Retro-looking games are always a fun distraction from the high-end graphics and expensive production of games from big developers. Captain Nova is one of those old school-style games.

Captain Nova has crashed on a strange planet and lost pieces of his ship all over the planet’s surface (this reminds me a bit of an old Sega Genesis game, Toe Jam and Earl). Of course, the planet is filled with all kinds of evil creatures that want to prevent the captain from retrieving his lost spaceship pieces.

The game includes 30 challenging levels and an original soundtrack to accompany the game. The game looks like it’s setup in the standard, 2D platformer style with a D-pad for movement and a single button (the “A” button in this case) for actions. The captain collects gears on the various levels and looks to pick up power-ups like a cups of coffee. Apparently Captain Nova likes his caffeine.

The game is going for $0.99.

$0.99

Captain Nova

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-04-05 :: Category: Games

Elite Systems is releasing a new compilation for iOS. World of Retro Computer Games aims to bring a total of 100 8-bit computer games over the coming months to iOS devices. The app launches with 10 games. The first, available for free in both the paid and free versions, is Bruce Lee, an action-platformer starring the martial arts legend, developed by Datasoft. As well, there are 9 more games available at launch in three packs:

The games aren’t just quick and dirty ports, as there are a variety of control schemes available, including ones that have been designed to be optimized for the touch screens of iOS devices.

The app comes in two flavors, available in separate iPhone and iPad versions: a paid version for $0.99 that includes Bruce Lee and the three packs above, and a free version that only includes Bruce Lee. The plan is for future games to release in three game packs for $0.99, with an option to buy all the games at a discounted rate as they release.

$2.99

Retro Games

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-04-06 :: Category: Games

$4.99

Retro Games HD

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2012-04-06 :: Category: Games

FREE!

Retro Games Free

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-04-06 :: Category: Games

FREE!

Retro Games Free HD

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2012-04-06 :: Category: Games

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.

FREE!

Breakout®: Boost

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-12-15 :: Category: Games

$0.99

Breakout®: Boost+

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-01-24 :: Category: Games

Back in 1981, a slightly bizarre game by the name of DONKEY.BAS was released in order to demonstrate the IBM PC of the time as well as the BASIC programming language used to develop it. Why does a 31 year old game matter so much? It was co-written by Bill Gates. Yes, that Bill Gates. And in an interesting roundabout sort of way, it’s now available on the App Store for $0.99.

DONKEY.BAS is an incredibly simple driving game in which players must control a car as they dodge a series of donkeys in the road. The player can’t accelerate, brake or steer instead they must just tap one finger to dodge the donkey and move to the other lane of the road.

Points are tallied according to how well the donkeys or the car is doing in the game but ultimately that’s about all there is to it. There’s no score limit to define success.

DONKEY.BAS is very simple but important nonetheless, as an example of how far gaming has come over the past 30 years.

DONKEY.BAS is available now for $0.99. It’s an Universal app.

And, for the next 24 hours, if you comment below, you’ll enter to win one of three codes of this historic game.

$0.99

DONKEY.BAS

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-01-26 :: Category: Games

I feel a little under pressure to come up with the most fantastic egg based puns I can possibly imagine. Unfortunately, I’m no puns eggs-pert…ohh, there we are.

That pun out of the way, it pleases me very much to state that Dizzy, the famous egg adventurer of the 1980s, is back and will soon be splatting his way onto an iOS device. On 9th December in fact or Egg-mergence Day as Codemasters have decided to call it.

Dizzy, for the too young/inexperienced to know about, was the hero of many adventure games of old back on the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. I’ll admit it now. Having owned most of the titles, my 7 year old brain never quite managed to complete any of them but they were fantastic fun.

Coming to iOS will be Dizzy: Prince of the Yolkfolk, a remake of the classic 1991 adventure. Plenty of puzzles will need to be solved along with a healthy dash of platforming fun too.

We’ll be sure to have a review of it in time for its release. For now, enjoy the teaser trailer and plethora of screenshots below. It promises to be an egg-cellent time. I’m sorry.

Atari has sent us a rather disturbing email today. A cluster of asteroids are propelling their way towards planet Earth! Uh oh! Fortunately, the ship that saved us all back in 1979 in the original Asteroids has had a few upgrades in the past 30 years and it’s back again.

Coming soon will be free-to-play, dual-stick shooter Asteroids: Gunner. It’ll offer three galaxies to explore with 150 waves of asteroids and aliens to wipe out. Three different spacecrafts will also be available: the Miner, the Bomber and the Dart and plenty of upgrades are on offer. New galaxies and upgrades will be purchaseable with Space Bucks, while leaderboard fans will enjoy the all-important Game Center and Open Feint support.

For now, we’ve just got a selection of screenshots of what’s to come, but I strongly suggest keeping an eye on the Asteroids: Gunner Facebook page as well as here for more information as and when we get it.

Hook Champ, Super QuickHook, Hook Worlds. Three games with more than a few similarities. Each one is retro-themed, predominantly features swinging on hooks, contains an absolutely fabulous selection of hats and are loads of fun. And they’re all made by the one and only Rocketcat Games.

It appears that after four games, the developer has decided to try something new. Mage Gauntlet is an action RPG inspired by a number of classic 90′s games in the same genre. Gone are the hooks and rope-swinging antics in favor of a whole lot of “hitting jerks with a sword,” and “blowing them up with spells.” It’s more than a bit of a departure, but I’m fairly certain Rocketcat is up to the task.

Players can enjoy the “festivities” over the course of a 42-level (and humorous) story mode, and then again in another 42-level Master Mode with new secrets and greater enemy numbers. Over the course of these levels, they can find and equip different gear (all of which can effect stats and abilities) and even utilize bonus-granting pets. Oh, and lots and lots of hats. 110 to be exact.

Mage Gauntlet will be hitting the App Store this Thursday, the 20th, at a discounted price of $1.99 (it’ll go up to $2.99 later). Early adopters will get the sale price as well as 8 hats from previous Rocketcat titles and a special Rocketcat pet, so long as they nab it by Sunday night.

It’s that time of the week again when Chillingo unleashes some new and exciting games at our iOS devices. This time round, it’s the turn of two games previously covered by us, namely Super Crossfire and Little Lost Chick.

Previously an Xbox Live Indie Arcade gem, Super Crossfire offers intense and enjoyable top-down shooting fun. An unique switching mechanic enables players to warp from the bottom to the top of the screen thus avoiding enemy fire as they shoot at the waves of enemies coming at them.

Super Crossfire comes in two varieties: an iPhone version priced at $0.99 and an Universal build for iPad owners priced at $2.99.

Check out the impressive gameplay trailer below.

$0.99

Super Crossfire™

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

$2.99

Super Crossfire™ HD

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-10-12 :: Category: Games

Little Lost Chick offers a different kind of experience, providing physics based puzzle fun for both casual and veteran players. Aimed at the whole family, Little Lost Chick focuses on Bruce the baby bird as he tries to make his way home. 100 levels in all provides varied gameplay such as having to cut vines, clear soft ground or bounce around on leaves. The physics engine ensures that everything responds just how the player would expect.

Little Lost Chick is another title available in two forms. A $0.99 version for iPhone users and an Universal build for iPad players priced at $2.99.

$0.99

Little Lost Chick

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

$0.99

Little Lost Chick HD

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-10-12 :: Category: Games