It’s another relaxing Friday and that means it’s time for a fresh batch of new games from the App Store!
Click through and have a look at what we’ve been playing this week …
Thorn: Zombie Dungeon Survival
Thorn: Zombie Dungeon Survival
Playing as a viking hero is always something to look forward to, and in Thorn: Zombie Dungeon Survival, this is especially true since he’s short tempered and stars in a game with a sense of humour.
At its core, Thorn is a hack-and-slash dungeon crawler, and it offers one of the most streamlined experiences in the genre on the iPhone. I say streamlined because the gameplay isn’t terribly deep, but it also doesn’t need to be. In each level you’ll collect weapons and go on a rampage against a number of zombies (each of which has a name, amusingly). There’s also a time limit for each stage, but it’s fairly generous.
Slick controls and interesting isometric artwork round off the package, despite some grating musical cues. Thorn is a lot of fun in a very simple-to-pick-up package to spend some time with.
Price: $1.99
Developer: Good Controller LLC
Download: App Store
Blobster
Blobster
Blobster is an extremely fun platforming game that, for several reasons, reminds me of the excellent Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime for the Nintendo DS. Besides the slimy protagonist and colourful visuals, both games also share an easy charm that makes them irresistibly engaging.
In Blobster, you’re bouncing and flinging throughout each level in search of collectible resources that help power your little blobby community. There are very useful powerups as well, and some items will make you grow progressively larger, allowing you to jump higher and reach previously-inaccessible areas as you progress through the level. The puzzle designs get sophisticated, but they’re all designed with impeccable fairness and care so you’ll rarely feel frustrated.
So far there are 40 levels — and more are promised in future updates — though 75% completion will also unlock a survival mode that will keep you busy even longer! Blobster is a terrific game that’s easy to fall in love with.
Price: $0.99
Developer: Divine Robot
Download: App Store
Firefly Hero
Firefly Hero
Despite the quality that tends (we hope!) to pervade all our choices of games in one way or another, sometimes we come across one that screams success and does something to innovate, even in a familiar genre. In this case, we look at Firefly Hero and its fun path-based puzzle mechanic.
This puzzler’s basic game mechanic is about as simple as can be: you tap a light to turn it on and attract your firefly, who will fly in a straight line toward it. Eventually, obstacles will get in your way and you’ll need to have good timing to manage to collect all the stars without bumping into anything. To make matters worse, some lights might even break! As an added incentive, finishing each level with the minimum number of moves will earn you a golden leaf (think of it like earning all three stars on an Angry Birds level).
The bottom line is that Firefly Hero is an outstanding new puzzle game that deserves the attention it’s getting. Don’t miss this one!
Price: $0.99
Developer: Roundabyte
Download: App Store
Reckless Getaway
Reckless Getaway
One of the genres that’s had the most success on the iPhone is the racing genre, and expanding upon the basic standard is Reckless Getaway, an action-packed, Burnout-style game that combines slick controls, tight physics, and good graphics to make for a strong entry.
What really makes it run is, of course, the gameplay, and thankfully Polarbit has maintained its talent for finely tuned game mechanics this time around. The controls are a simple affair, consisting of a tap-based system where you need only touch the half of the screen you want to turn toward. This is combined with an onscreen button to activate the myriad of powerups that you’ll run into along the way. Collecting coins while you avoid cops, traffic and obstacles is the name of the game.
The levels are particularly well designed, and even though there aren’t many of them yet (16 as of this writing), each one offers multiple paths and a healthy dose of easter eggs, so you’ll find yourself wanting to revisit them to uncover all their secrets. This is another one that’s tough to put down!
QuBIT
QuBIT
Last up this week is another solid racer called QuBIT. This slightly TRON-like game sets you up as a robot that must collect coloured crystals by bashing into them headfirst.
A little strange, perhaps, but the premise vanishes beneath a strong tilt-based gameplay mechanic that encourages you to create combos and make use of your environment to progress by latching onto energy rails and orbs. It is a colour-matching game fundamentally, but it plays like a racer and the pace remains steadily challenging.
A thorough tutorial will bring you up to speed on the controls quickly, but they’re pretty simple to figure out even without it if you want to just pick up and play.
Price: $0.99
Developer: Secret Sauce
Download: App Store
What Have You Been Playing?
Now you know what we’ve been toying with, but what about you? Made some good game discoveries this week? Let us know!