Any excuse for a sale! With Valentine’s Day on the way, EA have had a generous turn of heart. Bad puns aside, the ‘Games to Love’ sale has some serious discounts across the board.

So if you’re interested in snapping up a few cheap iPad or iPhone titles at up to 85% off their usual price then check out the list below. The sale begins February 10.

WARNING: It’s a long list!

iPad titles

• BFBC 2    
  $9.99 down to $4.99
• Battleship   
  $4.99 down to $1.99
• FIFA 12
  $9.99 down to $4.99
• Game of Life
  $6.99 down to $2.99
• Madden 12
  $6.99 down to $0.99
• Monopoly
  $9.99 down to $4.99
• Monopoly HN
  $9.99 down to $4.99
• Real Racing 2
  $6.99 down to $2.99
• Risk
  $6.99 down to $2.99
• Spy Mouse
  $2.99 down to $0.99
• Tetris
  $7.99 down to $2.99
• Trivial Pursuit Master Edition
  $4.99 down to $2.99
• Yahtzee 
  $4.99 down to $2.99
• Scrabble
  $9.99 down to $4.99

iPhone Titles

• BFBC 2
  $2.99 down to $0.99
• FIFA 12
  $4.99 down to $2.99
• Madden 12
  $4.99 down to $0.99
• Real Racing 2
  $4.99 down to $2.99
• Risk
  $2.99 down to $0.99
• Scrabble
  $1.99 down to $0.99
• Sims 3
  $6.99 down to $2.99
• Sims Medieval
  $4.99 down to $2.99
• Sims WA
  $2.99 down to $0.99
• Sims Ambitions
  $4.99 down to $1.99

To all players who pick up a copy of Cloudberry Kingdoms, the developers have issued the following challenge:

We’re offering a $1,000 prize to whomever can be the first to beat the game on its hardest difficulty.

How many developers are that confident in their games ability to create a fully completable level that players will find absolutely too difficult to complete? Not that many, I can assure you. But if you think you have what it takes, make sure you take them up on their challenge!

For more information on this conflict, check out the official website and the video embedded below.

Cloudberry Kingdom is the debut title from the up and coming independent game developers – Pwnee Studios. The title is an interesting platformer that creates procedurally generated levels for players to enjoy and solve.

The game is also scaled to a players skill level, so that they will always find it challenging, but not too challenging. This seems to be a new technology as we have yet to see a title that can do both of these things together. The developer says that there are something like ’10⁹⁶ ‘ potential  levels in the game.

The most interesting aspect of this game seems to be the way that it was developed. The developers claim to have taught an AI how to play platformer games (I’d love to see it beat Megaman 2 at some point), here’s the quote below -

Instead we spent the last two years teaching an Artificial Intelligence how to design and play platformer levels. Afterward we caged it in a box of software and called it a game.

The developers seem like really witty guys and we would love to see their stuff on as many platforms as possible. So be sure to check out their site for more info and the video embedded below on their games gameplay.

Ace Attorney 123HD has just arrived at the Japanese iOS store.  The game is a HD remaster of the first three games in the popular Ace Attorney series. Unfortunately, the release is strictly Japanese at this point with no current plans for a localisation. An Android version is also set to be released sometime in 2012.

The HD remasters retain the style and look of the Nintendo DS versions, but offer much cleaner visuals. It also allows players to play all three games using a DS style interface.

While there are no plans to localise the HD remasters, bear in mind that that Capcom did release the iOS port of the first Ace Attorney game in Western regions back in 2010, so one can still hope.

EA have announced that Mass Effect Infiltrator will be arriving on iOS devices and will tie in with the highly anticipated Mass Effect 3.

Playing through the app’s story will aid players in increasing their “Galactic Readiness” in Mass Effect 3; the higher a player’s readiness, the more likely they will achieve the best possible ending for the final chapter of the Mass Effect trilogy.

An EA PR pamphlet went into further detail:

Take the all-out galactic war in Mass Effect 3 on-the-go with Infiltrator, a fully-featured iOS third-person shooter showcasing stunning graphics and authentic weapons and powers from the Mass Effect series.

Inspired by the deep and immersive Mass Effect 3 universe, in Infiltrator players will help to free prisoners from a hostile Cerberus base and will receive rewards for collecting evidence of Cerberus’ crimes along the way. Every completed rescue and intelligence discovery in Infiltrator will increase a player’s Galactic Readiness rating directly through the Galaxy At War system in Mass Effect 3.

No release date was given, though it is safe to assume that Infiltrator will launch sometime within the vicinity of Mass Effect 3, which hits stores on March 6 (screenshot courtesy of IGN).

M.U.S.E.
Developer: Lab Rats Studio
Publisher: Ayopa Games
Platform: iPhone/iPad (reviewed)/Android
Release: 23/12/11
Price: $6.49 – Available Here

Overview

Let’s face it. IOS isn’t just for the group of players who’ve unfairly been deemed casual – amongst the tap based puzzle games and excessive amounts of shovel wear lay a variety of different RPG’s, fighters, racers and even shooters. One of the latest shooter based titles to burst onto the App Store is M.U.S.E – the latest title developed by Lab Rats Studio and published by Ayopa Games.

Story

Player’s are given the chance to play as Sid Tripp, the hard-boiled agent for a government organisation known as M.U.S.E. As a representative for M.U.S.E. Sid is the only thing that stands between the super villain Psychosis and world domination. The story is fairly straight forward, but it’s still enough to get you going. Cut scenes are infrequently used to push the narrative forward and frame the movements through out the game. Even though it is a fairly typical story of authority verses villainy, it’s nice to see some original stories emerging in the App Store – coupled with some nice gameplay and high quality graphics.

Gameplay

Mechanically, M.U.S.E has everything down. The dual thumb control that has become standard in iOS shooters is better than average, I particularly like the lack of a virtual joy stick, giving you a bit more freedom. The shooting button and option to throw grenades are all positioned well, however when it comes to reloading or swapping weapons your thumb may be a bit out of touch, at least on the iPad. The reloading is a little slow, and the fact that I am warned of it’s speed, or lack there of, doesn’t take the sting away when in battle. Being on the receiving end of a barrage of bullets attempting to reload my machine gun is never fun. As time progresses, more and more weapons become available, and gradually its possible to come accustomed to swapping instead of reloading – making the game a little easier and more enjoyable – but it does take time. Standard buttons have also been added in for crouching and for rolling – giving you a little boost in action, mobility and strategic movement. There is no doubt that this is a great effort making a shooting game for the iPad – it just doesn’t seem to have anything highly innovative in regards to the mechanics. However, there is the interesting element of RPG style upgrades. As you progress you can upgrade gun clip sizes and loading time – which is a nifty little element that I don’t see too often in games.

Visuals

A year a ago, M.U.S.E would’ve been a visual knock out, but unfortunately time has ravished it’s once youthful looks. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still pleasing to the eye. It’s just that within the past year iOS graphics have launched from rendered 3D akin to the PlayStation 2 into near-contemporary console/PC worthy works of beauty. The world and characters instead take on a more gritty science fiction dystopia theme, which fits with the story of the game, which visually isn’t as amazingly vivid as an iOS title could be. That being said, for an independently developed and published title, M.U.S.E is on the high end of graphics, and there is extensive detail and an obvious amount of care that has been given to the world, in terms of design and functionality.

Audio

There seems to be a rather severe lack of music through out M.U.S.E., but that’s not to say there isn’t any audio design at all. On the contrary, there is a cacophony of gun shots, explosions, wailing alarms and laser cannons blasting from my iPad’s feeble speakers. If you decide to play this title with ear phones plugged in, be sure to turn the volume down, it’s going to get loud!

Overall

M.U.S.E performs well mechanically, has some great graphics and a unique visual style. While the audio may feel a bit drained and the story a little thin, the game itself performs well. I’d recommend this title to any iOS shooter fans who are looking to branch out perhaps away from the console clones such as Call of Duty or the long list of Gameloft titles, and ease their way over to M.U.S.E. With very few quality, original titles popping up in the App Store, M.U.S.E just may be that breath of fresh air you need to keep on playing games on your iOS device.

Frederic – Resurrection of Music

Developer: Forever Entertainment S.A.
Platform: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone (reviewed)
Release Date: February 1st, 2012
Price: $1.99 (currently free), “HD Complete” version: $3.99

Overview

Frederic is a rhythm game. There’s a note track, there’s a keyboard… it’s a rhythm game. The music is all based on the more recognisable of Chopin’s works, all revamped and brought into the 21st Century, mimicking a selection of styles and genres from around the world.

Story

So you’re playing as Frederic Chopin, the famous Polish composer and pianist from the 1800′s. You’ve been resurrected from the dead, and people are attacking you with their new-fangled popular music of various genres, ending up in a series of mash-ups of Chopin’s “greatest hits” with a selection of modern musical styles.

As soon as you’re raised from the dead, 3 muse… spirit… woman… things… appear before you and explain the situation, giving you a magical piano and horse and carriage squeezed into a briefcase, which allow Chopin to start playing at a moments notice, and fly around the world.

All the story is… there; but it feels like it’s all just there to provide some reason for Frederic to be able to sample a plethora of genres across the world, and to be able to play the piano.  Some ideas are cool, but it’s treading a thin line between awesome and cheesy the whole time, and not always landing on the right side. There are even moments that are downright uncomfortable, as you battle a high Jamaican who explains he suffers with chronic depression, and a band of leprechauns in Ireland.

Gameplay

Okay, so the basic idea is much the same as any rhythm game. There’s a number of piano strings which guide black and white notes down to the keys at the bottom of the screen, where you’ll tap, slide, and hold depending on any extra icons associated with a note. You can drag your finger across the keys to make hitting adjacent keys or even brief scales a little easier.

There was many a time, though, that my finger was too near the edge of a key, which would make a the game tell me off, making a din, docking some points, and resetting the combo meter. This can get pretty annoying. With the keys having a somewhat 3D look to them, the top of each key is pretty thin, which makes it easy to slip onto a different key.

If you manage to get used to the interface’s sensitivity, though, it can be pretty satisfying to nail a particular sequence, but this all kinda hinges on the track you’re playing at the time. If you’re not feeling the music, then the levels can drag and grate on you after a while, which is of course compounded if you don’t complete it on the first try.

While the main interface is simple enough, there is no tutorial level or even an explanation up front to make sure you know what you’re doing. Some of the HUD was absolutely meaningless to me until I sucked it up and went looking in the menus for some help. Fortunately, there are a few slides explaining what everything means and how it works, but unless you know to look there, you’ll likely be missing a few key pieces of information which would have made your life a little easier in playing this game.

As you play through a level, the camera pans around a 2.5D animated backdrop, featuring Chopin, his musical attacker, and a handful of characters and props specific to the part of the world the level is set in. There are a few odd little animations and characters that pop up in the tableau from time to time, though it wasn’t always obvious what they were doing there.

Audio & Visual

Of course, any rhythm game relies heavily on the quality of it’s music. You could argue that the controls have to work well enough to become fluent at playing the “instrument”, but if the music sucks, you won’t care if the controls are the best ever. This game takes the original works of Chopin, simplifies it a little, adds some flavour of whatever the current musical genre is, and spits it out into your earholes.

Did they do this successfully? Well… There were some awesome bits, and there were some not so awesome bits. Some tracks were mostly awesome, and some were not. The quality of the audio was great, and each genre was given it’s fair shake. But some of the compositions just didn’t do it for me. And when they didn’t do it for me, they kinda dragged. It became a chore I had to do to get to the next level, rather than a joyful, fun listen to some cool music. But I must reiterate: there are definitely some cool tracks here; some pieces were really well handled, and did a good job of bringing Chopin’s works to the modern era; but they weren’t all so fun to listen to.

Now, I am aware that one’s musical taste is subjective, and perhaps you’ll find them all delightful renditions of the classics. So I guess it’s up to you, if you want to try this game out or not.

All the dialogue is voice-acted, a nice feature to have in any game. Unfortunately it all falls flat. This may be down to poor writing and the smattering of odd jokes throughout, but the voice work in this game doesn’t help any, unfortunately.

Leaving all that aside, let’s move onto the graphics. The art in this game is really, really nicely done. The cartoony style is cool, sleek, and well realised. Even in the parts where the writing doesn’t make any sense, or a joke completely fails, the art does it’s best to patch everything up. The characters are unique and colourful; the cool bits are cool; the story, such as it is, is well told.

There wasn’t any “real” animations; most scenes consisted of a handful of images sliding across each other, and a mouth opening and closing; but it used what it had to work with really well. It is unfortunate, but in my opinion, this is the only really solid part of this title.

Overall

This game was okay. There was some cool bits, there was some cool music, but the quality just wasn’t consistent throughout. I gave it…

School 26
Publisher: Oberon Media
Developer: Silicon Sisters
Platform: PC (reviewed), iOS, Android
Release Date: December 16, 2011
Price: $19.95 (available here)

Story:

Kate is a normal teenager who is unfortunately yet inevitably saddled with less than normal parents. A pair of ‘nomadic spiritual healers’, they have dragged their daughter through no less than 25 different high schools in a quest to find a place with the right ‘energy’. Arriving at a nameless 26^th school, Kate decides that this is to be her last. Luckily her parents agree that Kate can stay on at School 26 – but only if she makes friends!

It’s a simple set up that is dealt with in one opening screen. Starting at a new school is definitely something that everyone is familiar with, no matter whether it’s your first high school or your twenty sixth. A quick first meeting with a teacher throws Kate into a world populated by seven unique classmates who she must befriend by the end of the year – or else it’s on to school 27.

Gameplay:

School 26 is a game only in a very loose sense. About 80% of gametime is spent chatting to the other characters, and the player can respond to what they say by clicking on one of nine emoticons ranging from angry to ecstatic. Character models reflect their emotions with expression and with colour – so the matching up necessary to befriend them is incredibly simplistic. Giving a suitable response builds relations with the character, and story lines gradually unfold as Kate gets to know her fellow classmates. Situations build up from simple school encounters to sleep overs, dances, and eventually: The Prom.

Kate’s locker acts as something of a hub throughout, housing dossiers on each character, a crystal ball to access conversations , Kate’s mobile phone and a computer that spouts personality quizzes. The mobile phone will receive text messages from characters throughout the game, and completing personality quizzes can build bonds with characters who get similar results or whose results you predict. I have to admit that including the personality quizzes is a genius move, as I certainly remember filling out a countless number of these  when, once upon a time, I was in the target age group for this game.

The endless teenage chat is also broken up by a Tarot card game that Kate can use to influence how people feel about her and each other. Thanks to her nutty parents Kate has some developing sensory powers of her own, so drawing cards from a deck to reach a particular goal can result in improved relationships. I found it a bit odd that in a title promoting empathy and social skills relationships could be influenced by a pack of cards, but it does provide a welcome break from all the conversation. It’s not one of those games that could survive outwith the context of the title though, so don’t expect to particularly look forward to playing it.

As far as building relationships go, School 26 is very simplistic and a little bit odd. Kate’s responses have little effect unless they’re the correct one, and there are an awful lot of circumstances where repeatedly making a shocked face :O will make people like you. Teaching empathy is an admirable goal, but there’s a fine line between being sympathetic to other people and being a complete sycophant: ultimately the game rewards you more for nodding along than having your own voice. It’s understandably limited by it’s technical simplicity, but when Kate can laugh in the face of someone who is divulging their darkest secret and not get any negative response, there’s something wrong. Similarly being annoyed by some truly terrible pick up lines has no effect at all – everything just carries on regardless.

This all reflects the linearity and general lack of exploration in the game. Kate can’t explore the school freely and choose who to talk to when, but must follow a set list of conversations and constantly report back to her locker to proceed. Such limited scope would sit fine on iOS (for which the game was originally built), but on PC the game is just lacking in content – especially when the current asking price is so high.

The main thing to remember with School 26 is that it is an incredibly niche title. It’s a release designed purely for younger teenage girls, and ones that aren’t interested in gaming at that. I’m female and I’ve always been a gamer – this to me is not a game. If School 26 had come up on my radar when I was 14 or so, I would have played it for a few minutes as an internet distraction and then gone back to Civilisation or Soul Calibur II. I’ve never been of the belief that girls need their own little sub genre of feminine styled games, particularly ones designed to help develop ‘soft skills’.

I certainly admire certain aspects of School 26. The writing is very good and never crosses the line into patronising or preachy territory. All the characters have a sense of identity despite their appearances playing to high school stereotypes, and the dialogue can certainly crack a smile every now and again. Particularly noteworthy is the way in which School 26 handles ‘the big issues’ with sensitive but relevant treatments of drug abuse, homosexuality, alcohol and sex. It was a bit surprising to find all of these things cropping up in the game given that the target age group is 12-16, so parents of kids on the younger end of that scale should probably give this a miss. Everything is handled in the context of friendship (rather than do’s and don’ts), which makes me all the more certain that something like School 26 would be better categorised as an educational tool for everybody, not just as a ‘game for girls’.

Audio & Visual:

School 26′s title page theme bubbles along in an inoffensive pop rock kind of way, setting things up for the rest of the games presentation. Kate and co are big eyed bobble headed dollops of colour with clothes that scream out their associated clique: there’s the angsty punk girl, the quiet studious guy with the weird hair, and the dolled up queen bee to mention a few. Customisation is sadly lacking for Kate, so other than changing her name you’re stuck with a skinny Caucasian brunette with clique neutral clothing.  The sound is quite disappointing in that there isn’t very much of it, so don’t expect any voice acting from characters, any effects beyond button pushes or more than some generic background noise.

Environments are simple static scenes that you can’t interact with or move between – all the action is peculiarly pinned to Kate’s locker, which seems to function as a hub for warping between disconnected corridors, classrooms and bathrooms.  All the characters have the same range of facial expressions as Kate, although everyone does seem to be stuck in a perpetual mild breeze!

Everything has a decent level of detail to it and the colour schemes are all pleasant and bright – School 26’s presentation style does the job, albeit in a very simplistic way.

Overall:

School 26 isn’t something to be judged as a game. It’s a title with a very specific aim, and if you’re outwith the target age group then there is no reason to touch this with a bargepole. However, if you’re looking for something to introduce a young girl to certain issues it certainly does a very good job in a context that is easy to relate to. The relationship building side of the game isn’t particularly complex or rewarding, but as a package it makes for a distracting enough couple of hours. On that note, it is only a few hours long at maximum, and I would highly recommend staying away from the PC version at it’s current $19.95 price point – the iOS version retails for a far more reasonable $2.99-$4.99, and would function best on the larger screen of the iPad.

For limited time only, Jovian Minds has unleashed a free download for their iPhone and iPad App – Trouble in Tin Town. What in tarnations is this game about? Let’s ask one of the U.S. presidents to find out this answer.

Abraham Lincoln happens to make his appearance as one of the three leading campaigns of this toy ridden story. Tin Town has some unsettling mysteries, and who could be better to find the truth to the problem? In Lincoln’s Dilemma, toy Abraham must utilize his diplomacy or weight of his axe to unfold a conspiracy.

Other campaigns follow the stories of King Kandyheart and Finneas T. Rex and their exploits in the land of Tin Town. These tales will have you discover the lost lady named Sugar Sweet Lips, and unravel the murder of pet beetle named Ray Ray. Find more information or download the game for iPhone/iPad at the App Store.

Remember Trouble in Tin Town is only free for a limited time! And let’s give a special thanks for Abraham Lincoln’s birthday that could make this possible.

iPhone/Android game developer, Com2uS, has announced today that they have won accolades in the 148 Apps’ Best App Ever 2011 awards. The company has picked up four different awards, with each award going to a unique title. The awards, and the games that won them, are:

Slice It!: Best Casual Game of 2011
Inotia 3: 2nd place in Best RPG (Android)
Homerun Battle 2: earned 2nd place in Best Sports game (iOS)
Heavy Gunner 3D: was 2nd place in Best Arcade game (Android)