SGN, creators of the freemium animal shelter sim Fluff Friends Rescue, are back with a new project. It’s not exactly a radical departure as Rescue Reef still involves rescuing wayward animals, but this time it’s all about the sea life. And I’ve never seen more adorable fish.
Rescue Reef is indeed another free to play animal shelter (of a sort) sim, only this time the goal is to nurture and release as opposed to nurture and adopt. Players will have the chance to save and tend to multiple sea creatures including various crustaceans, seagoing mammals, and all kinds of fish. Even sharks. Cute sharks. It also features daily deals, regular updates with new items and such (Orca whales being the latest addition), and even teaches players a bit about sea life.
Rescue Reef is available on the App Store right now for free. If anyone out there has even wanted to play the part of an oceanic conservationist but doesn’t have the sea-legs for it, now is the time.
In celebration of Universal’s 100th anniversary, Fuse and Beach Cooler Games (with licensing from Universal) announced a new content update for its simulation game about the movie industry, Universal Movie Tycoon. The update includes new movie content, gameplay enhancements, quests, and better controls.
The new movie content added to the game is Snow White and the Hunstman. Players will be able to build and explore the set of the movie along with the 35 other blockbuster films available in the game.
Universal Movie Tycoon, like other “tycoon” simulation games, give players control to build and supervise over a particular setting, the movie industry in this case (specifical Universal Studios). Players work on building sets and creating movies like ET, The Mummy, and Jurassic Park. Players add buildings to the sets (over 15 studio buildings to use) and add decorations, roads, and more.
Universal Movie Tycoon is $0.99 and is a universal app.
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Posted June 5th, 2012 by Rob Rich Our Rating: :: RP-GLEE
Even after game development, feudal Japan, malls, alien worlds, indie racing, and even high school, Kairosoft still manages to find new territory to cover.
The End of Days draws nearer. But rather than dwell on the inevitable destruction of the world, the Pygmies have been given a bit of a reprieve. Bolt Creative’s newest update to their sandbox of death involves a Pygmies-only dance club. Being Pocket God it should come as no surprise that the club comes with its own set of unique perils. It’s not called Dance Dance Execution for nothing.
Players can pull a balloon down from the ceiling and give it to a pygmy who will promptly suck out the helium and start to ramble a-la David After Dentist. Silly as that might be, the real fun can be found on the dance floor. Dragging a pygmy onto it will begin a Dance Dance Revolution-style mini-game in which the proper arrows must be matched or a massive disco ball will drop down and crush the little semi-naked rug cutter.
An all-new Dance Pack (available for $0.99) rounds out the new stuff, and includes more dance moves for the pygmies. Dropping one of them into the hanging go-go cage will get them boogying to a number of tunes, including the Pocket God theme. Pocket God Episode 45: Dance Dance Execution is live and available to download right now. So Macarena on over to the App Store and get to it.
Gameloft has released a new game based on the Ice Age franchise, with Ice Age Village. As the title somewhat implies, this is a simulation/social game, where players must try to build a home for all the ice-dwelling creatures that the movie series is known for. Not only do players try to complete missions, sidequests, and daily challenges by building up their village and visiting friends’ villages, but they can also play mini-games featuring series main character Scrat. Villages can be shared either through Gameloft Live, or through Facebook. The game also boasts sneak peeks of the upcoming movie Ice Age: Continental Drift, which is sure to be hot! I apologize for the cheap pun.
This game explains why the Two Tribes-developed Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs game was pulled from the App Store; Chillingo lost the license to the property as Gameloft acquired it. While some gamers may grumble, fans of the Ice Age franchise may find this social game up their alley. It’s available now as a free to play universal app.
Ever wonder what to do in case of a zombie outbreak? I know I have. I’ve got the plan all lined up, ready in case of attack. Living in a country where guns aren’t easily accessible limits my options but I have backup ideas, even if they are rather inspired by Dead Rising. Even better, soon there’ll be a way to simulate what would happen during such an outbreak.
Zombie Outbreak Simulator is the app I’m talking about. Previously a website, its aim is to track just what would happen if zombies emerged and started attacking humans.
