One thing about Shift 2: Unleashed [$5.99/HD], just real quick: Don't bother. If I had to summarize EA's latest Need for Speed sim, it certainly wouldn't involve the word "unleashed." This is about as misleading a subtitle you could attach to something so tame and afraid to do anything outside its comfort zone.

I'm still high off the faster, crazier NFS: Hot Pursuit and the dialed back Real Racing 2, I think. Shift 2 exists in a limbo-like spot somewhere in between those titles, with a slightly heavier weight toward the realistic racing, which is something the franchise has only recently started dabbling in. We loved the first Need for Speed: Shift because it nailed what we wanted from a console approximation and it was a convincing, competitive iOS sim-racer. This sequel hits those same notes, but the standard, and thus what I expect, has raised since.

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TouchArcade Rating:

Just so we’re clear, VOLV’s Dawn of War [$.99] has nothing to do with Relic Entertainment’s RTS series of the same name. While I’d imagine this will cause some legal woes down the road, it does present a cool contrast at the moment. This Dawn of War is a 2D side-scrolling strategy game grounded in the technology of modern warfare. Its backdrops and armies are also based firmly in our actual world. Relic’s Dawn of War, on the other hand, is filled with thickly plated space imperialists and mutants tainted by a ruthless intergalactic nether realm.

Most strategy games we see are firmly entrenched in sci-fi or fantasy like Relic’s game, so its neat play one that doesn’t try to stretch the limits of the imagination. But, a slice of realism does not a good game make: Dawn of War is troubled, as it sports some woeful balance issues and some pretty rudimentary play that isn’t back by meaningful depth. It’s not a great game, but it’s not a terrible one, either. It just sort of sits in the middle.

Speaking on a strictly mechanical level, most of what you’ll do in Dawn of War is purchase tons of troops and hope that your ally waves can beat the AI’s waves. The goal is, simply, the other side of an invisible wall on the 2D plain.

Dawn of War features soldiers with rifles and bazookas, and boasts vehicles like tanks, HMVs, artillery, and planes. Where it departs (aside from its grounded approach) is in its aerial deployments. Provided you have the cash, you can order in specific drops of troops, tanks, and even bombs. In fantasy games in this specific genre like Sword and Soldiers, this would be the rough equivalent of magic, as these attacks have serious range and areas of effect.

There is no finesse or overarching strategy to the moment-to-moment action, which is a fairly significant flaw working against Dawn of War. You can win any map by simple troop spamming and most of lower difficulty tiers are winnable with just infantry.

While we’re talking about flaws, the lack of a camera is maddening. Dawn of War is so macro-focused that it neglects any ability to follow the action on a soldier or wave level. This is a bigger problem when you factor in area of effect attacks, as you’ll need to slide to the wave you want to hit with them, which takes a lot of precious time.

And seconds are a big deal; Most levels end within one-to-two minutes with you as the victor or the fallen. Dawn of War sort of salvages its weak mission time with a cool ‘perk’ mechanic that allows for persistent upgrades based on cash earned in levels. If it hooks you like it did me, you’ll find yourself grinding through the same locations over and over again.

Strangely, the game encourages this behavior outside of upgrades. Levels, including extra armies outside of the US and Britain are purchasable with in-game cash. Alternatively, you can buy a heap of in-game cash through IAP for 99 cents.

The extra levels, for what its worth, are really necessary to the experience. I should also add that they all boast a really cool water-color kind of look that mixes in well with the silhouetted art style of the vehicles and soldiers.

I don’t want to get into value proposition territory here, so I’ll just say that I had an okay time with the game. Its super simple and inarguably flawed, but its persistent upgrade system is a great carrot-on-the-stick and its modern war trappings do set Dawn of War apart. I hate this line, but if ‘you’re a fan of side-scrolling strategy games,’ I can’t imagine you’ll come away wholly unimpressed with this effort.

TouchArcade Rating:

Do you like Minecraft, but find that all of the tedious mining, building, and exploration mechanics get in the way of your enjoyment? Are you a fan of crafting objects, but feel like a 3x3 grid isn’t nearly hardcore enough? Yes? Then my friends, have I got a 6x8 upgrade for you.

At first glance, TerraCraft [Free] could be easily be confused with your standard match-3 affair. The twist here is that the game requires you to configure blocks into patterns for crafting items such as the planks, boxes, pickaxes, swords, and shields you’ve all come to know and love. This Minecraft-ian conceit takes the standard and kicks the variety up a… notch.

You begin the game with a small list of blueprints for items you can construct. Once the timer begins on each level, you drag and drop the designated materials (wood, rock, bronze, silver, gold) into the right pattern on the grid to “craft” an item and clear those materials from the board. Each item crafted is worth a set number of points, and the goal is to reach a target score before the timer expires.

As you advance through the levels, the point threshold for victory becomes progressively higher.  The number of material types grow, while the number of each individual material tends to shrink. These challenges are more than offset by the fact that the time limit also grows and that you unlock newer and more complex blueprints that are worth more points.

And that’s a concern. The difficulty curve in this game is non-existent. In fact, the game gets progressively easier as time goes on. While there are many blueprints to consider, there are also a number of high-value yet easy to craft items that you can spam for maximum points. Once you identify them, you’ll end up cruising. After the first few levels, I was never in danger of hitting the time limit, and after the last blueprints were unlocked I found the mystique wearing off all too quickly.

TerraCraft has some things going for it. For a ham-handed iOS gamer like me, the touch controls were much more responsive than I expected. I rarely had to redo moves. The game also sports OpenFeint integration, which gives some leaderboard support. While there’s only one main theme to listen to, the music was catchy and appropriately conducive to getting my pickaxe zen trance on.

The game is ad-supported through the first few levels, but an in-app purchase of $1.99 is required to unlock the full game and get rid of the ads. For myself, I don’t mind the use of ad-supported demos in general, but they should never directly impede the gameplay. There’s no issue on the main menu here, but once you get to craftin’, the ads partially obscure the bottom row of the grid. It’s possible to work around them but hardly a welcome means of promoting your IAP.

TerraCraft succeeds in its stated goal of providing a Minecraft spin on the puzzle genre, but the game really could have used an additional layer of complexity to create a difficulty curve and provide some longevity to the title. Why not flood part of the grid with water or lava tiles from time to time to change the shape of the playing field and force you out of relying on certain patterns? Maybe introduce an enemy tile that eats points until you craft the appropriate item (sword, shield, etc.) to destroy them?

While I was definitely left wanting, it certainly can’t hurt to give the free portion of this game a try for yourself. The Minecraft oriented theme, gracious lack of user-generated phallic sculptures, and chilled-out crafting action may be right up your alley. Personally, I’d rather punch a tree.

TouchArcade Rating:

Ever since the success of Death Rally [99¢] earlier this year, there has been somewhat of a resurgence in isometric racing titles with an emphasis on weapons and destruction. And why not? There’s nothing cooler than setting up a shot in your souped-up racer and blowing apart the leader right before taking the checkered flag. Mad Wheels [99¢/Lite/HD] attempts to ride on this wave of enthusiasm and success and, while the title does a decent job nailing the core gameplay, its lack of any real customization definitely hurts replayability.

Simply put, many aspects of Mad Wheels are, well, simple. There are only two single player modes: a ‘Championship’ mode that has the player race through 25 tracks across four “regions,” and a randomized Quick Race option. In addition, there is no story to speak of; the only motivation to continue playing is a progression bar that goes up every time a race is won or objective is met. While Mad Wheels offers a half dozen cars to choose from (with three more as IAP), each vehicle has fixed weapons and stats, with no options for upgrades or improvements. This drastically decreases any potential replayability, as once you go through each track and nail all the objectives, there’s nothing else to play towards.

In addition to the concerns above, there are some glaring omissions in Mad Wheels that definitely detract from the overall experience. For example, there are no save states or ‘multitasking’ support within this game. In other words, if you’re playing on your iPad, and you decide to exit out to check your email, you’ve just lost any progress you had on your current race and need to start over. This lack of any save state is almost unacceptable in this day and age. In addition, Mad Wheels only uses the Crystal social network system and doesn’t even integrate Game Center. This isn’t necessarily a big deal, but still surprising considering how Game Center is poised to be the primary gaming service once the next version of iOS comes out.

