So, here we are, my final Weekender update. To be fair, I think the weekly columns will continue in some form, as Glen was quite supportive of the idea and they always do bring in good traffic. TouchArcade has always had their big ‘Here is Everything Ever’ lists but I always enjoyed the process of whittling the weekly releases down to the most interesting new titles, as biased a concept that is.
This isn’t the last you’ll hear from me before I go – the handover to Glen and Sean will take place sometime next week, and I’ll be doing a final community post next week to say my proper goodbyes as well as any last minute things you’ll need to know about the relaunch.
Meanwhile, in the world of mobile games…
New App Releases
It’s actually a pretty interesting week in terms of releases, one of the best we’ve seen in 2020 to date, so let’s take a look at what’s out.
Charterstone: Digital Edition (iOS & Android)
ACRAM Digital released their digital adaptation of legacy board game Charterstone yesterday. There is a central campaign which is spread across twelve games, each one having its own unique rules and influencing and changing future games. The app can be played online or locally in multiplayer, or solo vs. the AI.
You can save your map and your campaign progress at any time and come back to it later, theoretically allowing you to have several campaigns running at once, and there’s also a ‘single-game’ mode for quick matches. It’s 100% consistent with the table-top rules. We haven’t had a chance to try it out for ourselves, and given the handover is imminent I’m not sure when the review for this will get done, but it’ll be interesting to see how this game fares vs. the physical legacy game. At the time of writing, the Android release has been delayed, but it’s due ASAP.
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Missile Command: Recharged (iOS & Android)
Atari’s surprise remake of the iconic Missile Command also dropped this week. If you’ve never played it before or don’t know what it is, you essentially have to defend your land-bound basses from endless waves of missiles, making use of abilities and power-ups to keep everything intact for as long as possible.
There will be a review of this one, as I commissioned Jarrett for the job quite early in the month, and it will be one of the first reviews to go live on the relaunched version of PT, which is exciting. Keep an eye out for it sometime next week.
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Snake Core (iOS)
Orangepixel’s latest game, Snake Core also released this week, taking the classic ‘Snake’ formula and turning it into an action-fuelled and colourful romp that looks highly entertaining, if a little bonkers. We weren’t as sold by his previous venture, Space Grunts 2, but there’s no denying Mr. Bestebroer has talent, and we hope his latest release proves to be a hit.
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Other releases of note:
- GWENT finally released on Android (it’s so good -ED)
- Game of Thrones: Beyond the Wall released on iOS this week, with Android to follow late next week.
- War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius also released on iOS & Android. Think of a free-to-play Final Fantasy Tactics, and that seems to be what’s on offer here.
App Updates & News
Given there was so much to talk about in terms of new releases, I’ll keep this brief. The real app update of note is Plague Inc. As free update, the developers are introducing a mode where you’re instead fighting to save the planet, instead of destroying it:
Players will have to balance managing disease progression and boosting healthcare systems as well as controlling real-world actions such as triaging, quarantining, social distancing and closing of public services,” the blog post explained. “We are developing this game mode with the help of experts from the World Health Organisation, the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network and more.
Given how inventive this mode seems to be, I’m surprised they didn’t try doing it sooner.
Free & Discounted Mobile Games
With a couple of exceptions, I thought I’d concentrate on free games this week. Nothing beats being trapped indoors amidst a global pandemic than free games, and there’s some pretty decent ones on offer:
In terms of interesting games that are discounted, the hilariously expensive Disgaea 1 Complete is down to $23.99. This is the first discount since launch, so technically it’s the best price to date. The other game we saw was Kingdom Rush Vengeance, which has been discounted to $0.99.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this column, and hopefully we’ll see it continue in one form or another going forward. I remember when Tof Eklund first pitched it to me as something that PT readers had enjoyed in the past, and when they moved on the reigns were handed over to Nick, and then finally I started taking care of it myself.
As always, if you’ve seen anything else you’ve liked the look of, or played anything we’ve talked about above, let us know in the comments!
