April has been an odd month - not particularly bursting with amazing titles, but not short of highlights either. As such this month's list is far more personal than ever and I'll try to explain my choices as best I can. Was there something you went gaga for this April? Let us know down in the comments.
For now, this is AppSpy.com's Top 3 iPhone Games for April, 2012.
Max Payne Mobile (Rockstar Games) $2.99 Univ.
I accept that I seem to be in the minority in loving the iOS port of Rockstar Games' seminal third-person shooter, but its simplicity is what works in its favor, especially on a touch device. Clearing out rooms of enemies with a casual spray of a weapon and a bullet-time dodge or three quickly becomes the norm, but Rockstar more than makes up for its limited combat thanks to a cheesy, but brilliantly executed faux-noir storyline that drags you all around the city's dirty streets. While not as nuanced as modern shooters, it still manages to keep you gripped, and that's not too bad for an 11 year old game.
Epic Astro Story (Kairosoft) $3.99
Kairosoft hit their stride many, many years before they even started developing for the iOS platform, but despite years of experience in the field of management titles, their less spectacular games continued to see the day of light, while better ones remained shelved. Thankfully Epic Astro Story is from the latter pile and is now available to play. While superficially similar to their town-building titles, the real meat of the game comes in funding and equipping an ever-increasing 'away team' to conquer new lands in order to keep your colony expanding. Quirky and a lot of fun - if lacking the replay value of previous releases.
Editor's Choice - Shark Dash (Gameloft) $0.99 Univ.
I feel I should explain myself here - Shark Dash is certainly not very original in its basic ideas and indeed, it could be lumped in to the mountain of cute three-star physics puzzlers already available and promptly ignored. Except there's a catch - this is a game I have sorely asked for ever since I started playing Gameloft titles... it's an original concept. A safe one, sure, but Shark Dash shows just what the developer is capable of when not leashed down to an 'homage'. This is a change to be praised and better still the game itself is a lot of fun to play. With any luck supporting this title will send the right message - "Less generic rehashes; more original concepts."
Of course we can't leave things with just the top three - no, there's plenty more to whet your appetite from April. First up, if you didn't catch it on major consoles, check out Burnout CRASH! on the App Store; it may just be mindless explosive action, but taking on it's later challenges will require far more finesse and skill. PrismaPix and PathPix Joy are two incredibly addictive titles from the creator of the PathPix series, starting with yet more path-finding content in Joy and providing something entirely new with PrismaPix's multi-layer minesweeper-esque gameplay; prepare to lose yet another chunk of your spare time. Lastly, Spellsword is a great pick up for those with only a few minutes or even seconds to spare; it extends the Super Crate Box 'arena' gameplay, focusing the action around various card-spells that also interact with your melee-only weapon, placing an emphasis on getting right in to the face of your opponents to win.
For those keeping an eye out on May's titles, it's already clear that there's going to be some contention for the top spot - in fact I may have already locked in one of my favorites of the month already, but you'll have to find out which one that is in a few weeks. Until then, subscribe to our channel for video updates, including direct notices to let you know what's happening in the AppSpy office. Twitter and Facebook are also available. Until next time, have fun!
Additional Links:
Max Payne Mobile - https://www.appspy.com/max-payne-mobile-review
Epic Astro Story - https://www.appspy.com/epic-astro-story-review
Shark Dash - https://www.appspy.com/shark-dash-review
Burnout CRASH! - https://www.appspy.com/burnout-crash-iphone-review
PrismaPix - https://www.appspy.com/prismapix-review
PathPix Joy - https://www.appspy.com/pathpix-joy-review
Spellsword - https://www.appspy.com/spellsword-review
