Home » Articles and Reviews by 'James Gilmour'
Warhammer Quest iPad Review
If you can remember the days when games were played on tables, not tablets, then you might recall Game Workshop’s Warhammer Quest. Now, Rodeo Games has brought the dice and cardboard RPG into the digital realm, attempting to encapsulate the treasure-seeking, goblin mashing thrills of the boardgame in an iPhone and iPad app. The good news for all of us is that they’ve made a pretty good job of it. The first thing you’ll need is familiarise yourself with your character…
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Gameloft unveils first Modern Combat 5 trailer
Gameloft has just released the debut trailer for upcoming first-person shooter sequel Modern Combat 5. The teaser delivers almost exactly what you would expect a Modern Combat trailer to deliver. There are explosions, a veritable fleet of high-powered military vehicles, and enough flying bullets to make the geriatric cast of The Expendables nod creakily in approval. More specifically, the video hints at a set piece involving a helicopter mounted gun turret, and a high octane chase sequence featuring boats whooshing down a Venice canal. And guns. Did we mention the guns? Unfortunately, Gameloft hasn't seen fit to give us a release date. The developer has tagged the video as an 'E3 trailer…
HD overhaul for Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
Having just lifted the lid on its new iOS Deux Ex game, Square Enix has also delivered good news for Final Fantasy Tactics fans. It seems the Japanese developer decided that the visuals for Final Tantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions could do with spruce up, and has just given the game an HD graphical overhaul. Simply download the latest update, and your low resolution troops will be transformed into super-sharp soldiers of fortune. The update should also improve the draw speed of the visual, too. In non-aesthetic news, Cloud support has also been added, allowing you to access save files regardless of which iOS device you happen to have in your palm. What's more, Squeenix has slashed the…
Deux Ex: The Fall announced for iOS
Prepare for imminent iOS augmentation: Square Enix's next Deus Ex game is coming not to home consoles, but to iPhone and iPad. Entitled Deux Ex: The Fall, the game will be a fully-fledged first-person RPG action title, just like its console counterpart Deux Ex: Human Revolution. The game's plot revolves around the supply of the drug which augmented humans (like protagonist Ben Saxon) require to survive. This time out, Square Enix's mobile division has taken on development duties, with involvement from N-Fusion (the team behind Air Mail) and Eidos-Montreal. Rather than being a neutered version of the console title, executive game director at Eidos Montreal Jean-François Dugas …
Azkend 2 - The World Beneath free on App Store
Richly detailed match-three puzzle sequel Azkend 2 - The World Beneath is free to download for a limited time on the App Store. This act of temporary generosity can be attributed to the fact developer 10tons's next title Sparkle 2 is due out on Thursday, and the team is looking to stir up some noise for its upcoming release. Regardless of the reasons behind the game's price drop, fans of the match-three genre would be wise to give this unusual, narrative-driven puzzler a bash. The core puzzle elements are solid, and provide the spine for a quirky story campaign which sees you battling your way out of the centre of the Earth. You can download Azkend 2 - The World Beneath for free right now…
Deep Dungeons of Doom drops onto the App Store
After going MIA for a few months following its initial release announcement, retro action adventure Deep Dungeons of Doom has finally appeared on the App Store. As you've probably already guessed from the trope-tastic title, this is a game designed to make lovers of fantasy adventure and pixel-art graphics roll over onto their backs and purr like kittens. Whether it tickles your furry underbelly or not will depend on your fondness for arcade style, one-on-one combat. As you descend through the game's steady stream of single screen dungeons, you'll come up against an increasingly tough line-up of fantastical opponents. Though the actual fighting mechanics consist simply of a block and an a…
Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™ iPad Review
In some circles, BioWare's Knights of the Old Republic is considered the finest Star Wars game ever devised. Released back in 2003, it successfully captured not only the action-adventure sensibilities of the source movies, but also the epic scope of the Star Wars universe. Not content to let the classic slide further into the past, developer Aspyr has ported the full game onto the iPad. Bar a few control tweaks, this iOS release is a near perfect recreation of the original Knights of…
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Free-to-play sequel Plants vs. Zombies 2 blooming in July
Long awaited tower defence sequel Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time is set to spring up on iOS devices on July 18th. What's more, it's going to be an App Store exclusive, and will be free to download. Much like the most recent Cut the Rope sequel, this new episode of lawn protecting action will propel the player between different periods of history. According to Eurogamer, you'll be shooing zombies off your Egyptian stonework one minute, and keeping your bay free of undead pirates the next. Things are a little different this time out. In addition to setting up towers and blasting zombies with seeds, you'll be able to attack the rotting marauders with your very own fingers by tapping th…
Friday News Wrap-Up 31 May 2013
It's Friday once again, which means it's time to take a look back at this week's top stories in the world of iOS gaming. Stars Wars: Knights of the Old Republic out on iPad Like a lightsaber flaring to life the darkness, classic BioWare RPG Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic appeared on the App Store yesterday. Oddly, there was surprisingly little fanfare for the iOS port of this beloved title, which originally came to consoles an PC back in 2003. Set 4,000 years prior to the movies, the game focuses on the decidedly nasty Sith Lord Darth Malak. It's up to you to stop this sinister Sith git from destroying the Republic, and wiping out the Jedi. Its decade-old visuals may look a tou…
Finger Tied Review
Finger Tied is a puzzle game. However, its puzzles are not the traditional brain-teasing challenges you might expect. Instead, the test here is to stretch your fingers, and attempt to move your digits in the manner the game demands. Each level will display one or more shapes, accompanied by a number of squares upon which you can travel. If there is only one shape, you must press your finger down upon it and drag towards the shape's counterpart, highlighting all the available tiles alo…
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Tetris® Blitz iPad Review
Tetris will never die. The granddaddy of all block puzzlers is the quintissential example of a timeless game, one which transcends arbitrary divides such as age brackets and console generations. The latest iteration of the tetromino twirling title is Tetris Blitz. Designed for touchscreens, its puts a high-speed spin on the classic formula in the hope of injecting even more urgency into each round. Rather than guiding blocks and clearing lines until your stack hits the top of the scr…
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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic coming to iPad
BioWare's epic RPG Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is coming to iPad this week. Tongues started wagging about the possibility of an iOS version of KOTOR last week, when publishing house Aspyr accidentally referenced the game in a digital newsletter. However, all speculation was put to rest earlier this morning when IGN published a review of the iPad port. Thankfully, the review is largely positive, though its author does highlight some issues relating to movement controls. We can remember playing the KOTOR way back in 2003, and think the game would be ideally suited to tablet devices. The point-and-click interface of the PC version should translate perfectly onto touchscreens. That…
Badland receives 10 new levels in 'Day II' update
Side-scrolling auto-flier Badland has just received a massive content injection, in the form of the "Day II" update. What can fans of Frogmind's highly-rated iOS hit expect? Well, downloading the free update (version 1.2) will add 10 brand-new levels to the game's single player campaign. These levels bring with them no less than 30 additional missions. As a bonus, you'll also gain five unlockable achievements upon which to set your sights. If that wasn't enough, we hear that the developer is already hard at work on the next update, which is said to contain another 10 levels. You've got to respect that work ethic. You can download the Badland "Day II" update from the App Store right now.…
Warhammer Quest to hit the App Store at midnight
At the stroke of midnight, classic Games Workshop tabletop game Warhammer Quest will be reborn on the App Store. Rodeo Games, the folks behind turn-based shooter Hunters 2, have taken it upon themselves to translate the original cardboard adventure game into a touchscreen-friendly iPhone and iPad title. You take control of a small party of warriors, inculding an Dwarf Ironbreaker, an Elf Waywatcher, and a Grey Wizard. It's up to you to guide these characters through a series of perilous dungeons, killing orcs and other nasties as you go. Having played a little Warhammer Quest, we can say that the emphasis here is definitely on tactics. Squad management is priority, and it's important to p…
Kingdom Rush: Frontiers marching onto iOS June 6th
The sequel to tower defence titan Kingdom Rush is set to charge onto the App Store next Thursday. Entitled Kingdom Rush: Frontiers, this follow-up will expand the medieval universe established by its acclaimed predecessor. This means fans can look forward to new maps, additional enemies, and (naturally) a selection of additional towers to build. From the looks of the natty new trailer (below), the terrain in Kingdom Rush: Frontiers is a lot more varied this time around. Beyond the standard grassy environments, the devs have included desert, stone, and tropical maps to survey and defend. We can also see some impressive new tower artillery, including some mighty mechs, and some sinister-lo…
