Win One of Ten $10 iTunes Gift Cards!

Com2uS, a big development company in the App Store, has presented us with 10 $10 iTunes Gift Cards to give away to our lucky readers!!! Com2uS has published many hits, including Baseball Slugger, 9 Innings Pro Baseball 2009, World of Tunes, and Chronicles of Inotia. The iTunes Gift Cards can be used to purchase apps, music, movies, or virtually anything in the entire iTunes Store!

All you need to do to enter, is post a comment below, or follow me on Twitter, and re-tweet a message. Be sure to read the details below, for the exact instructions telling you how to win free iTunes Gift Cards.

Contest Rules:

1. The Com2uS giveaway is open to all, but to redeem the iTunes Gift Card, you must have a US iTunes Store account. If you do not, you can either make one, or give the card to a friend who has one.

2. One of the two ways to enter the contest is to visit Baseball Slugger's iTunes page (Link), and write a comment on this contest post, saying what is being changed in the next update. Note: In addition to writing what's being changed in the next update, you must also leave either your Twitter username or email address, so we can contact you if you win.

2.5: If you do not want to leave your email written publicly in a comment, email your entry to trcontests@gmail.com.

Email addresses are always kept confidential.

3. To greatly increase your chances of winning a $10 iTunes Gift Card, follow both me and Com2uS on twitter, and re-tweet the following message: RT and Follow both @zamzarvideo and @Com2uS to win 10 $10 iTunes Gift Cards! Visit http://rfly.me/b3 for details!

4. You can re-tweet this message up to five times per day, and each re-tweet makes it even easier for you to win a $10 Gift Card.

5. The contest will close Saturday, August 8th at 23:59 PST. Winners will randomly be selected, and the ten lucky winners will be announced shortly after, on Sunday morning.

Good luck, and the contest starts now!!!

Pipe Mania Promo Code Giveaway!!!

We have received 1 promo code for Pipe Mania, courtesy of Robosoft, to give away to our lucky readers. Pipe Mania is a game from many platforms, where you must guide the "flooze" to the exit of each level, using pipes. A review of the game, which is incredibly fun, is coming soon. To enter, read the contest rules below.

Contest Rules:

1. The Pipe Mania giveaway is open to all, but to redeem the promo code, you must have a  US iTunes Store account. If you do not, you can either make one, or give the code to a friend who has one.

2. One of the two ways to enter the contest is to visit Pipe Mania's iTunes page (Link), and write a comment on this contest post, saying what version the game is currently on. Note: Along with the answer, you must also leave either your Twitter username or email  address, so we can contact you if you win.

2.5: If you do not want to leave your email or twitter username written publicly in a comment, email your entry to trcontests@gmail.com.

3. Another form of entry, which increases your chances of winning a promo code for Pipe Mania, is to follow me on twitter, and re-tweet the following message: RT and Follow @zamzarvideo to win a promo code for Pipe Mania, courtesy of @Robosoft! Visit http://rfly.me/53 for details!

4. You can re-tweet this message up to five times per day, and each re-tweet makes it even  easier for you to win a promo code for Pipe Mania.

5. The contest will close Tuesday, August 10th at 23:59 PST. Winners will randomly be  selected, and the ten lucky winners will be announced shortly after, on Wednesday morning.

Good Luck!!

Next Generation iPod Predictions

If you are anything like me, you spend all night drooling over the latest apple announcement, start a counter down to the second, have 49382 browser tabs open to live feeds of the keynote, read a gazillion predictions, and read macrumors every day. And since you're still reading this, you're pretty much like me.

