Developer: DEVSISTERS

Platform: iOS

Price: £1.49

Note: OvenBreak Free is available for no charge but with fewer playable levels

Escape the fiery furnace of an oven as you take the role of a gingerbread man who has to hurdle and duck obstacles in a bid to gain freedom and avoid being eaten! Pick up jelly beans as you run to gain points while gummy bears are worth more.

In another delightful twist you also have to pick up letters to make the word ‘FREEDOM’, these letters give you lives, but you can only hold a maximum of two lives at a time, FREEDOM letters (as a complete word) then also bring bonus points to your overall score.

The controls are easy, just two buttons in fact; the left hand button is to jump and the right hand button is for slide, this then allows you to leap and duck obstacles as you run. Some jumps need you to stay in the air for longer to avoid tripping up. In this instance you can use your candy cane to hook onto objects and slide to safety. To hook onto an object all you have to do is jump into the air and press the slide button – simple enough!

You then have to guide your gingerbread man through various levels, jumping, sliding and collecting points as you flee your way to freedom; and a big high score! At first I thought the game would be too simple to be fun but in actual fact I find it very addictive. OvenBreak is darn challenging in fact!

The game is played at quite a fast pace and the speeds increase as you get further towards the finish. It takes quick thinking and even quicker fingers to complete each level and you will soon find that there is a way to master each jump to gain maximum points. Another great addition to the game is the way that the jelly beans try to trick you into jumping into danger. As you begin to follow the line of jelly beans, picking up points as you do so, you will soon come to find that some of the jelly beans will purposely try and have you jump into a hole – you certainly need your wits about you.

My only gripe is that there are not more levels as I have nearly exhausted the limited levels that the game currently has. I can take solace in the fact that DEVSISTERS have a ‘Coming Soon’ column at the end of the game so I can only assume that my OvenBreak itch will soon be scratched once again. Another point I would make is that £1.49 does seem a little steep for limited levels when there are other games of similar entertainment that only cost 69p – but again, a few more levels will bring value for money.

Verdict: 8/10 – The game is great, if not a little limited, and will provide hours of frustration and entertainment as the fast paced game play provides challenge and fun. A great little iPhone app!

Developer: Cabbit Games

Platform: iOS

Price: 69p

Help Granny plant and grow a range of different flowers in her garden. This simple game involves taking care of flowers by planting them and then watering them, providing them with sunlight and sprinkling them with vitamins until they are healthy, fully grown, blossoming specimens.

Granny offers help and advice throughout and warns you when you begin to over-feed your plant.  Granny even provides you with little flower facts such as ‘Did you know almost all tulips come from Holland’?

This is one of the simplest games I have ever played on the iPhone and that is just the problem; it is so simple it is boring. In fact, I am still decidedly confused about the game for one of two reasons. Either the game’s ‘How to Play’ function is not good enough and I do not know how to play the game properly or (and I am inclined to believe this one) I am playing the game properly and it is just unbelievably dull.

After almost two hours of game play I am yet to see a flower. The game is so restrictive that Granny will not let you over-feed the plant or expose it to sunlight too much. The result is a game where you stare blankly at an empty plant pot, pressing one of three pre-designated buttons only to be told that you are not allowed to press that button yet.

The game might be loosely based on a retro game of the same name that was played on computers in schools during the 1980s and 1990s to teach children how to use computers. However, I say loosely because the 1980s version was an adventure based game where as this game simply offers the chance to help Granny grow flowers – the actual game play has little similarity.

The game boasts good graphics and I agree with this to a point, the graphics are very clear but nothing really moves, there is nothing to hold your attention and over two hours of (accumulated) game play has produced no results.

The game has a piano sound track that becomes as monotonous as the game and I am unsure if the ‘Save Game’ function works – this could very well be the reason that my game has produced no flowers.

All in all this is a poor game, with little to do and nothing to keep you playing. At one point I was told that I had gained a ‘Level Up’ but I am not sure what I did to attain this. The game does not provide any challenge or sense of satisfaction and even Granny becomes annoying as she chips in with inane facts that most would already know.

The worst part is the price – this game does not represent value for money as I do not think that for 69p it provides any form of entertainment. My advice – don’t waste your money.

Verdict: 1/10 – This is one of the poorest games I have played on the iPhone – download at your own peril.

Game: Monsters and Bones
Developer: RatSquare
Platform: iOS
Price: 69p

Follow the rules of the food chain in this great little game where you take the role of an alien looking to feed the highest common denominator in the chain. Board your spaceship and navigate a series of tricky obstacles as you fly cows to aliens and aliens to dinosaurs for them to munch down before they starve to death.

