Home » Articles and Reviews by 'Alex Beech'
Beyond Space Review
The game which Beyond Space wants to be and the game which Beyond Space actually is are two entities light years apart. Developer Bulkypix clearly intended to make an expansive space drama filled with intergalactic and interpersonal conflict. What they actually made was a good space shooter, weighed down by an overly verbose story and horrible voice acting. Max Walker, the star of Space Beyond, is an unfortunate soul. Despite being a talented fighter pilot, he is the ugliest man…
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Shooter
Autumn Dynasty Warlords Review
There is a fine balance in strategy games between accessibility and depth. Make a game too easy and it won't hold your attention. Make it too deep and it becomes impenetrable to all but the most dedicated fans. Autumn Dynasty Warlords, from Touch Dimensions, strikes this balance perfectly. This is a particularly impressive feat, as even with the tutorial turned on, the game does little to hold your hand. Bar a few brief messages outlining the basic mechanics and interface, it leaves i…
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Kemco experiments with 3D in new RPG Alphadia Genesis
It can be easy to laugh at JRPG factory Kemco. It is easy to imagine teams of designers and writers gathered around a conveyor belt assembling an endless stream of cookie-cutter RPGs. However, with its latest release, Alphadia Genesis, the developer has stepped outside of its comfort zone by experimenting with 3D visuals. Given the JRPG genre's focus on menu-based combat, 3D visuals have never been a priority. However, while the over-world map and story play out in 2D, Alphadia Genesis's combat takes place in the third dimension. This adds a little drama to the turn-based battles, as bosses now tower over your fleshed out team of tiny fighters. The new visual effects are joined by a twist…
Shellrazer gets new island and oodles of enemies in Bugzkrieg update
It easy to see why Shellrazer has been blowing up all over the App Store. After all, a side-scrolling shooter in which you mount a giant customisable War Turtle is a premise which is tricky to ignore. However, the turtle-powered blaster has just become even bigger thanks to the game's newest update, which adds a brand new island - and a ton of new enemies - to the game. The new island of Bugzkrieg is set to further expand this cartoony side scroller. The additional land mass takes the total number of islands up to three. and brings with it a host of new challenges. Introducing more than 50 new enemy units, Shellrazer now offers over a hundred types of advisories to shoot, snipe, a…
IAP-free CCG Card City Nights is available on the App Store now
Collectible card games were the original free-to-play experience. Having to buy booster packs of cards (micro-transactions, if you will) to improve your deck offered the thrill of gambling with none of the financial reward. All of which makes Ludosity's Card City Nights a little odd, as it's single player CCG which offers no IAPs. Buying the game will get you access to all of its 180 cards, which can be earned by playing through the eight-hour campaign. Card City Nights also adds positional play and combos to the CCG formula. Playing out on a 3x3 grid, the game is all about positioning cards in relation to others to activate powers. Once cards are fused, it is up to y…
Space adventure Out There is now out there on the App Store
Space doesn't have to be full of aliens and mutants to be scary. Sometimes, just the solitude and isolation of its cold vacuum is enough. This lonliness is exactly what Out There, the new title from Mi Clos Studio, capitalises on, stranding you in run-down ship, floating in the darkness of the void. Awaking from cryonics in an unknown part of the galaxy, Out There's theme of isolation is immediately apparent. Your craft is in disrepair, and you must immediately start gathering supplies to stay alive. The game's sci-fi universe is not completely devoid of life, however. Intelligent alien species populate distant planets, waiting to be discovered. However, these extra-terrestrials are…
Get bigger gas tanks and more cash with the latest CSR Racing update
Petrolheads, start revving you engines: the latest update for freemium racer CSR Racing has just skidded on to the app store. Among the new additions to the gear-shifting hit is the option to further customise your cars. This includes adding an even larger gas tank to your ride, giving you even more energy with which to race and earn money. You an also hire the entire Race Team a 24 hour period, and take the Mechanic with you in multiplayer mode. What's more, you can now earn additional free coins by notifying your lucky Twitter followers about your in-game progress. The CSR Racing update is live on the App Store now. [App Store link]…
Strike a light: Primal Flame is setting fire to the App Store now
When you are trapped in the dark, keeping what little light you have alive quickly becomes your top priority. It is this fear that Pierre Aclement's Primal Flame capitalises on. To begin the game, you strike a match with a swipe of the screen. This single flame is all you have to light the stylish, silhouetted world. Unfortunately for you and your peace of mind, it seems everything in this eerie forest is determined to snuff it out. Flowers are constantly reaching out to smother your light. The only way to stop the advancing plant life is to dodge past their clawing appendages, and kill them by slicing at their stalks. Collecting seeds from the darkened world increases the strength of y…
RTS sequel Autumn Dynasty: Warlords invades the App Store a day early
After nearly a three-month delay that has had us sharpening our swords in anticipation, we thought we were prepared for the scheduled appearance of Autumn Dynasty: Warlords on the App Store tomorrow. However, in an unexpected sneak attack, Touch Dimensions has decided to release the RTS sequel a day early. Set in feudal China, the massive 4x (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate) strategy game puts you on the path of the Autumn Emperor. Destined to unite the country under a single banner, you will have to build cities, conduct espionage, and raise armies to 'convince' the other provinces that you should indeed be their ruler. Featuring real-time battles, a non-linear camp…
Dual Survivor Review
Playing Dual Survivor is the gaming equivalent of being punched in the stomach by someone who claims to be your friend. And, like the assualted party in that metaphor, it will leave you wondering if you somehow deserved it. But, even as your find yourself asking the question, you will realise that it's really the game which is to blame. This oddly schizophrenic sensation is deliberate. The game demands an equal split of your mental energies. You have to navigate two seperate…
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Oquonie Review
Oquonie offers no introduction or explanation. It's developer has created a striking and unusual world filled with strange rules and bizarre creatures - but he has left it entirely up to you to make sense of them. You are dropped into a beautifully-drawn isometric environment. Your character looks like a strange, long-necked bird in smart trousers. With no clues as to how to proceed, you must tap and swipe the screen to explore the monochrome landscape. After you've run into a couple…
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Classic Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy game coming to iPhone and iPad next month
If you feel the need to keep a towel with you at all times, notice the number 42 popping up with unnerving frequency, and enjoy the taste of Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters, then we have some good news for you. BBC 4 Extra is about to release an iOS-friendly version of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Game - 30th Anniversary Edition. Written by Douglas Adams himself, in collaboration with Steve Meretzky from Infocom, the original text adventure was released in 1984. Now, some 30 years later, it will go live on BBC 4 Extra's website on March 8th. Though it'll be hosted on the BBC site, this visually updated version will be playable on iPad or iPhone. It'll also let you share in-game ach…
See a rhino doing the robot in funky new Nimblebit game Disco Zoo
When we were young there were only two things we liked about school: trips to the zoo, and the end of term disco. It seems Nimblebit and Milkbag Games have similarly fond memories, as they have forced both these events together for their new collaboration Disco Zoo. Despite the fact Disco Zoo will hit the App Store tomorrow, we are still a little short on details as to what the game will actually be. From what we can gather , you have to travel the world to collect exotic animals – including dinosaurs. Once back at your at the zoo you must expand the tourist attraction to bring in extra cash, before throwing disco parties to get you animal and visitors strutting their funky stuff.…
Bug Heroes 2 Review
While marshalling an army of insects may not be the Pentagon's idea of a winning combat strategy, it proves surprisingly effective - and entertaining - in the third-person multiplayer battler Bug Heroes 2. The premise of the game is straightforward: lead a two-man squad of tiny gun-toting insects into battle against approaching hordes of equally insectoid enemies. Before starting your first game, you randomly select a squad of two from the roster of 25 bugs, each of which have unique…
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Adventure classic Another World on sale for 69p / 99c
There are few games as aptly named as Delphine Software's Another World. This slice of gaming history may be 23 years old, but remains an fondly remembered classic - one which you can now pick up for 69p / 99c on your iPhone or iPad. When it was first released on Amiga and Atari ST in 1991, Another World transported early gamers to a polygonal world beyond their imagination. Looking at the original now this seems laughable, but the cinematic story remains a fantastic tale of friendship and adventure. Bulkypix's 2011 iOS port adds a new coat of paint to the alien worlds. This brings texture and depth to the old polygons, breathing new life into the classic game. The port shows…
