Moon Drop

From Ian Marsh's great catalog of casual games, including Scoops, Kyper, Textropolis, and Sky Burger comes Moon Drop; a fun, fast-paced game where your job is to safely land pods containing humans on a landing pad by slowing their descent. Tap and hold on the screen to make an invisible force, which pushes the astronauts up and away from your finger. Tap quickly to push them slightly. If the light underneath a pod is red when they land, you lose a life. Keep advancing through levels, and more and more pods will be falling. Aim for the very center of the landing pad for extra points. The graphics also work perfectly for the game, looking just the way they should be, and a cool looking ring around your finger when you touch the screen.

After each level, there are funny phrases involving space, including, "Did you see that? We almost got smashed by a giant space finger!" and "I'm hungry. Is that a Sky Burger over there?" This makes players want to keep playing, and keep seeing the phrases. Once you do lose, there is an option to tweet your high score, which lets you compete against your friends. 

However, tweeting is the only way to share high scores, so people with twitter accounts are left out. Also, if someone tweets their score often to get into the in-game high scores, it acts as spam on twitter, constantly filling up peoples' home pages. Even so, if used properly, tweeting high scores works well.

Pros:

Addictive (Like All of Ian Marsh's Games)

Good Graphics

Funny Phrases

Cons:

Twitter High Scores Can Be Spammy

Not Necessarily Worth $.99

Bottom Line:

Even though Moon Drop is very addictive, it might not be good enough for you to get your dollar's worth of fun.

Scores:

Graphics: 4.5/5

Gameplay: 4/5

Controls: 4.5/5

Replay Value: 4/5

Overall: 8.5/10 (not an average)

Link: Moon Drop, $.99

Gangstar Review

Before last week, there were only two Grand Theft Auto clones in the App Store. Car Jack Streets is 2D, and Payback is 2.5D. Still, neither provided the experience console gamers with the latest few Grand Theft Autos wanted. Then, Gameloft came along, and released a game that gives a revolutionary experience on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Maybe not revolutionary for consoles, but an amazing display showing just how much the iPhone can do. That game, is Gangstar.

Gangstar, $6.99, is an amazingly good and content-rich clone of GTA III. You control a Mexican gangstar, who was just released from prison, in a fully 3D virtual version of Los Angeles, trying to scale up the mob rankings by completing missions, racing, jacking cars, and just plain doing anything you want. There are a whopping 50 missions, most taking about five minutes, which is perfect for gaming on the go. If you hit or kill too many people, the cops come after you, and you have to pick up different badges to reduce your wanted level. However, the cops are easy to kill, even when you have a 5 badge wanted level.

When on foot, you use a virtual analog stick on the left to control your gangstar, and a range of buttons on the right. There is always an attack button, and buttons to get into a car and enter a shop appear when necessary. To target a person or car to attack, tap on them. Tap on your weapon in the upper right corner to cycle through your weapon inventory. There are a range of weapons in the game, including fists, handguns, Uzis, and RPGs (rocket launchers). Swipe around the screen to rotate your view, though the game does a pretty good job of rotating your view on its own. When you are in a car, there are three controlling options; a slider, a virtual wheel, and tilting the device. Different people have preferences, but I like the device tilt option the best. To move forward, press (and hold) a pedal button in the lower right corner. To back up, press the button in the bottom left. To pause the game, tap the mini-map in the upper left corner.

The graphics in the game are amazing for a handheld console like the iPhone, which wasn't even meant to be used for gaming in the first place. Everything is rendered in great 3D, even on my 1st Generation iPod Touch, and the only drawback is that it shows cars and people within a very small range, if you're driving down a road, a car can appear out of nowhere and hit you. Also, there are about 20 different cars to use, with different paint jobs, but sadly, no bikes, motorcycles, or planes.

The virtual version of Los Angeles is a perfect size in Gangstar. It's just big enough that you don't feel crowded and like the city is tiny, and just small enough that you can eventually guide yourself around the city, to different areas and shops, without very much help from the mini-map. It has a version of Beverly Hills, Chinatown, and even a port/storehouse area. The different neighborhoods are shown by different colors on the map.

There is one major glitch in the game, which is almost impossible to stumble upon, unless you are purposely executing it. (Which I do often.) Some might think of it as a bad mistake, but I think that it makes the game experience more fun. I've probably spent more time playing around with this glitch than doing real free-roaming. Some areas near or behind houses and other structures are blocked off by gates, or thin walls, or invisible barriers. This glitch allows almost instant access to these areas, and requires only a little work. Check the comments section for instructions on how to execute the glitch.

Pros:

Amazing Graphics

Fully 3D World

Lasts a Long Time

Cons:

Short Draw Distance

Long Load Time in the Beginning (No Other Load Times)

Bottom Line:

Get Gangstar!!! Support Gameloft, encourage them to keep making these console quality games. I recommend Gangstar with all of my heart, it is truly my absolute favorite game on my entire iDevice, and it will be for some time.

Scores:

Graphics: 4.75/5

Gameplay: 4.5/5

Controls: 5/5

Replay Value: 5/5

Overall: 9.75/10 (not an average)

Link: Gangstar, $6.99

Remember to check the comments to see how to use the glitch to access secret areas!!

Win a $10 iTunes Gift Card Courtesy of Chillingo!

Chillingo, a huge publishing company in the App Store, has presented us with a $10 iTunes Gift Card to give away to a lucky reader!!! The iTunes Gift Card can be used to purchase apps, music, movies, or virtually anything in the entire iTunes Store! Chillingo has published many hits, including Inkvaders, Minigore, iDracula, Defender Chronicles, Touch KO, and Knights Onrush. 

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 Chillingo 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 is to write a comment on this contest post, saying what your favorite Chillingo game is, and why. If you do not have any games by Chillingo, write which one looks the best to you. Note: In addition to writing how you think the game looks, you must also leave either your Twitter username or email address, so we can contact you if you win. Some people have difficulty submitting the comments, if you do, just press the submit comment button again. If that doesn't work, you can email two entries, and say that one wouldn't submit.

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 Chillingo on twitter, and re-tweet the following message: RT and Follow both  @zamzarvideo and @Chillingo to win a $10 iTunes Gift Card! Visit http://touchreviews.tk for details!

4. You can re-tweet this message up to five times per day, and each re-tweet increases the chance that you'll win a $10 iTunes Gift Card.

5. The contest will close Tuesday, September 1st at 23:59 PST. Winners will be randomly selected, and the two lucky winners will be announced shortly after, on Wednesday morning.

Winners of the 2 $10 iTunes Gift Card Contest Are Announced!!!!

Eight days ago, we started a contest, sponsored by Gameloft, to get two of you lucky readers a $10 iTunes Gift Card. We received hundreds upon hundreds of entries through twitter, and a good 19 comments on the actual post. Well, now the winners are announced:

@dannyswrld

@btupsidedown

Congratulations to you, your codes will be DMed to you shortly. 

Why don't the winners, and others who are grateful for the chance to win, go out and get Gameloft's new game, Gangstar (review coming very soon), $6.99, which is currently my absolute favorite game out of all 151 on my iPod.

For the rest of you, don't worry if you didn't win this time, we have more gift card contests coming up soon...

Zombies Vs. Sheep Review

You are a sheep, and you must fight against the incoming zombies! Use your gun, and shoot them out of the sky! Soon bats and phoenixes will come! Can you stop every one of them, in this casual shooting gallery game, Zombies Vs. Sheep?

Zombies Vs. Sheep, $.99, by Clickgamer.com, has simple controls. Tap to shoot, tilt to move the sheep, and shake to reload your ammo. You get money that falls from dead zombies, and can buy upgrades to your sheep's speed, ammo capacity, lives, and other things. The graphics are a cool mexican cut-out style, similar to the style of Inkvaders. There are 10 levels, lasting about 5-10 minutes each, usually ending with a boss. You can start a new game from different levels, if you don't want to play through the entire game again.

