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Polara Review

Polara Review

We've seen men that can switch gravity almost on a whim; all manner of traps and obstacles; and that unmistakable feeling of dread as things spiral out of control despite the utter simplicity of the controls you're handed. Polara by Hope This Game Works is the buffet-feast of endless runners, packing together ideas we've seen before, but somehow managing to give them all a fresh twist thanks to a color-switching mechanic. Lara is in the unenviable position of having to escape from a h…

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Crazy Taxi Review

Review SEGA By Andrew Nesvadba, 11 years, 5 months ago
Crazy Taxi Review

I feel like a powerful force is trying to show us, the lowly gamer, the stark difference between two driving-based games from 1999 and their subsequent re-release on the iOS platform. Where Re-Volt may be the subject of fond memories, its gameplay (though not its level design) was ultimately average. However, Crazy Taxi by SEGA remains just as balls-to-the-wall madcap as ever, placing you in control of an out-of-control taxi driver around a virtual homage of San Francisco. Whether you…

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Tentacles: Enter the Dolphin Review

Review Flashbulb ApS By Dave Flodine, 11 years, 5 months ago
Tentacles: Enter the Dolphin Review

2012 must be the year of the tentacle (which sounds like a great sequel to the famous Lucasarts adventure game). How else can you explain not one but two highly unique, and successful games based about an octopus’ numerous noodly appendages? Tentacles: Enter the Dolphin, made by Microsoft Studios, out of all unlikely developers is a tale of a lab created abomination named Lemmy, who is swallowed by his creator, the mad scientist Dr. Phluff (who has the head of a dolphin), and has…

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Grow Away! Review

Review EA Chillingo By Andrew Nesvadba, 11 years, 5 months ago
Grow Away! Review

The rodents and pests of the world have run out of junk food to eat, so now they're after the plants and vegetables. What's a tomato to do? Taking a page out of the Angry Bird playbook they jump in to a slingshot and fire themselves - kamikaze style - in to the waves of creatures headed for their barricade. Grow Away! by Soco Soft is a disturbing concept when you break it down, but seeing as it's all colorful explosions and cute faces, I guess we can let that tid-bit slide. Essentiall…

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Snail Bob Review

Review Andrei Kovalishin By Andrew Nesvadba, 11 years, 5 months ago
Snail Bob Review

Some would argue that the iOS platform is always going to be a casual one - of course there's the occasional 'hardcore' release, but with so much money to be made off those who just want a quick, but fun distraction, it's easy to see why deep and challenging titles aren't more common. Snail Bob is yet another 3-star physics puzzler, joining the already large fray, but it goes for that third, even more elusive market, the young-gamer. Snail Bob just wants to get home, but on the way he…

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Lanterns Review

Review Big Time Games By Andrew Nesvadba, 11 years, 5 months ago
Lanterns Review

[Lanterns was featured as the Mini-review for the 5th of October, 2012 Friday News Wrap-Up] The Lantern Festival that ends most Chinese New Year celebrations is a beautiful thing to observe and take part in. There’s something calming about seeing hundreds of softly-lit colored orbs tethered on or strung-up between buildings, or better yet, floating free in the sky. Lanterns by Big Time Games recreates the zen-like relaxation of the festival by using the already familiar match-3…

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Sugar Kid Review

Review Bulkypix By Andrew Nesvadba, 11 years, 5 months ago
Sugar Kid Review

Cute protagonist? Check. Three-star system to unlock content? Check. Physics-based gameplay system? Triple check. It’s almost a recipe for mundanity by now, but A Crowd of Monsters and Bulkypix have taken the best aspects of these games, paired it with perhaps the most disturbing penalty system I’ve seen in a while and packaged it with quickly unlocking content that scales to your skill level with uncanny precision. This is Sugar Kid, and I don’t think I’ll be…

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Payback² HD - The Battle Sandbox Review

