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Daily iPhone App: Blot
There's a lot of buzz around cloning apps lately. Zynga recently received some flak for making a clone of Tiny Tower, and there's a big lawsuit around Triple Town and its clone Yeti Town. I would argue that there's a right way and a wrong way to clone an idea. Blatant rip-offs are obviously wrong. The right way is to lovingly borrow some of the core mechanics of a certain game, but add in your own aesthetic, insight, and style. Blot is an example of the latter. Ostensibly, it's a clone of the very popular Jetpack Joyride. You play as a little ink blot that's flying along, tapping the screen to make it rise, fall and collect power-ups and coins. One could argue that Blot is a ripoff of Jetpack Joyride, but aesthetic is unique, combining some beautiful hand-drawn environments with a bouncy, joyful soundtrack. The game employes new ideas, too. For example, the inky spot can combine with colors for extra abilities, and the upgrade system is even more complex than Jetpack Joyride's, allowing you to pick up mechanics that can completely change the way the game is played. I would also argue that Blot's rewards are too spaced out. Even after several runs, I haven't collected enough coins to "buy" anything interesting. But everything else in the game is very well done, and the little add-ons (like Blot's hilarious costumes) are worth chasing down over time, even though that curve is steep. Blot is available now for US$0.99 as a universal app. It does borrow from Jetpack Joyride and what you might call the "hover Canabalt" sub genre, but its infectious style and unique features make it worth a download.
Daily iPhone App: Infinity Blade 2
Yes, it's out. Go get it right now. Oh, you're still here? Well then I guess I'll tell you that Infinity Blade is even bigger and better than before. There are now multiple classes and play styles, including dual wield and two-handed in addition to the standard sword-and-board hack and slash gameplay. You can now forge your own weapons and upgrade them with gems, explore a much bigger and more exciting world, and see a little bit of story along the way. Combat itself has been tweaked and fixed up, so parries are much smoother to pull off, which is good, because there are new enemies and attacks, too. In other words, Infinity Blade demonstrated how to make a brilliant iOS game, and Infinity Blade 2 is the idea expanded and writ large. There's even more to come, as Chair has promised more updates. Since first title eventually got free content, level cap raises and a multiplayer update, it's a good bet this game will get the same post-release attention. In short, Infinity Blade 2 is as triple-A as iOS games get. Consider that top-shelf console games sell around US$59.99, and it's quite nice that iOS gamers can get ours at just $6.99. Chair and Epic are still setting the bar for major studio gaming on the iPhone, and this time they knocked it up there pretty darn high.
Daily iPhone App: Sea Stars
Sea Stars is Hothead's latest game on the App Store, and it's really good. You play as a little fish who can swim and jump through water with a touch of the screen. Your goal is to swim as far as possible while avoiding obstacles. It's quite fun and well done. There's just one big issue: The game is basically Jetpack Joyride. Now, it's not exactly Jetpack Joyride, since you're not riding a backpack, and in practice, the controls are more or less upside down from JJ's float-up-when-touched controls. But the other similarities are undeniable. First, you collect coins which can be spent on upgrades (coins can also be bought via in-app purchase). You'll also find "friends" which work like JJ's vehicles, making you survive an extra hit and switching up the control scheme. Finally, the obstacles move and turn like the electric spheres in Jetpack Joyride. It's possible Hothead was working on this before Halfbrick's big title, but not likely. This game is essentially Jetpack Joyride re-skinned. That's not necessarily bad. Jetpack Joyride is a great game, and if you've already prestiged in that one a few times, Sea Stars will definitely float your fish (though I do have to say that I don't understand the "hurt your tail" reference when the game ends, whatever that means). But this is a blatant ripoff. I would rather have seen Sea Stars try to improve on Halfbrick's great formula rather than borrow it. Perhaps I'm complaining too much, especially considering the app's current price. Sea Stars is a great title that just happens to be free thanks to a promotion in the App Store right now.