Controls are simple; you have one button to accelerate and one button to beam creatures into your spaceship with. Navigate the levels by tilting your device and accelerate to go up and let gravity do the work if you want to go down. The creatures will have a speech bubble telling you what they want to eat and you have to get the right creature to the right mouth before they become too hungry and starve. Obstacles range from spikes and flower-like guns to tentacles and alien-based plants that jump out of the wall if you get to close.

The result of all this is a brilliant little game; very challenging and a lot of fun. It can be very tricky to navigate the levels successfully and you often have to be tactical with your movements in order to complete each level before one of the monsters dies of starvation. But, if you go too quickly you may get caught by one of the level’s traps and have to start again! Each level takes about two minutes so it is brilliant to play in short bursts or in longer sessions.

I do have a few minor gripes. At first I found it difficult to remain airborne while beaming a creature onto my ship. The way to do this is to hover above it before quickly letting your finger off of the accelerator and onto the beam button in one smooth motion. It takes some getting used to and better sensitivity with the controls would improve game-play. I did also get a little frustrated with the loading time each time you have to start the level again – but then I guess that serves me right for dying too often and one answer to this predicament would be to be better at the game!

But these are really tiny problems in an otherwise flawless game. There are some ‘coming soon’ levels that I am very much looking forward to and I hope that trend will continue too (please, RatSquare!). Whilst this game will probably never be as popular as Doodle Jump or Angry Birds on your iOS device; Monsters and Bones is hugely fun and well worth trying!

Verdict: 9/10 – Great value for money for great entertainment! A challenging problem solving game that can become highly addictive if you are not careful!

Developer: JoyBits Ltd

Platform: iOS

Price: Free

Doodle Devil is the evil reincarnation of JoyBits Doodle God game – a game where you combine elements in a bid to discover the dark side of humanity. If you have played Doodle God then Doodle Devil is exactly the same, however if the ‘Doodle-ing’ world is completely new to you, I will explain.

The aim of the game is to discover all 190 elements (which are grouped into 19 different element groups). The game is essentially a puzzle, with the elements fitting together in a specific way to create new elements. For instance, Doodle Devil (fittingly) starts with the elements Human and Apple. When these two elements are placed together they create Sin and Knowledge. Knowledge can then be matched with Human to create Book and so on until all 190 elements have been found.

As this is the devilish version of the game, elements all have a sinister twist and sins such as Gluttony and Sloth are available as are Death, Diseases, Suffering along with ghoulish characters such as Witch, Demon and Zombie.

The game is as simple as that! You are given some in-game money that can be spent on buying hints to help you complete elements and you can gamble your money at the Devil Slots to gain more funds.

Doodle Devil is easy to navigate and fun at first as the pairings seem to come thick and fast. Once you have reached a reasonable number of elements the game gets harder as it is more difficult to find pairs that match together and it can be difficult to keep track of which pairings you have already tried unsuccessfully. In this way the game can be challenging.

I guess the only problem I seem to have with the game is that I don’t get it. Doodle God was a unique and fun little game but Doodle Devil seems exactly the same, even some of the elements have been copied so if you have played Doodle God and have a good memory you will certainly have a good head start. Instead of adding to the Doodle God game I almost feel that this second game takes away from the uniqueness of Doodle God.

Other element groupings make no sense – for example Magic and Stone seem to create Egg and Fire and Witch make Soul – odd pairings that perhaps hinder the progress of the game.

Cause for concern can also be found with the hints. It is perfectly possible to complete the entire game by spending all of the in-game money on hints that will just create elements for you. In this way the challenge is removed from the game as the second you begin to get frustrated with the game you can simply cheat.

If you enjoyed Doodle God and are looking for more of the same then this game will definitely quench your ‘Doodle’ thirst and all of the good ideas from the first game remain. But as a stand-alone game I feel that a) Doodle God is better and b) the game can begin to get stale very quickly at which point it is too easy to cheat your way to the finish line, removing any sense of challenge and point to the game.

I expected to love this game having played Doodle God previously and other reviews of Doodle Devil have painted it in a more favourable light but I cannot help but feel that this game has a shelf life that means it turns stale very quickly.

Verdict: 4/10 – The game is not without its positives and is great fun at the beginning but the ease of riding through the game on hints and the lack of ambition and imagination to take Doodle Devil one step further than Doodle God means that the game soon gets tiring.

