We’re back with another week’s worth of wonderful games for you! Some truly stand-out titles this time around, so make sure to take a look and give them a try.
Know of some great upcoming games? We want to hear about them!
Angry Birds Halloween
Angry Birds Halloween
Let us pretend for a moment that this is not Angry Birds and that it is not amazing by default. What we are left with is still an excellent, finely-tuned game that excels on the strength of its gameplay and not its branding.
As with the main title, Angry Birds Halloween is a wonderful and addictive game that pits your birds against the aggravating pigs that keep stealing your eggs. As before, you fling the birds against the pigs’ structures to bring them toppling down. Essentially this is little more than a set of 45 extra levels wrapped up in a cute Halloween theme, but who’s going to complain about 45 new levels of Angry Birds?
If you’ve gotten through all the original levels and are craving more, then look no further: this is it. Trick or treat.
Price: $0.99
Developer: Rovio Mobile Ltd.
Download: App Store
Trade Nations
Trade Nations
Folks who enjoyed We City will be particularly drawn to Trade Nations. Clearly riding on the successes of previous titles in the genre, Trade Nations nevertheless sets itself apart with a gorgeous art style and the ability to assign jobs to your little citizens, giving them a greater purpose than just wandering aimlessly.
As you’d expect, connecting to friends and trading resources and land is a big part of the intended gameplay, since solo play can be a very slow and unsatisfying crawl. Either way, Trade Nations is a great game for patient people who enjoy seeing the fruits of their labour pay off slowly but surely in the form of a gorgeous, bustling town with diverse buildings and activities.
If you’ve got some friends and are feeling like We City is a little too modern for you, then I highly encourage you to give Trade Nations a whirl. It’s free, after all.
Price: Free
Developer: Amplified Games Inc. / jujuPlay
Download: App Store
AstroWings
AstroWings
Here comes one of the nicest space shooters on the App Store. AstroWings is a conflicted little beastie with great graphics and audio (catchy music!) marred by some rather sloppy in-game text. Whether it’s a poor translation job or just a set of rushed mistakes, the awkward instructions and spelling errors “tirpple tap!” are unfortunate.
Thankfully, they really can’t do too much to detract from what is truly an excellent shooter. You control a very well armed spaceship (you can choose between 3 types) and must defend against an onslaught of enemies using a number of upgradeable weapons. Even on the easiest difficulty, you will find yourself sorely challenged, and once you ramp up in levels or difficulty settings you will find yourself hard pressed to overcome the obstacles.
It’s an old-school game through and through, with a spirit of intensity and challenge that forces you to pay attention and be coordinated. Could use a bit of polish on the text end of things and it’s not for casual gamers, but anyone out for an addictive, tough, and gorgeous game with lots of replay value should really take a look at AstroWings.
Price: $1.99
Developer: LIVEZEN Corp.
Download: App Store
Red Balls of Goo
Red Balls of Goo
Clearly modeled on the aesthetic of World of Goo, Red Balls of Goo is actually a completely different type of game that presents a challenging set of levels beneath its cute art design.
Your task, as the little red ball, is to roll around through the platform levels collecting the other balls and not falling off the edges. It seems pretty easy at first glance, but you may find that the simple left/right controls respond a bit strangely. It’s nothing major but it take some getting used to. There’s not much more to it than this basic platforming mechanic, which one the one hand makes it seem shallow and on the other establishes Red Balls of Goo as a great little time-passer.
If you’re into this kind of art style and would like to give it a roll in a platforming setting then Red Balls of Goo is your friend. There are lots of levels to keep you occupied and the game will no doubt offer more in coming updates…hopefully along with a tweak for the controls.
Price: $0.99
Developer: Utopian Games
Download: App Store
Cut The Rope
Cut The Rope
We’ve saved the best for last this week: if you haven’t already grabbed Cut The Rope then go do so now. For real. Chillingo’s mighty team of talented app wizards has put out one of the most innovative and adorable puzzlers in recent memory.
Presented through gorgeous animations and a bright and attractive art style, Cut The Rope begins with a strange package arriving at your doorstep. Inside, you find a lovable little monster that craves candies. Your job is to cut the various ropes that suspend the candies such that they fall, swing, float, bounce, or otherwise make their way into the creature’s mouth.
There are a lot of interesting mechanics and physics tricks on display in this game, and everything looks and runs so smoothly that it’s hard to put down once you’ve started. Without reservation, this is one of the easiest apps to recommend and you should do yourselves a favour and play it.
Price: $0.99
Developer: Chillingo Ltd.
Download: App Store
What Have You Been Playing?
While we’ve been flinging birds, building towns, shooting aliens, collecting goo, and feeding candies to monsters, what have you been doing this week? Feed us some feedback and tell us all about your fresh app store game experiences in the comments!