Not everything is bad, however. Mad Wheels has decent graphics with a stable, fast framerate (with a visual style that makes me wish Blast Corp was on iOS). In addition, the game controls pretty well, emulating Death Rally and providing an overall decent gameplay experience. While the weapons are predictable, they are implemented nicely and preserve the enjoyment of blasting apart your opponents. Furthermore, Mad Wheels also incorporates a Wi-Fi multiplayer mode, allowing gamers to join and host multiplayer races.

Despite its issues, Mad Wheels still manages to preserve some of the fun involved with these types of weapon racers. If you’re looking for a simple, weapons-based racer with multiplayer and don’t care about customizability or excessive replayability, then Mad Wheels may be a title worthy of your attention. If you’re looking for a game with more substance and depth, then Death Rally still remains the perennial favorite and recommended title.

TouchArcade Rating:

Back in January at a Capcom preview event, I was able to get some hands-on time with Resident Evil Mercenaries VS [$2.99], a new multiplayer focused entry in the Resident Evil mobile series. During that preview, I could see that there was some potential fun that could be had battling it out with other players Resident Evil style, but was left with many reservations. The game’s performance was pretty atrocious, and it was slated to only ship with 2 playable characters and 1 multiplayer map. Even with the potential of the actual gameplay, these shortcomings left me doubting how the game would turn out.

Yesterday, Resident Evil Mercenaries VS was released in the App Store, a little more than a month after originally planned. The good news is that the extra development time went to fixing some of the problems I saw in the preview version, tightening up the performance a great deal and adding a 3rd playable character and 2 additional multiplayer maps to the game. The bad news is that even those additions can’t really overcome the poor presentation and mundane gameplay of the title. (more...)

TouchArcade Rating:

One of the best run-and-jump fighters I've ever played is Sega's 1987 coin-op release, Shinobi. Several of us here at Touch Arcade spent hours in the local arcade together way back when, shoveling quarter after quarter into that Shinobi cabinet. We grabbed various home versions of the game, but none lived up to the excellent arcade experience. Happily, a number of sequels followed that targeted consoles specifically, and they provided some great ninja slashing action. The best of the lot in the eyes of many, myself included, is Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master. It was originally released for the Genesis / Mega Drive back in 1993, and tonight Sega has released the game, wrapped in their iOS Genesis emulator we've seen before, through the App Store [link].

In Shinobi III, you're back in the role of ninja warrior Joe Musashi as he fights to defeat the evil organization Neo Zeed, which is bent on world domination. You move through seven rounds of carnage, laying waste to scads of other ninjas with your shinobigatana, shurikens, and four magical ninjutsu techniques. You must brave a variety of hostile environments, including forests, caves, cities, laboratories, and factories. You even ride a horse. And surf! It's a harrowing affair, but the game is actually a bit more forgiving than the first in the series, employing a life meter that allows for accumulated damage as opposed to one hit kills, as did Revenge of Shinobi which preceded it. It's a great game -- a bit short on play time, but full of action.

...on the Genesis (and Wii Virtual Console), that is. Sadly, as has been the case with numerous straight arcade / console conversion from Sega and others in the past, much of the great experience of the original has been lost in translation to the iPhone. There is nothing to complain about as far as performance from the emulator -- it seems Sega has been steadily improving it, and things run smoothly and at full speed for all intents and purposes on an iPhone 4 test device. The issue is with the controls, their arrangement and inflexibility.

Like other Sega iOS releases running in their emulator, there is both a full screen and a windowed view. The fullscreen mode, with its larger image, is the most desirable play mode, I would say, but it suffers from the fixed arrangement of the onscreen D-pad and three action buttons; very often a thumb on either completely obscures your character, making gameplay highly awkward. This can be avoided by using the windowed view which renders the game at it's native resolution (fullscreen is a scale-up, not the other way around) with D-pad and buttons below, but on a screen with a pixel density as high as any iPhone or iPod touch device, it's a strain to behold. It's possible that an option to reposition the touch points would help matters but, frankly, I can't imagine an arrangement that would be truly acceptable. As is, the gameplay will leave you longing for your old Genesis.

See a gameplay video of the original console version.

And so, again we have a truly excellent console title that falls sadly short of the mark in making its way to the iPhone. Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master is likely an App Store purchase that only the true Shinobi devotee could make with satisfaction.

TouchArcade Rating:

There were tons of App Store casualties of the holiday season as EA's insane sale and the onslaught of news games drowned out the competition in the weeks leading up to Christmas. It's Just a Thought [$1.99] is one of the many games that got trampled in the holiday stampede which I just discovered today as fellow judges went through the entrants in the International Mobile Gaming Awards. At its core, It's Just a Thought is a basic tilt to move game that is so basic it doesn't even come with a way to calibrate the tilt controls. Normally this can be a deal breaker for me since I generally dislike hunching over my phone holding it perfectly level, but It's Just a Thought is cool enough that I'm more than willing to overlook all that.

It's Just a Thought starts with asking for your Facebook name and password. From there, it snags a whole ton of photos which it then uses for the main gimmick of the game which revolves around exploring deep in to your mind and stumbling across these "memories" (your photos) which you must collect. You need to tilt your phone to stay on the neural pathway, lighting up neurons as you go, and tapping on your memories to use as power-ups. It all flows together really well, and the music its set to is a real treat.

For an idea of what I'm talking about, check out the trailer:

It's Just a Thought is an extremely basic game built around a really clever gimmick of utilizing random photos from your Facebook in the game. If you don't have a ton of photos on Facebook, it will likely be pretty boring. However, if you do have a bunch of photos, the game is a really awesome stroll down memory lane as you're tapping to collect memories you've long since forgotten that were stashed away in some Facebook album.

I'm not sure how strong of a recommendation I can give It's Just a Thought because at the end of the day it is just a simple tilt-based game, but as far as the game's core concept is concerned, it's really cool-- Especially if you've got an extensive Facebook photo collection.

TouchArcade Rating:

Well, it's that time again. Dedicated readers of TouchArcade should know that we have a penchant for posting about silly or absurd games every now and then. They aren't always the greatest games known to Man, but with the App Store economy being the way it is sometimes spending a dollar or two on a game that will give you some laughs is totally worth it. The latest example of this is Rainbow Pony [99¢]. I could almost stop right there, as anything called Rainbow Pony must be worth at least a dollar. But for the sake of thoroughness, I'll go ahead and explain the delicate inner workings of the game.

Rainbow Pony plays a bit like Solipskier [99¢] in that you must guide your majestic steed along a wave of rainbow that you direct with your finger. Along his (her?) magical journey, the Rainbow Pony will collect various items spread throughout the game. Each arrow icon you collect will increase your speed, and each bomb you hit will slow you down. You can also collect delicious candy and teddy bears, though these seem to serve no purpose other than to increase your own personal happiness a tiny bit.

The game is played over 3 modes – Normal mode has you racing for a finish line in as little time as possible, Survival sees how far you can make it before hitting a bomb and instantly dying, and Timed mode sees how great of a distance you can achieve in a set amount of time. All of these modes contain their own individual high score leaderboards in OpenFeint, so you can compare scores with your many friends who will undoubtedly want to pick up Rainbow Pony once they see you playing it.

Visually, Rainbow Pony is pretty nice. It employs an 8-bit graphical style and retro-chiptune soundtrack, complete with grating, high-pitched coin collecting chimes. The game is really bright and colorful, though my one gripe here is that the Rainbow Pony looks a lot like a llama piñata to me. When I first saw the screenshots, I was almost certain this was some sort of retro 2D demake of Viva Piñata. Honestly, there's almost nothing better than watching the Rainbow Pony frantically galloping along, staring at you with a blank look on its face. It just makes me smile every time.

So in the end, Rainbow Pony is a pretty clever idea that is only executed marginally well. The controls and fluidity of the game are a far cry from the nearly flawless feel of Solipskier, though they do work well enough to enjoy the game. The biggest problem to me is the lack of spacing with obstacles in the game. There's no real warning of what's coming, and things can speed up so quickly that you can't avoid hitting bombs over and over again. I found myself having more fun trying not to hit the speed icons and just collect the yummy candy at a leisurely pace.

Still, the gameplay is fun enough to have a go at once in a while and for a dollar you can have a Rainbow Pony in your pocket, which is a statement I'm proud to be able to say in my lifetime.

