The App Shelf for iPhone and iPod touch
Top Shelf Apps for week of May 15, 2012New apps added every Tuesday! |
|
Attention Developers!
Submit your review requests, promo codes, and tips.
Want a chance for your app to be reviewed or previewed? Want to give us exclusive info on your new or upcoming games?
Send info, media, and promo codes to
Reviews
Fieldrunners for iPad
Price: $7.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love it
Replay Value: High
Pros: Great graphics; fun gameplay; price includes all 5 maps; perfect for iPad's large screen
Cons: If you already own it for iPhone, there's nothing new here, content-wise.
Bottom Line: Fieldrunners is one of the premiere tower defenses apps for iPhone OS. Without a doubt, iPad's large, high resolution screen offers the best Fieldrunners experience, but if you already own Fieldrunners for iPhone, it's probably not worth the $7.
Re-Purchase if you own iPhone version: No
Flash Review: ZombieSmash - Castle Defense Makes Room for Zombies
Price: $1.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love it
Replay Value: Medium High
Pros: Good cartoon graphics; great animation, fast pace; huge array of weapons.
Cons: Difficulty ramps quickly; some game glitches; short
Bottom Line: If you like castle defense and zombies, think of the $1.99 price as a rental fee.
Zombie Smash is a castle defense game where you play Joey, a man trapped in a house with a bewildering array of weapons to call upon. Those weapons come in hand as your house is assaulted by wave after wave of well-animated zombies. The main defense is flicking the zombies away with your finger, but they are surprisingly tough and may take more than one flick to destroy. As the game progresses, the zombies do as well, becoming faster, more resistant to flicking, and even carrying guns and bombs. Increasingly, you’ll have to turn to Joey’s arsenal of weapons, such as wrecking balls, mines, various guns, and natural disasters like rolling boulders and meteor showers. If you can last the month (31 rounds), you’ll unlock hard mode, endless siege, and the sandbox – a place to test your smashing skills.
The game was a ton of fun. The zombies never end, the weapons keep gameplay from getting stale, and the animation of the zombies being smashed according to the manner of death is just unbelievable. If you’re a fan of the genre, you’re definitely going to love this game. In fact, its biggest downfall is that it’s so short, with only 31 rounds (one month for Joey) and after that, you unlock hard mode – the same game with tougher zombies. Outside campaign mode, the game has a sandbox to test your smashing skills and an endless siege mode to see how long you can last. The siege saves checkpoints every so often, so you don’t always have to start over. Though after playing through the entire game, you’ll probably feel that the siege takes too long to become difficult. Yet by far the biggest problems with this app include a gameplay mechanic flaw and weapons glitch. Since weapon power-ups are randomly given, and some enemies can only be killed with certain weapons, you may find yourself unable to survive. Being patient and trying again will usually solve that problem, but there’s another dilemma that isn’t so easily solved. Occasionally, the weapon slots will simply not respond, even with multiple attempts; it appears to be a bug that goes beyond the touch screen UI. Thankfully, occurrence is extremely rarely and the developers are still tweaking the app, so hopefully it will only be a temporary problem.
All in all, ZombieSmash is a great game, well designed and balanced, and I think most players will love it for the week it takes them to beat it.
Review: Battle of Puppets - It’s Not Over Until the Fat Puppet Sings!
Price: $1.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love it!
Replay Value: High
Pros: Beautiful artwork; fun gameplay; good use of touchscreen; lots of content
Cons: No Multiplayer
Bottom Line: Battle of Puppets is a beautifully animated, simple, straightforward, and well-balanced castle vs. castle app, perfect for casual play, but with enough complexity to keep it interesting. Simply put: A must have for any fan of the genre.
If you think opera is boring, then you’ve obviously never played Battle of Puppets. Battle of Puppets is a beautifully animated castle vs. castle style app that pits five opera-themed armies against each other. Each of the puppet armies is led by a renowned opera heroine, such as Madama Butterfly, Carmen, or Valkiria, who grant their armies various special attributes.
For those not familiar with the castle vs. castle genre, basic gameplay consists of sending armies or individual units--each with a specific strength and weakness--to attack and destroy your opponent’s castle, all while defending your castle from similar attacks. The heart of the genre rests in discovering the proper strategy to win each unique battle.
The iPhone has seen a flood of these titles over the last year, but what separates Battle of Puppets from competitor apps is not any revolutionary re-imaginations of the genre, but instead a focus on optimizing and perfecting the castle vs castle experience for the iPhone. One of the first things players will notice as they begin their military campaign across the country side, is the care that went into creating the charmingly animated puppets and unique, cartoonish backdrops for each locale.
As the game progresses, players will begin to notice the nuance Battle of Puppets brings to the table, including the significance of the environment, such as day, night, hot, and cold, on the battlefield. In addition to the beautiful atmosphere, players can unlock unique touchscreen gestures called “professions” that give them quick access to special abilities on the battlefield, such as haste, stun, and repair just to name a few.
Overall, Battle of Puppets offers one of the best castle vs. castle experiences on the iPhone. It provides a beautiful and fun-filled castle vs. castle experience with plenty of content, and all optimized for the iPhone OS. In this reviewer’s opinion, the only thing this app is missing is a multiplayer mode. If you’re a fan of the genre, this is definitely an app you don’t want to miss.
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.
Review: Farm Frenzy Fun
Price: $0.99
App Store Link: Full / Lite
Verdict: Love It
Replay Value: High
Pros: Lots of gameplay and achievements; great for long or short play.
Cons: Inconsistent touch controls (e.g. a tap can plant grass instead of trapping a bear)
Bottom Line: This addictive game cleverly builds upon typical time management games by allowing the player to strategize towards each level’s goal, allowing for better scores, times, and outcomes. While the touch controls could be improved, this game will provide countless hours of fun.
In Farm Frenzy, the player is in control of maintaining a farm and is presented with different objectives at each level. The beginning levels start off simple by only requesting that you purchase a set number of geese and collecting a set number of eggs. To keep the geese alive you must plant grass for them to eat, which in turn uses up your water supply that can only be refilled by paying a small fee. You can earn additional money by selling the goods you collect.
As the game escalates, you’ll find that eggs are needed to create flour, which is needed to create bread, and so on. The player is able to collect goods and keep them in a storehouse, which has limited space. To empty the storehouse and earn money, you send your goods away in a truck and after a few seconds the truck will return with your money.
Upgrades are available for purchase; these may be required in the objective of the level, or simply help you make more of an item quicker, allow for a larger storehouse, etc. To add a challenge to the game, sometimes you’ll hear a roar, soon followed by a bear dropping from the sky in order to attack your livestock or possibly spoil your goods. To prevent this, players can tap on the bear several times to lock him in a cage. If you have enough storage space, you can send the bear to the storehouse to later sell for some extra cash. If you don’t have the space, the bear will eventually run off screen.
This is particularly where I found the touch controls to be frustrating at times. While trying to cage the bear by tapping the screen, I would instead plant a patch of grass (which requires a similar tapping gesture), and the bear would go free to kill my livestock. Occasionally, tapping inconsistencies also caused the unintended purchase of various upgrades (an expensive mistake). While this is something that should be addressed, it did not affect the game enough to make it unplayable. Also, if this happened frequently during a level, you can always restart that level or even play it again afterwards and keep what rewards you did earn. Each level typically lasts about 5 minutes, but it can be as short or as long as you choose.
I found the game to be quite addictive, and I really appreciate how much there is to achieve. Not only can you earn the standard type trophies, but in order to proceed to higher levels, you have to earn enough points to purchase upgrades which will be offered in-game once that level is unlocked.
Ultimately, I would definitely recommend Farm Frenzy to anyone looking for a twist on typical time management games and appreciates long game-life. The cute graphics are entertaining and will be sure to keep you in a frenzy to play more. This app will definitely remain on my devise for a long time to come!
Flash Review: Critical Thought Games Does It Again with GeoDefense Swarm
Price: $0.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love it
Replay Value: High
Pros: Familiar mechanics, retro graphics, hours of fun and challenging gameplay. Open Feint enabled.
