Daily iOs: 2015

The last four days have been exceptionally dry. However, a few games were released amid the muck. Notably in this list is Kingdom Come and Puzzlewood Quests, two puzzlers that both use a fantasy theme, have pretty good progression systems, although pretty much use story and characterization only as concepts rather than fully formed systems.

Running Strike uses a Mario Kart fighting mechanic, while sticking to a basic run and jump strategy against other players. It's notable that your opponents are always real players with a minimal emoticon chat system.

Flappy Death Run is funny, but other than that it's a pit of freemium dredge. The last three mentioned (Valkyrie Bullet, Stone of Souls, and Final Strike) all seem exceptionally unfinished, but deserve a place for at least "standing out" from the cornucopia of ugh that has been released (so far) this week.

Kingdom Come
Type: Match-3
Price: Free
☆

Puzzlewood Quests: Age of the Brain Trainers
Type: Brain trainer
Price: Free
☆

Running Strike
Type: Racing
Price: Free
☆

Flappy Death Run
Type: Flappy
Price: Free
☆

Valkyrie Bullet
Type: SHMUP
Price: Free
☆

Stone of Souls
Type: FPS
Price: $2
☆

Final Defense - Counter Attack
Type: RTS
Price: $2
☆

Friday, April 10, 2015

Friday, April 10th, 2015

Dungeon Crawlers Metal
Type: Turn-based strategy
Price: $5
★★★

Choice of the Petal Throne
Type: Interactive fiction
Price: $3
★★★

Rogue Star
Type: Space sim
Price: $5
★★★

Sky Punks
Type: Runner
Price: Free
★★★

The Shadow Horror
Type: Interactive fiction
Price: $3
★★★

Evhacon
Type: RPG
Price: $1
★★★

Power-Up
Type: SHMUP
Price: $2
★★

Devious Dungeon 2
Type: Platformer
Price:$1
★★

Dragon Hills
Type: Runner
Price: $2
★★

Naught Reawakening
Type: Platformer
Price: $4
★★

Hoodsters
Type: Platformer
Price: $2
★★

Parashoot Stan Retro
Type: Runner
Price: $1
★★

Mortadelo & Filemon: Frenzy Drive
Type: Runner
Price: Free
★

League of Angels - Fire Raiders
Type: RPG battler
Price: $1
☆

Battle Monsters
Type: RPG battler
Price: Free
☆

Ape Of Steel
Type: SHMUP
Price: Free
☆

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Thursday, April 9th, 2015: ★★★★ surprise attack!

Zombie Panic in Wonderland DX
Type: Tap shooter
Price: $5
★★★★

Implosion - Never Lose Hope
Type: Dual-stick adventure
Price: $10
★★★★

Driver Speedboat Paradise
Type: Racing
Price: Free
★★★

Pixel Gun 3D
Type: FPS
Price: $10
★★★

Spirit Lords
Type: Dual-stick RPG
Price: Free
★★★

Soul Taker: Face of Fatal Blow
Type: RPG battler
Price: Free
★

Battle of Towers and Giants
Type: TD
Price: $2
☆

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Wednesday, April 8th, 2015

Go King
Type: Platformer
Price: $2
★★★

Mortal Combat X
Type: Swipe fighter
Price: Free
★★★

The Getaway
Type: Puzzle
Price: Free
★

Air Storm
Type: SHMUP
Price: Free
★

City Skating
Type: Sports
Price: $1
☆

Tuesday, April 7th, 2015

Narborion 2: The God of Orcs
Type: Interactive fiction
Price: Free
★★★

Debate Chronicles Day 1
Type: Education
Price: $1
★★

LoliSlayer
Type: RPG battler
Price: Free
★

BasePinBall
Type: Gambling
Price: Free
★

Grampa vs Zombies
Type: Survival
Price: Free
☆

Electro Rush
Type: Sports
Price: Free
☆

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Sunday, April 5th, 2015

Adrenaline Racing : Hypercars
Type: Racing
Price: Free
★★★★

playsets.
Type: DM
Price: Free
★★★

Pixel Z
Type: FPS
Price: $1
★★

Culebra
Type: Flappy
Price: Free
★

Voodoo Zombie
Type: Brawler
Price: Free
★

A Noble Circle
Type: Music
Price: Free
☆

Brigand
Type: Roguelike
Price: $10
☆

Friday, April 3, 2015

Friday, April 3rd, 2015

DuckTales: Remastered
Type: Platformer
Price: $10
★★★

Tank Battle: North Africa Gold
Type: Strategy
Price: $8
★★★

Fatal Fury Special
Type: Fighting
Price: $4
★★★

Zombie High 3D
Type: FPS
Price: $1
★★

Yeti & Banana
Type: Puzzle
Price: $1
☆

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Thursday, April 2nd, 2015: Christmas

I'm speechless with the number of games released today. I'll let them speak for themselves.

	Type	Price	★	★★	★★★
SoccerDie	Sports	Free	★
Rock On - A SongPop Adventure	Quiz	Free	☆
Time, Alchemy and Rats	Platformer	$1		★★
Tiny Dangerous Dungeons	Metroidvania	$1		★★
CivCrafter	Resource management	Free	★
Corridor Z	Runner	Free	★
Endless Gravity	Runner	Free	☆
Phil The Pill	Puzzle	$2		★★
A Day In The Woods	Puzzle	$5			★★★
Nodes - A Retro Puzzle Game	Puzzle	$1		★★
Tetrobot and Co.	Puzzle	$3		★★
Last Voyage	Puzzle	$1		★★
RPG Valkyria Soul	RPG	$8			★★★
Attack the Light - Steven Universe Light RPG	RPG	$3			★★★
Tap 'n' Slash	ARPG	Free	★
Dragon Rider - The Adventure Begins	SHMUP	Free	☆
DUAL!	SHMUP	Free	☆
Crystal Arena: Elite Edition	Squad battler	Free	★
Mission Of Heroes	Reverse TD	Free	★
Dennis & Gnasher Blast in Beanotown	Arena	Free	★

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Wednesday, April 1st, 2015

Boss Monster
Type: Card
Price: $7
★★★

The Quest Keeper
Type: Roguelike
Price: Free
★

Magic Rampage
Type: Metroidvania
Price: Free
★

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Tuesday, March 31st, 2015

Crowntakers takes the crown today.

I included Pockie Heroes for laughs. You have to either laugh (or cry) when these software companies take totally trademarked material and republish it straight under Apple's nose, and the Apple overlords don't even blink an eye. It looks to be another automated RPG battler where you evolve your heroes into more powerful forms and work your way up the food chain like Pac-Man. Not a game, but a chuckle. Arthas, Illidan, Lantresor, Sylvanas, Baine, and even Thrall make an appearance.

Crowntakers
Type: Strategy
Price: $5
★★★

Gunpowder
Type: Puzzle
Price: $5
★★

Marvel Mighty Heroes
Type: Dual-stick adventure
Price: Free
★

Cube Koala
Type: Puzzle
Price: Free
★

Tribal Wars 2
Type: City-builder
Price: Free
★

Pockie Heroes
Type: RPG battler
☆

Monday, March 30, 2015

Monday, March 30th, 2015

Five Dragons
Type: Card
Price: Free
★★★

Pie in the Sky: A Pizza Odyssey
Type: Runner
Price: $3
★★

Times of Vikings
Type: Time-management
Price: Free
★

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Saturday, March 28th, 2015

Due to work this week, I'm updating this rather late. As such, there are a bunch of new games that are worth a look. Star Wars Rebels initially is free, but to unlock all 30+ levels you need to spend $5 (only the first few are free).

Star Wars Rebels - Recon
Type: Platformer
Price: $5
★★★

Jump'N'Shoot Attack
Type: Platformer
Price: $2
★★

Gamebook: Pocket RPG
Type: Interactive fiction
Price: $3
★★

Space Bounties, Inc.
Type: Roguelike
Price: $2
★★

Jewel Legends: Bloodmoon
Type: Puzzle
Price: Free
★

Final Fantasy: Record Keeper
Type: RPG battler
Price: Free
★

Dark Slash: Hero
Type: Swipe fighter
Price: Free
★

Compass Point: West
Type: City-builder
Price: Free
★

Fast and Furious: Legacy
Type: Racing
Price: Free
★

Mazecraft - Maze Survival
Type: Puzzle
Price: $1
☆

Spacebeard
Type: Runner
Price: $2
☆

Breath of Light
Type: Puzzle
Price: $3
☆

Dungeon of Madness
Type: Puzzle
Price: $2
☆

The Lost Lands: Dinosaur Hunter
Type: FPS
Price: $2
☆

Epic Space Battle
Type: Space sim
Price: Free
☆

New rating system

New rating system:
★ - F2P freemium model
★★ - B2P freemium model
★★★ - Daily iOS quality
★★★★ - (rare, see below)
☆ - Honorable mention

All games included on this site "stand out from the crowd", although ★ star and ★★ star games carry added economic systems where currency purchases constitute a large portion of game progression, or included advertisements overshadow gameplay. ★★★ games generally follow a "premium" model or the F2P/B2P freemium model is minimal if non-existent.

Before deciding which games to include on this site, I assume most software released on the App Store uses lockbox (daily random items) or rental (money for accelerated progression) design. Very few games use expansion design (paying for additional content).

While iOS games have come a long way since introduction as mobile apps, the App Store still functions primarily as a mobile arcade, with small portions of money ($1) in exchange for playing simple software packages. Except in exceptional circumstances, App Store games should not be considered on par with console games, given the lower price margins ($20 for the costliest quality App, for example). However, sometimes iOS gems appear in the store and I do try to highlight those. ★★★★ denotes a game far above normal quality for what is normally released on the App Store.

Note: Most games I post on this site, I don't purchase or try myself, only preview. Take that into account when judging whether to buy or not buy a product. This is not a review site. My intentions are only to highlight stand-outs. If you want quality reviews, try one of the two blogs linked to from this site, Touch Arcade or Pocket Tactics.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Tuesday, March 24th, 2015

Dungeon Hero RPG
Type: Roguelike
Price: Free
★★★

Amid a literal slosh of slot machines, flappy clones, and oversized platformers comes this little gem. Don't let the free price scare you though.

Looking through 80 pages of dross was worth it for this one.

Monday, March 23, 2015

Monday, March 23rd, 2015

Donsol
Type: Card
Price: $1
☆

Adventure Cards
Type: Card
Price: Free
★★★

Terra Monsters 2
Type: Monster Trainer
Price: Free
★

David Mondou-Labbe, the producer of Donsol (developed by John Eternal), appears to have some very original and interesting games on the iOS store. A very creative, competent, and up-and-coming game designer/producer. I hope he gets more press!

Sunday, March 22, 2015

You may have missed...

The last few days have been pretty dry. Here are a couple of gems that popped into the store in-between the release of Sid Meier's Starships and my last post.

The Hero of Kendrickstone
Type: Interactive fiction
Price: $3
★★★

Chains of Darkness
Type: RPG battler
Price: Free
★

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Thursday, March 19th, 2015

Tobuscus Adventures: Wizards
Type: Tower defense
Price: $5
★★

Alien Star Menace
Type: Tactical
Price: Free
☆

SwapQuest
Type: Puzzle RPG
Price: $3
★★★

Stan Lee's Hero Command
Type: Dual-stick adventure
Price: Free
★

KromacelliK
Type: Abstract adventure
Price: $2
☆

TouchTone™
Type: Sound puzzle
Price: $3
★★★

Stormblades
Type: Swipe fighter
Price: Free
★

Magenta Arcade
Type: SHMUP (shipless)
Price: $2
★★★

Cosmic Explorer: Redshift
Type: Survival
Price: Free
☆