One of the AppStore's best Beat-Em-Up Titles; Mutant Fridge Mayhem - Is FREE for a LIMITED TIME!

One of our favorite iOS developers, Grumpyface Studios (Wispin, Bring Me Sandwiches!, Super Mole Escape) has just let their incredibly fun beat-em-up Mutant Fridge Mayhem go free for a limited time! With only a handful of beat-em-ups on the AppStore, whenever one comes along, we always jump on it. But most, if not all of them left us wanting more. That is, until we got our grubby little hands on this. There's not one negative thing that we can say about it, except that maybe it's a bit too short (even with the Endless Levels, WE WANT MORE!!). So if you don't have it yet, definitely check it out! 

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Get the RTS title, The Walking Dead: Assault, for FREE via IGN!!!

The Walking Dead: Assault is a real-time strategy title based more on the comics than the show. If you haven't yet checked out this great strategy game, you can get it for free straight through IGN's monthly giveaway. Just head on over to the IGN page and click on the link to get your free promo code! 

**Note**

This offer is only good in the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, German, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and Sweden. Also, you DO NOT need to register on the IGN site in order to get a code. How cool is that?

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Doragon Entertainment's Danmaku Unlimited 2 Is Released! - DU1 and Storm Strikers On Sale!

Because of the nature of the AppStore and how many crazy good releases there are every single year, it's no surprise that loads of great games never hit our radars before release. However, there are a select few that we find out about months beforehand and are psyched about for months. Doragon's Danmaku Unlmited 2 falls into the second category. 

We found out about DU2 last October, and since, we've been drooling at the thought of playing a third bullet hell shooter from one incredibly talented developer. Now, the time has come and Danmaku Unlimited 2 is available for purchase in the AppStore. 

Having been on the beta team, I can definitely say that, without a doubt, Danmaku Unlimited 2 will appeal to fans of the shmup/bullet-hell genre. The crazy Japanese styling, great color pallet, over the top visuals, 4 difficulties, 2 gameplay modes dependent on grazing bullets, up-close destruction, bullet canceling and special Trance Mode 4X multiplier sessions alongside the customizable upgrades (including being able to mix shot types [focused, wide and tracking] together) controls and screen size - not to mention the game being Universal, supporting the iPhone/iPod 5's widescreen and looking beautiful while running at 60 frames per second all comes together creating one of the best bullet-hell experiences available on the iDevice. Yes, even when including Cave's tried and true mastery of the genre. 

Also, if you've yet to experience Doragon's two previous bullet-hell shooters, Danmaku Unlimited and Storm Strikers, they are both on sale right now for $0.99 each. You can also pick up lite version of all 3 titles;

Danmaku Unlimited Lite

Storm Strikers Lite

Danmaku Unlimited 2 Lite

Make sure you DO NOT miss out on this game. Even if you don't consider yourself a bullet-hell gamer, with the 4 difficulty modes, there's plenty of great gameplay to be had by even the most casual of players. You can expect a review for DU2 ASAP... but until then, take a look at these awesome pics and screen melting trailer;

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Doing Away With Star Ratings

It's no secret that The App Shack is a very small review site. At the moment, our 'staff' is made up of me (Syntheticvoid) and Alister. Our 20,000 hits a month is nothing compared to sites like Touch Arcade, 148 Apps, AppSpy, Slide To Play, ect... Don't get me wrong, I feel very fortunate that we do get as much traffic as we do, and I'm actually pretty glad that we aren't a big review site.

Because of this, we're able to pretty much do whatever the hell we want to in regards to everything. We're able to not worry about charging developers for adspace or reviews, we don't have to cover all the top stories and rumors that other sites obsess about, and we can (luckily) write reviews at our own pace, and for whatever games we want.

Now, after a LOT of mulling it over and thinking, we've decided to do away with our star rating system. This is mainly because we generally only review games that we feel deserve more attention. This is all because we have real jobs, lives, families, ect... and can't sink hours upon hours into this site, no matter how badly we want to. It would be great to be able to review every single game that's released every week, but we just don't have the time, so games that catch our eyes are basically the only games we review. Because of this, almost every single game gets a 4 or 5 star rating, making star ratings pretty pointless here at TAS.

So, from now on, we will keep bringing you reviews, but they will not be rated. We will keep our previous scores up because back when we actually had a staff working on reviews, we were able to review not only games that we enjoyed, but also games that we didn't.

WE hope you'll keep sticking with us through this sort of 'dead time' for our site. And if you, or anyone you know is interested in joining up and writing reviews for The App Shack, feel free to contact (or have them contact) us @ TheAppShack@live.com

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Kemco + WorldWideSoftware's Aeon Avenger Hits The AppStore!

Kemco, one of our personal favorite iOS RPG Publishers, has just released their English version of Aeon Avenger. For those of you who do not have access to an Android device, and have not heard of Aeon Avenger yet, here's some info on the game;

A young man named Lake lost both his home and family when a mysterious man in black attacked his village. Revenge became his one purpose in life. One day, he met a woman from a tribe which kept the secrets of time travel. His destiny was about to change forever... Who is the Man in Black, who leads a host of monsters? A great story, spanning 3 eras, present, past and future!

Seems you're able to travel through time, as well as solve problems and puzzles in one era by traveling to another (reminiscent of Chrono Trigger). Weapons can be strengthened by using accessories called 'Bits' which can also be evolved as you progress throughout the game. And as always, there's a full cast of characters with some fantastic English translation done by Kemco.

Aeon Avenger also supports the iPhone 5's widescreen (even though this is not stated in the iTunes requirements - this has been tested and confirmed) and is the very first Kemco title to be UNIVERSAL! That's right, no more 2X mode for iPad owners!

You can snag Aeon Avenger on sale for launch priced at $2.99 - it will go up to $8.99 soon, so grab it ASAP!

As always, we will have a detailed review for the game up as soon as we can. Until then, check out some screens and the trailer! 

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Updates! - Repulze, Starbase Orion and The Blockheads

So, three games have received updates this week that add quite a bit to their gameplay; Repulze, Starbase Orion and The Blockheads. If you've yet to pick up these titles, you shouldn't wait any longer. Repulze is above and beyond, the best time trial racer available on the iOS while Starbase Orion is the deepest 4X iOS  original that we've had the pleasure of playing and The Blockheads takes the whole 2D Minecraft gameplay in the same direction as Junk Jack, but keeps it more casual and has quite a few differences, definitely making it worthy of your time. Here's the update notes for these three updates that went live this week;

- REPULZE -

This is the “PHASE TWO: Break & Desist” content update.

Changes:

- Ghost race recording / playback

- Bonnet camera view

- Slide-to-steer control now available

- New industrial wasteland theme

- Seven sanity defying new tracks

- New challenge types

- Power Ripper upgrade

- Magnetic Fields, Barriers & Toolkits

- Minor bug fixes and tweaks.

- STARBASE ORION -

HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY, STARBASE ORION!

v1.1.8 marks the one year anniversary for SO. We have had an amazing first year, with tens of thousands of players making SO the highest ranked and rated 4X space game on the AppStore! I am honored to bring you another feature packed update for SO to celebrate.

• Tutorial!

That's right, its about time we got a real tutorial. If you're new to 4X space games, then tutorial will help ease you into the wonderful world of Starbase Orion. The tutorial is narrated by the very talented Maurice Thomas.

• Leader Maintenance Cost

Leaders now cost an additional 1% of their purchase price per turn in upkeep. So if you bid 600 GC on a leader, it will cost 16 per turn (10+6).

• Starbase Changes

Starbases received a buff to their armor, structure, and weapon slots. The changes were made such that SB1 and SB2 got the most benefit, with SB3 being roughly the same as it was before.

• Weapon and System Design Costs Scale with Ship Control Points

Weapons and ship systems now cost different amounts depending on the CP cost of the hull you build them on. Generally, they are a bit cheaper on frigate, the same on destroyers and cruisers, and more expensive on everything bigger.

• Ship Tweaks

Mammoths now cost 4 CP per ship. Destroyers and Cruisers had their amount of weapon and system slots tweaked.

• Continual AI Improvements

The AI now scouts more aggressively, so it will find all those yummy special planets around it.

• Bug Fixes

You reported them, we fixed them! Thank you so much for everyone helping to make Starbase Orion the best it can be!

- THE BLOCKHEADS -

The first update with new stuff! This update will work fine with your current worlds, no need to start again. 

Additions: 

Find kelp in the oceans. 

Craft compost to grow plants and trees faster and bigger. 

Craft steel lanterns, they're waterproof! 

Craft extravagant gem chandeliers. 

Find basalt, a new shiny block to build with. 

Use dirt and water to craft clay at a press. 

Tweaks: 

Wooden platforms are now 'reinforced platforms' and require iron. This is to make them a more advanced building material for later in the game. 

Dropped chests and pole bonus clothing items are no longer removed from the world. 

The more valuable gems are a bit less likely to show up while meditating. 

Clothing now degrades slowly over time. 

There are now tips in the early stages of the game.

Options added to change sound volume, and restore double-time purchase.

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FREEBIE ALERTS!! - Galaxy On Fire 2 HD, Time Of Heroes, Bit Dungeon and MORE!

It really seems like there's always a sale or two goin on in the AppStore for one reason or another, but this week, some insanely awesome titles have dropped down to free. If you don't have these games, now would be a perfect time to check em out. And remember, developers love iTunes reviews, so if you enjoy any of these titles, why not leave a little review in the AppStore?

- GALAXY ON FIRE 2 HD -

- TIME OF HEROES -

- BIT DUNGEON -

- GREAT BIG WAR GAME -

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UPDATES; Heroes And Castles + Quell

The AppStore has constantly evolving games. Here's three games that have received some pretty significant updates over the last week;

- HEROES AND CASTLES -

- NEW competitive 1v1 Versus multiplayer mode - play Good vs Evil! Earn Rank Points and battle your way up the leaderboards!

- NEW single player Siege Mode - play as the Evil side and siege the enemy castle!

- NEW hero: Elven Ranger, wielding a long ranged bow. Summons a giant Treeman as his special unit!

- NEW hero: Mage, capable of casting powerful magic spells. Summons an armored turtle-like native warrior as his special unit!

- NEW alternate skins for each hero! Cycle through them by tapping on a hero.

**There are also quite a few small tweaks and bug fixes to check out.

- QUELL -

- iPhone 5 widescreen support.

- Added GameCenter leaderboards for the total moves taken for each shelf.

- Added iCloud support.

- Added option to purchase hint coins or a skeleton key to unlock any level.

- User interface improvements.

- Higher resolution textures for iPad 3/4.

- Facebook/Twitter support on iOS 6.0+

- QUELL REFLECT -

- iPhone 5 widescreen support.

- Added GameCenter leaderboards for the total moves taken for each shelf.

- Added iCloud support.

- Added option to purchase hint coins or a skeleton key to unlock any level.

- User interface improvements.

- Higher resolution textures for iPad 3/4.

- Facebook/Twitter support on iOS 6.0+

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FREEBIE ALERTS!! - Edge Extended and BallAHolic!

Yesterday, two of our favorite action puzzlers went free. Edge Extended and BallAHolic. If you don't have either one, now would be the time to snag em. They're two puzzlers that have never, and will never, leave our iDevices. So grab em!!! You won't regret it!

-EDGE EXTENDED-

-BALLAHOLIC-

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Freebie Alert! - Mutant Mudds

Late last year, one of the best platformers to ever hit the AppStore was released. Mutant Mudds, developed by Renegade Kid. Priced at $0.99, it was a steal of a deal, with 60 hardcore levels, 6 endings to reach, upgrades, hidden levels, hovering, multiple dimensions... and the controls were outstanding, as well as fully customizable. If you happened to miss out on the release because of one reason or another, now is your chance to pick up Mutant Mudds for FREE. That's right - FREE. Easily one of the top 10 platformers for the iDevice (and definitely in my own personal top 3 on the iOS), you shouldn't miss out on this giveaway, even if you aren't a fan of platforming games - download, install, tell all of your friends about it - and get ready for one hell of a great platforming experience. 

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Danmaku Unlimited 2 Coming This Spring!

Doragon Entertainment, otherwise known as Sunny Tam and developer of the mind-blowingly fantastic SHMUPs; Danmaku Unlimited and Storm Strikers (as well as the endless titles Raptured and Aerikuma and the Super Crate Box type game Rainbow Tissue Cat, all of which are definitely worth checking out), is coming out with the sequel to Danmaku U, Danmaku Unlimited 2. 

I've been lucky enough to be a part of the beta testing team, and I have been nothing but impressed with the game. There are quite a few tweaks and improvements as well as complete changes that will be found in DU2. First, there's two gameplay modes. One is the 'Classic Mode'. Here, destroying enemies in close range builds your multiplier while grazing bullets adds to your bonus. Destroyed enemies also add to your Trance Gauge, which is a more powerful shot that can cut through enemies like butter, and drops gold stars, which are worth big points. The second mode is 'Burst Mode'. Here, destroying enemies drops blue orbs that fill your Beam Gauge while destroying enemies at close range causes more blue orbs to fall than normally would. Once you have a certain amount of blue orbs collected, you can activate your Beam Shot. This shot cancels out bullets while both bullets and enemies destroyed while using this shot drop black diamonds that raise your multiplier. Burst Mode also utilizes the Trance Gauge, which is filled the same way, by destroying enemies. Once it's full, you can blast enemies away with the insanely powerful shot and collect the gold stars that fall, boosting your score. Here, grazing bullets also adds to your bonus score.

Both modes utilize the ADS system instead of bombs. Here, if the ADS system has power and you're hit by a projectile, the screen will be cleared of bullets and the ADS gauge will drop. You'll loose a ship when you're hit and the ADS gauge is empty. The controls are a bit different as well. Instead of the controls that were used in the original Danmaku, DU2 allows for 1:1 relative touch through 2:1 relative touch with a sensitivity slider in the options. Like the original DU, you're also able to change the size of the gameplay screen, allowing for a deadzone beneath the play area, or to get rid of the deadzone entirely. 

The virtual controls are also a thing of the past, with DU2 utilizing swipes to activate your Trance and Beam shots. Swiping up activates your Trance Beam while swiping down activates your Beam Shot. In 'Classic Mode', swiping down changes your shot from it's normal spread to a more condensed laser shot.

The graphics have also overgone a nice overhaul, allowing for bullets to stand out, and running at a solid 60 frames per second. Danmaku Unlimited 2 is also going to be a Universal app, and looks beautiful on the bigger iPad screen. 

We'll keep you informed whenever we get any more information about Danmaku Unlimited 2 as it's release quickly approaches. Needless to say, we're incredibly psyched to check out the final version of the game. Here's a preview trailer for the game and some screens, check em out and try not to drool too much. =o)

 

 

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