As it’s a simulation, interaction is quite limited. Like on the website, users can adjust certain parameters then it’s just a matter of watching to see the action unfold. The preview build I checked out seems pretty complete and offers plenty of variables. Civilian numbers can be adjusted between 100 and 4000, with up to 1000 zombies available to unleash. Armed civilians can be assigned, along with police numbers. In both cases, accuracy can also play a vital role in their chance for survival so that can be adjusted. Any fan of zombie films knows that zombies react differently so infection time and speed can also be changed.
Together, this makes a pretty comprehensive spectrum of situations. The red dots representing zombies and green dots of humanity then descend upon the Google Map image, with users able to zoom in a bit further to see some of the action. Only one map was available in the preview build but I’m hopeful that the full release will enable Location Services so that players can check out how things work out in their local area. The website offers similar and it’s fun to see what happens.
No one would expect just watching action unfold to be quite so entertaining, but it is. I’m not sure how long the novelty will last but for now, it’s fun to see how adjusting certain numbers can change things so drastically. Even if, all too often, humanity appears to be doomed in this scenario.
Zombie Outbreak Simulator is set for release next week. We’ll be sure to give it the full review treatment nearer the time.
People love stuff like Google Maps. There’s just something about viewing satellite images of one’s neighborhood that’s kinda neat. Know what’s even neater? Tossing customizable zombie outbreaks into the mix.
Binary Space is set to release an iOS edition of their rather popular PC sandbox thingie. Zombie Outbreak Simulator utilizes Google Maps in order to allow users to unleash the Living Dead practically anywhere. Even right in their own backyard. A number of variables can be tweaked, such as zombie speed and number of law enforcement officials, giving users tons of possible scenarios to set up and watch unfold. New to the iOS release is the ability to zoom in and out to view the action from a detached aerial view to a far more intimate low-flying bird’s eye view, complete with animated characters.
Zombie Outbreak Simulator should be popping up in the App Store by the end of the month. Zombie nuts, crazy survivor types, and anyone simply looking for a fun and goofy map app will be able to get their hands on it for $1.99.
Despite not ever being interested in girl’s toys like doll houses, I’ve adored The Sims series, even though I invariably play myself in it, sitting indoors all the time writing away. The arrival of The Sims Medieval on the iPhone marked a change for the usually furniture-focused title, allowing players to go down a more fantasy RPG route. Now that experience is available in an optimized format for the iPad.
The Sims Medieval iPad edition, offers the chance for sims and their players to join parties across the medieval realm, as well as ‘quest their way to destiny’ and great rewards. A guild system enables the Sim to participate in these quests and even fight with weapons such as Thor’s Hammer. Medieval themed mini games such as fishing, agriculture and spell casting adds to the general experience.
For those furniture and interior design obsessed players, new avatars such as the jester and vampire are available, plus the ability to add items like four-poster beds and more to the home.
Sims fans such as myself will no doubt love it.
The Sims Medieval is out now and it’s priced at $2.99 for a limited time only.
Posted February 20th, 2012 by Rob Rich Our Rating: :: DEVOURS FREE TIME
The gritty, almost awkward presentation in this zombie apocalypse strategy game might cause some hesitation. Make no mistake, however, it's one heck of a Must-Own for genre fans.
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.
Flight simulators have been extremely popular within certain circles, especially the PC crowd. Hundreds of thousands of logged flight time, tons of mods, even elaborate homemade rigs… It’s one of those things that’s just insanely popular among a specific set of people.
With that rabid fanbase in mind, TAS Games is preparing to release Flight Unlimited – a less expansive but no less impressive single-aircraft simulation. Players can freely explore the immense city and parts of the surrounding suburbs in their adorable little Cesna. Exploration is the key element here, as there don’t seem to be any official tasks or missions to complete. It’s just the player, the plane, and a city full of things to buzz, land on and crash into. And it sure looks pretty.
Flight Unlimited is available on the App Store now for $2.99. iPhone 3GS users and below need not apply. It’s currently only planned for the iPad (1 and 2) and the iPhone 4 (and 4S).
Fans of popular EA franchise The Sims have never failed to find delights on the App Store. With four different varieties encompassing the original, Ambitions, World Adventures and Medieval, there’s plenty of fun to be had. However, there’s nothing replicating Facebook game The Sims Social. That is until now.