Game: The Rolling Cat
Developer: Falcon Mobile Inc.
Platform: iOS
Price: Free

The RSPCA might be concerned with how the programmers over at Falcon Mobile take care of their pets. The Rolling Cat sees you take control of a small kitten that you need to roll about collecting falling meat…yes, the name does kind of give it away.

The game operates on motion control. Tilt the screen to roll your cat across the screen trying to collect falling sausages, fish and hunks of meat. However, meat products are not the only things falling from the heavens above. Avoid the many icicles mixed in there. You hit one of those and it’s game over. The more meat you collect the higher your level rises.

The game works on a single level process, each time you bump one of those chunks of ice you’ll need to start over and build up again making Rolling Cat a repetitive game.

Sadly if your looking for a long game to drag out plenty of free time, Rolling Cat won’t be for you. There is no achievement process or change in the levels appearance other than a speed increase in falling meat. That’s not to say the game isn’t entertaining, but like I said its repetitive and a prime example of pick up and play at its best.

The controls work well and you’ll quickly pick up the best method for rolling the poor kitten all over the shop. However, if your phone tries to process any back ground operations like download email and such you’re going to get a crippling lag that might see you roll head first into an icicle which, as you can imagine, is annoying. That said, it’s the only gripe I can find in the game-play.

Graphics are crisp and attractive nicely fitting with the classical playful music that will keep you from getting frustrated by the repetitive game-play.

Overall The Rolling Cat is an entertaining yet simple game that will keep the casual gamer entertained. However it won’t be for the more hardcore achievement hungry gamer.

[Show as slideshow]

Game: Tasty Planet 2
Developer: Dingo Games
Platform: iOS
Price: 69p

Tasty Planet 2 is a game that tests the balance functions of your iPhone to the limit as you tilt your iPhone to guide a ravenous blob through time on an ingesting rampage as he eats his way through various periods of the past (and future), engulfing everything in his path.

Think Gremlins, with a time travel twist. The blob you control is essentially an accidental scientific creation. In the first level you are let loose inside a science lab as you escape your beaker and begin to consume everything you can, enlarging as you do. Eventually you get so big that you consume the Professor’s other invention; a time machine!

And thus begins your adventure as you travel through time consuming dinosaurs, Egyptian and Greek artefacts and space themed machinery in a bid to eat your way around planet earth. The comic-style cut screens help to tell the story as you move from level-to-level ingesting everything smaller than you. As you get larger, you consume ever larger objects until you reach a pre-determined size and complete the level.

To control the blob, you simply tilt your iPhone up and down, side to side. This rolls the blob around the level area. Although the controls are simple, I always come to the game feeling that they are slightly sluggish. If you hold your iPhone flat then the blob tends to continue to move. It takes the first few seconds of each game to get you used to the unusual settings. Once you have mastered the balance of the game then you are then free to devour as much as you can until you grow to the maximum level.

The game is good for what it is, and does provide mindless entertainment for those who seek it. The problem is that it is a little too mindless. After a while I find myself losing concentration and I soon get bored of the one dimensional game-play. Whilst it is quite fun at first I find that I can only play the game in 10 minute bursts to avoid the monotony of the game. It would not be my first choice in game to go to for a quick play either, other similarly priced games seem to have a little more excitement and challenge about them.

It is certainly a unique and interesting game, but the interest is limited and wanes as the repetitive motions and samey levels take over. All in all, the game does not provide longevity and is perhaps a little too easy to hold attention for anything more than a short spell.

Verdict: 5/10 – I have certainly played worse games on the iPhone, but there are better games out there too. Fun for a short while but the novelty wears off and it is a little too easy to be considered fun for long.

[Show as slideshow]

Take scythe in hand as you set out to reaper the souls of some fluffy little rodents in Coffee Airplanes Bunny Reaper.

Let me be clear, Bunny Reaper is a hard game to play. Never have I seen such a bug riddled app in all my life of owning an iPhone. The game either part loads, giving you music playing to a blank black screen, or if you lucky enough to get to the menu screen you might crash out actually trying to load the game itself.

At first I thought it might simply be my phone. So I splashed out and loaded it on a second more up to date model. Sadly I was struck with all the same issues.

Eventually I was able to navigate the menu system which was thankfully well set out and easy to understand. Level one! Never had such a base achievement given me so much joy and satisfaction.

The game is a set of platforms which you will need to traverse in order to find and scythe the little fluffy bunny’s in question. After dispatching these harmless rodents you make your way to a portal and on to the next level. Simple aye?

