Wait! We know that you probably clicked that link so you could check out the first video promo that has been released for Steins;Gate Fuka Ryoiki no déjà-vu so far, but you shouldn’t be too excited as the following video may be more than a little disappointing. Have you kept your hopes in check? Then check out the video below.
As you can see, this promo for Spring 2013’s Steins;Gate movie is only fifteen minutes long and contains barely any information or much at all about the movie. It is worth noting though that the movie will be given an original story with a different conclusion from the anime that was released last year. As to what these could be, we will have to wait and see.
Thundercats Developer: Aspect Digital Entertainment Publisher:Namco Bandai Platform:Nintendo DS Release Date: October 30, 2012 Price:$29.99 – Available Here
Overview: There are many classic cartoons from the eighties which have either been re-imagined and given new series or have been given a full theatrical release over the last few years and last year a favorite series of mine happened to receive a fresh new series. That series happened to be Thundercats and while the series itself unfortunately is treading water between cancellation and indefinite hiatus, Namco Bandai has released a DS game based on the new Thundercats series. Is this game worthy of the Thundercats name?
Story: When the Kingdom of Thundera is assaulted by a well-organized and well-equipped lizard army the king is killed and the kingdom is laid to ruin. Players take control of Lion-O the young prince of Thundera who must seek out the Book of Omens, the only weapon that can destroy the evil Mumm-Ra who is pulling the strings of the lizard army.
As such, the game’s story follows Lion-O through a number of areas in the game which are present in the episodes of the actual television series as he tries to find the Book of Omens and fights against members of Mumm-Ra’s army along the way. Unfortunately, this Thundercats game does a very poor job of providing even a small semblance of a story thanks to the fact that barely anything is explained or shown.
The story is told only through little stills from an episode of the show accompanied by, at most, five sentences explaining what is going on. The game takes the cliff notes from the cliff notes of the show by presenting the most bare bones explanation of events possible. No information is given about the other Thundercats outside of the fact they just suddenly show up and ultimately players will find almost no reason to care about the events occurring at any time. If someone were to try and play Thundercats without any knowledge of the television show they would have almost no idea what is happening as a result of this poorly delivered story.
Visuals & Audio: While a game made solely on the Nintendo DS is going to have a lower visual quality than a game created for the Nintendo 3DS, it seems that Thundercats barely makes use of the DS’ visual capabilities as the graphics are barely above what was found on the GBA back in the day and even the various still images from the show itself seem terribly compressed. The various Thundercats only look decent in the bottom screen where the player simply stares at a still image of each character.
However on the top screen where all of the action takes place, Lion-O is absolutely terrible looking with a poor visual design the other Thundercats are only recognizable thanks to their color differences. The same can be said for the enemies you encounter as there is almost no variety in the enemies you will be fighting against. The only saving grace the game has is the fact that the background in the stages is usually well drawn and nicely detailed.
As far as the background music for the game goes, it is a shame that there is absolutely no music from the television show in the game. Or if any of the themes from the show are actually used in the title, they have been downgraded by such a huge margin that they are unrecognizable. They do a decent enough job, but usually gamers will barely remember what they listened to. It is also worth noting that Thundercats features only one little voice work clip of “Thundercats Hooo!” which is played whenever Lion-O does anything in the game from starting a level, ending a level, using a special, summoning help and more. One stage in Thundercats the game has more Hoo!ing than three episodes of the television series and frankly it becomes overkill.
Gameplay: Thundercats offers a simple beat’em up style of game which the player needs to defeat the enemies on the screen and when they are told to do so, they can advance to the right. There are a few boss battles which break up this monotony and while a few of them are unique and enjoyable, the rest of these fights are rather simplistic and easy to defeat once you discover their rhythm.
As for the actual combat in Thundercats, the controls are very simple as the player can press attack with A and perform a multi-hit combo, a Y attack that fires a red laser out of the Sword of Omens at the cost of a re-fillable energy meter, B to jump or perform a double jump, which is not only terribly inaccurate and poorly designed, but required for various platforming stages, and then X to summon an ally. Thankfully players will not need to use the X button often as they can also summon whichever ally they choose simply by tapping their portrait on the bottom screen, where they can also choose to use their special laser attack.
Now while the combat itself is rather simple, you’ll notice that there is one essential button missing here, a block button of any kind, but more on that in a moment. Combat is not only simple but it is also very sluggish thanks to the fact that Lion-O is probably the slowest fighter in all of Thundera. Each of his more powerful attacks such as a smash attack require a short cool down where Lion-O has to stand back up and probably take multiple hits at the same time, meaning that ultimately players will simply just mash the basic attack button to perform combos and still get beaten down.
