So, This is What You Get If You Buy Stuff In 'Gasketball'

I got a text the other afternoon from a pal who knows a thing or two about video games. He was confused about Gasketball's [Free (HD)] IAP model. He wasn't sure what he'd get if he boned up the $2.99. I thought he forgot how to read or something, but it appears as though this is an actual problem that a lot of people are having -- and it's hurting Mikengreg, as you'd expect.

The Penny Arcade Report filed a pretty depressing post about Gasketball this morning, detailing how much of a flop that the game is shaping up to be. You should read it in full, but the gist is this: the conversion rate on Gasketball is stupidly low and now the game's two creators, Mike Boxleiter and Greg Wohlwend, can no longer afford shelter.

When I previewed and when I reviewed the game, I looked at it as a whole; not just as a tutorial with IAPs. In hindsight, I should have made it much more clear that I see it as a $2.99 game, as opposed to a free one with optional IAP.

But anyway, since people like my pal are having problems, here's what you get if you opt to purchase the $2.99 "Buy It Forever" IAP: 100 levels, 10 new objects to play around with, and all of the content that will ever be released for Gasketballfrom this day forward.

To further break it down, here's the names, themes, and items you'll get from each of the five worlds this pack unlocks.

• Roballin' 101 - 25 construction site themed levels. You also unlock two objects: a panel that makes your ball move faster and the conveyor belt.
• Cosmo Jam World - 25 levels wrapped in a space theme. You also unlock a new robot avatar named Albert, and two objects: the teleporter and the grav switch
• Gasketslamcade - 25 levels pinball themed levels. You also unlock a new robot avatar named Geoffrey, and two objects: the bumper and the flipper.
• The Drunkworks - 25 machine themed levels. You also unlock a new robot named Woohouse and two new objects: the spinfusor and the conveyor.

And in case you didn't notice, all of this IAP stuff is available in the "user menu," which is an option you can pick on the game's home screen.

Gasketball is too good to fail, and this content makes the game a much, much better offering than it is without it. So, if you've got Gasketball, we reccomend you give the pass a download. It's not disappointing in the least.

App Store Link: Gasketball?, Free (iPad Only)  

From: Toucharcade 

First Hand News: Unbroken Daft of the Snails’ Model

Based on our report, this is absolutely the first hand news about Snails vs. Ants. Recently much news talking about the coming iOS game -- Snails vs. Ants, and our editor just get an unbroken draft of the snails’ model. Let’s take a look for their look and abilities.

  

The Mancatcher

Launch sting in fast speed. They are cheep, but low power. Normally, they’re used to build barrier.

The Grumer

They look soft. Yes, they have low damage. But as we know they can maximum slow the enemies down.

 

The Hurler

They have sharp and powerful tail. They can stop ants in far distance, even in the sky.

 

The Flamer

As what their color shows, they spray flame. They never stop working if an enemy appears in sight.

 The Lightning

They are very powerful and fast. They have given talent to destroy everything within sight, no matter on land or in sky.

The Volcanos

What’s on their back? It’s volcano. They live in the deep of volcano and now called by the king to stop the enemies. They are the ultimate force of the kingdom.

Till now the game is in review by App Store. When they release we will give a first shot to all game fans.

About Duole

Beijing Duole Technology Co., Ltd. was founded in 2009, now mainly focuses on iOS games, and already has Pandora Box (FREE) and Defend Homeland in the App Store.

Blog News: 999 Game Reviews

Press Release of Snails vs. Ants

10-member’s team working for about 5 months, programming for more than 4 months, modify more than 20 times. Then, here it comes.

What we spend now harvests. This game absolutely refreshes your general understanding tower defense game. It’s easy to operate but needs strategy; it has high freedom but as well as hidden rules.

This is the top prospect game! An ultra-high-freedom strategy iPhone game!

You should combine different tactics and strategies and use different snail which owns different abilities to helps you stop the invaders. Mix up with elegant and hand-painting cartoon pictures, pleasure sound effects, pure and fresh scene, this game appears with both casual and smart, relax and excited, challenge and courage.

Key Features

²       Various Types of Maps

It owns 3 kinds of modes and 3 types of difficulty levels. And more maps, abundant battle grounds and mode to be added in the coming version updating.

²       Six Kinds of Snails with Special Abilities

All those cute but powerful snails help you easily control the whole game. Let your enemies confess in the fire and lightning.

²       11 Corps Your Enemy

They can be weak or strong, fast or slow, high or short, even fly. They will appear in any unexpected way.

²       Upgrade Your Lovely Snails

Yes, you can upgrade your snails with less gold. They will have more delicate appearance and powerful fire.

²       Multiple Entrance Mode

Not excited enough? You can play maps with multiple entrances. A flood of invaders will challenge your nerve.

²       Extend and Endless Mode

Each map has three kinds of different modes, classic, extended (has 100 waves) and endless (Come on, you poor ants!).

²       Game Center and Achievement System

You scores will appear in the game center. Spill over your glory in the clinquant achievement cup.

²       Now you can play HD version with iPad. Take a look!

Based on the device, for better screen and picture experience, we have iPod and iPad version for Snails vs. Ants. It supports languages as: English, Simple Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese.

Screenshot:

About Duole

Beijing Duole Technology Co., Ltd. was founded in 2009, now mainly focus on iOS games, already has Pandora Box and Defend Homeland in the App Store.

iTunes Link: Coming soon

Infinity Blade II Review

Infinity Blade II, Chair Entertainment Group’s sequel to 2010’s convention-defying swordplay game, is as big and beautiful as ever. The original Infinity Blade proved that a challenging, beautiful, and big fantasy game could succeed on the iOS platform. Now, Infinity Blade II refines the gameplay, beefs up the role-playing elements, and proves that the original title was not a fluke.

The first Infinity Blade treated gamer “lives” very differently than your typical game. Instead of merely respawning where the player died, Infinity Blade would start the player’s descendant at the beginning of the castle, ready with his father’s sword and armor to continue his quest. Each life is like a nesting doll, revealing something more about the world and the character.

The Unreal Engine’s rendering of the environments is spectacular and unlike anything else on the iPad—you can see every edge of the character’s armor and even details as small as candles on chandeliers. Movement in the game is automated by tapping to a highlighted area, but as your character gains experience, more branching pathways appear.

Though your movement is on rails, that simply means Infinity Blade’s fighting mechanic is front and center, as it should be. Players tap to dodge or initiate super moves, but otherwise utilize the iPhone or iPad’s touchscreen interface to initiate swings of their blades or magical spells. The gesture-based blade swinging mechanic is utterly addictive and easily one of the geekiest joys you’ll experience on an iOS device. Trace your finger across the screen and watch as your player arcs his sword in the same direction—the mapping isn’t one-to-one, but it’s still much better than anything you’re used to. Infinity Blade II also adds to the list of moves you can pull off: Not only can you parry, attack and dodge, but defend and duck.

The role-playing elements of the game are subtle, but essential. As you explore the tower castle, you’ll see bags of currency that you’ll want to tap, and as you defeat enemies, you’ll earn currency as well. You can use this money to unlock better armor, weapons, and magical items. Or, if you’re impatient, you can shell out real money via in-app purchases to speed up the process.

Unlike the first Infinity Blade, you can now switch between sword and shield, two-handed, and dual-wielding weapon setups. Each weapon setup has its own tradeoffs—sword and shield gives you more protection while dual-wielding lets you parry much easier. But the two-handed weapon setup deals the most damage and has the easiest-to-execute combos, so there’s very little incentive to not use it.

Whether or not you’re entertained by the leveling-up process and are intrigued by the constantly branching paths of the castle is the ultimate determining factor of how much you’ll enjoy Infinity Blade II. There are a few choke holds—points where no matter how skilled you are, you’re still going to die unless you’re a certain level—but these are far enough into the game that you’re already hooked.

Infinity Blade was one of the fastest selling apps on the iOS store, and with good reason. Visually, there is no comparison to the Unreal Engine-powered environments. The combat, while repetitive, is exceptionally challenging and yet very, very fun. Experienced RPG fans will likely bemoan the game’s dearth of customization options—no matter your helmet or weapons, you’re still essentially a generic knight fighting a never-ending parade of similar-looking demons. And casual players may be turned off by the game’s repetitive nature and instead prefer something more linear.

But make no mistake: Infinity Blade II isn’t just a shiny new set of armor. It’s a deep, challenging, and addictive title that is not just an exceptionally compelling iOS offering, but one of the top games on any platform. The weapon-swiping mechanic alone is something that the most hardened gamer and the most casual of player will enjoy, and mechanics that are easy to learn but hard to master mean that anyone can hack, slash, and parry with the best of them in no time. 

User Reviews of Infinity Blade II iPhone App

Sound		100.0%
Graphics		96.0%
Originality		88.0%
Easy controls
Longevity		96.0%
Useful		56.0%
Stable		92.0%
Fun		88.0%
Attractive		96.0%
Met expectations		76.0%

Magic 2013 # 999 Game Reviews

Magic 2013

by Wizards of the Coast

Device: iPad Only

Average User Rating: 

Size: 1000.4 MB

Price: Free

Description:

Face a greater challenge with Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013!

In the latest installment of this hit franchise, travel across the fantastic plane of Shandalar as you face encounters, and battle powerful Planeswalkers.

Magic 2013 offers new features including statistics-tracking for your game play and, for those already skilled in slinging spells, the option to choose what lands to tap when you cast your spells.

Game includes:
3 decks with 5 unlockable cards each
Single-player campaign across the plane of Shandalar
4 deadly opponents, including the Planeswalker Garruk Wildspeaker
Encounters, a new feature in which you test your skills against different preset AI strategies
Planechase mode, which changes the rules with a randomized deck of cards based on the planes of the Magic Multiverse

Additional content is also available for purchase. Premium content package will get you:
7 additional decks to unlock
250+ additional cards unlockable through play
18 additional Campaign levels across the planes of Ravnica, Alara, and Innistrad, plus 11 revenge matches and 3 Planechase battles.
10 puzzling challenges
Online one-on-one Multiplayer play
Two-Headed Giant and Custom game modes
Pit yourself against the Multiverses ultimate evil mastermind, the dragon Planeswalker Nicol Bolas, in the single-player campaign
Access to deck key and foil conversion in-app purchases
Additional downloadable content as it becomes available

Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 runs best on iPad 2 or later.

Game content available in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Korean, and Brazilian Portuguese.

iTunes Link: http://itunes.apple.com/app/magic-2013/id502588466?mt=8

Screenshots:

      

Pocket Planes by NimbleBit - Join Flight Crew

Pocket Planes

by NimbleBit LLC

Average User Rating:  

Size: 17.4 MB

Price: Free

Description:

From the creators of Tiny Tower comes Pocket Planes, a casual airline sim that fits right in your pocket!

- Manage and grow your fleet of planes as they fly interesting people and cargo to over 250 cities around the map.
- Unlock everything from tiny prop planes to jumbo jets and small town airports to mega cities.
- Customize your planes with your own paint jobs and pilot uniforms.
- Trade plane parts among your friends, and compete in worldwide group events.
- See how you stack up against your friends with tons of stats and leader boards.

 iTunes Link: http://itunes.apple.com/app/pocket-planes/id491994942


 Screenshots