IllusionLabs aren’t strangers to App Store success, with TouchGrind and Labyrinth just two of their titles that have been big hits they now attempt again with their new title Blast A Way. Blast A Way for iPhone and iPad is a colorful physics puzzler where your task is to rescue the 3 Boxies that have been left strewn across all 5 worlds and 80 levels.
So how do achieve this task? Its quite simple really, the answer is bombs! 6 different types of bombs to be exact that will blow things up, transport you, change colors and even rebuild previously exploded blocks. All of these actions will enable you to move around the levels and collect the previously mentioned Boxies who are stranded and are waiting for you to pick them up.
The physics of the game are pitch perfect. You navigate the levels with a variety of touch controls which allow you to zoom, rotate and focus on any area of the beautifully designed levels. You can then move your character by drawing a path for them to walk along and final you can throw a bomb by touching where you want it to land and choosing the angle to throw it.
Bomb placement is where the real skill is required, direction, angle and power will all influence the final location of the bomb and where the bomb lands will influence the effect that the bomb has on the Boxies, the environment and even you, especially if you are standing too close to the bomb when it explodes.
It’s nice that you aren’t restricted in the number of bombs that you have at your disposal especially as on some levels getting the bomb to where you need it to land can be pretty tricky.
The 5 worlds are themed on different materials including wood, metal, plastic and fabric and while the structure of the worlds are similar being all made out of a variety of geometric shapes the different materials make them look great. This is certainly the case on the retina displays of the iPhone 4S and the new iPad where they pop off the screen.
It’s frustrating that as a universal app there is no progression synchronization between devices and while there is Game Center integration the 7 achievements are a little disappointing and it would have been nice to see a little more creativity here.
Blast A Way is a wonderful new physics puzzler, at $4.99 it’s a little on the pricey side but you can always try 20 levels for free via Blast A Way Free to see if you like it before you buy it.
[rating: 4/5]
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If you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of weeks then let me introduce you to Bad Piggies for iPhone, the new spin off game from the mega franchise Angry Birds.
If you’ve played any of the Angry Birds games then you will feel perfectly at home in Bad Piggies which especially from a graphical point of view where environments for each level look like they’ve just been lifted off one of the Angry Birds games.
While Bad Piggies is certainly part of the Angry Birds franchise don’t expect to see any of your colorful feathered friends as this is hog territory only. While it’s also a physics puzzler there are no sling-shots in sight, while there are three stars to be collected on each level this time it’s not based on your high score but instead 3 separate achievements.
In Bad Piggies for iPhone your task is to build a vehicle on which to transport your hogs to a finish-line somewhere on the level. You can zoom around the environment to find where your destination is and then view the the three star requirements set for the level.
These stars requirements range from reaching the finish line, not using certain vehicle part, complete the level under a certain time and many others which change from level to level. You’ll also rarely be able to complete all the stars in one go and will have to change your plans within each level just to complete each objective.
Because of this the game is certainly takes more thought and planning than most of the Angry Birds games and because of this younger players may get frustrated with the subtleties required to complete the levels.
Of course help can be brought in if you are struggling with any of the levels by calling on a mechanic to suggest the best approach to take, which of course can be purchased via in-app purchase and if you insist on completing each level with 3 stars that may very well be required.
Instructions for the 90+ levels are provided via a little in game book which give pictorial guidance on what you need to do on each level. The 90 levels are split over 3 worlds and my favorite of the 3 is the 2nd world where you transport your pig on balloons!
While much of Bad Piggies is good, including the Game Centre integration with 33 Achievements it’s still disappointing that it’s that Rovio continue to not release the game as a universal app and have no progress syncing between devices.
It also appears that the release of the iPhone 5 came a little too quickly for them as it’s still currently ‘letterboxed’ on the iPhone 5.
Overall Bad Piggies is a fun and challenging game and takes the challenge of Angry Birds to the next level.
[rating: 4.5/5]
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Coming up with original ideas must be a problem for an App Store that is flooded with original content. That being said Lipasto Games have done just that in the form of Billy the Painter HD for iPad.
The painting in question in this app is the floor of an old factory and the top down view provides you with a view of the different levels and how much of the floor still needs to be painted by you.
Painting the floor couldn’t be easier, simply tap the screen and paint will begin to radiate from the touch point until it touches any area that has been already painted.
This is where the challenge comes in as each puzzle has a different shaped floor that needs to be painted and so as the paint radiates out it can quickly stop if not placed appropriately and this can cause you to lose a life if you don’t reach the required percentage.
The trick to progress through the levels is to use multiple touch points as sources of the radiating paint and in combination with that the timing of these touch points.
While paint % is the overall dictator of your success you can improve your points score by painting of spots of old paint that are randomly placed on each level.
The whole style of the game is beautifully presented throughout and while the only graphical variety in the levels is the blue paint that is used in the bonus round that comes every 10 games this is not a distraction from a great looking game.
Sound effects are minimal but the music is appropriate to the game and is not annoying either and I didn’t find myself having to mute it at any time which is always nice.
The gameplay doesn’t allow you to pick specific levels that you want to play, instead you start each game at the beginning and progress through the levels until your 3 lives are lost. At this point your score is added to the local leaderboard. Why both options of game-play aren’t available I’m not sure.
As mentioned previously the game’s leaderboards are only local and there are no achievements to unlock via GameCenter integration either.
Billy the Painter HD is a beautiful, playable, challenging but ultimately limited due to it’s limited options. Perhaps some of these will be addressed in a future update.
[rating: 3/5]What we like
What to know
Miniclip, most well known for the game Fragger, is adding a new game to their extensive iPhone / iPad game portfolio in the form of Rat Fishing where you are challenged with killing rats across over 100+ levels of challenging puzzles.
The cartoon graphics look cute and effective as the tiny hypnotized rats follow the smell of cheese to their impending death. You have a limited number of cheese pieces on each level and it requires careful planning of the location placement to kill all of the rats, especially if you want to get the maximum rating and coins.
Each level is graded on a bronze, silver and gold star rating based on the number of pieces of cheese that you use and how quickly you complete the level. You also earn coins for your endeavours and these can be used to unlock levels, get hints and also skip levels.
Of course you can also purchase coins via in-app purchase and this will probably be required as the levels get aggressively difficult and skipping some, or getting hints was certainly required by me at least!
The aggressive nature of the difficulty is based on the variety of tools and the timing of their use that is required to complete the levels. While the initial levels simply require luring the rats to their deaths onto mines and down holes later levels start to not only introduce multiple rats and additional tools but also require you to time the placement of items to create a daisy chain of destructions.
Putting all of these actions into practice is very easy with the simple touch controls and the ability to instantly restart the level when you realize that something has gone wrong is nice too, especially as these feature doesn’t cost you any coins.
Rat Fishing also includes leaderboards for all 6 levels and over 40 achievements that provide a good amount of replay value, although that being said the 144 levels and the inbuilt difficulty should keep you either entertained for a while or frustrated.
Rat Fishing should be available on the App Store soon and will be priced at 99 cents. It’s a fun challenging game for those that enjoy a challenge, although the more casual gamer or younger player may find it a little too difficult.
[rating: 3/5]What we like
What to know
Frisbee Forever 2 is a nice mashup of Frisbee quidditch and mini-golf. Your objective is to flick your Frisbee to collect stars as you guide your Frisbee through hoops or tunnels or other obstacles along the way.
You can choose to play Frisbee Forever 2 for iPhone and iPad by either pressing on the edges of the screen or by tilting your iOS device. I started with the tilt and then switched to the screen control. I’m not sure which I liked better, but tilting seems like such an instinctive way to play the game, even when I was using the screen controls I was tilting as well.
Each level begins with you flicking your Frisbee as far and as straight as you can. Like Sonic the Hedgehog, you follow the path of stars and pipes and slides and hoops and other obstacles that are on the designated path. But like any Frisbee throw, it eventually runs out of steam and falls back to the ground.
One of the parts of the game I liked the best was a clear list of objectives that needed to be completed. Whether you succeeded or failed, you were shown a screen stating that you needed to fly through more rings, collect more starts, or just fly further. The objectives changed frequently and it really helped to focus your efforts.
The sound effects were cool, but the background music was annoying. It was some sort of acoustical guitar that didn’t really fit a particular style. It was perky enough, but somehow it just didn’t fit the game for me. The graphics were bright and crisp and the in-game baubles were big and clear that they were you’re target.
This is an easy game to understand, just flick the disk and collect the obstacles. But it was challenging to accomplish the various objectives and required some serious concentration. Both the screen and tilt controls will take some practice to master. Frisbee Forever 2, though, is a solid game that will provide lots of reasons to keep coming back for more.
[rating: 5/5]What we like
What to know
Nihilumbra for iPhone and iPad is a strangely brilliant game. The unique gameplay environment provides a lengthy play. The extemely artistic backgrounds and creative world are met with a somewhat depressing prose. The game is sure to intrigue gamers who enjoy being immersed in the environment of the game.
The game has a dark tone to it that permeates its way through the entire game. You start the game as a black blob born from nothingness. No, you’re not a Nihlist Big Lebowski fans, just a simple black blob. You find yourself in a place called the Void, ominous sounding huh? There are five worlds that you will journey through during the course of the game. You will make your way through icy mountains, forests, deserts and volcanic lands keeping a constant change in scenery which is always nice. The beautifully artistic environment adds to the overall dark atmosphere this game creates.
The lands you encounter are creative and beautiful. Unfortunately they are gobbled up by the Void after you make your way through them. Enemies are continuously thrown at you by the Void that eventually consume each land. You are continuously rethinking your selfish actions in this game which has a way of pulling you in to the environment and situations. Definitely one of those games that is easy to get engrossed in if you’re playing on your couch late at night with only the light of the TV.
Nihilumbra is a puzzle game at heart that utilizes touch controls to pull you in and keep you involved. The game grants you powers at the beginning of each of the five worlds. Gathering these powers enables you to interact with your environment by granting surfaces new properties. For instance, the blue that you gather on the frozen mountain tops of the first level allow you to make surfaces slippery, increasing your jumps and making edges slippery to enemies.
Despite the game having an artsy feel, the enemies are pretty cool. The way they interact adds to the overtones in the game and give them character. The are a bit dumb but in a world created of nothingness, that makes a little sense.
Overall the game has a ton to offer and looking at the screenshots will give you a better idea of just how awesome the environment is. It isn’t perfect, as there are some issues here and there but none important enough to mention. The game boasts about 10 hours of gameplay and after beating the game you get the option to play through the game again with added difficulty. Not just added difficulty either, it adds new enemies and mechanics which is uncommon but awesome.
Check this one out… It’s a blast.
[rating: 4/5]What we like
What to know
KooFish: Break’em Out for iPhone and iPad is a slingshot puzzle game like Angry Birds. Using the wildly successful platform that Angry Birds made famous, KooFish takes to the water in this slingshot puzzle extravaganza. The puzzles are elaborate and there are a lot of them.
KooFish is a very simple game unless you are one of the few people are there who haven’t played Angry Birds. It employs the same gameplay and similar physics. You slingshot conch shells at blocks of ice that contain fish. Using your surroundings you have to break out the fish that are trapped in the cubes while using as few shells as possible, sound familiar? The characters and levels are very nice and fairly polished. This game looks great.
The fish are “cute” in the words of my wife and with 150 unique puzzles that are strategically laid out, there is plenty to keep you busy here. The game also has Game Center integration which is a must these days to compete with friends. Who doesn’t have office wide game challenges like my company?
This game is for both the iPad and the iPhone and looks great on both. I enjoyed the game very much, though I must admit, I haven’t played Angry Birds in quite a while.
Angry Birds fanatics will surely have their rips about this game not being quite the same and being incredibly similar. I say why not let someone use the same base game and have their own spin on it. It worked for Battlefield and Call of Duty. That being said, the similarities and the price made me go with 3 stars on this one.
I like the game but the audio isn’t that great, it is very similar to Angry Birds and at the 3 dollar price, its tough to go any higher. That being said if you can’t get enough of the Angry Birds style play and want a new atmosphere, this is the game for you.
[rating: 3/5]What we like
What to know
When your catalog consists of some of the biggest, most popular and dominating titles in mobile gaming you could be forgiven for resting on your laurels and continue to milk that money cow. That’s not the case for Rovio Entertainment Ltd., the makers of the Angry Birds series who have released Amazing Alex for iPhone and iPad into the App Store.
Amazing Alex uses previously successfully implemented techniques, it’s a physics based puzzle game with usually 3 star per level rating system for each level, and as those features have worked before there’s no reason why they shouldn’t work again…..right?
Alex is a young boy with a taste for creativity and problem solving and in the style of toppling a chain of dominoes, only on a much larger scale, you are challenged to help Alex produce a daisy chain of events to clear each level.
The initial levels get you started on how you play the game, even showing you where you should place the range of objects that you are given to utilize on each level, and because of this you may be fooled into thinking that Amazing Alex is going to be a simple game that you can rush through in a matter of minutes.
However, that is soon to be shown as a wrong assumption to make as when the placement guides disappear the levels immediately get more complex and as you continue to the Classroom, Backyard, Bedroom and finally onto the Treehouse the levels become more and more challenging, especially, if like me, you want to get three stars on each level.
There are over 30 objects at your disposal across the levels and as these become unlocked they are also made available to build your own levels which has the potential of adding an endless number of levels for you to play with.
Creating your own levels is very easy. You have all of the objects that you’ve unlocked and can place them anywhere on the screen with guidelines for legal and illegal placement. The final step is to place the 3 stars on the screen which act as the measure for other players to complete the level.
The ease of both creating your own levels, sharing them online and then downloading other players levels is amazing. The only issue I have with the custom levels is that there is no rank of them, either via voting or just the number of downloads to help you find the best custom levels available.
As you might expect from Rovio the whole game looks polished, cute and engaging. Something else that Rovio seem keen to do is keep their iPhone and iPad versions of their apps separate rather than universal. Why they do this, especially considering that there are no differences between the two versions is beyond me. Needless to say if you want Amazing Alex on both your iPhone and iPad you’ll need to pay twice and play it twice as there is no synchronisation of your progress between the two versions.
Of course Rovio promise multiple free updates to add more levels and based on their previous history there should be quite a lot of them! Quite what they plan to do with the GameCenter integration with no leaderboards and only one achievement remains to be seen.
[rating: 4/5]What we like
What to know
Back in September 2011 Disney introduced a new character to the world. This time though the character wasn’t their latest animated movie star, instead it was Swampy the Alligator, a friendly alligator that needed your help to get him enough water to bathe. It was an instant hit and continues to be popular with rave reviews and continual downloads.
Now though Disney have decided to make the most of the popular puzzler by combining it with one of the most popular cartoon characters at the moment in the form of Perry the Platypus from Phineas and Ferb.
Nothing much has changed but it will still appeal to both players of Where’s My Water and new players to the game especially those who are familiar with the popular cartoon as the sites and sounds of not just Perry, but also Dr. Doofenshmirtz are used throughout the game to great effect.
80 levels are spread across four different environments and your challenge in each of them is to provide enough water to enable Perry to slide through his underground tubes. This is achieved by clearing a path through the dirt to Perry and on the way unlock the three gnomes that are placed throughout the level.
These gnomes provide the 3 gnome ranking required to complete the game at 100% but in 6 of each level there are hidden items which unlock additional ‘secret’ levels including 4 that introduce you to Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s childhood ‘friend’ Balloony!
The physics of each level is well designed and you will not only find yourself using the water to unlock and open switches and levers but you also need to avoid hazards that will attempt to suck the water away preventing you from having enough to push Perry on his way.
If that wasn’t enough challenge you will also have to change the state of the water to open, unlock and rescue certain kind of gnome that can only be rescued by either water or steam. This all adds up to a great variety of challenges and a very enjoyable game.
The game is a universal app which is currently available at just 99 cents from the app store and while you can play through all the levels for no additional charge by completing them all in order you can also pay to unlock them via in-app purchase if you don’t wish to wait, or get stuck.
As you would expect from Disney the graphics and sound are great and for anyone that has watched Phineas & Ferb before you will feel perfectly at home here. The great thing about Where’s My Perry though is that it stands up as a quality game in it’s own right too.
[rating: 5/5]What we like
What to know
Tractor Trails is a cute and difficult game that harkens back to the skills of Pac-Mac. Get your tractor moving down the trails to plant the trees, but do it in the right pattern or you’ll find yourself in a dead-end before the job is finished!
You’ve got a field (or is it an orchard?) to plant and you’ve only got so much time to do it. The little tractor “Red” is up for the job and is placed in the empty field. You drag your finger to tell Red which way to go and he continues down the path until he reaches the end. Then you drag your finger a different direction to go down another path to continue on. As you travel, you leave behind you trees that serve to both accomplish your task and block your way once they are planted. You have to think ahead to keep an open path so you can plant the entire field.
Tractor Trails {$0.99, App Store} is one of those games that looks easy until you try to master it. It scores you based on picking up objects along the trail, completing the planting, and doing it within a specified time. One out of the three is easy to do. Two of three most folks can handle. Getting all three though, takes some practice and some in-game equipment boosts to master.
The graphics are bright and clear and the music is upbeat and filled with the appropriate farm sound effects. The game has a light-hearted, cheerful feel that makes playing it a pleasant experience, and well suited for kids.
For the $0.99 price, you’ll get plenty of challenge. The in-app purchases can add corn to your stocks or unlock all the levels instantly. But you can also earn these in-game if you take the time.
Tractor Trails is a fun way to challenge yourself and your puzzle-solving skills. It strikes a nice balance between visual appeal, gameplay simplicity, and puzzle difficulty that makes if a compelling app.
[rating: 5/5]What we like:
What to know:
One of the most eagerly anticipated games has finally made its way to the iPhone and iPad. But while the wait is finally over it may not be what some players of the massively successful franchise want.
Burnouts first journey onto iOS is in the from of the mini game, Burnout Crash, that has already made it onto the PlayStation and XBox Arcade. So instead of a full-on 3D crash-fest of mangled metal, you have the pleasure of playing God, (or should that be the Devil), in a crashtastic onslaught of exploding cars, trucks and every other type of vehicle you can think of.
The 2D top-down view looks great, across a massive 18 different junctions the detail pops of the screen and the whole environment is interactive so not only can you destroy the vehicles but also blow up the surrounding buildings, parked cars and pretty much anything that burns.
Each of the 18 junctions have three different game modes so you’ll have plenty of opportunity to hone your skills and have plenty to keep coming back for as each of the have 5 stars to be collected based on high scores and other side-goals such as performing special moves or destroying certain items.
The 3 modes are Rush Hour, Pile Up and Road Block and while they all take place on the same junctions they require slightly different techniques to succeed. Rush Hour puts you up against the clock to destroy as much as you can while Pile Up tasks you to crash as many vehicles as possible and then keep them blazing. Road Block meanwhile is as simple as blocking any vehicles from driving off the screen, lose 5 and it’s game over.
All of the modes provide special vehicles too that offer a variety of challenges. Stop a Pizza delivery truck and you get to spin the lotto wheel a win a bonus item while stopping the bank truck will rain down bags of money on you.
Like all great games Burnout Crash is easy to learn but difficult to master. Controls aid this as all that’s required is a swipe to move your car or truck while a tap of your vehicle will cause it to explode once the burnout bar is maximized of course.
There are 7 cars and trucks to unlock and each one offer a slightly different balance of power and control, switching between these vehicles can offer different opportunities to grab all 5 stars on each level and you will often find yourself heading back to earlier levels with better cars to grab all the available stars.
While causing all of this mayhem you are blasted with a cacophony sound and a great set of songs from the 80’s. I certainly recommend playing this game with headphones in to get the best sound experience and so that you don’t annoy anyone sitting around you!
Unfortunately the multi-player option that they provide in the form of Autolog, is a little disappointing. It certainly works and you can send challenges to your friends but no ability to play against other players in real time is a real disappointment. And while GameCenter integration is included there are no leaderboards, just 20 achievements to be unlocked.
That being said, I do keep coming back to Burnout Crash to unlock more levels and to go back and gain more stars, it could just be so much better if the social aspects of the game worked better.
Burnout Crash is a universal game and is available in the App Store, despite its shortcomings it’s still a recommended purchase.
[rating: 4.5/5]What we like
What to know
In the world of gaming anything goes, so a back story of a group of sharks hanging out happily in a bathtub before being joined by a noisy group of rubber ducks and helping them take revenge on them is perfectly normal, right?
Luckily, reality is not a requirement in most games these days, in fact quite often the more bizarre the story the better, and that’s certainly the case for Shark Dash.
The game uses the now traditional 3 star rule to progress through the almost 100 levels over 4 different environments, (i.e. bathtubs), and these are achieved by eating all the ducks, collecting all the coins and doing this within the given number of shots.
Each level is played within the confines of a bathtub and is viewed as a sideways cut through including, bubbles, plughole, and all of the usually bathtime accoutrements that you would expect to see around the side of a bath. The graphics are solid and are certainly in keeping with the cute and fun style of the game as is the music which in is light and jaunty.
Controls are easy to learn but the levels can be difficult to master especially if you aim to get 3 stars in every single level. Collect the coins and stars is a simple task of pulling back on the shark’s tail and launching him in the direction that you desire. Your shark will pick up coins and the rubber ducks as he passes over through them, ducks will also float along the top of the water so as long as you knock them into the water and there is nothing blocking their path then they will willingly swim into your jaws.
As you progress through the 100 levels additional obstacles will be put between you and the ducks, these include salt sticks, soap, pipes, chains and a host of other things which all affect the physics of the game. The physics are additionally affected by the water in the bath so you will have to take that into consideration if your plan of attack takes you underwater, rather than over it.
Some of the objects that you’ll need to overcome will require sharks with different skills and as you progress you’ll get to unlock Sawy, Hammy and Scuby who all have skills associated to their names.
As with the majority of these games, if you don’t want to put the work into unlocking all of the levels by competing all the stars and earning coins then you can purchase coins to spend on unlocking levels, sharks and undo’s that will allow you to rewind a shot it didn’t quite go according to plan.
As if completing the 100 levels wasn’t enough there are 24 achievements to unlock and another 24 missions to keep you entertained. Unfortunately these don’t synchronise with GameCenter so there’s no way to compare your scores and achievements with your friends.
Shark Dash is a universal app and is available from the App Store now for just 99 cents. Grab it now for hours of fun, with a bite!
[rating: 4.5/5]What to know:
[rating: 4.5/5]
Snappy Dragons Review: A game where dragons and wizards do NOT peacefully coexist and fireballs are the solution. The baby dragons have been kidnapped by the mean wizards and are being held hostage. A wizard guards each baby, and there are a few extra wizards around for more “protection.” Your job is to take out the wizardss with your fireballs and set the babies free again.
Your challenge is more difficult than it first appears, as the terrain itself is an obstacle. Water, mountains, floating forms that move, and other defenses present themselves along the way. And you only have so many fireballs to work with to save the babies.
The gameplay is a bit like Angry Birds and a bit like Mario. The challenges get more complex and each of your fireballs must be deployed effectively to master the level. There are a variety of environments you will find yourself in, everything from steaming jungle to frozen tundra. These provide some nice visual variety with their bright colors and cute themes.
The sound environment is mostly nature sounds with a measure or two of music every now and then. It’s a nice change from the soundtracks found in many other games. The sound effects provide good feedback when you throw your fireballs and they hit an obstacle.
Snappy Dragons {$0.99} is a cute, well-designed game that is difficult enough to make you work for it and want to come back until you’ve solved the puzzle. There’s plenty of variety too to make it worth the price.
What we like:
What to know:
[rating: 5/5]
Tomb Slider Review: A block-moving puzzle game that gives your brain a workout! I love the quality of this game. There are similar block puzzle games, but Tomb Slider has stepped it up a notch.
The premise of the game is to move the large stones blocking your path to the exit. Sometimes this is simple; sometimes you scratch your head and figure it out by chance. The puzzles get progressively more difficult and you are racing the clock to get the best score. There is an option for “Relax Mode” lets you play without worrying about the clock, if that suits you. And there are 360 puzzle variations and strategies to go along with them to keep it fresh, and more on the way.
This is definitely a game that will have you saying “just one more” until you totally lose track of time.
Tomb Slider is Game Center enabled so you can compete with friends through achievements (in-game trophies) and leaderboards. And taking a cue from Angry Birds, you can try for perfection by clearing each puzzle with a three-star effort.
The graphics for this game are stunning. They are bright, cute, and clear. Animations are an extra bonus and add a nice touch of whimsy along with added quality and attention to detail. The music is fittingly heavy on flutes and drums.
There is a free version of the game which allows you to “try before you buy” and it gives you a fair portion of the game from which to decide. And while I initially balked at the $2.99 price tag, it didn’t take five minutes of play to realize it was well worth it.
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[rating: 5/5]
BLOCKADO Desert Review: A puzzle-solving game in the tradition of the toy puzzle-square games, but with lots of digital twists.
Set in a desert archeological dig environment, this game asks you to move obstacles out of the way so that the treasure chests can reach the exits. Simple enough. Except the obstacles only move lengthwise. And other obstacles block them. Some obstacles are obvious, but some literally pop up and have to be solved before moving ahead. And the obstacles come in different varieties and each has its own characteristics such as spring or magnetic action.
It takes a bit to slide the objects around to make way for the treasure chests. If you get stuck, there is a help that you can access to see the solution. But of course, you will lose credit for solving that puzzle if you do. There are also some extra-hard puzzles with no solution help if you want to up the challenge a bit.
Each level consists of a treasure map that requires you to solve several puzzles along the way, each getting more difficult. When you’ve completed the map you unearth a fossil or other treasure before continuing on to the next challenge. There’s a bit of interesting information about these treasures that’s worth the pause to read.
The graphics are 3-D to allow you to see the obstacles and there’s enough color and contrast to help you identify the various parts of the game pieces. The music is majestic and the sound effects provide feedback as you move the pieces. Both support the desert theme and give the game an exotic feel.
There are scores of puzzles to be solved in BLOCKADO Desert. (There is also a free version, but it’s limited to 9 puzzles.) If you’re looking for something just a bit different there are Jungle, Mountain, and Deep Sea BLOCKADO games too. And if you’re looking for some additional puzzles, you can add levels by scanning QR codes from the developers website. New codes are added weekly. There’s even a BLOCKADO EDITOR available for download so you can build your own games and scan them in, which allows you to share them with others.
BLOCKADO Desert is an addictive game that will work your brain for a long time to come. The number and complexity of puzzles will keep you coming back for more.
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Lizards come in six colors: the three primary colors of red, blue, and yellow to be combined into the three secondary colors of orange, green, and purple. You can match up any color to create a line for points, but you only have control over moving the primary colored lizards to create the secondary colors. And you cannot move the primary colored lizards to create a row of three, nor can you combine a primary with a secondary colored lizard.
Randomly, white “wildcard” lizards will appear. You can choose to make these lizards any of the six colors based on what color will do you the most good and complete a line. You don’t have to change its color right away, so you can work to strategically place it for the most points.
The graphics for the “lizards” are cute enough and the blinking, moving eyeballs keep it from getting stale, although I’d say they look more like birds than lizards. The country barn dance style music keeps it lively too and adds to the spunkiness of the game. It’s also Game Center compatible, which, of course, means challenges for achievements and the leader board.
The free version has plenty to keep you going with a Marathon mode, but $0.99 will get you the chance to get additional wildcard lizards, allow you a couple of un-dos per game, change the background color, and access to the two additional game modes of Time Attack and Kid Play.
If you like Bejeweled but want to mix it up a bit, or if you’ve never tried Bejeweled and simply like puzzle-type games, this is a fun alternative that will soak up time and provide a unique challenge in its own right.
Pros:
Cons:
If you have ever played Cut The Rope or enjoy a good physics based puzzle game then Spider Jack developed by Chillingo’s Clickgamer is certainly worth checking out.
Spider Jack [$.99] is clearly inspired by the gameplay of Cut The Rope, in this new addictive game its all about helping the spider catch the flies to satisfy his hunger. He swings from his web and you then need to cut a web so he can reach the fly.
First of all you start out in the Barn room, there is also a bathroom and laboratory room but you have to collect a set amount of stars before you can enter them. So once you are in the room you work your way through each level.
When the game begins you have to tap a button for the web to appear. When you do your friendly Spider Jack attaches himself to it and starts moving along it. Depending how the web is postioned will determine where Jack is going to go. You may find he swings from left to right or just tangles down. You have to use your skills to drop him to the fly by cutting the web with your finger. You need to do this when he is positioned over the fly. Once that is done you have completed the level.
Like Angry Birds and Cut The Rope there is also the chance to collect stars as you go. The more stars you collect the more points you achieve and as I mentioned earlier you will then unlock the other rooms.
The levels start off fairly easy and then as you progress obstacles are put in your way. Things like hairdryers to blow you the wrong way or electricity to zap and fry you! When you get further into the game you will also need to use two webs. You will then have to work them together to swing Jack where he needs to go. It is all about timing and a precise cut of the rope web.
There are 75 levels to complete and the developers have promised that there are more to come. It is a great idea having the stars to collect as well. This is popular in the other games and gives extended game play if you want to redo levels and collect all stars.
I really enjoyed the cutesy graphics and sound effects. Spider Jack makes some cute and funny noises. It had me giggling when he was puffing and panting climbing up a web! The animated graphics are colourful and fun and very entertaining at times.
Spider Jack also has Game Center support so you can compete on the leader board and try and get all the achievements. Again it is offering more reason for you to come back and keep playing. It is a fun game that all ages will enjoy.
Pros
Cons
$0.99
Category: Games
Released: May 05, 2011
Version: 1.0
1.0 (iOS 4.0 Tested)
Size: 16.7 MB
Languages: English, Russian
Seller: Clickgamer Technologies Ltd
© MaxNick
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later
Group all the coloured blocks to clear the screen and move on to the next level in Blockees for iPhone 4 developed by Runloop Ltd. The game adds a fun twist to the popular puzzle genre. It might sound like a match three type of game but it is not.
In each level you are greeted with colourful little blocks with eyes watching your every move. The way to play is to slide the blocks by swiping in what ever direction you want them to go. One swipe moves them all. When the blocks that are the same colour touch side by side they are cleared off the screen. You have to keep moving until they are all matched and to try do it in a set amount of moves .
There are three colours to match up red, blue and yellow. Mixed in with those blocks are also grey blockees. These blocks don’t want to play though so they just hang around and get in your way making your job a whole lot harder. Then you have rainbow blockees which will group together with any colour of block so those ones are always good to have! Then last thing you have are bombs. These stun your little blockees but totally destroy the grey blocks.
As you progress the levels get quite hard, infact almost from the start they are quite difficult. There is though always three uncompleted levels to play giving you the option to go back to a level later. A feature that at times came in rather handy. You can if need be get hints to help you along the way. You earn these by collecting gold stars. The stars can then be spent on getting a hint for a level you are stuck on.
There are 75 levels to complete separated into 3 with 25 in each. If that isn’t enough for you though there is also a puzzle editor section. This is where you can create your own puzzle to play. It is also the same editor the developers used to create the actual game levels.
You can also share your puzzles with other players. You can create a Puzzle Pack Generator of a selection of puzzles that others have created and play them too. So there is a huge amount of possible levels.
To top it off Blockees also is integrated with Game Center with 14 achievements to complete. This game will keep you busy for a very long time!
Pros
Cons
$0.99
Category: Games
Updated: Apr 27, 2011
Current Version: 2.0.2
2.0.2
Size: 6.9 MB
Language: English
Seller: Runloop Ltd
© 2011 Runloop Ltd
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later
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[rating: 4/5]
Jump Out for iPhone 4 is brought to you by Avallon Alliance Limited and is a new physics puzzler. Think Cut The Rope but this time with little cute bugs jumping about on your screen.
The big googly-eyed bugs in ‘Jump Out‘ have had enough being stuck in the box and are now waiting for you to help them escape. With 60 levels to complete you the differents bugs will have to dodge obstacles to get to safety while collecting stars as you go.
You start out as a charming beetle bug. To get around your box you have to bounce onto what looks like bottle tops. Bouncing from one to the other. If the bug lands on the floor though, you will see your new found friendly bug wither away and die. So it’s best to watch out so that you are careful with your jumps!
The controls are easy to pick up. When you first start to play the game it will show you the controls in the background of how to control your bug. Simply flick him by holding on to him then letting go. If you want to see where he might land hold your finger down longer and a line will appear to guide you with your aim. I must admit once I figured out that bit, it was a little easier at getting him to go where I wanted.
You have to aim for the exit and while you are jumping from bottle top to bottle top collect stars as you go. The more stars you collect the more points you earn. To get to the next level you only actually have to get one bug through the exit. I felt this a bit strange as I expected to have to get all bugs through but that wasn’t the case. At times this made it a slightly easier to play. You do score more obviously if you manage to free all.
The warm up levels are quite easy but help you get into the swing of things for the harder levels. As you progress you will start getting obstacles in the way like sugar cube barriers and fans blowing strong air out. Each one needing the bug to work its way around it.
There are currently four bugs to free, the charming beetle, high-jumping cricket, feeble shrimp and tough snail each with their own unique abilities. You get new bugs as you work through the levels.
The graphics are fun and colourful, with great animated characters. Their huge eyes are bound to have you feeling sorry for them and help them the best you can!
It is a fun, challenging game for all ages and one that can be picked up and played for any length of time. There is Game Center support coming soon. The developers have also promised new bugs, traps and levels. A great game to try with the promise of much more to come.
Pros
Cons
$0.99
Category: Games
Released: Apr 22, 2011
Version: 1.0
1.0
Size: 13.6 MB
Language: English
Seller: Avallon Alliance Ltd.
© 2011 by Avallon Alliance LTD
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.1 or later
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Multipods Escalation is a fun-puzzler that utilizes real-time strategy to challenge you to make on the fly decisions while keeping your eye on the prize. Most of the puzzles are easy enough to solve, but you can’t forget your enemies, the bugs. You must fend of the bugs and solve the puzzle. You are the main man of the crustaceans tasked with keeping your territory by killing off the bugs.
The game utilizes a simple tap-to-command control system. Each of your multipods have three basic controls; move, attack and defend. You utilize the map that is in a grid form to navigate your soldiers to where they need to be. A tap on a square and your multipod will go there, a double-tap and your multipod will defend that square and a double tap on an enemy will cause your multipod to attack the enemy. These controls must be used at the right time in the right 
place to be affective. Rambo style play works in the early stages but does not pay off in the later rounds. The game utilizes different mechanisms to change up the map design. A few examples of these mechanisms would be the buttons you must have a multipod land on to open a given door and a sort of teleport square that will send you to a corresponding point at a different part of the map. The use of these different controls and mechanisms help break up the game play and change the way you go about your business.
Multipods sports 45 bases of varying difficulty. The levels are all unique and challenge you to play a different way each time. Sometimes being the aggressor is the way to go while sometimes it is better to sit back and let the bugs separate themselves from one another so that you can pick them off in smaller groups. There are varying types of bugs, four to be exact to your six different multipods. Make sure you attack the right bugs with the right multipods or you will your tasks to be quite daunting.
The game is a puzzler at heart with a slight touch of real time strategy to change it up. The level design goes a long way into increasing the playability of this game. At first you might think the maps seem simple and find very little challenge but as you go the map design will prove to bring about new and exciting challenges that make you utilize the real time strategy element while not forgetting the puzzle element. At times it can seem like a lot to wrap your head around. You will need to think quick too because the bugs don’t stop attacking just because you are plotting your next move so don’t get caught napping.
Finally, I’d like to mention the presentation and overall feel of the game. The game is very fluid and had no problem navigating the controls and maps at all. The presentation, like most puzzlers, left something to be desired but I feel that that isn’t a huge deal because of the gameplay. The audio again is good but not great. It is certainly adequate for a game that focuses on the gameplay. I really like the fact that it ties into game center so you can unlock achievements and brag to friends. If you are a puzzler who likes a new twist to the challenge such as real time strategy I suggest that you give this game a try, it will definitely challenge your puzzle and strategy skills.
Pros
Cons
$0.99
Category: Games
Updated: Apr 11, 2011
Current Version: 1.1.0
1.1.0
Size: 15.5 MB
Language: English
Seller: Tristan Behrens
© 2011 Aztlan Games
Rated 9+ for the following:
Frequent/Intense Cartoon or Fantasy Violence
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.2 or later.
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Arctic Escape is a simple yet unique puzzle game for the iPhone. You use commands to help corral penguins into a helicopter. Penguins into a helicopter you ask? Yes, the penguins have been abducted from Antarctica by an evil scientist and guess who gets to help get them back home: YOU! You will use commands to guide the penguins through levels and avoid obstacles. The goal is to get all of the penguins to the helicopter in a timely fashion.
As I mentioned earlier, the control system in Arctic Escape is incredibly easy to wrap your head around. You see a list of controls at the bottom of the screen that tell your penguins to go up, down, left, right and jump. You also have the option to erase something you put down by accident which I must say happens quite often with the screen size of the iPhone. You use the controls I mentioned to guide the penguins past traps that try to keep them from getting to the helicopter. Traps like breaking ice, holes, collapsing bridges and cages. If you plan out your routes carefully, these obstacles can be avoided but the maps always seem to find a way to throw your curveballs.
A word to the wise, try to space out your penguins so that they do not run into one another. This will help make them do what you intend to do. If they run into one another sometimes they will change directions unexpectedly and cause you to lose a penguin. As you progress through the game, other obstacles rear their ugly heads. These obstacles such as a hungry wolf and gates that have switches to open them can throw a kink in your plans so be careful.
This gameplay is very simple as you can tell but it is extremely addictive. This is a great thing because there are over one hundred levels that will challenge you along the way. There are 8 separate worlds with thirteen levels each. This may seem like too many at first but I can tell you as I progressed it was awesome to know that there was plenty more fun to be had and that the game would not be ending soon. The replay value due to this fact alone is awesome. I also love the fact that with 8 icy worlds the settings seem to continually change. This along with the continually changing challenges that you see along the way, the game is never dull and is always testing your wits. On top of the difficulty is the fact that being able to get 
through the levels quickly is how you get the best score. However, attempting to speed through the levels quickly is what gave me trouble so remain cautious when you increase the pace.
The visual and audio presentation of this app is nothing over the top but is ample for the extremely addictive puzzler gameplay. The type of game plays a large role in what you can do visually and how you should approach it audibly and they do a great job of both in this game. Too much focus in these areas would most certainly have taken away from level design and gameplay and those two things take the cake. The audio is great and the adorable penguins were well received by my wife. I would highly recommend this game to puzzlers who are looking for a nice long play that is extremely addictive.
Pros
Cons
$0.99
Category: Games
Released: Mar 30, 2011
Version: 1.0.0
1.0.0 (iOS 4.0 Tested)
Size: 30.9 MB
Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
Seller: Teyon
© 2011 Teyon. All rights reserved.
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.2 or later
[rating: 4/5]
Woozzle is a puzzle game that relies heavily on your logic. This game is masterfully put together to bring a steady dose of fresh techniques and puzzles coming at you at all times. This is a marble based puzzle game that keeps the new challenges coming throughout the entirety of the game.
The controls in Woozzle for iPhone are fairly complex when you take a step back and think about what all you can do. The interaction with the game is as simple as any other game; tapping and flicking. However, this marble based game using a series of tubes and four marble turntables to challenge you to complete certain tasks. The turntables can hold four marbles that are put in place by the tubes that carry the marbles from place to place. To send marbles between the turntables you simply flick the marble. You can also rotate the turntable with a simple tap. Sure that all seems easy enough but when you think about it, that gives you a lot of options. Your score comes from the timeliness in which you are able to carry out the given tasks and as you can imagine, finding ways to accomplish this gets progressively more difficult.
Often times you are tasked with getting four like colored marbles in a given turntable. With that being said, early on in this game, little quirks will change the way you go about accomplishing this. Using boxes that change marble color, one way tubes, rotating corners and a slew of other roadblocks; they manage to keep the gameplay fresh and ripe with new challenges. There is a total of 60 levels in this game which is really a bit astonishing considering the complexity and difficulty of some of the puzzles. Right about the time you see the little quirks start to taper off, you see a noticeable increase in difficulty. It is this that kept me coming back to this game. The fact that there was a steady change in game play early on that gave way to increased difficulty got me hooked and kept me coming back. If you are avid puzzle game player I suspect that it will do the same to you. As I mentioned earlier, the game rewards you for finishing the levels quickly, but does not force you to do so. You are given a score at the end of a given level that adds up to your overall score. This is nice but sometimes, especially on your first time on a level, it’s nice to just finish the level.
The presentation of this game is solid. I didn’t find the game overly impressive visually but the audio was a pleasant surprise. The game offered plenty of sounds and different music that plays an integral role in keeping a game from getting annoying, at least it does in my mind. I am often turned off a game by repetitive annoying sounds or music and this game does a great job of having music that goes along with the gameplay quite well. I do feel that there could have been a greater change in the environment that would have simply added to the visual aspects of the game. I was pleasantly surprised by this puzzler and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a challenge.
Pros
Cons
$0.99
Category: Games
Released: Mar 31, 2011
Version: 1.0
1.0 (iOS 4.0 Tested)
Size: 59.0 MB
Language: English
Seller: Lukas Korba
© 2011 Mugeaters
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later
[rating: 5/5]
If you haven’t heard of Angry Birds then you’ve probably been living under a rock. If you haven’t played Angry Birds then you were not alone. Neither had I. Until now. I was the last hold out for the Angry Birds franchise in my group of friends; avoiding it like the plague, in much the same way that I have avoided Facebook. But after a 6 hour journey from Shanghai to Hong Kong I have finally been initiated into the Angry Birds world! My initiation was with the movie tie in version of the game franchise – “Angry Birds Rio“. Yes, Angry Birds will be coming to a movie made by 20th Century Fox in the summer. Often movie tie ins yield pretty awful computer games.. How have Angry Birds developer Rovio, done with their own game franchise and the movie tie in of the concept?
If you are not familiar with Angry Birds, then where have you been? But in a nutshell, the game involves firing a bunch of psychotic birds with differing abilities at structures, which in the original game were populated by pigs. The bird’s sworn enemies! The way you aim the birds is by pulling them back in a bungie, which is part of a catapult arrangement, to vary the speed and angle they are launched into the air at. You use this angle and speed of attack to strike constructions made of lots of materials which obey the laws of physics very realistically.
In Angry Birds Rio [App Store] the story line is that the game’s protagonists were kidnapped and flown to Rio. Once they escaped, they set about rescuing fellow (less psychotic) birds which had also been kidnapped. This is achieved in various level progressions by firing birds with differing abilities at fairly badly constructed piles of wood, concrete, steel and chains, which house, or have bird cages hung from them. This is initially set in a nondescript, but beautifully rendered warehouse somewhere close to Rio. You can change the view of your level by pinch zooming, and scrolling. And firing birds is down by simply pressing down on the next bird loaded in a catapult, and pulling and sliding it around to stretch and aim the bungie it is strapped into in its catapult.
Completion of a level is achieved by using your allotted set of Angry Birds for that particular level to free all their fellow feathered friends from their cages. While playing the game you will be able to discover hints and tips to beat your previous score and brag about it. Using less birds (you simply treat them like ammo) achieves bonus points, as does hitting various other items like pineapples, or doing trick shots involving environment objects, like swinging lamps, to cause cascading collapses and liberate trapped birds. Be aware that lamps and other objects suspended from the ceiling in the warehouse can both help and hinder your aim, and the birds flight path. It is also worth looking around the play area for special hidden objects in weird places which will award you bonuses. There are also bonus objects hidden deep in the bowels of on screen structures – which take some serious demolition skills, and planning to get to before each level ends when you run out of birds to fire, or free all the Angry Birds’ friends.
The abilities of your birds varies. Some are just dumb projectiles. Some are single birds that split mid flight into cluster bombs of multiple birds, and some are more violent triangle shaped birds that are extremely aggressive single projectiles.
Puzzles revolve around the placement, and weight of the various materials used to construct a level. For example, some levels are simply made of precariously balanced piles of wood – which are easy to topple with some well placed feathered projectiles. Others are made of more heavy concrete or steel items, which require more accurate hits with birds, or even some planning to undermine weaker foundations in stages to allow the entire construction to become unstable and then topple over – freeing birds in cages, or suspended from chains. The latter swing beautifully when struck – and if not struck hard enough, just swing, and don’t release their captives.
A nice touch is that once you fire your last bird the game will allow some time for items that are falling, or wobbling on the edge of toppling over, so that you can complete a level even if your last shot didn’t quite hit home the correct way. Restarting, or re-trying levels, is quick and easy also.
The game seems to sip battery power, despite having beautiful graphics, and very smooth animations. And the 3 hours flight time (with delays) from Shanghai to Hong Kong seemed to zip by in 5 minutes for me while playing the game. And my waiting time at each end of the journey for gates to open, and taxis to pick me up also zipped by. The game pauses and resumes without any hitches also, so this game is perfect to pull out at any point to play, and then stick in your pocket when you have something to do in the real world.
As you unlock each level you progress to new puzzles, which go from fairly simple, to devilishly difficult. And you can always go back to previous levels to try and complete them more efficiently, and get more bonus points. On my trip I managed to complete the first set of levels, which is set in a warehouse in Rio. And I am looking forward to my return flight tonight, when I can go through them again and try to do better. Or perhaps I’ll just move onto the next set of levels.. Yes, there is more…
There is a second set of levels you can then unlock, which I have just stared, which involves a new set of enemies for the Angry Birds. Monkeys. They are incredibly irritating, but in a good way. So lots of fun. And that set of levels is set in the jungle. So a refreshing change after a bunch of levels in a warehouse.
All in all in the version of “Angry Birds Rio” that you get for the silly low price of $0.99 there are around 60 levels, with tons of hidden awards to unlock. It’s stupidly good value – and has lots of reply value too.
Apparently in coming months there will be more level packs for the game, and I am sure they will also be priced at a silly price too. But what you get, as it stands, puts a lot of content into a game for pocket change, that AAA $60++ console titles shill us for.
If the movie is half as good as this game then it is set to be a huge success, like anything Rovio seem to do. The developers of Angry Birds deserve all the success they have had. And more power to them. They have produced a franchise with mass appeal, of great quality and a simplicity and addictiveness which is appealing to everyone from kids, to bored executives to crusty cynical old developers like me. Bravo.
Buy this game!
Pros
Cons
$0.99
Category: Games
Released: Mar 17, 2011
Version: 1.0.0
1.0.0 (iOS 4.0 Tested)
Size: 13.1 MB
Language: English
Seller: Rovio Mobile
© Rovio Mobile Ltd
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later
In Liqua Pop for iPhone, Toadie the frog needs help clearing his way to the top of the leaf and you are just the person to help. In this match-3 puzzler, you are tasked with popping matching color droplets by dragging them together and not allowing them to overflow the screen. You will find boosts to help you along your way as the increasing speed of the droplets attempt to overwhelm you. This puzzle game certainly incites a fast style of game play.
Liqua Pop is an innovative match 3 puzzle game that is both visually impressive and addictive. The game has a liquid based theme and interface that flows extremely well and carries on with the theme of the game. The key to this game is combining all the droplets you can to gain more points. After you combine 3 or more, a timer will start and the bubble will burst. The goal is get rid of all of the droplets while trying to get as big a bubble as possible to get a higher score. This sounds fairly easy but as you go the droplets come faster and faster and while trying to combine droplets for a bigger score can get pretty hectic.
Along the journey you encounter 7 bugs that aid in your quest. The bugs are stuck in random bubbles and when the bubbles burst the bugs are released and they aid by giving you a boost. These boosts consist of bugs that change surrounding bubbles colors or even burst the other bubbles surrounding it. If you aren’t careful the bugs can leave behind obstacles so, as always keep a keen eye in this game.
The main action you will find yourself doing in this game is sliding your finger from droplet to droplet to combine them until the timer runs out and they burst. A very helpful feature is that when bubbles are big enough to start counting down you can shake your iPhone and they will burst immediately. This is extremely important when your screen begins to fill up and you have few other choices. The color scheme of the bubbles also changes from time to time to create just a little more havoc. Sometimes you will have large amounts of two colors that threaten to expand so much that they end your game by filling the screen and other times there are so many colors that it is hard to combine them fast enough. All of the different changes in game play make this game diverse and extremely different each time you play.
This game is stunning visually and the ambient sounds do a great job in tying in to the theme of the game. A real game changer for me was the ability to play music on your iPhone in the app while you are playing. This gives you not only the awesome sounds of the game but your favorite tunes to play to. The changing environment that is built on a liquid theme is staggering. It is very impressive how the entire interface ties into the theme and renames so crisp and clean. I never saw a dip in the game play and everything remained fluid and smooth throughout my entire experience. This is impressive considering everything in this game is continually moving and seemingly changing colors, it’s borderline psychedelic.
Liqua Pop for iPhone is a combination of addictive gameplay, stunning visual scheme and awesome features like picking your own music that kept me coming back to this game. The fact that you can log in to Facebook and share your high scores with friends as well as see a world scoreboard is pretty awesome as well. At $1.99 this game is a bargain for those who are looking for a highly addictive game that has great visuals and great features.
Pros
Cons
$1.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released: Mar 10, 2011
Version: 1.0.9
1.0.9
Size: 12.0 MB
Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
Seller: Electronic Arts Inc.
© Original idea by Kirill Bulatsev. Developed by iChromo
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later
Smoody [rating: 4.5/5]
A species has found itself spread out throughout space and Earth and are trying to reunite and it’s your job to help them. Smoody for iPhone is an awesome game that challenges you to find creative methods of getting your character through a series of obstacles to a black hole. Various actions like tapping, sliding or releasing help you find ways to get them back together. It tests your creativity and quick wits early and often, let’s see if you make the cut.
Smoody offers many different tasks and often several different ways of completing them. You begin by making cuts with your finger (aka chainsaw) on strings and boards and allow gravity to do the rest and take smoody to the black hole. Sounds easy enough right? Well it isn’t always that simple. Getting the highest score is the goal and to do that you have to use as few cuts as possible. This is where it gets interesting, each performance is rated by stars from one to three. Fewer the cuts the more the stars and when you are looking at your level screen, who doesn’t want to see all maps with 3 stars? This makes even the easy maps a little more interesting and keeps the gameplay competitive.
The game often tasks you with picking just the right timing to release you smoody to go through a slew of obstacles such as swinging boulders, boards and rocks. Stationary objects can also present obstacles as you may have to cut to release them to help the game character reach its goal. It is always important to pay attention to your environment because overlooking the smallest thing may stop your smoody cold in its tracks.
The maps are generally short but can take several attempts to get 3 stars. This keeps the game from getting stale and provides you with new looks and challenges around every bend. There are also 4 environments that present you with 80 levels which is an awesome amount, especially since I had a hard time putting this game down. The different environments help with changing up the background and level design so it doesn’t feel like you are continuously doing the same thing over and over.
Smoody does a great job of changing the pace with new types of obstacles. Items like magnets, rolling boulders and swinging boulders change the way you attack maps from the early stages in the game. Learning to adapt to the changes in the environment is key to getting a high score so pay attention.
The visual part of this game is great. The characters are funny little guys and they change throughout the course of the maps. The environments are fairly simple but have a nice clean appearance and clearly show themselves for what they are. It is easy to see if something can be cut through or not. I never had a problem with this game bogging down at any time and it always played very smooth. Overall the appearance and presentation of this game comes second only to the amazing gameplay.
The audio of this game carries a single tune but is there just as a buffer to the sound effects of the game. I found myself paying more attention to the sound effects than the music. The music however was very fitting tune that went well with the game.
This game never got old to me and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I should also mention that it supports OpenFeint social gaming network so you can brag to your friends about your high scores and compare them. I find this to be a value adding feature that I have come to love about games that support it. The presentation and gameplay make a stunning combo and make this game very addictive. It is certainly worth every penny.
Pros
Cons
$0.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released: Mar 08, 2011
Version: 1.0
1.0
Size: 9.5 MB
Language: English
Seller: Federico Kalayjian
© 2011 Federico Kalayjian
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.1.3 or later