It’s been a big week for the Internet, with Wikipedia’s birthday passing last weekend and some notable back-pedalling on the SOPA issue, but … it’s Friday, which means it’s time to set all that aside and enjoy some R & R.
As always, we’ve got you covered with a brand new set of fresh titles that you’ll have a hard time resisting — jump in and play!
Zombie Wonderland 2: Outta Time!
First up, a fun sequel: Zombie Wonderland 2. This time traveling follow up to the popular zombie masher brings a lot of new functionality to what is already a polished and irresistible gameplay framework.
Play as Chuck and voyage through time to ten different levels as you endeavour to give zombies a bad day. The weapons are diverse and often quite hilarious, the enemies are plentiful and varied, and the entire presentation has been shined to a polish so you’ll look great while killing the undead.
There’s obviously not much here in the way of innovation, but sometimes all a sequel needs is to turn a tested formula into a perfected, beautiful and effortlessly fun experience, which is exactly what Zombie Wonderland 2: Outta Time! is.
Run Roo Run
Our friends at 5TH Cell are following up their acclaimed Scribblenauts game with something that harkens back to the good old days of Wario-Ware style micro games, except instead of a crazy variety of strange minigames, you’ve got one incredibly thorough exploration of micro-scale platforming.
Each of the game’s 420 levels (not a typo) is only the size of one screen, which combined with the one-touch controls makes for a streamlined and very fast-paced gameplay experience. There simply isn’t time to get frustrated; it keeps you moving and feeling the sense of progress. Each level makes great use of its compact space, using interesting items, clever environment design and challenging timing puzzles to make reaching the finish line a bit of a puzzle each time.
Run Roo Run promises to delivery weekly map updates with more content, and the extensive social gaming integration along with the generous set of stock levels means that there’s a ton of content to enjoy in this title. Did we mention it’s beautiful to look at, too?
AREL WARS
Taking a break from their popular Zenonia series, the folks at Gamevil have just put out a tactical strategy title called Arel Wars, where you’ll work to defend your tower against assault, and fight to capture your opponent’s. There are many many different units at your beck and call, and more than a hundred levels spread over five campaigns, so you won’t run out of things to do here.
The art is very reminiscent of the Zenonia franchise, though it shows off its own unique flair and makes better use of the screen real estate with its user interface. The game is free, but as you can imagine there is a wealth of in-app content waiting for you if you decide to purchase some currency to shop with. If you’re into strategy/tower defense type games, you should do yourself a favour and give Arel Wars a try.
Price: Free
Developer: GAMEVIL Inc.
Download: App Store
Cytus
We’re very eager to show you Cytus because it takes a familiar concept, the music game, and does remarkably innovative things with it.
Rather than your usual on rails rhythm game, this attractive new title from Rayark must be played to be understood. When you start a level, a horizontal line begins scanning up and down the screen and shapes begin to appear. Your job is to tap those shapes as the scanning bar passes over them — the more precise you are, the higher your score, of course. Individual notes soon turn to held notes, crazy sequences and tricky combos that will test your reflexes and sense of timing.
It goes without saying that there is a variety of music in the game in a number of genres, and there will no doubt be more on its way. Leaderboards and Facebook posting let you compare your skills to other players, though sadly that is the only social component. It would be very exciting to see how Rayark might approach including a multiplayer option. Either way, Cytus is one of the most innovative and immersive music games we’ve seen in a long time and it’s well worth your attention.
Price: $0.99
Developer: Rayark Inc.
Download: App Store
Hatchi
Let’s end with something that will make your inner nostalgic child squeal with glee. Hatchi is a virtual pet game —Tamagotchi on your iPhone, yes. It’s almost inconceivable that someone hasn’t already tapped into this obvious niche, but the virtual pets selection on the App Store is still pitifully weak. Certainly none sport the true, charming, retro style of Hatchi.
Everything from the pixel perfect interface to the absolutely irresistible design of the little monster you’ll be growing combine to create a wonderful homage to the portable pet toys of old. Your job, as with any pet, is to make sure that your little companion stays fed, watered and entertained, and your skills as a parent will determine how it changes and grows into adulthood.
The game is admittedly not particularly deep, but the framework has been established and we’ll no doubt be seeing entertaining new gameplay updates that help expand the experience and widen the range of monsters you can grow. I, for one, can’t wait!
Price: $0.99
Developer: Portable Pixels
Download: App Store
What Have You Been Playing?
That’s all for this week, everyone. We know you’ll have some fun with these, and we’d love to hear from you in the comments if you managed to grow a particularly cute Hatchi monster (screenshots encouraged!) or even if you’ve played something else we might have missed. See you next week!