Shooting and strategy seem to be the two key themes in this weeks FREEday. I honestly didn’t plan it that way, it just sort of happened. Although I suppose it’s not that bad. They are two incredibly popular kinds of games for iOS devices these days. Then again, just about anything that lends itself to quick bursts of playtime do quite well for themselves, too. No matter the intention, here’s a list of free games. Enjoy.
Farmkill – Zombie survival games. Yessir. But before writing off Farmkill as just another shambler slaughter consider this: players can raise volatile (literally) animals to fight off the horde. In addition to the expected defenses and numerous firearms. I have to admit, it’s an interesting idea. Although now I keep thinking about chicken nuggets for some reason…
+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-02-05 :: Category: Games
Battlefield 3: Aftershock – iOS users seem to enjoy multiplayer first-person shooters, so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that EA decided to bring what is arguably their biggest FPS of 2011 to Apple devices. What does come as a surprise is that it’s a free-to-play multiplayer first-person shooter. Allow me to repeat that: it’s a free multiplayer first-person shooter derived from one of EA’s largest 2011 releases. Let the downloading commence.
+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-02-08 :: Category: Games
Robot Troopers – Robot Troopers takes the idea of task-management and robots it up a notch. Or two. Players will be taking control of an assembly line, cranking out an army of autonomous forces while simultaneously training the new recruits. A robot foreman’s work is never done.
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-02-08 :: Category: Games
Suitor Shooter – Protect the princess from the unworthy while getting the prince(s) to the castle. In essence, players are bombarding a horde of “evil,” flower-toting fiends with delusions of dating from a dirigible. While not bombarding the good guys, of course. It’s an unorthodox approach to dating to be sure, but it sure makes for an interesting game.
With all the freebies that have been flying around each week, it’s a wonder we haven’t run out. Then again, how many hundreds of apps and games are released each week? Yeah, I suppose when I think about it that way it’s no wonder we’re still going strong. Strong with savings!
… I’m sorry. Just ignore me and take a look at this week’s list. I’ll be sitting over here. In the corner.
Baseball Superstars 2012 – People love baseball. At least, that’s what I’ve heard. So yeah, here’s a baseball game. But what about the rest of us who aren’t nuts for “America’s Favorite Pastime?” Well we have this, too. Because it’s absolutely insane, anime-style baseball. Like with unnatural pitching abilities and totally wacky players. That, and the last one was pretty cool, too.
Derby Days – Now I know there are a lot of free-to-play “build X” games around these days, but none to my knowledge combine the concept with horse care. It’s usually either or as far as I know. So why not get excited about being able to build and run a horse ranch, while also caring for and breeding horses? If it were possible to trade the diminutive equines with friends than I’d say this is a sure-fire thing. Wait a second, we can do that already? Well then I guess there’s no point in holding off on downloading it.
+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-01-26 :: Category: Games
Zombie Battle – Zombies staggering in from the right side of the screen across several “lanes.” Seems a tad familiar. This isn’t a strategy game, however. It’s more of an action defense thing. Sure, zombies have been done to death (har-har) these days but that’s no reason to discount this upgradable blast-em-up. Besides, vaporizing the living dead is almost always tons of fun.
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-01-24 :: Category: Games
2XL MX Offroad – Some people out there might argue about the superiority of dirt bikes versus ATVs. People like that can now have tons of fun with various what-if scenarios thanks to 2XL MX Offroad. People unlike that who don’t care much either way can also have plenty of fun with 2XL MX Offroad because it’s a crazy motocross-style racer with lots of stuff to do and stunts to (hopefully) perform.
This weekend, in a protest against supposedly 3400 emails complaining about the $2.99 price of their app Alchemize, Schiau Studios raised the price to $39.99 for the weekend. Yes, it’s a hilarious protest against whiners who complain about spending a few bucks, but Schiau is not entirely in the right. Alchemize was originally priced at $9.99 and then quickly lowered until it was only $.99 for a short time. I can’t blame people for waiting for another sale. If Schiau truly wanted to protest App Store pricing, they would have come up with a fair price, stuck to it, and never changed it amid protests. By acknowledging the whiners, Schiau has granted them some legitimacy.
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-08-22 :: Category: Games
PSP Minis
Sometimes it’s good to take a look at our beloved App Store’s rival, the PSP Mini store. The store has launched and two of its biggest name games have already made an appearance on the iPhone (and for cheaper): Hero of Sparta and Fieldrunners. In addition, Chillingo and Mountain Sheep’s Minigore is on the way. What do all of these games have in common? In my estimation, they’re three of the most overrated games on the App Store. Hero of Sparta had good visuals for its time, but the dull one-button hack and slash affair has so many pre-rendered cinematic animations it’s like watching a movie. Fieldrunners has a great art style and was admittedly one of the first open-path TD’s on the App Store, but there’s only a few enemy types and tower types, and it lacks the depth of the genre luminaries such as Sentinel 2 and Defender Chronicles. Minigore has nice aesthetics as well, but it’s an average two-stick survival shooter with little depth, easily outclassed by games such as Alive 4 Ever. Sony, wake me up when you manage to get some good games.
Nimblebit’s Freebie Friday
This Friday, Nimblebit lowered all their apps to free in celebration of their newly launched site App Classics! Even if you missed the deal, the apps are still worth buying; Nimblebit is the best in the business at creating fun, short, and addictive games such as Scoops and Textropolis. This move was interesting from a marketing standpoint, and certainly created buzz. In fact, Ian Marsh reported via Twitter that Saturday’s sales were double normal and more than made up for Friday’s losses.
This week’s upcoming app that looks frickin’ awesome!
This is the inaugural issue of this feature where I’ll be showing off some upcoming games that look awesome (though I’ve been doing it unofficially for quite some time). This week, we have Jet Car Stunts, an awesome-looking racing game in the vein of Track Mania. The game is due to be submitted within the next week. Enjoy!
This week’s sign of the apocalypse
A few weeks ago, Chris used this space to talk about how happy he was that Glu’s awful Family Guy cash-in was doing poorly in the App Store. Well, times have changed, and apparently Stewie is enough to make a poor game reach #9 on Top Grossing Apps.
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-09-23 :: Category: Games
App of the Week
Soosiz
Soosiz is without question the best platformer yet on the App Store. The game uses gravity-centered gameplay, like that of Gomi, but much more fast-paced, to turn a good platform adventure into something extraordinary. The level design is excellent, and the difficulty curve is just right. Controls are great as well. There’s only a left arrow, a right arrow, and a jump button, but they are all perfectly responsive and work brilliantly in unison, making you almost forget you’re playing on a touch screen.. The graphics are cartoony and playful, and the only big flaw of the game is the sometimes overly-childish music. Other than that though, Soosiz is a magnificent achievement is App Store platforming, and it’s one of the most fun games I’ve played in a while, coming highly recommended.
:: STRIIIIKE!
:: AMAZING
