RunGunJumpGun – It Does What it Says on the Box

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Isn’t it great when something does exactly what it says it does? This weaponised cave-flier from ThirtyThree Games landed on Apple TV yesterday, and there’s no better way to describe it than simply reiterating the game’s title – Running. Gunning. Jumping. And more gunning.

With an art style that can only be described as eyeball melting retro arcade madness, we think the bigger the screen the better for this sort of caper.

It’s great to see some movement this week on the Apple TV’s App Store, with a bunch of featured new releases. RunGunJumpGun joins Burly Men at Sea this week – a couple of freshly ported titles from iOS to tvOS that we’re keen to get our hands on.

Check out the trailer to see why:

Burlier, Manlier, More Sea – Burly Men at Sea Hits Apple TV

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She makes the coffee, he eats Werther’s Originals. She is the artist, he is the programmer. Right brain, left brain – Brooke and David Condolora’s Burly Men at Sea hit Apple TV today, and while this sort of choice-driven adventure may work a treat on your smart phone or tablet, the bigger the better right? Why wouldn’t you want to add 60 inches to every video game?

With gorgeous art, does size matter? I don’t know, but it sure makes it a hell of a lot easier to see from three metres away, so we’re pretty happy to see this beautiful game come to life on Apple TV.

Over at Grab It Magazine, we watched the development of studio Brain&Brain’s Burly Men at Sea with interest, and on release Grab It staff writer Stephen Mitchell had good things to say about this strange, original tale inspired by Scandinavian folklore. Now, for the most part, I trust Stephen. He’s only steered me wrong once, but that’s a tale for another time.

“To know that my choices shape the story being told gives me such a thrill that makes me want to jump right back in and tell another story: my story,” said Mitchell in his review. Tantalising stuff, and even more tantalising after learning that one half of Brain&Brain – David Condolora – left work as an assistant editor at Pixar in order to follow dreams of independence with Brain&Brain.

Today’s feature tile on Apple TV’s menu for Burly Men at Sea offers up a stylish invitation – will you accept?

6 Upcoming Apple TV Games We’re Excited About

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Over the last few months, ATVG has posted previews of several upcoming games that caught our interest. This morning, after putting them all in one list in the interest of housekeeping, and purely for the love of lists, we thought, hey, that’s a nice little list. It’s nice to get all your ducks in a row occasionally and do a roundup of games that are just over the horizon somewhere. It’s fun talking about games that you can’t play yet – building anticipation, and just a little hype. The gaming industry and media has a love/hate relationship with hype – we love it, and then we hate it. After it bites us on the arse.

Anyway…

There’s six in total, from shooters, to RPGs, and platform games. Something for everyone. And then there’s a seventh game at the bottom of the list. This seventh game hasn’t actually been announced for Apple TV – it’s more wishful thinking than anything else – but rumblings across the Internet lead us to believe there’s a good chance it might make it’s way to the platform, so it’s being added as a possibly…maybe…hopefully…upcoming game for Apple TV.

Right? Right.

Let’s hook in then. Hit the page 2 button. Now. Now!

Did You Know MouseBot has Easter Eggs? Literally.

Quick post on the fly here, due to something I saw this morning – Easter Sunday morning – in MouseBot: an actual Easter Egg.

Yep. Not a symbolic gaming Easter Egg, but an actual, wrapped-in-coloured-foil Easter Egg lying on the ground in one of the levels. I won’t say which one, because I don’t want to spoil your own Easter Egg hunt, but it’s there, trust me.

Is there only one? Has anyone found more? I believe it unlocked a hat and paint job that I didn’t have before. Now I’ll be playing with my eyes peeled.

I have to say I’m warming to MouseBot a little more each time I play it. In my early impressions piece I mentioned having fun with it, but I wasn’t blown away. It’s a creeper though. I’m not sure that I’m blown away now either, but it’s definitely sneaking up on me a little more with each session.

And then…BAM!…Easter Eggs! Just in time for Easter. Perfect.

Things are a bit crazy around the ATVG bunker at the moment, so posts have been few and far between this week, but I expect a review of MouseBot won’t be too far away. And other stuff.

Right, back to the hunt.

Happy Easter!

How to Play Quantum Revenge – Consumables and Upgrades Explained

Right after posting our early impressions piece, ATVG reached out to the studio behind Quantum Revenge – Realtech VR – and asked a question that seems to be concerning players across the Internet: Are the upgrades you purchase with your collected currency permanent or consumable?

The response we received was a treasure trove of information, not just about weapon upgrades, but also explaining the studio’s inspiration for Quantum Revenge, challenges faced while developing it, and plans for the future of this excellent twin-stick shooter.

We thought we’d post the “making of” information in a separate article in the near future, and serve up the most pressing “how-to” stuff right now. The game is certainly in need of some sort of guide, and Realtech VR will be addressing this by adding the information in-game via an upcoming update, but we wanted to share it now for early adopters who are already enjoying the game.

So after hitting the page 2 button below, you’ll find an updated version of our bullet points from our early impressions piece, as well as Realtech’s extra info regarding the weapon upgrades and how the power bars work.

The Weekend

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Sometimes that five day stretch between the two day bookends can feel like ten. Sometimes twenty. But as Jimmy Fallon would say, “You’re here, you made it!”

Welcome to The Weekend. Join ATVG for a look at the week that was in Apple TV gaming, a peak at the one that will be, and maybe a couple of brief detours along the way.

The page 2 button below is your gateway to the other side. Come on in.

Early Impressions: MouseBot – Smile and Say Cheese!

We know from our recent review of Riptide GP: Renegade, that studio Vector Unit does racing well. MouseBot: Escape From CatLab both borrows from – and is a departure from – its racing games. This latest offering builds an old school 3D platform game around Vector Unit’s normal vehicle-based core.

The mixture results in a fun little romp that makes for a nice break from the studio’s richer, more detailed racers. It’s early days yet, but at the fourth world of levels, I thought I’d stop and take stock of what I’ve experienced so far.

Hit page 2 for more.

Early Impressions: Quantum Revenge – Bake Until Gold Brown

Quantum Revenge is not Realtech VR’s first rodeo, but it’s definitely the studio’s most ambitious. We had a look not long ago at Kosmik Revenge, and it’s unfortunate it shares such a similar name with this latest offering, as it may confuse some potential buyers thinking Quantum is a sequel. Kosmik is a very simple vertical shooter along the lines of Space Invaders, whereas Quantum is a twin-stick shooter with mechs. Chalk and cheese.

Firstly, Quantum Revenge has some known technical issues that the developers are aware of, and are working busily behind the scenes on updates with bug fixes. With that in mind, ATVG will hold off on a full review until the major bugs are squashed, but we wanted to get some impressions out there, as despite some issues, this is already an excellent arcade shooter, and definitely worth your time.

Hit page 2 for more.

All Players Will Get 25,000 CR in Quantum Revenge Update

Realtech VR this morning announced that Quantum Revenge is sitting in the #17 spot in France’s App Store, so the newly released shooter seems to be doing okay.

Unfortunately, it did release with some bugs which the studio will be looking to fix in an update that is currently pending approval by Apple. The update will take the game to version 1.0.2, and will not only squash bugs, but will also give all players 25,000 CR. The in-game currency can be used for upgrades, and it’s a nice way for Realtech VR to thank early adopters hampered by bugs.

ATVG is looking forward to suiting up this weekend and jointing the fight.

Until then, happy gaming!

How to Find Space Marshals 2’s Most Hidden Token

Hidden throughout the missions in Space Marshals 2 are collectible COR-V tokens. Collecting them is essential to earning the game’s best weapons, but many of them are not easy to find. Wouldn’t be much of a challenge if they were.

One of them however, has caused so much feedback that studio Pixelbite has made the decision to reveal its hidden location. For the original walkthrough you can head on over to the developer’s site right here, or alternatively, click on through to page 2 for the reveal.

If you haven’t already, check out our review of Space Marshals 2 right here. Spoiler alert – it’s really, really good.

The Apple TV Gaming Blog

Month: April 2017