Cute little iOS-based Melon Truck 1.0.1 by Californian developer Batuhan Akalin was launched on the iTunes App Store on Saturday. Sure to keep the entire family busy whether the gamer is 7 or 70 years old, Melon Truck’s gameplay consists of launching melons from a melon truck to baskets that vary in points. Melon Truck offers 6 bonus levels that require gamers to pass all levels with a score of 3000 or better. Check out the press release below for more details:
Aliso Viejo, California – New, highly addicting and entertaining iPhone/iPad game Melon Truck hits iTunes Application Stores. Melon Truck is a challenging yet fun iPhone/iPad game that will keep the entire family busy whether the gamer is 7 or 70 years old. With medium to easy learning curve, and easy to use controls, Melon Truck guarantees to entertain for hours.
With High Definition graphics, cheerful game play and puzzle like set up, Melon Truck promises to make sound in the iTunes game world. Featured in both Puzzle and Arcade “New and Noteworthy” Games sections, Melon Truck is now available for purchase at a low price of $0.99.
Melon Truck Game Play consists of launching melons from a melon truck to baskets that vary in points. Each level must be completed with a minimum score of 1600 in order to proceed to the next locked level. However, Melon Truck offers 6 bonus levels that require gamers to pass all levels with a score of 3000 or better. While game play is designed to challenge the users, Melon Truck provides 60 levels of fun, soothing game tone to entertain everyone.
Pricing and Availability:
Melon Truck 1.0.1 is only $0.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Games category. Check it out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id431036115
Regardless of whether a game is developed by an indie studio or an established one, a major concern would be where the funding came from. Some may be self-funded out of the developers own pockets or some may be funded by the proceeds received from earlier games. In the case of Casey Gatti and Benjamin Cole, these two indie developers utilised the web-based and social media driven fundraising tool called Kickstarter to make it happen for their game Star Saver.
For those who are interested, here’s a chance for you to get your name in the game’s credits or even name a stage. Check out the press release below for more details:
Caldwell, New Jersey – Game designers Casey Gatti and Benjamin Cole are nostalgic for the electronic games of their youth. Ben has experience in the game industry, while Casey has toured the indie game development circuit. This time around, they are are looking to tap into the collective of the people to help finance and shape their newest iPhone/iPad game project called Star Saver during its development.
So, Gatti and Cole are trying sometime quite new. Today, they’re launching their project on a web site called Kickstarter. Most uniquely, Kickstarter allows people to “pledge” toward a creative project. A pledge equates to financial support and will help Casey and Ben get the right equipment, software, and external support to complete this project.
However, Gatti is primarily focused on getting “outside” feedback of the game during it’s development and using that collective information to strengthen the game. “We want the game to be a lot fun to play and realize that it needs to be in other’s hands to make sure we’re on the right track. Being featured on Kickstarter not only allows people to help us get the finances to finish the project, but also gives them access to pre-release beta versions of the game before anyone else.”
“This will allow our pledgers to submit feedback to us during the remaining development of Star Saver. This feedback will seriously help “shape” the game and gives incredible power to the pledger. We’ve already been sharing Star Saver with gamers at a local video game store called Digital Press (in Clifton, NJ) and the feedback has been incredibly beneficial to us,” says Gatti.
Now, of course, Cole wanted some other fun “rewards” for people that pledge. The lower pledges allow you to basically pre-order the game and receive a thank you postcard. A mid-range pledge will get you autographed posters and your name added to the game credits. However, for the higher-range pledges, Gatti will be hand-crafting animation cels, sculpting figurines, and even allowing you to “name a stage”. Talk about giving a pledger super influence into the game design recipe!
Gatti and Cole’s secondary goal for using Kickstarter is to help raise awareness of active game development in New Jersey. New Jersey has an eclectic mix of creative game designers, programmers, artists, 3d modelers and musicians. There are also a number of colleges with dedicated game development curriculums. Gatti and Cole’s goal is that New Jersey and NYC becomes a stronger hub for the next wave of game development and design.
A thinking man’s 2D platformer. That’s what I would call Raptisoft’s latest game for the iOS platform, Robot Wants Kitty. In this game, players take control of a robot, with the objective of uniting it with a kitty locked up somewhere in the level (apparently the robot is lonely and stuff like that).
Unlike most platformers where it’s a straightfoward Point A to Point B kinda thing, the robot starts of with 0 abilities except for the ability to move left or right. Players are then forced to use their wits to go about the level to collect upgrades that will transform the robot into a jumping, shooting machine of death, destroying aliens and obstacles alike that are getting in his way to be united with the kitty.
The levels are designed to be tough nuts to crack, but are not impossible to beat if players employ some mental grease/ingenuity given whatever upgrades (or lack of) the robot has. Speaking of levels, there are a total of 7 levels to choose form. The novice level is obviously easy on the brain, while the “short and bossy” level is filled with not one, not two, but three boss fights, the expert level, well…you’ll need a lot of luck and skill on this.