Daily iPhone App: Asteroids Gunner
I launched Asteroids Gunner with low expectations. Asteroids is one of the oldest games around, and it's hard to see how even Atari can squeeze anything more from this relic. But lo and behold, it has. Asteroids Gunner is a remarkable freemium dual-stick shooter, turning the top-down 2D gameplay of the original into something graphically impressive and addicting at the same time. The graphics and sound are probably what you'll notice first. It obviously looks better than the old 2D line drawings, yet the beautiful asteroids, ship, rocks and backgrounds are clean and simple enough to put the gameplay front and center (the mechanics are nearly identical to the old Asteroids game). The ambient soundtrack deserves a mention as well, as it sounds great. That's great, but gameplay is the star of Asteroids Gunner. Not only do the dual-stick controls do their job well, but there are tons of rewards to attain as you break apart rocks and guide your ship around the gamespace. You can collect crystals to upgrade your ships, or a surprising amount of powerups, including a gravity shockwave, a spread shot, a time warp slowdown and even an "ice laser" that fires a straight line across the screen. There are also many of achievements to earn, so every few minutes, through every wave, you get a lot of great bonuses and nice rewards that keep the game moving along. It starts off easy and gets harder, but there's over 150 waves to play through, which means there's a lot of content for a game that beings relatively simply. There's also full Game Center integration, and three different ships to unlock and play with. Perhaps best of all, Asteroids Gunner is free. You can pay some in-app purchases to upgrade your ship or weapons, but the core game is so well tuned that they aren't necessary. I was surprised by Asteroids Gunner. It's a solid game that updates a classic well. Definitely give it a download.
Daily iPhone App: Wizardry Labyrinth of Lost Souls
I'm torn on spotlighting Wizardry here -- on the one hand, it's a pretty successful rendition of the old computer role-playing games made for the Apple II and other platforms. Once you figure it out, the turn-based gameplay is nicely complex and provides for some pretty fun dungeon crawling, running your party of various classes and characters through a first person 2D dungeon. The problem is that getting to that point can be a pain, and if you don't have a lot of experience with this type of game, you might be completely lost as to what you're supposed to do and how to do it. This version of Wizardry's interface is annoying at best and confusing at worst. There's little to no explanation of what your options do and roaming off into the dungeon (if you can figure out how to do that) will likely get you killed and make you give up right away. That's not to even mention that apparently the iTunes reviews say it doesn't work on phones older than the iPhone 4, and it's buggy (though I didn't have any issues with bugs personally). Still, at its current price of free, I can recommend it to players who really want some excellent turn-based combat gameplay and a little nostalgic taste of the old dungeon-mapping and party creation of the old Wizardry games. Anyone not willing to fight through the very rough issues the game still contains, however, should probably go for something a little friendlier, such as Dragon Fantasy or Guardian Saga.
Daily iPhone App: Gem Keeper
Gem Keeper is a relatively new game from developer NCSoft, which usually makes Korean MMO titles for the PC. The company has released a couple of apps for iOS, but this is the first full game made for North American audiences -- and it's a good one. It's a pretty basic tower defense title, but the polish and complexity on this one really makes it shine, even among the many offerings in the genre. As you can see from the screenshot, the look is great -- it's bright and colorful, and very easy to tell just what's happening on screen and where you need to step up your defenses. The game's balance is very good as well. I would say that it's a little tougher than a lot of tower defense games, but only because not only do foes have to reach your stash of gems and steal them, but they have to wander back out as well, which means that the stakes are upped twice as high as games where you're just trying to prevent an invasion. Gem Keeper also offers multiple places for waves to come through, which adds a little more strategy to how you set things up, and extra units like moveable towers and bombs mix things up even more. The game's currency flows fast and easy, especially in the lower levels of difficulty, so you always feel powerful, even when you're being flooded by invaders. There is plenty of content to play through -- there are over 30 levels with three difficulty variants each, and a recent update added an endless mode which you can compete in on Game Center leaderboards as well. Gem Keeper is a great game -- it's on the App Store as a universal version right now for $2.99. Here's hoping we see some more quality titles like this from NCSoft in the future.
Daily iPhone App: Fara
Fara is quite a game. The gameplay itself new -- in fact, the script even jokes that the hack-and-slash, Zelda-style title has been done before (by a guy in a green cap). It's Fara's style that's special. The backgrounds and characters are all hand-painted, and the script's self-referential writing push Fara past its humble gameplay mechanics. Plus, the intro hints at a much larger premise Fara offers some fun physics twists and the touch controls are well executed. Most of your moves a swipe or a tap, yet I felt fully in control of the character's actions. That's a great sign with an action game like this. There's a lot of mystery in Fara. So much so that casual gamers might be turned off by its reliance on gaming tropes and the mix of styles that hints at that larger story. But I would say it's worth sticking with. There's a lot of depth here, and while Fara just drops you into its strange world, it's a world worth exploring. Fara is available on the App Store for US$2.99.
Daily iPhone App: Dark Meadow
Dark Meadow isn't really my kind of app -- it's a little too scary for my tastes, and I tend to gravitate away from scary games in general. But we did mention it as a quality app in our recent Halloween roundup, and a new update for the app increases the game's level cap, adds a New Game+ option so you can go back into the fray after completing the game for the first time, and optimizes the game for iPhone 4S users. The game is sort of an RPG, though it's basically just an excuse for you to explore the location and story of a mysterious hospital, all rendered in beautiful Unreal Engine 3 graphics. As you can see above, the game looks great, All of your actions are gesture-based, sort of like Infinity Blade. The game's probably not all that scary for you hardcore game players, but I hear this one evokes a strong mood, and I'm a chicken. If you're interested, you can play Dark Meadow as a universal app now for just $1.99, on sale for the update. Happy Halloween! Just don't get too scared yourself.
Daily iPhone App: To-Fu 2
To-Fu 2 (universal) is the sequel to Tofu: The Trials of Chi, an app that we covered not too long ago. This one features similar puzzle-esque tofu throwing, some new moves and 100 all-new levels. There's also a new time trial mode, in which you must collect as much Chi as possible. Game Center leader boards let you brag to your friends. Fans of the first Tofu title and its wacky, sharply-angled gameplay will enjoy To-Fu 2. The rest of you should check it out, too, as it's on sale for just 99 cents. There are some extra content packs and add-ons available via in-app purchase, but there's plenty of content in this one even without buying anything else.
Daily iPhone App: Pop Kingdom
Pop Kingdom is a delightful game and similar to Bubble Bobble and Snood. The goal is to shoot orbs to the top of the screen, matching colors in chains of three or more before they fall to the bottom. But there's a twist, in that Pop Kingdom offers RPG elements. You play as either Will or Kate (after a certain royal couple, I guess), who do damage to invading monsters as you match tokens. The graphics are supremely cute, and there's a lot of nice flash and polish to the game overall, enhancing an otherwise simple game. I'd like to see the RPG aspect enhanced (you can occasionally cast a special ability to mix things up), but the core puzzle game is so tried and true that it doesn't really matter. The title is really fun, and the graphics will appeal to gamers of all ages. Plus, Pop Kingdom (which was just recently updated with some new effects and bug fixes) is completely free. At that price, you shoudn't pass this one up.
Daily iPhone App: Age of Monsters - Rock Paper Scissors
Jeff Matsuda is the award-winning creator of the cartoon series The Batman, and while his style doesn't appeal to me personally, it is quite distinctive, and can make for some really cool looks. Matsuda has put his skills to work in Age of Monsters - Rock Paper Scissors, in which monsters battle it out rock/paper/scissors style. The gameplay is simple, yet provides a nice framework to carry out some epic, real-world RPS battles. Whether you're wagering a free lunch, who's going to take out the trash or just the honor of the participants, Age of Monsters is a good way to go. You can even play with friends asynchronously online, which is a nice bonus which works well. There's a solo training mode to get you ready for battle plus Game Center integration. Two extra monsters are offered up via in-app purchase, and I presume we'll see more in the future. As a freebie, Age of Monsters is worth a download, as the art and style really push this simple game further than it would otherwise go.
Daily iPhone App: Mage Gauntlet
I'll be straightforward on this one: Mage Gauntlet is one of the best iOS games of the year. It's a throwback RPG to the 16-bit days of Secret of Mana and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, put together by Rocketcat Games, the folks responsible for the great Hook Champ and subsequent Hook Worlds titles. You play as a girl in a world of magic, who just happens to be nonmagical, and while the story is cute and fun, the gameplay here is the real draw -- this is old school action RPG all the way. The look is extremely polished and well done, the music of the game is some of the best I've heard on a handheld title in a long time, and the game offers up plenty of addictive action, whether you're slicing through foes with a charge-and-slash mechanic, or casting spells across the touchscreen with your finger. If there's a problem with the game at all, it's probably a slightly sharp difficulty curve (especially on a specific level), but the dev has already stated on Twitter that there's an updated planned to tweak that section's difficulty, and let you do more of what's really fun in this one: finding and casting great spells to level up your character. There's also tons of great gear to collect to customize your character, and if you buy the game right away at the launch price of $1.99, you can get some special gear from other Rocketcat titles, along with a special pet that grants some nice bonuses to your attributes. Unfortunately, this one's iPhone only, but even blown up on the iPad, it still looks great. Mage Gauntlet is one of my favorite games on iOS this year -- definitely don't miss out.