TouchArcade Rating:

First, a few sweeping generalizations about this modern era of gaming. Game designers are implementing better, more intuitive user interfaces and controls. Failure is not so much about punishment as it is disappointment. And complex systems and mechanics are much more streamlined, allowing us to just sit back and play, while still enjoying the various complexities of a given game without the mess and fuss.

Games are just… easier now than what they were before. I think no other genre has benefitted more from modern design than the simulation. Your ten-year-old, for example, can probably enjoy Firaxis' Civilization V just as much as you do, despite the fact that you undoubtedly have a better grasp of it intricacies. It's more playable now, which is quite the change from previous iterations.

But when I look at SimCity Deluxe for iOS [$2.99 / HD], I don't see that new level of polish and refinement, streamlining, and kneading that a lot of modern games showcase. It's just SimCity, except on a touch-based platform. You start with nothing, as usual, and then build a huge, hopefully thriving city with roads, bustling industrial and residential districts, parks, and other constructs ripped from life.

There's no denying that it has a certain magic to it -- creating something out of nothing is still as compelling as ever and SimCity is one of the best, most complex series' to do this in. But Deluxe isn't accessible. At all.

I feel like we all know what this franchise is about, so I'll keep this specifics discussion brief: in Deluxe, you need to build roads, water pipes, power lines, dumps, and then manage all of these various bits of infrastructure before you can even start running your city's simulation. And then when you do get to the point of simulating, you'll have to start negotiating these bits and pieces, weighing them against each other while carefully watching a resource meter drain or rise as your city -- and it's interesting parts like industry -- grow. Later, you'll be able to add money-sucking civic buildings, monuments, and parks, provided you've the infrastructure in place.

And you're always just a few missteps from failure, provided you don't hit the self-destruct button on your own civilization first via alien attack (a real mechanic).

What I'm getting at here is a long-winded way to say that Deluxe is a very traditional SimCity game. It has a few modern bells and whistles, sure. The UI is rather clean and the distinctions between components are crystal clear. Also, it doesn't burden you with ticky-tacky stuff like building houses or non-important buildings. But in most other regards, this is an old-school simulation that requires a lot of time, patience, and Chess-level think-ahead logic for city planning, zoning, and taxing.

The iPhone version of Deluxe launched earlier this summer and received a decent bit of acclaim, though it had a fatal flaw: the screen was too tiny for the abundance of UI elements and the thousands of tiny little grids in which you can build were hard to access as a result. Deluxe, however, is available on the iPad starting today.

Just as you'd expect, it's better for it -- it's easier to click within the game and the UI has a lot of breathing room. I still find myself struggling to connect roads and keep things in an orderly fashion, though, I'm thinking this is more a result of the isometric camera than anything else. Working at a slight angle isn't easy for a city planner in the early stages of the game.

Aside from that, we're looking at a picture perfect port with a platform-specific flaw: it tends to chug. The iPhone version of Deluxe is pretty snappy, but the iPad version, for whatever reason, suffers frame drops or otherwise general slowness.

I think I can sum up my impressions of Deluxe with this: the game never entices me to stay in it too long, and I wish I could play it with a mouse and keyboard. The precision isn't there despite the spacing and there aren't enough carrots leading me through.

If you're a card-carrying member of the SimCity Elite Club who has spent many a sleepless night in torturous anticipation of a SimCity for the iPad, you're in a position to enjoy Deluxe. You'll be able to put up with the archaic design, in other words. For those of you out there who aren't familiar with the series and Deluxe would be your first plunge, this isn't the title to start with. For Deluxe, you need a good sense of how SimCity works and what the game demands, or else you'll risk getting lost and frustrated.

Just a couple of mode notes: Deluxe boasts a tutorial that does an OK job of walking you through the basics, but fails to really dive into what it takes to create an uber-successful, bustling city. Starter cities are available, too, for those who can't quite break through the rags-to-riches play or handle Deluxe's much-too-steep learning curve. Additionally, several scenarios are available for the advanced player who wants to hit an end game goal or needs a challenge.

