Best of 2012 Nominations...
Ever wondered where baby bunnies come from? The cuddly protagonist in La Ventanita's Bunny Cannon does, too, but since everyone tells him a different story, he need to straighten things out. Luckily this involves nothing more playing a game of pachinko where bunnies fired from cannons multiply as soon as they come in contact with the opposite gender. It's a lot like Peggle or Coin Drop!, only so much cuter and with so many more rabbits.
Captain Skyro is a classic "pull back and fling" game similar to the old browser series Sling, only instead of tossing around squishy gross things, now you get to control a pirate! Grappling up through the clouds, you'll encounter cargo holds full of crazy obstacles, clouds that you'll swear are out to get you, and score-based gameplay that will inspire you to go back and play again, just so you can nab that last coin!
Om Nom returns, hungry as ever and with more puzzles than you can shake a rope at. Zeptolab's continuation of their hit puzzler Cut the Rope was previously released for iPhone and iPad and is now available on all your favorite mobile devices. Cut the Rope: Experiments includes 125 new physics puzzles set across five new settings in a professor's laboratory.
Earn To Die 2012 is an update to Toffee Games arcade-style hit, and has all the post-apocalyptic racing action you could hope for, without the danger of infected bites! Customize your car and plow through waves of the undead. A zombie-smushing good time, though undoubtedly constructed as a teaser for the enhanced mobile version.
Games centered around the sport of basketball seem to be making a comeback, and we're not talking about sports simulations, either. Titles like BasketBelle and Dude Perfect marry new mechanics to the old concept, creating experiences that are about as much like basketball as Homerun in Berzerk Land is like baseball. Now, Solipskier creator Mikengreg has released Gasketball, a physics-heavy mobile arcade game that's all about shooting and scoring baskets under some unusual circumstances. How unusual? Try reverse gravity triggers, teleportation platforms, pinball bumpers, and sawblades!
Jack be nimble, Jack be— oh, forget that old number. Jack Lumber is a path drawing arcade game from Owlchemy Labs. Jack's granny has been kidnapped by a walking tree, and in order to rescue her, he's got to do some serious chopping, Fruit Ninja style! Jack's big and burly and very handy with an axe. Not only can he chop down trees, he can apparently channel lightning to aid in his epic quest. It's time to mow through the forest, murderlizing everything wooden until you get your granny back!
The world needs saving and only you, Kumo Lumo, a fluffy smiling cloud, can save it in this innovative mobile arcade puzzle game. Billed by developer, Blitz Games, as a "rain 'em up!" you are tasked with two things—grow up the good, drench out the bad—your only arsenal being a sprinkle of rain and a blast of lightening. It's a simple concept that puts a little sunshine into being a raincloud.
Pangolin from Feed Tank is a physics-based arcade game that does a fantastic job straddling genres to create a very different, very entertaining sort of game. You indirectly control a bouncing orange critter by creating temporary trampoline platforms on the screen, guiding the little guy through some crazy stages filled with bumpers, tunnels, portals and more. Pangolin is almost like a game of vertical mini-golf. Except not. And it's way better!
Most of us have been craving a game that pits skeletons against pizza. Obviously, pizza is going to be the winner, which is why this crazy hodgepodge sort of arcade game puts you in control of a giant, customizable pizza. Skeletons rise from the soil every thousand years, but a doughy arch nemesis arises this time around, and it's your job to roll, jump, and crush the boney bad guys with your supreme skills. Not only that, but you'll participate in over 100 neat-o levels with dozens of themes, including skiing down long snowy slopes, finding and rescuing puppies, balancing, swimming, taking out skulls in a very Crush the Castle sort of manner, and even customize your pizza with all sorts of accessories. You're a Renaissance pizza, that's for sure. A very creative game that's worth its weight in laughs and sheer awesomeness. Pizza vs. Skeletons Free is also available.
The world is crumbling beneath everyone's feet, and there's only one hope for survival: rockets to the moon! In Handy Game's puzzle release Rocket Island, your job is to develop hexagons of land into functional rockets as quickly as you can. Start with the sea, build solid ground, prop up a platform, then make a rocket. All you have to do is keep everyone alive as you frantically swipe between meteors and volcanic eruptions!
Hey, Super Crate Box, the awesome arcade and shooting game released by Vlambeer way back in 2010. What are you doing on the iTunes App Store? What's that? Being as awesome as the PC/Mac downloadable version? Sounds great! With handfuls of unlockables, perfectly-tweaked touch controls, and a constant worldwide tally of crates collected, you'll be short on excuses not to play this lovely, crazy little game.
Super Hexagon, the latest release from VVVVVV creator Terry Cavanagh, is the kind of game that makes you hate games. It will make you feel like an inept player who couldn't play an arcade game even if you were in Russia (where arcade game plays
you, we hear). You might even get mad at Terry, who crafted this fast, stylish game seemingly just to show you how often you can fail. But after you lose ten times in as many seconds, you'll suddenly realize that Super Hexagon has you by the collar, has already taken your lunch money, and if you want it back, you're going to have to keep playing. Strangely enough, that's a challenge you'll be thrilled to undertake!
Welcome to the life of a teaching assistant (and/or editor)! The Grading Game by Mode of Expression is a beefed-up version of the arcade-style browser release First Person Tutor. It puts you in the unenviable role of a TA grading papers for a grumpy proffessor who wants his students to get the grade they deserve: a perfect F! Since you're a bit strapped for cash you have no choice but to capitulate, sifting through papers and marking every error you see with a big red pen.
TNNS is a wild arcade game from Action Button Entertainment and Rabbx that plays like a cross between Breakout and Pong, only about a billion times better (rough estimate). Imagine using a rubber paddle to smack a rubber ball around a stage filled with blocks, stars and arrows, then using some sort of telekinetic powers to make the ball curve a bit. That's TNNS, and if you're not laughing with amazement each time you fail/succeed, you're probably doing it wrong.
Ages ago, a mighty wizard built a castle to guard his secret treasures. Then... he vanished, leaving all that booty just sitting around. Monsters noticed the unguarded treasure, too, and started out to nab it. If only they knew of the force they would have to reckon with when they got there: your fingers. Treasure Swipe is a frantic mobile arcade game laced with unlockables and coated in a slick presentation worthy of your best touch screen device!
The middle of the first decade of the 2000s brought us an extremely well-made one button arcade browser game by the name of Twin Spin. The simple concept spawned two sequels shortly after, and then the series vanished for some time while the developers went on to other projects. Now, thanks to the lovely mobile iOS platform, TwinSpin is back, and it's just as fantastic as it ever was!
Recent Comments