Stop me if you've heard this before: this game requires you to use the accelerometer to navigate your ball to the end goal.
At this point, I could be describing one of many (bad) iPhone games, but Psycho Turnip Games' GravBall [App Store] manages to incorporate some interesting level design that makes the game surprisingly compelling.
Levels start off simply enough but the game quickly introduces a number of additional elements such as death blocks, lasers, switches, moving blocks, and guided rockets.
The game offers 50 progressively difficult levels and is presently a free download.
Even as a free game there are things to criticize: there are no sound effects, the graphics are very simple, and there are even framerate problems. That said, it's the type of game that keeps you trying "just one more time".
The game was originally introduced at $0.99 but quickly dropped to free, so get it while you can.
Early this year, Mobigame released isometric 3D puzzle / maze game Edge [App Store]. We found it to be one of the best games in the App Store.
Edge puts the player in control of a colorful cube that moves about a series of 3D, isometric maze environments (26 in all) full of puzzles to solve and hazards to avoid. The game utilizes touch control (default) or accelerometer for control of the cube and, as the developer’s gameplay video demonstrates, requires some quick thinking to successfully negotiate the various moving parts of the mazes.
Mobigame has recently released Edge Lite [App Store], a free version of the game that features five out of the paid version's 43 levels and five out of the paid version's 18 audio track. It should give those on the fence a chance to see the gameplay and decide if they want to make the jump. (We urge you to make the jump!)
See Mobigames' video to better understand what the game is all about.
Earlier this month we took a look at Wooden Labyrinth 3D, a particularly well done take on the marble / labyrinth formula that differentiates itself from the herd by the inclusion of raised obstacles that must be jumped over with a shake of the iPhone or iPod touch. The game also provides a 3D perspective that shifts with the tilt of your iPhone. It plays well and “feels” right.
The developer has just released a "lite" version of the game [App Store] that features only a single level pack, as compared to the original's full 100 levels. We would encourage any fans of the genre who haven't already grabbed the paid original to download the lite version and give it a whirl.
See a gameplay video of the paid version for a feel of the action.
Fans of the marble/labyrinth games should note that there's a newcomer in the App Store and it's actually pretty nice. Wooden Labyrinth 3D [App Store] offers 100 levels of tilting fun but adds a 3D twist. Besides the traditional 2D levels, it also offers platforms and obstacles that must be jumped over by simply shaking your iPhone.
The game also provides a 3D perspective that shifts with the tilt of your iPhone. It can be seen clearly in the video (below). The game plays well and "feels" right. It also provides plenty of calibration/sensitivity options.
The developers plan to offer a level editor in future versions. The price is $2.99 at present but will go up to $3.99 with the addition of the level editor.
Overall, a very well polished version of labyrinth that adds some interesting features over its competitors.
80s retro gaming nuts should enjoy LagMac Studios' recent release CuBert [App Store], a port of the 1982 arcade classic Q*bert for the iPhone.
For those unfamiliar, in Q*bert the player moves a cute, tube-nosed, orange character about an isometric pyramid constructed of three-color cubes. The goal is to hop from the top of one cube to the next, changing each square to a specific color. (Some cubes take several hops to reach the target color.) It's a rather basic premise that's made more complex by a variety of roving enemies bent on preventing Q*bert from converting the board to the target color.
CuBert is...well...pretty much Q*bert. No surprises and no real disappointments. The main character is controlled by touchscreen; the screen is divided into four equal-sized quadrants and touching within a given quadrant causes CuBert to hop in that direction. And that's pretty much all you need to know.
While fans of the Gottlieb classic may enjoy this port which features the original (unenhanced) graphics and sound, it's worth noting that CuBert does not appear to be an officially licensed Q*bert remake, and as such it may be subject to removal from the App Store pending complaints from the original stakeholders.
And the Lite versions keep coming. The most prominent iPhone game during the App Store's launch Super Monkey Ball has arrived as a Lite/Free version. [App Store]. SEGA saw 300,000 downloads (over $3 million in revenue) in the first 20 days of its release
Guide a cute little monkey encased in a transparent ball to victory by tilting and rolling him through a variety of slopes and turns. You must navigate a large variety of obstacle courses to reach goal lines within set time limits. Collect as many bananas as you can along the way and you'll be able to increase your remaining lives.
The game has been criticized by some for highly sensitive controls, though this has been tweaked in a more recent update.
The Lite version contains a tutorial and 3 stages. The full version contains 110 stages and costs $7.99.
Publisher X has recently released HydroTilt: Lite [App Store], a free, limited version of its 3D platform / puzzle / maze game HydroTilt.
We took a look at HydroTilt last month and found it to be a polished title, well suited to the iPhone and iPod touch.
Publisher-X’s newly released HydroTilt [App Store] offers an impressive accelerometer tilt game reminiscent of Marble Madness or a simplified Archer Maclean’s Mercury.
The game offers familiar tilt controls to control a bead of water on suspended platforms. The goal of each level is to find the a cold cube (which turns your drop of water into a ball of ice) and roll it to the goal. The game adds a number of additional obstacles, ramps and challenges to make the game far more interesting than your typical tilt-balance game.
HydroTilt: Lite features five of the full version's 30 levels and provides an enjoyable taste of the full game experience.
Austrian developer Philipp Luftensteiner has just released space maze / shooter Zero Chance [link] through the App Store. Zero Chance is both a top-down and a 3D third-person game--the orientation of the iPhone or iPod touch determines the perspective.
ZERO CHANCE is the ultimate challenge for the modern spaceman. In a distant future the space pilot is confronted with countless dangers. After the destruction of the mothership he has to survive in a hostile environment. Left on his own he faces terrifying alien technologies and fights his way to the inner planetary core consisting of turbocharged antimatter, where secret knowledge awaits him.
The situation seems hopeless. Very hopeless.
This on-rails title, which in third-person mode has a feel somewhat reminiscent of Game Arts' classic Silpheed, challenges the player to travel through space, successfully negotiating fields of obstacles of increasing complexity. The top-down and third-person view modes each offer different ship control capabilities and certain situations can only be handled by one or the other mode, in particular.
Zero Chance features touch screen controls for ship navigation, speed and laser activation. Gameplay ranges across 10 levels, from hyperspace to the surface of a planet to the core of an alien world. Minefields, meteorite showers and towering laser turrets are among the hazards to overcome. An online scoreboard allows ranking against players around the world.
Late last month, Big Head Games released iPhone cave-flyer Retro through the iTunes App Store. Retro debuted at $4.99 but has since dropped in price to 2.99 [link].
For those that want to try before they by, BHG has since released Retro LITE [App Store], a free version of Retro that features the full game's first three levels, playable in both Normal and Hard difficulty modes.
True to the traditions of classic Sci-fi, Retro is set in the near future, our experiments to harvest the Sun´s energy is about to send it supernova, your mission is to rescue scientists stranded on orbiting planets. Retro takes you...deep below the surface of orbiting planets, the super smooth control system allows you to tilt the iPhone to turn the craft, tapping the screen to apply thrust, gliding through the tightest caves to find stranded scientists, keeping one eye on the fuel and shield and the other on the rocky outcrops.
We reviewed Retro shortly after its release and found it to be the App Store's best cave-flyer and an excellent iPhone game in general. Now there's no excuse not to give it a try.
Makeshift Games has recently released maze game Chuck the Ball [App Store] for the iPhone and iPod touch through the App Store.
Chuck the Ball is a colorful maze game in which the player controls Chuck, a ball that's on a mission to collect lost stars across various playfields filled with obstacles. Swiping a finger in Chuck's path lays down a marker that causes him to change direction in accordance to the swipe. An accurate series of swipes will get Chuck from star to star, but it's not as easy as it sounds--Chuck is in constant motion, obstacles are everywhere, and a timer is ticking down.
Features listed by the developer:
100 levels of mazes and puzzles
Three difficulty levels, making it easy to learn but hard to master
Multiple modes of play designed to appeal to puzzle addicts and casual gamers alike
Various hazards and bonuses that make each level unique
Easy touch-based controls that don't require pesky turning movements
See the developer's gameplay video for a look at the action:
Makeshift indicates they are currently experimenting with a puzzle-mode and various other enhancements that should make their way to the App Store in the form of an update soon.
As FingerGaming reports, Mobigame CEO David Papazian has announced that the company's debut iPhone game, a highly-unique 3D maze game, will be available through the App Store next week.
Edge puts the player in control of a colorful cube that moves about a series of 3D, isometric maze environments (26 in all) full of puzzles to solve and hazards to avoid. The game utilizes touch control (default) or accelerometer for control of the cube and, as the developer's gameplay video demonstrates, requires some quick thinking to successfully negotiate the various moving parts of the mazes.
As you can see, Edge looks to be a most challenging iPhone offering. We're quite anxious to spend some time with this one and share our reactions with readers.
Edge won the Milthon award for Best Mobile Game of 2008 at the Festival du Jeu Video, Paris and is nominated for the Excellence in Gameplay award at the International Mobile Gaming Award competition.
Belgian development house Fishing Cactus has sent word of their upcoming gravity-based maze / puzzle game Equilibrio, which will soon appear in the iTunes App Store.
