iGame Radio

Kitty’s Tattoo is a time management game by Pan Vision (the folks who created Pirates vs. Ninjas vs. Zombies vs. Pandas) set in a tattoo parlour. Balance tattooing customers as fast as possible with creating more complex and creative tats for better reputation points. Oh, and of course, your customers have no patience. If you take a look at the trailer, you’ll see all kinds of customers that, well, I’ve never seen in a tattoo parlour (yeah, I have a tat). The game released yesterday on the App store for $1.99 iPhone and $2.99 on the iPad.

Wordrive is a word spelling game with a twist. You don’t spell words, you create sentences of original phrases. It seems from the website that you are supposed to be matching phrases from a phrase bank in the game for points. You can also submit your own original phrases that you yourself created. It would be nice to see how the game runs, but the trailer is all in Russian and an updated trailer has been posted in English showing some rather…unusual phrases. The game looks to challenge your thinking skills while ranking you against others, at a price of $1.99.

We heard the title Gemcraft, and the first thought that popped into our head was, “one more match three puzzler”. But Gemcraft is anything but. This tower defense game has come over from Flash to invade the iOS with gem power. Unlock gems of different abilities and powers and place them properly to slay the evil monsters. The game spans 4 worlds and 32 levels with the potential of unlocking 7 different modes. You can get it for $1.99 for iPhone/iPod Touch with a lite version available.

 

UPDATE: Just heard from Alawar that they will be delivering new content to an update for Twisted Lands: Shadow Town!

What’s inside this episode:

• A review of Fluorama, by Pixelammo. A light-hearted casual game with some addictive potential but short-term play time. Perhaps with more random-generation of levels, or more levels over time, the game would have longer potential for life.
  
• Also, a review of Eggroll, by Lamplighter Games. Eggroll succeeds in creating a bright, cheery atmosphere of casual fun for the puzzler in all of us. But without level updates, that cheer will eventually fade to gloom.
  
• Also, a review of Twisted Lands: Shadow Town, by Alawar Games. A dark and disturbing story, wonderfully integrated gameplay, and fun puzzles make for a terrific combination of fun for any iPad. Definitely not a game to miss.
  

• EggRoll
• FluOrama
• Twisted Lands: Shadow Town

Fish Tank is a melting pot of the casual game world. Taking a bit of match-three gaming here, Tetris-style gaming there, and turning it on its side for some horizontal fun. You match fish of the same colors as they swim across the screen, and tilt your iPhone to remove groups of matches. There are 24 different challenges in two different modes, arcade and challenge. The game goes for $1.99, but will be available for a limited time for $0.99.

Yslandia, a fully-featured MMORPG for the iOS platform, has gone freemium. Publisher Bulkypix announced last week the move on the game’s website, along with two new in-app items to purchase. The freemium choice was in part decided as a celebration of reaching 100,000 players, a pretty incredible number for any MMORPG…let alone one based on a mobile platform.

The Mystery of the Crystal Portal free version has taken an interesting step in preserving the existence of the game. Not only have the developers added extra time to the game, but you can now unlock the full version of the game from within the free game at a discount. Once you’ve played through the free version, a pop-up will navigate you through purchasing the full-version as in-app content. If you activate the full version by April 18th, you can save 40% off the full version price.

Catch the Candy puts you in control of a hungry little fuzzy creature as he uses his extendible grappling tongue to hunt down his candy. Yes, you read that right. Not only does he use that tongue to grab the candy, he has to latch onto objects to move around, from swinging from tree to tree, to moving along the ground…through 53 stages. You use real-time physics and a touch-screen interface to move fuzzy, and his tongue. In another universe this could be a pretty gross game. But based on the trailer below, Catch the Candy is pretty…sweet.

You may remember that I reviewed The Line, by Ant Hive Games, a while back. I liked the game, but felt that the inability to visually access the entire map really hampered gameplay. Well, Ant Hive Games has solved that problem, by releasing The Line HD v.2, as well as introducing a whole lot of other gaming goodness. Included in this new release is a casual mode with 50 levels, and a second world in classic with 50 more levels. There are also new skins and art styles, and a new scoring system. All in all, we’ve got a reboot. Guess I’ll have to re-review the game, eh?

Berzerk Ball, the iOS port of the popular Flash game Homerun in Berzerk Land, has received a free version as well as a clever update. In the game, players smash Comeau, the snarky “geek”, across Berzerk Land while aiming for boosts that will send him flying further into oblivion. Apparently the developers have tired of the geek’s snarks, because they’ve now introduced new user-submitted quotes for the geek to say. The update also included optimized graphics, new items, trophies, and a new, special, sexy character. The game is available for $0.99.

 

What’s inside this episode:

• Host Omaha Sternberg is on her own this week talking about the week’s news in Mac and iOS gaming. First up is the latest release of Issue 20 for City of Heroes. Emperor Marcus Cole is all-powerful now, and he’s gonna make sure everyone knows it. What to expect from this latest release.
• Metacritic has finally opened its doors to the iOS platform, aggregating reviews and scores for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad games. Is this good or bad? Does it make these iOS devices more legitimate as gaming platforms?
• The Google Marketplace is in the midst of a Clone War…and not the Star Wars kind either. Find out why Omaha prefers the Walled Garden of the App Store.
• Omaha talks about games that she’s played in the past week.
• Do you think iGame Radio should get a new theme song, or stick with the one its got? Weigh in on the new poll, or send in your thoughts to be part of the decision.

