News Flash: Great Sales, Fresh Previews

Long Name, Short Price: Symphony of Eternity Going for $0.99

KEMCO is once again running a huge 90% off sale for Symphony of Eternity (Our Review), which is quite a bargain for retro JRPG fans at $0.99. You may recall from our review that Symphony is notable for its character class system and satisfyingly strategic combat.

In related news, KEMCO’s churning out a graphically revamped prequel called Symphony of Origin, which was confirmed to hit iOS at E3 earlier this summer. And that’s just one of several interesting projects KEMCO have up their sleeves — keep an eye on their website and YouTube channel as long as you don’t mind wading through a little katakana.

Tiny Troopers’ Price Shrinks

Maybe the going $2.99 price tag of Kukouri Mobile’s and Chillingo’s Tiny Troopers (Our Review) was a tad big for your wallet? For the next few days you can catch it for $0.99, and that’s a tactical move we recommend if you’re into action games with clean controls.

Don’t forget to check our interview with Kukouri Mobile’s Kim Soares, and the studio’s blog, for more on Tiny Troopers’ fascinating background. Also keep an eye on Kukouri’s Facebook and Twitter pages for the latest studio news — this is one crew iOS gamers need to keep an eye on.

function.repair Gets a Much Needed Repair

Sean had some scathing remarks for function.repair’s camera system in our review of this creative indie endeavor, but Demergo Studios are not a team to let sleeping robots lie. They’ve overhauled the camera system to include a dynamic zoom feature that gives the player more information about Fixbot’s destination area, and that goes a long way toward addressing the game’s biggest problems on small iDevices.

Additional improvements include full Game Center integration and an improved tutorial. Needless to say, we’re impressed with Demergo Studios’ response — be sure to check out their websiteTwitter account and Facebook page for all the latest news out of this promising indie team!

Ravenmark Team to Release “Deepwood Dragoons” Very Soon

If you’re anything like us, you probably went goo-goo ga-ga over Witching Hour Studios’ TBS debut, Ravenmark: Scourge of Estellion. It’s already received one expansion this year – “Suneaters” – but the intrepid world-building devs haven’t stopped there! We’ve been spending quality time with their brand new campaign “Deepwood Dragoons” behind the scenes, and it’s just been submitted to the App Store. We’ll have a full report early next week in anticipation of its swift release, but without spoiling too much we’ll just say this for now: grenade-wielding dwarves! And that’s just as awesome as it sounds.

Check out the Witching Hour Studios website, Facebook account and Twitter feed for all the latest.

Puppy’s Plaything Slides Into the App Store

This pretty much proves smuttlewerk Interactive is one of the gutsiest iOS dev studios. Their career so far has taken them through Langrisser style Turn-Based Strategy and a cute Nosferatu-themed infinite runner; now they rest their fortunes on a pup you can dress in top hat and monocle when you’re not busy guiding him through a slippery maze in hot pursuit of a bouncing ball. The idea is to keep little doggy sliding through a string of bones like a canid Pac Man until he reaches his goal.

You can find Puppy’s Plaything in the App Store and some in-game preview footage as the second video in the gallery below.

The Curse Gets Blessed With Gameplay Footage

We wouldn’t have expected anything ordinary out of Mojo Bones after their tongue twister of a debut last December, and it appears they won’t disappoint in 2012! They’ve teamed up with Toy Studio for a project that looks set to blend every known genre of puzzle game with a story that’s nonlinear, voice-acted, and downright spine-tingling. In case this is the first you’ve heard of it, here’s an excerpt from the initial press release:

“…The Curse is a story-driven puzzle game unlike any other, tasking players with solving the mystery of an ancient book in order to defeat the Master of Mischief himself: ‘The Mannequin.’ Each of the book’s 100 pages presents a unique puzzle to be overcome, ranging from cryptic riddles to fiendish trials of logic and skill.

Each puzzle has been designed to provide a unique challenge. Players will need to reveal hidden riddles, test their reflexes against the clock and flex their memory skills: all in hopes of unlocking the game’s ultimate test – the infamous ‘Puzzle 101.’

The Curse also introduces a mysterious adversary that must be defeated. Upon activating the book, players unwittingly free The Mannequin, an antagonist unlike any other and a worthy foe. Players will be drawn into the experience in exciting new ways, bridging the gap between game and reality. Be astounded as The Mannequin reads your mind, plays tricks on you, and invites you to take part in various challenges.

Will you be able to solve all 100 pages and banish The Mannequin back to the pages of the mysterious book? Will you be able to shake the curse and reveal the final challenge – the cryptic Puzzle 101? Only time will tell…”

Check out the game’s snazzy new website, as well as the first in-game footage below: