Welcome to June and another installment of Game Friday, folks!
This is, believe it or not, our fiftieth episode, so before we jump into the list, I just want to thank everyone for their continuing suggestions, comments, and feedback on Game Friday. We love you too. Now that that’s out of the way, the best recent releases are waiting for you after the jump, so get clicking!
Mighty Fin
Mighty Fin
Mighty Fin is a mighty fine example of building on an existing mechanic in a respectful and effective way. As soon as you begin playing, you’ll notice the similarity to Tiny Wings, and this extends beyond the control scheme to the visuals as well.
Of course story-wise, things are rather reversed in that you spend your time swimming instead of flying, but otherwise you’ll probably find that gameplay is pretty familiar, with tapping making you sink and releasing your finger causing you to jump up. As you speed through levels, you collect items and costume bubbles in a way that makes it feel like a combination between Tiny Wings and LittleBigPlanet. The unlocked costumes can then be worn, so you can look stylish while chasing down achievements and highscores.
Whether or not you enjoyed Tiny Wings, you can rest assured that Mighty Fin is a charming and worthy addition to your game library.
Price: $0.99
Developer: Launching Pad Games
Download: App Store
Velocispider
Velocispider
Among the more popular games that came out recently, Velocispider continues on the retro trend and delivers another wholly successful fusion of oldschool gaming with modern polish.
Playing as a bizarre half-spider, half-velociraptor machine thing, you do your best to defend your eggs against an evil man who sends his “robot seafood” to try and steal them from you. It’s a vertical shooter through and through, and it features most of the things you’d expect (powerups, highscore leaderboards, etc.)
There are plenty of levels to keep you busy for now, and more are sure to come. This one is terrific for passing the time; highly recommended.
Price: $0.99
Developer: Retro Dreamer
Download: App Store
To-Fu: The Trials of Chi
To-Fu: The Trials of Chi
As the name suggests, this tale of the “world’s most malleable martial artist” is a cheerful oriental-flavoured story of one tofu block’s struggles to complete the trials of Chi in an effort to become a master.
It’s a puzzle game, of course, but it’s based on the stretch-and-fling mechanic. The trials encourage you to collect relics and little chi blobs while using the minimum number of flings (they call them pings), so the challenge is not only in completing the levels, but in doing so within the given parameters.
Different types of surfaces, spikes, and other dangers will confront you as you progress through the 100 or so levels of the trial, and the game’s friendly and forgiving play style seems aimed at rewarding fresh and hardcore gamers alike. There’s something for everyone in here, so have a look!
Price: $0.99
Developer: HotGen Ltd.
Download: App Store
Panda Warrior: Zombie King's Treasure
Panda Warrior: Zombie King’s Treasure
Panda Warrior: Zombie King’s Treasure is an amusing and colourful game from the creators of Devil Boy.
Playing as Bo, the hungry panda warrior, you must retrieve your food from the evil zombie king by fighting through legions of his undead horde. It’s a pretty straight-forward game, with simple controls and a pick-up-and-play attitude. What brings it all together is the wonderful visual style, which is overflowing with colours and quality artwork.
Be aware that it’s only available for iPhone 4 / iPod Touch 4th gen for now, so hold off for a while if you have an older device — an update will ensure compatibility.
Price: $0.99
Developer: Rhinobeetle
Download: App Store
Skyblox
Skyblox Full Version
Skyblox Full Version is a refinement of an older release by Advanced Mobile Applications. Instead of making more levels available for an in-game purchase as the frustrating original system had it, the full 80 levels are available from the get-go now, and (at least temporarily) for free!
The game itself is a puzzler wherein you must push a rectangular block through each level so that at the end you can slot it into a marker. It’s trickier than it seems, since you must position the block so that it lands vertically on the marker, just touching it won’t suffice. The block is moved via finger swipes, and there isn’t a whole lot else to it in terms of controls, making it a perfect game for those after uncomplicated control schemes.
The levels become appropriately challenging as you progress, but part of that challenge comes from the fact that there is no means of shifting the map around to view what’s coming up in the level, which makes it impossible to plan ahead and can sometimes mean a lot of idle backtracking. It’s a silly oversight that will hopefully be addressed in a future update, but besides that, Skyblox is a solid and
Price: Free
Developer: Advanced Mobile Applications Ltd.
Download: App Store
What Have You Been Playing?
Whether you’re enjoying these titles, still struggling with The Heist, or have other amazing games that have been taking up your time, we want to hear about it! Pop into the comments and share the fun.