One of our favourite indie games on the iPhone, Spin Gem (screenshot below, read the review here), is now available for free on the iTunes App Store as developer Waggle is celebrating the upcoming release of a new freemium title in a high fantasy universe setting. Titled Loot Lust, the game is set in Vale, where Castle Galathorn was abandoned 600 years ago after bloody infighting between 5 potential heirs.

The five heirs struck an accord, which has been honoured over the centuries and became the status quo, until The Dark Council seized upon a rare planetary alignment to combine enormous tidal gravitational forces with their own fell magicks to break a demonic force to the surface of Vale.

There are a choice of 48 unique player characters with unique skills.  There are 5 realms and 42 areas to explore and 5 dungeons brimming with great loot.  Team up and go raiding with a group?  Help the guild masters to complete quests?  Free roam adventure anywhere you’re strong enough to explore or even recruit others and form your own clan!  Loot  Lust is a brand new IP developed specially for iPhone and iPad.

Explore the 5 realms of Vale, make and break deals with the overlords.  Find artefacts, treasure, and weapons.  Survive battles with wolves and gangs of brigands in Hilmerton, to Sand Burrowers and Witchdoctors of Bleached Bone Beach.  Play from a varied set of character styles including Soul Gardener, Headhunter, Dreadcloak or Cutpurse.

Fulfil your path to power and your lust for loot… and bring your friends! In the mean time, download Spin Gem for free: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/spin-gem/id467428948?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Not many game studios can boast that they are funded by one of Facebook’s co-founders, but Singapore-based Anideo Pte. Ltd. has Eduardo Saverin privately funding them. Now that I have gotten your attention, the company has announced that its popular new iOS game, Huntville, will be free for a limited time for the new year. Check out the rest of the press release for details:

If you like slinging angry birds at annoying little pigs, you’ll love launching stones at evil animals in Huntville. Nestled in a remote jungle, lies the tiny village of Huntville. Many years ago, the chief made a deal with the king of the Jungle- allowing him to hunt to provide food for his village.

But now, Huntville’s deal with the animals has gone awry, and the animals in the jungle have kidnapped Huntville’s princess! Using your trusty slingshot, brave different landscapes, defeat countless evil animals, and bring the princess back to Huntville!

Utilize different weapons to slow down, block, or just annihilate hundreds of animals along your journey. Connect up to 4 iPhones to your iPad via bluetooth in multiplayer mode to share in the destruction! Unlock special weapons and warriors by earning fruit and meat as you vaporize every pesky animal in your path!

Check it out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/app/huntville/id441888490

Don’t you love price cuts? I know I do. Indie developer Bulkypix has announced its January special offers which sees price reductions across 11 iOS games, including some recent titles including current Nine Over Ten 9/1o favourite Terra Noctis (check out the review here), Save the Furries, Funny Hell and Burn It All. The complete list is as follows:

• Burn It All
• Terra Noctis
• Save the Furries
• Funny Hell
• RPM : Gymkhana Racing
• Grave Defense HD
• Hysteria Project 2
• Gobliins 2
• Gobliins
• Aqua Panic DX
• Tiny Token Empires

What are you waiting for, check out Bulkypix’s developer page on the iTunes App Store to get your hands on these games now: http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/bulkypix/id304521749

You read the title right, the following are video game bargains that are not to be missed this week, and this includes titles for the Nintendo Wii, DS, Sony PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. Click on the titles to find out more about each title:

Nintendo Wii

• Metroid: Other M (NTSC U/C) ~ USD 19.90
• Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars (NTSC U/C) ~ USD 26.90

Nintendo DS

• Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective ~ USD 28.69
• Chrono Trigger DS ~ USD 21.90

Xbox 360

• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (NTSC U/C) ~ USD 29.90
• Bayonetta (NTSC U/C) ~ USD 22.90

Sony PS3

• Mass Effect 2 ~ USD 24.90
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Classic Trilogy HD ~ USD 29.90

Highly acclaimed mobile game developer, Halfbrick, today announced that the chart topping mobile sensation, Jetpack Joyride, is now free for a limited time on the App Store. “We are giving the gift of Jetpack Joyride as it’s now free for all to enjoy!” said Phil Larsen, chief marketing officer at Halfbrick. “Now there really is no excuse not to download Jetpack Joyride, unless you don’t like free awesomeness.”

Jetpack Joyride skyrockets players into the latest adventure featuring the lovable and mischievous hero Barry Steakfries, who captured hearts in previous Halfbrick mobile games, Age of Zombies and Monster Dash. Down on his luck, Barry discovers the ultimate opportunity to turn his boring life into one of adventure, heroics and beach chairs! Inside a “secret” evil laboratory filled with jetpacks and mysterious obstacles, he commandeers the fun-fueled technology and literally shoots for the skies on a shower of bullets, rainbows, bubbles and more!

Jetpack Joyride is available on the App store for all iOS devices. To download Jetpack Joyride, check out the official iTunes information page at: http://itunes.apple.com/app/jetpack-joyride/id457446957?mt=8

Looking to purchase Christmas presents for a gamer? Well, aside from our 2011 Christmas Gift Guide (here), the folks over at UTV Ignition Games have announced their holiday sale prices for two of their greatest hits this year, namely El Shaddai and Quarrel.

