• submit tip •




Archive for May, 2010

For iPad: 'Ace Tennis 2010 Online' and 'TowerMadness HD'

Monday, May 24th, 2010

Ace Tennis 2010 Online

Eurocenter's newest release, Ace Tennis 2010 Online [App Store] is self-described as "the first real tennis game on the iPad."

An iPad adaptation of Eurocenter's early iPhone release, Ace Tennis Online [App Store], Ace Tennis 2010 Online is an over-the-shoulder tennis title that features three different court types (grass, sand, and indoor) and matches against computer AI as well as online players from around the world.

The game features region tap controls (you control where your player runs on the court, but the swing is automatic) with tilt influencing volley direction. The iPad version features enhanced graphics that take advantage of the device's large screen and features gameplay similar to the original iPhone version, which saw a successful run in the App Store in its day.

I'm far more accustomed to triggering the swing as the main play dynamic in most tennis titles-- so the gameplay felt strange to me.

The biggest feature of the game like its 2009 iPhone counterpart is online multiplayer play. Eurocenter is well known for their online multiplayer features across many of their games.

As the game just recently landed in the App Store, we haven't been able to really test the multiplayer functionality. Eurocenter is planning on launching the iPhone version of Ace Tennis 2010 in the coming few weeks which should expand the player pool.

App Store Link: Ace Tennis 2010 HD Online, $4.99


TowerMadness HD

Limbic Software has just released the HD version of TowerMadness.

TowerMadness HD is an open-field or fixed-path tower defense game where you can create your own path to defend off the enemies (Aliens) from reaching your base (herd of sheep). The game has full 3D graphics with pinch-to-zoom capabilities to view the game from any angle, all the way down to first-person viewing of the action.

One of the most intriguing new features coming to the HD version is the split-screen multiplayer mode. The way it works is that each player is controlling different games, but they are fighting the same linked waves of aliens, allowing each player to have their own strategy. Sending waves in early will result in both you and your opponent having to fend off the incoming aliens. So if your confident in your defenses, you can overload your opponent with waves and win, but this could also result in your own demise if your not careful. There are also new multiplayer specific features, like 'Panic Your Opponent', where you can accelerate the aliens on your opponents side for a little while to hopefully get past their defenses. Another one is a new character called 'Robosteal', who will travel down your opponents path and steal a sheep if he reaches them, and give it to you.

If you haven't tried it before, a free version of the iPhone game called TowerMadness Zero remains available to download.

App Store Links:
    TowerMadness™ HD, $7.99 (iPad Only)
    TowerMadness™ Zero, Free

Support Our Sponsors:

Upcoming 'Cubed Rally Racer' - Randomized Isometric Racing

Sunday, May 23rd, 2010

Jared Bailey of NoCanWin.com just sent us some details on his next iPhone game. Following Duck N Cover [99¢] and Waste Paper Basketball Diaries [$1.99] comes Cubed Rally Racer, a game that was pitched to us as RC Pro-Am meets Canabalt [$2.99]. (Which really was all we needed to hear.)



The awesome thing about Cubed Rally Racer is that each level is randomly generated. There are tons different pieces that randomly go together to always make a new track for you to race on. You can then challenge your friends to beat your time via OpenFeint's challenge system or race your own ghost car.

To see how this all goes together, check out the recently released trailer:

Cubed Rally Racer has already been submitted, and is just waiting on Apple for approval. These kind of isometric racers have been a lot of fun to play on the iPhone, and I can't get enough of randomly generated games like these with nearly infinite replay value.

'Spectre 3D': An Oldschool Mac Gamer's Wet Dream

Sunday, May 23rd, 2010

Back in the early '90s when I was in college, with some sorrow I replaced my lovely Amiga 2000 with a Mac LC in order to crank out higher quality print documents for my classwork. And, in that capacity, the Mac excelled. Sadly, as the weakest color Macintosh one could buy, it was not much of a game machine -- not that there were that many Mac games out there to play, anyhow. One game, however, was huge fun and played rather well even on the meager LC. It eased my pain at having to part with the veritable gaming powerhouse that was the Amiga. The game I speak of is Spectre, by Peninsula Gameworks, and it actually made that little LC feel like a proper game machine.