NO! Bugs ahoy! No I don’t mean the loony toon, Yet again the game is laden with jaggery slowdown and freeze ups. The jumps you need to attempt look daunting at some points and you are unsure if you will make it let alone if the game might die on you at any moment.

Thankfully the controls are well tuned and so you won’t find the game hard to play, as long as it does play that is.

The music and sound effects are atmospheric giving the game the macabre feel as do the graphics that give a simple dark feel. You can change the colors if you wish and adjust the amount of gore that the game features.

Overall Bunny Reaper is a visually effective and atmospheric game, the controls work and the menus and structures are laid out well making the game easy to understand and navigate. However there are the bugs and glitches. Bunny Reaper would be an alright game if they can sort out the tundra of problems washing through it.

Confused? A game that’s good but also bad? Yes, this is the problem with Bunny Reaper, I might have been unlucky and maybe this game will work well on your phone? The choice is yours end of the day and at its low price it might be worth the risk.

[Show as slideshow]

Smash-A-Foe is a simple game based on the ‘whack-a-mole’ fairground game. The game works on exactly the same principal. A ‘mole’ will raise its head out from one of five holes and you will have to tap the screen to instruct a mallet to crash down and wallop the ‘mole’ on the head.

But… there is one major difference between this game and the fairground game of old; you get to hit your friends, family and enemies!

How you ask? Well, the app allows you to take pictures of people (or use an existing photo) and then crop the pictures and add them to the game.  You can add them as a friend – in which case you do not hit them – or as a foe. If they are added as a foe then they become the ‘moles’ that you have to hit during the game.

The game is very basic but great fun as you are even able to add sound effects to each character. I added a group of my friends to the game and got them all to record the word ‘ouch’, which was then uploaded to their character. When they are hit they will yelp as their eyes turn to a dizzied animation.

This game is not an epic one and you won’t be playing on it for hours at a time, but that is not the point. The speed in which the characters pop out of the hole increases quite quickly. In this way the game becomes very challenging quite quickly. This is another bonus as you never get bored. The games last no more than two minutes (any more than this and you would be playing at super-human speeds) and provide a great challenge.

The only potential downside is the cost. 69p may be a little steep for a game that is limited in the way it is played. Some may find it to be good value as they crop their friends into it and have a go at bashing them but if you are looking for a game with longevity, this is not it.

However, the game does not pretend to be anything other than what it is; a simple but entertaining short game that is challenging and fun with a great novelty factor.

Verdict: 7/10 – The game is quite challenging with a great uniqueness as your friends become the characters. Great for playing in short bursts but will never be your favourite game. If it was free then it would be a ‘must have’ app, but the price may be off-putting for some.

[Show as slideshow]

Game: Destructopus: Total Rampage
Developer: GlitchSoft
Platform: iOS (Link to iTunes)
Price: Currently FREE (Previously 69p)

Destructopus is a delightfully named 2D action game where total annihilation is not only encouraged but key to game-play.

You are a cyclopean monster, similar to an octopus, with clawed tentacles that has gone on a rampage through a major city. The aim of the game is to completely destroy everything in your path as you storm through the street, running riot, leaving only destruction in your wake.

Think retro Metal Slug and you will soon have an idea of the game’s graphics and platform as the game progresses in a linear manner. The controls are all on-screen with a D-pad to move the monster backwards and forwards and a series of buttons on the opposite side for your attacks. There are three main types of attack; a low attack (a swipe of your giant claw), a high attack (using your giant jaw to bite buildings) and a special attack that involves shooting fire from your mouth or a laser from your eye.

These basic controls are all you need to wreak havoc through the city as you sweep and destroy buildings, cars, people and military tanks and helicopters. In time-honoured tradition the monster has a ‘health bar’ in the top corner and can be destroyed unless you try to avoid the military attacks. The only problem with this is the lack of movement that the monster has, you either have to duck air based missiles or let the lower ones hit you whilst you have to move out of the way of looping mortar-like missiles.

It is as simple as that… the game continues in exactly the same manner as you plod through level after level unleashing a limited range of attacks at familiar surroundings whilst trying (and often failing) to dodge the missile attacks as you continue. The difficulty of the game is well judged, and it is not as easy as you would think to go from level to level. However I feel that this is more a failing in the game to be able to provide adequate defences to military attacks. As your defence is limited, there is only so much you can do to avoid a missile and, eventually, they will catch up with you.

