Halfbrick Studios makes a line of games that I like: Blast Off, Age of Zombies, Echoes, Aero Racer (well not as much as the others). They are also working on some games that look really great as well and that’s what we talked about while at E3 earlier this month.
Machine Gun Jetpack
Every once in awhile, you just need a one button game. That is this game set for the iTunes App Store in around 6 weeks or so and set to be 99 cents for the iPad.
One Button, One buck! was the tagline I came up with when I saw it. Basically the game answers this question: What do you get when you strap Barry Steakfries to a jetpack with machine guns. Alright, some of you might not be pals with good old Barry, he’s the star of Age of Zombies a PS Mini from the studio. The cool thing is that even if there is literally just one button for the game (meaning no shoddy, complex touch controls) the game still has some interesting gameplay because powerups change the gameplay by changing the vehicle that Barry is strapped to. There was some gameplay to be had here and I instantly saw the appeal, much like the appeal of Angry Birds, the game is quick and easy to pick up, learn and play. Plus it was good fun.
Fruit Ninja Frenzy
Riding the tide of fruit slashing action that appeared in Fruit Ninja on iOS, Halfbrick is upping the amplitude and taking it social with this future Facebook app. What exactly is going to make it better?
One word. Smoothies. There are no bombs in the frenzy and you’ll need to grind for juice by making specific types of smoothies which I’m guessing will require you to chop a certain number of specific fruits. They’ll have an in-game grind currency in the form of Juice while also offering Star Fruit which will basically equal Facebook credits. Those things will let you upgrade blades, backgrounds and other collectibles in the game. The upgrades let you tune to game to your style of play which is always cool.
There are also plans for seasonal content so, for example, pumpkins will be dominant round Halloween while Easter might see, who knows, Jelly beans? That’s a fruit right?
Seriously, the game is in beta now and the future has an iOS app that will sync things like Facebook friends, leaderboards, achievements etc.
