I do love a good SHMUP, and a classic old-school style SHMUP with hand-painted visuals appeals to me even more. It probably appeals to a lot of people, actually, which might have something to do with why publisher Lace Mamba Global and developer Firepixels is bringing Solar Wings to the App Store.

Players will get to blow up all manner of fancy-looking enemy ships as they fight their way through five different worlds. Each with a collection of tough/large bosses and vessels. Power-ups are on hand, naturally, as well as a total of three selectable characters with their own personal ships, although the third character needs to be unlocked before they can be used. And it’s all depicted in that colorful hand-painted style I mentioned. Sounds tasty, right?

Solar Wings should be sitting pretty on the App Store come Saturday, July 28th. Any SHMUP fans can nab it for a very reasonable $0.99, assuming there’s no accident with the listing like there was for the game’s Desura release.

*Note: Images are from the PC version*

After a recent SHMUP release (okay, not so recent. And they pretty much do SHMUPs exclusively), Cave is poised to drop another one on us. Kind of. Bug Princess 2 Black Label is more like a Director’s Cut than a real sequel, but it might just be the be-all-end-all version for series fans to get.

The key story and gameplay elements are exactly the same as the original Bug Princess 2. Make no mistake, however, there’s new stuff to justify the purchase. Even more bullets are included in this version, which is something I would never have considered possible but there it is. Players can also recreate a near arcade-perfect experience by slowing down the action (i.e. simulating processor strain). But by far the most interesting addition is the new Boss Rush Mode. All of the massive bosses from the first and second game are here, and high scores can be posted for bragging rights. There was also mention of an option to save progress, but details are still a little scarce at this point.

Bug Princess 2 Black Label has no definitive release date or price at the moment. Presumably it should be out in the next few months, and most likely sell for anywhere between $5 and $15 using Cave’s previous titles as a guide, but that’s all speculation. It is coming, though. And it’s looking like it’ll be glorious.

$6.99

Bug Princess 2

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

$4.99

Bug Princess

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

FDG Entertainment, developer of popular sniping stickman game, Clear Vision (17+), has just released the first screenshots for the update of its shooting game.

The 1.1 update to Clear Vision (17+) will continue the story with Tyler, the average guy gone assassin. FDG entertainment promises lots of blood and cutscenes in the new update (which will be free to owners of the full version of the app).

The screenshots depict some stickmen outside of somewhere called Club Lay-M, a sniper shot of someone being held at gunpoint, and an artsy shot of the shadow of a stickman holding a silenced pistol. While the screenshots don’t reveal much of what’s going to happen in the update, they’re still fun teasers to the extended story of Tyler coming soon (early June).

Clear Vision (17+) was based on a Flash game by DPFLASHES Studios. The follows Tyler through a violent, cartoony story with plenty of assassinations, blood, and cutscenes. The game is universal and is selling for only $0.99.

$0.99

Clear Vision (17+)

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-02-21 :: Category: Games

I had a good amount of fun with the original release of Monster Shooter. It was a solid twin-stick shooter with a few minor issues, most of which have been addressed with updates, but it did have one major drawback. I’m referring to the ads, naturally. I mean it is a freemium title.

But just in case anyone considered the advertisements to be too much of a bother, Gamelion has been working on a new-ish paid version. Monster Shooter: The Lost Levels does away with the pesky pop-ups, sure, but there’s a bit more to it than that. More meaning more enemies, more levels, and more guns. For those keeping scor this puts the bullet point tally up to 60 levels, 12 weapons, 100+ missions, 3 planets, and 80+ Game Center achievements.

Having messed around with it a bit already, I can attest to the wonderful lack of ads. Personally I think that alone makes it worth the asking price. But it also seems to be a bit more generous with the cash (which could just be my imagination). Either way, it’s available on the App Store right now for $0.99. Assuming nobody’s dumped a bunch of real money into the freemium purchases, it should definitely be worth the trade up from free to paid.

$2.99

Monster Shooter: The Lost Levels

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-05-10 :: Category: Games

FREE!

Monster Shooter - Dual-Stick Mayhem Perfected!

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-12-08 :: Category: Games

The use of Augmented Reality in gaming is the kind of technological wizardry that would have amazed me as a child. It still does in fact, despite knowing how it works. MosquitoKiller makes the idea of killing mosquitoes fun – something that really wouldn’t conventionally be enjoyable. Using the gyroscope, players can move around their surroundings in order to find and kill mosquitoes.

Numerous weapons are available such as a mosquito coil, helmet, fly swatter and mosquito repellent in order to mix things up a little. There’s also the prospect of finding hidden mosquitoes that can track the player’s movements. Plus, there’s the ever popular boss battle too.

MosquitoKiller has all the makings of a title to be enjoyed in short sessions, especially with spectactors to laugh with. With the addition of GameCenter or OpenFeint support, I reckon this could be a great hit for the casual gaming crowd. For now, players will have to stick to local competition and the allure of the in-game achievements.

MosquitoKiller is out now, priced at a pretty respectable $0.99.

$0.99

MosquitoKiller!

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-12-18 :: Category: Games