From cats running across roads to flying war planes and to space ships, we have them all in this iPhone Games Review round-up! Cat Run is a fun arcade style game where the objectives are similar to that of the classic game called Frogger and the gameplay style is that of Flight Control. AirAttack is an arcade shooter where you simply shoot down enemies as they come and stay alive to win the level. Astro Dodge is an asteroid game where you stay alive and collect points. Read on for a more detailed review of the games.

Cat Run ($1.99)

What do you get when you mix Frogger objectives with Flight Control style gameplay? You get cats running across busy roads trying not to get knocked down by a speeding car. What you have to do is basically to bring the cats from one end of the road to the other. The difficulty lies in the traffic of the road as well as the probability for the cats to fight each other. To solve the cat fights, simply bring one of them over. To avoid traffic, navigate with agility and speed. Cat Run is a mindless game that grows onto you. There are different stages to choose from and the difficulty gets tougher as you proceed on further into the game. No story no anything, just jump right into the gameplay straight away.

Controls are smooth and responsive. You simply touch and lay the route as to which the cat will follow. Touch on the cat on the move to reroute should there be an approaching vehicle. Graphics are bright, happy and wonderfully detailed. The artwork, atmosphere all feels arcady and certainly helps in creating the feeling of peace joy love and fun. The graphics are really outstanding. At the same sound effects are lighthearted and helps in helping to lift the experience up. For 2 dollars it might be a little costly for the unvaried gameplay but if you had that extra money and loved games such as Flight Control, you might want to invest some time and money into it.

Rating: 6.5/10

Cat Run $1.99 Appstore Link

AirAttack ($0.99)

Top down shooting craziness with AirAttack accompanied with fantastic visuals but sub-par sound effects. Nonetheless, the gameplay is awesome. AirAttack is simply a top down shooter and the game sticks to that formula rather tightly but the way it is executed is simply flawless. With upgrades available to your plane it simply drives you forward to keep playing. With enemies varying as you progress through the levels, difficulty increasing and bosses with more weird attacking patterns, the game is simply addictive and funtastic (that is what you get when you add fantastic with fun). There is nothing wrong with the gameplay with controls working well and the mechanics smooth as silk.

Graphics are great with special shooting effects, mini explosions and detailed environment adding up to such a conclusion. Enemy plane models are great as well and vary to ensure that the fun is long-lived. The only problem with the detailed background is that sometimes it can become hard to see incoming bullets flying to you as they blend it rather well with the environment. Maybe some highlighting of something (though that would make it look weird) of the bullets? Not too sure how you can go about correcting it though but if the bullets and background could be more distinct the game is near perfect. The sound effects on the other hand do not live up with the quality of the gameplay and the graphics. A pity but it does not really matter since you will be mesmerized by the environment and engaged in combat to even bother. For just a dollar, this game is a great recommendation for people yearning for some fun.

Rating: 8.5/10

AirAttack $0.99 AppStore Link

Astro Dodge ($1.99)

From the same creators of Mirror Maze comes Astro Dodge. I had fun with their other game but as for Astro Dodge, I simply cannot connect with it. The main objective is simple, stay alive collect points. You drive a space ship, dodging asteroids while navigating to collect some purple orbs for points. You have upgrades and power ups later on but that is you can actually get hooked up with the gameplay. The controls take time to get used to. You flick in the direction as to which you want your spaceship to move to and to control the speed of your spaceship is by the speed your flick is. Like I needed some time to get used to it; Flick slowly your spaceship moves like a snail, do it a little quicker and off you go banging into an asteroid. Patience and practice is important I guess.

Graphics and sound effects are mediocre but that only matters if you actually get hooked on the gameplay. There simply isn’t the wow or rather the pull factor that draws you in. Yes there is the highscore board and achievements but there is simply not much action going on to get you going. Maybe it is just me but for 2 dollars, I’m not too sure with this one. Maybe the developers should come out with a lite version for people to demo out since the gameplay might be a bit subjective to tastes.

Rating: 5/10

Astro Dodge $1.99 Appstore Link

We have angry Vikings going on rampage, exciting snowboarding action and green peace awareness games to share with you! Yup in this round-up of iPhone/Touch games review, we have these three games of totally different genres. Angry Viking is an action survival game, SnoShred a snowboarding sports game and Green Jump an arcade styled game that donates 25 cents for every purchase at the appstore.

Angry Viking ($1.99)

Think Minigore, instead of John Doe killing floods of cute monsters you play as a Viking killing people. The concept of the game is very similar, survive and rack up as much points as possible by killing people. In the game you use a melee attack to kill the people. Press the button and your Viking starts swinging his axe. After killing one or two people, you have the ability to use a spin move that destroys everyone upon contact. That is the main way you rack up points as people killed within that period when the skill is used will result in a score multiplier. The game is fun, but the fun is limited, very limited.

