Home » Articles and Reviews by 'Dave Flodine'
On The Wind Review
As summer nods off into winter, the trees lose their leaves in autumn. This is a cycle of nature, but sometimes adhering to the natural order doesn't make for a good videogame, so On the Wind mixes things up a little bit. In this spin on the endless runner genre you need to take a group of leaves through as many seasonal changes as you can, controlling the omnipotent wind that will either carry these tree remnants through the challenges they face, or leave them to bloom into flowers up…
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Monster Takedown Review
Monster Takedown is a little confusing. The game starts with you picking from a list of humorous giant monsters. The monster of your choice in then plonked down in the middle of a hysterical metropolis and as the player you need to do all you can to protect the army from taking it down. The thing is you're protecting the monster, not trying to destroy it, and on top of that, it isn't really doing anything. It's just sitting there looking bewildered. Hey, those smoking skyscrapers might…
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8bit Ninja Review
In the world of iPhone games, it has come to be known that the true arch enemy of the ninja is indeed fruit. After a couple successful years of slicing through their juicy nemesis with wanton abandon, a massive counter-offensive has been launched and now one poor little eight bit ninja is fleeing for his life trying not to be trampled by gigantic bouncing watermelons and coconuts Trapped in your dojo, you move the ninja left and right using the arrows at the bottom of the screen. Avoi…
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PathPix Joy Review
Pathpix Joy is the fourth game in the Pathpix series. What is Pathpix you ask? Well we could tell you to go check out our reviews of the original, but we're going to be nice and tell you here. Pathpix is a favorite amongst puzzle games here at AppSpy. Andrew has made his way through the multiple offerings while all these years later, I'm still playing the original. It's elegant, doesn't require too much straining of your brainy lobes, and upon completion of a level, offers not only the…
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Sir Benfro’s Brilliant Balloon Review
If the art style of Sir Benfro's Brilliant Balloon were to have any comparison, it would probably be to children's books like 'Where the Wild Things Are' that visually painted an alien world of both wonder and a little foreboding. Sir Benfro is off to explore new places and chart the exotic creatures that inhabit them, and it's up to the player to guide him through his journey safely. Sir Benfro travels by way of firefly filled balloon. Their lights propel him along, but every so ofte…
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Kitten Sanctuary Review
The match three genre reached critical mass some time ago and now to keep the format relevant we see the basic mechanics mixed with other genres in order to create new and engaging games. While definitely for the younger players, Kitten Sanctuary succeeds at this by combining the swapping of tiles with virtual pets, and a whole host of them to boot. Aliens have come to Earth and they've catnapped a bunch of kittens on this tropical island. Each level consists of clearing a red area on…
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Battleloot Adventure Review
What makes games like Diablo 2, Borderlands, and even World of Warcraft so addictive? Sure they all have interesting stories with intriguing characters, but really it's the combat and most importantly the loot that keeps people playing long passed when their interest should have waned. Battleloot Adventures understands this, and even by its name you can tell where the primary focus lies. The king of Kameloot, known for his greed creates a tournament where the city that wins it will not…
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Connectrode Review
Now recently Connectrode has been in the gaming press because Shay Pierce the developer, was the one team member of OMGPOP who did not accept employment when Zynga recently bought the company, and this game is partially behind his decision. We just wanted you to know why we're reviewing it, but besides this back-story, the rest of the review is going to focus on the game and whether or not it is deserving of a purchase. This is a variation on the match three genre. Well perhaps that's…
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Find the Princess – Top Free Maze Game Review
Mazes are interesting. As a child, Dave couldn't get enough of mazes, plowing through books and books of more and more complex and intricate maze-y challenges. When videogames started taking his spare time however, the mazes presented did not illicit the same reaction of fun and wonder. Instead there was only tedium and frustration (the basement of 'The 7th Guest being one such annoying memory). Perhaps the difference between mazes on paper and mazes in videogames is one of perception.…
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Clash Force Review
With the popularity of pixel art, chiptune music and sending gamers back to a simpler time period bathed in the warm glow of nostalgia, the landscape is as ripe and ready as it's ever going to be for a game like Clash Force. Taking its cues and look from games like Contra and Megaman, this game feels like it would be right at home on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Does that translate well to a touch screen mobile device however? Well yes and no. A NES-esque gamepad lays at the bot…
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Rune Raiders Review
The title of Rune Raiders is misleading. You're not raiding runes. You're not even raiding ruins. This is a dungeon crawler... well kinda. Think of a grid based table top game like Hero Quest, and then put that into videogame form, except there are no dice roles, you control the entire party, and some of the banter between your group members is quite humorous. The comparison to table top dungeon crawlers was made due to your party members and all the enemies being represented by what…
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Light The Flower Review
Most plant owners know that since sunlight is a necessity for flower growth, that the pots should be set near a window or skylight so the plant is never at want for those tasty rays. Someone neglected to tell the home owner of Light the Flower this, so now it's up to the player to use the magic of reflective surfaces (ie. Mirrors) to make sure the flowers get the sunlight they so richly deserve. Puzzle fans should be familiar with the style of game on offer here. Instead of ninety deg…
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English Country Tune Review
This game came to our attention via an article in the New Yorker about ultra difficulty in games. In some ways its easy to see why English Country Tune was one of the focuses of the piece. What we have here is an abstract puzzle game with little to no direction, that should appeal to hardcore puzzle aficionados. What about the rest of the gaming populace however? Well you may be intrigued by what's on offer here. The first world of the game, 'larva' revolves around putting the spheric…
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SpellTower Review
Your average word game never fails to impress on some level as word formation is such a simple yet addictive puzzle for our brains to solve. What sets some above others is not only the format of finding words, but the elegance of word creation itself, and this is where Spelltower by Zach Gage shines. Words are created by swiping through letters. Not just vertically and horizontally however, but diagonally as well. And it's not to say it's like a word find either. You can start your wo…
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Madcoaster Review
One of the first games AppSpy ever reviewed was 3D Rollercoaster Rush, and to be honest, upon opening up Mad Coaster, there was some expectations that it would be similar (as it had some fun albeit not long-lasting gameplay). Mad Coaster is not even close however, taking the concept of riding a rollercoaster and plopping it in the endless runner genre, complete with coin collecting, and objectives to complete. All you need to know to play this is that you tap the screen to jump over c…
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I own all three (Rio, Vice City, and GTA 3). And out of them, I very much prefer GTA 3.