So, We are pretty much now just recovering from the hype of the iPhone 3Gs and from what I've played with it seems pretty solid. No crashing etc. so far and no MAJOR bugs a big kiss couldn't fix. So being the apple dork I am, I'm pretty much ready for the next iPod version in 55 days! So here's my predictions:

Date: Apple iPod events always happen during the second Tuesday of September. And ALL apple events happen at 1 EST.  So the pretty much gives us 55 days and change until the next apple event so do NOT buy an iPod untill then!

iPod Shuffle: Basic Stuff, more storage, different colors, the basic stuff, might be able to cure cancer but no one would care because it's the shuffle. In fact, this year, like last, the shuffle might just be skipped over.

iPod Nano: Not really feeling a focus on the nano this year. Most likely because been giant re-designs the past two years. So this is the place when I would say more colors, BUT just look at the nano now, the whole FLIPPING rainbow. That said different colors this year to! (Orange PUH-lease!) So other then storage and colors I wasn't feeling anything else UNTILL I heard about apples MASSIVE order of cameras. That means a new camera in the back of the nano which will render old cases useless. A round up: Shuffle gets storage and colors and nano gets colors and a camera.

iPod Classic: Ahhh, the good old iPod Classic that no ones cares about. So last year was BORING for the classic so I'm feeling something major this year. More storage for sure, thinner, color-ness, and a camera. But those are just definite. Some dream-land crap: Touch controls?  New software? The classic needs something to differ itself from everyone else. A killer feature. Possibly a sexier hardware design? Either way, the iPod Classic will get a ton more attention this year then last

iPod Touch: The absolute best iPod model. Here's what I feeling. No design changes at all except for camera. For the past few model changes, Apple has kept the old but brought in the new. So apple will cut the price of the iPod Touch 2G to 130 and it will sell like hotcakes. No hardware changes on the old 2G just a price change. The new iPod Touch (3G? 2Gs?) will have a camera, vibrate feature, microphone. No design changes. New model will be 16 gig for 230 and 300 for 32 and 400 for 64. Although the last one is questionable because they could cut it. Two games will be launched alongside the new iPod. Most likely, an ngmoco game and gameloft.
Quick Recap: Shuffle gets color and storage, Nano gets camera and color, Classic gets major redesign, thin, color, storage, camera, Touch gets new model, storage, camera, microphone, and vibrate.

Overall, this will be a let down for many people due to it's hype. So get excited and thanks for bearing with me!

Writer: IBITF

Payback Review

Remember the original and much beloved Grand Theft Auto? Wish you could've had it on the iPod? GTA lover, take notice of Payback, a 3D isometric game with enough car-jacking to get you shot. But it's not all fun and games.

Payback is a 3D clone of GTA at its core. On the outside, there is much HDR lighting and awesome effects such as he

at waves from explosions. As far as graphics go, the environments are nice with great lighting as well as decent textures.

 The vehicles are average (the tank is an eye-sore). The people are more-or-less walking blocks. Overall the graphics are decent but nothing super.

  In terms of gameplay Payback begins to suffer. Aiming is a pain and the weapons are more of an extra added-on feature compared to the rest of the game. The story is sufficient to tide you over. In terms of missions, there are plenty of them with a decent variety, but nothing spectacular. After finishing the game, there are bonus modes such as Rampage ('nuff said) and Challenge. Both are just score-type games but they do add some extra incentive to play more of the game.

  One of the strongest aspects of Payback is the sound. While the sound effects are rather mediocre, the soundtrack is outstanding. A collection of hip-hop, electronica, rap, and rock, have all found their way into the game. After a while though, the same songs begin to repeatedly appear, but that is only a minor nuisance.

  So at the current $5 price-tag, is it truly worth it? At this point in time I would get Car Jack Streets or wait for a price drop.

 

Pros:

Good Soundtrack

Grand Theft Auto Clone

Cons:

Average Graphics

Mediocre Sound Effects

Hard to Aim Weapons

Bottom Line:

Try the Lite version, buy Car Jack Streets, or wait for a price drop.

For parents: Despite the 12+ rating this is a more-mature game then the rating has led you to believe. There is a lot of gore (exploding people)  and violence (you can set people on fire) so be careful.

Scores:

Graphics: 3.5/5

Sound: 4/5

Gameplay: 3.5/5

Controls: 3.75/5

Overall: 8/10

Link: Payback, $4.99

Reviewer: DHrox

Contest Winners!

In this post, I will announce when each contest is over, and who the winners are.

Toki Tori: Clymos, FastRichieD
Zenonia: S3rgant

Car Jack Streets: Phymon, (unnamed)

Moonlights: The Bat Outta Hell, Alex Ferrigno

Tiki Golf 3D: Stairs, (unnamed), (unnamed), (unnamed), (unnamed)

Archmage Defense: cool9797, (unnamed)

A Bugs Defense: p-rod, mike86

Moonlights Review

The tower building physics puzzle genre was one filled by only one game of any significance for a while, Tiki Towers. I bought it,  and I beat it somewhat quickly, within days. Ever since then, there has been a gap in my gaming library. Once I bought Moonlights for this review, I have been entertained for weeks, and still have not beaten the game.

In Moonlights, by bonuslevel.org,  you build towers out of small circles, and try to make any part of the tower reach and remain in the moon for three seconds. There are various objects that affect the structure, for example, pink circles destroy the tower, and ice circles freeze the entire structure. There are 42 levels, and a level editor is soon being added in an update.

Once you open the app, you can choose to select a level. You scroll down a list of the 42 levels, and tap one to start it. To start building your structure, simply tap near two of your other circles, and a new one pops up, attached to them. Keep building, and scroll around or zoom with two fingers. To delete some of the circles, make a box around those pieces by dragging with your finger. You can influence how a tower is balanced by tilting your device back and forth. There is an arrow in the lower left corner of the screen showing how much the gravity is affected. To pause the game, shake the device, and you can restart the level or quit to the main menu.

This game is better in some ways then World of Goo, a game in the same genre on WiiWare, and vice versa. In World of Goo, there are different types of Goo-balls, which in Moonlights, are just plain circles. However, Moonlights has more special additions, like accelerometer control, and the different colored circles that affect your structure. However, if you look at the games, overall, they are about as good as each other. Sure, Moonlights has simplistic graphics, but that is just a decision that the developer made which works well with the game. It comes down to the price. Are you going to get a $15.00 WiiWare game, which you can only play at home, or a $0.99 game that is just as good that you can take everywhere? The latter of the two is the most logical choice. That is why I highly recommend Moonlights, more than any other tower building game I have ever played, on the Wii, iPhone/iPod Touch, or any other platform which this applies to.

Pros:

42 Levels and a Level Editor Coming Soon

Intuitive Controls

Perfect Difficulty

Cons:

A Bit Hard to Delete Circles Accurately

Bottom Line: 

If you liked World of Goo or Tiki Towers, get Moonlights. If you're interested in an engaging game that's cheap, you should also put this on your buy list.

Scores:

Graphics: 4/5

Gameplay: 5/5

Controls: 4.5/5

Replay Value: 4.5/5

Overall: 9.5/10 (not an average)

Link: Moonlights, $.99

To Win Moonlights for FREE:

Follow the directions on the Moonlights Promo Code Giveaway linked below:

Click Here!

A Bugs Defense Promo Code Giveaway

Win 2 Promo Codes for A Bugs Defense for free!!

We have received 2 promo codes for A Bugs Defense, courtesy of CDE, to give away to our lucky readers.To win A Bugs Defense for free, leave a comment or email trcontests@gmail.com, saying what the main character's name is.  (Hint: Check the iTunes Store Description) If you leave a comment, please include your email address so we can contact you if you win. Some people want more privacy, so that is why we offer the option to email us. You may not enter more than once per contest. The contest will close on July 17th, and the winners will be announced soon after. The more people enter, the more contests we will have in the future, so enter and tell all of your friends! Below this post are contests for 2 Toki Tori codes, 2 Car Jack Streets codes, a Zenonia code, 2 Moonlights codes,  5 Tiki Golf 3D codes, and 2 Archmage Defense codes, so enter those for a much greater chance to win a free game!