Zombies Vs. Sheep also has Open Feint integrated, which adds replay value. Try to unlock new achievements, or simply try to get a higher score than your friends. Zombies Vs. Sheep is incredibly polished, and easily worth your $.99. The game also has a few updates planned, with extra content, so that makes it even more worth purchasing.

However, the difficulty of the game is a bit questionable. It is supposed to be a casual game, though it gets incredibly frantic and fast-paced at times, so it is more for casual gamers who also like a challenge.

Pros:

Cut-out Style Graphics

Updates Promised

Open Feint

Cons:

Too Difficult for Casual Gamers

Bottom Line:

If you are a casual gamer, or hardcore gamer, who wants a game that lasts you a good amount of time for your money, and challenges you, get Zombies Vs. Sheep. It is the most polished shooting gallery on the iPhone I have seen to date.

Scores:

Graphics: 5/5

Gameplay: 4.5/5

Controls: 4.5/5

Replay Value: 4.5/5

Overall: 9.25/10 (not an average)

Link: Zombies Vs. Sheep, $.99

Inkvaders Review

The martians are coming closer.... You take out your laser gun, and haphazardly shoot it everywhere, electrocuting everything in your path. You walk through the burnt remains, and get one step closer to saving the entire Earth.

Inkvaders, $.99, by Chillingo, is a side-scrolling survival shooter, where you control "Generic Marine," "G" for short, a character drawn by a bored child, trying to protect the Earth against invading aliens. To control "G," you use arrows on the bottom left of the screen, and a fire and jetpack button on the bottom right. You use three different types of weapons, and can upgrade them and buy new ammo. You can buy these upgrades, and health packs, from vending machines which you pass on your journey. There are 3 different environments, progressing in groups of about 10 levels. Collect floating space rocks to earn cash. It has three difficulty levels, and two modes, normal, where you progress through the levels, and endurance, where you try to beat as many aliens as you can, without dying.

The graphics in the game look hand-drawn, and move very smoothly. They set the feel for the game, and really make it seem like you are in a notepad. The controls are spot-on. They couldn't work better. They are completely accurate, and perfect for alien-blasting fun.

The one main thing Inkvaders is lacking, is something I complain about with many games. There is no support for other screen orientations. If you're an iPod Touch user, and use headphones, the headphone plug will jut into your hand while playing.

Pros:

Great Graphics

Spot-On Controls

Really Fun

Cons:

No iPod Touch Orientation Option

Takes Slightly Too Long to Get To A New Environment

Bottom Line:

If you liked Zombieville USA for iPhone, get Inkvaders. If you like violence in any form, or any shooting games, Inkvaders is also for you.

Scores:

Graphics: 5/5

Gameplay: 4.5/5

Controls: 4.5/5

Replay Value: 4.5/5

Overall: 9.25/10 (not an average)

Link: Inkvaders, $.99

NFL 2010 Review

Play as your favorite NFL team, for a whole season or more, with all of the passes, tackles, and punts, in Gameloft's NFL 2010, the first fully featured football game in the App Store.

Priced at $4.99, NFL 2010 includes Season mode, Exhibition, Playoffs, Quick Play, and WiFi multiplayer, which is coming soon in an update. Once you start a season, you must first choose your football team. All of the major NFL licensed football teams are there, even with some players resembling real ones.

Once you start a game, you choose which side of a coin you want. The coin then flips, and if you win, you can choose to punt or receive. After that, you must choose the play you will execute. From what I've seen, then only difference that the different plays make are the ability to pass, the arrangement of the players, and whether you punt or not. There are different plays for offense and defense. The graphics in the game are very polished, with shiny menus, realistic, though somewhat blocky, people, and good close-up animations.

Once you choose a play, the game zooms in to the football field. You control one of the football players, and have a virtual analog stick on your left, and on your right, are a camera button, which shows you arrows directing where the play leads, and a button to release the ball. Once the ball is in the quarterback's hands, you can tap on the shape above another player to pass it to them. The greener the shape is, the more likely the pass will complete. You can also run using the analog stick, which is slightly difficult to control with. When you are doing a defensive play, you have the same analog stick, and a button to switch players. If you run into another player, you have the game goes into bullet time, and you have the option to club or spin, to try to tackle the player. The computer does a pretty good job of switching you to the player closest to the ball. If the computer passes, the game also goes into bullet time, and you can choose to deflect or intercept the ball. If you choose to punt, a button appears, and a marker moves around it, in a horseshoe shape. The closer the marker is to the top, when you press the button, the more accurate it is. On the right is a shoe button, and the power goes up from green to red around it, and you must tap the button when it is as filled up as you can get it.

Pros:

Great Graphics

Decent Controls

NFL License

Cons:

Too Difficult to Get Touchdowns

No Online Multiplayer Yet (Should have been in v1.0, not in an update)

Bottom Line:

NFL 2010 is a great game for a football fan to have, and only $4.99 for this almost console quality game is an amazing deal.

Scores:

Graphics: 4.5/5

Gameplay: 4.5/5

Controls: 3.75/5

Replay Value: 4.5/5

Overall: 9/10 (not an average)

Link: NFL 2010, $4.99

Sea Captain Review

The App Store is chock full of games where you draw lines to direct vehicles to a station, including Harbor Master, Flight Control, and Sea Captain. Of these, Sea Captain is the least original, and even beautiful graphics can't hide that.

Sea Captain, $.99, by Curious Toys, is a game where you drag a line from a boat to a dock, and try to get as high of a score as possible, without having boats collide, or crash into the shoreline. There are three maps, each with a nighttime mode, where there is a lighthouse, which provides limited moving streak of visibility throughout the entire map. Each map has something unique about it, for example, the Arctic map has glaciers that float around.

The graphics in the game are the best of the genre, surpassing both Harbor Master and Flight Control. At night, there are spectacular weather effects, and that makes the game almost worth purchasing on its own. 

However, when you look at the actual gameplay, it just becomes Flight Control covered by good graphics, and environments that interact with the boats. It is the exact same concept, drag a vehicle to a certain place. Harbor Master makes you drag the boats out of the dock too, which makes it a good clone. Sea Captain makes steals the single dock idea from Flight Control, and boat idea from Harbor Master. It is not the least bit original. Also, if you are a casual game player, you will be extremely frustrated by Sea Captain because it is too difficult.

Pros:

Good Graphics

Nighttime Mode

Cons:

Complete Rip-Off

Too Hard

Bottom Line:

Before you get Sea Captain, get Harbor Master and Flight Control. If you like them, Sea Captain is for you. 

Scores:

Graphics: 5/5

Gameplay: 3.5/5

Controls: 4.5/5

Replay Value: 4.5/5

Overall: 7/10 (not an average)

Link: Sea Captain, $.99

Worms Review

A few weeks ago, Worms, the famous turn-based artillery game, was released for the App Store. And I'll admit, it was a complete flop. The entire game was laggy, the controls were horrible, and there wasn't online multiplayer. While the 1.1 update didn't add multiplayer, what it did add was a setting for less powerful devices, and now the game is actually possible to play, and incredibly fun.

Worms, $4.99, by Team 17 Software Ltd, is a game where you control a team of worms through randomly generated maps, in any of 6 different types of environments, and must kill enemy worms, using many different weapons and either knocking them into the water, or depleting their health to below zero. There is a multiplayer mode, where you can play against your friends by passing the device, and a single player mode, which has challenges and quick play. There are 50 challenges, and there are item unlockables, which allow you to change the language your team of worms speak in, what their tombstone looks like when they die, and other tweaks. 

To control a worm, you can tap and hold on either side of the screen to move in that direction. You can tap on the worm to jump, and double tap to backflip. 

