You'd need to have tried really hard to have missed the fact that the Fallout Amazon Prime TV show has been incredibly popular since it debuted recently, and it coincided with a renewed interest in the Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 games, too. But it turns out that even mobile games have experienced something of a resurgence on the back of the show, and that includes the iPhone game Fallout Shelter.

According to new figures Fallout fever captured the hearts, minds, and wallets of gamers so much that the Fallout Shelter game has been able to rake in $80,000 per day thanks to its in-game transactions, a figure that is a huge increase over the $20,000 daily revenue the game was able to bring in previously.

Where did that extra money come from? Fresh downloads, with some huge figures involved.

It's game time

Those figures come courtesy of GamesIndustry.biz and suggest that downloads of Fallout Shelter grew by more than 364% between April 9 and April 13. In raw terms, the number of daily downloads rose from 20,000 per day to more than 60,000. The report notes that the downloads rose 20% within just 24 hours of the TV show's premiere.

Fallout Shelter founts itself at the heady heights of number seven in the top free games chart in the App Store, the highest since June 2018.

If you haven't yet checked what all the fuss is about, you can stream the first season of Fallout on Amazon Prime Video right now. All done and dusted? You can scratch that post-apocalyptic itch with Apple TV Plus hit Silo, too. There's one season available now with three more on the way!

More from iMore

• How to play Fallout 4 on Mac — play the game that inspired the hit TV show
• Fallout Shelter: Tips, tricks, and strategy to keep your dwellers free of radiation
• Binged the Fallout TV show already? This Apple Plus TV show can satisfy your cravings and has more seasons on the way

You can finally play the popular online indie game Hades on your iPhone from today, as the title is being brought to iOS through Netflix.

Eagerly awaited by fans, the rogue-like dungeon crawler is finally launching on March 19 for iOS users. It joins Netflix's growing roster of mobile games, and to play the title, you will need to be an active subscriber to the streaming platform. Currently, there are no plans to support the game on other devices. That makes it an iOS-exclusive.

Hades is a rogue-like dungeon crawler that sees you take on the role of Zagreus, Prince of the Underworld and son of Hades himself. Fed up, your job is to defy the god of the dead as you hack and slash your way out of the Underworld of Greek myth.

To play the game, you need an iPhone running iOS 16 or later. It will work best on newer iPhones, such as the iPhone 15, due to hardware advances. But you don't need the best iPhone to play the title – you can install it on any iPhone.

What will gameplay be like?

In case you missed it, Netflix is making efforts in video games now, as well as streaming your favorite films and shows. Starting in 2021, Netflix began offering mobile game apps based on the content it produced. Titles based on Stranger Things, Bridgerton, and more started the line-up. These days, the services has more licensed titles (such as Hades); Netflix offers cloud gaming as well.

Thanks to Netflix, Hades can offer iPhone users uncompromised gameplay. This includes notable features like 60 FPS performance, redesigned menus and interfaces, fully customizable on screen controls, cloud saves, achievements and offline play.

Plus, if you own the iPhone 15 Pro, you get the “Peak Graphics Mode” option, which seems to be unique to Apple devices. This graphics mode can also be picked on iPads with an M1 chip or later. The game supports Bluetooth controllers, too, so you can hook these up if the custom touch controls aren't cutting it for you.

More from iMore

• Everything you need to know about Game Center
• Don't hold your breath for an iPhone Xbox Game Pass Cloud ...
• Every Apple Vision Pro Spatial game we know about so far

Back in 2009, there was a game in the App Store that took the world by storm. It was called Angry Birds, and it's since gone on to spawn more games, soft toys, and even a movie. And now it has a new home.

Rovio was the company behind Angry Birds and it was one of the early App Store success stories. After originally launching on the App Store Angry Birds moved to other platforms including Android and Windows Phone (remember that?) and is now a household name. But it's now owned by an even bigger name. A name that is synonymous with gaming and one that many of us grew up with.

Rovio is now owned by SEGA.

SEEEEGAAAAAAAAAH

The news was announced via a press release which confirmed that a huge sum of money had been handed over to get the deal done. That sum was €706 million (or $775 million) and now we can probably look forward to Sonic and Tails making an appearance alongside the famous birds in at least 42 new games before the end of 2023.

Probably. That cross-over seems all the more certain when you pay attention to SEGA's words.

“Among the rapidly growing global gaming market, the mobile gaming market has especially high potential, and it has been SEGA’s long-term goal to accelerate its expansion in this field,” said Haruki Satomi, president and group CEO of SEGA's parent company SEGA Sammy Holdings. “I am confident that, through combination of both companies’ brands, characters, fanbase, as well as corporate culture and functionality, there will be significant synergies created going forward.”

Rovio of course now has many games under its wing (pun very much intended) but there will always be something about the simplicity of that original game that will transport us back to 2009.

Whether you're playing on an iPhone SE or the very best iPhone that Apple has to offer, Angry Birds is a grand old time. Maybe it'll be even more fun when we get Sonic involved.

Old Man's Journey is a point-and-click adventure game from the indie game studio known as Broken Rules. The game hit the App Store in May 2017 and quickly garnered praise, by both critics and players, for its amazing visuals and superb storytelling.

Old Man's Journey on Nintendo Switch!

The absolutely beautiful and heart-wrenching game Old Man's Journey is now available on Nintendo Switch.

Although the hardware is different, the Nintendo Switch edition is identical to the mobile game that launched last year. If you're just diving into Old Man's Journey, here are some things you should know for both the Switch and iOS versions!

• $9.99 - See at Nintendo

While I don't want to dive too deep into what the game is all about, thus robbing you of the experience it provides, I can give you a quick look at what's in store for you inside the game. Here's everything you need to know about Old Man's Journey.

• $4.99 - Download on iPhone and iPad

The objective

Being a point-and-click adventure game with absolutely no dialogue, Old Man's Journey lets you figure out what you need to do on your own.

Left to your own devices, you quickly figure out that your goal in the game is to journey across the various landscapes and uncover the mystery of this old man's past. In order to do this successfully, you'll need to solve a few simple but rewarding puzzles.

Move the landscape

While you can tap or select anywhere on the screen, the old man won't be able to reach every location on the first try; sometimes you need to do a little terra-morphing.

If you tap or select on the hills and other scenery in the game, you'll notice a faint yellow outline appear around the edges. You can drag your finger up and down in order to manipulate the scenery around you and allow the old man to reach new locations.

Waterfalls are helpful

It may seem scary to tell the old man to ride down a waterfall, but at some points, in the game it will be necessary.

If you instruct the old man to walk on the waterfalls you encounter during the game, they will gently carry you downwards, allowing you to reach lower platforms.

Keep the train on the tracks

At some point in the game, you will board a train that takes you across the beautiful countryside; however, the train tracks are all over the place.

Just like you did with the hills in the game, you'll need to drag the tracks up or down so the train can keep moving.

Animals

On more than one occasion, you will come across some animals in the game. Some are there to help you and some get in your way. A good rule of thumb is to interact with the animals you encounter and see how they behave.

For example, early on in the game, there is a cat you can follow, which helps guide you through that part of the game. A little later on, you'll come across some sheep that you'll need shoo out of your way so you can continue.

