:: THINE QUEST CONTINUETH!
:: GO HITMAN :: Read Review »Square Enix's Hitman GO has received 8 new levels based on Hitman 2: Silent Assassin.
You be able to sneak around the snow-draped landscape of Varosnij Square while you line up your next kill. Players will be able to unlock the new content by either completing missions or by skipping all that and purchasing everything for $0.99. The update also adds cloud-saving functionality, so you can sync your completed levels between devices.
This update comes alongside a limited-time sale where fans can buy Hitman GO for just $1.99. The price will go back up after a week so if you want to check it out, now is the time.
It's time to get excited because Square Enix has just released Chaos Rings III!
... On the Japanese App Store.
Okay, okay, so it's not out worldwide yet. But the fact that it's out over there means it's only a matter of time before it's released everywhere else. And it looks like it might be something worth waiting for, besides.
For starters, it's selling for ¥2,800, which ends up being about $26.00. So this is definitely a premium release. Based on the tiny screen shots it's also looking good, possibly with a little bit of extra flair thrown in to the battles. And do my eyes deceive me or does it look like parties will contain more than the series' usual (and measly) two this time?
We'll know for certain one way or another once Chaos Rings III is inevitably released in the US.
Pocket Gamer reports that two new free-to-play Final Fantasy games from Square Enix have sneaked their way onto the App Store in Japan - Final Fantasy: Record Keeper and Final Fantasy: World Wide Words.
In Record Keeper, players take on the role of an Apprentice that jumps into paintings that take them to famous scenes from previous games in the series. The battle system is similar to that found in Final Fantasy: All The Bravest, with players getting to fight alongside Cloud Strife, Zidane Tribal, Luneth, and more.
Meanwhile, the word-battling RPG World Wide Words features the same art style as Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, with players given the task of typing out words to perform attacks against monsters and fast typing rewarded with more powerful attacks.
Nothing has been announced regarding the release of either of these games outside of Japan, but both can be found on the Japanese App Store now and are free to download.
:: THINE QUEST AWAITETH
:: A CLASSIC REBORNSquare Enix has announced that their free-to-play football management game Champ Man will be receiving a new version for the new season - Champ Man 15. This new edition will allow players to manage one of 440 real clubs from 23 leagues from around the world in a realistic season set-up. The game will also come with up-to-date team, player and competition data, new training systems, and more tactical options.
Kenji Hisatsune, Vice President of Global Mobile Contents for Square Enix West, had this to say on the newest edition in the Champ Man series:
Champ Man continues to evolve with each season. We’re not looking to continuously make the same game. We listen to our fans and how we can improve their experience. The series is one of the longest running of its kind and we are very pleased to announce the new release for this football season. Champ Man 15 combines the depth and control you would expect from a management simulation with the speed and accessibility of a mobile game. We’ve improved the match engine to allow for a greater variety of chances, enhanced commentary, additional formations and tactical options. We hope our fans enjoy it!
Champ Man 15 will be free to download when it launches sometime soon.
:: NOT SO SNEAKY :: Read Review »Mini Ninjas has just hit 6 million downloads, and to celebrate, publisher Square Enix is offering the popular endless runner game for free. This knocks it down from its previous price of $0.99.
From the official press release:
Mini Ninjas mobile is an ‘endless runner’ platform game. Based on authentic ninja values, this beautiful, fast paced, fun adventure game takes you on an epic and exciting journey, free from gruesome violence and high on Ninja fun. Play as one of 4 Ninja heroes: Hiro, Futo, Suzume or Kunoichi, and run, jump and slash your way through amazing spellbound lands to retrieve stolen artefacts and do battle with evil Samurai Warlods.
We had an opportunity to review Mini Ninjas a while back and quite liked it.
As noted, the game is currently available for free (with optional in-app purchasing) on the App Store.
:: GO HITMAN :: Read Review »Square Enix has released the Airport Box Update for Hitman Go today. It's the first content update for the game since it's release and it includes 15 new levels, new game-play mechanics (civilian mode, moving walkways, skipping turns), and new enemies. You can access the Airport levels either by unlocking them through regular play or by paying $0.99 to unlock them early.
Hitman Go is available in the App Store for $4.99.
Square Enix's booth was full of Final Fantasy type stuff this year, but it wasn't all about the MMO or the Disney crossover series. The RPG giant was also showing off a couple of mobile titles: the greatly-anticipated Final Fantasy Agito, and the "where the heck did this come from?"Final Fantasy VII G-Bike.
Final Fantasy Agito is a pretty great-looking title that's already out in Japan, but now it's been confirmed for a US release as well.
In Final Fantasy Agito you'll be able to create your own custom character, take down various enemies for experience (naturally), craft better weapons, and team up with other Agito players to battle massive bosses. Sounds cool, no?
There's no official date set for a release, but Final Fantasy Agito will be coming to the US App Store for free and feature in-app purchases.
Final Fantasy VII G-Bike was a total, although not unwelcome, surprise. Remember that mini-game from the Gold Saucer that involved riding around on Cloud's motorcycle while swiping at enemies? Well this is that but ratcheted up to a ridiculous degree.
G-Bike takes the core concept, heaps on a health dose of modern production values, dresses up the visuals significantly, and adds RPG elements like character customization. And it just looks sweet.
No release date has been announced yet, but it will be available as a free download with in-app purchases.
Take note: Hitman Sniper is not Contract Killer with a glossy shine. I was actually quite surprised to find out it's more like a high score-chasing puzzle game that just so happens to involve bullets.
Each level (2 locations are planned for release, with more expected at a later date) has a primary target that you'll need to take out in order to complete - but simply offing your mark right away won't net you much. To really rack-up a high score and get your name somewhere respectable on the leaderboards you'll need to build up combos by offing guards that are wandering around the environment. But this is no gallery shooter; you'll be able to shoot out railings guards are leaning on, create distractions by shooting alarmed cars, and interact with the environment in all sorts of ridiculous ways.
There are also upgradeable weapons, of course, as well as a Rival system that pits you against the player immediately above you on the leaderboards so you'll have a reasonable score to try and top every time you play. Everyplay support is also included, which means you'll be able to save your most spectacular setups and combos to show off to all your friends.
Hitman Sniper will be coming out this Fall for free.
:: GO HITMAN :: Read Review »It looks like Agent 47 is at it again. Fresh off of his Editor's Choice garnering first iOS outing in Hitman GO, everyone's favorite assassin is back for more bloodshed.
This time around the ubiquitous manslaughter machine is placed behind the scope of a sniper rifle in the aptly named Hitman: Sniper. Though the details are rather scant as of now, you can bet that we will be hear quite a bit more about the title over the span of E3 week. Oh, and spoiler alert: the game will probably feature players shooting a person or ten. But don't worry, the targets have undoubtedly done something heinous to deserve their strategically-placed hot lead injection.
You can look forward to checking out Hitman: Sniper for yourself when it hits the App Store later this year.
:: POCKET MONSTERS :: SPOILED BY IAPS :: Read Review »Deadman's Cross has recently received an update that adds in some new features. These include the USS Claypool hunting ground, and 39 new Deadmen. Additionally, it has two new abilities, and usability functions have been improved.
We had an opportunity to review the app earlier this year; it is available for free (with optional in-app purchases) on the App Store.
- The USS Claypool hunting ground has been added.
- 39 new Deadmen have been added.
- 2 new abilities have been added.
- The skip feature has been added to battles that take place while on search jobs.
- Interrupted downloads now resume from the point at which they were interrupted, rather than beginning anew.
- A simple tap interface has been added for switching Deadmen in and out on the horde editing screen.
- Tapping an ability in the ability list interface now shows its details.
- An Info button has been added to the ability screen.
- The amount of EXP a Deadman will gain from feeding is now shown before the feeding is executed.
:: POCKET MONSTERS :: Read Review »One of the Playstation 2's biggest Japanese RPGs, Dragon Quest VIII, has just been made available on the US App Store.
Everything from the PS2 version is here, reworked for iOS. So it's essentially the same game you've probably played (or at least heard of) way back when, only it's all been shrunk down to fit on your iPhone and iPad. And the controls have been reworked for touch screens, naturally.
You can download Dragon Quest VIII right now for $19.99, and the game features absolutely no in-app purchases of any kind - you get the whole thing right from the start.
