App Store Update: October 11

Every day hundreds of new apps make their debut on the App Store, and hundreds more are updated or reduced in price. We have sifted through the noise and highlighted those select few that might be worth your attention.

Game Debuts

Crazy Taxi – ($4.99)

It's time to make some craaaazy money! Sega's coin-op and Dreamcast classic about picking up travelers and recklessly driving to their destinations as fast as possible returns on iOS today. You can watch the world's shortest trailer below:

Girls Like Robots – ($0.99)

It's a game of seating arrangements! In this puzzler design from Adult Swim, you're tasked to create the proper balance in a diner that's serving up delicious pie. Girls like robots, so you can sit them next to each other – but girls don't like nerds, so don't put them together, and then girls also don't like . . . well, you get the idea. See if you can puzzle it all out:

Pocket Sweetie – (Free)

Speaking of girls, those of you with a young daughter or niece in your life might want to put Pocket Sweetie in their hands – it's kind of like a virtual pet game, except featuring a little girl who needs fun and fashion just as much as food.

Monopoly Millionaire for iPad – ($4.99)

First to a million wins! This new, more focused and faster version of the venerable board game has that defined goal in mind from the start, so you don't have to worry about the traditional slog through days and days of play to actually finish a round.

Kumo Lumo – (Free)

In "the world's first rain-'em-up," you take command of a sentient cloud named Kumo Lumo and roam the earth raining on things – like trees, to make them grow, and fires, to put them out.

Death Dome – (Freemium)

You're a post-apocalyptic survivor fighting back against a horde of murderous mutants in Death Dome, Griptonite's latest – try it out for free, but be aware that in-app purchases are peppered throughout the quest.

Topia World Builder – ($0.99)

Leisurely command the powers of a god to shape a planet's landscape in Topia World Builder.

Devil's Attorney – ($2.99)

Alright, this one's worth checking out for the trailer's theme song alone, a wonderful ballad pulled straight out of the '80s. The game itself may interest you too, as a turn-based strategy casting you as '80s era power attorney Max McMann.

Funky Smugglers – ($0.99)

Wield the power of an airport security guard and scan suspicious smugglers with your powerful X-ray machine in 11 bit studios' Funky Smugglers.

Pocket Climber – ($0.99)

Become a virtual urban Spider-Man with this climbing sim, swiping at the screen as you parkour your way up the sheer vertical face of a skyscraper.

Oh! Sheep – ($0.99)

Unleash your inner shepherd with this path-drawing, sheep-herding game that you can download and try for free before investing your 99 cents for a full unlock.

Polara – ($0.99)

And we'll end today's huge lineup of new releases with Polara, the App Store's latest auto-runner. Give it a look:

Updates

Pocket Planes – (Free)

Players of NimbleBit's casual airline sim were distraught when a recent update introduced a ton of bugs into the design, but the new latest update squashes them all. Download it and get those planes back in the air.

That's all for today! If you haven't already, consider subscribing to the App Store Update via email. It's extra convenient!

Lucas M. Thomas is IGN Nintendo's longtime champion of downloadable titles across the Wii, DSi and 3DS. He's happy to now be helping Justin round up the best options for App Store shoppers. You can follow him on Twitter, @lucasmthomas.

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Sony Unveils Redesigned PlayStation Store

Sony has unveiled a complete redesign of its PlayStation Store, due to go live next week in Europe and the week after in America.

The overhauled PS Store aims to be one consistent experience, bringing games and videos together in a smoother way than the current version does.

To this end, the front page of the store now has separate sections for games, movies and TV content, while the "What's New" landing page shows off the latest additions to the store regardless of category. Additionally, the team have acted on feedback from gamers and worked hard to clearly separate different content. The store is now strictly focused on PS3 content, with all Vita and PSP games moved into their own section of the store. Similarly, there's a classic games section which is further divided into original Playstation and Playstation 2 titles.

The most striking thing, though, is that the entire store is now a much more visually-focused experience, and the new UI has been designed to emphasise this. Gone are the old blue backgrounds; instead, every page revolves around the new Hero concept.

This sees one high-profile character from a game serving as the main focus for the page, sandwiched between a static background and windows in the foreground featuring highlighted content and the latest releases, creating a layered effect. The examples from the games category shown in the presentation included FIFA 13, Assassin's Creed 3 and Resident Evil 6, though there were others in the movie section and the classic games category had one focusing on Tomb Raider.

You scroll between pages on the carousel from left to right, with the last featured page offering to send you on to top sellers. This was apparently done in a bid to combat the frustration felt by users upon hitting a "dead-end" in the current version of the store, and then having to backtrack to find what they wanted.

Navigation has also been simplified. The search function has been completely overhauled; gone is the on-screen keyboard of old, replaced instead with a vertical list of letters. The aim is apparently to make sure you never have to type in more than three or four characters to find what you're after; abbreviations are supported, the most popular content will display at the top, and your search term is emboldened in the results. As an additional plus, if you're searching for an add-on, the result will be shown as an offshoot from its parent game, so you can see what other packs are available at the same time.

