Thursday 23 June 2011

Snow Master Review

Snow Master is an entertaining game, which is suitable for any age. There are three modes; Acid Snow, Twin Flakes and Snow Mercy. Each mode has a different game play and control style, the sound effects are great and the graphics on the iPad and the iPhone are brilliant.

In the first mode, Acid Snow, you need to swipe the green snowflakes before they hit the ground. Bonuses are acquired if you get more than one snowflake in one swipe. As you progress the levels get much harder, and the snow falls quicker and heavier. You can't just draw a line forever as it does eventually run out, this is shown by the globe of your wand in the top right hand corner. If it runs out you just need to take your finger of the screen and then it will refill automatically. When destroying the acid flakes and letting the white snow hit the ground your accumulation will rise, this is shown on a ruler along the right side of the screen. There is also a blue meter which reflects your health, this will reduce and change colours if you slice a good flake or let the bad ones hit the ground.

The second mode is Twin Flakes. You will need to match the pairs of snowflakes. They will stay on the screen until you match them all and then you will be given a new set, they will be more pairs and there will be a range of sizes. Once you clear four sets you will get a different time limit to work with. Any left over time will be added on. The controls are simple, tap on a snowflake and the match and then they will both disappear.

The last mode is called Snow Mercy. All you have to do is save all of the flakes before they reach the fires at the bottom of the screen. Fireballs will rise up and you will need to swipe them to destroy them. To save any snowflake you must swipe through them. The globe from Acid Snow will be there as well - doing the exact same job.

Overall this is a really good game and is very addictive. It uses game center for the leaderboards and is worth the money. Do you have what it takes to be a Snow Master?


Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snow-master/id389788352?mt=8


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Torture Bunny Trailer

Finger Shoes Trailer

Wednesday 22 June 2011

Spider-Man: Total Mayhem HD Review

Spider-Man is a great game which reflects the comics brilliantly. The simple combat and movement controls are similar to other titles from Gameloft, they react quickly and execute a smooth action. The comic book style graphics are perfect for the game play and all the voice overs in the game are appropriate and suitable for each character. As well as a fantastic storyline and addictive game play you will be able to unlock different items and fight a number of well known villains.

When starting the game there will be a brief tutorial and as you reach certain areas more will be explained. There is over 20 fighting combos and a few special attacks. While playing the 12 levels, which are based in New York City, you will come across Spider-Man's toughest enemies including Sandman, Rhino, Electro, Venom, Dr Octopus, and Green Goblin. The bosses are not easy to defeat and as you progress they become much smarter in combat. Even reaching the villains is a challenge, as you need to pass places which may contain more enemies. Surprisingly there is not many buttons, and the special attacks appear when you can use them or need them. On your action packed adventure you will need to climb walls and jump over holes in the ground. Citizens will also need to be saved and switches will need to be pulled to save the city, all of these can be performed by a tap of a button - when it appears and when you get close enough.

There is not a free roam mode but while you walk around the city, attempting to fight your way through evil, you can attack cars and other items to collect orbs. The green orbs will restore your health and the red ones will add up, so that you can buy upgrades from the in game menu. Orbs are also collected when you defeat enemies or save a hostage.

Another fantastic feature is the extras. In the extras you can look at four things. There is a "Boss Rush" where you can replay boos fights and it records your time and rank, you can play at any difficulty. There is a segment called "Artwork"which is what you unlock through out the game, you will find beautiful HD photos of Spider-Man and villains, and there is up to 150 to collect. The last two are called "Photos" and "Level Ranking", in the photos you will be able to view action shots of the boss fights. You take the pictures by pressing a button which appears when you are in combat. Level Ranking shows you your stats for all the levels you ave completed.

If you complete all the levels you will unlock the Black Suit which will give you different powers, then you can revisit different levels and see what it does to your combat style.

A brilliant game for any action fan, and Spider-Man supporters will not be disappointed at all. Worth every penny!


Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spider-man-total-mayhem-hd/id399650655?mt=8


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Monday 20 June 2011

Air Supply - 1bit Run Review

Air Supply from Quantum Sheep is brilliant endless runner which will keep you busy for ages. The simple controls, graphics and sounds stay true to the retro style game play. There is a total of 18 achievements to earn and you can unlock different characters, colours, music, backgrounds and even enemies.

Before you unlock anything you play on an alien moon as Spaceman Sam. To stay alive you must avoid and shoot the enemies. You will come across aliens, UFOs, meteorites, robots, space monkeys and zombie pirate cyborgs. Unlike many other endless runners you have another threat which may end the game for you. As well as enemies and timing your jump wrong you are only given a limited amount of air. The air runs out automatically, but if you get hit you will loose it much quicker. Luckily there are power ups which might protect you, slow you down or give you some extra air, your tank of air is displayed at the top corner of your screen.

The controls are very easy to use as there is only two buttons. The one on the left allows you to jump and the one on the right lets you shoot. Tapping the jump button twice will make you double jump. You can swap the buttons around as well.

Overall this is a great game and it is very addictive. I can't wait for more updates and hopefully there will be an iPad version. It is Game Center enabled and was recentley updated with colour coordinated leaderboards!


Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/air-supply-1bit-run/id423073029?mt=8


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Push-Cars Trailer

Don't Fall Off Trailer

Friday 17 June 2011

Race After 1977 Review

Race After 1977 is a racing game which puts you in to a scene of devastation from the nuclear apocalypse. You are racing to win the GPS co-ordinates of the last hospitable place on Earth. It is a very fun game with great graphics and sounds although I think that it could get better in future updates. The most recent update, which was released on the 13th of June, brought native iPad and iPad 2 support. Along with minor and major tweaks to the physics and controls, the overall game play and realism has become much better.
There are three control options; a steering wheel, touch and tilt controls, you may also need to change the sensitivity to your own liking. The car accelerates automatically so you only have to steer and brake, if you want to reverse you need to hold down on the brake pedal.