Spectre is a 3D, filled-vector tank battle game something akin to Battlezone. The simple objective was to drive your tank around various obstacle-filled battlefields collecting flags and dodging the fire of AI enemy vehicles. The game also supported local multiplayer over the Mac's integrated AppleTalk networking hardware. It was followed by Spectre VR, an overall enhanced, network-centric title. Both versions were highly rated at the time and were awesome to play on the Mac's relatively high resolution, color display.

As a lover of that 1991 title -- pretty much the only game I played on that Mac -- you can imagine my thrill when Spectre 3D [link] made its debut in the App Store. And the iPhone release is not just a port of Spectre; the game includes iPhone versions of both Spectre and Spectre VR, including four different multiplayer games. It's pretty much an old Spectre jockey's dream come true.

Let's start with the single player scenarios. Both Spectre and Spectre VR are pretty much straight conversions of the Mac originals, although on the iPhone they play glass-smooth thanks to the device's processor and graphics hardware, both of which are far more powerful than that found on even the very highest end Mac systems of the day. (There's even anaglyph 3D -- red / blue glasses -- support.) You move from battlefield to battlefield, collecting flags and power-ups and blasting enemies using one of three different view modes: first person, over-the-shoulder, and 2D top-down. Direction and weapons are controlled via touch; steering is accomplished with either an analog virtual stick (default) or a digital control square in the lower-left corner of the screen while weapons and jump are controller by virtual buttons at the lower-right. The controls, analog in particular, are responsive and work quite well. It's simple but a lot of fun, especially for those who remember the days of 68020 and 68030 Macs.

In the multiplayer modes, things really start to get interesting. As I mentioned, there are four multiplayer games: Arena, Capture the Flag, Flag Rally, and Base Raid. Up to four players can compete locally via Bluetooth and up to 16 players can get in on the fun over the Internet or local WiFi. The game has just hit the App Store and, as such, there are not that many players online -- no surprise. But I was happy to see that most of the game servers available feature AI bots that offer up a rather solid online game experience. The action gets downright frantic. It's Spectre as I never saw it back in '91 -- pretty "white knuckle," really.

As I said earlier, Spectre 3D is an absolute instant buy for anyone who enjoyed the title back in the day. And, while it doesn't steal the crown from Vector Tanks Extreme for the ultimate iPhone Battlezone experience, Spectre 3D has multiplayer support going for it, and is a good deal of fun. I hope to see kill you online sometime soon.

App Store Link: Spectre 3D, $4.99

TouchArcade Rating:

'Daredevil Dave: Motorcycle Stuntman!' Review – Risk Bodily Harm For Fun And Profit

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

Daredevil Dave: Motorcycle Stuntman! is the inaugural release from developer M-Digital Media (aka schplurg, long time TouchArcade forum member). It places you in the role of a stuntman traveling the globe earning money by performing insanely dangerous motorcycle jumps, and looking stunningly handsome while doing so. The goal is to land each stunt in as few tries as possible, so as not to blow all your profits on expensive medical bills from crashing. It's an entertaining blend of strategy and action wrapped in a very humorous package, and is quite impressive for being the very first game from a new indie developer.

The game's main Tour mode consists of 18 different stunt levels, unlocked one after the other. Certain elements of each stunt are randomized each time you play, such as the length of the jump or height of objects like flaming hoops. Your job is to determine the appropriate angle of the launch ramp and proper speed you must travel to land safely intact on the other side. You would think that important details like these would have been carefully calculated before attempting such deadly feats, but Dave doesn't do things that way. He strongly believes in appearance first, safety and planning second. Thus, the task of properly negotiating him across each jump happily falls on you, the player.

Each level in Daredevil Dave is incredibly imaginative in design and objective. Sure you'll be jumping over busses, through rings of fire, and across canyons (you know, typical daredevil stuff), but there's also more exotic challenges like a lava jump inside a volcano and launching over a tank of man-eating sharks. Figuring out the best way to land each jump takes trial and error, and thankfully there's a Practice mode where you can try each one as many times as you wish. It's imperative that you do so, as each failed attempt in Tour mode can be costly, but is made slightly arduous by forcing you to back out to the menu each time you want to practice. Also, scrolling through each level one by one in this mode can be a pain. However these UI issues are only a minor annoyance, and could easily be more streamlined in an update.

Upon starting a level, you're shown a zoomed out side-view of the area where the stunt takes place. Here you can see what components make up the jump, the distance between the starting and ending ramps, and adjust the launch ramp angle. Once you've scoped out the scene to get an idea of what you're supposed to do, and have set your ramp incline, you exit this screen into a first-person view of Dave on his motorcycle, complete with handlebars and a speedometer. Dragging an onscreen throttle accelerates you towards the launching ramp, but no steering is required. There are also a couple of options if you prefer having a different angle on the action, but unfortunately there's no replay function for reliving particularly memorable moments.

Successfully landing a jump is a satisfying feeling, but at the same time it's even more satisfying to spectacularly crash and burn in a failed attempt. Luckily the developer realizes this, and once you've beaten all 18 levels of the Tour you unlock Injury mode. This is basically the opposite of Tour mode as you try to purposely crash Dave in the most elaborate way possible, with your score being based on how large of a hospital bill you can rack up. Dave can be lit on fire, chopped up in helicopter blades, run over by freeway traffic, attacked by sharks, and more. Put simply, crashing is a blast, and if you like games like Stair Dismount or Max Injury there's a lot of that same type appeal in Daredevil Dave.

The core of the game is a trial and error trajectory game, but there's so much personality and creativity in this game it's hard not to like it. Between the humorous dialogue, Dave's Duke Nuke'Em style one-liners, and the brutally painful looking bails, I was grinning the entire time I played. The gameplay is fun and well-suited to the iPhone, and there's a good amount of challenging content. There's a few rough-around the edges aspects to it but at it's $0.99 sale price, it's still a bargain for the amount of entertainment. Don't feel bad if you find yourself purposely steering Dave into the shark tank for your own sadistic pleasure – I do that too.

TouchArcade Rating:

PAC-MAN Turns 30, Namco Celebrates with App Store Sales

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

Thirty years ago today, a certain video game from Namco, featuring a curious little yellow fellow with a taste for dots and ghosts, hit the arcades in Japan. That round little yellow guy is known as PAC-MAN -- you may have heard of him. In the decades that followed, PAC-MAN became an arcade phenomenon spawning a great-many spin-offs and stands today as an icon of '80s pop culture. And the 1980 original is hugely popular, even still. (Don't miss today's playable PAC-MAN-themed Google doodle.)

Namco is celebrating PAC-MAN's 30th birthday by launching a sweepstakes, detailed on the official PAC-MAN website, to win a PAC-MAN-themed Smart Car as well as running sales on various titles across several platforms.

The discounts on PAC-MAN titles in the App Store follow:

Namco's sale on the indicated items will remain in place until 6 PM (PST) tomorrow, Sunday, May 23. The most compelling grab of the list, in our opinion, is the excellent PAC-MAN Championship Edition, an iPhone conversion of the XBLA original.

'Spectre 3D' Brings Original Spectre and Spectre VR to iPhone

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

Brilliant Bytes Software has just brought an official port of Spectre to the iPhone and iPod Touch. Spectre was a 1991 video game that was originally released for the Macintosh and was one of the first to support networked multiplayer.

The goal of the game was to drive the tank around the playfield, collecting ten flags by driving over them, while avoiding obstacles (including rotating windmills) and the shots of computer-generated enemy tanks.

True to the original, the iPhone version of Spectre contains support for both single player as well as multiplayer - local and online.

Single player modes include Spectre Classic and Spectre VR, while Multiplayer modes offer Arena, Capture the Flag, Flag Rally and Base Raid. Features listed by the developer includes:

  • Up to 4 players over Bluetooth
  • Up to 16 players via Internet or WiFi
  • Totally customizable online game options and weapons configurations
  • Weapons, shield and flight energy power-ups
  • Host human versus Cyberbot online team battles
  • Incredibly challenging, all-new “Base Raid” multiplayer game
  • Defensive tactics include hyperspace teleporting and jump-strafing

Fans of the original should take note. We'll be taking a much closer look shortly.

App Store Link: Spectre 3D, $0.99 (Universal)

Get Your Double Credits in 'Eliminate' Starting ... Now

Friday, May 21st, 2010

Double experience point weekends are commonplace these days, as big traditional developers like Infinity Ward, Epic Games or Treyarch award their hopelessly addicted, and often most demanding, players with free points. But even the mobile folk are getting into the game. Take, for example, ngmoco.

Starting this afternoon, the developer is awarding "double credit compensation" in its free-to-play competitive shooter (with a newly added cooperative mode), Eliminate [Free].

Until Monday at 12 PM PST, players eager for progression will earn double the points in deathmatch. The official Eliminate blog notes that the double credits don't extend to cooperative play. The blog also threw down this dandy quotable immediately following the note: "A stronger employee is a better employee, two stronger employees working together are an insurance liability."

Users on the Touch Arcade forums still seem to be digging this game quite a bit, and now seems like the best of times to jump in.

App Store Link: Eliminate Pro, Free

'Mr Onions' Review - For the Love of Bread, Cheese, and a Mysterious Piece of Produce I Believe to Be a Tomato

Friday, May 21st, 2010

One of the most interesting phenomenons that have sprung up from the App Store is how game engines like Unity have empowered so many first-time iPhone developers to create games with full physics simulation. There are a ton of silly little physics games already on the App Store, many utilizing a similar bike riding and ramp jumping mechanic, but one simple thing sets Mr Onions [99¢] apart from the rest: A basket full of groceries.

In the game, you must help Mr. Onions get home from the grocery store, riding his bike across various country roads, all of which are home to hazards such as ramps, tires, floating logs, windmills, and many other things that should never be on any kind of roadway. Mr. Onions can distribute his weight to tilt the bike forward or backward by tilting your iPhone, and pressing the right side of the screen makes him pedal while touching the left side makes him brake.

This is all pretty standard, and the controls will come naturally if you've ever played games like Bike or Die 2 [$5.99 / Free], Moto X Mayhem [99¢, or many others. What sets Mr Onions apart is that the goal of the game is not only to get to the other side of the level, but to get there with what appears to be a loaf of bread, hunk of cheese, and tomato all still in the basket of your bike.

This is so much harder than it sounds, especially in some of the later levels. Keeping three tiny little objects inside of the basket on the front of your bike requires extremely precise control, always being sure to land as gracefully as possible while keeping your speed reasonable. (Your time is also recorded, adding some replay value as you go through levels again to try to beat previous times.)

The simple graphics of the game are silly enough, but few iPhone games have ever had me cackling like such a maniac. The incredibly ridiculous stunts you need to successfully pull off, all while keeping your lunch in your basket, are really something else. Also, there's nothing quite like flying off a windmill as your loaf of bread flips out of your basket, you catch it by powering in to a wheelie, only to just barely lose your tomato before crossing the finish line.

The main down side to the game is how little time it will take you to beat. 20 levels are included, and are slowly unlocked by collecting stars which are awarded by making across the finish line with your entire load of groceries intact. In the future, I'd love to see more levels, or even some kind of online leaderboard integration.

