Home » Articles and Reviews by 'Peter Willington'
Hands-on with The King of Fighters '98, the best-of brawler from SNK and DotEmu
As I explain in the hands-on video, I'm a big fan of fighters, so it should come as no surprise that I was first to call “dibs” on giving The King of Fighters '98's re-release a go. If you've got a good controller, the game plays exactly as you remember, and if you can handle touchscreen controls for fighters then you'll be well-served here too. The King of Fighters '98 is potentially going to disappoint a few fans, since it's not the fancypants enhanced version that came out on the last couple of generations of consoles, but if you're after an arcade fighting classic, it should be right up your street.…
Fighting GameHands-on with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the arena brawler based on the Michael Bay movie
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came out a day or so back, and we've been keen to see how this latest effort from the team behind Combo Crew has turned out. After a little while with the game, it remains difficult to say conclusively whether I really like it or not. On the one hand, the combo system can be exciting when you've chained together loads of hits, and the special attacks - where you call upon the rest of The Turtles to provide assistance - are impressive sights to behold. But the fractured mission structure, the IAPs in this premium title, and the lack of variety, is rather off-putting. Take a look at my hands-on with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles below to help make up your own mi…
Hands-on with Revolution 60, the self-serious yet schlocky sci-fi adventure
Revolution 60 mixes a mid-nineties, early polygonal 3D PC aesthetic with ludicrous character designs and a story that often attempts to come off as serious and badass. The results are mixed, and that's mostly due to its gameplay, or lack thereof. Most of the actions in the game are QTEs, and the combat limps along early in the game. However, the cutscenes - i.e. most of the game - do look pretty boss, especially if the art style grabs you. Here's a hands-on video for you to get stuck into and see if you like what Revolution 60's throwing down.…
Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus - EncyclAPPedia
We started Modern Combat Week here at AppSpy by adding the original game to the EncyclAPPedia, and we're ending it by fixing our sights firmly on its sequel: Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus. What changed, what stayed the same, and what's the history behind this classic first person shooter for mobiles and tablets? Find out, by clicking play on the video below. EncyclAPPpediaɛnˌsʌɪklə(ʊ)ˈpiːdɪənounA video or set of videos giving information on many mobile games or on many aspects of one game and typically arranged entirely at random.…
Majestic Nights: Season One is a role-playing thriller set in an alternate eighties where every conspiracy is real
It's the eighties. The Berlin Wall is tumbling down, Live Aid is helping to raise money for the poor, Jason Donovan is dating Kylie Minogue, and everything is right with the world. Except that every conspiracy story ever conceived is actually true, we live in a completely fabricated illusion of what is real, and all this is perpetrated by Cardholder, an intelligence officer at a shadowy government organisation. This is the weird and wonderful world of Majestic Nights: Season One, the teaser trailer for which has just been released. Scant few details are available at the moment, but players will apparently "use wits, stealth and sometimes even a little force to investigate, explore, and…
Angry Birds Transformers trailer demonstrates why Rovio's new game will make me homeless
If you're lucky enough to be attending San Diego Comic-Con then you might have already seen the new trailer for Angry Birds Transformers. If you're stuck at home, at school, or even worse, at work, then never fear, because you can see the new video here. The video shows off a CGI render of various Angry Birds as Transformers, running through the environment and battling piggy enemies. Astrotrain, Optimus Prime, and Megatron all make an appearance, and they seem to be fighting on the same side too, which is neat. What's not so neat is that this new trailer also shows off the new TelePods, which you'll be able to scan and subsequently bring new characters into your game. Since I'm a gigan…
Hands-on with Hearthstone's Curse of Naxxramas update, the creepy expansion hoping to entangle you in its webbing
After we reported that Hearthstone's Curse of Naxxramas update was out in the wilds of the App Store, I raced off to start playing it and bring you a look at some of the content in this expansion. It's safe to say that it's easily comparable to the high quality of the main game, but there are some extras included that Hearthstone players will want to seriously think about investing in for online play. I run through them briefly in my hands-on video below, as well as showing you a match in motion.…
Hands-on with Rush Horizon, the endless-racer for nineties arcade fans
