The iFriday Roundup, No. 4

A Whole New World for Magnetic Baby, and it’s Even Free Right Now!

This is quite the alignment of wonderful events! Magnetic Baby just received a big update adding another 21 levels and it’s OpenFeint’s Free Game of the Day! If you haven’t downloaded it yet, this is the perfect time to give it a try and see why everyone, including us, is so magnetically drawn to it!

Minicons Gets an Update, Goes Free Too

Bravery isn’t the only developer bundling an update with a temporary freebie. Inception IQ are doing the same with Minicons, which we described as a “mashup of Match-3 and slots.” For as long as the free download lasts, it’s the only game of slots in town you won’t lose money on, that’s for sure!

iOSAPPALOOZA Still Rockin’, More Developers Join

So, just how many promo codes are being given away in iOSAPPALOOZA these days? The most definitive answer is “too many to count!” Believe it — the new games added to the party include: Tank Hero, BlibBlob, Arenas: Trial of Valor, Titus, Spin Penguin and Necta Collecta! Check out the iOSAPPALOOZA article to see how you can join this summer’s biggest giveaway and win some of these cool indie titles!

Speaking of Necta Collecta

Sean thought a distinct lack of challenge took some of the wind out of Michael Buettner’s curious logistical logic puzzler, but no more! The developer rolled out a HARD mode this week — spelled all in caps because it is H-A-R-D. This mode adds a timer to all levels we played through while giving the update a spin, and this certainly does the trick in adding lots of tension to the game. Even seasoned honey collectors are sure to feel a real sting in this update! We were glad to see Game Center integration and some text alignment issues taken care of in this update too.

Guardian Saga Learns to Juggle

Guardian Saga purposefully does away with a lot of modern conveniences, but Sean just couldn’t do without multi-tasking when he reviewed it. 9th Bit Games has nullified that complaint by serving up the desired functionality, and now players can go make themselves a sammich even when they’re in the middle of slaying a Guardian beast. How’s that for convenience?

Melon Truck Launches Fruit in a New Way, Goes on Sale

We already enjoyed its mathematically precise melon launching mechanics when Melon Truck first released. Nevertheless, the developer has revisited the game’s UI along with integrating Game Center and making numerous other improvements.

Dash Race Makes a Pit Stop for Fine-Tuning, Goes on Sale

Nostalgia for an old pencil-and-paper game wasn’t the only reason we enjoyed Dash Race; it was just well designed all around. Since our review, the developer’s made an astounding number of improvements, including full-fledged online multiplayer and a new challenge mode!

Tactical Warrior Re-arms With Slew of Updates, Price Drop

Once upon a time, before Final Fantasy Tactics came to iOS, genre fans might have stumbled upon a simple-looking, but utterly smooth and sufficiently deep, TBS in the form of James Pawliuk’s Tactical Warrior. We did too, and after many hard-fought battles, gave it our seal of app-roval. The developer’s been tweaking this one to kingdom come ever since release, and the improved experience is going for less than the initial release, at least for the time being.

Guarding Your Groves Just Got Cheaper

Speaking of hidden gems in the App Store, Grove Keeper‘s another one that tugged at our heartstrings, and which remains on sale as this iFriday Roundup goes live. A mix of physics puzzler and full-on action, it looks just a little like Angry Birds in reverse, with the heroes sitting inside flimsy collapsible forts. Once you’ve spent some quality time with it, though, you’ll see just how unique and varied the gameplay is. Let’s leave you with the trailer in case you missed our coverage from way back when!

 

Are you an iOS videogame developer or publisher with a cool update, video, or other news that you want to get out to the masses? iFanzine probably has an eye on you already, but don’t hesitate to get in touch via our Twitter feed or Contact page. We want to fill our iFriday Roundups with all your beautiful stuff!