Home » Apps with tag 'special effects'
Payback² HD - The Battle Sandbox Review
For gamers like myself, the idea of a truly open-ended experience can be daunting - it’s not that I can’t set myself goals and then achieve them, but that I kind of expect that sort of input from the people who made them game. As such the genre has never really appealed; at least not for an extended period of time. Thankfully there’s always Payback^2 by Apex Design, a resurrected iOS GTA-a-like classic that concentrates on bite-sized action-packed missions while still…
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Earn to Die Review
Flightless birds and spaceward-bound rodents may make for cute and heartfelt inspirations for repeatedly launching them towards their ultimate goal, but there has always been an element missing from the experience - a sense of skill. Earn to Die by Toffee Games and Not Doppler fleshes out the short, but uniquely fun Flash game title, pitting you against the ever-ready threat of zombies, but for once your progress will also be bound to your skills as a driver. In games of this sort the…
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Alien Breed Review
Sure, Alien Breed by Team17 may have been a bare-faced attempt at re-imagining the Aliens franchise as a top-down shooter, but if you never had a chance to experience the classic on an Amiga, you haven't lived. That last statement may be hyperbolic (just a tad), but players were subjected to claustrophobic corridors, quick-moving aliens that continued to appear seemingly out of nowhere and (best of all) had to deal with severely limited resources. The sense of fear and tension was ahea…
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Bank Job Review
Aussie developer Screwtape Studios aren't exactly new to the iOS scene, but you'd be forgiven for thinking they'd been around for much longer considering the quality of Bank Job's presentation. While it may be a relatively basic endless auto-runner, there's an undeniable charm to Paulie Barbosa's thieving antics. Your job is that of scarpering off with as much loot as possible, while avoiding the many traps (and bombs) that line the corridors of the bank you're inside. The controls co…
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Escape from Age of Monsters Review
'Escape from' is Ayopa Games and Massive Joe Studios latest addition to the 'Age of Monsters' franchise - a series that started off with a free Rock, Paper, Scissors game that introduced us to the world. Gizzard has been chosen by gauntlets infused with power enough to destroy the monsters rampaging around the city, but first he'll need to escape with children in-tow. The first thing that stands out about Escape is its presentation - on the latest iOS devices the game looks absolutely…
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EPOCH. Review
When small indie game studios boast about their prior professional experience it's generally a PR move to inspire confidence in what they're presenting. What really counts is the final product and in the case of Uppercut Games and their release of EPOCH., the experience and polish that comes from their years in the industry really shows in almost every aspect of the game. You play as an AI controlled robot (think slightly less horrifying than a Terminator, but no less deadly) with a m…
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Flick Soccer! Review
This isn't Full Fat's first rodeo when it comes to flick-based sport games - in fact, it's not their first soccer (football) based title either. However Flick Soccer! is the first to approach the sport in their relatively new 'Flick' series, so we'll give them a pass. The real challenge of tackling a game like this is in trying to differentiate it from the many similar flick-based sports games that have trickled their way on to the App Store. Thankfully one major advantage the game ha…
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Space Inversion 2. Review
Some games just never seem to die. I don't mean this in a particularly nasty way, but nostalgia has a habit of bringing back games that have had their time to shine and, by now, have been explored in many interesting and exciting ways. Space Inversion 2 by Silverline Arts takes another swing at Space Invaders, adding a few modern touches to spruce up the old girl in to something not only presentable, but entertaining enough to spend more time with this classic title. For those not int…
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To-Fu: The Trials of Chi Review
Part physics platformer, part puzzle, all tofu - To-Fu: The Trials of Chi by HotGen is only as hard as you want it to be, making this the perfect distraction for almost any gamer. Your basic goal is simple - make your way to the fortune cookie by throwing yourself around the level while sticking, sliding and bouncing off the various surfaces around you. This, however, short-changes you of the challenge of flinging To-Fu around the level, avoiding traps while collecting 'chi' or attemp…
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Army of Darkness Defense Review
Army of Darkness was, even in my early years, a cult-classic and with such a following it's hard not to step on some toes when approaching the franchise for a video game conversion. Instead of trying to create something grandiose and overly-complex, Backflip Studios sticks to what it does best - that is to say, a game that's focused with a limited scope while still being enjoyable enough to keep coming back for more. There are no surprises for guessing what kind of game Army of Darkne…
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Third Blade Review
Com2US have made a mark on the App Store thanks to their relatively solid releases and in particular their deft hand at producing decent action KRPG titles. Caligo Chaser was an interesting take on the side-scrolling beat'em-up and Queen's Crown returned to the top-down roots while introducing a new weapon-swapping mechanic, however their latest release, Third Blade, adds a third kind of heat by mixing side-scrolling with the weapon-swap system for a far more immediate action experienc…
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Drag Tag Smash Review
Incorporating some sort of interaction between your gameplay and the music that sits in the background is an effective, if somewhat complicated way to engage players in what's happening in the game. Drag Tag Smash by SmashMouth Games combines interactive audio with a strange twist on the Breakout formula, but its ridiculous point scoring and driving beats aren't always enough to keep you coming back for more. The game's name isn't simply for show and players will need to drag their pa…
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The Drill Plus Review
If you feel the burning need to follow the manly quest of one man to drill his way to a brand new universe, then strap yourself in for The Drill Plus by Spotcat Studio. Although 'The Drill' is already available for free, the Plus paid version removes adverts and adds additional story elements, but unfortunately there's not enough to do to truly warrant this paid jump. Your task, should you undertake it, is to tilt your iOS device, moving your character back and forth to pop 'enemies'…
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Wharr: The Colossus Age Review
Translating genres that have existed for a long time outside of the realm of touch-based gaming has had its problems, but ultimately it's a forgivable thing because established ideas had to be reconsidered. However, the endless-jumping genre has been with us for a very long time and with so many tried, true and tested gameplay features it seems odd to dramatically mess around with these conventions without adding anything new. Wharr: The Colossus Age by Gaetano Leonardi and Forge 11 i…
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Speedball 2 Evolution Review
The Speedball series by The Bitmap Brothers has in many ways come to define the future of brutal fantasy sports titles with its influence being evident in arcade titles like Midway's NBA Jam and NFL Blitz. Now modern iOS gamers and old-school fans alike can dive straight back in to the Speedball series with Speedball 2 Evolution by Tower Studios and despite some wonky control issues it feels as manic and exciting as it did all those years ago. Players can choose between tilt or touch-…
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