From start to end you do the same thing, nothings change except the number of people coming after you. There are only two types of enemies both of which have everything in common except their health. The knight requiring a little more hits to be killed compared to the villager. Other than that, yup that is all. Kill, kill, killing, die repeat. The gameplay is way too linear, boring and ordinary. With other action survival alternatives such as Minigore which also costs much cheaper, I don’t see how this game is able to shine. The only part that shines from this game is the graphic style. I mean it looks good the black and white colours with a contrasting red for blood. Expect blood to fill the terrain as you proceed. Kind of cool and gory but that is all. Nothing more, nothing less. A lot of work needs to be done to improve the game; updates, weapon additions etc, whatever. The game simply lacks variety thus boring after a short period of time. For now, I suggest you should wait till a price drop comes to try it out.

Rating: 5.5/10

Angry Viking ($1.99)

SnoShred ($1.99)

Snowboarding, a sport I could never have done in real life unless I travel to some other country. Still, I did play many snowboarding games before to feed my curiosity about the fun and excitement of the sports itself. SnoShred does just that; emulate the wonderful cool sports of sliding on snow and performing tricks and what not. There are not many snowboarding games around for the iPhone platform but to be honest, those that are around such as Crazy Snowboard and Shaun White Snowboarding: Origins are well polished and executed. SnoShred however, needs quite a bit of work to be done to make it more competitive with the other two snowboarding games.

I have no complaints about the graphics or the sound though the latter is rather mediocre but acceptable. Graphics are in 3D and it actually looks pretty good for an iPhone game. However, looks do not provide much fun as seen in how the gameplay is filled with bugs and horrible controls. The controls, need time to get used to, however, should you not be able to bear the controls and thus not having fun at all at first few tries, you might actually want to put down the game. Moving is done by tilting the iDevice left and right. Jumping/Boosting is done by pressing buttons. It works but it is simply too clunky for my liking. It doesn’t work smooth enough to complement the fast action sports that it is suppose to play like. There are 3 different game modes to choose from, all of which don’t differ much except the objectives such as performing tricks for score or going through gates. Two characters to choose from with not much differences except the skin of your character. There are also different boards to choose from, none of which affects the gameplay.

Bugs present are things such as smashing the side of the gate pole and getting it checked without actually going through them. Flying over but in between two gate poles doesn’t result in it being checked. Landing perpendicular to motion sometimes result in your character falling but sometimes it doesn’t. And there might be more but the controls really make the bugs feel worse than it actually is. For those hardcore snowboarding fans who think that they can bear through the unintended steep learning curve, you might actually enjoy the game for a bit. Otherwise, there are other cheaper higher quality alternatives to choose from.

Rating: 5.5/10

SnoShred ($1.99)

Green Jump ($0.99)

Green Jump, similar to that of Doodle/Froggie/Whatever Jump with nothing except the jumping and power-up gameplay mechanics. It is a much simpler, stripped down version of Doodle Jump. But Green Jump does comes with a special purpose, the purpose and goal to promote awareness of the environment. It is said that a sum of money within the $0.99 you pay for goes as donation to Greenpeace, kind of neat for people wanting to do some charity and such. Alright enough of the noble cause behind the game, now on to the gameplay itself.

Pick up and play, it is that simple. Simply tilt your iDevice left and right to move your character. Keep landing on clouds to continue jumping upwards to escape the approaching rising smoke. There are special powerups for you to collect throughout the playthrough and be sure to look out for them as they not only rack up the points but also help you escape the smoke at a much faster rate. Take for example the Superman man like mantle that gives you temporary ability to fly, the umbrella that once held magically summons the rain to fight against the smoke. There are also letters to collect that spells out “greenpeace”, which gives you additional lives when you are suffocating in the smoke.

The game is just like that without much variation unlike Doodle Jump. But it is perhaps this simplicity that makes the game fun. This is definitely a game for someone who simply wants to have some fun and at the same time do some charitable work. Graphics are light hearted and colourful, perhaps to show that there is a brighter future ahead of us earthlings should we take care of our earth itself.

Rating: 6.5/10

Green Jump ($0.99)

Sudoku 2 PRO ($2.99)

Sudoku 2 PRO is the premium version of Sudoku 2. The differences between the paid and the free version are mainly these:

• There are two extra difficulty settings for you to play with. One which is the extremely easy mode called “Flash”, mainly to see your timing I assume and the other is the “Expert” difficulty which give users another challenge.
• There are no more advertisements in-game.
• Auto-deletion of pencil notations once solved.
• Highlighting of similar numbers within the pencil and pen marked.
• An additional glass look.
• Option to hide the timer

These features are great but whether or not to actually pay for them is another problem. Gameplay is as great as ever and even better with the additional features and changes put in place. Extra difficulty settings allow more challenge and raises the addictiveness bar of the game (yes I am now somewhat addicted to Sudoku thanks to the game). It is one of the most polished Sudoku game present in the iTunes appstore to date. But because of its free version which is that awesome as well, I think the PRO version is for those who want to show support for the developers or basically love the game for I strongly believe it is extremely worth it to pay for the premium features. If you find yourself constantly playing the free one, the upgrade is definitely worth it!

Rating: 8.5/10

Sudoku 2 PRO ($2.99)

Mice Heist ($1.99)

Mice Heist, the title says it all. Basically you are to stop the mice from stealing your cheese. This addictive fun and fast paced action arcade game is sure to please both the young and old. The game is extremely simple to pick up and play. All you have to do is to tap on the mouse that appears to stop them from proceeding any nearer to your cheese! There are several types of mice each having their own special ability. For example the cheerleader mice will speed up other mice’s movement and thus have to be stop if you do not want to be caught with mice running at full speed. There are ninja mice as well that dodge your tap and thus require you to tap twice so on and so forth. 3 Difficulty settings simply meant that it will be enjoyable for the lesser skilled to the extreme mice destroyer. The game has a light feel to its graphics and arcade environment due to its sound effects. Overall it is good but if you play too long you will start to feel the stress and weird sensation in your hand. Openfeint enabled is a must for such games as highscores matters the most. Prepare to complete achievements to show off to your other buddies as well! The only downside is that the game starts to become kind of repetitive after the first play-through. Maybe more modes or something might make it a game worthy to be bought by every single person.

Rating: 7.5/10

Mice Heist ($1.99)

Hellkid v 1.4.0 ($0.99)

This kind of quality gameplay update is simply worthy of praise. It doesn’t introduce many new gameplay elements but new features that actually matters and improves the game. The update introduces new stages as well as the ability to use items within a stage. This new addition not only makes the game more addictive and fun, it also improves the gameplay. The item shop allows you to purchase items that can help you increase/slow down your speed within a stage, give you an extra life etc. There are also new playable characters added in which is thoughtful of the developer to add in making it much more enjoyable. If you have already purchased the game and not updated it, you are seriously missing out a lot. For people contemplating whether to buy it or not, yes it only cost a dollar and the fun you get is worth it.

Rating: 8/10

Hellkid: Hook & Jump ($0.99)

There are a total of 4 game modes to try out in 8 different maps. The game modes are Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and Destroy the Beacon. Team Deathmatch and Deathmatch are simply killing your opponents and winning when you reach the set amount of kills/deaths. Capture the Flag involves taking your opponent flag to your base and scoring whenever you succeed in doing so. Destroy the Beacon awards players with points whenever they destroy a randomly placed target around the map. It is good to note that only Team Deathmatch and Deathmatch are available offline (with bots). Within each mode there are settings to play with mainly to decide the winning rules and conditions of that particular round. You can set the number of wins or deaths, points or captures etc.

Players can customize their weapon lockout before and during each round. There are 3 main categories of weapons you can choose from. Firstly is your primary weapon, then the secondary weapon and lastly is the grenade. There are 4 different primary weapons to choose from: assault rifle, minigun sniper rifle, shotgun and rocket launcher. Secondary weapons include a pistol and an Armcutter (some laser like sword, melee weapon in other words). Grenade types are differentiated in the way they are used: One being an instant explosion upon release and the other something like a remote controlled mine.

The different weapons all have their pros and cons but the thing about the game is that it is not that balanced thus some of them do have more pros than the rest. For example the rocket launcher is much easier to frag opponents and it simply is over powering as long as you know how to use it. The Armcutter is much more useful than the pistol and the effectiveness of it cannot be further expressed in that whenever your opponent gets closed it is almost as though its meal time for you. The balance among weapons isn’t exactly there but that does not really kill off the fun, it just makes it a little frustrating at times during a match when it is weapon based rather than skill based.

The main problem with the game is the lack of players online. The community is simply not there and for a game heavily if not solely based on multiplayer action, without a strong player-base the game simply cannot go on. Yes it is fun playing with bots but the fun is extremely limited. What players would want is to battle it out with real life human opponents and test their skills. Playing with bots all the time also gets boring as the bots skills are quite limited in some sense. I hardly am able to find players online and even if there is it is a mere one to two players. I believe this is the major if not the greatest setback of the game.

As long as you are able to find people to play with, yes the game is fun and the fun doesn’t get boring. You can go on and on fragging and killing and humiliating opponents without feeling bored and with different environments to look at every single time, I cannot help but say that the game can certainly kill off quite a substantial amount of time. With bots that aren’t that smart, not really. With that said the graphics and sound effects of the game is fine, average nothing too outstanding or jaw dropping. Explosion and gun sounds are adequate, effects of weapons and blood spilling is good.

Overall the game is pretty good for an indie game. It is fun, if there are people to play with. It is still fun with bots, but the fun is definitely short-lived. For those considering whether to buy the game or not, I would say to actually pass it unless you’re getting it for a group of friends or know people who play it. If not wait till the player base gets bigger or for a sale and maybe you can grab it and give it to friends and family and play it together.

Official Site: Booster Trooper

Steam Game Link: Booster Trooper $9.99 USD

Sudoku 2 (Free Version)

Sudoku 2, a game developed by the people behind Hangman RSS and Guess The News (both being extremely well received by the public and myself). It is similar to their other previous games in the sense that the scoring works in the same manner. You fill in a number within the Sudoku puzzle and your score is multiplied by a multiplier depending on the time when you answered. The faster you are, the higher the multiplier. This does not really add much value except that it does give the game a competitive edge. Competitive gamers who love to see their names on the highscore boards will aim to solve as fast as they can. Other than that, it works extremely well as a Sudoku puzzle game. Not only does it serve the purpose fantastically, it is free. There is a PRO version released just a day or two ago which gives more features to the game. Not sure how much better but for what I know as of now, the free version is fantastic. You cannot ask for more from a free game. There are also 3 difficulties to suit the abilities of all users. Great if you want to not only have fun but also work your brains at the very same time during this holiday.

Rating: 8/10

Sudoku 2 Free Appstore Link

The Mirror Maze ($0.99)

The mirror maze is a maze puzzler where you are given two balls, one mirroring the other ball’s movement, with the ability to only control one of the two. The objective of the game is simple. Simply make each of the balls reach their respective ending points without touching any walls of any sort. This game makes you think and make you learn to react accordingly. It is fun and with the twist of several other game factors like wrap gates and such, it makes the levels much more interesting. The only downside for me is the bright poorly done graphics. Yes it is a simple game concept but seriously the blocks and balls on screen could do a lot more of touch up. Other than that not much of a worry, the fun should come even if you don’t like what you are seeing (literally).

Rating: 7/10

The Mirror Maze $0.99 Appstore Link

Ice Road Pinball ($2.99)

Pinball, the good old days at the arcade (though I don’t really play them in arcades or anything) trying to wreck up as much points as possible. This is of course not forgetting the pinball available as one of the windows OS default games. Ice Road Pinball is a pinball game for the iPhone. Controls work fine and smooth, graphically it is competent but I have just some opinion about the overall layout of each table. It is interesting to note that there are 3 connected tables with each being accessible within a single play-through. However, just for me, I don’t like the fact that some of the tables are pretty empty. I mean there seems to be not much going on at times. Having played the Microsoft pinball it seem to have like so much things going on with missions and stuff like that. Ice Road pinball, not really. Not sure it might be just me but it feels just a bit bare for my taste. Game however runs extremely smooth even on the 1^st Gen iPod Touch. Good fun but the only concern is the price tag.

Rating: 7/10

Ice Road Pinball $2.99 Appstore Link

Alpha Protocol, a game that was hyped up by many and after it’s released disappointed many. I myself actually did not hear much of the game or rather, was unaware of it (not sure if it is good or bad). From some researching it seems as the situation is that the game is under development for quite some years, around the year 2006 or so. Long development means better game? Perhaps, perhaps. Anyways, back to the review. This review is based on experience playing through the PC version. Do note that the game is out for the X360 and the PS3 as well. Without further ado, let us move on to the review.(p.s the review is pretty long. scroll all the way down for the round-up of the pros and cons)

Storyline

You play as Michael Thorton, or Mike like many of the in-game characters call him, a field agent for the secret United States Government agency named “Alpha Protocol”. The plot begins as soon as you are sent to your first convert mission in Saudi Arabia. Things did not go the way it ought to go and soon you find yourself figuring out the reason and cause of a huge global conspiracy.

That is the gist of the whole story within the game. Not too bad, I mean even if it is like the ordinary hero saves the day kind of story, it does have its moments through the plot twists and turns along the way. The story is one of the stronger parts of the game. Storytelling is believable with characters with character and personality that are convincing to the player. It is as though you can understand and know one character after a few dialogues or so. There are several characters within the game, good and bad. Interaction with these characters is important and the way as to how you go talking and treating them results in different paths within the game.

The story cannot be said to be linear. I mean yes it seem as though you have to play through the same few missions go through the same few things but the thing is you have multiple paths and routes to take. Each route taken might eventually lead to the same outcome but it is worthy to note that there are other endings and conclusion as well. According to your actions and your approach to the different missions and characters, the story seems to effectively evolve around your character, making each of your decision count. You might regret later on not doing this or that, but that is the beauty of the game. One play-through is never enough, at least for the story.

Gameplay

I first have to admit that some of the gameplay concepts and mechanics implemented are rather unpolished and unbalance and I guess that is what hurts the game the most (as noted by several other reviewers). The overall gameplay works almost like Mass Effect 1. The similarities are quite obvious in the sense that after completing a mission, you go back to your headquarters and you move on from there. This cycle repeats itself within Alpha Protocol as it does in Mass Effect (completed mission, spaceship, mission, spaceship, you get the idea). You have the ability to purchase new weapons and stock items required before proceeding on. All in all it is not too bad, it makes the game a little more structured and easier to follow.

Mission selection is done simply by your own will. After the starting Saudi Arabia mission, you get to choose from 3 different locations with a choice of different missions within each location. Which and how you want to complete each individual mission is up to you. This comes one of the flaws of the game, the difficulty. The game itself is not very hard but some missions and bosses are. The very fact that enemies within the game do not scale with your level means that if you approached a harder boss at the start of the game, you are practically going to suffer and cry. If that really happens to you, do go for another mission first before returning back. I do know that some missions are relatively much easier than others and it is advisable to start from the easier ones.

Intel – Yay or Nay?

This brings us to the next flaw of the game, or rather one of the unpolished aspects of the game. There is intel within the game that you can buy or find. There are three types, one on characters, one on the different organizations and another one for missions. The intel acquired for characters and organizations helps unlock different routes and choices to make upon meeting some of the characters. For example knowing some of the facts about one character opens a dialogue option at a stipulated meeting and time. Intel for characters are the most valuable of all, as in it seem to have the most impact and effects on your game. Intel for organizations on the other hand is merely there for you to understand and know the background of the story better (at least for me, I mean I did not find much difference with knowing more or less). Intel for missions is almost unnecessary as it does not help you much. I tried buying some intel before proceeding on to a mission and then completing the mission without it, there is not much difference in terms of difficulty or story wise. Yes some of these intel bought allows you to have different takes on the mission but none really affect your overall story or gameplay much.

Weapons and Firefights

It is nice to have such an aspect (intel) but I hope to see more impact on the gameplay as it is simply as if it is not there at all. Speaking of completing missions, there are mainly two ways to complete one mission. One is killing them all and two is to sneak your way through, grab what you want and leave. Both approaches give you a different experience as well as outcome but both have some rather dubious and weak gameplay elements to it. First the gunplay is rather inconsistent and imbalance. There are 4 types of guns and only one of them works best (assault rifle). The others like pistol, shotgun and the sub-machine gun are as if they were not needed. Yes shotgun works better closer range, sub-machine gun good for spraying but when compared to the assault rifle they are practically useless. Pistol is great only for stealth as you can use a silencer with it, but other than that it is just the assault rifle.

The balance within the weapons is a must to encourage players to take different approaches. Those wanting a challenge can go for other weapon types but the thing is not with what approach you want to take, instead it is how these approaches work. It is similar to that of a class system within the game without obviously stating it but if one class is a huge ass monster and the others small tiny ants, who would want to try the others? Yes you might but it simply does not feel as if you have been fairly treated. A balance is greatly required for an impact to be seen within the game. There are also gadgets within the game such as radio interceptors to trick enemy into shutting off alarms, the usually grenades and stuff like that. Not really required as you can complete missions with or without them.

Stealth – Hardly seen or felt

Stealth within the game is yet another unpolished aspect. There are basically no ordinary stealth elements like hiding within the shadows and stuff. All you do is use a skill, make yourself invisible and then go kill somebody head on. The only stealth element, besides the skill to make you invisible or run without noise, is sneaking behind the enemy’s back. Other than that there is not much else to do. You cannot drag bodies, dispose bodies to prevent enemies from alerting etc, none of that. You do however have the ability to use certain objects to create distraction or so but it is definitely a hit and miss for most players. It simply does not work well enough as it is way too simple and forgettable.

Minigames

There are 3 different types of minigames within the game. One a lock picking minigame, two differently styled a hacking minigame (one is matching numbers with numbers and the other selecting numbers in sequence). The minigames are a nice addition to the game and it makes the game setting and atmosphere a little more believable. With you being a secret agent, you do have to do some computer decryption, hacking and stuff like that right? The rewards of completing minigames are rather insignificant except for the ones where they give you intel or so. Of course there are the compulsory ones where you have to complete in order to complete your objective.

Stupid Enemies – The Case of Terrible AI

The next and major let down to the game is the enemy AI. With poor or rather terrible AI, stealth already being disappoint becomes even worse. Enemies move and fight as if they dropped their contact lenses. One moment they engage in a firefight and the next you see them running around in circles for no particular reason. Some even start climbing ladders and let you openly shoot them. Boss fights seem to have certain perhaps glitches or exploits which allows you to easily kill even the hardest ones. The most irritating of all is how you can simply wait in one corner as you alert the enemy and see them flowing in through the door letting you shoot them down one by one. There are times when the enemy is smart (like throwing a grenade into the room if you are hiding there) but they are simply too far and few in between. The AI being inconsistent and horrible for most of the time makes the fight a little more unsatisfying.

Character Development and Skills

Character development within the game is alright. You get to choose from different active and passive skills from different categories. There are some skills that are much more useful than others and some not having much justification to even have them there in the first place. The sense that your character is growing more powerful as you progress is there as the skills given at the later stages are rather powerful. Hit critical shots and do damage as you active some of the skills make players feel the sense of achievement towards the end of the stage. It is as though you play through the life of the character, growing and learning together with him. This growth results in him becoming one of the best agent within the game, and the ability to able to identify this growth is certainly satisfying.

Dialogue System and Reputation

The dialogue system is pleasing and great. It really helps in the storytelling and exploration of the different paths. There is basically a timer that comes up with choices for you to choose from. Choices differ by the way and style you wish to reply to the character you are talking with. For example you can reply in a “suave” manner or “aggressive” whichever fits your style. You can also choose according to the personality of the character you are talking to. Choosing the right and acceptable manner to reply will result in the other character liking you more. There is a timer which makes it kind of more realistic since you do not take 10 over minutes just to reply to one question. The problem with this however is that sometimes non native language speakers find it hard to choose. The good side is the smooth transitions between dialogues and with that it continues to uphold the high quality storytelling.

Reputation within the game is gained or lost mainly by the way you talk to the different characters as well as the way you carry out your missions. Killing civilians will result in a loss of reputation with a particular handler while replying in an aggressive manner gets some people to like you even more. Sneak your way through missions and gain the liking of those that loves the low profile style of action. The reputation system rewards users with perks within different missions. Missions also vary accordingly to whomever you are friends and ally with.

Graphics & Sound

I decided not to separate both because I only have one comment on the graphics: dated. Textures and animations in the game are one of its weaker points. Considering the length of development, I believe more details should be done. The sound effects, music and voice acting helps to lift the game up. Atmosphere and setting is made even more believable with the music and firefights being already quite frustrating is made slightly better with the believable sound effects such as gun fires and explosions. The voice acting makes the storytelling enjoyable and seriously the story is what drives the game through.

Value

The game story alone is worthy to be played at least once. Playing more times results in more surprises as you find out the different consequences that come from the different decisions you make.  Once you get through the horrible AI and imbalance aspects of the game, the game is really not that bad.

Conclusion

Rent it or buy it, whichever it is at least try it. The gameplay mechanics might put off some, but for me it was not great but passable. It is sad to see a game of such great potential under the guidance from a rather reputable developer go to waste. I mean it is average when it could have been a lot better. As to which version to grab, choose whichever you are comfortable with.

Pros

• Great storytelling with believable characters
• Choices play a part in the ending and your gameplay experience
• Dialogue system is fantastically smooth for me, might require lengthening of time though
• Character development feels personal and grows onto you
• Story has multiple routes depending on choices. Makes it rewarding to have a second play-through.

Cons

• Unrefined weapons and skills result in some being totally omitted
• Stealth mechanics unpolished and not satisfying
• Terrible AI results in a game about secret agents and stuff a little less believable. Results in poor firefights and stealth
• Dated graphics

[Show as slideshow]

The game presents you with a situation where there are different amounts of moving red balls/dots. You are supposed to create voids/circles to either gain points or fill up the space (depending on the mode). The larger the circle created the higher score you get per circle. The score multiplies while the size of the circle increases thus if you are aiming for the high-score boards, you definitely have to try aim for the biggest circle per generation. While generating, you have to avoid the moving red dots from touching your circle else you will lose both the circle and a life.

There are two modes available namely Filler and Burst. For the Filler mode, you have to create voids while avoiding touching the red dots. The red dots increases as you proceed through the stages. The main objective of filler mode is to gain as much points as possible while filling of the space available to proceed on to the next stage. Burst mode is whereby you have unlimited amount of time to create as many voids as possible to gain the highest score you can with a given amount of lives (mainly 3). The voids disappear once generation is completed awarding you the score depending on the size of the circle. There are 3 different difficulty modes where the varying difficulties result in different amount of red dots within the level.

You create voids by touching and holding on to the position of the screen where you desire to generate the circle. The void then slowly increases in size and you can let go once you are happy with the size (or if a red dot is approaching). You can drag your finger to move the void during generation. This adds an action element to the game where you try to dodge the red dots. The game also allows you to tilt your device accordingly to move the created voids. By doing so, you can thus trap the red dots or make a temporary shield to generate another void. Overall the controls feel smooth and responsive.

The difficulty of the game increases as you progress through the stages especially for the Filler mode. Soon you will find yourself in a situation where the screen is almost flooded with red dots everywhere. That is when strategy comes in whereby you create a few smaller voids first and make them reflect the other red dots away from a zone. That is what I usually do and if you have any other strategies that are fantastic do share them. Overall the pace of the game is great and it definitely gets you hooked on to it.

The presence of an online high-score board is a nice touch. It makes the game a little more competitive for gamers who love to see their nicknames on the top of the global charts. With great classification of the different modes and categories, one can practice and excel in one mode and still get to be one of the top players.

The visuals as well as the sound complement each other fantastically. The simplistic neon styled graphics with the dreamy space like (Sorry no idea how to explain such music, someone do enlighten me) background music do enhance the game a little. I never am particular about puzzle games when music and graphics are in concern. I mean if the puzzle is good and challenging, that is more than one can ask for.

The only major problem of the game is the requirements of it. For people owning the 1st generation iPod Touch, I would strongly suggest not buying the game since it is almost unplayable towards the later stages (even the beginning stages of the game you feel the lag). It gets extremely frustrating and controls hardly respond to your actions and as the number of red dots and objects increase within a level, the game becomes like a slide show at times. Other than that if you have a newer model of the iPod Touch and iPhone, it is no problem and the game runs as smooth as silk.

For the mere price of $0.99, you get a challenging and fun puzzle game that will get most of you hooked on to it; simple addictive fun. Pick it up and play immediately, not much need to be said. Concept isn’t unique since I did see such games appearing as flash games within websites but the way it is executed is well done and praise worthy. I say, get it for people with the extra cash and recommend it for those comparing among $1.99 games to purchase for the weekend.

P.S The game was both tested on the iPod Touch 1st Gen and iPhone 3GS.

iTunes App Store Link: The Glowing Void $1.99

In the game you play as a Caster being assigned to defend and protect the Middon region of bug like creatures known as Flanx. To do so, you are given tasks and missions to complete and the main objectives of each mission are usually along the lines of either killing all enemies, collecting all energy orbs or restoring life to a specific special tree.  Story isn’t really the main point of the game as it is rather shallow and doesn’t do much to make the game any better.

That aside you get to choose the gender of your Caster, male or female, as well as the name. It doesn’t affect the gameplay much so just choose as you please. You start off with a tutorial which is a really helpful thing for it gets you to know the basics of the game for example the control scheme etc. After completing so you get to embark on missions. Before starting a mission, you have the option to use credits earned in missions to upgrade your weapons and yourself. A nice touch to the game making it rather addictive for people who want a leet caster. As you progress through missions, you get to see new weapons and face new monsters along the way. Each mission can be completed within 5 minutes or so and thus resulting in the game being fast paced action packed but also short living.

Controls take a lot of time to get used to it. Even after getting used to it, you might get frustrated at times because of the sheer lack of space and hardware limitation (can’t blame the developers I guess, this is one of the better control schemes I’ve tried among iPhone games). The left side of the screen is where you control the movement while the right side controls the camera angle and the aiming. Movement works something like pushing an invisible dpad but you might find yourself struggling to work in a straight line or move as you want to. The right side aiming and camera angle adjustments are done by just dragging and pulling the camera around, simple and effective. To shoot you simply tap on the screen once. Tap and hold to have continuous fire while aiming. Double tap on the movement area to dash and to jump tap the jump button.

It is fine at first when you face easy enemies and when they are coming at you one at a time. However, once the battle gets a little more cluttered, frustration comes as you try to move, shoot and see at the same time. Thumbs are often in the way when trying to look at the enemy positions and when enemies are all around the aiming becomes really tough. I would prefer some sort of semi aided shooting scheme or something to make it much more enjoyable. Such an action packed game ought to have smooth fast gameplay but with such controls it might be a little harder to do so.

What is impressive about the game is the terrain deformation engine present within the game. As you blast your more powerful weapons later on (or rather watch enemy perform their different attacking moves), you will notice how the terrains shift and gets modified. It does provide some additional strategic elements to the game. For example if you wanted to reach a higher ground you might have to create a lump in the ground so as to reach the higher areas. Not much influence though but the sheer look of it is worthwhile. Blast your weapon at the ground and watch a huge hole form and the nearby landscape gets crumpled up. Really cool engine to implement and it just makes the action much more interesting.

The visuals are alright but the levels seem way too bare and thus boring. I mean of course there might be hardware limitation problems but it simply can’t be just land and a few trees lying around. Maybe some different coloured textures or something to make the environment more interesting. Lucky for the terrain deformation engine else the atmosphere and environment would be really dull and ugly. The weapon effects are fine some with rather cool special effects to it. The exploding effects of the enemies are also welcomed as you feel a sense of accomplishment as you destroy those ugly bugs. The music is exciting and gets you pumped up to start killing the Flanx. Both aspects the graphics and sound suits the theme of an action packed game. Presentation wise this game does well. Menu presentation however does need some revamping for it looks way too cheap and boring.

If you want an action packed game, Caster might be a game for you. Just an advice is that if you don’t have the iPad I suggest you get the non HD version since it will probably be the same gameplay with the non HD one being less expensive. Play the lite version first to get a feel of the game and decide for yourself whether it is worth it or not. For me, Caster is not a must buy game but if you have the extra cash you might want to try it out. The game isn’t long but the developers do state that there will be free additional levels later on as updates.

Pros:

-          Terrain Deformation is interesting.

-          Variety of weapons and some are rather fun to play with.

-          Upgrading weapons and character make the game more addictive.

-          Interesting weapons.

-          Variety of detailed graphical effects of weapons and enemy attacks.

-          Free additional levels in future.

Cons:

-          Controls need some time to get used to. Frustrating at times even after getting used to.

-          Plain atmosphere and environment in levels.

-          Short game as of review. Might be longer once updates are available.

Itunes Appstore Link: Caster HD $4.99

You play as a uniquely shaped old man stranded on an Island. The objective of the game is to simply survive for as long as you can until you manage to build a radio device to communicate with a rescue team and thus by doing so win the game. So it plays like a life simulation where you have to eat, drink and sleep to stay healthy and fresh. There are 4 life aspects of the game which you have to pay close attention to. First is the nutrition bar; your character can stay alive with an empty stomach but not for long, remember a hungry person is an angry person. Second is the hydration bar; people say you can survive without food but not water, make sure your character is adequately hydrated or watch how he die within a day or two. Third is the injury bar; fill this up and watch you bleed/poisoned/whatever death-causing injury to death. Lastly and most importantly the health bar; keep this up by resting and filling up both the nutrition and hydration bar.