If you've enjoyed these kind of physics games in the past, or just really want to know what it's like trying to get home from the grocery store in the world's most dangerous neighborhood, you really should give Mr Onions a try. I've had a bunch of fun with the game, even though I swear that tomato has something against me.

App Store Link: Mr Onions, $0.99

Note: There has been a high level of debate amongst the TouchArcade crew regarding the actual contents of the basket. I firmly believe it's bread, cheese, and a tomato as that makes the most sense for a sandwich but other things have been suggested including a box of Arm & Hammer as well as an orange, grapefruit, and/or many other things. Perhaps part of the magic of Mr Onions is wondering what he's going home to prepare with the three mystery items.

TouchArcade Rating:

'Fruit Ninja' Gets a Big Update

Friday, May 21st, 2010

Fruit Ninja developer Halfbrick seems to have something fun up its sleeves for the iPad platform, but that doesn't mean the studio has bid adieu to the iPhone. The studio's Apple handheld title Fruit Ninja [99¢] has received a substantial content update -- one that Halfbrick reckons doubles the content from the original release of the game.

"Zen Mode" is one of the update additions, ushering in a timed no-bombs, no-lives romp. It's apparently a gift for those who have mastered the fine art of fruit slicing, which is something that I have yet to do.

But if I were any good at the game, I'd receive a "combo award" at the tail end of Zen Mode. This award is another new feature that, essentially, displays someone's best combos at the conclusion of the new mode and presents some sort of "award" (barring they have any fine, fruit-slaughtering motor skills).


Marry this new award system to the newly-created "Combo Attack" feature, which tosses out a modifier for one swipe kills of multiple fruit, and the fact that Halfbrick has added lime and red apples to the fruit slaughtering fun, and you've got yourself a new way to approach and play the game. Neat, right?

Like Halfbrick said, it's a big update.

App Store Link: Fruit Ninja, $0.99

NimbleBit Reveals 'Omium' as Next iPad Game

Friday, May 21st, 2010

NimbleBit recently released a video of their upcoming iPad game, Omium, a two player retro-styled shooter. Much like their other newly launched iPad title, DizzyPad HD [Free], Omium is going to come packed with three different game modes. Each of them involve one player controlling a single space ship, while the other controls spawning an army of "bad guys."

Each of these different game types are detailed in the following gameplay trailer:

NimbleBit has amassed an army of fans on our forums through their constant release cycle of casual games starting with Scoops [Free] which was released all the way back in September of 2008. Other games include Textropolis [$1.99], Moon Drop [$1.99] and many others. If you haven't yet, take a look at their entire library of games on the App Store.

'Spinzizzle' Review - A Cool Puzzle Game with a Weird Name

Friday, May 21st, 2010

Press OK Entertainment, the guys behind Finger Physics [99¢ / Free], had another puzzle game hit the App Store this morning. Spinzizzle [$1.99 / Free] takes the familiar match three formula and adds a fun spin to it, in that you're literally spinning the game board to make the matches.

Each level of Spinzizzle has a dial with a slightly different layout that holds the various balls you have to match. Spinning the dial causes any balls which free spaces next to them to fall, and doing well in the game involves analyzing the playing field and figuring out which way you need to turn the dial in order to clear all of the balls on the screen without mixing them up too much to score any matches.

Once three matching balls link up, they become locked on the dial, and you can keep spinning it to make more matches. Because chains of balls get locked in place when they're initially matched, there's actually a surprising amount of strategy found in the game between figuring out how to spin the dial to arrange the balls before actually getting any matches to make sure that once you do the other balls are still free to get matched as well.

Of course you can't spend all day figuring out the best moves as the entire game is timed, with more time awarded for every successful match. Two game modes are included, a story mode where players progress through many different dial layouts (some much more difficult than others) and action mode which allows you to replay any dial layout from the story mode and see how high of a score you can get before time runs out.

To mix things up further, a number of different wild balls also pop up while you're playing which really seem to be the key to scoring high. Speaking of scores, Spinzizzle comes loaded with OpenFeint for all kinds of online leaderboards and all the other things OpenFeint brings to the table.