TouchArcade Rating:

When it comes to racing leagues, MotoGP is to motorcycle racing what NASCAR is to stock car racing and IRL is to indy car racing. It's the premiere league for street racing of the two-wheeled variety, and has a fairly long history as a video game franchise. The MotoGP series of games are known for being something of a hybrid of simulation and arcade racing, and this still rings true with the release of MotoGP 2010 for iPhone. The iPhone version of the game, however, really doesn't impress much visually, and there are several quirks that keep it from being a very good racer.

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TouchArcade Rating:

Less of a game and more of a demonstration of each and every working part in 5 different handguns, Gun Disassembly is a technical app with an extraordinary amount of detail in both the included weapon models and their many animated parts.

To begin, there are two handguns to choose from, the Colt 1911 and Glock 17. Selecting one of these enables you to view a complete demonstration of the gun being completely disassembled and then re-assembled. The demonstration and the game component itself is set around a 3D model of the weapon, with the camera able to zoom and pan around various components. The demo runs through the correct steps (complete with full animation of even the smallest screws being removed) and the game mode then has you replicating these steps to achieve the best time score possible.

The controls are straightforward-- you merely need to select the correct component on the gun, and then press an on-screen button to remove it automatically. It sounds easy, but when there are excess of 50 steps to take in the correct order, it gets quite challenging; particularly if, like us, you have very little knowledge of how these things work in the first place. The camera is controlled by the traditional swipe to pan and pinch to zoom gestures.

High scores are recorded on the OpenFeint platform, and an additional 3 handguns (the Desert Eagle .44, Sig P228 and Baretta 92 FS) can be purchased for $0.99 each to further your high scores. There are also 5 OpenFeint achievements awarded for completing any of the games without using the in-game hint system.

Though it is promoted as a game, Gun Disassembly 3D is nonetheless a technical app with very limited appeal. That didn't stop it from piquing at our curiosity however, as it can be quite a singular experience to see a firearm like this being taken apart before your very eyes, let alone being able to go about it yourself.

App Store Link: Gun Disassembly 3D, $0.99 (With In-App Purchases of $0.99 each).

TouchArcade Rating:

Last week we posted about Iron Man 2 [$6.99] suddenly appearing on several foreign App Store markets with no sign of it in the US App Store. With the release of the movie approaching, Iron Man 2 finally appeared for American iPhone owners to download.

We took a look at Iron Man 2 when it was first released in other countries, and were not that impressed:

Iron Man 2 seems to be just about everything you'd expect from a movie tie-in iPhone game made by Gameloft. The dialog isn't great, gameplay seems surprisingly linear, and while flying around as Iron Man is pretty cool, the whole thing just feels like your typical movie game.

Unfortunately, I'm not alone in not really enjoying the Iron Man 2 iPhone game. The Iron Man 2 thread on our forums seems to be in agreement, filled with people who have spent the day playing the New Zealand version. Forum member Der-Kleine was able to play through the game in 2 hours and Ziotoo4 comments on the plot, voice acting, and bugs.

After spending more time with the international release over the last week, it seems safe to take a pass on this game.

App Store Link: Iron Man 2, $6.99

TouchArcade Rating:

The Spore series started as a PC game by Will Wright and has since spawned several other games and a line of t-shirts, posters, and other swag. Plans for the future include expansion packs for the original Spore, a Spore card game, and even a Spore movie by the director of Ice Age. But where do the iPhone games fit in to all of this?

The first Spore game released on the App Store, Spore Origins [$1.99 / Free], arrived in early September of '08. At the time, it was an amazing game compared to the other games available in the infancy of the App Store, especially with how few "name brand" game franchises there were available at the time. Sadly, the game has not aged well, and the enhancements made in the sequel, Spore Creatures [$6.99], don't bring much to the table.

Much like the original, the goal in Spore Creatures is to eat everything lower on the food chain than you are to collect DNA which is then used to evolve, improving existing abilities and granting new ones to your creature. You control your creature (this time on land) by tilting, and the heart of the game mostly involves tilting your phone to steer your creature in to anything that moves.

Spore Creatures attempts to add some much-needed depth to the game by adding different obstacles in the game world that require certain creature upgrades to overcome. For instance, one of the first things blocking your progress to the next area of the game is a rock which can only be moved once you've added legs to your creature, giving it the power to move the rock out of the way. Farther in to the game you will come across boss monsters, and other creatures that you can socialize with.

