By Eric Pankoke
I admire the developers of Steampunker ($3.99) because in a market where “adventure game” has practically become synonymous with the hidden object game, they dared to do something different. Unfortunately, while there are several individual elements to like, as a whole, the game just doesn’t really work for me. I think these guys have a bright future ahead of them, but I’m not entirely sure I can recommend this particular effort.
By Eric Pankoke
After all this time I still don’t get the Flappy Bird phenomenon. Not only was the game a mess, but most of the clones have been even worse. Thankfully every now and again one of the progeny not only rises above the pack but is actually quite playable, and such is the case with C.H.O.P.S. (Free with IAP) This game takes the simple “touch to fly, let go to fall” mechanism and adds some depth with power ups, level ups, and unlockables. It even sports one of the best examples I’ve ever seen on how to implement IAP in a game. This gets my ultimate stamp of approval in the “Thanks For Not Being Flappy Bird” category.In
By Eric Pankoke
I try not to generalize, but when folks besides Big Fish Games or G5 put out hidden object games they tend to be not much more in-depth than moving from scene to scene to find a list of objects. Lost Civilization ($4.99) fits right in with the best titles from the two aforementioned companies, with a strong storyline, interesting characters, and game play that goes far beyond simply uncovering a bunch of items in a few panoramic scenes. Phoenix Online Studios already made a strong stand in the iOS adventure game world with the Cognition series, and now they’ve shown that they know a good hidden object game when they see it as well.
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
Well, it’s time for another review of a G5 hidden object game. Don’t worry, though, because this won’t sound just like the last few that I wrote. It’s not that I didn’t like The Ghost Archives: Haunting Of Shady Valley HD (Free with $6.99 unlock), because I am enjoying it so far. Compared to a number of their other releases in the last couple of years, however, this one is fairly average when it comes to game play. There was also an odd bug that I ran into that did not make me very happy, but more on that later.
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
I was a big fan of iCoolgeek’s first adventure game effort, Tesla’s Electric Mist, so excitement coursed through my veins when the chance came to beta test their second outing, Mount Olympus ($0.99). While I enjoyed the experience, the game just didn’t grab me like Electric Mist did. Now that I’ve completed the game I’m still not quite sure how I feel about it. I enjoyed playing through the game, but there was a certain unevenness about the different chapters; and in the end, I never much cared about my end objective, which was to locate the missing gods. Ultimately, Mount Olympus just didn’t have the same spark as its predecessor.
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
With G5 and Big Fish Games on the iOS scene there is certainly no shortage of quality hidden-object and adventure games for your Apple-centric gadgets. With all the AAA titles available, though, it does make it a lot harder for the small developer to compete. Tales Of the Sanctuary: Chapter 1 ($0.99) makes an admirable attempt at doing something different, and I will admit to gleaning an odd sense of enjoyment from the game. In the end though, the game felt a bit too piecemeal for me. A bit more coherence would have gone a long way with this tale.
By Eric Pankoke
When I first played Lost Echo ($2.99) I got to the trigger event that causes everything else to unfold and while the game seemed like it had a lot of potential it didn’t really hook me. Now that I’ve revisited the game several months later I’ve realized that it’s actually a really interesting interactive story. Much like a chapter of the Twilight Zone mythos, this sci-fi romp manages to provide more adult-oriented themes à la Cognition: Episode 1 or Yesterday. I think it has a lot to offer adventure game fans, though it might not be as “hands on” as one might like.