Check out the review of A Bugs Defense, a cartoony tower defense game.

Review: A Bugs Defense

iTunes Store Description: A Bugs Defense

LINKS TO OTHER CURRENT Giveaways:

Toki Tori Contest

Car Jack Streets Contest

Zenonia Contest

Moonlights Contest

Tiki Golf 3D Contest

Archmage Defense Contest

Archmage Defense Promo Code Giveaway

Win 2 Promo Codes for Archmage Defense for Free!!

We have received 2 promo codes for Archmage Defense, courtesy of CDE, to give away to our lucky readers.To win Archmage Defense for free, leave a comment or email trcontests@gmail.com, saying what version the game is on.  (1.0, 1.1, 1.2, etc.) If you leave a comment, please include your email address so we can contact you if you win. Some people want more privacy, so that is why we offer the option to email us. You may not enter more than once per contest. The contest will close on July 17th, and the winners will be announced soon after. The more people enter, the more contests we will have in the future, so enter and tell all of your friends! Below this post are contests for 2 Toki Tori codes, 2 Car Jack Streets codes, a Zenonia code, and 2 Moonlights codes, and 5 Tiki Golf 3D codes, so enter those for a much greater chance to win a free game!

Check out the review of Archmage Defense, a very fun castle defense game, coming soon.

iTunes Store Description: Archmage Defense

LINKS TO OTHER CURRENT Giveaways:

Toki Tori Contest

Car Jack Streets Contest

Zenonia Contest

Moonlights Contest

Tiki Golf 3D Contest

Tiki Golf 3D Free Promo Code Giveaway!

Enter Here to Win 5 Promo Codes for Tiki Golf 3D!!

We have received 5 promo codes for Tiki Golf 3D, courtesy of Arb Studios, to give away to our lucky readers.To win Tiki Golf 3D for free, leave a comment or email trcontests@gmail.com, saying either what modes are in the game, or the names of the two worlds.  (Hint: Look in the iTunes Description or the review for both answers) If you leave a comment, please include your email address so we can contact you if you win. Some people want more privacy, so that is why we offer the option to email us. You may not enter more than once per contest. The contest will close on July 16th, and the winners will be announced soon after. The more people enter, the more contests we will have in the future, so enter and tell all of your friends! Below this post are contests for 2 Toki Tori codes, 2 Car Jack Streets codes, a Zenonia code, and 2 Moonlights codes, so enter those for quintuple the chance to win a free game!

Check out the review of Tiki Golf 3D, and if you do not win, support the developers and buy it, because it is a unique take on mini golf.

iTunes Store Description: Tiki Golf 3D

LINKS TO OTHER CURRENT Giveaways:

Toki Tori Contest

Car Jack Streets Contest

Zenonia Contest

Moonlights Contest

LINK TO TIKI GOLF 3D REVIEW:

Tiki Golf 3D Review

Moonlights for iPhone Promo Code Giveaway!

Enter Here to Win 2 Promo Codes for Moonlights!!

We have received 2 promo codes for Moonlights, courtesy of bonuslevel.org, to give away to our lucky readers.To win Moonlights for free, leave a comment or email trcontests@gmail.com, saying what a major future addition will be in the game, or how many levels the game has.  (Hint: Look in the iTunes Description for both answers) If you leave a comment, please include your email address so we can contact you if you win. Some people want more privacy, so that is why we offer the option to email us. You may not enter more than once per contest. The contest will close on July 15th, and the winners will be announced soon after. The more people enter, the more contests we will have in the future, so enter and tell all of your friends! Below this post is are contests for 2 Toki Tori codes, 2 Car Jack Streets codes, and a Zenonia code, so enter those for quadruple the chance to win a free game!

Check out the review of Moonlights, coming soon, and if you do not win, support the developers and buy it, because it is a great tower building game.

iTunes Store Description: Moonlights

LINKS TO OTHER CURRENT CONTESTS:

Toki Tori

Car Jack Streets

Zenonia

INKoming Review

Recently, what everyone purchases in the App Store is based on price. If you want to price something at $9.99, you have to have an amazingly good quality game, such as Real Racing. If you want to sell a good game with lots of replay value, then $1.99-$5.99 is the price point for you. However, if you have a good game that people wouldn't want to pay a lot for, but would still buy, (or a high quality game on sale to boost sales) $.99 is a great price point for both the customers and the developers. However, INKoming, which costs $1.99, is definitely too high price-wise, and I wouldn't even waste my time with it even if it was completely free.

INKoming, by MT2W Ltd, is a basic top-down TD game, with a few towers, and 24 maps. Your goal in the game is to stop the monsters from advancing and destroying your homework.

Although the game has a whopping 24 maps, it is to no avail, since players would become bored or frustrated with the game far before they even finished two maps. It doesn't bring anything new to the genre, and is worse than many free flash tower defense games I have played on various websites on my computer. In my opinion, the graphics and controls are atrocious, and the interface is horrible. Some users say that it has great strategy, but I couldn't get past the uninviting surface.

Pros:

24 Maps

Cons:

Horrible Graphics

Horrible Controls

Just Plain Horrible

Bottom Line: 

If you want a TD, steer clear of INKoming. Unless you can't see very well and don't mind looking at such horrible graphics, don't even think of buying it.

Scores:

Graphics: 2/5

Gameplay: 2/5

Controls: 2/5

Replay Value: 2/5  (You won't even beat it once because you'll hate it so much)

Overall: 4/10  (In this case, an average)

Link: INKoming, $1.99

Garden War Review

If you get pleasure out of killing bugs, you are better off buying a fly-swatter than Garden War for the iPhone.

Garden War is a typical top-down tower defense game, where you place any of 5 towers down on one of twelve maps, which just have different layouts, to kill bugs. You can zoom in and out, though when you zoom in, the graphics aren't especially high quality. The only unique feature that it brings to the genre is Exp, which can be used on each map to upgrade your weapons, and other abilities. Other than that, it is an average TD game.  

There is an endless wave mode, and also a classic mode, where you play through 60 waves on each of the 12 maps, which can last you a bit of time.

My biggest problem with the game is that I experienced a devastating crash. I was on wave 57 or so of the first map on classic, then the game suddenly crashed. When I re-opened it, I was on wave 20. After that, I didn't feel any motivation to play the game, guessing that it would just crash over and over again.

On the other hand, it does have 12 maps, which offers replay value, and the interface is very easy to use, along with comprehensive instructions. It also has a fast forward button, which speeds up the gameplay, which gets slow very often.

Pros:

12 Maps

Exp Upgrades

Cons:

Horrible Crash Glitch

Gets Boring Constantly

Bottom Line: 

Unless you are a die-hard TD fan, do not get this game. It is not a good addition to your collection, and provides repetitive, frustrating gameplay.

Scores:

Graphics: 4/5

Gameplay: 3/5

Controls: 4.5/5

Replay Value: 3/5

Overall: 6.5/10 (not an average)

Link: Garden War, $.99

Sweetwater Defense Review

Tower defense games were very popular at the dawn of the App Store. Most of them weren't very good quality games, though still sold well because they were the best out there. If the tower defense games that are released today were out in the first few months of the App Store, customers would realize that TD games like Sweetwarer Defense are completely out of TapDefense and Fieldrunners' league.

Sweetwater Defense, $2.99, by Werebear Games, is a tower defense game with a few unique twists. It has a whopping 26 levels, and beautiful 3D graphics. Also included are 7 towers, and 11 enemies, excluding bosses. On top of that, a rewind feature, which allows you to go back in time to a different wave on a map, and a section with enemy and tower statistics, are included in the game.

Once you start up the game, it allows you to start a new game, resume a game, or go to the guide. If you start a new game, a map appears, which you can scroll around in and zoom. 

You can tap on any of multiple spots on the map, and a preview of the level pops up. It lists how many lives you get, how much gold (money in the game) you start out with, how many waves there are, and what the difficulty is. Once in the level, you can scroll by swiping, and zoom in and out by pinching and reverse pinching. To build a tower, drag from the icons at the bottom of screen to the spots on the map. To fast forward or pause, drag the button at the right side of the screen up and down. Double tap on it to access a menu where you can restart the map from a certain wave.

Since the game has 26 levels, it lasts you a long time. Also, you can always replay the levels with a different strategy, or always try to improve your score, so that makes the game last even longer. The price of $2.99 is an incredible deal for the game, because, if you do the math, you are only paying about 12 cents for each level!

Though the game has so much content, some of that content is hard to beat. Even the easy levels are very challenging, and it would be great to have more difficulties for each level. Also, the scrolling in a level isn't completely fluid, and it has a slight bit of stuttering. (Though that might have to do with the fact that I played the game on a 1st generation iPod Touch, which is the slowest iDevice)

Pros:

26 Levels

3D Graphics

Only $2.99

Cons:

Very Challenging

Scrolling Isn't Fluid

Bottom Line:

This is one of the best Tower Defense games in the App Store, along with Defender Chronicles, Sentinel 2, Star Defense, and others. If you are a TD fan, all of those above are almost necessary purchases.

Scores:

Graphics: 4.5/5

Gameplay: 4/5

Controls: 5/5

Replay Value: 4.5/5

Overall: 9/10 (not an average)

Link: Sweetwater Defense, $2.99

Harbor Master Review

Flight Control was and is a big hit on the App Store, sparking interest in the chaos management genre. Soon after its release, Imangi, the developers of Little Red Sled, Imangi, and other games, announced their game, in the same genre, called Harbor Master. People thought it was a rip-off, until it was released, and customers were amazed by the differences, and how Harbor Master was actually... better than Flight Control.

In Harbor Master, $.99, you guide boats across the screen to ports, where they have to unload cargo, and leave the screen. You lose if any of the boats crash into each other. There are different sizes of boats, which move at varying speeds. There are three unique maps, with a new ones being added in frequent free updates. The three maps are: Sturgeon Creek, Fishing Bay, and Cyclone Island. In Sturgeon Creek, there are boats with different colors of cargo, which can only go to certain ports. Fishing Bay is a basic port with two docking stations at the top of the screen. Cyclone Island is a small island with three ports on different sides, and a whirlpool that moves around the map, temporarily disabling your control of the ships. The map being added in the next update, Cannon Beach, which has already been submitted to Apple, has three ports at the top of the screen. It also has pirates that attack, steal cargo, and try to sink the boats. To destroy the pirate ships, you must drag from a cannon at the bottom of the screen to the pirate ship, two times.

The controls of the game are fairly simple. You tap and drag from a boat to lead it somewhere. Once it is in a docking station, you can wait for it to unload, then you lead it off the screen in the same way. 

Sometimes you need to circle boats, so that they won't crash into the slower boats unloading at the docks.

The major differences between this and Flight Control are that in FC (Flight Control), you just have to lead the planes to a runway, but in HM (Harbor Master), you have to lead the boats out of the docks too. Also, HM was released with three maps, and FC had them added in an update. HM's frequent updates with new maps and features definitely make it a more worthwhile and long-lasting purchase than FC.

Harbor Master also has high score tables for the maps too. However, this is a bad thing once you get inside the game. Not the high score competition, but the actual tables don't match the polish of the rest of the game. The map select screen, main menu, and help screens all look like they have to do with boats, and the sea, but the high scores are just on a plain blue background with an close button.

Pros:

3+ (In Updates) maps

Unique Features

Addictive

Cons:

High Score Tables Lack Polish

Bottom Line: 

If you love Flight Control (Which I'm sure a lot of people do), purchasing Harbor Master is a no-brainer. It builds on the idea, and takes it to the next level.