What else do you want to know?

Let me know in the comments below!

Updated February 2018: Updated for the Nintendo Switch release.

If you're not familiar with Clash of Clans, it's a game where you build forts with gold and elixir resources. Buildings are dragged and dropped, however, players like, and resources are collected and stored periodically throughout the day as they check in. Over time, players build an army of various troop types. They can be taken on single player missions to raze the villages of nearby goblins, or on raiding parties of neighboring villages. Similarly, other players can raid your town. Don't worry, nothing is permanently destroyed, though adversaries can snatch some of your gold and elixir. Players earn and lose trophies through their multiplayer raids to determine rank, and band together in clans in order to earn even more loot in sprawling group battles.

It sounds simple, but there's a lot more to it, and we're here to help!

Be patient, save your gems

The biggest caveat with any casual free-to-play game is the premium currency system. Just about everything is on some kind of timer, and as you progress, those timers get longer. Don't cave and spend your precious gems on speeding up production. Save them for something important that you get to keep. Make a point to complete achievements and clear natural obstacles to build your gem count. Above all else, gems should be spent on builders huts. After that, there's a wide range of discretion on gem spending. Typically, buying resources outright with gems is a poor use of resources; you're better off boosting your own production buildings.

When you do have enough gems, think long and hard about what's important to you in the game, since if you want to get through this without paying a dime, it'll take awhile before you make another major purchase. On the flip side, you'll have a hard time getting through the competitive end-game content without spending some cash.

If timers have got you down, play a few other games and cycle through them. Candy Crush Saga and Simpson Tapped Out are both solid options. A top-ranked Clash player actually went out and made his own similar game, Samurai Siege, and Gameloft has a Rome-themed knock-off called Total Conquest. There's also Supercell's Clash Royale, which puts a card battler spin on the Clash of Clans universe.

Offense is the best defense (and vice versa!)

Your upgrade and build order will vary significantly based on if you want to sit back and collect resources or take the fight to other players. Odds are you'll regularly be bouncing between these two stances. If defense is your primary interest, your first upgrade should be your town hall, then walls, then defensive structures - first mortar, then archer tower, then cannons. Mortar and air defense are your most important towers, so make sure they're close to the middle and have lots of protection. After that, start working on your various resource production buildings, and make sure they're fully upgraded. Some players intentionally leave a few elixir gatherers and mines outside the walls so other players can farm them without destroying everything they have, though it's often practical to leave lower-priority buildings like those outside your walls so you can make sure the important stuff is better-protected with overlapping fields of fire rather than covering a wider area.

Also, remember that players with higher level town halls earn less from raiding lower-level players - don't be in a rush to upgrade your town hall if you're playing defensively. Just because you're playing defensively doesn't mean you should neglect your barracks - in fact, you can queue up troops to train there, and then get a refund on those in the queue, later on, turning your barracks into a kind of temporary, unraidable elixir storage.

If you're getting aggressive, the order is similar. First build up your town hall, then get your elixir production up and running so you can start stockpiling resources right away. Then get your barracks and camps upgraded so you can get started on building an army. Neither of those structures provide resources to raiders, so feel free to plant them outside your walls. After that, flesh out your defenses with walls and cannons.

The only things left would be the laboratory for upgrading troops, spell factory for added offensive power, and gold mines for upgrading structures. Since matchmaking is based on trophy count, some players intentionally keep theirs low so they can clean up against lower-level players, so be careful about which fights you pick early on. If you want to farm players that are lower level than you, intentionally lose trophies by raiding with a single unit.

Shields up!

Getting attacked can suck, but luckily if 30% of your town is destroyed or your Town Hall comes crumbling down, you'll have a 12-hour shield. If 90% of your base is wiped out, you'll get an extra four hours. How do you best make use of this time? Well, don't go out and start attacking right away, that's for sure. That will cancel out your shield immediately.

The safety time is valuable, so use it to your advantage - take some time to figure out how you can improve your economy, build up your army, upgrade towers (since they don't fire when upgrading) or simply stockpile and spend resources before the pain train comes rolling around again. Shields are useful enough that you may even want to voluntarily move your town hall out into the open. You'll lose trophies and some resources, but often the amount of safety time you get out of it is worth it. If you get really itchy for battle, remember that Clan Wars don't affect your shield timers at all.

Make sure to keep tabs on your shield timer. Once it expires, you'll get some extra time where you can attack, but others can't attack you. The duration for this Village Guard varies based on which league you're in. It's a sweet spot that is worth capitalizing on whenever the opportunity comes up.

Finally, you can't be attacked while you're online and playing. If you can keep your iPhone or iPad running the game all day, it's an easy way to stay secure.

Learn the lay of the land

The core strategic mechanic of Clash of Clans combat is to have as many walls between your resources and the outside as possible. To do this, you'll want to make sure there are no gaps in your perimeter, and definitely, make sure that there are no spawnable tiles within your base. You'll want to make sure that structures are tight together, so cannons and other defensive structures can cover as many of them as possible.

Putting your buildings into small compartments formed by upgraded walls is vital to slowing an enemy's advance. Piling up multiple layers of walls makes them more susceptible from the splash damage of Wall breakers, so be sure to fill cells with buildings. You'll also want to have your most powerful defenses positioned more closely to the center of your base; provide as much of a buffer zone with other buildings and walls as possible, so attacking troops have to take longer chewing on other stuff to get to the guns. This maximizes the amount of time your defenses are working, and increases your odds of successfully repelling an attack.

Pick your targets

When finding opponents, there are a few things you want to take into account before you start dropping troops. First, look at their Town Hall level - if it's far lower than yours, you'll be getting a smaller cut of the spoils. You'll get to see exactly how many resources are available for plundering. At the very least, you want to be able to earn back the resources you spend on troops. If resources are all you're after, it's often more profitable to send in a handful of goblins and ultimately lose the battle than winning a full-blown assault that costs a lot of resources.

Before you deploy your first troop, be aware of which resources you're going for. If you're going for trophies to climb the ranks, you'll need to be investing a lot of troops to get two or three stars on your raid. You'll also want to hit elixir reserves if you want to replenish (or earn back) resources for troops. Once you've done that, it's simply a matter of targeting the most powerful defenses for those resources. Use giants to draw fire from towers initially, then wall breakers to breach, then more giants to mop up defenses. Barbarians, wizards, and archers can chew on structures once areas have been cleared of cannon and mortar fire, while goblins can bee-line for resources. Be mindful of how many troops you drop in, though. You want to be able to pull off a win while burning through as few as possible.

Remember that you have no direct control over your troops. Know what the unit's favorite targets are and deploy accordingly. Barbarians will run head-first at the nearest building, which isn't great news if there's a well-defended mortar just a little further in. Send the wall breakers and giants in to open new avenues of attack. Smart players will create bases that funnel troops right into areas with a ton of traps, which can blunt your offensive very quickly.

Get raiding buddies

Once you've maxed-out your Town Hall level, gone through the single-player levels, and rebuilt your castle, you're probably pretty hardcore about the game and ready to start getting into organized clan play. Not only are these great ways to socialize in the game, but coordinated attacks can help you bring in some pretty good loot hauls, too.

Keep in mind that although you can use clans to call in back-up both for attacks and defense, you'll be expected to contribute troops too - it's a team effort, after all. Communicate regularly about what you're up to, get advice from senior members when you're trying to figure out what to do next, and have fun! Your clan may have aspirations for competitive league play, which can get pretty intense.

Punch your weight in Clan Wars

Attack unstarred villages first, since you and your clan have the most to gain from attacking them. When picking targets for the first time in Clan Wars, let the game's matchmaking figure out a good opponent for you. If you end up succeeding against tougher opponents, your lower level allies may have a hard time dealing with an equivalent increase in challenge. If you go for easy ones, then you're taking away good opponents for those lower-level allies, forcing them into battles they can't win. Punch your weight, and the whole clan wins.

Tailor your armies in Clan Wars

You've got a whole day to prepare before war kicks off. Use the scout function for your target enemy encampment to get a lay of the land, and build your army around defeating it. If the walls are low level, go land. If the air defense isn't upgraded, get balloons. Make specific requests in your clan chat for the types of troops you want to send in. Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of who you are attacking will help you build the best army to take it on.

Your top Clash of Clans tips, tricks, and cheats!

For a casual game, Clash of Clans has a surprising amount of depth. If you've got any personal strategies for winning bigger, faster, and better, leave them in the comments, or sing out for help with particularly tricky situations.

Updated July 2017: These are still all solid tips to help you succeed in Clash of Clans!

Clash of Clans is a hugely popular game, available for both iOS and Android that has taken the mobile world by storm. I mean, how many apps really have TV commercials (and big-budget ones at that)? You've probably seen the one with the guy yelling "Hog Rider". If you're considering delving into the strategic world of Clash of Clans, here's what you need to know!

What kind of game is Clash of Clans?

Clash of Clans is a MMO or massively multiplayer online strategy game developed by Supercell. It's also known as a "freemium" game, wherein it is totally free to play, but you can (and sometimes have to) pay for in-game items, like gems and resources.

What's gameplay like?

Within the game, you must first start by building a community (your clan), then you train troops and attack other players to attain gold, elixir, and Dark Elixir. You then use these items to rebuild defences, train and upgrade troops, and make spells.

There is also a sort of single-player campaign wherein you can attack a series of goblin villages to earn gold and elixir.

What are the resources for?

The main resources you get from attacking other clans are gold, elixir, and Dark Elixir. Gold is used to upgrade your community's buildings. Elixir and Dark Elixir are used to train troops. Elixir is used in the barracks and Dark Elixir is used in the dark barracks. Each type of barracks trains different types of troops.

Where does the 'MMO' part come in?

Clans are groups of players who come together to support each other either through reinforcements or advice. So you and your clan can go off and attack other people's communities. Those other communities are also run by real groups of players.

Gems, gems, gems

Likely the most important resource in the game, gems let you upgrade things more quickly, speeding your builders up to free them to do other projects. They can also be used to boost other buildings, like barracks and resource production facilities, as well as upgrade your heroes.

Clan wars

Each clan has a leader and co-leader and only one of them can start a war. When you go to war, each clan gets one preparation day and one war day. Once war begins, players receive stars based on the amount of destruction caused.

Each player gets to attack twice per war and the team with the most stars at the end of the war day wins. If each team has the same number of stars, then the team with the higher destruction percentage wins.

You get bonus loot if you use your attack during the war, and the type of lute is decided by Supercell. There are several increments of bonus loot. If you win, you get all of the bonus loot available; if you lose, you get a third of the available bonus loot.

There are Friendly Challenges wherein players from the same clan can challenge each other, but there is no loot or trophies awarded and these battles do not affect your armies.

Check out these tips and tricks so that you can be victorious as often as possible.

How to capitalize on your Archer unit

This game is 5 years old — what's new?

A May 2017 update made it so players could repair their broken boat to sail to a new island. There, you can build a new village and play the new game mode, which includes versus battles and new heroes.

Isn't there a Clash 'Royale'?

Yes! Clash Royale is the sequel to Clash of Clans and takes a different approach to gameplay. Whereas in Clash of Clans you go and attack players based on days, you instead battle other players in real time in Clash Royale.

Have you seen the Yu-Gi-Oh! TV series? Where they stand on pedestals and play cards and monster then appear on the field, which they use to attack and defend? It's basically exactly that.

There are troop cards, spells cards, and building cards. You win when you destroy more towers than your opponent of when you destroy your opponent's King's Tower. There are 11 arenas to play in and 73 different cards to collect. If you're into card battling games and prefer something a little more real-time than Clash of Clans, then Clash Royale is the better way to go.

It's available for both iOS and Android.

Questions?

Got any more questions about Clash of Clans? Let us know in the comments below.

Hi-Rez Studios has released an OS X version of its popular free-to-play MOBA game SMITE for Macs. The game, which is officially in beta form, is available via Steam.

The game's official site has an FAQ page on the SMITE OS X beta. It states that the Mac and PC versions share the same player base. Also, the Mac version will use Steam Overlay and Achievements. In-game purchases are made via the Steam Wallet. The game does require OS X 10.10 be installed.

For those of you who might be unaware of SMITE, here's a quick description:

See on Steam

Warhammer 40,000: Deathwatch — Tyranid Invasion, a turn-based strategy game that plunges players deep the iconic futuristic portion of the Warhammer franchise, is this week's free app of the week on the App Store.

As the game's name implies, players will be tasked with fighting off an invasion of Tyranids, a race of insect-like creatures. To do so, you'll control a team of the franchise's iconic space marines as you battle through 40 missions at the edge of Imperial space.

As you fight your way through the game, you'll gain experience points that can be used to level up your space marines and unlock new skills. And the game has plenty to offers collectors as well, with 38 different Deathwatch Space Marines and over 150 weapons and wargear items to collect.

Warhammer 40,000: Deathwatch — Tyranid Invasion will be free through February 25, so hit up the App Store link below to start your campaign as a space marine.

• Free - Download Now

Worms 4 the latest game in the Worms series, is now available for iPhone and iPad. Designed specifically with mobile in mind, as well as Apple's Metal graphics framework, Worms 4 offers several improvements to the player experience over previous titles in the series. This includes 80 single-player levels, along with synchronis online mulitplayer matches.

Here are just some of the major features you can expect in Worms 4:

• Brand New Weapons: Wreak havoc with an assembly of brand new weapon designs including Hailey's Comet!
• Weapon Upgrades: Worms 4 is designed to be a very rewarding play experience. Players can collect more than a hundred weapon upgrades to make their worms more powerful! Weapon upgrades can be mixed and matched to better suit the player's strategy.
• Five Gorgeous Locations: Do battle in five beautiful hand drawn regions: Middle Turf, Candiville, Wacky-Habara, Tomorrow Islands and the Fro Zone.
• 80 Single Player Missions: Test your skills against 80 single player missions. Missions are designed not only to provide the player with hours of enjoyment, but also to teach the finer points of Worms playing strategy!
• Factions: Each player in the game chooses an allegiance, fighting under the banner of Red or Blue! The daily tug of war competition pits faction against faction, with the winners reaping the benefits of extra in-game rewards!
• World Events: Each week dynamic events take place around the game's world map. The player enters into these events and competes against other players, with the aim of representing their faction and earning prizes for fellow faction members.
• Better with Metal: Users whose devices have metal support enjoy additional visual effects.

