More_Badass said:

Sometimes frustrating controls are just that...frustrating. But other times, it adds to the game and experience. Dawn of the Plow is the kind of game where imprecise controls are intentional and only add to the challenge and fun. You control a plow on a road grid of various sizes with the goal to keep the roads clear and allow civilian cars to get home

That task is easier said than done. Dawn of the Plow is a fun challenging mix of twitchy action and fast-paced puzzling. Roads wrap around the board, and it's up to you to plan out the best route while collecting power ups and avoiding cars.

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takoyaki said:

Not sure if someone has mentioned it before, but yesterday Aksys released a visual novel called "Banshee's Last Cry". It's (as far as I know) the first time that the game "Kamaitachi no Yoru" ( "Night of the Sickleweasel") has been translated into English. It's a port of the first game that originally came out on the SNES/PSX. The story is fantastic, with all the twists and turns you expect from a good murder mystery. The "game" plays a lot like 999/VLR, only that you don't solve any puzzles. You read the story, make decisions and change the outcome of the story while listening to very moody music.

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Goli said:

Banshee's Last Cry, it's like an interactive book and one of the first visual novels ever created, originally released for the SNES/SFC back in the 90's it has finally made its way over here translated by Aksys. The game is by the same developers of 999, VLR and 428 which Aksys also brought over (well, save for 428) and it's basically a thriller in visual novel form.
People who liked Year Walk or Device 6 definitely should check it out!
I just got the true ending myself but before that I got five bad endings, and you unlock more endings and story lines after getting the true ending.

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Pray For Death said:

Holy shit this game is amazing. Played it for 4 hours straight today, but I've yet to get the real ending.

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Tunesmith said:

This is a Kairosoft simulation game, they need no impressions! If you value a game about Ninjas taking up all your free time for a period of a week (or several) get this!

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PittaGAF said:

If you like match 3 games with a RPG vibe...check out Glyph Quest, made by an ex Bullfrog (interesting and sometimes sad tidbits about the life of an indie too in his blog).

When you unlock the elemental combos it gets really really fantastic...was a while since I liked a match 3 this much.

Definitely worth the unlock...I LOVE when high level enemies cast some spell and destroy your plans of maintaining high level chains.
Simply brilliant.
Some things could be more evident (like enemies strengths instead of memorizing those reading the bestiary or when you are about to level up an element instead of checking the inn) but so far I had a blast...was really a long time since I had so much fun with a match 3 game.
Endless mode is the icing on the cake.

So far it misses just Gamecenter and possibly better fonts.

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putermcgee said:

Glyph Quest is my top game this week. I've been playing all day whenever I get a few minutes, and am almost at the end.

The devs say there's an update in the works to add an endless mode, which will have leaderboards. I kind of hope they add achievements as well.

If you're playing the game and are on the fence about paying for the full thing, I recorded a video of gameplay much later on so you can see some of the tougher bosses, larger glyph area, and element combos you'll get:
http://youtu.be/1rX2_C8Wzrg

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Jedeye Sniv said:

Holy crap man! I played about 5 hours this weekend and I think I just started chapter 2. Game is dang hard at points, just running the same area repeatedly trying to get through with no deaths (no resurrector on my team yet). Love it though. So bewilderingly massive, just taking my time taking in the sights and kicking arses all over the place.

It's a shame iOS is mostly home of the Short Attention Span gamer, because I would like more people playing and chiming with their thoughts. I doubt most folks will even scratch the surface of this if they even buy it at all.

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Pray For Death said:

I'm enjoying it a lot on the Air. In chapter 3 now, and holy shit there's so much more stuff to do than BG1. I think I played over 15 hours this weekend

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killercow said:

Shadow Blade is really addictive. I've already completed half of the hardcore challenges and the entire first chapter with 3 sta... shurikens! I feel like the game resembles mirror's edge in a way. You can be terrible at it and the game's flow will be greatly impacted or you can pull off every move perfectly and it'll look really slick. The animations and control are perfect too.

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More_Badass said:

I'm only up to level 3 of Shadow Blade and this game is fantastic. Swipe controls are iffy, but the virtual buttons are responsive. Gameplay is fast and fluid, with satisfying blood spray and great animations. Less of a stealth game, more of a fast paced platformer with some light stealth mechanics. Despite an attack button, this isn't a fighting game where you're pulling off cool moves. The enemies are more like obstacles. If you're stopping to fight them, your timing's off. The difficulty is in the platforming and getting faster times and smoother attempts. Like League of Evil, but with more blood and a badass ninja. Clearing a level in one fluid attempt feels so good. I'd definitely recommend Shadow Blade for any fan of platformers

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electricpirate said:

It's *really* good and there's not much community yet. I'd love to have some people talking about builds and high scores and such . I created a thread to talk about it here if anyone is playing it yet.

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colinp said:

It's quite fun! Good for a quick Rogue-like with clever strategy and situations.

My hoplite stabbed a footman, then threw his spear at a bomb thrower and proceeded to bum rush the archer to pick up said thrown spear and commence throwing it at said archer before he could get in range to hit me. Fantastic!

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SuperPac said:

Castle Doombad's also a GAF-made joint - MrCheez being with Grumpyface and myself with Adult Swim Games.

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MrCheez said:

Woke up to some stellar reviews, which I'm pretty humbled and blown away by! 5/5 on Touch Arcade and a 9.5/10 on Destructoid ( http://www.destructoid.com/review-castle-doombad-268539.phtml )

Pretty great morning so far Looking forward to hearing what you guys think!

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Mrbob said:

Just played a couple stages. Reminds me of Orcs Must Die without the 3rd person or controlling a hero yourself with a little PvZ. I like it.

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dream said:

I admit that I'm a bit of a fanboy when it comes to Grumpyface's games, but man, Castle Doombad is insanely good. It's like they took the best parts of Dungeon Keeper, Defender Chronicles, and PvZ and just made it all work.

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Cyan said:

The game's basic concept is fun and plays well--it's a PvZ-esque cartoony tower defense game, where the roles are flipped and you're a villain fighting heroes. The traps are reasonably varied and the mix of automatic traps, minions, and manual traps is a nice twist on the genre. The basic gameplay works. Oh, and lots of points for having IAP that's not in-your-face and doesn't punish you for not buying it.

Where it doesn't work so well for me is in what you might call opacity. I've crowned every level but one, and I still don't really understand a whole lot of things. How many hits does a basic knight enemy take? A ninja? A mechanic? How many hits does a shield or helmet absorb? What causes enemies to attack some traps and ignore others, also on their path, of the exact same type? How much damage does a harpoon do vs a spike trap vs an acid drop vs a fireball etc. What do poison and fire actually do? Does being slowed slow attacks? And so on. It's really hard to tell exactly what you're getting when you upgrade a trap, and even when you first unlock one. There have been several traps that I've unlocked, only to find that they didn't really do what I thought they did (among others, the fireball trap was a disappointment. Even with both fully upgraded, the harpoon shooters seem to be better.)

And then there's the total unpredictability of each level. PvZ had a really simple thing where before each level, they'd scroll right to show you the types of enemies you'd be facing, so you could plan accordingly. Doombad doesn't do anything like this; you're left to build your defenses and either figure out something general or hope you haven't left out the counter for an enemy type that shows up. And then even once you've built them, you may need to completely rejigger your strategy when a new wave happens and the enemy gets unpredictable new paths of attack. This last I don't mind so much in the castle levels due to the windows, which let you plan ahead a bit. But the drills are really annoying.

I've come across a few minor bugs, one of which forced me to restart one of the dungeon expert levels when I was doing really well. :/

On the whole, Castle Doombad is fun enough to be worth playing, but for me, the feeling that I just don't have a grasp on it keeps it from true excellence.

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Tunesmith said:

This is a quite clever "line up shapes" puzzler, simplistic in execution but with some really kick ass music it makes it really enjoyable to play. You can try it out for free in a browser by visiting http://vested-interest.co/simian/

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bonesquad said:

I tried out a few days of Cook Serve Delicious Mobile, and it's CSD alright (which means it's good. I'm fairly impressed with the game shrunk down to that size. The buttons are small but work fine, at least at the speed the first few days go. The game wants you to do one thing at a time, and sometimes using two thumbs I would go too fast and screw myself. But some steps are actually easier on the small screen, others harder. So while the same game, it definitely has a different feel. I'll probably stick with the PC version for now but just because I finally got a 3 star restaurant... (I suck at gaming...)

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chickdigger802 said:

Yeah cook serve delicious is alright on phones. Gonna be curious how stuff like lasagna will work speedy.

just sat in the toilet at work for 30min playing cook serve delicious mobile, so i guess its pretty alright and will be 3rd time i buy this T_T;

feeling like i like the controls more than ipad lol.

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chickdigger802 said:

IAP will be used to unlock the game at various price points depending on what you want from the game. CLICK QUOTE FOR DETAILS

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More_Badass said:

I've done about 5 levels already and I can already see this game is a huge improvement and evolution over the first game. Everything you loved about the first JCS is back, and bigger than ever before. For $5, you technically get 120 levels, but it's actually around 220 because all the Platforming and Time Trials have alternate Hard versions. And that's not including the insane tracks people will create in the level editor.