As much as I would like to tell you that I love this game and the mindless destruction that it involves; the game has a disappointing monotony to it. I cannot help but feel that a few more moves, a less linear approach or depth in the plot would enhance the game but, as it is, the whole game runs with a predictability that can soon get tiresome.

Points are given for being thorough with your destruction, ensuring that you completely obliterate everything the game asks you to whilst extra points can be gained by multi-skilling, combining attacks or juggling people before they splat to the ground with a red splash. With the points you gain you can buy more special attacks but, in keeping with the games uniformity, these attacks are not really any different to the attacks you already have.

In conclusion, the game promises so much but delivers very little as the monotony means that you will not glean any extended entertainment from this game. Whilst its novelty factor is amusing for a short while, the shelf life is short as the lack of attacks, familiarity of surroundings and absence of different challenges soon becomes tiresome.

Verdict: 3/10 – A great name and a great idea but poorly executed to give limited entertainment. The mindless destruction is fun for a while but soon gets boring as the game never changes pace.

[Show as slideshow]

Game: Star Hammer Tactics
Developer: Black Lab Games Production
Platform: iOS (Not yet released)
Price: Free

We all love a good RTS, taking hours out of our day to strategize and launch an attack on the enemy. To be then told to get off my arse and do something with myself. Well I say NO! Let me play my game!

This past week I’ve been playing Star Hammer Tactics which is a Black Lab Games production. Put simply its a turn by turn strategy game originally released for the Xbox Live Indie Games and PSN Minis.

This is a fast-paced strategy game where you control a fleet of ships trying to survive the attack of the Nautilids trying to attack the planet Novus. The iPad version is a recode of the original game but with HD graphics, a redesigned interface for touchscreen control. its commendable 15 levels incorporate various types of ship with various movement and attack capabilities.

I’ll set the scene. You have recently been promoted to command a Naval Strike Group, NSG-14. Your start your new career with a simple assignment. Destroy a small fleet of ‘Krill’ with a Corvette and a Fighter. Now I have completed all but one level and it is very engrossing but for the purpose of this review I will show you the first couple of levels and run you through the UI and gameplay features.

[Show as slideshow]

One thing I will say before I start, the graphics look intense. Not only are there HD background graphics as you can see in the adjacent images. But the attention to detail on asteroids and the ships is great. Definitely an A+ from me in regards to graphics.

When you first start your mission, you are presented with several hints to steadily get you into the gameplay. The UI itself is quite simple, your ships are on a grid; this grid can be navigated by hand (obviously, iPad duh). As you select each ship, you will see its movement range changes depending on the ship. Small fighters such as the F-36 ‘Hinter’ have a large movement range, where as ships such as the CSX-3 ‘Dragon’ have a low movement range and slow speed. Information on the ships are provided within the app.

As you take your turn, you’ll find that each ship has various actions which can be taken, one being ‘Missle’ which I soon found out shouldnt be used on its own (yes, I died).

Now I’m a recent owner of an iPad, I’ve used them for business before but never personally, so one thing I didn’t expect was 3D graphics! I know right! 3D. I moved my ship into place for combat and the perspective of the view changes, giving you a close up view of your fight, along with a hit by hit combat log for you to peruse.

As I finish off my review I’ve had the game for about 2 weeks, in that two weeks I’ve completed the game and rather enjoyed it. Black Lab Games did a great job with this title, it’s UI and graphic content is top-notch and if you’re looking for an easy to learn space themes tactical game then I would definitely recommend this

Game website: http://www.starhammer.com/

 Star Hammer Tactics to collide with the App Store on November 24

Acclaimed PSN^(R) Minis Space Strategy Sim Completely Revamped for iPad^(R) and Free to Install

Perth, Australia, 8 November 2011 – Black Lab Games have confirmed that a completely revamped and reconstructed version of their acclaimed PlayStation^(R) Network title Star Hammer Tactics will be released for the iPad on November 24, 2011.

Star Hammer Tactics for iPad will be free to install with four campaign missions and small skirmish battles available to play, free of charge. The remainingg 11 ccampaign missions and expanded skirmish mode options can be unlocked via a single in-app purchase of US$2.99.

Players take on the role of Lieutenant Fredan Dyce in a fight for survival against the mysterious alien Nautilid invaders. With control of a fleet of space ships, players must maneuver their forces to engage with the enemy and save their home planet, Novus.

The game brings a different approach to the turn-based genre with battles that are all about maneuvering your forces to engage in close combat and prioritizing each ship’s power between offense and defense. A limited supply of powerful, ranged missiles adds further strategic complexity to the mix.

