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Best iPhone and iPad Games of July 2014 Posted: 01 Aug 2014 10:17 AM PDT It's the first of August, and it's a perfect time to look back at some of the absolutely amazing games that were released in July. Unbelievably great ports, totally original games no one expected, and more. These are the sorts of things that make being an iOS gamer awesome. Here is a collection of our top reviewed games in July, 2014: 5 Stars Fates Forever , Free [Review] - The MOBA scene in the PC world has been absolutely exploding, with DOTA 2 recently hosting a tournament where $10,000,000 in prizes awarded and League of Legends' LCS in full swing. ...But, there hasn't really been a great one for mobile, at least, until Fates Forever hit for the iPad. It plays great on the iPad, and hopefully will see similar long-term support that make MOBAs great with new heroes and other fun stuff added throughout the lifespan of the game. MONSTER HUNTER FREEDOM UNITE for iOS , $14.99 [Review] - When people talk about looking for "full" and "premium" games with loads of depth, it basically does not get any better than Monster Hunter. This is, no joke, a game that you could play for thousands of hours. (And people do!) It's a great game, and a great port as well. Mobile versions of Monster Hunter have been somewhat notorious for "the claw" needed to control them on the PSP, well, two virtual analog sticks handle all that funny business making playing this game a dream come true. Traps n' Gemstones , $4.99 [Review] - We've talked about it on the podcast, but what makes Donut Games great is you can pretty much blindly download anything they make. Typically, they're pretty simple, but they're always fun games. Traps n' Gemstones bucks that trend with a surprisingly involved Metroidvania-style game that still features all the fit and finish of your typical Donut Games title. Don't miss this one. 4.5 Stars Desert Fox: The Battle of El Alamein , $9.99 [Review] - Continuing the trend of super-complex games with depth for days released in July is Shenandoah Studio's most recent installment in their Crisis in Command series. Not a whole lot has changed between this game and Battle of the Bulge or Drive on Moscow, but if you're in to deep strategic gameplay, all three of them are worth picking up. Hellraid: The Escape , $2.99 [Review] - If you were expecting a half-assed mobile counterpart to the upcoming PC game Hellraid, guess what, that's not what Hellraid: The Escape is at all. It's a first person puzzler set in the Hellraid universe, with great puzzles, amazing graphics, and a hint system should you get stuck. Modern Combat 5: Blackout , $6.99 [Review] - Gameloft's Modern Combat 5 has been the obsession of several of our forum members since it was originally announced ages ago. The Modern Combat series historically has been great, and the latest installment doesn't disappoint. If your primary focus is multiplayer, you're going to love this game. It's got a single player campaign, but where it truly shines is in getting in gunfights with actual real players online. Sky Force 2014 , Free [Review] - Originally released back in 2004, Sky Force 2014 is an amazing reboot of the original game which not only is free to play with a pretty agreeable payment model, but also totally spruced up to today's graphical standards. Don't let the free thing dissuade you, Sky Force 2014 is definitely worth a download. World of Tanks Blitz , Free [Review] - The massive (No, seriously, I don't think you understand how huge it is.) tank-based PC shooter World of Tanks finally had its free to play mobile companion launch last month, and it's arguably a pretty perfect bite-sized helping of the World of Tanks universe. It's also got one of the best free to play systems we've seen, where all the IAP truly feels optional. Additionally, we reviewed a bunch of other games last month. As always, you can dig into all of our reviews by clicking here. Alternatively, you can hit up specific scores by using these links: 4 Stars 3.5 Stars 3 Stars 2.5 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

Freebie Alert: Chart Topping Text Adventure Game 'A Dark Room' Posted: 01 Aug 2014 08:58 AM PDT If you're looking for a game to play this weekend and are working with a budget of zero dollars to do it with, I suggest giving A Dark Room [Free] a spin. It previously absolutely decimated the top paid charts, and we thought it was pretty cool in our review. Feeling a bit like an iOS version of the surprisingly popular browser game Candy Box , I'd tell you more, but as Shaun explains in said review, you're better off just going in fresh: There's just one problem with talking about this game, though. A lot of the enjoyment is in the surprising turns it takes, and even telling you that much feels like I've gone and spoiled something. The description in the App Store offers very little information, and just one screenshot that offers about the same. I've talked before about games that focus on giving you an experience, and this is very much one of those. If you want to enjoy the experience of it in pure form, please click the link in the first paragraph to buy the game, then hit the back button in your browser and don't come back here until you're done playing. So, give it a download, not knowing anything about the game, and see if you dig it. You'll be glad you did.

'Ultima Forever' Shutting Down on August 29th Posted: 01 Aug 2014 08:29 AM PDT It's been a bit of a rough ride for the now-defunct studio previously known as Mythic Entertainment. The studio was closed in late May following the release of the universally panned Dungeon Keeper [Free], and now their other project, Ultima Forever [Free] will be shutting down on August 29th. This only serves to really show what sucks the most about games as a service in the free to play world: All of your time, and potentially money, that you invested in a game can totally vanish when the company hosting it all decides to pull the plug. It's somewhat inevitable for these games to go offline eventually, but, remember, Ultima Forever was released less than a year ago. On the up side, per a post on the Ultima Forever forums, for the last month rewards in game will be significantly boosted and equipment durability loss will be turned off… So, I guess if there ever was a time to just go totally H.A.M. on playing Ultima Forever, now is the time to do it before it's gone for good. And, hey, maybe EA will finally learn that taking these old school hardcore IP's and turning them in to casual free to play titles isn't what's best for business.

'80 Days' Review - This Adventure Is More Than Just Hot Air Posted: 01 Aug 2014 07:00 AM PDT If it's not enough that developers inkle turned gamebooks on their heads with their wonderfully creative adaptation of Steve Jackson's Sorcery! [$4.99], they're now trying to out-adventure Jules Verne in his own story. 80 Days [$4.99], based on the classic Verne novel Around The World In 80 Days, takes the nearly-perfect premise of the book and uses it as a launching point for one of the most interesting tales I've come across in the interactive fiction genre. This isn't the kind of game that is going to get people to cross lines if they don't like this genre, but if you do, 80 Days is pretty much a must-have thanks to its sharp writing and incredible replay value. On the off chance you're not familiar with the story in one of its many forms, 80 Days follows the adventures of English gentleman Phileas Fogg and his French valet Passepartout as they try to make good on Fogg's wager that he can circumnavigate the globe in a mere 80 days. Fogg's good name and fortune are on the line, and while 80 days seems like a long time, unpredictable events keep popping up to steal away those precious hours. While various other elements from the original story can potentially crop up depending on your choices, there's a good chance that the premise is the only familiar element you'll come across in your own adventures. As in many versions of the story, Passepartout takes a much larger role than Phileas in 80 Days, standing in as your playable character. Although you have a great deal of control over some of the finer points, he has a personality all his own that comes through. This is also a very different world from that of the book, filled with all kinds of Verne-inspired science-fiction and fantasy elements. The game basically plays out like a Choose Your Own Adventure, but in a manner and scale that a physical book would be very hard-pressed to imitate. Choices pop up constantly in the text, and while you're generally choosing Passepartout's actions, sometimes you're actually shaping other people or the world itself with your choices. As soon as you make a choice, the text rearranges itself and continues the story. Some choices are influenced by random factors, others by which items you're carrying, and still more by who you've talked to before and what you've done. If you were impressed by the sheer possibilities in Sorcery! 2 [$4.99], you're going to be blown away here. You could play this game to completion a dozen times and not come up with even close to the same series of events. Perhaps most importantly, these events are all interesting to read about and pursue further. The quality of the writing is great, handling a huge cast of characters who tend to drift in and out of the story at a moment's notice. The dynamic between Fogg and Passepartout is particularly well-done, with Fogg feeling like a heavy stone that his poor old valet has to drag across the world. He's constantly getting himself and Passepartout into trouble but seems largely disinterested in solving those issues himself. It works, though, because the writing properly conveys where Fogg's head is at. He's intensely focused on his goal, but just as his pride got him into this mess to begin with, it also brings you into new problems along the way. That he's the cause of these delays is of no consequence or mind to him. He expects you to make it right and get things back on track, as a good valet apparently should. He's free enough with his praise that you never quite come around to hating the guy, although you might find yourself annoyed with him during certain events. The more typical gameplay elements end up being the least interesting thing about 80 Days. Naturally, you have a time limit to work with, which means even if you manage to make it in time, you can still try to make it even faster on a replay. More critically, you have a soft money limit that you have to deal with as well. Fogg brings along a good sum of cash to get your journey started with, but it's nowhere near enough to see you through to the end. There are plenty of ways to get more money, with the most efficient means being buying local goods at the market and selling them somewhere else for a big profit. Of course, such favorable market conditions rarely come in a straight line, so you'll have to sacrifice some time and throw yourself off-course a little to truly take advantage of that method. You can also do odd jobs or occasionally gamble, which will earn you a little money, but not nearly enough. Finally, you can draw on what amounts to a nearly unlimited source of cash by stopping by the bank, but since PayPal hasn't been invented yet, these money transfers can take a very long time, depending on how much you need. Time is constantly your enemy, and you'll be surprised at how many ways you'll find to waste it. Even at the most fundamental level, the various means of transportation you'll be using almost always require you to wait, since they have their own schedules that don't necessarily line up with your desires. You'll feel like you're making good time and then suddenly a vehicle goes off in an unexpected direction, your money is stolen, you're thrown in prison, or some other crazy happening occurs to throw you behind schedule. With that said, you don't face a game over if you're not back in London on the 80th day. You will continue your journey until you get back home, no matter how many days it takes. So, if you don't particularly care about Phileas's foolish wager, feel free to explore and see as much as you can. Any routes you uncover will stay that way on your next trip around the world, so it all helps you achieve your goal. As I said, though, the gamey bits are 80 Days at its least interesting. I found myself traveling to new places and following new routes not out of a desire to cut down on my overall time or to make a bigger profit, but rather to see what adventures would unfold along the way. In a way, it kind of beautifully captures what the original story was all about. You can make it all about the goal, ignoring everything non-essential along the way, but the true riches of the journey are found in the people you meet, the places you see, and the events you take part in. Phileas Fogg came to that realization somewhat late in the novel. I wonder how long it will take the average player to find the same truth? In terms of presentation, 80 Days opts for a stylish and simple approach that nevertheless does an excellent job of conveying the fast pace of the journey. There are very few truly animated objects, but the way the visual presentation keeps pieces moving here and there helps it feel more alive than the usual gamebook does. The audio design is wonderful, as well. Ambient sound effects are used perfectly in conjunction with the simple images to help bring the world to life, and music comes in at just the right points to accent things. The game is wise enough to leave a good bit to your imagination, assisting it rather than trying to replace it with its own ideas of the wonders of the world. Considering it's in a genre that is sometimes content to merely emulate the printed page in silence, 80 Days makes a very respectable showing with its method of storytelling. I'm less impressed by the UI, which is occasionally unintuitive. Inventory management is awkward, and at least initially, you'll have to play around with touching various things on the screen to get a full handle on what everything does. It's also sometimes too easy to inadvertedly make a choice when you just wanted to scroll the text box. At its core, this is still something of a gamebook, however impressive a specimen it might be. If you're totally turned off by the idea of a game that consists largely of reading and making choices, 80 Days isn't going to change your mind. If you don't have anything against the concept, you're probably going to enjoy this game quite a bit, though. I like how it captures the feeling of a Verne story without directly copying it, I think it's wonderful the way it addresses the usual problem of gamebooks lacking replay value, and I absolutely love the sheer enormity of the world and the huge amount of possibilities that lay within. The twisty, cleverly-written, and ever-changing story more than trumps the minor letdowns in the user interface and gameplay elements. Verne fans in particular are going to have a fantastic time with this game, but I think almost anyone is going to find plenty to like in 80 Days.

'Marvel Pinball' Goes Free to Celebrate the Arrival of the "Guardians of the Galaxy" Table Posted: 31 Jul 2014 05:09 PM PDT During Comic-Con this past weekend, Marvel announced that both Marvel Pinball [Free] and Zen Pinball [Free] would be getting a new Guardians of the Galaxy table to coincide with the movie releasing tomorrow. Earlier today, an update went live which added that new Guardians of the Galaxy table to both games, and to celebrate the Marvel Pinball app is now free for the first time ever. Here's a video of the new Guardians of the Galaxy table in action. Like all of the licensed IP tables in Marvel Pinball and Zen Pinball, the Guardians of the Galaxy table will run you $1.99 to download. If you like Zen Studio's brand of over-the-top, fantasy pinball tables, and you like Guardians of the Galaxy, I'm fairly certain you'll enjoy this new table as well. Also, if you don't already own Zen Pinball and you're only interested in the Marvel tables, then definitely snag Marvel Pinball while it's free, as the free download comes with The Avengers table installed.

Noodlecake Announces Their Latest Published Title, a Puzzler Called 'Joinz' Posted: 31 Jul 2014 04:00 PM PDT Noodlecake Games has just announced their latest published title, a casual puzzle game from Gamebra.in, a studio that comes from the Will.i.am school of naming, called Joinz. They're describing this as Tetris meets Threes [$1.99]. The idea is that this is an endless puzzle game, where blocks must be moved around to form the required shapes that are shown on the top of the game board. Each move that doesn't make a match spawns a new block on the board. But sure, making shapes from random blocks on a board sounds simple enough. But Gamebra.in threw in a wrinkle: there are multiple colors of blocks, and only blocks of the same color can match up with each other. Powerups start to become available on the board, which can be collected for later use, or used to save the situation right now. The game will be released without any in-app purchases or timers. No release date or price information is available otherwise, but the game is close to submission, so hopefully it will be available soon. Noodlecake usually is connected to cool games, so we're more excited for this than the usual minimalist puzzle game, which is a dime a dozen nowadays.

'Hearthstone' Curse of Naxxramas Guide: Free to Play Decks to Beat the Heroic Plague Quarter Posted: 31 Jul 2014 03:00 PM PDT As promised earlier today, we're back again with the totally free to play deck lists to beat the heroic Plague Quarter. Keep in mind, this quarter is hard with good decks that cheese enemy health using Alexstraza… And is downright brutal with decks that only use cards that you get for free without buying any packs. But, it can be done. At this point though, you would've had to pay for this Hearthstone [Free (HD)] expansion, either with real-world money or a substantial amount of in-game gold, so I'd think you would have better cards to play with. But, hey, if you like a challenge, try these on for size. Here's the rest of our guides if you've missed any: 'Hearthstone' Curse of Naxxramas Guide: Tips and Decks to Beat the Arachnid Wing and Class Challenges 'Hearthstone' Curse of Naxxramas Guide - Tips and Decks to Beat Heroic Arachnid Quarter 'Hearthstone' Curse of Naxxramas Guide: Free to Play Decks to Beat the Heroic Arachnid Quarter 'Hearthstone' Curse of Naxxramas Guide: Tips and Decks to Beat the Plague Quarter and Class Challenges 'Hearthstone' Curse of Naxxramas Guide: Tips and Decks to Beat the Heroic Plague Quarter Again, these are by r/hearthstone member u/TommyJTheGamer who also put up associated YouTube videos so you can see all these decks in action. The dude is a real Hearthstone wizard. Heroic Noth the Plaguebringer Free to Play Priest: 2x Mind Vision 2x Power Word: Shield 2x Northshire Cleric 2x Divine Spirit 2x Shadow Word: Pain 2x Shadow Word: Death 2x Shattered Sun Cleric 2x Chillwind Yeti 2x Sen'jin Shieldmasta 2x Holy Nova 2x Gurubashi Berserker 2x Boulderfist Ogre 2x Lord of the Arena 2x Stormwind Champion 2x Mind Control Heroic Heigan the Unclean Free to Play Warlock: 2x Sacrificial Pact 2x Soulfire 2x Mortal Coil 2x Kobold Geomancer 2x Murloc Tidehunter 2x Shadow Bolt 2x Razorfen Hunter 2x Shattered Sun Cleric 2x Hellfire 2x Dragonling Mechanic 2x Sen'jin Shieldmasta 2x Darkscale Healer 2x Gurubashi Berserker 2x Boulderfist Ogre 2x Stormwind Champion Heroic Loatheb Free to Play Priest 2x Mind Vision 2x Power World: Shield 2x Goldshire Footman 2x Northshire Cleric 2x Stonetusk Boar 2x Shadow Word: Pain 2x Acidic Swamp Ooze 2x Bloodfen Raptor 2x Bluegill Warrior 2x River Crocolisk 2x Ironforge Rifleman 2x Razorfen Hunter 2x Wolfrider 2x Dragonling Mechanic 2x Holy Nova If you want to read through the discussion and other suggestions for free to play decks to clear this wing, check out the original reddit thread.

'Godfire: Rise of Prometheus' Gets New Combat Update, On Sale for $2.99 Posted: 31 Jul 2014 02:30 PM PDT Vivid Games have just released the first content update for their Greek mythology-based hack 'n slash game Godfire: Rise of Prometheus [$2.99]. While a free update with new content is always a welcome sight, this particular update, dubbed the Combat Update, seems to be sort of a mixed bag. First off, as the name implies, the combat has been significantly tweaked and in turn, according to Vivid, "the combat is now more dynamic, controls more responsive, animations more fluid, and finishers more vicious than before." Neat. The other big portion of this update is a new Survival arena called Deadly Heights and some new weapons and equipment. The new arena is a very cool addition, and should provide a nice change of scenery for fans of Survival. Unfortunately, the new weapons appear to mostly be locked behind the premium currency paywall. Not a huge deal as all the previous weapons that were like that were overpowered, "cheater" weapons that weren't necessary to complete the game. But if you're one of those people who like to collect everything, the new stuff might pose a problem. Related to that, it seems like some players in our forums are having issues with the update taking away items that they'd already earned before, or replacing them with items that they didn't have before. There are also some people complaining of crashing issues since updating. Hopefully these types of things can be sorted out, but it might be worth exercising caution and maybe even waiting a few days before pulling the trigger on the update. Rounding out this update are three new enemy types, which seem to be remixed versions of existing enemies, as well as subtitle localization for additional languages. Finally, maybe the coolest part of the Combat Update is Everyplay integration, so if you have a particularly epic battle you can record and share it online over the Everyplay video service. Vivid states that this is "the first of many free content updates" for Godfire, and to celebrate the Combat Update the game is on sale all week for its lowest price yet at just $2.99. Despite is drawbacks, I thought Godfire was still a fun game that was worth the original price, so for three bucks it's definitely a good time to check it out if you haven't already.

Luderia Shows Off Trailer for Upcoming 'Spooklands', Coming August 21st Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:53 PM PDT Luderia Games has just released a trailer for their upcoming Spooklands, and have announced when you can play it: 3 weeks from today, on August 21st. This is a one-finger arena shooter, where tapping on the screen will fire in that direction, with a bariety of bullet types both 'normal' and odd. Shooting out glowing red boots is a thing that's quite possible in this game. Considering that enemies consist of various insectoids, perhaps that's the proper weapon to use. There are three different levels that can be played endlessly, Amazonia, Spider's Nest, and Necropolis, with enemies that get steadily more difficult. There's boss enemies in each level, with medals earned for defeating them – and streak medals for the expert players who defeat multiple of them in a single run. The single-finger nature of the game is part of the intrigue here: there's plenty of arena shooters that use dual-sticks, and a game that simplifies it down is certainly an intriguing prospect. We'll see if Luderia can stick the landing. Until August 21st, their dev blog is worth a read for what's gone into the game over time and how it has gotten to its current point.