Love is in the air and so is block-busting retro fun thanks to Breakout: Boost‘s Valentine’s Day level pack that’s just been released.
Priced at $0.99, the Valentine’s Day pack adds 50 new romance-themed levels to the existing package, along with candy heart sayings and cute pictures to add that sweet touch. Alongside that is the addition of a Cupid’s Arrow power up. This sets out to make breaking up bricks much quicker. For the competitive gamer, new leaderboards and an original set of achievements continues the romantic theme.
Here at 148apps, we rated Breakout: Boost and Breakout: Boost+ quite highly at launch so this themed pack is bound to extend the fun for fans. After all, what better way to celebrate the time of romance than through this arcade classic? Couples can compete via the leaderboards and singletons can focus on the achievements.
The Valentine’s Day themed pack is available through Breakout: Boost and Breakout: Boost+, priced at $0.99.
Whether it’s in real life or in a video game, navigating a maze can be pretty challenging. However, the satisfaction of making it to the end can make the whole experience worth it. Elements+ Maze is the “world’s first multi-floor maze game” and it’s hoping that it’s extra challenge leads to extra satisfaction.
Each maze has a fire level and an ice level. To reach the end of the labyrinth, players will have to guide their character in between them both, adding depth and height to the typically flat maze genre. Friends can compete to see who can finish a maze faster and mazes are randomly generated meaning the content is theoretically limitless. Playing on harder difficulties earns more coins for one to spend on things like character customization. Players can also elect to just buy more coins with real money.
Fortunately, with there being so many in-app purchase options, the initial download is free. Elements+ Maze is available now on the App Store.
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Posted January 31st, 2012 by Greg Dawson Our Rating: :: STRIIIIKE!
With over 30 million downloads of the franchise to-date, Baseball Superstars 2012 introduces new gesture controls and is a great value with low in-app costs.
Mobile app developer GAMEVIL has released the 2012 edition of its annualized Baseball Superstars series, and this edition includes some significant updates. For one, the franchise has made a move to high-resolution graphics, taking full advantage of Retina display capabilities. For the first time, Baseball Superstars will also be a universal app, allowing players to play at full screen resolutions on their iPhone, iPod, or iPad.
Aside from its visual updates, Baseball Superstars 2012 also includes a few gameplay updates. New customization features let players design their team’s uniforms and logo just to their liking. The My Pitcher and My Batter modes have been enhanced to allow players to build their team’s stats and earn skill points. New tilt and gesture controls have been added, but the classic controls are still available. Rosters have also been updated with new Super Players and there are new missions and Game Center achievements.
Baseball Superstars 2012 is available now and free to play with additional content available via in-app purchase.
Remember how Spacetime StudiosannouncedDark Legends, and how we had zero information to go on except the title and some imagination? Well things are different now. Or rather, we know a bit more about it.
Dark Legends is set in a world ripe with conflict. The existence of vampires has only recently been acknowledged and the vast majority of humanity is rather… displeased upon hearing the news. This isn’t one of those “trying to find a peaceful coexistence” kind of scenarios; the non-vampire population is aiming to wipe out the blood-sucking “menace.” It’s kind of like True Blood, only if the majority of the human population was as quick to judge as that weirdo church/cult.
Players take control of a newly raised child of the night as they attempt to survive in this hostile new world and unravel its mysteries. And when I say “unravel its mysteries,” I mean exactly that. Dark Legends will be much more story-focused than Spacetime’s previous offerings, allowing players a more personal look into the narrative along with some Quick-Time Events during some cutscenes. That’s not to say that the combat hasn’t been tweaked as well. Fighting is definitely action-oriented, giving players some new abilities such as draining enemies (a given) and charge attacks.
Dark Legends is still missing a concrete release date, but it’s penned for the “first quarter of 2012.” So soon. Soon-ish, anyway. It’s also going to be available for Android, Google Chrome and (of course) iOS users right from the get-go.
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Posted January 25th, 2012 by Greg Dawson Our Rating: :: LAW BREAKER
Life is Crime puts an interesting twist into the RPG genre by adding in location-based gameplay and allowing players to rule over their favorite coffeehouse or even Taco Bell.
Inspired by singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, THQ’sMargaritaville Online is now available on Facebook and iPad. The game invites players to escape to the laid back tropical paradise where margaritas are a plenty, music is chill and adventure is guaranteed. The point of the game is for the player to build their ideal oasis while partying with friends and turning their experience from a game into a lifestyle.
