Home » Articles and Reviews by 'Andrew Nesvadba'
Kumo Lumo Review
The humble cloud is not often considered a harbinger of war or an avatar of suffering, but in the land of Kumo Lumo you play the almost perpetually smiling angel of death. Wait? No one else got that vibe? You mean it's just a cutesy light-action title with lots of grinding? No matter how you play it, Chillingo and Blitz Games' latest certainly has an interesting concept. The basic gameplay goes a little like this: The world below Kumo can be scrolled along with a swipe. Kumo himself c…
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Crazy Taxi Review
I feel like a powerful force is trying to show us, the lowly gamer, the stark difference between two driving-based games from 1999 and their subsequent re-release on the iOS platform. Where Re-Volt may be the subject of fond memories, its gameplay (though not its level design) was ultimately average. However, Crazy Taxi by SEGA remains just as balls-to-the-wall madcap as ever, placing you in control of an out-of-control taxi driver around a virtual homage of San Francisco. Whether you…
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Re-Volt Classic Review
Not everything is better the second time around - sure we can point to the many 'Karting' titles of the 90s, including greats like the Micro Machines series, but it's 2012 and you'd hope the formula would have changed by now. Re-Volt was, for its time, a fun and frantic 3D racer with a toy's-eye-view of the world, but with little changed since its release the title feels like it hasn't fared well over time. After picking from the initial set of unlocked vehicles the player is able to…
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Grow Away! Review
The rodents and pests of the world have run out of junk food to eat, so now they're after the plants and vegetables. What's a tomato to do? Taking a page out of the Angry Bird playbook they jump in to a slingshot and fire themselves - kamikaze style - in to the waves of creatures headed for their barricade. Grow Away! by Soco Soft is a disturbing concept when you break it down, but seeing as it's all colorful explosions and cute faces, I guess we can let that tid-bit slide. Essentiall…
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Snail Bob Review
Some would argue that the iOS platform is always going to be a casual one - of course there's the occasional 'hardcore' release, but with so much money to be made off those who just want a quick, but fun distraction, it's easy to see why deep and challenging titles aren't more common. Snail Bob is yet another 3-star physics puzzler, joining the already large fray, but it goes for that third, even more elusive market, the young-gamer. Snail Bob just wants to get home, but on the way he…
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Burrito Bison Review
Last year we had the absolute joy of being able to play Juicy Beast's disgustingly fun classic GOBTRON on the iOS platform, but it wasn't long after its release that fans asked, 'Where's Burrito Bison?'. At long last the developer has paired up with Ravenous Games to release their luchadore-bison bouncing; gummy-bear squishing; city-smashing Flash hit to the App Store, but is it too little too late now? The App Store, and indeed the free-Flash game market itself, is redolent with game…
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Lanterns Review
[Lanterns was featured as the Mini-review for the 5th of October, 2012 Friday News Wrap-Up] The Lantern Festival that ends most Chinese New Year celebrations is a beautiful thing to observe and take part in. There’s something calming about seeing hundreds of softly-lit colored orbs tethered on or strung-up between buildings, or better yet, floating free in the sky. Lanterns by Big Time Games recreates the zen-like relaxation of the festival by using the already familiar match-3…
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Friday News Wrap-Up 5 October 2012
We’re back in the groove and it’s a new month, so keep an eye out for our Top 3 picks for September 2012. In the meantime lets talk about some of the hottest news from the last week or so, because I’ll be honest, there’s some eye-openers to talk about.This is the Friday News Wrap-Up for the 5th of October, 2012. Modern Combat 4: Zero HourThe annual update to Gameloft’s top selling shooter franchise is looming upon us and the developer is keen to show off just how pretty it looks. Set (one can only guess) in the tropical climate of Hawaii, there’s a distinct ultra-modern touch to proceedings that could open the path to some unique scenarios. Unfo…
Sugar Kid Review
Cute protagonist? Check. Three-star system to unlock content? Check. Physics-based gameplay system? Triple check. It’s almost a recipe for mundanity by now, but A Crowd of Monsters and Bulkypix have taken the best aspects of these games, paired it with perhaps the most disturbing penalty system I’ve seen in a while and packaged it with quickly unlocking content that scales to your skill level with uncanny precision. This is Sugar Kid, and I don’t think I’ll be…
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Payback² HD - The Battle Sandbox Review
For gamers like myself, the idea of a truly open-ended experience can be daunting - it’s not that I can’t set myself goals and then achieve them, but that I kind of expect that sort of input from the people who made them game. As such the genre has never really appealed; at least not for an extended period of time. Thankfully there’s always Payback^2 by Apex Design, a resurrected iOS GTA-a-like classic that concentrates on bite-sized action-packed missions while still…
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MechWarrior: Tactical Command iPad Review
The release of MechWarrior: Tactical Command on the iOS platform may seem like a somewhat archaic franchise to resurrect for the modern gamer, but with MechWarrior Tactics pulling in old fans it was going to be now or never. Modeled after the real-time tactical wing of the MechWarrior franchise (MechCommander), Personae Studios manages to capture many of the detailed points from the series, while stumbling over everything else, including the controls, presentation and storyline. Summa…
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The Last Express Review
In the world of Adventure titles, The Last Express is a sort of right-of-passage, especially as it puts a spin on the usual tropes of the genre by packing them in to a mystery-thriller that plays out in real-time. It should be no surprise that such a concept sprang from the mind of Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner, and despite its relative age it remains a shining example of how deeply gameplay and storytelling can be intertwined. You play as Robert Cath, a young doctor thrown…
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Bad Piggies Review
You'd be forgiven for thinking Rovio spent too long resting on their laurels after Angry Birds, opting to drive the franchise instead of seeking new horizons. Thankfully Amazing Alex found its way out of the studio (albeit as a re-branding of an existing game) and it was clear the studio was ready to try something new. Note, not 'different' - one can't claim that Bad Piggies breaks away from the physics-puzzle-and-three-star formula we've come to know so well, but it's most definitely…
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Amazing Runner Review
It seems every man and his dog is throwing their hat in to the 'Temple Run' arena of game-a-likes, and Freyr Games are no exception with their Unreal Engine powered title Amazing Runner. Once you hit start you'll be placed on a futuristic track lined with golden gems that must be collected while avoiding obvious hazards such as the occasional 'robot' placed in your path or game-ending pits that open up before you. As with its inspirational title, tilting will move you back and forth…
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God of Blades Review
Fans of classic sci-fi fantasy or 70s synth/prog-rock may need to brace themselves for the likes of White Whale Games' God of Blades. With writing that invokes shades of HP Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, and artwork that feels like a nightmare trip through Frank Frazetta's mind, there's not an inch of this game that isn't dripping with a strangely appealing other-worldly sheen. These connections are strengthened even further thanks to each of the game's four chapters having its own '…
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