May the 4th be with you, friends (sorry, I had to)! Nothing says weekend like some new games to play, and lucky for you we’ve got a terrific collection this week, including some familiar faces and a few arcade-y masterpieces.
Click through, and play on!
Polymer
Since puzzle games are a dime a dozen on the App Store, it falls to creative folks who are willing to go outside the comfort zone to build something fresh and inspiring. Whitaker Blackall has gone way out of his comfort zone. After successfully working as a composer for many popular titles (including Velocispider, Casey’s Contraptions, and more), Whitaker decided to build his own game — and Polymer is the result.
While similar to a match-three type game in form, Polymer is fiendishly challenging because it requires you to assemble “polymers” — colourful blobs — into complete molecules. The bigger the better. Rather than swap positions, you play the game by sliding entire rows and columns of polymers up/down or left/right in an effort to build polymers.
As you progress, you’ll unlock more game modes, piece shapes, and colour schemes, and — best of all — you don’t need to make an IAP to unlock any of the gameplay-related content, which is a breath of fresh air. Polymer is the newest and, honestly, among the very best examples of a simple but compelling gameplay structure polished into an addictive, surprisingly challenging, and very rewarding portable game. Don’t miss it.
Price: $0.99
Developer: Whitaker Blackall
Download: App Store
Spellsword
Survival games make for good mobile gaming. You can have endless modes that can be played for as much time as you have, and the need to not die makes it easy to keep things tense and exciting. Spellsword leverages this knowledge in a fantasy setting, creating an experience not unlike Super Crate Box in its frantic nature, but somewhat more mission-oriented.
A game like this lives or dies by its responsiveness, and the controls in Spellsword are, thankfully, excellent. You’ll never feel cheated by the game, even when it gets tough, and there is a strong sense of measurable difference as you progress through the game and encounter new spells and level up. For those looking for a challenge or a quick play session, there are nine arenas for endless play, and together with the normal game mode, you’ll find a lot of bang for your buck.
For you iCade users out there, Spellsword is optimized for it, and the retina-ready graphics look equally good on your iPhone or your iPad — both of which you can try out with a single purchase thanks to its universal status. Spellsword is lovingly crafted, has a charming retro aesthetic, and balances challenge with reward in a very compelling mix.
Ballistic SE
Twin stick shooters are among the quintessential faces of arcade gaming, and they’ve been incredibly popular on the App Store. Ballistic SE enters the fray with guns blazing, and its scintillating colours and fast pacing will enthuse all fans of the genre.
Make no mistake: this is an extremely exciting game. Starting out, you might want to keep the aim helper on just to get a feel for things, but as you progress you’ll quickly sharpen your skills. The infinite wave mode offers a classic endless survival mode, and there is also a challenge mode that, while interesting, is not yet as diverse or fleshed out as it could be.
One interesting element is the inclusion of the so-called “Ballistic Mode” which acts as a sort of bullet time for your blasting. It adds an extra dimension of fun to the game and helps you make a recovery when the odds are against you. With Retina display support and iCloud saving, you can expect brilliant cross-platform eye candy from this arcade-y shooter.
Price: $1.99
Developer: Radiangames
Download: App Store
Tilt World
In an excellent example of playsourcing, Tilt World is an eco-friendly game offering players an opportunity to make a tangible difference in the world simply by playing. Thanks to a partnership with weforest.org, your seed collecting antics in the game will be mirrored through the planting of actual trees in Madagascar. How’s that for cool?
Tilt World features extremely intuitive controls, needing only tilt input to interact with the world. Your task is to eat carbon molecules, dodge diseased blobs, and catch precious seeds in an effort to save Shady Glen.
There’s not much more to it than that, but thanks to its stunning artwork and audio presentation and heart-warming real-world value, Tilt World deserves a look. Go save some rainforests!
Price: $0.99
Developer: XEOPlay, Inc.
Download: App Store
MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 2
The latest of the old classics to be revived in iOS form is MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 2, by CAPCOM and their CAPSLOCK. You’ll recall that it’s a pretty loud game, filled with burly fighters duking it out in a huge game with tons of content.
A staggering 56-character roster has made it into the game, offering you a huge wealth of different fighters to play against, though many of them must be unlocked. The inclusion of multiplayer and and tag-team fighting, you won’t have any trouble sinking hours into this title alone or with a friend. The controls, crucial to any fighting game, have produced some mixed reviews. While we personally found them perfectly serviceable, the inclusion of the “flick” button to simplify complicated combos has some purists upset.
No matter how you look at it, MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 2 is a definitive entry in the fighting game genre and stands up among the finest, even so many years after its initial release.
Price: $2.99 until May 6th (normally $4.99)
Developer: CAPCOM
Download: App Store
What Have You Been Playing?
Until next time, we hope these excellent titles will keep your thumbs busy! Drop us a comment if you’re playing something else too, and keep sending us your tips for awesome new titles we might have missed.