Home Features Newly Available On iOS : BioShock, Appointment With F.E.A.R., Tiny Tower Vegas,...

Newly Available On iOS : BioShock, Appointment With F.E.A.R., Tiny Tower Vegas, The Walking Dead Pinball and More

This is quite possibly one of the most popular weeks for new iOS releases yet.

A ton of new apps and games arrived on this week and narrowing down the list has proven to be difficult (and this doesn’t even include a couple of board game apps slated to arrive on the App Store tomorrow (Yardmaster and Province).

I’ll kick things off with Electronic Arts’ latest mobile entry in the Madden franchise, Madden NFL Mobile. Collect current and legendary NFL stars, then put them in action on your favorite NFL team with this original free-to-play MADDEN title built exclusively for mobile. Last year’s Madden Mobile game didn’t due to well in the review department, I guess we’ll find out soon enough if this year’s roster is any better. In the little bit of time I’ve spent with it thus far, is easily approachable, even by new players to the franchise, though I’m not sure how hardcore fans will feel. Though they’d probably rather play on a console anyways.

Indie faves NimbleBit, are back with a new title in their Tiny Tower series, bringing the tower time management gameplay to Sin City in Tiny Tower Vegas. Build your fortune as expand and manage your own hotel decked out with shopping, dining, entertainment a treasure trove of casino games. If you enjoyed the previous titles in this series, you’ve probably already downloaded this one as well.

Ubisoft takes aim at the free to play mobile market with its newest title Little Raiders: Robin’s Revenge. It looks like an appealing new entry in the village creation and army raising genre.

Speaking of armies, Animoca’s new defense game Armies of Dragons is a pretty fun little defense game, perfectly suited for brief on the go play experiences. If you like defense games, you’ll probably enjoy this condensed experience.

War Memory: A Battle To Remember is a neat take on the classic memory game with players trying to match units and bonuses on the memory war board. Finding a unit’s match causes that unit to engage in combat. The longer you take to make decisions, the more time your opponent’s previously matched units have to do damage. The first to deplete their opponent’s energy captures that checkpoint and the first to control two out of three checkpoints wins the war.

Get ready for more big red balls with Activision’s Wipeout 2. This free-to-play action platforming sequel is based on ABC’s popular obstacle course competition TV series, Wipeout. “Players dodge and traverse environmental hazards and challenges to emerge triumphant at the end of each level as fast as possible; those who miss a jump or are knocked off fall hilariously to the murky waters below”. The game features 10 playable characters, including the Zombie, Pirate and Popstar and “150 ridiculously themed obstacles across 135 new levels”. There are also special daily courses and rewards to keep you coming back for more.

Onto the paid titles…

Epic Eric finally makes its way to the App Store this week. It is platform puzzler from 232 Studios, made exclusively for iOS. You are the noble knight Epic Eric, on a mission to rescue your Princess Erica from her lonely prison tower (or if you choose, the roles can be reversed). Using a series of simple one-touch controls to jump between gears you’ll “swing, flip, bounce and slide your way to victory” across 45 levels of gameplay.

The world is shattering and you are the only hope to restore the balance. Crescent Moon Games’ latest publishing effort, Almightree: The Last Dreamer is a 3D puzzle platformer where you racing to navigate and save a decaying world. Utilize and hone your magical ability of Plantsportation to transfer plant life from one area to another to help you reach and awaken seedlings and stop the destruction.

Laser Dog is following up their successful iOS debut PUK, with the challenging game of survival and well-crafted procedural space “runner”, ALONE…. The game seems to be going for that more simplistic and stylized approach of Canabalt, with a similar dark color palate and not a lot of other stuff to take away from the core avoidance gameplay.

ZEN Studios launched their much-anticipated The Walking Dead Pinball table based on the first season on the Telltale episodic game series. This is a fantastic new additional to their growing catalog, with interesting missions, a sub-table and even day and night modes. You can (and should) either pick it up by purchasing the new , or as a $1.99 IAP in Zen Pinball. Forgiving on the right-side and never overly fast, this is a blast to play and must-have table for fans of The Walking Dead series.

