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BeaverTap Games' Newest Platformer 'Mikey Hooks' Hits the App Store

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Apr 12, 2001
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BeaverTap Games, the studio behind the popular platformer Mikey Shorts, has today released a second game, Mikey Hooks.

Mikey Hooks incorporates the platform-style gameplay of Mikey Shorts, but adds an intuitive grappling hook mechanic. As with the previous game, the goal is to get through each level as quickly as possible to earn three stars, which often means multiple plays of every stage to learn the ins and outs of enemy and obstacle locations.

In addition to 36 challenging stages to complete, the game incorporates a number of unlockable character items, secondary goals, and a dedicated race mode that allows players to compete against AI ghosts.

mikeyhooks.jpg
Our sister site TouchArcade has published a first look at Mikey Hooks, and called it the "no-brainer download of the week."
If you played Mikey Shorts last year, things will feel mighty familiar in Mikey Hooks. Obviously the big change is the ability to swing from parts of a level using a grappling hook, but this mechanic has been implemented so well it almost feels like it's always been there.

Besides the fundamental changes of hooking and damage, Mikey Hooks is still all about the levels. Perfectly timed jumps, slides and now hooks will lead you towards victory and a 3-star completion time. Also, don't forget about collecting every coin and the hidden golden shorts on each level, and in place of the previous game's Challenge levels there's now Racing levels which include AI ghosts to race against.
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The game includes both iCade and Joypad support, along with iCloud saves and Game Center achievements and leaderboards. Mikey Hooks is a universal app that can be downloaded from the App Store for $1.99. [Direct Link]

Article Link: BeaverTap Games' Newest Platformer 'Mikey Hooks' Hits the App Store
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/08/07/beavertap-games-newest-platformer-mikey-hooks-hits-the-app-store/
R

rman726

macrumors 6502
Oct 15, 2007
415
0
Loved Mikey Shorts! Downloading this immediately... thanks for the heads up!!!
 
seanjs

seanjs

macrumors member
Aug 10, 2010
70
25
Oceanside, CA
You could have written this article describing in detail how the game works... Or you could have just said, "a pitfall knockoff."
 
T

tsadi

macrumors member
Feb 23, 2011
48
0
pajamma said:
Is this a sponsored message? It sure reads like one.
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MR regularly make posts about interesting apps, or software, with no need for sponsorship.

Based on what I've seen, sponsored stories always come with information that it is indeed a sponsored story. For the Mac App Bundle Sale last March, the story had this as footer:

---
MacRumors is a promotional partner with MacUpdate and MacLegion. Bundle sales through these links benefit MacRumors financially, and provide a way for readers to directly support this site.
---
 
HiRez

HiRez

macrumors 603
Jan 6, 2004
6,250
2,576
Western US
pajamma said:
Is this a sponsored message? It sure reads like one.
Click to expand...

It is very odd for this game to get its own front page writeup, and it does smell of being sponsored (although it's probably not). That said, it does look like a pretty fun, well done game. But nothing seems particularly innovative about it, it's just retreading old territory that's been done many, many times. I expect to see groundbreaking apps and games written about, but I don't see how this qualifes.
 
SaxPlayer

SaxPlayer

macrumors 6502a
Jan 9, 2007
713
635
Dorset, England
I have to agree with some of the comments on here. I've got nothing against this game publisher and MacRumors is probably the site I visit most often on the internet but this news isn't really of any particular note. This kind of article is best left to other sites, specifically game review sites. I think MR have a link to Touch Arcade. I've never visited that site, but this kind of announcement is best left to them, surely?

Out of interest, on the desktop MR this article doesn't appear on the front page, but on the mobile version it does. I'd suggest that some kind of update is needed to the mobile version of MR to keep this kind of "non-news" (just my opinion) visible to those who are actually interested.

Nuff said... :rolleyes:
 
the8thark

the8thark

macrumors 601
Apr 18, 2011
4,628
1,735
pajamma said:
Is this a sponsored message? It sure reads like one.
Click to expand...

tsadi said:
MR regularly make posts about interesting apps, or software, with no need for sponsorship.

