I've been in a puzzle games mood lately, so yesterday I asked on Twitter for recommendations. I thought I'd share some of these recommendations with you:
Tiki Totems Flood It Theseus LetsTans Crayon Physics Blocks Mania Frenzic EdgeIf you know more great puzzle games, feel free to share in the comments.
I'm not a big gamer at all. Until a month ago, the only games I had on my iPhone were Flight Control and Wildcard Pro Surfing. However, I've been traveling a lot lately and spending hours in planes made me develop a gaming habit.
Today, I'd like to share the few games I've been playing for the last few weeks. These games are not new, and you may very well have heard of them or even own them. If not, you may want to give them a try.
Street Fighter IVI remember playing Street Fighter II when I was a kid. My cousin and I spend countless hours on arcade machines. I also remember doing not-so-nice things in order to finance our gaming, but that's another story...
I was a little skeptical about this game before downloading it because I thought the controls wouldn't work well on such a small screen. I was wrong. The controls are very good, and the game is fast. Favorite fighter: Ken!
At $9.99, Street Fighter IV is a no brainer for anyone who likes fighting games, or anyone who feels nostalgic about the good old days of Street Fighter II.
Doodle JumpI had heard about Doodle Jump for a while but I had no idea what it was about. One day while I was bored in Vietnam, I decided to check out the game description in the App Store. It looked fun so I downloaded it.
Doodle Jump is by no means a technical game. It's actually quite simple, both in term of concept and design. Your goal is to jump from platform to platform without falling. The higher you go, the more points you score. Don't get fooled by this candid description. Doodle Jump is highly addictive.
At the time I'm writing this, my highest score is 70,967. And I spent more than 6 hours on it, jumping over 20,000 times (I got this information from the stats page of the game).
Priced at $0.99, Doodle Jump is a must-have for people who like killing time with simple, fun and addictive games.
Plants vs ZombiesI was told about this game by one of my Twitter friends who had warned me that Plants vs Zombies was another addictive game, and boy was he right.
The concept of the game is completely retarded: you must prevent zombies from entering your house (and eat your brains) by planting various types of plants, each of them having their own specific weapons. Yes I know, it sounds stupid, but you have to try it to see how fun it actually is.
The first time I played this game, I was sick in my hotel room in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Due to some strange and unusual allergy, I wasn't able to go out. I started playing Plants vs Zombies. After a while, I realized that I had been playing the game for 4 hours straight. For a non-gamer, I felt kinda bad.
I told my fiancée about this game but she wasn't really convinced it had potential to entertain her. The fact that I explained her that she had to grow sunflowers in order to get more sun to by more plants wasn't obviously the best way to turn her on this game. Then she finally decided to give it a try. Like me, she got hooked in no time.
Plants vs Zombies is priced at $2.99 and is a whole lot of fun. Get it now!
Need For Speed UndercoverRacing games are always fun! I was originally looking for a rally game but many of my Twitter buddies recommended I give NFSU a try, so I downloaded it and got in the spirit pretty quickly.
The game is fast and fairly easy to get your head around. At $4.99, it certainly ain't cheap but it is a very fun game to play. Warning: have your iPhone charger close by because NFSU will kill your batteries in no time.
What are you playing these days? Please take a minute to leave a comment and let us know what your favorite games of the moment are.
I'm usually up this early for work so it was no sweat for me to get up at 3:00 a.m. and have breakfast with a group of Twitter enthusiasts to get the new Apple iPad. I was one of the few people in the group who was actually not sold on the iPad. I have an iPhone. Why do I need an iPad? I listened to Steve Jobs and watched Apple's series of videos but nothing so far convinced me to buy one. I knew I had to have it in my hands to know if I really could use one. So, I tagged along.
Apple employees were willing to let me try the device even though I told them I had no intention of buying it.
Unfortunately the Wi-Fi at the Apple Store I was at in Hawaii was so flooded I couldn't use apps on the iPad that needed the internet and I couldn't browse Safari. But, there was still plenty to check out.
I immediately wanted to try a racing game and the iPad I was using had Real Racing HD [iTunes link]. I actually didn't like Real Racing on the iPhone and preferred other racing apps like Asphalt 5. I found the learning curve to be tougher. But, on the iPad I quickly learned how to drive well. I didn't even read the instructions so I didn't even use the brakes. Plus, the more recent racing games are notorious for slow loading (especially on the iPhone 3G) but the iPad handled the game with ease.
Another highlight: Pianist Pro [iTunes link]. I know how to play a variety of instruments including the piano. And the iPhone has been almost worthless when it comes to simulating a real instrument. But, Pianist Pro comes pretty darn close to at least a workable toy keyboard. The touchscreen was sensitive enough to handle the chords and arpeggios I threw at it. A drum machine is built-in. There's a dual keyboard mode for playing both the left hand and the right hand notes. The only real drawback to the app is that the white keys will only trigger when hit below the black keys making a chord like A-flat a little harder. Pianists and keyboardists will know what I'm talking about. If that can be fixed, it would be a near-perfect piano app for the iPad.
My favorite new native feature is the ability to use your photos as an animated picture frame when your iPad is locked. It's called Picture Frame. Use it and love it.
I'm definitely a lot more intrigued by the iPad now that I had a chance to have one in my hands. If I do get one, I'm more inclined to use the iPad at home and use my iPhone when I'm out on the road. If I do get an iPad I would rather get the 3G version so when I go on trips I'll always have the internet. Family that I visit in the continental U.S. doesn't have Wi-Fi. I can just activate the unlimited 3G for that month since there is no contract required.
Leave a comment to let us know what you think about the iPad after trying it out.
Laminar Research (developers of the popular X-Plane series for iPhone) has released another realistic iPhone app: Space Shuttle. Space Shuttle is all about... you guessed it, the space shuttle.
NimbleBit (formerly know as Ian Marsh) who brought us the beloved Scoops and the addicting word game Textropolis, now brings us yet another addicting fun, yet simple game, "Sky Burger".
Sky Burger puts you to work stacking burgers to order! Catch the right ingredients as they fall from the sky, and don’t forget that top bun when you’re done!
Build over 50 unique burger orders that grow taller and taller the more orders you complete. Complete enough orders in a row and build an unlimited SkyBurger!
Earn cash for each burger and get promoted up the Sky Burger corporate ladder. Watch your business grow with each promotion! Look back at your career stats and compare them to the top Sky Burger employees.
Sound like fun huh? It is. You must catch the right ingredients. The more orders you stack correctly, the faster / wilder the game will get! Then in a random order you will get a Sky Burger order. Basically this is a "wild order". You just stack as high as you can. To make things more fun the game also has online stats and scores.
Try This Networks have been kind enough to give us two promo codes for Tap of The Dead [iTunes Link]. Here is a description of the game.
A virus has ransacked New York City. Everyone you know is dead...ish. Play as Connor Frost, a reluctant software engineer turned zombie destroyer. Tap patterns as fast as you can before your hand cramps up, and you become one of the walking dead. You need to get to safety! Pass through familiar New York City sites and you might even run into a few familiar faces.
The question isn't if you can get off Manhattan, but can you do it in style?
FEATURES
*Simple fast paced gameplay - Easy to pickup, difficult to master.
*Auto saves when you quit so you can pick up and play again later exactly where you left off.
*Amazing graphics rarely seen on a phone!
*Over 45 unique levels based on real locations in New York City.
*Short load times. A true pick-up-and-play game for the casual gamer.
*Over 40 different zombies.
*Controls that don't force your fingers to obscure the action!
COMING IN NEXT UPDATE *Survival mode - Unlimited zombies and unlimited time. See how long you can survive against the horde.
*Worldwide Leader Board - Utilizes Try This Network's proprietary network so you not only compete against the rest of the world, but see where the top players are located.
Although we have not played it all other Try This games are great. So we don't see why this could be the exception.
How to Win One Of The 2 Promo Codes:
Leave a comment below with a valid email address. Two random people will be chosen Monday the 20th.
TapArtist [iTunes Link] is a richly featured avatar/picture creator. You get a large library of premade items (hairs, noses, hats, etc) and you can mix and match them on stage. You can move, scale, and color individual components. You can check out what users are making with it (and have it submitted through the app itself) at www.tapartist.com/gallery. Users can download those shared pictures into TapArtist and then edit them. You can save the pictures for your contacts or email them to friends.
