Home Features Newly Available On iOS: Dead Trigger 2, Fright Heights, Toca Mini, Hazel...

Newly Available On iOS: Dead Trigger 2, Fright Heights, Toca Mini, Hazel Dazzel and More

Love’em or hate’em it is a big week for free-to-play games with plenty of titles to choose from starting with MADFINGER Games’ first-person zombie shooter sequel, DEAD TRIGGER 2. I’ll be the first to admit that despite its great graphics and somewhat fun gameplay, I really wasn’t a fan of the original DEAD TRIGGER. My taste for it was quickly soured due to it initially being a paid title with a poorly implemented freemium model that really many players grind for weapons and pushed real money purchases. I’m hopeful that some of these have been worked out for the sequel.

Keeping with the zombie theme, we have Swarm of the Dead, a RTS with a bit of a role-reversal twist where instead of trying to stop hoarding zombies, players command their own zombie units in attempt to keep researchers from coming up with ‘the cure’. It looks like it could be a fun little time waster with 100 levels and a total of 10 different zombie unit types to unlock and upgrade.

It is getting close to Halloween and Chillingo is getting in the holiday spirit with Fright Heights, a puzzle / strategy game in which players attempt to frighten visitors out of their haunted hotel by carefully placing ghosts and other monsters near the guests “to panic patrons, de-exorcise exterminators and chain together frightening combos”.

Wotsamaflip also hopes to frighten iOS gamers with their first-person interactive zombie movie app, The Hunting part1. “YOU are the main character, YOU make the decisions, and YOU live or die based on your actions”. Interact with characters and maps via your phone and become part of the story. The first part is free with the download of the with two additional parts coming soon (which I suspect will be paid IAPs).

Next up is Turbo Grid, a vertical endless racing/shooting game that looks a bit like Dark Nebula meets Super Hexagon. Dodge and shoot obstacles, hit boosts and pick up orbs as try to race as far as you can.

In Cats vs Dragons, Lynx, a cartoony cat knight must battle dragons and summon the assistance of his feline friends as he makes his way to the top of a 240 floor tower to rescue his princess. Cartoony graphics and an outrageous plot, consider this one downloaded.

For even more freemium fighting, you can check out the latest title from the team at Rubicon. Combat Monsters is a blend of collectible card game and tactical combat in which players (on a huge variety of platforms) can battle one another locally or online. With 132 monsters, 70 weapons, 28 shields, 42 spells, 22 runes, 12 Heroes and 120+ maps to choose from Combat Monsters looks like it could have some good longevity, depending on the actual gameplay.

Next up is not a game, but a new digital comic book app from the writers of the video game, Hitman: Absolution (Martin Brennan and Michael B. Jackson) and award-winning artist, Simon Bisley (Lobo, Batman: Judgement on Gotham, 2000 AD). it is called 13 Coins Comic and it is a dark, interesting and unique tale of good vs. evil…angels and demons…greed, betrayal and lust. The free app download comes with the first 24-page issue and the 3D battle diorama. Additional monthly issues and bonus content (like Bisley’s original pencil art) can be purchased within the app for $2.99 each. The first 6 issue series is an Apple exclusive. I’ve gotten a chance to preview the first two issues and the presentation looks amazing with interactive 3D covers, realistic looking manual page turning and vivid artwork. Definitely worth checking out, but not for kids!

Onto the paid apps…

Last week we got the charming puzzle game Mimpi, this week from Crescent Moon Games, we get Strike Wing: Raptor Rising, a rich looking space combat simulator. And you can further test your arcade flying skills with Infinity Danger. Inspired by the 2003 computer game Warning Forever, Milkstone Studios’ top-down shooter has previouslymade appearance on both PC and XBLA.

Bulkypix returns with another game featuring Asterix, Obelix and more characters from the popular French comic series. Though this time around it is a defense game called Asterix: Total Retaliation, where you must strategically place your units on the battlefield to defend the magic potion from the attacking Romans.

The next couple of titles are aimed at kids, the first of which is the latest offering from Toca Boca, a virtual interactive vinyl doll creation studio called Toca Mini. Your kids will have a blast designing their own colorful creation from animals to monsters to human beings, this app will let their imaginations run wild as the select the colors, clothing, eyes, feet and more. Artgig Studio releases Mystery Math Museum, the sequel to their hit game Mystery Math Town. It offers children ages 6 to 12 a fun way to practice their math skills as they help a friendly little ghost rescue the dragonflies hidden throughout the 8 themed museums by solving math problems. It includes addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and is user-customizable so you can tailor the experience to fit your particular child’s needs. They won’t even realize they are learning.

Hazel Dazzle is an eye-catching 3D puzzle and exploration game in which players help the title character Hazel, a young space archaeologist, protect the Mirari legacy (whatever that is) “by fighting an evil Doctor”. Wake Studios has already won some Indie development awards for the title.

I always like to mention a digital board game when I can and the recent release, Alhambra Game from Queen Games looks pretty promising. It is the digital version of their award-winning eurostyle tabletop building game where players compete to build the ALHAMBRA, a palace and fortress complex located in Granada. The game contains an interactive tutorial to get you going and can be played alone or against other players either locally or online. You can watch a demo trailer of the physical game on the second page of this post and see just how nice it is not to have to set up a physical board game.

Finally that brings us to Oil Rush: 3D Naval Strategy. This real time strategy game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where nuclear war has melted the ice caps. You must command your fleet to help secure the remaining oil supplies. The game features some impressive looking 3D visuals and a 10 hour campaign comprised of 15 story-based missions.

And that’s it for tonight…please leave a comment below to let us know which of these games (or others) that you’ll be picking up this week. Are you a fan of free-to-play?

Universal