Daily iPhone App: Magic Defenders
Magic Defenders isn't new, but it has claimed a lot of my iPhone gaming time lately. It's a tower defense game, so if you like that genre, odds are that you'll like this one. Instead of building towers, you play the game as a mage that's casting spells against waves of attackers. The game cycle has you casting spells using mana, killing attackers to earn XP, and then using that XP to upgrade your spells to kill attackers more quickly, earning more XP, and so on. It's a lot of fun and considering that the game has a few different heroes to play through and level up across three invasion episodes, there's plenty of content to explore. Blazing down enemies is very rewarding, as is learning how the various spells work together. You can slow enemies down with one spell, for example, freeze them in place with a second, and then nuke them all down with a third. The game's great on the iPad, too, but the drag-and-drop spell interface makes it easy on any iOS device. And at 99 cents on the App Store for a universal version, Magic Defenders is one of the best bargains out there that you might have missed the first time around. If you like tower defense games or ridiculously addictive game cycles, it's definitely worth the buck.
Daily iPhone App: Scribblenauts Remix
I remember hearing way, way back that Scribblenauts might be headed to iOS, but when the dust finally settled on the iOS 5 transition yesterday, among the (many -- we'll see more in the next few days) great new releases on the App Store, this one definitely stood out. Warner Brothers and original developers 5th Cell have brought the legendary DS game over to iOS, and the port is just plain excellent. Scribblenauts is a magical game. The idea is that you control Maxwell through a series of challenge levels, and in each one he's got to do whatever's necessary to earn a Starite. You accomplish the goals you're given by using one of the most fascinating mechanics in gaming lately: You simply type in whatever you want to show up in the game, and then it does. If that sounds impossible, then believe the impossible, because that's what Scribblenauts is all about. Just playing around on the title screen can give you hours of enjoyment -- make a "dinosaur," throw a "tiger" into the mix, order up a "hunter" and see how they interact. Maybe you want to create God and the Devil and see what happens, or order up a real working "time machine," or create whatever else you want. As long as it's a noun and not a proper name, Scribblenauts has it. You can even create things with adjectives, so "giant polka-dot emu" works, as does "purple pregnant washing machine." It's incredible. The "Remix" part of this one includes 10 brand new levels, but the best part about it is that Maxwell adventures have been carefully and thoughtfully ported over -- the touch controls work great, the game even offers iOS 5 Cloud integration, and Game Center is fully supported as well. We couldn't have asked for a better version of Scribblenauts on this platform, and if you've never seen this game in action before, you'll be amazed at just what 5th Cell has created here. Scribblenauts Remix is available for $4.99 as a universal version.
Daily iPhone App: Aiko Island
Aiko Island is a physics puzzler with a little different take than usual -- instead of flinging cute little guys around, you're instead working to keep them from falling off of the screen. The idea is that there are little blue creatures and little red creatures, and by deleting some of the red creatures (and/or support structures, just by touching them), you can remove them from the screen without letting the little blue guys fall. It may sound complicated, but once you dive it, it's really that perfect mix of easy to understand and (eventually) really hard to master. Oftentimes, I just found myself trying experiment after experiment to see if I could make things fall correctly -- deleting some of the blocks in one order or another. There is some strategy to the madness (usually, you need to work on balancing one of two sides, or just make sure you're closing up all of the gaps in the right order), but still, sometimes I would just find the solution by random. Not a great feature, unfortunately, in a precise puzzle game like this one. Still, Aiko Island is colorful and fun, and especially if you like physics puzzlers, this one is right up your alley. It's even cute and fuzzy enough for the kids to play with (though some of the younger ones probably won't figure out the toughest levels right away). The game's packed with content, with over 120 puzzles to play with, really polished graphics and score, and full Game Center and OpenFeint integration. Aiko Island is a deal at just US99 cents for iPhone, or you can pick up the iPad version for $1.99.
Daily iPhone App: Fling a Thing
Big Blue Bubble is the developer behind the Burn the Rope game that we liked a while back. They're back on the App Store with the strange but fun Fling a Thing. In this one, you control a little creature (which is actually a little too close to a bug for me to really like it, but we got along anyway) with a sucker on one end, so that you can stretch him back and fling him up into the upper part of the screen. There, you'll find items and bubbles to collect, and the game itself is a distance title, where you try to make your way up through various sets of stages while trying to do the best you can with the limited number of shots you're given. The mechanic itself isn't all that original, but the game is really well polished, and the difficulty curve is very nicely tuned. Early on, the game seems pretty simple and easy, but as you go up the ladder, more and more items and complexity appear, and eventually the game starts getting the better of you. It's fun, and while the game isn't quite as tight as it could be (there's a "feeding" mechanic for your creatures that I didn't understand at all), what's there is entertaining enough. Fling a Thing is available for a buck on the App Store. It's a simple but colorful palate cleanser of a game.
