App Attack: What’s In My Pocket?

I’ve been getting pretty heavy in app games lately since I got a shiny new iPod Touch and I’ve been taking every joke I made about iPhone gamers back ever since. I come across neat little titles every so often so I decided to type up articles on the ones I’ve been addicted to recently to let anyone in on any big app titles like Dead Space or hook them up with lesser known titles such as Stenches or Hook Worlds.

Dead Space
Dead Space can be purchased for 6.99 on the App Store (9.99 for the HD version).
Dead Space finally makes it to the mobile platform and it’s glorious. The game looks pretty crisp on the iphone and even better on the ipad’s HD version. The game takes place right before the Necromorph infection is unleashed on the Sprawl and has you playing as a miner codenamed simply as Vandal. The motion controls work perfectly with movement mapped to a virtual d-pad, the camera moves by swiping the screen, and the shooting works simply by tapping the gun to bring it up and tapping anywhere to fire it. There are also buttons for kinesis/stasis and the only issue I had with the controls were when I wanted to reload since it would always fire it instead of reloading. Besides having such crispy fresh graphics the game also has fantastic audio so I’d definitely recommend playing this game with the best headphones you have, trust me your ears will thank me later. You can expect to get a good few hours out of this title with multiple difficulties, achievements, and rewards for Dead Space 2 when you link your EA accounts together. This is a complete Dead Space game made for mobile devices so if you’re a Dead Space fan with an iphone/ipod touch/ipad then you owe it to yourself to pick this game up.

Hook Worlds
Hook Worlds can be purchased for .99 on the App Store.
If you love runner games like Canabalt you’re going to lose yourself with Hookworlds. Rocketcat Games takes the classic runner gameplay and adds grappling hooks to swing you around the various hazards of the levels and each world has a unique twist to it. World 1 has you hanging out with Gramps as he escapes the guardian of the treasure you just stole and you’ll use your rocket boots to boost you over high walls in forest, cave, and lava themed areas. World 2 brings you along with Zelle the bounty hunter who’s tasked with hunting ghost pirates. Here you’ll have six shots in your gun to shoot pirates or walls blocking your path while you collect treasure. Every so often a boss encounter will occur where you’ll face off against a horde of zombies, 2 giant enemy crabs, or multiple floating ghost skulls. World 3 tosses you into the grim future where you play as Gnomey who is a gnome running from the cops. This level will test your skills with the ability to change gravity and having to pick the right moments to change it or else you’ll go flying into the sky.

Now this game just got a pretty nice update with Game Center Support, World 4 being unlocked for anyone who didn’t purchase Hookworlds the first week it came out, and also includes dlc packs for new clothing, hats, and hooks for all 4 characters. World 4 is pretty similar to the first world in that you’re being chased by a monster who’s treasure you just stole and you also have the rocket boots, but it also includes the anti-gravity parts from World 3 as well so this pretty much makes this world a huge cluster fuck of fun with spikes and lava included. Did I mention it’s got a retro look and also includes more hats and hooks besides the dlc packs that you can unlock for free?

Super Soviet Missile Mastar
Super Soviet Missile Mastar can be gotten for free on the App Store.
From the creators of Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers comes Super Soviet Missile Mastar, a quirky little gem you can pick up for free on the store that has you directing a giant missile to go blow up America. I’ve heard some people complain about having issues being able to look at the screen for long periods of time due to it being in just red and white but I had no problems, just thought I’d mention that. It’s a pretty simple game where you use your finger to move the missile up or down while dodging incoming airplanes, helicopters, and birds all wishing to stop you from spreading Mother Russia’s love to American pigs.

Backbreaker 2: Vengeance
Backbreaker 2: Vengeance can be purchased for .99 on the App Store for a limited time.
Remember how pumped people were for the console version of Backbreaker that promised a football game with the Euphoria engine made popular from GTA4? Remember how it wasn’t that great? Well NaturalMotion Games jumped ship to the mobile platforms and made Backbreaker Football a while ago. Now they have Backbreaker 2: Vengeance which adds the ability to jump over players/obstacles and tackling (trucking) to knock some of those damn guys off you or to duck under obstacles. In B2:V you’ll be able to select from two different modes; Tackle Alley & Vengeance. Tackle Alley teaches you the basics and tasks you with simply reaching the end of the field before somebody on the other team tackles you. Vengeance mode takes everything you learned and now forces you to tackle the player running with the ball while his buddies are trying to take you down. Both modes contain 10 levels that each have 5 waves within them so you’ll get some decent time for your buck. These modes are all about racking up big points by dodging players, obstacles, and hitting point squares so expect to replay the modes multiple times to secure the coveted Backbreaker helmet and put your spot on the leaderboards.

Stenches
Stenches can be purchased for .99 on the App Store.
Stenches is probably my favorite game in this list since it’s just a blast to play. When you start up the game you’ll see three modes: Waves, Distance, & Multiplayer. In Waves you’ll have to simply survive as many waves as you possibly can while protecting your base, Distance has you trying to move as far across the battlefield as you can, and finally multiplayer is basically the same as waves but with a partner. The thing I like about Stenches is that it has you protecting your base from a horde of zombies and you collect gold for each kill that funds new soldiers you can bring to the battlefield to protect your base. It’s pretty similar to a tower defense game but it’s just one straight line between both bases and you can manually control your squads to place them in strategic places to stop the enemies. You can purchase squards of riflemen, shotgun men, snipers, machine gunners, and more. Out of all the titles I talked about this one is definitely at the top of my recommendation list.

Angry Birds Seasons/Cut the Rope Updates
Angry Birds Seasons and Cut the Rope can be purchased for .99 on the App Store.
I’m sure you already know of the fantastic Angry Birds and Cut the Rope games, but maybe you’ve forgotten you had the ability to update them? The latest update to Cut the Rope & the ‘seasonal’ version of Angry Birds have included a Valentines world for both games and new gameplay too. While the Angry Birds update doesn’t really add much besides candy to smash for extra points and clouds you will get 15 new levels plus 3 more bonus ones for ‘liking’ Angry Birds Seasons on Facebook. Cut the Rope on the other hand adds a new Valentine Box with 25 new levels and a new game mechanic where you now have to combine two broken pieces of candy to form a complete one before the little guy can eat it.