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Chillingo founders cut the rope from Electronic Arts
Chillingo founders Chris Byatte and Joe Wee have left Electronic Arts, MCV reported. The co-founding duo had a hand in launching the first Angry Birds and Cut the Rope games. EA purchased Chillingo in October 2010 for $20 million. The LinkedIn profiles for both Byatte and Wee corroborate the news, noting that the founders left their positions at Electronic Arts in December 2013. Neither profile indicates the future of the developers. The news follows the departure of Criterion Games Vice President Alex Ward and Studio Director Fiona Sperry as well as PopCap CEO David Roberts and Co-Founder Jason Kapalka, both of which were reported last week. Kapalka will remain a creative consultant for PopCap. We've reached out to EA to confirm that Byatte and Wee left the company, and will update as we learn more.
Ninja Theory's F2P beat-em-up Fightback out now on iOS
Enslaved and DmC studio Ninja Theory made its mobile debut today with Fightback, a free-to-play brawler that's out now on the App Store. Last we heard, an Android version was also in the works, but no sign of it on Google Play just yet. I took Fightback for a quick spin on my iPhone 5 this morning, and from what I played it's essentially a Die Hard-em-up. You play as a Van Damme-like muscle man, slick-haired with sunglasses to boot, and your aim in each mission is to beat up every last enemy in your path. When you're done, the hero punches a lift button, or walks up the stairs with a lingering look at the fallen bodies left in his wake. While it's not as (lovingly) mocking as Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, its cheesy 1980s roots are more than evident. Also, no surprises that, being a Ninja Theory game, it's great to look at too. While it looks like a typical 2D beat-em-up, you don't really control your character's left-to-right movement in Fightback. Instead, the hero automatically moves from fight to fight; a typical level might see you take on two enemies at the start, and once you defeat them your character walks forwards into another fight with four more enemies, and so on and so forth. Player input, then, is limited to the fighting, with quick taps and directional swipes allowing you to punch, kick, and shoot your enemies down. As you progress along, you can use the in-game cash and gold you earn to upgrade your stats, buy protective vests, a whole assortment of meaty firearms, and some cosmetic tattoos. Like some other free-to-play games, Fightback employs a stamina meter that drains one segment each time you play a mission, but refills gradually over time - from what I could see, it refilled at a rate of six minutes per segment. You can use in-game gold to refill the meter in full, and in my brief playthrough I was able to get more gold by leveling up. Of course, another way to get gold or in-game cash is by purchasing them using real-life money. That said, publisher Chillingo notes the game doesn't feature any compulsory payments, and as ever you can choose to disable in-app purchases in the settings of your iDevice.
Chillingo's COO, head of production talk Icycle, the company's freemium strategy
I got to run through almost all of EA and Chillingo's upcoming titles at E3 a few weeks ago, and one theme was very clear: The company is investing heavily in the freemium business model, and plans to use its quality and expertise to convince customers to generate an ongoing cash flow for its developers. Earlier this week, Chillingo invited me to speak with COO Ed Rumley and the company's Head of Production Andy Needham. We discussed this current trend in monetization as it applies to Chillingo's titles, and how the company approaches publishing in general. "The pay per download market is a challenging market right now," Rumley tells me. Chillingo's goal with each title it publishes is to "bring out the star rating and polish the diamond in the rough." Rumley is proud that Chillingo has hosted a very quality catalog so far, with high ratings all around. But the only way the company can do that, he says, is to "make sure the best game is delivered for the consumer in the right way." That often means that games need a strong, ongoing flow of income via in-app purchases, rather than just an initial bit of profit at sale. Chillingo will soon publish Icycle: On Thin Ice, which is one of the best games I saw at GDC. I was, however, disappointed to see that the company had added freemium options for E3. Needham called it "a game that will influence people one day, and it's a game that we want to make sure we get right. No sort of bolt-on freemium model would work with this game." Instead, Needham and his production team have tried to come up with some freemium elements that leave the game itself untouched. "Anybody could play this game fairly all of the way through it [without paying]," Needham says. "You can even unlock an additional game." And you can do that all without having to pay a cent. Instead, the freemium elements are there for convenience, Needham says. The freemium currency can be used to buy a "spare wheel," which allows the player to restart in place after a loss, instead of having to begin at the start of the latest level. "The in-app purchase is there really to help people enjoy the experience by not having to step back all of the time," says Needham. "What we wouldn't do is compromise the gameplay in order to get those dollars." Other than the work around freemium titles, Rumley says Chillingo is finding plenty of new games to publish, both from current and new partners. "(The number of) unique developers is actually up about 60 percent year on year," says Rumley, "so a huge amount of developers are coming to us." Current developers are choosing to re-publish with Chillingo, too, says Needham, and a big part of that is the company's acquisition by EA a few years ago. Chillingo's production team routinely works with EA. "We're able to share and learn a lot of the findings that they're making, and they're able to view our games and recommend them," says Needham. In the end, says Rumley, Chillingo is focused first on quality. "We know how to deliver that four-and-a-half star quality rating," he says, and make "the games that treat the consumers the way they deserve to be treated." Icycle: On Thin Ice is indeed a beautiful game, and Rumley says the company is dedicated to making the developer's talent and experience shine through, all while making sure he's compensated as well as he can be. "At no point will the monetization distract you from what it is," promises Rumley. "It's a beautiful game and it's exceptionally playable." Icycle: On Thin Ice is due out sometime later on this summer.