Cons: Sometimes frustratingly difficult. Some might consider the retro graphics style to be inferior to other TDs
Bottom Line: GeoDefense Swarm is perfect for hardcore Tower Defense fans; it delivers the same style of gameplay as the original, but with a new twist.
There’s a reason that the original geoDefense is known as one of the best Tower Defense games on the iPhone OS, and geoDefense Swarm will quickly remind you why. GeoDefense Swarm delivers nearly the same kind of Tower Defense experience as the original; only this time, the playing field has changed. Instead of a predetermined path, the creeps are free to find their best path to the exit, and it’s your job to stop them. In this sense, gameplay is closer to Fieldrunners’ style rather than traditional TDs. Players can place towers nearly anywhere on the open field and the creeps will work around them towards the exit.
Like most TD games, geoDefense Swarm offers several types of defensive towers, each with their own unique benefits and abilities, and each with the capacity to upgrade several times. The app boasts 30 levels of gameplay, each categorized by difficulty as easy, medium, or hard. All in all, this new addition to the—what I hope becomes—geoDefense series offers hours of fun and enjoyment for even the most skilled TD fans, and at its current $0.99 price tag, geoDefense Swarm is a steal.
Video from Touch Arcade:
Flash Review: Wizard Warfare
Price: $2.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Disappointing
Replay Value: Medium Low
Pros: Great graphics, fun concept, and lots of untapped potential
Cons: Slow, boring, shallow gameplay that ventures on terrible.
Bottom Line: Don't purchase this unless you're willing to waste the $3 dollars in hopes of future improvements that may or may not come. Personally, I wouldn't even recommend this game for 99¢ in its current state.
Wizard Warfare is a simple, boring, but graphically stunning, turn-based trajectory shooter. Instead of the traditional tanks or worms, players control one of two immobile wizards on one of several large and beautifully rendered battlefields. Players take turns shooting spells at one another. Spells are categorized by color, and each wizard has his or her respective strength and weakness. Various one-time-use spells can be purchased between levels that do additional damage and use different visuals. Spell visuals become important when gauging optimal block distance because players get only one chance to block an opponent’s attack each turn.
All things considered, this game could have been tremendously enjoyable, but simply put, it’s not. The game is incredibly slow paced; in fact, a single shot takes so long to land, I literally dozed off between it shooting and landing (long day at the office). All of the spells are essentially the exact same, only with different visuals and dealing different amounts of damage. To really break it down, the app is basically a trajectory turn-based game, except players can't move on the board, so once you find the proper trajectory, it's a matter of tapping a button, waiting for about 30 to 45 seconds, then tapping the same button. If you’re a big fan of Worms or Star Hogs, this game will most likely disappoint.
Review: Cooking Dash - Time Management with an Extra Dash of Fun
Price: $2.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love it
Replay Value: Medium
Pros: Fun & challenging gameplay; lots of levels; great tutorial; very similar to the original Diner Dash (move this to the cons list if you didn’t like Diner Dash).
Cons: Little replay value after you complete the app.
The Bottom Line: Cooking Dash is Diner Dash with a little extra challenge. If you’re a fan of Diner Dash and have a craving for more, Cooking Dash should satisfy that craving.
PlayFirst has released its next computer to iPhone time management game called Cooking Dash for iPhone and iPod Touch, and as the name might suggest, this game is very similar to its predecessor, Diner Dash. The main character, Flo, returns to cover some shifts and keep the dine-in business booming. The goal is to keep customers happy by serving them as fast as you can. The better the dinning experience, the more money players can earn to purchase upgrades which will aid the serving process in later levels.
The main difference between Cooking Dash and Diner dash is that instead of being only a server, players are also in charge of running around the kitchen to put together each customer’s meal.
If you are a fan of Diner Dash, Cooking Dash will be sure to please with its added level of difficulty. As the levels progress, the game grows continually more hectic as players are forced to quickly manage a larger variety of people, each with their own specific needs. The game contains many levels, adding quite a bit of game time; however, once the final level has been completed, there isn’t much to do in terms of reply value other than restarting from scratch.
