Mobile game developer ToySpring has released their iPhone port of Bike or Die 2 [App Store]. Bike or Die 2 is an “physics-based bike simulation” with over 2500 levels. Features include:
3D biking levels and environments
Challenging level design
Zooming effects
Customizable bike appearance
Record and replay your best games
On-line Hall of Fame with Time Trial and Freestyle Competitions
The $2.99 price is described as a “limited time price”.
Even though we see a lot of new games each day, we try not to dismiss a game as “just another xyz” too quickly. Still, with the number of iPhone games coming out daily, it can be hard to keep an open mind.
Blackbeard’s Assault, however, is a good example of a game that deserves a serious look, despite presenting a relatively well known formula. The game is a variant of the circular “match-three-of-a-kind” puzzlers that Hudson (Puzzloop) claims to have invented. Blackbeard’s Assault, however, takes this formula a step further with multiple cannons and power-ups which adds a faster pace to the game.
The gameplay video shows off the level of polish found in the app. (YouTube version of the video also available.)
The company describes themselves as experienced game developers dedicated to creating both apps and games “that rock your socks off”. And their first entry appears to be a great effort.
At its core, the game is a variant of Pipe Dreams in which your job is to create connections between pieces so that “water” can flow from one to the next. Paradox 3000 is a futuristic take on this basic formula and tweaks the gameplay a bit.
The goal is to get the energy source (top left piece) connected throughout the board. The game is wrapped in a sci-fi premise that you are a United Space Federation Pilot (in the year 3000) that uses this game as a training exercise. The game has a variety of pieces that you can rotate by tapping on them. By changing the orientation, you can connect the pieces together to get energy flowing across the board. Unlike traditional Pipe Dreams games, there is no real “flow” of water/energy that you need to keep ahead of. Instead they offer two different types of gameplay: “Puzzle” and “Arcade”.
Puzzle mode allows you to choose “Easy”, “Normal”, and “Hard” difficulty levels and solve different boards sequentially. Specific boards can be played again or passed to your friends by simply typing in the board’s “code” which is listed as a number. Puzzle boards are not timed and you can simply make your through various boards (3000 in all) at your leisure.
Meanwhile, Arcade mode offers a fast paced variant which requires you to solve the board within a certain amount of time. If you can’t solve it before time runs out, a new board appears. If time runs out on you three times, the game is over. I found Arcade mode to be very challenging but it kept me coming back.
Overall, a very well polished game, with plenty of gameplay value and great music/sound effects. This gameplay video shows both puzzle and arcade modes:
Paradox 3000 is a high quality variant of Pipe Dreams in which you rotate individual pieces to connect the entire board together. 3000 levels, great sound/music, and Arcade mode provide a lot of value for this highly polished game.
Play the phenomenal sequel to the classic gem-swapping puzzler! Sit back, relax and marvel at the fun you’ll have when you swap adjacent gems to match three or more sparkling jewels. The more matches you make, the higher your score. Enjoy three entrancing game modes with Power Gems and Hyper Cubes. Fully optimized for the touch screen with both landscape and portrait display, it’s an all-new way to play the award-winning, Hall-of-Fame game. Add in amazing planetary backdrops and super special effects, Bejeweled 2 is hours of high-carat fun!
While perhaps not the original match three game, it’s likely the most popular incarnation of the game with over 25 million copies of the franchise being sold (across all platforms).
The $2.99 price is only being offered for a “limited time”.
RealNetworks has put South Park Imaginationland on sale for $2.99, down from $9.99. Touch Arcadereviewed the game way back on July 18th, shortly after the App Store launched.
We really enjoyed this physics puzzler and have thought that it was one of the more underrated iPhone games. This, of course, is not helped by the hard-to-describe gameplay:
The hero of this game is a South Park character by the name of “Butters” and the mechanics of the game involves solving individual levels (of which there are over 60) of increasing difficulty. At the start of each level, Butters is launched into the air and each time he bounces against a wall or the ground, he accumulates “imagination powder”. With this powder, you can propel yourself into the air with a simple swipe of your finger. The goal of each level is to pick up a number of Rainbows and land on the goal.
Knowledge of the television series is not required to enjoy the game. The video should help explain:
The game is certainly worth the $2.99 “limited time” promotional price.
Andy Qua has released a sequel to his original Cube Runner game tonight.
Cube Runner II [App Store] is a separate product from the original free app and is now a $2.99 product.
The basics of the game remain the same: fly your ship using your iPhone’s accelerometer while avoiding obstacles. In Cube Runner II, Qua has added a number of additional features:
Time Trial Mode
Internal level editor
Object editor, Stackable Blocks
The Time Trial mode allows you to tilt forward/backward to speed up and slow down. The game comes with 3 of the standard levels and 4 time-trial levels. As before, you can download custom creations. A community at Cuberun.org has sprung up to share levels for the original game.
While veterans of the original Cube Runner may want to compensate Qua for his efforts by purchasing the pay version, the new version fails to add much polish to the original effort. While the availability of a built-in level editor is nice, it is quite technical and unlikely to be of much interest to a casual player.
The original free version of Cube Runner also remains available in the App Store.
SilkLabs‘ gear-and-cog puzzler Sprocket [App Store] for the iPhone may appeal to the meticulous mobile gamer.
We need an engineer to help us finish our machine… and in a hurry! Tap to select a gear and then drag it into position. Chain the gears to get the goal gears moving in the right direction. Race against the clock for bonus points in 30 hand-crafted levels. But be careful not to jam the machine or spin the goal gears the wrong way.
Sprocket is more challenging than it seems on first inspection. The array of gears presented will only rest on the evenly spaced white cogs arrayed about the game’s backdrop. Typically many gear arrangements must be tried before the proper sequence is found. It’s an interesting diversion…for those with real patience.
Sprocket is available for $2.99 through the iTunes App Store [link].
Cocoa Touch Games has released Cloud Girls [App Store], a cute color-matching action game for the iPhone and iPod touch.
Protect your world by gathering falling stars by rotating a spinning, finger-controlled, multi-colored shield. As the game progresses, the falling, tumbling stars start to increase in speed and frequency, making it increasingly hard to spin your shield around fast enough. Bonus stars that provide extra score or replenish your lives fall among the other stars–make sure to let them through the shield.
Not far from a 2D rendition of Newtonica, Cloud Girls starts off at a moderate pace, but the difficulty quickly mounts as progressive level-ups increase the rate of the incoming stars. The fact that the player must contend with both blocking colored stars with like-colored shield segments and letting bonus stars in through gaps in the shield makes it difficult to establish a rhythm–and once thrown off, it’s a challenge to recover.
The time-based scoring (and you won’t last long), rapidly increasing difficulty, and online public scoreboard make Cloud Girls feel somewhat akin to Papi Jump as a gaming experience (despite the dissimilarity between their actual play styles)–a “maybe I’ll make the top 10 in just 3-4 minutes!” kind of thing.
Cloud Girls is available through the App Store for $2.99 [link].
Cloud Girls is a simple 2D color-matching action game featuring cute graphics, fast gameplay, and an online scoreboard. It’s more or less a 2D take on Newtonica.
We’ve been using the word “polished” a lot lately because there’s no better way to describe that extra attention to detail that some games have.
Cobra Mobile’s Mouse About [App Store] is one of those games.
At its core Mouse About is a simple puzzle game in which you control Marv the mouse. Your goal is to eat all food on the screen and not fall off. You set Marv in motion by swiping your finger on the screen, but he won’t stop unless he hits food, an obstacle or the edge of the screen. Each level is played against the timer. If you run out of time or fall off the screen, you lose a life.
The game features randomly generated levels of increasing difficulty, so should provide you with plenty of gameplay.
The graphics, animation and soundtrack to this $2.99 title make it worth a serious look. The screenshots really don’t do the game justice, so it’s best to watch the embedded video:
Handmark is currently running a sale on its 3D iPhone racer GTS World Racing [App Store]. The game, normally $7.99, is available for $2.99 until October 19th.
The game offers four play modes: Single Race, Challenge Cup, Grand Tour, and Championship. In all, the there are 64 tracks across 16 different locations. The track scenery varies from desert to jungle to icy mountainside, but despite the varying environmental textures, the tracks feel rather similar, overall. The game world features a 3D track landscape and scrolling backdrop that come together to deliver clean visuals that look favorable compared to other iPhone racing titles. The only real graphical complaint might be the use of 2D vehicle graphics. While there is a bit of slowdown when all cars are onscreen at once during the start of a race, the framerate is generally solid.
We reviewed GTS World Racing back in August and were particulary impressed with the feel of its control systems which we believe are the best of any racer currently available on the iPhone.
Handmark is currently running a sale on its 3D iPhone racer GTS World Racing [