Payback² HD - The Battle Sandbox Review

For gamers like myself, the idea of a truly open-ended experience can be daunting - it’s not that I can’t set myself goals and then achieve them, but that I kind of expect that sort of input from the people who made them game. As such the genre has never really appealed; at least not for an extended period of time. Thankfully there’s always Payback^2 by Apex Design, a resurrected iOS GTA-a-like classic that concentrates on bite-sized action-packed missions while still…

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JAM: Jets Aliens Missiles Review

Review Crescent Moon Games By Dave Flodine, 11 years, 5 months ago
JAM: Jets Aliens Missiles Review

There are some genres that are pretty difficult to adjust an iPhone control scheme to, and one of these is the shoot'em-up and its sibling, the side scrolling shooter (maybe we should call these triple S games). The biggest challenges are moving your craft without your finger obscuring vision, and how to tackle the design of shooting enemies from your craft. Now there are many entries in the App Store that have solved these problems adequately enough to create an enjoyable experience,…

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Amazing Runner Review

Review Freyr Games By Andrew Nesvadba, 11 years, 6 months ago
Amazing Runner Review

It seems every man and his dog is throwing their hat in to the 'Temple Run' arena of game-a-likes, and Freyr Games are no exception with their Unreal Engine powered title Amazing Runner. Once you hit start you'll be placed on a futuristic track lined with golden gems that must be collected while avoiding obvious hazards such as the occasional 'robot' placed in your path or game-ending pits that open up before you. As with its inspirational title, tilting will move you back and forth…

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DEMONS' SCORE Review

Review SQUARE ENIX By Andrew Nesvadba, 11 years, 6 months ago
DEMONS' SCORE Review

When you bring together notable composers responsible for the stunning soundtracks of games like Final Fantasy 11, Nier, and Secret of Mana, you’d like to think their work is showcased appropriately. I’m not entirely sold on the ‘appropriate’ part when it comes to the magic-transforming-teenager-and-skimpy-clothes department of Demons’ Soul by Square Enix, but the rhythm-based gameplay is perhaps the best way to showcase its music. You play as Ser…

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FIFA SOCCER 13 by EA SPORTS Review

Review Electronic Arts By Andrew Nesvadba, 11 years, 6 months ago
FIFA SOCCER 13 by EA SPORTS Review

The waves keep crashing against the beach; the sun keeps rising; and the moon’s orbit slowly decays to an eventual stop; such are the many natural things we can can count on to happen every day, including Electronic Arts’ inevitable update to the FIFA franchise. If you detect a slightly sour bitterness on the palette, don’t worry, it’s just a sore point borne of the cyclical nature of the game industry. There is, however, a benefit to this kind of repet…

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Earn to Die Review

Review Not Doppler By Andrew Nesvadba, 11 years, 6 months ago
Earn to Die Review

Flightless birds and spaceward-bound rodents may make for cute and heartfelt inspirations for repeatedly launching them towards their ultimate goal, but there has always been an element missing from the experience - a sense of skill. Earn to Die by Toffee Games and Not Doppler fleshes out the short, but uniquely fun Flash game title, pitting you against the ever-ready threat of zombies, but for once your progress will also be bound to your skills as a driver. In games of this sort the…

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Lili™ Review

Review BitMonster, Inc. By Andrew Nesvadba, 11 years, 6 months ago
Lili™ Review

If you’re one of the handful of people who If you’re one of the handful of people who missed out on hearing about Lili by BitMonster, then you’re in for a treat. There was absolutely no question of how beautiful this game was going to be as it not only sports the Unreal Engine, but those who made it are ex-Epic and quite familiar with how to use it. However, what really counts isn’t the presentation, but how it interacts with the gameplay - and on this score the…

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Gibbets 2 Review

Gibbets 2 Review

Sometimes it’s hard to know whether a game is controlling badly because you’ve missed some key bit of information, or because the game itself has poor controls. Gibbets 2 by HeroCraft had me pondering this problem on the second level - which I might point out took quite a few tries before I worked it out - and ultimately it was a little bit of column A and B, but the damage had already been done. Your task, should you take it, is to aim a bow and rescue the people being hu…

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