1st Impressions

Before reviewing this game I have a couple of confessions to make. First, while it has been a while since I communicated with them or even spent any time with their games, I do have a long relationship with the developer, LDW. Several years ago I was heavily involved in beta testing and then reviewing some of their mobile applications and I have to tell you that I have never been associated with a nicer developer than Arthur Humphrey and his wife Carla.

Secondly, I have never really been a huge fan of spending hours and hours on a mobile device or my laptop just to maintain an imaginary farm on Facebook or a family in my iPhone. When I read on my iPhone’s facebook app (you can block the messages on the PC version) that a friend has grown some pretend crop on their imaginary Farm in Farmville, the thought crosses my mind that these folks need to get a REAL life.

The problem (call it an epiphany if you want) is that, after spending some time with my Virtual Family (I named them after members of my own family and my mother in law would be so proud that her daughter married a rocket scientist… LOL) I can really start to see the appeal of constantly checking in on your family to check their status and make sure that they are all right.

So…. On with the review. Virtual families is an iPhone version of the same game that is available for other mobile platforms as well as for the PC. In it, you adopt a family (one member at a time) and and assist them in their lives as it takes place in real time. By that I mean that the time in the game progresses at the same pace as it does in real time (I wonder if they lost an hour sleep due to DST last night like I did… LOL) and so they sleep when you do and are up and awake during the day just like you are.

Based on the same game engine that is used for the Virtual Villagers games, Virtual Families offers a bird’s eye view of the members of your virtual family as well as the house and surrounding yard. You can control the members of your family directly (a simple action by simply tapping on them and moving them from one room to another…) of indirectly my helping to form their personality and character. This is done by using a set of gloves, one used for scolding behavior and the other for praising their behavior. You have to be careful in how often you use them however because using either one too often will annoy them and may cause them to become rebellious.

While some players of this game might think that this is a scaled down version of one of the Sims games, I would have to disagree. The Sims games, specifically Sim3 for the iPhone, not only costs 3 times as much but seems more designed about running around and partying with other players, whereas this one is based on raising a family and then handing the reins over to the next generation to watch them continue maturing and growing up as well. As a matter of fact the game offers a Family Tree screen where you can track the generations of family members that you have assisted in their growth and lives. It will leave you feeling like proud parents or grandparents.

There is much more to this game than I have discussed and I feel that I have only scratched the service. In an effort to keep this mobile review from being 12 pages long, however, I will refer you to the games support page where, among other things, you can find a 30 page game guide containing hints and tips from the developer.

The only suggestion I have for the developer might be to offer an option to allow for larger font size in the menu options as well as the pop up messages. My 48 year old eyes find it hard to read them at times on the small iPhone screen.

If you would like to check it out before purchasing it, there is a free Lite version available in the iTunes store and you can also check out a video on YouTube. I wouldn’t waste your time, however. For only $1.99 you can have generations worth of fun.

Every once in a while there are games that I run across in the iTunes store that I just have to review – even if I have to, due in many cases to a lack of patience , purchase it myself instead of waiting on a developer to marketing company to provide me with a promo code.

Such is the case when it came to TileStorm.  Due to other puzzle games that I have recently reviewed, the Genius feature on my iPhone recommended  TileStorm and I am glad it did.

With over a hundred levels, TileStorm by Andrew Cakebread (it is amazing that a game of this quality was released by an individual instead of one of the top iPhone developers…) is at its heart a sliding tile type puzzle game with a twist.  You see, as you progress in the game, you encounter not only the need to reuse some of the tiles but encounter tiles with special properties such as them being stuck to another tile (requiring you to remove two at a time) or other special features such as jumping from one tile to another.   If I could make one suggestion on the game it would be the ability to pan, zoom, and rotate the puzzles so that you could get a better perspective on them.

The 3D graphics are really amazing to the point that it makes it into my “eye candy” game category.  You have to complete all the games in one of the four worlds before you can advance to the next.  While the graphics in the first level were kinda basic, the screenshots I have seen of the three worlds are absolutely amazing.  Here are a list of some of the game’s other features:

- 100 challenging maps of generally increasing difficulty..
- 4 beautiful themes including Industrial, Egypt, Medieval and Jungle
- 5 great tunes – classic game tracks for each theme and the menus
- Intuitive and responsive controls
- Fast fully 3D graphics engine; TileStorm looks great on any iPod or iPhone, but runs fantastically well on a 3gs
- Extremely fast launch time
- Automatic game save on exit
- Full player statistics stored under options menu including combined paying time and number of screen presses
- Individual level times stored.. go back any time and try to beat your fastest time
- Factory reset option available
- Automatic ’screen flip’ for inverted use
- Fully functional audio mute; listen to your own music whilst playing TileStorm
- TileStorm can be downloaded straight to your phone over a 3G or Edge connection

If you would like to see a video of the game in action, showcasing levels from all four of the worlds,  check it out here.  Afterwards I am sure that you, like me, will rush over to the iTunes store and purchase it for yourself.  For $1.99 you will receive hours and hours of puzzle solving pleasure. One of the best features of the game is that, if you get stuck, the developer promises to help you get past that level so that you can progress in the game.  This is the first puzzle game that I have played that has come with that kinda offer.  So many times in the past I have gotten stuck for hours on a certain puzzle and ended up just putting the game down, thereby wasting the rest of the levels.

Last night I was watching a Nighteline special in which they were filming hybrid animals. They had thus absolutely huge (and beautiful) liger (a cross between a tiger and a lion) as well several other species.  It was while watching that segment that it dawned on me that The Wars by Deluxware is exactly that – a hybrid between a tower defense game and a strategic game like Civilization because you have to balance your strategy between fighting against your opponent and upgrading your civilization through 6 different periods of time. The advantage is that each of them have their own unique weapons and other game elements and so upgrading from one era to the next.( You gradually make your way from the cave man era all the way into the nuclear age. )

For example, the game starts out in the cave man era and you begin my pitting your cave man against your opponent. You can gradually upgrade your cave man and even get wooly mammoths to ride, making you even more stronger. Before realizing the second component to the game I spent all my recourses on upgrading my cave men until I had several wooly mammoths and were killing my opponents as soon as they stepped out their door.

Imagine my surprise when my opponent’s cave turned into a castle and the cave men were replaced with knights in armor and carrying swords.  Before I knew what was going on they had killed all my men, my mammoths, and were destroying my base before I knew what was happening.

One of the interesting things about the game is the “secret weapon” that is available periodically.  Imagine my surprise when I tapped on it in the cave man era and say a cave man in a rudimentary wooden helicopter fly over and drop rocks on everybody.  In other levels the secret weapon might be a bomber or even a UFO.

The Wars is available in the iTunes store for the very reasonable price of $0.99 and worth every dollar.

The unfortunate fact is that, when anyone in Hollywood wants to release a sequel to summer blockbuster, they know that the sequel has to much better than the original (more explosions, gore, or special effects depending on the type movie) in order for the fans of the original to perceive it as even being “as good” much less “better than” the prequel.

Astraware has released Tradewinds 2 for the iPhone and I would like to take a moment and look at it both as a stand-alone game as well as comparing it to the original.

Traadewinds 2 by Sandlot Games is designed around you playing the part of a pirate as you attempt to build your fortune.  You do this by going from port to port (in the Caribbean vs. the Far East)  and picking up jobs (such as rescuing someone or simply delivering goods from one port to another) and/or fighting other pirates and, claiming their booty for your own. There are several captains, each with their own different story line, to choose from (although some will only be unlocked if you complete the game as one of the available ones) and about 20 different ports that you can ultimately visit. There is even a character generator that can be used once you finish the game as an existing choice of captains.

Once you reach port you can gain valuable intel by buying drinks for the locals at the bar or head straight to the local governing body to pick up an assignment.  While in port be sure to take time to have your ship repaired or upgraded at the shipyard.

Tradewinds 2 is great as a standalone game but I was actually disappointed when I began comparing it to the original. My son, who has spent hours with this version and more hours than I can count with the original, wrote up this list of pros and cons when he compared it to the original:

Pros:

• Many more cities to unlock and then visit than the original TW
• Four (instead of three) starting captains, with two (instead of one) unlock-able ones, each with their own unique ship bonus

Cons:

• The economic tips only refer to one city, depending on which captain you choose
• Instead of having X ships battling against X number of ships simultaneously, you only one ONE ship against X number of enemy ships…. You can upgrade your ship and # of cannons, but you still end up with ALL them shooting at just you
• The music is annoyingly low-quality, and unique per city (Note: you can choose to listen to music from your iPhone library if you wish…)

Conclusion: if you are a fan of strategy games then you will find this game quite appealing.  If you are a fan of the original and are looking for vast improvements in the sequel then you will enjoy it but might be disappointed with it as well.  Available for $3.99 in the iTunes store, I think it might be slightly overpriced but fans will enjoy it all the same.

Several years ago I remember an automobile commercial (I think it was for Oldsmobile) that used the catch phrase, “This Is not your father’s Oldsmobile…” The purpose was to emphasize the differences between the old model and the new one.

Well, I would like to borrow that phrase and say to the folks that were fans of the original Ragdoll Blaster, “This is not your father’s Ragdoll Blaster!!” You see, to compare the new one to the old one would be like comparing the new Ford hybrid to the old Model T. It would be like comparing a Rembrandt or Picasso to a cave man’s drawing. It would be like comparing my wife to…… well, I better not go there but you get the idea.

The game play itself is basically the same but the game has been totally revamped. The graphics are far better (utilizing numerous colorful backgrounds as well as much better graphics for the game elements) and the entire gaming experience has been improved to the point that it is like listening to a band on an old cassette tape versus hearing them in person.

There have been many changes to the game including almost 50% more levels (150 or more), replacing a dashed blue “sight line” with a red laser sight, and adding many more physics elements including secondary cannons, portals, gravity wells, and such.

As I have said in previous reviews, I love physics based games and Ragdoll Blaster 2 has just jumped to the top of my Must Have application list. While there is a lite version available for trial purposes, don’t waste your time. Ragdoll Blaster is available for only $2.99 from iTunes and is worth every bit of that and more.

The only thing I didn’t like about the game was its use of Plus+ to keep track of high scores instead of Open Feint which I think is beginning to become the standard in the online leader board contest. Of course the ability to imagine that the ragdolls are family or co-workers when you fire then into walls is a bonus so I guess the two balance each other out… LOL

Create A Mall is a $3.99 game in the App Store.  It reminds me of a cross between Sim City and a Tower Defense game.  The premise is that you have to build a successful mall.  Starting out with small shopping centers as a 3-level  tutorial, you build, and then upgrade, different types of stores in order to balance revenue with popularity.  It is this upgrade option that reminds me of upgrading towers in a TD game.  You can also destroy a store so that you can put something new in its place.

The game is going to offer the casual gamer a lot of play time.  There are a total of 30 different “levels” in six different cities.  As you complete each level, you are awarded money that you can use to upgrade or build stores as well as spend in the stores that you create.  You are also given trophies for meeting different goals.  These can be displayed in your office.

The unfortunate part of this game is that it seems to be geared solely to female players.  Doesn’t matter if you give your player name as “Daniel”, you will be referred to in the game as “Kelly” and playing as a girl for girly things.  When it comes time to purchase things, it seems geared towards women’s jewelry, women’s shoes, women’s blouses, and so forth.  Makes it kind of hard for a guy to get excited about.

I like the concept of the game though.  Although I’ve never played Sim Tower, I’d think that the game would appeal to more of that type of audience if it was either gender-neutral, or offered playing as a male character with sporting goods stores, electronics stores, hunting/fishing stores, and so forth.  If it added this, I could really see justifying a $3.99 price point.  As it is though, I’d only recommend it to those that really like things like Diner Dash or other girl-friendly time management games.

I was a diehard supporter of Palm devices for years starting with the very first generation on the Palm Pilot and migrating through several models before eventually making the jump to Windows Mobile and then on to the iPhone.  During the course of all the models I have to admit that possibly my favorite device of all (prior to the iPhone) was the Tapwave Zodiac that I used until it (along with the company) died.  It was while reviewing games for the Zodiac that I first encountered what soon became my favorite aerial combat / flight simulator game and that was “Hellfire: Apache vs. Hind”.  It was with great excitement that I discovered that the game has now been ported over to the iPhone.

At 48 years of age, my reflexes and hand/eye coordination is not what it once was so, while there are many jet fighter sims available in the iTunes store, a slower paced helicopter sim is just my speed – and Hellfire delivers that in spades.  Created by Pazzazz Games and marketed by Astraware (part of the Handmark family), Hellfire lets you utilize a mixture of accelerometer and touch screen controls to fly your choice of two different helicopters (depending on whether you choose to fly for the Soviets or the US) and, using their totally different amounts and types of armament, complete your missions.  By giving you this option, you are not only able to choose between 4 different degrees of difficulty (based on rank) and two different game modes (flying isolated missions or starting a campaign of missions and working your way up In rank) but, once you become an ace in one helicopter you can get an entire different challenge by adapting your tactics due to the different armament in the other helicopter.

The dozens of missions that you encounter start easily enough but soon become more and more challenging (even on the easy levels) as the ground to air or air to air defenses get tougher and tougher and the missions begin to add more than one objective. You start each mission with 3 lives and, once you get shot down, the mission begins all over again.

One of the things that keeps the game from becoming repetitive is the 3D environment and terrain that is used in each mission.  Whether it is the difference between the trees that you have to fly over or around (based on your altitude) or the terrain which includes everything from mountains to oceans and glaziers to deserts.  While the graphics are not as visually stunning as some games that I have seen (which I refer to as eye candy), there is something to be said for just sticking to the basics and not distracting from the game play or tie up processor time by focusing on window dressing instead of game play.

