ToG #221 – Lumino City and Templar Battleforce RPG

Jared and I pick our GAME of the MONTH for October.
Todd – Soda Dungeon (Free, iOS, Armor Games Inc.)
Jared – X-Mercs (Free, iOS, Game Insight)

We then give our monthly plea for iTunes (etc.) reviews and we thank Mat7h3w for his review in the U.S. iTunes store.

Up next is some talk of games that got updates, games we did not get a chance to play this week, and News. News. News.

Finally we get to the games we did play;

Todd – Lumino City ($4.99, iOS, State of Play Games) – Todd is digging this stunningly beautiful adventure/puzzle game but wishes it had a “free roam” play mode, was a bit less linear, and had a bit more of a story. Nevertheless, there is a lot of puzzling goodness to be had for the price. Grab it if this style of game interests you.

Jared – Templar Battleforce RPG – ($6.99, iOS and Android, Trese Brothers) Fresh off of the heals of Jared’s “game of the month” for October (X-Mercs) comes a similar turn based strategy RPG game…this one focusing a bit more on the RPG side of the equation; however. He is enjoying the game and it is different enough from X-Mercs to keep him interested and to keep him swapping back and forth between the two games. One thing that is not great is the graphical look of the game…although you may beg to differ. A good game overall.

Todd – Slashy Hero (Free, iOS, Kongregate) There is always room in Todd’s life for a fun, action game and this one fits the bill. You use a path drawing mechanic to roam small dungeon levels, defeat hordes of enemies, pick up lots of candy, and gather up some treasures. The Free to Play is not too bad in the game and it is a nice little time waster. Give it a shot.

Jared – Beneath the Lighthouse (Nitrome, Free with $3.99 iAP, iOS) Jared is really loving this puzzle adventure game from Nitrome. Innovative and effective controls add to the gameplay and the full unlock for $3.99 is a nice touch. You have nothing to lose so give this one a shot and buy it if you really like it (or try to grind your way through if you are that good).

Todd – Five Card Quest ($2.99, iOS, Rocketcat) This game is a card battler meets rogue-like although it is missing some elements of both genres that might make it a better game. It features an interesting graphical style, some decent strategy, and relatively quick games. But you cannot build your own deck and certain stats (like how many enemies you have left to battle once you kill one) means this game can feature more guess work than it should. The dev is updating things so keep an eye on it and try it out if you are looking for something a bit different in the genre.

Jared – Sproggiwood (Freehold Games, $4.99, iOS) This one was released months ago and both Todd and Jared picked it up while on sale. Jared played it this past week and he truly, truly loves it. A rouge like that does everything right, this game has sucked him in and it keeps him playing. It might even have a chance of being his Game of the Month for November. If you are late to the party like we were, give this one a shot.