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Typing 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…
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Shadow 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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Wave - Against every BEAT! Review
Bullet-hell type shoot'em-ups have certainly had their dash on the App Store and much like any fad its appeal, even to genre fans, starts to fade even despite the attractive, eye-popping visuals and challenging, fast-paced gameplay. Undaunted by this, developer Colobox has released its own beat/rhythm based bullet hell title 'Wave - Against every BEAT!', but sadly its unique ideas fail to excite despite cranking every aspect of the game up to eleven. Waves upon waves of neon-shaped en…
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Arriving - Gravity Puzzle Game Review
'Arriving - Gravity Puzzle Game' by chlova is (you guessed it) a physics based puzzler and a hard one to enjoy as well. Despite the relatively intuitive controls and occasionally clever physics interactions, getting the game to execute even the simplest of actions can be a frustrating trial. To pass each level you'll need to collect all the glowing crystals by bumping and controlling a spherical egg. A baseline score slowly ticks down in value, providing a timer of sorts, while object…
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Bomberman Dojo Review
Although many Bomberman games by Hudson have a strong single-player focus, the multiplayer aspect has always felt like its true strength. Strangely, Bomberman Dojo is a purely single-player experience, though instead of simply playing against AI opponents or basic monsters you'll be pitting your skills against 50 puzzling stages in order to prove you're the best Bomberman around. For those not yet initiated, Bomberman pits you against enemies placed in a maze-like screen that's litter…
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Buddy Rush ® Review
Freemium titles, or more specifically, games that implement some form of play restriction can get a bad rap, especially if the game harshly limits the time you can play as an incentive to spend money. Adding a social twist via Facebook only seeks to reinforce the habit (and knock the competitive aspect up a notch) and it's easy to feel a bit skeptical about new similar titles, especially if you've been burned in the past. Buddy Rush by Company 100 takes this free game model and attach…
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Viking Tales: Mystery Of Black Rock Review
While purists may feel the need to ruin the fun of those who enjoy the idea of horn-helmeted Vikings, others like Ailove are happy to embrace the concept by releasing a fun game based around these vicious sailors. Viking Tales: Mystery Of Black Rock puts you at the helm of your very own longship, swiping the screen to move forward and swiping on either side of the boat to change directions. Double-fingered swipes will consume an available stamina bar, but you'll get a healthy speed bo…
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WordUs2 Review
Mastermind is a quirky and appealing board game thanks to its mix of luck and logic. Sure, it may simply feel like pattern recognition, but there's an undeniable feeling of having outwitted someone (even if this isn't strictly true). WordUs2 by Binary Dawn Interactive extends the pattern matching concept to words in the English language and it's no surprise that the same sense of accomplishment has transferred over as well. Four game modes are available, however the basic gameplay con…
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Pixel Pig Review
Pixel Pig by Smorpheus Games Laboratory is the kind of game you get when you combine Pachinko with, well... a pixelated pig. Though more accurately the end result is something not unlike Peggle, but with after-touch controls instead of aiming ahead of time. Each round begins with your pig being flung out of a chute that moves around the screen. This gives you some level of control over how your runs start, but once you're on the board and bouncing around you can tilt and expel gas to…
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Disoriented! Review
Although it has taken some time, platforming titles have slowly gained a bit more respect on the App Store. So much so that developers have started tweaking the gameplay with gravity-flipping mechanics that add an extra level of required skill. Disoriented by Vortex Games extends this concept to its extreme and while the idea is sound, it isn't without some rough patches. The main aim of each level is to make your way to the exit door of the level, which is simple enough, however addi…
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RoboSockets: Link Me Up Review
At first, RoboSockets by Tatem Games may look like another typical three-match game, but you'd be wrong as layering similar robots together won't guarantee a match. Shades of Tetris might also be pointed out, but you'd also be wrong because completing rows won't get you anywhere either. If any title has inspired this quirky arcade-puzzler it's Pipe Mania and you'll need to screw your thinking cap on tight if you want to complete this game. The basic controls are not unlike related arc…
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Tiny Wings Review
UPDATE: It seems I must have been having internet issues, but leaderboards do exist for Openfeint for this title, however Game Center is not yet implemented, though is on its way. Elegance in gameplay is a hard concept to nail down, but sometimes minimalism in gameplay can have more of an impact than any flashy button-mashing action title could ever dream to accomplish. With little more than a single tap to control a near-flightless bird, Tiny Wings by Andreas Illiger evokes instants…
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Falling Fred - Live Hands-On Preview
While there's not too many 'falling' style games on the App Store, it seems that they're gaining a bit of steam and Falling Fred by Dedalord games is hoping to step away from the pack thanks to its somewhat 'grizzly' style. One of the main concerns of these sorts of games is that the body you're trying to save acts as a visual blocker, preventing you from being able to make intelligent or quick decisions without placing yourself in danger. Thankfully players can literally remove the problem by breaking off various limbs if they're skilled enough to hit the traps 'just so'. Due to the gameplay requiring tilt controls the way in which I film these previews had to change slightly - leave a co…
Volcano Escape Review
I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when Volcano Escape was first discussed as the combination of traditional platforming with twin-stick controls is extremely unique and potentially difficult to pull off. However, true to the literal translation of their company name, Bravo Game Studios has taken up the challenge and now you have the chance to control one of six different characters as they try to escape their fate as a char-grilled sacrifice. Moving around the screen is certainl…
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Float Review
Elevate Entertainment and Crawl Space Games describe their new game in an elegant way that's easy to sympathize with: If you've ever wasted a couple minutes batting a balloon around a room or up in to the air then you'll know what you're in for with Float. The basic concept in each of the available modes is to prevent your balloons from popping in the spikes below by tapping on them and causing them to fling up towards the top of the screen. Varied shapes react differently to your tou…
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