In news that makes us feel pretty darn ancient, this month marks 21 years since the first Pokémon game launched in Japan — and Pokémon GO is getting in on the action!
As part of the #PokemonDay celebrations, starting February 26 at 1PM PST and running through the next day, Pokémon GO players will be able to hunt and capture a wild Pikachu adored with “festive party hat.”
In other words, you’d better carve out some free time if you really want to catch ’em all!
Today marks the 88th birthday of professor Thomas Kurtz, who invented the BASIC programming language with his colleague John Kemeny.
To mark the occasion, the iOS and Apple Watch port of DONKEY.APP, a game originally programmed in BASIC by none other than Bill Gates, has been made temporarily available for free by its developers.
What better way to celebrate Kurtz’s birthday than by playing the modern port of a clunky old 1981 driving game?
When it comes to buying apps, iPhone users aren’t afraid to bust out their wallets for good software.
Spending on iOS apps increased during 2016, according to the latest data from app analytics firm SensorTower which claims the average iPhone user spends $27 a year just on games.
What better way is there to spend a lazy Sunday than by catching up on the best apps you missed over the past week? Fortunately, Cult of Mac has done the leg work for you in selecting what we think are the most important new apps or app updates to arrive over the past seven days.
Check out our picks below. And then get downloading!
Catching all the Pokémon in the world is about to get a lot more challenging.
The makers of the popular game Pokémon GO revealed that 80 new creatures will be added this week, along with gender-specific variations and an all-new way to evolve your Pokémon.
Slasher movies and Apple were two of my favorite cultural entities to come out of the 1970s and 80s, which is why I’m so happy to see Slayaway Camp — a loving ode to the former — arrive in the App Store.
Previously available on PC via Steam, the game is a sliding puzzle game which owes more than a passing nod to the heyday of Friday the 13th, The Prowler, Prom Night and other legendary teen slashers.
Check out the suitably retro trailer below:
To achieve maximum success, iOS game developers need an idea that’s both reassuringly familiar and strikingly new. That’s exactly what Stagehand delivers: The new platform game employs a clever twist on the popular endless-runner genre, with a sprinkle of ’90s classic Lemmings thrown in for good measure.
“Stagehand is a game that looks like a side-scrolling platformer, but instead of controlling the character, you move the stage,” developer Matt Comi told Cult of Mac. “We call it a ‘reverse platformer.’ The protagonist, Frank, runs and jumps all by himself. It’s the player’s job to make sure he doesn’t run into walls.”
It’s the weekend, which means that it’s time to ditch all the chores you had planned and instead sit down and try out some of the week’s most significant new apps.
From a tremendous “reverse platformer” to a nifty attempt at revolutionizing your magazines-reading experience, here are the apps and app updates that intrigued us this week.
Do you like your endless runners with a dose of run-and-gun action, a sprinkle of old world steampunk style, and a whole lot of pixel-art charm?
If so, you’ll probably get a kick out of Malevolent Machines, a new auto-runner game from Goodnight Games, which promises to take gamers of a certain age back to their misspent youths playing Metal Slug and Altered Beast — and to drag younger players along for the ride, too.
Check out the trailer below:
Animal Crossing, another Nintendo game bound for iOS, is being delayed until April at the earliest, according to the company’s most recent financial statement. Originally it was set to arrive on iOS by the end of March.
Gamers shouldn’t be too upset, however, as they’ll have Nintendo’s Fire Emblem Heroes — announced at the same time as Animal Crossing, but launching over the next few days — to play instead.
For whatever reason, I’ve been playing a ton of iOS games this past week, so with that in mind I decided to focus on games for this week’s “Awesome Apps” instalment.
Whether you’re looking for something quick and easy to while away your Sunday, or a far more in-depth gaming experience that’ll keep you busy until the bad weather ends, I’m confident you’ll find something on this list to enjoy.
Check it out:
Anyone who remembers the glory days of Shinobi or Ninja Gaiden may want to check out the recently-released Breakout Ninja.
