A good number of people are familiar with Fullmetal Alchemist, whether they’ve actually watched it or not. As far as anime goes, it’s kind of a big-name series. And unlike other popular series (*cough* Dragon Ball Z *cough*) it’s actually good. The story of the Elric brothers has seen a number of adaptations and spin-offs, so it was only a matter of time before one of those spin-offs got its own game.

FMA Battle is a relatively new collectible card game based on the “less old” Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood series. Calling it a spin-off, however, isn’t entirely accurate. The original show followed the manga (a.k.a the source material) up until about the halfway mark, then went off and did its own thing. Brotherhood sticks to the script, so to speak. So technically, the original anime series was actually a spin-off. Confusing, no?

Getting away from semantics and back to the game at-hand, FMA Battle is a free-to-play CCG set in the FMA universe. Players will construct their deck and customize a team of three alchemists while continually dueling with others online. Cards/characters will gain experience as they’re used, earning new abilities as they get incrementally stronger. Of course, this is a freemium game, so deck expansion is limited unless players are willing to pony up some actual cash to buy new cards.

Free online multiplayer. Collectible cards. Fullmetal Alchemist. I think it’s safe to assume this will find its niche pretty fast. If it sounds interesting, then why not check it out? It’s currently on the App Store, and as I’ve previously stated (repeatedly) it’s free.

FREE!

FMA Battle

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-10-21 :: Category: Games

We’ve seen greetings card services from apps such as Oh Greetings and ThankYouPen, but clearly Apple decided to get in on the act with their latest iOS5 included app: Cards.

Cards lets users create and mail some pretty special looking cards personalized with their own text and photos, all from their iOS device. As is synonymous with the Apple way of doing things, it takes a mere couple of taps and swipes to take a snapshot and send a card to anywhere in the world.

21 designs are available encompassing everything from birthdays to simply ‘wish you were here’ messages. All cards are then saved automatically so they can always be sent to more than one person. There’s even the option of adding GPS data to the card so that the recipient can see the current location of the sender.

Payment is conducted via Apple IDs with cards and postage costing $2.99 within the U.S and $4.99 for anywhere else in the world, excluding relevant sales tax. U.S. sent cards even get a delivery notification and an Apple-designed postage mark.

It’s out now for iOS5 users.

FREE!

Cards

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-10-12 :: Category: Lifestyle

Single-player card games and portable devices, especially phones, have always seemed to be a perfect match. There’s just something inherently right about shuffling cards around on a phone (or something of relatively similar dimensions) during the morning commute. And honestly, a game doesn’t get much more accessible than solitaire, right?

Of course, there isn’t just one kind of solitaire. At least, not anymore. Sprightly Software has provided App Store users with their own rendition of a variant called Golf Solitaire, in which players have nine rounds in which to clear a field of 35 cards. This is done by drawing a card from the bottom deck, then taking cards from the field that are one number higher or lower (i.e. 3-4-3-2-3-4-5-etc…).

The new 1.2 update has added a few Game Center achievements and a single hole mode for an even quicker on-the-go experience. Just in case this quirky little solo card game with golf-styled sound effects sounds appealing, it’s available right now on the App Store for $1.99.

$1.99

Golf ♠ Solitaire

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-02-04 :: Category: Games

Lots of genres are a bit over-saturated on the App Store, and card games are no exception. Combination card and fighting games, however, are few and far between. Aware of this deficiency, Hothead Games has seen fit to release Kard Combat this week. For the low low price of nothing.

Granted it’s still more of a card game than a fighter; players choose from a handful of different mages with a few unique cards in their collection, matches involve planning and strategy as opposed to quick reflexes and so on. The fighting aspects have more to do with the brevity of each match and their one-on-one nature. It utilizes a slightly less complex version of the “line of cards” system some are no doubt familiar with, in which each user lines up their cards while any unopposed summons will do direct damage to the opposing player. Naturally, some cards have special effects that can create some interesting strategies.

Players can try out each of the four types of mages (Holy, Death, Machine and Dominator), as well as the Single Duel and multiplayer modes, for free. Full access to a single mage’s campaign will require an in-app purchase of one dollar, while unlocking all four will cost three. And for any players interested in diving straight in to the multiplayer stuff, everything (all cards, etc…) can be unlocked for ten dollars. Bear in mind that the cards can eventually be unlocked through diligent play, and that the ten dollar purchase is only necessary for those who don’t want to “waste time” with the singleplayer campaign.

FREE!

$1.99

Kard Combat ™

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Our Rating: :: WORTH A LOOK
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2011-07-12 :: Category: Games

Baseball is widely viewed as one of the most statistically analyzed and dependent sports on the planet.  It is amazing how a simple game of balls and strikes can turn into such an analytical chess match, but anyone who has every watched a professional baseball game knows that everything morsel of information is looked over to the nth degree.  The problem is, recording these key facts are a tedious and time consuming task, well at least they were until StatCatcher Baseball and Softball came around…

Imagine being able to keep a full season worth player stats, averages, and analysis, all from the comfort of your iOS device.  StatCatcher allows you to do all of this and more, including the ability to take pictures on the device and email out custom designed trading cards for each and every player on your team.  I hope Little League coaches are paying attention out there, because these are the kind of intangibles that can make the difference between a good and great team.

$4.99

StatCatcher™ Baseball (Player Edition)

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-10-27 :: Category: Sports

$4.99

StatCatcher™ Softball (Player Edition)

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-02-11 :: Category: Sports

In these tough economic times, finding the spare change in your couch to buy the latest $0.99 game gets tougher and tougher. So I’m going to try to make it a little easier for you. That is if you have $40 in spare change.

iTunes gift cards allow you to add a balance to your iTunes account without using a credit card. You can buy these gift cards at just about any retailer these days. And you can occasionally buy iTunes gift cards for a discount at retail stores.

In the US, Costco has iTunes gift cards for about 5% off their face value. There’s no tax on gift cards (at least here in California), so to me that equals a 5% discount on apps. Of course you have to pay a membership for Costco if you don’t already have one. If only there were another way…

Oh wait, there is! Occasionally iTunes gift cards go on sale at big box retailers. Right now, Best Buy has $50 iTunes gift cards on sale for $40. That’s a 20% discount on apps. Buy 2 and you can get TomTom and $20 worth of games for $80 total!

You can’t buy these discounted cards online though. You have to go to a BestBuy to get them. Most still have them in stock check here. Hurry, the BestBuy sale runs out on Saturday.

So now, you can get that $0.99 for $0.80. And if we all buy enough $0.99 games, our economic problems will be over. Right?