The wonderful role-playing game that is Bastion kicks off this week’s must-have games roundup, accompanied by Blast-A-Way, an awesome new puzzle game from Illusion Labs; Dragon Island Blue, the closest you’ll get to Pokemon on iOS right now; and Granny Smith, a platform game that features a granny on rollerscates. Need I say more?
Bastion — iPad ($4.99)
You may have already played Bastion on your Mac or Xbox 360, but it made a surprise appearance on the iPad this week, and we couldn’t think of a better way to kick off our must-have games roundup than with this terrific role-playing game. It’s already amassed a handful of awards since its initial debut just over a year ago, and it returns with all the artwork, music, and narration Bastion is famous for.
You’ll explore more than 40 hand-painted environments as you discover the secrets of the Calamity, a surreal catastrophe that shattered the world. You’ll weild a huge arsenal of upgradeable weapons with which you’ll battle savage beasts through a deep, action-packed story.
Bastion boasts intuitive touch controls developed especially for the iPad, Game Center achievements, and more.
Blast-A-Way — Universal ($4.99)
Blast-A-Way is a great new puzzle game for people who “love to use [their] brain capacity to… save helpless little creatures” and “blow things to pieces.” The aim of the game is to help three little robot heroes save the lost Boxies throughout 80 mind-twisting levels made of wood, metal, fabric, stone, and plastic.
Along the way you’ll take advantage of bombs, teleporters, rebuilders, portals and more to navigate your way around each level with “true 3D physics.”
Blast-A-Way is from Illusion Labs, the creators of Touchgrind and Labyrinth 2, and like those titles, Blast-A-Way boasts awesome visuals and great character. It’ll certainly keep your brain active this weekend.
Dragon Island Blue — Universal ($0.99)
It’s been more than four years since the App Store first opened its doors, and we still don’t have a truly great Pokemon clone. But Dragon Island Blue comes pretty close. It allows you to build your own army of monsters and then send them out to battle.
Your journey begins when you find a dragon egg in the hills near your village, where dragons were thought to be extinct. It’s then up to you to discover why dragons have returned to the world by exploring Dragon Island.
The game boasts more than 200 monsters to collect, combine, and evolve; each with hundreds of abilities. It’s set in a world so big it requires 16 screens to be viewed at once.
It’s not quite the Pokemon clone I’ve been waiting for, but it is the next best thing, and I’ve been having a great time with it so far. I’m sure you will, too.
Granny Smith — Universal ($0.99)
Have you ever seen a granny on rollerskates chasing thieves? You have now. Granny Smith is the lovable grandma who is out to get the thief that’s stealing apples from her garden in this fast-paced platformer filled with spectaular stunts — and sometimes, some gruesome crashes.
Donning a pair of rollerskates, she must jump, glide, swing and smash her way through 36 levels set in three disctintive environments. Along the way she’ll collect coins that can be used to purchase a range of handy items, like a helmet, banana peels, and baseballs.
Granny Smith is good, old-fashioned fun that’s easy to play, but not so easy to master.
Activision Anthology — Universal (Free with IAPs)
Activision has resurrected 45 of its classic Atari 2600 titles on iOS, allowing you to put games like Pitfall, River Raid, Demon Attack, and many more in your pocket for the first time. All 45 titles are exact ports of the originals — with original box art and manuals — only they’ve been updated to add touch controls and Game Center integration.
When you download Activision Anthology, you get Kaboom absolutely free, then you can purchase the rest of the collection with in-app purchases — either in packs off 11 for $1.99, or the complete collection for $6.99.
Admittedly classic titles like these aren’t for everyone, but if you want to relive your youth — the days when you had hair and VHS tapes were considered high-definition — then there’s no better way to do it than from the comfort of your iOS device.
What’s Your Favorite?
So that concludes our list of this week’s must-have iOS games. If you’ve picked up something that you think we should have included, be sure to let us know about it in the comments.
