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Humble Mobile Bundle 3 hosts Ridiculous Fishing, Swordigo Android debuts
Humble Mobile Bundle 3 launched today boasting an approximate ton of high-profile Android games, including the previously announced Android debut of Vlambeer's Ridiculous Fishing. Touch Foo's side-scrolling action-RPG Swordigo also makes its first appearance on Android as part of Humble Bundle's latest offering. Bundle buyers will receive downloadable copies of Uppercut Games' post-apocalyptic robot battler Epoch, Zach Gage's word puzzler SpellTower, Grapefrukt Games' isometric strategy game Rymdkapsel, and Swordigo. Beat the average purchase price (currently $3.75) and you'll also receive Ridiculous Fishing and Ironhide Games' tower defense game Kingdom Rush. Humble Mobile Bundle 3 will remain available through November 26.
PBS mini documentary showcases the creativity of indie games
The latest episode of PBS' Off-Book, a web-series on online arts, is a celebration of indie games and their creativity. While the mini documentary probably won't tell you anything you don't already know, it is an excellently produced primer for getting into indie games.The seven-minute video is introduced by Kill Screen's Jamin Warren, then following on from Warren is SpellTower creator Zach Gage talking about the emotional and immersive value of game mechanics. Bastion creator Darren Korb then describes how he feels indie developers approach sound design differently from developers of AAA games. Eddy Boxerman and Andy Nealen explain the efforts they put into Osmos' art design, before Gamasutra's Leigh Alexander closes by looking at how indie games handle storytelling.If you like watching interesting stuff about indie games (and why wouldn't you?) you should also check out Indie Game: The Movie, which came to Netflix earlier this week. On a side note, if you can name all the games featured in the Off-Book video, you'll almost certainly win something completely awesome*.*by 'almost certainly' we mean 'definitely not'
SpellTower offers fun word-based board-clearing game
For US$3.99, SpellTower (now on the Mac App Store) provides an amusing diversion for anyone who likes word games. Although it's similar to other "find the word" board-clearing games, it adds in just enough bonus features to differentiate it from the pack. The blue and black squares provide extra destruction powers and "minimum word size" indicators nicely ramp-up game play as they force you to build extra-long words. Words of at least 5 letters supply extra board-clearing power. These extras combine for a quicker game pace tempered with a few extra challenges. Game Center integration and multiple play modes (tower mode, puzzle mode, and rush mode) mean you won't bore from gameplay any time soon. I preferred the Tower Mode (no pressure, 150 letters, max out your points) to Puzzle Mode (think "Tetris," adding a row each time you make a word). Your mileage may vary. All in all, I enjoyed giving SpellTower a whirl. It's light, it's fun, and I don't think you'll feel cheated by your four dollar outlay. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
SpellTower drops to .99 in last-ditch effort to topple Angry Birds, Draw Something
"Okay internet. It is the last day of my feature," tweeted SpellTower creator Zach Gage. "There's no chance I can tackle Angry Birds and Draw Something at this price ..." Gage asked if his Twitter followers would "have his back" or "get mad" if he chose to drop the price for one final push. His followers reassured him that they would not mind the promotional effort, and so Gage has done just that.And so, at about 12PM EST today, Gage kicked off the "1/2 OFF 24hr Sale Holy Crap, I'm Near the Top, This is Crazy! Help an Indie Take On Rovio+Zynga!" deal. If you want a well-regarded, beautiful word game, and you want to help a tiny indie triumph briefly over the titans of iOS, check it out on the App Store. And go ask Gage anything on Reddit – he's there answering questions to promote the promotion.
Daily iPhone App: SpellTower is a fast-paced word game with local multiplayer support
SpellTower is a challenging word game that was recently updated to version 3.0. This latest version includes retina graphics for the new iPad and local multiplayer support. Similar to Bookworm and other word games, SpellTower has a grid of letter tiles that you use to spell words by selecting adjacent letters. Each correct spelling removes tiles and earns you points. The goal of the game is to remove as many letter tiles as possible. There are four different game modes - a Puzzle mode that'll add a new row of letters every time you correctly spell a word, an exPuzzle mode that challenges you to spell longer words, a Tower mode that lets you spell as many words as possible and a Rush mode that forces you to spell quickly. The game includes a few specialty tiles that'll sometimes help, sometimes hinder you in the game. There are blue lettered tiles that knock out an entire row of letters and black tiles that'll block you from spelling words. These black tiles disappear when you spell an adjacent word. The biggest improvement in version 3.0 is a new multiplayer mode that lets you play against a friend via Bluetooth. This multiplayer mode takes the Rush game and pits you against a friend. You have to spell as many words as possible before your letter tower reaches the top. SpellTower adds a twist to the game by throwing letters to your opponent every time you spell a correct word. Not only do you move ahead when you spell a new word, you also set your opponent back. Whether you're playing the fast-paced Rush mode or the casual Tower mode, SpellTower will give your brain cells a workout. It's available for US$1.99 and includes both an iPhone version and a retina-capable iPad version.
Twitter app, Cut the Rope, SpellTower, SpellCraft School of Magic all updated
We don't usually cover every single update that arrives on the App Store, simply because there are so many apps out there and so many developers working hard all the time. But a number of very popular apps have updated recently, so here's a few big apps with lots of new content to see. The official Twitter app has been updated, specifically the iPhone version. The update allows you to use swipes to gesture around the app, copy and paste the links and text in actual tweets, and many other performance improvements and polishes. It's not a huge update, but it's worth downloading when it shows up in your iTunes or App Store update screen (though let me tell you, if you haven't experienced Tweetbot yet, you're missing out on a great alternative to the official app). Cut the Rope Experiments has gotten its Bath Time update, with 25 new levels, a new playable character, new achievements, and a new leaderboard to play with. It's a solid and highly anticipated update. Zach Gage's great SpellTower word game is getting a big update, which will include both a new multiplayer option and a few other game modes. Multiplayer will work across different iOS devices, too, so you can play with an iPad against players on iPhone, or vice versa. SpellCraft: School of Magic is getting updated to version 1.1 later this week (never mind -- it's out right now). It's a big update for the freemium title that adds lots of new customization options and spells, a healing spell that players can actually grow and craft (so they don't need to use or buy potions all the time), and a new plant that translates directly into gold. There are also some performance improvements and bug fixes included as well. That's four great apps made even better by their developers. If you've purchased them in the past, download away.
App updates roundup: Jetpack Joyride, Spelltower, more
Thursday on the App Store brings another round of new app releases, as well as some big updates. We've got news on some of those releases elsewhere, but here are a few of the app updates currently waiting for you in the App Store on your iOS device. Jetpack Joyride has gotten what Halfbrick calls "our greatest update ever" with a new mission system, a new forest area to play through, and lots of other add-ons and tweaks. Great game, only 99 cents, so go grab it if you haven't yet. Anomaly Warzone Earth is another great title that now boasts iCloud syncing for saved games, as well as some graphical and gameplay tweaks. Spelltower (above) is getting a (surprise!) universal update that brings this really terrific and well-designed word game to the iPhone's smaller screen. Minecraft for iOS hasn't updated yet, but Mojang has lots of plans for future releases. Zombie Gunship has gone free, as has The Adventure of Timmy. Pix'n Love Rush has an entirely new mode to play with, and the graphics look a little different at night apparently. Rebuild is a nicely polished strategy game for iOS that will push an update soon that includes support for the original iPad, as well as Game Center support. Attention, Alec Baldwin: Words with Friends for iPad has gotten an update with a few new metrics for showing how well your words are doing. And speaking of Zynga, that company's Poker app has been updated too, including some changes that make it much more independent of the Facebook game. There's lots of new content for some of your favorite apps this week. Not all of these are live just yet, but stay tuned, they'll be posted soon.
SpellTower, Chickon, Superman and lots of other iOS releases today
Believe it or not, we are getting into the start of the holiday season, and that means tons of action on the App Store as people head over to buy apps for their new devices. There are a bunch of exciting new apps to check out today, so here's a quick list: Hothead Games (makers of Kard Combat and Gem King) has released a new 99 cent game called Sea Stars, featuring some Ecco the Dolphin-style jumping. As expected, Minecraft Pocket Edition is now out and available for $6.99 on iOS. EA Mobile has a new freemium title called Road Trippin', in which you tour around the United States. Adult Swim's latest is an on-rails shooter called Major Mayhem, available for just a buck. Days of Wonder has released an iPhone-specific version of its popular Ticket to Ride board game, yours for only 99 cents. Anthill: Tactical Trail Defense isn't new, but it's gotten a big new content update and it's on sale for just 99 cents as well. SpellTower is a really excellent new spelling game for iPad from the creator of the great Bit Pilot and Halcyon. The creator of Galcon has turned his real-time strategy game about planetary domination into a game about chickens called (of course) Chickon. It's available for free. To celebrate the year anniversary of its dual-stick shooter Age of Zombies, Halfbrick Studios has re-released the title in an anniversary edition, making it universal and adding new content, still at 99 cents. Chillingo has two excellent new titles out, Superman (which features the DC superhero saving a 2D Metropolis from various threats) for 99 cents, and Extraction: Project Outbreak (a well-done top-down action RPG shooter), in a universal build for also 99 cents. Superman will probably sell better, but Extraction shouldn't be missed. Com2Us has released Homerun Battle 2, a sequel to the excellent arcade baseball game Homerun Battle 3D, for $4.99. Firemint has given its rodent stealth game Spy Mouse an HD version, for $2.99. Street Fighter IV Volt has new characters and new content, and is on sale for just 99 cents. Man, that's a whole lot of great games! This isn't even all of the app releases out this week, and my guess is that we haven't even seen the biggest flood of new apps -- that usually comes around Thanksgiving, and then ramps up again right as Apple freezes the store before Christmas. It's going to be a busy holiday season in iOS gaming for sure.
