Let me start by apologizing for the brevity of this week’s New At Eleven post. With tomorrow being both my daughter’s birthday and the kick off of PAX East-related events I have a lot of things pulling for my attention.
So let’s get down to it…
First up this week is Toca Kitchen Monsters, Toca Boca’s completely FREE, monster-themed version of their popular Toca Kitchen title. If you have young kids definitely grab a copy of this ‘Toca-Sitter’ and if they are anything like my girls, they’ll be captivated for hours.
Don’t Step On The Cracks looks like it may have one of those unexpected sleeper hits on its hands with On The Wind. You are the wind, and via simple one touch controls, you must try to guide the leaves to flourish in the Summer and survive the Winter. Ugg now I have that Patrick Swayze song stuck in my head.
Another title that I suspect will garner a following is Joystick Lab’s Saturday Morning RPG. It is an episodic role-playing game set in a world inspired by 1980s Saturday morning cartoons. Its 80’s theme could have enough appeal to get people who generally don’t play RPGs (like myself) to give it a go. It is free to download, but unlocking the entire game will cost you $1.99.
Aside from having an awesome studio name, Gotta Pea is releasing, Peakour™ in separate iPhone and iPad versions. It is physics puzzle game where players position oddly-shaped bits of junk around the screen to manipulate the adorable lead character (PeaG) to perform cool feats of parkour to collect bottle caps.
From Chillingo we get CreaVures a puzzle/platformer where players must combine the unique skills of the of the game’s five CreaVures to make them work together to solve the puzzles and claim victory in the “terrifying boss battles” at the end of each chapter. Also from Chillingo is Beeing, an obstacle avoidance game , where you attempt to guide a bee through a hazardous obstacle course by sliding your finger up and down the screen. There are a few power-ups along the way to keep things interesting.
UNCADE’s Blast Ball looks like a really cool retro title with a vector art style. “Score goals as fast as you can while blowing up your enemies! Avoid the ever increasing volley of bad guys as you score with soccer balls, footballs, basketballs, and Blast Balls. Complete missions to unlock new ball types such as the disco ball, mega ducky, and the cube.” Sounds like a winner to me.
Not particularly my cup of tea, but if you are one of those people that really loves those “catapult yourself the furthest” genre of games, then Propel Man may be right up your alley. It’s got 30 levels (each with increasing distances and a variety of obstacles), a shop for purchasing the usual upgrades and a total of 16 unique catapults.
If you like time management games where you build and maintain virtual towns, then you may want to take a look at G5 Entertainment’s Virtual City 2: Paradise Resort or the more kid-appealing Ice Age Village from Gameloft.
Finally, Ubisoft’s Rabbids are back in the form of a interactive torture-toy in the app Rabbids Go HD. CAVE CO returns with another of their shooters, Bug Princess 2. Last but not least, Big Fish Games, Inc is back with another of their super popular, free-to-try hidden object games, Dark Dimensions: City of Fog. As usual, it is available in separate iPhone and iPad releases.
Which of these titles will you be picking up?