The few notable titles that were released this week are totally awesome and worth checking out. You may have even heard of one of them. It involves birds with anger issues, only in space, using the force. After you’re done playing Angry Birds Star Wars, we also have a great movie tie-in, an action RPG from Crescent Moon, a match-three/poker combination, a side-scrolling action game, and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Here are the top iOS games of this week!
Angry Birds Star Wars ($0.99)
You know? Even though this is a great example of the way in which Star Wars has become nothing more than a toy selling and marketing machine, I can’t help but love Rovio’s new addition to the Angry Birds family. It’s just awesome. Old birds are re-dressed as Luke, Han, Obi-Wan, Chewie, and the rest. The birds get all new powers to boot, including shooting blasters and swinging light sabers. The game is a brilliant mix of the old school Angry Birds mechanics and the gravity mechanics of Angry Birds Space, and the Star Wars references and visuals just pack every screen. Best of all? There is NO prequel stuff to be found. No Jar-Jar, no one-dimensional characters, and most important of all, no Jar-Jar.
Wreck-It Ralph ($0.99)
After seeing Wreck-It Ralph, I can tell you that it’s a great movie that you don’t have to be a gamer to enjoy. This is a really smart tie-in to the movie, as it brings Ralph’s own game, Fix-It Felix Jr., to life. It also has an endless jumper based on the kart racer Sugar Rush, and a top down dual-stick shooter based on the first person shooter Hero’s Duty. The jumper and shooter are fairly bland, but well done overall. I see them more as a nice bonus to have in combination with the modern-retro goodness that is Fix-It Felix. Definitely worth a look.
Wraithborne ($2.99)
Wraithborne is a very well done action RPG/Hack and Slash that uses the Unreal Engine, developed by Alpha Dog Games and published by the always reliable Crescent Moon Games. In a world where magic reappears one day, bringing with it all manner of spooks and slobbering monsters, it’s up to you as the Wraitborne to clean things up with your magic rune powers and real-life ban hammer of destruction! The combat is quickly paced even if your character isn’t so quick himself, and needless to say, the game is gorgeous.
Storm the Train (Free)
Here we have an action-packed side-scroller from Games Faction and Chillingo. In it, you take one of three agents into various missions full of zombies, ninjas, robots, bosses, and trains. Gameplay is fast-paced and fun as you mow down hordes of enemies, earning various upgrades in the process. The more you destroy, the higher your score will be, and the freemium elements didn’t seem very intrusive at all. The art is also pretty crisp, and the music is appropriate. Anyone looking for more mindless action this week should definitely give this slick game a look.
Swipe the Deck ($0.99)
Swipe the Deck is another novel new game from Play This! and Chillingo. It’s a hybrid between standard poker and addictive match-three games, and it’s pretty unique. It’s a frantic card game that in which you swipe various poker hands into place, all the way up to a royal flush. Unfortunately, there is no single player mode, and that might be a deal breaker for a lot of people. I can understand not wanting to wait around several minutes for your opponent to take their turn, especially in something like a match-three. It’s still worth checking out overall, but they really need to add a computer opponent.
My Little Pony – Friendship Is Magic (Free)
Bronies of the world, rejoice! Gameloft has become 20% cooler with this My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, their take on a social town building management game. Sure, it may not be as exciting as some of the fan games that are in the works, like Fighting is Magic, but it’s a very well done take on the genre, and I don’t even like these games very much. The same quality art from the show is here, along with official voice cast work as you rebuild Ponyville. There are also plenty of cool mini-games that let you collect falling apples as Applejack, or soar through the sky dodging obstacles as Rainbow Dash!