Set in a colorful world the challenge may look simple but Equilibrio tests not only your reflexes but the old gray matter and is in perfect synergy with your iPhone device.
The basic concept of getting your ball to the exit pod to finish the level is turned upside down, literally, as you use your iPhone to tilt the world in either direction. Players carefully, skillfully move the spinning ball through corridors, along ledges to complete levels that are fraught with dangers. Move the ball too fast and it can shatter, leaving you to pick up the pieces and restart the level. Go too slow and the ‘equilibrio’ of the ball will not be powerful enough to spring to the desired spot!
The game features balls made of various different materials, such as rubber, glass, steel, stone, and paper, that each have their own gameplay characteristics. Across the game's 44 levels, new elements and traps are constantly being introduced, from cannons and trampolines to deadly spikes and acid pools.
Features as listed by the developer:
Simple and intuitive game
6 types of balls
44 levels (ranging from easy to hardcore difficulty)
3 single player game modes
24 trophies with unlockable prizes
Highscore table
iPod background music support
Original music tunes
Low price point
See the developer's gameplay video to get a better feel for the action.
WiiWare World recently sat down with Christophe Kohler, the game's lead developer, and discussed the forthcoming Wii version.
Equilibrio will make its WiiWare and App Store debut in Europe, followed by North American and wolrdwide releases. Stay tuned for more information on this one and a closer look when it becomes available.
A so-called cave-flyer takes the 360° control method from the venerable Asteroids, adds gravitation and/or inertia, and puts your ship in a landscape with more obstacles than enemies. The most classic example of the genre is Thrust.
Games of the sort have translated particularly well to mobile devices, thanks to their touchscreen controls (be it finger or stylus). The iPhone and iPod touch take the genre to a whole new level with accelerometer control that is the natural ideal control method for these gravity-based games.
Big Head Games, as promised, has released what is currently the best cave-flyer available in the App Store: Retro [link].
As the story goes, the humans and their reckless experiments have botched things up and put the sun on a fast-track to supernova. Unfortunately, scientists are trapped in deep science stations carved into the rock of various moons of the planets of our solar system. And they must be rescued before the sun begins its catastrophic exodus.
Gameplay involves tilting the iPhone left and right to control the pitch of the rescue craft and touching the screen to activate upward thrusters. The controls are sensitive and allow the skilled pilot to navigate rather treacherous subterranean mazes of rock in a race against the clock, as the demo video illustrates (though a sensitivity settings feature would have been nice).
The game features 23 levels and provides a futuristic soundtrack for those that wish to hear it (it is by default off).
Any fan of the cave-flyer genre will appreciate the challenge and polish that Retro brings to the iPhone. Be warned though--patience and precision are most definitely required.
London-based developer Big Head Games has just announced the submission of their new iPhone gravity game / cave-flyer, Retro, to the App Store.
Grabbing the best bits of retro gaming and wrapping them in glorious visuals BHG have produced the perfect game for the iPhone platform. True to the traditions of classic Sci-fi, Retro is set in the near future, our experiments to harvest the Sun´s energy is about to send it supernova, your mission is to rescue scientists stranded on orbiting planets. Retro takes you on 23 missions deep below the surface of orbiting planets, the super smooth control system allows you to tilt the iPhone to turn the craft, tapping the screen to apply thrust, gliding through the tightest caves to find stranded scientists, keeping one eye on the fuel and shield and the other on the rocky outcrops.
The iPhone with its accelerometer control system is an ideal platform for this type of game and we have lamented the lack of solid App Store offerings in this area. As can be seen from the developer's demo video, BHG seems to have created an impressive looking title that should go a long way to satisfy iPhone gamers that are particular fans of the genre.
Retro should appear in the App Store within the next few days. Stay tuned for a full review.
Veiled Games just released their newest iPhone game called Up There [App Store]. The $1.99 game is a re-imagining of a TI-83 game called Fall Down. Versions of this game have been done a few times now in the App Store, but this one stands out.
The premise of Fall Down was simple: you are a ball and you fall down a series of holes. The walls are moving upward at an increasing rate if you are pushed up to the top of the screen, you lose.
Up There places you in accelerometer control of a balloon that wants to rise. But bookshelves, lumber, branches, clouds and stars will get in your way. You must tilt your iPhone left and right to maneuver your balloon through the openings. If you get pushed down past the bottom of the screen, game over. High scores are kept locally but can also be submitted to a global list.
Despite the simple premise, the artwork, style and music of this game really stands out and makes it a joy to play.
Stop me if you've heard this before: this game requires you to use the accelerometer to navigate your ball to the end goal. 
Early this year, Mobigame released isometric 3D puzzle / maze game Edge [
