Angry Birds Space has just survived re-entry and is now in the App Store for just $1. The new Angry Birds, despite the release of the Seasons and Rio editions, is the true sequel to probably the most popular iOS game ever. Also, it rocks.
Since the new iPad made its debut in the U.S. and nine other countries last week, iOS developers have been working hard to optimize their titles for the device’s Retina display. There are already some fantastic games on offer that are Retina-ready, so we’ve compiled a list of the best so that you can get you game on in stunning high-definition, and compared them to their iPad 2 counterparts so you can see how nice the new graphics look.
The Humble Bundle is back again, this time bringing five games never-before-seen on Android. If you’re wondering what Humble Bundle is, it’s a pay-what-you-want bundle of multi-platform, DRM-free, and independently developed games. Not only do customers get to pick their own price, but they also get to allocate their payment by deciding how much goes to the developers, how much goes to charity, and how much goes to Humble Bundle (which pays for the bandwidth and development of the promotion). They usually offer a slew of games for the price of “whatever” and then throw in a bonus game for those willing to pay more than the average customer (which isn’t that expensive).
Draw Something is the hip game to be playing on iOS right now. Is it just an electronic version of popular board game Pictionary? Well, yes, sort of, but with added iPad cool. It’s enormous fun to play, only let down by a stubborn insistence on having a live internet connection.
After unboxing your new iPad and getting it setup, the first thing you should do is open up the App Store and download some essential games. We’ve compiled a list of 9 of the App Store’s greatest offerings, which we think should be installed on every iPad. These are games you certainly won’t want to miss.
The Retina-ready iPad game Namco demoed onstage at Apple’s media event last week has gone live in the App Store. Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy costs $5 as a universal download for the iPhone and iPad.
Like Skies of Glory and other 3D flight simulators, Sky Gamblers uses your iOS device’s accelerometer and gyroscopes to control your fighter jet in the air. The graphics looked stunning onstage last week, so we can’t wait to try this game on our new iPads this weekend!
Oh Lord, after a dozen years, it’s finally come: Blizzard Entertainment has finally slapped a release date on their much-anticipated horror and fantasy themed hack-and-slash RPG, Diablo III. And that magic date?
Flight Control is one of the most popular games to ever land in the App Store. The game makers, Firemint, won an Apple design award for the beautiful iPhone and iPad app. The next iteration of Flight Control is set to arrive later this month, right in time for the new iPad’s Retina display.
Flight Control Rocket will take you into space for a new set of adventures. This one looks like a whole lot of fun.
A recent update to the iTunes Terms and Conditions adds an interesting clause regarding free trials for in-app subscriptions in the iOS App Store. Ever since the launch of the App Store in 2007, users have been clamoring for some kind of demoing system for paid apps. It looks like Apple may be slowly making strides towards that reality.
Publishers “may offer a free trial period” via in-app subscriptions in an iOS app, according to Apple.
The new iPad’s Retina display “will have a huge impact on games”, one developer told Cult of Mac this morning.
Get your catapults ready: Angry Birds Seasons is back, and this time the 15 new levels are set in Japan. But not the Japan that you or I might visit. This is a Japan populated with pigs wearing rope headbands, nestled amongst giant maki rolls and set in the shadow of the giant Mount Fuji.
So the 25 billionth download from the iOS App Store was none other than Where’s My Water? Free. It brought its owner a shiny $10,000 iTunes gift card and worldwide fame for 15 minutes. But will it bring you anything? The short answer is probably: no.
With an update to v4.0, the Mac AirPlay server AirServer has gotten the ability to mirror the display of your iPad on your big-screen Mac. This is pretty big, as you can now not only send video and music to your Mac as you could before, but you can make presentations and even play games, wirelessly.
We all can’t wait to get our hands on a Retina display-equipped iPad in the coming weeks, and many developers are starting to get their current iPad apps ready for the rumored 2048×1536 resolution.
One developer in particular decided to share and compare Retina display screenshots of his iPad game. The differences between the new and current resolution are pretty stunning.
