Rummage [App Store]
I’m an all round type of guy; in gaming, I can get my box on with the best of them. Kill, crush and destroy is my gaming mantra. In the list of apps on my iPhone, I’ll admit, very few of them do I have to think too much about. No-brainers I guess you’d call them.
There are times though, when I want to think things out before I make the next move, a sense of einstein satisfaction if you must call it for something “fresh”.
Storm Attack [App Store]
A storm is brewing… are you ready for imminent addiction?
The App Store is full of puzzle games trying to emulate Tetris and Bejewelled, making it hard to distinguish between the available titles. For a tile or block match game to stand out and succeed it needs to have a niche: a quirky fix that our minds can can relate to and keep us addicted. We want a Tetris-like challenge that takes quick reflexes and common sense, something that makes us think carefully and sacrifice the few for the greater color. That was the pinnacle of tile gaming. No contest.
Once again we drag and drop a constant stream of colored, falling blocks into place. Systematically chaining up events, building up a score before the stack reaches the top of the screen. Sound familiar to a lot of games? Well these are the only similarities. Storm Attack has added features over three different game modes. Each game mode can be started from either level 1 or level 10 (when unlocked). Its a blast! Build a score and combat the slower ealier levels, you can shake the device for a further storm of 15 blocks. Oh did I mention that we must keep an eye on our limited ammo supply, you know the very same ammo we need to destroy these blocks? Destroying less than 6 blocks reduces your ammo by one, with a max of four this can run out very quickly, leaving you in trouble should a storm be close. The new Bomb Mode drops a bomb in to your blocks each level requiring you to sacrafice a certain number of ammo to destroy it.
Agon Online delivers a growing worldwide leaderboard (yours truly is currently the reigning champ 2 color mode… Booyah!) and a tsunami load of achievements (41 in total following the update). The achievements range from the fairly simple ‘Reach Level 10′, the stress incducing ‘Gambler’ in which you need a 7x row clear and beating the developers ‘Secret Score’.
Graphically the game is well laid out, simple, colourful and to the point. Touch gestures to guide the blocks into place. Sound wise its completed with a technoesque beat similar to retro classics. I chose the headphones to keep me in the “zone”.
Overall this game is definitely a winner and a worthy contender of tile game of the year in my books. From the simple and colourful layout, to the potent lightning strikes from the storm. It sets the mood and sense of urgency from the start. Its a perfect example for the casual gamer and the hardcore elite in terms of how gameplay alone here is the winner, with raindrops of prettiness being a side effect. Its been a while since the greatness of Tetris type games was spun around 360 and given the app treatment this genre deserves.
The storm’s a brewing, and its raining gold!
Storm Attack still awes me in its simplicity and addictive gameplay. You will be coming back time and time again for a self induced heart attack just to beat your high score!
5 Stars.
This review was based on version 1.1 of the game.
Also be sure to check out our Promo Code Giveaway for Storm Attack to get a copy of the game.
Nick Chase: A Detective Story [App Store]
There are plenty of mystery games emerging lately on the iPhone and while some are well written with a deep narrative, others do not have any story whatsoever. Fortunately, Nick Chase: A Detective Story falls in to the former camp. This puzzler plays like its namesake and stays true to the film noir genre. You are Nick Chase, a private investigator – down on his luck and out of a job. That is of course, until HE arrives. The man known as The Collector (cliched I know). You work through various hidden clues and puzzles to uncover the mystery behind a lost manuscript by Leonardo Di Vinci. Think Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego mixed with Dan Brown’s best seller.
From Godzilab’s website! Enter now!
- You will have to create totally new levels with original puzzle ideas using a variety of items.
- We will select the 10 best levels we receive and include them in their own dedicated world with new graphics for the next iBlast Moki update.
- You can win multiple times and will get a 25$ iTunes gift card for each of your levels that is selected and published.
- You will also get your name in the credits if your level is selected.
- Create your levels with the level editor in iBlast Moki for iPhone/iPod Touch.
- You level name should start with XX so that we can identify it for the competition.
- Upload it using the online sharing feature in iBlast Moki.
- Take a screenshot of the solution and email it to contest at godzilab-games dot com
- All levels should be uploaded before midnight on Sunday 8th November 2009
- We will select the best levels, and you will receive an email if your level is chosen
- We won’t accept existing or similar levels to the ones already uploaded or in the game, so please make sure your levels are completely new with original ideas.
- The levels should be using the standard physics (not the water physics).
- We would like to see complex and hard levels using a wide variety of items.
If you have any questions please visit our forums.
See the original here.
Check out the iBlast Moki achievements here.
Dark Nebula: Episode 1 [App Store] has been finally released into the wild. It’s a tilt-controlled ball rolling game probably moreso described as a skill-based action game. The sense of urgency with every tilt, jump and swipe at the screen puts it into a weird league of its own. More bizarrely was that the game was brought to our us by Anders Hejdenberg, the lead designer of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat. From shooter to labyrinth puzzler? Go figure? The game looks simply stunning. It’s shiny and shimmering with explosions aplenty. Each level is well designed with the need for absolute care when navigating obstacles like trigger switches, spikes, potholes, and lasers. It also controls with the utmost precision. It truly is tight… like a tiger.
Though gameplay is pretty much perfect and the game visually intense, it does leave us begging for more. It is a short experience with only 10 levels. Some of which are frustrating to say the least, but at least the development team help you out there with some of the traps being slowed down during your next round. It’s a well thought out gameplay mechanism that saves you ragequitting or throwing your precious. In terms of replay, there is only the usual gold star timed event offering.
In summary: Looks amazing, sweet controls, short game. Hopefully the “Episode 1″ moniker is a sign of more to come!
Another worthy addition! 4 stars.
[ bbPress synchronization by bobrik ]
