Home » Articles and Reviews by 'Dave Flodine'
Pinball Maniacs: Cartoon Pinball Adventure Review
Pinball Maniacs is a pinball game where getting a high score really isn't that important. Let that sink in for a minute. Yes there still is a high score recorded when play has ended, but you're not playing for points. You're playing for coins and rubies. You expect some of the design to shift when a game is freemium, but to shift pinball away from high scores? Well it's a bold move if nothing else. Let's explore further. You start with one table, the other being unlocked by rubies, wi…
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physics
Offroad Legends Review
Upon loading up Offroad Legends, we were expecting a Trials type experience, and this looked like the same insane jump and bump gameplay, only with monster trucks instead of motor bikes. Well it's not really like that at all, but forging its own path, this racer definitely has some unique things to offer, such as jumping lava in a hippie kombi van. One of the first things to get used to is that going full bolt will have disastrous effects. Your truck has a damage percentage meter, and…
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App Wrap Up (Week ending June 6th, 2012)
There's still no set schedule on these posts (it's usually when i have enough games to warrant one), but we'll try for 1 - 2 a week for now. Remember, these games aren't necessarily great, but based on the trailers look like they have potential or something interesting to offer (that might even culminate in a review). Pure Fun Soccer (Diorgo Jonkers) A soccer game with a fun chibi visual style. It does look a little slow paced, but it might just be what fans of more arcade style soccer titles are looking for.[App Store Link] Banzai Dice (Sergey Epifanov) A dice game that is part puzzle, part scoring. You have to form strings of the same number, and subsequent strings will c…
Fishing Joy 2 Reeling into the App Store on July 12th
The original Fishing Joy was quite a success for Punchbox Studios with over eighty five million downloads. Now they've set their sights on delivering a worthy sequel, and that sequel will be out on July 12th. Here's the trailer... Looking like a cross between a relaxing fishing title and a shooter, this definitely looks interesting enough to keep an eye out for. Aside from the crisp underwater graphics bursting with sealife, there looks to be a lot of content, complete with multipliers, coin collection and mini-games. We'll know more when it drops next week.…
Bounty Racer Released on July 12th
What strikes me first watching the trailer for Bounty Racer (which is posted below) is the visual similarities to a game i loved growing up called Big Red Racing. Something about the sparse yet inviting mountainous terrain. Bounty Racer offers a myriad of challenges and courses along with four player online multiplayer. Whether the racing itself is enticing remains to be seen, but as it drops next week, it won't take long to find out.…
QI's Top Games for June 2012
Every month seems to bring us an interesting array of games for iDevices, and June was no exception. Here are Quality Index's top 10 games for the previous month. Quality Index Top 10 iPhone games June 2012 1. GoNinja (9.42)2. Squids Wild West (9.23)3. WarGames: WOPR (9.14)4. Light Byte (9.05)5. New Star Soccer (9.06)6. Little Things Forever (8.97)7. Zombie Ace (8.88)8. Dungeon Village (8.79)9. OLO Game (8.710)10. Mega Run: Redford's Adventure (8.6) This month the QI list is going out before our own top games of June video. It's not going to influence our decision, but after the video goes up, come back and have a look to see if our opinions gel with the rest of the re…
iMpulse Controller for Smart Phones
In a lot of our reviews, you would have heard us bemoan the lack of responsive controls, especially on games that are ports from console or PC where you have a keyboard or controller to deal with. With that in mind, it's always neat to see a company create a controller to interface with smart phones, and the iMpulse is such a device. Touted as small and wireless, this controller fits on your keyring, has USB connection as well as long battery life. Since it's supposed to go on your keychain, your phone can help you find your keys if you misplace them. While sounding good in theory, developers need to make their games compatible with the device, and its tiny frame might prove uncomfortable…
Preview of Gets to the Exit
[edit] The game is now available in the App Store. [Link] Developers Roll7 are proud to announce their upcoming title Gets to the End. While the name itself may be self explanatory, it's a game that takes its cue from Lemmings, except instead of controlling the tribesmen, you control the environment. It looks quite amusing, and we'll keep you updated on when it's slated to hit the app store. In the meantime, here's the trailer...…
The Ruins Guild out on iOS soon
Already out on Android, and coming to iOS, The Runes Guild is a hack and slash game from Potugese developer, WorkEffective. Here's the launch trailer. It looks kind of generic fantasy with some camera oddities, but the if the gameplay and loot gathering is solid, this could be a great addition to the iOS library. We shall see.…
Ski Safari's First Update
For those of you who have uncovered all that Ski Safari has to offer, their first update has hit on the app store. It features a new slope called Howling Hills that is home to a new animal to collect; the wolf! Aside from new challenges and rankings there is also a store to spend all those coins you have collected. Sounds like a great new addition to what was already a fun game. Time to return to the slopes! [Ski Safarai iTunes - Ski Safari Review]…
The Act Review
Most everyone has played Dragon's Lair by now, or is at least familiar with it. If not, go YouTube a clip. It's OK, we'll be here when you get back. Now you might ask yourself how a game with so little actual gameplay became such a phenomenon. Well partly because at the time of release, people had never seen anything like it before, but even today there's something enticing about having control over what appears to be an animated feature. The Act has taken the same approach, plonking t…
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Unstoppable Fist Review
When one looks back at the 80s, there's usually a pretty even split between those with fond memories, and those who involuntary shudder at the mere mention of the decade's name. Unstoppable Fist kind of walks this fine line, both paying tribute to, and satirizing the excesses of the 80s action movie, all wrapped up in addictive score attack gameplay. While first you may be bombarded with the catchy chiptune soundtrack and bombastic pixel art, the game has you picking a difficulty befo…
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New Column: App Wrap Up (Weekend Edition)
Appspy has reviews. We have the Friday news wrap up, and we have the top games of each month. Aside from that we're always thinking about new columns because we are fans of both columns and consistancy. Well we're rolling out a new idea today. We constantly recieve plenty of submissions from developers asking us to review their apps that have just been released, or to create buzz about an upcoming game. Many of these submissions contain games that look like they might be interesting, and our audience might like to hear about, but not every one of these becomes a review (mainly due to time constraints). From now on we're going to highlight the submissions we recieve that look interesting. So…
Max Astro: Stranded Beyond the Stars Review
Max Astro: Stranded Beyond the Stars tells you everything you need to know about the game's story right in its title. Your name is Max Astro, pudgy space adventurer, and you have been stranded beyond the stars. To get back home you must traverse alien landscapes while odd block critters fall from above. These critters are the key to not only creating stepping stones to overcome large block towers, but they can destroy large towers blocking your path. Each screen of a level is its own…
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Oscura Review
Silhouette can make for a very striking and distinct artistic style in games. What makes things even better is when there's a thematic reason for such a choice. In the world of Oscura, light keeps all manner of nasty creatures at bay. When the lighthouse shatters, its crystals spread across the land, shrouding everything in darkness. Now these nasties are out and wandering. Bearing a lit torch, it's your job to light the lanterns of each level (which act as checkpoints), collect all cr…
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