Music Notes:

• Digital Droo produced our theme music here at iGame Radio.
• Matt Jarvis for featuring music from Osmos.
• Bobby “Glorian” Slavov and Victor Stoyanov for featuring music from Eschalon: Book 1.

Digital Tales has announced Ducati Challenge, a 3D bike racing game that will be released on iPhone, iPad, and PSP. The game features race tracks, windy mountain roads, narrow village streets, and hot dessert valleys as you race various Ducati 2011 lineup bikes. There are six categories and three game modes, including a championship mode and a quick race mode for that fast race in the bank line. What I find very interesting about this announcement, however, is that Digital Tales is releasing this game for PSP, the Sony mobile gaming device, as well as iOS…further enhancing the idea of the iPhone/iPod Touch and the iPad as gaming devices.

The Fish Dies in the End looks like an endless running game for the iPhone where the goal is to knock off your fish. At least that’s what the title implies. You navigate your fish through all manner of danger, including nasty sharks, to get as many points as possible. The game features randomly generated levels and Game Center support.

Zoombie Digger provides some interesting tower defense play for your iPhone and iPad. The graphics alone are gruesome in a bizarrely attractive way, and the gameplay is a simple one-touch mechanism. You dig traps to capture and bury the enemy animal zombies that are trying to destroy you. The game features 40 levels and 5 locations.

 

What’s inside this episode:

• A review of Dino Rush, by Nemoid Games. Dino Rush is a fun if overly challenging endless run side-scroller. The only real downside is the lag that you’ll encounter, which Nemoid studios has been, and will presumably be continuing to, work on. And at 99 cents, it’s pocket change for long-term fun.
  
• Also, a review of Spirits, by Spaces of Play. The puzzles of Spirits are difficult, and make you work, and the music and visuals are a delight to experience. Overall a wonderful game to enjoy, and well worth the price.
  
• Plus, a review of Braveheart, by Gaijin Games. With the exception of the boss grinds, Braveheart is a great example of an RPG-style shooter that is just plain fun. Wind up that flail and have a go!
  

• Dino Rush
• Spirits
• Braveheart

PopCap Games has announced a new experimental label to release weird titles through. 4th & Battery will allow PopCap developers free reign to try different ideas in short formats for PC, Facebook, and iPhone.

Named for the intersection in Seattle where PopCap’s headquarters are located, 4th & Battery will release smaller, simpler, and sometimes edgier games…some of which will be aimed at mature audiences. “4th & Battery is a pressure valve intended to keep our heads from exploding,” explained Ed Allard, Executive Vice President of Studios at PopCap. “4th & Battery gives us a way to quickly try really strange or marginal ideas, and to give our designers a safe area to hone their chops.”

The first title to be released is one such game. Unpleasant Horse is a strikingly unpleasant horse that sports wings and advances through the game by destroying small birds and landing on more pleasant horses from above. Landing atop other horses enables the player to force them earthward into a perpetual meat grinder for extra points and special bonuses. Available later this month for the iPhone and iPod touch through the App Store, Unpleasant Horse will be released for free, though whether the game will be a freemium title with in-app purchases or not is still unknown.

 

What’s inside this episode:

• Host Omaha Sternberg and co-host Corey Tamas talk about the week’s news in Mac and iOS gaming. They discuss that big announcement that nobody could possibly have known before hand because Apple is so good at keeping secrets…oh, okay, we talk about the iPad 2 announcement everyone was talking about for months. Will it be a better gaming machine? Is it worth it to pick the new device up?
• GDC was a happenin’ last week. Omaha and Corey talk about what was hot and what wasn’t (hint: cars made of jelly) and who won the IGF awards this year.
• Indie Game Magazine has announced the purchase of GameTunnel. What that is and why you should care. Get in on the community spirit at the Kickstarter Promotion for the site.
• Omaha and Corey talk about games that were released and games that they played.
• Omaha talks about the iGame Radio poll results. You might be surprised at what the majority of gamers wanted Chell to wear.

Music Notes:

• Digital Droo produced our theme music here at iGame Radio.
• Rich Carlson featured music from Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space.
• Digital Droo featured music from Neon Tango.

Our Sketchbook is a hidden-object game for iOS and Facebook by Present Creative, scheduled to launch in spring. Taking place entirely within the pages of an artist’s sketchbook, players must find objects in each sketch, while earning stars that will fill the sketches with color. Trophies found in the sketches can be collected so the player can create their own sketches as well, which can be shared between friends. The developer is promising updated levels from professional artists as well.

Firemint has revealed their next game, Agent Squeek. Touch Arcade reports that this is a line-drawing game that involves players guiding Agent Squeek, a mouse, around levels to gather cheese and avoid cats. As one solves levels, one receives bits and pieces of a blueprint that gives more info about the boss of the world. The game is slated to release sometime this year.

And finally, it seems that 2DBoy is finally making good on their promise of 2009 to bring World of Goo to the iPhone. A post to their blog has announced the impending release, along with a FAQ that includes one of the biggest reasons for the delay…worries regarding the size of the iPhone screen. 2DBoy seems to have solved that issue, as the game will be released soon, “[h]opefully sometime in March”, as the blog post says.