AppSpy was first on the scene for coverage of Rush Horizon, and with good reason: the game looked like a slice of sun-drenched arcade racing in the promo materials we were sent. Now that I've been hands-on with the game, I can confirm that Rush Horizon absolutely delivers on its promise of nostalgic-yet-modern arcade racing, inspired by the gaming greats from the eighties and nineties. Rad Racer, Out Run, Hang-On, Ridge Racer: there's a bit of everything in here, and since this is an endless-racer, there's a spot of Temple Run mixed in too. Rush Horizon is currently in soft-launch, here's my early look at the game.…
Hands-on with Tiny Realms, the strategy management title that puts its focus on the word 'strategy'
Strategy management games are a dime a dozen at the moment, so it takes something special for a new one to capture the imagination of mobile gamers. Tiny Realms appears to be a fairly standard iteration on the Clash of Clans formula, but when you see the battles in motion, you start to see the big differences that one small change can make. I explain in the hands-on video below what this change is, so click play and take a look at our preview of the soft-launched version of the game.…
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game from Combo Crew devs jump kicks its way onto iOS and Android
The official game of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is out now on iOS and Android. While the AppSpy team isn't massively excited by the upcoming film, this video game adaptation - named, rather appropriately, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - has firmly grabbed our attention, as it's developed by the team behind Combo Crew. The game's plot - which is written by one of the authors of the comic book series - revolves around you recapturing the streets of New York City as the Turtles, playing as either Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, or Michelangelo against the evil forces of the Foot Clan. To do so you'll brawl through stage after stage of mutant goons and end-of-level bosses,…
Hands-on with Assassin's Creed Memories, the card battler that manages to make aerial assassinations a bit dull
As a long-time fan of the Assassin's Creed series, I've been eagerly awaiting another really strong mobile tie-in game since the rather smashing Assassin's Creed Pirates. The news of a card battler - which as regular viewers will know is one of my favourite genres - being combined with Assassin's Creed was exciting indeed. It's with a heavy heart then that I have to report that Assassin's Creed Memories is a bit dull, or in the very least the soft-launched version in the Australian App Store is a bit dull. Slow-moving, overly-complex, and only the faintest of connections to the Assassin's Creed universe make the game in its current state a disappointment. Here's my hands-on video explainin…
Hands-on with Balance of the Shaolin, the game of zen-like balance and oddly aggressive birds
Balance of the Shaolin could be compared with a Twitch game (along the lines of Flappy Bird), and a minigame collection (such as WarioWare). The actions you can make in the game are limited to correcting your balance left and right, and jumping in place, but the dangers of each stage change with the scenery. You have to avoid the strikes of rogue monks, leap over lava, dodge the attacks of passing birds, and so on. Balance of the Shaolin is a cute, simple game, and the presentation is wonderfully retro. Here's what it looks like in motion...…
Hands-on with Epic Gamer!, the iOS trivia title that tests your gaming knowledge
I always got told that games won't teach you anything, but I've learned plenty from them I reckon. 1. You can take three or four shots anywhere on the torso before dying, but a headshot is always fatal. 2. If you're given two paths in a road to walk down, you should always investigate both, just in case you miss a cool piece of treasure. 3. All spiders are pure evil and will try to kill you at the very earliest opportunity they get. I've also picked up a fair few factoids about games over the years, and I'm about to have that knowledge tested with Epic Gamer!, a trivia title about video games, for mobiles and tablets.…
Hands-on with Star Wars: Commander, the strategy management game with wookies
When I wrote the announcement story for Star Wars: Commander, I compared it with Clash of Clans, because quite honestly that's what the App Store description suggests it plays like. After a little time with the game, I can confidently tell you that, yes, Star Wars: Commander is very much fashioned in the style of a Clash of Clans. But don't hold that against it: Clash of Clans is still great fun, and this time around the blend of strategy and management also features adorable Jawas, and the odd cameo by Han Solo. Here's my early preview of Star Wars: Commander, based on the soft-launched Australian version...…
Hearthstone's Curse of Naxxramas update is now live on iOS
If you've been slinging cards in Hearthstone for a while now then you might well be looking for more adventures to embark upon. The new Curse of Naxxramas update should be just what you're after if that's the case, as it adds five new Wings to the single player campaign of Hearthstone. The first of these Wings is titled The Arachnid Quarter, and will be free for a limited time during launch. After that it will join the rest of the Wings as a piece of paid content, unlockable with real money or Gold. Each Wing will set you back $6.99 / £4.99. Curse of Naxxramas contains 15 new bosses to defeat, 30 new cards to acquire, and a Heroic Mode which, once beaten, unlocks a new card back f…