Once you are where you want to be, you tap the button in the bottom left corner, then choose a weapon. You then drag a crosshair in a circle around you, and press and hold fire, for the amount of power you want. You cannot switch between the worms, it switches every turn.

The graphics do not look amazing, but they look good. There is a high graphic quality setting, and a low quality setting, but the difference isn't noticeable. You can zoom in and out relatively close and far, respectively, but if you zoom in all the way, the land gets slightly grainy.

I don't know what it is about shooting tiny, helpless wiggly creatures from underground, but it's extremely entertaining! Whether you're playing for a few minutes, or an hour, it doesn't get boring. Also, with the random map generator, the game has almost infinite replayability.

Even though the game is so fun, a few things could be done to make the game completely perfect. First, add online multiplayer. Multiplayer and Worms is like bread and butter. They mix. The console versions of Worms would be nothing without online multiplayer, why shouldn't the iPhone users be in on the fun? Second, make jumping a bit more accurate. Sometimes jumping doesn't work how you would want, you do a double tap to backflip, but instead, it jumps you forward, hurtling off a cliff. You're a worm, not a lemming! Maybe just add buttons for forward jump and backwards jump.

Pros:

Randomized Levels

Extremely Fun

50 Challenges

Cons:

Controls Are a Bit Iffy

No Online Multiplayer

Bottom Line:

Even if you think you wouldn't be entertained by worms shooting weapons at eachother, you probably still will. And if you think you would like it, what are you waiting for?! Go and buy Worms, and watch as you get mesmerized and can't get yourself off a screen.

Scores:

Graphics: 4.5/5

Gameplay: 4.5/5

Controls: 3.5/5

Replay Value: 4.75/5

Overall: 9/10 (not an average)

Link: Worms, $4.99

Win One of Two $10 iTunes Gift Cards!!!

Gameloft, a huge development company in the App Store, has presented us with 2 $10 iTunes Gift Cards to give away to our lucky readers!!! The iTunes Gift Cards can be used to purchase apps, music, movies, or virtually anything in the entire iTunes Store! Gameloft has published many hits, including Assassin's Creed, Terminator Salvation, Castle of Magic, NFL 2010, Asphalt 4: Elite Racing, Hero of Sparta, and Let's Golf. 

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 Gameloft 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 watch the trailer of Gameloft's upcoming FPS, Modern Combat Sandstorm, (look below) and write a comment on this contest saying how it looks to you. Note: In addition to writing how you think the game looks, 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 Gameloft_US on twitter, and re-tweet the following message: RT and Follow both  @zamzarvideo and @Gameloft_US to win 2 $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 Friday, August 21st at 23:59 PST. Winners will be randomly selected, and the two lucky winners will be announced shortly after, on Saturday morning.

Pipe Mania Winner!!!

The Pipe Mania promo code contest has ended, and the winner is:

@69Pwned

Congrats! Your code has been DM'd to you!!

And if you did not win, we have some very good contests coming up soon!!!!

Gameloft's NFL 2010

I just received notification that Gameloft has a very special contest involving NFL 2010 going on, look below for details!

ENTER THE "MEET RAY LEWIS" CONTEST! 
(US & Canada residents only) 
http://www.facebook.com/gameloft?v=app_10339498918&viewas=638993277

NFL 2010 is the hottest game hitting the App Store this football season and will be available on iPhone and iPod touch. To celebrate the launch of our game we're hosting an NFL 2010 Kickoff Event in Baltimore, MD with none other than Super Bowl XXXV MVP Ray Lewis! 

The exact date of our NFL 2010 Kickoff Event is still TBD. We are targeting late-August or early-September. As soon as we have a date locked down, we’ll let you know! 

It couldn't be easier for you to have a chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Baltimore to meet Ray & attend our Kickoff Event! 