All the vehicles control differently and each one needs to be learned and mastered if you want to perfect every level. From the get go, the levels and environments just seem more advanced and challenging than the first game. And I don't know what magic True Axis pulled, but somehow the physics and controls feel even tighter and I felt that the first Jet Car Stunts had the best tilt controls of any IOS game I've played.

Don't be put off by the IAP: you get a handful of levels to try for free, and then the full game is $4.99, or you can simply purchase different level packs suited to what interests you. No freemium crap here. So if you can't already tell, I highly recommend Jet Car Stunts 2
(---)the only blemish IMO, a minor blemish compared to all the quality content, is the level editor. Now the editor is fun to use. Hell, I spent two hours just messing around. But the key words there are "messing around." It just seems too difficult to make something that feels planned out and intended. However I will say this is the first editor that becomes easier to use once you become a better player. I think once I've gotten better at playing the game, the true depth of editor will be revealed, but for people who just want to jump in and create a complex track or create something with some artistic vision in mind, it will feel too hard and random

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chickdigger802 said:

Game is pretty fantastic so far. runs silky smooth on iPhone 5 and iPad mini retina.

Love how medals aren't tied to super strict times any more and its now just about completing the course without retries.

And my god that jet car :O

And holy fuck, stunt mode!!!!!! Fuck is that sports car hard to control.

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SmokyDave said:

I really want to enjoy JCS2, but I just can't dig tilt steering. The first rocket level made me say 'ah, fuck this'.

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Stallion Free said:

Since I posted the impressions at the end of the last thread:

I just wrapped up the Epilogue to The Room and goddamn that was badass. They completely nailed the puzzle design in both that chapter and the main game. I promptly purchased Two after the cutscene finished lol. Republique can wait.

I think what impressed me most was how natural the discovery of solutions generally felt. I absolutely despise most of the puzzle design found in adventure games and I never once felt they pulled a bullshit move here. And they somehow managed to keep the puzzles feeling fresh despite not relying on more than a few core mechanics.

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Tunesmith said:

Haven't dived into The Room 2 yet (I know! backlog..) but loved the first one along with the epilogue as well. Republique is great, finished the first episode and am looking forward to the rest.

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Shamrock7r said:

My dad and I have been trying to find a chess app that we can play against each other online. I have an iphone and he has a galaxys4. Anyone know the best chess app for this?

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Ninja Dom said:

Just saw this on TouchArcade.

New trailer for Shadow Blade by developer, Dead Mage. Doesn't seem like it's gonna make January but should be out next month.

Looks like it's been heavily influenced by Mark of the Ninja.

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PittaGAF said:

2013 was a great iOS year...I bet 2014 will be even better.

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Dawg said:

Finally bought Infinity Blade III and it keeps crashing after the prologue.

Great.

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Heel said:

Paint It Back has consumed me for the last few days. Fantastic 2D picross game.

A huge positive is that it doesn't hold your hand for very long if you're already good at picross. You're not going to waste away half of the game being bored because you know what you're doing. After an intro and a few puzzles they let you start choosing 'Pro" difficulty, which very quickly turns into multiple puzzles to complete a single picture.

By the 3rd section or so it starts moving away from opening Pro puzzles with "Well, there's this 15 wide line that needs 12 filled in!" and starts challenging your logic. There's already more opening moves like "There's a 15 wide line that has 8 and 4, what must be filled in?" and trying to move forward from there. After long you're not going to be able to cheat the game by looking for symmetry in pictures, see what's being drawn, etc.

So yeah, some real head scratchers that are really rewarding to complete, and I'm not even half way through the game. I never remember wanting to bust out graph paper with the Nintendo picross games...haha. This is going to be hours and hours of puzzles for $3. iCloud syncing (though enjoying it a ton more on iPad with no scrolling around), fun achievements (don't lift your finger!), etc.

Free to try, too. Grab it!

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Heel said:

Paint It Back has consumed me for the last few days. Fantastic 2D picross game.

A huge positive is that it doesn't hold your hand for very long if you're already good at picross. You're not going to waste away half of the game being bored because you know what you're doing. After an intro and a few puzzles they let you start choosing 'Pro" difficulty, which very quickly turns into multiple puzzles to complete a single picture.

By the 3rd section or so it starts moving away from opening Pro puzzles with "Well, there's this 15 wide line that needs 12 filled in!" and starts challenging your logic. There's already more opening moves like "There's a 15 wide line that has 8 and 4, what must be filled in?" and trying to move forward from there. After long you're not going to be able to cheat the game by looking for symmetry in pictures, see what's being drawn, etc.