Based on what I've seen, sponsored stories always come with information that it is indeed a sponsored story. For the Mac App Bundle Sale last March, the story had this as footer:

---
MacRumors is a promotional partner with MacUpdate and MacLegion. Bundle sales through these links benefit MacRumors financially, and provide a way for readers to directly support this site.
---
Click to expand...

He is right it's not. It's more a case of whatever they like they write an article about. That's fine by me. All I ask is that this kind of article has it's own special place on the forum so it's not mixed up tat all with the proper Apple news and rumours. That benefits everyone. Those who want the proper news and rumours get it. And those who want this kind of article can find it fast.


HiRez said:
It is very odd for this game to get its own front page writeup, and it does smell of being sponsored (although it's probably not). That said, it does look like a pretty fun, well done game. But nothing seems particularly innovative about it, it's just retreading old territory that's been done many, many times. I expect to see groundbreaking apps and games written about, but I don't see how this qualifes.
Click to expand...
I don't see how it qualifies either. The game does not even look all that good. But as I said, if there was a separate section (quite possibly off the front page) for all of this, then I'd be happy for tons of these articles to be there. My issue is they should not be at all in the middle of hard news or rumour articles.
 
bpcookson

bpcookson

macrumors 6502
Apr 6, 2012
484
90
MA
Respawns at left of screen?

I mean, there's one spot where he falls down a pit and just reappears near the left edge of the screen. On the one hand, this is really cool because it keeps the action going at what looks to be a breakneck pace. On the other hand, such a small penalty for death would likely encourage reckless behavior that quickly drains the game of any replay value.

Thoughts?
 
macduke

macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,127
19,646
AJClayton said:
I think MR have a link to Touch Arcade. I've never visited that site, but this kind of announcement is best left to them, surely?
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MacRumors, TouchArcade, and AppShopper were all founded by Arnold Kim. He occasionally cross-promotes between these sites, which is his prerogative. They're all excellent sites, I recommend checking them out.

pajamma said:
Is this a sponsored message? It sure reads like one.
Click to expand...

Mikey Shorts is unique in that it was actually started by two guys who met on the TouchArcade forums who had a passion for gaming. One was more of a developer, the other more of a designer. The community over at TouchArcade had a huge influence on the production of the game, the testing, and supporting the developer and designer through the process. The Mikey Shorts game itself is one of the best platformers on iOS—and it all began on TouchArcade. It's a great story of a community coming together to make something better than the big boys. I'll be downloading this new game when I get home tonight!
 
Sky Blue

Sky Blue

Guest
Jan 8, 2005
6,856
11
pajamma said:
Is this a sponsored message? It sure reads like one.
Click to expand...

Yeah, why did this game need it's own post on MR? What sets this apart from the other 19,182 type games?

Either the maker paid some $$$ or Arn is getting a share of the App Store profits ;)
 
jclo

jclo

Managing Editor
Staff member
Dec 7, 2012
1,970
4,302
Sky Blue said:
Yeah, why did this game need it's own post on MR? What sets this apart from the other 19,182 type games?

Either the maker paid some $$$ or Arn is getting a share of the App Store profits ;)
Click to expand...

I wrote a post on Mikey Hooks on the iOS blog because it's an excellent platformer (a rare find in a sea of thousands of games) and I thought maybe other folks on MacRumors might enjoy it as well. I used to review games before I wrote for MacRumors, and my only goal with this post was to share an awesome game.

I've noted that it isn't the type of content you guys want to see on MacRumors, which I'll keep in mind for the future.
 
T

tsadi

macrumors member
Feb 23, 2011
48
0
I wonder then if I'm the only MR reader who falls into this user category:

* All the apps/games I think I need/want, I already have installed in my devices.
* I'm too lazy nowadays to browse the AppStore for apps I might need, or want.
* Plus I don't really trust majority of the reviews I read on any app on the AppStore.

With that - featured apps like these, and non-invasive listings at that as it was just displayed in the right bar, are certainly appreciated. It wasn't such a great game, but still appreciated.
 
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