Featuring an immersive 3D world and hits from Buffett himself, players are encouraged to leave their cares behind. And yes, there are frozen concoctions to serve up to friends from the player’s personal island beach bar. Beyond the adult beverages, players can explore all the island has to offer such as meeting and interactive with the natives, finding forgotten treasure, sailing boats and playing mini-games. Basically, the game is all about relaxing and enjoying the sun, surf and sand with a drink in one hand and a six-string in the other. Finding the lost shaker of salt is just a bonus and not required. The game is free to play with optional in-game premium items
Plenty of people love playing social games and similar numbers enjoy caring for a virtual pet. How about combining the two? That’s what LoadComplete decided to do with Bumping Bears and they’ve even added a real life socializing element.
Bumping Bears gives players the chance to adopt bears to play and raise on their own donut planet located in the wider bear galaxy. Players can care for up to 3 bears at once, encouraging them towards one of over 70 bear professions while dressing them from a choice of over 100,000 unique outfit combinations.
The player can then partake in quests, missions and minigames to help their bear improve in their chosen profession.
For the social gamer, players can find other like minded souls using geolocation, then bump their phones together to make their bears date and mate. It’s all very cute and lovable but not essential to progression.
Bumping Bears is out now and it’s an Universal app.
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Posted January 20th, 2012 by Greg Dawson Our Rating: :: NEXT TOP CHEF
Order Up! To Go is a solid time-management game for those looking to become the next "Top Chef." Despite the freemium version's ad-stricken gameplay, there's a lot of addictive potential to be unlocked.
Posted January 9th, 2012 by Rob Rich Our Rating: :: OH SO ADORABLE
It turns out connecting the "town-building" free-to-play model with running an animal shelter isn't as awkward as it sounds. In fact, it's downright addicting.
In a move that’s not entirely unexpected, another popular Facebook title is being brought over to iOS devices. Bulkypix, in collaboration with Kobojo, are adapting PyramidVille for Apple devices. Dubbed PyramidVille Adventure this time around.
This is looking to be more than a mere straight port, however. While the developers have indeed carried the Ancient Egyptian city-building and citizen-gathering mechanics over, they’ve gone and added some new stuff as well. Players will be able to find special items that allow them to build special structures such as the Great Sphinx, as well as take part in a new collection of mini-games that can actually reduce the amount of real-time waiting required for various actions. And, of course, the entire interface has been redesigned for iOS with touch controls and the like.
Those looking to become the next Ramses (or Cleopatra!) will still have to wait a bit before they can experience the 6 million player strong Facebook phenomena on the go. PyramidVille Adventure isn’t set to come out for another month or so, towards the tail end of January. It’ll be free-to-play, and universal, so once it does come out there won’t be much of a reason to avoid it. Aside from the obvious ones like “free time” and “loved ones” anyway.
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Posted December 14th, 2011 by Rob Rich Our Rating: :: OBEY THE FIST
Ever want to be the overlord of an evil empire? Command droves of loyal henchmen, research all manner of eccentric weaponry and all that? Plan X gives us that very opportunity, along with the chance to extend our influence to real-world locations.
Carter and Blake Grundman discuss the recent trend of free to play games with in-app purchases, especially from the perspective of someone who covers both the console and mobile gaming markets.
Regular Facebook gamers may recognize the name Gardens of Time. Recently named as the Best Social Network Game at GDC Online 2011, it’s an immensely popular Hidden Object game via the social network. Now it’s the turn of iPad gamers to see exactly what all the fuss is about.
In the game, players join the Time Society, a group of time-traveling detectives who must explore numerous scenes in order to solve the mysteries of time. Such scenes include the likes of the Egyptian Pyramids, Westminster Abbey and The Great Wall of China amongst others.
Besides exploring the 36 different scenes, the player can decorate their Garden with many fascinating structures from different points in history, plus visit their friends’ Gardens to decide who has the best example.
A free to download game, plenty of in-app purchases are available for those who wish to pursue the option.
I have two very notable things to mention here. First thing: Spacetime Studios, as previously indicated up there in rather large letters, has indeed released their two popular free-to-play iPhone/iPad MMORPGs on Chrome. I’m of course referring to Pocket Legends (desktop client found here) and Star Legends (client is this-a-way). iOS, Android, Mac, PC – they’re up there for pretty much anyone to play now. And they’re still as free as they ever were. This is no doubt an interesting bit of news for non mobile device-owning MMO enthusiasts, but there’s a little more to the story. Hence the “Makes Gaming History” bit.
Second thing: What makes this even more awesome and worthy of the H-word is that either game can be played cross-platform with each and every device they’re available for, thanks in no small part to the incorporation of Google’s Chrome Native Client (NaCl) with the Spacetime Engine. What all this means is that someone on an iPhone can play simultaneously with others who are using an Android phone, tablet or home computer. It’s all handled by one lone global server. Not only is this extremely cool, it also opens up all manner of possibilities for the future. At least I hope it does.