Coming to the App Store next month will be The Sims Freeplay, an entirely new game that bears a lot of similarities to other freemium games. It’ll be the kind of title that players can check in on throughout the day with The Sims world running constantly in the background. Players will get the chance to create up to 16 customized Sims, design their dream homes, care for pets, grow gardens and even find some time for baking too. A goals system which will presumably tie in with the career potentials of the Sims means that there’ll always be something new to do. There will also be the near obligatory in-app purchases we’ve all come to expect from freemium titles.
The Sims Freeplay is set for release next month. For now, check out the screenshots below for a taste of what’s to come.
Create and customize a wildlife reserve. Manage various park minutiae. Upgrade facilities and inhabitants in order to bring in the big bucks. It sounds fairly typical of a good number of freemium park sims, but Fantasy Safari twists it up a bit. By adding fantasy creatures, naturally.
Dragons, frozen wolves, phoenixes and more. It’s a bit of a departure from the usual fare, to say the least. Now, thanks to EA Mobile, we can all try our hand at running our own zoo full of non-existent animals. 40 different non-existent animals, at that. 40 non-existent animals that can learn new abilities (i.e. fire breathing) as savvy players futz with their enclosures.
Anyone looking to try their hand at managing a theme park/zoo with a bit more… “flavor” can do so right now. Fantasy Safari is already on the App Store and, like most (read: all) free-to-play titles it doesn’t require any money to get started.
SGN, creators of the freemium animal shelter sim Fluff Friends Rescue, are back with a new project. It’s not exactly a radical departure as Rescue Reef still involves rescuing wayward animals, but this time it’s all about the sea life. And I’ve never seen more adorable fish.
In celebration of Universal’s 100th anniversary, Fuse and Beach Cooler Games (with licensing from Universal) announced a new content update for its simulation game about the movie industry, Universal Movie Tycoon. The update includes new movie content, gameplay enhancements, quests, and better controls.
:: IMMERSIVE
:: RP-GLEE
The End of Days draws nearer. But rather than dwell on the inevitable destruction of the world, the Pygmies have been given a bit of a reprieve. Bolt Creative’s newest update to their sandbox of death involves a Pygmies-only dance club. Being Pocket God it should come as no surprise that the club comes with its own set of unique perils. It’s not called Dance Dance Execution for nothing.
Gameloft has released a new game based on the Ice Age franchise, with Ice Age Village. As the title somewhat implies, this is a simulation/social game, where players must try to build a home for all the ice-dwelling creatures that the movie series is known for. Not only do players try to complete missions, sidequests, and daily challenges by building up their village and visiting friends’ villages, but they can also play mini-games featuring series main character Scrat. Villages can be shared either through Gameloft Live, or through Facebook. The game also boasts sneak peeks of the upcoming movie Ice Age: Continental Drift, which is sure to be hot! I apologize for the cheap pun.
Zombie Outbreak Simulator is the app I’m talking about. Previously a 
Together, this makes a pretty comprehensive spectrum of situations. The red dots representing zombies and green dots of humanity then descend upon the Google Map image, with users able to zoom in a bit further to see some of the action. Only one map was available in the preview build but I’m hopeful that the full release will enable Location Services so that players can check out how things work out in their local area. The website offers similar and it’s fun to see what happens. 
People love stuff like Google Maps. There’s just something about viewing satellite images of one’s neighborhood that’s kinda neat. Know what’s even neater? Tossing customizable zombie outbreaks into the mix.
Despite not ever being interested in girl’s toys like doll houses, I’ve adored The Sims series, even though I invariably play myself in it, sitting indoors all the time writing away. The arrival of 
In a move that’s not entirely unexpected, another popular Facebook title is being brought over to iOS devices. 
Flight simulators have been extremely popular within certain circles, especially the PC crowd. Hundreds of thousands of logged flight time, tons of mods, even elaborate homemade rigs… It’s one of those things that’s just insanely popular among a specific set of people.
Fans of popular EA franchise The Sims have never failed to find delights on the App Store. With four different varieties encompassing the 
Create and customize a wildlife reserve. Manage various park minutiae. Upgrade facilities and inhabitants in order to bring in the big bucks. It sounds fairly typical of a good number of freemium park sims, but 
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