are available as IAPs. Speaking of mysteries, this last ‘free’ title is a bit of an enigma. From the screenshots and description, Everplay Interactive’s Terra Noctis: Free Dreaming looks identical to the platformer game Terra Noctis that was put out by Bulkypix last December. It is unclear if this is a lite version of that game or what, but it is free.
Now onto the pay for apps…the first of which is Fly With Me, a level-based arcade platformer (of sorts) from EA. Guide birds through trees with a constant tap of the finger to keep those wings flapping. The goal being to “cruise through tree holes and dodge moving obstacles, like spiders, Venus fly traps, geysers, and more and chomp evil bees from small to large for a bug feast”. FreakZone’s platformer AWESOME Land looks very Super Mario-esque. However, instead of a plumber, the game’s hero is Manley, an approriately gruff looking man who’s motorcycle has been stolen by evil aliens and it’s up to you to help him ‘kick some alien hide and claim it back’.
Electric Pixel Factory’s debut game Gorilla Gondola features the unlikely pairing of a silverback and a ski gondola. Navigate the ski-lift-riding Gorilla through dangerous levels, jumping, stomping and tilting to avoid all manner of obstacles while collecting bananas and powerups. This once looks like it could be pretty fun and challenging.
Finally, we come to perhaps my most highly anticipated new release of the week, Reckless Racing 2. This is the sequel to Polarbit and Pixelbite’s great mudslinging, fast-paced, top-down racing game, Reckless Racing. This time the title is self-published and a universal app featuring the same great graphics and gameplay, but with a “selection of 18 highly detailed cars, ranging from small dirt buggies to fast supercars, and 24 routes in a variety of flavors make this a racer for all tastes”. Yeehaw!
So which of these new releases are on your “must buy” list?
