by Matt Dunn

This is a great start to a polished “Bop It” kind of game for the iPhone. It also has the lamest “screenshots” on the App Store, but hey, you can’t win everything, right?

We need more actions!

Unlike Tap n Slide, which is the first Bop It game we reviewed, React actually looks like time was spent in production. The menus are incredibly cool and slick, and more importantly, the gameplay follows suit.Now by “gameplay”, I mean repeating 4 different actions over and over in random order. While this won’t entertain for very long, it’s a fun short little game, and works well at parties to challenge your friends/family. It’s not really full game experience, but it wasn’t necessarily intended to be one. It’s a fun quick little experience, and it’s done well.

My only complaint (which was the same for Tap n Slide) is the the fact that there are only 4 tasks to do. I can think of several more just off the top of my head. It would be great if as you progressed through the game, more tasks were unlocked. Not only would this add to the variety of the game, but it would add much more replay value, as you would be playing to unlock new things. Something to think about.

Hmmm. Im sold.

Presentation and Graphics:

VERY slick menu interface. Main game also looks quite good. The over all style of the game is just cool!

Sound:

On par with the graphics. Very high quality.

Gameplay:

Fun, but limited to only 4 actions. Definitely challenging, and great to challenge friends!

Gamelife:

Definitely a “once in a while” kind of applications after the first few plays. Would really have liked to see an online leaderboard for this kind of game, but it does have a local leaderboard. Nothing to unlock as you progress.
Game Rating

React is a fun little game for quick moments when you have a couple minutes to kill. Although it doesn’t offer many features, or reasons to keep coming back, it offers a very polished experience, and with updates, could become a much greater game experience. For just 99 cents, it’s certainly worth it!

According to my good friends at Kotaku, a patch for PuzzleQuest is on the way. They have spoken to Trans Gaming about the issue of character’s being deleted and it is being taken care of in this update. If you lost a character than worry no more because they are in the system and they will be brought back once 1.1 goes live. It has been submitted to apple so in the next few days we should see the update show up. I’m also going to hold off on the review of the game until the update is released, as it is claimed to have graphical fixes as well, so as soon as the update goes live, look for the iPGN review!

by Matt Dunn

Wow. Not often does a developer take such a simple game concept, and polish it to a shiney bacon-grease sheen! Enter Zoneout, the best JezzBall-look-a-like on the App Store. Ok, that doesn’t do it justice. Just read the review! (Bacon not included.)

I don’t what genre of game Zoneout is. I suppose, it’s the cut-out-sections-of-a-level genre? In Zoneout, you play as a space fighter, and must cut out a certain percentage of each level, with the laser line that follows your ship, to advance to the next one. It’s a very simple idea, that developer Neon Surge has taken to the extreme. The game features great graphics and occasional particle effects, as well as awesome sound and music. There are plenty of different enemy ships to defeat, and some great power-ups to do the job! Aside from tons of levels and an online leaderboard, the game also features some tough achievements to beat. To put the icing on the cake, Zoneout offeres both tilt and touch controls, with full calibration of the accelerometer. This game is the definition of well-rounded.

Presentation and Graphics:

As good as gets for sprite graphics. Great particle effects.

Sound:

Excellent!

Gameplay:

Very easy to control, and a lot of fun to play! You get extra lives regularly, so the game isn’t frustrating. Power ups are a lot of fun, and the many different enemies add great challenge and strategy to the game.

Gamelife:

Tons of levels, online leaderboards, and achievements. I would have been satisfied with just the tons of levels. Only thing I can possibly imagine being added would be some sort of multiplayer function, but that would just be crazy!

Game Rating

There is nothing wrong with this game that I can think of. This is exactly how remakes of classic games should be. Zoneout takes a simple game concept, and absolutely nails the delivery in every way. $2.99 is a very fair price for a game like this. Keep in mind, that I’m giving this game 5 stars because it’s the best I’ve ever seen for this genre. If you don’t like this genre of game, then feel free to pass. But if you’re down with extremely polished casual arcade gaming that tips a shiny hat to JezzBall, pick this up!

by Matt Dunn

Mouse House is an adorable little “collect-to-advance” puzzler that plays well, and isn’t generally too tough as a lot of other games like it are.

You’re a mouse, collecting cheese in a house. Pretty straight forward plot, that resembles a Dr. Seuss rhyme… Luckily it makes up for itself with solid gameplay and cute graphics and sound. It’s a standard puzzle game, that has you collecting all the cheese on a level to open the exit door. There a few various enemies, floors that disappear, little red balls to push… and a fun little hot pepper power-up that lets you breath a fireball. Yes, that last one seems odd, but it works nicely. All in all, this is a fun little game that will keep you occupied for some time. There aren’t any extra features to keep you coming back, but it’s a cute and casual experience at a great price.

