You’ve been unwittingly training for this your whole life, simply by being who you are – a lover of snacks and an unremitting cheapskate. Vending Machine Champ [App Store] pits man against machine as you tip, punch, and kick the greedy metal beast as it clings stubbornly to the snack that is rightfully yours. If you succeed, you are granted sweet and / or salty nourishment. If you fail, you are granted humiliation and / or injury and / or death. You’re going to grab a snack. Or die trying.
Absolute mindless fun at the cost of a packet of chewing gum. Straw Ninja: Just Run [App Store] is the first in a series of ”One Touch Play” casual games from the geniuses at Digital Play. Everyone can play, no complex moves to remember – just run ya Ninjaness off! Global leaderboards utilising Openfeint will show off who is grand master of the tap and hold. With a very simple and addictive control system, even if you had your arm severed in combat you’d still have a chance of winning.
Keep him airborne to get big kamikaze points. Graphically whimsical with a sea of cool. Not as frantic as Canabalt but still awesome fun!
Another little gem. 3.5 stars.
It’s no secret that I’m a massive Tower Defense fan. The pace of the games is generally… perfect. You start off easy, gradually learning the mechanics of the individual game. You clear wave after wave of enemies, upgrading your defenses. All of a sudden, you’re overwhelmed by mobs, unable to upgrade in time as you desperately drop more and more towers. It’s this style of constant “kill, upgrade, repeat” system that draws me in – probably why I’m such a fan of MMOs.
Tower Defense games pit you in charge of placement of “towers” or other types of defenses, which (generally) automatically attack constant waves of oncoming enemies. They enter one side of the screen and try to make their way to the other side – and it’s your job to stop them. There are two distinct types of Tower Defense games: 1. Open-field where the enemies have nothing in their way, and it’s up to you to “guide” them to the exit by placing towers (non-linear), and 2. Pathed where there is a set course for the enemies to take and you’re given spots along that path to place your defenses (linear). Each game type requires different strategies and while some titles focus on one or the other, there are a few games that give you a little taste of both.
Summer’s still a few months away here in Australia, but I’d still like to share a little game from Lemur Software called Bobble Surfer [App Store]. Ever since the Commodore 64′s California Games and even the dead and buried Atari Lynx remake of the same game, never before has surfing been implemented so well in a videogame. Graphically, it is very charming – with a subtle mix of 2D and 3D elements.
Ah the hustle and bustle of city life. We are surrounded by it for work and play. Enter Fare City: First Shift. Now this game has a classy style mixed with a jazz soundtrack. Think Flight Control with taxis and you get the gist of it. Simply tap and drag your fare and take them across Fare City to where they want to go. Sound easy? Far from it. Time limit bonuses, avoiding the increasing number of taxis and avoiding a gridlock of utter chaos will ensure you’re not at ease.
But it’s all in a New York Minute. Collect and deliver your fare fast enough and there’s a bounty of bonuses to be made. Take a wrong turn and a crash could spell the end of a bad day. Graphically, the game works well – especially with the feel and jazzy style of the city. It would be nice to see some varied maps in the next update. Best of all, it’s cheaper than the cologne your last taxi driver used.
Well worth a look. 4 stars.
[ bbPress synchronization by bobrik ]
