App Store Update: August 23

Every day hundreds of new apps make their debut on the App Store, and hundreds more are updated or reduced in price. We have sifted through the noise and highlighted those select few that might be worth your attention.

Game Debuts

VOTE!!! – (Free)

With only a few months left until this year's election, the makers of Infinity Blade are making a push for gamers to get themselves registered to vote. This new, free game is the focus of that campaign, and allows you to pit the candidates against one another in battle – goofily beating each other up with oversized microphones and lightsabers. It's a bit different than how you'll see them acting in televised debates, no doubt, and it's free – so why not check it out, and then go get yourself ready for November?

Lost Cities – ($3.99)

The latest in a long line of great physical games gone digital, ubiquitous game designer Reiner Knizia's Lost Cities has you taking on opponents to send out expeditions to famous hidden civilizations around the globe. Will you bring back more treasures from the fabled Atlantis, or Shangri-La?

Star Wars Dice – ($4.99)

The latest app from that galaxy far, far away, Star Wars Dice is a companion for the X-Wing Miniatures Game and Fantasy Flight's Star Wars Role-Playing Game – so you can forget about lugging around bags of physical dice and just let your iDevice do the rolling. (That's more Star Wars futuristic, anyway.)

One Epic Knight – (Free)

The App Store's latest endless runner, this one casts you as a cartoony knight dashing through dungeons and castles while dodging medieval traps.

The Curse – ($0.99)

When you accidentally unleash an ancient curse hidden within a magic book, it's up to you to solve all the puzzles within its pages to undo what you've done.

Eufloria – ($2.99)

Originally launched as an iPad exclusive back in February, Omni Systems' ambient strategy game is now available for iPhone owners as well.

Mikey Shorts – ($0.99)

Mikey is gaming's latest platforming hero, and already the one most committed to wearing short pants. Help me on his adventure, won't you?

Jelly Cannon Reloaded – ($0.99)

A partnership between Chillingo and Nickelodeon brought about this next game, which tasks you with launching bouncy jelly blobs around the screen.

Eternity Warriors 2 – (Free)

And our last new release for the day, it's the sequel to last year's first Eternity Warriors. Check out its trailer right here:

Price Drops

Abu's Adventures – (Free)

No, sadly, this one doesn't star the little fez-wearing monkey from Disney's Aladdin. This Abu is a squirrel, and he's hoping you'll try his magical adventure for free today.

Banzai Dice – (Free)

If you looked at Star Wars Dice up there earlier and were disappointed that it wasn't actually a game per se, try out Banzai Dice for free. It's a good dice-gaming fix.

Updates

Cut the Rope – ($0.99)

If you haven't been back to feed Om Nom some candy lately, jump back into Cut the Rope now – the little monster is preparing for that most candy-crazy holiday of Halloween with a new "Spooky Box" full of ghost-filled levels to play, courtesy of the new Version 1.0 update.

Order & Chaos Online – ($6.99)

Gameloft's iOS MMO has just gotten a huge new content push that introduces PvP arena battling, new mounts, new dungeon content and banishes the old pay-to-play subscription model.

Angry Birds Space – ($0.99)

And we've of course got to stay on top of what Rovio's up to. Their latest update brings new levels to Angry Birds Space that, through a partnership with NASA, include the Curiosity Mars Rover!

That's all for today! If you haven't already, remember to subscribe to the App Store Update via email for extra convenience:

Lucas M. Thomas is IGN Nintendo's longtime champion of downloadable titles across the Wii, DSi and 3DS. He's happy to now be helping Justin round up the best options for App Store shoppers. You can follow him on Twitter.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

The Walking Dead Episode Two iOS Dated

Telltale Games announced today that The Walking Dead: The Game - Episode Two: Starved for Help will hit the App Store next week. Gamers will be able to grab the episode for $4.99 as an In-App Purchase within The Walking Dead: The Game. Episodes 2-5 are also available in a single package for a discounted $14.99.

The second episode of the studio’s zombie mega-hit debuted on consoles and PC to significant critical acclaim in late June. IGN awarded the title an 8.5  / 10 Editor’s Choice distinction, praising the game’s impressive storytelling and ability to force heavy moral choices onto players.

The Walking Dead: The Game is compatible with iPad 2 and iPhone 4 devices and newer. Players seamlessly control the action via the touch screen, replacing mouse clicks or controller inputs with simple touch-screen taps.

Telltale hasn’t provided a specific release date, but a launch on Thursday, August 30 seems a safe bet given the history of previous major App Store releases.

Justin is Editor of IGN Wireless. He has been reviewing mobile games since the dark days of Java flip phones. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

App Store Update: August 17

Every day hundreds of new apps make their debut on the App Store, and hundreds more are updated or reduced in price. We have sifted through the noise and highlighted those select few that might be worth your attention.

Game Debuts

Meeblings – (Free)

You've probably played one of the Bloons games in the past, and now the same studio responsible for bursting so many virtual balloons invites you to meet the Meeblings – little smiling blobs starring in a physics-based puzzle adventure.

Thunderstone Gateway – (Free)

The latest virtual version of a physical deck-building card game has great source material to draw on, as anyone who's played Thunderstone with tangible cards will tell you. Early word is this app edition is a bit rough around the edges here at launch, but it's free to try – and giving it a download now will help you keep an eye out for updates that address its issues going forward.

Price Drops

Alien Breed – ($0.99)

This Team 17 remake of a vintage 1991 top-down shooter has already shown up twice in earlier August App Store Updates, but we're committed to keeping it in front of your faces frequently. After a brief price increase pushed it up to the three dollar range, It's on sale again for 99 cents.

Jazz: Trump's Journey – ($0.99)

Also down to 99 cents is the App Store's most soulful game design, Jazz: Trump's Journey. Give its trailer a view, or, more importantly, a listen:

Sonic CD – ($2.99)

Sega's having a sale to salute the end of summer as students head back to school, and the great iOS port of Sonic CD is one of the best bets you'll find from the House of the Hedgehog. Feel free to read our review, too, before dashing off to buy it.

VS. Racing – (Free)

We'll finish out the week with three final freebie options for you. First up is VS. Racing, Maciek Drejak Labs' design that will be seeing a sequel in the App Store soon. (So try out the original now.)

Hambo – (Free)

And then we have Hambo, which, yes, is a combination of Ham and Rambo. Pigs with guns!

Spell Sword – (Free)

And finally, Spell Sword, a good old retro-esque hack 'n slash that winks at everything from The Legend of Zelda to Game of Thrones.

And that's all for this week! If you haven't already, remember to subscribe to the App Store Update via email for extra convenience:

Lucas M. Thomas is IGN Nintendo's longtime champion of downloadable titles across the Wii, DSi and 3DS. He's happy to now be helping Justin round up the best options for App Store shoppers. You can follow him on Twitter.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

App Store Update: August 13

Every day hundreds of new apps make their debut on the App Store, and hundreds more are updated or reduced in price. We have sifted through the noise and highlighted those select few that might be worth your attention.

Game Debuts

Cafeteria Nipponica – ($3.99)

The developers of Game Dev Story are back with another mobile release, as launching in the App Store today and helping us kick off a new week of update articles is Kairosoft's Cafeteria Nipponica. You'll be running a restaurant in this sim design, taking care of everything from cooking in the kitchen to hiring new servers.

Price Drops

Unstoppable Fist – (Free)

OK, you've got to watch the trailer for this one. Even if you already did when we first featured the game back in June – it's incredible. Oh, and the game itself is free to download now. So you might as well grab it to judge for yourself how it lives up to its great video promo:

Ichi – (Free)

Also free to start your week is the one-button puzzle action of Ichi, coming to you courtesy of Stolen Couch Games.

Tilt to Live HD – (Free)

Developer One Man Left boosted the price of this iPad tilt-controlled arcade design earlier this summer, but it's been brought back down to become free to try once again.

Call of Mini: Sniper – (Free)

There are a few different Call of Mini games living in the App Store now, and if you've never checked out the series you can jump into it today for free with the sharp-shooting action of Call of Mini: Sniper.

Toy Defense – (Free)

Melesta's tower defender filled with toy soldiers is free for today only, so move quickly.

Sparkle 2: EVO – (Free)

Our sixth and final freebie of the day is Forever Entertainment S.A.'s Sparkle 2: EVO, the game that pulls you into a psychedelic petri dish and has you controlling a microscopic creature struggling to survive and evolve.

Reckless Racing 2 – ($0.99)

The birds-eye drift-racing action of Reckless Racing 2 has been bouncing back and forth between five bucks and one buck since its debut. It's bounced down to one again.

