Sunday 31 December 2017
Gmod Death Run Funny Moments - 2018 Sports Bar Celebration! (Garry's Mod)
Gmod Death Run Funny Moments - 2018 Sports Bar Celebration! (Garry's Mod) posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW
Tasos' 10 Best Games of 2017 - 'Arena of Valor', 'Gorogoa', and More Made the List
Football Manager Touch 2018, $14.99 - It seems to be a tradition by now for Sports Interactive's Football Manager Touch games to be part of my list, and this year's 2018 version is no different. FMT 2018 is easily the best sports management game on the App Store and a game you can lose days to. It strikes the perfect balance between depth and accessibility and plays perfectly on a tablet (unlike last year's originally buggy release). With some small but clever additions and UI changes, FMT 2018 improved the already great FMT 2017 and effortlessly made my list.
GRID™ Autosport, $9.99 - I've been looking for a really good racing game on mobile for a long time, and I was disappointed when F1 2016 released with quite a few issues that hindered my entertainment. This year we finally got a really great racing game on mobile, GRID Autosport. This game has been perfectly ported over to mobile and offers so much content that I don't think I'll get through it all before perishing from old age. Add to that great visuals and highly customizable car handling, and we got ourselves a winner.
Gorogoa, $4.99 - Gorogoa was one of the many great games that popped up in December and one I really enjoyed. I don't enjoy puzzle games as much as I used to, but Gorogoa really impressed me with its fantastic visual style and very clever mechanics. As I talked about in my review, Gorogoa managed to perfectly marry mechanics and narrative and offer an enchanting and intelligent experience that was easily the best puzzle game on the App Store this year. If you like puzzle games, you definitely want to check out Gorogoa.
Slayaway Camp, $2.99 - My love for Slayaway Camp, the sliding puzzle that came out all the way back in February, stems from growing up watching cheesy 80s horror movies, and this game emulates them in a masterful way. The puzzles are clever, the gore is hilarious and more than welcome, and the constant content updates that added more killers and scenes a reason to keep coming back. Although this might sound disturbing, Slayaway Camp's kill scenes and executions always bring a smile to my face.
Drag'n'Boom, Free - Drag'n'Boom came out a few months back without much fanfare but shouldn't be overlooked. This arcade game nails the feeling of flying through the sky and going into a slow motion Matrix-mode at will while taking out enemies with aplomb. I really enjoyed the game's various weapons, and the only drawback was that I blew through the content quite fast, but that has been remedied with a recent update that added new dragons and a new mode. Drag'n'Boom is a really smooth game and really made me feel like the Khaleesi leading her dragon to war in Game of Thrones.
Arena of Valor, Free - Arena of Valor has only been available in the US for a few days, but it's already one of my favorite games and one I see myself spending too much time on. AOV is pretty much League of Legends for mobile, and it's filled with all kinds of content (including dozens of heroes) and millions of people to play with. AOV went with a virtual thumbstick over tap-to-move, which makes the game great to play on a phone (and not so great on my iPad Pro). I can see myself returning to AOV daily, which could be both a good and a bad thing.
Motorsport Manager Mobile 2, $3.99 - The original Motorsport Manager was a very pretty game that lacked in depth; then, Motorsport Manager Mobile 2 came along and brought a similar visual style as its predecessor but a ton more content that turned the title into a serious management game. With more depth in the car development side and with drivers who feel more human, MMM2 has been great fun. I've had a lot of fun building up my team and racing through various seasons, and I see myself coming back to MMM2 quite often.
HQ - Live Trivia Game Show, Free - Put this one under new experiences. HQ Live Trivia Show might not end up sticking around long, but it definitely opened the gates for a new kind of game. Quiz games aren't anything new, but live ones are, and HQ managed to become an event, a moment (or more like two) when people stopped what they were doing to all play the same game, competing with each other for actual money. I have no idea whether HQ will still exist in 2018, but I've enjoyed playing it twice a day and seeing how far I can make it (Question 9 was my best score ever).
Sunless Sea, $6.99 - Failbetter's Sunless Sea married the Fallen London narrative mechanic with better visuals and a sailing mechanic, resulting in a fascinating journey through a deranged (in a good way) world that I really enjoyed. There's something about your sailors eating each other gleefully that's hard not to enjoy. Sunless Sea managed to combine a strong narrative, a fun sailing aspect that worked well on a tablet, and a management mechanic that let me upgrade my ship and crew into a fun whole that keeps on giving. And the Chtulhu echoes didn't hurt at all.
The Elder Scrolls: Legends, Free - Hearthstone continues to dominate the collectible card genre on mobile, but this year Elder Scrolls: Legends, Bethesda's take on the genre, offered players an alternative to Hearthstone by betting on strong story content, clever mechanics, and the Elder Scrolls lore. I enjoyed playing through the various story chapters, had fun building a Skyrim dragon deck, and overall enjoyed the game quite a bit. While it won't beat Hearthstone in terms of popularity, Elder Scrolls: Legends is different enough to scratch a slightly different card gaming itch.
