Game Review
2009-06-19
by Darknut
iPhone Game Reviews 1
In the order in which I played them...
Enigmo
by Pangea
$1 (on sale)
Verdict: 
A very polished puzzle game that's easy to comprehend yet still makes you think.
I don't have much to say because it's pretty self-explanatory once you're looking at it. It's the "realistic" physics that make this fun.
Nanosaur 2
by Pangea
$1 (on sale)
Verdict: A simple yet challenging 3D action game.
This game is sincerely difficult. You never stop flying forward, yet you must avoid crashing. It's hard to aim some of your weapons at rapidly moving targets. Whether or not these aspects should be considered shortcomings is debateable because ultimately the difficulty of the game is fair. In short, you have to be willing to play this game for a while in order to get good at it. It is similar to Nanosaur 1 in this respect. Fortunately the world is large enough that you will want to keep playing just to explore.
There is no doubt that this game is highly polished. The introductory monologue is so dramatic that it's funny.
Otto-Matic
by Pangea
$1 (on sale)
Verdict: Worthwhile if you like console-style light-hearted 3rd-person platform jumpers.
This is a fairly detailed 3D game as you might expect to see on the PlayStation.
I don't like the control scheme, but only because the "virtual gamepad" on the iPhone screen offers no tactile feedback; it's easy for your fingers to get "lost" in the thick of battle. This problem would go away if I just spent more time playing.
The camera behavior annoys me, but it's no worse than in any console game, so most people won't notice.
Wolf3D
by id
shareware $3
Verdict: 
It's free, and it's a classic. But if you haven't played Wolf3D before, then you may be unimpressed. And yet veterans will find the controls a little awkward.
I don't like the control scheme, but only because the "virtual gamepad" on the iPhone screen offers no tactile feedback; it's easy for your fingers to get "lost" in the thick of battle. This problem would go away if I just spent more time playing.
Wolf3D on iPhone feels just dated and awkward enough for me to ignore it. I'm looking forward to Doom being a little more worthwhile.
Zombieville USA
by MikaMobile
shareware $2
Verdict: This game is so mindless, it may turn you into a zombie. Feels like any number of Flash games.
This game is too monotonous for me, although I did play it more than once, which says a lot. I can easily see others liking it more than I do since the atmosphere is fun and the animation is pretty good. It wouldn't hurt to play the free demo for a minute and find out where you stand.
Rogue
by Gandeas Software
free (open source)
Verdict: Fun, but only if you're nerd enough to memorize a couple dozen commands for a game that has almost no graphics.
You can draw letters on the touchscreen to issue commands.
Chopper
by Majic Jungle Software
shareware $3
Verdict: Too easy.
This is a clone of Choplifter. However, it feels too dumbed-down for anyone who would know that. The early levels are unbearably simple. I think it would be about right for an 8-year-old. (Does your 8-year-old have an iPhone?)
Shift
by Antony Lavelle
shareware $1
Verdict: A cool little puzzle game that's easy to get into, and just challenging enough to keep your interest.
The premise is simple enough: A 2D platform jumper where you just have to get your guy to the exit door, one screen at a time. The zinger is that you can shift the screen so as to invert positive and negative spaces as well as flip upside-down. This means you might jump down into a pit in rightside-up-land, then shift and find yourself standing on top of a column in upside-down-land. You continue to shift as you find your way around each screen to the exit.
The introduction to new elements per level is well done so as to keep your interest. There are a few levels with a time limit, and there is a little bit of coordination required for jumping, but mostly this is a puzzle game.
This game has an intriguing atmosphere. The entire experience is stark black & white, which fits well with the positive versus negative space gameplay mechanic. The music is "slinky" and reminds me of the Pink Panther theme, which makes me imagine I'm on the rooftops of a big city. Although this game looks like it was probably made by one person, those limited resources were managed well so that it still feels polished enough.
SkillFly
by elsalvadorguia.com
shareware $1
Verdict: Amateur and uninspired.
You fly a jet airplane that moves forward in a perfectly straight line no matter what; there's no life to it. Next, you're flying through a series of rooms (I guess it's a miniature airplane?) that look like they came out of a game from 1995. Next, you have to steer this thing around corners without really being able to see where you're going. Ultimately this game is a first-person maze explorer, but with bad controls since, as an airplane, you are always moving forward. How many dead ends do I have to run into (literally) before I find the exit? Are we having fun yet?
Paper Toss
by Backflip Studios
free
Verdict: Totally worth a free download. Your friends will play it even if you don't.
There's something funny about playing a game where you throw paper wads into the cubicle wastebasket, especially if you're playing it while you could be doing the same thing in real life. This irony just makes goofing off at work that much sweeter.
This is a very simple game, but it's very polished and slightly addictive. The graphics and sounds are so appealing that it's easy to take them for granted.
Toobz
by Off Center Software
shareware $1
Verdict: Amateurish.
This is a clone of Pipe Dream, but it's not quite as good. It isn't polished enough to deserve money. No sound at all.
It really looks like somebody's homework assignment ended up on the App Store.