EA/Chillingo's E3 2013 offerings: Plants vs Zombies 2, Fightback and more
Chillingo, unfortunately, wasn't mentioned at all during EA's press conference last week. I thought the big publisher would at least give a little nod to its extremely successful mobile publishing arm, but no such luck. I did, however, go and see the team gathered in their annual suite near the LA Convention Center, and got a nice look at their upcoming slate for the next few months. Here's a quick title-by-title rundown of what Chillingo and parent company EA were showing off. Plants vs. Zombies 2 This is technically not a Chillingo title, as it's being developed by Popcap and published by EA. But it was probably what will turn out to be the biggest title in the suite for sure. Plants vs. Zombies was a huge hit on mobile, and so Popcap is bringing it first to iOS later on this month. In addition to new plant types and lots of new stages, the title has a time traveling theme. Crazy Dave will take you and your plants back through time to fight zombies in Ancient Egypt, the Wild West, and the pirate-infested seas, with one more (probably a future) level coming soon after launch. This time around, the game is based on that series of worlds, so each world will have its own core levels, challenge levels, and then endless levels to play through. Levels are unlocked as you open them up with keys that you collect, and you'll need to earn a certain number of stars to open up "star gates" and move to the next world. Gameplay is as colorful and fun as ever in the very popular Plants vs. Zombies series, though there are a few new elements, like the ability to drag across the screen and pick up sunlight, rather than having to tap on each sun separately. There are also new touchscreen-based powerups to play with, and this is where the game's biggest issue comes in: It's a freemium title. The original Plants vs. Zombies was very much a premium game, in that you paid once and played forever. But Popcap has elected to go freemium with PvZ2, so it'll be free to download, and then various currencies and items will be available via in-app purchase. Popcap's reps were very clear to say that players would be able to see the whole game for free, and that's true, but even in my short playthrough, I saw no end of reminders that I could spend real money on in-game items. Powerups cost currency to use, which you can earn in-game, or you can spend real money on them if needed. And a special item called plant food provides your plants with a big boost, and can be collected from certain zombies or purchased directly. The jury's out on this one for now -- we'll have to wait and see if the changes bother Popcap's audience at all. Popcap believes there's more money to be made with a freemium scheme, and that's almost certainly true. But the freemium elements may turn off a sizable part of the audience that doesn't want to be continuously bothered for cash, and could taint the series' otherwise sterling reputation for quality. Plants vs. Zombies 2 is due out very soon. Fightback Fightback is a Chillingo-published title being developed by Ninja Theory, the talented folks behind the great Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and the recent DmC: Devil May Cry, both for traditional consoles. Fightback is a much simpler action game with an '80s feel, as you play a muscle-headed thug fighting through floor after floor of various towers, trying to save his oft-kidnapped sister. The game features a simple control scheme (tap to punch, swipe to kick or duck), and challenges the player to keep an attack combo going and defeat all of the baddies within a certain time limit. Fightback seems simple but fun -- one level takes place in an arcade, and the neon signage and fictional arcade cabinets add a nice bit of fun to the fisticuffs happening in the foreground. It too is a freemium title, and in addition to upgrading weapons and equipment, the hero can also get tattoos, which provide special buffs and abilities. Fightback should be an excellent but simple action title, and a nice entry into iOS for the veterans at Ninja Theory. It's set to arrive sometime this summer. Zya Zya is the product of a company called Music Mastermind, and it has already picked up 300,000 users courtesy of a PC-based beta last year. It's a music creation app, though while most music creation tools are buried under complicated UIs and science, Zya instead goes with cute characters and flashy graphics, and turns the process of creating and mixing a song into a game, of sorts. You start by choosing a series of music tracks (including a bass line and a rhythm section), either picking from the original pieces provided, or using licensed music from artists like Kelly Clarkson or Madonna. You can then add a melody, again from a licensed piece, or simply by singing your own into the iPad or iPhone's microphone. The game will then mix all of your tracks