So yeah, some real head scratchers that are really rewarding to complete, and I'm not even half way through the game. I never remember wanting to bust out graph paper with the Nintendo picross games...haha. This is going to be hours and hours of puzzles for $3. iCloud syncing (though enjoying it a ton more on iPad with no scrolling around), fun achievements (don't lift your finger!), etc.

Free to try, too. Grab it!

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tbm24 said:

So is colossatron out or coming soon still? It looks interesting. If it's out, how is it?

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Heel said:

Paint It Back has consumed me for the last few days. Fantastic 2D picross game.

A huge positive is that it doesn't hold your hand for very long if you're already good at picross. You're not going to waste away half of the game being bored because you know what you're doing. After an intro and a few puzzles they let you start choosing 'Pro" difficulty, which very quickly turns into multiple puzzles to complete a single picture.

By the 3rd section or so it starts moving away from opening Pro puzzles with "Well, there's this 15 wide line that needs 12 filled in!" and starts challenging your logic. There's already more opening moves like "There's a 15 wide line that has 8 and 4, what must be filled in?" and trying to move forward from there. After long you're not going to be able to cheat the game by looking for symmetry in pictures, see what's being drawn, etc.

So yeah, some real head scratchers that are really rewarding to complete, and I'm not even half way through the game. I never remember wanting to bust out graph paper with the Nintendo picross games...haha. This is going to be hours and hours of puzzles for $3. iCloud syncing (though enjoying it a ton more on iPad with no scrolling around), fun achievements (don't lift your finger!), etc.

Free to try, too. Grab it!

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Shamrock7r said:

My dad and I have been trying to find a chess app that we can play against each other online. I have an iphone and he has a galaxys4. Anyone know the best chess app for this?

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Dash Kappei said:

It's out now (c'mon man, the OP is just a few posts above, you can't possibly be this lazy lol) but also iOS7 exclusive :/

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Dash Kappei said:

It's out now (c'mon man, the OP is just a few posts above, you can't possibly be this lazy lol) but also iOS7 exclusive :/

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Pray For Death said:

You still on iOS 6? You're not thinking of upgrading now that the jailbreak is out?

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tbm24 said:

I asked because the picture shows a December release date but it's under January coming soon.

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johnny_park said:

My friends and I use Chess by Post. There's a free and paid version. It's also cross platform so if you have and iPhone and your friend has an android or windows phone you can still play each other. All of my friends have different phones so it was perfect for us.

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tbm24 said:

So is colossatron out or coming soon still? It looks interesting. If it's out, how is it?

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StarCreator said:

Are you playing it after a fresh start of the device?

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Ninja Dom said:

Just saw this on TouchArcade.

New trailer for Shadow Blade by developer, Dead Mage. Doesn't seem like it's gonna make January but should be out next month.

Looks like it's been heavily influenced by Mark of the Ninja.

http://youtu.be/VDVp0KHn-2Y

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PittaGAF said:

It's already out and has a great presentation with a cool '70 cartoons vibe.
Personally I found it a huge letdown, incredibly boring.
I completed it in 2-3 hours while watching tv...didn't even bothered to buy anything and ended with over 150 millions and 40-50 prisms.
The only time my attention was required to prevent dying was in last capital, region 7.
I'm not a 'high score game' type of guy so it's not probably my type of game, but I love match 3 and I LOVED Jetpack Joyride nonetheless.
Monsters ate my condo has a similar concept and it's way more fun IMHO.

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toddhunter said:

Anybody taken the plunge on sonic racing transformed? The IAP model doesn't look too bad, with only "pay to unlock" (even if a bit pricey).

However the whole thing smells like it'll be free in a week. I'll call 10 days.

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Just had a go at the intro stage and have to say, I wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised. When the game first began, I immediately thought that I would need to tilt to steer. Wrong, default is a virtual analog stick that was actually usable.

As an owner of the Vita and Wii U version already, I have to say that the iOS version has the same feel as the other 2 who his good. It will be nice or have a version of the game with me at all times.

Not bad.

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Too early to tell on grinding, but really liking this so far and if it holds up, I would go as far as to say it could be the best kart racer on iOS.

The first few "easy" races were indeed easy. Some things do rub me the wrong way as far as having a little freemium feel like trying to entice you to spin the wheels while loading ... And using your rings to do so.

Also, seriously, you have Sonic to start with then he's the most expensive character to buy?

The rings seem to come at a good clip so far though. Just little things like that are annoying.

Overall though, I've got to say I'm impressed so far and, from first impressions, it seems like it was worth the wait.

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