Oh No! It’s An Alien Invasion: Turret Alert appears to be based on a Canadian animated series which follows Nate and his Super Wicked Extreme Emergency Team (S.W.E.E.T.) as they join forces to fight the aliens who kidnapped Earth’s adults. Nelvana Digital has created a fast-paced 3D (target) shooting game with a variety of outrageous weapons including the Meatball Blaster and Whipped Cream Gun as you mow down “crafty Brainlings, powerful Brainmandos, and their evil boss, Briiian” to take back your secret hideout.

Tin Man Games KAPOWs the gamebook genre will a really awesome new comic book style for their latest Fighting Fantasy title, Appointment With F.E.A.R.. Craft your superhero by selecting his or her name, super power and outfit and then try to balance crime solving, super villain fighting and your undercover day job in this witty and constantly forking comic book choose your own adventure. Hands down, this is the most fun I’ve had with one of Tin Man’s Gamebook Adventures (and the rest were great!) and it seems suitable for all ages. You definitely want to pick this one up…a steal at just $2.99.

If you find yourself hankering for some good old monochrome 8-bit portable era fun, then Nitrome’s 8bit Doves might be right up your alley. How’s this for a crazy back story? You’ve been trapped in a VR world powered by an ancient handheld device (thus the Gameboy-like aesthetics). Doves subconsciously inspire dreams of flight and help you “take to the skies through the mazes of your imagination to find the exit”. Using a two-button control scheme to steer, you must successfully navigate maze-like levels avoiding traps and reach the exit. If you can get it to work (I couldn’t) you can try out a browser-based version of the game here.

How about one for the kids…

StoryToys has returned to their 3D pop-up book roots for Poppy Cat and the Bubble Volcano, a new app based on the award-winning book series and animated children’s show, Poppy Cat. The 3D pop-up book app features an original story that sees Poppy Cat and her friends exploring a magical underwater world. Kids can take part in the adventure with eight fun minigames and activities.

The Nightmare Cooperative is a rather neat mix of logic puzzle, arcade game and roguelike from Lucky Frame in which players try to lead a group of unlikely heroes (each with different abilities) through harrowing grid-like dungeons to collect gold, avoid traps and possibly battle monsters. The twist to the game is that all of the characters in your group move together, so you must figure out how best to navigate the dungeons so as to not accidentally move someone into a trap, or collect potions and health w/ the character who needs it. It’s quick and one you’ll find yourself replaying quite a bit.

Back to Bed trippy 3D puzzle platformer set in an M.C. Escher-inspired dreamworld where you control a human/dog-like creature trying to place objects in the path of Narcoleptic sleepwalker Bob such that he successfully navigates around his surreal environment and finds his way safely back to his bed. It’ll keep your fingers busy as you try to work quickly to stay several steps ahead of Bob and keep him safe.

As I already mentioned at the top of the week, The Journey Down: Chapter Two is now available, so make sure you grab Chapter One of this funny, well crafted point and click adventure series while it is still FREE. Then I’m sure you’ll also want to continue the adventure with the second chapter as well.

Speaking of adventure games, Telltale launched the season finale of Walking Dead: The Game – Season 2 this week and if you haven’t already picked up the base app, it is STILL available for free via IGN, but hurry!

And last, but certainly not least, that brings us to easily the biggest new release of the week, 2K’s iOS port of the 2007 “genetically enhanced” first-person shooter, Bioshock. You are a cast-away in “Rapture, an underwater Utopia torn apart by civil war and being hunted down by genetically modified ‘splicers’ and deadly security systems”. You have the ability to turn anything into a weapon, “the environment, your body, fire and water, and even your worst enemies”. So do what you need to do to survive.

This is one game that I have somehow managed to miss over the years, so it is exciting to see it make its way to iOS. Just a word of warning, Bioshock comes with a hefty $14.99 price tag, some lofty space requirements and will only run on newer generation iOS devices. I haven’t had a chance to check this one out for myself yet, but I’ve been hearing lots of good things regarding this release, not to mention the original game.

And that will do it for this week.

Universal