foursaken media
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Heroes and Castles updated to version 3.0
Foursaken Media's Heroes and Castles has been updated yet again, with lots of new content to play. The game, which allows you to level up a hero by defending a town and its various resources against an army of invading minions, has been popular for Foursaken already, and the team told me during GDC that they were planning on adding plenty of extras to the game this year. They've reached version 3.0 now, and the latest update adds three new heroes: an Assassin, a Barbarian, and a Druid, each with their own abilities and weapons. There's also a brand new campaign for the game that must be unlocked to play, with new maps to fight over, and new allied units to join you in battle. You can upgrade buildings and units even further, the graphics now boast real-time shadows, and the game's performance has been upgraded overall. Finally, there are new achievements to earn in the game, which the best players can go after for Game Center glory. That's a sizable update that adds even more value to this excellent $1.99 game. Heroes and Castles can be downloaded right now. [via Touch Arcade]
Daily iPhone App: Heroes and Castles combines action and tower defense into one game
Heroes and Castles is the latest game from the guys at Foursaken Media (who, I believe, I first met up with at Macworld around this time last year). It's a little bit more involved than anything else I've seen them do -- on the surface, I'd probably compare it most to the great Dungeon Defenders, a really excellent game on iOS or Steam that you should check out if you haven't yet. Heroes and Castles isn't quite as well-polished as Dungeon Defenders, but it is a lot of fun. It's a third-person action game, where you play as a fantasy character either hacking and slashing or casting spells against oncoming waves of baddies. But the twist here is that it's also a tower defense game: In addition to your own attacks, you can also buy an army to help you fight off enemies, or buy repairs and defenses for the town you're protecting. There's a lot of depth here: In addition to three different player classes, there are lots and lots of various units and defenses to unlock as you play along. Heroes and Castles isn't a perfect game -- the graphics leave a little something to be desired at times (though they also shine in the right places), and the touchscreen controls are a little too simple for a game that is as deep as this one. That camera, especially, is sometimes tough to turn around, especially when you need to see where your wall is being attacked on a moment's notice. But for US$1.99, Heroes and Castles is a great bargain of a game -- it's the most impressive outing I've seen from Foursaken yet, and it's a great action/RPG/defense title that's well worth the purchase.
Foursaken Media's four brothers take on the App Store
Foursaken Media is one of the most interesting companies I got to meet at last week's Macworld | iWorld 2012. It's made up of four real-life brothers who come from different backgrounds (one of them was a math teacher, and with their Dad a former band director and Mom a CS major turned nurse, they all have various affinities for art and technology), and have decided to release apps on the wild world of the App Store. The company has released a few games already, including the popular Bug Heroes, and the brothers showed me two more titles, one just released and one upcoming. Mad Chef is out on the App Store now -- it's a very colorful little arcade game that has you tossing knives at food ordered by customers as they appear. The graphics are fairly goofy, but they're a nice fit for the action anyway, as you can do things like accidentally hit customers (making them walk away) and earn money and powerups at various restaurants, from a greasy spoon diner all the way up to a high-end steakhouse. The other title the brothers showed off at Macworld was called Sky Gnomes -- it's a game they're still working on that features little gnomes falling on a snowball through the sky, which the player needs to guide around obstacles and into powerups and bonuses. The game looks like fun, and Foursaken is even planning some interesting multiplayer elements -- they're aiming to use ghosting to provide asynchronous gameplay, so your friends could record a run through one of the game's courses, and then you'd see them on your screen as you played, even though they aren't running at the same time. There will also be elimination-style courses, and as you race, you'll be able to wear up to three trinkets at a time to boost your stats and abilities. Sky Gnomes seems like a lot of fun -- the brothers haven't settled on whether it will be available for cheap or free (with of course in-app purchases available), but it should be available on the App Store soon. Foursaken's brothers seem like an interesting crew, and their games over the past few years have shown a lot of progression. We'll keep an eye out for Sky Gnomes and let you know when it hits the App Store.