The overall logic of the game is simple. What I mean is what you see and what you think you can do with that particular thing is most probably there. The game doesn’t offer a really deep depth but it is sufficient. For example you see a boar and you kill it, you get a dead boar. You slice the dead boar and process it you get both the boar skin and boar meat. Cooking the boar meat under a fire will result in cooked meat. Eating this cooked meat results in replenishing the nutrients bar. Most combination of items makes sense and the sense of accomplishment comes when you gradually adapt to your deserted island lifestyle and slowly build the more complex items. The fun comes in when you find the items and combine them to form other more useful stuff.

Important items for winning the game get washed up at the shores during different times of the days. The chances of retrieving one is based purely on luck so the most important thing is to survive until you get all the necessary items. Items such as a microphone, headphones so on and so forth vital for the ultimate goal of a radio transmitter. The real fun lies in the surviving rather than the building of the final product I guess.

Some interesting things to take note of are the randomly generated maps every single time you start a new game. It keeps the game fresh to a certain extent in terms of item locations positioning of the trees and so on. The game also offers a day night cycle but not much gameplay elements are affected other than the fact that at night the game is tinted to give a darker atmosphere. There is a weather element present as well and it does affect the game in terms of growth of agriculture and putting out of fires. All these little touches do make the game a little better especially the presence of the rain.

The game however might be frustrating at times. Inventory management is tedious and irritating. You only get to hold 6 items and if you want to get more you have to dump your stuff at a point in the land and then go back and grab some more. This back and forth action occurs rapidly throughout the game and as the game progresses it becomes a troublesome chore. You often find yourself dropping things, moving, taking, moving, dropping and the cycle repeats over and over again. Another thing is the punishing difficulty curve at the start. It is almost impossible to hunt down a boar at the very start of the game thus you have to find another source of food. Fish spots are hard to find and based on luck, coconuts barely fill you and lemons cause injuries when too many are consumed. Expect to die if luck isn’t on your side at the start. However once you get it going and your skills in hunting boars increase, food is unlikely to be a problem at all.

The graphics of the game is poor. I mean it doesn’t have a distinct style to define it nor does it actually look good even when it follows the conventional look. It plays something like a top down 3D 01-02 game but the lacking in details results in it feeling inadequately executed. What is even worse is how the HUD looks. It looks as if the game is some kind of experimental freeware game done back then. There are no sound effects in the game besides the monotonous sound of waves crushing on the shores. Luckily the game happens to be on your iPod/iPhone which means you can listen to your own music. Honestly speaking the graphics aren’t good but I guess the gameplay makes up to it.

Conclusion

Stranded Without a Phone is a rather fun simulation cum puzzle game but lacks in visual identity and detail. There is a steep learning curve to the game but once overcome results in a rather enjoyable experience. Interesting combinations of objects prove to give a sense of achievement when completed but the frustrating inventory management slows down gameplay and becomes a chore. Refinements can be made and perhaps even more detailed gameplay can be implemented to make the game a great one. Other than that for $1.99 the game is up to you to decide whether or not to purchase it. Simulation fans might like it but other than that you might want to look at your other alternatives first.

Itunes Appstore Link: $1.99 Stranded Without a Phone

Twistrix is a great mechanical puzzle game.  It really challenges your mind and thinking ability. It starts off with easy puzzles to get you going with the game concept and the strategies involved. As you progress through the stages, the difficulty increases as the number of empty cells decreases (less room for you to play with) and number of colours increases. This gradual increase in difficulty is welcomed as you get to practice before attempting the harder puzzles. This also ensures a constant interest within the game.

You control the cylinder and the balls by flicking motions. Flicking the row left or right shifts it accordingly, flicking balls up and down pushes them up and down and flicking outside of the cylinder allows you to view the cylinder in the different angles. The controls are simple and effective but require some polishing as it isn’t as smooth as what I expected it to be. Maybe it is just me but yeah kind of disturbing for me at times; A rather minor detail, nothing game shattering or anything.

There are a total of 36 levels and they can only be unlocked once you reach them. I would rather they unlock the levels in sets so players won’t face to problem of getting stuck and not being able to proceed any further with the game. The game only offers one mode and that is the puzzles. There doesn’t seem to be any high score board or records within the game but it seem to time your progress for each level. I guess you’ll have to record them down manually if you wanted to challenge your friends. Graphics are simple and music uninspiring. Puzzle games often come in such packages so I have not much problem with that. Ignoring the music and sound effects aside, start hearing some of your inspirational songs to unlock the strategies of the game.

For $0.99 the puzzles provided seem to be fun and sufficiently challenging. The lack in modes or any other special features might be discouraging but what else can you ask from a puzzle game? There are great puzzle games out there for the same price, you might want to consider your alternatives first before deciding on Twistrix. Don’t get me wrong, the puzzles are great and intellectual but the competing games of similar genre are no worse.

Gameplay Video:

Itunes Appstore Link: $0.99 Twistrix