Firemint’s hit air traffic management title Flight Control has surpassed another major sales milestone. The company reports that Flight Control has achieved global App Store sales in excess of three million units.
Flight Control, originally released for the iPhone and iPod Touch in March of 2009, has since seen a number of free content-expanding updates and the release of an HD version designed specifically for Apple’s iPad. The most recent version of Flight Control introduced Retina Display support for the iPhone 4 and the upcoming fourth-generation iPod Touch.
Firemint notes that the next version of Flight Control will add support for Apple’s Game Center social network, which launched earlier today.
Ports for smartphones and for Nintendo’s DSiWare service followed in the wake of Flight Control’s App Store success. Next month will bring the release of an enhanced PlayStation Network version, which will include four-person multiplayer, stereoscopic 3D, and support for the PlayStation Move motion controller. A WiiWare edition is slated for release later this year.
Tags: firemint, flight control, Industry News, simulation
If Big Buck Hunter Pro left you hungry for more outdoorsy-type action games, developer Super Happy Fun Fun is back with Field & Stream Fishing ($2.99), an arcade-style fishing sim for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.
Like Big Buck Hunter Pro, Field & Stream Fishing ignores the simulation aspects of the hunting genre in favor of a simpler approach. Players use simple flicks, slides, and taps to catch 13 species of fish in 15 different fishing spots.
Field & Stream Fishing boasts a full single-player campaign mode, global leaderboards, and expanded content via in-app purchases. The downloadable “Torch Lake” map is currently available for 99 cents. Super Happy Fun Fun notes that additional updates will be released on a regular basis.
Tags: field and stream fishing, fishing, simulation
App Store developer New Potato Technologies has launched Pinball Magic, a free application that is non-functional on its own, but transforms into something very special when used with a new accessory for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
New Potato’s peripheral, a miniature replica pinball machine shell that attaches to an iPhone or iPod Touch’s 30-pin port, allows players to experience pinball’s mechanical sights and sounds while playing a table displayed on the iOS device’s touch screen.
The accessory, which retails for $39.99, features flipper buttons, a plunger, a start button, and an LED light display that responds appropriately to Pinball Magic’s on-screen action.
The Pinball Magic application — which, again, only works when used with New Potato’s pinball machine accessory — boasts multiple table layouts, a variety of single-ball and multiball gameplay modes, and a tilt detection feature that responds to accelerometer input.
Tags: new potato, pinball magic, simulation
Astro Ape Studios announced that its free-to-play iPhone social game Office Heroes has seen more than 300,000 new player sign-ups since its launch on July 21st.
Microtransaction-supported social games have seen a sharp rise in popularity in the App Store, with Zynga’s Facebook hit FarmVille recently joining platform favorites like ngmoco’s We Farm and BayView’s Tap Ranch.
The social games space has grown increasingly crowded in recent months, with multiple titles battling for placement in the App Store’s free app charts. Astro Ape notes that its workplace-themed simulation game stands apart from similar offerings.
“We have been overwhelmed by the positive response from the community — Office Heroes had a phenomenal opening run!” said William Fong, co-founder of Astro Ape Studios.
“My co-founder Chris Cheung and I were just a couple of worker bees in New Jersey, when we realized that there was something we could do to make our day jobs more fun — so we quit our day jobs, and made a hit video game about our day jobs! Stay tuned — we have tons of great updates on the horizon.”
Tags: Industry News, Multiplayer, office heroes, social
While EA’s initial iPhone version of SimCity was an adequate adaptation of its popular city-building franchise, many felt that its awkward controls resulted in an experience that was more frustrating than it should have been.
EA addresses these complaints and attempts to fix a number of other issues with SimCity Deluxe ($6.99), an upgraded edition that features “easier controls, optimized performance, improved visuals, starter cities, and exciting new scenarios.”
SimCity Deluxe includes seven new pre-built cities for players to cultivate (or annihilate, if the mood strikes), along with seven different scenarios that challenge mayors to survive natural disasters and maintain a budget during difficult times.
And, of course, SimCity Deluxe also features a number of new catastrophes that players can unleash upon their unsuspecting SimCitizens at any time. Disasters range from new season-specific challenges to more outlandish situations like meteor strikes, alien invasions, and even full-on Armageddon. Good luck balancing your transportation budget after that.
Tags: ea games, simcity deluxe, simulation
Zen Bound developer Secret Exit has updated its iPhone and iPad ragdoll damage sim Stair Dismount Universal ($0.99) with two new levels and a selection of new characters available via an in-app purchase.
Stair Dismount sees players pushing ragdoll figures down flights of stairs and off of dangerous precipices, in an effort to cause as much simulated pain as possible.
The new levels — Treehugger and Stagefright — introduce new score-building opportunities and a variety of painful situations that can be saved for posterity using the game’s screenshot capture tool.
Stair Dismount Universal also includes an optional $0.99 content expansion pack that adds three new character models. The new characters include the portly Mr. Heff, the ape-shaped Mr. Stalwart, and the gangly Mr. Reach — all of whom react differently to the game’s many perilous situations.
Tags: secret exit, simulation, stair dismount universal, Updates
Need a break from your action-packed everyday life? In the mood for something a little more laid-back to help you cool down after a hard day? The App Store is here to cure what ails you.
Train Conductor 2: USA ($0.99) is an American-themed sequel to The Voxel Agents’ popular track-connecting puzzler. In the Train Conductor games, players must deftly manage incoming trains and switch tracks to get them to their proper destinations.
Train Conductor 2 features five gameplay locations (including several “spooky ghost world” levels) and a variety of trains to keep the action challenging. The game is available as a universal app optimized for both the iPhone and the iPad. You can check out a gameplay trailer here.
Build-a-Lot 2: Town of the Year ($4.99) follows up on its predecessor title with more addictive fiscal management gameplay. The Build-a-Lot series challenges players to maintain a housing empire by building, buying, and selling high-value property.
Build-a-Lot 2 introduces new housing opportunities, including villas, farmhouses, and bungalows. Players can now also build recycling centers, parks, and workshops to increase the value of nearby property.
Tags: build-a-lot, casual, Puzzle, simulation, train conductor
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Bartenders in games typically don’t serve drinks. Their real purpose is to talk to us, dropping vague hints or conveniently filling us in on the next objective, but never once stopping to ask if we’d like a drink. Now what kind of bartender would do that?
Certainly not Nimble Strong. Yes, that’s his name.
In this fast-paced, martini-shaking, cocktail-mixing, time-management game/bar-tending crash-course, you’ll wear that moniker with pride. Under the arm of your mentor Muskrat (yes, that’s his name), you’ll assume the role of the eponymous Nimble as he takes the mantle of bartender at a local dive bar.
Bartender in Training employs one of the most obvious ideas nobody’s ever thought of, save for a crop of similar-looking games that have popped up on the App Store recently. It combines the reflex-driven action of Cooking Mama with the real-life practicality of America’s Test Kitchen, only with liquor. You actually learn how to mix drinks in the game, and it’s fun.
The game plays how you’d expect: assemble a cocktail as fast as you can, mixing it in the right proportions and not leaving anything out. In game talk, that means quickly selecting items from menus, pressing the button for the correct amount of time, and waggling.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: nimble strong, reviews, simulation
If you’re a FarmVille addict with an iPhone, your life is now over. Sorry. FarmVille is now available as a free application, making it easier than ever to manage your farm during every waking moment.
The App Store adaptation of FarmVille offers new players the ability to create a farm from scratch, while veteran farmers can import their existing farms and sow crops on the go. All users require a Facebook login to play.
Gameplay in FarmVille involves growing fruit and vegetables in order to earn experience and gold, which can be used to purchase livestock, additional plots of land, faster harvesting devices, and farm decorations. FarmVille boasts a strong social focus — players are rewarded bonus experience points for helping their friends out with minor tasks throughout the game.
The iPhone version of FarmVille includes a set of exclusive items not found in the Facebook edition of the game, along with minor gameplay upgrades. FarmVille is free to play, though players can buy additional coins and Farm Cash through in-app purchases ranging in price from $4.99 to $49.99.
Tags: farmville, Free Games, simulation, social, zynga
So maybe you weren’t too impressed with Fanta 4 Pinball. Maybe you’re not a fan of German hip hop. Maybe you would’ve preferred a pinball table covered in skulls and pentagrams. Maybe you wanted a pinball game featuring the music of thrash metal band Slayer.
Oh yes, such a thing exists. Slayer Pinball Rocks HD ($2.99) is a universal app that crams all the excess of Slayer into a pinball table chock full of blood, hate, pain, and chaos.
Make no mistake: this thing is ridiculously metal. Light the “P-A-N-I-C” and “A-G-O-N-Y” lights in the return lanes for bonuses. Complete the “M-E-L-T-I-N-G F-L-E-S-H” and “G-L-O-B-A-L G-E-N-O-C-I-D-E” lamps for big points. Just don’t let the ball drain. You don’t want to know what happens if the ball drains.
Note that Slayer Pinball is developed by The Pinball HD creator Gameprom, so it likely offers up a decent enough pinball sim in its own right. It also features music from the album World Painted Blood and rhythm-based minigames, somehow. A video preview is available at Slayer’s website.
Tags: gameprom, pinball, simulation, slayer pinball rocks hd
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