You can also connect Worms 4 to you Facebook account to challenge your friends to online matches, or view their progress across the world maps. Worms 4 is avaialble now from the App Store.

• $4.99 - Download Now

Here's what players can expect from this new far-reaching strategy game:

The development of DomiNations, which was first announced in October, was led by Brian Reynolds and Tim Train, who helped to design the classic PC strategy games Civilization II and Alpha Centauri. The two men later co-founded Big Huge Games where they developed the Rise of Nations titles for the PC. After working at Zynga for a few years, Reynolds and Train reformed Big Huge Games to create DomiNations for Nexon.

• Free with IAP - Download now

Source: Nexon

The acclaimed PC indie game Papers, Please has been released for the iPad today, but not without some changes. The creator of the game, Lucas Pope, stated he was forced to remove content that contained nudity due to Apple's rules.

Papers, Please was first released for the PC in 2013 and has the player taking on the role of a border inspector in the fictional totalitarian state of Arstotzka. It received a ton of 'Best Game of the Year" awards that year from various media outlets, including from The New Yorker, Wired, and Forbes. Here's a quick description of the game:

The iPad version has most of the content of the original Papers, Please, plus "unlockable multitouch support for faster paperwork, an enhanced inspection mode, Game Center achievements, leaderboards, mid-day resume, and more." It's currently available for $5.99, which is a price cut from its normal $7.99.

One of the parts of the PC version that was removed is the full nudity that's depicted when the full body scanner is used on the fictional characters. In a Twitter message this week, Pope said, "Apple rejected that build for containing 'pornographic content.'"

• $5.99 (normally $7.99) - Download now

A new Warhammer game has been released for iPhone and iPad. Warhammer 40K: Space Wolf is a free-to-play turn-based strategy game. Players take control of a squad with upgradable characters and perks. Throw in collectable cards and you've now got an arsenal of weapons and abilities at your disposal.

Here are some of the highlighted features of the game itself:

• An epic single player campaign, Combat the Word Bearers and defeat the unrelenting enemies of the Space Wolves
• Select your main hero for each mission, to best match your own style, strategy and tactics
• 14 different unlockable perks to choose for each class
• Unlock all five companions and choose two to take into battle with you
• Victories unlock powerful new weapons, bonuses and tactics cards - collect and evolve them

Warhammer Space Wolf is compatible with the iPad 3 and newer, iPad mini 2 and newer, iPhone 5 and newer. Check out the official website and store listing for more details. Give the game a download from the App Store and let us know how you get on in the comments.

• Free – Download Now

Big Huge Games, best know for creating the acclaimed PC strategy game Rise of Nations several years ago, has been reformed by its original co-founders and will release its first game, DomiNations, for the iPhone and iPad sometime in 2015.

The game will be published by Nexon, which describes it as a "epic strategic combat game of advancement, exploration and conquest " It added, "In DomiNations, players can explore, advance and grow their civilizations while conquering the world through single-player campaign and cooperative gameplay modes."

Like the new Big Huge Games, the original version was founded by Brian Reynolds and Tim Train. It sounds like DomiNations will play much like Rise of Nations but with a free-to-play business model. What is your first impression of DomiNations?

Source: Nexon

Archers are among the most popular units in Clash of Clans, and using them wisely can consistently provide victory, assuming you use them right. We're going to plow through five points that will improve your archer usage in Clash of Clans and win you trophies, elixir, and gold.

Be sure to read up on our other Clash of Clans tips, tricks, and cheats for more!

1. Budget smartly

Archers have a very low training cost compared to the beefier units, but they are among the most expensive to upgrade at higher levels. Even if you have a healthy surplus of resources after amassing the troops to attack, make a point to squirrel away elixir so that you're always reaching for that big jump to level 6 archers. In the end, a little bit of diligence will pay off with some of the most versatile troops in Clash of Clans

2. Perimeter attack

Archers are flimsy on their own, and susceptible to splash damage weapons, particularly mortars, since their shortest ranged attack is still within a mortar's minimum range. Before deploying your archers, make sure you have at least a few barbarians or giants on the field to soak up damage, then deploy your archers behind them in a line, not clumped together, in order to avoid splash attacks. Your archers will attack anything, and are a good choice to target any outlier structures, such as a Builder's Hut, and can even pick off buildings in the core base by staying just outside the range of nearby defensive structures.

3. Ask for archers

Ask your clanmates for archers to occupy your castle for an excellent defensive boost. These are the most common units you'll find in a clan castle because they're able to cover any blind spots and adapt to new angles of attack quickly. Hit up clan chat and make sure your castle always has a full complement of archers (and maybe one barbarian to keep interlopers busy).

4. Remember, you're farming

The traditional barcher strategy (mix of mostly archers with a screen of barbarians) isn't usually expected to earn 100% victories. What they're good for are rough but consistent 1-star victories. So keep in mind that gold and elixir stockpiles are your biggest targets if you're going to be rolling with an archer-heavy army. These structures will naturally be on the outside of a base anyway, with the primary defensive structures further towards the core. When picking your targets, find the ones with the largest resource rewards available.

5. Skip the walls

One of the key advantages to archers is that they shoot over walls. Most of the time you have to count on ground units to plow their way through walls first to start taking out defenses, or rely on expensive and often vulnerable flying units to go over walls. Archers are plentiful and can push the attack directly onto defensive structures before most ground units. As far as archers are concerned, forget that the walls are there. It won't take long after archers have taken down defensive structures behind a wall that other ground troops have punched a hole through to continue onwards.

Your top tips and tricks for using archers in Clash of Clans?

Those are some high level guidelines that should ensure that you're using archers effectively in Clash of Clans, but we're eager to hear what other veterans have to say about their experience with this versatile unit. Leave a comment and spread the wisdom!

The popular Clash of Clans game will soon be getting a major update, but before the update rolls out, we're seeing some previews of the new levels of game play and new features that are coming to the game. If you're a fan of Clash of Clans, this update should prove to be a big one.

Here are some of the new features that are being detailed:

• Soon you can upgrade a row of wall pieces in one go! Walls level 6+ can also be upgraded with Elixir instead of Gold, your choice!!
• Replays and live replays now show the attacker's available troops so you can see exactly what does and doesn't get deployed, and when.
• Take BARCHing to a whole a new level! Level 7 Barbarians and Archers coming soon to a barracks near you!
• Valkyrie training time will be significantly reduced!
• Oh look, it's Dark Barracks level 6!
• Hero regeneration time has been greatly reduced on all levels
• What is this mysterious creature with big fiery eyes that hides in the shadows?
• Troops can now be dismissed from Army Camps and Clan Castle! (cost not refunded)
• Introducing: the Lava Hound! This faithful flying unit cannot resist chasing after fireworks, and will go straight after the nearest Air Defense!
• Archer Tower level 13 is here!!!

Let us know what you think of these new features to Clash of Clans.

