EA recently release a cute point and click adventure game for the iPhone called Mystery Mania. It's a charming adventure game that was originally released for mobile phones before it was ported to the iPhone.
The game offers 27 puzzle rooms throughout which you unravel the mysterious storyline. You play the role of F8, a robot with amnesia who must figure out what's going on. Touch controls offer the ability to interact with your environment and you must perform tasks in the correct order into order to solve each room. The game as been relatively well received in our forums with mostly positive experiences.
The only real criticism for some has been the relatively short length and ease of difficulty of the game, though it appears to be a good time during. Here's some of the Lite gameplay recorded by AppBank.
Two things, however, may convince you to give the game a shot. First, EA offers a free Lite version that gives you a taste of the game, and second, they have temporarily dropped the price of the game from $3.99 to $1.99 for the next 24 hours.
Jonathan Lanis has recently contributed a simple and fun bit of 3D obstacle-dodging tunnel madness to the App Store in the form of Boost 3D [link].
Boost 3D is about tunnels, and it's a rather simple affair. You start out racing down the inside of an obstacle-laden tunnel and, before you know it, you're racing down the outside of an obstacle-laden tunnel, tilting left and right, trying to keep from careening into varying arrangements of colorful blocks. There are boost pads that lend speed to your travel, as well as granting the ability to crash through an obstacle. Granted, it sounds pretty same-old, same-old — I mean, there're plenty of hurtle-down-a-tunnel games in the App Store — but somehow, Boost 3D stands above the pack. It has a certain stylized, simple charm that makes it feel unique. Not to mention the glass-smooth framerate.
That said, it could be more of a game. You start down the tunnel, racking up points the further you go. The track and obstacles change along the way, but it's a one-shot run. I think the addition of end goals and levelling would add significantly to the game. But, still, among the iPhone tunnel games, Boost 3D is king, or close to the same. It's genuinely hard to put down.
See the developer's gameplay video, which is silent, unlike the game.
A few weeks ago, TouchFoo teased us with a gravity defying trailer promising a fun, innovative, and action-packed platformer game for the iPhone. They have since fully delivered on that promise with the release of Soosiz [App Store].
The basic gameplay found in Soosiz is that of a traditional platformer, where you run and jump your way past obstacles and enemies while collecting coins and rescuing your buddies along the way. Some enemies can be dispatched by simply jumping on their heads, while others need to be avoided completely. As is typical in platformers, timing and dodging become important skills in later levels. Rescuing buddies can give you additional powers (jumping higher, running faster) and once you have 100 coins, you can trigger a brief indestructible power-up allowing you to easily plow through enemies. Soosiz is very easily controlled with simple left/right virtual buttons and a jump button. Holding the jump button longer makes you jump higher.
The big twist to the game is its gravity-changing mechanic. When jumping to a platform above you, the entire world spins around and up becomes down. While this all seems like it might just be a novel gimmick, Touch Foo manages to utilize it fully across Soosiz's 7 worlds and 65 levels. The gravity experience is truly an integral part of the game, and not simply a tacked on afterthought. Triggering this gravity manipulation simply requires you to jump onto another platform, and becomes second nature very quickly.
The game was in development for 6 months, and it really shows in Soosiz's excellent level designs. Soosiz manages to constantly introduce new elements and obstacles to keep the game fresh and interesting across its 7 worlds. Each world carries its own themes (space, underwater, snow, etc…) as well as unique elements. Boss battles at the end of each world are also varied throughout.
You are given 3 lives at the beginning of each level, and can replay any level you've already unlocked. For me, the game managed to be stay progressively challenging, interesting, and fun without being frustrating, even though many of the levels took multiple attempts. Fortunately, your running coin count is not lost when you die, allowing you to continue to build up coins for the indestructible power-up if you find yourself struggling with a particular level. Meanwhile, gold, silver and bronze achievements per level, as well as the many secret areas should offer plenty of challenge for overachievers.
Graphically, the game carries a rather simple cartoon style but still retains its own charm. The game's music, however, feels strangely out of place throughout (additional music in this video). There's also an inexplicable use of the Up on the Housetop Christmas carol for the level win screens. While the music certainly isn't a deal breaker, it does reduce some of the game's immersion.
Regardless, the game is incredibly well executed with excellent controls, has a ton of content and is a lot of fun. We highly recommend it.
App Store Link: Soosiz, $1.99 (Intro sale, Ends Monday)
Touch Foo's Soosiz platformer has arrived in the App Store for an introductory sale price of $1.99.
Soosiz is a great looking 2D platformer that we previewed a few weeks ago. Aside from the usual running/jumping mechanic, Soosiz also introduces gravity flipping jumping, allowing you to jump onto platforms directly above you. The gameplay mechanic is reminiscent of Gomi but packaged in a more traditional platformer title running at a faster pace. The game comes with 7 worlds and 65 levels, each with bronze, silver, and gold achievements.
See this developer provided video of the game in action:
The game includes left/right virtual buttons for movement and a jump button for jumping. Additional on screen controls allow you to zoom out for an overview of the map. Holding the jump button down further lets you jump a little higher. Some enemies can be dispatched by jumping on them Mario-style.
Even with our brief time with the game, we've been very impressed with the total package. The controls are responsive and the gravity turning gameplay design works well and is very fun. The game also appears to incorporate a lot of different gameplay elements, enemies and obstacles.
A few of the more advanced obstacles and enemies are shown in this video:
Other early impressions are being collected in our forums, and we plan on taking a closer look, but even at this early stage, this looks like it's a winner.
A couple weeks back we posted a sneak peek of the v1.1 update to Meridian's zombie shooter with RPG elements Alive 4 Ever [App Store]. Late last night the update went live, brining a new level of carnage to iPhone gamers looking for action and gore.
The developer lists the following features in this update:
Survival Battle (Single and Multiplayer) — Try to stay alive for as long as you can. You will be rewared a new weapon – Golden Desert Eagle – if you can stay alive for 10 minutes or more.
Horde Battle (Single and Multiplayer) — Slaughter wave after wave of zombies. You will be rewared a P90, M4 Super 90 and Golden AK-47 if you can clear wave 8, 16 and 24 respectively.
Powerful New Weapons — Altogether 5 new weapons, 4 can be unlocked in the Survival and Horde Battle; 1 can be bought in weapon shop.
Bonus Indicator — Bonus indicator has been added for scenes with challenge completed.
Dual-Stick Transparency Setting — Player can choose from 3 levels of transparency – None, Half and Full.
New ranking for Survival and Horde Battle
Profile name length increased to 8 characters
Reduced the detection area of Briefing Button
Bug fixes
Meridian provided us with the following trailer showing gameplay in the v1.1 release.
The Iconfactory has released two new DLC packs available for their nostalgic ball rolling game, Ramp Champ [App Store]. We had a great time with the game in our review, and these two new packs provide even more of the same great gameplay.
Each of the packs will get you two new ramps, along with eighteen new prizes matching the themes of the ramps, six new challenges, and new trophies. Like the other Ramp Champ DLC, both of these packs are 99¢, and extend the original game content with new things to aim for, more great Iconfactory style art, and matching music.
The first DLC is the Voyage Pack, which includes Star Struck, a space themed ramp and Plunderin' Pirates, which obviously (eventually) has pirates as targets.
The other DLC pack has a Halloween theme. Trick or Treat will have you rolling balls at kids in costumes and candy. Grave Danger takes place in a grave yard, and hitting the tombstones make ghosts and zombie hands appear.
It's always great seeing continued support for games on the App Store, either with fresh content delivered via DLC or through free updates. If you enjoyed Ramp Champ, picking up these two DLC packs is a must. If you don't own Ramp Champ yet, it's worth a look. Meanwhile, if you're looking for a more traditional skee-ball type game, Freeverse's recently released Skee-Ball [99¢] offers similar game play utilizing a officially licensed virtual Skee-Ball machine.
Dromsynt'sSquareball is one of those games that seems to demonstrate what a wide range of reactions a single gameplay mechanic can generate.
Squareball offers a touch-screen spin on the retro gameplay of breakout. The ball in Squareball constantly bounces up and down and your job is to navigate it to the end while knocking out certain blocks and avoiding others. You'll also need to avoid gaps in the wall that will send your ball flying out to oblivion.
Instead of controlling the ball's movement, you are actually sliding the level around the ball by swiping your finger on the iPhone's screen. The game runs very smoothly and adopts a simple "retro" look for its graphics. Here's the game in action:
It certainly isn't an easy game and is, in fact, quite frustrating. But is it fun? Well, we played the game shortly after its release, and we didn't love it. While we liked some aspects of the game, we simply didn't feel compelled to keep on playing, and therefore couldn't recommend it.
While that might have been the last of it, some rave reviews (higher ranked than Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor at IGN) and interviews drawing parallels to Super Mario Brothers, make it clear that a certain group of you are going to go gaga over this game. Meanwhile, others had an even more negative reaction than we did with iLounge saying the game is "worth asking for your money back if you make the mistake to actually buy it."
Now, the recent release of a Lite version gives you the chance to decide into which camp you belong.
Godzilab Games' new physics puzzler has finally arrived in the App Store tonight [$1.99]. We loved what we saw in our preview, and that sentiment carried through after we had more time with the game.
In iBlast Moki, the goal is to get the Mokis from point A to point B through the use of bombs, ropes, balloons, wheels and more as you traverse through the 6 worlds and 70 levels. The early worlds involve simply placing bombs in the proper location to propel your Moki to the goal. Soon, multiple bombs are provided that can be set to detonate on a delay. The proper combination of bomb locations and timings are essential to blast the Mokis to their goals. As you go through the worlds, more tools are introduced that can be combined to solve the levels.
In each level, you are given a limited number of these tools, so there is generally one intended solution. I find this approach more satisfying then some of the more open physics puzzlers where you're never quite sure if you're approaching it correctly. That's not to say the game is without challenge. There are certainly levels that require some thoughtful planning and trial and error to solve.
The entire interface is very iPhone appropriate with pinch/zoom and drag implemented to pan around levels. Bombs and tools are placed by a simple touch and drag interface and even adjusting the bomb timers is a very intuitive touch dial interface (see video). The game's interface, menu system and transitions also exude a very high level of quality and attention to detail that is typically only seen from the big name iPhone studios.
See our gameplay video for a sampling of some of the levels.
The game comes with 70 levels and many of them can be short. Perhaps the best part of the game, however, is that Godzilla Labs has already included a full level editor and a sharing system (powered by Plus+) that gives you access to a potentially endless supply of levels. As of this writing on launch night, there are already 53 downloadable user-created levels. User levels can be rated, so you can easily find the ones that others have rated highly.
Overall, iBlast Moki is a fun, high quality physics puzzler with intuitive controls and a full level creation and online sharing system for only $1.99. We highly recommend it.
In a surprise release, Namco has released BurgerTime Deluxe for the iPhone.
Join Chef Peter Pepper as he attempts to help his uncle thwart the dastardly Vinnie Vinegar. Scale the platforms and assemble the burgers to clear the levels, then speed through the exciting minigames.
This retro refresh of the 1982 classic was originally written for other platforms including the Mac and PC before being ported to the iPhone. The game contains 60 levels and a story mode.
Namco appears to have previously obtained the rights to the BurgerTime franchise remains with G-Mode who we reported acquired many of the rights to Data East's old intellectual properties.
Here's a video from Namco:
The game only offers a somewhat strange floating virtual d-pad controls for movement that appears where you tap down. If you lift your finger off the screen for a while the d-pad disappears and can be placed at will. Once in place, it acts much like a standard virtual d-pad, with the typical precision issues. There is no retro/original mode or even arcade mode. The game seems set entirely in the 60-level story mode.
A downloadable PC version is available to try, but appears to be formatted somewhat differently with a larger view area. Like with most of these retro refreshes, we suspect the primary target audience will be limited to big fans of the original title, but we will spend some time playing through.
I'm not sure what it is about dual-stick shooters, but these games seem to generate huge followings on the iPhone platform. It may just be that the multi-touch screen suits the control system so well. Regardless, the latest dual stick shooter to make a big splash in the App Store is Alley Labs'Meteor Blitz [$1.99].
The game bears more than a passing resemblance to Super Stardust HD for the Playstation 3, so if you loved Super Stardust HD, that would be a very good thing.
Meteor Blitz is a dual-stick asteroid shooter that offers both Arcade and Survival modes. The game centers around your ship which can fire a variety of different weapons. The standard projectile weapons include a plasma gun, flamethrower, and ice cannon. Different weapons are better for use against specific obstacles. Ice meteors respond best to the flamethrower, while the fire meteors succumb easiest to the ice cannon. Other weapons at your disposal include screen-clearing bombs as well as the gravity gun which can be used to slingshot meteors into enemies causing massive damange. See this video showing the gravity gun in action.
As you destroy enemies and asteroids, coins are collected for weapons and ship upgrades. Meanwhile, in game bonuses give you extra lives, bombs, shields, enemy slow down or the ability to attract coins.
Aside from the onslaught of meteors, enemy ships constantly descend into the game field requiring near constant movement to avoid death.
The game's control system is the typical dual analog stick control system with spot on sensitivities. Weapon switching and bomb triggering are done with nearby buttons at the top right and bottom left corners of your right controller, while speed boost is triggered by tapping your left controller. There is no way to flip the control system left/right. See this video:
As you can see, the art and animation are top notch with all the flourishes you'd expect. The developers also seem to have paid a lot of attention to some other details in the game that are worth pointing out. Pulling your fingers off the dual pads will automatically pause the game. The game also features practically no load times. This YouTube video shows initial launch and the near instant resume on relaunch. And finally, your global rank is given to you in real time as you play (video).
Overall, Meteor Blitz is one of the highest quality space shooters we've seen for the iPhone. It delivers 6 unlockable worlds with a good variety of enemies, excellent controls, and a lot of fun. At only $1.99, this one comes highly recommended.
EA recently release a cute point and click adventure game for the iPhone called Mystery Mania. It's a charming adventure game that was originally released for mobile phones before it was ported to the iPhone. 
The Iconfactory has released two new DLC packs available for their nostalgic ball rolling game, Ramp Champ [
