Home » Articles and Reviews by 'James Gilmour'
Trouserheart Review
Is a hero still a hero when you can see his underpants? Man of Steel director Zack Snyder says no. Luckily for the star of affable top-down hack-and-slash game Trouserheart, developer 10tons believes that heroism can't be killed by visible underwear. In fact, in Trouserheart, the revealing of our protagonist's boxers is the catalyst for level-upon-level of action and adventure. Having had his pantaloons nabbed by a cheeky klepto goblin, Trouserheart's kingly star decides to set off on…
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Abstract racer Proun rolling towards the App Store
Thanks to the recent deluge of rotation-based puzzlers like Pivvot, Super Hexagon, and the recently-released Duet, the App Store has become a dizzying place to explore. You'd best grab your sick bags, however, as things are about to get even spinnier. It turns out the abstract PC racer Proun is rolling towards is on track for an App Store release in the not-too distant future. If Proun didn't appear on your radar when it arrived on the PC back in 2011, then let us fill you in. You take control of ball which is rolling down a cylindrical track. Your job is to move the ball around the circumference of the track to avoid objects and obstructions. Watching the PC trailer (above) Proun rese…
Rabbids Big Bang exploding onto iOS on October 17th
Furry physics-puzzler Rabbids Big Bang is set to come crashing into the App Store's atmosphere next week. An offshoot of Ubisoft's anarchic and far-reaching Rabbids franchise, Rabbids Big Bang is a single game with a single goal: keep your rabbid in orbit. You take control of two of the floppy-eared rabbids: one to venture boldy forth into the great unknown, and one to swing a baseball bat big enough to propell his buddy into the inky blackness of space. Once your rabbid astronaut has been whacked out of the planet's atmosphere, you need to fire off his jetback to guide him into the gravitation fields of suns, moons, and other planets. There you will find collectible coins…
Galaxy on Fire: Alliances delayed until 2014
A few months back, we had a chat with Fishlabs CEO Michael Schade about the studio's upcoming sci-fi MMO Galaxy on Fire: Alliances. Here's the video to prove it: Anyhow, at the time of the interview, Schade said that the ambitious spin-off from the Galaxy on Fire space shooter series was on track to be released this November. Unfortunately, we've just learned through our sister site PocketGamer.biz that Fishlabs has decided to extend the beta testing period into November. This means that we won't see Galaxy on Fire: Alliances on the App Store until early next year. While this announcement might be a bit of a bummer for strategy fans, you should take solace in the knowledge that the clo…
F1™ Challenge Review
Formula 1 is all about precision. Brake too late going into corner or accelerate too quickly coming out of one, and your championship hopes can be drowned in a pool of your opponent's victory champagne. Perhaps that's why The Codemaster's latest take on F1, a top-down arcade-style racer, feels a little strange. It presents you with a format usually reserved for skid-tastic, tyre-squealing follies like Micro Machines, and then asks you to control some of the fastest racing cars on the…
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First footage of Dragon Quest VIII on iPhone
A couple of days ago, it came to our attention that Square Enix, custodian of the Final Fantasy series and purveyor of expensive iOS remakes, was planning to bring the Dragon Quest franchise to the App Store. It seems the task of converting the PlayStation 2-era RPG into a touchscreen-friendly format is already well underway. In fact, the folks over at Siliconera have managed to rustle up some screenshots of the iPhone version of Dragon Quest VIII. As you can see, the biggest difference between the iPhone version and the PS2 original is the orientation of the screen, with Square Enix choosing to pair down the previously TV-optimised visuals into a portrait format. While Dragon Que…
Duet Game Review
Things have been getting terribly twisty in the world of iOS gaming lately. Duet, the twitch-based game of rotation and avoidance, is the latest in the recent spat of lo-fi spinathons. Like Pivvot and Super Hexagon before it, Duet takes a simple concept, dresses it up in basic block colours, and then begins to mercilessly test your reflexes without giving a second thought to your sanity or self worth. You take charge of two coloured orbs which are linked by a circle. It's your job to…
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The Junk Jack X Files: Case 3
AppSpy editor James Gilmour (@Metal_Slag) and Pocket Gamer handheld editor Peter Willington (@xeroxeroxero) continue their adventures into the world of 2D craft-'em-up Junk Jack X. This week, James cooks an egg, and Peter gets lost in the wilderness. Will Peter find his way home? Will James find any toasty soldiers to go with his egg? Will either of them ever work out how to play this bloody game?! All this and more in The Junk Jack X Files: Case 3.…
XCOM: Enemy Unknown gets asynchronous multiplayer
We've been waiting for this since launch day, and the moment is finally here: You can now face off against your Game Centre buddies in tactical strategy hit XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Essentially a full port of the highly acclaimed PC and console title, the iOS version of XCOM: Enemy Unknown is the bees knees. If those bees were alien bees, and we got to blast their extra-terrestrial knees off with our top-secret military laser cannons, that is. Bar the absence of a few maps, we had few complaints about this tip-top mobile part. The only thing it was lacking was the multiplayer mode, which allowed you to assume command of either an XCOM squad or an alien brood, and see who is the toughest: man o…
Costume Quest gets dressed up and struts onto iOS
Getting in the mood for Halloween? Not sure which ghoulish costume to wear? Well here’s a suggestion: why not grab your iPhone or iPad, and draw some inspiration from Double Fine’s newly-ported fancy dress extravaganza Costume Quest. Previously available on XBLA and PSN, Costume Quest is a cutesy (but creepy) RPG, which casts you as one of two twins who have decided to go trick-or-treating. As well as gathering the obligatory handfuls of delicious candy, you must also locate items of clothing to build your perfect Halloween costume. Handilky, these costumes have transformative powers, allowing the adorable young tykes to turn into savage monsters and do battle with a host of…
Machinarium coming to iPhone next Thursday
Anamita Design's wonderfully quirky point-and-click puzzler Machinarium will finally be available on iPhone from next week. Though the hand-drawn puzzle adventure game arrived on the iPad last year, iPhone owners have had to look on with envy as iPad gamers tapped their way through Machinarium's charming world of gambling robots and dilapidated cityscapes. However, thanks to a newly-implemented pinch-to-zoom function, the Czech developer has been able to cram Machinarium's detailed world onto the iPhone's comparatively diddy screen. And in case iPad owners are feeling left out, the existing version Machinarium (which will become a Universal app) is also set to gain the pinch-to-zoom featu…
The Junk Jack X Files: Case 2
This week, AppSpy editor James Gilmour (@Metal_Slag) and Pocket Gamer handheld editor Peter Willington (@xeroxeroxero) continue their adventures into the world of 2D craft-'em-up Junk Jack X. Watch as the happless duo lament the absence of dancing penguins, and spend a full five minutes trying to work out how to roast a chicken. All this and more in The Junk Jack X Files: Case 2.…
Tiny Thief Competition
We don't approve of theft, but we do approve of Tiny Thief, the cutesy stealth puzzler from Rovio Stars. Well it just so happen that we have "acquired" some unique Tiny Thief swag that we're willing to give away to you, the loyal and attractive AppSpy viewer. To stand a chance of winning a Tiny Thief poster and a one-of-a-kind handmade crochet replica of the game's adorable ferret co-star, just click on this Twitter link and hit the retweet button before Monday October 7th. It's that simple. It's practically daylight robbery. We'll announce the winners here, on the AppSpy YouTube channel, and via Twitter, so be sure to get those clicks in before October 7th. Good luck, and k…
News Wrap-Up | 27th September 2013
We love Cut the Rope here at AppSpy. We're not sure whether it's the clever physics puzzles, the vicarious sugar rush that comes from delivering all that candy, or the fact that Om Nom is the cutest thing I've ever seen. But whatever the reason, we think its great. So, great, in fact, that we named it one of our Top 5 games from the past 5 years. Though we've had a couple of spin-offs since the original landed - Cut the Rope: Experiments and Cut the Rope: Time Travel - we've been waiting for developer Zeptolab to get to work on a proper sequel. Well, wait no more, candy fans: Cut the Rope 2 has been confirmed, and is coming to the App Store this very winter. According to Zeptolab, Cut…
The Junk Jack X Files: Case 1
Okay. So we know many of you have been waiting for our review of 2D craft-'em-up Junk Jack X. We reviewed Terreria, the other iOS-based 2D Minecraft-a-like, a couple of weeks ago, but are aware that we have yet to share our views on its similarly blocky rival. Spolier: This isn't a review of Junk Jack X. Instead, I have teamed up with Peter Willington, handheld editor for sister site Pocket Gamer, to explore Junk Jack X in a different way. Welcome to The Junk Jack X Files.…
