iPad App Review: Cooking Dash: Thrills and Spills

by: Enuh Iglesias

Time management games are practically synonymous with the Dash franchise. As a personal preference, however, I seem to love Cooking Dash more than Diner Dash because I find it to be a more challenging experience.

Cooking Dash: Thrills and Spills is a much-awaited iPad iteration of the Dash games, and released quite a number of months after Dining Dash: Grilling Green came out for the iPad within its first month of shipping.

Cooking Dash: Thrills and Spills is a trip back in time to a much younger Flo and her grandma who take charge of reviving a floundering theme park. There are only 30 levels, which is a shame, considering the iPhone version of Cooking Dash has 50 levels and endless mode for a much lower price. Hopefully future updates will increase the number of levels or at least provide a similar endless/survival mode.

Cooking Dash: Thrills and Spills introduces a nice innovation through its fun and exciting mini-games, which are a nice mix of hidden object and arcade. Successfully completing a mini-game provides you with pre-made dishes: a real lifesaver considering the number of customers and the volume of orders. The levels are admittedly far more challenging and hectic than previous Dash games, so you will definitely be busy from start to finish.

The traditional Diner style gameplay is in place, with the degree of difficulty up a notch. You serve a variety of customers, some with special attributes (I will not go into details here so as not to spoil the fun), serve even more customers via the dash thru window (take out counter) and cook a dizzying array of dishes and combinations that you need to put together as quickly and efficiently as you can. You can score combos and earn more money to purchase and upgrade equipment, power-ups and decorations. In the Dash tradition, this is done by seating customers of the same color in the same place successively and chaining a variety of actions.

The graphics are simply gorgeous and the game is rock solid in terms of gameplay. It’s easy enough to finish in a few hours, but for time management aficionados, the challenge lies in not losing a single customer on all the levels. The game also tends to lag in the higher levels where responsiveness becomes a slight problem, a possible bug that developers could look into. The price may be a bit steep considering there are only 30 levels, hence, more levels and endless mode are needed to increase the game’s replay value. Game Center and Facebook/Twitter integration would be nice bonuses as well.

All in all, Cooking Dash: Thrills and Spills is the best Dash game yet and it’s easily one of the best time management games out there.

5 out of 5 stars · Playfirst.com · iTunes ($4.99)

XMG Studio Cows vs. Aliens: Beatweek Best of Show at Macworld 2011

XMG Studio just came out with an adorable and addictive game called “Cows vs. Aliens.” The object is to herd in as many cows into the barn as you can. Pesky aliens will try to fly into the bar and you need to push them out. Use all your fingers on the iPad to push the cows in and the aliens out! As the levels progress, more high-earning points cows are added to the game as well as more aliens.

The game is easy enough for a toddler to play, but addictive enough to capture an adult’s attention. The vibrant colors and animation makes it a fun game for anyone in the family.

The game will be released in the app store in a week or so for both the iPhone and iPad for just 99 cents! What a bargain!

99 cents · XMGstudio.com

app review: UFO on Tape

You are out for a drive with your lovely European girlfriend when a UFO appears in your camera’s viewfinder. Many would remember what occurs in Independence Day, and press the pedal to the metal before the new overlords arrive, but in this game you’re the guy who attempts to keep it in frame for as long as possible. This is a concept that has rarely, if ever, been explored and one that creates an innovative experience.

This is not a dense game, but one in which the accelerometer will be your best friend and enemy. Your iPhone becomes a camera’s viewfinder: a UFO appears over the city skyline, and you must keep it onscreen for as long as possible. While you struggle to keep it in frame with the UFO’s random zips and dives, you must battle the camera’s draining battery and the “encouraging” words from your female companion. The game easily envelops the player in the experience of actually recording a flying saucer, and the way it utilizes the iPhone (hold in a horizontal manner) is brilliance at its finest.

There is not much more to UFO on Tape than what has been discussed, which is its strength and flaw. It is a positive, as it does not attempt to do too much and instead crafts a one of a kind experience. It is a game that you will spend seconds on. There is no variety in the UFO sighting, as there are no different environments, no other stages to complete or other UFOs to track down. It would have been great for the UFO to interact with its environment such as: zapping buildings, abducting people, or interacting with the player. These ideas would have made the player feel more involved.

UFO on Tape utilizes the iPhone to put the player in a one of a kind experience previously seen only in films like Cloverfield. The game is perfect to spend your limited free time on, and one that you will rush to showcase to your friends. I would love for future iterations to visit paranormal phenomena, and establish some sort of video sharing option with your friends. UFO on Tape is not a multi-layered experience, but one that succeeds in what it establishes to do and instantly puts its developer on the map.

review by Bagner Estrada

rating: 3.5 stars out of five • App Store link

app review: We Doodle for iPad and iPhone

If you love to draw, or doodle, then I have a game for you! It’s Ngmoco’s latest title called “We Doodle.” It’s a a cross between “Pictionary” and “Win, Lose, or Draw” where you take turns drawing out words and have your friends guess what it is.

Login with your Plus+ account and start a new game. Here you have a three game choices. You can play a match with friends (people on your Plus+ friends list), a match with random players, or a live match where you draw and guess with users around the world in real-time.

Click on “Go” to create a new game. At the start of each game, you also have the option of adjusting the game’s settings. You can change the:

• Number of pictures (up to 10)
• Rounds (up to 5)
• Time Limit (4 hours to 7 days)

Once you create a game, you are given a word to draw. Draw the word to the best of your ability. You also have a selection of colors and tools to use in the lower right. Submit your drawings and wait for your friends to guess them. Your friends have 60 seconds to guess each drawing. This is a turn-based game, so you can play at your convenience.

Once your friend(s) make their guesses, it’s your turn to award them points! It’s 3 points for every drawing they get right, and if you reply within 5:30 hours, you get extra bonus points as well.

The points you earn are the amount of coins you get. Collect and save your coins to purchase new backgrounds, stencils, ink colors, pens, brushes, and more! The more your play, the more fun things you can purchase from the Doodle shop.

We Doodle is a freemium app, so you’ll get the ocassional ads. You can remove the ads by going to the “Doodle Bank” and purchasing the upgrade for $4.99. The ads are somewhat bothersome in the iPhone version, but are non-intrusive on the iPad version. Of the two versions, the game is more fun to play on the iPad because of the screen real estate.

Some tips when playing:

• If you want to save the image you drew, take a snapshot of it. You won’t see the full image again after you submit it.
• Be careful not to close the app when taking a snapshot. You will lose your image if it wasn’t submitted yet.
• Useful tools to purchase are the brushes and inks colors. I didn’t find the stencils, pen, spray can very useful in my drawings.
• If you want to earn more XP and coins quickly, play the Live mode (as games are played instantly and coins are awarded right after).
• Turn Doodle Assist off. It tries to connect all of your lines even when you don’t want them to.

Overall, it’s a fun game to play with your friends and I’m sure it’ll bring out your creativity. You might just unlock the hidden artist inside of you!

iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free) | iPad Version (Free)

app review: Cut The Rope

It’s no secret that iPhone app developers are constantly looking to be the next Angry Birds. And they should be; that’s a game that literally cane out of nowhere, with no previous brand recognition, and went on to take a combination of cuteness and addictive gameplay to become a money making machine on the App Store. It’s become as much of a must-have game for any platform as Tetris or Bejeweled. I don’t know if Cut the Rope is the next Angry Birds, but it seems to have all the pieces in place to make the best run at that title as anything to come out on the App Store recently.

The premise of Cut the Rope is fairly simple: You receive a package containing Om Nom, an adorable green monster, and instructions to feed him candy. (No word, however, on whether or not to feed him after midnight or to keep him away from water.). You’re then presented with a series of levels with Om Nom in one place and a piece of candy dangling from a string in another, and your goal is to cut the rope and guide the candy to Om Nom’s waiting mouth.

The game plays like a cross between Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja. You’ll swipe your finger at the rope to cut it and rely on gravity and the candy’s inertia to guide it to Om Nom. Of course, obstacles quickly get introduced, and soon you’re dealing with cutting multiple ropes at once with multitouch, bungee cords, spikes, spiders which climb up the ropes, movable anchor points, and winches to lengthen and shorten the ropes, among other obstacles. Combine that with three stars to collect on the way down to Om Nom’s waiting maw, and Cut the Rope keeps things fresh through 100 levels, even through multiple play throughs. And while that may sound intimidating, the game does a good job of introducing new elements gradually and integrating simple tutorials into the levels where new elements are introduced.

This is all set to a charming presentation, with colorful graphics and playful sound. On Nom is cuter than the angriest bird, and the look of sadness on his face when the candy doesn’t make it to him in one piece is priceless. In fact, it took me a while to determine that the graphics aren’t optimized for the Retina Display – they look good enough that it’s difficult to tell that they’re not. The jaunty background music just adds to the whole package. It would be nice if the game let you ping to zoom to allow you to see all of the larger levels that don’t fit on the iPhone screen, but even those levels aren’t so big that it’s an issue.

The colorful presentation and intuitive controls make the game very kid friendly, as well. My 3 year old keeps coming back to Cut the Rope whenever we hand her one of our phones, and she can even complete some of the earlier levels on her own. Even on the levels she can’t get through, she loves just experimenting with the different

If I had one complaint about Cut the Rope, it’s that there are occasionally too many things going on at one time and the game can have a hard time determining what you mean to do. There’s a very subtle difference, for example, between swiping to cut a rope and swiping to move an anchor point, or a short swipe at a short rope and a tap at a bubble to get it to pop. These misfires aren’t constant, but they can make the difference between Om Nom getting his candy or having to wait a bit for his next meal.

All in all, Cut the Rope is a delightful game, delivering a good amount of challenge, that deserves a spot on your iPhone. With 100 levels, there’s plenty of candy to feed to Om Nom, with the promise of additional content to come. If the devs deliver on that promise, Cut the Rope could, indeed be an Angry Birds killer. Even just in the current state, though, Cut the Rope is a steal at it’s current price of 99 cents and is perfect for anyone who’s finished (or gotten impossibly stuck in) Angry Birds and is looking for the next great challenge.

review by Steve Loopipe

rating: 4.5 stars out of five • 99¢ • App Store link

Dolphins-Packers: Miami healthy not special, Green Bay turns to subs

The Miami Dolphins and Green Bay Packers face off today in a game which sees the teams going in two different directions – health wise, at least. While the Dolphins are set to finally have linebacker Channing Crowder available for the first time all season, the Packers are looking at playing without linebacker Clay Matthews or for that matter Ryan Grant, Jermichael Finley, or Nick Barnett. The good news for Green Bay is that it will likely have quarterback Aaron Rodgers available despite the concussion he suffered in last week’s game.

While Rodgers has become essentially a proven commodity in the few years since he took over for Brett Favre, Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne is still trying to find his place. The young QB managed to look as brilliant as he did confounding last week in what ended up being a blowout loss to the Patriots. But most of New England’s forty-one points game from what was one of the best (or depending on your point of view, one of the worst) special teams performances in the history of professional football. Just how bad were the Dolphins special teams in their last game? The team fired special teams coach John Bonamego during the bye week.

In a season in which no one team looks even close to being bulletproof, both Miami and Green Bay are difficult to figure out. The Dolphins are undefeated on the road yet winless at home, which means they might be relieved to be on the road. The Packers, at their best, look like strong Super Bowl contenders. But at other times they’ve looked just as vulnerable as the Dolphins.

Potential key matchup: Dolphins rising star cornerback Vontae Davis against Packers veteran star wide receiver Donald Driver (if he even plays, as he’s also on the injury list). Then again, the rash of injuries on the Packers side means that the performance of their backups could be more pivotal than anything either team’s starters do.

app review: Solipskier

If you have ever wondered, “There must be a game out there that combines an electric guitar soundtrack with skiing” then Solipskier may be the answer. Solipskier is an iPhone game created by MikenGreg Games Co.; a two-person team that showcases creativity without the need of large teams or million dollar budgets.

In Solipskier, the player’s main goal is to have the skier run through as many gates as possible while avoiding cliffs. The skier, though, is not under the control of the player, and instead skis along the path that is made. The more gates you are able to run through, the faster his pace quickens. The game is not just about getting the highest score, but about what happens in between your runs. While on your runs, you can cause the skier to ski and complete tricks in the air (earning bonus points), and achieve a temporary rainbow colored cape (amazing, I know).

Even though the complete Solipskier experience aspires to reach a psychedelic state, it instead just hints at it. It would have been amazing for the game to encourage the use of tricks, utilize the background and engulf it in colors when reaching top speed or achieving tricks. The cape that appears on the skier is unfortunately all you get. The biggest problem with the game is that it was originally made for keyboard and mouse controls. This means that the game was mostly left unchanged from its desktop brethren, and causes one big problem on the iPhone: your finger will cover up an important portion of the right side of the iPhone’s smaller screen. Your finger will unfortunately cover the pop-up messages, which alert you of upcoming gates and jumps, and become a cause for frustration.

Overall, Solipskier is a fun game but one that could be so much greater. The current $2.99 price tag does not give you much beyond the game, Facebook and Twitter updates, highscore chart, and sound options. Even though there are negatives that detract from the experience, Solipskier should be checked out especially at a discounted price.

review by Bagner Estrada

rating: three stars out of five • App Store link

app review: 2K Sports NHL 2K11

One of the interesting things about the App Store is that, unlike the rest of the video game industry, there are still surprises from time to time. Such it was with NHL 2K11, which arrived with no advance warning and little fanfare one night in late August. Even more surprising, beyond the fact that this is 2K Sports’ first game in the App Store, is that 2K Sports put the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of their NHL series on hiatus for 2011 for retooling. All that adds up to a promising hockey game that really could go either way – it could set the standard for iPhone hockey games, or it could be destined for an extended stay in the penalty box.

It should be noted that, while NHL 2K11 is not necessarily the only hockey game in the App Store (even excluding the seemingly hundreds of air hockey games), it is currently the only game that is officially licensed by the NHL and contains all the current teams and rosters. What’s more, NHL 2K11 feels like a full console hockey game, even more so at times than Madden does for football games.  In addition to the standard quick play, season and shootout modes, there are an impressive number of options to allow the player to customize the game precisely to his liking.  For example, there are two types of offsides and three types of icing to choose from, as well as the ability to turn either of them off entirely. The now-defunct two line pass can also be turned on for hockey fans who long for the “good old days”.  There are also eight different camera angles to choose from, and you’ll want to go through them, because the default angle doesn’t provide enough of a view of the ice to be able to see your teammates and pass effectively.

Though the options are closer to a full console game, the controls have been pared down to the bare essentials: A virtual stick for movement, and buttons for pass/switch player, shoot/check, and speed boost.  This decision may sound limiting compared to current console hockey games, but really, this is all you need to play, and it reminds me somewhat of the old Sega Genesis NHL games (which were arguably still the most fun to play, even now).  The controls themselves work fine, but my issue with them is their placement on the screen. Specifically, the three buttons are arranged in a triangle, with shoot on top and pass and speed boost below it. This is very different from most console controllers’ default button placement, where pass is on the bottom and shoot is above it; as a result, I had a lot of trouble adjusting to the controls, even after several games.  What’s really surprising is that, with all the other options available, remapping the buttons isn’t one of them.  Another option I was surprised not to find was pass assist, which would be extremely helpful given the limited screen real estate.  

Controls aside, though, gameplay is exactly what I would expect from a full hockey game.  Scoring is difficult but not impossible, and when you do get the biscuit in the basket, you definitely feel like you’ve earned the goal.  That said, you can’t really get the puck in the net with finesse, due to the lack of wrist shot and deke controls; you have to score the old-fashioned way, either by deflecting the puck off a misdirection or simply shooting it where the goalie can’t reach it. You also get full control over line changes, either by allowing the game to automatically choose lines for you or even manually switching lines during a play.

The graphics are functional, but not much more than that.  Player models are blocky and pixilated, and the rinks are fairly generic looking, down to the fans who look like blurry paper dolls.  This is somewhat exaggerated on an iPhone 4, given that the graphics are not optimized for the Retina display.  Replays are not well rendered, either, with jerky video making it difficult to determine what’s actually happening more often than not. The graphics work well enough to be able to play the game, but you won’t be using NHL 2K11 to show off your new iPhone 4.

To make matters worse, the sound is more disappointing than the graphics. There is no play-by-play commentary at all, so other than the few on-ice sound effects, the only sound you get in game is the fake crowd noise that is constantly in the background. What’s odd is that it seems like there should be at least some commentary or speech from the PA announcer, because the three stars come out at the end of a game but you can’t tell who they are except based on the number on the back of their jersey. Outside of gameplay, the menus are accompanied by some grating guitar rock that you’ll want to mute relatively quickly.  To add insult to injury, you can’t play your own music in the game; the app overrides your music with its own.

If you can ignore some of the rough edges, NHL 2K11 can definitely provide a satisfying hockey experience on the iPhone. There is a lite version and this is one case where it’s worth trying before you buy to see if this game is for you.  NHL 2K11 is far from perfect, but if you can get past the awkward controls and subpar presentation, there’s a lot to enjoy here for hockey fans who are looking for more than air hockey

review by Steve Loopipe

rating 3.5 out of 5 stars • App Store Link

app review: Tilt To Live for iPhone

At first glance, Tilt To Live seems like a Geometry Wars knockoff. This thought is quickly forgotten as it provides its own spin on the genre, and utilizes the iPhone’s accelerometer to challenge the player’s evasive maneuvers. This game is One Man Left Studios’ debut title and showcases the power of the App. Store for unheard of talent.

In Tilt To Live, the player takes control of a cursor that must evade hundreds of enemies ranging from simple red dots, to various other forms attempting to stop your quest for the ultimate high score. Unlike Geometry Wars, the player does not possess unlimited ammo and must rely on power ups generating throughout the map. Thankfully, the choices of power ups are varied: heat seeking cluster missiles, freeze beams, nukes and many more. The game is intelligently designed as it challenges the most hardcore of gamers, while providing the simplicity of pick up and play for the casual gamer. It also helps that within its simplicity the game is visually appealing with bright colors onscreen at all times. Tilt To Live’s melodic music juxtaposes the violence onscreen but is never intrusive on the game play.

The most impressive aspect about this $2.99 game is that One Man Left Studios continues to build upon their hit game. Recently releasing the new Frostbite mode, which brings its total modes to four. In Frostbite mode, the player must eliminate as many falling frozen enemies before hitting the bottom, and reanimating. Previous modes such as Gauntlet carry enemies from right to left. The player must attempt to duck, dive, dodge and collect orbs that supply a few more seconds of precious life. Code Red is a hyper version of Classic mode, which means that enemies immediately go for the kill and think about your feelings second. There is also the inclusion of the aGon system, which keeps record of all unlocked achievements, unlocked weapons and friends’ scores.

All of these modes, and the possibly more to come, turn this frenetic shooter into a must-have. Minor negatives though are the exclusion of any multiplayer modes (hopefully to be remedied in the sequel), and the occasional fickleness of the gyroscope controls that may cause some frustration. With these minor quips said, if you need a healthy dose of adrenaline while waiting in line for your panini, then this game is more than sufficient.

rating: four stars out of five • App Store link

review by Bagner Estrada

app review: Madden NFL 11 for iPhone

It’s become extremely clear this month that the iPhone has come into its own as a gaming platform. At the same time that Sony is releasing ads criticizing the quality of iPhone games, EA has released its second iteration of its flagship Madden franchise for the iPhone. Last year’s Madden game set the bar very high, but as with any Madden game released on a platform after the first, the question remains whether this year’s version is any more than a roster update compared to last year’s version.

If you don’t own any Madden games for your iPhone and you’re wondering if Madden measures up to the console versions, it does, with some limitations. You’re not going to confuse the iPhone version of Madden with the 360 or PS3 versions, but it’s definitely at least as good as you might expect the iPhone version to be, if not better.††Don’t hesitate to pick this up, even at the current price of $8, if you want a football game for your iPhone and don’t yet have one.

If you’re considering upgrading from Madden 10, however, that question is a bit more complicated. Most of the gameplay in Madden 11 is fairly identical to Madden 10 (rosters aside, obviously), which, on the whole, is a good thing. For instance, passing is still done by tapping on the receivers, and the Action Control system that lets the player slow down the action temporarily, a highlight of the original iPhone Madden, returns for Madden 11. However, what device you own and your play style could make the difference between a purchase and a pass when it comes to this year’s incarnation.

The most obvious change in this year’s version is the GameFlow system, which replaces the old Ask Madden system for having the computer suggest plays (which was missing from Madden 10 on the iPhone anyway). With GameFlow turned on, you are never even presented with a play calling screen; the game just advances from play to play automatically, while continuing to provide the option to either change the play entirely or draw hot routes for your players on the screen to adjust the play. Turning GameFlow on and off is as easy as flipping a switch on the screen in between plays.

In theory, GameFlow is fantastic, especially on the iPhone where you likely don’t have a ton of time to play in the first place. I also like it a lot more on defense, where I’m less confident with/interested in strategy than I typically am on offense.††In practice, however, it seems to skew very heavily toward running plays, which makes sense for some teams but not others. For instance, I play as the Patriots, and giving the ball to Laurence Maroney instead of Tom Brady for three out of four plays would have the fans in Foxborough screaming for blood. What’s more, I found scrolling through plays with GameFlow off on the sluggish side, which can be frustrating. That said, if you really just want to play Madden like an arcade game, GameFlow is a great addition to the game.

On the defensive side, Madden 11 adds Total Defensive Control, accessible by a button in the bottom center of the screen once the play starts. Pressing this button pauses the game and allows the player to either direct each player on the defense either where to run or queue up a button action (jump, swat, dive for a tackle, etc.). I do like this feature, because the standard Madden style of defense (switch to the closest player and then try to intervene in the split second before they get the ball) has never really worked for me. It can be kind of overwhelming to try to decide what eleven people should do on every play, but I do like having the additional option, and it does add a bit more realism on the defensive side.

The graphics are improved to take advantage of the iPhone 4′s Retina Display, and the difference is very noticeable. The player models are much clearer (if a bit on the blocky side) and you can even see individual fans in the stands instead of just a multicolored animation. I actually fired up Madden 10 to see how it looks on my iPhone 4 and it hurt my eyes in comparison. So for iPhone 4 owners, upgrading is worth it for the graphics alone.There are still some issues with the animations, though; it often seems like the players don’t quite collide properly on tackles, and some of the reception animations aren’t clear whether the ball was caught or not.

The sound is still a weak point of Madden, unfortunately. Though the game has supplemented Madden and Cris Collinsworth with Gus Johnson, the commentary still is really inadequate. You’ll hear the same few lines over and over again, even within a single game, and it’s even wrong, occasionally. Play by play is understandably difficult to do at all, and even more difficult to do well, especially given the space constraints of the iPhone. That said, however, it’s jarring enough in its current incarnation that it’s almost worth just leaving it out altogether if it can’t be done better than it is currently.

So should you buy this first “roster update” version of Madden for the iPhone? Again, if you don’t own Madden 10, absolutely; this is a full featured football game to rival those on other portable gaming platforms for one third of the price of a comparable version on the DS or PSP, and you don’t even need to carry around a separate device to play it. Similarly, if you own an iPhone 4 or are a casual player, then the new features (Retina graphics and GameFlow, respectively) make this version of Madden a giant leap beyond its predecessor. If you don’t fall into any of these categories, then it’s really a toss up. But even just as a roster update, you’re still getting a current, full version of Madden for less than you would pay for last year’s version on other gaming platforms, so it’s not nearly as bad as, say, a $60 roster update on the 360 or PS3. If you didn’t like last year’s version of Madden for the iPhone, this year’s version won’t change your mind, but otherwise, Madden 11 improves on the formula enough to be worth a purchase for more than just this year’s rosters.

Madden NFL 11 for iPhone is in the iTunes App Store for $7.99

app review: Disney’s TRON

When most people think of Tron, what usually comes to mind is the 1982 movie featuring Jeff Bridges inside a computer co-starring a bunch of early computer generated graphics. That movie spawned a few associated arcade games, one of which was called ‘Battle Tanks.’ That game forms the core of the new Tron iPhone app recently released by Disney as part of the promotional campaign for its new movie Tron Legacy, due in theaters in December. Since they are planning on recouping the game’s development costs in movie ticket sales the app is free, although there are trailers for the movie and its associated video game within the app.

Disney has promised more content and updates (including more games) to come in the future, but right now the only available game is the modern adaptation of Battle Tanks. The game has a top-down view of the map, allowing you to see your tank and any nearby enemies. The controls consist of two virtual joysticks, the left of which controls your tank’s movement, and the right of which controls the turret and firing. Each tank has two available weapons: a turret and a grenade-type weapon that can shoot over walls.

Strewn around each level are power-ups which can help out your tank. Weapon upgrades can increase the firing speed or range of each weapon, or allow turret shots to bounce off of walls. Temporary power-ups can increase weapon range or tank speed (among other things), while special-use weapons include laser beams and mines.

The single-player portion of the game has 15 levels, each of which is pretty short. It took me a couple hours to finish the entire thing, so there’s a fair amount of entertainment value here. Once you finish that there is the multiplayer arena, where you can go up against other players online in free-for-all battles. There are options for two, four, or six-player matches, where you get to drive around trying to destroy your opponents. I found this to be quite hard, but your mileage may vary.

Tron is probably the best-looking free app that I have seen so far. Fortunately it’s not just good-looking; it’s also fun to play. The real wildcard here is the additional content that Disney ends up releasing. The best-known Tron game in’t Battle Tanks, but rather the lightcycle racing game that has been parodied everywhere from Family Guy to South Park. If that game is added to this app, that would satisfy the wildest dreams of many Tron fans. In the meantime though, what we have is a solid, fun game that gives you an enjoyable few hours of gameplay, and is well worth a download`.

rating: 4 stars out of 5 • App Store link

Review by Eric Nguyen

“We Farm” now available for iPhone and iPad!

Are you ready for another addictive social game from Ngmoco? First there was TouchPetsDogs, then we got We Rule, and then Godfinger. And now, Ngmoco launched the new We Farm worldwide, and it’s becoming a hit!

If you’re addicted to games like “We Rule,” you’ll enjoy the new We Farm game as well. It’s a great alternative to Farmville, especially if you have an iPad. The graphics are marvelous and the game play is pretty fun.

It’s similar to “We Rule” with the familiar graphics and game layout, but of course, you get to take care of a farm instead of a kingdom. Additional tasks include petting your animals to keep them happy. This turns them into prize-ribbon-winning animals!

Check out the game trailer:

Because games like these are popular, you may experience some server connection problems and downtime. Be aware of this before you start playing. Hopefully they have a fix for this soon.

The game is available for free for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. For more information, see their official website at Ngmoco.com A full review to come soon.

Despicable Me comes to iPad

Despicable Me, a 3D animated comedy by Universal Pictures, opened in theaters this past weekend and has already hit number one in the box office! The movie stars Steve Carrel as the voice of Gru, a Scrooge-like character who is determined to become a supervillain . And if you enjoyed the lovely voice of Mary Poppins, you’ll be happy to know that Julie Andrews played the voice of Gru’s mother!

Immerse yourself in Gru’s villainous world right on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad! Despicable Me: Minion Mania is available for your gaming pleasure. The game is an adorable puzzler that will surely tickle your brain cells. Guide the minions through various puzzles by moving them in around in Gru’s top secret laboratory! Put them in the right positions to unlock the next level.

For more information about the Despicable Me: Minions Mania iPhone game, see the official website. An iPad version available too. Both versions are currently on sale for 99 cents! But hurry, this sale won’t last very long. A free lite version is also available if you want to try it out.

Farmville comes to iPhone platform

Farmville, the highly popular game on Facebook, is coming to the iPhone platform, according to its developer. The move comes at a time when relations are reportedly strained between Farmville developer Zynga and Facebook. The iPhone version of Farmville will come complete with push notifications to alert users that their crops are withering. The iPhone version will also include the ability to add a “Snow Leopard” to ones farm as part of in-app purchases. The game will obviously not be made in Flash, which is not supported on the iPhone and iPod touch platform. Source: Engadget.

FixPix Comes to the iPhone

eBoy’s FixPix is now available for the iPhone and iPod Touch! It uses a combination of beautiful artwork, puzzle solving skills, 3d effects, and the phone’s accelerometer to create a one-of-a-kind game that keep your mind boggled.

Tilt the phone to align the artwork correctly to move onto the next level. There are 100 individual levels total; many with 3f effects. Some are layered compositions or slice madness! Be sure to check out this very unique game.

You can now purchase Fix Pix for $1.99 USD in the iTunes app store. For more information, see their official website at eBoyFixPix.com.

Artist Colony: iPhone app review

Imagine a game that will take you to a beautiful place populated by beautiful, talented people. Open your eyes – Artist Colony is here.

You might be tempted to say, “But of course, this game is all about artists, it should look good!” – and you’re right. In this PC port to the iPhone, Artist Colony, you help Ben restore his parents’ rundown and abandoned Artist Colony in the hopes of reviving the vibrant world long neglected because of the complexity of human affairs. Yes, there is a story behind the colony, too, and you’ll find yourself immersed in it as soon as you hit the “play” button.

How the game works is pretty simple. The characters wander around the colony – as you progress, buyers and other artists will come in. Manipulating them is done by tapping, locking and dragging to a desired location. There is also a menu on the left that allows you to track their locations and activities. There are tiny icons above each artist’s profile to give you an idea of what they’re doing and looking for. (This is particularly helpful when they are in love with another artist) Meanwhile, in the project of restoration, you need to constantly train artists in their particular fields and upgrade the studios. The ultimate goal is to find the missing photographs to restore the colony.

The artists, like regular people, need to eat, sleep and rest. They also need to put in some manual labor for the colony. An interesting twist to the game is the amount of menial work involved – they pull up weeds, rid the studios of clutter and debris, and they clear up a fair amount of rubbish. However, too much isn’t a good thing, and in this case, it feels as though a large part of the game revolves around housekeeping.

Artists need inspiration in order to fulfill their artistic potential, be it as painters, photographers, sculptors, musicians, or dancers. Falling in love increases their inspiration and makes them more productive. The mysterious part is how to do it because the instructions aren’t clear about it.

When artists are inspired, they create art. When they create art, buyers come in and offer to buy their work. The money you earn from this goes to the expenses of upgrade and restoration.

The 3D graphics are gorgeous and the colony is beautifully designed. Animation generally runs smoothly and the soundtrack is perfect for setting the mood (you can also choose to play your own music). I like how the music and mood changes when say, an artist is holding a musical performance. Controls are smooth and it’s easy enough to navigate the colony, but dragging and dropping ad infinitum can get dizzying after a while.

There are a number of improvements that the game needs. One is a better tutorial and set of instructions. While you can muddle your way around and figure it out as you go along, after all this time, I still don’t know how to manipulate my characters to make them fall in love. The placement of the options to restore and upgrade as part of the pause function needs to be reconsidered. A separate pop-up menu would be much better instead of constantly pausing the game just to upgrade or check on what needs to be done.

While I haven’t finished the game, many user reviews have complained about the duration of gameplay which can be finished in a day. Perhaps a free play mode or mini-games after finishing the story would be much better.

Despite its flaws, Artist Colony is a suitable game fix for your SIMS cravings, in a gorgeously imagined universe. As for its concept as a social simulation game, the game has it down pat.

review by Enuh Iglesias • rated 4.5 out of five stars • $1.99 in the App Store

Google reinstates Pac-Man game on secret hidden page

Google has reinstated its Pac-Man game after removing it from the main page of google.com earlier today. The game, which saw the “Google” logo embedded into a playable Pac-Man game board, had been put in place in honor of the legendary arcade game’s 30th anniversary. Although temporarily not available at all upon its removal from the Google homepage, Pac-Man can now be found – and played for free – at google.com/pacman.

Interestingly, we had checked that link (among other possibilities) shortly after the game disappeared from the home page, but it initially 404′d. The fact that the game has subsequently been placed back on the google.com site suggests that the company reinstated it due to popular demand. And the fact that Google didn’t hide PacMan in a particularly creative manner suggests that they here hoping it would be quickly unearthed.

Interestingly enough, the game appears to have defeated its own purpose.

And yes, iPhone and iPad and iPod touch users can play it for free too.

Brothers in Arms 2: iPhone app review

Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front is the latest first-person shooter game released by Gameloft Software, following in the footsteps of the original Brothers in Arms, N.O.V.A. and Modern Combat. If you’ve played any of those games then this one will seem pretty intuitive, as the control scheme is pretty much the same. Like those other games it is an enjoyable game that, despite a few lingering issues, is worth the $7 that it currently costs in the App Store.

Like most first-person shooter games, Brothers in Arms 2 drops you in the middle of a war zone with a few weapons and the ability to run, jump, and crouch your way to victory. The plot is fairly straightforward—a soldier looking for answers as to how his brother died ends up visiting many major World War II battlefronts, turning into a one-man supersoldier along the way. Gameplay is quite diverse, as different missions might require using a sniper rifle, firing a bazooka at tanks, shooting a turret on top of a moving car, or even flying a glider across the ocean to a landing zone. The trade-off for this is that the plot is extremely linear, and you have to do things exactly the way the game wants you to in order to move on. For example, if the game presents you with some enemies and tells you to flank them, you have to move around the map and attack them from the side, otherwise they will just keep respawning indefinitely. Fortunately, the game helps out with this using mission objective updates at the top of the screen and green arrows telling you which direction to move. However, it does mean that there is a lot less of a chance for exploration (and as such, less replay value).

The graphics here are top-notch, and are roughly comparable to another famous World War II game, the original Call of Duty. In addition to the guns and soldiers, the surrounding environment also received a lot of attention and detail, and as a result doesn’t ever feel particularly repetitive. When running the game on my original iPod touch I was surprised at how good the game looked while still maintaining a decent frame rate. In a couple scenes featuring lots of action and shooting things became a bit jerky, but for the most part it ran fine. If you have an iPhone 3GS or iPad I would expect this game to run fine with few, if any, slowdowns.

The biggest problem with the game, the control scheme, is more or less unavoidable since there is only so much room on an iPhone screen. Movement is controlled with a virtual joystick, while firing, crouching, zooming in, and switching weapons are all controlled via other buttons on the screen. While it is nice to have one-tap access to all of these controls, it also makes the screen fairly cluttered, and makes it more likely to accidentally tap the wrong button by accident. Moreover, moving your finger all over the screen to push buttons means that more of the screen is covered up by it. A nice feature to help with this is auto-aiming, which moves your aim directly to an enemy if it’s pretty close. Since it’s difficult to be particularly accurate when aiming with a relatively large finger on such a small screen, this is a lifesaver when facing far-away enemies.

The only particularly annoying thing with the game is the controls for levels where you control vehicles. The glider, which uses the accelerometer to steer, is prone to randomly dropping out of the sky without warning. Likewise in the level where you drive a Jeep around, the car has a tendency to not move in the direction the joystick is pointing, which can easily lead to several frustrating deaths. However, once these levels are over, it’s back to using controls that work well.

Overall, in spite of its problems Brothers in Arms 2 is a well-made, fun game that leverages the iPhone hardware as much as any other game out there. Once you finish the single player campaign there is an online multiplayer mode, which is useful to have but is, in my opinion, less fun than the single player (the submachine gun pretty much trumps all other weapons here). There is also an iPad version of the game available for a dollar more, which has better graphics and spreads the control buttons out over the screen more.

review by Eric Nguyen • rating: four stars out of five • App Store

Chrome-8 app released for iPhone, iPad

No, it’s not the Google “Chrome” web browser app that some geeks are wishing would come to the iPhone/iPad platform. Instead, it’s a ninety-nine cent iPhone game called “Chrome-8″ in the App Store which offers a colorful visual puzzle experience involving eight dots on the screen, which gets more complicated as you go. Get it? Eight dots? Chrome-8?

So it’s not “Chrome for iPhone” like a few of you are wishing for. But since that’ll never, ever happen as long as Apple and Google are at each other’s throats, you might find the Chrome-8 game a good way to kill the time while you’re waiting for that particular epic corporate battle to resolve itself.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2, available now!

The classic game, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 launched on the iPhone and iPod Touch today! Follow Sonic and Tails in loops and jumps as they stop the evil Dr. Robotnik from stealing the Chaos Emeralds.

Touch and tap and have Sonic bounce around like a pinball or run as fast as lightning. You can play the game in full screen or classic ‘arcade’ mode.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is available now in the iTunes App store for $5.99.

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