For those new to time management games, Cooking Dash is a great deal, especially if you can snag it while its still on sale. If you already own Diner Dash and are looking for more of the same, you’ll probably be pleased with Cooking Dash, but beware that the games are very similar. All in all, Cooking Dash is a great game at a great price; in fact, even at full price it’s significantly cheaper than its PC counterpart.
Review: Heli Rescue Saves Some Gameplay
Price: $0.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Like It
Replay Value: High
A very good entry in the time/resource management genre.
Heli Rescue is a really good game in the time/resource management genre. The basic idea behind the game is that you're the air traffic controller for a fleet of helicopters trying to rescue people from the wilderness. Your fleet consists of a few different variations of helicopters: A one passenger, quick helicopter; A two person, medium speed helicopter; A four person, slow speed helicopter. You are also given a set number of helicopter pads to work with, generally one less than the number of helicopters you've been given.
When a rescuee pops up on the screen they give a yell letting you know they are there as well as a status ring. The status ring ranges from green to red. Green means there's no rush, red means they're about to die. Should a rescuee die it is game over. The rescuees will also pop up in groups ranging from one to four. In order to rescue a person you need to map a path for a helicopter, using your finger, pick them up, and take them back to the helicopter pad. This is where the resource management kicks in because there are only so many pads to land on. In addition each helicopter has a set amount of fuel which can only be replenished at the helicopter pad.
As far as the presentation of this app goes, it is very well done starting with the airlift during the loading the screen, to the sign in for each pilot profile, to the actual gameplay itself. As far as controls go they seem to work pretty well. The helicopter will follow the path drawn by your finger very accurately. It also has a snap to target feature that works most of the time to make sure the helicopter will pick people up or land at the helicopter pad. I do say most of the time because sometimes the targets are too close together or you draw a little too far passed the target. At least the path stays up so you can see that you did in fact miss the target.
In terms of replay the main goal of the game is to rescue as many people as you can in each of three different maps. There is an online leader board so you can keep track of your actual ranking (and even though it only shows the top 10, it will tell you your high scores current position.
Overall I feel this game was done very well and if you like time/resource management games you'll definitely like this one.
Video Review: Ranch Rush
Price: $1.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love it!
Replay Value: High
Can’t get enough of those addictively frantic time management games? Did you lose hours of your life to Sally’s Spa and Diner Dash? Then Ranch Rush is probably right for you. Based off its PC counterpart, this fun new time management app is a welcome addition to the App Store. Whether you’re new to the genre or a seasoned veteran, Ranch Rush will bring you hours of fun.
It was only a matter of time before the popular time management title, Ranch Rush, made it's way over to the iPhone. Along the same lines as games like Diner Dash, Airport Mania, and Sally's Spa, Ranch Rush will have your head spinning with hectic fun.
Players take on the role of Sara, a young lady trying to help save her friend’s failing greenhouse nursery. In order to earn some extra cash, Sara decides to open a farmer's market next door. Your job is to help her build a successful market from the ground up.
Like most time management games, things start simple at steady pace and quickly get more and more demanding and, inevitably, frantic. Before you know it, you've gone from gardening clovers and tomatoes, to farming 4 crops, milking cows, harvesting honey, and making ketchup, and that's just by the end of week 2!
Controls are simple. You direct Sara by tapping the object you want her to interact with. She can remember several tasks at once, so you can stay a few steps ahead. The in-game shop is simple to use whenever you might need to buy new crops, more soil, or an extra stack of crates to make your life easier. Additionally, everything on the screen can be moved around and rearranged so you can experiment with finding the most efficient farming layout.
Overall, graphics and sound are great, and gameplay is simple and fun. In fact, Ranch Rush may be the most fun I've had with a time management app since Diner Dash. While the plot line and cartoonish graphics might initially seem girly to some, I think just about anyone will be able to enjoy the quick planning and hectic tapping involved in Ranch Rush if they only give it a chance.
If you've been looking for the next great Sally's Spa or Diner Dash, definitely pick up Ranch Rush. If you're new to the genre, I think you'll find Ranch Rush is a good place to start.