How to enter:

US & Canada residents only 

1) Become a Fan of Gameloft's Facebook Page
2) Go to the "NFL contest !" tab on our Facebook Page & click on the link that will take you to the official Contest Site 
3) Enter your name, country, email address, and Facebook username 

The Prizes:

One Grand Prize winner and one guest will receive airfare to Baltimore, hotel accommodations for one night, and get to meet Ray Lewis at Gameloft's NFL 2010 Kickoff Event. You'll also get to play football with Ray & pick up some autographed merchandise! Sweet! 

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter contest from August 7th, 2009 to August 24th, 2009. 
For Official Rules, including odds, and prize descriptions TERMS & CONDITIONS. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. 

Tower Madness Review

Aliens are coming to turn your sheep into scarves and other clothing! You must stop them! Place towers that obstruct their path, and kill them with various weapons. Wait, what is happening? It takes you too long to place the towers, and then you suddenly stop. When I started playing Tower Madness, this is what I found myself doing. I became frustrated, then simply quit the app.

Tower Madness, $.99, is an open-field Tower Defense game, with quite a bit of content, but just isn't as good as some of the other TD games out there. You can zoom in and out by pinching, and tap a spot to place a tower. It has a few built-in maps, and a growing collection of downloadable maps, some of which are now fixed path. 

It has 9 towers, in three subcategories. If you want to place a single tower though, you have to first tap, then choose the sub-category, then select which tower. This becomes a problem when the game gets to a frantic pace, and you can't place towers fast enough. It also has online leaderboards, and competitions to win iTunes Gift Cards.

The graphics are advertised as 3D, but they're very blocky in reality. The aliens don't have any round edges, and the towers look mostly the same. The only time they look truly 3D is when you are zoomed in completely, and you are viewing the field from the side. The details on the surfaces look like they are just plastered on, and don't look 3D in any way.

Also, yesterday, the game had a "Freebie Friday," and it was downloaded by anyone for free. A general rule of thumb is if a game was free once, it will most likely be free again.

While there are many bad things about the game, there are quite a few good things, relating to content. If you can tap fast enough to place towers, and don't get frustrated, there's tons of maps to play, and the online features keep players coming back.

Pros:

Lots of Maps

Lots of Towers

Cons:

Tiring Interface

Graphics Not The 3D You Wished For

Might Go Free Again

Bottom Line: 

This game is a good addition to a TD collection, but I would still wait for another "Freebie Friday" or "Sale Saturday."

Scores:

Graphics: 4/5

Gameplay: 4/5

Controls: 3.5/5

Replay Value: 4.5/5

Overall:  7.5/10 (not an average)

Link: Tower Madness, $.99

Castle of Magic Review

Globs of goo drop past you, coming from a giant octopus. Its tentacles try to attack you, but you quickly and nimbly jump out of the way, and land on the creature's head. It screams, and dies, only an obstacle in your path to save your sister, in Castle of Magic for iPhone.

Castle of Magic, $4.99, by Gameloft, is a magic-themed platformer, where you control a boy named Dizzy (decided from a contest, not yet implemented in the game), and you have to rescue your sister who got taken by an evil magician. To control Dizzy, you use a virtual D-Pad on the left side of the screen, and a jump and attack button on the right. Other buttons appear when you need to open a door, launch a cannon, or do other activities. The game has 5 worlds, with completely different 2.5D environments, and 4 levels in each world. They consist of 3 normal levels, and 1 boss level. The level select screen is a castle, with different doors for each world, then each level, and a giant circle on the floor for a boss level. 

There are tons of power-ups in the game, including one turning you into a swordfish, an inuit, an invincible fat person, and an archer. The graphics are great, with 3D sprites, and 2.5D backgrounds and levels, but sometimes the screen feels too busy. I did not have significant frame rate issues on my 1st generation iPod Touch, though the visuals sometimes did stutter a bit. 

The controls work relatively well, though I did experience some deaths that were not my fault. The D-Pad does not react immediately, so I got frustrated a few times in boss battles. Also, I beat the game in about four hours, so it's a bit short on gameplay for $4.99. For example, a platformer that recently came out, Spy Bot Chronicles, is on a $.99 introductory sale, and while it doesn't have nearly the same graphics and polish of Castle of Magic, it has more levels and slightly better controls. Spy Bot beats the $1/hour ratio by far, however, Castle of Magic lags behind a bit.

Pros:

Great Graphics

Good Controls

Tons of Power-Ups

Cons:

Slightly Short

Too Busy

Bottom Line: 

This is one of the good platformers in the App Store, and a worth purchase for a fan of the genre.

Scores:

Graphics: 4.5/5

Gameplay: 5/5

Controls: 4/5

Replay Value: 3.5/5

Overall: 8/10 (not an average)

Link: Castle of Magic, $4.99

Winners of the 10 $10 iTunes Gift Card Contest

A week ago, Com2uS provided my website with 10 $10 iTunes Gift Card codes, to give away to our readers. Now, the winners are being announced. Check the list below to see if you are won a $10 iTunes Gift Card!! 

@dplz

@gscal

@mrholder

@IBITF

@sf49lu

@razorianfly

Alex F

Cristian

elliyun

(unnamed)

Your card codes have been sent out.

Note: (unnamed) does not mean that no one has won, it means that the winner sent an email to trcontests@gmail.com, and has not yet provided a name I can post here.

Sentinel 2 Review

Tower Defense is one of those over-crowded genres where it seems every game released, good or not, is a hit. How can you stand out then? You can make a game different then all the others, and Orgin8 has managed to do it twice.

Sentinel 2 is a tower defense game based off of the original Sentinel game. In case you have been dead for the past 30 years, tower defense is a genre in which you place towers to defeat the hordes of oncoming baddies. The towers vary in cost, size and speed and the baddies come in waves, which you must defeat to move on. Being a fan of Sentinel 1 and a giant tower defense freak, I was extremely excited to see Sentinel 2 hit the store.  Even so, “Is it worth it?” is the real question.

The controls are exactly like Fieldrunners, tap and drag to place the towers and tap to upgrade. The user interface goes well with the game and is confusing compared to other tower defense games, but worth it, because with the confusing UI comes a ton of features. Sentinel 2 cannot compare to other tower defense games in graphics but the extra features help make it one of the best. Sentinel 2 includes protective walls, repair drones, power-ups, and booster towers. Overall, the graphics are good and fit the sci-fi scheme well but not as good as others. Sentinel 2 also gets a one-up on its competition with its feint support allowing music, chat, and score boards.

 

Pros: 

Good UI 

A Lot of Extra Features

Fun

Good Gameplay 

Open Feint

Cons: 

Below-average Graphics 

Limited Depth

Feels Like a Sequel

Bottom Line: I feel Sentinel Two is worth the price and is one of the best TD games released.

Scores:

Graphics: 3.5/5

Gameplay: 4.5/5

Controls: 5/5

Replay Value: 4/5

Overall: 9/10 (not an average)

Link: Sentinel 2, $2.99

Writer: IBITF

Upcoming Game: Bailout Wars by Gameloft

I have received notification that Gameloft is developing a new title, Bailout Wars, that is to be released some time in the next month. 

The only information given was:

• It will be priced at $.99
  
• The release date (later this month)
• A picture, which is a humorous article describing the game

The article mentioned is above.

Terminator Salvation Review

It is 2018. The entire world is in ruins. You are John Connor, the leader of the Resistance, a small group of people that fight against the robots, created by Skynet, that destroyed the Earth. A swarm of gun-loaded robots is coming towards you. What do you do? Play Terminator Salvation by gameloft, and massacre them using many weapons, while seeing amazing visuals.

Terminator Salvation, $4.99, by gameloft, is a 3rd person shooter with sufficient controls, stunning visuals, and provides immense fun. There are 11 different enemies in the game, some unique to the iPhone/iPod touch version. There are 6 weapons, and about 7 stages, one being a motorcycle chase, and another entirely using a vehicle. There are 3 difficulty modes that you can play the entire game through, and if you beat the last, you unlock the ability to play as a T-600, one of the more powerful robots, through the levels.