The one thing that is a lot of fun in Spore Creatures is the actual creature editor itself. With 45 unique body parts, body shape, and colors to be tweaked the iTunes description claims that there are billions of possible combinations. Making silly looking creatures is much more fun than tilting your phone to have them randomly bump in to things, and I really hope that EA brings something similar to the Spore Creature Creator to the iPhone some day.

Spore Origins was released at a time when a ton of people were completely engrossed in Spore mania. Now that the Spore franchise is getting stale, I doubt the sequel will have the same allure. Quite simply, there are both better tilting games and better adventure games on the App Store right now, and unless you're in love with the crazy creatures of the Spore universe, there aren't many reasons to spend much time with Spore Creatures.

App Store Link: Spore Creatures, $6.99

TouchArcade Rating:

Horror movie based game Dawn of the Dead finally arrived in the App Store this evening after a brief premature release a few days ago. The game is based on the 1978/2004 horror film and gives you the opportunity to try to survive the zombie onslaught.

The game offers both Story mode and Challenge modes while playing with one of three different characters: Salesman, Police Officer, and Nurse. Each character has different Speed, Attack, and Shooting attributes to try to give you some variety in different play throughs. The Story mode and Challenge modes have multiple difficulties, but total gameplay time is not very long. You can easily finish the game's story mode on easy in one session, which then unlocks the hard mode. Story mode consists of 5 different levels of varying goals. While these goals include some mild variety over the standard survival tasks of similar games, they are still ultimately pretty shallow. Goals include killing all zombies in an area, surviving a certain time limit, and finding an exit.

Challenge mode adds a few more individual goals (kill x zombies, survival a time limit etc...) that you can play over again to try to best your previous high score. The game offers both melee and range weapons to battle the zombies, and are demonstrated in the following video:

Controls include the typical left/right dual stick controls for movement and shooting, but the shooting control had some consistency issues resulting in moments of frustration when you'd turn around unintentionally.

Ultimately, for such a short game, the replay value relies on how much fun you had playing the first time through, but given some twitchy controls and slowly paced gameplay, we didn't see much reason to go back. Aside from the movie tie-in, there isn't much to make the game stand out.

App Store Link: Dawn of the Dead, $1.99

TouchArcade Rating:

THQ Wireless released Star Wars: Trench Run tonight which offers you a chance to relive the key scenes surrounding the destruction of the Death Star by the rebel forces in the original Star Wars the movie.

Your mission: Use the Force to overthrow the evil Galactic Empire as they attempt to destroy the small rebel base on the jungle moon of Yavin 4. As part of the Rebel Allianceʼs Red Squadron, you dogfight with TIE fighters above the Death Starʼs surface before heading into a trench where you are inundated by cannon fire. Dodge obstacles and stay out of Darth Vaderʼs sights as he tries to gun you down before you have the chance to fire your proton torpedoes into the thermal exhaust port the size of a womp rat. If successful, a direct hit will cause a chain reaction that destroys the Death Star, thus saving the Rebel base from impending doom.

For anyone who has seen the movie, the plot is laid out for you: combat some Tie fighters, navigate the trench while avoiding obstacles and taking out turrets, avoid Darth Vader's attack from behind and finally shoot your proton torpedoes into the exhaust port.

The only tie-in with the Force is the ability to slow-down time by pressing on the left side of the screen which slows the action down. Right side of the screen fires your lasers while a top left button alternates your cockpit or exterior view. The game comes with Mission and Arcade modes. Mission mode takes you through the above objectives in sequential order while Arcade focuses on two areas (Trench Run and Dogfighting) that you play over and over in increasingly difficult levels.

Overall, the game feels like a series of mediocre mini-games tied together by scenes from the original movie. While there are multiple difficulty levels, none of the individual gaming components were particularly compelling, so once we had made it through the campaign mode on easy (a 10-20 minute endeavor), we weren't sure what there was left to do. The endless arcade mode does offer some added distraction, but quickly grows old as you realize you are just playing those same levels at increasing difficulty.

In the end, it's not a game we see ourselves coming back to again, and given the number of other great games we've recently seen, we just can't recommend it.

App Store Link: Star Wars: Trench Run, $4.99

TouchArcade Rating: