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Blip Blup Review
Sometimes, one tap is all it takes. Well ok, often it takes more than one tap. But one of the goals of the amusingly named block puzzler Blip Blup is to fill up each stage's tiles with colour in as few taps as possible. Upon tapping any tile, a blast of colour will shoot out in all directions, surging forward until it is blocked by a corner or barrier There's a preview function to help you out while you're still learning the ropes. Before releasing your finger from the screen, the ti…
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XCOM®: Enemy Unknown iPad Review
The iOS version of XCOM: Enemy Unknown represents something of a gamble. Developer 2K China has spent time and money of porting last year’s console and PC strategy favourite to iPad and iPhone. This is no companion app – XCOM iOS is the real deal. Apart from some derezzed visuals and a slightly smaller map count, what you’re looking at is the complete XCOM experience in portable, touchscreen form. If you were abducted by aliens and missed the hype surrounding the gam…
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CRUSH! Review
As a species, humans are great at many things. One talent we share is the ability to recognise patterns (sometimes patterns which aren't even there). This is handy, as Crush! is a game based entirely around pattern recogntition. Clumps of coloured blocks make their way towards the base of the screen. It's your job stop this column of cubes reaching the bottom. Tapping a coloured block will cause all blocks of the same colour to vanish, making the stream collapse upwards. However, a ne…
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Despicable Me: Minion Rush Review
Temple Run has a lot to answer for. Since the monumental success of the 3D auto-runner, it has become the default template for developers looking to score an accessible, family-friendly hit. Despicable Me: Minion Rush is the latest Gameloft movie tie-in to follow this trend. You take control of one of Gru's yellow helpers, whom you must direct left and right, up, and down towards collectable bananas, and away from oncoming hazards. If you've ever played an endless runner, you know ex…
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Pinball Rocks HD iPad Review
Pinball Rocks HD is an odd franchise. On the surface, it's a free-to-play pinball title, featuring a selection of purchasable rock 'n roll-themed tables. However, browse through the song selection menu, and you discover the trappings of a music game, one which is keen for you to shell out cash for extra tunes. In actual fact, the expandable soundtrack is just that: a soundtrack. The only way music impacts gameplay is thematically. While the basic free-to-play table is dressed in gener…
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Omicron HD iPad Review
The colour-tapping casual puzzler Omicron has been on the App Store for a couple of years now. However, clearly bored by the flat visuals and limited modes of the original, the devs have decided to completely overhaul and re-launch the game via a recent update. The core gameplay remains the same as always. You are presented with a colour at the beginning of every round. It's your job to tap every matching tile that appears, with the intention of clearing the screen. Successfuls taps a…
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Way of the Dogg Review
It may surprise you to hear this, but Way of the Dogg, a blacksploitation, time manipulating rhythm fighter starring rasta rapper Snoop Lion, isn't zany enough. You'd think a game that casts Snoop as a kung fu guru who possesses the secrets of time travel would be chock full of psychedelic visuals, crazy characters, and inventive special moves. Instead we have a perfectly competent rhythm game, one which arguably works better on iOS than it does on consoles, but which fails to take f…
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TITAN Escape the Tower Review
The original Titan on the Amiga was fairly innovative when it was released back in 1989. It took the brick-breaker genre's paddle and ball, and set them inside labyrinths which allowed the paddle much greater movement. This resulted in a new approach to the standard brick-breaking gameplay. Titan: Escape the Tower is both remake and homage. The question is, of course, whether this innovation is enough to create a great game - especially twenty four years later. When watching videos…
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Man of Steel Review
Having made decent cameos in both Injustice: Gods Among Us and Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, Krypton's favourite son has been in training for a brawler of his very own. It's a shame, then, that Man of Steel falls short of greatness. Instead of soaring into the clouds, this gesture-based brawler is weighed down by humdrum combat, and a disappointing lack of variety. As with Infinity Blade, fights are one-on-one bouts of gesture-powered pugilism. To let those fists of justice fly, yo…
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Color Zen Review
Sometimes it's amazing how far you can push a premise. Take Color Zen, for example. You are presented with a series of coloured shapes. By moving shapes of the same colour together, you can dye the background the same hue,. This also eliminates the shapes from the field of play. The goal is to eventually reach the colour on the edges of the stage, leaving nothing but a single shade. A simple premise. Some would say, “too simple”, but through some very competent design, flui…
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Gangstar Vegas Review
Gangstar Vegas is a textbook example of generation loss. If you're unfamiliar with the term, it describes the loss of quality that occurs when something is copied. In the case of the Gangstar franchise, the source material is clearly Grand Theft Auto. For Gangstar Vegas, Gameloft has transplanted the shooting, mugging, and carjacking action of its GTA wanabee franchise to Nevada's infamous Vegas Strip. This is presumably in an effort to inject some colour and fun into the s…
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Deep Dungeons of Doom Review
Who'd have thought that one of the most sophisiticated pieces of handheld technology available today would play host to so many pixel-art games? MiniBoss's retro action-RPG Deep Dungeons of Doom is merely the latest in a long and block procession of games seeking to ape the 8-bit aesthetic of yesteryear. However, while we admit to having a soft spot for retro titles, a game cannot pass muster on nostalgia factor alone. Luckily for Deep Dungeons of Doom, it succeeds in providing a super…
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Bridgy Jones™ Review
The following is a public service announcement: Those with no grasp of physics or basic engineering (like Dave who, wrote this review) will probably not get the most out of a game like Bridgy Jones. Of course, this isn't to say that it's not a good game. It just that here, as with other construction-based physics games like World of Goo, your enjoyment hinges on how effective you are at throwing up load-bearing scaffolds. In this case, you're throwing up improvised structures to get y…
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Scurvy Scallywags Review
Ron Gilbert really likes pirates. I mean you would probably expect something of the sort from the man who created the Monkey Island series, but after games like Deathspank and The Cave, it's interesting to see him return to the subject - and in a match-3 game, no less. This puzzler tells the story of a buckaneer who has set off on a grand adventure not on the high seas, but on the stage. That's right: this tale of pirates, swashbuckling, treasure, and sea shanties is for the amusement…
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Kingdom Rush Frontiers HD iPad Review
Sequels can be tricky. You have to give the fans more of what they loved the first time out, while adding enough new elements to warrant a second visit. It's doubly difficult when you're following an acclaimed title like tower defence titan Kingdom Rush. Luckily for us, developer Ironhide has kept its cool and delivered another top tier instalment to artillery-oriented action. The team hasn't deviated far from the original template, but considering the quality of the original, that's n…
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