I’m still waiting for more developers to step up to the plate and bring original adventure game content to the iPhone and iPod Touch. In the mean time, though, I’m content with ports (or in this case “heavily inspired” redesigns) of games from other platforms as long as the source material is good. So far Tetraedge has done a commendable job with the release of two adventures based off of the works of Jules Verne, and the promise of an iPhone version of the Syberia series is quite exciting. In the mean time they’ve chosen to fill the gap with Path Of The Dragon, the first part of a three episode saga that’s a retooling of the third installment of a PC series of games based on the legends of Dracula. Got it? Good.
Well I'll keep this blog short because Dlux's Elasticr (.99) - my new favorite super hero - is something you really have to play to understand. But here's the jist of it, Elasticr moves by being shot around the screen like snapping a rubber band. But here's the thing, his hands are sticky so what ever you snap him at he's going to stick to. That's an important thing. Really...
If you are a color-matching crazed kind of gamer, you still have one day to get a comment up here before our contest deadline runs out. See my original post and review here, and comment before Saturday, Jan 23, 2010 (11PM EST) for a chance to win a copy of Quads. Read on for contest details, and thanks to Spb for sponsoring...
To me MoreGames is shaping up to be the Blizzard of the iPhone community. Sure the rate of development on the iPhone is much more intense than on the PC, but unlike some developers MoreGames isn’t pushing it. They’re taking their time to create solid, carefully crafted tales in video game format. And then there’s Ragdoll Legends. I’m not saying they didn’t take their time with it, I’m just questioning “why?” I’ll admit that I have a bit of a negative bias towards the whole “ragdoll” genre anyway, but I figured MoreGames could turn me around. Instead, the combat feels like a sloppy mess, the characters are too “Big Trouble In Little China”, and I’m getting my rear end handed to me on Easy mode. Not my idea of fun…
SPB Quads is one of those pattern matching games that will eat up mucho amounts of your time. You can read my review after the break, but SPB has also been nice enough to sponsor 3 FREE codes for our readers, so if you want to try out a new twist on an old theme, comment here on the review for a chance to win. I have played my share of these kinds of games over the years, so was prepared to try and stop the madness at a set amount of time (lot's of reviews are piling up). I still ended up losing 2 hours of my life. It's a simple yet addictive formula. Read on for the review and contest giveaway rules.
SPB Software, one of my fav Windows Phone software developers, has ported their Quads game to the iPhone. I'll be working up a review probably, and maybe a giveaway. If you want to check it out, go over to their site here for a look. Quads is currently just $0.99 cents in the App Store!
When I first saw the screen shots for Thor I was expecting something along the lines of a standard platformer. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, because the iPhone sure could use some more of those. As it turns out, though, Thor is actually along the lines of one of those games where you have to dodge stuff while your character keeps running. However, with actions that go beyond the typical “jump or duck” and an actual level structure, this game is something much more than its roots. Instead of simply playing a level or two and then removing it from my device to make room for something else, I found myself going back for just “one more level” until I was suddenly at the end of the game. The only real down side is that I want some more!
Unless I make some sort of glaring error or omission, I don't make it a policy not to go back and update a review I've written. However, if something in a game changes to warrant a note or quick revisit, I'm more than happy to do that. Such is the case with Grinchmas! from Ocean Mediahouse. You can read the original review here. I'm still a bit disappointed that they haven't bolstered the less than wacky atmosphere, but there are a couple of game play changes worthy of noting. The first is that there are actually two modes now: Classic and Challenge. Classic is the original game, which now even has easy, medium and hard modes. Challenge mode is the bright spot of this update, however. In the Mean Grinch scenario there are 20 challenges and in Merry Grinch mode there are 17. A challenge might be basic like "quiet 3 near noisy houses" in Mean scenario or "deliver 3 presents" in Merry mode. As you get further down the list, however, things get more difficult. In Mean mode you might have something like "quiet 7 houses for 4 minutes and 30 seconds", and in Merry mode you get such things as "deliver a red, green and blue present in 10 seconds without missing". Each challenge has 3 difficulty levels as well.