together (courtesy of a cute cartoony dog hitting a big green "Mix" button), and then reward you various points and achievements based on the mix you chose. You can then share that mix via YouTube or other social networks, with friends or online with the public. Zya seems like a great idea -- it combines some really impressive music creation and mixdown tools with cute characters and a very clear interface. There are only 20 licensed songs to start, but of course the company is ready to add more, if the app sees the popularity it needs. Zya will be out later this year, on iOS first, with an Android version to follow. Icycle Icycle was my favorite game at GDC this year, and we chatted with creator Reece Millidge just a while ago. The good news about Icycle is that it's just as beautiful, charming, and well-made as it was at GDC, and it's even closer to release (though obviously Chillingo is putting the time in to get it right). The bad news, however, is that some freemium elements are creeping into the gorgeous gameplay. Now, when your character dies, you're presented with a button to retry right from where you started, with a small cost of currency to pay (undoubtedly available via in-app purchase). There are also various boosts and other items buy, and unfortunately the menus for those items just appear garish and commercial when overlaid on the spectacular game itself. Icycle has to make money, of course, but it's a little depressing to see commerce invade what should really be held up as pure art. We'll have to see how that balance plays out -- it would be a shame for Chillingo to ruin such an excellent experience with a few overly crass sales pitches. Icycle is almost done, I'm told, and we should see it on the App Store soon. Ultima Forever Finally, Ultima Forever was on display yet again. I saw this in action at GDC for the first time, and it was and impressive retake on the old Ultima RPGs, made directly for iPhone. Unfortunately, it too suffers a little bit from the freemium focus that Chillingo has had lately, using a relatively annoying scheme of requiring keys of various qualities to do RPG-standard things like open chests and repair damaged equipment. Fortunately, senior producer Carrie Gouskos seems particularly sensitive to the freemium concerns, especially after what sounds like a very enlightening Canadian beta. She told me that she's very dedicated to not only making sure there's a free-to-play path through the game that's fun and rewarding, but has also been lowering prices lately, trying to get the in-app purchases to a place where they're both profitable (for Chillingo's sake), and tolerable (for the audience's). We'll be able to see the game soon -- it's set for a worldwide release sometime in July. Chillingo is one of my favorite publishers on the App Store -- the staff over there has made some terrific decisions in partnering up with quality developers, and all of these titles seem like great, well-polished experiences. Freemium is turning into a bad word with these titles, however, even when it doesn't have to be. We've seen in the past that audiences on iOS are more than willing to pay for high-quality experiences, and while the constant ask may make Chillingo more money in the end, it could sully the company's reputation, especially as there are more and more great experiences on the App Store that don't constantly pester for cash. Hopefully this company can find a good balance between profitable and fun, and keep publishing these great titles without having to cram them full of controversial freemium pitches.
Daily iPhone App: Dead Ahead races through a stylish zombieland
Dead Ahead is a game released by Chillingo a few weeks ago, and it's been huge in the App Store charts lately. It's an endless running game where you're actually on a moped (or, later, a motorcycle), racing through a zombie-ridden apocalypse. The game's controls are excellently simple (you move your finger up and down the screen to steer, and then there are two buttons to race forward or shoot backwards), but the biggest draw here is the game's aesthetic, which uses a very stylistic look to add a little bit of whimsy to a pretty spooky zombie setting. The game is relatively gory, as the zombies are you can either be crashed into cars (or shot apart) in very bloody ways. But for all of the gore, the zombies are also cool, and the various types you'll encounter (including big, hulking zombie bosses) mix up the gameplay quite a bit. As you drive along, you'll pick up coins and earn points, which then let you upgrade your bike, your gun, or unlock various powerups and other fun tweaks. Dead Ahead is a great title -- it's an endless runner and doesn't really break open the conventions of the genre, but it does perform its few features very well. You can download the game right now for free, and (not surprisingly) there are plenty of in-app purchases to make if you so choose.
Ninja Theory partners with Chillingo to publish Fightback
Ninja Theory is an excellent game developer based in the UK that's produced Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and the recent Devil May Cry reboot. Now, Ninja Theory is releasing its first iOS title, Fightback, which EA studio Chillingo will publish. Fightback, as you can see above, looks like a fairly gritty arcade-style beat-em-up, and it boasts some AAA grade production values, as well as some interesting touch-based combat. Fightback is set for previews at E3, so we'll see more of the game in action then. It's set to launch on iOS later this summer. Chillingo is a very high-quality studio that's been doing plenty of good work lately, and with its ties to EA, it's no surprise that Ninja Theory gave it the go-ahead on publishing duties. Ninja Theory is a great studio, and we'll look forward to seeing how this one turns out. Show full PR text Chillingo Partners with Ninja Theory Ltd. to Publish Fightback on Mobile and Tablet Ninja Theory's Mobile Debut Playable at E3 MACCLESFIELD, U.K., May 24, 2013 - Chillingo, leading independent mobile games publisher and division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), today announced that they are partnering with prominent Cambridge, UK-based independent video game developer Ninja Theory Ltd. to publish the studio's first mobile game, Fightback for the App Store and Google Play™. From the award-winning studio behind Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and DmC: Devil May Cry, Ninja Theory's Fightback is a thrilling free-to-play action game with a striking 80s action movie vibe and a revolutionary touch-based combat system. "Chillingo is very excited to collaborate with such a talented, critically-acclaimed studio to help shape their first title for the mobile market," states Ed Rumley, COO, Chillingo. "Our team is working closely with Ninja Theory to ensure Fightback delivers a phenomenal experience for mobile and tablet devices." "Mobile and tablet gaming is a phenomenon that we just couldn't ignore as a studio and we're very proud to be working with one of the industry's heavy-weights on bringing Fightback to market. Ninja Theory has always strived for the highest production values and that absolutely remains the case in this exciting new space," said Dominic Matthews, Product Manager, Ninja Theory Ltd. Fightback is slated to launch this summer. Hands-on previews will be shared with press at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles. Additional details and information will be available at www.chillingo.com in the coming months.
Ninja Theory teams up with Chillingo on iOS, Android F2P brawler Fightback
DmC and Enslaved developer Ninja Theory revealed its latest project this morning, an iOS and Android free-to-play brawler called Fightback. The game is being published by EA subsidiary Chillingo, which says it has a "a striking 80s action movie vibe." Going by this screenshot, Fightback is a skils-orientated, side-scrolling beat-em-up. The meter at the bottom indicates a three-star score based on points accumulated by skill moves like 'Skull Splitter' - think Bulletstorm, perhaps, but with more punches and kicks, and maybe a Blood Dragon vibe. It looks like you can use guns too, though. Also, is that a Japanese love hotel? "Mobile and tablet gaming is a phenomenon that we just couldn't ignore as a studio and we're very proud to be working with one of the industry's heavy-weights on bringing Fightback to market," said Ninja Theory Product Manager Dominic Matthews. "Ninja Theory has always strived for the highest production values and that absolutely remains the case in this exciting new space." Chillingo is showing off Fightback at E3 next month, and expects to launch it this summer.
Wonderputt creator Reece Millidge talks about the upcoming, beautiful Icycle: On Thin Ice
I saw the upcoming iOS game Icycle: On Thin Ice back at GDC, and I think it was the best game (out of maybe fifty or more) that I saw that week. Reece Millidge is an animator and game developer based in Britain, and I first came across his work while playing the Flash version of an abstract putting game he made called Wonderputt. Millidge has a wild sense of design and pacing, and both of those skills make Icycle: On Thin Ice one of my most anticipated iOS games of the year in 2013. Just recently, Millidge kindly responded to a few questions from TUAW, talking both about his history on iOS so far, and what to expect in his upcoming release. Wonderputt arrived on the App Store last year, and Millidge says it was quite successful. He'd "heard from publishers that mini golf games on mobile were not popular like they were on the browser. So from that kind of feedback I never expected it to go far." But it reached #1 paid app on the UK charts, and has since not only matched the Flash version in financial success, but has seen over 100,000 paid downloads. That kind of success has obviously encouraged Millidge to release another iOS app, and Icycle: On Thin Ice is a game based on another Flash title he did, simply called Icycle. But On Thin Ice is not only designed for a touchscreen, but it has lots of new content as well. "Icycle, the Flash version, and Icycle: On Thin Ice are two completely different games," Millidge tells us. The title will have a new story, new levels, and new power-ups to play with, with lots of new abilities for the game's hero (a naked man on a bicycle named Dennis). "The only thing that has remained from Icycle, really," says Milidge, "is Dennis himself." On Thin Ice will also be made into a Flash version of the game, but Millidge says the iOS version will have "extra content, levels, and in-app updates." Icycle's basic story sends Dennis exploring through a post-apocalyptic ice age, and while the original game simply played around with various icy landscapes, On Thin Ice has a much wider scope. The game begins with a fantastically animated James Bond-esque title sequence, and early on, Dennis is clunked over the head and has to make his way through an abstract art-inspired dreamland, exploring paintings like Magritte's Son of Man and other works. Millidge says his influences come from all over the place. "I've mainly taken inspiration from illustrators who work in vector art, but also from some of the masters in minimalist print and poster work such as Charley Harper," he says. "Russian propaganda and Art Deco travel posters are also a favourite." He says English cartoons like Monty Python and Yellow Submarine are a big influence as well. The bicycle mechanic was inspired by an old BBC Micro game, according to Millidge, called Dare Devil Dennis, and there are some other fun references in Icycle that refer to that old retro title. But the idea of making the guy on the bike naked while wandering through a freezing landscape is all just about "maximising empathy," Millidge says. "That and a cruel sense of humour, of course." I was so impressed with the short time I had with Icycle: On Thin Ice at GDC, and I can't wait to see the finished game. Chillingo is publishing, and Icycle: On Thin Ice should be out and available on the App Store soon.
