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 ]

The Witcher is an incredibly popular PC RPG franchise, and now Chillingo is hoping to bring that popularity to iOS. The company has announced a partnership with developer one2tribe which will see The Witcher Versus landing on the App Store in the near future. The game will be based on the browser-based title of the same name which was also developed by one2tribe.

According the the press release, players can plan to “Choose between the classes of Witcher, Sorceress or Frightener and jump right into the fray of battle. Fight, gain experience and develop your skills against other players. Embark on quests to prove bravery and battle enemies to unlock new weapons, amulets, and magical items. Players can compete against others playing the online browser and WAP versions of the game for an unparalleled MMO dueling experience.”

“The Witcher franchise is one of the industry’s most popular PC RPG games and we are proud to collaborate with one2tribe to bring this new version of the browser-based MMO dueling title to the iPhone and iPod touch,” said Joe Wee, Co-General Manager of Chillingo. “We aim to provide consumers with a variety of game genres to choose from and The Witcher: Versus shines as one of our best MMO titles to date.”

Neither Chillingo nor one2tribe have offered any details on pricing or a potential release date, and they also haven’t stated if there are any plans to create an iPad version of the game. We’ll make sure to keep an eye out for any new info as it becomes available.

The announcement should be welcome news to iPhone and iPod owners at the least, because if the same level of care goes into creating the mobile version as it does the computer and browser-based editions of the game then we’re in for a real treat. This is definitely a title to keep on your radar moving forward.

[ The Witcher Versus Coming Soon to App Store is a post from 148Apps ]

Zen Bound 2 came out on the Mac and PC via Steam a few days ago, and to celebrate the launch, the original Zen Bound is free in the App Store for a limited time.

What? You say you already have Zen Bound? Well, not really. This new version of Zen Bound is being self published by Secret Exit and isn’t attached to Chillingo in any way. After Chillingo was bought out by EA, a number of developers, most notably Rovio (Angry Birds), have left the Chillingo brand to self publish.

“The average customer tends to associate the publisher brand strongly with the game, leaving the developers into a situation where they are not known for their work. Even when the publisher plays fair and makes certain the developer is mentioned, this message has diminished reach beyond the eyes and ears of the industry.” said Secret Exit’s Jani Kahrama. “Certainly the change in publisher ownership brought an element of uncertainty into the whole matter, and having your game associated with a thirdparty was not what we considered to be in our best interests.”

With this new release, the previous version of Zen Bound will not be updated anymore, so if you are interested in future updates to the App Store classic, it is imperative that you download the new version (again, it’s free).

As for the Steam version of Zen Bound 2, it has been optimized for large HD screens (Secret Exit says that it looks good on a 100″ projector), with improved textures, lighting, and shaders. The Mac version also supports multi-touch for the laptop trackpad or the Magic Trackpad, so experienced Zen Bound-ers should feel right at home with this new, larger version.

FREE!

Zen Bound®

iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-11-11 :: Category: Games / Family

[ Zen Bound Re-Released; Temporarily Free is a post from 148Apps ]

The town is on fire! No, wait, that’s just San Francisco. Congrats, Giants. Don’t expect to be so lucky when you meet the Rangers again next year.

On This Episode:

Who We Are:

Music:

“Beatnes7 (Theme to The Portable Podcast)” by The Eternal – Download on iTunes here:

How to Listen:

Apps Mentioned on This Episode:

$0.99

Robin Hood – Archer of the Woods

+ Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-10-14 :: Category: Games / Action

FREE!

MyTown

iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Our Rating: :: SOUL SUCKING
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2009-12-01 :: Category: Entertainment

[ The Portable Podcast, Episode 57 is a post from 148Apps ]

Just when you thought you couldn’t get any more Angry Birds comes the announcement that the super-successful app will be receiving an update in the form of 45 all-new Halloween themed levels. The update is expected to arrive any moment now, and will cost $.99 for the standard version or $1.99 for the HD edition.

“With Angry Birds Halloween, we wanted to provide our fans with a special treat,” said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio. “In addition to this new experience, we will also keep providing continuous free updates for Angry Birds.”

It’s interesting to note that this update is coming from Rovio and not Chillingo, especially in light of today’s purchase of Chillingo by EA. Rovio owns the rights to Angry Birds, so content updates such as this one or even a full-fledged sequel will come from Rovio and not Chillingo/EA. Just something to keep in mind going forward as we await the inevitable Angry Birds Christmas/Festivus/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah pack.

While you wait for the update to release please enjoy the gallery of new screenshots, which manage to be both spooky and adorable at the same time. It’s a lot like when you dress your dog up for Halloween, but with a lot less animal cruelty.

[via Kotaku]

[ Angry Birds Getting Halloween Theme Levels is a post from 148Apps ]