Is That Your Dragon?

The first episode chronicled the quest of a guy named Martin, who was trying to get to his fiancée.  The backdrop is a future Earth that has been devastated by the Apocalypse, and in this episode you get to find out how the emperor of this dystopian future came into power.  More appropriately, you get to play the someday emperor Greg as he takes the final journey that leads to his rise in power.  Aboard a train to India you’ll discover mystery, betrayal and the love of someone’s life… plus some other interesting loose ends from episode one.  You don’t need to have played the first part to enjoy this one, but it certainly can’t hurt.

Like a typical adventure game you’ll need to study all of your locations, scrutinize everyone you meet, and solve some puzzles in order to accomplish your goals.  Most items are collected by tapping on them, though some might be given to you by other characters in the game.  To use an item you tap on it in inventory and then tap what you want to use it with.  As long as your inventory is open, the last item you selected is “active” until you tap on it again or tap on a different item.  To talk to someone just tap on them.  You can then tap to scroll through the dialog.  Also, tapping on certain areas will cause a dialog to come up describing the area.  Just tap away from the dialog to close it.

My Father Is Dead

Unlike the first game, there are no “extended” screens in episode 2, so you don’t have a virtual joystick to scroll around the screen.  That’s okay, because that system had a couple of kinks anyway.  Unfortunately, the navigation in this episode has what I call “sticky” syndrome.  If you click things to quickly, it’s possible for dialogs (or even descriptions when you pick up items) to get stuck.  The only way to clear this is to move to a different scene in the game or sometimes even two or three scenes away.  This wouldn’t be so bad except that every scene has a slight load time, and even slight load times add up after a while.  Patience will persevere, but in the mean time it can get frustrating.

The graphics are decent, and certainly better than episode 1.  The locations look nice, and for the most part the people look good, but there are times when they feel like cardboard cutouts.  There isn’t a ton of animation in the game, the most notable exception being the motion outside the windows to give the train a feeling of movement.  There are some sound effects here and there, though sadly no voiceovers.  That’s something I’d really like to see in this series.  The music is very nice and changes depending on the situation, which is nice because given that the majority of the game takes place in the train it could have been easy to stick with one track.

Mysterious Prelude

As original adventures on the iPhone go, The Train is turning out to be one of the most engaging series available.  The story is well thought out, the pacing is decent, and the developer sure knows how to create a cliffhanger.  The visuals are getting better with each iteration, and the music is blossoming as well.  My main frustration is that the interface actually seems to have gotten a bit worse.  I imagine a lot of it can be attributed to the development tool, but that doesn’t help us as end users out any.  Purely from a story and puzzle standpoint I’d recommend the game, but unless you mind a lot of needless backtracking you’ll soon grow tired of the fragile interface.

Final Verdict: On The Fence
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Level 2-2

To guide the sheep you tilt your device left and right.  This actually works pretty smoothly for the most part, though control did feel a bit jittery on a couple of levels.  The problem is that the wolf moves right along with you, so you have to use elements in your surroundings to put some distance between you and the wolf.  Walls can keep one or the other of you from moving, while fans can slow your ascent / decent and springs can catapult you back upwards for a bit.  Ultimately, though, you need to make sure the wolf ends up falling in some water or getting skewered on the wrong end of a spike pit, because otherwise it will eat you in the end.  To move on to the next level you simply must survive the wolf.  To unlock a new level set you must collect a certain number of apples, three of which exist on each level.  The concept is simple enough, but some of these levels are extremely difficult.  On the plus side, you can always revisit a passed level to try and do better later.

Aesthetically, this game is all about cute.  The sheep is extremely adorable with its big eyes and little hearts floating from its head after beating a level.  The wolf is constantly eyeing its prey, and it’s actually kind of amusing when he eats the sheep (not that I don’t feel sorry for the sheep, mind you).  The accompanying sound effects fit the mood of the game perfectly, whether it’s the snicker of the wolf when he gets an apple before you do or the sheep’s laugh.  The music is well done, and each level set has its own theme.

Level 1-14

Currently there are 60 levels broken into 3 worlds, and even though you might be able to finish each level relatively easily, you’ll have to work hard to get all the apples.  There are also 38 achievements to earn, so the game should keep you busy for quite a while.  Personally, I think it’s a while worth spending.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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Two For One

The premise is simple – the poor little piggies just want to get from one side of the swamp to the other without becoming croc food, and it’s your job to get them there.  To do this you control a trampoline at the bottom of the screen by sliding it back and forth with your finger.  A pig must be safely nestled on the dock at the right side of the screen in order to be counted.  You have to keep an eye on this, because it’s not uncommon for a pig to just miss a jump at the end of its journey and end up plummeting to an implied doom.  Of course this can also get you into trouble (or at least it does me) because at the last moment I’ll whip over to rescue said pig and lose one coming from the other side of the swamp.

The first level is pretty easy, with a decent sized island floating between the two docks that can give wayward pigs and your poor trampoline a bit of a reprieve.  In the second level the island is moving back and forth, and I believe it’s a bit smaller.  Finally, level 3 gets rid of the island and zooms out a bit, giving you a wider gap to contend with.  I hope they roll out more levels, because I’m eager to see what will be coming next.  Every level sports the hungry crocodile, though he’s really just there for intimidation since you never see him eat any pigs.

Quick While He's Distracted

As you’re playing wings, a clock and a trampoline will occasionally fall from the sky.  The wings will remain with you and save one pig from plummeting to their demise.  The trampoline temporarily makes your trampoline bigger, and the clock slows down all the action for a bit.  The power ups are pretty easy to retrieve (you simply tap on them), the down side being there is no multi-touch, so you have to let go of the trampoline for a moment.  Unfortunately, in this game a moment can make all the difference.

All together there are 3 levels and 5 or 6 different pigs, most of which need to be unlocked by playing the game and some of which aren’t even available to be unlocked unless you make an IAP for the full version.  The game does have a leaderboard for each level via OpenFeint, but sadly there are no achievements at this point.  Hopefully that will come some day.  In the mean time you can feel some sense of accomplishment by rescuing enough pigs to unlock each new level and pig type.

Help!

The visuals are cute.  Each pig has their own look about them, though they do all share a certain sports ball like roundness.  The crocodile pops up every once in a while with a big smile across its mouth, licking its lips.  The only disappointment is that there is no animation in the background.  The sound effects are done well enough, with each pig having a unique grunt.  There is actually a different soundtrack for each level which is nice, and the first level even has some nifty ambient noise.

Crocodile Crossing is another fine casual game from the folks over at Crawl Space Games.  It has the perfect appeal for kids, yet it’s still fun enough for adults to enjoy, even if you don’t have any rugrats.  You can pick up the game for free, but I would definitely encourage you to get the IAP pack, because that has the best levels and pigs in it.  This is one group of pigs that deserve all the help you can give them.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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Anyway, when I saw that Mobile Cloth was looking for people to try out and review their cloths, I figured I might as well give it a try.  Certainly whatever they had to offer must be better than my “weapons” of choice.  The difference, however, was incredible.  A couple of swipes with the MC nano (the smaller size cloth), and the screen protector looked just like it did when I first applied it to my device.  The best part is that all you need is the cloth, though they do suggest a bit of water if you have “caked on particles”.  Thankfully that doesn’t usually apply to me, as I’m the only one that uses my iPod Touch.

The cloths come in two sizes: 4”x4” and 9”x9”.  Obviously you can use either size cloth for any size device, though the 4×4 is a bit more portable.  What I like about the smaller size is that it fits quite nicely in the bottom half of the plastic case which came with my iPod Touch and which I still use to carry my device around.  Of course either size can be easily tucked away in a carrying case, and the larger size might be better for a laptop or desktop screen to clear off dust.  You can easily wash and dry the cloths so that they will last for years to come.

The cloths can be bought in packs of 1, 2, 4 and 6, and with the packs of 4 or 6 you get an extra one for free.  If you use your mobile device a lot or have a lot of mobile devices you use (these would even work well with camera lenses, photographers), I would definitely suggest giving a Mobile Cloth a try.  They would make great Christmas gifts as well!

Web Site: Mobile Cloth

I apologize for lack of screen shots, but I’m not really set up for that, and all the shots I tried to take had too much glare to be useful.  Check out the press section of the web site for some links with shots, or visit the “What Is Mobile Cloth” section for a decent video showing the cloths in action.

Is He Dead?

You play a journalist that has taken interest in the musings of an explorer touting the existence of a mysterious breed of “white birds” that is constantly in flight.  When the explorer dies, you find yourself on a quest to return his prize position, an egg that supposedly contains one of these white birds, to the Amerzone.  In part one of this three part tale you’ll rummage through the explorer’s lighthouse and eventually make your way to a craft that will get you to the Amerzone.  The craft launches and… game over.  I would be surprised if the game even took half an hour, and that includes me starting over at one point.

There are two encounters during this installment of the game, but most of your background will come from reading documents you pick up along the way.  I certainly don’t mind reading the occasional letter or journal entry, but I much prefer interaction with NPCs as my prime conduit for learning about my adventure.  This episode is also woefully light on puzzle solving.  There are really only a couple of small “brain teasers”, and most everything else is a matter of wandering around and throwing the occasional switch.  The overall feeling is very “adventure lite” compared to the Syberia series.

Da Plane, Da Plane

Navigation is a matter of dragging your finger to pan around the area (you pretty much have 360 degree vision), and tapping when you want to move or interact with something.  To use an inventory item you select it from the inventory screen, and then it becomes the active item, so you just have to tap whatever you want to use it with.  If you elect the “permanent help” option all pathways and interactive spots will marked, otherwise they won’t.  I’d suggest turning this feature off for more of a challenge, but it makes it almost impossible to determine where to move without directional arrows.  Plus, without the help on I was unable to pick up the first object I ran across that I should have been able to grab.

Graphically the game doesn’t disappoint.  All the areas you navigate through are incredibly detailed and extremely well drawn.  The character models aren’t great, but they look pretty decent.  My one gripe is that some areas are too dark, even with the lights “on”.  The sound effects are spot on and make you feel like you’re in a real place.  When you stand right outside the lighthouse, for example, the rolling waves almost make you physically look up for the nearest seagull.  There are a couple of spots where music plays, but for the most part your audio experience lies with the sound effects.  This isn’t always bad, but some subtle background tunes would be nice.

Enter If You Dare

I realize this is only the first part of three, so maybe I’m judging too harshly, but it really didn’t meet my expectations in any way except visually.  The episode was too short, it didn’t stand well on its own, and there wasn’t a lot to do.  After I realized that I had finished part 1, I almost felt like I didn’t really care to know whether your character gets the egg to the Amerzone safely or even if these white birds really do exists.  Maybe as part of the whole package this is a fine segment, but since I haven’t played episodes 2 and 3 yet I can only offer advice based on this installment.  As such…

Final Verdict
Standalone: Not Recommended
As Part Of The Whole: On The Fence (until I’ve played parts 2&3)

And just so you don’t think I’m being unfair, here’s a perfect counterexample: Path Of The Dragon part 1 was not only good on it’s own, but it actually left me wanting to know what was going to come next.  You can check out my thoughts on that game here: Path Of The Dragon Review

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A-Maze-ing

Each level has a ball at the top of the screen that must be dropped into a basket somewhere else on the board.  The position of the ball and basket will be different on each level, and occasionally you might even get to move the basket around the playing board.  More importantly is the fact that you must slide all the pieces into place so that the dropped ball can bounce, teleport or whatever it needs to in order to get to the basket.  So what are these pieces?

They start with simple wooden parts that might be horizontal, vertical or diagonal boards, or possibly even triangular pieces.  Then you get similar pieces that are wrapped in cloth so they provide a softer bounce.  Springs provide a stronger, quicker bounce.  Fans blow the ball or cause it to float, depending on whether they are horizontal or vertical.  Teleports allow the ball to move from one spot to another without hesitation.  There may be other objects as well, but that’s for you to discover as you play.

Are You A Fan?

Just like the standard sliding puzzle game, the board is divided into an equal number of squares horizontally and vertically, but one is missing so that you can move all the rest of them around.  To move a piece, simply drag it to an adjacent spot, assuming that spot is open.  One caveat is that every board has at least one piece that can’t be moved.  Another interesting feature is the ability to rotate pieces on certain levels.  Unfortunately there is a specific place on the board where the rotation occurs, so it can be rather costly moving pieces to that spot.  You score appears to be based at least partially on the number of moves you make, so unnecessary trips around the board can be quite detrimental.

You start the board with 10, 20 or 30 balls – this can be changed in the settings.  When you think you have all the pieces in place, press the start button and see if you make the basket.  I also think that your score is based on the number of balls you have left, but nothing in the game confirms either of these suspicions.  If you miss, start rearranging the pieces again.  The nice thing is that you can always base your next try off of your last attempt, so if you were close it might just be a matter of sliding a particular piece up, down, left or right one square.  On the other hand, if you’re playing with 30 balls and you’ve tried 15 combinations that didn’t work, it becomes rather difficult to keep track of that all in your head after a while.  And, should you actually have to start the level over again, your back to square one so to speak.

Simple Physics

The visuals are actually quite polished.  The pieces look good, and everything is animated when appropriate.  The basket even flops around as you slide it across the screen.  The sound effects are pretty subdued, but then there isn’t really a lot of need for effects.  I do like the robotic sound the arm makes when it drops the ball.  There’s decent music when the menu is up, but there’s actually no tune playing during the game itself.  That’s a bit disappointing, as it tends to be more noticeable in slower paced games like this.

I’m still not a huge fan of the sliding puzzle mechanic.  However, when it gets used in a situation like this, it actually becomes an interesting game play tactic.  The levels are well designed, and even when they seem impossible it’s usually just a matter of adjusting the location of a piece or two.  It can sometimes get frustrating playing a level through more than one “game over”, especially when you’re playing with the 30 balls setting, but there’s still a sense of accomplishment when you’ve finished a level.  For those that are patient, this will become an addictive experience.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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All Bones, No Skin

You play a lone soldier in a post-apocalyptic world just trying to survive. In order to do so you’ll have to go up against and defeat one adversary after another. Each opponent gets tougher, and each time you start with a level playing field. You each have the same amount of health to start off, and you both have 0 attack modifier and 0 defense modifier. The match 3 board is where you get your supplies by matching 3 or more of the same item. This is one of those games where instead of sliding tiles back and forth you draw a line through all the tiles you want to match (they must be adjacent). When you’ve made your selection you’ll reap the benefit of whatever tile type you chose, and then it will be your opponent’s turn. If you fall below zero health, the game is over. If your opponent loses you move on to fight another villain with more health.

Items on the board do one of 4 things. Weapons like grenades and axes do direct damage to the opponent’s health. If you have an attack modifier, that value is added to the total damage done by the weapons. Any defense the opponent has goes away first before health is reduced. Things like helmets and camouflage pants increase your defense. Objects like target signs and multiple bullets boost your attack modifier. Finally, food, drink and medical supplies help you regain health. The values of each object can be found in the help screen, and if one of the items in your chain has a x2 modifier the point total for that haul is doubled. Each round has a different set of objects, and in fact if the board needs to be reset because there are no moves, the variety of objects will most likely change.

Is Your Mascara Running?

Even though there are “stats”, you’ll be disappointed if you’re looking for a deep RPG experience. I sometimes forget that myself as I think “boy it would be nice if the game did this or that”. In reality, though, the game has a nice balance of matching and basic combat mechanics that keep it simple without it getting old. The one thing I am a bit disappointed with is the fact that it has OpenFeint integration but no achievements. Leaderboards are nice, but only effective as more people get and play the game consistently. At least achievements give you something to earn on your own.

The visuals in ATF are pretty decent. The creatures and your soldier look really cool, and the objects are all easily discernable, except for a couple of knives that look a bit too similar. There aren’t a lot of effects, but there are nice little touches like blood when someone is injured or a flash of light upon being healed. The only thing that kind of gets on my nerves is the jittering of the box for whichever player has the focus. A nicely outlined box would have sufficed here.

I'm Not Little Miss Muffet!

I like the sound effects, but in some cases they are a bit too generic. For instance, every creature sounds the same when it gets hit. There’s also something really creepy about a skeleton swallowing liquids! On the plus side, at least each of the weapons has a unique sound to it. The music in ATF is really good. I’m not sure it fits the post-apocalyptic mood so much (at least not the in-game music), but it’s easy to listen to and doesn’t get overbearing.

After The Fall Puzzle is a great example of how a game doesn’t have to be revolutionary to still be fun. It’s the matching concept we know and love with a couple of twists, and it doesn’t try to be any game’s clone. The non-fantasy setting is a nice touch, and random boards and creatures make for a new experience every time you play. It might not have all the bells and whistles of its contemporaries, but it’s great for spending a few minutes here and there when you feeling like matching with a little bit more.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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All Bones, No Skin

You play a lone soldier in a post-apocalyptic world just trying to survive.  In order to do so you’ll have to go up against and defeat one adversary after another.  Each opponent gets tougher, and each time you start with a level playing field.  You each have the same amount of health to start off, and you both have 0 attack modifier and 0 defense modifier.  The match 3 board is where you get your supplies by matching 3 or more of the same item.  This is one of those games where instead of sliding tiles back and forth you draw a line through all the tiles you want to match (they must be adjacent).  When you’ve made your selection you’ll reap the benefit of whatever tile type you chose, and then it will be your opponent’s turn.  If you fall below zero health, the game is over.  If your opponent loses you move on to fight another villain with more health.

Items on the board do one of 4 things.  Weapons like grenades and axes do direct damage to the opponent’s health.  If you have an attack modifier, that value is added to the total damage done by the weapons.  Any defense the opponent has goes away first before health is reduced.  Things like helmets and camouflage pants increase your defense.  Objects like target signs and multiple bullets boost your attack modifier.  Finally, food, drink and medical supplies help you regain health.  The values of each object can be found in the help screen, and if one of the items in your chain has a x2 modifier the point total for that haul is doubled.  Each round has a different set of objects, and in fact if the board needs to be reset because there are no moves, the variety of objects will most likely change.

Is Your Mascara Running?

Even though there are “stats”, you’ll be disappointed if you’re looking for a deep RPG experience.  I sometimes forget that myself as I think “boy it would be nice if the game did this or that”.  In reality, though, the game has a nice balance of matching and basic combat mechanics that keep it simple without it getting old.  The one thing I am a bit disappointed with is the fact that it has OpenFeint integration but no achievements.  Leaderboards are nice, but only effective as more people get and play the game consistently.  At least achievements give you something to earn on your own.

The visuals in ATF are pretty decent.  The creatures and your soldier look really cool, and the objects are all easily discernable, except for a couple of knives that look a bit too similar.  There aren’t a lot of effects, but there are nice little touches like blood when someone is injured or a flash of light upon being healed.  The only thing that kind of gets on my nerves is the jittering of the box for whichever player has the focus.  A nicely outlined box would have sufficed here.

I'm Not Little Miss Muffet!

I like the sound effects, but in some cases they are a bit too generic.  For instance, every creature sounds the same when it gets hit.  There’s also something really creepy about a skeleton swallowing liquids!  On the plus side, at least each of the weapons has a unique sound to it.  The music in ATF is really good.  I’m not sure it fits the post-apocalyptic mood so much (at least not the in-game music), but it’s easy to listen to and doesn’t get overbearing.

After The Fall Puzzle is a great example of how a game doesn’t have to be revolutionary to still be fun.  It’s the matching concept we know and love with a couple of twists, and it doesn’t try to be any game’s clone.  The non-fantasy setting is a nice touch, and random boards and creatures make for a new experience every time you play.  It might not have all the bells and whistles of its contemporaries, but it’s great for spending a few minutes here and there when you feeling like matching with a little bit more.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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The Big Bad Man

You are a velocispider – half velociraptor, half spider, with a bit of cyborg power thrown in for good measure.  Apparently your eggs are pretty tasty, because an evil scientist is trying to collect them for his breakfast.  You’ll have to fend off 20 waves of diabolical egg snatchers, including the good doctor himself.  There are a nice variety of creatures to fight, each with their own style of attack.  As for your part in this battle, you tilt the device back and forth to move the velocispider, and press and release the screen to fire a charge shot.  Normal firing is handled automatically.

My favorites are what I like to call the “fail whale wannabe”, the super crab, and of course the doctor, who you get the pleasure of confronting twice.  Besides the doctor, the only other creature that can steal eggs is a purple squid like thing, but you have to keep a constant watch because they’ll sneak up and snatch eggs while you’re busy worrying about something that’s actually shooting at you.  If you lose all three eggs the level is over.  Same goes for losing all three hearts.