The game even comes with a built in level editor for aspiring designers to come up with their own levels. Future updates to the game will enable the “Kitty Connect” mode, which will allow players to share custom created levels. This feature makes an already great game an amazing one. OpenFeint connectivity is included right off the bat, thus making sure that the social gaming bit is covered.
Full Disclosure: I tried out the game on a lark, I even forgot who actually recommended the game to me, but it turned out to be an opportunity well taken.
So this is how Han must have felt when he was flying through that space slug in The Empire Strikes Back. Plane Rush for the iPhone is the latest addition into continuous running/jumping/flying genre that has profilated on the iTunes App Store. In this game, players guide a plane through a continous (perhaps very long) cavern as long as possible while avoiding obstacles.
Tilt controls are used in guiding the plane, while tapping on the screen allows players to shoot certain obstacles. There are also power-ups to be collected, these provide protection to obstacles or even restore health to the plane’s health bar (the plane cannot sustain more than 2 hits). Multipliers are also available to, allowing players to double or triple their scores for a short period of time.
Speaking about scores, Plane Rush has OpenFeint connectivity for online leaderboards, making it pretty complete for a relatively simple, but enjoyable game. Nine Over Ten 9/10 rates this 2D game with a commendable 3.5 out of 5. The game is available on the iTunes App Store for USD 0.99, check it out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/plane-rush/id433588346?mt=8
A review code was provided to Nine Over Ten 9/10 for the purpose of this review.
It’s a beautiful night, We’re looking for something dumb to do, Hey Baby, I think I wanna marry you. I really enjoy humming to this song. IMHO it was a matter of time before Bruno Mars showed up in some way or another on Tapulous’ Revenge series and lo and behold, here we have it, Bruno Mars Revenge.
I’ve always admired the series which not only brought the entire “Guitar Hero”-esque gameplay to the iPhone, but also really cool, contemporary tracks. Bruno Mars Revenge is no different; the game features 10 tracks from his “Doo-Wops & Hooligans” album with an additional 4 waiting to be unlocked. While I’m most comfortable at easy mode, finger tapping pros can find no shortage of challenge in the other difficulty modes.
I kinda like the background graphics that happen in-game, very nicely done. Bruno Mars Revenge is one for the fans as it is chokeful with other value-added features, such as an integrated Twitter feed (tapping off @BrunoMars), Bruno Mars’ artist biography, three exclusive chat rooms, lyrics and even Facebook, Twitter and e-mail integration for fans to spread the word on Bruno Mars.
Bruno Mars Revenge presents the gameplay and the music that we’ve come to expect of this venerable series for iOS devices, and then some, for the fans. Nine Over Ten 9/10 rates Bruno Mars Revenge at a well deserved 4.5 over 5. The game is available on the iTunes App Store for USD 4.99, do check it out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bruno-mars-revenge/id432171022?mt=8.
A review code was provided by Tapulous to Nine Over Ten 9/10 for the purpose of this review.
ROFLMAO. Bravo Game Studios’ latest game for the iPhone, Celebrity Bodyguard had me laughing in stitches over the entire premise of the game. It’s pretty tongue in cheek, there’s even a disclaimer at the start that the game is satire since the three celebrities that the players are tasked with guarding have more than a passing resemblence to, ahem, Justin Beiber, Lady Gaga and that pasty white dude Robert Pattinson.
In any case, Celebrity Bodyguard represents a different take on the infinite running genre (represented by the likes of Chop Chop Ninja and Tune Runner), having mixed it up a little with side-scrolling shmups. Players control the bodyguard, tasked with shooting or punching the lights out of any crazy-assed weirdo (namely snipers, ninjas, papparazi, red-necks, etc) out to get to the particular celebrity walking down the red carpet.
It’s a pretty long walk (well, it’s an infinite running, I mean walking, game), and players are faced with the challenges of not only reloading their weapon in the midst of the carnage, but some enemies can take a lot of heat before going down. The more enemies taken down, the faster the Power Meter on the left fills up enabling the player to utilise the Celeb’s power to take out all enemies on the red carpet.
Should the celeb gets targetted by any of the whackos mentioned about, his or her stress meter will rise up. Once it is filled up it’s Game Over. Preventing this from happening is easier said than done in the game as the enemies tend to gang up and appear around the same time, so like me, you would have to get used to multi-tapping…quick!
Celebrity Bodyguard is a challenging and fun mash-up between two different genres, one that provides a really enjoyable experience as well. Game Center connectivity is there to provide an additional element of competition. Nine Over Ten 9/10 awards this game with a 4 out of 5 rating. Be sure to check it out.
The guys at GAMEVIL has launched the highly anticipated ZENONIA 3: The Midgard Story RPG game for iOS devices. Check out the following press release for more details and where to purchase the game:
ZENONIA 3: The Midgard Story Now Available on App Store Award-Winning RPG Series Returns for Third Adventure
LOS ANGELES, CA – April 28th, 2011 – GAMEVIL, a leading mobile games publisher and developer, announced ZENONIA(R) 3: The Midgard Story is available on App Store. Available for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, it is the highly-anticipated third RPG game set in the world of ZENONIA.
In ZENONIA 3, players will guide Chael through a fateful journey in search for his destiny and the truth about his mysterious father, Regret. The vast realm of Midgard spans well over 200 maps and a hundred quests, from fiery depths to the open skies populated by creatures and legendary monsters. Four distinct melee and ranged character classes each have 13 active skills and 9 passive skills in addition to combos, and the introduction of a new Fairy helper-system adds another layer of leveling strategy.
Streamlined inventory and item management lets players focus on the action. Also, 48 new Game Center achievements and in-game titles give special stat boosts and a new Execution Room Mode allows for single or asynchronous co-op play for loot, in addition to the returning online PvP arena.
“This third ZENONIA is truly worthy to bear the name of our flagship RPG series,” said Kyu Lee, Head of GAMEVIL USA. “Fans will find themselves immersed in the brand new story of characters old and new, plus they’ll be able to enjoy extended play through additional online capabilities.”
For Malaysians who have staved off the temptation to get parallel-imported iPad 2, the wait is over as the iPad 2 will be officially available in Malaysia this Friday, the 29th of April 2011. For those not in the know, the iPad 2 features an entirely new design that is 33 percent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter than the original iPad, while maintaining the same stunning 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen.
iPad 2 features Apple’s new dual-core A5 processor for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics and now includes two cameras, a front-facing VGA camera for FaceTime® and Photo Booth®, and a rear-facing camera that captures 720p HD video, bringing the innovative FaceTime feature to iPad users for the first time. Though it is thinner, lighter, faster and packed with new features, iPad 2 still delivers up to 10 hours of battery life* that users have come to expect.
According to the official press release from Apple, Malaysia shares the iPad 2 launch with several other countries, namely Japan (on the 28th), Hong Kong, India, Israel, Korea, Macau, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey and the UAE. According to Apple, the iPad 2 with WiFi has a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model and $699 (US) for the 64GB model.
iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G will be available for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model. Malaysians can look forward to cheaper pricing in the local currency (Ringgit Malaysia) due to it strengthening to an all-time 13 year high in recent days against the US Dollar. The official pricing in RM is as follows:
iPad 2 Wifi 16GB RM1,499
iPad 2 Wifi 32GB RM1,799
iPad 2 Wifi 64GB RM2,099
iPad 2 Wifi + 3Gs 16GB RM1,899
iPad 2 Wifi + 3Gs 32GB RM2,199
iPad 2 Wifi + 3Gs 64GB RM2,499
So where to get this highly sought after device on launch day? Customers can get them at the following authorised Apple resellers: Machines, EpiCenter, MacStudio, Switch, iStudy, Harvey Norman, MyBytes and Mac City.
In any case, Ferran has not been resting on his laurels, and now a new jigsaw puzzle game has been released along the lines of his original game, but this time it’s called “Puzzle Draws“. It’s a jigsaw puzzle simulator made with artistic drawings to solve. As a result, it’s cuter (artistically) compared to “Puzleman”. If the first game is any indicator, Puzzle Draws is a must have, with puzzles ranging from 24 pieces to advanced ones numbering at 384 pieces.
This game follows the same model as its predecessor, having being released for FREE with an in-app purchase (at 99 cents) to unlock the full version of the game. The game is out now on the iTunes App Store, so do check it out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/puzzle-draws/id427405145?mt=8#
Sometimes there are more to press releases for video game launches. Take for instance Rocket Chimp, a newly launched game in the vein of Mega Jump by Swift Fox Software. At first I thought it was just one of those new additions to the “vertical distance” games genre, but upon further examination of the press release, there was something more interesting.
The game itself is free but with ads, and players can choose to remove the ads temporarily for 2 weeks by posting up a tweet from the game, or permanently by doing an in-app purchase! The latter might be common among games these days, but the former… now that’s taking a page out of the “pay-with-a-tweet” marketing campaign playbook. Check out the rest of the press release below:
Raleigh, North Carolina – Independent game developer Swift Fox Software is happy to announce the release of their newest iOS game, Rocket Chimp 1.0.0. Take the role of Ham the space chimp on his first voyage into the great unknown. Avoid asteroids, comets, satellites and other space debris all while collecting fuel to keep his ship flying. Using the ship’s shields he can bust through anything that stands in his path. But don’t forget to collect fuel canisters or you’ll be parachuting back to Earth.
The game features very simple tilt and touch based controls. Players can play for free with in game advertisements or the can remove the ads via in-app purchase. Players can also tweet their high score to remove the ads for 2 weeks. Check out the game over here: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id411764916
