Home » Articles and Reviews by 'James Gilmour'
Tetris creator to release new game Dwice this Thursday
When the guy who created Tetris releases a new game, we can't help but take notice. And when tetromino godfather Alexey Pajitnov releases his latest iOS effort Dwice later this week, you'll might want to take notice too. Dwice is a shape-matching puzzler which marries the decending object mechanic seen in Tetris with the colour-matching mechanic seen in every other iOS game released in the past 3 years. The aim is to clear the screen by dragging triangles, circles, and squares through the geometric equivilants, thereby clearing the screen. To score big, you have to chaintogether as many objects as possible in a single swipe. It sounds pretty simple, but you soon learn that if you accident…
Thor: The Dark World - The Official Game Review
Thor is one of the more straightforward superheroes in Marvel's expansive catalogue. Son of Odin, the allfather and ruler of of Asgard, Thor has no alter-ego or mysterious origin story. He's a god, who comes from a realm of gods, and who likes to hit things with a big hammer. However, Gameloft's free-to-play brawler Thor: The Dark World - The Official Game is anything but straightforward. In this messy top-down smash-'em-up, our hero's combat prowess is sidelined in favour of man…
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Anomaly 2 Review
When Anomaly Warzone Earth rolled onto the App Store two years ago, it made a big impact. Not only did it popularise the now well-established tower offense genre, it proved you could port high-quality PC releases to the App Store without compromising too much functionality. Anomaly 2, the first true sequel after the Anomaly Korea expansion, brings back the futuristic sci-fi warfare that made the original game so popular, and adds just enough bells and whistles to warrant you giving th…
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Kingdom Rush: Frontiers gets spooky Shadowmoon update
Tower-defence sequel Kingdom Rush: Frontiers just got a bit creepier, courtesy of the Halloween-themed Shadowmoon campaign update. If battling scorpions and sandpeople wasn't already tough enough, anyone who downloads the free update will find themselves fending off waves supernatural nasties. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts - all of these evils are about to be unleashed upon your armaments. Luckily for you, the also update provides you with two new heroes to call upon. You can now choose between vampire hunter Dante, or Dracolich expert Bonehart, both of whom are a dab hand at dealing with the forces of darkness. In addition to the new troops, you'll get three new Halloween…
Rovio Stars gets fruity with match-3 puzzler Juice Cubes
Rovio Stars, the new publishing arm of Angry Birds custodians Rovio, has been pretty shrewd when choosing which games to add to its portfolio. First it threw its weight behind chilly physics puzzler Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage, before putting out the genuinely delightful point-and-click adventure Tiny Thief. Given the creativity evident in those two titles, we're slightly surprised to see which horse Rovio Stars is currently backing. Titled Juice Cubes, the newest game to get the Rovio bump is a fruit-themed match-three puzzler. Yep - another one of those. In fairness, the trailer (above) is pretty slick, and the presentation of the the game is top notch. We're just finding…
Papa Sangre II Review
Papa Sangre II is a game you play in the dark, on your own, and preferably with eyes closed. Rather than showing you horrific images of monsters and bloodied bodies, this unusual survival horror game pulls you into its surreal world filled of forgotten memories and brain-sucking insects using the power of sound alone. Guided by a the disembodied voice of Sean Bean, you must explore the afterlife in the hope of finding a way back to the land of the living. You're dead, by the way. Sorr…
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Sonic Lost World boss invades Sonic Dash
If you're still playing hedgehog-oriented endless-runner Sonic Dash, then prepare to encounter new - and not-so-friendly - face. To liven things up a bit, developers Hardlight and Sega have decided to throw a boss from the recently released console and handheld platformer Sonic Lost World into Sonic Dash. This angry purple tyrant goes by the name of Zazz. You'd best get used to the sight of him, because he's going to be jumping unannounced into Sonic's path at random points throughout your Sonic Dash runs for the immediate future. Though we didn't think much of Sonic Dash's aggressive monetisation model, we felt that the option to bank rings or gamble for bigger bonuses eleva…
Download a free version of Deux Ex: The Fall
Square Enix has just released a lite version of its cybernetically-enhanced first-person shooter Deux Ex: The Fall. This stripped-back release, which gives you free access to the early missions of the game's espionage oriented plotline, is designed to give players a small taste of the full Deux Ex experience. What's more, if you do decide to upgrade to the full version of Deus Ex: The Fall, you can now pick it up for the temporarily reduced price of £2.99 / $4.99. Though we thought it was slightly hampered by its control scheme, we called Deux Ex: The Fall "a handsome diversion for franchise fans." Check out the full AppSpy review below. [Deux Ex: The Fall Lite App Store link]…
Turn your iPad into a treasure map with Assassin's Creed IV Companion app
If you're planning to find buried treasure and sail the seven seas in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, then you're going to need that most essential of pirating tools: a map. Rather than having you pause the game to rifle through sub-menus, though, Ubisoft has provided iPad owners with a companion app which transforms your tablet into a treasure map. Now available from the App Store, the Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag Companion app features a fully interactive map of the Carribean waters featured in the game. It allows you to view objectives, track your progress - even set real time waypoints for your ship to follow. As well as using the app to help you navigate while you play, yo…
Crowman & Wolfboy Review
Crowman & Wolfboy, the latest silhouette-styled auto-runner to appear on the App Store, is all about teamwork. Rather than guiding a single character through the game's bleak, apocalyptic landscape, you take control of two simultaneously. The eponymous pair of beastmen jog through each perilous platform-filled level in tandem, with both creatures bringing their own special skill to the table. The crow can help the jump higher by grabbing the wolfman's shoulders and using his wing t…
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Optical Inquisitor 17+ Review
If you're a fan of picking off crudely-drawn targets a long distances, then you may have played stickman sniper game Clear Vision. We're guessing the creator of Optical Inquisitor has, as the it borrows the look, concept, and violent death scenarios from the 2012 shooter. In fairness, it's not a lack of originality which makes Optical Inquisitor a dodgy game. After all, Clear Vision itself was paying tribute to a long line of ultraviolent flash games. No, what makes Optical Inqui…
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Defeat Oslim the Deathless Bloodmage in Infinity Blade III update
Chair will release the first update pack for Infinity Blade III on October 31st. The Soul Hunter update, which was revealed on InfinityBlade.com, brings a new quest to the IB III campaign. This story arc sees facing off against the heavily armoured - and rather tall - Oslim the Deathless Bloodmage. As the Worker of Secrets wants Oslim to reduce heroes Siris and Isa to a fine meat paste, he's equipped him with not one, but two Infinity Blades. Take him down, however, and those blade are yours to keep. Along with adding some gameplay tweaks (including reduced potion, gem and forge times), the update will also let you revisit old battlegrounds and unlock new areas. The Holiday Helm…
[Updated] Oculus Rift VR headset coming to Android before iOS
![[Updated] Oculus Rift VR headset coming to Android before iOS](https://images.appspy.com/articles/7859/oculusrift1appspy_jpg_240x140_q85.jpg "[Updated] Oculus Rift VR headset coming to Android before iOS")
Updated at 22:05 GMT: Since the publication of this article, VentureBeat has amended its story with the following: "Correction 10:50 a.m. Pacific time: The Oculus Rift will support Android, not iOS, as this story originally stated. We regret the error." Sorry guys - false alarm. Original story follows: Oculus VR, the company responsible for the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, will be releasing an iOS-compatible version of its 3D goggles for use with mobile games. According to a report by VentureBeat, the announcement was made this morning by Oculus VR CEO Brendan Iribe. Speaking during his keynote at GamesBeat 2013, Iribe said: "We have some exciting plans of the mobile VR side…
Weird weather and windmills in strange Tiger Style teaser site
After the slice of sci-fi excellence that was Waking Mars, and the anrachnid-themed addictiveness of Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor, we at AppSpy were always going to be excited to see what developer Tiger Style would come up with next. The answer, if the URL of this recently launched teaser site is to be believed, is a project called Blackbird Estate. After agreeing to give the site your location details, you are presented with an image of rural landscape featuring a windmill in the background and a tower in foreground. In the window of the tower, a silhouette of a man can be seen. At the bottom right of the screen are the words "Three things cannot be long hidden: The Sun…
Machinarium dev reveals surreal sequel Samorost 3
If you're exclusively an iOS gamer, your only encounter with the creative wizardry of developer Amanita Design will be the studio's delightful point-and-click adventure Machinarium. However, before it started sending rusty robots off on perilous quests, the studio was busy shooting gnomes into space in its first interactive effort, Samorost. Released for free in 2003, the surreal adventure set the tone for Amanita Design's future efforts. Though it's been a full eight years since Samorost 2, a recently released teaser trailer shows that the developer hasn't forgotten its marvellously mad roots. The video (above) is the first teaser trailer for Samorost 3. The fellow playing the sp…