Reinforcement Time

Thankfully you get several power ups through the course of a level, including points, hearts, and a couple of nice weapons like double shot, triple shot and speed shot.  And the plus side, power ups carry through to the next level.  On the down side, so does the lack of hearts you might have.  The game has 18 achievements that you can work on, but given that part of the game’s old school charm is its tough nature, many of these will probably be hard to get if you’re a more casual gamer.  In fact, they’re aren’t really any you earn simply for playing the game.  But, that’s pretty good incentive for coming back again and again.

The graphics are retro perfection.  Imagine taking a Nintendo game and giving it a VGA facelift, and that’s the style of the visuals.  The velocispider is awesome, and the villains are pretty cool as well.  As for my favorites, I direct you back to the list above, as they are the same visually as they are game play wise.  The background has a nice “ravaged future” look to it, and the cut scenes remind me of the old Ninja Gaiden NES game.  I have no idea why, but they do.

Fail Whale???

The sound effects are about the only thing I’m disappointed with.  They’re not bad by any means, but they aren’t really fresh like the rest of the aesthetics.  It would be cool if some of the creatures made noises, and I’d really love to hear something from the doctor, even if it was just a maniacal laugh every once in a while.  At least the music has that same “authentic but upgraded” feel as the visuals.  Granted you’ll be too busy dodging bullets to notice for the most part.

Velocispider is old school gaming personified, right down to the single screen playing field.  At the same time it feels fresh and new, without really bringing anything different to the table.  There’s lots of action, splendid visuals, and a great soundtrack to listen to.  I just wish there were some sort of endless mode or something.  That would be icing on this delicious retro cake (okay, so I’m a bit hungry right now).

Final Verdict: Highly Recommended
App Store Link
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The Big Bad Man

You are a velocispider – half velociraptor, half spider, with a bit of cyborg power thrown in for good measure.  Apparently your eggs are pretty tasty, because an evil scientist is trying to collect them for his breakfast.  You’ll have to fend off 20 waves of diabolical egg snatchers, including the good doctor himself.  There are a nice variety of creatures to fight, each with their own style of attack.  As for your part in this battle, you tilt the device back and forth to move the velocispider, and press and release the screen to fire a charge shot.  Normal firing is handled automatically.

My favorites are what I like to call the “fail whale wannabe”, the super crab, and of course the doctor, who you get the pleasure of confronting twice.  Besides the doctor, the only other creature that can steal eggs is a purple squid like thing, but you have to keep a constant watch because they’ll sneak up and snatch eggs while you’re busy worrying about something that’s actually shooting at you.  If you lose all three eggs the level is over.  Same goes for losing all three hearts.

Reinforcement Time

Thankfully you get several power ups through the course of a level, including points, hearts, and a couple of nice weapons like double shot, triple shot and speed shot.  And the plus side, power ups carry through to the next level.  On the down side, so does the lack of hearts you might have.  The game has 18 achievements that you can work on, but given that part of the game’s old school charm is its tough nature, many of these will probably be hard to get if you’re a more casual gamer.  In fact, they’re aren’t really any you earn simply for playing the game.  But, that’s pretty good incentive for coming back again and again.

The graphics are retro perfection.  Imagine taking a Nintendo game and giving it a VGA facelift, and that’s the style of the visuals.  The velocispider is awesome, and the villains are pretty cool as well.  As for my favorites, I direct you back to the list above, as they are the same visually as they are game play wise.  The background has a nice “ravaged future” look to it, and the cut scenes remind me of the old Ninja Gaiden NES game.  I have no idea why, but they do.

Fail Whale???

The sound effects are about the only thing I’m disappointed with.  They’re not bad by any means, but they aren’t really fresh like the rest of the aesthetics.  It would be cool if some of the creatures made noises, and I’d really love to hear something from the doctor, even if it was just a maniacal laugh every once in a while.  At least the music has that same “authentic but upgraded” feel as the visuals.  Granted you’ll be too busy dodging bullets to notice for the most part.

Velocispider is old school gaming personified, right down to the single screen playing field.  At the same time it feels fresh and new, without really bringing anything different to the table.  There’s lots of action, splendid visuals, and a great soundtrack to listen to.  I just wish there were some sort of endless mode or something.  That would be icing on this delicious retro cake (okay, so I’m a bit hungry right now).

Final Verdict: Highly Recommended
App Store Link
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Two Keys

You are Monty, and it is up to you to traverse 90 levels of dastardly mugwumps, nasty lasers and other things, rescuing all the little Montys and escaping to safety. This task won’t be easy, as Mugwumps love eating Monty for any meal of the day, and if you or the little one gets too close you’re dinner. There’s also a pesky time limit once the escape portal has been opened before the air runs out and you must start again. Every once in a while they even throw in an extra little quirk like the entire level being timed or you only having a certain number of moves to complete a level. I actually wish there were more of the latter type of puzzle, though I could certainly do without any more timing obstacles than I need.

To move Monty you tap him and then drag where you want him to go. Once you lift your finger Monty is off, and he can’t be maneuvered again until he stops. One problem is that if you don’t tap just right then you don’t get hold of Monty, and this can either waste precious time or prevent you from getting out of the way of an enemy quickly enough. Also, it’s hard to be completely precise with this method of movement, which can cause issues when trying to navigate narrow areas. You also have the ability to jump by tapping on Monty, but again if you’re off just a bit he doesn’t jump, and that’s not good when you’re headed towards a laser. Finally there are power ups you can pick up like a speed boost and high jump. You just run over them to collect them, and then you tap on them before your next move to use them.

Flame On

The level designs are interesting. Most every level has a bunch of coins you need to collect before the portal will open. Some levels have doors which require keys to open, others have lasers you need to avoid or jump over. And of course there are the different types of Mugwumps you need to deal with. I’ve only played about a third of the game so far, but I’d imagine (or at least I’m hoping) that there might even be a few more things in store for me. Part of my problem at the beginning was that the level designs seemed pretty ridiculous, but as I continue to play I realize just how good some of them are. There are some that are pretty silly, though with this many levels that’s to be expected. The important thing is that it’s clear the level designer tried to be as diverse as possible when designing the different levels.

The interface could stand to be cleaned up a bit. Level selection is cumbersome to scroll through, and sometimes hard to pick the actual level you want. When you die it should give you the option to retry the level, instead of making you go back to the menu and select it again. A reset at the top of the screen that can be executed at any time during the level would be nice as well.

Wacky Starfish

The graphics are a bit of a mixed bag. Monty looks like a big yellow asterisk with eyes, which is actually kind of cool. The monsters are kind of cheesy, but they still look half way decent, and I love it when their mouths open up to eat Monty. The walls and lasers and stuff look pretty basic, which when combined with the overall interface give the game a bit of an unpolished feel. The sound effects work pretty well. I particularly like the sound of a mugwump eating Monty and the different noises Monty makes in response. The music is nice to listen to, while not really standing out from the pack. At least there is background music and it’s tolerable, though.

Monty is definitely one of those cases where you shouldn’t judge the book by its cover… or more appropriately, the game by its screen shots. The cool part is that you can get a full third of the game for free by downloading The Story Begins, so you can see for yourself what the game is like without spending any money. I think you’ll find that it’s worth an extra buck to get the remaining 60 levels. Monty isn’t my favorite puzzle game in recent months, but it certainly merits spending some time with.

Final Verdict: Recommended
App Store Link
App Store Link (free version)

Lightning Strike

The biggest problem I have with part three is that there wasn’t much of a noticeable difference between the original up through this second sequel.  Sure it’s a bit flashier and there are now four playable characters, but when you even compare the growth of this series to its urban counterpart Streets Of Rage, it pales in comparison.  On the plus side, it plays quite nicely on my iPod Touch 4G.  It also looks better than the first two installments, though the color palettes are still atrocious.  At least the character designs are better and more defined.  The music is still the same wonderful chip tunes that permeated the series, and the sound effects are still pretty bad.

Game play is still pretty much the same, though you can actually get health and magic refills during the levels instead of having to wait until the end now.  There are also a couple opportunities where you can pick between two paths, and at least one instance where you’re fighting aboard a moving platform, two features which I believe were new to this iteration of the series.  Still, minor enhancements aside, this game falls more under the concept of “level pack” than an actual new game.  It just goes to show how spoiled we’ve gotten over the years.

Well That Hurt

Part one was fun just for the sake of reminiscing, and part two was enjoyable because it felt like a nice step up from part one (plus the port was much more playable than the first outing).  With this sequel, however, I’d only recommend it to three groups of people: die hard fans, hardcore nostalgia buffs (not necessarily fans of Golden Axe itself), and those that are curious about the series and haven’t tried the others.  Everyone else has probably either had their fill or won’t be interested when you compare it to more recent offerings.

Final Verdict: On The Fence
App Store Link
App Shopper Link

Bunny In Action

Basically the game is you against the weasels, though there is no intro or any sort of explanation as to why this feud is going on.  You can run left and right, jump, and use a knife or gun to defend yourself against the enemy.  Every action has an onscreen button, and they are all quite responsive.  I do wish the gun and jump buttons were flipped, but that’s a minor quibble.  There are coins to collect that seem to serve no purpose other than collecting them, and a meager 6 Game Center achievements that you can earn.  There are leaderboards as well, but I haven’t really been compelled to check them to see how I’m doing.

The enemies come at you from both sides, but other than two different types of weapons (which don’t seem to serve a functional difference), there is no variety amongst the weasels.  As the weasels attack you the screen will start to flash with bloody red borders.  The more frequent the flash, the more damaged you are.  Visually it’s pretty neat, but as a true life meter it’s worthless, because it doesn’t tell you how many hits until you die.  There are land mines which play nice as long as you don’t land directly on them, and that’s basically it for opposition.  My main cause of death is usually misjudging my jump and landing on a mine instead of going over it.  In the end, there’s just not a whole lot to do in this game.

Strike A Pose

The graphics aren’t bad, especially when it comes to the detailed background, but again there isn’t much variety.  All the weasels look the same except for the weapons, so your character is the main thing that stands out.  Again it’s not bad, but not great.  The one neat effect besides the blood border is the fact that the weasels do drop their weapon when you hit them.  The sound effects are pretty bland, and when you swipe a weasel with your knife it sounds more like you’re tearing paper than anything.  The music is okay, but it gets repetitive really quickly.

While a conclusion is probably overkill at this point, here goes anyway.  The move left or right and attack everything in sight paradigm has been done 100 different ways on the iPhone, and a majority of them are better than this.  I’ve got my fingers and toes crossed that Pocket Monkey Games will rise above their current offerings one of these days, but alas Battle Bunny isn’t their salvation.  I wish there was at least something that would make me say “you might consider this if…”, but that’s not even the case.  If you don’t own any Pocket Monkey Games, get Sparta instead.  Otherwise, you should probably look elsewhere.

Final Verdict: Not Recommended
App Store Link
App Shopper Link

Tapper Pro is a game for iOS. You bounce a variety of balls in an attempt to keep them aloft. It doesn’t do that very well.

I could end my review here, but I’m going to elaborate as much as I possibly can.

Prepare to press the Home button in about 30 seconds.

Gameplay

Tapper Pro, created by developer Weeny Brain’s Game, is…well, I’ll let the developers describe it via their App Store product description:

I’ll let the developers continue:

Total pandemoonium! I'm here all night, folks.

The three different difficulties aren’t exactly varied. I can’t seem to tell any difference between “easy” and “normal” modes, while the only “extreme” mode involved the bouncing eye. This eye moves so fast and is so much smaller that it isn’t even remotely playable. I let my wife have a go at it (she’s usually pretty good at tapping/rhythm games) and she managed to make a second eye appear before nearly pitching my phone through the front door.

Clear Eyes drops, for dry, itchy eyes.

Graphics and sound

Tapper Pro looks and feels like the simple Flash games I’d play in the computer lab in grade nine. There are five playable spheres to usher around the screen from sports balls, to the moon, to an awfully red eye. Each ball is a perfect circle which is unaffected by the MS Paint quality environments. I hoped, for example, that on the basketball court “level” I’d have a chance to toss the ball at the net, or even get points for a swish. No dice. The backgrounds are static and lifeless.

Maybe actual basketball would be more exciting like this.

The sound effects are…well, there are sound effects. The three sports balls sound like reasonably passable imitations of their real-world counterparts. The eyeball makes a weird “bink,” like a tiny spring. It also makes an vile squishing noise when it hits the ground – which happens a lot. Lastly, the moon, when tapped, sounds like a gunshot from Wolfenstein 3D. Fair enough though,

who am I to say what the moon sounds like when poked? Maybe it does sound like a digitized Luger.

Shoot the moon!

Also, you can’t listen to the iPod while playing Tapper Pro, which is an entirely silent venture beyond the various gunshots, squishes and thuds. I guess having your own music playing may ruin the ambience and immersion into the world of Tapper Pro.

I know I’m slagging on a product created by a few people in their spare time. The thing is, this game costs money. I can’t in good conscience recommend Tapper Pro to anyone. There are far better free games in the App Store that have more features than the $1 Tapper Pro. Usually “Pro” indicates that there’s a free version of the title available in the App Store, but I can’t seem to find one. This game has all the excitement of trying to put gumballs back into the machine and is probably less fun.

Tapper Pro
Pros

• Colourful, simple graphics
• Facebook integration
• I learned what the moon sounds like

Cons

• Insane physics engine
• Static environments
• The sound the eye makes freaks me out

Rating 1/5

Final Verdict: Not Recommended

Tapper Pro on the App Store

Developers webpage

It's Shocking

Okay, so enough about that other game… let’s discuss Save Yammi.  You are trying to help a little octopus named Yammi find his way home to the Gulf of Mexico while avoiding a nasty shark.  Of course, you won’t know this without checking out the iTunes description, since there isn’t any sort of intro in the game itself.  Too bad, because given the graphics quality I bet an intro would be really cool.  Anyway, to get poor Yammi through each level, for some reason you have to feed him a cookie.  As luck would have it, though, this is one stubborn octopus, and he won’t eat the cookie until you’ve collected the 3 yellow stars floating around the level.  There are also red stars, but those are just for bonus.

So how do you help Yammi?  You start the ball (or cookie, as it were) rolling by tapping the cookie.  At any point, as long as you have rope left you can draw a piece of rope on the screen to help guide the cookie.  This helps in both giving it a path to roll along and in blocking it from going places you don’t want it to.  Keep in mind that rope segments will fade away after a certain length of time.  As the levels get trickier you get items like teleports and bubbles that help keep the cookie moving.  The game currently has 100 levels spread across 10 cities, and so far every city has introduced at least one new concept.

Bubbly Personality

Your final score for each level is based on three factors: the three yellow stars (which you must get), the two red stars and how much rope you have left.  You only need the yellow stars to progress to the next level, but you can always go back and replay levels where you didn’t get all the red stars.  Save Yammi is also Game Center enabled, with a total of 16 achievements to earn and leaderboards to compete in.  Most achievements are built on doing a certain activity many times, so it should take you a while to collect them all.

The graphics are certainly one of the highlights of Save Yammi.  Not the backgrounds so much, mind you, as they are relatively plain compared to everything else.  However, all the objects look good, whether it’s a simple star or the grumbling thunder cloud.  Of course Yammi himself is awesome, with his big eyes and wonderful expressions.  If you leave the cookie rolling around him too long without having all the stars, he’ll even hold up a little sign to let you know that you need three stars.

Teleports

The sound effects are actually pretty decent.  However, the one thing that troubles me just a bit is how much Yammi sounds like a certain other adorable critter.  In fact, if you closed your eyes you’d be hard pressed not to think you were hearing Om Nom when Yammi crunches a cookie.  Sorry, that’s the last time I’ll bring that up.  The music is pleasant enough, but it seems there are only two tunes – one for the menu and one for actual game play.  Even if each city didn’t have its own theme, a couple more scores would be nice.

I lied – I’m going to mention it once more.  For those of you that feel like you’ve gotten your fill with Cut The Rope or think that this is going to be too similar in game play, please give it a chance.  The rest of you that don’t have those fears should have already bought it.  This game is extremely fun, and really not quite like the other games of its ilk.  I just hope it manages to break the top 10 for a while, because it deserves all the accolades its brethren have received.

Final Verdict: Highly Recommended
App Store Link
App Shopper Link

The Man Behind The Paper

The game is told from the point of view of Martin, a “painter mage” that lives in a world where magic has been banned by a maniacal emperor.  On a routine visit to your fiancée things start to go awry, and suddenly you find yourself embroiled in a mystery to figure out what has happened to your beloved.  To find your fiancée you’ll need to visit several locations, interact with some interesting individuals, and solve a few mind bending puzzles.  Most of the time traveling to a new location is a matter of tapping where you want to go or clicking the “back” arrow when provided, though sometimes you’ll have to interact with the environment to set of a chain of events to get you someplace new.

To use an item you select it and then tap on what you want to use the item on.  An item will stay selected until you tap on it again or select another item, so if you start getting a lot of messages like “are you kidding?”, it’s probably because you accidentally left an item selected.  Interacting with mini-game style puzzles really depends on the puzzle.  You’ll tap, swipe, drag, tilt and more to accomplish everything that you need to.  You also tap on people to interact with them.  Sometimes the tapping seems overly sensitive, and there were multiple occasions where it took me several taps to clear a dialog away because it kept coming back.  One thing I found rather interesting was that most every screen was at least wider or taller than the physical screen, and to move your viewpoint you use a virtual stick in the lower left corner of the screen.  It’s a cool feature, but I didn’t care for what I assumed to be auto centering on some scenes because of it.

In The Attic

There are several puzzles in the game, both inventory based and mini-game style.  My biggest issue was the difficulty of the puzzles.  I found myself more often than not consulting the in-game help or the developer for tips or solutions.  I do like the fact that the hint option is context specific and almost always in at least two parts, so you don’t get the whole solution if you don’t want it.  I just wish I wouldn’t have had to abuse it so much.  One other facet I’d like to mention is the whole idea of Martin being a “painter mage”.  This gives him the ability to create and manipulate artwork.  It’s actually a really powerful concept, and it’s used a couple of times in the game, but it should have been explored more in my opinion.

The visuals have a very distinct look about them.  Everything is very detailed, but there isn’t a whole lot of animation anywhere in the game.  There are also certain areas where the artistic skill isn’t nearly as strong – the human figure, for example.  I like the artwork, but it doesn’t wow me like some of the offerings on the App Store.  The sound effects are the same way.  Nothing really jumps out at you, and given the locales there are some missed opportunities for cool background noise.  I’d also love to see speech added to the game – who doesn’t want to hear a zombie talk?  The music is really good.  It has the feel of an action suspense movie, which is just what a game like this needs.

Help Me

Despite any grumblings I’ve mentioned, I would say The Train episode 1 is a decent start for The Moonwalls.  I was disappointed when it suddenly ended, because I was really getting into the story at the point.  If you tend to spend most of your time playing hidden object style games you might find this a bit daunting (not criticizing, because I love HoGs), but for more traditional adventure gamers this is worth checking out.  It’s a nice foundation for Martin’s world, and by the end you’ll want to pick up episode 2 (which should be out by the time I publish this).

Final Verdict: Recommended
App Store Link
App Shopper Link

Peace... Or Not

The premise behind each level is simple: burn everything that will catch on fire.  You have a certain amount of time with which to accomplish this task or you fail the level.  You can also earn up to three gems per level depending on how quickly you finish the level, though it is possible to complete a level without earning any gems.  When you beat a level a new one is unlocked, and when you complete all the levels in a world the next world is opened up for you.  There are currently 4 worlds with a total of 100 levels, and there’s a spot for a fifth world in the menu system, so hopefully we’ll see that one day.

To start a fire you drag a flame from its starting point to whatever you want to set on fire.  There are three different types of flames, each with their own abilities.  The yellow is the weakest, and can only burn ropes starting from the end of the rope.  The blue flame can burn a rope starting from anywhere and can also burn wood.  The green flame can burn anything and can set multiple things on fire before needing to be refueled, but it takes the longest to recharge.  In addition to simply running out of time, you’ll also get obstacles like stone (which can’t be burnt), drops of water that will put your flame out, and jets of gas that can be both good and bad.  My biggest obstacle, unfortunately, is that sometimes my finger gets in the way and I can’t tell what’s going on.  You don’t have to be directly on the flame to control it, but in my opinion the screen really isn’t big enough for relative control.

The Lost Ark

This is a bit of a spoiler, but I want to mention it because it’s probably the coolest mechanic of the game.  Once you get into the third and fourth worlds you get the benefit of the “time loop”, which actually lets you play a level twice with two different flames!  This is usually necessary because there are parts that can’t be destroyed by the first flame you get, but can be taken care of with the second flame.  The trick is figuring out how to maximize the use of your first flame so that you can make the most of your second flame when the time comes.  These levels are some of the most interesting but also the most challenging.  I have quite a few that I skated by with nothing more than a “win” (I had no gems) just because I wanted to see what came next.

