It’s Thursday, and you know what that means: a new haul of games in the iTunes App Store. Start with a big update to Dungeon Defenders, which changes the co-op role-playing/tower defense hybrid’s name to “Second Wave” and adds lots of content. There’s also Cosmic Cab and Sad Robot, a pair of tilt-based arcade games with a sci-fi bent, and Wizardry Labyrinth of Souls, an old-school dungeon-crawling role-playing game perfect for nostalgic video gaming fans.
Dungeon Defenders: Second Wave (iPhone, iPad) $2.99
The popular role-playing/tower defense hybrid from Trendy Games, Dungeon Defenders: First Wave, has had a big update to optimize it for the iPhone 4S and the iPad 2 that adds lots of new features. Now dubbed “Second Wave,” the core gameplay of Dungeon Defenders hasn’t changed. You control a hero of various types, including a knight or a mage, and use his or her skills combined with defensive towers you set up in your dungeon to protect an important crystal from attacking enemies. Like other tower defense titles, the game is about lots of strategy, but you also get to get into the thick of the action.
Dungeon Defenders has always been a cooperative experience over an online Wi-Fi connection, but now players can face off in a head-to-head mode called “Arena.” There’s also a new campaign mode level and new touch controls to make the game play better, including a flick-controlled camera.
Cosmic Cab (iPhone, iPad) $0.99
You’re an intergalactic cab driver in Cosmic Cab, tasked with delivering aliens to a local birthday party. In order to get them there, you need to navigate a tubular interstellar highway, marked by boosters, stranded aliens and other pickups that help facilitate your task and carry you to the party as fast as possible to garner the highest tips.
You control your cosmic cab by tilting your iOS device left or right in order to spin around the outside of the tube, being sure not to fall through the gaps in the road. The faster you can make it to the end of each level, the better your score. You get 25 levels to navigate in Cosmic Cab, and the better you do along the way, the more items you can unlock with which to customize your ride.
Wizardry Labyrinth of Lost Souls (iPhone) Free
Formerly only a downloadable title on Sony’s PlayStation Network, Wizardry has become pretty popular with its old-school text role-playing game style. You start out as a hero and investigate dungeons and recruit other heroes, all through text. If you run into a monster in a dungeon, you’ll see the battle play out in a series of messages and attack your enemy with text-based moves.
As you play through Wizardry, you’ll uncover the game’s story, meet additional characters you can recruit onto your team and explore various dungeons using text-based controls. This is very much a nostalgic experience for players who enjoy the old brand of RPG, so make sure you know what you’re signing-up for when you download. Fans of dungeon-crawling RPGs get the benefit of modern conveniences like touch controls and game center support, however.
Sad Robot (iPhone, iPad) Free
Sad Robot takes a page from tilt-based arcade titles such as Mega Jump and Doodle Jump. It’s a simple game: you control a robot traveling from the bottom of the screen to the top, and you have to tilt your device to move the robot sideways to avoid collisions with random debris. Along the way, you’ll collect coins to boost your score and power-ups to protect yourself, while you dodge explosives and missiles that will destroy you.
Retro graphics define Sad Robot, which has a great, pixelated neon look. It also goes deeper than your standard tilting arcade title by including “missions,” or specific goals for players to reach like collecting a certain number of coins in a play-through. These missions award experience points that advance your robot’s level and make him more powerful. You also get Game Center support for achievements and leaderboards.
