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Cows vs Aliens Review
If you're going to stick with something simple and limited in your gameplay, make it compelling; make it fast-paced; make it amusing; in short, make it the sort of game that immediately grabs you and forces you to hit 'replay' when you fail. Cows vs Aliens may be a simple game, but its magic comes from this simplicity and once you're done herding cows and destroying aliens you might just find yourself diving right back in to do it again. The object of the game is simply to push (or 'h…
Watch The Video ReviewHot Springs Story Review
Spare me a moment and consider one of the few, but very real concerns of reviewing video games. Last year I had to fortune (or is that misfortune?) of spending a lot of time with Game Dev Story (GDS) by Kairosoft, but it's addictive gameplay almost ruined a week's worth of scheduled work. Now I'm playing their follow-up, Hot Springs Story (HSS) and much like the virtual game developers of their previous title, these very real developers have not simply leveled up, they've found the rea…
Watch The Video ReviewCirculoid Brick Breaker Review
Take one circle, add paddles around it and insert a few bricks and a ball - it sounds simple enough, but 'Circuloid' by Macroscope is a unique take on the typical brick-breaking gameplay and by no means an easy game to master. Several control variants are available, including simple swipes and tilt controls, though no matter what you choose the real skill is in keeping track of your ball (or balls depending on power-ups) while also keeping your paddles aligned around the play area. Va…
Watch The Video Review6th Planet Review
It takes a lot of confidence to revive a classic type of gameplay like 'Lander' with the intent of creating a compelling video game, but Monkube have managed to pull it off, though I suspect the incredible artistic talent backing the project certainly helped. '6th Planet' follows the journey of a space-module confined monkey bound for Saturn as he attempts to avoid dangerous hazards while conserving enough fuel to make it to each subsequent base. You're only given two controls to mane…
Watch The Video ReviewMission Europa - Live Hands-On Preview
Today we've got a special treat as Ryan Mitchell, the developer of Mission Europa has given us a sneak-peek at this upcoming title. I say 'special treat' because it's not often something this comprehensive makes its way on to the App Store and anyone craving something more substantial than the usual bite-sized games might want to take note of this title. The game itself is set on Europa (the moon orbiting Jupiter, not the tiny island near Madagascar - just to be clear) and all hell has broken loose - probably literally, but now I'm getting ahead of myself. Contact with the colony was lost and you were part of a team sent to investigate what is happening; unfortunately everyone on your ship…
Wharr: The Colossus Age Review
Translating genres that have existed for a long time outside of the realm of touch-based gaming has had its problems, but ultimately it's a forgivable thing because established ideas had to be reconsidered. However, the endless-jumping genre has been with us for a very long time and with so many tried, true and tested gameplay features it seems odd to dramatically mess around with these conventions without adding anything new. Wharr: The Colossus Age by Gaetano Leonardi and Forge 11 i…
Watch The Video ReviewSpires Review
I'm a man of eclectic tastes and developer Prophetic Sky previously managed to ensnare me by releasing Townrs Defender, a hero-defense style game that was a rarity at the time. Their latest release, Spires, is somewhat less radical with its relatively standard tower defense gameplay, but shades of something greater lurk behind its thin exterior. Those familiar with tower-defense titles won't be too surprised at the basic controls and gameplay, with towers in standard varieties (direct…
Watch The Video ReviewFight Night Champion by EA Sports™ Review
Where previous games in the Fight Night series by EA Sports had a far more upbeat and glitzy presentation, Champion, the fifth title in the series, is following the movie-based trend of depicting the sport in a 'grittier' fashion. If nothing else it highlights some of the brutal aspects of Boxing without glossing it over with light shows and glitter-cannons, but the iOS release does away with the new story-based 'Champion mode', leaving players with nothing more than a straight boxing…
Watch The Video ReviewFood Processing Review
I'm not sure what kind of crazy kitchen requires an endless stream of giant peas, sliced corn, eggplant, quartered pumpkins, torn pomegranates and shelled walnuts, but then again being a prep chef isn't the most glamorous job around, so you can let someone with a higher pay-grade worry about that. Food Processing by Embattle Games and Chillingo is yet another endless food-slicing title for the App Store, but unlike so many others this one takes things in a decidedly different direction…
Watch The Video ReviewSpeedball 2 Evolution Review
The Speedball series by The Bitmap Brothers has in many ways come to define the future of brutal fantasy sports titles with its influence being evident in arcade titles like Midway's NBA Jam and NFL Blitz. Now modern iOS gamers and old-school fans alike can dive straight back in to the Speedball series with Speedball 2 Evolution by Tower Studios and despite some wonky control issues it feels as manic and exciting as it did all those years ago. Players can choose between tilt or touch-…
Watch The Video ReviewHunters: Episode One Review
I can't even begin to describe how the turn-based strategy genre has swallowed up portions of my life, with countless hours being squirreled away on playing turn-based strategy (TBS) games like Jagged Alliance, Fallout: Tactics, X-Com... and the list goes on. Hunters: Episode One by Rodeo Games isn't the first TBS to grace the App Store, but its polished presentation and unique missions system give it an edge over its competitors. Every 24 hours players are given new missions to compl…
Watch The Video ReviewTop 3 iOS Games of February 2011
So how was February for you? Personally the end of the month has been amazing and not just because my birthday is around the corner! Great games, great concerts and a lot of fun were all to be had this month, but best of all a relatively unknown game managed to burst out of nowhere, catching us at AppSpy off-guard and quickly racing up the charts to #1. As always a full transcript follows after the video, complete with links to the reviews for those who need more convincing! February has been a strange month and despite the overall low-tone of the releases in the video gaming world it has been punctuated by a few high-points, not the least of which were the releases of Marvel vs.…
Falling Fred Review
Fred... well Fred is a bit of a dingus; I mean honestly... who keeps jumping down a blade and spike filled corridor expecting something different? Fred, that's who. You can try to keep this thick-skulled cretin alive for as long as possible in Falling Fred by Dedalord, however you're ultimately destined to fail, so why not tear off a few limbs while you're at it? Falling Fred is definitely not for the feint of heart as blood is prone to spray around regularly, but if you're doing your…
Watch The Video ReviewTyping Maniac Review
If you haven't had a crack at Typing Maniac on Facebook, I heartily recommend giving it a go - while you may not be the best hardcore gamer around, you might just be able to out-type your friends to a first place victory. However Typing Maniac for iOS devices by MetroGames is a slightly different thing altogether - where the browser version makes great use of keyboard skills, translating the game to depend on your texting skills isn't quite as smooth. This is mostly thanks to the vert…
Watch The Video ReviewShadow Era TCG Review
Don't be fooled by its outward appearance as a free game - Shadow Era, much like any Trading Card Game (TCG) is designed to suck you in and trap you until you've emptied your pockets, your spare time and maybe even your friends. OK sure, I'm being melodramatic and not everyone is going to become obsessed about a new TCG, but basing the gameplay on something as popular as the World of Warcraft TCG and making it free is sure to snag a few people. Like most TCGs the gameplay revolves aro…
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