As if it weren’t hard enough to walk away from the adorable Om Nom and his insatiable desire for candy, we’ve just learned that Cut the Rope will have its hooks into us a bit longer as Chillingo prepares for the release of Cut the Rope: Holiday Edition. Tis the season to fall in love with the game all over again.

The new title will be a standalone game available free of charge and should show up in the App Store any day now. The game features 25 new stages as well as a new “Christmas Sock” mechanic. Apparently the magical stocking will allow you to teleport candy from one place to another, putting a whole new wrinkle in the experience. All of this will be bundled with new music and achievements, not to mention a generous helping of holiday cheer.

It’s nice to see high-profile games getting in on the holiday spirit, and it seems that games published under the Chillingo banner are leading the way. First we got Angry Birds Halloween, which has now morphed into Angry Birds Seasons and is providing a new level every day throughout the holidays. The only difference was that while that update went for $0.99, the new Cut the Rope content is free, which is an even sweeter deal.

More than current Cut the Rope owners, this promotion seems aimed at the folks who will be getting an iOS device for the holidays and are looking for fun new apps to add. If Chillingo can hook them with a free tinsel-strewn version of an already addictive game, then the odds are very high that those same consumers will go pick up the full version of the standard game practically immediately. It’s a smart strategy indeed, and one from which all us current Cut the Rope owners will also stand to benefit.

[via Joystiq]

[ Cut the Rope Getting Free Holiday Update is a post from 148Apps ]

As the year winds down and we look ahead to the next decade it’s time for all those wonderful end-of-year lists we all get so excited about. Today we have some exciting news, as Apple has detailed all the top paid and free apps for the iPhone and iPad, as well as the top grossing apps on each platform. Here’s the full rundown, for your edification.

Top 10 Paid iPhone Apps

1. Angry Birds
2. Doodle Jump
3. Skee-Ball
4. Bejeweled 2 + Blitz
5. Fruit Ninja
6. Cut the Rope
7. ALL-IN-1 GAMEBOX
8. The Moron Test
9. Plants vs. Zombies
10. Pocket God

Top 10 Free iPhone Apps

1. Facebook
2. Angry Birds Lite
3. Words With Friends Free
4. Skype
5. Tap Tap Revenge 3
6. The Weather Channel®
7. Paper Toss
8. Bing
9. ROCK BAND FREE
10. Talking Tom Cat

Top 10 Grossing iPhone Apps

1. MLB.com At Bat 2010
2. Angry Birds
3. Call of Duty: Zombies
4. Bejeweled 2 + Blitz
5. FriendCaller 3 Pro
6. Zombie Farm
7. TomTom U.S.A.
8. TETRIS®
9. Plants vs. Zombies
10. Doodle Jump

REad even MORE lists after the jump.

Top 10 Paid iPad Apps

1. Pages
2. GoodReader for iPad
3. Numbers
4. Angry Birds HD
5. Keynote
6. Glee Karaoke
7. WolframAlpha
8. Pinball HD
9. Friendly for Facebook
10. Star Walk for iPad

Top 10 Free iPad Apps

1. iBooks
2. Pandora Radio
3. Netflix
4. Google Mobile App
5. Solitaire
6. Movies by Flixster – with Rotten Tomatoes
7. IMDb Movies & TV
8. Kindle
9. Google Earth
10. Virtuoso Piano Free 2 HD

Top 10 Grossing iPad Apps

1. Pages
2. Numbers
3. Keynote
4. LogMeIn Ignition
5. SCRABBLE for iPad
6. Documents To Go® Premium – Office Suite
7. Angry Birds HD
8. Real Racing HD
9. Plants vs. Zombies HD
10. Proloquo2Go

So now you know what apps everyone seems to be picking up and you can compare your own collection with the most popular available. See anything up there that you’re missing and absolutely must have? I had been putting off Pocket God, but it seems I just can’t ignore it any longer. Oh well, I’m sure my bosses will understand when I disappear for the next month or so, only checking in when the battery on my iPod dies.

[via TechCrunch]

[ Apple Lists 2010 Top Apps is a post from 148Apps ]

Whilst it wouldn’t be fair to label Space Wolves as a clone of Angry Birds, it is pretty clear that the two games are very similar. After all, that title from Rovio Mobile has garnered huge sales and a lot of attention from App Store gamers; that winning formula is one that developer Griffilms can take inspiration from to produce a similar type of game, one that has players flinging silver balls at Space Wolves.

So, what happens when a silver ball comes into contact with a Space Wolf? The wolf turns into a blinking pile of ash, naturally! There are always three of the wolves on a level and players earn stars based on the number of balls used; after three attempts the level will be restarted. These restarts and level loads can be a little painful as the title is built using GameSalad, an engine built for easy game development but not renowned for its speed.

We’re safe here, boys!

Space Wolves is a little limiting in its gameplay too – each level takes place on a single screen which doesn’t allow for complicated, intricate designs and one shot set-pieces that similar games can pull off with ease simply given more room. The game flirts with some complexity later on through the use of electromagnetic fields that can make the silver balls float upward, but other obstacles are standard fare, including moving blockades, springs and vortexes. However, the absence of point scoring is refreshing; it makes sense that to get three stars requires a perfect single shot, rather than some arbitrary tally.

The game isn’t very difficult but is hindered by the firing system as the slingshot length is often obscured by one’s thumb. Like Angry Birds the game is completely linear too, however the difficulty is not as much of a problem and it’s unlikely that players will be stuck on any particular level for very long.

Some effort has gone into the presentation of the game, which looks great in those muted pastel colours; the jazz music is especially welcome as it fits very well, especially as finishing a level will yield a different tune depending one the amount of stars earned. There’s no new presentational ground being covered here but it is in fact one of the best GameSalad games that I’ve played in this regard.

Fans of Angry Birds probably won’t find anything new in here, but it is a different title in its own right and not simply a clone. Enjoyable whilst it lasts, Space Wolves is good fun; it doesn’t really do anything new but it is a pleasant experience slightly blemished by noticeable loading screens. If you can’t wait for more from Rovio Mobile you might want to choose this one as a fun change of pace.

[ Space Wolves Review is a post from 148Apps ]

While we hear just about everyday of a new mobile developer that has struck gold, Rovio really stands out above the rest. Their Angry Birds app for the Nokia N900, iOS and Android has become a smash hit with levels of success never seen before. However, while the iPhone app costs $0.99, the Android versions i completely free of charge; so how do they make money?

Well, it seems that the company is working closely with Google’s Admob mobile advertising unit to monetize their free app. According to the above video, Angry Birds is on track to net $1,000,000 worth of monthly advertisement revenue and maintains an 80% retention rate. Rovio then goes on to explain that frequent updates are what help contribute to this high retention rate.

Do you have Angry Birds? If so, which platform?

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