By Eric Pankoke
Air Supply – SOS (Save Our Sheep) ($1.99) is a great game, and it does what any Air Supply game does best; it provides you with plenty of stuff to unlock. There are also boss fights, a mini game, and perks. Life is all about perks, right?
By Eric Pankoke
Most of the time, I review a game because either I ask a developer if they want a review or because someone asks me to write a review. Occasionally, however, I just feel compelled to write a review on my own, usually because I simply can’t stop playing the game that I’m reviewing. Beach Hero (Free with IAP) is just such as case. I honestly probably wouldn’t have even given the game a second thought had I not coming across it while compiling a list for a different article; but ever since I first launched the game, I find myself spending more time with it than just about anything else on my device. As a result I decided it was time to share it with iPhone Life's readers.
By Eric Pankoke
One thing I love about virtual shelves like the App Store is that you can often find items years after they have been released. When they’re good, that’s always a bonus. I wrote this review more than a year and a half ago, but I hate wasting things, so I figured I’d go ahead and publish it despite the age. The Lord of the Roads ($0.99) is still available on the App Store; and when I fired it up again, just to be sure that I wasn’t overinflating things, it turned out the game is still just as fun as it was back then. Plus it runs quite well on my iPod Touch 4. If you don’t get the significance of that, you’ve obviously never had the “privilege” of owning an iPod Touch 4.
By Eric Pankoke
I used to start out just about every review of an online game making some sort of comment about how I don’t really like online games. I'm beginning to think that’s not really the case. What I don’t like are games where if you’re not in the “elite” you’re pretty much dead when you step out on the battlefield. I also don’t care for games where people pretty much expect you to chat or make the game as much about taunting as actually playing. Thankfully The Rats Online (free with IAP) handles all of these things in just the right manner. Its simple nature makes it easy to get into, and the nicely organized list of folks you need to exact revenge on makes it worth coming back in periodically to see how things are going.
I’ve been a fan of Star Wars since before a vast majority of hardcore iOS players were born. And as much as I hate to admit it, I was sucked into the Angry Birds phenomenon just like so many other players. When the first Angry Birds Star Wars game was released, however, I was curious but also dumbfounded. Was Rovio that needy to expand the franchise—and for that matter, was LucasArts so desperate for some name recognition in the mobile world? I basically ignored the first installment; but when I saw they had released Angry Birds Star Wars II ($0.99), I decided it was time to see what the appeal was. In some ways I actually admire how they’ve melded together the two franchises. Overall though, I’m not finding the experience quite as entertaining as the original game that started it all. At least they were kind enough to include a playable Yoda character in the mix.
By Eric Pankoke
It used to be that I’d start every review about a brick breaker style game saying something about how I don’t really like the genre but… I think I need to stop doing that now. Either I’ve become more selective in the ones that I try or they really do keep getting better, because I’m actually finding myself enjoying the concept more each time I write a review. This time around the subject is Draw Breaker, the latest game from Elevate Entertainment, and this game is a blast! It’s cute, creative and different than any brick breaker I’ve played in the past.
By Eric Pankoke
I’ve played quite a number of time management games over the course of my reviews, and generally I find that the more hectic they are the more fun they tend to be. Of course the chaos needs to be organized, but the key is that there has to be a lot to do. Occasionally, though, I just want to have a nice, relaxing time, and Streetfood Tycoon fills that bill quite nicely. At times it almost feels more like an arcade game than a time management sim, but lest you forget you can always check all the stats to bring you back to reality. The important thing is that the game is fun, and I have become rather addicted to the game play and atmosphere.
By Eric Pankoke
It’s getting harder and harder to come up with original ideas for Match 3 games, but the Treasures Of Montezuma has a nice little twist with the concept of idols that are activated when you match that idol’s color on the playing board twice in a row. I remember getting really addicted to the first installment once I figured out how the idols actually worked. For some reason I missed out on part 2, but now I’ve got Treasures Of Montezuma 3 on my iPad, the addiction is back, and this could quite possibly be the best installment in the series yet.
By Eric Pankoke
Some have reasonably argued that full fledged RPGs are a bit too overwhelming for the portable market where the majority of users only spend minutes at a time playing games. Several developers have attempted to provide the RPG fix without the RPG commitment, and Pocket Warriors is one of those games. It actually fits the mold somewhat well, except for the fact that it’s so watered down the game play becomes redundant and boring rather quickly. At least it looks pretty and sounds halfway decent, though.
By Eric Pankoke
In my humble opinion the term “adventure game” has become too broad these days. I see some sites even try to classify an FPS as an adventure game. To me it is games like the King’s Quest series from Sierra or Zork from Infocom that defines the adventure game genre. Games that require you to really explore your surroundings, solve many puzzles, and quite often interact with dozens of non-player characters in more than just a “pardon me while I shoot you” capacity. Cryptic Keep certainly strives for the feel of the classics, though the distinct lack of NPCs and very little story save snippets at the beginning and the end make it feel more like Myst than a true adventure game. Still, I appreciate that developers are trying to reinvigorate the genre, and it was fun while it lasted.
