Here are a number recent game releases that we had previewed in the past. All seem to be solid titles, though none we felt compelling enough to highlight on their own.
Skee-Ball ($0.99) – The officially licensed version of Skee-Ball from Freeverse and Graveck. This game will feel familiar to owners of 10 Balls 7 Cups as it was created by the same developers, but with some notable improvements. There are some additional control options as well as the use of the accelerometer to add spin to the ball. The biggest upgrade, however, seems to be the integration of actual pictures of prizes that you can keep and integration with Plus+ for achievements and leaderboards.
As good a version of pure Skee-ball as can be found on the iPhone, but it’s still just endless Skee-ball.
Against the Fire ($0.99) – Meridian’s followup title to the well received dual-stick zombie shooter Alive 4 Ever. Against the Fire shares the same excellent dual-stick controls that control your player through the flaming levels. The goal is to save all the people on each of the 50 included levels. Unlike Alive 4 Ever, the game is more of an arcade game without any of the RPG elements we loved so much in their last title. Gameplay is also a bit simpler with a few power-ups on each level that are only active for a short period of time. The level designs are much more intricate with rooms and hallways that must be navigated to find the trapped people who you must lead to safety.
Overall a very well executed title, but we preferred the gameplay of Alive 4 Ever for the reasons listed above.
Moonlight Minions ($1.99) – Yet another entry into the tower defense section of the App Store which seems to be getting more and more crowded on a daily basis. All of the standard tower defense elements are in place such as six different towers that cover all the standard attack types (direct damage, splash damage, slowing, etc.) and each have a three tier upgrade system. Moonlight Minions also features Sentinel 2-style special powers such as Earthquakes or Lightning that are unlocked as you clear levels in the game. Each level can be played in classic or endless mode across three levels of difficulty.
The main thing that makes Moonlight Minions stand out from the pack is the whimsical fantasy art style. While it’s a solid take on Tower Defense that may be worth adding to your TD arsenal, it’s hard to say that it’s better than many of the iPhone TD staples.
