Casual puzzler Tiki Towers 2, which will undoubtedly remind players of the great, similar indie puzzle game World of Goo, is at the top of the class on today’s Fresh Games list. It offers 30 levels of structure-building and accidental cartoon-monkey drownings to keep you entertained, but if that’s not enough, drop down and read about Empire Online. That game has plenty for you to do in it.
Tiki Towers 2 (iPhone) $4.99
Ever since World of Goo hit the iPad a few weeks ago, I’ve been wishing for it to come to iPhone so I can play the inventive puzzler. Tiki Tower 2 is the next best thing: it requires players to solve puzzles by building bamboo structures over gaps and into towers to help a group of monkeys reach distant goals. The puzzles get challenging, as you’re asked to remove bamboo pieces from your structure to score more points by using fewer materials — but the weakened structures could cause your monkeys to fall to their deaths.
There are 30 levels included with Tiki Towers 2, as well as different tools to test your physics puzzler skills as you try to help your monkeys reach Point B after leaving Point A. Some levels include multiple exits to really test your abilities. The app also includes Game Center support to provide you with leaderboards and achievements.
Virtua Fighter 2 (iPhone) $1.99
Sega is really looking to tap a niche of gamers who look back fondly on its old games and with they could still play them. Virtua Fighter 2 joins the category, itself a port of an old-school 2D fighting game that originally appeared in arcades in 1994 and on the Sega Saturn console in 1995. The game includes all eight original characters and arenas, and allows you to unlock the final boss and control him in battle as well.
Like most of Sega’s ports, this one includes two view modes — full screen with see-through virtual buttons, or a small-screen mode that’s a little more like an arcade setup. You can also take the fight to your friends using Bluetooth multiplayer for local battles, and Virtua Fighter 2 is equipped to save your game during single player mode so you won’t have to restart from the beginning every time you put down your iPhone.
Empire Online (iPhone) Free
This free massively multiplayer online role-playing game has a 16-bit soul and a very easy interface and battle system, which helps it stay simple to use while maintaining the complexity needed to be a viable MMO game. In-app purchases abound, of course, but for the most part it seems that Empire Online’s free play is quite viable, with enemies to fight, equipment to find, quests to complete and friends to coordinate with.
According to developer Lakoo, Empire Online is absolutely huge, boasting a 5 million-player community and more than 1,000 quests spread over 300 maps. Its nostalgic art style will remind players of games such as Final Fantasy III, Chrono Trigger and the Secret of Mana, which is definitely a good thing. And already the game is packed with players so it’s easy to make friends and start tackling the quests together, which is exactly the way this sort of game should play. RPG fans will want to check this one out immediately.