Updates

Catapult King – (Free)

Chillingo's game of flinging medieval knights through the air has been free to download for a while now, and its first free update is now also live. Version 1.1 adds new levels, achievements and exploration of the kingdom while fixing some game stability issues from the inital release.

And that's all for today! If you haven't already, remember to subscribe to the App Store Update via email for extra convenience:

Lucas M. Thomas is IGN Nintendo's longtime champion of downloadable titles across the Wii, DSi and 3DS. He's happy to now be helping Justin round up the best options for App Store shoppers. You can follow him on Twitter.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

App Store Update: August 9

Every day hundreds of new apps make their debut on the App Store, and hundreds more are updated or reduced in price. We have sifted through the noise and highlighted those select few that might be worth your attention.

Game Debuts

Organ Trail: Director's Cut – ($2.99)

No, you read that right. It is "Organ" Trail. This spoof on the classic edutainment game Oregon Trail swaps into diseased commuters in a station wagon for the west-bound pioneers of the original game, while also having swarms of zombies show up as well. (Of course.) This game is actually being released after receiving funding through a successful Kickstarter campaign that ended this past January, so if you were one of the backers you may be able to claim your free download now!

Pitfall! – ($0.99)

Activision is celebrating the 30th anniversary of their classic Atari 2600 platformer Pitfall!, and part of the festivites include the release of this all-new game in the franchise. The new iOS Pitfall! is a runner game in the tradition of Temple Run, which actually fits pretty well with what Pitfall Harry was doing way back in 1982.

Super Mole Escape – ($0.99)

Adult Swim's latest puts you in the role of a mole who must burrow as fast as his claws can carry him deeper, deeper and deeper into the earth in order to escape from prison.

Gasketball – (Free)

Everyone's enjoyed at least a few games of H.O.R.S.E. in their lifetime, hanging out around a basketball hoop and trying to put together fancy shots that your friends can't match. Gasketball takes that competition as a foundation and adds tons of wacky objects to the mix, so you're putting together wild obstacle courses to send your basketball through before they ultimately end up in the hoop. It's only on iPad, but it's free!

DMBX 2 - Mountain Bike and BMX – ($1.99)

DMBX is back, bringing more downhill biking action to your iDevice.

Chimpact – ($0.99)

Chillingo's got two new releases in the App Store today, and the first one has you sending a monkey bouncing around off a series of trampolines to gather bananas and gemstones.

Happy Squirrels – (Free)

Chillingo's other new option is Happy Squirrels, a cuddly, cutesy time management game that has you working to build the happiest tree habitat possible.

Draw Breaker – ($0.99)

Here's a simple but interesting idea – a Breakout clone with a bouncing ball and bricks to break, but no constant platform on the screen. Instead, you draw temporary surfaces into existence for the ball to bounce off of – at whatever angle you want.

Edna & Harvey: The Breakout – ($5.99)

Edna is a little girl. Harvey is a stuffed rabbit. Together they're locked in an insane asylum. It's up to you to get them out.

Price Drops

Slingshot Racing – ($0.99)

Crescent Moon Games' challenging design about whipping cars around curves using bungee cords is back down to its lowest price ever.

Centipede: Origins – (Free)

Activision's Pitfall isn't the only 30-year-old classic worth revisiting today. Atari's Centipede: Origins is free right now, so give its modern twist on the vintage arcade hit a look.

Mass Effect: Infiltrator – ($2.99)

BioWare's iOS tie-in to its popular home console trilogy has had several sales since its release, and now there's another one going on. It's down to three bucks, so take another look if you don't yet own this one.

Smash Cops – ($0.99)

Hutch's Smash Cops, the game that lets you get behind the wheel of police vehicles taking part in high-speed chases (and probably crash into lots of things along the way) is down to just a dollar.

Updates

Minecraft: Pocket Edition – ($6.99)

Finally, let's wrap things up with today's highest profile update. It's good old Minecraft once again, with the Pocket Edition having just seen the launch of Version 0.3.3. Bows & arrows are in the game now alongside spiders and skeletons, while several behind-the-scenes bugs have been ironed out. Download it!

And that's all for today! If you haven't already, remember to subscribe to the App Store Update via email for extra convenience:

Lucas M. Thomas is IGN Nintendo's longtime champion of downloadable titles across the Wii, DSi and 3DS. He's happy to now be helping Justin round up the best options for App Store shoppers. You can follow him on Twitter.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com