To get you started you have the option to view the built in tutorial which basically flies you through the entire first mission with instructions on how to control the helicopter’s movements as well as the selection and use of its armaments. When it comes to flying the chopper to your destination you can’t become lost because there is a large white arrow on the ground that constantly points the way to your next mission objective.

As much as I love this game, it is not perfect.  I would love to the option, for example, to pull up an objective map and set your own “waypoints” and chose the order in which you accomplish the objectives in your mission.  It would also be nice to be able to manually select individual targets in a target-rich environment instead of having them chosen for you. Another possibly easier change would be to remove that big white arrow from the screen and instead add a waypoint indicator to the radar screen and make you find things yourself.  I know that these options would require a massive rework of the game but they would make a great game even better.  Also, while there are 16 missions per helicopter, I wish that there were additional missions available – even as in-game purchases of mission packs.

Hellfire is available from iTunes for $4.99.  While I think that the price might be a little too high, the game is one that will remain on my iPhone for a long time to come. This is just a thought but a trial version might let perspective buyers get their feet wet and let them see for themselves what a great little game this is before they were dissuaded by the price.

Guerilla Bob is a new release from Chillingo. It is an arcade shooter like MiniGore, but kept my interest longer. While I am familiar with the usual quality if Chillingo titles, the graphics on Guerilla Bob are exceptional to the point that it impressed me beyond my expectations.

Set in a Middle East desert type setting, Bob is a former hero, framed for something he didn’t do, that takes the battle to those that set him up. A series of missions in a linear story line is followed by a survival mode that allows for some unstructured but endless play. That setup is probably adequate for those that play like I do. For hard core fans of this genre though, I would think additional structure in survival mode and/or additional missions would be a plus.

Guerilla Bob uses an OpenFeint type social platform called Crystal. I haven’t gotten deep into it yet, but it seems pretty comporable to OpenFeint. Crystal though seem to be centered around Chillingo titles. Not sure why we need duplicated systems Looks like I have some additional research ahead of me on that.

Guerilla Bob cost $2.99 in the App Store.  Unless additional missions or other such content is added, I think the game would get a lot more traction in the $1.99 range. It is a great title though. I suggest checking it out. The length of gameplay may concern you, but survival mode may be the solution in your book. One thing will be sure though. You will not find another game of this genre with this level of graphics and humor. That alone is worth $2.

Super Marble Roll is an accelerator based marble game. As you tilt your unit, you control the direction and speed of the roll.

The elevated game board in each level not only contains turns, but also ramps. When the level is first displayed, you see the whole thing. Your view quickly zooms in though to focus on the marble. My biggest complaint with the game is that when you concentrate on speed and direction, it is easy to forget the upcoming board layout and it is real easy to send your marble right off the edge. After three of those mistakes, the game us over. I would have found it easier to play if there was a small map on each level so that you could tell what was coming up.

The graphics are impressive and game play makes a perfect app to show your friends why the iPhone makes a great game platform. While there is a free lite version to check out, the full game runs $2.99. That is a concern to me. There are other games out there at that price point or less that I believe to offer longer playability before you get bored with it.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think I could ever beat the game. In that sense it will always provide a challenge. But I am not sure how many times it will take of me forgetting what is coming up and losing a life before I decide to switch to something less frustrating. If you gave a good memory and steady hand though, you could do worse than checking this game out.

Robot Rampage us the latest $1.99 release from the same folks that brought you the Sentinal series and Space Station: Frontier. As with the other games, the graphics are of the highest quality and the gameplay intuitive.

The game premise is that of a giant robot (think The Day the Earth Stood Still or any other Sci-Fi classic) on rampage in the city. Your goal is to use your fists, stomping feet, and laser beams to not only ward off the military men and tanks and such, but also destroy all the buildings from block to block. Every ten blocks cleared provides you with a health bonus.

Controls are simple. A tap in the left and right side of the screen will move the robot in that direction. Tapping on his feet will cause him to stomp, and tapping on his hands will unleash his fists. By holding down your finger and moving it around, you can direct his laser beams. Given enough energy, you can also call in a nuclear attack.

Overall, the violence is cartoon in nature and the game play reminiscent of Pocket Gods. My hope is that future updates will add additional “enemies” and robot abilities. The only other thing I could think to add is volume controls and some difficulty levels. The game becomes a challenge fairly quickly. Some kind of easy/invincible mode where you could just go wreck havoc with immunity would be kinda fun.

The game comes with full OpenFeint support and “levels” or blocks that are randomly generated and differ from one play to the next. It also allows for creation if playlists from the iPhone library to use as background music.

This is another quality release from Origin8. If you like side-playing shooters, I highly recommend it.