Seems like March has snuck up on us this year, and with the announcement of the iPad 2 and the “year of the iPad 2″, it will be interesting to see what that means for portable games.
While we wait though, here are some excellent new titles that are worth playing!
Volcano Escape
Volcano Escape
Bravo Games starts off the list with a fantastic little vertical platform shooter called Volcano Escape. It’s an endless climb out of a hot volcano, and there’s nothing like the promise of hot lava burns to keep the tension high.
Playing as Colonel Charlie Bravo, you end up sacrificed to the volcano god (i.e. thrown in) and must jump, climb, and shoot your way back out. The pace is quick, but after you get the hang of the controls, it becomes a lot of fun to try and make it out. Various powerups will help you on your way, and you’ll find yourself defending against all manner of evil volcano monsters along the way (do yourself a favour and shoot them, then you can use them as platforms!)
The game is, of course, fully Game Center enabled, and if you’re not quite ready to tackle the global leaderboards then you can still brag about your highscores on Facebook and Twitter. It’s a lot of fun, so grab it while it’s hot!
Price: $1.99 (Currently on sale for $0.99)
Developer: Bravo
Download: App Store
Tiny Wings
Tiny Wings
An unexpected charmer, Tiny Wings is an exercise in sleek and concise game design.
The one-touch controls put you in charge of a tiny bird with tiny wings who just wants to fly all day and keep away from the encroaching night-time. You simply need to time your taps so that the bird stops flapping and slides down the downward slopes of the landscape and starts flapping again to use the momentum of sliding to launch itself off the upward slopes. It will only take you a second to figure it out, and after that you’ll be happily flying about the procedurally generated landscapes.
Accomplishing certain in-game “tasks” as you go will earn you upgrades to your nest, and there are even achievements to unlock. The game “ends” when night-time catches up with you, but you’ll find that otherwise Tiny Wings is an endless and extremely charismatic game that’s perfect for spending a few idle minutes. Highly recommended.
Price: $0.99
Developer: Andreas Illiger
Download: App Store
Jungool
Jungool
Jungool is an odd little title from Headsoft that offers some great platforming action wrapped in a tribal guise.
Playing as Wagga, a heroic little ball, you must navigate through 30 well-designed environments as you retrieve the stolen masks and young ones for your tribe. There are two control modes to choose from to help you jump, swim, bounce, and roll around, and there are a number of puzzles to solve as you progress.
It’s a neat little package with a lot of character and great art design. Game Center and OpenFeint support give you some extra replay value, and there are also achievements to strive for while you play, so if you like platformers then you should give Jungool a go.
Undead Island
Undead Island
There’s certainly no shortage of zombie games out there at the moment, but Undead Island makes a good contribution to the genre. A side-scrolling platformer, you play as a female ninja looking to fight her way off an island infested with the undead.
What makes Undead Island appealing is the combination of its hand-drawn art (Retina-ready!), frequent cinematics and voice-overs, and unpretentious spirit. It’s fun and easy-going, with lots of great details. The controls are a well-implemented combination of tilt and touch systems, with the former handling sideways motion and the latter being used for jump and attack functions.
Each of the game’s 15+ levels are filled with secrets that you can hunt for, and you’ll be able to display your highscores via Twitter, Facebook, and Game Center leaderboards. Team Phobic has created a solid game here, and if you can’t get enough zombie slashing action then you’ll find your fix here.
Price: $1.99
Developer: Team Phobic
Download: App Store
Trapped 3D
Trapped 3D
Last up this week is an obscure puzzler that is surprisingly fun. Trapped 3D is a fully 3D title taking advantage of the mighty Unity engine. In it, you control a robot stranded on Planet W who needs to reach the portal at the end of each stage in order to return to his ship.
The levels are structured like maze-based box shifting puzzles. If you’ve ever played a DragonQuest or Zelda game then you’ll know exactly what’s going on here. The more advanced levels introduce additional obstacles like locked doors, which add an extra layer of challenge. Since you can only push blocks (you can’t pull them) you’ll have to think ahead and make sure that you don’t accidentally block your path to the exit.
The game is nicely designed, with a simple on-screen control set (including a handy reset button if you screw up) and a clean visual style. An impending update is bringing more levels, an undo feature, and some more performance optimizations to ensure that the game has even more lasting appeal. If you’re into more patient puzzle games then take a look at Trapped 3D.
Price: $0.99
Developer: Javier Lerones
Download: App Store
What Have You Been Playing?
With those excellent titles to tide you over, have fun and drop us some comments if you’ve got any other great games we missed or thoughts about these ones — we always appreciate your recommendations.