Daily iPhone App: The Adventures of Timmy: Run Kitty Run
The Adventures of Timmy is the first iPhone game from New York's digital content studio Crossborders. The company recently started up a division just to work on mobile games, and Run Kitty Run is the result. It's a level-based platformer with some interesting graphic touches, a cool soundtrack, and lots of solid platforming. The basic idea is that Timmy has to run through a series of levels to rescue a girl (and recollect some lost photos), and the action is decidedly old school, sending Timmy collecting coins, jumping platforms, and even dropping down on the heads of enemies to attack, Mario-style. Get hit three times and the game restarts from the previous level, or score high at the finish to earn up to three stars per level. There are over 36 levels in the game, and while the platforming is pretty standard (walljumps are about the most complicated maneuver, in the first few levels at least), the controls are plenty solid. Every once in a while, your thumbs will get caught in the wrong places, but that's mostly the fault of the iPhone's non-tactile screen, not the developers (who told me they're thinking about implementing a more responsive virtual D-pad anyway). Plenty of Game Center achievements add to the replayability as well. The Adventures of Timmy is a solid game and an excellent first outing for the folks from CB Labs. It's currently available at a special launch price of just 99 cents, which means you should grab it right away.
Daily iPhone App: Emissary of War
Emissary of War is a new title from Cedar Hill Games, a studio run by a former Bioware developer who's gotten into mobile development. The game is an action RPG title, and while it is a little short, there's quite a bit of polish here, some fun humor, and a good chunk of intriguing gameplay. You can point and click your hero around the game while hacking and slashing through various enemies, and he has a potion-throwing buddy that will help out both in battle and by healing at the correct times. There's a Rage mechanic for extra attacks, and lots of upgrades and collectibles to find as well. There's Game Center integration for achievements, too, which adds a little extra replayability to the affair. It's a solid title, and the fact that it's available as a universal app for free means you should probably just go ahead and pick Emissary of War up right away. The free game only includes the first episode, but the second is just 99 cents anyway, which is more than worth it if you get to that point. Emissary of War is an excellent addition to iOS (and Android, incidentally), and we're glad to have Cedar Hill's developer here on the platform.
Daily iPhone App: Sprinkle
Sprinkle is a physics-based puzzle game that's centered around water. You control a spigot that's mounted on a crane, and then you blast water to interact with various items in the environment, such as boulders (that actually light on fire, sometimes trouble) and blocks. The overall goal is to keep the ingame characters from lighting on fire, and you can do that by flooding their general area. As with most games of this ilk, things start off simply, but ramp up to get pretty complicated, and the fire itself (along with a limited supply of water) means time is of the essence in most of the levels. Burn a house down, and you're done. The game's got plenty of content, with 48 levels and more on the way. I found it to be a little persnickety in terms of controls: the water is executed brilliantly with really amazing physics, graphics, and even sounds, but the items will sometimes flood around the way you want them to, and sometimes not. Still, the spigot itself controls very well, and restarting a level is easy if things don't quite go your way. Sprinkle is definitely one to see, especially if you're up for taking on some more physics puzzles with a fairly new medium to play with. The universal app is available for the iPhone and iPad for 99 cents.
Daily iPhone App: Galaxy Express
Galaxy Express is a fun little puzzle game that's similar to Chu Chu Rocket or Chuck the Ball. There's a cute metagame story in this app with some well-written dialogue, but the core game has you pushing a little astronaut around a starfield using some arrows that you place out on the game screen. Put arrows in the right places, hit go, and the little astronaut will follow your rules exactly, hopefully leading him to make his delivery on the destination planet. It's simple stuff, and the difficulty doesn't ramp up too quickly, though by the end of the game's 120 puzzles there are a few mind-benders to beat. There are some good social features as well, including the option to either see any of your solutions that you've done, share them with friends, or even check out what other people have done. There's Game Center integration in the game now, and the graphics aren't really animated, but they look good on a high resolution display anyway. Galaxy Express is currently available at just 99 cents for a universal app, or there's a lite version you can pick up for free. "Galaxy EX," as it's called under the icon on the phone, is a well-made little puzzle game that's easy going enough for almost everyone to enjoy.