In the game, there are four different control schemes. To move John Connor forward, and side to side, you use a virtual analog stick. To fire, you simply press a button. The only difference between them is how to change the direction John Connor is looking in, and the ways to do that are to tilt (or reverse tilt), spin a dial, or swipe, which was my favorite technique. Occasionally, when you have to detach an arm of a robot, or stomp on them, an additional button appears with the picture that fits.

All I can say about the graphics is that they are stunning. They couldn't be more perfect. Although you might look at it, and say, "Hey! Those graphics look blocky," it is extremely impressive to have graphics this good on a mobile platform. The characters and robots are much more detailed than the scenery, but that's the way it should be.

When you play the game, you lose track of time, and just can't stop playing. Every time I sit down to play the game, I find myself engrossed in it for an hour or more. It's just so fun, and I wish the fun wouldn't stop. But it does.

Here is where we get to the single problem with Terminator Salvation. It's short. There aren't enough levels, and you could beat one difficulty level in a few hours, or less. While you may think you could play the difficulty levels over, they aren't really that different, and the only difference with the T-600, is that you have a more powerful gun, and you look different. So, Terminator Salvation becomes a one-time-through game, which may or may not be okay for you.

Pros:

Spectacular Graphics

Good Controls

Tons of Fun

Cons:

Lacks Levels

Extra Unlockable Isn't Very Different

Bottom Line:

There are some better games out there for $4.99, and you may want to wait for a price drop, but if it's a rainy afternoon, and you have nothing to do, buy Terminator Salvation, and you will be entertained for a while.

Scores:

Graphics: 5/5

Gameplay: 5/5

Controls: 4.5/5

Replay Value: 3/5

Overall: 8/10 (not an average)

Link: Terminator Salvation, $4.99

 

I Dig It Review

There is a flash game online, called Motherlode. In it, you mine on Mars for assorted gems, and sell them for upgrades to your digger. Many people have played it, and yearned for an iPhone version. Well, it came in the form of I Dig It. After the release of its 1.1 update, it rocketed to the top of the App Store. Why? It's a great game.

I Dig It, $2.99, by InMotion LLC, is a game similar to Motherlode, in the fact that you are digging. You are a farmer on Earth, who has to get $100,000 in 4 hours, to pay off his mortgage. You use a very accurate analog stick on the right side of the screen, enter buildings to re-fuel or purchase upgrades. On the left side of the screen, there is a box with your remaining fuel, hull damage, cargo space remaining, and cash. On the left side of the virtual world there is a store, where you can buy upgrades to your hull, coolant, drill, radar, fuel tank, or cargo hold, and also purchase dynamite, an auxiliary tank, or repair your ship. In the middle of the world, there is a fuel pump, and on the right, a building where you sell your gems. 

Once you start drilling, you look for gems, and when you drill through them, they are added to your cargo. The deeper you get, the hotter your digger gets, and that is why you need a better coolant. Your range of vision is also impaired, based on the level of your radar. As you run out of fuel, you need to return to the surface, and buy new fuel.

Even with all of the features of I Dig It, some people might not like it. It is somewhat repetitive, and people who do not have very much patience would not like it. It takes a while to upgrade your digger enough to dig really deep and get the really valuable gems.

Although I Dig It is repetitive, it is also very fun. You can make a very deep tunnel, and try to get down as far as possible, then just start another tunnel, and focus on that. There are also challenges, which are separate from the normal game mode, and you have to complete certain tasks. Also, it obviously has over 4 hours of gameplay, so it beats the $1/hour ratio.

Pros:

Great Controls

Good Graphics

Beats the $1/Hour Ratio

Cons:

Repetitive

Bottom Line: If you are impatient, do not buy I Dig It. But if you are, it is a fun game that is priced under its real value.

Scores:

Graphics: 4.5/5

Gameplay: 4/5

Controls: 4.5/5

Replay Value: 4/5

Overall: 8.5/10 (not an average)

Link: I Dig It, $2.99