Pokémon Go

Pokémon GO is an interesting concept that looks to enhance the mobile gaming experience for Pokemon fans. The game will focus on gathering and fighting Pokémon characters in the real world. Pokemon can be found through other players using GPS. This new unique level of interaction and gameplay could only work with Pokemon due to its due global user base. Gamers can expect to see the new game exactly 20 years after the original Pokémon game was launched.

Paranormal Activity

“Paranormal Activity” is spawning a new virtual reality video game that provides the scariest experience to the players. This game is developed by implementing virtual reality content and set to be released in 2016.

Epic of kings

Based on Persian mythology, Epic of Kings is an adventure RPG that is set in the fictional world Khunirath. When playing this game, players have to fight with various creatures and monsters through many dungeons and castles. Various weapons and equipment can be gathered and traded and it boasts and ‘epic’ amount of loot. Having high-end modern graphics and ‘built-for-mobile’ controls, this game looks to be one to watch in 2016.

Twilight Struggle

Twilight Struggle is a historical strategy game, reminiscent of the tabletop war games. This digital version comes with more punch and animations and allow players to take part in a series of scenarios that happened in the cold war.

Anshar Wars 2

Anshar Wars is a sci-fi, third person shooting game in which you take control of a spaceship with your head… Yes, I just said that. Anshar Wars 2 has no gamepad or on-screen joystick but is entirely controlled by your head. Maybe it will work, maybe it won’t, either way I am eager to see it in action.

Tumblestone

Tumblestone match three game that contains shooting blocks at a descending set of stones. In simple, reverse of Tetris. When playing this game, players have to choose character to represent them and compete with up to 3 people.

Albion Online

Albion is a fully-featured cross platform MMORPG. This game is centred around certain events that take place in the middle ages. The game boast a huge play time and a day & night cycle. Albion Online offers players an extensive character customization system and a full open world to explore.

The Talos Principle

The Talos Principle has enjoyed a positive response on Steam and Consoles and now it is set to release on Android. The game sees players lost in a crumbling town with an array of puzzles to solve. The game definitely has a ‘Myst’ vibe and the graphics look stunning, especially for a mobile device.

John Wick – The Game 

John Wick, the virtual reality first-person shooter is due to make its appearance in 2016. This sleeper hit movie of 2015 did see a cameo in Pay Day 2 as a downloadable skin. However, in 2016, he is due to get his own VR title. Did they miss the boat or will people still be hyped for it in 2016?.

Galaxy on Fire 3: Manticore 

The third installment of this popular franchise will promises to be larger than any game in the company’s previous history. The story revolves around a distant part of space described as  ”a lawless fringe area of known space terrorized by ruthless warlords and greedy mercenaries.” Like in previous games you will play a bounty hunter doing various jobs for an array of colorful warlords in the Neox Sector. Which games are you looking forward to in 2016? Share with us in the comments section below. Summary:  Finding the list of upcoming Android apps can be tough. There are so many to be launched, but it’s hard to know which will be any good. Our list looks at some of the best announced at the time of writing.

The post 10 Most Awaited Android Games of 2016 appeared first on AppTrawler.

The Onion

The Onion is one of the most popular websites on the internet for people looking for a reason to laugh. If you do not know, The Onion is a satirical newspaper that creates funny news stories and headlines poking fun at the absurdity of the real news. You can have these funny news stories delivered directly to your iPhone by downloading The Onion’s free app. The Onion app will give you hours of laughs each day. The app is updated each day with new stories, so you will never run out of laughs.

9GAG

9GAG is another popular website that created a free app for anyone looking for something funny on their iPhone. 9GAG brings together the funniest photos and videos the internet has to offer in one place. If there is a funny picture that everyone you know is laughing at, then there is a very good chance they saw it on 9GAG. There are so many funny videos and pictures on the 9GAG app, you may never have the chance to see all of them. The app is also constantly updated, so you will always have something funny to laugh at on your iPhone.

Aging Booth

Aging Booth is a great app that lets you transform any picture into a funny moment. Once you take a picture of yourself or someone else, the Aging Booth app will naturally age the person in the picture to make them much older. This app is a great resource when joking around with your friends or family. Seeing who looks the worst as an old person is always a good time.

iFunFace

If you enjoy looking at funny videos on websites like JibJab, then you will definitely enjoy the iFunFace app. This app lets you create your own funny videos using pictures you have already taken on your iPhone. It is very simple to add any of the animated effects to your picture. You will also be able to add your own voice message. Once you have finished your video, you will be able to send it to all of your friends and family using Facebook or email.

Texts From Last Night

It is no secret that drunk people are susceptible to sending funny or embarrassing texts. You can now enjoy these great texts from people throughout the country by downloading the Texts from Last Night app on your phone. Users can enter the funniest texts they received, and they are instantly available for everyone to read. Each text gets rated, so you can always guarantee you are seeing the funniest texts the app has to offer.

18,000 Cool Jokes

There is no better way to laugh than by reading a good joke. While there are several apps available for the iPhone that offer good jokes, none of them have the great selection of 18,000 Cool Jokes. There are 49 different categories listed on the app, so you will be able to easily find the perfect joke for any occasion. Whether you are reading the jokes by yourself or telling them to some friends, there are an endless amount of laughs supplied by this funny app.