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'Subway Surfers' Animated Series Teaser Released
Subway Surfers [Free], one of the most popular games in the history of mobile gaming and one of the most downloaded games even today, is on its way to becoming an animated series, and now we have the first teaser. The teaser shows off the locations where the story will take place and, of course, the infamous trains, which are such a big part of the game's identity. We even get a glimpse of the series' protagonist, Jake, who everyone who's played the game (or even looked at the game's icon) is familiar with. I like the art of the series, and I think it will be fun to watch, especially for the many fans of the mobile game.
As we talked about in an earlier story, the series is scripted by Brent Friedman (of Star Wars Rebels and The Clone Wars), and produced by Emmy award-winner Sander Schwartz (of The Batman and Baby Looney Tunes). You'll watch the adventures of Jake, Tricky, and Fresh across 10 4-minute episodes, coming next Summer, and then a longer series consisting of 22-minute episodes. Excited about the series?
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'World of Warships Blitz' Releasing Jan. 18th, Pre-Register Now
After bringing us the very successful World of Tanks Blitz, Wargaming.net is getting ready to take over the mobile seas with World of Warships Blitz. The game is currently in soft launch, and it's hitting all the seas of the world on January 18th. If you're one of the many planning to play the game either on iOS or Android, you should head over here and pre-register because if you do, you'll get your hands on an Aurora Premium Ship, a Soviet Tier III cruiser. And since it doesn't cost you anything to pre-register, you should probably do so and get that Aurora for free.
World of Warships Blitz takes the World of Tanks Blitz recipe to the sea, and I think it will be a better fit for mobile than World of Tanks Blitz. I've been playing World of Warships on the PC for a few months now, and I like its slower, more deliberate pace. I think that slower pace will work better on mobile because touchscreen controls don't always work well with fast movement. I've had issues playing fast tanks on WOT Blitz precisely because of the controls, so I think WOW Blitz will be more fun to play. We will, of course, have to wait and see how the game is ported. Don't forget to pre-register.
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Amazon Digital Day deals include Cuphead, Assassin’s Creed Origins
Amazon’s Digital Day has arrived. In case you’re not aware, it’s the day when Amazon puts together a whole day of deals and offers specifically centred around its digital offerings such as music, movies and most pertinently to us, games.
Becoming a sort of post-holiday tradition for the online retail giant, Digital Day sees discounts on plenty of games both old and new and though it’s mainly PC focused, there’s some deals on codes that’ll work on both Windows 10 and Xbox One in the case of Cuphead for example, and it’d be remiss of us not to mention the discount on the delightfully wonderful Monument Valley 2 on mobile.
So without further ado, here’s some of the highlights of today’s sale:
- Cuphead, Xbox One/Windows 10 – $16.99
- Assassin’s Creed Origins, PC – $41.99
- South Park: The Fractured But Whole Gold Edition, PC – $44.99
- For Honor, PC – $20.39
- Overwatch, GOTY Edition PC – $29.99
- Gears of War 4, Xbox One/Windows 10 – $19.99
- WWE 2K18, Deluxe Edition, PC – $49.49
- NBA 2K18, PC – $40.00
- Quantum Break, PC – $9.99
- Ghost Recon Wildlands, PC – $29.99
- Monument Valley 2, mobile – $4.99
Amazon Digital Day deals include Cuphead, Assassin’s Creed Origins posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW
The official Nintendo Store has a Nintendo Switch Mario Mega Bundle for under £380
Still on the hunt for a Nintendo Switch? Nintendo UK themselves may have you covered with a cracking Nintendo Switch bundle available exclusively through their official store which is practically a must for any Mario fan.
You can nab yourself a Neon Nintendo Switch, a copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario Odyssey, a black Nintendo Switch hard pouch, some Mario-themed Analogue Stick caps and matching Mario and Luigi official JoyCon wheels. You can get this lot for a very reasonable £379.99 with free delivery.
That’s two excellent games for the Switch with Odyssey easily making it onto our games of the 2017 list, so it’s a very tempting offer.
Nintendo Switch New Mario Mega Bundle – £379.99
The official Nintendo Store has a Nintendo Switch Mario Mega Bundle for under £380 posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW
You can now nab Persona 5 for less than £28 from Argos in more Boxing Day deals
Those of you with a bit of post-Christmas money to spend now that the shops are returning to regular trading hours may be interested to know that one of 2017’s best RPGs in Persona 5 has now appeared at quite possibly one of its lowest prices since launch at retailer Argos.
The game sees you take up the mantle of high school students that have a dual identity as the Phantom Thieves and tasks you to explore dungeon interpretations of various characters psyches with a very distinct style, and a dash of weirdness thrown in.
It’s done pretty well for itself, becoming the most successful game in the series, so if you want to see what the fuss is about now seems like a good time.
