Ham in the Fridge, those responsible for the well received if a bit disturbing 5 Minutes to Kill (Yourself), have been up to something. They’ve been lurking in the shadows, left to their own devices, doing something altogether unseemly. They’ve been Bumpin’ Uglies. I’ve recently had the chance to talk a bit with Brett Hummel (Creative Director) and Drew Pearson (Director, Business Development) about their odd little creation and have come away from the discussion feeling more than a little excited. Not that kind of excited.

Bumpin’ Uglies isn’t quite the depiction of debauchery that many would expect given the (awesome) title. Uglies are, in fact, these small lima bean-looking critters who are about as smart as a sack of dirt and can only get around by way of being flung. Players have to guide their ugly through a given level (32 total at the moment), gathering shinys and coins along the way, until they manage to collide with the ugly waiting at the other end. Hence the bumping. This creates a temporary whirlwind of activity, followed by the production of a number of “bumplings” possessing traits from both parent uglies. And some recessive genes, naturally. Coins gathered throughout each level can be used to unlock new level packs (3 available at launch with more to follow), more ugly parts for further customization, and special boosts (4 types available at launch) that can be used to make getting around a bit easier.

Bumpin’ Uglies is slated to release later this summer for free. If it sounds like a game worth playing (and it should), head on over to the Kickstarter page to lend a financial hand. Come on, you know you want to.

Some princesses are content to sit around and wait to be rescued. They don’t mind sitting in their tower/castle/fancy chair until a prince shows up to rescue them or sweep them off their feet. Princess Punt isn’t that type of girl. She goes out and does the looking for herself.

Trajectory-based games are nothing new to iOS devices, be they medieval, automotive or avian in nature. The practice of knocking down ramshackle structures with an odd assortment of objects is a popular one, but not many of them involve giving armored soldiers the boot. Much less booting them into all manner of large (and vicious) beasts. Different “weapons” have different effects that can be triggered when the screen is tapped, while shot placement (trajectory, strength, point of impact, etc.) can mean the difference between “teh phat lewtz” and utter failure. It’s a weird concept that seems just insane enough to be awesome.

But don’t take my word for it. Anyone looking to dropkick noblemen into scaly monstrosities can check out Princess Punt in the App Store right now for absolutely free.

FREE!

Princess Punt

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

Physics hurlers are all the rage these days, from the App Store dominator, Angry Birds (which now holds the #1 and #3 position with the new Angry Birds Halloween), to the upcoming Trucks & Skulls. Finding a place in the chaos is Cannon Cadets, which was originally launched back in August.

The new version of Cannon Cadets adds a whole slew of features to not only make the game competitive, but to hopefully help it rise to the top of the physics game sub-genre. In addition to adding a new soundtrack, an online ranking system, full HD content, and Retina Display support, the app has added the Cannon Cadets Academy, an online space to share custom built levels made with their new level builder.

The Cannon Cadets level builder lets users create levels just like the level designers did, one block at a time with whatever diabolical contraptions you want. Most impressively though is the Cannon Cadet Academy, the shared space that anyone can upload and download levels from. To keep the place clean, the levels on Cannon Cadet Academy are user ranked, so even if you don’t plan on making any you can let others know which ones are worth playing and which ones aren’t

“There are some great physics launching games in the market, and we believe Cannon Cadets will earn its position alongside the best,” said Ray Sharma, CEO of XMG Studio. “We knew to stand out we would need to bring players something new, something that would really revolutionize the game-play experience, and we’re happy to say that we have done that with this latest update to Cannon Cadets.”

Like all updates, the Cannon Cadets update is absolutely free and is out now. The Cannon Cadets Academy is only as impressive as its users make it, so get out there and start building levels!