Saturday, December 10, 2011

Updates galore!! Platformer's paradise!


Chocolate Liberation Front's amazingly atmospheric platformer, published (surprisingly) by MTV Networks, Oscura, has just received a highly anticipated content update. It includes the 5 levels that were locked out of Version 1.0, which are, simply put, amazingly well put together. The new objects and level designs expand quite a bit on the first half of the game, and if you thought that what was included in Version 1.0 was great, just wait until you see what has been added. On top of the new levels, the controls have been improved, making it easier to change direction while in the air, as well as the addition of virtual controls! Fans of the game will end up loving it even more. If you're a platformer fan, and do not have Oscura yet, GET IT! It's one of the most, if not THE MOST, atmospheric platformers available in the AppStore.



Studi Yomi's tilt controlled platformer, Tero, has also just gotten an awesome update that gamers have been waiting for for quite some time. This 1.1 Version of Tero features, you guessed it, virtual controls. No more tilting and swiping to control Tero, now you can run through this fabulous game with virtual buttons, and it is fabulous. Players who have bought the game before now might not have played through enough levels to actually see how great this platformer is, but in an AppStore being overrun with speedrunners and small leveled platformers, Tero definitely stands out, having quite a bit of exploration involved, and all in a beautifully crafted world. If you don't have this one yet, now would be the perfect time to get it.



OrangePixel's first real iOS platformer, Meganoid, has gone through quite a few updates in the past, but none quite as monumental as this 1.6.0 Version. The game is now complete with the last of the 300 total levels added! Those of you who have been waiting for the end of the game now have it, and oh, how sweet it is! On top of finalizing the game, OrangePixel has added a "skip" option, a new intro screen, awesome scanline graphics mode (optional) which totally brings the retro visuals to full old TV circle, a huge MEGANOID achievement for 100% completing the game, improved menu screens, an added percentage-completed counter, a fixed bug in level 30, device-rotation, and some bug fixes with music and sound, essentially finalizing everything in the game that needed to be fixed and completed. It's a wonderful day for Meganoid fans, but I can't help but feel a little sad knowing that the adventure is finally over.



Lost Pixel's retro-platformer, Frogatto, is another in the list of platformer updates tonight, and it's another huge one! This 1.2 Version includes a complete redo of attack logic; Frogatto is now free to walk around while he attacks, and in general is much more responsive, as well as having a much more forgiving tongue-grabbing mechanic. A complete rewrite of damage handling has been done making it much more consistant, and eliminated some bugs where damage wouldn't get dealt. Tilesets have been reworked, enhancements to dungeon wall graphics, more readable fonts, loads of graphical tweaks, maps are now strewn with spittable props within easy reach, almost all of the dialogue has been rewrote, collectible items like coins and hearts and be collected by touching them with Frogatto's tongue, an entire redraw of the world map, new monsters, bats now behave differently, and loads of bug fixes. If all of that is not a good enough reason to re-install one of the best platformers on the iOS, I don't know what is.


Our last update isn't a very big one, but the changes that have been done have added a ton to the gameplay. Uncade's endless platform runner, Haunted Hallway, has just gone through quite a change. Version 1.2 brings about 24 all new challenge levels, with badges for collecting 3 diamonds, all the coins, and beating the levels time-limit. A whole new main menu, GameCenter achievements, a new Icon, graphical enhancements, and bug fixing. Uncade's support of Haunted Hallway, giving players pretty much everything they've asked for, is incredible. It's work like this that deserves loads of support from iOS gamers.



In fact, every single game on here has had quite a bit of support from it's developers, and The App Shack would like to send out a HUGE THANK YOU to all of them for sticking with it in a store that's so full of unresponsive publishers and devs, paid games going free and getting iAds, and everything else that's happening to games in the AppStore when they don't sell like the developers think they should. It's developers like this that make the AppStore such an amazing place, and we want them to know that we do not take their work for granted, by any means. Again, THANK YOU!! Now go support these guys! You know you want to. =oD

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