The post 6 iPhone Apps That Make You Laugh appeared first on AppTrawler.

There are a great selection of places to visit and a plethora of puzzles to rack the mind and keep you entertained.   Some of the puzzles you might get quite easily, whereas others might have you looking online for the answer (it’s not cheating!) but each is enough to keep your attention and make you play through the game.

The graphics are lovely to look at and whilst they could have more animation to lift them a little it does not detract from the game as each screen immerses you if the weird world of your eccentric grandfather.  The sounds are suitably atmospheric and give the whole a ‘eerie’ feel.

Once criticism would be that it feels a little short as we got through it relatively quickly (with a little help of the net) and would love to see it go further in the story department as there was a loads of puzzles to keep us going.  However, if the sign of a great game is to leave you wanting more then Fire Maple has achieved it as we can’t wait for the sequel.

US LINK

UK LINK

The post Review: The Secret of Grisly Manor appeared first on AppTrawler.

– Tell us a bit about AppChogie and how/when you started the company?

I am a Soldier in the British Army but I used to be a programmer as a young boy writing code for the Psion Series 3, 4 and 5 in the OPL language.  I soon landed a job as a programmer for Unisys in Amsterdam untill I joined the Army. I started AppChogie officially two years ago but I have not really stopped developing, AppChogie has enabled me to distribute my apps under a unified name.

– What attracted you to get into app development for the iphone?

I have always continued to keep my hand in programming on and off and when the iPhone SDK was announced I decided to have a go. I started writing some utility apps in xcode and that’s when I found an advert for GameSalad on the internet. I have been developing games for about a year with GS and it is fantastic software with a thriving community. The iPhone and in fact all the iDevices run on the same software so it is very easy for me to port my applications to each device with only minor adjustments and for a developer that it outstanding. Apple has created such range of fantastic devices that everyone wants or owns one at least and through the AppStore it enables me to distribute and get feedback from my customers directly.

– What software do you use when creating apps?

I use GameSalad for creating my games and a mixture of Pixelmator and Adobe Photoshop CS5 for graphics. Once the game is created I use xcode in conjunction with GameSalad to make a game file that I can upload to iTunes connect.

 

– What was the inspiration behind the Doodle Bomb HD?

I have always had an idea for a game that my wife could play. It had to have simple controls and be addictive enough that she would not loose interest, once I understood the requirements I decided to make it a bomb defusing game that would be never ending providing that the player could keep up. The game starts off at an easy comfortable speed but soon progresses to be quite demanding on your fingers and concentration. I liked the look of some of the current doodle games and decided to break out my sons coloring pencils and have a go.

– What games are you currently playing and is there any you are looking forward to?

I am a true gamer and I am in between a few games at the moment. I am currently playing Alan Wake on the XBOX 360 but as for iPhone/iPad I am playing Monkey Island 2 HD, N.O.V.A, Archetype and Outer Empires.

 

– What have you found really helpful during development?

The GameSalad community that are always on hand to answer my silly questions. The community is such a fun and interesting place to hang out online and many of the members are so talented and I am always amazed when I see the games that they produce as it inspires me to try harder and learn. I owe a thank you to Tshirtbooth who’s YouTube videos have saved me hours and to my friends Debug Design, Quantum Sheep, and Stormystudio for there continued support and friendship. I have also found friends and family helpful as they help me test my games and find bugs to fix.

– What problems did you encounter creating it?

Doodle Bomb was quite easy to develop however the drawings took me ages. I had to draw different artwork for the iPhone version (Doodle Bomb) and the iPad version (Doodle Bomb HD).

 

– What has been the biggest challenges you have had to over come?

The biggest challenge was to make it easy for people to play but not too easy and that is a hard balance to strike because if you get it wrong then people will stop playing it for being easy or likewise too hard.

– How did you go about marketing your app and what do you expect to have the best return?

I have done my normal marketing package, I have tweeted on my twitter page, facbook advertisement and sent various emails and download codes to review websites such as AppTrawler.

– What hints or tips would you give to budding developers?

I would say to new developers have fun developing your apps or games, try not to take the process too seriously because you will make better products. Listen to your customer in whatever for that takes like the feedback on the AppStore or via your website, twitter and try to implement changes that best suits your user and the game. Lastly design and create games that you yourself would play! now that’s a big deal because if you don’t want to play the game you will not want to continue to create it, and you will not be enthusiastic about promoting it.

– You have a varied selection of Apps at the moment, are you going to focus on a particular type or continue casting you net wde?

For now I am focusing on games as a whole and developing my knowledge of GameSalad to bring even better games to my customers. I like to think that I create games in all genres with different art styles as it allows me to explore my creativity as a developer.

 

– What can we expect in the future from AppChogie?

I have many games in development such as Farmyard Abduction for the iPad due soon and Undead Fred for iPhone and iPad which in fact has been in development for nearly a year. I am also working on some apps with other developers and a government scheme for troubled young people through Youth at Risk to bring them an app to the iPhone/iPad. I have a continued commitment to updating my games with new features and content. I have enployed artists in Italy, Suffolk and Japan to help bring the production value of my future games to the highest it has ever been.

Visit the AppChogie website at http://www.appchogie.co.uk

The post Developer Interview: AppChogie appeared first on AppTrawler.

Doodle Bomb HD is a new game from AppChogie. What you have to do is defuse all the bombs before the fuses run out and blow all the bombs, sounds simple! However this is not as simple as it looks as the speed of the game is fast paced so a slight distraction can cause all havoc to break loose. The bombs are spinning in all kinds of directions each with a 3 second fuse so it takes a fast finger to get them all.

This game isn’t going to win any awards for depth, but it makes up for in simple addictiveness.  We passed it about the office expecting to delete it moments later but we found it had a strange power over us and the minutes turned into hours.

The graphics are what you expect from a doodle game and it has a bouncy little tune to keep you amused.  There are no online leader boards so the scores are all local but if you are after a bit of fun to pass the time or even play with you kids this is an easy to grasp but hard to master game that you can pick up and play when you want to leave the world behind you.

This review will explode in 3 second…     …   …

USA Link: Click Here

UK Link here: Click Here

The post Review: Doodle Bomb HD appeared first on AppTrawler.

We have followed Big Pixel Studios for some time and loved their game Piyo Blocks and enjoyed a great developer Interview back in October 2009.  Since then they have had great success with Piyo Blocks 2 for both iphone and iPad.  Well they are back again, but this time they have put down their puzzle blocks and picked up a gung-ho cat.

Today they announced details of their new Japanese style dual-stick shooter title, Meow Meow Happy Fight. Set in modern-day Tokyo, a giant Happy Cat has travelled back in time from the year 2336 AD, where  everything is just too happy, to bring happiness and destruction to the cityʼs inhabitants!  With a massive 24 action-packed levels, 15 characters to unlock, 12 super power-ups and,  of course, 1 giant Happy Cat, this game really takes the dual-stick shooter to the next level. The slick character design, breathtaking backgrounds, and catchy Japanese music give an extra dimension to the game play.

“With Meow Meow Happy Fight weʼve created a game based around a simple mechanic, which gradually expands into something much more in-depth and skill demanding,” said Paul Virapen, Big Pixel Studios Managing Director. David Burpitt, Technical Director at Big Pixel Studios, added, “We put a big focus on the AI of opponents. They move, think and act as if they were controlled by real players, and can often out-smart you with a special
attack, or cheekily snatch a kill after you’ve put in all the hard work.” Connecting to OpenFeintʼs 29+ million gamers adds another layer of depth to Meow Meow Happy Fight. With a multitude of achievements to unlock, leaderboards, and social features, it will keep even the most avid of gamers coming back for more. “We’ve been passing our build of Meow Meow Happy Fight around the office and our guys can’t get enough. It’s a great game and is a fantastic addition to their great Piyo Blocks series,” said Eros Resmini, VP of Marketing and Developer Relations at Aurora Feint.

Meow Meow Happy Fight launches on August 5th in the App Store at the special introductory price of $0.99 (£0.59/€0.79) for a limited time, with the price going back up to $2.99 (£1.79/€2.39) shortly afterwards.

Check out the video below:

The post Preview: Meow Meow Happy Fight appeared first on AppTrawler.

Physics Gamebox [99¢] hit the App Store recently and is packed with iPhone ports of two extremely popular Flash games originally created by NewGrounds superstar Johnny-K. Included in the Gamebox is Roly-Poly Cannon and Ragdoll Cannon, both freely playable on NewGrounds in any web browser sporting the Flash plugin.

Likely the most recognizable game out of the Physics Gamebox is going to be Ragdoll Cannon, which actually has been a free Flash game quite a long time before Backflip Studios’ Ragdoll Blaster [$1.99] landed on the App Store. Gameplay is practically identical, right down to the art style. In Ragdoll Cannon, you touch the screen to launch ragdolls to hit a box marked “HERE”. Just like Ragdoll Blaster, you can either play Ragdoll Cannon valuing accuracy and precision and attempt to clear levels in as few ragdolls as possible, or you can just go to town spamming ragdolls to your heart’s content until one of them manages to run in to the target.

200 levels are included for Ragdoll Cannon, and there is a good difficulty curve which didn’t take long before I found myself stuck on a level hopelessly spamming ragdolls trying to figure out what to do. Thankfully, in these instances, you’re able to skip forward up to five levels so you’re never really ever stuck in the game… Unless of course the five levels you can skip to you’re also incapable of solving.

The second game in Physics Gamebox, Roly-Poly Cannon, is actually much more fun than I was expecting it to be. It uses an identical control system, where you tap on the screen to aim and fire bombs with the power controlled by how far away from the cannon you’re tapping. Instead of shooting ragdolls at a target, you’re firing bombs at enemies on screen. Killing all the bad guys on screen often requires the clever use of other bombs that are already set up on a level, and an additional layer of complexity is quickly thrown in with good guys that you don’t want to blow up.

Only 100 levels are included in Roly-Poly Cannon, but they seem to be much more complicated on average so it wouldn’t surprise me if you got just as much (if not more) playtime out of this half of the game, especially if you find yourself getting in to clearing levels using as few bombs as possible. Just like Ragdoll Cannon, if you find yourself stuck, you can also skip ahead up to five levels in Roly-Poly Cannon.