With how many match three games are on the App Store, it really takes a lot to stand out from the rest. I've been having a lot of fun with Spinzizzle, largely in part because it's often entirely possible to clear the entire game board at once, and figuring out how to do that is a really good time if you're a puzzle game perfectionist. The game launched along site a lite version, so if this review has at all piqued your interest I really recommend at least giving the free Spinzizzle a spin.

App Store Links:
    Spinzizzle, $0.99
    Spinzizzle Free, Free

TouchArcade Rating:

'Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney' - Objecting to Everything Next Week

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

In early December of last year, Famitsu covered Capcom's announcement of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney's impending arrival on the App Store. Today we got word that Capcom hopes to have Phoenix Wright available for download next week for $4.99. Ace Attorney will include with all five cases from the Nintendo DS game, and judging from screenshots, very little has been modified from the original short of just stacking the output of the two DS screens on top of each other on the iPhone.

Back when the news first hit that the game was coming to the iPhone we explained the basic premise behind Phoenix Wright:

Phoenix Wright games are a strange mixture of a visual adventure game that play a lot like mixture of a hidden object game and a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book. The game is segmented in to two portions, the investigation and the trial. While investigating, you visit various location and gather evidence by looking around and interviewing anyone who is around. When you're finished with that, you go to court where you cross examine witnesses, present evidence, and object to the arguments presented by the prosecuting lawyer.

Something interesting of note from the original announcement was during the unveiling at the Apple Store in Japan, Capcom mobile content head Takeshi Tezuka assured everyone in attendance that the game would be more than a simple port. From the few screenshots that have been released so far, it's hard to say what else has been added to the game, but needless to say, you can expect a full review shortly after the game hits the App Store.

'Karate Champ' Delivers a Roundhouse Kick to the App Store

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

Anyone who reads Touch Arcade regularly knows that I'm a pretty hardcore retro gamer. Not so long ago you could spot me on the street sporting my European carry-all filled with mobile devices such as the GP2X, a hacked PSP, and a DS, all to enable an on-the-go retro gaming fix when I just had to have it. Happily, all that's changed since the App Store arrived. And, yes, there are now games for every sort of gamer out there for the iPhone -- tens of thousands of them -- and that's great news for gamers. But what's so surprising to me is just how many retro conversions and remakes have made their way to the App Store. It really is heaven for die-hard retro nuts like myself.

I'm happy to report that the latest member of the App Store's excellent retro line-up is Data East's classic arcade hit Karate Champ [App Store], which has been ported to the iPhone by Revolutionary Concepts, the studio that brought us the classic Cobra Command. And they've ported it wonderfully.

Karate Champ, which was rated one of the 10 most influential games of all time by IGN, is a 1984 arcade fighter that was one of the very first 2D, side-perspective, face-to-face fighters to hit the arcades. In Karate Champ, the player controlls a karateka with two joysticks, one for movement and one for attacks, that together allowed for a wide variety of attack combination. It is a match for points as well as a race against the clock; if both fighters are still standing when the timer runs down, he with the most points wins. It's simple by today's fighter standards, but is appealingly so to many, myself included.

Revolutionary Concepts' iPhone conversion is done superbly. The dual-stick control mechanism is handled via on-screen joysticks which, while no match for physical controls, work rather well. Enhancing the experience are a number of iPhone-specific option settings, such as display scan-lines, a "super large" character mode, two backdrop cabinet designs, and three difficulty settings. A two-player mode has been included that allows local WiFi or Bluetooth fights between iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad users.

As far as I can see, aside from the necessary control alterations for the iPhone's touch screen, Karate Champ for the iPhone is a perfect conversion. If you liked the game as a kid in the arcade, you will definitely find the iPhone title well worth the $1.99 asking price. And if you're a modern fighter fan who cares little for the retro, the simplicity of this formula might just tickle your fancy, despite the jaggies. Our readers are loving it.