The visuals in Burn It All are quite nice.  The board layouts look good, with a nice mix of rock, rope and wood.  And of course everything looks nifty when it’s on fire.  There are also some cool special effects like when a drop of water hits your flame or a gas jet accelerates your lighting ability.  The sound effects are decent as well, especially when it comes to the little noises and occasional words like “fire” that the flames utter.  The music is well written and there are enough tunes (at least from what I can tell) that you shouldn’t get bored with the soundtrack.

I Hate Bats

Burn It All is another extremely entertaining puzzle game, with enough differences from the pack to make it worth delving into.  Just a tad bit more variety on non-rope items that can burn would be nice, but at least there was something besides ropes to begin with.  The difficulty level gets somewhat extreme in the end, so don’t expect this to be a walk in the park, but it should keep the hardcore gamers happy.  Between trying to achieve 3 gems on 100 levels and attempting to earn all the achievements, you won’t run out of game to play for quite a while.  I think the base mechanic of Burn The Rope was a bit more novel, but in the end I found Burn It All to more accessible.

Final Verdict: Highly Recommended
App Store Link
App Shopper Link

I ask this simple question since the price of a HDMI cable can range from around $4.00 to $100.00 plus. From a simple visual inspection, most HDMI cables look very similar in that they have a common connector on each end, a specific length of cable in between and in some cases a magnetic loop on each end.

Cables are not all created equal. Generally speaking, cables created using lower grade materials tend to have a shorter lifespan and exhibit lower performance levels.

A HDMI cable is designed to connect two HDMI compatible devices together and transfer the high definition signal between the two devices. The signal is uncompressed therefore a high level of digital information is being transmitted through the cable regardless of the cost price of the digital devices. As with any connection cable, the signal quality will degrade as the cable gets longer and the quality of the wiring used is lower. As the signal degrades between the sending and receiving devices (DVD player and HD TV as an example), the quality of the picture and the audio will degrade significantly.

To ensure that the overall picture and sound quality is maintained, you need to have a transmission cable that can minimize the signal loss. In theory, a cable made with a compatible connector on either end and copper wiring in between will transmit the signal between the two digital devices. This is where the difference between the lower priced cables and the higher priced cables come into the picture. Most lower priced cables are just that. Copper wiring with compatible connectors and in some cases a magnetic loop to minimize external signal interference. Higher priced cables will use various methods to minimize the signal loss and ensure optimum signal retention.

 Here is a list of specifics that you should be aware of that helps to maintain the overall signal quality received by the high definition TV.

1: The quality of the copper wiring used internally. Higher quality copper wiring ensures that the signal loss and signal speed degradation is minimized. The amount of copper wiring used. Typically more copper wiring is required to send digital signals over older analog signals.

2: The quality of the outer shielding material used. Higher quality shielding minimizes the wear and tear when the cables are moved. The electronic signal interference from other electronic and mechanical devices are also minimized.

3; The quality of the end connectors used. Gold plated end connectors minimizes the signal loss between the devices and the cable.

4: Signal amplifiers built into the connectors. This ensures that the signal sent between the devices are of optimal strength to travel through the wiring and reach the intended target at the peak signal level.

An HDMI cable with “active technology” taps into the devices power source available via the HDMI connection. By accessing the available 5 volt /5 mA power, any cable that uses the RedMere “active technology” chip has the ability to use the power to equalize the signal. By doing this, the signal transfered through the cable can be boosted to reduce the amount of copper wiring required and produce the optimum level of signal output.

This means the copper wiring and shielding material can be reduced by 70 %. The HD video cable, typically very thick and cumbersome can now be made ultra-thin, portable and very flexible. The RedMere active technology chip used in a HDMI cable will allow you to have a clear high definition image and great audio output.

Thinner RedMere cable on the right

Companies that manufacture cables using the RedMere active technology include:

• Buffalo
• Monster
• PNY
• RadioShack
• Samsung

PHY Cable

Prices for these cables do vary but are typically in the $80.00 – $100.00 USD price range. I have only tried the test cable manufactured by RedMere and not the various cables that use the RedMere chip. This being said, any cable using the RedMere chip under the redmere specific guidelines should produce a high quality HDMI cable. The final choice of which cable to purchase would depend on the price and convenience to you.

There are other factors that determine your overall choice of cable based on distance between the source and receiving device, if the cable is to be exposed or installed within the wall, and if the cable will be used only for temporary connection like via a portable device and TV or permanently between a component DVD player and TV. Overall, any cable suited for your specific requirements that utilize the RedMere active technology should provide you with a quality video and audio signal.

I really like the RedMere active technology based HDMI cable since I tend to disconnect and connect other devices like my iPod Touch and video camera. The soft and thin cable makes it easier to disconnect and attach to other devices that will be connected for only a short period of time.

When purchasing any cable, try and get the retailer to demo the actual cable for you based on your setup requirements. This way you minimize the headaches when you get home. One last point to note: The HDMI cable should be marked indicating which end plugs into the TV and which end plugs into the sending device. Connecting the devices incorrectly will certainly produce poor results. Don’t let active words used in the packaging like EXTREME, HIGHEND, and PREMIUM convince you that the cable is better quality. Always check the specifications and ask the salesperson questions to ensure you are getting what you paid for and actually need.

Pros:

• Very flexible and lightweight.
• Readily available from a number of popular manufacturers.
• Clearly marked and simple to connect.

Cons:

• Can get pricey when dealing with longer cable lengths.

Final Verdict:

I would highly recommend using an active technology cable that uses the RedMere chip. The extra money invested in the high quality connection cable will ensure that you maximize your return on your money invested in the highend DVD player and HD TV.

RedMere

I’m going to begin by saying that I haven’t gotten into online music for any length of time before being asked to review Radical.fm. The longest I used one was when I turned on iTunes’ Genius and Ping – and forgot about them. To be honest I prefer the old-school methods of music discovery: be it borrowing a CD of obscure live tracks from a friend; using an app like Shazam while out and about; or even more traditionally, the radio.

That being said, I can see where Radical.fm wants to go, but it’ll be a while before it gets there.

When I received my beta invitation, the header of the email touted Radical.fm’s superiority over the big players like Pandora and Spotify. Given the latter’s much-anticipated entrance into the United States, it’s hard to see the niche in which Radical fits.

The Music

The selection in the beta is limited, but it has seemed to expand as I’ve been using the service. I tried a stream-of-consciousness search to see how varied the library is.

Paul Simon – Mother and Child Reunion (search returned only a live track)

Jack Johnson – The Horizon Has Been Defeated

The Police – Message in a bottle

B.B. King – 3 O’Clock Blues

Robert Johnson – Cross Road Blues

The Rolling Stones – Sympathy for the Devil

The list was pretty impressive, showing me versions of “Sympathy for the Devil” by artists I wasn’t aware covered it (Blood, Sweat and Tears!). However, I hit a wall with the next song in my search: “Paint it Black” as covered by The Tea Party. It was a fairly popular song a few years ago, but I suppose that on a global scale the band may simply not be well known. I figured the omission could be addressed by the CRTC’s (Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission) draconian rules, or simply a qualm with record labels. A search for further Canadian artists turned up mixed results. There was a decent showing from The Tragically Hip, Barenaked Ladies, and a healthy dose of Rush. A few acts like I Mother Earth, Sloan, or The Trews are simply nonexistent.

Dipping into other genres I experienced the same hit-and-miss searches as I had in Rock. I was pleased with the healthy results returned by entering Sugarhill Gang, George Clinton (with and without Parliament Funkadelic) and N.W.A. I even came across a very unfortunate version of “Baby Got Back” by Vanilla Ice which, until recently, I was blissfully unaware of. My final hip-hop search was a surprise: nerdcore hip-hop artists MC Frontalot and Optimus Rhyme had a handful of tracks between them – more than I expected.

The Experience

This is a beta version, and it shows. Radical.fm is definitely built on some good bones, though. The UI is clean and unobtrusive, with the only ad space (so far) is relegated to a huge quarter-screen-filling banner to the right of the main panel. On login you’re confronted with the simple interface. Across the top you have your basic music controls: pause, play/next, and a microphone icon representing a voice recording/be-a-DJ feature that wasn’t available at the time of writing. Surrounding the controls you have a volume slider and elapsed/remaining time indicator. To the right of the controls you find the area of the the UI I personally spent the most time in. It shows the song currently playing (with expandable album art), options to play more, less, or block songs by the current artist, and finally a “Buy” link. Clicking this little shopping cart gives you the option to purchase the song from various outlets (at this time, only Amazon and iTunes). The same options are available for the previously-played song, but I found myself frustrated that I couldn’t go back any further than one song. Basically, if you didn’t catch the name of that band you liked that played two songs previously, you’re out of luck. Radical.fm does fancy itself a radio station, and that part of the real radio experience is replicated perfectly.

Below the main controls is the other place you’ll be spending all your time: the slider board. This is where you can create custom stations (like mine, “The Biology of Rock”, an attempt to explore the roots of rock throughout history). You’re given up to ten genres to dump into your very own station. I chose everything from “Punk” to “Funk”, “Old Rap/Hip-Hop” to “Alt Rock”, and…well, it isn’t exactly chock-full of variety. You can pick from a handful of rock eras, a few hip-hop and reggae options, and a sampling of house, trance, techno, and the like. There are some strange options, such as “Love Songs”, “Teen Pop”, “Today’s Teen Hits” , and “Recent Teen Hits”. In a search I came across both Leadbelly and Howlin’ Wolf, yet there isn’t a selectable “Blues” genre. It isn’t exactly “niche”. I imagine this will come with time, but I can’t see the necessity of three teen-centric genres – but maybe Beiber Fever hasn’t taken hold of me…yet.

The genres themes are assigned to sliders, which is probably the neatest feature of the service. Feel like more dirty power rock in your day? Slide the 80s Rock toggle to ten (eleven?) and get your Bon Jovi fix. A few hours later you’re tired of Poison and Queensryche (though I don’t see how that’s possible), so you take that slider down to three and drag your “Classic Pop” to seven and “Punk” to nine. Now you’re getting NOFX chased by Men At Work, which is a startling, but refreshing experience.

Another option for the slider board is custom playlist creation. This is where the generally user-friendly UI takes a dip. You (strangely) have two search boxes: one for artist, one for song names. The search does provide a suggest feature below as you type, which is nice considering how very picky the engine can be (“BB King” doesn’t show up, but “B.B. King” does). You search for a song and add it to your playlist. It’s straightforward and bare-bones. The simplicity has a few drawbacks, however. Don’t expect iTunes-style artist information here: you get song name, artist, length, and a link to purchase the particular song. You can then – click by slow click – scoot the chosen songs up and down within your playlist, or remove them entirely. Another issue with this format is the inability to add multiple songs in one go. Something we just expect in apps from iTunes to Gmail and everything between simply doesn’t exist in the beta. I really hope this basic feature makes it into the final build, because this oversight really brings down the experience for me. I don’t mind being obsessive-compulsive with my own music library, but I really can’t get behind going song-by-song with a service like this.

The last major feature of Radical.fm is the Radcast. This portion of the service lets you listen to other users’ stations and interact with them. You can “Steal” users’ stations – a bold word to use in the age of torrents, piracy, and the definition of ‘free’.  Once you’ve “stolen” a station or playlist, you can either simply listen to their stream, or add it to your own. The interface of the Radcast reminds me strongly of Mplayer, the ancient PC gaming and chat service from the turn of the century – in both aesthetics and operation. Take from that what you will. As someone who hasn’t been in a chat room since the days when modems screamed at you before logging in, this area didn’t really capture my attention. Granted, chat isn’t the point of this service – music is – but it just seems a little frivolous.

Radical.fm wants to be in your browser at home, at work, and in your pocket. The newest promotional video (which may draw more attention from the Beatles’ legal team than the services’ merits) states that they’ll be rolling out a mobile version. They’re promising iOS, Android, and BlackBerry apps “soon”. Having this service on the road would be a major plus for them. Strangely, the example they use for their multi-user station synchronization is a group of people jogging together. The idea is that they can all listen to the same station as they go along on their run, all happily hitting the pavement presumably in time with the music. Now, I don’t ever see myself in this situation, but if I can listen, in real-time, to the same song my friend in Sweden is listening to, that’s definitely a unique experience. Or you can do as I did: pick a random user and give their station a listen. Going from Sum 41′s “Fat Lip” to Barbara Streisand’s “People” is…different.

At its core, Radical.fm is a solidly built service that’s a little rough around the edges. It is clearly still a beta, and I feel it’ll hang on to that prefix for a while. It has some easy fixes to make and I’m going to keep checking back to see if their catalogue expands. If it does, and the mobile app deliver on their promise of real-time synched streaming, Radical.fm will be up there as a major contender in the industry.

PROS

Easy-to-use main UI.
Large library for a beta run.
Excellent sound quality.

CONS

Baffling genre selection.
Difficult playlist creation.
Pop-up confirmation/notifications nearly every time you make a change.

Final Verdict

I believe that Radical.fm has promise. As it grows and expands its library and irons out a few (easily fixable) bugs on its way out of beta, Radical.fm has a chance to be a major player on the streaming music scene. With innovate features like the genre-specific slider board and promise of real-time sync across multiple devices and platforms, Radical.fm does indeed set itself apart from the pack. A few features remain to be implemented (notably, the ability to broadcast your own voice live via your station), but for now it has a strong showing with what its got. For users wanting an easy-to-use and hands-free custom streaming experience, Radical.fm is sure to be music to their ears.

3.5/5

Final Verdict: Recommended

Radical.FM

Radical FM Player

Spinning Doom

The world of Paper Munchers is full of big monsters with their mouths wide open, just hoping that something small and scrumptious will pop in.  There are plenty of little monsters for them to consume, but the small critters don’t seem too eager to just jump into the jaws of death.  That’s where you come in.  As wielder of the bombs, you simply tap the screen to place an explosive device, and watch as monsters go flying.  Every monster will get consumed, but aside from helping you complete the level, only certain ones are beneficial to your immediate game play.

There are two types of bombs in this world: temporary and permanent.  Permanent bombs come in a group of three, and this group gets replenished each time you start a level.  The one saving grace to your collection of permanent bombs is that you can actually earn them back while playing a level.  The first critter of a certain color that lands in the mouth of a big monster of the same color after using a bomb will earn you a replacement bomb.  Don’t get too excited, though.  If you land a small pink monster in a big pink monster’s mouth, and then a blue one in a big blue monster’s mouth on the same turn, you won’t get two bombs.  Still, if you can manage it you should be able to keep your supply of permanent bombs coming.

The Corner Pockets

Temporary bombs, on the other hand, are quite fickle.  As their name implies, once you use them they are gone.  Don’t despair, though.  You can always buy bombs in the store.  Bombs cost currency, which you earn every time you complete a level.  Or, if you want to fast track things, you can spend your hard earned cash buying currency through in-app purchases.  It all seems a bit ironic if you ask me.  So far I haven’t run across a level I couldn’t beat with only my 3 permanent bombs (I ran out of temp bombs pretty quickly), but going this route you’ll certainly spend a lot of time on some levels.

The graphics in Paper Munchers are interesting to say the least.  The background employs the “make it look like paper” style of art, which I suppose has something to do with the name.  When implemented well it can be very stylish, and there’s no question that it looks fabulous here.  They even managed to make the oft times drab color pallet work.  The small creatures are basic shapes like rectangles and squares that have eyes and mouths, though they are certainly animated little shapes.  The hungry monsters start out as gnarly beasts with wide, gaping jaws, but later transform into other things like big organic saw blades.  One of the best (and admittedly rather morbid) parts of the visuals is the bones that are spit out when the monsters are done eating the small creatures.

The Blocks Cometh

The sound effects work well towards creating a darkly humorous mood.  The victims gurgle and chirp until they cease to exist, and in the case of the wide-jawed monsters, a nice little chomping sound followed by a spit completes the gruesome picture.  Other noises are appropriate to the types of monster you are feeding.  I will admit that I was a bit disappointed with the music, which is actually rather plain.  Given the atmosphere I would have almost expected a couple of Danny Elfman style tracks.

The main issue I have with Paper Munchers is that except for when you first complete a given level, currency doesn’t flow so freely in this game.  If you don’t mind spending some real do for fake currency, or you can live with 3 bombs once your supply of temps has been depleted, this is one very entertaining game.  Just remember that no actual monsters were harmed in the making of this software.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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Infinity And Beyond?

Now that I’m done with my small sales pitch, you’re probably wondering what exactly Collision Effect is?  The game does little to explain what’s going on, but basically you have these entities called Zybbles, and you must make them collide.  In order to accomplish this you tap one Zybble of a certain color, and all others of the same color will head towards that one, culminating in a cool little explosion when they hit.  The thing is, you’ll quickly have multiple color groups on the screen at the same time, and you don’t want to (and often can’t) wait for one to clear up before you try to join another.  The other end of the equation here is that different colored Zybbles can’t touch (yeah, it’s Zybble segregation, but it’s only a video game).

Collision Effect has 3 game play modes.  Classic and Life Force are very similar in style.  Both require you to just keep on going until Zybbles of the wrong color collide.  There are a couple of power ups to help you, such as the meteor that blows up everything on screen when you touch it and the ice ball that slows down all movement temporarily.  The main difference is that in Classic mode one wrong collision signals the end of the game.  In Life Force mode, however, a bad collision starts a counter, and as long as you don’t get another bad collision before that counter gets to zero you can keep playing.  I do believe the counter gets longer every time you need it.

Four Corners

The third mode is Puzzle mode, and this one lets you take your time and think about your actions.  Don’t think this makes this mode any easier, however.  Each of the 120 boards starts with a static configuration of Zybbles, and you have to figure out which ones to tap and at what point to tap them so that each group can form without an incorrect collision.  At first it seems pretty simple, but it doesn’t take long before you realize that just a fraction of a second in timing makes all the difference in the world.  Some of these boards will definitely challenge most players.

The visuals are simply stunning.  There is no 3D, and not really even a lot of detail.  The Zybbles are basically balls of energy that leave particle trails, and the explosions aren’t that big.  However, when you start getting a bunch of particle trails of different colors crossing each other, and you watch Zybbles break the trails they go through, there’s something about it that just looks really awesome.  Of course the nebulous space background doesn’t hurt anything either.

Triangle

The sound effects mainly consist of what sounds like a musical note when you tap a Zybble (especially cool when you tap multiples and hear the different sounds), a small collision sound, and interesting, almost angelic tone right before Zybbles of a group collide.  The music on the title screen is almost mesmerizing.  I’m not sure why I mention that, because hopefully you don’t spend much of your time at the main menu, but there you have it.  The in game music is really cool because it starts off subtle, and at moments when you least expect it ramps up to help get the adrenaline pumping.  It’s a nice compliment to the overall aesthetics of the game.

So after all my times playing Collision Effect I still don’t know how to classify it.  Maybe it is a “dodge ‘em” game with a big twist.  Whatever you want to call it, Collision Effect is one of those games that is way too simple in concept yet insanely difficult to master.  It’s also one of those games that are worth it every step of the way.  Currently at 99 cents for a universal app, I can’t think of a reason not to check Collision Effect out.  But, if you really don’t believe me, there is a lite version as well.

Final Verdict: Highly Recommended
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Lots Of Produce

Like typical time management games, it’s all about the customer. Your customers will line up at the bottom of the screen, each one having a list of items they need to buy.  To fill their items you must make a sufficient number of matches in the match 3 board that takes up most of the screen.  Once you’ve match enough of an item a check will appear next to that item in the shopper’s list, and excess will go to the next shopper that needs it.  When all items are matched for a shopper a cash register appears.  The customer will eventually go away on their own, but you can clear them out early by tapping on them.

Of course every patron is losing patience as they stand around waiting, and I’m assuming they’ll leave if you don’t get their order filled before their patience runs out, though I haven’t had that happen yet.  The obvious cure for this is to fill their order in a timely fashion.  To help you random power ups will appear like candy to sooth the shoppers’ nerves and a cart to clear away rows of items and help shake things up a bit.  Each new power up is introduced after several levels of play, and once you’ve acquired a power up you can level up that power up to make it more useful.  The one thing I didn’t care for was that it seems like the hard candy, which only affects one shopper, always affects the first shopper instead of giving you a chance to pick.

I Did Good!

Speaking of upgrades, once you’ve completed a level you’ll earn stars based on reaching your goal, your expert goal, and the bonus set out for the level.  In effect you can earn up to three stars per level.  These stars can be spent upgrading power ups, food quality (which I assume means you need less matches to fill an order), and the store itself (for instance, adding 10 seconds to the clock at the start of the level).  There are a lot of items to upgrade and a lot of upgrade levels per item, so each game really could be a different experience from that perspective.

The graphics are certainly pleasant, though not quite up to the standards I usually expect from time management games.  The match 3 board looks decent enough, and you can certainly tell what everything is. Shopper portraits look alright, as does the image of the shopkeeper on the results screen of each level, but it’s clear the artist isn’t quite as skilled with drawing people.  The sound effects are adequate, and I do like the voices.  It’s just a shame the diva never has anything nice to say!  The music pretty much sounds like what you’d hear while walking around a supermarket, so I suppose your affinity towards the tune would depend on how much you like that somewhat generic elevator type instrumental.  For me it works.

Plenty Of Upgrades

The main drawback to Supermarket Scramble is that unlike traditional time management games, you don’t have as much control over your resources since they come from the randomly generated match 3 interface.  That aside, this game has managed to take two of my favorite casual genres and mash them up in an interesting and fun way.  I wouldn’t mind seeing the game get a bit of a facelift aesthetically, but that in no way detracts from the game’s entertainment value.  Whether you look at it as “you got your match 3 in my time management” or “you got your time management in my match 3”, what you end up with is a whole lot of fun.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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It's No Audrey II

I’m not quite sure how to proceed with this review, because I don’t simply want to regurgitate my words from my thoughts on part two.  However, everything I said there pretty much applies to Follow The Ghosts, so you can check out my review of The Enchanted Canvases here.  One thing I really like about this series is the use of “key” objects, or items in the background that when tapped produce a list of objects you must find in the scene.  What’s nice about the way this is done is that unlike a normal hidden object scene where everything is purposely cluttered, these key object quests happen on the normal screens, so it feels like the objects you are searching for are more naturally blending into the environment.

I also like the fact that the mini games are just that – mini.  While they are used to uncover something about the game, they are fairly basic and unobtrusive, and typically make sense.  So far in Follow The Ghosts the main form of mini game has been of the “assemble a picture from torn parts” variety, though one mini game has you swatting flies.  It’s a way to break up the potential monotony of object finding without burdening the player too much.

A Man And His Cat

As usual the game is a “tap the screen affair”, and aside from the occasional perceived lack of responsiveness the controls work quite well.  Fortunately you don’t get penalized for wrong taps, so there’s nothing to worry about in that regards.  The one thing I found a bit frustrating about Follow The Ghosts was that it seemed even worse than The Enchanted Canvases as far as actually finding key objects and the like.  Obviously finding the hidden objects should be a challenge, but when you can’t even determine where the starting point for your search is, that can be somewhat annoying.  At least you have unlimited hints to compensate for this, but I really don’t like using them if I don’t have to, and there have been times where even after I used a hint I thought to myself “I would have never thought of that”.

Once again the graphics are very well done.  The objects you need to find are easily discernable, unless you just don’t know what a particular object in the list is in the first place.  They haven’t upped the ante much in the animation department, though there are a few nice touches like a man petting the cat sitting next to him or the snapping plant.  Ambient sounds are a bit lacking in this iteration of Treasure Seekers, though the music is still certainly up to snuff.  One of these days I’d love to hear some voices put to Nelly and Tom.

Cute Little Monkey

There’s no question that Follow The Ghosts is yet another strong entry in the Treasure Seekers franchise.  I’m not sure that I like it quite as much as The Enchanted Canvases, but that opinion might change by the time I’m done with the game (we’ll have to see how the ending goes).  Whether you’re new to the series or a franchise veteran, there is plenty here to love.  I can’t wait to see what their next outing has in store for us.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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[All About Quick Looks]

Red Ivan's Coming

It’s been a while since I started playing this game, so I don’t honestly recall the story, but from what I gather you’re a funny looking red dude that plays a mean trumpet and is trying to rescue an alien named Daisy.  In story mode you’ll have to beat 21 levels of bad guys, complete with three boss battles.  There’s also a survival mode that you unlock by completing story mode, but I haven’t gotten that far yet.  It’s not that the game is overly difficult, because you’ll pretty much fly through all the levels of each stage with little challenge except the boss levels.  It’s just that there appears to be a nasty glitch that prevented the last level from ending even though I defeated the bad guy, and I didn’t feel like tackling it again.

There’s not a lot of rhyme or reason to the level design in this game.  The enemies start of pretty sparse, but as the levels progress the screen will soon be flooded with adversaries.  When you take them down, some will leave notes for you to pick up.  These notes are worth either 1 or 5 points, and at the beginning of each level you can use those points to upgrade weapons and your ship.  The ship’s speed and shields can be upgraded, and each weapon can be upgraded for power and rate of fire.  What I really like about the system is that you get to keep whatever points you collect even if you don’t finish the level, so this ends up being one of those games where it won’t be impossible to fully upgrade all your weapons.  And trust me, there are times where you’ll need it.

One thing I find rather interesting is that once you’ve completed a block of seven levels, you can go back and play that level set again.  Your score will start back at 0, but it’s a chance for you to actually better your score from the first time around and earn achievements that you couldn’t earn before.  Don’t think this is necessarily going to be an easy way to earn extra points for upgrades, however.  I decided to test this out for kicks, and you don’t earn a whole lot of upgrade points on the first set of levels.  Guess the developers didn’t want you to “cheat” your way to victory!

Him again?

Your only option for controlling the game is to drag your finger around the screen.  Normally this is the option I prefer for scrolling shooters anyway, but in this case it starts my list of “what I don’t like about Front Runner”.  Your ship is pretty small, and unless I use my pinky, I’m covering the ship a good portion of the time that I’m playing.  This makes it rather difficult to dodge just in the nick of time, which is often required when lots of bullets are flying around.  Second, while it doesn’t happen very often, sometimes achievement notices will pop up, blocking the action.  That’s not very cool in my book.

Finally, I’d like to mention the errors.  I usually leave this part out, but in this case they were significant enough for me to bring them up.  The game pretty consistently crashes after about 10 to 15 minutes of playing.  Thankfully it’s usually between the shop and the next level, so at least I don’t lose anything.  Then there was the bug at the end of the last level.  This one I think happened because there were notes that I could not pick up, and it was like the game didn’t know that I had completed the last level.  As a result I was stuck and had to shut the game down, and even though I had beaten the final boss I now have not completed the game yet.  That is definitely not cool.

Graphically the game is quite charming.  There are only a few types of adversaries, but each one looks quite different, and the end bosses actually have some personality to them.  Some of the objects appear to be clay moldings like in OddBlob or Platypus, but the overall style doesn’t seem to match that, so I’m not really sure if they’re 3D models or just good old fashioned pixel art.  Whatever the case, it looks pretty good.  I really like the look of the protagonist as well, but sadly you don’t really get to see him except for in the title screen.

Bad Guys Keep On Comin'

The sound effects for the most part were just okay – there really wasn’t anything new to be heard here.  I did, however, crack a smile every time a villain would come out and wag its tongue at me.  I was actually somewhat disappointed in the soundtrack.  Especially when compared to several of the scrolling shooters I’ve played recently, the music was generic and bland.

I’m really torn on this one.  It’s not very in-depth (most gamers should easily beat the game in an hour or two), and the bugs are a bit annoying, especially whatever caused me to dump on the last level before I could win the game.  There’s not really anything new about the game compared to others of its type either.  Still, I did have fun playing it and the bosses are quite amusing.  Everything points to me giving this a Not Recommended, but instead I’m just going to caution you strongly that you might experience some stability issues with the game.

Final Verdict: On The Fence (leaning towards Not Recommended)
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[All About Quick Looks]

A Turtle Or A Crayon?

Apparently a scientist has concluded that if turtles can fly then humans can as well, and you get to be the lucky guinea pig to test out this theory.  All you have to do is strap on a rocket pack and sail into the heavens as high as you can.  Unfortunately, it appears that even though you are in a no fly zone, you can expect to see obstacles like hot air balloons, planes and more.  There are also strong pressure areas marked by arrows that will push you back down just a bit.  This might hamper you just a bit, but it could also save you from a nasty collision, as it gives you a chance to adjust your course just a bit on the way back up.  You also have to fight wind gusts, which are indicated by a directional arrow and number on the left side of the screen.

So how do you combat all this?  The most important thing is to stay in flight.  You start off with just your main rocket engine, but eventually you’ll be able to by a temporary booster.  Whether using the booster or not your main fuel will eventually run out, and your booster has its own fuel tank.  You can pick up red and blue cans respectively to reload your fuel.  You’ll also take damage when colliding into obstacles, but collecting the heart and wrench icon will replenish some of that health.  There are also gems to collect that help you earn money towards upgrades.  You also earn money simply for staying in flight, and each level has four achievements that provide you with a significant amount of money when completed.

Into Space We Go

Each upgrade has anywhere between 3 to 9 levels, and include things like better control, resistance to air and wind, less damage when hit, and more efficient fuel consumption.  Which order you perform the upgrades in depends mainly on your cash flow and what you think will suit you best, but chances are you’ll max out all the upgrades before completing the game.

The controls are pretty simple.  The left and right arrows turn the turtle left and right respectively, and the rocket button gives your turtle power.  Actually controlling the turtle is a different story, however.  While you can upgrade anything at any time as long as you have the money, I’d suggest working on things like air and wind resistance and the actual “better control” upgrade early on, as these items will make your navigational life easier.  As you start going faster and moving to more advanced levels, though, these options don’t seem to make as much of a difference, so don’t be surprised if you sometimes feel like you’re going out of control even if you’re barely adjusting your left or right directions.

Fuel Looks A Lot Like Coke...

One might label the visuals as “doodle like”, especially since many of the developer’s other games has Doodle in the title.  However, much like his other games, Turtle Fly has much better graphics than the average doodle game.  The vehicles look decent enough, and I really like the turtle as he goes through his different phases of shell, booster and plain turtle.  The different hats for protection are a nice touch as well.  The sound effects work well enough, and the fizz of a pop can being opened when you collect extra fuel is somewhat amusing.  The music is pretty good, though more than one song would be nice.  There doesn’t have to be one for each level, but at least have two or three songs that can be selected in an option screen or something.

I won’t tell you that Turtle Fly is this best this genre has to offer, or that it even really breaks any new ground, because it isn’t and it doesn’t.  However, Turtle Fly is certainly a very solid entry in the genre, and its level achievements and extensive upgrade system certainly give you plenty to play for.  My one concern would be how difficult the last few levels will be seeing as I’ve already almost maxed out all of my upgrades on level 4, but I don’t think I’ll have to worry about the for a while.  If you’re in the market for a new “perpetual climbing” games and you want to see a turtle fly, Turtle Fly is certainly worth checking out.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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Quick Looks link: [All About Quick Looks]

Classic Arcade Machine

Neon Mania is currently comprised of 9 groups, each containing several images that look like neon signs gone dark.  It’s your job to bring the signs “back to life” by tracing the parts of the images to light them back up.  Once you start tracing a segment you must finish it, and once you’ve traced all segments you’ll get a ranking from 1 to 3 stars depending on how well you traced the image.  Personally, I’m not 100% convinced the scoring is accurate, because there were times where I’d trace an image and get two stars, then trace it again thinking I did a better job and get only one star.  Other times I’d stay at my current ranking even though I felt I did a much better job tracing the image the second time.

To trace the image you simply press where the flashing stars are and then trace the corresponding line to completion.  For straight lines this isn’t too bad of a proposition.  For curved lines, on the other hand, this task can be quite daunting, especially if the line has a lot of tightly wound curves or sharp angles.  This problem is augmented for me by a combination of the small screen and my larger fingers.  Kids should be fine with the game, but I think it would be a better experience for me on the iPad.  The other problem I have is that sometimes there are several stars close together, and when I think I’m starting one line I’ve actually started another.  I’m not sure how much of an issue this is because I don’t know what all goes into factoring the final score.

The River Flows

On the plus side, if you can get past all the nuances of the line drawing itself, there is plenty to do.  As I mentioned in the beginning there are 9 groups of objects.  The smallest group contains 21 items, and the largest holds 175!  There’s also the fact that you can earn up to three stars for each object, so while you might get through a group, getting through the group with perfection is a whole other story.  The game also has 16 achievements to earn and supports both Game Center and OpenFeint, so you’re covered by both the major social network players.

The graphics are pretty simple, but the objects still look really good.  I don’t think there’s a lot you could do to something that should look like a neon sign to make it flashy without ruining it.  The backgrounds are pretty basic as well, though the Easter image set has a couple of nice selections that it toggles between.  The sound effects are okay, with a nice little ding to confirm that you’ve completed a line or a slight buzzer to let you know you’ve made a “wrong turn”.  The music is nice and easy to listen to, but reminds me a little too much of elevator or lounge music.

Pizza

This game was definitely made with the causal gamer in mind.  Beyond that, though, there are times where it feels like an iPad game crammed onto an iPod Touch screen.  Still, aside from not 100% understanding how scores are determined, I have enjoyed my time spent with Neon Mania.  I think hardcore gamers will be disappointed, but everyone else should consider giving it a try.  I’d especially recommend Neon Mania if you let your kids use your device on a frequent basis (or if you happen to be a kid reading this review).

Final Verdict: Recommend
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Quick Looks link: [All About Quick Looks]

Water The Cactus Too

In Desertic you’re in charge of making sure the flowers in the desert can soak up what little drops of rain fall during the blistering heat.  You’ll have 3 flowers at a time, and you must make them grow until they get big enough to fly away in the wind.  A cloud will travel across the top of the screen and periodically release a drop of rain.  You must swipe that drop in order to guide it towards the top of one of the flowers.  It has to hit the top of the flower, so you need to account for the fact that the flowers will always be gently swaying.  There’s also the wind factor to take into consideration.

Your task won’t be nearly this easy, however.  Locusts will try and destroy your flowers.  You must tap them to destroy them, or double-tap a rain drop close enough to them to dispose of them.  There are also camels that fly by and occasionally lose their wings (told you this was weird).  If you tap a falling camel it will get its wings back and fly away, otherwise it will crush whatever flower it hits and cause it to shrink somewhat.  As the sun gets hotter it can cause the flowers to shrink as well.  The heat also makes the locusts angrier and can cause the lone cactus in the background to dry up and explode.  If you double-tap a rain drop by the cactus it can rehydrate the cactus somewhat.

Flowers Under Glass

Conceptually it’s actually a nifty little game.  The main issue that I have is that unless I’m missing something, it’s awfully hard to steer the rain drops.  I could probably learn to live with that if there wasn’t so much going on, even in the easy level.  Sometimes I find myself smashing bugs and tapping camels so much that I’m completely neglecting the rain drops.  Also, up until the last couple of games I played, it was quite difficult to stop the camels from falling.  Overall it just seems like the controls aren’t sensitive enough where they need to be and are too sensitive in other places.  Or, I could just be really bad at the game.  Still, I don’t think it’s me.

The visuals are pretty good, though something doesn’t seem to gel quite right between everything.  Even so, the camels and locusts look nice, and the flowers are just right as they wither and grow.  There are even nice little touches like steam that rises from the flower pedals if they get too hot.  One thing that does look a bit unusual to me (if such a thing applies to this game) is that the camels almost appear to be swimming.  The sound effects are just as torn between sensible and crazy.  The locusts sound good, but like all infestations get annoying after a while.  The camels sound like humans screaming when they fall.  If you successfully use a large drop of water you get some applause.  In some respects this feels like a Monty Python sketch.  There is some music, and it does a really good job blending into the background, though I’m not really sure it’s worth listening to on its own.

Even The Nights Are Deadly

So by now I’m not quite sure if I’ve enticed you or scared you off a bit.  If you’re looking for something entertaining and a bit different, I’d say Desertic is a good choice for you.  Keep in mind that you need some pretty quick reactions after a while, however, so if you prefer slow, casual games this probably will intimidate you within a few levels.  The visuals are decent, and it’s almost worth it just to hear the falling camels scream once or twice.  I wouldn’t put this at the top of my list, but it certainly would be worth giving a try.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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Quick Looks link: [All About Quick Looks]

Free The Rabbit

Somehow cute little critters have gotten themselves trapped in bubbles, and it’s your job to get them out. Different colored bubbles will continually float to the top of the screen, and when two or more of the same color are touching you can tap the group to pop them. Ultimately your goal is to clear a path so that the animals’ bubbles will touch the top of the screen, at which time they will pop on their own and the animals will be free. There is no other way to pop an animal’s bubble. A level is complete when you rescue the designated number of animals. The game is over when your time runs out on a particular level.

Along the way you’ll get certain power ups to help you clear the screen. They are surrounded in bubbles as well, and must be matched just like any other bubble. The anvil floats to the top then falls to the bottom of the screen, destroying every bubble in its path. The lightening bolt gets rid of all other bubbles of the same color as its bubble was, and the mine destroys a few bubbles around its proximity. The clock obviously adds more time to the level. This power up is the one exception because it is encased in ice instead of a bubble. You free it by popping groups of bubbles around it, shattering the ice.

I'm Number One

The main obstacle is of course the bubbles themselves. The board is in constant motion, so what one second might two touching bubbles another second might have just enough space between them to keep you from popping them. Also, it’s not uncommon to clear a path for an animal, just to have the space get filled up by other bubbles before the animal gets there. Time is an obstacle as well (at least when it runs out). Your ranking is also based on time. The other thing I’ve run into so far is animals that are wrapped in “layers”, where every layer except the innermost one must be popped first by combining it with a group of bubbles of like color.

Controlling Animal Pop is quite simple – just tap to pop bubbles. Power ups are used as soon as you free them, so there’s nothing additional required there. Unfortunately there is only one game play mode, and there are currently no achievements either for OpenFeint or Game Center. Hopefully both of these things will change in future releases. Granted the game as it stands right now is pretty fun, but it could use both these things I’ve mentioned to be even better.

Anvils Can Float?

The visuals are pretty decent. The bubbles actually look nice, the animals are cute, and the backdrop is simple but charming. The only thing that seems a bit out of place is the clouds, which are somewhat blocky in nature. They don’t look bad, but they don’t really fit the overall style of the graphics either. The sound effects are actually enjoyable, especially when it comes to the animal noises when they are freed. I don’t know how authentic they are (I’m pretty sure no animal goes “ewww” in real life), but they sure make for entertaining video game noises. The music is good and very light-hearted, but it would be nice if there were a couple of different themes mixed up between the levels.

If you’re looking for a lot of variety, this definitely isn’t the game for you. With one game play mode and no achievements, it can get a bit repetitive even if it does click for you. Thankfully I quickly grew to enjoy it, so the repetitive nature doesn’t really bother me. Besides, rescuing those cute little animals makes it all worthwhile. If you have kids, this is a game they will certainly enjoy as well. There are better matching type games out there, but the constantly shifting playing field and animal rescuing goal are twisty enough to make this one worth playing.

Final Verdict: Recommended

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Quick Looks link: [All About Quick Looks]

Just Getting Started

I’ve gone over the basics of marble poppers in the past, but just in case there’s anyone reading this who is not familiar with the concept, it’s basically match 3 with groups of objects heading towards a “danger zone”.  Your goal is to shoot individual objects into the group such that you create a section of three or more objects of the same color, eliminating those objects and reducing the size of the groups.  All groups on each level must be eliminated to move on.  If one group makes it to the “danger zone”, then either the level or the game is over, depending on which mode you’re playing.

The game has the standard quest mode, where you progress through a series of increasingly difficult levels.  In this mode you can collect amulets, which will give you certain bonuses when you decide to wear them (use is unlimited, but only one amulet at a time is allowed).  The next mode is challenge, where you can play any level you’ve beaten in quest mode, attempting to get the smallest time on each of four difficulty levels.  Finally you have survival mode, where you select an amulet and then progress through a series of levels, just trying to last as long as you can on each level.  Normally with a game like this I stick to one mode, but in Sparkle they are all equally entertaining.

Big Flash

Controlling the game is dead simple – just tap where you want to fire.  The game is very responsive, so if you miss it’s just because you didn’t time your tap or have your aim right.  Power ups are used automatically, and there are a number of really fun ones that you can get.  Some of my favorites include “revenge of the moon”, which rains particles down on the level and destroys a bunch of objects, and another one that backtracks from the danger zone to about half way through the level, destroying everything in its path.  I’m not 100% sure what all the different power ups do, but if you’re diligent about hitting them you can make quick work out of a level without having to fling too many extra objects.

Visually this game is all about flash.  That’s not always a stringent requirement of mine, but it sure makes me happy when it’s there.  The menus look cool, the backgrounds look good, and even the objects are pretty nifty, even though they are basically just spheres.  What really sticks out, however, are the darkness and spell effects.  Whether it is initially tracing over the level or oozing out of the danger zone when a group gets too close, the darkness is almost creepy.  When a spell takes effect there is usually some sort of particle effects or sparkles or whatever.  This is by far one of the best looking marble poppers on the App Store.

Here They Come

The sound effects are surprising well done too.  Usually I could give or take the sounds, but in this case they actually manage to enhance the atmosphere.  Granted it sounds kind of like you’re playing pool as the objects clank together, but the spells each have a unique audio quality.  I especially like the cackle when you acquire the joker orb.  And the there is the music.  It’s classical… it’s “Something Wicked This Way Comes”… it’s from a Tim Burton soundtrack… in the end all I can say is that it’s pretty amazing.  I could easily sit and listen to the music while working on other stuff, but it’s too alluring to pick up the game and start playing again.

If you haven’t gathered by now, I like this game just a little bit.  In fact, I’d say it’s my most played game of the week so far, and not just because of the review (which is just a bonus, because this wasn’t on my list to review anyway).  If you like marble poppers, shame on you should this be absent from your collection. If you’ve never tried one before, what are you waiting for?  Sparkle’s probably one of the best places to start.

Final Verdict: Highly Recommended
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Quick Looks link: [All About Quick Looks]

WiFi2HiFi for iPhone is a new app allowing users to stream computer’s music to any audio dock or home music system connected to your iPhone. Some of the features of WiFi2HiFi to note include:

    * Ability to use one’s preferred music program to wireless stream audio from one’s computer
    * Listen to your computer’s music library while selecting the songs with your preferred remote app
    * Super sound quality
    * Streaming begins as soon as your iPhone is detected by the app

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMAdZZblIwU

More details are available @ WiFi2HiFi & iTunes

To have a chance to win one of the 3 licenses of WiFi2HiFi, you must post a response to this posting with an answer to this question:

• Do you currently find listening to a variety of streaming audio via your iPhone/iPod Touch very simple to do?
• If not, explain briefly why?

You must provide a valid email address when posting to qualify. Your email address will be kept private and only used to commuicate via Technobrains. 3 lucky winners will be chosen on Sunday April 17th @ 9 pm local time. Winners will be contacted shortly thereafter to confirm there acceptance of the GIVEAWAY. Once all 3 winners have been confirmed, their posted names will be listed as the winners.

Good Luck.

Technobrains is giving away licenses of WiFi2HiFi to 3 lucky iPhone users.

WiFi2HiFi for iPhone is a new app allowing users to stream computer’s music to any audio dock or home music system connected to your iPhone. Some of the features of WiFi2HiFi to note include:

* Ability to use one’s preferred music program to wireless stream audio from one’s computer
* Listen to your computer’s music library while selecting the songs with your preferred remote app
* Super sound quality
* Streaming begins as soon as your iPhone is detected by the app

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMAdZZblIwU

More details are available @ WiFi2HiFi & iTunes

To have a chance to win one of the 3 licenses of WiFi2HiFi, just post a response to this blog with an answer to this question:

• Do you currently find listening to a variety of streaming audio via your iPhone/iPod Touch very simple to do?
• If not, explain briefly why?

3 lucky winners will be chosen on Sunday April 17th @ 9 pm local time. Winners will be contacted shortly thereafter to confirm there acceptance of the GIVEAWAY. Once all 3 winners have been confirmed, their posted names will be listed as the winners.

Good Luck

NOTE: GIVEAWAY DEADLINE EXTENDED to April 24, 2011.

Insult Time

You play the lone gunman, trying to take down a ninja clan that would just assume taunt you as shoot you.  Now don’t get me wrong – they will shoot you, so you might just want to level the playing field before that happens.  You start the game with a pretty much worthless pistol, but since it’s free you won’t be complaining.  As you take down ninjas you’ll earn money towards things like weapon upgrades and magic.  You can also earn money by insulting the ninjas, which is both more fun and more profitable.  I’ll discuss that more later on.  On the flip side, you can money when innocent bystanders dying.  And if you think you’re being extremely careful with your shots, don’t worry.  It won’t be you that dispatches the innocents most of the time.

The main allure to this game is the insult system.  When available, an arrow with the word insult will appear above a ninja’s head.  Being careful to tap the arrow, you will engage in a round of slinging hash.  If you start, you will lose.  This mode is just for you to learn the appropriate responses to the most heated insults.  If the ninja starts, you will only win if the retort to the ninja’s insult has already been revealed to you.  You will be presented with a list of retorts, and you either need to pick the one that goes with the insult or just pick one at random.  If you were able to select the appropriate retort you’ll earn $30 (and you can still shoot and kill the ninja for an extra $10).

Lift Him Up

Control in the game is primarily a matter of tapping.  You tap to shoot, tap to start an insult war, and tap to select choices during the insult war.  If you’re luck enough to afford magic, the electrocute and freeze spells work by tapping on the spell and then tapping on the recipient.  The only one that’s a bit different is levitation, where you drag the ninja you want to levitate and then let go once you have them where you want them.  The game does suffer a bit from “fat finger” syndrome (which I can say because I have fat fingers), but I haven’t run into too many shooters that didn’t.

The big problem I have with the game is in the balance of difficulty.  You start off with $100 and a free pistol, so all seems well.  The problem is that the least you need to spend to use a spell is $150 ($100 for the spell and $50 to buy some mana).  Health and bullets each cost $1 a unit.  The bare minimum for a gun upgrade is $200.  By the time you’ve theoretically racked up enough money to get a gun upgrade or buy a spell, you’ve wasted all that extra cash refilling your life and bullets.  Even if all I’m spending my money on is bullets (and life when I really have to), I’m out of bullets by the end of the 4th level.  No bullets and you’re dead.  Either the prices need to be more reasonable or there need to be power ups you can shoot to earn extra lives, bullets or money.

Not The Village People

The visuals are lots of fun.  Whether or not they are, the characters have a digitized look to them, which for some reason reminds me of the old Sega Genesis game Pit Fighter.  The backgrounds look pretty good, though the characters don’t quite seem to fit with the backgrounds, adding to the cheese factor.  The silly animations of the innocents strolling back and forth doesn’t help any either.  The sound effects are pretty standard for the most part, but I do love the “woo-hoo” when a ninja first drops in.  There’s only one track for the music, yet for some reason I can’t quite put my finger on I really enjoy it.  That’s good, of course, since there is only one track.

Ninja, Please has the potential to be an incredible homage to those 80s arcade machines with the gun attachments.  The action is there, the graphics are solid, and the music is nice.  The insult system is a nice touch that even puts the game a step ahead of the rest.  However, the extreme difficulty sucks all the joy out of the game, especially when you know you’re going to consistently run out of ammo by the third or fourth level.  As I’ve said earlier, to me this feels more like a game imbalance than a true desire to make the game difficult.  As a result, until this problem is taken care of I sadly cannot suggest you spend your money on this game.

Final Verdict: Not Recommended
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Quick Looks link: [All About Quick Looks]

It’s hard to believe almost a year has passed since I took a look at the first Chop Chop “trilogy”.  Of those games Chop Chop Runner was by far my favorite, and I honestly wasn’t a big fan of Tennis.  Since then 4 new Chop Chop games have been released, so as you can tell I’m a bit behind.  I want to get with the times, as it were, so I’m going to fast forward a bit to Chop Chop Caveman, the last game of the second “trilogy”.  Now I’ll probably have to stop calling them that, since I don’t know that the games will always be released in groups of three, so it’s out of my system.  Anyway, I haven’t had the chance to play Hockey yet, but of the Chop Chop games I’ve played thus far, Caveman is definitely the best.  The game is the most polished of their 2D efforts, and the puzzle / platform genre for me is more interesting than sports games.

Physics Based Puzzles

Chop Chop Ninja was an okay game, but I think Chop Chop Caveman is the game that Ninja wanted to be.  You play a cute little caveman with a bad haircut that just wants to eat.  In order to satisfy your hunger you’ll need to bash the denizens of your world into bite sized portions.  Depending on the critter you can do this either by head butting them, slamming them on the descent of a jump, or throwing stuff at them.  Once crushed they’ll turn into meat that you can eat which not only gets rid of them but has the added benefit of giving you a health point back if you’ve lost one.  Some creatures will also eat the meat left over by other creatures, which I found to be a neat and amusing touch.

When you’re not busy feeding your face there are pebbles to collect, as well as three big jewels and a special food item on each level.  You can beat the level without getting the jewels or food item, but I suspect it might be worth your while to collect everything if you can.  In addition to collecting things and dispatching enemies there are also puzzles to solve.  Along the way you’ll be able to pick up items that you can throw, and you can use these items to either collect hard to reach items or to knock over or destroy things in order to open up the path so you can continue your quest.  None of the puzzles so far have been overly difficult, but sometimes you have to think about just the right place to hit something to cause the effect that you want.

Intuitive Touch Controls

To control your character you can either use a virtual d-pad or a method where your actions are based on the location you tap relative to the caveman.  The relative positioning thing isn’t bad, but I much prefer the virtual d-pad.  This gives you buttons for moving left and right, jumping, and bashing / headbutting when appropriate.  To pick up the objects that you can throw you just walk into them, and to actually throw them you draw a path in the direction you want them to go.  You do have to be careful that you’re not standing under an object you throw should it come back down, because it can actually hurt you.

There’s no question the game play is the best out of any Chop Chop game I’ve played so far, but I’d have to say that sentiment follows through to the graphics as well.  The caveman looks great with his bowl haircut and lack of general facial features (except for a big mouth at the moment he eats something).  The dinosaurs are quite amusing in their design, especially the Tyrannosaurus like one with the stubby legs.  Each level set has a unique look while still retaining the overall feel of a platform game.  All they need to do is transfer this level of style to their 3D engine and they’ll have some of the best looking 3D cartoon games around.

Classic Action Platformer

The sound effects are decent enough, though I wouldn’t in any way rave about them.  What I do like is the little chomp every time the caveman eats something.  What I find a bit disappointing is that none of the dinosaurs make any noise.  What’s up with that?  Anyway, the music makes up for any deficiencies in the sound effects.  Each world has its own theme, and so far they’ve been pretty enjoyable.  While I feel good music is important to any game, I remember spending lots of time with certain console games on pause, just listening to the music (especially in the 16 bit era).

Based on what I’ve played of Chop Chop Caveman so far, I’m looking forward to seeing what the franchise will have to offer moving forward.  They’re definitely refining their work with each new installment in the Chop Chop Universe, and it will certainly be worth keeping an eye on over the coming months.  In the mean time, if you haven’t already delved into the world of Chop Chop, or you just haven’t gotten Caveman yet, I wouldn’t wait any longer.  The traditional platform game play blended with basic physics puzzles and whimsical prehistoric cartoon characters is certainly worth the asking price.  Not to mention the fact the game is universal, and it runs really well on my “ancient” iPod Touch 2G with iOS 3.1.3.

Final Verdict: Highly Recommended
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Quick Looks link: [All About Quick Looks]

I Think I Can...

Not wanting to be the type to snub my peers, however, I picked up the game based on all the accolades it was receiving via Twitter.  I installed the game, and then… it sat.  I had other things to do, of course.  After a couple of days, though, the temptation was too much, so I loaded up the game and played it.  Then I played it again.  Before long I thought, “You know, I’d be remiss not to tell my readers about this game”.  So, here we are and now you’re all caught up.

In Tiny Wings you play a little bird that appears to love two things: flying and sleeping.  He’ll also eat any coins and boosters that are in his way, but that’s a whole other story.  To start the game your bird has a little bit of bounce in him.  It’s up to you to get the bird going and keep him going for as long as you possibly can.  The longer the bird stays on the ground, the more quickly dusk approaches, and as soon as the sun sets are fine feathered friend will go back to sleep.  Keeping him airborne is all about timing.

Hills And Valleys

The landscape is chock full of hills and valleys.  Obviously as the bird goes down a hill he will gain momentum, and as he climbs back up he will lose that momentum.  You can help things along a bit by making the bird “heavy”.  You do this by tapping the screen, which will cause the bird to fold in its wings and weigh itself down.  Done at the right time, this action will help the bird accelerate enough that it can use the upward slope of the next hill as a launching mechanism.  Done at the wrong time, however, and you’ll slow yourself down even more.

If you get a good rhythm going you can eventually keep the bird aloft for extended periods of time.  However, there are also times where you actually want to keep the bird on the ground.  You start out with a score multiplier of ten, and you can raise that in increments of two by completing certain tasks.  Those tasks might be something like getting a certain number of perfect slides or collecting a designated number of coins.  Each multiplier increase will generally require several objectives be completed, though thankfully you don’t have to complete them all in one run.  Also, the game doesn’t actually come outright and tell you what the objectives are, so be sure to click the Objectives button at the main menu to figure out what you have to do.

Fly Away

The graphics are decent enough.  The bird is cute, and the randomly generated landscapes look like something ripped from a Beatles animated movie.  One of the ground textures even makes it look like you’re sliding around on the back of a really long stegosaurus.  The sound effects are simple but really effective.  Sometimes it sounds like the bird is actually saying thank you, and I chuckle every time he screams “yahoo” when drifting between islands. There’s only one song during game play, but it fits the whole atmosphere so perfectly you won’t care.  Besides, it’s a good song.

This is one of those games that sounds like it would almost be too simple to be any fun, yet it’s one of the best experiences I’ve had on my iPod Touch in quite a while.  I’ve seen a couple of comments claiming that the game is only worth “five minutes of fun”, but the reality is I don’t think I’ve ever played just one game in any given sitting, and I know I’ve gotten a lot more than five minutes of fun out of it.  The truth is that no matter how many times I’ve slipped down the slopes of island number one, it never gets old.  I may be singing a different tune in a few months, but the truth is there are almost no games that can hold my attention that long.  As for Tiny Wings, I’m confident my money was well spent.

Final Verdict: Highly Recommended
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Quick Looks link: [All About Quick Looks]

The Treehouse

The basic idea of the game is that you’re trapped on an island and are trying to escape.  This plot summary mainly comes from the title, because there is no exposition to be found in this game.  I do wish there were a bit of narrative, but it hasn’t dulled my enjoyment of the game any.  The structure of the game is that each area has multiple scenes with hidden objects.  You find all the objects, complete a simple mini-game, and then you are awarded with an object that will help you escape the island.

Each scene has 2 locks in it.  If you collect 25 locks you’ll open up the ability to play all the match 3 mini-games separately from the main game.  If you collect 50 locks you’ll open up a free roaming seek and find mode.  Ironically, I’m not sure how necessary these modes are, as there’s already plenty of content with 25 objects to collect in order for you to get off the island.  Still, it’s nice to have the other options available, and the locks are usually among the easiest things to find in a given scene.

Match 3

The controls are pretty standard.  You pinch or double tap to zoom in and out.  Swipe movements slide the screen around when it is zoomed in, and tapping on an object selects it (or not if it’s not the appropriate object).  Mini-game motions are dependent on the game, but usually involve some sort of tapping and swiping.  The game suffers from the same pitfalls as any other hidden object game, but really doesn’t handle them any better or worse than any other game.

One thing about Escape Rosecliff Island is that it is big on scoring.  You get points for each correct object you find and bonus points if you find multiple objects in rapid succession.  You also get points if you find all the objects in a level without using hints, and you get points for finding all the locks.  Conversely, you can lose points for making too many wrong guesses, and you also lose points every time you use a hint.  The levels are timed, but if you’re careful you can actually study the scene and avoid false taps without running out of time.

Clean The Keyboard

The visuals are very nice.  The backgrounds are well drawn, and for the most part objects are hidden without being so obtuse that you can’t find them without using a hint.  There are a few scenes that are a bit too dark in my opinion, and most times I end up using one hint in a scene because either an object blends in too well or I just don’t know what the object is, but overall the visuals are sharp and don’t impede game play.

The sound effects are decent enough, but it seems like the same set of sounds for every scene.  That means that the island is full of flies, there’s one ornery fly chasing you around, or they need to mix up the sound effects a bit more.  The music is actually pretty good, though I will say that I don’t really listen to it all that much except for times like this when I’m actually doing something besides playing the game while the game is still running.  In other words, the music sounds good but it almost blends into the background too well.

Pick Your Poison

Escape Rosecliff Island does nothing out of the ordinary, and some might even say that it’s a step backwards in the evolutionary chain of hidden object games.  Personally, I find that refreshing every once in a while.  The scenes are challenging but not frustrating, the mini-games are a nice diversion but are simple enough that they don’t impede your progress, and there’s plenty of content to keep you busy until you’ve played your money’s worth.  I wouldn’t want every hidden object game to regress in this fashion, but as long as the ones that do are of this quality, I’ll take it every once in a while.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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Quick Looks link: [All About Quick Looks]

These Woods Are Dark

You’re not presented with the story right away, and I’m not big on launching a story through the options screen, so I didn’t check it out.  However, I’d imagine it’s along the lines of the first game, where the forest has been overrun by evil and you have to thwart it.  The reality is the story really doesn’t matter, since it’s never expounded upon with cut scenes or anything.  All you really need to know is that you run through the forest, shoot everything that moves towards you (you can’t shoot what you’re not supposed to hit) and make it to the end of each level.

To control your character you have left and right buttons on the lower left side and jump and shoot buttons on the lower right side.  The controls seem a lot more responsive this time around, though there still are some issues mostly revolving around jumping and moving at the same time.  Collision detection is still an issue as well, mainly when dealing with the edge of platforms.  There are times where I can walk farther off a platform than I should be able to – which can cause problems trying to get to an area below it – and there are times where artificial barriers are too obvious.

Diamonds, Hearts... And A Mushroom?

The biggest problem, however, lies in level layout and variety.  The levels are pretty boring and linear.  There are a couple of hidden things and a few places that you have to backtrack to get to, but that’s about it.  Even platforms are no more advanced than moving up and down.  There are maybe half a dozen enemy types, and aside from the slightly aggressive bats, all of them just move back and forth in small areas, hoping you’ll eventually run into them.  I haven’t even encountered a boss fight yet, and I’m not sure that there are any.

The visuals are actually much better than the original.  The style is more consistent among all the designs, and the main character has some decent animation.  The backdrops are actually fairly detailed, and the ones when you get to the end are especially nifty.  The evil critters could still use some more movement, but Dark Woods was much more pleasant to look at than Mystical Woods.

A Slide

One thing that originally attracted me to the series was the comparison to the old Sega game Castle Of Illusion, and that is most evident in the sound effects.  In fact, some of them sound very familiar (from what I can remember anyway).  The music is quite good, but that’s to be expected given the author is Kevin MacLeod.  I do appreciate the fact that BeanSprites chose some of his work that actually hasn’t appeared in 50 other iPhone games.

At the very end of the game I got a level that had disappearing platforms, and there was a final boss fight.  Sadly, this is too little too late.  I’m happy to see some marked improvements in the series, but it still has a long way to go before it becomes cream of the crop.  I hope BeanSprites continues to refine the Woods saga, but I’m also keeping my fingers crossed that the next iteration is a 100x better in quality, not just 10x like the difference between the first two.  Unfortunately, between the lackluster game play and the fact that the entire journey can be completed in about 15 minutes, I have to say…

Final Verdict: Not Recommended
App Store Link
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Quick Looks link: [All About Quick Looks]

The Actor's Dichotomy

The premise behind Burn The Rope is that each level has a shape made out of ropes, and you must set the ropes on fire and burn away as much of the shape as you can before the flames go out.  Like many puzzle games these days there are three levels to medals you can receive: bronze, silver and gold.  These levels are based solely on the amount of rope you burn away.  You can unlock the next level at a given location simply by earning a bronze medal on the highest unlocked level at that location.  Once you get into the game, however, you’ll find yourself drawn towards trying to earn the gold on each level.  It’s great for replayability.

To begin a level you just tap somewhere along the rope in order to ignite a flame.  As long as there is rope to burn the flame will stay lit… as long as your device is rotated in the direction the flame is pointing.  That’s the trick to Burn The Rope – you’re constantly rotating your device to make sure all of your flames stay moving.  It doesn’t take long for a flame to burn out, either, so if you need to focus on a particular flame make sure it’s the one that can do the most damage.  After a number of levels I’m still trying to get used to the whole thing myself, but I can give you one bit of advice: don’t try playing this with any kind of cables plugged in unless you want to get cords tangled!

A Firey Story

As you would expect, the further you get into the game the more complex things get.  The shapes get more detailed, providing several paths that can all be alight at the same time.  Eventually you get introduced to bugs that cause the flames to change colors when they collide.  If a segment of rope is a certain color, it can only be burned by flames of the same color.  There are also bugs that explode when burned.  And just wait until they turn the lights out!  These are just some of the things you’ll encounter in the first set of levels, and the game in its current incarnation has three areas to explore.

The visuals are pretty decent in Burn The Rope.  Fire is almost always cool in the electronic world, and they’ve done a good job with the flame effects.  The bugs themselves look like bugs, so mission accomplished.  Probably the best part of the graphics is the dancing flames on the end of level screen.

Lots Of Circles

The sound works well enough, though the bugs sound kind of odd when they get riled up.  The flames and explosions and such are all pretty much on target.  There’s a voice every once in a while that says things like “right on” and “oh yeah” that’s pretty amusing.  The music is fun to listen to, though it will get repetitive quickly if you’re just sitting and listening to it without actually playing the game.  It seems like there were more vocals in the title screen on the first version of the game, and I don’t know why they would have cut back on that.

If you are any kind of puzzle game addict you need to add Burn The Rope to your collection.  It’s every bit as entertaining as all those OTHER popular puzzle games, and it is different than anything you’ve probably played on your iPhone up until this point.  Besides, how often do you get to safely play with fire?

Final Verdict: Recommended
App Store Link
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Quick Looks link: [All About Quick Looks]

Don't Get Crabby

While the mechanics are the same, you get to choose between three different game play modes.  Campaign mode lets you tour 8 different worlds in an attempt to recover parts of the “ultimate artifact” and I suppose defeat some evil boss.  In Endless mode you can pick any of the worlds that you’ve beaten in Campaign mode and explore them, well, endlessly until you die.  Super Endless mode is a random mish-mash, picking backgrounds and characters from every level and combining them into a mode.  In general I’m not a fan of endless modes anyway, but the only redeeming factor to this one in my opinion is you get a sneak peak of creatures you might not have run across yet in Campaign mode.

In reality you get your choice of playing the knight, a barbarian or an archer (though I must say I don’t ever recall an archer wielding dual sickles before).  Unless you’re playing Super Endless mode you choose your “hero”, and then choose which world you’d like to play – any of the 8 when playing Campaign mode or any unlocked one in Endless mode.  Every world is comprised of several areas where you’ll fight off hordes of monsters, collecting experience, health potions, spells and coins.  Spells are “use ‘em or lose ‘em”, as you only have one spell slot and if you run over another spell your current one automatically gets replaced.  Don’t waste them, but don’t hoard them either.  Health obviously keeps you alive, and I’m not sure what the coins do yet.

I Got A Big Hammer

When you earn enough experience you’ll go up a level, at which point you’ll get to give your character skills and perks.  Skills are things like additional strength and special moves.  Interestingly enough, Perks can also be special abilities, and also enhancements to your other abilities.  I’m not really sure what the true difference is between skills and perks, but I do know that while a good number of them stay the same between characters, there are some in each category that are different for each character type.  Also, each skill and perk has 5 levels, so there are plenty of different customization combinations to ensure that every game you play feels different.

Speaking of different, I’m amazed at all the different creatures that populate the land.  Unlike so many games where a different world means different colored versions of the same creatures, each world in Knight’s Rush has a lot of newness to offer.  That doesn’t mean things won’t overlap, but you never feel like you’re getting gypped in the bestiary department.  Sure you have your stock knights (both foot soldiers and the kind that ride horses), and your standard mages that cast spells.  But then you start getting more exotic things like walking plants that suck you towards them or vicious killer sand crabs.  Also, unless you’re playing Super Endless mode, the creatures fit quite well with the world themes they populate.

The Warehouse District

Graphically, this might be the best installment of the Knights series yet.  In some cases there are multiple scrolling background levels, but even if there’s just one background everything is finely detailed.  When you travel between different locales like a forest or desert you really feel like you’re in different places.  The character designs are quite well done and incredibly diverse, especially when it comes to non-humanoid type creatures.  As for the animation, it can tend to get a bit over the top at times.  I pretty sure when I’m done pounding a crate more wood has been thrown around than was originally used to build the crate!  I wouldn’t want it any other way, though, as it just adds to the charm of the visuals.

The audio is as diverse as the visuals.  Wooden equipment creaks as it rolls by.  Different projectiles make different noises as they wiz through the air.  In fact, pretty much everything makes a unique noise in this game.  It’s such a refreshing change of pace from the usual “one noise fits all” mentality for sound effects.  The music is quite epic when you sit and listen to it apart from the game, and makes for a nice backdrop while you’re playing.  The tune actually changes as you travel to different parts of the same world, though I’m not sure if there is separate music for each world or not.  Whatever the case, the audio and visuals does an incredible job of making the Knights world come to life.

Cannon Go Boom

Don’t let the hack ‘n slash exterior fool you.  There’s quite a game to be had here.  In depth character customization, a vibrant world and frantic game play all make for a compelling reason to play.  In the end, though, it’s all the little details that will suck you in and keep you coming back.  And, once you’ve completed the story mode Knights’ Rush can become your very own “endless running” game with Super Endless mode.  The game has plenty to offer, and is really quite a bargain for the price.

Final Verdict: Highly Recommended
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Quick Looks link: [All About Quick Looks]

A Green Pirate Monkey

You start the game out as Sam, and your objective is simply to keep running, shooting everything evil that crosses your path.  You don’t control the running, so all you have to worry about it tapping to jump (tapping twice will double jump) and tapping somewhere else to shoot.  Ammunition is unlimited, though you only get one type of gun to play with.  On the other hand, what’s not unlimited is your air supply, hence the title of the game.  You start out with 8 units of air which slowly get used up.  Along the way you can pick up units of air, and if you’re real lucky you’ll get a tank that will fill up your air supply.  If you get hit by enemies or their weapons you’ll lose air as well.  When the supply is gone, so are you.

In addition to units of air you can also pick up shields, which will temporarily protect you from anything on the screen.  There are “slow down” items as well, though, they don’t really seem to do all that much.  Finally, there are stars that you can collect along the way.  Stars are important because they allow you to unlock additional characters to play with.  Collecting air, in addition to keeping you alive, will help you unlock different musical tracks.  The number of kills both increases your rank and unlocks various color schemes (and by “schemes” I mean changing from one basic color to another), and your mileage run will unlock different stages in the game.  This is the toughest one, because you have to put in a lot of distance to unlock new levels.

Orange You Glad It's A T-Rex?

I’m not normally a fan of games that make such heavy use of unlockable items, but in this scenario it actually works quite nicely.  I will say, however, that it gets frustrating sometimes when I run through whole levels without ever seeing a star.  Also, there are times where it seems like I get hit even though it doesn’t look like I actually touched anything.  I assume it’s a collision problem, but it can still be annoying, especially when my air is low.  The next thing I’d like to see is the ability to switch options without going back to the main menu and pressing start.  That may not be possible, but if so it would be nice.  Finally, something explaining the differences between characters would be nice.  I can guess with the two I’ve got available so far, but seeing it spelled out is always a benefit.

The graphics in Air Supply are deliciously retro.  And I’m not talking about that garbage where people draw really poor graphics and call it “old school”.  It’s clear that a lot of effort was put into making the graphics look like they belong on a pre-NES console.  What it proves to me is that such graphics could actually look pretty cool!  I also love how everything is silhouettes and lines so that you can actually have a setting that changes the color.  Genius!  The only issue I’ve had so far is that the alien city theme, which is the first theme you unlock, is kind of hard on my eyes.  It still looks cool but it is just hard to stare at after a while.

UFOs Are Not Your Friend

The music is a bit more upscale, weighing in at roughly the NES era of consoles and computing.  As you collect air units you’ll be able to unlock different tracks, and so far every one (I have 4 available) has been enjoyable.  The sound effects also have a retro feel to them, which isn’t nearly as impressive, but with the cool music, who cares about the sound effects?

The bottom line is that this game rocks!  As it is I’ve become strangely drawn to this genre of game, but Air Supply has kicked my obsession to a new level.  I love the look, I love the music, and I love trying to unlock all the unlockables.  There are a few minor things I’d like to see get cleaned up as I mentioned previously, but those items in no way hamper my enjoyment of the game.  If you do not own this gem yet, go out and buy it now.  Long develop Quantum Sheep!

Final Verdict: Highly Recommended
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Guess Who's Dinner?

In Clumsy Bob you play the eponymous Bob, a happy go lucky purple elephant that just loves to bounce on clouds.  The problem is that things just don’t seem to have a habit of going your way, and there are lots of opportunities for you to cease bouncing merrily along.  It’s your job to keep the cute little pachyderm’s dreams alive as long as possible.  To control Bob you simply tilt the device left and right.  While jumping or floating this will literally cause Bob to move left and right. When you’re flying the rocket, however, tilting left and right will cause the rocket to go up and down, respectively.

Along the way you’ll get plenty of aids to help keep you going.  Springs will launch you farther than a normal jump.  Umbrellas will cause you to float to a landing, which gives you better control and potentially allows you to travel farther than jumping as well.  The aforementioned rocket lets you travel really far, though you might have to dodge some oncoming missiles during your trip.  There are also coins you can collect to boost your score.

Better Than A Jet

Besides the counter-missiles, there are hungry rats just waiting to get a taste of Bob.  Who doesn’t love a rodent that can consume an entire elephant?  There are also snakes that will attempt to gobble you up, and clouds that disappear after one bounce.  And naturally you can simply plummet to your doom with a badly timed jump.  The worst offender, however, is the crashing problem.  The longest I’ve been able to play Clumsy Bob without crashing is 15 minutes, but after playing a few other games that time frame drops drastically to between 3 and 5 minutes.  Seeing as I can run Dead Space for an hour with no issues, I think the developers need to tweak things a bit.  This is on an iPod Touch 4G, by the way.

In addition to addictive game play, the game sports Crystal integration.  There are a number of achievements you can work towards, and of course there are the whole leader board and challenge aspects that go along with the Crystal experience.  I understand the need to use Crystal since this is a Clickgamer game, but either offer me another social solution as well or please finally get around to fixing the problem where I have to log in every time I want to use Crystal.

Floating Along

The graphics are great.  Everything is colorful and well animated, and I love watching the rat eat Bob (not that I don’t want to see Bob succeed, mind you). The backgrounds are also pretty nifty, especially the one that has all the sea creatures in it.  The sound effects are amusing, especially when it comes to the noises Bob makes.  Certainly not something you’d expect from an elephant.  The music sounds good and is very upbeat, which just enhances the frivolous mood the game emits.  Aesthetically the game is quite pleasing.

Clumsy Bob has all the ingredients of a great distance game, and in fact is a nice change of pace from the norm in this genre.  It also has a very inviting atmosphere.  Unfortunately, until they get the crashing problem fixed it’s really frustrating wondering when the game’s just going to dump out on you.  Please get this fixed soon guys!  Until then, I can’t outright recommend this game.

Final Verdict: On The Fence
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The basic premise is that you must fire a monkey head out of a cannon and try to get it into the goal on the level.  That’s all you HAVE to do, but there are three bananas you can collect as well.  Of course you’re only really cool if you get all three bananas on every level.  There are 25 levels altogether, and so far I have 73 bananas.  Sadly, I’m not sure I have the skills to get the remaining to.  Guess I still have something else to do in the game yet!

Level 25

To fire the cannon you simply tap it.  The only other time you can interact with the game is if your monkey gets trapped in a bubble.  When you want the monkey out of the bubble you simply tap the bubble to pop it.  Other obstacles include boards and pegs that slide and spin and mini-mazes.  There isn’t a lot of variety to the types of obstacles, but the levels are so well designed that it doesn’t matter.  For some reason when I play this game I’m reminded of Donkey Kong Country… but I digress.

So what are my complaints?  As I said at the beginning, the main thing is length.  As I’ve been writing this review I continued to play the game, and now I’ve managed to get the remaining two bananas. There’s no replay value to the game, so now I just have to move on.  The bubbles are a bit hard to tap and pop in a timely fashion.  Also, there is a reset button that appears on the cannon, but it doesn’t always appear and I’m not sure what triggers it.  That might as well show up right after you’ve launched your monkey and just stay there so you can reset a level at any time.  Of course, these are all minor things, but things to think about none the less.

Level 13

The graphics are simple but get the job done.  A bodiless monkey is a bit freaky at first, but you get used to it.  There are really no special effects to speak of, though a little pomp and circumstance when you’ve gotten the last banana would be cool.  The sound effects aren’t bad, and there’s some nice music playing in the background, but it’s clear that the focus of the game was actual game play, and not aesthetics.  As long as its not horrid to look at or listen to, that’s okay for a free game.

In the end what we have is an extremely fun puzzle game that ends way too abruptly.  With some more levels, additional obstacles, and a couple more monkeys (don’t need abilities, just different faces), this could be quite a contender.  As it is the game is still excellent for killing a few minutes until you finish it.  Even if the result ends up costing money, let’s hope the developer expands this into the product it should be.  This is one of the most entertaining puzzle games I’ve played in quite a while, and with the right polish I believe it could give some of the heavy hitters a run for their money.

Final Verdict: Highly Recommended
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Quick Looks link: [All About Quick Looks]

C'mon And Kiss Me

This game is all about you, under the guidance of a professor that happens to be a spoon, saving the cosmos from some rotten alien eggs.  Affectionately described as a “tap’n crack” game, all you basically do is tap the bad eggs as they fly towards the screen at you.  Just tap the bad eggs, however.  Don’t tap the really bad eggs.  Tapping the really bad eggs is bad… really.  You can tell the “just plain bad” eggs because they look like rejects from a bad installment of the Police Academy movies.  The “really bad” eggs will cause the screen to flip or shake, making it hard for you to tap the eggs you need to tap, or they can even cause you to lose a life.

At the end of every three stages there’s a big “just plain bad” boss.  This boss must be tapped several times to be defeated, but when it’s red it will spit at you.  Just tap the spit at this point, because the only thing worse than egg on your face is egg spit on your face.  When the boss is red it can’t be tapped.  Basically you just keep going until you can’t go no more, which probably means you’re dead.  You start the game with three lives, and you can earn an extra life for every sausage link or piece of toast you tap.  Any time anything bad hits you, or you accidentally tap the “really bad” egg with the skull and crossbones on it, you lose a life.

Christmas In The Stars

There’s also a “bonus” Christmas Eggs In Space mini-game, but let’s call it what it is: level 1 with a Christmas skin.  Still, it is fun until you beat the snowman egg (the first and only boss).  My main gripe about the game is that because of the layering of the objects and the frequency of their arrival at times, it’s nearly impossible to tap the right eggs unless your fingertip is the size of a stylus.  Mine is about the thickness of 10.  As a result you need to wait for the “really bad” eggs to clear, at which point it’s too late to tap the “just plain” bad eggs.  Annoying, but in the end it’s livable.

The graphics are rather amusing in Eggs In Space.  From the old fashioned TV like interface to the dropping curtain between acts there’s this whole vaudeville / variety hour feel to the game.  The professor spoon is great, and the individual eggs are quite enjoyable.  Even the backgrounds are nifty, whether it’s the big lipped planet or the world with a huge pirate ship embedded in it.  I could just as easily see this game having a cartoon based off of it as Angry Birds.

50's Sci-Fi Reborn?

I’m actually a bit disappointed in the sound.  It’s not quite as zany as the graphics, and doesn’t do as much to enhance the experience as I’d hoped it would.  I’m also sad that we never actually get a voice for professor spoon.  The music is kind of the same way, though I do like the little piano riff that plays between levels.  I wouldn’t recommend letting that play for too long, though, as it gets repetitive rather quickly.

Overall, Eggs In Space is a great time waster.  If you’re looking for a deep, meaningful gaming experience, get a real life partner instead.  If you want plenty of level and lots of variety, I hear there’s this quirky little puzzle game called Angry Birds.  For simple, banal incredible edible smashing fun, Eggs In Space is the game for you.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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Quick Looks link: [All About Quick Looks]

Let It Snow...

Just like any other whack-a-mole type game you’ll have levels full of creatures that have nothing better to do than pop out of various places, and it’s your job to whack them.  Why this is so imperative I have no idea, but without it there’d be absolutely no point to the game.  What’s cool – and also adds to the difficulty – is that on each level there is an animal that is off limits.  For each correct animal you tap without missing any or hitting the “bad” one you’ll build up a combo.  Once you do something lame the combo starts over again.  My highest combo so far is in the mid 40s somewhere, almost like my age.

Each level gives you a certain amount of time to whack critters.  You can keep going until you lose all your lives.  You start out with 5 hearts, and each time you tap a taboo critter you lose a heart.  I think you can also lose hearts by missing a good animal, but that doesn’t always seem to be the case and I haven’t really confirmed it yet.  Thankfully there are also ways to gain hearts, so don’t think you’ll be left out in the cold on that department.  Occasionally items will float by on balloons.  To actually get the items you have to tap on them – if you just pop the balloons you won’t get the item the balloon was carrying.

It's A Gorilla!

What I really like about the game is that it doesn’t use boring stereotypical landscapes that most whack-a-mole type games use.  Level one is a park, level two is an airplane, and level 3 takes you all the way to the moon.  This is just a sampling of what you can expect.  Beyond the constant location changes, however, are the obstacles that come with each level.  On the airplane level you actually have clouds passing by that obscure your view.  In levels 3 and 4 there are bosses that you must tap multiple times to defeat (recall the gorilla comment from the intro).  I imagine the trend continues past level 4, but I’ve only managed to get there once and I don’t remember what it was like.

Once a level you get the chance to go into fever mode if you can tap the star that floats by on one of the balloons.  This mode makes the animals come out faster and gives you more points, but it stops when you miss an animal or hit the taboo animal.  After every couple of rounds you play a bonus stage where you simply tap all of the bubbles that float onto the screen.  The round ends when the time is up or you a bubble floats off the screen.  There’s even a special stage you can unlock called 199x mode, but in this mode you only get one heart, and it personally challenges me too much (read – I stink at it).

Bonus Round

The graphics look like they came straight off an EGA screen, back in the days when the Commodore 64 reigned supreme (or at least existed).  If you understood that last sentence, then thank you.  What it boils down to is that the visuals have a great old school look to them, but probably won’t appeal to those who think 2D as a whole is ancient history.  There’s a Christmas theme that adds snow into the mix, which as a general rule I like but I this case can make things hard to see.  I also find the fever mode very taxing on my eyes with all the flashing.  Overall I do like the visual style, though.

I think the sound effects are there mainly for the sake of having sound effects.  That’s all right, because the music more than makes up for it.  To relate to some of the “newer” older gamers, the score sounds like it was ripped from the NES.  The main theme is lots of fun, the Christmas theme is a nice twist on a classic song, and the bonus levels have their own music as well.

Bubble Pets is a wonderful casual game.  The graphics are great in their old school glory, the music has a charm to it that can’t be captured with full blown orchestras, and the game play is simple, frantic and addictive.  You won’t find a lot of flash here, but you will get plenty of entertainment for your money.

Final Verdict: Highly Recommended
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Quick Looks link: [All About Quick Looks]

Duct Tape IS Good For Everything

The first thing you’ll note is that there aren’t any 2D pixel art graphics or 3D rendered images to be found.  These are videos of real people.  This was a fad in the mid 90’s called Full Motion Video (FMV), and it’s too bad these guys weren’t around to guide the pioneers of this type of visual display along.  We might have seen a lot more quality FMV projects back then.  The video is quite well done, and does a wonderful job of capturing the feel of a B-movie horror / slasher flick.  Some of the camera angles in particular make things that wouldn’t normally be so scary quite intense.

The sound is also remarkable.  The beating of your heart, the screeches when you see the stalker or have flashbacks: they all lend a great sense of foreboding to the game.  I’d comment on the music as well, but to be perfectly honest I don’t really recall what the music was like, or if there even was any.  What’s so amazing about that is I literally finished the game again just 10 minutes or so before writing this review.  That’s how engrossed I was in the game itself.

What To Do?

As far as your interaction with the game, it kind of plays like a cross between a Choose Your Own Adventure game and Dragon’s Lair.  You’ll often be presented with simple options like “turn left” or “turn right”.  In a couple of spots you’ll need to “move the action along” by tapping certain spots on the screen whenever a hand appears.  As these sequences get more intense the hands show up more frequently, and one missed tap will send you back to the beginning of the sequence.  That’s the one down side to the game – certain decisions sets are bundled up into longer sequences, which means one wrong answer might have you revisiting several decisions.

There’s no dialog in the game, and in the first chapter the story is a bit vague.  However, all that really does is add to the mystery of what’s going on, which is how a good horror story should play out.  I know I was pretty stoked for part 2 by the time I finished the first one.  The game is not all that long when played straight through, but chances are good you won’t make all the right decisions the first time around.  Either way it’s worth the investment.

What Is "Project H"?

It’s games like this that make the phrase “short but sweet” ring true.  The video is well shot, the story (what little you get of it) is intriguing, and there’s just enough action and decision points to make you feel like part of the “movie”.  If you can snag this for free it’s a no-brainer, but even when it returns to 99 cents it’s totally worth giving up a soda or cup of coffee for.

Final Verdict: Highly Recommended
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Related Links: Hysteria Project 2 Teaser Trailer

Join The Club

You start the game as a fledging monster, with but a few gold coins your name and the desire to wreak havoc across the land.  Initially you’ll just get to torture the population with basic hitting moves.  As you progress through the game you’ll start to evolve and learn new skills, and eventually get a stomp move, flaming breath, and other nifty tricks.  Some are generic and some are dependent on your evolutionary “chasis”.

As you gain experience you’ll unlock new base creature types that you can evolve into.  Each type comes with a unique stomp move and special attack.  Plus, they all look different.  You’ll be able to mix and match things like eyes and hands, but it’s the body selection that gives you a particular power.  You’ll also get to buy things like weapons, armor and hats to improve stats like attack, defense and speed.  Keep in mind that all equipment effects all stats, so don’t choose something just because it looks cool.

I Need A Hat

Throughout the levels there will be items you can pick up to help you defeat the good guys.  Things like cows, poison barrels and exploding robot princesses do some decent damage as you pick them up and roll them through the crowds.  Should you happen across a real princess you’ll definitely want to scoop her up – that’s how you recover your health.  You may not finish a level the first time through, but you get to keep any gold you’ve earned for the level and you can continue the level from where you left off.  Or, you can go back to a previous level to earn more money and try and level up.

The levels are full of good guys just trying to make sure you have a bad day.  You start out with your typical knights and archers.  As you progress you’ll start getting things like ninjas and cannons, and my personal favorite so far, the guy that looks suspiciously like a Link knock-off.  Each has a slightly different means of attack – some long range, some short range and a couple with both.  In the end, however, they’re all going to do everything they can to hit you as much as they can.

Where'd The Big Monster Go?

The controls are easy to understand but not always easy to execute.  To move left or right you touch and hold the respective side of the screen where you want to move.  To attack you tap the screen, and to do a power attack you swipe horizontally towards the side of the screen you wish to attack.  To dodge you swipe from top to bottom, and to pick things up you swipe from bottom to top.  The problem I have with swiping motions in general when it comes to games is that it tends to prevent you from getting any sort of rhythm or flow.  It will be interesting to see how the D-pad option in their next update alters the game play.

The graphics in Wackylands are wonderful.  Everything is bright and colorful and finely detailed, and the animation is pretty decent as well.  I love the little touches like furniture on the lawn or UFOs in the background beaming up stuff.  The variety of different accessories is also neat.  It’s fun to swap out weapons or armor or even creature types and see how it affects your creation.  The cutscenes are great as well, capturing the “look what my kid drew” style that every parent knows oh so well.

Have Fun Stormin' The Castle

The sound effects are good, but there’s too much repetition.  Noises like the knights make when they are running are classic Saturday morning cartoon sounds, and the screams when people get lit on fire are hilarious.  Every single character makes the same noise, however, which is pretty disappointing given the range of adversaries you face.  It’s obviously not crucial to game play, but distinct sounds make the world seem more alive.  The music is decent, but it’s pretty standard fantasy fare.  The truth is that you won’t notice it that much when the action gets hectic anyway.

Wackylands Boss is a nice twist on the traditional side scrolling action game.  I’m not sure that there’s really innovation in mechanics or anything like that, but it is fun being the big, bad boss.  Not to mention the fact that it’s the rare game where you can play dress-up and still feel like a man!  The graphics are top notch, the sound is amusing, and the creature evolution is pretty neat.  This is just another notch in Chillingo’s ever lengthening belt of App Store hits.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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Quick Looks link: [All About Quick Looks]

It Slices And Dices

The game has no story and no help, so I guess you just have to assume that the guys you’re shooting are bad and that’s why you’re shooting them.  The format is certainly old school – shoot a bunch of minions, collect various weapon power ups, and ultimately face the boss on each level.  Power ups range from ninja stars to cool bolts of lightning, and if you collect three stars your ship temporarily transforms and you get nifty, powerful guns.  All power ups wear off eventually and there are no “levels” to a particular weapon, but enough power up capsules plummet towards you that you should almost always have a special weapon of some sort.

If you get hit by enemy fire you lose some health, which starts at 100 and drops to 0.  When your health gets to 0 it is game over.  You can pick up health capsules from time to time, but they generally aren’t worth the risk if they’re surrounded by gunfire.  You’ll mostly likely take as much damage as you get back from recovering the capsule.  There is another way you can die as well (I think), but I have as yet to figure out what’s causing it.  All I know is that sometimes I seem to all of a sudden perish even though I still had health left.  I’m not sure if it’s because getting hit by an alien is instant death or what, but it does happen from time to time.

There’s a nice variety of aliens visually, but other than the fact that some shoot and others don’t, there’s not much difference between them in how they act.  They move in basic patterns either back and forth (the shooters) or heading down towards you.  What gets you is when you have a bunch headed towards you so you can’t deal with the ones at the top that are shooting at you.  You are stuck at the bottom and can only move back and forth via tilt control, and firing is automatically done for you.  Consequently, you don’t even really feel like you’re participating all that much in the game.

Electrifying Personality

Super Blast 2 supports both OpenFeint and Game Center for leader boards, and at least OpenFeint for achievements (I haven’t checked Game Center yet on this front).  There are only 10 achievements in OpenFeint, but it appears that at the rate I’m going it’s still going to take me a while to earn them all.  Don’t even get me started on how poorly I’m ranking on the leader boards so far…

On the plus side, the graphics are very nice indeed.  The backgrounds are detailed and have a nice range from jungle all the way to outer space.  Some of the weapons wield some pretty cool special effects.  As for the ships themselves, they actually look pretty slick as well.  Definitely not your typical vertically scrolling shooter style ship designs.  I will say that they remind me somewhat of mechanized versions of Bloomies!

The sound effects are pretty typical for this sort of game.  There are voiceovers once in a while that aren’t too bad.  I especially like the one in the beginning that says “prepare to fight” – it kind of reminds me of Killer Instinct or Mortal Kombat.  The music is well orchestrated and conveys a nice sense of urgency and adrenaline.  There are at least two different themes that I’ve picked up on so far, and I’d imagine that if there are others they probably sound cool too.

In the end it feels like Super Blast 2 was designed to cater to the same folks that play Bloomies, and I’m not sure that was the right move.  The game is very simplified as far as scrolling shooters go.  Given the excellent competition that exists for this genre on the App Store, I’m not sure what place Super Blast 2 will hold in months to come.  It’s not a bad game, it just doesn’t offer the same challenges and features that its opponents do, and there’s nothing here that you haven’t seen before.

Final Verdict: On The Fence
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Quick Looks link: [All About Quick Looks]

• Rail Adventures
• Arctic Shuffle 2
• Gas Tycoon
• Imp or Oaf
• Digit Defenders
• Retro Fighter
• Gold Miner Joe
• Ten Pin Championship Bowling
• Starball
• Skee-Ball
• Watermelon!

February

• Dead Man’s Dungeon
• iGuardian
• APPDOPE Website
• Hellkid
• Twice!
• Daisy Mae’s Alien Buffet
• Radial 50
• Arachnadoodle
• Thumpies
• Meltdown – Radioactive Platformer
• Slugwars

March

• Tilt To Live
• Boardwalk Games
• Fly-Flap
• Flu Fighter
• Spirit
• Trap Master
• Glade

April

• Guess The News
• Birdie in Trouble
• The Simpsons Arcade
• Fruit Ninja

May

• Comet Racer
• Equilibrio
• Tap Tap Balloon
• Hand Of Greed
• 180
• Virus Laboratory

June

• Up With A fish
• Color Swing
• Fastball 2
• Babeorella
• iSlice Cut it Up!

July

• Steamballs
• Police Range
• OddBlob
• Golvellius
• Jump-O-Mania 3D

August

• Chuck Gnome
• Pig Vs Wolves
• Lorax Garden
• Monster Dash

September

• Jewels Maker
• Vampire Origins
• Dungeon Core
• Tappi Bear All In One

October

• Secret Of Grisly Manor
• Dice Tower
• Drop Dead

November

• mScribble
• Vikings Row!

December

• Go Usagi
• Clock Blocks
• Song Shaker

Year 2010 has been a very strong year for games for the iPhone. A good variety with creative graphics and sound, Hope 2011 continues to bring more creativity and innovation to the iPhone gaming martketplace.

The premise is simple – pick a song and shake the device to play the song.  It sounds easy enough, except that getting the rhythm down can be tricky, even if it’s a song you know intimately.  This is the reason I’m not keen on games that use shaking the device as a play mechanic.  It seems that sometimes the device will register a shake as two movements instead of one, and other times it doesn’t seem to register the shake at all, both of which will throw your rhythm off.  Add to that the fact that sometimes the songs might not be played quite like what you’re used to, and it can be a bit daunting trying to match the tune.  Fortunately you can listen to the song in full before you try anything, but there are a couple of songs I won’t even attempt.

Pretty Lights...

On the plus side, it’s easy to get excited when you “shake” a song well enough to earn a Fantastic and four stars.  The star concept is nice, but I think it needs to be fleshed out a bit, because right now you earn stars every time you complete a song, even if your most recent attempt was worse than your previous one.  Also, there’s no indication on an individual song what the maximum number of stars is you’ve earned for that song.  I guess at this point it doesn’t matter, but I think it could make things a bit more interesting if the stars actually did make some kind of difference.

The interface as a whole could stand to be cleaned up a bit.  When I’m playing a song, it would be nice if it said at the top of the screen what song I’m playing (that way if I’m really bad I at least know what my goal is supposed to be).  A “reset song” option would be nice as well.  If I’m in albums mode, hitting “home” when playing a song should take me back to the list of songs for that album, not the list of albums.  Finally, showing the max number of stars earned for a given song in the list would be nice, so I’d at least know which songs I’ve already done.

The visuals are pretty basic, but given the fact that you spend most of the time shaking the device you really don’t need much.  The interface for selecting songs is actually kind of cool, with a bit of a jukebox feel to it.  While actually playing a song you just get flashes of light, but once again, what else do you really need?

The only real “sound effects” are the clapping or booing depending on how well you do with the song.  Of course the main draw where the audio is concerned is the songs themselves.  For the most part I like the renditions of the various songs they perform, though a couple of them don’t sound quite right to me.  There were also a couple that I wasn’t real familiar with or had never heard at all, but we’ll just consider that a cultural experience!

This game has so much potential.  It’s a unique experience and would be entertaining to share with your friends.  I just really think they need to work on the shake mechanism a bit more.  I realize that part of the problem could be I’m just not very good at it, but I don’t think that’s the case.  I just think that depending on the song, the game has a hard time dealing with the rhythm in certain spots.  That can get real frustrating when you think you’re doing so well and suddenly you hear a bunch of notes strung together too quickly, or when you’re sure you shook the device yet no sound came out.  I wouldn’t necessarily shy away from the game, but the more fickle users will get aggravated with this issue.

Final Verdict: On The Fence
App Store Link
App Shopper Link

[All About Quick Looks]

The objective of the game is simple – the screen is filled with block shaped clocks, and you need to clear them all off the screen in one chain reaction.  A bullet will strike one of the clocks on the left side of the screen, and you have until the clock’s hand travels a full revolution around the clock face to tap the screen and send the bullet to the next clock.  As long as you keep hitting clocks you keep going.  If you miss a clock you have to start the level over.  If a clock makes a full revolution you have to start the level over.

The game is all about timing and reflexes.  Not every clock moves at the same speed, nor is every clock the same size.  In quest and survival modes the clocks will be in different configurations on the screen, and in survival mode once a clock disappears another clock randomly appears somewhere else.  As a result there is no single strategy for beating a given level in a given game play mode.  When you’re playing one of the modes where the clocks stay away once they’ve been struck, it’s often a matter of luck hitting the final clock in the chain.

Clock Blocks has 3 game play modes.  In Quest mode you have to defeat 40 levels of increasingly complex combinations of clocks.  There’s no difficulty setting on this one, and thankfully you can always pick up at the first level you haven’t yet completed.  When playing survival mode you simply must keep going until you miss a clock.  Every time you shoot a clock another one will appear somewhere else, and the difficulty settings determine the size of the clocks, their spacing, and how quickly the hands revolve.  Finally there’s classic mode, which fills the screen with clocks and keeps a tally of the number of times you can completely clear a screen.  Again difficulty settings determine the size and speed of the clocks, though here the configuration is always nicely lined rows and columns.

This is one of the rare puzzle games where I actually enjoy all three game play modes.  Usually I tend to gravitate more towards the quest type modes, and while that’s still my favorite here, it’s easy to jump into the other modes for a couple of rounds of play.

Visually the game takes a minimalist approach, and it actually suits the game quite well.  There really aren’t any special effects in the game, and the smiley face when you beat a level or frowny face when you lose a level are actually kind of silly.  I do like the fact that as the active clock gets a shadow around it as your time runs out.  The sound effects are just as basic.  I am quite impressed with the music.  Each mode has its own theme, and they’re all pretty nice to listen to.

If you’re looking for a nice diversion between bouts of Cut The Rope or Angry Birds, Clock Blocks is just the game to fit the bill.  The concept is almost absurdly simple, the control is a piece of cake, and yet as the game gets rolling it can get quite challenging.  If you’re into pomp and circumstance you might be a bit disappointed by the lack of frills, but as far as I’m concerned the core game play more than makes up for it.

Final Verdict: Recommended
App Store Link
App Shopper Link

[All About Quick Looks]

Redroom, Redroom!

Apparently a certain breed of rabbits called Usagi make a delicacy known as Mochi that aliens happen to crave.  The aliens traveled to Earth seeking the Mochi and will do everything they can, including killing the Usagi, to get it.  You don’t want to let that happen, so you need to help the rabbits escape the clutches of the nasty aliens.  It’s not just the aliens that will try and stop you either.  The levels are littered with walls that get in your way.  Then there are the lava pits that don’t treat the bunnies very well.  And don’t get me started on the switches – red to lower red blocks, and green to lower green blocks… but they raise the opposite color blocks as well…

There’s one other issue with this whole setup.  No one can seem to sit still!  The rabbits and aliens are constantly moving, and only stop when they run into objects or find the exit.  If an alien catches a rabbit, the level’s over.  If an alien gets to the exit before all the rabbits, the level is over.  And, if a rabbit falls into some lava the level is over.  The weird thing is that rabbits will always turn right when they hit a wall, and aliens will always turn left.  Thankfully you can use this to your advantage.

I'm so blue...

On each level you get several tiles with arrows on them.  All you have to do is drag a tile from the toolbox on the right side of the screen to where you want to place it in the level.  If it doesn’t work for you, drag it someplace else or drag it back to the toolbox.  I don’t know how well it would work, but one nice option might be the ability to double tap to put an arrow tile back.  Anyway, once you’ve placed all the arrows you want to use, tap Go and see what happens.  Thankfully you can replay a level as many times as you need to, and the game leaves the arrows in place between attempts, so you always have some point of reference to start from.

The key to this game is observation.  Before long you’ll find yourself watching how the level plays out before you’ve even placed your first arrow.  Then, even when you know the arrows don’t work where you’ve got them, you’ll still watch the same setup 3 or 4 times to see where you might adjust it.  If you just want to complete the game you might not need to be so thorough, but if you want to attempt to earn 3 stars on each level you’ll probably be doing this a lot.  You can complete a level with no stars if you just want to unlock the next level, but stars are based on the number of arrows used – the less arrows, the more stars you can earn.  For the average gamer you’ll find yourself replaying a level quite a few times to earn 3 stars.

Title Screen

The graphics are decent, if nothing overly exciting.  The rabbits and aliens look good, and the background for the most part is okay, but the pseudo-3D nature of the walls sometimes makes it hard to figure out where all the tiles are in crowded levels.  Also, since the exit is black and so are the tops of walls, actually deciding which tile is the exit can be tricky on occasion.  I do really like the title screen, which makes me wish there were a few cut scenes in the game.  There really isn’t a whole lot in the way of sound effects, and the music is enjoyable, though I’m not sure it fits with the game.  However, I’m willing to let that slide as I’ve become quite the fan of Kevin MacLeod’s work.

Overall this is a nice little puzzle game.  For hardcore puzzlers it might be a bit easy, especially since it only has 36 levels, but for the average gamer I think you’ll get plenty of play time out of it.  The game could use a bit more pizzazz, but being as it’s a puzzle game that doesn’t bother me too much.  It’s nice to play something that’s not a physics puzzler or some match 3 variant.  I’d definitely suggest giving this a try if you’re in the market for something a little different.

Final Verdict: Recommended
App Store Link
App Shopper Link

Quick Looks link: [All About Quick Looks]

Bose l1 Compact System

The Bose L1 Compact System is another one of these accessories that fall into the price range that makes it difficult for the average musical keyboard buyer. The speakers cost $899.00 USD which can easily be more than the home user can afford on top of the purchase of the musical keyboard itself. For those that perform on a regular basis, will find the Bose L1 Compact System worth the cost.

MEEBLIP - Image From http://meeblip.noisepages.com/

All I can is WOW! A digital synth module that provides the ability to create 80′s analog synth style mono sounds quickly and play them via a MIDI keyboard. This is something that is certainly lacking from many synths on the marketplace the past decade or so.

I grew up listening to 80′s New Wave music and still enjoy much of the music today. The mono synths used in the 80′s had such a unique sound never before heard before the 80′s and many artists used creative mixing and over dubbing to produce some really crazy sounds and music with these monosynths.

With analog synths evolving into digital synths with sampled sounds and true to life sound, it is wonderful to see a synth module that goes back to the early days of artificial noise. The unit coupled with a MIDI keyboard allows you to play weird waveforms and adjust the sound in realtime.

The MEEBLIP seems like a great and inexpensive way to produce some of the old sounds without spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars for sound modules that have sampled mono synth sounds. Create your own mono sounds using the MEEBLIP. This seems like a great way to dust off your old MIDI keyboard and bring some life back to your music creativity.

The unit is available as an OPEN SOURCE design thus allowing anyone with some electronic skills to modify and expand the unit to their hearts content. The unit is apparently available now for $129.00 USD and in kit form for $79.00 USD.

You can go to http://meeblip.noisepages.com/ to read more on the MEEBLIP and hear some of the weird and wonderous mono sounds produced from the MEEBLIP.

Sony Mp3 Player

The 16GB S Series Walkman® Video MP3 Player from Sony is more than just a music player. It sports a 2.0 inch TFT color display that also plays videos ( QVGA 240 X 320).  Comes with a built-in FM radio and a pair of noise cancelling headphones.

The battery life is estimated at approximately 40 hours of music listening and 10 hours of video viewing. More than sufficient for most frequent travellers.

In the Box:

• MP3 Player
• USB Adapter Cable
• In-flight Adapter Cable

NOTE: I would have prefered to see also in the box an AC adapter which connects to the USB cable for standard charging instead of relying solely on a USB port of a computer.

Cowonx7 MP3 Player

Cowon X7 MP3 player

This unit is much more than a MP3 player with a large screen. The Cowon X7 is a complete multimedia player with a 4.3 inch 16 million color TFT touch screen. Comes with 2 GB of flash operating memory and at least 120 Gb of hard drive storage space.

File format supported:

Audio – MP2/3, WMA, OGG, FLC, APE, WAV

Video – AVI, WMV, ASF with DIVX

Built-in FM Radio

Built-in Speakers for private listenig without headphones.

Built-in Bluetooth for wireless control and listening. (A2DP – AVRCP *)

A/V Out to a TV to share your movies on a larger screen.

The Cowon X7 also comes with a built-in Flash player which gives you access to literally thousands of Flash based games and videos downloadable for free. The user interface also supports a few applets like a calculator, stopwatch and a notepad for drawings and memos.  The large HDD can also double as a mass storage unit allowing you easy access to the storage space via the USB connector. The Cowon X7 certainly is a versatile portable unit comes a multimedia device and a mass torage unit al in one. Go to Cowon Global for more details.

*A2Dp: Advanced Audio Distribution Profile

*AVRCP: Audio/Video Remote Control Profile

I still haven’t worked out the logistics yet, but somehow a bunch of big, burly men in a sturdy wooden boat managed to lose an entire night’s plunder.  Guess there was a hole in the bag?  Anyway, now that the crew is theoretically sober, it’s up to you to help guide them through 48 levels across 6 different worlds to recover all their gold.  It won’t be easy, as your path will be littered with whirlpools, rapids, and many things that make your ship go “ouch”.  There are a few things that you can safely run into or over, but most things will be happy to take one or more lives away from you, depending on how well you’ve gotten yourself trapped.  You start with five lives, and when they are gone you have to start the level over.

Follow The Seagulls

If the lives don’t get you, the timer will.  Each level is timed.  In some you get the time all at once, and in others you get a little time to start and must reach checkpoints to get more time.  On many occasions I have literally run out of time right before the finish line.  But wait, there’s more.  You must also collect a certain number of coins to earn a bronze shield.  If you don’t get at least a bronze you can’t pass the level.  You can of course earn sliver and gold shields as well, but I’m happy to get a bronze on most levels.

