Home » Articles and Reviews by 'Alex Beech'
Play the 30th Anniversary Edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Game on your iPad
It was 1984 when Infocom's original The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Game released. Now, 30 years later, the game is playable for free on the BBC 4 Extra website. The 30th Anniversary Edition of the game keeps Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky's original text adventure intact. However, the interface has been given a visual overhaul to update it for a modern audience. This new look improves the gameplay, too. A visual representation of your current location allows you to keep track of interactive items. It also records how many moves you have made, letting you beat yourself up about your inefficient problem solving after each session. Keeping the original adventure intact m…
iPadFree-to-play Facebook RPG Game of Thrones: Ascent coming to iOS
Disruptor Beam and Kongregate have just announced a partnership that will bring the Game of Thrones: Ascent strategy RPG to iOS this spring. Game of Thrones: Ascent was originally released as a free-to-play RPG via Kongegate and Facebook. Set in Westerous, the game asks you to align yourself with one of the noble houses which rule the land, and undertake missions in order to increase your faction's standing and influence. It seems that this iOS edition of Game of Thrones: Ascent will bring with it all of the features of the Facebook version – even allowing you to sync accounts and continue your game on the go. It' important to note that is game has nothing to do wit…
Block Fortress: War Review
Block Fortress: War brings a new level of strategy to Foursaken Media's Block Fortress franchise. A mix of tower-defence, direct hero control, and resource management, it offers a wealth of tactical options. However, while the choices are plentiful, they can lead to unnecessary confusion. Block Fortress: War's complexity comes from how it weaves it mechanics together. No one feature is difficult to mangage in isolation. But to be competitive you have to master them all. Take the…
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Devious Dungeon Review
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If this is true then last year's PC roguelike, Rogue Legacy, must be feeling pretty good about now, because Ravenous Games's new title, Devious Dungeon, borrows heavily from it. Both titles see you venturing through an ever-changing dungeon to defeat a reawakened evil. Success requires precision platforming skills, and a healthy dose of procedurally-generated luck. It is this combination of chance and challenge that makes the game…
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Fast-paced join-the-dots game Glint is out now on iPhone and iPad
Yesterday saw Glint, a colourful, fast-paced game of join-the-dots, hit the App Store. Initially, all Glint asks you to do is use your finger to connect colourful dots. Any combination of two or more dots will disappear when you swipe across them. The aim to clear the screen quickly enough to prevent the play area from overflowing. The initially gentle pace does not last long, however. You soon be swiping against the clock, playing for time by ushering smaller, uncollectable dots into the hole at the bottom of the screen. Eventually, you'll have to manage explosive dots, collectible rings, and score multiplying power-ups. Glint is a good example of how the simplest of concept…
There she blows! Assassin's Creed Pirates gets whale hunting in latest update
Being a pirate ain't all sword fighting and rum, you know. Sometimes you have to get down to the messy stuff – whale hunting, that were the real money is. Luckily, Ubisoft has just released an update to Assassin's Creed Pirates which adds whale hunting to the navel warfare gameplay. As well as letting you harpoon the gentle giants of the deep, the update also brings a handful of other new features. Those of a zoologically persuasion will be able to collect 50 species of Caribbean fish. If this isn't your cup of grog, however, there are also two new ships and six additional boss fights to unlock. A survival mode wraps up the list of updates, challenging you to live though a wave…
God of Light Review
In some ways Playmous's new game, God of Light, reminds us of the album art for Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon - it focuses on a beam of light, and it has a sweet soundtrack. Taking control of a glowing ball called Shiny, you have to bounce a ray of light off various reflective flowers to reach the Source of Life. Things aren't quite that straightforward, however. You see, you begin all of God of Light's mazes in darkness. Tapping on Shiny allows you to easily rotate the si…
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Puzzle platformer Eets Munchies will have you nibbling at your iPad
Waking up in the morning always leaves us a little confused and peckish. This is exactly the feeling Klei Entertainment new iPad puzzle game Eets Munchies manages to provoke. The simple goal of Eets Munchies is to guide a ravenous creature towards a delicious cake. Rather than taking direct control of the beastie, however, each puzzle has you leading the little guy around the screen by laying items along his path, and clearing away any obstacles. There are dozens of items on offer to help you reach the goal. These include chillies to make the hungry chap angry, boards to form bridges, and even mushrooms that make you walk on the ceiling – all of which fit perfectly with t…
The Voyage Review
The Voyage wastes no time in immersing you in its pirate-themed, puzzle-based world. Your adversary Captain Bucklebeard quickly establishes the game's loose story: a race to find the treasure of Velvet Marley. From here, the puzzles come thick and fast as you make your way through each of The Voyage's 100 increasingly difficult conundrums. Before each new challenge begins you are treated to a quick instruction screen. These are important, as your goal changes dramatically from one puz…
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New adventure game Doggins gives you a glimpse into your dog's dreams
Anyone who has ever had a puppy will recognise the quiet whimpers and excited twitches of a dreaming dog. Now Brain&Brain's new adventure game Doggins gives you the chance to explore just what is going on in their mongrel minds. Doggins wastes no time establishing its adventure game credentials. Donning the collar of sleepy pooch, you are approached by a monocled squirrel holding a "curious envelope." Turns out the acorn loving critters are trying to rewrite history by leapfrogging though history, and preventing important inventions from being created. Naturally, it's up to you and Doggins to stop the squirrels via a series of tactile puzzles. Doggins's surreal story works…
Block Fortress: War will be knocking your block off tonight on the App Store
Much like previous Block Fortress titles, Block Fortress: War - which set to land on the App Store tonight - borrows the Minecraft aesthetic, and repurposes in the name of violence. The latest entry in the series is a fast-paced intergalactic tower-defence game in which you battle five alien races in your efforts to rule the galaxy. Each of the game's races has their own weapons and heroes, all of which bring their own strengths and weaknesses to the battlefield. The tower-defence gameplay also features real-time strategy elements, with capture and control points helping to turn the flow of battle. Capturing these hotspots allow you to build additional upgrades and weapons ou…
Pixel-art roguelike Devious Dungeon charging onto the App Store tonight
Pixel-art platformer Devious Dungeon is arriving on the App Store at midnight tonight. While combining 8-bit visuals, platforming, and randomised level design is not an original idea for a game, when it's the work of Ravenous Games (the developer of the fantastic League of Evil series) we find ourselves paying attention. The medieval-themed platform game will offer five differently themed environments to explore beneath the streets of the Kingdom. Each of these will offer unique enemies and challenges to overcome as you battle to collect increasingly impressive loot, and improve your chances of survival. The aquisition of gear is especially important, as you will uncover increasingly…
Demonrock: War of Ages Review
On its surface Demonrock: War of Ages's isometric fantasy combat seems to ape classic dungeon crawlers like Diablo. Delve a little deeper, however, and you'll soon realise that this reverse tower defense game is far less broad in its scope. You are given a choice of four fighters. Two of these characters are unlocked, with the others available though IAP. Choosing which character to start with dramatically affects your experience – so making this initial selection esse…
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Procedurally generated mining game Mines of Mars out on Thursday
If no one can hear you scream in space, then on Mars we suspect no one can hear you whimpering in the dark hoping that death doesn't find you. This is because the new trailer for Mines of Mars – which will be released onto the App Store on March 6th - is dripping with the kind of atmosphere and loneliness that is usually reserved for reserved for Metroid. This comparison is no coincidence. Developer Crescent Moon Games cites Nintendo's classic exploration game and Motherload in as their inspirations for the Mines of Mars. Set in dark and moody 2D environments, Mines of Mars is, at its core, a procedurally-generated mining game. It is not a complete sandbox however, as the explo…
Zynga announces upcoming FarmVille, Zynga Poker, and Word With Friends sequels for mobile
Zynga is working on mobile sequels for FarmVille, Zynga Poker, and Words With Friends. Speaking on the company's blog, Zynga CEO Clive Downie he outlined how feedback from users has helped refine each game, and how this has aided in creation of new mobile titles in each series. The first of these is FarmVille 2: Country Escape. This new portable edition of FarmVille 2 is an entirely new experience, but it will allow existing players to transfer commodities between their online and mobile farm. Also, for the first time in the series, you will be able to play offline, meaning you can continue to sow your seed even when on the train. New Zynga Poker is a slightly…