Source: Supercell

Ingress is a real-world location-based augmented reality game for Android made by Google's Niantic Labs — and it's just arrived in the App Store for iPhone and iPad. The Android version of Ingress has been out for almost two years already.

If you don't mind sharing your iPhone or iPad's location and activities, you can download and start playing Ingress now. That bit is something to consider. Ingress is "free" because, like so many of Google's services, you're paying with your personal data — in this case, where you are. For some, that's no concern at all. Google Maps or Google+ or a host of other Google services are already collecting all that. For others, however, location is something most valuable than time, money, or attention. It's something very few apps are granted access to.

If you do decide to give Ingress a go on your iPhone or iPad, let me know how you like it!

• Free- Download now

Thanks, Robert!

Ingress transforms the real world into the landscape for a global game of mystery, intrigue, and competition.

Our future is at stake. You must choose a side.

A mysterious energy has been unearthed by a team of scientists in Europe. The origin and purpose of this force is unknown, but some researchers believe it is influencing the way we think. We must control it or it will control us.

"The Enlightened" seek to embrace the power that this energy may bestow upon us. "The Resistance" struggle to defend, and protect what's left of our humanity.

Install Ingress and transform your world.

The World is the Game

Move through the real world using your Android device and the Ingress app to discover and tap sources of this mysterious energy. Acquire objects to aid in your quest, deploy tech to capture territory, and ally with other players to advance the cause of the Enlightened or the Resistance. Strategy

The struggle is being played out globally. Track the progress of players around the world, plan your next steps, and communicate with others using an Intelligence map.

What is the Niantic Project?

Is this just a game? An Investigation Board (http://www.google.com/+NianticProject) filled with cryptic clues and secret codes awaits. The story evolves everyday. Powerful secrets and game tech are there to be unlocked.

Form Alliances

The struggle to save the planet spans the entire world. Groups of people acting together can be more effective than individuals acting alone. Cooperation across neighborhoods, cities, and countries will be needed to achieve the ultimate victory.

Clash of Clans is one of the most profitable mobile games around. Thus it comes as no surprise that several developers have created their own Clash-like games to compete with the original. One of the best games in the burgeoning casual strategy genre has finally arrived on iOS: Game Insight’s Cloud Raiders. This one brings a lot of polish, not to mention full cross-platform multiplayer and cloud saves. If you’re looking for a competitive raiding game to play with your Android, Windows Phone, and Facebook friends – look no further.

Base building…

At the start of the game, you crash land on a floating island where you must build a base. Some of the buildings you erect will produce gold and clouds, the two soft currencies. So far, Cloud Raiders probably sounds like any other city building game – albeit with a fantasy theme.

Two things set this game apart from titles like Tribez & Castlez, though. For one, the city building component is far less complex. You won’t have to worry about a billion jillion types of resources or hoping to find random items needed to progress.

Second: most of the buildings in your base have a military nature. Player bases will come under attack from both AI invaders and other players. Cloud Raiders is a Player vs. Player focused game (PvP). The fun part of the base-building component is testing your layout and defenses against the attacks of your fellow raiders.

Plus raiding and clans!

The other thing you’ll do lots of at your base is produce military units like grunts, archers, and bombers. Players always need more resources for base upgrades in Cloud Raiders, so why not go out and take those resources from your fellow players? Attacking a juicy base and looting the gold and clouds inside is quite enjoyable – assuming your team can handle the base’s defenses.

Being inspired by Clash of Clans, Cloud Raiders has full clan support. Right now, joining a clan lets you share units with other clan members and engage in clan chat (global chat is coming soon). Clans have their own leaderboard rankings, providing an extra level of competition to the game.

It just so happens that Mobile Nations has a clan of its own. Well, the clan is named WPCentral but open to all Mobile Nations readers.  After restoring the clan headquarters building on your island, request to join our clan. You must have 250 valor (PvP ranking). I look forward to teaming up with awesome iMore readers!

Cloud Raiders is cross-platform right from the start on iOS. Players can jump back and forth between Apple devices, Windows Phone, Android, and Facebook without losing any progress. Even the PvP battles and clan support are totally cross-platform.

To access cloud saves, you must link your account to a Facebook profile. This being a mostly multiplayer game, you need an internet connection to play. But the ability to keep your profile even if you uninstall or change devices is more than worth it in my book. Besides, how do you expect to raid other players without being online?

Cloud Raiders is free to play, with in-app purchases consisting of premium currency called gems. The only thing you really need gems for is unlocking the ability to upgrade more than one building at a time. Players can also earn gems by completing missions. In truth, this game’s free to play mechanics are some of the most balanced I’ve seen in a mobile title.

Give Cloud Raiders a try, and don’t forget to join our clan!

• Free – Download now

Duet Game is a strategy type game that requires you to navigate through all kinds of obstacles by circling and dodging in unison. Change directions and evade all the blocks and squares standing between you and the next checkpoint. Run into something and the stage starts over. Whether you're just starting out with Duet or are trying to figure out how to get past a particularly hard stage, follow along for our top tips and tricks!

1. Stay in the middle when you can

In many levels of Duet there are objects that simply pass you by. Typically moving around puts you in harms way so it's best to stay where you are and let danger pass you right by.

2. Memorize patterns, they don't change

Each small segment, or stage, in Duet Game stays the same no matter how many times you play it. So unlike games such as Smash Hit where levels continue to change each time you have to start them over, you can always count on the segments of Duet Game to stay the same. This makes is simple to memorize patterns, especially since segments are typically very short.

3. Remember what tapping each side does

It's easy to get your fingers mixed up and mean to move one way but move another. Your red and blue vessels are set to move clockwise and counter-clockwise. The easiest way to remember is that if you tap on the right side, you'd be moving forward in time on a clock. Tapping to the left and going backwards would move your vessels counter-clockwise.

4. Gauge moves carefully when passing spinning bars

Spinning blocks, the long rectangle kind that is, can be particularly hard to judge. I typically wait until I absolutely have to move so I know exactly what direction I need to go in and how far. The faster you start to move the more room for error there is. I sometimes use lighter taps to move around spinning bars since it gives me more control and allows me to change directions in a pinch.

5. Continuous spinning does the trick on repeated obstacles

If you come across a large stack of obstacles that are spaced the same distance apart and are all the same size, try just holding down on the screen in order to spin around them. Almost 99% of the time this works and is much easier than trying to pass them going slower or changing directions. That's typically how you get hung up on them.

6. Back and forth does the trick

In some instances a constant back and forth motion gets you past a lot more obstacles than you may think. The key is knowing when this principle applies. Look for objects that aren't necessarily the same size but have the same spacing in between them. These are the segments you want to use the back and forth method on.

7. It's all about timing

Typically how you tap the screen always follows a pattern so watch for it. If it helps, count it off in your head. If you see a bunch of obstacles coming at you all at once, they're probably spaced in a way that creates some kind of tapping pattern. Recognize it and learn it. This goes along with tip 2 about memorizing.

8. Don't overdo it on spinning blocks

It's very easy to time spinner blocks incorrectly. You get past the first portion of it but then the back end of it spins back up and you hit it. This is caused by rotating too far. The best way to avoid this from happening is to backtrack a bit before you see the right edge of a spinner block leave the screen.