Persona 5 for PlayStation 4 from Argos – £27.49
You can now nab Persona 5 for less than £28 from Argos in more Boxing Day deals posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW
Best Boxing Day games deals 2017: Cheap games, consoles, accessories, and more
The deals just don’t stop coming. Here are the best Boxing Day games deals for 2017.
The turkey’s finished, as are the leftovers and yet the Boxing Day sales march on through the end of the year. Now Christmas is over, it’s time for retailers all over the UK to flip the switch and begin Boxing Day sales, which there will be aplenty this year as usual. In the UK, the Boxing Day sale is a long-standing tradition that largely outweighed all other annual discounts, at least until Black Friday came along to take over a bit.
That’s not to say that Boxing Day sales don’t still exist – they absolutely do, in a big way. Often, retailers will keep some of their best deals quiet through Black Friday and Cyber Monday, only to set them live on Boxing Day for the post-Christmas crowd to enjoy and take advantage of.
As such, Boxing Day is an ideal time to pick up that fancy thing you’ve been wanting but didn’t happen to get for Christmas. You might just snap up a bargain while you’re at it, too. January sales are becoming less and less important, as most retailers have used up all of their offers through the last few months, so the focus is shifting further onto Boxing Day sales.
Right here in this article, we’ll be keeping track of the very best games deals for Boxing Day 2017 as soon as they appear – which incidentally can actually tend to be sometime before the day itself. Rest assured, we’re keeping our deals eyes peeled throughout the Christmas holidays. Go on, buy yourself something nice, it’s been a very long year.
When do Boxing Day sales start?
While you’d be forgiven for assuming that Boxing Day sales start on Boxing Day itself – that day being December 26th – you’d actually be wrong for the most part. The vast majority of retailers who will be hosting a sale will be setting their respective sale lines at some point during Christmas Day itself. This is largely due to several years worth of one-upsmanship and the desire to get a sale line in front of customers earlier than the competition. For consumers, it just means extra time to get those bargains, especially with all the Christmas money you’ve inevitably ended up with. Thanks, Aunty Alice.
Where can I find Boxing Day games deals?
There’s likely to be a wide array of Boxing Day deals on offer from a variety of retailers. Whether you’re looking for a bargain-priced game, a brand new console or a must-have accessory, there will be something out there for you and hopefully at a much lower price than it was pre-Christmas. Here are some of the key places you’ll find the best deals.
Without a doubt, the Amazon Boxing Day sale will be front and centre for most people. Not only does shopping online mean you don’t have to change out of your pyjamas on Boxing Day, but Prime members will get extra discounts and free shipping. This year, Amazon will be discount a large batch of discounts, along with some lightning deals available only for a few hours at the most. Discounts on Kindles, Fire HD tablets and the Amazon Echo are likely for a one-day deal.
Destiny 2 – £19.99
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle – £32.99
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – Ultimate Edition – £14.99
The Crew – Ultimate Edition – £14.99
Oculus Rift and Touch Controllers Bundle – £349.99
Running close behind Amazon in terms of sheer volume of games deals will likely be GAME’s online offerings. The site’s Black Friday offers were very decent this year, which could signal that the Boxing Day sale will be equally impressive. That said, the site’s price cuts have disappointed in the past, so take that all with a grain of salt, really. That said, we’re likely to see individual games with steep discounts and a few key Xbox One or PS4 bundles.
The Evil Within 2 – £19.99
Xbox One S 1TB (White) with Middle Earth: Shadow of War, Prey, Fallout 4, The Crew, Steep & Gears of War Ultimate Edition – £239.99
Destiny 2 – £19.99
Xbox One X with PUBG, Forza Motorsport 7, Gears of War Ultimate Edition and an extra controller – £469.99
LA Noire, Nintendo Switch – £25.99
Currys PC World offers up discounts on everything from Sonos speakers to 4K TVs on a nearly monthly basis by now, but the site’s Black Friday offers included the lowest ever price on LG’s stunning OLED 4K set, so whatever it has up its sleeve for Boxing Day is worth a look. Look for tech and console bundles with decent price cuts rather than individual titles, here.
Currys PC World Boxing Day Games Deals
Sony PlayStation 4 (White) 1TB with Gran Turismo Sport and Wireless DualShock controller – £299.99
Xbox One X 1TB with Assassin’s Creed Origins, Doom and Fallout 4 – £459.99
Xbox One S 1TB with Forza Horizon 3, Fallout 4, The Crew, Doom and Steep – £229.99
Forza Motorsport 7 – £21.99
LG 55-inch Ultra HD HDR OLED TV – £1499
One of the most unlikely places to find genuinely fantastic deals is Tesco Direct. Over the past year or two, the online side of the national supermarket chain has become the first place to check for discounted games, offering up new release titles like Call of Duty, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Forza 7 and more at dirt cheap prices not long after launch. Expect to see a lot of eyebrow-raising price cuts here.