There really aren’t a whole lot of bonuses to be found in the game.  Once in a while you’ll come across a stash that gives you a significant bump in your gold meter.  You might also find extra timers even on levels that don’t have checkpoints.  The one bonus that is pretty cool is the Berserker token, which for a short time allows you to break through anything without getting hurt.  If you see this on a level, you should pretty much assume that you’re going to need it.

Dangers Ahead

Now comes the part that I don’t get along with – the controls.  To move the boat forward or backward you swipe two fingers (down for forward and up for backward).  If you want to turn left, swipe down on the left side of the boat.  To turn right, use the right side of the boat.  To make a sharp turn you must swipe two fingers in a somewhat circular fashion in the direction you want to turn.  This is the main issue, because once you get going the “fast turn” is often hard to execute, only to finally be pulled off once you actually want to go straight again.  I have lost so many lives trying to execute the fast turns, and I’m almost 20 levels into the game.  Innovative controls?  To an extent, yes.  Practical for the craziness that ensues in some of these levels?  Not really.

The graphics in Vikings Row are pretty nice.  The top down perspective suits the game well, especially since you see very little of the Vikings themselves during the game.  There are nice little details like silhouettes of fish swimming in the water or birds or bats flying overhead.  I love the levels where you are in the whale and there is garbage floating past you.  Very authentic (at least what I’ve been told from every Saturday morning cartoon).

Mermaid Surprise

The sound effects are also pretty decent.  Nothing overly memorable, but nothing overwhelming either.  I’m a bit disappointed that there aren’t any comments from the Vikings as you’re sailing along.  There’s a lot of room for humor there, I’d think.  The music is nice, and fits the mood of the game fairly well.  It’s a tad ominous, but nothing overly brooding.

This game has so much potential, and I really want to say that I enjoy it.  I just can’t get over my frustrations with the controls.  You can replay any level to try and get a better shield, but the reality is that I’m so relieved when I finally pass a level that there’s no way I’d go back and play it again.  The concept, the graphics and the sound are all there, but the game almost becomes stressful when you’re trying to turn the ship and it’s just not cooperating, and a stressful game is not a fun game.

Final Verdict: On The Fence
App Store Link
App Shopper Link

[All About Quick Looks]

mScribble is an app for making music.  Unlike traditional apps that might emulate an instrument such as a drum or guitar, however, mScribble only requires one finger and the desire for you to draw on the screen.  You pick one of nine background melodies ranging from jazz to “Big Feet”, then you pick a “sound color” (your choices are blue, green, red and orange) and finally you tap start.  Then you just drag your finger across the screen and you’re writing a song!  When you’re done you can double-tap the arrow in the lower left corner of the screen to access a menu which will allow you to email the song you’ve just created to yourself or a friend.  Unfortunately this feature doesn’t seem to work on my iPod Touch 2G, otherwise I’d share a “composition” with you.

Scribble For A Song

The left side of the screen is quiet and the right is loud, so you adjust the volume by moving back and forth.  This is just for your notes, not for the background melody.  Higher notes are at the top of the screen and lower notes at the bottom, so you can change the notes you’re playing by moving up and down.  If you just tap and hold on an area the note you’re playing will change as the melody changes.  Finally, you can adjust the vibrato by gently shaking the device, though that’s kind of hard to do while you’re playing music at the same time.

One thing I really like about mScribble is that unless you need to look at the pretty lights when you’re drawing you can effectively use this without staring at the screen.  It’s great if you’re embarrassed about messing with your device in front of people that don’t know what you’re doing.  As long as you use subtle movements to make the music, no one will even know you’re playing a game (unless you’re not wearing headphones, of course).

The main thing that’s missing from mScribble is a way to save and replay your creations on-device.  The email feature is nice (when it works), but it’s kind of shame that your only chance to do anything with a given song is when you first exit from playing that song.  A nice little file system at least showing the date the song was created, the length of the song and the background music that was used would be cool.  And of course the ability to email from archive and delete from archive should be there.  Still, for what the program offers it’s a lot of fun to mess around with.

As one might expect, the graphics are pretty basic.  Notes fly across the screen in a steady stream, and a line that’s constantly changing color follows your finger around.  There are, of course, no sound effects, as that would detract from the music.  There are 9 base tracks that you can choose from, and while none of them are really bad, you’re sure to find a couple favorites.  The nice part is that no matter which one you choose, it’s pretty hard to add a bad note on top of it with whatever algorithm they use to generate the music you “create”.

Those of you looking for high scores and leader boards need to look elsewhere.  Or maybe you need this as your bit of relaxation amidst all the stress of competition.  This is a great application to just pull out and mess with for a few minutes while you’re waiting in line somewhere or perhaps when that elevator is taking a bit too long to reach your floor.  And if you’ve got kids that love music, there’s no reason you shouldn’t have this application.  I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that we might see a few more background tracks some day.

Final Verdict: Highly Recommended
App Store Link
App Shopper Link

[Note: since I wrote this review I've been in touch with the developer via Appular, and it turns out my problem with sending my songs out as emails is a combination of older device (iPod Touch 2G), older OS (3.1.3) and overall song size.  If all goes well the issue should be fixed in iOS 4.2, so if you've got an iPod Touch 2G and you're on the upgrade path you should be fine.  In the mean time, you can still send really short songs!]

[All About Quick Looks]

In Drop Dead you play a guy running from zombies.  To escape the zombies you must feed them body parts, which is done by matching three or more of the same parts in a row.  You can either tap each of two adjacent parts to swap them, or you can drag the two parts to make the exchange.  From there you probably know how the whole match 3 thing works by now.  If you make a match of 4 parts you get an explosive version of that part which will blow up all parts adjacent to it when used in a match.  If you are lucky enough to match 5 parts you get a grenade that will destroy all instances of a part that it is swapped with.

Run Away!

Drop Dead has 3 different game play modes.  In Story mode you’ll race through 20 levels, each of which requires you to feed the zombie enough parts that it falls off the edge of the screen.  Once you’ve beaten a level in Story mode it becomes available in the other two modes.  In Endless mode you pick one level and your goal is to keep the zombie at bay for as long as you can.  The only quibble I have with this mode is that if you pick a lower level, the game should still speed up after a while.  Otherwise good players could find the lower levels truly endless.  In Impending Doom you will get caught, it’s just a matter of how many matches you can make before the zombie gets to you.

The big thing missing from this game is any sort of social integration.  I’d personally love to see OpenFeint since I’m still running OS 3.1.3, but Game Center would be better than nothing.  It’s kind of odd to see a game these days with a focus on scoring that doesn’t give you the opportunity to rub those scores in other players’ faces.  Obviously it’s not mandatory, but it sure would help this game a lot.

The graphics are really cool in a cartoony sort of way.  It’s funny because I often forget that the matching objects are body parts.  For instance, the spine part often reminds me of the neck of a guitar.  The real treat is the little window at the bottom of the screen that shows you running from the zombies.  There are a number of different zombie designs to entertain you, and the backgrounds are pretty cool as well.  It would be cool to see even more different zombie types based on the commentary of some of the levels, but what’s there is a great start.

The sound effects aren’t bad.  The one thing that’s really missing is any moaning and groaning from the zombies.  A zombie game always has to have moaning and groaning.  The music is decent, though it would be nice to have a few different themes to spread across the levels, given how diverse the settings are.  The music played at the main menu is actually more interesting than the in-game music, which sadly seems to happen a lot with indie games.  Not quite sure what makes the menu so appealing to give it the cool music.

Drop Dead is a nice little match 3 game with a cool zombie theme.  There may be nothing revolutionary about the mechanics, and it might even seem like a step back in some regards, but I still found myself clicking next each time I beat a level to move on.  There are definitely some improvements that could be made, but given the cheap price tag you shouldn’t feel gypped for what you get.

Final Verdict: Recommended
App Store Link
App Shopper Link

[All About Quick Looks]

2 Pair

Dice Tower is a game about building towers.  As you might have guessed, these towers will be built from dice.  The key here is that the number on the dice makes all the difference in the world.  For the first layer you can use any dice you want except wild card dice.  For any layer after that, the die placed at a given location must either be the sum or the difference of the two dice below it.

There are two exceptions to this rule.  The first is if the two dice below the position are the same, in which case the die can have the same number as those two dice.  The second is if there is only one die below the position.  Then the die you are placing must have the same value, twice the value or half the value of the die below it.  It’s a bit odd to describe on paper, but it works quite well in practice.  Also, don’t worry if your math skills aren’t the best.  As long as you can add and subtract between the numbers 1 through 6 you’ll do just fine.

To help you along the way you might roll a wild card die, which can be used for any number.  In addition you might get an extra roll, more time (on the timed mode), or a treasure that gives you a random value of up to 1000 points.  On the flip side, you could get a die for less time, one that randomly removes dice from the top layer, and one that destroys everything in your hand.  If you get the bomb and lose the contents of your hand, that could be game over if that was your last roll.

Everything is executed via drag ‘n drop.  The control is quite responsive, but sometimes it’s hard to tell where you’re placing a die.  This is especially true if you’re trying to store one in the chest, which is an area that lets you keep a couple dice from your hand as spares before you re-roll.  Rolling is a simple matter of tapping the cup in the bottom right corner of the screen.  Everything else is handled automatically, and power ups (or downs) are used as soon as you get them, with the exception of the wild card die and the free roll.

Almost There

There are three game play modes in Dice Tower: Casual, Time Attack and Endless.  In Casual and Time Attack you must build each tower to a certain number of floors starting with 6 rolls per tower.  The main difference between the two modes is that on Time Attack each tower is timed.  In Endless mode you start with 10 rolls and keep on building until you run out of rolls and dice to place.  Endless mode requires the most strategy early on, because if you’re not careful about placing your dice you might use up your rolls a lot sooner than you’d like.  I’m not normally a fan of endless scenarios, but I like the heightened strategic element in this one.

The game isn’t overly flashy, but it looks really nice.  The playing field has a clean layout, everything is easy to read and it’s perfectly clear what’s what.  I like how a little platform slides out for you to roll the dice on.  It’s also pretty sharp when a special die zooms in off the rolling area and then the symbol stays for a second while the actual die fades away.  The little effects like that which are scattered throughout the game give it a nice touch.

The sound effects are decent enough.  A die roll sounds like a die roll and so forth.  The audio is actually a bit more subdued than the graphics even.  The music is nice except for the fact that every song sounds like it’s just a few bars constantly being repeated.  As a result it kind of gets monotonous after a while.

If you’re looking for the splash of games like Digital Chocolate’s Bloxx series, you won’t find it here.  Instead what you get is a stylish yet humble presentation over a unique take on the tower building genre.  If you need some twitch reflex action, you probably want to look elsewhere.  If you’d like to exercise your brain a bit (while still relying on the occasional bit of luck) then Dice Tower is a good choice for you.

Final Verdict: Recommended
App Store Link
App Shopper Link

[All About Quick Looks]

What's In The Trunk?

You start out receiving a package from your grandfather telling you to come find him at his manor.  Once you arrive you must solve one puzzle after another to find your grandfather and the secret his is trying so desperately to hide.  There really aren’t any instructions to the game, but anyone that’s played a point and click adventure game in the past 20 years will feel right at home before long.

There are several rooms within the house to explore, and you’ll even journey out to the shed and an old tree stump in the back yard.  Given that the house was just a decently sized structure and not a sprawling mansion, the developer did a good job of making sure there were enough puzzles to keep you busy.  On the plus side some of the puzzles did make you think, but there really wasn’t a time where my brain-wheels were spinning like crazy trying to solve something.

You Got The Time?

As a result, the overall game is not very long, especially if you’re a seasoned puzzle solver / adventure gamer.  As luck would have it, however, the game length is considerably extended due to the fact that you have to traipse back and forth between some rooms several times before solving a puzzle.  Well, there’s that and the fact that it feels like you’re constantly waiting for scenes to load.  Despite these issues, I was drawn in from the beginning and didn’t want to put the game down until I had completed it.  The only other drawback was that the ending, while somewhat interesting, was kind of a letdown given all you had to do to get there.

This is a straightforward adventure game with no mini-games to be found.  That basically means everything is a “tap to operate” type affair, so you won’t have any issues controlling the game.  There also aren’t any twinkles or real hints as to what you can interact with, which means in a couple of cases you end up “hunting and pecking” your way through a scene, though once again it’s not as bad as it sounds.  There is no concept of a hint system in the game, though it doesn’t really seem to need it.

A Tree Stump... With A Hole

The graphics in Grisly Manor are wonderful.  Everything is nicely detailed, and while there’s not a whole lot going on in this manor outside of you, there is some animation when appropriate.  I would have liked to have seen a bit more of an intro / ending, maybe done up in a comic panel style format, but what’s there is very nice visually.  The sound effects enhance what they’re sounding off about, but nothing really stands out.  Hearing the grandfather’s voice at the beginning and end would have been nice.  The music is actually really good, and definitely gets you in the mood for exploring the manor.

This game was a surprise, but ended up being one of the good kind of surprises.  Despite its short length and load times, it’s an enjoyable old school adventure with plenty of puzzles and enough mystery to keep you hooked until the end.  If you’re an adventure game fan, this is one you don’t want to miss.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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[All About Quick Looks]

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The game is actually a collection of 5 Tappi Bear games that are all available separately on the iPhone: Space Rush, Donut Dance, Donut Ninja, KungFu Battle and Tap Tap Jump.  I would expect that as more Tappi Bear games get created this collection will get updated as well, so if you think even one or two of them sound worthwhile you might as well save yourself a bit of home page space and get the collection.  Honestly, I actually find several of them mildly amusing, and I’m a far cry from a kid.

Space Rush

Space Rush is a simple “dodge the asteroids” style game.  You move back and forth either by swiping or tapping the left and right sides of the screen.  Personally I find the swipe method more precise.  The playing field is broken up into three lanes, and you need to make sure Tappi Bear is always in the empty lane (unless of course there’s a donut in the lane, then you want that one).  The problem with using the tap method is that a tap will often move you more than one lane, resulting in some bad stuff happening.

Donut Dance

Donut Dance is a memory game where a group of bears will dance around, passing a donut between them.  When the music stops you have to pick the bear that’s holding the donut.  It sounds easy, but as the group gets bigger and the donut goes faster it gets hard to follow along.  This is my least favorite one, mainly because I’m no good at following quick moving objects, especially when there are cute dancing bears to watch!

Donut Ninja

Donut Ninja is cool just because the concept of a bear ninja tossing donuts is so funny.  You don’t control Tappi, but rather you just tap the bad guys to throw donuts at them.  The bad guys are descending towards you, and if one of them passes your defenses and gets to you it’s game over.  The real catch here is that some bears have numbers on them, and you must hit those bears the number of times on their shirt plus 1.  This game actually is somewhat addicting, and it can actually get crazy when multiple bears with numbers are coming at you.

KungFu Battle

KungFu Battle has you guarding a pile (and by pile I mean 3) of donuts from evil bears.  You simply tap left to attack to the left and right to attack to the right.  The thing with KungFu Battle is that you must have both timing and patience.  If you miss you are stunned for a second, and that’s all it takes for a bear to steal a donut.  Apparently I don’t have timing or patience, so I’m not very good at this one, though I do better than at Donut Dance.  Thankfully the music on this one is decent so I don’t mind trying a few times to get it right.

Tap Tap Jump

Finally there’s Tap Tap Jump, which kind of reminds me of NinJump just with cute bears, cute birds and donuts.  You basically jump back and forth between two vines, trying to get as high as you can.  The longer you press your finger before releasing the more powerful your jump, but if you wait too long the game will be over.  The game also ends if you hit a bear or bird.

The nice thing about these games is that you can pretty much play them with one finger, though games where you move left and right are a bit easier to use one finger for left and another for right.  They’re also easy to understand yet still entertaining, so they should work quite well for the younger set.  You might also get the slightly older ones interested, though they may not admit it.  You’d probably be pushing it for teens, though!

The graphics are nice, and will definitely hold a young child’s interest.  Everything is bright and colorful, and even though you can tell the bad guys from Tappi Bear they aren’t intimidating in any way.  The images are detailed yet not overly so, kind of like a nicely drawn PBS cartoon.  The animation isn’t bad either.  Sometimes it feels a bit stiff, but that might actually be on purpose.  Whatever the case the visuals are pleasing.  The sound effects are decent, and certainly suit the game, but there’s nothing overly exciting going on there.  I do quite like the music, though certainly some of the songs are better than others.  Ironically enough, my least favorite song is the one from Donut Dance.  Go figure.

Overall Tappi Bear All In 1 is a nice collection of games for kids.  It’s also a decent collection of games for the parents to secretly load up for a few minutes after the kids have gone to bed.  Now don’t get me wrong – if you don’t have kids then even if you find the games amusing you’re probably not going to be playing it for long, though for 99 cents that may not bother you.  However, for those of you with kids this is definitely a game to consider purchasing.  There’s plenty of variety in the five included mini-games, and hopefully with enough purchases they’ll be encouraged to keep expanding the collection.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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[All About Quick Looks]

Down We Go

The three game play modes you start out with are story, hard story and rescue.  I can’t really comment on the others because I haven’t unlocked them nor do I know how to.  At any rate, in Rescue mode your task is to navigate your hero towards the sides of the screen, tapping all the helpless creatures that need to be rescued.  In the mean time you need to avoid all the spiked objects that litter the screen, some of which are stationary while others are moving towards you.  There might be more to this mode, but I can’t seem to get very far as there are an insane amount of spiked objects at any given time, and the overly sensitive controls ensure that I almost always move more to the left or right than I really want to at any given time.  Needless to say I’m not a very big fan of this mode, though if the difficulty were tuned down a bit it might be kind of fun.

Then there’s story mode.  This is where the game gets interesting, though it’s in no way less frustrating.  You start off with a sword and some money, and you must make your way down a pit to slay an evil beast.  Your character is constantly in motion, and the only control you have is to move him left and right.  Along the way there will be monsters to fight, which you can kill just by running into them.  Every monster leaves a coin, and you actually have to touch the coin to get it.  No auto pick ups here.  At the very beginning of the game and then once every so many meters you’ll encounter a store.  The store will allow you to buy and sell armor, weapons and more.  If you want to buy a better version of something you have you have to sell the old item first, as there is only one slot for each thing.  It would be nice if the game handled this automatically for you, but it’s not a big deal.

The other thing you can do at the store is save your game.  The problem is that it cost money, and for every subsequent store you find the price to save goes up, regardless of whether you took advantage of the save in a previous store or not.  The problem with this is that so far I can barely earn enough money to either save or upgrade equipment, and without upgrading equipment you won’t make it very far in the game.  It almost feels like a not so subtle way for the developers to discourage saving, especially since the save game is one of the features lacking in the Hard story mode.  If there are people that really like this kind of save system then I say it’s okay as an option, but there really needs to be a baby mode for people who like to save whenever they want.  Being able to save my game should not be a punishment, and that’s exactly what it becomes when I have to sacrifice my equipment money in order to save.

A Slot Machine Must've Exploded!

I’m also not so keen on is the controls, and the sad part is I think they are the way they are by design.  Regardless of whether you use the touch or tilt method of control, your character moves really fast until you purchase a pair of boots, which then help you control him better.  I’m all for this conceptually, but again the level of control is not consummate with the spacing and diminishing sizes of the platforms, which means you spend and awful lot of time dying simply because of bad control.  Very rarely do I lose a game because I actually run out of hit points.  Again, I could live with this if the save system were better, but the combination of the two means that I almost never make it past 100 meters in the game (and I know by the achievements that the pit is at least 700 meters deep).  If nothing else the game needs a baby mode for those of us with little time and even less skill.

The graphics are actually pretty cool.  The main character looks sort of like a mini-me version of Marge Simpson, but at least the visuals actually change as you equip him with different items.  The critters are kind of cute, and more often then not don’t actually look like your garden variety dungeon crawling baddies.  The sound effects are okay, though nothing very exciting.  The one moment I do like is when you die and your character screams while falling down the pit, only to splash in the water at the bottom.  That effect cracks me up for some reason.  The music is a bit odd.  There are occasions where it sounds really good, but most of the time it sounds like it is only two or three notes stuck in a loop.  I’m not sure if that’s on purpose or if there is a problem with the playback, but either way it tends to get annoying quickly.

The base concepts of Dungeon Core are quite solid, and the game can be a lot of fun to play.  The atmosphere is cool and the ability to buy goods to further your quest is a great addition to the genre.  I just wish they’d come up with a better way to handle the save system and the issue with needing the boots to have any sort of reasonable control over your character.  Maybe fixing one will downplay the other enough to cancel them out, but having them both in the game makes it a lot more frustrating than it needs to be.

Final Verdict: On The Fence
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