“The touch controls and larger screen size make the iPad the perfect platform for Star Hammer Tactics” said Black Lab Game’s Paul Turbett. “I’m particularly excited to be making the game free to play so that everyone can enter the Star Hammer universe and take the fleet for a spin.”

GMO Busters is essentially; actually it’s exactly, an Angry Birds clone. The idea of the game is that you play as a series of tomatoes that are looking to destroy a crop of genetically modified vegetables. It is billed as BIOs vs GMOs and you have to aim at and hit a series of GMO vegetables by ‘slingshotting’ your vegetables at the GMOs and their obstacles.

From here on out the game plays in exactly the same way as Angry Birds would. For those who have spent the last two years under a rock, I shall explain. You use your finger to pull the slingshot back and fire your vegetable, breaking barriers and obstacles to hit your enemies. You get points for each object you hit and stars are awarded at the end of the level based on how economical you have been with shots fired.

The resemblance between the games is uncanny at times as level after level passes with a sense of déjà-vu. As with Angry Birds, the game is great fun and highly addictive and gets very competitive. GMO Busters seems to have the difficulty level well judged as the levels get progressively harder. In fact, some of the levels have such a difficulty level that I became determined to beat the game, which resulted in a longer game time.

However, there are negatives that cannot be ignored. The touch sensitivity of the game is a little ‘off’. Perhaps it is too sensitive but the issue I find is that when you go to move the view to look at a different part of the level, a vegetable will fire against your will, often in the wrong direction too! It actually gets very frustrating as every time you go to move the screen you inadvertently lose one of your vegetables as it shoots off at a ridiculous angle.

When the game goes right it can be great fun and the above problem is easily solved by pressing the restart button on the level but if you wanted my honest opinion of the game then this is it… Buy Angry Birds instead.

For those that have completed Angry Birds and are hungry for more, this could fill in as an able alternative (you could even think of it as an ‘Angry Bird patch’ to help with the craving for more Angry Birds). But, as the games are so similar, I cannot help comparing them side by side – and as I compare them one thing becomes obvious; Angry Birds is better.

GMO Busters is a good little game, perfectly entertaining and simple to get the hang of and, without Angry Birds, the game would probably be held in a higher esteem. But as it is trying to compete to an already established brand GMO Busters was always going to finish in second place.

Verdict: 6/10 – A fun little game that is great to play but the frustrating sensitivity and cloning of a classic iOS game do not go in the games favour. For fans of Angry Birds it is probably worth the download but if you have never played either game, go for Angry Birds instead.

[Show as slideshow]

Let me make this simple for everyone. My Town 2 by Booya studios is a game that will appeal to one type of gamer. The Builder. If you owned a copy of Sim City and played it till the disk was a molten sludge of glistening plastic, clearly you needed to get out more! However this game will be ‘kind of’ up your street. Kind of being the operative phrase.

The idea is a simple tried and tested formula. You build a town providing shops and housing, street lights and such. However here is where this game differs from your standard build format. There is no pressure. Normally with your typical build game you have invading armies or taxes, natural disasters, over-population housing issues and all manner of issues to keep you on your toes by simply building. With My Town 2 you have none of that. See where the kind of comes in now. You will either love its laid back approach and simply enjoy building a town or, you are going to get bored as there is no aspect of diversity other then earning cash and building.

If you are like me, you’ll love this game! It’s the kind of game the iPhone does best. The game operates on a real time basis. So if you build a house or take a job to earn more cash and experience you are given a set of options, work for thirty minutes, two hours or ten hours.  All in real time. So you can set the town on autopilot, go about your day-to-day business, come back a few hours later, collect your rent and wages, build some more jazz and do it all over! It is the perfect game for people who have real lives and not hours of game time to spare.

Now don’t think because it lacks any sense of urgency you won’t have plenty to occupy you. There is a multitude of structures to build with new ones becoming available as you gain experience. Some are pretty cheap, others vastly more expensive that make you want to save till you can buy that skate park or Town house. The game is free but if you’d like more cash quickly you can buy it for a reasonable price, it all depends on how patient you are. Personally I found the game quickly begins to reward you so I didn’t feel the urge to part with real cash to buy myself a fire station or space station.

The game also uses a check in system and location options. So the buildings you can chose in the game are actual businesses right down the road from you. You can check into these locations to earn special bonuses like speed boosts and extra cash. Also you have new challenges ranging from simply planting 5 types of tree to checking into 5 restaurants in one day. Either way there is plenty to do and achieve in this game.

The graphics are colourful and well displayed with smooth running animations. Impressively there is little slow down even when the town becomes vast and there is a lot of movement going on. Sure it is a little jumpy on the load up but it’s no big deal. On occasion you might struggle to tap on certain buildings or objects that might have become lost behind your other more impressive structures. Luckily you can zoom in and out with ease making this only a minor fault. The music is fitting with the game as are the sharp sound effects.

All in all this game will offer plenty for the casual gamer and more hardcore. It could do with maybe a touch more urgency to the gameplay, maybe add some interaction between the townsfolk and yourself. Other than that it’s a top notch game for the free price tag.

Astroslugs is a unique and simple puzzle game whereby you have to fit small shapes into a larger area, completing the puzzle when all of the smaller shapes have been slotted in. The premise is that you are an Astroslug, working your way across different planets in search of a fuel source. By completing each puzzle you are given said source and move onwards to more difficult puzzle planets.

Simply use your finger to draw the shapes into the puzzle, overlapping shapes where necessary to get them to fit snugly. There is even a ‘hint’ button that allows you to cheat when you are completely stuck as the game gives you the locations of the first few shapes to make it easier if you are struggling.

The game is a great brain workout; some of the harder puzzles on each planet (or level) provide a real challenge in what is a great addition to the puzzle genre. If you get too stuck on the harder puzzles then the ‘hint’ function is perfectly judged, giving you help without completely spoiling the challenge of each puzzle.

Astroslugs is unlike any other puzzle game I have played on the iOS platform so far insomuch as it seems to have found a fresh angle on what is essentially a simple puzzle solving exercise. The graphics are fine and each puzzle is hard enough to keep interest.

If I had to find a downside to the game then it would most certainly be the ‘clear’ function if you want to restart the puzzle you are on. Currently you are supposed to clear or delete your puzzle progress by swiping your whole hand across your iPhone to remove the shapes from the puzzle. The problem is this function rarely works. I find that I have to swipe my hand across the puzzle five or six times before the puzzle resets.

But this is being harsh as the game itself is great fun to play and just difficult enough to hold attention without frustration and the frustration of the reset function is very minimal. A great little game that is certain to keep you entertained!

Verdict: 8/10 – This game just misses out on top marks due to the one dimensional nature of the game. But those who enjoy the puzzle genre would generally agree that puzzle games are one dimensional in nature. Therefore, the game is great, well worth the price and certainly an entertaining and challenging addition to your iPhone.

[Show as slideshow]

Zombie Life is almost self-explanatory – you are in control of a zombie and you have to live his life – taking him to work, buying him clothes, furnishing his house and keeping him happy – all without getting detected by the other members of your community.

There are helpful quests that help you to get a hang of the game. Your first few quests are quite basic. The game makes you purchase deodorant, which is needed to help mask your zombie smell so that you can remain undetected. The game also helps you to get a job and earn your first bit of money and purchase items such as burgers and basic clothing, which makes your zombie happier.

Once you have completed the first few quests the game becomes less rigid, although the quests do continue if you want to follow them. Obviously, for a lot of the tasks and more entertaining points of the game you will need gold or diamond crystals. The gold can be gained by working your job and it increases as you get promoted. The diamonds are sometimes given for completing quests and are sometimes found whilst you do your work. The diamonds are used to purchase the more niche items throughout the game but are not integral.

If you get detected by the public then you will be unable to work for five minutes. You are usually detected in one of two ways – either you forget to keep your zombie fresh or you go and bite one of them, the latter is obviously much less conspicuous! You lose happiness if you are detected but gain 10 ‘gold’ for every person you scare, so there are pros and cons to being detected. Once the timer is up you can go and work again.

Your work depends on your energy; you can only work if you have the energy to do so. The energy gauge is located at the top of the screen and starts at 10, increasing as you gain more experience and increase in levels on the game. The more energy you have, the longer you can work and the more money you therefore earn.

The game is simple to understand and easy to play but perhaps this is the problem. It is slightly too easy, bordering in monotonous as you work and work to be able to afford items such as clothing. Once you have bought them you run out of money and you have to work (again!) to get more money and so the cycle continues.

In this way, the game has a limited shelf life as boredom could ensue from the sheer amount of working you have to do. The game could be easily improved by more varied work. For example, I started as a janitor, tapping on puddles on the screen and watching as the zombie shuffled over to clean them. After a while I changed jobs to become a nurse thinking that this may provide a change of scenery in the game. It was a shame to find that instead of tapping on puddles I had to tap on needles and watch as the zombie shuffled his way around a different room doing essentially the same task.