Currently in the running for Game Informer’s ‘Best Action Game of 2011,’ and nominated for G4 TV’s ‘Best Art Direction of 2011′ awards, El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is one of the most critically-acclaimed titles of the year and is now available for just $29.99 (orig. $49.99).  Curiously it’s now available for USD 19.99 on Amazon, check it out here.

Deemed “ingenious” by IGN and “brilliant” by GamesRadar, Quarrel has been one of the highest-rated iPhone/iPad games of the year, and is now available on the Apple App Store for just $2.99 (orig. $4.99). In this Scrabble-meets-Risk word game, players must create the highest-scoring word possible from an eight-letter anagram in order to conquer their opponents land. Check it out over here.

Christmas has always been known as a time for giving and we would like to kickstart this year’s Nine Over Ten 9/10 Christmas 2011 Gift Guide with a question: why not gift a gift and do your bid for charity as well? The Humble Indie Bundle 4 is the perfect avenue for this. Not only can you purchase this bundle which consists of amazing indie games such as Gratuitous Space Battles, Super Meat Boy, Bit.Trip Runner and many more, as a gift, part of the purchase goes to American Red Cross and Child’s Play Charity. Check it out over here.

If you are feeling a little more generous, you can always head over to the nearest NGO or Charity out there and donate. Here are some organizations that are closer to home in my case:

• National Cancer Council of Malaysia: http://www.makna.org.my/
• National Council for the Blind: http://www.ncbm.org.my/
• National Kidney Foundation: http://www.nkf.org.my/

OK, with that charity bit out of the way here’s our annual gift guide for Christmas 2011, this time it has something for everyone, I think, ranging for the bookworms to tech heads (I’m actually adapting my Amazon wish list for this year’s Christmas guide):

Books

1. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (Hardcover)
2. Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape: The Remarkable Life of Jacques Anquetil, the First Five-Times Winner of the Tour de France by Paul Howard (Paperback)

Electronic Devices and Gadgets

1. Apple iPad 2
2. Kindle Fire
3. Arduino UNO Board
4. Grado iGi In-Ear Headphones

Video Games

1. Nintendo 3DS
2. Batman Arkham City Collectors Edition
3. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Collectors Edition

Movies

1. Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Episodes I-VI) [Blu-ray]
2. Harry Potter: The Complete 8 Film Collection [Blu-ray]

Music

1. Torches (Music CD) by Foster the People
2. Pickin’ Up The Pieces (Music CD) by Fitz & the Tantrums.

If you need more gift ideas, check out our super popular guide articles:

• Ultimate Guide to Getting the PlayStation Vita (click here)
• Ultimate Guide to Nintendo 3DS Accessories (click here)
• Ultimate Guide to Nintendo DSi LL/XL Accessories (click here)
• Ultimate Guide to Sony PSP Go Accessories (click here)
• Nintendo DSi Accessories Guide (click here)

With zombies being flavour of the year and Christmas right around the corner, it’s about time someone came up with a Christmas/Zombies mashup. Mention Mobile has just released Zombie Bash: Christmas Attack, an arcade-style game with 8-levels. In the game, players help Santa save Christmas from hordes of crazed zombies.

As Santa gets stranded on Christmas night, after all of his reindeer pals take flight, zombies attack poor Santa and Zombie Bash: Christmas Attack begins.  With only a candy cane shooter, a pile of presents and holiday cheer, players tap the screen to move Santa and shoot at the undead. There are three classes of zombies to kill, the Gnashers are the fastest, the Scramblers are the nastiest, and the hulking Galutes are practically impossible to stop.

The object of this progressive game – to move from one holiday house to another (there are 8 in total) while keeping the zombies away and Santa alive.  Even the weather becomes more frightful as you move through this demented winter wonderland, changing from snowflakes to snow flurries as the zombies continue to try to take down Christmas.

“We are very excited to be introducing Zombie Bash: Christmas Attack,” said Ryan Ozonian, founder and chief producer of Mention Mobile. “We thought the combination of zombies and Santa made for a fun new kind of holiday story that could be played and enjoyed all year long.  With amazing graphics and a classic Space Invader game type-feel, Zombie Bash: Christmas Attack offers a great way to spend a couple minutes (or hours) this holiday season.”

Selling at a discounted rate of 99¢ Going for FREE, Zombie Bash: Xmas Attack is currently available in the Apple App Store and is the perfect gift for iPhone and iPod touch users of all ages.  Allowing for both individual and interactive play, Zombie Bash: Christmas Attack utilizes Game Center capabilities allowing you to compete against the world and friends.

Mention Mobile plans to make the Zombie Bash brand social in its next update adding your Facebook friends into the mix. For more information please visit www.mentionmobile.com.

For all you cooking aficionados out there, the Recipes Genius app for the iPhone and iPad is available for free on the iTunes App Store for a limited time only until the 5th of December. Originally priced at USD 4.99, the app boasts 485 recipes from a broad range of categories. Check it out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/recipes-genius/id477962838?mt=8

It’s that time of the year again (Christmas! Yay!) and once again, Blacksmith Games’ Appvent Calendar 2011 is upon us. Check out their website as they unveil free apps and games on a day to day basis until the end of the month. Otherwise, feel free to download their brand new app instead from the iTunes App Store: http://bit.ly/ubcNIM

The site currently has a couple of games and one app, so be sure to check back daily!