Home » Articles and Reviews by 'Andrew Nesvadba'
Qwak HD iPad Review
When we first saw Qwak on the iOS platform it was restricted to the tiny screens of the iPhones and iPods of the world. The lightning-sharp responsiveness of the controls helped to bring the Amiga classic back to life, but with so much going on, screen-space was definitely a concern... until now. Qwak HD makes the best of the iPad, making it a snap to keep track of the busy platforming action while also adding a two-player mode in to the proceedings. This last feature is pulled off fl…
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Granny Smith Review
Mediocre have a grip on physics. That's a lame pun, and I may be scientifically inaccurate there too, but the sentiment is definitely true. Sprinkle was an amazingly cute and complex title that made use of some of the best fluid physics seen on the App Store and the team is back with Granny Smith. Instead of putting out fires you're chasing down thieves on roller-skates and crashing through the countryside and cityscape in an attempt to recover your delicious fruit. Like any great iOS…
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Bastion iPad Review
Having already found a home on the XBLA and PC, Supergiant Game's stunning title Bastion has leapt (from almost nowhere) on to the App Store and in particular on to the iPad. It's a welcome surprise as it doesn't simply demand players to stick with the control system of the first two releases (though it is still available), opting instead for an intuitive semi-auto fire tap and drag system instead. The only question that remains is, does it still feel like Bastion? For those unfamilia…
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King's Bounty: Legions iPad Review
While it's hard to complain about the price of freemium games, the content is often questionable and reliant on gating players towards its paid-for features, arguably by devious means. There are many exceptions to many rules and King's Bounty: Legions is just such a game. Either playable on the PC through Facebook or via iOS on your iPad, it's a scaled down version of the popular turn-based tactical title that retains the combat and trades resource management for crafting and 'energy'.…
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The World Ends with You: Solo Remix for iPad iPad Review
You know a game has a grip on you when you say something like, "I'd have bought a Nintendo DS just to play it". The World Ends With You (TWEWY) was just such a game for me, and knowing that I'd get to play it again on the iOS platform immediately dredged up a host of happy memories spent lazily enjoying its Beat'em-up RPG-like gameplay. The reason I'm gushing from the outset is to establish a base-level of 'rose-tinted glasses' for our readers/viewers and perhaps to soften the blow of…
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KooZac™ Review
[KooZac was featured as the Mini-Review for the Friday News Wrap-Up for the 24th of August, 2012] Square Enix have certainly been trying a new approach when it comes to the iOS platform - while their premium RPGs are certainly worthwhile, their casual titles often leave out something in their final release. Or rather something is left in that should be left out - a hand in your pocket. KooZac is a brain-tickling arcade puzzler that challenges players to throw down numbered blocks in…
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Friday News Wrap-Up 24 August 2012
I won't jump the gun just yet, but the Pick of the Week is a dead give away this week, so there's no need to skip all the way there straight away. Instead, sit back and relax and listen to the news of the week that was in AppSpy's Friday News-Wrap Up for the 24th of August, 2012. Warhammer Quest - By Rodeo Games, out next SpringI had to have a cold shower after finding out about this ditty. Board games have been doing very well on the App Store, if only because they provide minimal changes from the real thing and are often much cheaper to invest in. Warhammer Quest from Games Workshop is an absolute classic, but it also mimics a gameplay style we all know and may even love - turn-…
Mikey Shorts Review
I almost feel sick of needing to make the point so often, but if you're going to make a platformer, you need to make the core gameplay (that is to say, running and jumping) feel good. In some cases it's a matter of responsiveness from the controls, and in others its anything from the physics to the character animations, but in Mikey Shorts by BeaverTap, none of these things are a problem. In fact you'd be forgiven for thinking someone from Rocketcat Games ran away with someone from Ra…
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Lost Cities Review
Reiner Knizia is no small fish in the world of board games. Titles such as the Lord of the Rings and Ingenious are enjoyed world wide, while Lost Cities, a 2-player 60-card game has even proven to be popular enough to warrant an XBLA remake. Having previously converted Carcassonne to the iOS platform, The Coding Monkeys have taken it upon themselves to restore Lost Cities to its original design, bolstering it with individually scaling AI opponents and multiple asynchronous online games…
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Bad Hotel Review
It takes a certain kind of mad clarity to sit there and take the genre of 'Tower Defense' as literally as Bad Hotel does. Conceptually Lucky Frame's game is the same as it ever was - drop blocks as defenses against an onslaught of creatures bent on destroying your base, but this time around you're actually building the eponymous hotel, adding rooms to accommodate tourists and shoot down sentient clouds. I may have lost you on that last point. See, your task is simple - build a profita…
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Puzzle Craft Review
'Casual' match-three mechanics; timers that spit out the occasional bonus; resource management tied to tiers of resource management... surely this is a recipe for disaster? It's a mix we've seen slapped together in the 'freemium' model, but is it really such a bad thing at all? Ars Thanea Games and Chillingo prove that you can have your cake and eat it too, pairing all the addictive elements of a freemium title together with a well balanced and deep sense of progression that feels rewa…
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Horn™ Review
When Phosphor Games came out with The Dark Meadow they proved one thing in particular - they know how to craft a world from the ground up. Their latest release Horn comes to us care of casual gaming giant 'Zynga', but its a far cry from the time-sink cash grabs of the past, teleporting players to a world that melds adventuring classics like Zelda and Fable with the visual appeal of Team Ico's best, and ties it all together with Infinity Blade's slashing RPG-lite gameplay. In short, it'…
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Bag It! Updates With A New Game Mode And 3D!
We at AppSpy are never afraid to wear our love of a game on our sleeves and Hidden Variable's 'Bag It!' is no exception, receiving high praise not only from us, but from most major reviewers . After a recent successful promotion, the developers have updated the game with a brand new mode called 'Seedy's Booty' featuring all new gameplay, power-ups and best of all... 3D! That's right, no longer are the items in the shopping bag confined to the rigours of a 2D plane as they explode out of the screen as you make matches. Check out the gameplay footage here: As part of the update we have three codes to give away - keep an eye on our Twitter feed as we drop the codes one by one ov…
Friday News Wrap-Up 17 August 2012
Man... where has the year gone? We're already two thirds of the way through 2012; the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini is on the horizon; and we haven't even seen the biggest releases hit yet. I may just be falling in to the cycle of hype, but I can't wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for us. For now lets cover the news of the last week or so in the Friday News Wrap-Up for the 17th of August, 2012. Real Boxing - Unreal graphicsPolish developer Vivid Games may be better known for titles like Shoot to Kill or (my personal favorite) the re-release of Speedball 2 for the iOS platform. The prolific studio isn't slowing down its pace one iota and is joining the Unreal Engine trai…
Random Heroes Review
[This mini-review is featured on the Friday News Wrap-Up for the 17th of August, 2012] After the wild success of League of Evil it's no surprise to see Ravenous Games attempting to recapture that perfect balance of gaming joy once again. Pairing up with Woblyware for another Flash-to-iOS release, Random Heroes may be a platformer, but it's less of a game about high scores and more akin to the old-skool games we saw pumped out by studios during the 80s and 90s. As the name suggests pl…
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