Tag: 2D »

Remember Galcon? It was a pretty impressive space-themed strategy title that many of us at 148apps loved upon its release in 2009. Following that came Chickon, a fun chicken based spin-off of the title.

Creator Phil Hassey clearly fancied a change of genre with his next creation: Dynamite Jack. In it, players take the role of a Space Marine captured in battle and forced to work in a mine. This leads to what looks like a great combination of 2D gametypes with stealth elements included as well as Bomberman-style action.

Dynamite Jack isn't yet 100% confirmed for iOS (with the game set to launch initially on Mac and PC next month) but Phil Hassey let Touch Arcade know via Twitter that a port to iPad looks very likely and with iCade support, also.

Check out the gameplay trailer below and cross your fingers tightly for a speedy release. Dynamite Jack looks like it's going to be great fun.

[Source: Touch Arcade]

Retro-looking games are always a fun distraction from the high-end graphics and expensive production of games from big developers. Captain Nova is one of those old school-style games.

Captain Nova has crashed on a strange planet and lost pieces of his ship all over the planet’s surface (this reminds me a bit of an old Sega Genesis game, Toe Jam and Earl). Of course, the planet is filled with all kinds of evil creatures that want to prevent the captain from retrieving his lost spaceship pieces.

The game includes 30 challenging levels and an original soundtrack to accompany the game. The game looks like it’s setup in the standard, 2D platformer style with a D-pad for movement and a single button (the “A” button in this case) for actions. The captain collects gears on the various levels and looks to pick up power-ups like a cups of coffee. Apparently Captain Nova likes his caffeine.

The game is going for $0.99.

2D action RPGs are always a popular genre. People (myself included) love the simplicity of fighting, looting, leveling, upgrading and crafting. BeerDeer wants to offer players more than that, hence the creation of Nyrthos. It's still every bit all of those things I've mentioned, but it adds a new element to the mix: player influence. It's not something as pedestrian as choosing from a dialog bog and seeing a good or bad event unfold, however.

In Nyrthos, the exploration of the world and availability of new areas is driven by the player base. One example given is that there might be a broken bridge that can be fixed once enough wood is gathered. If enough players decide to commit to the cause, the bridge will be repaired and the area beyond accessible to everyone. Similarly, players can found and manage their own village. They have a great deal of influence on the game world, and thanks to that the possibilities are practically endless.

Nyrthos will be entering open beta in the very near future (Q1, 2012), and anyone interested in taking a look can sign up on the official website. Pricing and release info are still non-existent at this point, which is to be expected, but we'll do our best to keep everyone up-to-date.

Sarge and his partner Trysh have been contracted for a dangerous job. They have to disable a beacon hidden aboard an human ship that, if activated, could prove disastrous in the ongoing war between the United Terra Initiative and the alien Nova Imperium.

Sounds rough, right? But hey, a guy’s gotta pay his bills somehow. There’s never a dull moment in the life of an interstellar mercenary.

Sarge is the newest iOS release from Avalinx. Over six stages of hand-drawn 2D brawling, players will control the eponymous merc as he wades fist-first through hordes of alien foes in his quest to save the planet Zephyr... and get paid in the process.

The visuals are all hand-drawn, and from the trailer it appears that the fully-voiced story has a quirky sense of humor to match the cartoony presentation. There is nothing about that last sentence that is in any way unappealing to me.

Hurry up, though. Because while Avalinx is releasing Sarge for the very agreeable price of free, they've stated that it’s only for a limited time. So punch that time clock and start racking up an alien body count already.

The team over at PowPowGames has announced the release of its first iPhone game, Rocket Boy 2D. The colorful side-scroller offers over 35 guns and more than 70 items to collect and use across three worlds. What sets Rocket Boy 2D apart from other titles of this type, however, is its RPG-esque leveling system which calculates stats and damage leading to unlockable content and powerups.

As the enemies, which range from aliens to zombies, get tougher the leveling up process allows you to equip more powerful weapons and skills in order to remain competitive. Rather than just blindly moving to the next available gun, users can choose which areas they wish to enhance in order to defeat the more challenging levels later in the game.

The control system also sounds interesting, using a mixture of the accelerometer for moving the character and touch input to aim and fire a weapon. As you would expect from the name of the game, the hero is also the proud owner of a jetpack which is controlled by the user’s thumb.

From what we’ve seen so far, Rocket Boy 2D looks like a fun arcade game with some interesting takes on the genre and, should the control system work as fluidly as promised, will likely become an addictive time waster for your iPhone or iPod touch.