Touch Arcade Forum members are having a lot of fun with the game per responses in the Physics Gamebox thread, and I’ve had a great time so far playing through levels in both Ragdoll Cannon and Roly-Poly Cannon. If you were among the millions of people who have downloaded physics games like Ragdoll Blaster or its sequel, Angry Birds, and other similar “shoot things at other things” games, Physics Gamebox should be an easy purchase.

Something to look forward to in the future is the fact that the original creator of these games, Johnny-K, has created quite a few sequels and level packs for both Roly-Poly Cannon, Ragdoll Cannon, and other similar cannon games. Hopefully these will eventually also be released, either as separate game boxes, updates, or DLC addons. Or, at least, I’ve got my fingers crossed.

The post Review – Physics Gamebox – From Flash To iPhone appeared first on AppTrawler.

For those of you that don’t remember, the battle of Hoth is the scene in the Empire Strikes Back with the large robot walkers set on the snow and ice planet Hoth. Game designer Tomas Rawlings commented on the setting for the game, “This game focuses on one of sci-fi’s most epic battles, it is epic because it has got it all – conflict, heroism, a back-against-the war struggle, cool military technology, good vs evil and of course AT-ATs.”

In the iPhone game you take the role of the commander of the Rebel forces defending the shield generators from the Imperial forces. As the game progresses through 15 levels, additional units will be added to both the Rebel and Imperial sides. Once a level has been completed on classic mode it can be played on fortress mode. In tower defense games you generally have some form of currency that allows you to build new units. In the Battle for Hoth game those are called command points. You only have a set number of command points per level thus can only build so many defense units. The key to the game is building the right kind of units and placing them in the proper locations to set up a proper defense.

Star Wars: The Battle for Hoth Game Information

General Information
Star Wars: The Battle for Hoth is a game for both iPhone and iPod. It is a tower defense strategy game; such games have the player placing defensive units to stop waves of enemy units from exiting the level. The game sees the player taking the role of commander of the Rebel forces trying to stop Imperial forces from reaching the main shield generators before the evacuation of Hoth is complete. As the game progresses new units for both the Rebel forces and the Imperial attackers are introduced. The game has 2 difficulty settings – easy and normal, plus comes with a help and unit guide.
Gameplay
The player begins each level with a set amount of Command Points. The player ’spends’ these by choosing a unit type and selecting where on the level to build them. Each unit can also be upgraded for additional Command Points. Upgrades add to a units power – depending on the unit type – increasing aspects such as range and damage. The player can also change the targeting orders for units – tell them to prioritise ground/air units or stronger/weaker units (though not all Rebel unit types can target flying units). This can be done on an a single unit or for all units at once. The player can also build trenches to both funnel the Imperial forces into kill-zones and to position infantry who gain extra protection once inside. Except for infantry, Rebel units require a power supply to operate.
Imperial forces emerge from staging areas to the left of the map and proceed to try to exit the level on the right, to damage the main shield generators. Once too much damage has been done to the main shield generators, the player has failed the level and must replay to progress. The various Imperial units do different amounts of damage to the main shield generators.
Battlefield
The game is set on the planet of Hoth – it features 15 levels. Initially each level is played in ‘Classic Mode’. In this mode once the player’s defences have destroyed each group of Imperial attackers, a Command Points bonus token is left behind. By touching these the player can collect them and earn additional Command Points. If the player collects multiple tokens with a single sweep of the finger, bonus Command Points are awarded. However, leaving Command Points bonus tokens risks the value of them degrading over time.
Once a level has been completed in ‘classic mode’, it is available to play again in ‘Fortress Mode’. In this mode the player get a larger starting pool of Command Points, but does not gain any additional during the game. The player collects Score Points bonus tokens instead which add to the player final score.
Unit List
Rebel Units

• Soldier – A basic infantry unit armed with a blaster rifle. This unit requires no additional
  power but is vulnerable to heavy fire. Place in trenches to improve their defensive
  capabilities. Can only target ground units.
• Heavy Weapon Soldier – A solider armed with a powerful repeating blaster. This unit requires no additional power but is vulnerable to heavy fire. Place in trenches to improve their defensive capabilities. Can target ground and air units.
• Power Generator – Provides all units within range with an energy supply.
• 1.4 FD P-Tower Laser Cannon – High damage ground-to-ground combat weapon. Can only target ground units.
• DF.9 Anti-Infantry Battery Tower – Effective against infantry, but vulnerable to larger units. Can target ground and air units.
• Ion Cannon – High power consumption but very powerful weapon. Can target ground and air units. To vehicles the ion-impact disrupts the electrical systems slowing the unit down. To infantry the heat of the impact can kill.
• Snowspeeder Control Tower – Launches a single Snowspeeder which completes it’s attack run before returning to the base. Can only target ground based units.
• X-wing Control Tower – Launches a single X-wing fighter which completes it’s attack run before returning to the base. Targets only air units.
• Energy Shield Generator – Generates a localised Energy Shield that protects all Rebel units within its range. If the Energy Shield collapses, the generator unit is destroyed.

Imperial Units

• Viper Probe Droids – Fast but with weak armour, these units are used by the Imperial forces as cannon fodder.
• Scout Trooper – Fast but vulnerable infantry. These troops are the advance of the main force.
• Snowtroopers – Elite infantry trained to fight on any world. Deployed in large numbers to hammer at enemy defenses.
• 74-Z Speeder Bike – Often used as a scouting unit or for rapid attack. This air unit is fast speed with weak armour.
• AT-ST Walker – A fast walker with medium armour. Designed for hit and run attacks on enemy defenses.
• TIE Fighter – The main multi-role space fighter of the Imperial forces. This air unit is also used to attack ground targets.
• AT-AT Walker – Huge, heavily armoured walkers that are deployed to smash foes into submission either by being shot or crushed. These units ignore trenches and can crush all in their path.
• Command Units – ‘Boss’ versions of existing units but much stronger and tougher. Concentrate your fire at them to stop their advance.

The post Preview: Star Wars – Battle For Hoth appeared first on AppTrawler.

We’re pleased to report that Jamie recently got in touch with Touch Arcade to give us an exclusive look at the iPhone version of Qwak he has just completed and will be shortly launching through the App Store.

In Qwak, you control a duck (get it?). Your objective is to guide this green duck through level after level of platforms, fruits and gems (worth points), bouncing enemies, power-ups to help demolish said enemies, and keys to unlock goodies as well as the level’s exit gate. Your duck can run, jump, and fire volleys of egg projectiles to knock out the baddies. Grab a bonus item and watch a hail of colorful fruit rain down upon you. Take too long on a level and meet a hail of spikeballs. In a nutshell, I call it frenetic, fun, and rather fruity (to be alliteratively wanton).

I’ve spent some time with the prerelease build of the game Jamie provided us and it’s been lovely to play. It’s a touch-controlled affair with a left / right control in one corner and jump and egg-fire controls in the other. The vibrant visuals move about the screen as smooth as glass on the iPhone 3GS test device and a very Amiga-sounding score accompanies the action. It feels both retro and highly polished. It’s a game platformer fans won’t want to miss.

Additional details, I’ll leave to the developer to provide (after the jump), as he was kind enough to grant us an interview along with the exclusive ad hoc build.

What were your inspirations for writing the original?  Are there any particular games you had in mind?

Well, there was a bunch of platform games on the Beeb I used to play; Blagger, Monters, Space Panic, Frak etc. I also went in the arcades a lot back then (so much so that I got kicked out of college), and I undoubtedly played Bubble Bobble, which Qwak gets compared to a lot.

What language did you use to write the BBC Micro version?

100% 6502 Assembler. You could quite easily mix BBC basic and assembler, or have 100% assembler; which a lot of game developers did back then, and you needed to, to get the best performance out of the very limited and slow hardware. Fun times!

Is the BBC Micro version, in fact, the original?

Yep, it’s the original. It was released in 1989 by Superior on a 4 game compilation. I still have a review of the game from a 1989 A&B Computing magazine; “The best game of the bunch has to be Qwak! Designed and coded by Jamie Woodhouse it is very addictive and great fun..”.

I think that was the first time I’d ever seen one of my games reviewed and in print; felt pretty good as I stood there reading the mag in the newsagents!

The ’93 Amiga rework is a bit more fast paced / arcadey than the original. GBA and PC / Mac versions followed. It seems the iPhone ver is really an adaptation of the later versions, is that true?

Yeah, I guess it’s confusing with all the different versions all sharing the same name; but with different graphics and various gameplay mechanics…

The Beeb version came first, and the Amiga version was a good deal different to the Beeb version.

The GBA version came next, which was a port of the Amiga version, I used all the same graphics and levels etc; and just added in some scrolling to accommodate the GBA’s smaller screen resolution.

Actually, I couldn’t find a publisher for the GBA version so I had a load of carts shipped over from China and self-published a small limited run of carts. All sold out now!

Next came the PC version, which had completely new levels, more tricks and traps, different power-ups and secret bonuses; and a lot more going on visually to! The Mac version was a port of the PC version.

For the iPhone version of Qwak, I’ve managed to retain pretty much everything that’s going on with the PC version. It’s based on the PC version; but there’s a little scrolling, to squeeze the levels in to the smaller iPhone screen resolution. I don’t think it hurts the game-play too much.

How are you liking iPhone game development as opposed to what you’ve done on the Amiga, GBA and other platforms?

I’m absolutely loving it so far!

There’s a bit of a learning curve, with this being my first iPhone game; but I feel as if I’m making good progress and getting a good technical understanding of the platform.

The Amiga and GBA were also fun platforms to make games for; and as with the iPhone, you have a pretty solid idea of the minimum spec machine people will be playing your game on (which doesn’t happen with desktop game dev). Plus, it’s relatively a low powered device (compared to desktop PC’s), which is awesome! … because there’s more scope for programmer creativity in squeezing more performance from the device (game developers secretly love that kind of thing!).

The music track sounds very Amiga. Is the audio straight from that version?

Yep, it’s got the same 10 tracks of music from the Amiga version (which used to be in .MOD format, was a little tricky converting them to .MP3s).

Can you comment at all on the controls of the iPhone ver, thoughts that went into them, etc?

Well, Qwak is quite a fast paced game, so I felt some kind of on-screen D-pad control mechanic would work a lot better than using the accelerometer.

There’s also an issue that your thumbs and fingers may obscure the in-game action; so what I’ve done is when the player is at the bottom of the screen; the screen kinda shifts up a little bit, so you can still see yourself.

I also have the fire (throw egg) button on the right hand side, so it’s easy to waddle your wrist and throw eggs really quickly, one after the other (which is handy as the bigger baddies need multiple hits to ‘dispatch’ them).

The controls work for me; but it’ll be interesting to see how people respond when they’ve tried the game for themselves. I’m wondering too, how left-handed players with cope with the controls. I just hope I get feedback and people let me know, it’s always great to hear what’s working and what needs changing or improvement (and it’s always possible to do an update).

Is there anything down the road you can speak of?

There’s quite a few ideas I have; and it’s funny you should say ‘road’ … as I’m half tempted to do a re-envisioned version of Nitro or ATR. There doesn’t seem to be many top-down perspective racers on the App Store.

I’m also thinking ‘Qwak spin-off’ … I often worry that Qwak may be TOO frantic and fast-paced for a lot of people (although I personally love that kind of thing), so the spin-off game would be slightly slower paced, with more exploration and puzzle solving (and tricks and traps, hehe).

What are your thoughts on the iPhone as a game platform, and the overall situation that is the App Store?

I really like it, it’s a lot of fun to make games for, and I feel genuinely excited at the prospect of making more games for it.

I’m still pretty new to the App Store; but my first impressions, I guess there seems to be a lot of variation in the quality of games on there; from really poor, to really awesome.

I really like the fact that it’s possible for small indie game developers, to make the kind of games they want to make, and share them with other people through the App Store. There’s not so much need for any middle-man or publisher or anything like that. So it’s a lot more accessible to developers that a lot of platforms.

Qwak should be landing in the App Store shortly. We’ll give folks a heads-up when it arrives. Those impatient for a taste of the action can download the Mac or PC demo version for free. This is a good one, folks.

The post Preview: Qwak appeared first on AppTrawler.

Angry Birds is a game that could easily be described with any number of cliches such as “easy to play, difficult to master”, “polished”, “addictive”, and others. When it comes down to it, what makes Angry Birds great is how incredibly accessible the game is to everyone, even non-gamers. Gameplay amounts to a number of different birds, each with different abilities, loading themselves in to a slingshot. You then use a single finger to fling them at a fort filled with smug, smiling pigs.

There isn’t really any quick reaction elements to the game, or really anything that requires more than just intelligently analyzing the weaknesses in the pigs’ fortresses and aiming at them with your birds. Levels are scored and stars are awarded based on performance. Completionists can shoot for three stars, perfecting every level, and gamers just looking to have fun can generally clear levels with one star without too much trouble.

A previous update added Chillingo’s Crystal for all kinds of online scoring, achievements, and all that fun stuff along with 40 new levels. The last update added a new bird and 15 additional levels. This update adds another 15 levels and a new level theme. The amount of content in Angry Birds when it first launched was more than enough, but after all these updates, you really need to pick this game up if you haven’t already.

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In Episode 1, you play as a truck driver chasing a girl in a sports car down the highway. The iTunes description mentions similarities to the classic Sega arcade game OutRun, which couldn’t possibly serve as a better comparison. Tilting the phone controls your truck, and all you do is chase the girl, ramming her car whenever possible for points. A countdown timer is constantly ticking away which is refreshed by passing checkpoints, and during your pursuit you will need to fend off angry police, bikers, and avoid a constant onslaught of traffic that will slow you down.

Several power ups can be picked up during your adventure. So far I’ve come across three: A set of horns that allow you to ram other cars off the road easily, a rocket booster that sends you flying towards the next checkpoint, and a tongue attack point multiplier. You can also honk the horn of your truck, this doesn’t seem to do anything, but I can’t seem to help myself from doing it almost constantly.

Truckers Delight: Episode 1 includes an odd amount of cartoon nudity for a game on the App Store. Not only does it include the first portion of the original video, but when you pick up the power up to let your tongue fly, it quite literally results in an on-screen explosion of naked women.
I’ve actually had a surprising amount of fun with Truckers Delight. Mobigame did a great job of nailing the feel of endless retro racing games, and the difficulty ramps up nicely requiring quite a bit of concentration as you dart between oncoming cars in your 18 wheeler. Truckers Delight features online leaderboards which are already loaded with scores that are about twice as high as my best score, and it’s hard to not get in to the catchy soundtrack included with the game.

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Developer notes:

Quizicards is an iphone application which turns the room into a quiz show. The application has two sides, the quizmaster and the contestant; the quizmaster can ask various questions to the audience turning any dinner party, gathering or bored moment into a fun packed quiz.  The app has loads of questions split into ‘general knowledge’ ‘categories’ and specialist subjects’ which means the game type can vary.  They can either choose ‘individuals’ or ‘multiple’ contestants which also changes the game type.

How it works
On load, the user will choose the game type and the amount of players and then the quizmaster will will show the user a pack of quiz cards with the questions and answers on. There will also be a timer for each question.  quizmaster will change cards by running their left or right thumb over the side of the screen (as if putting a card to the back of the pack). When a round is over the app tots up the players score and adds it to a table.  This repeats for the various contestants until the 1, 3, 5 rounds have been exhausted.

The contestant
If there are multiple iphone users playing the game they can also press the ‘contestant’ option which allows the users to choose a sound effect from various choices which will be assigned to their ‘answer button’.  The user can tap the screen to answer a question.

Create your own quizzes
Users can create their own quizzes, upload them to the site and download other peoples quizzes.

EARN $0.50 for each quiz uploaded (Terms & Conditions Apply)

Could this app make all the other quiz apps redundant? AppTrawler received a development build and the app looks easy to use and has a stack of options which might take time to get used to but it nice to be able to create a quiz to your own specifications.  If the quiz community get behind the app then we foresee this having a permanent position on our iphones.

The app has now been submitted to the App Store for review so we should have another update for you when its out.

In the meantime, check out this video:

The post Exclusive Preview: Quizicards – The Only Quiz App You’ll ever need appeared first on AppTrawler.

Inspired by fantastic games like MegaMan, Kid Icarus, and Super Mario Galaxy and others, Ultra Kid will have players flying their rockets through space to land on different moons and planets, where they will find crazy creatures to fight and dark tunnels to explore.

With a mixture of both 2.5D and 3D platforming, you’ll collect weapons and suit upgrades as you progress through the game to help you complete your main mission of saving the galaxy from Dr. Ridalin, who we’ve been assured is quite evil. Ultra Kid is still in development, and while details are vague right now, we expect to learn quite a bit more about the game in the upcoming weeks.

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The sequel to the well received Alive 4-ever dual stick shooter has finally arrived. Alive 4-ever Returns expands on the same zombie-invested formula but seems to add many new features to the mix.

The sequel offers a new graphics engine with weather effects, RPG elements as well as 18 types of zombies and 37 types of weapons. Feature list from the developer includes:

• 4 Player Co-Op (local Wi-Fi)
• Fabulous Visual Effects
• RPG Elements Such As Power-Ups & Picking-Up New Skills
• 13 Amazing Skills
• 18 Disgusting Types Of Zombies
• 37 Different Kinds Of Destructive Weapons
• 36 Bonus Equipment
• 40 Stages Of Challenges
• Supersize BOSSES!
• 3 Unique Game Modes
• More Than 40 Achievements Through OpenFeint

Here’s a recent gameplay video which shows off the new features.

We haven’t had a chance to put the game through its paces yet, but early feedback is being collected in the forums.

App Store Link: Alive 4-ever RETURNS, $1.99

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The dual stick control method works great on the iPhone, and as such, it seems like there is no shortage of dual stick shooters. Much like sifting through recently released match 3 games, a lot of them feel very similar, but every once in a while you stumble across a game like Pastel Games’ Shadow Edge [App Store].

Set in the 1940’s, Shadow Edge has this whole Indiana Jones-like thing going for it where you’re an allied soldier searching this tomb for some kind of artifact to help turn the tide of World War II. This can all be seen in the opening cinematic of the game.

You then fight wave after wave of undead enemies, using a variety of different weapons and always making sure to keep the torches of the level you’re on lit so you can see. The graphics of Shadow Edge are great, and this lighting gameplay element not only adds a cool sense of urgency as you patrol around making sure torches are blazing.

The controls work just as well as the other dual stick shooters on the App Store, and they never seem to get in the way of fending off wave after wave of undead baddies as you play through either the included adventure mode or arena mode which allows you to select any of the included maps to play.

The developers posted the following gameplay video where you can see how the game all goes together, notice how they’re constantly refreshing nearby torches to be able to see:

At this stage in the life of the App Store, there’s no doubt a lot of these dual stick shooters all sort of start to feel the same. Shadow Edge has a cool atmosphere I really like, with a great graphics engine that does a good job of making you feel on edge as monsters creep out from the darkness– Especially when you play with headphones on. I’m not sure if that’s enough to truly set it apart from the sea of similar games, but if dual stick shooters are your thing, Shadow Edge is definitely worth a look.

App Store Link: Shadow Edge, $1.99

The post Review: Shadow Edge appeared first on AppTrawler.

Flick Baseball is a full 3D baseball game that looks and plays a lot like a fleshed out version of Com2Us’s Homerun Battle 3D [$4.99 / Free] with 3D players, tilt to aim batting, and some extra features such as being able to control your runners and where your outfielders throw the ball. Since Homerun Battle 3D is still one of my favorite iPhone games, I’m really happy with how Freeverse seems to have captured a very similar batting mechanic that works extremely well.

I’ve barely begun to scratch the surface of Flick Baseball, as we’ll be saving that for our in-depth look in our full review, but this is a very complete baseball game. You can play both 3 and 9 inning baseball games in two different difficulty modes, and the entire game is driven by this crazy subsystem of player statistics. Some players bat better than others and as such have a much larger hit zone when they swing, and others require your aim to be practically perfect when batting to hit. There are tons of other stats that control every attribute of each player of your team.

34 teams are included, and you can build your own team with a custom name, lineup, uniform color, roster, stats, and everything else. You could likely spend hours doing nothing other than building custom teams in this game if you wanted to. There are full 11, 33, 66, and 165 game season modes with all kinds of stat tracking, a playoff mode, and the games even change from night to day depending on the actual time of day it is in the city you’re playing at.

Here is a video of me playing a couple innings, which features a lot of strike outs and a beginner’s luck home run:

Flick Baseball should be available May 3rd, so keep an eye out for a full review and another video of me (hopefully) hitting nothing but home runs with my tricked out custom baseball team. So far I’m really enjoying the game a lot, and look forward to getting deeper in to it.

The post Preview ‘Flick Baseball’ appeared first on AppTrawler.

On the developer’s blog, Vitrue says it “worked with the iTunes team at Apple to provide strategic guidance, creative design, solution development and account management.”

The fan page, which already boasts over 80,000 fans, has tabs for featured apps, games, a search widget, and a discussion forum. Users can boot up iTunes by clicking on the featured apps or share the love for their favourite games on their Facebook wall.

More features are promised soon, which Vitrue says will “help fans sort through the virtual mountain of apps and easily discover what their friends like.”

This functionality was previously exclusive to Mplayit and its iPhone Arcade on Facebook.

And while you’re on Facebook, why not become a fan of Pocket Gamer?

Mobile Entertainment

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American cartoon network Adult Swim has cornered the market on weird and wonderful iPhone apps. From corpse-floating sims to suicide mini-games, you’d be hard pressed to find more bizarre treats.

To celebrate its latest game, Floater Pro, plus the announcement of Amateur Surgeon HD for iPad, all of Adult Swim’s iPhone games are now 59p or 99c.

Amateur Surgeon lets you save lives and perform delicate surgical procedures with precision instruments such as a pizza cutter, salad tongs, stapler, and car battery.

Vending Machine Champ tasks you with beating the nuts and bolts out of a stubborn vending machine when your delicious treats get caught on the unremitting spiral of doom.

5 Minutes to Kill (Yourself) sees you brutally murder yourself as quickly as possible before you’re forced to shuffle along into another meeting in your boring and mundane life. Shove your face through a monitor, pee in a computer, staple your face, or dive into a shark tank. It’s up to you.

Meowcenaries is a twin-stick shooter pitting an elite squad of combat kittens against evil Badkatz soldiers in 20 action packed levels.

Finally, My Li’l Bastard is a twisted Tamagotchi that will take your tender loving care and vomit it back at you. You have to try and tame this evil little monster into a cute bundle of joy.

All five games are available for iPhone ad iPod touch in the App Store for 59p or 99c

The post All of Adult Swim’s games on sale to celebrate Floater Pro appeared first on AppTrawler.

Now you can put your fingers to the test and drum your iPhone screen to the beat, Bongo Blitz style. The rhythm game features indie and pop songs, with the ability to download weekly releases for free.

Notes scrolls across the top of the screen, and the task is to hit the left and right bongos in time, with a shake of the iPhone like a maraca every now and again. If you’ve played Nintendo’s Donkey Konga, you’ll feel well at home here.

Along with free song downloads each week, the game also comes with NoteTracks, allowing you to play along to songs from your own music library which are compatible with the game.

If Bongo Blitz sounds like your kind of thing, you’d do well to grab it soon – there’s an introductory price of $0.99, 59p for the first month.

The post Turn your iPhone into drums with Bongo Blitz appeared first on AppTrawler.

The Wall Street Journal’s article focusses mainly on the fact that the new iPhone would work on a type of wireless network called CDMA,s suggest that US phone giant Verizon would support the iPhone and end AT&T’s American iPhone monopoly.

But as soon as WSJ’s article was posted around the internet, more rumours and speculation began to emerge. Engadget notes that the iPhone 4G’s arrival wouldn’t be a big shock for Apple fans, writing “if the Cupertino-based company keeps with its historical refresh pattern, we’re just a few months out from seeing the latest and greatest iPhone.”

The gadget news website said it was informed that the fourth generation device would be announced on June 22nd and is set to be named the iPhone HD on account of its high resolution screen.

Technology pundit John Gruber coroborated this revelation, saying the new device will sport a 960×640 display. The current iPhone display is 320×480, which is quite low compared to rival smartphones such as the Windows Phone 7 Series, which boasts a 800×480 screen.

Gruber’s other tidbits, presented alongside his assessment that WSJ’s entry into the iPhone 4G rumours game was “lame”, included the A4-family CPU system-on-a-chip (similar to the iPad’s processor), a front-facing camera and third-party multitasking.

Know Your Mobile has reported that Columbia iPhone repair service SmartPhone Medic is showing off the iPhone 4G’s LCD and Digitizer assembly in a YouTube video. (Embedded below)

The video description says, “We have seen this assembly online before but when a very reliable source showed us that they had one we had to get it”. The description continues “Of course we can’t 100% guarantee that this will be the design for the iPhone 4G our sources are very confident that not much, if anything will change.”

Shown against the 3G’s fascia, the new screen is slightly longer and has a new hole next to the external speaker, presumably for the rumoured front-facing camera.

The post iPhone 4G rumours arrive: HD screen, multi-tasking. appeared first on AppTrawler.