While driving there are a few buttons and extra information displayed on the screen. There is a rear view, menu, lap counter, speedometer, position, direction, race time, best lap, camera, respawn and a radar. These help with your driving, whether it's to see if anyone is coming to knock you off the track or you are going fast enough to jump over the bridge.

There is a total of ten tracks in five different environments, all of them have shortcuts to help you gain an advantage in the race. Some gaps or jumps will give you the need to build up speed so you can make it over or on top of an obstacle. You can also unlock nine cars which all have their own strengths and weaknesses on every track. The replay value mainly comes with the achievements, there is fifty to collect and after each race you are shown them, the ones you need will appear as well. You are given cash rewards depending on where you come in the race, but there is no where to spend it, you can't even buy upgrades for your vehicles.
Overall this is a good racing game and fun for a quick race or spending a while in the story mode. Worth checking out.

Wednesday 15 June 2011

Toca Hair Salon Review

Toca Boca have released another brilliant game for the iPhone and iPad. It is very simple and it is filled with great graphics and sounds. The colours are very clear and it looks very well made.

The game is easy to get in to. At the start you must choose one out of the four characters, your selection will act as your client. Then you can give them a brand new hairstyle. You are able to cut, brush, dry, shave, grow and colour the hair. You can also take snapshots. All of the equipment is in a bar at the bottom of the screen. On the iPad all of the hair colours are on one bar instead on two because there is more room. To select anything you just simply tap on it, then you are able to use it on the hair.

Another cool feature is that when you tilt your device, the scene out of the window moves. And during the whole experience your character makes silly faces and noises which should make you smile.

I would like to see more characters added in an update and maybe an option that allows you to wash, straighten and even curl the hair.

Overall Toca Boca have brought another fantastic game for children to the app store. Worth every penny as it will keep any child entertained and busy. Can't wait for future app releases and updates from Toca Boca!


Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/toca-hair-salon/id426382105?mt=8


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Monday 13 June 2011

Tanglewood Review

Tanglewood is a fantastic puzzle game. It can be very difficult at times but it is extremely addictive. The graphics and sounds are great and this is a must have for anyone who likes a challenge.

The game play is very simple. You need to fit all of the given blocks into the gap, and you can not place them passed the dotted line. To get a block, you drag one from the bar which is at the top, if you want to put one back you can just flick it off the screen.

At the moment there are three different difficulties which total up to seventy levels. As you progress, the puzzles get much harder. Obstacles start to appear, and the blocks start become irregular shapes. Luckily you can use hints, but you only receive them once you have correctly completed a puzzle.

In the setting you can adjust nearly everything which is physics based. You can change the gravity, friction, spin speed and even the linear speed. There is a default option as well.

Every level records your best score, so it is great for long journeys. Definitely worth checking out!


Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tanglewood/id439123955?mt=8


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Sunday 12 June 2011

Sneak Out! Review

Sneak Out is a brilliant game which requires patience and strategy. There is two modes and the graphics are great. The aim of the game is to leave work so you can go to happy hour, the only problem is that your mangers are wandering round. As you progress, levels become faster and there will be more bosses to escape from and you might even have to escape with a friend!

The controls are very simple. To move you draw a line, then the character will follow it, if you draw a line that is heading towards your boss you can easily draw a new one. In every level there is three stars to collect before you leave, but you don't have to obtain them all.

To help you on your escape you have a smelly hot dog and a speed up 2x. The hot dog will freeze the bosses and the speed up 2x will speed up your movement. In the levels there is also telephones, printers and fax machines; if you press on them it will cause a distraction for your boss, using the machines will lower your score though.

The two modes are both challenging. Classic is just you trying to escape and is slower than insane mode. The insane mode makes you control two characters and seems to be a lot harder. The bosses in the modes are always unpredictable, so you can never plan your whole route.

If you get caught by the faint yellow line, which represents the bosses view, you will be sent back to your desk and be forced to try and escape again.

Overall this is a great game, which will keep you busy for hours. It looks even better on the HD, iPad version. Worth every penny!


Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id413025465?mt=8
HD Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sneak-out-hd-an-office-escaping/id436097129?mt=8



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Saturday 11 June 2011

Surfin' Dude Review

Surfin' Dude from Violet Studio is a great tilt based game for the iPhone. It has very nice sounds and graphics which consist of colours that stand out against the wave. There is also going to be a Story Mode added in a future update.

The game is easy to learn and uses simple controls. You tilt your device to move and press the screen to jump. If you want to get further away from the wave you need to keep your character travelling straight for a while and then he will surf faster and collecting a star will make you invincible.

When you press play you will be able to set your controls. There is regular, top down or custom. To set your controls in custom you hold your device normally then press set. Once you have pressed set you tilt your device so you put the surfer in the center of the screen. Then you press play. With the other controls you just tilt your device until the surfer is in the center, you don't need to press set. You can also invert the controls.

When you are in the game and are riding the wave you need to collect as many flowers as you can. The only problem is that there are hungry sharks in the water. There are other distractions such as monkeys, turtles, seagulls and fish. As the game gets harder the sharks come at a faster pace and seagulls fly past in larger groups. You can also be in danger if you surf in risky areas and if you hit a shark you will slow down and the wave will soon catch up with you, if you are to close to the wave and you slow down it will be game over and you will be wiped out.

Surfin' Dude is a fun game and it is suitable for anyone. Definitely worth checking out!


Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/surfin-dude/id438903777?mt=8


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