Tesco Direct Boxing Day Games Deals
Nintendo Switch Console (Neon) and two selected games – £349.99
Buy an Xbox One X and get PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds for free – £449.00
Need for Speed: Payback – £38.99
Star Wars Battlefront 2 – £34.00
Steep – £10
Despite Argos’ penchant for minimal discounts and labelling nearly everything a sale, the site offered up some startlingly good deals over Cyber Monday week, which is enough to put them in the running for ones to watch this Boxing Day. Expect to see discounts on everything from Android tablets to Amazon Echo devices and PS4, Xbox One and hopefully Switch bundles on offer.
Project Cars 2 – £24.99
Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy – £22.99
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard – £19.99
Persona 5 – £27.49
Marvel vs Capcom Infinite – £19.99
Very has been a retailer to watch for the past few years, rising up from relative obscurity and now offering some of the best console bundle offers over the past couple of months. If you’re after a PS4, Xbox One, or Switch this Boxing Day, or you fancy a PSVR headset, you’d be well advised to keep an eye on Very. More specifically, let us keep an eye on Very while you read our top picks from what’s on offer.
Nintendo Switch (Grey) with Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario Odyssey – £369.99
Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy – £20.99
Call of Duty WWII – £42.99
FIFA 18 – £36.99
WWE 2K18 – £29.99
John Lewis doesn’t make a habit of offering up steeply discounted products, but it does offer a rather lovely price matching service that will allow you to bring them an offer another retailer is offering and have John Lewis honour it, stacking on an additional five-year guarantee, to boot. If you’re after a 4K TV, console or accessory, this place is a good bet.
John Lewis Boxing Day Games Deals
LG 55-inch 4K UltraHD Smart TV with Freeview Play – £1499
HP Omen Gaming Laptop with Intel iCore 7 & nVidia GForce GTX 1060 – £999.95
Prey – £11.99
Halo Wars 2 – £9.99
While not explicitly a Boxing Day sale, given that it’s an American company, we would be remiss to not have a look at what Humble is offering just after Christmas. If you’re after your games in a digital format (cutting out the need to wait for a box or go outside), you can head over there and indulge right now. You’ll be playing in a matter of minutes.
Humble Store Boxing Day Games Deals
Super Meat Boy – £1.09
Massive Chalice – £1.49
Grim Fandango Remastered – £2.19
Prison Architect – £4.99
Guacamelee Super Championship Turbo Edition – £3.44
Alternatively, you can try your luck with CDKeys, which will be offering quite literally thousands of keys for PC and console games with instant delivery. You’ll get a code in your email inbox within seconds and won’t be breaking the bank to get them.
Middle Earth: Shadow of War, Xbox One/PC – £29.99
Assassin’s Creed Origins, Xbox One – £27.99
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Xbox One – £19.99
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt GOTY Edition, PC – £15.99
Marvel vs Capcom Infinite, PC – £7.49
Whatever you’re looking for in terms of gaming related paraphernalia or equipment, Boxing Day will likely be the last chance to nab a bargain for a while, if only because by the end of the year, your finances will likely be begging you to give it all a rest. So go ahead and pick up something nice for yourself while you can. We’ll keep our list of deals as up to date as possible, too, so check back often.
Best Boxing Day games deals 2017: Cheap games, consoles, accessories, and more posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW
Friday 29 December 2017
TouchArcade Game of the Year 2017: 'Death Road to Canada'
GAME OF THE YEAR: DEATH ROAD TO CANADA
I'm not sure what kind of witchcraft is enchanting both Rocketcat Games and Madgarden, but it seems like the monkey's paw wish they made years ago is still paying off with their ability to flawlessly release game that push every single one of our buttons. Back in 2014 we awarded Rocketcat Game of the Year for Wayward Souls [$6.99], and this year we are happy to announce that our 2017 Game of the Year is Death Road to Canada.
We absolutely loved the game in our review back when it was released earlier this year. It was the game to beat, and while many games came close, nothing dethroned Death Road to Canada. The roguelike gameplay of completely random games and the absurd events that would transpire made trading tells from your time on the Death Road just as fun as playing the game itself. Additionally, a barrage of updates has pulled us right back into Death Road to Canada multiple times throughout the year. The game was among the most popular titles on our forums as well.
One thing we really loved about our 2016 Game of the Year, Crashlands [$6.99], is how it took a fairly complicated genre and made it unbelievably approachable. The Gentlebros' Cat Quest [$1.99] is dripping with similar magic, and is both a super lightweight RPG you can just play for a few minutes at a time which also features loads of depth if you're looking to explore it. Great touch controls, a ultra cute art style, and perfectly paired music all come together in one of the top must-play experiences of the year. (And our forums also agree!)