Color me impressed. Of course, this is just one guy’s opinion. I’m curious to see what the rest of the community (148apps and beyond) makes of all this.
Girls: Don’t feel confined to the likes of Farmville, Cityville or numerous other ‘ville’ type titles. There’s a fantasy based freemium game aimed specifically at the female gender: Fantasy Town.
OK, admittedly there’s nothing to stop girls from playing any game they so choose to (I should know) but Gameloft reckons that Fantasy Town is perfect for girls.
Focusing on a magical world in which players can raise magical plants, build a village and explore mysterious lands, much of the experience is centered around decorating homes and socializing with friends within the game through Facebook Connect. Plenty of creatures can be encountered and players can complete collections of magical items as they progress.
It sounds a little similar to other freemium titles but there’s no denying that it does look pretty cute. Check out the gameplay trailer below. The game is out now and is free to download.
There’s always been something magical about text-based adventure games. I attribute it to the lack of graphics forcing us to use our imaginations, coupled with the absolute freedom the lack of visuals provides. As someone who used to mess around with my fair share of interactive reading, it’s refreshing to see that people are still making stuff like The Things That Go Bump in the Night.
Players assume the role of a night shift security guard, wandering through the “compound” without a care until things take a turn. The usually quiet but still very active building has become completely still. No radio chatter. No people. Then it’s time to fight monsters and solve puzzles in a desperate bid for survival. Things That Go Bump in the Night utilizes the Quest text adventure creation software, which allows for an input-less interface (i.e. clicking on “links” instead of typing) in addition to the ability to easily create custom games.
The Things That Go Bump in the Night is on the App Store right now and it won’t cost a thing. Incidentally the software used to create it is also free, just in case anyone reading this is feeling particularly adventurous.
Zombie Invasion HD, previously known as Defense Craft, has just seen an update for the iPad. Why any of this required a name change, which subsequently led to a bunch of time wasted trying to figure out why the heck the game I was trying to link to didn’t exist, is completely beyond me. However, it’s a thing and it exists now. Best to talk about it.
Whatever it’s official name is at this point, the game is primarily about tower defense. Players fend off hordes of weird floating zombies using even weirder towers. The original release offered up close to 25 levels, multiple enemy and tower types as well as a handful of themes. This update increases the amount of stages on hand, giving players even more zombie-fighting goodness.
As some added incentive, Zombie Invasion HD will be free for the next few days. Why not take a look? Try out some of those new levels perhaps?
Love is in the air and so is block-busting retro fun thanks to Breakout: Boost‘s Valentine’s Day level pack that’s just been released.
:: NEEDS A BOOST
Whether it’s in real life or in a video game, navigating a maze can be pretty challenging. However, the satisfaction of making it to the end can make the whole experience worth it. Elements+ Maze is the “world’s first multi-floor maze game” and it’s hoping that it’s extra challenge leads to extra satisfaction.
Mobile app developer GAMEVIL has released the 2012 edition of its annualized Baseball Superstars series, and this edition includes some significant updates. For one, the franchise has made a move to high-resolution graphics, taking full advantage of Retina display capabilities. For the first time, Baseball Superstars will also be a universal app, allowing players to play at full screen resolutions on their iPhone, iPod, or iPad.
Remember how 
Inspired by singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, 
Plenty of people love playing social games and similar numbers enjoy caring for a virtual pet. How about combining the two? That’s what LoadComplete decided to do with Bumping Bears and they’ve even added a real life socializing element. 
In a move that’s not entirely unexpected, another popular Facebook title is being brought over to iOS devices. 
A long time ago, in a podcast far, far, away…
Regular Facebook gamers may recognize the name Gardens of Time. Recently named as the Best Social Network Game at GDC Online 2011, it’s an immensely popular Hidden Object game via the social network. Now it’s the turn of iPad gamers to see exactly what all the fuss is about. 
I have two very notable things to mention here. First thing: 
There’s always been something magical about text-based adventure games. I attribute it to the lack of graphics forcing us to use our imaginations, coupled with the absolute freedom the lack of visuals provides. As someone who used to mess around with my fair share of interactive reading, it’s refreshing to see that people are still making stuff like 
Zombie Invasion HD, previously known as Defense Craft, has just seen an update for the iPad. Why any of this required a name change, which subsequently led to a bunch of time wasted trying to figure out why the heck the game I was trying to link to didn’t exist, is completely beyond me. However, it’s a thing and it exists now. Best to talk about it.
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