Save Minecraft, I think the most sought after (and demanded) iOS port would have to be Chris Pirih’s SkiFree. A few have tried their hand at bringing the yeti-infested favorite to iOS, but the results have been a bit… mixed. Pink Zombie Studios has decided to give it a go, regardless, and the result is Ski Dude.

Ski Dude, much like its predecessor, involves avoiding obstacles and jumping off of ramps in order to rack-up a high score. In this iteration there’s no finish line. Players just go until they use up their three lives, then start over from zero. Going over jumps will nab points (as will grabbing presents littered throughout the course), but will also speed up the action. Conversely, plowing through snow piles will slow things down a bit. And this being an iOS game and all, the titular character can be guided left and right with either touch or accelerometer controls.

It may or may not be the release everyone’s been hoping for, but it’s here and it’s totally free to play. I’m a bit disappointed that there don’t appear to be any abominable snow monsters rampaging about, though. Of course, who’s to say they won’t make an appearance at some point? Anything is possible, right?

FREE!

Ski Dude

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-11-09 :: Category: Games

Racing to an iOS device near you later this week is Race of Champions, an app that hopes to be the most ‘technologically advanced racing game’ on the App Store.

Arriving 28th October, in time for the weekend, Race of Champions is the game of the competition of the same name. It’s a race in Germany in Decemberthat pits the world’s greatest drivers against each other. A series of head-to-head races involving identical cars on a parallel track, the focus is on the drivers and their abilities in order to be crowned ‘Champion of Champions’. Cars are swapped round between heats in order that drivers have to prove themselves using a variety of different machinery.

The game offers a very similar experience by the looks of things with developers Invictus supplying us with a teaser trailer and set of screenshots to excite racing fans across the world.

We’ll be sure to take a closer look at Race of Champions in time for its release date this coming Friday.

NuOxygen has just released “The Racing 3D Flight Simulator,” Ikaro Racing HD for iOS devices, and it’s looking pretty neat. Players will race through a diverse set of environments (and 22 tracks), from sprawling cities to winding canyons, jockeying for first place. It won’t be easy, but it makes winning that much more satisfying.

The game is designed to steadily increase in difficulty, so that players adjust naturally to the curve. It’s meant to be more pleasant than panic-inducing, with cameras that highlight the beauty of the landscape or the details of the planes so that the visuals can truly be appreciated. Of course, spending too much time drinking in the details are a good way to end up face-planting into an obstacle. A danger that becomes even more real when the dynamic weather system opts to replace those clears skies with a thunderstorm.

Ikaro Racing HD was designed with the iPad 2 in mind, but it’s also available for most other iOS devices. It just requires some tweaking in the options menu first. Aspiring air jockeys can grab it off of the App Store right now for free.

FREE!

Ikaro Racing HD

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-10-15 :: Category: Games

We got a first look at Split/Second, the new arcade racer from Disney last month and were impressed with what we saw. Well good news, it’s now available.

The game is set in a TV set that is getting ready to blow up. Can you guess where the arcade part comes in? You get powered up and can set off explosions to divert and delay the other racers. There are multiple tracks, multiple race types, and different track settings in the game.

In my quick look at the game tonight, it looks really good. Amazingly smooth framerate (on an iPhone 3GS).

One of the coolest features wasn’t available to test when we last saw this game, the online multiplayer. One of the new games that allows you to play, in real time, with other people over the Internet. It will also do multiplayer over Bluetooth and local Wifi. (Hmm… wonder what our Weekend Fun game will be this weekend?)

The app is for iPhone and iPod Touch, though it reportedly works on the iPad, I couldn’t get it to work and it’s not currently optimized for the iPad. We did hear last month that an iPad version should be available within a few weeks after the iPhone version.

Split/Second is available in the app store now for $6.99.

$4.99

Split/Second

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-05-18 :: Category: Games