HONORABLE MENTION: SPLITTER CRITTERS
With our top two picks being pretty deep in the gamer-y games category, we also wanted to give a special nod to the best iOS puzzler of the year, Splitter Critters [$2.99]. When we first saw this at PAX it was obvious that Splitter Critters was either going to win tons of awards or it'd just be totally under the radar. Thankfully, they ended up winning all sorts of things including an Apple Design Award. As we explain in our review, gameplay involves making tears (or splitting) in the game world to then rearrange those pieces of the level into a way that allows your Lemming-like little blue aliens to reach their space ship. The base game was amazing, and then they updated it to support ARKit, turning one of the best puzzlers of the year into the best AR experience we've seen yet. Folks on our forums also really dig it.
For more end of the year coverage of the best games of 2017, be sure to check out our top 100 best iOS games list, as well as these personal top tens that we've been drizzling out over the week:
- Jared's 10 Best Games of 2017 - Some of the Biggest Releases of the Year and a Few Hidden Gems
- Eli's 10 Best Games of 2017 - These Games Need to Be Listed SOMEWHERE
- Mikhail's 10 Best Games of 2017 - Best iOS Gaming Year Ever
- Shaun's 10 Best Games of 2017 - A Year Full of Truly Unique Mobile Games
- Rob's 10 Best Games of 2017 - A Purrfect Year for Mobile Gaming
- Tasos' 10 Best Games of 2017 - 'Arena of Valor', 'Gorogoa', and More Made the List
Also, if you'd prefer to listen to our Game of the Year discussion in the form of an audio podcast, here's all the links to do that:
iTunes Link: The TouchArcade Show
Stitcher: The TouchArcade Show via Stitcher Radio for Podcasts [Free]
RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show
Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-336.mp3, 83MB
Thanks a ton for sticking with us all through 2017. It's been a wild year filled with amazing games, and we really can't wait to see what 2018 has in store for us. Something tells me 2018 is going to be filled with lots of mobile games, but that's just a hunch.
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TouchArcade Game of the Year 2017: 'Death Road to Canada' posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW
TouchArcade Game of the Week: 'Cinco Paus'
The idea behind the TouchArcade Game of the Week is that every Friday afternoon we post the one game that came out this week that we think is worth giving a special nod to. Now, before anyone goes over-thinking this, it doesn't necessarily mean our Game of the Week pick is the highest scoring game in a review, the game with the best graphics, or really any other quantifiable "best" thing. Instead, it's more just us picking out the single game out of the week's releases that we think is the most noteworthy, surprising, interesting, or really any other hard to describe quality that makes it worth having if you were just going to pick up one.
These picks might be controversial, and that's OK. If you disagree with what we've chosen, let's try to use the comments of these articles to have conversations about what game is your game of the week and why.
Without further ado…
Cinco Paus
It was an odd week around here with the App Store being frozen for the holidays and only a handful of new games even being released. We even decided not to do our normal Out Now post on Wednesday because, well, it would have had like four games on it. However, one pretty significant game did make its surprise debut on Christmas Day and that game is Cinco Paus [$4.99], the latest game from popular roguelike developer Michael Brough. If you're familiar with the fanaticism surrounding Brough's previous games and their enduring designs, you'll know why Cinco Paus was an easy pick for Game of the Week this week whether it was just a handful of games being released or a hundred. This is another dose of the Michael Brough good stuff.
As our own Shaun Musgrave has already reviewed Cinco Paus in depth, I'll save going into the details in this feature. All I'll say is that the immense replay value, layers upon layers of depth, and many hidden elements that slowly unfold the more you play are all hallmarks of Brough's designs and they're ever-present in Cinco Paus too. One interesting tidbit is that the game is purposely in Portuguese, because Brough is currently learning the language and wanted to immerse himself in it as much as possible, even while designing games. It also pushed him to think about how to make the gameplay clear to everyone whether they knew the language or not, which I think is really interesting. He goes into more detail about the design process of Cinco Paus in this blog post and it's a really fascinating read.
So, with this being our final Game of the Week of the year, I feel pretty good we're sending off 2017 with such a high-quality release from one of the best game developers out there, and I'm looking forward to whatever amazing mobile gaming adventures await us in 2018!
TouchArcade Game of the Week: 'Cinco Paus' posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW
Jared's 10 Best Games of 2017 - Some of the Biggest Releases of the Year and a Few Hidden Gems
Beat Street, Free - Being an '80s and '90s arcade rat, one of my very favorite genres is the side-scrolling beat 'em up. Despite being a somewhat shallow type of game, it's surprisingly hard to get the formula just right, which explains why there's a zillion beat 'em ups out there but only a very few great ones. It's why the classics hold up so well decades later. Lucky Kat's Beat Street has found that special sauce that makes a beat 'em up fun, and has added some very smart modern touches that have made it a daily habit for me. The most important elements of a great beat 'em up are the combat and the enemy AI, both of which need to be complex enough to still be engaging but simple enough to be approachable. Beat Street nails those aspects perfectly. Then layered on top is a LENGTHY campaign mode (rare for this genre) and a character unlocking and upgrading system that ensures you've always got something to shoot for when you play.