Scores:

Graphics:  4.5/5

Gameplay:  4.5/5

Controls:  5/5

Replay Value: 5/5

Overall: 9.5/10 (not an average)

Link: Harbor Master, $.99

Archmage Defense Review

A wave of soldiers is advancing towards you. You hear a zap, and all of them are lying on the ground. Fire rains from the sky, and a soldier stops, frozen solid. This world, is Archmage Defense, a castle defense game by CDE.

In the game, costing $.99, you cast spells to kill a range of enemies advancing towards your castle. If any of them reach the castle, it continually loses health until you destroy the unit. They come in waves of a few groups, called days. After each day, there is a shop, where you can buy new spells, upgrade your old spells, or add health to your castle. The game goes on infinitely, getting harder and adding new enemies as the days go on.

Once you start the game, you have an option to start a new game or continue an old game. If you start a new game, your previous progress gets erased. On your first day, you start out with the chain lightning spell. You drag from the skull on your castle, through enemies, and let go, then lightning lashes out and hits the enemies. If you use a spell, your mana meter goes down a bit, and if it goes down to nothing, you have to wait to use more spells. 

A few days later, you can purchase new spells, including the fire spell and the ice spell. You activate the fire spell by making a circle around a group of enemies, then fire falls from the sky onto them, gradually decreasing their health. It also slows them down, and if enemies from behind them touch them, they also catch on fire. The ice spell only works on one enemy at once, and you double tap on them, and they freeze in a block of ice. You can still attack them, and it makes them not able to attack you. You can also unlock a Skeleton Archer, who attacks enemies for you, using arrows. As the days progress, new enemies appear, such as bigger soldiers, archers, and catapults. The archers and catapults shoot from long distances, and the soldiers attack the castle in a close range. Each day in the game is different, so playing the game over and over does not get boring.

Knights Onrush is the other castle defense game on the App Store that has quite a bit of eye candy, and a campaign mode, for the same price as Archmage Defense. However, the actual gameplay of Knights Onrush is what brings it below the level of Archmage Defense. All you actually do in Knights Onrush is repeatedly flick enemies up, over and over again. Though it has so many modes, it just isn't as interesting to play as Archmage Defense.

Archmage Defense also features an in-app purchase, Gryphon's Fury, which I have not tried out. Based on its features in iTunes, (3 save slots, 2 new spells, 3 new enemies, a weather feature, and a new look of the castle) it seems like it would definitely be worth it. 

Although Archmage Defense is a good game, it does have some flaws. Sometimes when I try to use the fire spell, it doesn't register, and I have to try again, same with the ice spell. Also, it seems to advertise the in-app purchase too much, having a button on the main menu, and on the upgrade screen after each day. On the upgrade screen, it is somewhat intrusive, and makes the screen look too packed.

Pros:

Fun, Long Lasting Gameplay

Relatively Good Controls

Many Abilities You Can Use And Upgrade

Cons:

Sometimes Controls Don't Register

In-App Purchase is Too Intrusive

Bottom Line:

Archmage Defense is a good deal, and one of, if not the, best castle defense game the App Store has to offer.

Scores:

Graphics: 4.5/5

Gameplay: 5/5

Controls: 4/5

Replay Value: 5/5

Overall: 9/10 (not an average)

Link: Archmage Defense, $.99

Link:  Gryphon's Fury, $.99

 

A Bugs Defense Review

As most app-fans know, the Tower Defense genre is an over-crowded part of the App Store. There are many great TD games, including Defender Chronicles, Fieldrunners, The Creeps, and Star Defense. Just when you though another couldn't come out, it did. I saw it in the "New and Noteworthy" section in the App Store, and I kept looking at it, enticed by the crisp, cartoony graphics. I got myself a review copy, and the game exceeded my expectations. The game, is "A Bugs Defense," $.99, by CDE.