A super-simple ninja game with one-tap control mechanics, it’s incredibly addictive, and could well turn out to be one 2017’s early breakout (no pun intended) hits.
Oh, and did we mention that it’s the work of just one man?
Just in time for the holidays, RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic has arrived in the App Store — giving would-be theme park designers the perfect $5.99 early Christmas gift to themselves.
Combining features from the acclaimed RollerCoaster Tycoon and RollerCoaster Tycoon 2, this title offers a touch-optimized take on the classic management sims which swallowed up so many, many hours of my teenage years.
Super Mario Run only shipped late last week, and already it has set a new download record of 40 million downloads in only its first four days.
That may be where the good news ends, however.
The eagerly-awaited Super Mario Run made upwards of $4 million worldwide in its first day on the market, according to analytics company App Annie.
The analytics firm suggests that the game — which represents the first official appearance of Mario on iOS — was downloaded around 10 million times, and was the top-ranked game by downloads in 60 of the 151 countries it launched in within hours of its debut.
At long last, Nintendo’s long-awaited Super Mario Run has sprinted into the App Store, in what is certainly the biggest iOS game launch of 2016 after Pokémon Go.
Marking the first time Nintendo’s most iconic character has been available on iOS — outside of dodgy third-party game emulators — a demo of Super Mario Run is downloadable for free, while the whole game priced at $9.99.
The new MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar might not be the most useful tool for professionals quite yet, but it’s quickly becoming a perfect playground for retro gaming. Two new hacks bring classic games Pac-Man and Lemmings to the Touch Bar.
The MacBook Pro’s tiny OLED display seriously limits gameplay, though: You can barely make turns in Pac-Man, but it still looks better than Doom on the Touch Bar.
Get a peek at the Touch Bar gameplay in the videos below.
Super Mario Run will sprint into the App Store on December 15, but while there’s plenty to be excited about with Nintendo’s first Mario game to hit iOS, there is one big potential downside for users: the game requires constant internet connectivity.
According to Mario creator and Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto, the decision to include no offline mode was made for anti-piracy reasons.
Looking to get up to speed on the week’s hottest apps? We’ve got your back!
In a week in which Thanksgiving celebrated being happy with everything we’ve got, and then Black Friday showed how angry people are about things they don’t yet own, we’ve combed the latest apps to bring you the cream of the crop.
Whether you’re looking for a great retro-styled platformer or a brilliant iOS scanning app, we think you’ll find something to entertain you…
The jury is still out on whether the Touch Bar will become a useful tool, but one clever coder has already discovered that it’s absolutely terrible for playing video games on.
The Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pro is officially the latest absurd piece of tech to run Doom. Apple’s guidelines specifically bans games from running on the Touch Pad but that didn’t stop a developer from porting it onto the narrow screen that’s only 60 pixels heigh.
Check it out:
The great App Store purge is finally underway.
Apple warned developers in September that it plans to remove apps from its store that don’t meet quality standards of being “functional and up-to-date.” According to a new report, the deadline to meet those standards has passed and thousands of crummy apps are now being removed.
Want to find out which apps were gracing our iPhones, iPads and Macs this week? Check our list below.
From a search engine that will search every single thing to ever grace your Apple device to a couple of awesomely fun retro-inspired games, this is the perfect way to spend the remainder of your weekend.
With Apple’s earnings call and Thursday’s Mac event, there was plenty of serious business in the world of Apple this week. That’s why we’re choosing an all-game lineup for this “Awesome Apps of the Week” installment.
Plus, when the titles are this good, it’s hard to ignore them! Check out our picks below.
Apple just set an all-new record for the most App Store revenue brought in from one country in a quarter. Only instead of the United States taking the top spot, China is now Apple’s most profitable market for apps.
We’ve always got a great raft of deals on great gear and gadgets, but for one day only those prices are dipping even lower. From the award-winning PDF Expert to the revolutionary Lytro Illum camera, a powerful tool for capturing online video and a year of access to a library of awesome games on Steam. Each is discounted even further than their already reduced price but just for one day, so now’s the time to jump on this: