This is a very limited time special price and the game genre range from in-depth strategy, action games, casual and many more.

Some of our top picks are:

This is the Game of the Year Edition which contains al DLC including Harley Quinn’s Revenge, a standalone story, Catwoman, Robin, Arkam City Skins and Challenge Map packs.

This fantastic sci-fi role playing shooter combines frantic first-person shooting action. You can even experience multiplayer experience with up-to 4 player co-operative gameplay.

The classic Star Wars experience combined with the fun of LEGO  is sure to keep you busy for a long time.

A family-friendly game which offers a lot of fun and yet challenge you in combat and puzzles.

I’m a huge fan of real-time strategy games and Rome Total War is one of the best games in its genre. Organising your military, invading territories, forming strategies and real-time battles, it doesn’t get better than this.

Racing games can give you that adrenaline high and edge of the seat excitement. Grid promises to offer “dazzling visuals” and blistering speed. Race from the US to Europe and on to Japan, the game packs in realism and addictive arcade racing.

Other fantastic games include:

Finding Nemo Storybook Deluxe

For those of you that have downloaded any of the Disney Storybooks before you know that you are in for a treat as they bring the books to life on the iPhone and iPad.

Across the 28 interactive virtual pages of the book you can either read the story, have it read to you by the narrator or record the words and have those played back. This is great for your children to practice and listen back to their reading of for a parent to ‘virtually’ read the book to thier child when their not around.

Each page is beautifully illustrated, animated and can be interacted while the narration is clear and easy to listen too.

The storybook also includes additional activities including a matching game, 6 puzzles of increasing difficulty, 6 paintings and a talking Dory which acts similar to the talking animal games that are available.

At $6.99 it’s not cheap but it is an engaging way to re-live the Finding Nemo story.

Finding Nemo Interactive Comic

The Finding Nemo Interactive Comic re-tells the story of Finding Nemo in a panel by panel comic book. You can either have the panels automatically appear or tap and swipe the screen to move through the story.

For your creative children you also get a step by step guide to how to draw the four main protagonists and you can either draw them directly onto the iPad or use the skills you learn and draw them elsewhere too.

Finding Nemo Interactive Comic is a universal app and is available from the App Store now for just $1.99

Disney recently released the classic story of Dumbo as an interactive app for the iPhone and iPad. For children young and old the story of Dumbo is an endearing classic and while this interactive story book to the original story and artwork it also and features such as coloring pages, puzzles and a musical instrument in the form of a Calliope straight from the pages of the book.

The story itself is beautifully recreated in its electronic form and has well delivered audio to so that your child can listen to the story as well as read it. The pages come to life with animated action too which brings the story to life even more.

One if the most impressive features though is the ability to record your own audio of each individual page. You can do this one page at a time and when turned on the narration will be you voice and not the origami voice. This will be awesome if for any reason your going to be away from your child as this can be one way to stay close.

The three additional features are fun too. Playing the Calliope is fun and sounds very authentic. You can either freestyle or follow the tutorial to play along with the tune. The puzzle provides 3 virtual jigsaw puzzles for you to put together and each has 3 difficulty levels which increases the number of pieces in the puzzle.

Also pulling from the pictures in the book are the coloring pages. In these pages you have a paint brush, pencil and a palette of colors to color in the picture. You can save your handiwork if you want to come back to it later or email your completed masterpiece.

A nice added feature is the ability to personalize the splash screen of the app, not only with your child’s photograph but also their name which you can either type in or write in using your finger or stylus.

It’s no surprise that Disney would produce such a great app but it’s good to see it come to fruition.

This universal app cost $1.99 and is available in the App Store now, whether you are wanting to relive the story from your childhood or enjoy it with your child or grand children this app is a great way to do it.

What we like

• The great looking storybook
• Ability to record your own narration
• The interactive features
• The personalization

What to know

• More of the same please

Normally when a game starts I will attempt to skip through the numerous splash screens which detail the variety of parties involved in the production of the game, (much to their annoyance I’m sure). However, every now and again one splash screen will appear which fills your heart with hope that you are about to embark on gaming greatness.

In my case that splash screen is the one that displays the fact that the game is built using the Unreal Engine. A platform which has introduced us to some of the most rich and rewarding gaming experiences across all major devices has another hit to its armory in Horn.

If you’ve experienced the Unreal world before you know what to expect. Horn for iPhone and iPad is played in a expansive, rich and detailed environment that fools you into believing that you’re not on a handheld device but on a console instead.

This beautiful environment is the backdrop of the story of Horn, a young boy who finds himself in a world where all but a few humans have been turned into giant rock creatures called Golems. Horns task is to return these creatures back into humans.

Unlike some other titles where the environments are so rich that your character has limited interaction with them with Horn you are able to go where you wish, within reason of course, by simply tapping on the screen. This makes movement very easy although not always 100% accurately.

Combat makes up a large part of the game as you attempt to take down the many monstrous creatures. The combat system is similar to the Infinity Blade titles where timing is the key to avoid your enemies attacks and take advantage of their weaknesses. It works impressively well and I took great satisfaction in defeating each on the monstrosities that I came across.

Horn is not just another hack ‘n’ slash game though. For as many battles that you’ll encounter there are as many puzzles to be solved and this balance keeps things interesting and entertaining as you uncover the secrets of the world that you have found yourself in.

Even more depth is added to the game thanks to the various weapons and magic that you get to work with and upgrade as you progress through the game.

The game’s beauty is enhanced by the wonderful voice acting that accompany the story telling parts of the game and the orchestral score provides a wonderful backdrop to this engrossing game.

Zynga is a game company that some people either love or hate and if you are on the hate side of the argument then Horn could be the that changes your mind. For everyone else, just go out and by this game and be ready to lose yourself in a wonderful world of mystery, combat, puzzles and entertainment.

The only problem I’ve had with the game is the fact that even as a universal application there is no ability to sync your progress between multiple devices which would be nice.

What we like

• Console like graphics
• Console like gameplay
• Engaging storyline
• Engrossing gameplay
• Easy controls

What to know

• No device syncing

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.

What we like

• 100+ challenging puzzles
• Simple controls
• Cute graphics

What to know

• Aggressive difficulty curve
• In-purchase possibly required

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.

What we like

• Built on Similar structure as Angry Birds
• Cool Characters and Scenery

What to know

• A bit too much like Angry Birds
• Audio isn’t too great

Light the Flower Review

If you want a more relaxing way to get your daily 3 star fix than firing slightly perturbed feathered animals at different green animals then growing flowers could be just for you. And if that’s the case then you need to get hold of Chillingo’s latest game, Light the Flower.

The challenge in each of the 60 levels spread across 5 different homes is to get as much light as possible to all the plants in the house. The 3 star challenge comes from equally lighting up three stars as you bounce the light around the room to the sun thirsty plant.

The light source on each of the levels is the sun that streams in through one or more of the windows. You then get to use a combination of mirrors, prisms and filters to bounce and change the path of the light to the darkened corner where the plant has been positioned.

The touch controls are smooth and accurate. You can drag the mirrors around the room and rotate them so that you can get the perfect angle. It’s also worth noting the splitting the beams of light is key in some of the levels as multiple plants have to be bathed in sunlight.

The challenge is increased as you progress through the various houses not only by multiple plants but also by their need for different colored light. This is achieved by passing the sunlight through different colored filters.

Throughout the game your progress is hindered by a variety of household items that are strewn throughout the different rooms which block the light from passing requiring you to bounce the sunlight around them.

As with all such games you can progress through the game relatively easily if you don’t care to achieve all three stars on each level, but then where’s the fun in that!

The game has a Cut the Rope feel to it especially in regard to the cartoon style graphics and the jolly background music that keeps things moving along nicely! Light the Flower is a fun, challenging puzzle game and the nature of the game means that you can just keep making slight adjustments to achieve the result you desire.

Additional levels are promised in future updates but that’s not to say that the 60 levels aren’t good value in themselves especially if you complete them all with 3 stars. If you want to unlock the current 5 houses you will need to get all the stars you can though, otherwise you’ll need to unlock them via a 99cent in app purchase.

Light the Flower is available now for just 99 cents in the App Store and as a universal game it’s great value for money if you do happen to own both an iPhone and an iPad. What it doesn’t do is synchronise your data between the two devices which is slightly frustrating.

Both Crystal and GameCentre integration is included so you can view your progress with all your friends.

What we like

• Fun challenging puzzles
• Cute graphics
• Great value

What to know

• No syncing between devices

Shark Dash Review

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!

• Fun physics games
• 100 beautiful levels
• Challenging puzzles

What to know:

• No GameCenter integration

The latest incarnation has all the familiar ropes introduced in the original Cut The Rope for iPhone, needing to be cut and gravity to be calculated. What makes it different is the introduction of The Professor who provides some interesting experiments and color commentary to the game.

The game has the same cute, clear, bright look as the rest of the Cut the Rope games. The music has a game-show feel to it, and some of the sound effects are quite amusing. This game could be described as goofy if cutting the ropes correctly wasn’t such serious business.

Some of the puzzles are relatively easy and some are more difficult. And some can be both, so you can either choose to take the easy way out or put some effort into it for more points.

Game Center integration is provided so you can track your achievements and check the leaderboards to see where you stand. A comic book app with further adventures of Om Nom and The Professor is being developed and should be available soon from the app store.

Cut the Rope: Experiments has all the appeal of previous editions. If you’ve mastered the other variants, this one will challenge you to put those skills to new tests. It’s a fun twist on an iOS classic.

Pros:

• Lots of different puzzles to be solved each with it’s own combination
• Often there’s more than one way to solve each puzzle
• Whole new mix of challenges and solutions

Cons:

• Not much for help/hints if you get stuck

Gallery

Trailer

The latest in a long line of puzzle games to slime it’s way onto the iPad is Astroslugs Deluxe from Bit Barons.

There is a back story to the game and this time it’s based around the highly evolved Astroslugs who travel around the universe visiting planets searching for slug energy, pretty self explanatory right! In it’s current release Astroslugs Deluxe contains 4 planets to traverse with a total of 35 puzzles to complete. While this is not a huge number of levels new content is promised free of charge via future updates.

The game has smooth cartoon graphics and the first planet you have to conquer contains just 5 simple puzzles to get you going. Each level presents you with a blank grid which needs to be filled using a set variety of shapes. These shapes are Tetris style in shape plus a few additional shapes and placing them into the grid is as simple as drawing them.

Each puzzle has multiple solutions and this can sometimes make finding the right solution more difficult, fortunately you have the option of using clues that will show you where some of the puzzle pieces fit which will help get you started. Each puzzle has multiple clues and the only downside to using them appears to be the unlocking of certain achievements pertaining to clue usage.

Talking of achievements Astroslugs Deluxe is GameCenter enabled and has an impressive 32 achievements which include simple achievements such as following Astroslugs on Twitter, clicking the help button and downloading the soundtrack as well as game related ones.

As you move through the 4 planets the difficulty level rises quite considerable and I found myself often having to use at least one of the clues to get me started on solving the puzzles.

The atmosphere of the game is complimented by the music which provides a great chilled out soundtrack to the game which can even be purchased separately if you so wish!

Astroslugs Deluxe is currently $1.99 in the App Store and provides a challenging, yet short set of puzzles to entertain you while pushing your grey matter to the max.

Pros

• Challenging set of puzzles
• Chilled out music
• Multiple clues

Cons

• Only 35 levels
• Steep learning curve

RollRover [rating: 4/5]

RollRover for iPhone utilizes unique control system to complete innovative and complex puzzles. There are a number of variables that you face such as bottomless pits, gaps and inclines. You require outside the box methodology to carry out the tasks in the game.

The game tasks you with navigating a complex route to acquire a star hidden somewhere on the map and try to get to the finish line as quick as possible. You use a bar that has wheels on each end, known as a rover, that you roll, swing and flip towards the finish line. These things provide a very diverse experience and keep the gameplay from getting drab.

This game sports 30 challenging maps that each have a star and timed goal that you want to ascertain. These tasks start out with fairly simple methods so that you can get your feet wet. RollRover does a great job of introducing new ways to navigate through the map such as magnetic blocks, power-ups to shrink/expand your wheels and several others. You will generally have a fairly simple map where they introduce a new method to get you familiar with it and then a more menacing map that will put your creativity to a test.

The real fun in this game seems to come from the complex maps, power-ups and obstacles that you encounter along the way. With 30 maps, you are constantly fed new challenges that mean you have to know your rover inside and out. The power-ups provide a way to complete your goals without having to entirely change the rover. They generally provide a new method for getting from point A to point B. Obstacles come in the form of walls that to climbed, walls that need to be moved, steep inclines and even platforms that you have to swing your rover from to get across a bottomless gap.

The simple gameplay allows you to focus on the best part of this game which is the level design. It took me several attempts at times to find the correct route to navigate the course and each time you do it’s a small victory. Another great addition to this game is the use of Checkpoints. On the more difficult maps, you have checkpoints that allow you to have a save point generally after a somewhat difficult task. This allowed me to keep playing and not get annoyed by having to restart from the beginning which can easily annoy anyone. This feature was huge for me.

The presentation of this game was solid both visually and audibly but nothing to write home about. I am normally a bit of a stickler about the sounds in a game because in many ways, it can make or break a game but in a game with great gameplay they become less prevalent. The visual style is simple and could possibly use a bit more diversity but with the constant environment you notice changes very quickly and know that a new obstacle or power-up is present. I got the feeling that the focus was gameplay and they nailed it.

I can’t say enough for the great gameplay that RollRover provides. It is not over thought or gaudy presentation that makes this game great but just a solid idea and execution of said idea. The gameplay is ever-changing and highly addictive. I found myself beating levels and then going back to set a new time record. I thoroughly enjoyed this game and think it is a steal at 99 pennies.

Pros

• Great Map Design
• Diverse gameplay with power-ups and obstacles
• Unique control system

Cons

• Would love to see more levels
• Multiple audio tracks

$0.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released: Mar 01, 2011
Version: 1.0
1.0
Size: 16.8 MB
Language: English
Seller: EightyEight Games LTD
© EightyEightGames Ltd
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

Amongst the players of Dark Nebula – Episode 1 the anticipation for the impending release of Dark Nebula – Episode 2 has been growing and growing. The developers have been releasing bite sized chunks of information regarding the new release and then in May a preview was released and few, if any were disappointed by what they saw and played.

Now the full version is available and at just 99 cents it’s great value for money, you may want to continue reading the rest of this review but if you do, and to be honest you should, be aware that you will have lost a few moments of your time where you could have been playing this game instead!

Dark Nebula – Episode 2 offers 19 new levels of edge of the seat excitement, improved visuals a great sound track and now a new combat system that lets you fight back against some of the obstacles that you will face.

The developers themselves describe the game as like a labyrinth game on steroids and while that sounds great it’s the beginning of it. You take control of a disk shaped object and using the accelerometer you slide it over the landscape. Beautiful natural levels, matrix like electronic ones, dark industrial levels and desert based levels all look great and the soundtrack and effects just adds to the overall experience.

If you’ve played the original Dark Nebula then you will feel perfectly at home in Episode 2, that’s not to say that you will be bored though as new puzzles and enemies have been added to find new ways to for you to lose your lives!

While the levels in Episode 1 just scrolled vertically up the iPhones screen the levels on Episode 2 now also scroll sideways and you will often find a sneeky orb or two hiding off to the left or right of the screen.

As well as the challenges that have been brought over from the original game there are some new ones to contend with, conveyor belts will now push and pull you along certain walkways while moving spiked contraptions will kill you in an instant should you touch them without a shield.

Other new additions are step stones which when triggered via a switch will appear allowing you to transverse areas where previously there were no floors. Don’t hang around though as they will disappear as quickly as they appeared in the first place. Then there are the lasers which sweep across the screen happy to cut you in two.

In addition to all this there are bosses that will take multiple hits and tactics to destroy which all adds up to the best 99 cent game in the App Store bar none.

The same scoring system is in place with each level being marked on a combination of time, orbs collected and lives lost and then these scores can be uploaded to Facebook as well as being compared to local and global leader boards giving you multiple reasons to come back to the game even after completing it.

The one small, and I repeat small, problem with Dark Nebula – Episode 2 is that the 19 levels can be completed relatively quickly, however the previously mentioned leader boards and the two difficulty levels offer replay value as does the sheer pleasure of playing it.

Pros

• The smoothest control system
• Beautiful graphics and animation
• Now with combat system
• Enjoyable soundtrack

Cons

• Too easy?

Price: $0.99 (App Store)
Category: Games
Released:Aug 05, 2010
Reviewed Version:1.0
Size: 77.5 MB
Languages:English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
Seller:1337 Game Design
© 1337 Game Design
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later

Entombed [rating: 4.5/5]

Fun Guy Media haven’t been the most prolific of game developers for the App Store but perhaps it’s third time lucky with their latest title Entombed for iPhone which puts you in the role of Blake, the son of an archaeologist who’s plundering of Egyptian artifacts has left his family cursed. The only way to reverse the curse is for Blake to return all of the artifacts to their rightful place.

The game is a top-down 3D style puzzler which has a nice authentic look about it and you will need to move through all the tombs to return the artifacts. As you move through the tombs you will need to solve a variety of puzzles as well as collecting a number of scarabs on each level to earn maximum points.

You do all of this against the clock too which counts you down at the beginning of each level. While you can complete each level in any amount of time if you fail to complete it before the clock counts down to 0 then you will become entombed and will have to complete the level again, this time quicker!

The game has a nice atmospheric score which is very effective in keeping with the overall style of the game and it keeps things moving along quite nicely. The game has elements of the original Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia and some of the levels and the puzzles within have a good level of depth to them.

While playing the game you can zoom in and out to get a better view of the levels by using the standard pinch technique and this certainly helps with some of the puzzles.

The controls are very simple, all you have to do is touch the screen where you want Blake to walk to and he will follow your command although after a while I found it easy to keep my finger on the screen and Blake will follow. All of the interactions with the environment are simple too although the blocks that have to be smashed take a little to many repeated taps to break open in my opinion.

Overall Entombed is a great puzzler game and one that has been beautifully put together and at only $1.99 is worth every penny even if more levels would be nice.

Pros

• Great variety of puzzles
• Simple controls
• Ancient Egyptian elegance

Cons

• More levels please

Price: $1.99 (App Store)
Category: Games
Released:Jul 30, 2010
Reviewed Version:1.0
Size: 24.4 MB
Language:English
Seller:Fun Guy Media Pty Ltd
© 2010 Fun Guy Media Pty Ltd
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later.

The iPhone’s touch screen has made a whole new genre of games possible and they are thriving in the app store, from Flight Control and Fare City to Harbor Master and Taxi Jam these apps are creating waves in the gaming market.

The latest to jump in to the mix is Trainyard which adds a puzzle aspect to raise the bar in this already power packed area.

The task in Trainyard is to move your trains from their outlet station to their goal station while performing certain tasks along the way, from avoiding obstacles to combining and mixing trains to match the colors of their goal station.

The game starts at a nice sedate pace with a great in game tutorial to help you along the way. The tutorial both demonstrates and allows you to perform the tasks as you play the game and it jumps into whenever a new ‘puzzle’ is introduced to the game.

As you progress through the 13 cities and over 100 puzzles the complexity of the puzzles becomes harder and harder and when the mixing of colors is introduced things take on a whole new level.

Playing the game is a pleasure too. You guide your trains to their respective destinations by drawing a line with your finger and the tack is laid beneath it. Do something wrong and you can either undo your last moves or erase the whole thing by shaking your device.

The graphics and menu’s are simple, clean and easy on the eye which make the game easy to play and understanding the puzzles is simple too even if the solutions aren’t.

One of my only problems with Trainyard was the color mixing aspect of it. As someone with red/green colorblindness some of the levels took a degree of trial and error but it is good to see that the developer has recognized this and has an update planned to make the game colorblind friendly.

The game is for a single player only and while there are also no leader boards you can boast about your successes via both Facebook and Twitter.

Trainyard is part line drawing game part puzzle game and the combination has been put together beautifully in this fun, challenging puzzle game that looks both great and plays wonderfully.

Trainyard will set you back $1.99 but it will be one of the best two dollars you’ve ever spent in the App Store.

Pros

• Perfectly pitched learning curve
• Smooth simple controls
• 100+ levels

Cons

• Single player only
• No leader boards

Price: $1.99 (iTunes Store)
Category: Games
Released: Jun 10, 2010
Reviewed Version: 1.00
1.00 (iPhone OS 3.0 Tested)
Size: 2.8 MB
Language: English
Seller: Matt Rix
© 2010 Matt Rix
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 2.2.1 or later.

Math Soldiers is developed by Touch-racjin and is a doodle type puzzle game. Castle Scribbalot is under attack by evil forces and it is your job to complete the puzzles and fight back. It is a strategy game mixed with a bit of fighting action.

The basis of the game is solving the puzzle on the screen, when you solve it your soldiers fight back at the forces of evil. You may have to read the game play instructions a few times first to get the hang of it and to see what each soldier does. You need to clear large soldier panels (which is four squares) off your puzzle. When you do this it deploys your soldier to fight against the enemy. At the top of the screen you can see your enemy in the shape of a creature. It starts at one end if it reaches the other side it wins and the game is over so you need to keep clearing these large panels to fight back.

Now you may notice when you start playing that there are not any large panels at first. To get them you have to move the small squares up and down or side by side until you get four squares matching then it turns into a large one, then you can clear it. To clear the panel you double tap it. When you do it shows at the top your soldiers that have been deployed and you can then see them hitting the creature and losing some of his life line.

There are different soldiers you can deploy and they are resemembled differently on the large panel. There is a knight who is pictured with a sword to fight enemies best on the ground. An Archer pictured with a bow who is strong against enemies in the air. A Paladin pictured with a hammer who is best against land and air enemies and finally a Guardsman pictured with a shield who can push enemies back.

Now unfortunately the forces of evil do fight back. Sometimes they will fire rocks at you. If one of their rocks lands on your panel it turns that panel into a rock. To get rid of it you need to clear an adjacent large panel and then it reverts back to its original square.

It is up to you when you deploy your soldiers and whether you want to save a few and fight back all at once. You use each soldier panel differently to try and win. For example you could use the Guardsman panel if evil is getting near to winning the game. The guardsman will push the enemy back and it gives you a little more time to try beat them. Each time you play you are timed and the idea is to try and destroy the enemy as quick as you can.

There are two modes easy and hard and different stages, each stage offers a different form of evil creature. I played in the easy mode and to be honest at first I couldn’t really tell if I was doing it correctly. I just kept sliding the small panels until by chance they made it into four matching squares and thats how I continued to play. The game lacks variation in stages as well as in each mode so I felt that to make it more of a game that offered good replay value it needed alot more levels. You could play again to beat your previous time but it would get a bit boring after a while and more levels with different enemies would add that interest to it.

The bright graphics are quite good. They are the doodle style pictures we are seeing more and more in the app store. Very similar to a childs picture with the scribbling coloured in. The sound effects are ok with noises when you deploy your soldiers. There is music as well which suits the game and if need be you do have the option to turn it off. I did because after a while it got a bit annoying.

Math Soldiers is a good puzzle game initially but because it offers hardly any replay value I am not sure how long I would actually keep playing. It is a game that’s got a lot of potential to become a much better and addictive game.

The Good

• Good doodle graphics
• Puzzle idea is unique

The Not So Good

• Not enough levels
• No replay value

Price: $0.99 (iTunes Store)
Released: Apr 12, 2010
Reviewed Version: 1.0
Size: 10.0 MB
Language: English
Seller: Racjin Co., Ltd.
© Racjin Co.,Ltd.
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.1 or later.