9. Watch your splatters

The best way to learn from your mistakes is to pay attention to where you're having the most problems. The great thing about Duet Game is that you can physically see where you're having problems. If you see a lot of splatters in a specific portion of a segment, concentrate on getting by those obstacles first. Once you can, concentrate on the next section. This typically leads to clearing segments faster while learning patterns for future segments at the same time.

10. Duet is better suited on the iPad

If you have an iPad, try Duet Game on the larger screen. I've found I'm a better judge of distance and direction changes since I can see objects better without my thumbs occasionally in the way. Whenever I can pick up my iPad instead of my iPhone to play, I do. And I always end up getting further.

Your tips and tricks?

If you've been playing Duet Game on your iPhone or iPad, what tips and tricks have you found useful for clearing levels? Let me know in the comments!

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Harebrained Schemes is the indie software developer that recently brought Shadowrun Returns to life. For the company's next major effort, they're going back to Kickstarter to raise money for a new game called Golem Arcana. Golem Arcana uses the iPad and a Bluetooth stylus to enhance the tabletop gaming experience.

Jordan Weisman - the legendary game designer who founded FASA Corp., creating the original BattleTech and Shadowrun tabletop games - is Harebrained Schemes' founder. In a six-minute video (linked above), Weisman goes to bat for Golem Arcana, explaining that it's been designed to take a lot of the drudgery out of the tabletop gaming experience.

Tabletop miniature gaming has long been a staple of the Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer and strategy game crowds, but it's squarely a niche market - requiring time and investment as players make and paint miniatures and learn the sometimes byzantine rules involved in gameplay. Games can take a long time to play, and they also require gamers to be together in the same place - easier said than done for many of us these days.

Golem Arcana fixes this by making the iPad do most of the heavy lifting. An iPad app keeps track of all the game rules. Combined with a Bluetooth 4.0-equipped stylus you wield on a physical game board, the app helps you know where your units can move, how terrain affects their abilities and what attacks and defenses they can use. There is a server back end, to accommodate multiplayer games. So Golem Arcana provides the tactile satisfaction of the tabletop gaming experience without some of the drawbacks, like carrying around rulebooks and character sheets or even having to meet up physically with your opponents.

Weisman says the plan is to bundle a package that includes the stylus, several game tiles and, perhaps a bit controversially for the tabletop miniatures crowd, prepainted figurines. But then again, Harebrained is plainly targeting a different market than the typical tabletop gamer - Golem Arcana is being developed to appeal to people who, up to now, haven't been bitten by the tabletop gaming bug.

So far, the project has raised more than $140,000 of its $500,000 projected target, with a month to go to hit the target. Whether they can hit the target remains to be seen, but their previous track record bears consideration: When Harebrained raised money for Shadowrun Returns through Kickstarter, they handily beat the target by a factor of almost 5. They asked for $400,000 and $1.8 million was pledged. There's a ton more info on the Kickstarter page - check it out.

What do you think, gamers? Does Golem Arcana make you want to give tabletop gaming a try? Or are you a grizzled old tabletop grognard that thinks this is kid stuff? Sound off in the forums - I'm interested to hear from you.

WarGame, a real-time strategy game originally released in May for Windows, is now available of OS X. WarGame is set during the Cold War era, and pits NATO forces against those of the Warsaw Pact. Players build their armies from over 800 available units, and can match themselves against the game's single player campaign, or go head-to-head with live players in the multiplayer mode.

If you have previously purchased the Windows version of the game on Steam, you can download the Mac release for free, and everyone else can pick the game up for $39.99.

• $39.99 - Download Now

The worms are back in Worms 3 with lots of weapons and new challenges for you to work your way through. Your team of worms will have to battle enemies in order to advance using bazookas and all kinds of other weapons. You can pick it up now as a universal download for both iPhone and iPad.

Worms 3 was created as an exclusive to iOS which means the controls were made specifically for iPhone and iPad play. From moving around to firing weapons, the touch screen controls look and work great.

Along with old favorite weapons, there are new additions as well. New game play modes are available but some will need to be unlocked through game play. If you happen to pick up Worms 3, let us know what you think!

• $4.99 - Download Now

Valve has announced the release of Defense of the Ancients 2 for Mac. DOTA2 is the standalone sequel to the hugely popular hugely popular DOTA, which first appeared as a mod for Blizzard's strategy game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. The Mac and Linux versions' release only lags the Window's release by about a week.

DOTA 2 is a real-time strategy game that combines elements of role playing games as well. You assume the control of one of two factions - the Radiant or The Dire - as you choose heroes to go into battle. Heroes - more than 100 of them - have special abilities and can level up as they gain experience.

Players must protect their own "Ancient," a base, as they send computer-controlled minions into battle. DOTA 2 is what's known as a MOBA, or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. Each team can have up to five players.

There was some controversy when DOTA2 was announced because the original game was a mod, and some gamers thought the sequel should be free. In fact, the game is free to download and play - Valve makes money by selling items you can use in-game through a built-in store. It's similar to the system employed by another popular MOBA, League of Legends (or, for that matter, Valve's own popular team-based shooter Team Fortress 2).

System requirements call for OS X Lion or later, 4GB RAM, 8GB hard drive space and Nvdia 320M, Radeon 7000, or Intel HD 3000 graphics or better.

• Free - Download now

A dark strategy game called Plague Inc. recently infected the top spot in the iTunes App Store. It puts you in charge of the evolution and spread of a globe-spanning virus, and as the epidemic spreads, your disease has to develop new traits, symptoms, and levels of deadliness to avoid immunization and eventual obliteration. Plague Inc. follows in the wake of Pandemic, a popular web-based Flash game from a few years ago which has recently made the jump to iOS.

The goal, of course, is to wipe out humanity with your very own disease. Every area of the planet has particular qualities that will affect the spread and strength of a virus; for example, it's hard to infect developed nations with tight border control and advanced medicine. As you play, the world reacts according to your progress, so the more severe your strain is, the more aggressively governments will fund research and shut down airports. You learn about these reactions through a fictional news ticker with some cute tongue-in-cheek headlines such as "France considers banning employment" and "Large Social network IPO doesn't meet expectations". After beating the game a few times, you unlock new kinds of diseases with various attributes, like fungus, which can travel long distances without much effort, all the way up to bio-weapons.

Over the course of gameplay, DNA points pop up across the map which you tap to gather and use for evolution. Before a region is ripe for DNA gathering, you'll have to make sure to tap the biohazard symbol first to lock in the initial infection. Similar bubbles will pop up over countries that are developing research against your virus - be sure to pop them quickly to slow down their progress. Once in awhile, new symptoms will develop on their own without you having to spend any DNA points. Equally, sometimes humans will randomly make a scientific breakthrough against particular symptoms, forcing you to be on your toes and readapting.

As you progress in new evolutions through various infectivity, severity, and lethality trees, they'll often meet at high-tier abilities; for example, maxing out water and air infectivity will eventually unlock "Extreme Bioaerosol", which can bypass all sorts of man-made filters. The symptoms tree has a whole bunch of similar deadly combinations. That customization is really what makes the game interesting; even if you're infecting the same world over and over again, there's a ton of depth in exploring which mutations are the most effective, and how to best adapt to panic and human research.

Most of your time, you'll be looking at a world map broken up by region and watching boats and planes traverse the world. Despite the fact that there aren't particularly high expectations in the graphics department, the dotted red lines trailing infected travel are pretty blurry, even when zoomed all the way out, and the world map is especially pixelly when you're playing on the iPad. Even the style of the airport and port icons are barely different from Pandemic 2.5, which clearly signals where the developer got their "inspiration". Pandemic 2.5 has Plague Inc. beat in terms of style and graphics, though not necessarily gameplay. There isn't much to say about the audio in Plague Inc., since you're mainly just tapping the occasional pop-up.  Though there's some pretty flavorful text portions of the game, some of the writing is downright lazy, including miscapitalization and missing punctuation.

OpenFeint and Game Center are both employed to handle achievements and high scores. I would be curious to see what a multiplayer version of this game would be like; I suspect it would be similar to Defcon, in that either players were trying their best to wipe out as much of the planet as possible, but there could definitely be some interesting hybrid viruses that could evolve from the two working in close proximity to one another.  There is cloud saving support, which allows you to pick up your mass genocide where you left off on either iOS device, but keep in mind that games have to be saved manually before you quit.

The good

• Extensive customization
• Fun (if sadistic) gameplay
• Good bits of humor amid all the horror

The bad

• Choppy world map graphics
• Poor writing at times
• Slightly unoriginal

The bottom line

Although the subject matter might be a little on the grim side for some, Plague Inc. has a deep level of customization that will have you coming back regularly to try new strategies. It would be nice to see an added layer of polish to the game, such as tidying up the writing and offering smoother graphics similar to what we've seen on the spiritual predecessor, Pandemic 2.5. Still, the core gameplay of spreading slowly across the globe and gently guiding it through challenges with the right changes is a really interesting experience. Normally, a player claims very specific control over something, but in Plague Inc., you're just as much of an observer. If you're into leaning back and watching chaos blossom like a terrible, terrible flower, Plague Inc. is worth the $0.99.

$0.99 (on sale) - Download Now

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Little Generals by Smarter Apps trundled its way into the App Store this week, putting you in command of a cartoony military empire.

Little Generals is, at its core, Worms meets Risk. You and an AI opponent take turns battling for territory. Each side gets a tank, and jump back and forth taking potshots at one another on a randomized map with destructible terrain. You edit the trajectory and strength of your shot by dragging the guide around the screen, and let loose with one of many different weapons, such as napalm rounds and drilling explosives. The destructable terrain is pretty neat, but sometimes creates this weird cheese-peeling effect where a single, clean line will cut through the ground and have a cliff wobbly precipitously outwards after an explosion. Levels are also populated with various power-ups and obstacles for generals to interact with, like blimps overhead carrying mines and mailbox on the ground.  Some territories have factories which produce weapons and power-ups, but you have to log in to the game and manually collect them to enjoy the benefits. If you lose a battle, the AI has a chance to attack one of your territories and potentially take it away from you.

One of the best things about Little Generals is that it's free. You earn Warbux for winning battles, and gathering it from your capital by checking in on it at regular intervals, but you can also buy more Warbux with in-app purchases. Warbux are spent on fresh ammunition and new tanks. There's extensive avatar customization, and I can only assume that there will be a lot of stuff there in the future that will be unlocked with Warbux. The goofy style extends beyond the smack-talking avatars. The randomized global maps have great names for individual territories you invade, like West Mungvania, Duchy of East Zitbrook, and United North Frazzleistan.

There's no multiplayer yet (even with AI) unfortunately, and I would love to be able to use more than one tank in each battle like Worms (which is on sale this weekend, by the way). Game Center integration tracks your win count and achievements. The graphics are optimized for the new iPad's Retina display, not that the cartoony visuals need to be bleeding sharp.

If you're looking for a lighthearted wargame, be sure to commandeer Little Generals this weekend.

Free - Download Now

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One of the many, many games on sale through the Because We May promotion is Spirits by Spaces of Play, and even though it's two years old, it has weathered the test of time well enough to be featured by Apple, and we figured it was worth a fresh review.

At its core, Spirits is an artsy version of Lemmings. You have to guide a mindlessly-advancing troupe of spirits to a beautiful swirling exit by transmogrifying them into different creatures which will alter the path of those following. These transformations include leaf bridges which shoot off the ground at an angle, clouds which blow your buddies across threatening chasms (or tiny black holes to block prevailing winds), and burrowing to create new paths beneath obstacles.

In each stage, you'll only have access to a few of these tools, which is bound to test your patience and imagination. Every level has at least a few plant sprouts which act as bonus objectives, provided you can get one of your spirits to cross it on the ground or drop a neat little spirit bomb thingie on it while jumping overhead. There are 43 levels total, so you'll be relying on those plants for a fair bit of the replay value.

Despite being two years old, Spaces of Play has kept the graphics in Spirits fully up-to-date and optimized for the new iPad's Retina display. Wind particles are extremely fluid and impressive as they change course and merge with other wind sources. The spirits have a faint glow, and as you might expect, spirits are very light and prone to being whisked away with fluid, hypnotic animations. The background and level textures have a dark, rusty, natural feel to them, which is perfectly in line with the game's autumnal theme. The audio is equally polished. The contextual sound effects for transformations and other in-game actions blend seamlessly into the incredibly smooth and relaxing soundtrack. You can take a listen over here if you're interested. One of the bonuses of being an older game is relatively good backwards compatibility; Spirits is compatible all the way back to iOS 3.1.2, which means I could play this on my first-gen iPod touch should need arise.

For ranking, there's only a bare-bones in-house system, but Game Center is there to track achievements. It would really be great to see some in-app purchases for additional levels (along with some new abilities, maybe), since the 43 that come along with the game can get chewed through relatively quickly by dedicated players. Spirits is also not universal, which means you'll have to pay separately for the iPhone and iPad titles, which also means you'll have different progress saved on either device.

The good

• Relaxing, charming art style and soundtrack
• Simple but rich gameplay
• Scales excellently from old iOS devices to new ones

The bad

• Limited replay value
• Not universal, lacks cloud saving

The bottom line

What I really like about Spirits is that it has managed to find a kind of timeless quality; the gameplay is good, and it's not aiming to be photorealistic, which has enabled it to age gracefully. The developer is still showing the game love, even if there are a few things like additional levels and Game Center leaderboards to add. Spirits is also versatile enough to be appealing to a wide age range - I could easily see mom, little Billy, and grandma all have a good time with this one. In the end, Spirits is calming, clever, and as close to interactive art as you could ask for.

$1.99 (on sale from $4.99) - Download Now (iPad)

$0.99 (down from $2.99) - Download Now (iPhone)

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Hunters 2 is a relatively new game for iPhone which corners a very specific (but hardcore) niche. It's a turn-based tactical combat game where you tailor futuristic mercenaries with your choice of skills and gear over the course of several harrowing missions. You have a squad of troops that are set up on terrain with a square grid, who each take turns moving, shooting enemies, healing, defending, and engaging in all sorts of other maneuvers. As you play your soldiers gain experience points, eventually allowing them to level up and giving you the option to tweak their specialties. You also win cash for completing levels, which can be spent on upgrading gear. Of course, you can always buy in-game money with real cash through in-app purchases if you're the impatient type. You can also win in-game money and loot for clicking on mobile ads. Overall, I found Hunters 2 wasn't too pushy with those kinds of microtransactions, which is always nice. Once you've plowed through the single-player campaign, there are five fresh missions available daily. Unfortunately, there's no multiplayer just yet, but honestly, the AI is challenging enough as is. It's a Universal app, so you can play it on both iPhone and iPad after buying it once, plus there's full Game Center support for leaderboards.

The story of the game takes place in a dystopian future where corporations rule the galaxy, and mercenaries are hired to implement their will. Early on, your ragtag team is double-crossed by an employer, and they quickly get roped into a conflict against a burgeoning alien menace. Throughout the game, you'll deal with vicious aliens in close combat as well as other soldiers competing for your contracts. The story isn't what really makes Hunters 2, though - it's the fine-tuned gameplay. Seemingly insignificant strategic decisions, like moving that extra square or not facing the right direction while defending can make or break a mission. Establishing line of sight is a huge part of the game, and often you'll encounter tight passages where your own allies will block off support.

Veteran gamers familiar with older titles like the original Fallout, X-COM, and Syndicate, will be well-versed in the turn-based combat/role-playing playstyle. What really differentiates it from the more casual games like Hero Academy is that your characters progress, gain skills, and expand their equipment over time. It doesn't take long before you become really heavily invested in team members; after playing Hunters 2 for a few hours, you'll be visibly wincing when your favourite guy goes down. Personally, I like spending time meticulously deliberating on my next move, but some may find that pace of gameplay too slow and plodding. Replay of campaign missions might also not be quite up to snuff, since enemy positions remain more or less the same. Rodeo Games offers increasing difficulty levels, including a hardcore mode where soldiers die permanently if they go down in a mission, but I find it challenging enough as is that I have to repeat most levels at least twice. The real replayability comes from the daily missions.

The amount of customization adds a ton of depth to gameplay, but may be a bit too much for casual players. Let's take talent trees for example. There's one generic set of talents that you can pick for any of mercenaries. They span the usual areas - increasing hitpoints, increasing damage, etc. Every soldier has access to two other skill trees with more specialized abilities, such as scouting, survival, or support. Depending on which combinations of talent trees a soldier has access to, they get a cool (but mostly useless) title, like Arbiter, Devastator, Stalker, or Sentinel. What this boils down to is that every time one of your soldiers levels up, you have to pick between at least 14 different talents, on top of equipping new weapons you've found, bought or crafted. Multiply that by however many soldiers leveled up in a given mission, and you can be quickly overwhelmed with options.

The music in Hunters 2 is subdued and ominous, and is wonderfully paired with graphics ripe with gritty textures. Although the game itself takes place in a mostly-unimpressive 2D plane, zooming in and rotating the map is extremely fluid, the wide array of high-tech gunfire has impressive lighting effects, and the 3D models used in gameplay and on the title screen are very impressive. Though there are a lot of things to manage between missions, the user interface has been laid out intelligently, and lets you kit out your team with minimal fuss.

The good

• Deep, rich gameplay
• Excellent sound and graphics, despite 2D layout
• Unobtrusive but beneficial microtransactions

The bad

• Complexity may be overwhelming
• Pacing may be too slow for some
• A little on the pricey side

The bottom line

Overall, Hunters 2 will appeal to hardened turn-based strategy gamers, but may offer an overwhelming array of options for more casual players (who should probably stick with Hero Academy). As soon as this game gets multiplayer support, I could see it keeping a permanent spot on my iPhone.

$4.99 - Download Hunters 2 Now

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Crush the Castle for iPhone is a simple and fun strategy game. The object of Crush the Castle is to destroy buildings with trebuchets -- a fancy siege engine something like a catapult. You get the chance to be the attacking army and, as a twist, you can even build your own structures and destroy them as well.

The game interface is very easy to get used to. You tap the screen to launch the trebuchet and then again when you want the ammunition to be released. The you watch to see if your ammunition has hit its target. You get to pass the level when all of the occupants of the building have been killed. (Yes, this game is not for the pacifist.)

There are 10 different types of ammo that you get access to as you continue through the game. Boulders don't cause enough destruction for you? Well in later levels you get access to cannons and greek fire (D&D flashback anyone?). There are 90 different encampments. If you get a medal on each encampment you get to progress to the next stage. Once you have unlocked a type of ammunition you can go back and try to use that weapon on previous levels, which makes it much easier to achieve a medal there.

One of the more interesting aspects of the game is that you also get access to the castle editor. This allows you to make your own buildings and then you can find out how easy they are to destroy. It is not the most seamless interface for creating new buildings but after a bit of practice you'll get the hang of it.

This is the perfect game for the casual gamer who wants to have something to do when they have a few minutes to kill. If you enjoyed playing Angry Birds than this is a another game you will like.

Pros

• Easy controls
• Fun build your own fortress level
• Simple concept

Cons

• Build level is difficult to use
• Can not see trebuchet and target at same time
• No projectile trail so hits are difficult to repeat

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Highborn is a turn-based strategy game for iPad set in a fantasy environment with paladins, wizards and warriors. What sets Highborn apart for the mix of other worthy turn-based games is it's humor and asynchronous multiplayer gameplay.

You start the game off with "Archie" your wise-cracking paladin. The game uses humor to its advantage to drive the story and successfully at that. You select your unit whether it's Archie, soldiers or archers and move them around the board to capture buildings and defeat the bay guys. You can tap on any character (good or bad) to see their movement range and attack range. Next you tap the location you would like your unit to move to. Then you can attack if next to an enemy or launch a distance attack if you are in range. Regretfully, once you have made a move (without ending your turn) you can not undo your move. This is frustrating, but you quickly learn to plan your moves out more carefully.

Capturing buildings and rune stones are a major part of Highborn. Towers typically attack you with catapults, buildings with arrows and so on. Most buildings come with a benefit too, once you capture them (which involves a battle) you earn something to help you in your battles. A monastery gives you a healer, a tower gives you a wizard and a farm building might give you angry farmers with pitchforks!

Each level in Highborn is individual, meaning that as you progress in the game, you don't necessarily carry your army with you. You sometimes get a bonus character to use during the level too. I was a little disappointed by this as it would be more fun to amass an army as you progress through the levels to some ultimate cataclysmic standoff! Sadly that is not the case here.

Multiplayer is a great addition to Highborn. Log into your OpenFeint account and you can play asynchronously like with Words with Friends or Scrabble. This is a blast, but the challenge is that you can only challenge friends to a game if they use OpenFeint. Granted, if they have the game they likely will, but it would be nice to be able to invite a player based on username or some other identifier.

There a few shortcomings with Highborn, but not don't let them distract you from the light-hearted fun turn-based strategy game. If you and a friend own it, multiplayer is awesome.

[$2.99- iTunes Link]

Pros

• Variety of terrain and enemies to fight
• Game gets progressively harder to build your skills
• Saves game if you need to quit
• Animated battles (can turn off in options)

Cons

• Simple graphics
• Can't undo a turn

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