Home » Articles and Reviews by 'Dave Flodine'
It Says What it is
Chip Chain is a new iPhone puzzle game that is being released on November 8th. You place down poker chips, and you arrange them in chains for maximum points. Sound simple enough? It may be. It also looks like it could be pretty addictive. Check out the trailer. The game will be a free app with in-app purchases revolving around gems as the game's currency. Let's hope they get the balance right!…
Eek! (no, not the Cat)
Due out next week on November 6th, Eek! is a game that takes literalism to a whole new level, creating a 'dodge the objects' game using typography. The trailer will explain the concept better. Eek! will cost $0.99 and it looks like it provides solid enough gameplay to allow the unusual art choice to create novelty.…
MonoLoco Review
Monoloco has a pretty funny premise presented through its intro movie if nothing else. So in the zoo, there is this super intelligent simian kept behind glass. For some reason he is extremely annoyed at all the passers by who are nose deep in their mobile phones. Perhaps they should be paying attention to him. He breaks free, and what follows in an endless runner with an attack button, where you have to flee the zoo as well as kick as many people as possible so they will drop their pho…
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cartoony
iCube Review
Have you ever spent time in a games shop or visited a bar or diner where they have those puzzles made of wood, metal, or plastic laying around? Maybe you need to disconnect the rings from each either, maybe you need to get an object around the grooves to the other side, or maybe like in the game iCube, you need to rotate a ball around a maze to its final destination. The funny thing is the controls of iCube sort of give the same tactile pleasure of play that holding one of these puzzl…
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App Wrap Up (Thursday Edition, 1st November 2012)
Hey hey everyone. I don't know about you guys but as Summer is fast approaching here in Australia, the heat is getting pretty unbearable for me. Still, it doesn't stop me from giving you another edition of the column you all love so very very much, the App Wrap Up! As always, we're gonna look at some trailers of iPhone games that look potentially interesting, and then give some comments on them based on said trailers. If something looks good to you and you give it a go, all the better! Let's get started! Trauma Ted (Lonely Pin PocketGames) A simple little puzzle platformer about getting an injured cat to his pain medication. The levels are short and sweet, and it looks to involve so…
November starting off with Arc Squadron
November 1st is a Thursday, and while many great games come out on Thursdays, this article is about Arc Squadron. Using the Unreal Engine and boasting an innovative touch control scheme, this space shooter bears more than a passing resemblance to high octane games like Afterburner. Have a look at the trailer to see what I mean.…
Pandoodle
The title is just the name of the game, since it's pretty eye-catching all on its own. Released November 2nd, this game has a sketchy art style, and a rather simple drawing mechanic. To be honest it's probably not something most of our audience would be interested in, but there's a certain charm and elegance to it, and it looks like it could be quite enjoyable. Have a look at the trailer.…
App Wrap Up (Tuesday Edition, 30th October 2012)
Hey hey everyone. I'll quell the rumours right now - this is not going to be a Halloween themed App Wrap Up. There really just werent that many Halloween themed games that look good enough to feature, and besides, there's a bit of a backlog when it comes to interesting titles for this column. As always, we're showing off the trailers of games that look like they might have something interesting to offer, and any analysis is based on said trailers. Ok, let's get started. Cpt. Backwater (Intermediaware) This is a puzzle game, the trailer makes that very clear. How it works though is a little harder to figure out. It looks like how have to slide objects into each other (possibly to mak…
Lotsa Blocks Review
The physics block stacking game is an established mobile genre. Even more than that, giving the blocks (or whatever you happen to be balancing) personalities isn't anything new either. None of this is a problem if you can deliver the content in an interesting and entertaining way. Does Lotsa Blocks accomplish this? Let's find out. The goal in adventure mode is to stack blocks on the teetering balance beam to reach the finish line placed somewhere above. Before dragging the blocks from…
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Polyroll Review
Polyroll is a platformer that takes more than a little inspiration from the original Sonic the Hedgehog game. The evil Kaiser Kiwi has captured Polyroll's friends, and through rolling, jumping, collecting gems, and power-ups, it's up to you as the player to save them (There is ambiguity here as I am not really sure exactly what kind of creature Polyroll is meant to be). Graphically a lot of the game suffers from this issue. The sprite art is pretty competent and varied, and looks like…
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Enter the Monochrome Lair of the Minotaur
Described as a cross between Ikaruga and Tilt to Live, Minotaur is looking like a fast paced, engaging high score game that's arriving just in time for Halloween on October 31st. I could explain more, but i'll let the trailer do the talking. Definitely looks worth checking out though.…
Girls Like Robots Review
Girls like Robots, published by Adult Swim is the most charming and entertaining seating arrangement simulator on the App Store. Now before you all run away out of boredom, let's clarify that. Yes the core mechanic of the game is to find the optimal seating arrangement between a collection of colorful characters that either love or loathe each other, but it's through the characters themselves, and how the game keeps unrolling new situations that makes this a puzzle game that's certainl…
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Novelty is in the eye of the Beholder
First watch the trailer... What a novel concept. Instead of utilizing touch and gesture based input, Eyesfire makes use of the face recognition software in the iPhone. Now from a gameplay standpoint, finding an optimum area to place your phone, and moving your head around might be problematic (as well as firing a gun by blinking, which means you have to stop looking at the screen, as fast as the process may be). Still, we give credit to such intriguing game concepts, as it's thinking outside the box that can lead to something special, even if it takes more than a few iterations to get there.[App Store Link]…
It's a Trap!
Yes the meme is a bit cliche now, but be honest, you all heard the voice in your heads, didn't you. Anyways, Trap Mansion is getting released tomorrow on the 30th, and while we all know about the survival horror genre, we've seen far less games in the survival genre, which this looks to be part of. It looks to have a quirky sense of humour and style, and as long as the controls for shuffling your character through this mansion of doom work well, this could be a blast. More can be found in the trailer!…
MONOPOLY Millionaire Review
There's a lot to be said for the mobile versions of Monopoly that EA have released over the years. In my experience, no game is responsible for causing more arguments amongst friends (maybe Mario Kart), so it's nice to be able to enjoy such a well designed take on capitalism playing against computer controlled opponents. For those of you who don't have a problem playing with friends, there's always that option too, and plenty of tweaks to create the type of game you want to play. So t…
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