The fact that a block or even a dodge button is a major issue is the fact that Lion-O can only move in a straight line, with a few ledges the player can jump up to if they feel like. Now put in ranged attacks and you have a Lion-O that will take multiple hits whenever one of these enemies appears and if you run into more than one at a time then good luck with that as being hit by one of these long-ranged attacks stuns Lion-O into being hit by every shot fired. This seemingly useless artificial difficulty provides a needless challenge which only exacerbates the stiff combat animations worse and pad the very short game’s length.
Outside of this combat you can also collect a few items along the way such as sword tokens which make you deal more damage, health items and Thundercat tokens which allow you to summon an ally. You can hold up to three of these at a time and each ally assists Lion-O in a different way when summoned. Cheetara deals damage to close enemies, Tygra hits every enemy on the screen, Panthro uses a tank to deal large amounts of damage and WilyKit and Wilykat provide a few healing items and even a spare summon token. The summoning mechanic is nice, however players will find themselves using the Wily twins more than anything else thanks to their healing items and the relative weakness of the damage dealing summons.
It is also worth mentioning that Thundercats has an absolutely terrible saving system as each level will require the player to finish it straight through until the chapter is over or they will risk losing all of their progress. There are no checkpoints and the game doesn’t even save between stages. In fact there is no notification of the game saving at all, meaning it is practically down to luck whether you managed to hit a save point when you need to stop playing.
Overall: Thundercats on the DS could have been at least something of a decent game however it has almost no redeeming value anywhere. Players are presented with a sluggish combat system, cheap difficulty to expand the game’s pathetic length, terrible audio and poor visual presentation. All of this creates something that will make Thundercats fans weep that their nostalgic franchise has been treated in such a way. In fact, the only redeeming feature of the game are unlockable pieces of art work for completing various tasks in the game, but with a game designed as badly as Thundercats, who would want to?
Wreck-it Ralph Developer: Sarbakan Publisher: Disney Mobile Format: iOS (Reviewed), Android Release Date: November 1, 2012 Price: $0.99 – Download Here
Overview
Disney’s Wreck-it Ralph mobile app includes 3 arcade games – Fix-it Felix Jr., the Sugar Rush Sweet Climber and Hero’s Duty (with more to come) – that are based within the world of their latest animated film of the same name. The comedy sees Wreck-it Ralph, the villain of the arcade title Fix It Felix Jr., jump across the various games of Litwak’s Arcade in an attempt to shed his villainous reputation and prove himself a hero to the other characters. The mobile game promises to provide the same visual continuity and charm as the film, but is it a Hero’s Duty to buy this app?
Gameplay
Fix-it Felix Jr. has you climb the side of the Niceland apartment building, on a 2D plane, as you attempt to fix all the broken windows that have been smashed by the evil Wreck-it Ralph. As you jump between windows using the virtual joystick, Ralph will attempt to knock you down by throwing bricks from above. These bricks will also occasionally break windows themselves. You have 3 lives and are also being timed, although the timer should rarely be an issue for you. However, the time you have left when having completed a level will add bonus points to your score. Running out of time means you lose that potential bonus, and also one life.
As the stages progress, additional obstacles will be introduced, such as path-obstructing flowerbeds on window-sills and open shutters, and what appear to be flying geese – which will damage you if touched. Ralph also speeds up in his brick throwing. These additions to the gameplay make a dramatic difference as you think more carefully about timing and movement, hoping not to get trapped in the process. As an advantage, a hot pie will periodically be placed on a window sill, that when picked up will grant Felx Jr. invincibility and double points for every window he fixes for a short period of time.
The Sugar Rush Sweet Climber is an infinite climbing game where you must tilt your iDevice to control Wreck-it Ralph and ensure he does not miss a candy stalk as he will fall and the game will be over. Ralph will collect coloured jelly-beans, among other candies, each with differing point values as you manoeuvre him as high up as you can go. Soda bottles can also be collected, and will add to your speed boost meter at the top of the screen. A speed boost can be engaged by tapping anywhere on the screen. There are also items that will give you a special ability for a limited time, such as the marshmallow, will will allow you to float upwards as you hold on for dear life. But, you must watch out for weak branches, which will disintegrate after just one bounce. I learned the hard way, also, that Ralph will not connect with candy canes really low on the screen, which is a minor annoyance.
Lastly, Hero’s Duty is a top-down shooter, utilising two virtual thumbsticks; one for movement and one for aim/shooting. You must destroy all the glowing green Cy-Bugs in any given wave to progress. As the levels rise, so does the number of enemies and enemy types. Barriers – which block your bullets’s trajectory -and bug-laid traps (they look like a patch of lava?!) are introduced among other nasty combat elements. However, you will discover 6 unique pick-ups that will drop from your decimated enemies, which will lend a big hand in your survival of these progressively harder waves. Some of these include a health boost and a grenade launcher or flame-thrower weapon upgrade. These power-ups run out of ammo, which your regular gun does not. So use them effectively and at the most opportunistic moments!
All-in-all, the three games offer very different gameplay experiences, although none are unfamiliar to us. If I had to nitpick, there were moments where I thought that the difficulty had all-of-a-sudden jumped up significantly instead of incrementally getting more challenging, but it did not bother me; it just challenged me further. Each game preserves the charm of the source, whilst providing a fun, and likely addictive, time at the arcade. As a time waster, it is perfect. It should be mentioned that you can pause the games at any time, and can also rank your leader-board score locally, globally or against your Facebook friends’. Also, there are Game Center achievements for each game, which can be viewed, traditionally, through the Game Center app, or via pressing the trophy icon to the right of the play button for each respective game.
Visual
The main menu (dubbed Game Central Station) for the app consists of four pages that you can swipe between. Each pages houses one of the aforementioned games, with the fourth page reserved for a racing game called TurboTime, which will be available with the next update. The menu, although not adopting an arcade machine façade, does remind you of the arcade nature of the app, with a scoreboard placed at the top of each page for its respective games. There is a Disney logo on the bottom right which takes you to a page displaying all of Disney Mobile’s apps, available for you to browse and download. On the bottom left is the recognisable gear icon that will take you to your settings menu, where you may adjust the sound effects and music volumes, as well as view the credits and log into your Facebook profile – which at this juncture, does not want to work for me!
All 3 games have their expected, bright and colourful visual design elements, although each game has a different color scheme and feel. Fix-it Felix Jr. adopts the ever-nostalgic 8-Bit graphics we love with earthier tones, while Sweet Climber is much more vibrant with a more modern, yet cartoon-like, graphics quality. Hero’s Duty, on the other hand, is much darker, and is the only title to play with true depth and 3D space. Even though the 3 look radically different from each other, they still feel a part of the same universe. Having not watched the film myself, but recognising Wreck-it Ralph’s visual inspiration, I can appreciate it all the same.
Audio
When at Game Central Station, you will hear the bustle and hustle akin to people rushing to catch their trains. Some funny dialogue plays over the station’s speaker system, and the Surge Protector character will pop up after a bout of inactivity to tease you about being “slow” (in the least offensive way, of course) or make other humorous quips. Each character standing in front of their respective games will also speak a line of dialogue once you tap on them. For example, Felix Jr. aptly and excitedly exclaims “I can fix it!”
Wreck-it Ralph’s background music is, at times, very reminiscent of the sort of chip-tunes that were being made and utilised in old 80s arcade titles, with lots of beeps and buzzes, and simulated baselines. It definitely ties together the whole concept of the arcade homage. Some of the sound effects, especially in Fix-it Felix Jr., also have these distinctly arcade-generation qualities about them. I couldn’t help but think that there were missed opportunities for taking sound-bites from the film and including that dialogue in appropriate places during the gameplay itself.
Overall
The Wreck-it Ralph app is only $0.99, and I find it hard to fault a game (let alone 3-in-1!) when they are so cheap. Looking back, maybe the difficulty spikes a little bit too heavily, in Fix-it Felix Jr. and Hero’s Duty particularly, and maybe more film dialogue could have been adapted and featured in-game, but these are very minor points to make. Again, for $0.99, you can grab yourself three great time wasters that may actually have you addicted to climbing that leader-board much like a candy-cane stalk! Don’t be cheap, just buy it!
Gaming on a Mac can be rather quite at times, but now one of the biggest games of 2012 is coming to Mac sooner than you think. Gearbox’s Borderlands 2 is receiving a Mac port thanks to Aspyr Media.
The Mac port of Borderlands 2 will join the other 5 million units sold (so far) on November 20. Mac gamers can expect all the features from the other versions such as drop-in/drop-out co-op, all-new characters, skills, and billions of weapons and lets not forget about the loot. Yes, there will be plenty of loot.
Borderlands 2 for Mac will be available for both digital download via Steam and your regular retail boxed format. No price has been announced so far, though it’s expected that it will retail for $59.99 the same price as it’s PC counterpart.
Check out our review of Borderlands 2 for Xbox 360 and PC.
Bethesda’s epic RPG Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has received two impressive DLC packs Dawnguard and Hearthfire, with a third add-on pack Dragonborn hotly anticipated for release on December 4th…that is if you’re a Xbox 360 user.
Yes as you may know Skyrim on Playstation 3 has been notorious to say the least with “performance issues” delaying DLC for the console. Yet in a recent tweet by Bethesda Game Studios this may all change:
To update: we’re also close on new Skyrim content for PS3 and PC.
Referring to the upcoming Dragonborn DLC, this good news for both PC and PS3 players, the latter who have missed out on all that post-release gaming goodness. No date has been give for a PC or PS3 release.
The Dragonborn DLC will be available on Xbox 360 on December 4th for 1600 Microsoft Points.
Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation Developer: Ubisoft Sofia Publisher: Ubisoft Platform:Playstation Vita Release Date: 31/10/2012 Price: $39.96 (Available Here)
Overview
Assassin’s Creed III Liberation is the first for the series for a few reasons. It is the first title on the Playstation Vita. It is the first to offer a female playable assassin who is not Desmond’s ancestor. It introduces new mechanics that provide a love/hate relationship. With a console counterpart looming over it, is Assassin’s Creed III Liberation good enough to bring those players to the Playstation Vita? In short, yes it will.
Story
The story of Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation follows Aveline de Grandpré during the years of 1765 to 1780, spanning from the end of the French and Indian Wars and ending in the middle of the American Revolution. The story is meant to be a product of Abstengo, the masterminds behind the Animus and Templar allies. From the get go, the player will notice that there is no Desmond involved in this, meaning Aveline is not an ancestor. Instead this is a separate plot to Conner’s story in Assassin’s Creed III. Without spoiling it for any potential players, the story is engaging and interesting with Aveline’s character helping deliver a great story.
Aveline de Grandpré is the first female assassin in the series and she is a great character. As a daughter to a French aristocrat and a slave woman, Aveline is shown to be in two different worlds: that of her father’s and that of her missing mother. She is a very confident, courageous woman, a femme fatale as she would be called. The only real problem of her story is right at the beginning. Unlike other Assassin’s Creed games, Aveline’s induction into the Assassins is overlooked. One moment the game focuses on Aveline and her mother’s separation and the next is her putting her gear on, already an assassin. It does parallel another iconic character in the modern world, doesn’t it.
Gameplay
Assassin’s Creed III Liberation offers similar gameplay content that is on offer in the console counterparts. Players can free roam an open area, whether it is on the ground with the people or it is using the rooftops of New Orleans. Liberation takes it a step further with running amongst the trees in the bayou, further expanding this open world. Combat does not differ from the console series. Aveline has access to various weapons, but what she can use will be restricted to what persona she is in. Aveline can use both melee and ranged weapons, as well as parry and counter attack. She is also given the ability to conduct multiple kills with groups of enemies.
Missions flow quite well and do help the pace of the story. No mission repeats twice in a row and they all have a secondary, optional objective that helps achieve 100% synchronisation. Multiplayer is also present in Liberation, but there is not much to say about it. It is quite tacked on and really shouldn’t be part of the game. It is similar to Risk, a board game where you control areas of the world.
In a new addition to the Assassin’s Creed series, Aveline is able to change clothing known as personas. There are three available: Assassin, Slave and Lady. The assassin persona is self-explanatory but the slave and lady persona opens up different strategies for the player to utilise. The Lady persona, based on the aristocratic world of her father, uses the ability to charm men to do her bidding, as well as enter any unfriendly areas without being detected. This is at the expense of any free movement and combat, which is the core to the series, although you can still assassinate with the Lady persona.
The slave persona is weak at combat, but does have the ability to blend in with other slaves and is able to freely move around the environments. The idea is interesting, but it could have been executed better. The amount of times one must change into another persona is too much; it should have been kept for story purposes. With that said, giving each persona a notoriety level instead of an overall level is a good idea.
With controls that are close to the console counterpart, one would expect them to be excellent. Assassin’s Creed III Liberation does fit the bill of having excellent controls. The analogue sticks are the core to this experience and it is nice to have the left for movement and the right for camera control. The controls don’t feel stiff at all. Liberation also features a plethora of touch control capabilities throughout the game. Some of them are quite useful. An example of this is the weapon wheel, which is activated by touching the weapon icon on the bottom right corner of the screen. It is easy and smooth to choose which weapon would be suitable for the situation.
With that said, if no weapons are chosen, the player will have to go into the weapon selection screen twice to choose both a melee and range weapon. There are times where touch controls could have been left out, but there are a low number of touch only segments in the game. Most segments that offer touch controls do offer a physical control scheme as an alternative.
Visuals & Audio
The Playstation Vita does have the ability to display excellent visuals for a handheld and Assassin’s Creed III Liberation presents astonishing visuals in the world of the colonised America. The environments, whether it is the city of New Orleans or the swamps of the Louisiana Bayou, are breathtaking. The character models are well detailed. Colours in the game are also quite vibrant. Menus are clean and simple and can be used with the touch screen. It does have a few issues with draw distance, but it isn’t noticeable enough to have a major impact on the game. As for the sound design and music, it is quite enjoyable. Aveline has a French accent, which would be from her father’s side. It is executed well, as are other character voice. The soundtrack is nice to listen to. The environments have their own character thanks to the sound design of the game.
Overall
While it would unnatural not to draw comparisons with the console counterparts, Assassin’s Creed III Liberation is still the best serving of assassin action on any handheld system out there. The story is great as it will engage with the player. The character of Aveline helps the story immensely. The gameplay is fun and exciting, with excellent transition of core gameplay mechanics as well as new mechanics that do add to the experience. The visuals are one of the best on the Playstation Vita, rivaling those from other equally impressing titles and the sound design brings the game to life. All in all, this is an excellent game and will quench your assassin thirst wherever you are.
In just 10 days gamers will be able to get their hands on the final big stealth title of the year, Hitman Absolution. In Hitman, players take on the role of Agent 47 as he is assigned a target and given a plethora of options to take them down. Each level is a playground of opportunities and it is all up to the individual on how he ultimately carries out the contract.
In the final part of the developer “Introducing” series, a collection of videos that prepare the player for their time in Hitman’s world, we closely examine the abilities and traits of the “Ultimate Assassin”. Can you match up to the perfect Agent 47? Taking out targets tactically and silently? Or will you go in guns blazing seeking only the rush of the chase and kill?
All will be revealed on November 20th when the game releases on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Microsoft and Windows PC. Developed by IO Interactive and running on the new Glacier 2 engine, Hitman Absolution certainly looks set to impress.
Welcome back for this week’s iOS Game Suggestions. If you missed or are new to the suggestions, click on the link below and check what cool games you should be picking up for your iOS along with the introduction and disclaimer on how the suggestions work. (suggestions 1 has the disclaimer and how it all works)
A great week on iTunes, as always it started slow and but ended with a bang! As always there certainly is a few must buy games this week in all departments, FREE, 99c and over 99c. This week i’ve suggested a total of 28 great quality titles. Make sure you check them all especially Madden NFL 13 Social, Monster Crew, Angry Birds Star Wars, Knights of Pen & Paper, Wraithborne just to name a few.
Break down below :
16 – FREE Games
4 – $0.99c Games
8 – Over $0.99c Games
As always for this week’s suggestions are all new titles that you should take a look at and consider spending your hard earned iTunes cash / time on. Well the Free games just below certainly should all be given a shot as they won’t cost you anything!
For The Cheapskates – FREE GAMES
MASTERABBOTT’S FREE GAME PICK OF THE WEEK!
Madden NFL 13 Social – Price : FREE – Publisher –EA Mobile (PLAY THE ULTIMATE OFFENSIVE SHOOTOUT! For the first time ever – get a complete MADDEN NFL experience for FREE. Call the plays, go deep, and score big. MADDEN NFL 13 Social brings you spontaneous, fast-paced action wherever you are. BOOM!) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
World at Arms – Wage war for your nation! – Price : FREE – Publisher –Gameloft (LOCK AND LOAD! Our nation is under attack from an evil alliance of highly trained forces known as the KRA. As the leader of the free world, YOU have to stand and fight. Build your military base, train your army, and battle against or ally with players from all over the world online in order to defeat the enemy for good!) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Panic Flight – Price : FREE – Publisher –Bulkypix (Panic Flight takes you on an endless adventure where your reflexes are put to the ultimate test! As Captain of the AMA Airlines fleet, fly as far as possible and transport your passengers safely to their destination. But be careful! Natural disasters such as tornados, pirate planes, and even UFOs with destructive desires will do everything in their power to stop you.) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Skylanders Lost Islands – Price : FREE – Publisher –Activision (Embark on an amazing adventure to the Lost Islands and help rebuild the once proud lands of the Mabu in this all-new Skylander experience that you can play for FREE on your iPad! Skylanders Lost Islands fully supports Skylanders action figures in the game! Unlock your favorite characters in the game once and add them to your collection, then use them to explore the world on amazing adventures!) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Reflect Beat + – Price : FREE – Publisher –KONAMI (REFLEC BEAT + is a new experience of battele rhythm game. Touch the object in-time with the music, and compete with the opponent and score! Gaining points by touching the gauge line at the moment the moving object colliding with it. When the song is finished, the player who has gained a higher points will win!) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Knightly Adventure – Price : FREE – Publisher –Pangalore (Discover an enchanting world of medieval fantasy and addicting adventure! Glorious animated graphics rush you into wild, uncharted lands where mystery and magic abound. This pioneering simulation and action RPG hybrid is a magical world that continues to spin from your mobile to the web, breaking boundaries in every realm!) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Word Smack – Price : FREE – Publisher –EA Mobile (GUESS THE WORDS. BEAT YOUR FRIENDS! Throw down in Word Smack — the addictive 2-player word guessing game you can play for free! Take a whack. Talk some smack. Show ‘em all who’s the wizard of words.) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
The Hobbit: Kingdoms Of Middle-earth – Price : FREE – Publisher –Kabam (The battle for Middle-earth has just begun! PLAY FOR FREE and join thousands worldwide to drive the Goblin hordes from the lands beyond the Misty Mountains in The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth!) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Chip Chain – Price : FREE – Publisher –AppAbove Games (Chip Chain is FREE, fun, easy to learn with a casual feel, but challenging and strategic. Place and match 3 or more identical poker chips to earn a more valuable chip, then chain together matches for huge bonuses! Play power-up cards to make combos, extend chains, and maximize your score. The dealer tosses random chips to get in your way, but if you play smart and think ahead, you can turn the tables and use them to your advantage!) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Curiosity – What’s inside the cube – Price : FREE – Publisher – 22Cans(Deep in the centre of the Cube is something life-changingly amazing, but only the first person to reach the centre will discover what’s inside. Even after the amazing discovery has been uncovered by one lucky individual, there is still more on the Cube to be revealed to the world.) on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Sushi Mushi – Price : FREE – Publisher –Aspyr Media (Your monster needs sushi—and fast! Create sushi rolls by matching colors and shapes as swiftly as possible. Gather more sushi rolls for your monster than your opponent before the timer strikes zero and win. Sushi Mushi is a fun, fast-paced, multiplayer game where you have one goal: feed your monster as much sushi as you can! Players must quickly match sushi bites by color or shape to create the sushi rolls their monster craves. The longer the sushi roll created, the more points and bonuses you’ll receive. Be on the lookout for Surprises and Take-Out boxes on the game board that can either bring you good or bad fortune.) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Battleband – Price : FREE – Publisher – Kuuluu Interactive Entertainment (Your band has landed a huge music contract, it’s just too bad you partied too hard and missed the start of your first big gig. To add insult to injury your band is replaced by a bunch of impostors! Let’s show’em how real rock stars do it…) on iPhone & iPad. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
My Little Pony – Friendship is Magic – Price : FREE – Publisher – Gameloft (Saddle up for adventure with Twilight Sparkle & friends! After being locked away in the moon for centuries, Nightmare Moon is set free and spreading night across Ponyville! Only Twilight Sparkle and her friends can free Ponyville from her grasp and bring light and friendship back to the land. Help them rebuild the town and reach their dreams in exciting quests!) on iPhone & iPad. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Monster Crew – Price : FREE – Publisher – BonusXP (Monster Crew is an endless platformer with exciting, one-touch combat. Smash everything in sight as you build a deck of powerful bonus cards to upgrade your character and solve mysteries. You play Frankie, a young lad who’s lost his precious Monster Crew Cards. Embarking on odyssey to recover his beloved Cards, Frankie ventures into a creepy castle and gets mysteriously zapped into his favorite monster, Frankenstein. After that, Frankie’s off to find his Cards and solve the mystery.) on iPhone & iPad. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Lucky’s Escape – Price : FREE – Publisher – Lemon Games (Focus Lucky’s newly acquired telekinetic abilities to activate numerous gadgets and navigate through obstacle courses scientists have set up to test his skills. Manipulate his world by having him blasted out of cannons, blown by fans, attracted to magnets, swung from rubbery toy sticky hands, and launched from sling shots all controlled by his mind… with the help of a secret formula and an experimental brainwave helmet.) on iPhone & iPad. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
My Dragon – Price : FREE – Publisher – Glu Games (As the newest Royal Dragon Keeper of Dragonia your job is to care for the Kingdom’s most captivating dragons! It’s your task to ensure that they’re happy and healthy. Accomplish this feat by feeding, petting, playing with their favorite toys or even dressing them up in numerous costumes! Earn Dragon Scales by performing tasks around the Kingdom then use these to expand your stable and adopt new dragons!) on iPhone & iPad. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
For The Bargain Hunters – 99c Games
Angry Birds Star Wars – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – Rovio Entertainment (A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… a group of desperate rebel birds faced off against a galactic menace: the Empire’s evil Pigtroopers! Rebel birds, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Imperial Pigs. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the PIG STAR, and are racing to deliver the plans to the Rebel Birds. Now they need your help!) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
Storm The Train – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – Chillingo (A one-way ticket to side-scrolling mayhem! Send three gun-toting agents aboard a locomotive packed with zombies, robots, ninjas and relentless boss battles. Get trigger-happy with an arsenal of upgradable guns, drones and gadgets to complete missions and cause as much carnage as possible to rack up a high score.) runs on iPad & iPhone. BUY NOW
Word Wonders: The Tower Of Babel – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – dreamfab (Prove yourself in challenging word duels against mythical creatures while exploring the arcane Tower of Babel! Nobody likes it when bullies throw words at you… especially when they are monsters! Have no fear though, cause now you can throw words back at them! In “Word Wonders: The Tower of Babel” you will be teaching the toughest of monsters what you’re made of in this fun word puzzle RPG!) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
DreamWorks Dash n Drop – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – PikPok (There’s trouble at the North Pole and the presents have been scattered everywhere! Collect and deliver presents to children around the world as you dash through the evening sky in the Guardians’ magical sleigh. Be sure to grab some elves and coins along the way, but watch out for evil Nightmare creatures who will try to stop you!) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
For The Millionaires – All games over $0.99
MasterAbbott’s over 99c Pick Of The Week!
Knights of Pen & Paper– Price : $1.99 – Publisher – Behold Studios Jogos Electronicos (Knights of Pen&Paper is an indie turn-based retro style pixel-art RPG. Inspired by the great titles of the 90’s, play this game feels like you are playing a traditional pen and paper RPG. The player gets to control the playing characters AND the dungeon master, and you choose what battles to fight. Put together a bunch of monsters to make it a challenging fight and your rewards will be equally great!) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
Wraithborne – Price : $2.99 – Publisher – Crescent Moon Games (When magic returned to the world, everything changed in an instant. All that remains of the past are the crumbling ruins of the fallen Age of Humanity. The old legends – wraiths, goblins and werewolves – stalk the lands. Now, one born of their greatest fear will claim the power of the Runes and protect what remains of humanity. He is Wraithborne) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
7 Wonders: Ancient Alient Makeover HD– Price : $5.49 – Publisher – Mumbo Jumbo Games (You’ve always wondered if aliens played a part in the construction of those ancient wonders. In 7 Wonders: Ancient Alien Makeover, first contact with aliens not only manifests some phenomenal structures, but also provides Workers Guild 7 the ability to build their own futuristic village. In exchange for gold and precious gems to repair their craft, ancient aliens share their technology and expertise in architectural construction. But building these megalithic structures takes the workers away from their families for far too long, so the aliens agreed to designate a village plateau for workers’ families and transport it from Wonder to Wonder.) runs on iPad. BUY NOW
TNNS– Price : $1.99 – Publisher – Rabbx (TNNS (pronounced “Tennis”) is a game about bouncing and bending balls. It’s a game about keeping your eyes on balls. Sometimes there are a lot of balls. Too bad you only have two eyes. Your psychic paddle zips to your finger. Wiggle to bend ball paths once (or twice) to make tricky shots in two hot modes) runs iPad & iPhone. BUY NOW
Plunder! HD – Price : $5.49 – Publisher – Big Fish Games (The pirate arcade action game is back and better than ever with more mines, more peg-legs, and more Plunder! Join 6 pirate Captains on their search for booty. Explode mines to sink enemy ships and collect their valuable treasures. But beware, a menacing monster lurks in the treacherous seas ahead. It’s up to you to join forces with your new pirate allies to save everyone’s favorite plucky parrot, Cap’n Mac Macaw! Are ye ready to set sail for an explosive adventure on the high seas?) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
Crazy Cars – Hit The Road HD – Price : $2.99 – Publisher – Microids (Rediscover the sheer thrill of arcade gaming with Crazy Cars. The cult racing series created in 1988 by Titus Interactive is back with a brand new version faster than ever before! Rediscover the sheer thrill of arcade gaming with this amazing racing game, taking bends at max speed or massive jumps that can go hundreds of meters high.You’ll be right in the middle of all the action, racing some of the best rides out there. Criss-cross different states of the USA at over 200 mph! Just make sure the cops don’t catch you.) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
Creatorverse – Price : $5.49 – Publisher – Linden Research (Become an inventor as you design unique creations and then set them in motion. You’ll never know what to expect as you watch your creations bounce, roll, tilt or even accelerate on the screen. Let your creations come to life as you play with different joints, forces, motors, teleporters, and inputs then watch what happens next. From the simplest bouncing ball to an elaborate pinball machine, the possibilities for tinkering are endless on Creatorverse.) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
Totem Tribe Gold HD – Price : $2.99 – Publisher – G5 Entertainment. (On a beautiful chain of islands, life used to be peaceful until a comet fell from the sky. Now, tribes and creatures that once lived in harmony are fighting each other. Help reestablish balance by exploring the islands, gathering sacred Totems and returning them to their home – the Cradle of the North. To end the war once and for all, develop your villages, warriors and weapons by building huts, training grounds, archery ranges, scout lodges and barracks. Bring prosperity back to this struggling planet by enhancing the Hawk tribe’s skills and equipment.) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
There you have it folks, these games should keep you busy for quite some time, well till next week at least. I’ll be back next week for another dose of iOS goodness, in the meantime if anyone would also like to suggest their own suggestions, please feel free to share them in the comments section below or in the iOS forum section on the site here.
Sharkoon announced two new gaming headphones for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii. First is the wired native 5.1 headset the X-Tatic Pro. The headset comes with a decoder box that can decode Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0, and Dolby Digital Pro Logic II and has inputs for 3.5mm jack, coaxial, and optical S/PDIF plug. The headset sports a quick detach microphone that is compatible with both Xbox Live and Playstation Network chat. Check them out here.
Next is a 2.4GhZ headset called the X-Tatic AIR. Capable of transmitting a signal up to ten meters away from the base station with a clear line of sight, the X-Tatic AIR has a ten hour battery life on AAA NiMH rechargeable batteries and a noise canceling microphone. The base station doubles as a quick charger to charge devices like the Playstation 3 controllers that draw power from a USB port and the headset’s AAA batteries but is also able to charge the AA batteries used by Xbox 360 controllers. Check out the X-Tatic AIR here.
Zerg rushing retail stores near you is a Sci-Fi twist of the classic game RISK. Activision Blizzard is pleased to announce that RISK: StarCraft Collector’s Edition is now on sale to ignite a galactic war.
The contents of the box holds a total of 333 game pieces. Here is what you can expect to receive when purchasing the board game:
Additional to the custom game pieces, players will have several ways to attempt to play the board game. Available variations of gameplay are as follows:
Basic Training – a quick and easy mode for beginners
Command Room – a fast-paced, yet strategic take on RISK, using StarCraft heroes and abilities
Total Domination – an updated version of the classic game
Team Play – 2 v 2 and 3 v 3 game-modes
To grab this great collection piece, you can find it directly at the Blizzard Store or try Amazon.com for a great deal. Look at the unique collection of cards that are part of the game’s contents below!
Story:
While a game made solely on the Nintendo DS is going to have a lower visual quality than a game created for the Nintendo 3DS, it seems that Thundercats barely makes use of the DS’ visual capabilities as the graphics are barely above what was found on the GBA back in the day and even the various still images from the show itself seem terribly compressed. The various Thundercats only look decent in the bottom screen where the player simply stares at a still image of each character.
Thundercats offers a simple beat’em up style of game which the player needs to defeat the enemies on the screen and when they are told to do so, they can advance to the right. There are a few boss battles which break up this monotony and while a few of them are unique and enjoyable, the rest of these fights are rather simplistic and easy to defeat once you discover their rhythm.
The fact that a block or even a dodge button is a major issue is the fact that Lion-O can only move in a straight line, with a few ledges the player can jump up to if they feel like. Now put in ranged attacks and you have a Lion-O that will take multiple hits whenever one of these enemies appears and if you run into more than one at a time then good luck with that as being hit by one of these long-ranged attacks stuns Lion-O into being hit by every shot fired. This seemingly useless artificial difficulty provides a needless challenge which only exacerbates the stiff combat animations worse and pad the very short game’s length.