Hey, iPhone users with death wish: We have just the thing to tantalize your suicidal tendencies. It’s called the Xappr, and it’s an augmented reality gun for your beloved iPhone 4. Simply pre order the Xappr for $30, hop on the plane to any decent-sized U.S city and wait for the cops to see you and mow you down in a glorious rain of lead.
Are you a fan of Instagram? Of course you are. And are you also a fan of those frustrating memory games where you have to flip over cards and match the pictures? I thought not. But if you are — you freak, you — then InstaMatch might be right up your alley.
Photo of Zias used with permission
This smiling youngster is Zias Kool, and he’s happy for good reason: as a birthday present, the makers of cult iOS puzzler Edge are going to add his Lego-designed custom level to a future version of the game.
Get ready to save Springfield from a horrific nuclear explosion caused by none other than the bumbling Homer Simpson in what Electronics Arts expects to be one of the biggest freemium hits of the year. Expected to be released in the coming weeks on iOS (and then later on Android – D’oh!), The Simpsons: Tapped Out will be a free download for users but will follow the success of other freemium apps by offering optional in-app purchases. This virtual currency will of course come in the form of doughnuts and while not necessary to complete the game, will give impatient users a way to speed things up.
Can’t get enough of whizzing those Angry Birds through the air using your trusty catapult, knocking down the fortifications of those adorably cute, wonderfully evil, egg-guzzling Green Piggies?
Well, how are you going to do that without gravity in outer space, hmmm, smart guy?
Yup, that’s right, Rovio has just announced their upcoming Angry Birds sequel, Angry Birds Space.
The psychedelic Whale Trail for iOS has been updated with 32 brand new levels and more power-ups. As the lead developer of Whale Trail told us in a recent interview, the popular App Store game now includes a second Challenge Pack called “Baron’s Revenge.” Among other additions, players can now keep progress synced across multiple devices.
The new levels in Whale Trail 1.2 will take you to the dark side. Now that’s what we’re talking about!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogBm9DVtu5Y
No, Clear isn’t the only App Store release that is worth getting excited about today. League of Evil 2 from Ravenous Games is also on the list. This is the sequel to the popular platformer that became a huge success on iOS last year, and it’s on sale for launch at just $0.99.
Imagine buying a paper magazine (remember those?), only instead of pages it just has a cover and a hole in the middle. Into this hole you place your iPad, which you then use to read the magazine’s contents. Useless, right? But that’s (almost) exactly what Hasbro has done in a desperate attempt to bring its board games into the 21st century.
The iOS version of Namco’s classic 3D swords-and-sorcery fighter Soul Calibur has been in the App Store for about a month now (and recently got an update guaranteeing 60FPS gameplay on all A5 devices), but if you want the true Apple Soul Calibur experience, you should check out the latest sequel for the consoles, Soul Calibur V. Only there can you create a character that looks exactly like Steve Jobs, then make him bludgeon sexy miniskirt babes, whip-tailed lizard men, and cyborg nights to death with a literal Apple. Awesome.
[via MacMagazine.br]
EA’s next major console title, Mass Effect 3, is set to grace game stores in the U.S. on March 6, and will be accompanied by an iOS app called Mass Effect Infiltrator that promises to “increase a player’s Galactic Readiness rating.”
My parents never let me play with them as a kid because they were afraid I’d get shot by a trigger-happy cop, which is perhaps why, to this day, I get a little giddy when I hear or read the words “LAZER TAG,” and feel myself ethereally tugged away — John Carter like — to a distant world where I am a member of the Lazer Team, policing the galaxy for perps who can be non-violently terminated by aiming my ray gun at the conveniently placed sensors strapped to their back, head and torso.
So when I saw that Hasbro has just announced the next update of their Lazer Tag guns — and that these sets actually use an iPhone or iPod touch as an augmented reality display and HUD — I immediately got excited, then disappointed as I remembered my parents wouldn’t let me have one. But wait! I’m an adult now, and as an adult, I can wave around as many plastic toy guns as I want! Hooray!