You can sort by game type (like bundles or PS3 games), price range, play type (like online multiplayer or single player), release date, accessories and content type. A future update will make it possible to mix and match these too, so if you're looking for an action game under £10 with online multiplayer, you'll be able to find one swiftly.

Most impressive of all though are the product pages. The right hand side of the page is made up of the latest trailers and screenshots of the game, which stream in HD and display in fullscreen, along with an overview of its features. You can use shortcuts to leap to videos, recommendations and also add-ons for the title. Add-ons still have their own pages replete with trailers, but all have a link back to the parent product so you don't have to re-navigate.

The redesigned PS Store is due to roll out starting next week. All PAL territories will get it on October 17, while the States will get it six days later on October 23. We got a chance to sit down with PS Store product development manager, Elliot Dumville, and VP of network operations, Gordon Thornton, and will have more details about the future of the PS Store in the near future.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

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App Store Update: October 3

Every day hundreds of new apps make their debut on the App Store, and hundreds more are updated or reduced in price. We have sifted through the noise and highlighted those select few that might be worth your attention.

Game Debuts

NBA 2K13 – ($7.99)

EA's rollout of 2013 editions of its on-going catalog of sports sims continues, and today it's the NBA series in the spotlight. This latest iOS version boasts new "One Finger" controls alongside its expected visual tweaks and roster update.

Price Drops

Dexter: The Game – ($0.99)

This video game interpretation of the adventures of everyone's favorite serial killer who kills serial killers scored an 8 out of 10 review when it launched a few years back, and today you can bring it home for just 99 cents.

Slice & Splice – (Free)

This free puzzler challenges you to carve apart an oddly shaped shape, then reassemble its smaller piece into an even weirder-looking goal shape. Nifty!

The Treasures of Montezuma – (Free)

It's been a little while since we featured a good old match-three puzzler, so take the original Treasures of Montezuma for free today.

Swingworm – (Free)

And while you've got the App Store open to download those other freebies, take this touching tale of a little worm violently swinging his way up a tree too.

Updates

Scribblenauts Remix – ($0.99)

5th Cell's incredible game that lets you write anything you can imagine and bring it to life is a little more incredible now, thanks to an all-new Halloween-themed content pack that just debuted for free.

That's all for today! If you haven't already, consider subscribing to the App Store Update via email. It's extra convenient!

Lucas M. Thomas is IGN Nintendo's longtime champion of downloadable titles across the Wii, DSi and 3DS. He's happy to now be helping Justin round up the best options for App Store shoppers. You can follow him on Twitter.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

App Store Update: September 25

Every day hundreds of new apps make their debut on the App Store, and hundreds more are updated or reduced in price. We have sifted through the noise and highlighted those select few that might be worth your attention.

Game Debuts

FIFA Soccer 13 – ($6.99)

Leading off today's Tuesday update is EA's latest iteration in the FIFA franchise, which arrives in the App Store today boasting improved touch screen controls.

Infectonator – ($0.99)

Based on Armor Games' popular Flash title that lets you take over the planet by willfully infecting the global population with a zombifying virus, Infectonator is made more robust as an iOS app thanks to the addition of new characters.

Price Drops

Fantasy Chronicle – ($0.99)

Kemco's old-school RPG has dropped under a dollar, making it the new best bet for fans of turn-based battles and stylish 16-bit era protagonists.

Pygmies●Hoglet●EX – (Free)

This Tamagotchi-ish game about raising a virtual baby hedgehog has gone free for the first time.

Tone Sphere – (Free)

Also free right now is Tone Sphere, a wild 3D rhythm action game that might just boggle your eyes and ears simultaneously.

Infinite Warrior – (Free)

And Infinite Warrior has completed its drop to the bottom. We first featured this app when it launched at $2.99 earlier this month, then recommended it again when it hit 99 cents roughly a week ago. Now, it's free. No more excuses for anyone who hasn't grabbed it yet:

Sword of Fargoal – (Free)

As sometimes happens, an original has gone free since a sequel's on the way. Grab Sword of Fargoal for no cash now, do some old-school dungeon crawling, and then maybe toss some money toward the developers when Sword of Fargoal 2 launches soon.

Mos Speedrun – (Free)

One of the best platformers available in the App Store, Mos Speedrun is made even better if you have friends to play it too and compete against for high scores. Since it's free, you should be able to make that happen.

Avengers Initiative – ($2.99)

Finally, our last pick for the day coincides with the release of Marvel's The Avengers on DVD and Blu-ray. You can go pick up your disc of choice to own the film, and save four bucks off this tie-in game's asking price. Check out our video review right here:

That's all for today! If you haven't already, consider subscribing to the App Store Update via email. It's extra convenient!

Lucas M. Thomas is IGN Nintendo's longtime champion of downloadable titles across the Wii, DSi and 3DS. He's happy to now be helping Justin round up the best options for App Store shoppers. You can follow him on Twitter.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com