App Store Link: Karate Champ, $1.99

TouchArcade Rating:

'Sonic 4' Confirmed for iPhone, Delayed Until the Second Half of 2010, and New Trailer Released

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

Two big pieces of news just leaked out of the Sega HQ, and it's really a toss up as to which is the more substantial tidbit to gamers. Around these parts, most will likely be much more interested in the fact that Sonic 4 is officially coming to the iPhone, just as we suspected in early February of this year. We don't know much more than that currently, although it's likely safe to assume the game will be controlled like other platformers on the device and hopefully will perform much better than the emulated Sonic games previously released by Sega.

Secondly, the release of Sonic 4 has actually been pushed back by Sega to "ensure that Sonic 4: Episode I is a game worthy of bearing the weight of its name." This marks a substantial change of pace for Sega, as the entire Sonic series, arguably going all the way back to the Dreamcast, have been decidedly mediocre. As a proud console warrior who grew up in the heat of the battle between Sega and Nintendo, nothing makes me more happy than Sega actually giving a Sonic game the attention it badly deserves.

Stay tuned for more details on Sonic 4, and if you're really craving some Sonic action on the iPhone check out Sonic the Hedgehog [$5.99] and/or Sonic the Hedgehog 2 [$5.99]. They're both emulated games, and a little hard to recommend for reasons detailed in our Sonic 2 review, but if you really want a Sonic game on your iPhone, there is no substitute.

'Enigmo Deluxe' Review - A Worthy High Definition iPad Upgrade

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

Originally released in late 2008, Pangea Software's Enigmo [$1.99] is about as close as you get to a classic App Store puzzle game, even though it started its life as a Mac and PC game all the way back in 2003. The original Enigmo has won numerous awards including "Best iPhone Game" at Apple's WWDC in 2008 as well as winning the 2008 Austin GDC Independent Games Festival Showcase. In other words, Enigmo for the iPhone is great, and its sequel, Enigmo 2 [$1.99] is just as good if not better. So, it stands to reason that their iPad game, Enigmo Deluxe [$6.99] is also in line with what we've seen in the past from Pangea.

If this is the first you've heard of the Enigmo games, the basic gameplay mechanic involves placing different things in the game world to route liquid from the origin dropper to the jar of the same color. This can mean placing a platform to change the angle the liquid is falling, then placing a bumper to bounce the liquid higher, then placing a sponge to collect the liquid and drip it in to the jar.

The farther you get in to the game the more and more elaborate these puzzles become, until you eventually just get stuck and find yourself hopelessly pouring over Google search results for hints if you're anything like me. As I already mentioned, I liked the original Enigmo a lot, but levels that required tons of different items to solve almost always involved some frustration with the controls as you're always zooming in and out to accurately grab and maneuver things around the game world.

Among the other improvements of the iPad version, having the extra screen real estate to never really need to fiddle with the zoom level too much while always being able to manage the pieces in game has made playing Enigmo a lot less frustrating. Fat-fingering the wrong item and breaking your wacky Rube Goldberg machine of liquid redirection was always a little irritating, and this seems to be a thing of the past on the iPad.

Other improvements include an impressive level editor that allows you to share your creations with any other version of Enigmo via the File Sharing functionality in iTunes. These level packs are even cross-platform, so you can send your levels to a friend who has the PC version or vice versa. A number of third party level packs are already included, and if you're the kind of person who gets in to creating and trading custom created levels, I could see really getting sucked in to Enigmo Deluxe.

If you loved the iPhone version of Enigmo and see yourself getting involved with the custom level packs, Enigmo Deluxe is worth the upgrade. However, if you missed Enigmo the first time around, and enjoy challenging physics puzzles, look no further than Enigmo Deluxe for the iPad.

App Store Link: Enigmo Deluxe, $2.99 (iPad Only)

TouchArcade Rating:

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS