Games based on movies, comic books, television series, etc. are hit and miss. It doesn’t help their ratings much that they suffer more scrutiny from fans quick to denounce anything that may stray from the spirit of the original. Yet despite this uphill battle, the Ghostbusters franchise found itself in the hit category in 2009, with a 3rd person shooter from Atari (Wii version not withstanding). We gave it a 9.

Three years later, XMG Studio has tried to recapture some of that success with a new title for the iOS – Ghostbusters Paranormal Blast. However, it struggles more than Ray trying to wrangle Slimer into a ghost trap.

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That lawyer guy Phoenix Wright sure is popular. He’s starred in multiple DS games, and he’s even got a musical all about him and his…lawyering. Anyway, now Mr. Ace Attorney can add iOS devices to his lawyer resume as Capcom revealed that Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy HD will arrive this fall.

The three original DS games have been upscaled and remastered in HD for this new release. Also the game has been fine-tuned to accommodate touch controls. Each full game in the trilogy will be available for download separately or part of a bundle. Capcom did not give any pricing info though. For those who have no experience with the Phoenix Wright games (myself included), the first two chapters of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney will be available for free as a demo.

Activision may have stopped making Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero games, but that isn’t stopping former developers who worked on both franchises from creating their newest title: Epic Skater.

The game is going for a targeted release date of December 2012, and will be hitting the iPhone, iPad, and Android platforms. Keep an eye out for some coverage of the upcoming Epic Skater beta, as we’ll be giving you the latest on this intruiging project.

Considering that I’ve been replaying all of Neversoft’s old Tony Hawk games, this announcement couldn’t have come at a better time! If you want to contribute, head on over to their Kickstarter. Read more… »

I’m a fan of just about every type of game. Whether it’s an epic eighty hour RPG, or a quick “time wasting” iOS title. A few months ago, I innocently stumbled across a mobile puzzle title named Where’s My Water?

I had seen it on the top ten list for weeks, with full five star ratings day in and day out. Eventually, I gave in, and spent the requisite $0.99 — I couldn’t have been happier.

As a result of the game’s runaway success, a new game titled Where’s My Perry was commissioned, using the Phineas and Ferb Disney license. Fundamentally, it’s pretty much the same thing as Where’s My Water. Not that that’s a bad thing in the slightest.

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It’s a tale as old as time — boy meets girl, boy betrays girl, boy gets chased down by a monster intent on boy’s destruction. Luckily with a trusty shotgun at his side and plenty of persistence on the player’s part, death at the hands of a swirling mass of tentacles can be avoided long enough for rComplex‘s silhouetted protagonist to run, jump and slide his way to safety.

Prepare yourself for visuals as attractive as they are simplistic, a catchy (though repetitive) soundtrack, and some of the most frustrating gameplay to land on the App Store in quite some time.

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Another big name release — another iOS spinoff. It seems like ever since EA got into the mobile game, no franchise stone is left unturned in terms of tapping a mobile team to create a gaiden for it. This month’s model is Mass Effect Inflitrator, an iOS game in honor of Mass Effect 3‘s launch.

You’d expect it to be a cash grab, but you know what? Infiltrator isn’t that bad. Read more… »

Let me tell you a story. It’s a story about a small gold fish and the wacky world he lives in. Don’t write off this pint sized piece of aquatic cuteness, however. That’s what he wants you to do. When your back is turned he’ll pounce. It’s what he’s good at.

This a story of deception and rage. This is Launching Pad Games’ Mighty Fin.

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The iOS marketplace is highly known for their plentiful free app days, and today is no exception. Fire up your favorite iOS device to pick up the highly popular Spirits for zero bucks. Spirits tasks you with blowing the cousins of the little critters from Princess Mononoke to and fro in a whimsical fashion throughout beautiful hand-drawn landscapes. If you’re on the fence, think “Artsy Lemmings”, and just go download it right now.

As usual, this sale probably won’t last often, so at the very least, get on iTunes and pick this one up immediately so it’s locked to your account forever.

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We all only have One Single Life: unless of course, we’re talking about our favorite fantasy nether realm - the video game world. Often times we’ll run into buildings in Call of Duty without thinking, or jumping over a gap in Mario without surveying the other side first – recklessness is just one of gamer’s many idiosyncrasies. While you still have your various consequences, some games, such as Prince of Persia, go a step further, and remove the element of death entirely.

But what would happen if, after you died one time, even by mistake, the game was completely over?
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I feel obligated to preface this review with a bold statement: I’m not a fan of vanilla Angry Birds. The original Angry Birds leaves a lot to be desired, and while AB: Seasons tried to mix things up a bit, it ultimately felt the same. Other than the designs for the titular adorable feathered fiends, there really isn’t a whole lot there to justify all of the hype it’s receieved over the past year.

Thankfully, Angry Birds Rio proves that Rovio has a few tricks up their sleeve. Read more… »

Retro themed games are really starting to find their center on the iOS platform. While they aren’t exactly flooding the marketplace, gems like Karoshi, Forget Me Not, Kami Retro, and League of Evil are gracing iTunes more and more these days. The latest entry to the iOS retro family is “Mos Speedrun“: an old school platformer with an adorable lady bug mascot.

Speedrun’s premise is simple: get to the end of the level without falling onto spikes, or becoming an insidious enemies’ lunch. While it all sounds well and fun, is it worth the $1.99 asking price? Read on to find out. Read more… »

Grasshopper Manufacture, the guys behind No More Heroes and Killer 7, released a game called Frog Minutes for iOS devices earlier today. Our Editor-in-Chief, Chris Carter, was nice enough to forward us the image above from his iPhone.

While it appears to be some sort of nature documentary meets arcade game, Frog Minutes boils down to collecting and feeding  different types of bugs to, yes you guessed it, frogs in effort to catch them. Not necessarily the punk rock style we usually see from Suda 51, but its definitely a little off the wall.

Frog Minutes only costs $0.99 and proceeds go towards Japanese disaster relief.

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