Hello everyone, and welcome to the week! It’s time once again for our look back at the noteworthy updates of the last seven days. You know, the Halloween updates are rolling in a lot slower and fewer in number than I expected. I wonder if the cutback in events connected to real-world holidays is a result of the whole mess going on right now? In any case, we’ve got fewer pumpkins and more of the usual kind of update that we generally see in the second week of October. That works well enough for our purposes, I suppose. Of course, you can keep an eye out for updates yourself using AppShopper or by participating in the TouchArcade forums. This weekly summary is just here to fill you in on the things you might have missed. Let’s go for it!
Marvel Contest of Champions, Free
It’s new fighter time again in Marvel Contest of Champions. I feel like we’ve talked about Cosmic Ghost Rider’s arrival before, but he’s got another slightly more malevolent madman joining him in the contest: the Red Goblin. For those who don’t read the comics, that would be the union of Norman Osborn (the Green Goblin) and the Carnage symbiote. He’s a bit of a handful. I’m sure he’ll make a very interesting addition to the Contest of Champions roster. There’s of course a new storyline to go along with these new characters, so be sure to check it out.
Sonic Forces – Racing Battle, Free
The latest event has kicked off in Sonic Forces, coming in alongside a new update that changes up the UI a little bit. The Treasure Rivals event sees Team Knuckles take on Team Rogue to see who can score the most points. Two new characters are available: Treasure Hunter Knuckles and Elite Agent Rogue. You can get one of them by choosing a team, while the other will have to be earned by completing missions. The gimmick of the event involves something called the Ancient Treasure, which is earned by attacking the other racers. Sure, that seems fine.
Disney Magic Kingdoms, Free
Disney Magic Kingdoms isn’t the sort of game to miss out on a Halloween event, and here we are. And when you think of Disney and Halloween, one of the first things to come to mind is The Nightmare Before Christmas. With the obvious characters having already appeared in previous years, we’re left with the silly henchmen Lock, Shock, and Barrel to anchor the event. Well hey, if monstrous Trick-or-Treaters aren’t good enough for a Halloween event, I don’t know who is. Plus, whenever you spot this trio, you know certain other faces can’t be far behind.
Mario Kart Tour, Free
Mario Kart Tour is celebrating its first anniversary with a special tour that brings back a bunch of event tracks and characters from past tours. In addition, the special Green Coins and their associated prizes have been available right from the start of the tour, giving you lots of time to earn some great stuff like Metal Mario and the B-Dasher. You can also earn some free gems by completing the anniversary missions. Finally, another chance to get Lumberjack Wario!
Brawlhalla, Free
It’s always big news for Brawlhalla when a new character makes its debut, and that’s just what’s going on in this latest version. Mako the Shark crashes into the game, complete with three new skins. Along with Mako, the Ranked Season 18 has now kicked off. There are new weekly missions continuing the Synthwave Battle Pass Season 2. There are a few other points of interest in the update notes, but I’ll let you dig in on your own if you’re interested.
Hot Wheels Infinite Loop, Free
Hot Wheels! You know, before Hot Wheels Infinite Loop the last time I remember seeing this brand in a video game was when Danica Patrick was driving one in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. That was so weird. Unlike this game, which is actually a very sensible way to imagine the long-popular toys in video game form. The latest version brings in a new car leveling system, making this a carPG of sorts. Heh. There’s a new Hard level in the Campaign, and some new languages supported. Other than that, it seems to be a bunch of behind-the-scenes improvements and bug fixes.
Hearthstone, Free
This update is only a week old, but it does involve stuff that is from almost two weeks ago. Oh well, what can you do? Arrest me? Pff, you aren’t the law. Only Sylvester Stallone is the law, and he’s not reading this. Probably. Anyway, Elementals came into effect on September 29th, adding 16 new minions and 4 new heroes. Wow, Ragnaros the Firelord is here? Neato. With it being October, Hearthstone has a little Halloween-ish event happening. For a limited time, the Masquerade Ball event offers a whole bunch of delightful tricks and treats for you to try your hand at.
Toon Blast, Free
Yeah, I’m falling back on one of the usual picks for this week’s obligatory free-to-play matching puzzler update. Look, I’ll level with you all: I’m really tired. Moreover, I think I’ve written more than two hundred of these weekly updates, so I sometimes struggle to find things to say about some games. The Blast games make for cozy little punching bags, and that’s something I need sometimes. Anyway, 50 new levels to play, some nonsense in the notes about a rally race that almost certainly will never be referenced in the game, and that’s about it. As ever. Are we good to move on? I thought so. Let’s head to the next game.
Modern Combat Versus, Free
Aw heck, another update where I have to make some button soup. Well, let’s give it a shot. New weapons! That is what it’s all about with many a shooter, especially Modern Combat Versus. There are two spiffy new means of gibbing your enemies in this latest version of the game: Creeper’s Silent Death (uh oh, someone had the spicy curry) and Tower’s Wrecker (I’ve got nothing). Some improvements have been made to the weapon menu interface, and the usual job of making some balance changes to the Agents has been carried out. Solid improvements for a solid game. Hard to complain about that. Or… is it?
World of Tanks Blitz MMO, Free
Did you know? Today in Canada, it is Thanksgiving. But today in World of Tanks Blitz, it is tanks-giving. Haaaaaaa. Sorry about that, but Pun Dawg cannot resist the low-hanging fruit. I wasn’t lying about the tanks, but I was fibbing about the giving. Swedish heavy tanks roll in, five in number, lending their strength to the European Nation. There’s a new event called Way of the Raider, and the wild Mad Games mode makes its return. And yes, there’s that whole Blitz Cup thing going on if that’s your cup of tea. I suppose I have to hand out this coveted UMMSotW award to someone this week, and this is as good a game as any to receive it.
That about wraps it up for last week’s significant updates. I’m sure I’ve missed some, though, so please feel free to comment below and let everyone know if you think something should be mentioned. As usual, major updates will likely get their own news stories throughout this week, and I’ll be back next Monday to summarize and fill in the blanks. Have a great week!
