The gaming giant recently acquired Chillingo and Firemint, both companies have produced highly successful titles for iPhone and iPad. PopCap Games have some of the most addictive games to their credit which include but not limited to Plants vs. Zombies, Bejeweled, and Zuma.

John Riccitiello, CEO of EA, in a press release said:

PopCap’s great studio talent and powerful IP add to EA’s momentum and accelerate our drive towards a $1 billion digital business. EA’s global studio and publishing network will help PopCap rapidly expand their business to more digital devices, more countries, and more channels.

EA is clearly expanding its portfolio and wants to capture the casual gaming market which has proved to be highly successful in the mobile segment.

PopCap Games is looking at taking advantage of EA’s resources to scale their games and services to deliver more casual fun to an even bigger audience according to David Roberts, CEO of PopCap.

Mobile gaming industry is still in its evolutionary stage and EA is certainly being aggressive in making sure they stay ahead in the coming years. It will be interesting to see who is EA’s next target!

Apple’s latest TV ads have adopted a new tone which highlights things you are missing out on ‘if you don’t an iPhone’. The latest advertisement to hit Apple.com is about ‘Game Center’.

The new iPhone 4 ad points out the huge collection of games available on the App Store and then shows Apple’s social gaming center where you can invite friends, challenge them and play head-to-head.

Games showcased during the advertisement include Electronic Arts’ hugely popular classic game Scrabble, Chair Entertainment’s epic sword fighting game Infinity Blade and Star Battalion by Gameloft.

Apple previously posted similar ads highlighting App Store, iBooks and iPod and iTunes. All these end with the tagline “if you don’t have an iPhone, well, you don’t have an iPhone!” and then calls iPhone 4 the worlds thinnest smartphone.

In the recent past our favorite iPhone 4 ad has been ‘Waltz’ which features the phone on AT&T and Verizon. Do you like Apple’s latest iPhone TV ads? Let us know what you think in the comments.

The game will allow Harry Potter fans to get more involved in the world of wizards and it will focus on Harry’s first four years. The release of the game has been perfectly timed for the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows which is due in theaters November 19.

LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 will bring the world of LEGO Harry Potter to life on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, giving gamers the power to play with LEGO characters and models in a brand new way. Based on the first four Harry Potter books and movies, LEGO Harry Potter builds on the foundations of previous LEGO videogames by offering a mix of fun, accessible gameplay and light-hearted humour – which appeals to all ages. Players will explore and feel as though they are ‘at Hogwarts’

This will be the first LEGO Harry Potter game to be available on the App Store and could turn out to be an entertaining game for all the Harry Potter fans who own iOS devices.

LEGO Harry Potter Sneak Peek

Firemint today sent us a teaser image of their upcoming game “Real Racing 2″ for iPhone. No details were provided all we got was the image above. The original Real Racing from Firemint is one of the best realistic racing games on the App Store. The game has already won many awards and was also the winner of the Apple Design Award 2010 for setting a new standard for the amazing quality and console-like performance on the iPhone.

Real Racing was one of the first racing games to feature the in-car cockpit view and the developers have been continually updating the game by adding new features. With more than 76 events in the full career mode, 5 modes of play and multiplayer capabilities the game offers endless hours of adrenaline pumping racing action.

If you seriously love racing games then you probably own Real Racing for iPhone (View in iTunes) already. It will be interesting to see what Firemint has in store for us with Real Racing 2.

Check back soon for more details.

Gaston #1 Superball by Marsu Productions is a super ball bouncing game. A similar styled game to Doodle Jump and Mega Jump that are also available in the app store. This time you are in control of a bouncing ball, a super one at that!

You have to control the young boy that has just invented this amazing ball by helping him jump higher and higher. Using the tilt controls of your phone you move the device from left to right and he will move in that direction.

Along the way there are objects in the sky to help you gain a bit of height. Many birds are floating waiting for you to bounce on them. I wasn’t quite sure what they were at first because you move up the screen quite fast. You can earn more points by collecting coloured balloons. Look out for the alarm clock though this deducts points and in no way helps you!

There are three modes to play Classic, Night and Halloween with the promise of more themes to come. The graphics are quite good but I just felt that everything was moving very quickly that it was hard making out what things were.

There is nothing really unique to this game to separate it with the many others in this style that are available. If you like this kind of game though this wouldn’t really matter. Gaston #1 – The Superball for iPhone is also integrated with Game Center so there is the appeal to compete with your friends to keep you interested.

Pros

• Game Center integration.
• Good Graphics
• Easy controls

Cons

• Moves quite fast on screen an you are unable to make out what objects are.
• Nothing unique about the game.

$1.99 (VIew in iTunes)
Category: Games
Updated: Oct 22, 2010
Current Version: 1.1.1
1.1.1
13.7 MB
Languages: English, French, German
Seller: Marsu Productions
© @MARSU 2010 by Franquin -developed by VETASOFT, published by MARSU PRODUCTIONS
Rated 12+ for the following:
Infrequent/Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use or References
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

iTangram [rating: 5/5]

iTangram is a puzzle game set in a magical kingdom. Within this kingdom magicians used crystals to control the four elements, now these crystals are out of control and destroying the castle and its surroundings. It is your task to help rebuild the castle one puzzle at a time.

Developed by  Gameolymp iTangram is featured with 50 unique levels and 5 bonus levels to complete. Each level becoming harder as you go. It offers a twist to the classic versions of tangram games by having the addition of some very nice background graphics and calming music.

To play the game when each level begins you will see an empty grid you need to fill with various shapes. You do this by using the shapes that fall down from the top of the screen. To catch a block that is falling just tap it and drag it to where you would like it to go. To rotate it clockwise use your second finger whilst holding it.

If you do not use a shape it falls to the bottom of the screen between two force fields. If lightening begins to show between them it means it is becoming over loaded. If there are too many in there you will loose. So you need to avoid letting too many stay there.

You can also earn combos by adding three or more blocks together. There are also runes to use to help you, for example a stone breaking rune will destroy a chosen block for you. A diamond rune will turn any chosen block into a small triangle. There are several of these that fall to help you as you go.

The game is also integrated with OpenFeint with various achievements to be completed. It is a game that is ideal to play anytime as it saves your progress as you go. iTangram is great puzzle game that becomes hard to put down the further you get into it.

Pros

• Great music and graphics
• Openfeint enabled
• Easy to play and control

Cons

• None!

$0.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Updated: Nov 02, 2010
Current Version: 1.0.1
1.0.1 (iOS 4.0 Tested)
32.9 MB
Language: English
Seller: Dmitry Gapkalov
© 2010 GameOlymp Software
Rated 4+
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

EVAC [rating: 2/5]

If you like or liked Pacman but would like a little more of a puzzle aspect to it then EVAC for iPhone could be the game for you as this seemingly Pacman inspired action puzzler is exactly that.

The game includes a storyline where you have to escape the electronic maze that you are currently trapped in.  You are helped in your endevor by Cratos, a mysterious character that hides in the corners of the maze and advices you on your task.  On the other side  of your challenge is Shadowbox, an equally mysterious character who appears to taunt you throughout the game.

The gameplay is just like Pacman, across 24 different maps you run your block around the mazes collecting lines of dots while being chased by ghosts, there are even power-ups that allow you to attack and kill the ghost blocks that chase you down.  The game does continue to add additional features as you progress through the levels, you can stealthily hide is some areas, move blocks to open/block pathways, electrify yourself and electrocute your enemy, these additions keep things interesting.

The problem for me is the controls which initially I thought were going to work really well turn out to be the thing that let’s the game down as just when you need a quick move to avoid imminent capture the controls don’t react and you end up losing the last of your lives.

As I said, initially I thought the controls would work well.  A virtual button is placed in the bottom left hand corner of the screen and pressing above, below, left or right of the button will move your character in that direction.  You can even move the virtual button anywhere on the screen by holding it for a few seconds.  So in effect you get a hybrid floating directional button, because it doesn’t move during normal game play though it’s to easy to miss it at the crucial moment.

If you continue to move your finger in a given direction your character continues to move in that direction but you may be way off the centre of the button by that point so when you attempt to move on the opposite direction you aren’t in the right spot.  This makes the game very frustrating to the point of unplayable.

There are additional loose edges too, for example when clicking on the Scores page the page is actually titled Hall Of Fame and on that same page the Menu icon and Profile link overlap the leader board.  These are small details but just show a lack of attention to detail.

It’s nice to see a global leader board available esp. in a 1.0 version of a game but the leader board appears to be configured strangely as it appears to be a combined score of all the times you’ve played, which rewards the frequent players rather than the best players.

At 99 cents this isn’t going to break the bank but there are definitely better ways to spend a dollar, that is at least the controls are sorted out.

Pros

• Pacman for the 21st century
• Nice electronic style
• Interesting storyline

Cons

• Unplayable controls
• Only 24 levels
• Lacking attention to detail

$0.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released: Oct 30, 2010
Version: 1.0
1.0 (iOS 4.0 Tested)
9.8 MB
Language: English
Seller: David Peroutka
© 2010 Hexage Ltd
Rated 4+
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

NBA Elite 11 by EA Sports [rating: 4.5/5]

Only a week into the 2010/2011 NBA season EA Sports have released the latest in their sports range of games to coincide with it, enabling you to recreate the excitement of one of America’s most popular professional sports.

As you would expect with EA the game is fully licensed and so you’ll get to play along with over 450 of your favorite players, 30 NBA teams and unlockable legends from years gone by. These all look great on the iPhone 4’s retina display too, from the polish of the courts to the life-like players you are in for a visual delight when playing NBA Elite.

When launching the game a tutorial is launched to show you the basic controls of the game. This is all done in game and shows you how to move and sprint using the virtual, floating d-pad on the left hand side of the screen and the two action buttons on the right.

The buttons change based on whether you are on offence or defence, stealing & blocking on defence and passing & shooting on offense. A simple tap activates these moves and will suffice for most when playing on the easiest of the three levels.

However, if you want to play a more entertaining game, and/or wish to play at a higher difficulty level you’ll need to learn the more advanced moves. These advanced techniques are shown via an optional tutorial and it shows how double taps and swiping of the action buttons enable special turns, skill dunks and other moves that enable you to add a little flash to your average game.

The tutorials are short and effective and before long you’ll be starting to put your skills to use in anger. You can jump straight into an Exhibition game, Full Season or take your team straight to the playoffs and see how you play in the post-season.

Choosing Full Season or Playoff mode doesn’t take too long to set up and you will soon be taking your 5 players onto the court. As mentioned previously the graphics look great and the players pop off of the screen. From tip-off to buzzer the game play is fast and smooth even when all 10 players are jostling for position on the screen at the same time.

The skills learnt in the tutorial are easily put to use and it was extremely satisfying to find myself spinning, shooting 3pts, steeling and dunking in my first game. This was on easy difficulty though and as I tried the other difficulty levels things became increasingly difficult, which I guess, is the point!

There are a lot of games in a NBA season and so if you want to speed things along a little you can simulate individual games or whole seasons, not that you’ll want to as playing each game is a real pleasure.

Getting your team to post season, and then winning the NBA finals will not only be rewarded with glory and satisfaction but also by unlocking an NBA legend which you can then draft into your team for your next game.

All this is done to a great soundtrack which pumps up the atmosphere, this can be easily changed to your own tracks from your iPod if you so wish. Also customizable is the choice of camera angle, TV mode moves the camera about attempting to show the best angle while baseline and corner fixes the camera in those positions.

An additional mini-game is also included in NBA Elite 11 and that is the famous 3-Point Shootout which puts you up against other NBA All-Stars in a fast paced shootout from the 3 point line. This is a fun addition to the game and requires fast fingers and quick reactions.

If basketball is your game then NBA Elite will be $5 well spent especially with it’s in game roster updates that will provide you with the latest roster changes throughout the season. The lack of a multi-player mode for either the main game or the 3pts shoot out is disappointing but shouldn’t stop you from buying this quality game that sets the standard in basketball games.

Pros

• Sparkling graphics
• Intuitive controls
• Pumping sound track

Cons

• No multi-player mode

$4.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released: Nov 04, 2010
Version: 1.0.1
1.0.1
184 MB
Languages: English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish
Seller: Electronic Arts
© 2010 Electronic Arts Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Rated 4+
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

There are many word games available in the app store at the moment and they seem to be becoming more popular each day. If you like a variety of word games then Wordity is certainly a great all in one word app.

Developed by Mindstormstudios Wordity is a game with several games to play within the app. The challenge game is the first one to try and is the main game for the app.

You are greeted with a square grid of letters. You can move letters up and down or left and right one move at a time. The idea is to move the letters and form a word. When you have your word you tap the first and last letter to clear it out and then carry on looking for the next until you score enough to reach the next level. Some tiles are blocked by stones and cannot be moved. You will have to work around it. If you look closely you will also see a tiny number at the bottom right of each letter. This number tells you how many times you are allowed to move the tile. Within the game you will come across bonus tiles and letters. These help you get double scores, tile swap, extra time and much more.

The next game is Anagram again you move the letters to find a word in the letters provided. Adjoining letters can not be moved. To clear them off you do the same as the challenge and tap the first and last letter. As with the classic game you are on a time limit so you have to keep moving and find the words fast

Another game to enjoy is Wordsearch. This is the same as you would do in a normal wordsearch where you have to find the words hidden within the grid. You have to try and find them all before the time runs out and work your way through the levels.

The game comes with OpenFeint integration. So you can post your highscores on the leader board and unlock many achievements.

The graphics are nice and colorful and very appealing. The music was at times a little annoying but that can be easily turned off. It is an easy game to pick up and play at any time. Whether it be a quick five minutes you have spare or settling down on your hour dinner break. There is an endless mode so it opens the game up to hours of playing.

Pros

• Several games to choose from for the price of one.
• Easy pick up and play at anytime.

Cons

• Would be nice with Game Center integration.

$0.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released: Aug 26, 2010
Version: 1.0.0
1.0.0
27.3 MB
Language: English
Seller: Mindstorm Studios
© 2010 Mindstorm Studios
Rated 4+
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

Sally’s Salon Luxury Edition [rating: 5/5]

If the thought of transforming grumpy old ladies and punk rockers into the best styled people around then Sally’s Salon is a great game to try. Manage your time well with the many customers that arrive to have you work wonders on their hair.

Developed by Gamehouse Sally’s Salon is a fun and addictive game. When each cutomer arrives you need to seat them, wash their hair and then cut or colour it how ever they want. You start off in a small shopping mall and as you progress and do well your salon will become bigger. One day you could be in Hollywood!

The game is easy to follow and play especially if you have ever played a time management game before. If not do not worry you will find your feet easier enough. When you first start it do go through the basics with you in the form of a short tutorial. You can skip this via the menu should you wish though.

When a customer arrives in your shop they will have above their head a bubble telling you what they want. You direct the customer to the correct work station they are asking for by either dragging them or tapping on them or the chairs. This option can be changed via the menu. I personally prefer the tap method.

Once a customer is sat in the chair you then tap them again so Sally can get started at working her magic on them. She will wash, cut, dye and style. Some of the customers won’t always want all of these doing. Then when they have finished up, make sure you collect their money from the till.

You have to make sure you keep your customers happy. Also above their head are lovehearts filled in red. If they begin to lose their patience with you it will go down. This makes them very unhappy and you could end up losing a customer. So make sure you work as fast as you can. You can also give your customers coffee to give them a little boost. You have a daily goal to reach and if you do reach it you can move on up to the next level. If you don’t you will have to try that level again.

When the money starts rolling in your will be able to upgrade the items in your salon. You get to go shopping at the end of a completed level. There you can for example buy more chairs or simply upgrade the items you have to a better one.

There are several modes to play the basic campaign and survival mode. A new feature of the game is that once you have completed the basic campaign you can play a more challenging campaign.

The game will have you playing for hours and it is very hard to put down. It comes with great graphics and cute sound effects and you will enjoy Sally’s Salon Luxury Edition from the moment you start playing.

Pros

• Lots of game play with the different modes.
• Good graphics and very easy to play.

Cons

• None!

$0.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Updated: Oct 14, 2010
Current Version: 1.1.16
1.1.16 (iOS 4.0 Tested)
18.3 MB
Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
Seller: RealNetworks, Inc.
© 2010 RealNetworks, Inc.
Rated 4+
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

WackyLands Boss [rating: 5/5]

Chillingo have come up with yet another unique game, this time it’s Wacky Lands Boss which puts you in the unique position of playing the end of level boss who we’ve all competed against in so many games across the years if not centuries.

The game is a sideways scrolling button basher where your characters task is to pummel wave upon wave of ‘good guys’ as they attempt to defend their princess.  It’s a great twist on the classic genre and wonderfully implemented.

Your first task is to create your boss, this includes naming him and controlling some of his accessories. While you start with limited options in how you evolve and equip your boss as you progress through the levels you will unlock more clothes, armor, styles and weapons.

I’m not normally a huge fan of button bashing style controls but whether it’s the way they’ve been implemented or just the fun nature of the game the button bashing works great.  The irony is there are no buttons!  Instead holding either side of the screen will make your boss walk while tapping the screen will perform a quick punch, rendering the weaker opponents dead.

As you would expect things don’t stay easy and a single punch isn’t going to defeat an enemy.  However help is at hand thanks to a large punch that is performed by a sideways swipe and power ups that wreck havoc on the mini enemy.

Surprisingly, despite the fact that you are playing a boss each level also contains its own boss that you will need to pit your wits against in order to proceed.

Each level ramps up the difficulty with new enemies that are stronger and have weapons that they can use against you from a distant.  This is why it’s imperative that you return to your boss and continue to evolve and equip him with the latest items that you unlock by progressing through the game.

As mentioned previously there are a variety of weapons and power ups aiding you in your fight, these range from fire balls and foot stomps to rolling cows and eating princesses to recoup your energy.

For a game that is pretty repetitive in it’s game play I’ve found that I’ve not been able to put it down.  There are 12 levels of fun to be had as you rampage through the kingdoms and while you are at it there are 3 mini games thrown in for good measure.

Leader boards and achievements a provided by the link through to the Crystal social gaming network and these add extra value even once you’ve completed the 12 levels.

If you are after some button bashing fun, at just 99 cents you can’t go wrong with Chillingo’s WackyLands Boss.

Pros

• Simple yet effective controls
• More enemies than you can throw a stick at
• Great sense of humor

Cons

• Repetitive gameplay

$0.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released: Oct 28, 2010
Version: 1.0
1.0
19.8 MB
Language: English
Seller: Chillingo Ltd
© 2010 Fair Play Labs, S.A. – All rights reserved
Rated 9+ for the following:
Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.1 or later

Glu Mobile has been on a roll recently with many successful  game launches on the App Store. After ngmoco, Glu seems to be the next established game publisher to take the freemium game model by storm.

Gun Bros is the latest 3D action shooter from Glu which is available for free for iPhone and iPod touch. The game is based on an interesting back story and integrates with Game Center.

You are a part of The Freakishly Rugged Advanced Genetics Galactic Enforcement Division (AKA F.R.A.G.G.E.D.) and your task is to protect the universe from the Tyrannical Oppressors of Life known as T.O.O.L.

The game features two characters to choose from (Percy Gun or Francis Gun) and then you are ready to eliminate the baddies using dual stick controls. It’s great to see that Glu Mobile has invested a lot of time in paying attention to details. The 3D graphics are outstanding and I really liked the level design as it stays true to the overall galactic theme.

You always enter the battlefield with two players, you control your chosen Bro and the other is controlled by the AI which helps you in clearing waves after waves of enemies. As you continue to annihilate the Tyrannical Oppressors of Life you can earn Xplodium (an unstable ore) which you must convert in the chambers to get coins which are used to buy weapons and power-ups. The game offers different chambers which increase the conversion rate of Xplodium so that you can earn more coins.

Gun Bros offers Game Center integration so you can fight with your friends character and take advantage of their upgraded Bro with powerful weapons.

The game offers a lot of content with many powerful upgrades and also allows you to buy coins and war bucks via in app purchase so that you can quickly upgrade and advance to new levels. You don’t necessarily need to buy any coins unless you are impatient to get the more powerful weapons or facing difficulty in clearing certain levels.

Overall, Gun Bros is one of the best freemium titles on the App Store (View in iTunes), get it today and be prepared to get addicted!

Gun Bros Gameplay Footage

Gallery

Sale-priced titles include:

• Ecco the Dolphin: $0.99 View in iTunes (was $2.99)
• Shining Force: $0.99 View in iTunes (was $2.99)
• Streets of Rage: $0.99 View in iTunes (was $2.99)
• Football Manager Handheld: $2.99 View in iTunes (was $4.99)
• Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I: $6.99 View in iTunes (was $9.99)

For more information about the SEGA Halloween Sale on the App Store, visit the official SEGA blog at http://blogs.sega.com/usa/

London, UK., – October 28, 2010– Leading mobile game publisher Chillingo, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced that ZeptoLab’s chart-topping, addictive puzzler, ‘Cut the Rope’ has now sold more than two million copies worldwide on the Apple App Store in just three weeks since launch.

“Cut the Rope continues to break records with leading, international sales,” explains Chris Byatte, Co-General Manager of Chillingo. “Our new partnership with EA enables us to expand Om Nom’s prospects, visibility and reach to make more of an impact than ever before.”

“Chillingo has done a great job for us in publishing Cut the Rope on the Apple App Store,” said Efim Voinov, CTO of ZeptoLab, “Now with their acquisition by EA, we see more growth opportunities available for us in the future.”

Cut the Rope remains the fastest selling title on the App Store to date (by reaching the 1 million mark within 10 days of launch). The game features innovative, physics-oriented gameplay as players feed dangling candy to Om Nom, an adorable and ravenous, little green creature.

Cut the Rope is available for $.99 (iPhone and iPod touch) and a $1.99 (iPad) from the App Store on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch or at http://itunes.appple.com/appstore

A Lite version of Cut the Rope will be available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at http://itunes.appple.com/appstore

Get the latest news about Cut the Rope’s incredible new content by following http://www.twitter.com/chillingo; http://www.facebook.com/chillingo, http://www.youtube.com/chillingo

About Chillingo

Chillingo is a subsidiary of Electronic Arts and publishes innovative games and software for various platforms. Other hit iPhone, iPod touch and iPad titles include; Cut the Rope, Angry Birds, Helsing’s Fire, Predators, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Minigore, iDracula, and Modern Conflict. For more information about Chillingo please visit http://chillingo.com.

About Zeptolab

ZeptoLab is a small independent team of professionals dedicated to the science of fun.
We know what good games are made of, and we possess the required ingredients.
Our target platforms at the moment are iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA™, EA Mobile™, and POGO™,. In fiscal 2010, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.7 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million units. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc

Kuboku [rating: 4/5]

Sudoku’s are a lot like Marmite, you either love them or you hate them, that’s how decisive they are. For me I fell on the side of love ever since I first started playing them in my daily newspaper.

For those of you that missed the rise of the Sudoku puzzle throughout the western world a Sudoku is a cross between a Word Search and a Crossword Puzzle but with numbers. The challenge with a Sudoku is to complete an 8 x 8 grid of numbers where each number can only appear on each vertical or horizontal row once.

There are millions of puzzles and difficulties but Kuboku takes the game to a whole new level thanks to the extra dimension that the iPhone/iPad offers. For now, rather than completing an 8 x 8 grid your challenge is to complete an 8 x 8 x 8 cube instead!

This is not as difficult as it seems especially if you start out on the easiest of the three levels before moving up to the Medium and Hard puzzles.

The cube fills the majority of the screen and it can be rotated by simply dragging your finger across the screen allowing you to get an accurate look at the missing number and the corresponding cells that control the placement of the next number.

The three difficulty levels controls the number of missing numbers from the cube. The more numbers that are missing the more complex the puzzle will be. You are presented with finding the solution for one number at a time and if you can’t solve it right away you can use the arrow buttons to move to the next number or double tap the missing number that you want to solve next.

Only the relevant corresponding blocks to the number that you are attempting to solve are displayed by default. However if you wish to see the other numbers this can be done by holding down the appropriate button. This can help you, but can also sometimes hinder your solution!

Finding the right number quickly can earn you bonus points and completing a chain of correct numbers before the timer runs our grows the multiplier nicely. This adds additional pressure to playing Kuboku and takes it from being a sedate puzzle game to an edge of the seat challenge instead.

Games are selected randomly depending on the difficulty level you choose although if you find a particular puzzle enjoyable or wish to attempt to beat you previous score you can enter the number of the puzzle in to play that specific one.

Kuboku is a universal app too so for the $1.99 price tag you get to play Kaboku on both your iPhone and iPad should you have both. The game is the same on both devices and looks great on them both too.

The game is also Game Center enabled but only utilizes the leader boards to rank your scores against you, your friends and the world! Adding some achievements would certainly have been a nice addition.

Kuboku is a great twist on the classic sudoku puzzle and with 1000 challenging puzzles has enough to keep even the hardened puzzler entertained.

Pros

• 1000 unique puzzles
• Great control mechanism
• Clear and sleek graphics

Cons

• Will be a challenge for some
• No Game Center Achievements

$1.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Updated:Oct 22, 2010
Current Version:1.0.1
1.0.1
28.8 MB
Languages:English, French, German, Japanese
Seller:Creaceed SPRL
© 2010 Creaceed SPRL
Rated 4+
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.1 or later

• Froggy Jump gives a Ghost frog and a haunted mansion and lots of new scary items!
• Froggy Launcher offers a Zombie Frog and special Halloween costumes to wear!
• Grim Filler was previously a paid app. Now it’s FREE to download and is among the top 100 app

FROGGY JUMP

Play with the Ghost Frog in ‘Froggy Jump’ (View in iTunes) and jump higher than ever with the latest update you can give your Froggy a Halloween costume. The game now allows you to unlock various themes by scoring higher :

• reach 3k and unlock the SOCCER CUP theme with soccer player frog
• reach 32k and unlock the UNDERWATER theme with clown-fish frog
• reach 50k to unlock the INFERNAL theme with skeleton frog
• reach 60k to unlock the SNOW theme with yeti frog
• reach 70k to unlock the ROCKSTAR theme with your singer frog
• reach 80k to unlock the HALLOWEEN theme with ghost frog

Trailer on YouTube :

FROGGY LAUNCHER

Enjoy the Halloween theme with the Zombie Frog (View in iTunes) and give him new items to wear!

– reach 60k height to get the Halloween theme for FREE
– reach 30k height to get the Candyland theme for FREE

Tip: You get a Gem after 10,000 collected coins.

Trailer on YouTube:

GRIM FILLER

Zombies, Frankenstein, Pumpkins, Skeletons, Vampires and other scary members of Nightmare-land are in your hands! Keep tapping the screen to inflate the various heads and increase their volume to complete the level. (View in iTunes)

Several monsters try to hinder you, each bearing unique characteristics, you can exploit the advantages of gravity and can easily trap them.

Trailer on YouTube:

Reckless Racing [rating: 4.5/5]

EA a renowned name for producing quality titles across all devices and no more so than the range of games they’ve produced for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Most of these games however are big named games ported from other game systems, Reckless Racing however breaks that mold as it debuts onto Apple’s handheld device.

There have been top down racers before but none on a held device that matches the quality of Reckless Racing especially in the graphics department. The tracks may be small but they are beautifully formed and as you race around them it’s difficult not to notice the attention to detail that has been put into this game.

From the dust and dirt being spun up by the spinning tires, the water bubbling over rocks in the stream that you have to drive through at times and the detail in the buildings that crowd the track the game just sparkles, especially on the iPhone 4’s Retina Display. The beauty doesn’t deminish either when playing online or suffer from slow down which is good to see.

The sound, the music at least, could be pretty decisive, with a banjo laden track being repeatidly played throughout the game. This can be turned off however so if it does get on your nerves it can be easily switched of. The sound effects are effective too with the cars sounding suitably throaty as they charge around the off tracks.

The single player game is split into three modes, Dirt Rally, Hot Lap and Delivery. The first two pretty much speak for themselves, in Dirty Lap you race against either 4 or 6 AI controlled cars to win a race over a set number of laps while in Hot Lap it’s just you against the clock, and your ghost, as you race around the 5 tracks on your own.

One of the down sides to Reckless Racing is the number of tracks especially considering how small they are. Individually the size of the tracks is just perfect for the racing but overall having only five tracks, 10 if you count the reverse of them, is rather limiting and I certainly hope that more tracks become avialable in a future update.

The final game type is Delivery, a unique addition which tasks you with collecting trailers of goods and delivery them as quickly as possible. This mode is played on a new unique track and can be played over 3, 5 or 8 minutes at a time. Deliver the goods fast and you will be rewarded with more money. I liked this addition to the game and if more tracks are added to this mode too and it gets added to the multi-player option then it will make a great game even better.

So that brings me on to the multi-player option. Playing certain games against your friends and other real people online an make or break a game and so it is great to see online multi-player added to Reckless Racing from the word go. As mentioned previously the two modes available to play online are Dirt Rally and Hot Lap and the host of the game gets to choose which type of race you’ll be playing.

When playing online you are taken into a Lobby where all the hosted games are listed. Considering this game has only just launched I was pleased to see the amount of games available to join. Listed in the Lobby is the name of the race, entered by the host, and the current number of players. What’s not included is the type of race being played or whether the race is in progress or not. It would be nice to see these options available in the Lobby before entering the race.

There’s also no overall ranking or leagues to compete in so while racing online is smooth and has little or no lag in my experience the fact that there is no lasting reward to it other than race itself left it feeling a little lacking. That being said the online racing is fun and adds extra value to the overall gaming experience.

All of this however would amount to nothing if the controls weren’t up to the task. No worries there though either as there are five, yes five, sets of controls to choose from as well as the ability to choose auto accelerate and the sensitivity of your steering. Standard steering mode was my favorite, utilizing four separate buttons for left, right, accelerate and reverse seemed to offer the maximum level of control and dexterity, having id that though having tank, tilt, half wheel and whole wheel options will enable everyone the opportunity to find the right solution for them.

For some people used to paying no more than 99 cents for a game may see the $2.99 price tag two high, for me however it’s worth every cent and should further updates add more tracks and online rankings it while make this game easily my #1 game on the iPhone 4.

Pros

• The best lookig racing on the iPhone
• Controls that simply work
• Online multi-player that’s as smooth as silk

Cons

• More tracks need
• Onlone ranking to add extra value

$2.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released:Oct 21, 2010
Version:1.1.5
1.1.5
39.3 MB
Languages:English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
Seller:Electronic Arts
Reckless Racing (TM) © 2010 Pixelbite AB. All Rights Reserved.
Rated 4+
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

Grammar Police [rating: 4/5]

The irony of writing a review of an educational game about grammar, named Grammar Police is not lost on me. The chance of getting pulled up on my own grammatical error is extremely high so I must concentrate on my writing as much as the app itself.

Grammar Police is an educational game to help pre-intermediate and intermediate English learners with the details of grammar, something that can be a challenge for people who have English as their first language let alone if it’s your second language.

The game states that it’s suitable for all ages but the cartoon style graphics are certainly going to appeal to younger age groups, which for the most part will be the ones that benefit from the educational aspect of this game.

The game alternates between two types of games. The first challenges you to complete a sentence in the appropriate tense from a selection of words presented on the screen. This is where the story part of the game comes in as the words are being carried by the Tense Gang and getting the right words will ensure that the Tense Gang are caught and that innocent bystanders are captured instead.

Before each level starts you are given the tense of the sentence and the first couple of words at the beginning of the sentence and is your task to complete the sentence appropriately.

Selecting the words can be a little tricky at times as the words overlap each other and you’ll find yourself waiting for the words to untangle themselves. It would also be nice for the tense to appear while you are playing the game, instead if you have forgotten the tense that you are supposed to be playing, you have to pause the game to find out.

The other game requires you to fill in the missing word from a sentence from a range of similar looking and sounding words. You have 3 lives for each game and failure to complete the task will result in the game ending.

Throughout playing this game the level types have remained the same each time I’ve played it, however no two sentences or missing words have repeated themselves which goes to show the large variety of puzzles in this game.

What is disappointing is that you can only play the game by playing through the levels in a linear way, there is no way to select individual levels should you wish to concentrate on a certain type of puzzle.

What is also missing is the ability for multiple players to play the game via multiple profiles, however one reason for this may be the OpenFeint integration which enables a variety of achievements to be unlocked as you play the game.

Grammar Police is a great way for your children to polish up on their grammar in a fun way and certainly make it more of a game rather than homework.

Pros

• Fun cartoon graphics
• Makes homework fun
• Great variety of puzzles

Cons

• No level select
• Tense type not visible during game play

$0.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released:Oct 18, 2010
Version:1.0
1.0 (iOS 4.0 Tested)
12.5 MB
Language:English
Seller:Chamira Fernando
© Arzon
Rated 4+
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

Samurai 2: Vengeance [rating: 4.5/5]

Back in July we reviewed a new game named Samurai: Way of the Warrior HD and were suitably impressed with it’s beautiful graphics, blood drench gore fest and wonderful Japanese environments. There were shortcomings, so I was interested to see how in less than 6 months does Samurai II: Vengeance match up to it’s predecessor?

The first major improvement is that the game is now a multi-device application which will work on both the iPhone/iPod touch and iPad for a single purchase. This means that the beautiful graphic novel style graphics look great on twice as many devices than before.

The two game modes still exist with the ‘game’ mode allowing you to massacre your way through seven chapters of increasingly challenging samurai fighting action while the Dojo is a fight to the death as a stream of attackers launch wave after wave of attacks onto you.

One of the major changes is the control mechanism. In the original Samurai the game utilized the full touch screen to enable gesture based controls, in Samurai II: Vengeance the more traditional d-pad and action buttons have been established which in my opinion provide more robust and accurate controls.

Another huge change is the interactive nature of the beautiful environments. Barrels placed around the levels can now be slashed open to earn cash that can then be spent on upgrading your special combo’s. Having access to these powerful combo’s become more and more important as you progress through the game as the enemies become stronger and more resilient.

You also need to interact with the environment to open access to other areas. This doesn’t add any puzzle aspect to the game but the extra interactivity does add to the overall depth of the game. The levels are larger and grander than before although they are still linear in nature.

Samurai II: Vengeance is also Game Center enabled with 24 achievements and leader boards for all 7 levels and the Dojo. This adds extra value to the game once you’ve completed the game.

Although there are many similarities between the original Samurai and Samurai II: Vengeance there are enough tweaks and new features that make it a must have for those new to the genre and those who enjoyed the original.

Pros

• Improved controls
• Great graphics
• Universal Application

Cons

• Linear gameplay

$2.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released:Oct 21, 2010
Version:1.0
1.0 (iOS 4.0 Tested)
82.4 MB
Language:English
Seller:MADFINGER Games, a.s.
© MADFINGER Games, a.s.
Rated 12+ for the following:
Infrequent/Mild Horror/Fear Themes
Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humor
Frequent/Intense Realistic Violence
Frequent/Intense Cartoon or Fantasy Violence
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.2 or later

Take a bunch of cute animals and start attempting to throw them into a recycling bin and you are either playing Burrow or about to get a visit from the local animal welfare organization. Let’s assume it’s the former!

Burrow is a physics based puzzle game where the task in each level is to launch a cute little animal into a recycling bin. The task is made all the more difficult with the various obstacles put in your way.

The cartoon style graphics and cute animals make it look like it’s a child’s game but the challenge of the puzzles ensure that it’s definitely not for people with child like brains!

You have an unlimited supply of animals to launch and the range of animals have various attributes that can either help or hinder the task at hand. The key to many of the levels though is the transporter, when the entrance and exit are placed it enables you to transport your little animals from one part of the screen to the other.

While there is no formal scoring system in Burrow each level keeps track of how many attempted throws it took you to complete the level so that you can revisit them again to see if you lower the number if you so wish.

The controls are all touch based and are simple to use and there are currently 50 tricky levels to transverse, 25 covering Spring, 25 covering Summer and another 50 levels covering Fall and Winter due to be released in a future free update.

There’s nothing new or ground-breaking in Burrow and playing through the game felt like I was playing a game from 12 months ago and with the speed of mobile gaming development, that’s a long time!

If you’re quick you may still be able to grab Burrow while it’s on offer for free and that’s the perfect price point for a game that needs a lot more polish to help it stand out.

Pros

• Cute animals
• Simple controls
• Challenging puzzles

Cons

• Limited scoring system
• Steep learning curve

$0.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Updated:Sep 29, 2010
Current Version:1.1
1.1
7.6 MB
Language:English
Seller:Shane Wighton
© 2010 Shane Wighton
Rated 4+
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

Robin Hood – Archer of the Woods [rating: 3.5/5]

Tower (Castle) Defense games are pretty popular on touch screen devices and Robin Hood – Archer of the Woods is the latest addition to the genre, all be it with a little less strategy and more action.

Robin Hood is all alone in this game that takes his name, on his own that is other than a constant stream of the sherifs men who are armed to the teeth and on a mission to destroy the village that Robin is aiming to defend.

The game works across a horizontal scrolling playing area with Robin on the left of the screen behind the cottages that he must defend while the hordes of attackers start entering from the right.

The screen is split into two levels and so attackers will enter either on the bottom or top level as they walk towards you. And as you would expect Robin’s only weapon is his trusted bow and arrow.

To launch your arrow you simply touch the screen, pull back, direct the arrow and launch it. the direction and power of the arrow will dictate whether or not it takes out one of your enemy or falls aimlessly into the ground.

It would be nice if the prior arrows power and trajectory remained on the screen to help you with your next arrow but it doesn’t stop the controls from working well.

The enemies come think and fast, some on foot, some on armor and some on what appear to be ancient segways, and unless you kill them before they reach the cottages they will start to destroy them. When all the cottages are destroyed it’s game over.

As with most games in this genre the attackers come in waves and between waves you will face an end of level baddie that will require multiple accurate hits to destroy. There are also power-ups placed randomly on each level which when struck will enable a range of extra features to your arrows.

These power-ups become more and more important as not only do the number of enemies increase so do the number of cottages that you must defend.

The game looks good, plays well and is full of action. The only down side is that the gameplay doesn’t have much variety and can become a little tedious.  Robin Hood – Archer of the Woods would certainly prove to be enjoyable for players who like this genre.

Pros

• Fast arrow shooting action
• Simple controls
• Nice physics

Cons

• Gameplay can get repetitive
• No memory on targeting

$0.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released:Oct 14, 2010
Version:1.0
1.0 (iOS 4.0 Tested)
21.6 MB
Language:English
Seller:Clickgamer Technologies Ltd
© Mudloop Games
Rated 9+ for the following:
Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

Created by developer ZeptoLab, Cut the Rope is a delightful little physics based puzzle game and is available for both iPhone and iPad. No info was released as to which versions were sold towards that magical 1m mark but presumably both platforms are included. Priced at $.99 for iPhone and $1.99 for iPad, that soon adds up to some serious cash!

Chillingo also claims that the speed with which the milestone was reached makes Cut the Rope the fastest selling iOS game thus far. It’s easy to believe too, with the app currently sat at the top of the US and UK app store charts at least. Do we have another Angry Birds on our hands?

The publisher also told Touch Arcade that we can expect more in-game content to be made available over time, possibly mindful of longevity issues that often plague games such as this.

You’ll have to excuse me, I’m off to learn Objective C!

Cut the Rope Trailer

]]> https://touchreviews.net/cut-rope-sells-1-million-copies-10-days/feed/ 0 https://touchreviews.net/lets-fire-iphone-light-city-skies/ https://touchreviews.net/lets-fire-iphone-light-city-skies/#comments Thu, 14 Oct 2010 21:01:01 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=10674 Read More]]> Let’s Fire [rating: 2.5/5]

Let’s Fire created by Corefan is a game based on a simple premise of fireworks exploding in the sky. Travel around the world and perfect your firework display and score points as you go.

The idea of the game is to control the firework display by controlling the fireworks explosion. You have to make it a perfect display. When you start the game the fireworks are fired up into the sky, you have to tap them to make them explode. You can tell when it is the perfect time to explode a firework as it will show a circle around it. If you tap it when the circle is there you will score a perfect explosion.

The timing will determine your score, you will be given, perfect, good, poor or bad. Perfect obviously being the best and bad the worst score. At top of the screen is your life bar. This will be continually reducing but if you can get a score of poor and above it will give you back some of your life line. You need to stop the bar from disappearing. When you miss or score bad it will make your life bar go down a lot quicker.

If you keep making explosions that are better than poor you start scoring what is called a chain. The more you can build up in your chain the higher you will score.

The game had some good sound effects. When the fireworks shoot up into the air they do sound like the real thing, even when they explode and light up the sky. The graphics are ok, there are some nice images in the background but the fireworks on exploding are not very exciting. There was nothing that stood out and made you think ‘wow’.

The game it does record your high score but there is no global leader board or any Game Center or Open Feint integration. I think if it had one of these it would make the game more appealing and a good reason to keep coming back and playing it.

Pros

• Good sound effects
• Quick pick up and play game

Cons

• Graphics could be improved
• Needs Game Center or Open Feint integration to offer a game with a good replay value.

$0.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released:Oct 06, 2010
Version:1.0.0
1.0.0 (iOS 4.0 Tested)
8.1 MB
Language:English
Seller:Corefan technologies Ltd
© Corefan
Rated 4+
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

I often wonder how certain shows make it on TV. When Seinfeld was pitched to the TV execs as a show about nothing, why weren’t they thrown out of the TV execs office? The same applies to games.

Pitching a new car racing game with great handling and graphics is easy, however pitching a game where you have to cut a rope to drop dangling candy into the mouth of a waiting monster would potentially be very difficult.

Luckily for us most games don’t have to be pitched in that way otherwise the risk would be that you would never get to play Cut the Rope.

Across 100 challenging levels, with more to come in a future update, your task is to maneuver a piece of candy to the wide open mouth of Om Nom, a mysterious creature that has just been delivered to you.

The candy is suspended on a rope and a swift swipe across the rope cuts it in two allowing the candy to fall into the wide open mouth of the waiting Om Nom.

The physics of the the candy as it swings on the rope is your first challenge and then timing the cut at just the right time to ensure you get a direct hit.

Feeding Om Nom will get you past the level but the real challenge is picking up the three stars that are placed around the screen. Sometimes this will take multiple attempts but the replay option is so fast it’s never a problem.

Even before you get past the initial 25 levels the difficulty states to get cranked up. From the candy being attached to multiple ropes and bubbles that cause the candy to float until it’s popped, to candy hungry spiders that will try to steal the candy before you can get it to Om Nom.

The difficulty level is beautifully pitched, not so easy that you’ll complete the game in a few hours but difficult enough to keep things challenging and interesting. As with most games from Chillingo the game is connected to their social gaming network named Crystal and this allows you to earn multiple achievements and compare your scores globally on the leader boards.

The game plays so well that you almost don’t notice how great the game looks too. Sharp graphics and smooth animations are the icing on the cake in a game that is all about the great physics puzzles and simple touch controls.

While they wait for new levels to be added to Angry Birds many people have been looking for an alternative, in Cut The Rope they have the answer.

Pros

• 100 great puzzles
• Cute and addictive
• More to come

Cons

• Unknown!

$0.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released:Oct 05, 2010
Version:1.0
1.0
12.4 MB
Language:English
Seller:Chillingo Ltd
© ZeptoLab
Rated 4+
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

The Following Titles Will be Available Soon:

Sheeple Chase (Green Ant Games) – Prepare for a turbo-charged romp through an English farmyard where Sheep race against Pigs to reach the finish line. Burst through hedges, dodge past cows and leap across rivers at fiery speeds to defeat the competition. For added fun, players can also opt to build their own tracks and share them with friends.

Folded Flight (GD8) – Paper planes have never soared like this before! Glide your customizable plane using the amazing accelerometer and gyroscopic controls of the iPhone 4. Fly across stunning 3D environments in a large mansion filled with rooms and a garden full of dangerous obstacles.

Infinity Field (ForzeField) – Dodge and destroy your enemies in this gorgeous space shooter that really is out of this world!A visual feast, with score-attack style game play, plus a challenging campaign mode.

Mummy’s Treasure (FizzPow Games) – Explore the Great Pyramids in this challenging physics-based puzzler to find the Mummy’s treasure. Use your quick-thinking, logic to save all the gold treasures while disposing of the mummified heads.

My Kingdom (Oberon) – Build an empire and stake your claim in this revolutionary real location MMO game. Build settlements at real-world addresses; amass friends and battle foes as you venture across various parts of town to attempt to rule the territory!

Sky Combat (Alien Worm) – Visually stunning, top-down frenetic shooter with staggering explosions, realistic real-world terrain and a variety of enemy vehicles and aircraft to destroy. Fight your way through the many stages, upgrade weapons and experience the intensity of war!

All of these apps will be coming soon to the App Store. Additional information, screens and game trailers are available at http://chillingo.com/. Get up to date news from Chillingo by following http://twitter.com/Chillingo.

About Chillingo

Chillingo publishes innovative games and software for various platforms. Other hit iPhone, iPod touch and iPad titles include Cut the Rope, Angry Birds, Helsing’s Fire, Predators, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Minigore, iDracula, and Modern Conflict. For more information about Chillingo please visit http://chillingo.com/.