Home » Articles and Reviews by 'James Nouch'
Sponsored Feature: Gamesys bring popular Facebook game Jackpotjoy Slots to iOS
New slots apps are conquering iOS devices. Playing them on your device might be something you would do with excitement, or, on the other hand, you wouldn't even consider downloading it. Whatever your personal choice is, games developer Gamesys hope that their product - Jackpotjoy Slots - will tempt you to give it a go! We spoke to James Gibson, Marketing Manager at Gamesys. He explains how the game attempts to suit a wide range of different skill levels, what problems came up when designing the app, and what the future holds for Jackpotjoy Slots. Considering that there are already quite a few slots apps like that on the market, what makes this particular one stand out? "Our Jackpotjoy S…
Sponsored Feature: Barunson Creative On AquaVillage
Ever wondered what it'd be like to raise your own collection of digital fish? Probably not, but there's a first time for everything. AquaVillage, Barunson's latest iOS title, is a leisurely strategic experience with a social twist, allowing players to build up their own underwater kingdom while gradually unlocking an expansive array of fish. We spoke to JongSin Choi, CEO at Barunson Creative, about the social elements of the game. With over two hundred quests to venture through in the game as one of four main characters, AquaVillage is a large scale adventure - but also a global social gaming experience, supporting seven different languages. "We combined multiple genres so that players…
Sponsored Feature: Crytek On Fibble
Ask gamers familiar with the name 'Crytek' what comes to mind when they think of the indie developers, and 'cute', 'cuddly', or 'casual' probably won't be among the first words spilling out of their mouths. Having made its name with award-winning shooters such as Far Cry and Crysis, Crytek hold a special place in many fans' hearts as one of the go-to developers for hardcore gaming experiences. Recently, however, Crytek revealed another string to their bow, with the launch of the studio's Fibble - Flick 'n' Roll on iOS marking their first foray into the mobile market. This physics-based puzzler casts you as a colourful extraterrestrial who has crash-landed on earth…
Fluid Physics-Puzzler Feed Me Oil Currently Free To Download
Chillingo's top-notch physics-puzzler Feed Me Oil is currently available free of charge, marking the first time the game's been discounted since its June 2011 release. Taking aesthetic inspiration from 2D Boy's superb World of Goo, Feed Me Oil has you placing barriers and objects in order to steer liquid oil around each of its surreal stages. 'Why am I doing that?' you might reasonably ask. Well, it's because each level contains a nightmarish monster, and it's your job to feed the beastie its liquid lunch. Obviously. If that sounds odd, that's probably because Feed Me Oil is an odd game, but it's also smart, challenging, and blessed with some fantastically fluid physics. It may wear its…
Side-On Racer MotoHeroz Goes Free For a Limited Time
RedLynx's bouncy side-scrolling racer MotoHeroz is currently available as an App Store freebie, reduced from its usual price of 99c to absolutely nothing. Handing you control of a cartoonishly proportioned truck, MotoHeroz has you driving through its 2D levels in pursuit of the fastest time possible. Upgrades and power-ups enliven that simple concept, but really it's the presence of 'ghost' opponents that'll have you replaying levels over and over, and desperately trying to shave milliseconds off of your time. That kind of trial and error gameplay may not be for everyone, but MotoHeroz's nuanced physics and intuitive controls make it an accessible racer with plenty of depth. A very solid…
Arcade Shooter Fireball SE Reduced To 99c
Fireball SE, the arcade shooter which doesn't actually let you shoot anything, has had its price cut from $1.99 to 99c. While piloting a small defenceless craft, your primary concern in Fireball SE is survival. But, making that goal rather more difficult for you are the swarms of enemy ships hell-bent on your destruction. You'll have to steer your fireball craft past these deadly foes, deftly weaving between the oncoming hordes until you can activate one of the level's fearsome bombs. Your craft is immune to these awesome explosives, which is jolly fortunate considering you'll soon be chaining explosions to create screen-clearing booms. Here at AppSpy, we loved Fireball SE's finely…
Side-Scrolling RPG Swordigo Free On the App Store
Side-scrolling RPG Swordigo is currently available for nowt on the App Store, marking the first time the game's price has been discounted since its March release. In this 2D adventure, you are cast as a young hero embarking on a quest to bring peace to the land. How novel. Along the way, you'll bash monsters with increasingly powerful weaponry, unlock fearsome magical abilities, and hoover up XP like there's no tomorrow. (There is, by the way.) Evoking the feel of the classic adventure RPGs of yore, Swordigo boasts around ten hours of swashbuckling, puzzle-solving gameplay. Here at AppSpy, we thought that Swordigo was a charming romp, with heaps of variety, a relentless pace, and taut c…
FPS Classic Wolfenstein 3D Classic Platinum Currently Free To Download
Wolfenstein 3D Classic Platinum, the updated port of id Software's 1992 FPS classic, is currently available as a free download from the App Store. Playing as the suggestively named B.J. Blazkowicz, a captured US agent who's being held in Castle Wolfenstein, you simply have to escape alive. Yep, that's the objective, folks. But, it won't be easy. The Castle is crawling with nasty Nazi guards, vicious attack dogs, and terrifying undead supersoliders. Should you manage to fight your way past these horrors, you'll eventually have to battle robo-Hitler in a climactic boss battle. All historically accurate, of course. It may be a little long in the tooth (Wolfenstein celebrates its 20th anniv…
Saturday Morning RPG Receives Mammoth Update
'80s nostalgia-fest Saturday Morning RPG has received dozens of balancing tweaks, bug fixes, and improvements in a massive update from developer Joystick Labs. And while we loved Saturday Morning RPG's upbeat tone and referential humour, we noticed the need for a tweak or two in our 4/5 AppSpy review. So, the game's ever-so-slightly wonky controls have been smoothened, while enemy strength, item effectiveness, and your attack slider have all been re-balanced to ensure a more even difficulty curve. Furthermore, certain troublesome enemies have been tweaked individually, so overpowered baddies should be less of a frustration in the game's turn-based battles. Finally, Joystick Labs have bee…
Episode 1 Of Telltale's Sam & Max Series Currently Free To Download
Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space Episode 1 is currently free to download from the App Store, giving iPhone gamers a risk-free introduction to Telltale's adventure game series. Following the Arctic adventures of Freelance Police Sam and Max, Beyond Time and Space Episode 1 sees the wisecracking duo investigating a case centering on a seriously deranged Santa Claus. It's a curious Christmassy case, with vibrant visuals, pin-sharp writing, and some fiendish puzzles. A couple of control issues will niggle away at you, but Beyond Time and Space Episode 1 is a worthy recipient of our AppSpy 4/5 award, nonetheless. If you've yet to witness Sam & Max's unique brand of law enforcement, Bey…
New Levels and Price Cut For Tasty Pizza Vs. Skeletons Game
Riverman Media's surreal 2D platformer Pizza Vs. Skeletons has been updated with 10 new levels, and is currently available at the discounted price of 99c. Perhaps the only App Store title to cast you as a 25-foot-tall pizza, the game has you rolling across 110 levels using your vast bulk to smash skeleton hordes to dust. Within that basic side-scrolling template, Pizza Vs. Skeletons manages to cram in a tremendous amount of variety. One level may have you rescuing puppies from prison, while the next might have you sumo wrestling with a giant skull or downhill pizza skiing. No, seriously. Pizza Vs. Skeletons is brilliantly weird, gorgeously presented, and compulsively playable, so we were…
Star Wars Pit Droids Is Now Free To Download
Pod-racing puzzler Star Wars Pit Droids has been updated with 20 new levels and is currently free to download. This game tasks you with guiding accident-prone pit droids to their destinations by laying out arrows for the directionless droids to follow. In this title, which plays out like a colour-coded version of Chu Chu Rocket, you'll have to direct yellow droids with yellow arrows pointing to the yellow exit, blue droids with blue arrows to the blue exit, and red... oh you get the picture. Movie tie-ins are reliably terrible, so it's rather surprising, then, that this is actually a smart puzzler, with a simple premise that quickly becomes fiendishly complex. A worthy AppSpy 4/5, in oth…
Robbery Bob Sneaks Onto New Zealand App Store
Chillingo's Robbery Bob has infiltrated the New Zealand App Store, meaning that this criminal caper should sneak onto UK and US App Stores at midnight tonight. Cast as the titular thief, you must sneak and steal your way through an entire town, collecting swag and evading capture by local law enforcement. With a top-down view of the action, you'll tiptoe your way through suburban homes, scale up apartments, and even research laboratories on the hunt for valuables. Later on, you'll have to deal with patrolling security and pesky pooches, too. With vivid visuals, exaggerated animations, and a streak of humour running throughout, Robbery Bob looks well worth a play - although you may have to…
Alien Gardening Sim Waking Mars Has Its Price Pruned
Waking Mars, the extraterrestrial gardening sim from Tiger Style, has had its price pruned from $4.99 to $2.99. The game sees you restoring life to the red planet as you cultivate vegetation in Mars's underground cave networks. These tunnels play host to a vast interconnected ecosystem of alien flora, and in a bid to escape after a cave in leaves you trapped you'll have to study this extraterrestrial ecology. We adored Waking Mars and its curious mixture of platforming and botany. In our 5/5 AppSpy review, we described the game simply as "a must have for all iOS gamers". Waking Mars is currently available for $2.99. With its price at an all-time low, now's the time to exercise your green…
Worms Crazy Golf Available Now At A Discounted Price
Team17's carefully measured blend of invertebrate slaughter and golf Worms Crazy Golf is available at the discount price of 99c. This arcade golf game has you driving for par in the colourful 2D world of Worms, avoiding exploding gardeners as you pitch onto the green. We were surprised by just how well the classic Worms mechanics translate to the world of golf, and relieved to see that the series's trademark humour (and explosions) had made the transition intact. As such, we awarded Worms Crazy Golf a mighty fine 4/5 in our AppSpy review. That's equivalent to an eagle. Or a birdie. Or something. Worms Crazy Golf is usually priced at $2.99, and there's no word on how long this discount wi…
