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Meganoid 2 Review
Much like the original Meganoid, its sequel keeps things fast, furious and simple. Did I say simple? What I meant to say is 'it's brutal', but you'll not be able to blame the game (at least not directly) for any mistakes you make as the controls are dead easy to learn (left, right, jump, and double jump). Orange Pixel have nailed their virtual controls, which is an absolute godsend. The reason it's so helpful is because everything else about the game is entirely unforgiving. Stages a…
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Storm the Train Review
Upon first loading up Storm the Train, you can be forgiven thinking you're about to play an action or stealth based game centered around robbing trains. Instead we find ourselves with a Monster Dash type run and gun as you hop from one train to the next, collecting new weapons and loads of coins as you blast away the undead, robot hordes, and even ninjas. And just like Monster Dash, the controls are a simple affair of on-screen directional buttons, a jump button, and of course a shoot…
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Punch Quest Review
So many auto-runners vie for attention now it can seem like a vast generic blur of jumping, sliding and coin-grabbing albeit with a gimmick here or there to prop it up. Punch Quest by Rocketcat Games and Madgarden makes no apologies for jumping in on the bandwagon, but it does so with as much pomp and excitement as Jetpack Joyride, while also bringing something far more interesting to the table - near endless brawling. The name says it all - your character starts and ends their…
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Sonic Jump™ Review
Doodle Jump remains a stalwart casual-gaming superhero for the iOS platform, elegantly combining dead-simple controls unique to the iPhone with an addictive challenge that spurs you on to keep reaching higher. Sonic Jump by SEGA attempts to repackage the whole platforming experience of its bigger platformers in to a basic jumper, and surprisingly, it fits perfectly. Some may think this sounds odd, especially as the original titles involved jumping, but also a LOT of running too - so h…
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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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Super Monsters Ate My Condo! Review
Though it's mostly gone out of fashion, one of the defining characteristics on the Super Nintendo was that most sequels (and even some original games) had the word 'super' in front of them. It was meant to invoke the image of just not any sequel, but an upgrade to everything that had come before. More revolution than evolution. In the case of Super Monsters ate my Condo, sadly it's the latter and not the former. Not that it's a bad release, but it falls a little short of the expectatio…
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Recess Riot Review
If you're going to use an art style reminiscent of the 80s in all its eight-bit glory, and the game is based around recess, you best do your research about the games of the time. I mean yes, I’m showing my age here, and there was jump rope and dodge ball, but we also played four square and wall ball! Well there is a 'coming soon' icon in the game, so hopefully this can be addressed in a future update. All kidding aside, Recess Riot is a collection of two arcade based mini-games…
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Bad Piggies Review
You'd be forgiven for thinking Rovio spent too long resting on their laurels after Angry Birds, opting to drive the franchise instead of seeking new horizons. Thankfully Amazing Alex found its way out of the studio (albeit as a re-branding of an existing game) and it was clear the studio was ready to try something new. Note, not 'different' - one can't claim that Bad Piggies breaks away from the physics-puzzle-and-three-star formula we've come to know so well, but it's most definitely…
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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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Rail Rush Review
There's something inherently enjoyable about mine cart rides in videogames. From Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom to Donkey Kong Country, they remain a memorable part of those titles. Wait, did I say enjoyable? I must have meant hair-tearingly frustrating. Well luckily Rail Rush isn't that psychotic. I mean it eventually becomes that way the longer you play for, but being in the same vain as Temple Run, this sort of exponential difficulty is expected. The formula here is pretty st…
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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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Rayman Jungle Run Review
When it comes to the Rayman series, I feel as though it has been a slow-burner - though always fun, the success of its spin-offs has brought the series full-circle and we’re being reminded of what it feels like to play a high-quality platformer. Rayman Jungle Run may strip-out the depth of a regular Rayman game, but what’s left is far from casual in its challenge as you use taps to jump, glide, wall-run and yes, even punch your way through stages. To reduce the controls to…
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Super Hexagon Review
Sometimes the simplest titles can be the hardest to review. When there's depth, it can take a large paragraph or two to explain the mechanics at play, but on the opposite end, you may be clambering for anything to fill space. If it hasn't been given away yet, Super Hexagon by Terry Cavanagh of VVVVVV fame is a very simple game. One shouldn't take that as reason to overlook this title however, for we have a word for when simplicity meets quality, and that word is elegance. At the menu…
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Granny Smith Review
Mediocre have a grip on physics. That's a lame pun, and I may be scientifically inaccurate there too, but the sentiment is definitely true. Sprinkle was an amazingly cute and complex title that made use of some of the best fluid physics seen on the App Store and the team is back with Granny Smith. Instead of putting out fires you're chasing down thieves on roller-skates and crashing through the countryside and cityscape in an attempt to recover your delicious fruit. Like any great iOS…
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Mikey Shorts Review
I almost feel sick of needing to make the point so often, but if you're going to make a platformer, you need to make the core gameplay (that is to say, running and jumping) feel good. In some cases it's a matter of responsiveness from the controls, and in others its anything from the physics to the character animations, but in Mikey Shorts by BeaverTap, none of these things are a problem. In fact you'd be forgiven for thinking someone from Rocketcat Games ran away with someone from Ra…
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