Disney's Mittens, Dream Chaser and more now available
Today saw a number of big releases on the App Store worth trying out. Here's a quick roundup of some of the biggest new app releases. Disney has released a game called Mittens, which looks impressive. It was put together by a company called Metrogames, so it's not a fully internal product. But most of Disney's work lately has been putting their own brands on titles like Temple Run, so it's good to see something with an original spin. It's available for US$0.99. Dream Chaser is Chillingo's latest title, a very flashy endless-running game, also for 99 cents. Lie Swatter is a new trivia game by Jellyvision, the makers of You Don't Know Jack. It's free to play. Wraithborne is an impressive new free-to-play action RPG from Crescent Moon Games. As mentioned yesterday, there's a new app based on Injustice: Gods Among Us, the upcoming console game featuring DC superheroes battling each other. It's also a free-to-play game. Some excellent titles in there for sure. We'll have closer looks at a few of these coming up later on TUAW, but they're all available to go pick up right now if you're interested already.
Puzzle Craft goes on a 'Treasure Hunt' next week
Puzzle Craft was one of my favorite games last year on any platform, not even just Apple's App Store. But like a lot of the title's fans, I've been somewhat disappointed that developers Ars Thanea haven't followed it up with any new content. They and publisher Chillingo had quite a few golden opportunities to get the game back in the spotlight with a big update, and they just haven't supported the game like I believe they should have. But there's good news here -- Chillingo has finally sent word that Puzzle Craft is getting a nice update next week. It's called "Treasure Hunt," and while it's not exactly clear how it all will work, it sounds like the game will be hiding treasure items in among the other items you collect, which you'll then be able to organize and complete into sets. In addition to the new gameplay, there will also be new jobs for your villagers, new tools to find and use, a level cap increase to level 60 and a new endgame goal: To upgrade your castle into an Imperial Castle, beating the game yet again. Personally, I'm really excited for the update -- it's not exactly what I would have imagined from a Puzzle Craft update, but hopefully it'll be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, Chillingo didn't mention if the update will be paid or free, but given that the game is free right now, I'd expect it to be an in-app purchase. We'll check back with them, and keep an eye out for the new patch next week.
Samsung tries to attract indie devs to its yard with zero-commission offer
Samsung, tired of its own-brand app store playing second fiddle to Google Play, has decided to throw some of its considerable cash at the problem. It's appealing to indie app developers in the hope of finding the next Angry Birds big thing. In partnership with Chillingo, EA's mobile games division, Samsung is launching 100% Indie, offering bedroom coders commission-free sales on any of their apps for the first six months of its life. After which, Samsung will take a 10 percent cut, with that fee rising to 30 percent after two years -- matching the fees charged by Google and Apple's services. Now all we need is a Simon Cowell-type to judge which new apps have that... je ne sais quoi.
Daily iPhone App: Pixel People is free and simple, but also great fun
Here's the thing about Pixel People: I don't think it's very deep, it's basically just a time-based town builder, and much of the "gameplay" is just smashing various objects together until they work. All of that said however, here's the other thing about Pixel People: I can't stop playing it. This is the latest app from Chillingo, and that company's publishing experience shines right through here. This game is beautifully designed, from the gorgeous pixel art to the very nice touch of asking you to "cut" open a special card pack to unlock a new item. While most of the gameplay is simply just clicking on the screen (the idea is that you need to rebuild a civilization in space, slowly unlocking various jobs, buildings and housing as you earn more and more land and currency), the game brilliantly gives you more content at a steady rate, surprising the player almost constantly with little graphical touches, in-jokes and new twists and turns in the town system that you slowly build up. The game is free and runs with the often odious dual-currency system. But Pixel People is so giving (every time I log in to the app, which is often, I end up having gobs of money to spend) that I had no problem at all with the various in-app purchase options. You may be disappointed at how shallow the game is, but man, all of that pixel art just looks so impressively good.
Chillingo explains why devs need them
Chillingo COO Ed Rumley had a chat with GamesIndustry, and said that the iOS publisher (which is owned by EA) is more needed than ever by developers. Yes, he admits it's easier than ever for anyone to make and publish a game on the App Store, but the hard part comes after that. "We always remind people there is a huge difference between self-publishing a game and self-distribution," said Rumley. "The role of a publisher like Chillingo is to do far more than just upload a game onto an App Store. Today's market is extremely competitive, there are dozens or hundreds of games launching every day whether it's on iOS or Android or Windows. Our role is to help navigate this minefield." Rumley also said that more indie devs are coming to Chillingo than ever to get that help polishing and marketing their games, and I can attest, as a player, that it's been working for them. There is definitely a consistent level of quality in the games Chillingo's putting out, partly because of who they're choosing to work with, and partly because their experience on the App Store is so substantial at this point (don't forget, this is the company that published both Angry Birds and Cut the Rope, so they kind of know what they're doing by now). While obviously every game is different, Rumley did say that Chillingo is still getting heavily involved in app development, probably more so than a lot of traditional publishers out there. "Half of our role is getting a game ready for market. By that I mean making sure the balance is there, making sure the game is fun and making sure the monetization is correctly implemented. If you don't get that right, you're not going to have success acquiring consumers in the first place." Rumley added that the future of Chillingo isn't necessarily in publishing more games, it's in publishing on more platforms. The company has been making a push on Android recently, and Rumley says that the quality of iOS games as compared to the last few years has been getting better and better. But he also added that means the bar is raising higher and higher, even as he recommends that indie developers put an extra month of polish into their titles, then another month (and maybe more) on top of that. "It's a ruthless platform," said Rumley, "and there's just no room for anything except perfection."
Chillingo and 10Tons offer discounts on popular games
It's Black Friday, which means there are discounts galore on hardware and software for Mac and iOS owners. Starting on November 22, game makers Chillingo and 10Tons have discounted a wide number of their game titles including Azkend 2, Tiny Troopers and Cut the Rope. You can browse through the full list below and check out our earlier post which highlights sales from Gameloft, EA and more. 10Tons King Oddball: [iOS Universal, Category: Games] On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99. Blow up tanks! Crash helicopters! Squash puny humans! Collapse structures! Hurl boulders until nothing remains! END THE WORLD! Heroes of Kalevala HD: [iPad, Category: Games] On sale for $0.99, down from $4.99. Build your very own village in the magical world of Kalevala on your iPad! Heroes of Kalevala: [iPhone, Category: Games] On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99. Build your very own village in the magical world of Kalevala! Sparkle the Game: [iPhone, Category: Games] On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99. Break the Orbs and Save the World on your iPhone or iPod touch! Grim Joggers: [iOS Universal, Category: Games] On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99. Jogging becomes bloodsport in this arcade style survival game with Game Center leaderboards and achievements. Puzzle Craft: [iOS Universal, Category: Games] Now free, down from $0.99. Puzzle Craft is the ideal game for Thanksgiving with its bountiful harvest of match-three farming combined with a fun, unique town building simulation. See why fans have been raving about Puzzle Craft. Azkend 2: [Mac, Category: Games] On sale for $3.99, down from $5.99. Step aboard a fantastic adventure! Enjoy amazing match-three gameplay and discover some of the most astonishing worlds ever imagined. Joining Hands: [Mac, Category: Games] On sale for $1.99, down from $2.99. A handtastic puzzle that leaves no hand behind! Full of charm, innovation and originality, but very easy to learn! Chillingo Tiny Troopers: [iOS Universal, Category: Games] Now free, down from $0.99. For those of you seeking something a little more explosive this Thanksgiving, we're giving the gift of Tiny Troopers. Lead a miniature army through 30 missions packing awesome visuals, tactile touch controls, and a cracking sense of humor. Totem Runner: [iOS Universal, Category: Games] Now free, down from $0.99. Legend and lore is the inspiration for Totem Runner. Transform into different animals and mythical creatures to sprint, fly and rampage through a beautifully crafted world that transforms at your heels. Swipe the Deck: [iOS Universal, Category: Games] Now free, down from $0.99. Forget good old-fashioned card games and give Swipe the Deck a go this Thanksgiving. An addictive mix of poker and match-three, keep up with your friends this holiday by swiping their decks in asynchronous multiplayer battles. Critter Escape: [iOS Universal, Category: Games] Now free, down from $0.99. It's never too early to start celebrating Christmas and no one knows that better than the sneaky critters of Critter Escape. Help the critters escape through levels blanketed in snow, sprinkled with gift boxes and brimming with Christmas magic in this seasonal update. Cut The Rope HD: [iPad, Category: Games] On sale for $1.99, down from $3.99. Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks and feasting and what better way to celebrate than with Cut the Rope's lovable green creature with an insatiable appetite, Om Nom. This physics-based puzzler is a holiday treat that keeps on giving.
Gameloft titles and other games on sale for Thanksgiving
This week, we're celebrating Thanksgiving in the United States, which also happens to be the official start of the holiday season gift-giving countdown. And that means sales in most places where entertainment is bought and sold, including the App Store. Here are a few of the most interesting sales we've heard about so far. Gameloft is having a big company-wide sale, with most of its apps on multiple platforms seeing discounts. That means The Amazing Spider-man app is just US$0.99, as is the action platformer BackStab and Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard. These prices might not have updated just yet where you live, but we're told they'll be discounted starting on Thursday and all through the weekend. Capcom's also got a sale going on, with Street Fighter X Tekken Mobile at $0.99 as the centerpiece. Ghosts 'n Goblins Gold Knights is also down to just a buck, and we may see more titles go cheap before the weekend ends. PictoSoft has sent nearly all of its titles down to free for the weekend, including the popular 8th Floor: Secret of Castle. I've mentioned this sale a few times now, but it's worth mentioning again: Puzzle Craft is free to download right now. This is the iOS game of the year, people, at zero cost to you. EA's got Real Racing 2 and the traditional Monopoly game down to 99 cents. FIFA 13 is $2.99, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted is $4.99. Stay tuned -- this is likely only the first of plenty of EA sales this year. Sega's brought Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 2 down to $2.99, which is the cheapest it's been in a while. Crazy Taxi is also just $2.99 as well. Bit-1 is a crazy little platformer that's now free, and it looks worth a download for sure. This is just the beginning. There are likely to be quite a few more sales going on this week and weekend due to Black Friday. The biggest sales actually come right before and after Christmas, when all of those newly unwrapped iPhones and iPads go looking on the App Store for games and apps to download. Stay tuned for lots more.
Daily iPhone App: Kumo Lumo combines colorful design with original gameplay
Kumo Lumo is one of the most recent games from Chillingo, and it's a good one. The gameplay itself here is hard to describe -- it's an arcade game, maybe? Though there's a little bit of simulation in there, and some puzzle elements in terms of how you learn the game and its characters, too. But the real draw here is the aesthetic: Kumo Lumo is definitely gorgeous, especially on the iPad's bigger screen, and the sounds and textures of this one are not to be missed. Basically, as you can see in our video below, you play a cloud, flying around a spherical planet that turns underneath the screen as you go. When the game begins, you're simply raining on trees to grow them, but as the story progresses, you get more elements added to the gameplay, like enemies to stop or obstacles to avoid. Each level of the game has a certain goal to beat, and when you've beaten that goal, you get a star rating and can move on. There's a light in-app purchase scheme to leveling up your abilities, but it's very low pressure, and Kumo Lumo is completely free. The highest levels can be a nice challenge, but the lowest levels are great, colorful, casual gameplay put together in a really original fashion. Don't miss this one for sure.
Daily iPad App: Jack Lumber goes chop socky on trees
Sega has just started publishing other developers' games on the App Store through an initiative called Sega Alliance with Jack Lumber, a game by the folks who made Smuggle Truck (or Snuggle Truck, if you caught it post-censorship). This is a title that's heavily inspired by the great Fruit Ninja, but instead of just ripping off Halfbrick's apple-slicing classic, it actually iterates forward on that game quite a bit. For one thing, instead of just slicing through the air as quickly as you can, Jack Lumber will actually pause and slow down the logs you're meant to be cutting through, which lets you set up a little more strategy to your slices. You can cut through multiple logs in one swipe for bonus points, and some logs have to be cut in a certain directly, or chopped twice for maximum points. The game's great fun, and the goofy "Trees killed my grandma" cartoon aesthetic goes a long way towards making the game really colorful and interesting. If you like Fruit Ninja, Jack Lumber is a must buy, and even if you're looking for something new from a line-drawing game, this one's well worth a look. Sega definitely started off its publishing choices right. Jack Lumber is universal and available from the App Store now for just 99 cents. Edit: A previous version of the post listed the wrong publisher. Apologies for any confusion.
