zombie-high-dive_653398045_ipad_02.jpgIt is the first new release Thursday of August and we are seeing a nice mix of new free and paid titles launching on the App Store today.

Starting with the freebies we have Zombie High Dive. In this game from publisher Chillingo Ltd, you play as Hubo, a zombie who is just entering the competitive zombie high diving circuit and you must learn to flip and rotate your undead body, landing perfect dives to impress the judges and beat your opponents to win the coveted Zombie High Dive Cup.

Fans of Dreamwork’s Ice Age franchise may want to check out Gameloft’s Latest release, Ice Age Adventures. Join Sid as he tries to rescue his friends Manny and Diego and the rest if the herd as he tries to rescue them after a Scrat-astrophe has left them floating out to sea. There are mini games and other activities sprinkled in (and from the looks of it…a good deal of the typical IAP for this sort of game).

poison-ive_866947764_ipad_02.jpgPoison Ive is a path discovery puzzle game where you must lead Ive the correct way through winding hedge mazes picking up all of the flowers and trapping blob monsters. Every time Ive moves, she leaves vines behind her, blocking that way from being used again. The game features a cool VCR-like rewind system if you make a mistake and a nice casual feel suitable for players of all ages.

99 Challenges! is an interesting little game. You are progressing downward through a series of 99 (surprise) fast-paced little pixel art reflex-testing micro games where you might need to quickly tap to dodge blocks, or flip gravity. Each one only takes a second or two to complete, but odds are, multiple attempts to be successful. You can keep retrying challenges as many times as you’d like and you (thankfully) do not restart from the top each time you fail.

Mad Rooster is a cartoony new endless vertical flyer featuring a treasure-stealing rooster trying to escape from chicken-eating tribe. If you haven’t grown tired of this genre yet, then this one could be worth checking out as it is from CGMatic.

cahoots_844304258_ipad_02.jpgCahoots! is a fun little trick taking card game where players are trying to earn points by getting one of their three suits to have the highest total card value at the end of the hand (two rounds of card play). There is some nice strategical elements to the game since each one of your three scoring suits is shared with one of your opponents, so you have to be careful to spread the love amongst your suits so that you don’t give any one opponent too many points. After each hand players, take turns choosing one of the eight played cards to flip and one to take back into their hand. This can be a good way to bury high cards of suits that you aren’t shooting for. Another great opportunity for strategy. I have been really enjoying this one, and there are three levels of AI to play against to test your skills. I hope that the developer adds local or (even better) online multiplayer against human opponents.

Lucky Dragon is a cute one-touch platformer where you simple tap the screen to toggle the walls and make them disappear to help the dragon successfully navigate across the screen unscathed. For $1.99 you get over 200 levels, looks like a fun, quick time waster.

Bulkypix is back this week with Brave Furries, a casual puzzle game in which you are on a rescue mission to help the furry creatures save the Furries princess and other residents from the evil wizard. The game is 50% off until tomorrow, Friday August 8th.

rules_840811083_01.jpgTheCodingMonkeys take a bit of a departure from their usual board gaming fare to bring us a fun little puzzle game that will challenge both your speed and memory. In Rules!, players are given one basic rule, “tap numbers in descending order.” And then presented with a 20 second timer and a 4×4 grid of tiles, each of which has a colored character and number. You must follow the rule, tapping to remove all the tiles in the correct order before time runs out. In subsequent rounds you are given smaller time increments (plus any leftover time from the last round) as well as additional rules like ‘tap greens’ or ‘tap odd numbers’ which must be satisfied first, followed by all previous rules, in order, until you get back down to the first rule (or all of the tiles are gone). The trick is remembering the rules, so you know what needs to be eliminated next. It’s fast, fun and challenging. Rules! is a must have pick up for sure! It is currently iPhone-only, but a free update is coming soon that will make it a universal app.

Speaking of must-haves…Lucid Games is back with a second episode of their fun and entertaining point and click 3D adventure game series Jacob Jones and the Bigfoot Mystery. The first episode had really high production values and I am super excited to see episode 2 arrive. These are really well made games both visually and content-wise and a bargain at $1.99.

The third of the three Cartoon Network titles which I got to preview at PAX East arrives on the App Store today. Time Tangle – Adventure Time is a 3D runner set in the Adventure Time universe. Finn broke the Time Totem and now he must try to restore order to the Land of Ooo as he runs, dodges, jumps and punches his way through strange lands. There are randomly generated quests, with plenty of Adventure Time locales and favorites to rescue like Jake, Lady Rainicorn, Flame Princess, LSP, Choose Goose, and James Baxter. Once you save them, you can utilize their special attacks as you take on enemies and big boss battles. Players have the option of either tilt or button based controls. It’s a fun time whether or not you are familiar with Adventure Time.

sago-mini-friends_874425722_ipad_02.jpgSago Mini Friends is an adorable new app from the talented folks at Sago Sago. Your 2-4 year old will squeal with delight as they make the studio’s wonderfully cute cast of critters visit each other’s homes for playdates. “Help Robin the bird fix a birdhouse, play dress-up with Jinja the cat or enjoy a snack with Harvey the dog.” There are ten fun activities that your child will like to play over and over again as well as little surprise interactive bits that usually produce some of the biggest laughs. It’s another great release for your little ones to explore from Sago Sago.

If you like two player abstract strategy games, you may want to check out the newly released game Catchup – Abstract Strategy, based on the 2010, tabletop game Catchup by Nick Bentley. It has a timeless tabletop gaming feel to it as players take turns placing hex tiles on a game board until it is filled up. Each player is trying to build the largest grouping of tiles. However, make your move too early and your opponent can take advantage of an extra tile each round. Wait too long and it may be too late to do anything to catch up. Careful planning and biding your time are key. Play against AI, a local opponent via pass and play or asynchronously against an online adversary.

Last but not least is Scooby Doo! & Looney Tunes Cartoon Universe: Arcade, a collection of ten mini arcade games featuring some of the most beloved cartoon characters including Scooby, Bugs, Daffy and more. You even get to create and customize your very own cartoon character with special clothes, hats, and styles. The app supports multiple user profiles, so everyone in your family can enjoy the game from the same device at their own progress.

And there were of course loads of other new releases as well, but I had to cut it off somewhere. So make sure to keep an eye on our ‘Recently Released‘ page for even more new apps.






Go to the second page of this post to watch the trailers for these games.

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