Cat Quest, $1.99 - I have a hard time getting into most RPGs usually because I can't handle the scope. Rather than hundred-hour affairs with deep, complex storylines I'd much prefer something breezier that gets to the point and focuses on what makes the genre so fun. It feels like Cat Quest was made for someone like me. There's not loads of text to bog down the action, but the main storyline and side quests are still filled with entertaining tales and colorful characters. There's equipment upgrading and character progression, but it's just enough to be manageable while still allowing you to tailor your character to your style. The combat and magic system are similarly diverse enough to be interesting but not overwhelming, and it's tailored so well to the touchscreen it makes the real-time battling tons of fun. Cat Quest is like a concentrated dose of action RPG and cat puns, and it's some of the most fun I've had gaming in 2017.
Darts of Fury, Free - Yes, it's the year 2017 and I'm picking a darts game of all things for my top 10 of the year. I'm just as surprised as you. The funny thing is, despite there being dozens if not hundreds of darts games on mobile over the years, none have been especially great, which is a shame as flicking your finger on a touchscreen is a great way to represent throwing a dart. Well, I'm here to tell you that Darts of Fury gets it right. The physics are totally on point, and reward solid flicking mechanics and aim just like the real thing. Aside from a couple (admittedly fun) training mini-games, Darts of Fury is an online PvP game, and with good matchmaking and a great leveling system it's a blast to rise the ranks and face off against other players. There's plenty that could be improved here, namely the inclusion of more modes and dart game types and especially the ability to play against friends instead of just randoms, but the dart throwing is so much fun that it hasn't stopped me from playing this one each day since its release.
Death Road to Canada, $10.99 - There's something about Rocketcat's games that just push all the right buttons for me. They tend to create games that reward skill and insist you actually learn the details of the game rather than just brute force your way through. Our 2014 Game of the Year Wayward Souls was an excellent example of that. And now Death Road to Canada, made in conjunction with authentic Canadian developer Madgarden, is another. Your goal is pretty simple on paper: Escape the zombie apocalypse by road tripping from Florida to the safety of The Great White North. In practice it's not quite so easy. I've always loved roguelike games because of their ability to let you create your own adventures rather than the one the developer envisioned for you, and in that sense Death Road is like a storytelling machine. The sheer variety of what can happen to you in any given road trip is sure to create some lasting memories, and with careful resource management, some nimble fingers, and a whole lot of luck it's chock full of extremely rewarding gameplay too.
Flipflop Solitaire, Free - I don't think I'm alone in saying that I have thousands of hours invested in playing Solitaire over the years. It was a big reason my parents bought a computer when I was a kid! With such an enduring design, you'd think a classic like Solitaire would be impossible to improve on, but developer Zach Gage somehow pulls it off with Flipflop Solitaire. Just a few rule changes have created an entirely new experience, and unlike Solitaire where you'll often find yourself in a dead end situation nearly all games in Flipflop Solitaire can be won. Because of that each game feels almost like a puzzle that you can solve, and with so much extra flexibility in the rules compared to the traditional game, I've been surprised with how many times I think I've been stumped only to discover a string of crazy moves I can make to get me out of a stuck situation. It's SO satisfying.
Getting Over It, $4.99 - I love weird physics-based games, mostly because they're purposely silly and somewhat shallow and don't take themselves too seriously. Getting Over It shares the silly and weird part, but it most definitely takes itself seriously. This is a game that's built to abuse you over and over while simultaneously talking you through the emotional damage it's causing you. Your job is to climb a mountain while sitting in a cauldron using nothing but a sledge hammer to push and fling yourself around. It's totally absurd, but there's something incredibly satisfying about overcoming such adversity… right up to the point where you make a wrong move and go plummeting down to the bottom, losing possibly hours of progress in the process. Yes, that happens a lot. But somehow you just want to come back for more.
Gorogoa, $4.99 - This has to count as the biggest surprise of the year for me, as Gorogoa only came out a couple of weeks ago but in all honesty it only took a couple of minutes before I knew this would be one of my favorites of 2017. It's something of a hybrid of a point and click adventure game and one of those tile-sliding picture puzzles, but that description doesn't nearly do this masterpiece justice. You'll zoom in and out of many beautiful illustrated scenes, and also slide different layers off of the environment to manipulate and interact with various elements in the pictures. Gosh, it's SO hard to explain, but that's what's so amazing about Gorogoa. It's unlike any game I've ever played, and it will constantly be blowing your mind with how inventive it is and how it can create these rich, interconnected environments. The best part is that Gorogoa tells an interesting story and creates an interesting universe to explore and it does it entirely without text. It's so stunningly brilliant that the only bad thing I can say is that the game ends at all, as I could easily poke and prod my way around this fascinating world for eternity.
GRID™ Autosport, $9.99 - I don't get into racing games very often, and even when I do they tend to be the more unrealistic, arcade-style games. I did have a love affair with the original two Gran Turismo games back in the day but as technology advanced the series just got too difficult for a car noob like me, and I've pretty much avoided hardcore racing sims ever since. Which sucks because I WANT to like them, you know? I just couldn't. Then GRID Autosport arrived on iOS and basically provided my dream racing game. It's simulation-focused but not overly so, and it has so many dang options you can pretty much tailor the game to suit your style no matter what your experience or enthusiasm towards racing is. Then there's the staggering amount of event and race types that are connected to a rich career mode that is always waiting to give you something satisfying to accomplish. Throw in the best visuals we've ever seen in a mobile game to date and there's no better way to spend your money than GRID Autosport for both hardcore and casual racing fans on the go.
Pigeon Wings, $1.99 - Side-scrolling cave flyer games are a staple of the mobile platform, as they're typically one or two button affairs that lend themselves incredibly well to the touchscreen. Because of that we've been inundated with these types of games for years, and it's become increasingly difficult for new ones to stand out. Pigeon Wings may look like your average cave flyer, but it's actually one of the finest racing games on mobile and stands out in a number of ways. First, it's level-based, and each level is a finely-crafted course that will reward your quick reflexes and taking advantage of subtle strategies like drafting behind the racers ahead of you. There's also some shooting elements thrown in and even boss fights, and each level is bite-sized enough that it's easy to squeeze in a game here and there as well as go back and repeat a course over and over trying for a better time. This formula has brought me back to Pigeon Wings constantly since its release, but a recent endless mode addition pretty much ensures I'll never stop playing this one.
Steredenn, $3.99 - I love shoot 'em ups, and I love roguelikes, so it stands to reason that I'd love a roguelike shoot 'em up and the brilliant Steredenn is proof of that. It's a horizontally-scrolling shooter that has you playing through a set of semi-randomized levels each capped off with an epic boss battle. Upon completion of each level you're given the choice of a number of weapons or power-ups to equip, meaning you only get more bad ass the further you get in the game. It's also designed so that you can beat all levels and loop back around to continue on, going until you die, and like most great shooters it's not merely designed to be "beaten" but mastered and replayed over and over. A special shoutout goes to the excellent touch controls implemented into this mobile version of Steredenn that creates a crosshair sort of thing whenever your ship might be hidden by your thumb, which is just ingenious and should be standard on all mobile shooters from now on.
Jared's 10 Best Games of 2017 - Some of the Biggest Releases of the Year and a Few Hidden Gems posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW
Eli's 10 Best Games of 2017 - These Games Need to Be Listed SOMEWHERE
The thing that sucks about putting together a top 100 best games list is that even though it seems like a ton of games, all sorts of awesome stuff inevitably gets left out. Mobile is a totally unique platform where 100 games can be released in a single week, so doing this end of year coverage often feels like trying to fill a shot glass with a fire hose. This year I'm dedicating my list to great games that I feel like should be somewhere in our "best of" year-end coverage.
AMAZING KATAMARI DAMACY, Free - Forum Thread - This game had a truly bizarre launch, as it seemed like Bandai Namco would soft launch it somewhere, pull it, then randomly soft launch it again. This went on for months, and when you play the "final" game that was released, it makes sense why- The monetization in Amazing Katamari Damacy is super wacky, like they kept trying to tweak or add new things it and eventually were like "Screw it, release it anyway." If you disregard the abomination of freemium shenanigans (which you totally can), Amazing Katamari Damacy is a really cool game. It's basically a behind the back runner with Katamari gameplay. Instead of rolling things up in an open world, you're on a track of sorts, and it all works really well for one-handed play. Like every Katamari game, the feeling of progression is fantastic as you're eventually rolling up obstacles that would've stopped you right in your path. I've grown pretty tired of the behind the back formula, but, there's just something about building a massive katamari that successfully sucked me back in to a ridiculous extent.
Charming Runes, Free - Forum Thread - Ketchapp's Ballz [Free] was a massive hit this year, spending loads of time glued to the top free download charts. However, as usual with the App Store, the most popular iteration of a particular game genre is typically not the best. Charming Keep did the same basic thing as Ballz, with loads more attention to detail both in regards to the presentation of the game itself to a few fun twists. If you've never played one of these games before (and there's a bunch of them, particularly after Ballz hit), the basic idea is you're throwing things at blocks with numbers on them. That's how many time that block needs to get hit to be cleared, and doing well involves aiming your shots perfectly to bounce off as many blocks as possible. It's a ton of fun.
Crazy Taxi Gazillionaire - Tap, Free - Forum Thread - I think Crazy Taxi Gazillionaire is a game that was disregarded by far too many people this year because they wanted another "real" Crazy Taxi game (like Crazy Taxi Classic [Free]) and when they heard Gazillionaire was a clicker-style idle game, they didn't even bother with it- Or, at least, that's the vibe I was seeing. If you did that, you missed out on a really cool clicker that actually uses the Crazy Taxi IP incredibly well. Instead of driving a single taxi, you manage a fleet of taxi drivers. Like most clickers, numbers begin to scale quickly and it doesn't take long until you're making billions of dollars per hour- a level of absurdity that somehow perfectly fits in to the Crazy Taxi universe. While I totally understand folks might be tired of clickers, this one was right up there with Trailer Park Boys: Greasy Money [Free] for me.
Heart of the House, $5.99 - Review - Forum Thread - It seems like with game books, all too often there's way too much emphasis put on the "game" part, leaving the actual "book" feeling a little dull compared to non-game book novels you might read. What I loved about Heart of the House is that (again, unlike a lot of these) it had a super tight-knit cast of characters which instead allowed the author to fully flesh out those characters and the mysterious Victorian-era universe built inside of the story. Cooler yet, this particular game book was written by Nissa Campbell, who used to write for us quite a few years ago. It's not only the best game book I read this year, but it's also super cool to see TouchArcade alumni continue doing such great things.
Lode Runner 1, Free - Forum Thread - Some of my earliest memories of gaming involve playing Lode Runner, which was originally released on the same year I was born. Gameplay is super simple and involves collecting all the gold on a level while avoiding enemies and trapping them using a weird digging mechanic. I was skeptical of Lode Runner 1, as Lode Runner seems like a really weird game to remake with modern graphics, but it's actually super well done. Cooler yet, is once you play through the first 30 or so levels, you unlock classic Lode Runner levels which was a totally unexpected surprise. I still don't understand why this game is completely free, but I also don't understand why they only uploaded a Korean trailer to YouTube. Lode Runner 1 is mysterious like that. Don't miss it.
Miss Fisher and the Deathly Maze, Free - Review - Forum Thread - We originally latched on to this game because it's a super well done game that straddles the line between an interactive RPG-ish novel and a super lightweight roleplaying game, which seemed really unique. Somewhere in the process we discovered that it's based on the Australian television series Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries which apparently is among the biggest things ever down under. It was really cool seeing how many people (myself included) discovered the show through the game, resulting in not only a great TV show to binge on Netflix but also another fantastic game to play through from the guys at Tin Man Games. I'm not sure if it's better to play the game first or watch the show first, but you'll be happy with your decision whatever order you decide to do it in.
Ninja Spinki Challenges!!, Free - Forum Thread - It has been fascinating watching the evolution of .GEARS games, as while Flappy Bird took the world by storm, it felt like with each subsequent release people were less and less interested in .GEARS titles. It's super unfortunate, because the games themselves have only gotten better with each iteration, with Ninja Spinki Challenges being the best. Like Flappy Bird, it's a brutally difficult reaction game, but this time around there's loads of different challenges through a number of different mini games. I almost wonder if the reason Spinki didn't see the level of popularity we expected was because of the variety and complication in the game? Flappy Bird was a masterpiece of simplicity, comparatively. Regardless, I still play this game all the time, and it's super easy to people to recommend as everyone knows Flappy Bird, but not everyone knows their other games.
Suck It Up, Free - Forum Thread - I'd love to see a parallel universe where this game was released with a different art style. Suck It Up [Free] is a game that plays a lot like Prettygreat's Landsliders [Free], except I like the premise more- You're flying around in a UFO sucking up almost everything except fire and some other things that hurt you. It's like Landsliders meets Katamari Damacy and it's a ton of fun. I think a lot of people might have skipped it because it looks too much like Landsliders, and if that describes you I'd definitely reconsider and give this one a go.
Super Nano Jumpers, $0.99 - Game of the Week - Forum Thread - Even though we're almost a decade into iOS games being released, I still don't think anyone has come up with the "best" controls for a fast-paced platformer. Super Nano Jumpers approaches the platformer genre with a set of controls that work surprisingly well. Your character automatically runs, and you jump by tapping the right side of the screen and stop moving by tapping the right. It feels weird, particularly as your character can stop while in air, but once you get over the hump of understanding how all the mechanics work everything starts to flow together really well- Allowing you to do some weirdly precise platforming with minimal input.
Tape it Up!, Free - Forum Thread - This game is unbelievably stupid, and for whatever reason, it's probably my most-played game of 2017. You play as a roll of tape, and endlessly tape up boxes. It's like they purposefully tried to find the most ridiculous concept for a game, then just executed on it flawlessly. Loads of other rolls of tape are included for you to unlock, including, among other things, meat tape. Gameplay is further mixed up with a fever mode that spews points and coins at you and a super difficult hell mode that you access by jumping through a portal in a box. You know, like you do. Oh, and different rolls of tape often totally re-theme the game with new music and loads of other surprises. I've spent entire long-haul flights playing this dumb game. I don't know why it flew so low under the radar, but for real, download Tape It Up.
What hidden gems made your list? Let us know in the comments!
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Eli's 10 Best Games of 2017 - These Games Need to Be Listed SOMEWHERE posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW
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