Daily iPad App: Puzzle Craft is puzzle farming bliss
I came to a realization a little while ago: I love grindy games. I really enjoy games with a certain amount of repetition to them, games where I slowly but steadily build up resources and a character (or an empire) while performing somewhat mindless but infinitely amusing tasks. Puzzle Craft fits right in that category -- like that other great puzzle/RPG mashup, Puzzle Quest (as well as the recent 10000000), it provides a solid and rewarding system of progression to a fairly basic but amusing puzzle system. The progression system is all "built" around a town: You start out the game with just a farmfield, and then slowly use that field, collecting its resources in the puzzle game, to build up houses and a mine, and then a windmill and so on, until you have a thriving metropolis in its place. To do all of this, you collect a series of resources, each of which can be used to build buildings, tools, or hire certain citizens or workers. Because Puzzle Craft is published by Chillingo, all of this is very clear, and the graphics are colorful and clean, with specific icons used for each resource that easily and quickly convey what you need to collect more of. The puzzle mechanic itself is reminiscent of Dungeon Raid -- it's a match 3, but instead of moving items around a grid, you need to draw a line through as many of the same items as possible. Puzzle Craft does iterate on that system, however, by letting you combine objects when you collect enough of them -- you can combine 10 grain into a carrot, and then combine carrots into a soup. Hiring workers lets you change how those combination rules work, and tools can be used in certain situations to help clear the screen or collect a certain kind of resource. Puzzle Craft is a really terriffic game, possibly my favorite App Store entry of the year. It's a 99-cent universal download, and I highly recommend it. Yes, it can get a little grindy, and specific strategies (like when to use tools) can get very complex. But it brilliantly combines a very casual puzzle mechanic with a very engaging progression system, and that's made me put hours of gameplay into it since it was released last week.
Lots of big app updates and releases today: The Simpsons, Puzzle Craft, Horn, more
There's just something about this day, apparently. There are a whole bunch of new big releases in the App Store, and quite a few apps have added updates; most of them claiming it's just in time for the back-to school rush. Here's a sampling of the best stuff out there for you to browse through. EA's The Simpsons: Tapped Out has returned to the App Store after being pulled earlier this year. The game's been updated with new graphics and new gameplay, so hopefully Simpsons fans will like it better. Scribblenauts Remix is the recipient of a new Back to School update, with a new playground area featuring school-themed challenges. Following in the footsteps of EA, Chillingo has launched its own Daily Deals site, and Angry Birds HD is 66% off to celebrate. Chillingo's also got a new game out called Puzzle Craft that looks like it's about to steal way too much of my time. Codea got a big update, with a few new features, and it's now run using ARC (which just means it runs a little cleaner for us users). Ok, it's not much of a surprise, but Phosphor Games' Dark Meadow followup, the Zynga-published Horn is out this week, and it's a very good-looking action game. The great iBlast Moki 2 HD is free right now. In no uncertain terms, get this game. A new endless runner game called Flip's Escape was just released, and it looks good. And finally, I don't see it on the App Store yet, but don't forget: Dominion is finally due out in that official form later on this evening. Stay tuned. Odds are that there's at least something for you to download in there. We'll have closer looks at many of these apps on the way, but there's a heads up on the biggest news. Enjoy the new apps!
Daily iPhone App: Knights of the Round Cable
At this point in the App Store's lifecycle, we're seeing a lot of copycats and reused ideas. Even some of the best apps out there are borrowing ideas and genres instead of creating something entirely new. But Knights of the Round Cable can't be accused of that -- it's one of the more original polished titles I've seen out there lately. It's no wonder that it's from Chillingo. The idea is that you control a Knight bouncing around a 2D space, and you get two buttons to control him with. One simply sends out a cable that grabs on to the nearest peg from whatever distance you're at, and the other switches direction, so the Knight starts spinning one way instead of the other. The goal is the game is to spin around and collect gems as quickly as you can. You get a bonus for collecting all gems in a line, and each stage is timed, so you're kicked on to the next one when time runs out. It's fun -- controlling the spinning and bouncing is tough at first, but there is a fair amount of subtle depth to getting good at it. You can also upgrade various specs and stats (and even use other knights), so there's a lot of replayability to the title as well. As with all of Chillingo's other releases, Knights of the Round Cable is just 99 cents, and it's a very fun, well-made game that tries a little something new and different.