It's a pretty fun app and worth a look for $1.99.
The developer gave us a few promo codes for our loyal readers. It's gonna be first come first served, so hurry up! Being one of the first to learn about these promo codes giveaways is yet another reason to follow me on Twitter :)
6RFLFP9J9LW9 64PE6FXEL44K EXMYMPR9A3M6 KPNMH4HA3WXR 93JR9F9YPF6K T6FKMYYT6LFL XXALH66KMFM6 9HYYKE3FAX33 R4YM7JHA9Y43 KK43YEXAY3E7
Topple is back!! ngmoco has released the sequel to their popular game Topple. Topple 2 sports many new and different features than the original app (which is free in case you want to try it out before buying Topple 2) but keeps the same concept. The app has 30 levels over 6 different worlds. It uses both accelerometer and multi-touch controls. The original app (free) was mainly stacking. Though it was fun the sequel includes new game modes such as upside down mode, balance mode, power tower, and rescue mode. The description pretty much sums the details up:
Illusion Labs has been working on and is finishing up a long requested board editor for TouchGrind. According to a post, "you can either take a photo of something (your t-shirt, your wife, cheese, your crocheted Ninja Man and even something you have drawn on a piece of paper) or use a photo from your photo album. You can move it around, rotate it with two fingers, pinch to zoom etc."
They posted a video on YouTube showing how it works:
When I asked them if you could create new boards or if you could just customize current ones they answered:
You can only customize the current ones in this release. The problem is that we're already on the limit memory wise (due to the many textures), so this is the current solution.
You can of course reset a board's graphics if you want it back.
So we have to wait for it to come out. And one last thing they posted:
It will be out when it is ready and fully tested (don't wanna repeat the mistake with update 1.1, do we..).
And to answer some future questions:
Q: Can I change trucks? A: No.
Q: Can I change wheels? A: No
Q: Can I draw pictures in Touchgrind? A: No, it's a skating game. 1) Take photos or 2) draw them on your computer and sync using iTunes.
Can't wait!!
Ian Marsh, indie developer who brought us the beloved Scoops and Textropolis has made yet another addictive iPhone game. Kyper. Kyper is all about speed, in fact Ian calls it the "fastest game on iPhone". The gameplay is simple yet addictive. You control your ship by moving your device. You need to avoid all asteroids. But there are two types of asteroids. The red (to me they look orange) slow you down. You must stay away from these or it will slow you down. The closer you are to them the more they slow you down. The green (to me they look yellow) speed you up. You must get as close to these as possible. But if you crash into any of the asteroids you die. Although the game may sound simple it is no easy challenge. Especially once you get going really fast. As Ian himself said, after you pass 1,000 km/s that's when you go into "holy crap" mode. Kyper is not a relaxing game!!
Laminar Research has released yet another flight simulator app for the iDevices. This time around it's one we've been waiting for: X-Plane Racing. That's right, racing! The app consists of 'highway-in-the-sky', 'hoops' that you can go though. There are 4 regions for now and 4 planes (as developer states: "for now"). There's a course per region per plane, for a total of 16 courses to race though. You can play against the AI plane, which will give you quite a challenge. Courses vary, based on location. Sometimes you will be going almost straight up, sometimes down canyons and valleys, and sometimes close to a river.
As for locations, you can choose from :
Canyons (the default location and quite fun and challenging). Juneau, Alaska (mountains and rivers combine to make it challenging and fun to race in) Anchorage, Alaska (ups and downs and mountains, can you avoid crashing and win at the same time?) Provost, Canada (both easy and hard, combines a little of all the other regions)And as to the planes:
F-15 Eagle (my favorite. Has afterburner, is the default one, and goes fast) F-4 Phatom (it's ok, but I don't like it, a bit difficult to control) F4-U Consair (feels a bit weird at first, but you get the hang of it. Slower than the others but is more controllable) P-51 Mustang: (same goes as for the F4-U Consair, but this one is VERY tricky to land).My experience with it has been very good, same as with all the other X-Plane apps. Laminar Research puts a lot of work and quality into their apps. No bugs found so far, everything is going smoothly. Beating the AL plane is tricky and any mistake can cost you. Awkwardly, even if you are in the lead, the AL plane shows up in front of you. But that does not bother me, I still beat it :) . Also, at the end of each course it tells you your time and how many hoops you missed, and the AL plane's time and how many hoops he missed. But there is more.
The AL plane is a lot of fun, all 16 courses................yeah yeah. But there's another thing about the app, something that gives it a kick. Multiplayer. That's right, Laminar Research has added multiplayer to the game. So as long as you and the other player are connected on the same Wi-Fi network, you can race against each other. Booyahh!! This feature is a blast. Playing with your friends is a blast. Especially since they are smarter, and trickier than the AL plane. For those owners of the other X-Plane apps, nothing to worry about. An update was released with other stuff this morning and it includes multiplayer. BUT, you don't get hoops in the sky or a marked course.
The app also features a sound system when landing (also added to the other apps in the update) so either a squeak from a nice landing or a thump from a hard landing. Also in "Racing" and added to the other apps are visible afterburners, and a basic autopilot. I must say, Laminar Research is outdoing themselves. And they are trying to put everything they can into the app, pushing the limits (I'm on a 2G Touch, supposed to be better for gaming, and it got hot!). A little note, the apps are always being updated with a bunch of things. There is an option to set the tilt (in ALL apps) so you can even play from bed. The desktop version of X-Plane is FAA approved, the iPhone version has 90 something percent accuracy. Now that's good!
The app is currently priced at the same price as all the other X-Plane apps, $9.99. There is a "series" of X-Plane apps:
X-Plane - $9.99 - The original, and best for general use. Still my favorite one. X-Plane Helicopter - $9.99 - Came later on, strictly helicopters. A little harder (I don't own it though) but I say this because helis are hard to fly. X-Plane Airliner - $9.99 - Came along with Heli, strictly airliners. Although fun it is a bit more challenging. But it's great fun to fly a 747 on your iDevice. X-Plane Extreme - $9.99 - All about speed and the extreme. Very fun, and my personal second favorite. X-Plane Racing - $9.99 - As mentioned above.All of the apps now have multiplayer. I am loving every app and highly recommend them. You will get lots of fun no matter which app you get. Plus who has not wanted to fly a 747 on an iPhone?! The X-Plane apps are the only flight simulators on the App Store and they are just great. In case you cannot decide which one to get I will post later on which I recommend depending on what you like.
Little White Bear Studios, developers of the award winning puzzle game TanZen, have released a new game somewhat similar to TanZen: Zentomino. Zentomino is sort of like TanZen, but harder. The game, like TanZen, involves moving, rotating, and flipping puzzle pieces to fill in a shape. So what’s the difference? Well, TanZen used smaller pieces and different stuff. Zentomino uses more pieces, larger, and feels different, as well as being harder. You can see the difference by comparing the screenshots below (TanZen on left, Zentomino on right):
TanZen
Zentomino
The game is quite fun, especially if you like puzzle games. There are three things that set apart this app from the others (as well as make you fall in love with it). The game is very well polished, everything fits well. The game is huge fun, unlike any other app, and is cheap. But the most important is the replay ability level of the game. This game does not get old at all. The game currently has 144 puzzles, but just like TanZen more puzzles will be added as free updates (in case your are wondering, TanZen currently has 4x the number of puzzles it started with).
Everything is very smooth, relaxing, and a bit hard! Just like in TanZen there are hints. This game however is a bit more advanced than TanZen. Puzzles have various difficulty levels, with 4-12 piece puzzles. You can also do puzzles in any order you want. And if your screen is all messed up with pieces, shake your device to clear all pieces from the screen. Don’t be scared! You will get the hang of it after playing with it a bit. And if you need help the game, like TanZen, has a hint system. Just double-tap on any open area for a hint. The amount of hints you get on each level depends on how hard / big the level is.
My experience with it so far has been really good. At first I was really bad but after playing with it for a while I have gotten the hang of it. Although I don’t know this as a fact, knowing Little White, an update with more levels with probably be out before you finish the first 144 puzzles included. The game, like I said before is very smooth and relaxing, something I like a lot. Plus it’s pretty cheap. Zentomino is priced at $1.99 . Considering how smooth the game is, the amount of levels it currently has and the amount of levels that will be added, it’s a steal at $1.99 . Here’s a YouTube video showing the gameplay:
UPDATE: A lite version has been released.