The App Shelf for iPhone and iPod touch
Top Shelf Apps for week of May 15, 2012New apps added every Tuesday! |
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Reviews
Review: Battleship for iPhone Blows Old Fashion Board Games out of the Water!
Price: $2.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love it!
Replay Value: Very High
Pros: A smartly made version of classic Battleship with some fun new modes.
Cons: All multiplayer is local; no internet multiplayer
Bottom Line: If you’re a fan of Battleship, it’s hard to go wrong with this app. EA did a great job breathing new life into an old gaming concept when bringing this title to the iPhone.
Battleship for iPhone is just about everything you’d expect and more. The app includes classic mode, two alternative play modes (including one with super weapons), single and multiplayer modes, and various unlockables.
One of the fun things about Battleship on iPhone is that it creates an authentic battleship experience without the need to dust off that pesky imagination you’ve been trying to forget about. In classic mode, just like the original, you get to take turns making single shots on a 10 by 10 grid, trying to blindly snipe your opponent’s ships. But unlike the board game, the app fills in the imaginary blanks with fun animations and sound effects to create a more in-depth and enjoyable gameplay experience. And bonus, there’s no need for you to keep track of those tiny little pegs.
If classic mode is too boring for you (which may be the case for many of us), Battleship offers two additional variations. The first, “Salvo” mode, allows players to shoot a number of shots per turn equal to their remaining ships, so both players start with five shots per turn and eventually, as they loose ships, are reduced in their number of shots per turn. This might sound like it sound like it makes the game simpler, but this variation can get quite hectic.
Finally, if Salvo mode isn’t enough, you might be interested in Super Weapons mode. In Super Weapons mode, prior to battle, players choose 3 super weapons from a large arsenal of choices in addition to their standard one-shot cannon. During battle, these super weapons charge up (each with a different turn-based recharge timer) and allow you to unleash devastating attacks and cunning stratagems on your opponent. Several additional super weapons are unlockable by completing various in-game ranks and achievements.
Besides single player mode, the game includes three multiplayer options, Bluetooth, Wi-fi, and “Pass n Play,” which makes the app ideal to play with friends. Admittedly, I would’ve liked to see some kind of online play, as well.
Honestly, at it’s current $2.99 price point, I’d venture to say that Battleship for iPhone is a superior deal than the $15+ physical version. Not only does the app offer the exact same type of gameplay as the original and more, but it even throws in an opponent to play against (i.e. the computer)! Personally, I’ve found this app to be incredibly fun and addictive. It’s the perfect app for killing some time with or without friends and without wasting too much brainpower.
Video Review: Monopoly Classic - All the Fun, None of the Math.
Price: $4.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love it
Replay Value: Very High
Pros: Great graphics and gameplay.
Cons: A few small imperfections, but nothing to quibble about.
Bottom Line: EA’s Monopoly app is a strong & fun adaptation of the original board game. The most frustrating part for most Monopoly fans might be that they already spent $5 dollars on EA’s previously released Monopoly Here and Now: World Edition app.
Monopoly (classic) is EA’s digital version of Hasbro’s classic board game and second official Monopoly app to hit iTunes, the first being Monopoly Here and Now: World Edition.
The most notable difference between the two titles (and for many the deciding factor on which to purchase) is that Monopoly Classic returns to traditional property names and dollar values as opposed to World Edition’s redesigned board theme, featuring “famous world cities” along with drastically increased bill denominations (the $1 bill replaced by a $10,000 bill for example), making banker math more awkward if not overly complicated. Because of these differences, there’s been a large public demand for the classic version, and EA has finally delivered.
For the most part, Monopoly translates very well to the iPhone OS. The app plays just like the tabletop version (thankfully with less accessories to manage), it allows for single or multiplayer gameplay with up to four players, and even manages to accommodate many of the house rules some players have grown so accustomed to.
The app doesn’t have too many too many flaws, but there are a few such as the inability to look at the game board during trades, or the frustratingly small menu buttons. Some individuals have even speculated that the AI players cheat to avoid your properties. Possibly what gets me the most, however, is that EA released classic as an entirely new $5 app, when really they could have just made it available as downloadable content “skin” for World Edition owners for—one would assume—significantly cheaper.
Overall, EA’s Monopoly is a very fun and enjoyable adaptation of the original, obviously with added convenience and portability. If you’ve already purchased Monopoly Here and Now: World Edition, there’s probably no need to purchase the classic version unless you can’t stand World Edition or have been dying to own the classic version. If you held-off on purchasing World Edition, then Classic is the way to go in this reviewer’s humble opinion. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Review: Zooloretto: Animal Fun for the Whole Family… Really!
Price: $4.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Like it
Replay Value: Very High
Pros: Cute animal graphics, great tutorial (suggested), and easy for anyone to play
Cons: When playing against the computer, you’ll always be the first player to make a move, which can drastically change strategy, it should incorporate Bluetooth for multi-player instead of Pass ‘n Play only, and a little pricy at $4.99
Bottom Line: Zooloretto is a unique, family board game that is relaxing to play yet requires strategy and planning in order to do well. While it may be a little pricy, it will entertain for hours.
The goal of Zooloretto is to achieve more visitors than your opponents by carefully planning the location and number of your animals and vendor stands. In each round, the player tries to collect matching sets of animals. However, each of your 3 starting enclosures can only hold so many animals and only one kind of animal. The player loses a point for every extra animal collected and stored in the barn.
Each round consists of several turns. At each turn, the player can do one of three options: Add a tile to a delivery truck (the number of delivery trucks correspond directly to the number of players), choose a truck of items to add to their zoo, or carry out a money action. Players turn over tiles that can reveal an animal, a vending stall, or money. These tiles are placed on one of the trucks, each with three slots. When ready, the player chooses a truck of items to place in their zoo. Strategy comes in to play by selecting trucks with items that you need or even perhaps taking items that your opponent might need to take the lead. The goal is to collect the exact number of a certain animal to fill each area. A round is completed once each player has accepted a truck of tiles.
Money is used to move animals from one pen to another, buy overstock animals from other players, and purchase an expansion in order to collect more animals. Vendor stands can be placed around the zoo to earn extra visitors.
To add a little challenge, if a female and a male animal of the same kind are added to an enclosure, they will produce a baby. While many times the freebie animal will be just what you need to fill up your enclosure, if the space is already full, you’ll be forced to put the extra animal in the barn, therefore counting against your total score.
There are only two problems I saw with the game. One, when playing against the computer, you will always take the first turn. If a player could choose their starting position (or if chosen randomly), it would add more strategy to the game and mix things up a bit. The second problem I found is pass ‘n play is the only option for multi-player. Because the game requires many turns of switching back and forth, I’m hoping they will add a Bluetooth and/or Wi-fi option.
All in all, Zooloretto is a well-thought-out game. The drag and drop controls make the game a breeze especially in contrast to the physical board game itself. In addition, as you play games you earn points that unlock other characters and animals. The developers have even added fun trivia about animals for those who like to learn while they play! I would definitely suggest going through the tutorial the first time around to make sure you understand all the features of the game. It is evident that the developers tried and succeeded at making this a game for all ages, including both children and adults. While it is a little pricy, it will provide many hours of fun for the whole family!
Video Review: iPhone Makes The Game of Life Even Better.
Price: $4.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love it!
Replay Value: Very High
Give the wheel of fate a spin, choose your path, and see how you make out in The Game of Life. EA just released the classic board game title for the iPhone OS, and it’s a winner. If you like board games, you should definitely pick this one up.
EA and Hasbro have teamed up to release another classic board game app to the iPhone OS, and let me be the first to say, Life has never been better than on the iPhone. In this app, EA has managed to accentuate all of the best parts of the Hasbro classic, The Game of Life.
Players have the option of selecting a Solo or Multiplayer game, consisting of 2-4 players total. In a Solo game, all opponents are controlled by the CPU. Next players choose their vehicle color and in-game avatar.
Once those initial decisions are out of the way, it’s classic Game of Life gameplay from start to finish—only better. As the game unfolds, players dive into the game board, surrounded by amusing pop-up art style 3D graphics, and thanks to the touch screen, players can even spin the game’s trademark wheel!
Thankfully, almost everything about the app is automated, so unlike most board games, gameplay is actually fast-paced. The developers of the app definitely did a great job paying attention to the expectations of their audience; for example, the CPU’s turns can be fast-forwarded or skipped all together. This mechanism speeds up gameplay and can even make Solo play quite enjoyable. Plus, because the app auto-saves on exit, it’s great for quick, casual play.
On first impression, I only have one complaint about the app. When players choose their in-game avatar, they are limited to four pre-named choices: John, Bill, Mary, and Rachel. It’d be nice if players could enter their own name and possibly be able to choose from more than four portraits.
All in all, this is possibly the best board game to iPhone translation I’ve played since Scrabble. All the classic elements of the game are intact, from choosing a carrier path, to getting married, to buying a house, to having kids, all the way to retirement. Plus the automated, fast-paced gameplay, fun 3D environment, and pocket-sized portability give the iPhone version a major advantage over the traditional game. So if you’re a fan of the original, or just looking for an amusing way to pass the time with friends, you can’t lose with EA’s version of The Game of Life.
Review: 10 Pin Shuffle: A Table Shuffleboard App Worth Playing
Price: $2.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love it!
Replay Value: Very High!
10 Pin Shuffle offers two great games in one: Table Shuffleboard & Shuffleboard Bowling. This app offers great graphics, great physics, great gameplay, and great multiplayer fun. If you've been looking for a shuffleboard app for iPhone, this is the one to get. If you've never played shuffleboard, maybe the bowling aspect will be enough to pull you in; either way, this app offers a casual & fun way to kill time alone or with a friend, so you should definitely give it a chance.
For those of you who have never played table shuffleboard, the concept is simple. Typically played by two players with four pucks each, players take turns sliding pucks down a long, narrow board. The goal of the game is to score the most points per round until a player reaches the total designated number of points to win (typically, 7, 11, 15, or 21). Points are scored by sliding your puck inside a scoring zone while managing to keep it on the table. At the end of a round, only the player with the highest score for that round may add those points to his or her total score. The real challenge of the game comes when players use their pucks to ricochet, block shots, and knock other pucks off the table.
10 Pin Shuffle does an exceptional job capturing the shuffleboard experience. The app plays just like the table game. Players slide pucks using their finger. Graphics and gameplay are superb. The physics feels incredibly accurate, and just like real shuffleboard, is easy to pick up, but difficult to master. The app lets you play against four different shuffleboard opponents with varying skill levels, as well as a human opponent on the same device (no online or network modes).
In addition to standard shuffleboard, the game also contains shuffleboard bowling. The concept is fairly self-explanatory. Through each of 10 frames, 10 pins are set up at the end of a shuffleboard table, and players get two pucks to knock them down. It plays nearly identical to traditional bowling.
Overall, 10 Pin Shuffle is a great 2-in-1 app. The simplicity of play makes it perfect for casual play on the commute to work or for a quick break. Playing with a friend makes the game even more enjoyable. Should you ever need to quit in a hurry, the game auto saves and will pick up exactly where you left off on next start-up. This is one of those apps with very high replay value, and if you give it a chance, it just might manage to find a permanent slot on your device.
What we'd like to see in future updates: Online multiplayer; support for up to four players (especially for bowling).
Archon Review
Price: $3.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Like it (until multiplayer is added)
Replay Value: Medium Low (until multiplayer is added)
Archon is like chess on steroids. This graphically enhanced version of the 1983 classic lives up to its iTunes description claim: Archon is an excellent mix of "strategy and fast-action combat." Unfortunately, the game's AI doesn't offer much challenge, and worse yet, the app doesn't offer multiplayer mode (at least not for the time being).
Like chess, Archon is a turn-based game that consists of two sets of pieces--light and dark--on a tiled game board, and each type of piece (i.e. solider, wizard, gryphon, etc.) has its own unique method of movement and attacking. And that's about as far as the chess comparison will carry us. After that, the game gets noticeably different (and that's where the steroids kick in).
The object of the game is to occupy all five of the designated "magic" squares or eliminate all of your opponent's pieces (whichever comes first). Unlike chess, a piece isn't captured simply by "attacking" its square. Instead, when a player moves a piece to a square occupied by an opponent, the pieces are transported to an arena and realtime combat ensues. The two pieces, often with varying combat attributes (attack type, speed, damage, and health), duke it out fast-action style under the control of their respective players. The loser of this duel is eliminated from the board and the winner occupies the square.
Gameplay Trailer
Adding to the strategy aspect of the game, pieces gain health bonus in combat if the battle takes place on a square of matching color (i.e. light on white squares, and dark on black squares). Additionally, some tiles slowly shift color from white to black and back again (with shades of grey in between); this makes planning and timing crucial to a successful game plan.
Possibly the biggest deviation Archon takes from chess is spell casting. Each side has one spell-caster--most closely equivalent
to the King in chess, except in Archon the game isn't lost if a player looses their spell-caster. Instead, as long as a player's spell-caster is on the board, that player may opt to cast 1 of 7 one-time-use spells (heal, revive, timeshift, exchange, teleport, imprison, or summon). If a player's spell-caster dies, that player can no longer cast spells--a major tactical disadvantage.
On the whole, Archon is an exceptionally well conceptualized and implemented strategy game, but its port to iPhone is far from perfect. For one thing, the graphics, though updated from their 8-bit predecessors, are still nothing to boast about. Another major issue is the game's rather weak AI. The AI, which contains 3 difficulty settings (novice, average, and adept) offers very little challenge. The first two settings are just short of pointless (and should only be included for learning the basics of the game). The third setting, adept, finally begins to offer a slight challenge, though I still managed to be the AI in five moves, the absolute minimum possible. Honestly, the "adept" setting should replace the "novice" setting in this game, and two harder difficulty settings should be added, if not more. Yet perhaps the biggest failure of this current version of Archon is the absence of any multiplayer mode, either over Wi-Fi/Bluetooth or on a single device. The multiplayer mode is where this game could really shine, and without it, it feels like the game is missing something crucial. Luckily for us, the game-type menu seems to mysteriously and intentionally leave space for additional modes to appear in future updates (let's hope the developers follow through on this one).
Overall, Archon is a great mix of chess-like strategy and fast-action combat with a splash of medieval-fantasy flavor. Conceptually, Archon could easily become to video games what chess is to board games. Unfortunately, with a weak AI and no Multiplayer mode, the current version of Archon lacks the replay value one should expect to find in this game (though I honestly expect this to be fixed via updates). In the end, this app may eventually be worth its asking price, although not in its current state, so If you're feeling skittish about spending the $3.99, I'd suggest waiting for an update.
What I'd like to see in future updates: A more difficult AI (if i'm being specific, I'd like to see an AI that progressively grows stronger and learns to react to the player); multiplayer is a must; a challenge mode that sets up specific scenerios to overcome. Better graphics.