Presentation and Graphics:

Simple, but with good animation and (rare) effects.

Sound:

Once again, very simple and rare sound, but the mousy effects are so cute!

Gameplay:

Easy to control, challenging levels that aren’t too challenging. Gameplay over all is very relaxed and enjoyable.

Gamelife:

No reply value, or ability to select specific levels, but it’s a fun once through experience. No scoring or times either.

Game Rating

A simple and fun little collection puzzler. It will keep you occupied for a solid amount of time, is easy to pick up and play for short periods of time. As of this review, it’s currently on sale for mere 99 cents. Go give it a look!

We’re back! In this landmark 10th podcast we discuss what we’ve been playing over the holidays. We talk Silent Hill, EDGE and Puzzle Quest… and more. In our topic we discuss the future of the iPhone as a games machine and gaze into our crystal ball for what we think will be the big suprises of 2009.

Click here to visit our podcast page on iTunes to download it, or here to subscribe directly. You can also right-click and select ’save file as’ here to download directly to your desktop. Please leave a review for us on iTunes, or post feedback here on this site!

The iPhone is no stranger to puzzle games, in fact it’s pretty much the go-to device for any puzzle fans. Of course, amongst all these puzzlers there are hundreds if not thousands of un-original, un-inspired, or simply dull games. And, likewise, there are gems, like the recently released EDGE which all of us at iPGN HQ are gushing over! Needless to say we get many puzzlers sent to us for review, and today is no different. In amongst that pile, a cute little puzzler called ‘Chuck the ball’ by Makeshift Games peaked my interest. It might be the cute graphics or the Chu Chu Rocket style gameplay, or simply that I’m in a good mood ;). Anyway, read on for a video of the game in action. The game is coming soon for $2.99, but it’s best to wait for our ‘expert’ opinion when we get round to getting our hands on the game.

By Ricky Gallo

Side-scrolling shooter fans rejoice! A new game of your genre has made its way to the App Store – Radio Flare. Does it rank among the (in my opinion) enjoyable titles Space Deadbeef and Platypus? Or does it fall into that category of overpriced poorly crafted games that some of us know all to well? Read on.

The first thing that I noticed was the graphics in the main menu. They are a very interesting blend of retro and futuristic, for each was composed of polygonal designs.  However, the cartoony look of the game itself proves to be very typical of iPhone/iPod touch games. I personally believe that this design has been overdone, and Studio Radiolaris, the developers of Radio Flare, should think elsewhere. They could have easily worked more with their original title screen graphics, but they decided to change for the gameplay.

Speaking of the gameplay, in my opinion, it is rather short and, definitely not addictive. Constant wave after wave of enemies, and there are no power-ups to break up the monotonous style. Boring! Platypus is loaded with weapon enhancements, and Space Deadbeef has two weapons to choose from (not to mention its free). Did I mention that there are no projectiles or explosions in this? For too long, I wondered exactly what was going on. As time went by, the gameplay became more tolerable. I began to get a feel for the controls (which are rather innovative, as you drag your finger in order to select your targets). The tedious task of collecting these floating particles to champion a stage began to bore me after a while. Where’s the variety? This is a $5 game, competing with some real gems. Although I do not expect every game to be as great as, say Snail Mail (a $2 game), would it be too much to ask for some higher quality. Sure, $5 dollars is a steal for a videogame of any standard, but there is some fierce competition in iTunes. Sorry if this is beginning to sound like a rant.

Anyway, one feature that I think is surprisingly strong in this game is the sound. It proclaims itself to be a musical shooter, and, I must say it outdoes itself there. The music is much better than many other App Store games, and fits the genre perfectly. The explosions of enemy ships are perfectly on beat with the rhythm, another clever feature. It seems as if there could be some real potential in this game, but after designing the sound, the developers seem to quit. It is weird to say this, but it is the pulsating soundtrack, not the gameplay, that actually draws me back to the game.

Look, I know I said a lot of bad things about this game. Maybe my expectations were too high. When I first heard about it, I began to anticipate a shooter in sync with Platypus. However, it has a very different style than Platypus (to say the least). I feel Radio Flare is very tedious, and too just short. Once you get passed the slow nature, it seems as if you crave even more of the fun controls. But as soon as this happens, the game is over. Achievements only help so much, and do not provide that much more replayability. For $5, I do not feel that Radio Flare is one of the better buys in the App Store. But for those of you who love sidescrolling shooters, yet want to try something new, and are craving good in-game music (not from your iPod), take the plunge. Just use your $5 on Platypus first.

Presentation and Graphics:  

Although, not an eyesore, the developer could have done much more with the visuals, as some devs on the App Store have already shown us.

Sound: 

The music is great, but I feel as if music shouldn’t be a standout quality of a videogame. Also, the explosions of the ships began to wear on me over time. Also, sound really isn’t that important on an iPod touch/iPhone because you can always listen to your iPod music. Anyway, I will be generous and give the rating entirely based on the good music.

Gameplay 

Boring! A rubix cube is more exciting than this. The gameplay is incredibly repetitive. Not worth your treasured $5.

Gamelife

 
Trust me, unless this is the only game on your iPhone, you will not be coming back for more. I tired out of it after about 5 minutes, but forced myself to go on because I had to write a review. Let’s see if you can beat me.

Game Rating

 
Like I said earlier, don’t get this game unless it’s really your thing. There’s not much to be missed if you don’t… just put that $5 towards something else. Buy Now

Review by Nacho

Finally a Marble Maze type game that doesn’t suck, EDGE, is in the App Store now.

Edge won the Milthon award for Best Mobile Game of 2008 at the Festival du Jeu Video, Paris and is nominated for the Excellence in Gameplay award at the International Mobile Gaming Award competition. It’s clear in your first few moments of EDGE that these accolades are well deserved.

Come with me as we journey to the EDGE, and back.

EDGE is a 3D isometric platformer. To play you navigate you cube along the path and try to get to the end. You can choose between a virtual stick control or tilt. As you progress the game incrementally teaches you new skills like hanging. If you run through the game all at once and not worry about score there is probably about 2-4 hours of gameplay.

The touch controls feel good. Playing with tilt is fun, but impractical. The default control option is used by moving your finger in the direction you want to go, and holding it. Like using your thumb to move an analog stick. The difference is to change direction you don’t need to return to center, you just slide your finger in the direction you want to go. It’s like a blend of an analog stick and gesture controls, and it’s brilliant.

Although the overall gameplay is short this game has incredible re-playability. Re-playing the level in many ways is more fun then when you go through it the first time. There are many hidden places and challenges in each level that add depth. There is also a lot of skill required to discover some of these areas so you may find some places that are unreachable until you play through the game a second time.

The level of polish in this game is also amazing. I love just moving my cube around and “feeling” it move, hearing it hit the tiles. The colors and style are fresh and beautiful. The soundtrack is excellent. Even without headphones you easily get lost in the experience. The menus are quick and clean so getting around in the game is perfectly unencumbered. Even the tutorials are built into the game in a way that does not impede your gaming experience.

While playing EDGE I felt the same way I did playing the original Mario Bros. or Marble Madness. It’s immersive and fun. I find myself enjoying EDGE even more than some longer titles like Rolando. Bottom line, this game is awesome. It is worth the $5.99 price. In case your still not convinced, check out the video below:

Presentation and Graphics:

Excellent all around. I would have liked to see a little more diversity in level color. As it is it seems to be the light gray, dark gray, or ultra light gray themes.

Sound:

Interesting and thematically correct sound. With or without headphones you can get lost in the sound.

Gameplay:

Perfect! Fun and challenging. Everything works like it should.

Gamelife:

The one complaint I have about this game is how long it is. There is enough to make the game worth the price, but I would like to see more levels.

Game Rating

Don’t miss EDGE! The key elements for fun are all there. Per minute spent I have had more fun with EDGE than any other iPhone Game. My only real complaint about this game is that it needs more levels, but even at it’s current compliment it’s absolutely worth the price. Are you listening mobigame? Moar lvls plz!

Game Play Video:

Alrighty, contest is over! If you missed another chance to win a free game, don’t fee too bad. There are more contests on the way. Be sure to check back here often. The winning number was…

734

Why did I choose such a number? iDunno.

That means our two winners are:

- firteen888
- Dennis
- Dom Feeney (lucky, because first comment is the only one I’m counting!)

For future reference, I think I’m gonna enstate a 3-month waiting period for those who have won previous contests, just to make it fair. Also, I’m gonna start waiting to get the codes from the devs, as apparently American codes don’t work on the UK app store, which sucks. If anyone has trouble just reply to your email and I’ll try to get a UK version for ya.

Your guys codes will be in the (e)mail, congrats!

Here are some new, ‘exclusive’, screens of Payback running on the iPhone. As previously mentioned the game is out later this month. Stay tuned for a hands-on and review shortly after release. Read on for screens…