I am also yet to find out if the game has a conclusion or a change of pace. The problem is, I have been playing for a whole week and no change has come. There is a train station in the game that I assume takes you somewhere but despite a week of playing I am still not advanced enough in the game to find out where the train goes. Boredom is a far greater emotion than curiosity in this case as I find I am more likely to leave the game rather than continuing to play in a bid to find the next level.

For a development company that made such a good game in Zombie Farm I was hoping that there would be more of a spark. I must admit I did enjoy the game for the first two or three days as I lived my zombie’s life but it is a shame that a week later I am still doing the same thing; the game has no progression (or at least no QUICK progression) unless you are willing to pay for it.

In the same way that Zombie Farm has an option to purchase gold, so does Zombie Life. You can purchase gold or diamonds for as little as 69p and this may progress the game faster. But in my experience, most do not pay and therefore the slow pace of the game may lose customers.

In conclusion, the game is limited. It will provide great entertainment for a day or two but may get a little tedious beyond this. Game play is drawn out as you have to wait for your zombie to regain energy before you can carry out tasks again, meaning that for every 15 minutes of game play you probably have to wait 2 hours for your zombie to recharge. Whilst this was a plus for Zombie Farm as the game held interest, the same cannot be said for Zombie Life.

Verdict: 5/10 – The game is free and as such is good value if you are looking for a game to play for one day only – a day such as Halloween – as this ghoulish game is fun at first. However the prolonged monotony means that the game is too limited to be enjoyed over a longer period.

Farmville with a zombie twist; Zombie Farm allows you to purchase and grow crops in a bid to enlarge your farm. The sale of crops gains you gold and the more gold you have, the better as you can buy items or crops in the market that can then be used to gain even more gold. You gain experience points for everything that you do in a bid to move up through the game’s levels.

Oh, and the twist – you can also grow zombies! Once you have amassed a sufficient zombie army you can attack the enemy farm of Ol’ McDonnell, the Count’s mansion (a special Halloween feature) or the circus. As you defeat your enemy you gain gold that can be spent on your farm and items.

Occasionally you will even get lucky and gain a brain. Brains can be spent on more specialist or rare items that may boost your farm. As more levels are unlocked, you can fight a wider range of enemy and your market gets larger, allowing you to purchase different products for your farm.

Zombie Farm is easy to play and addictive from the start. You are given a small square of ploughed land and the tutorial gives you all you need to know about zombie farming. You are then free to start planting. Once you have grown eight or more zombies you are able to attack Ol’ McDonnell’s farm but whilst you wait there is a vast array of crops to grow as you gain more money.

However it is a lengthy game with no real end and needs to be played over days. This is because your zombies are not always hungry and will therefore not always be ready to invade other armies (there is a timer on the invade button that further limits your ability to invade). As with real farms, crops (and zombies) take time to grow! Once you have planted them you may have to wait for up to 24 hours until they are ready.

In this sense the game can be a little frustrating as you often have to wait before continuing to play. If you have just had a really good battle or are excited about the plans you have for expanding your farm (as I did – geeky I know) you may have to wait for hours or even a whole day before you can see your plans come to fruition.

It is also worth noting that those who judge a game based on its iTunes review may be sad to hear that the game asks you to make a five star rating in return for more gold to be spent on your farm, so reviews may not be as accurate as they seem.

But Zombie Farm is the flagship title by The Playforge (who also make Zombie Life, also reviewed) and it is not hard to see why they put so much faith in the title. I wake up in the morning and can’t wait to see how my farm is getting on, and perhaps get in a sneaky invade attack on my enemies before breakfast. I take great pride in how my farm now looks, complete with a pond and a scarecrow! It took time though, almost a week of constant playing to get my farm to level 12. It can be done much quicker of course, but you will have to pay for it. You can purchase extra gold and brains in the market for as little as 69p or as much as £27.99 that will allow you to purchase items and boosters that will see you fly through levels quicker (some boosters even allow you to skip the waiting time on invading or crop harvesting for extra speed). But cheapskates like me may want to play the game at a slower pace.

All in all the game is great, looks good graphically and can become very addictive. It gives a nice Halloween theme to my iPhone and the planning that is involved ensures that this is a game that you will keep coming back to time and time again.

Verdict: 9/10 – For a free game it is great and well worth playing! The game will hook you in from the start and as you plan and prepare your farm and zombies it will not be long before you find that you have a new favourite game!