A Bugs Defense is a relatively classic looking TD game, with four towers, and a hand icon at the bottom of the screen. The towers are a slipper that stomps on the bugs, a honey gun that slows down the bugs, insecticide spray, and an anti-bug laser gun. The hand icon is a unique tower though, because it does not cost anything, and has to recharge. You press the icon, and for ten seconds, you can attack the bugs by simply pressing on them using your finger. There are nine maps, three in each environment, such as the garden and the playroom. There are a few types of bugs, including beetles and flies, the latter of which can not be hit by slippers. 

The main game screen is simple. There are buttons on the screen to start a new game, continue a game, if you left it, go into options, and get help. Once you tap "New Game," you slide through the levels by swiping. 

Then you tap again and start the level. Once in the level, you drag from the bottom of the screen and up into a square, to build a tower. To upgrade or sell a tower, tap on it again, and tap on the buttons on either side of it.

The graphics remind me of the graphics in The Creeps!, and that is a good thing. They make the entire game experience more fun. Also, the nine levels each have about 60 waves, so that can entertain you for  a while. You can also replay the levels, and it is fun every time.

The only small flaw I can find in this game, which does not even affect me, is that it does not have support for different orientations. iPhone users might find it uncomfortable to have the headphone jack jutting into their lower left hand.

Pros:

Cartoony Graphics

Use a Finger to Squash Bugs

Nine Levels in Three Environment

Cons:

No Different Orientations

Bottom Line:

This is a good TD game, and is worth your $.99 just as much as The Creeps. An incredibly easy buy for a TD fan.

Scores:

Graphics: 4.75/5

Gameplay: 4.5/5

Controls: 5/5

Replay Value: 4/5

Overall: 9/10 (not an average)

Link: A Bugs Defense, $.99

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Tiki Golf 3D Review

The ball speeds over lush green grass. It flies through the air, and tilts to the right, directly hitting the floating target. It falls, and veers into the hole. This is the type of fast paced gameplay that makes Tiki Golf 3D, $2.99, a unique take on extreme mini golf, so fun to play.

In Tiki Golf 3D, by Arb Studios, you are Tiki Bobby, trying to gain back your prized artifacts that have been stolen by the gods Lono and Kahuna. To do this, you play through two 18 hole mini golf courses, on three different difficulties. In the game, there are three game modes however; Tiki Putt, Pineapple Adventure, and Time Trials. Tiki Putt is a classic mini golf mode. (Or as classic as Tiki Golf 3D gets, as you'll soon see.) In Pineapple Adventure, you try to collect all the pineapples strewn across the holes, then get to the hole. In Time Trial, you try to beat the levels in as short of a time as possible. 

The one feature that makes Tiki Golf 3D stand out from the other mini golf games is that once you hit the ball, you can steer it, and affect where it goes. To hit the golf ball, you first aim, by swiping around the screen. To select the power, you press the "Hit" button, then press again when the power bar reaches the level you want. Then, you press and hold the screen, and tilt to control the ball.

Another unique feature is that the levels are linear, they have multiple paths, and multiple holes. There are usually two holes in each level, one harder to get to than the other. But, if you make it into that hole, you get a "-1" score bonus. Because of this, you can replay a hole over and over, and you will never take the exact same path. The graphics are great, and look and feel 3D, so that adds to the game experience too.

The only confusion that I have with the game is not even in the game. It is in the iTunes description. It says that there are eighteen courses, but from what I know there are only two. "Courses" might've been a typo, but it is a bit disappointing if you expected eighteen and got two. It also would be nice to have another course, and be able to say that there's one course per dollar, because then, you are definitely getting your money's worth.

Pros:

Great Graphics

Unique Controls

Hours of Fun

Cons:

Might Need to Fix iTunes Description

Bottom Line:

Tiki Golf 3D is a great buy for mini golf fans, and because of the unique features it has, is more worth your money than any other mini golf game in the App Store.

Scores:

Gameplay: 4.5/5

Graphics: 5/5

Controls: 5/5

Replay Value: 4/5

Overall: 9/10 (not an average)

Link: Tiki Golf 3D, $2.99

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