The App Shelf for iPhone and iPod touch
Top Shelf Apps for week of July 27, 2010New apps added every Tuesday! |
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Reviews
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: Grand Theft Auto - Chinatown Wars
Price: $9.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love it!
Replay Value: Very High
Pros: Authentic GTA gameplay experience; Tons of content; impressive implementation; the same GTA game seen on DS and PSP; Half the price of DS and PSP version.
Cons: Eagle-eye view sometimes awkward. Virtual control-pad not as precise as other portable systems.
Bottom Line: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is one of the first major portable titles—if not the first—to arrive on DS, PSP, and iPhone without being watered down. If you’re a fan of GTA-style games or simply looking for a game with lots of content GTA: Chinatown Wars is a great deal. And for those of you not familiar with the series, it’s primarily meant for mature audiences. Don't say I didn't warn you!
The Grand Theft Auto series doesn’t need much of an introduction. It’s notoriously one of the crudest, most violent, profane, crime-filled video games series of all time, and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is no exception. This game goes out of its way to earn its explicit 17+ rating and is definitely not meant for the squeamish.
First appearing for the Nintendo DS in early 2009 and later the Sony PSP, Chinatown Wars has made its way to iPhone less than a year after its initial release. And amazingly, this full-fledged version of the game hasn’t been dumbed down. In fact, the iPhone version manages to combine the touch screen elements taken from the DS with the single screen version from the PSP, creating for a great gameplay experience.
Just like one would expect from a GTA game, players take on the role of a criminal antihero caught in the downward whirlpool of the events surrounding him. Players will find themselves protecting turf, stealing cars, selling drugs, killing thugs, and dodging cops with the option to follow a compelling storyline or just sadistically rampage through the city.
The app uses a virtual on screen controller with analog stick and buttons that’s become standard on many iPhone games. The controls work reasonably well. That said, they’re probably the biggest drawback to the iPhone adaptation, lacking the same kind of precision control one would expect on a more conventional portable gaming system. This, however, is only a small setback in an otherwise awesome game.
Players will have many of the standard gadgets they’re used to from recent GTA games, including a slue of menu options accessible from your in-game PDA. The PDA allows players to read incoming emails (usually missions), access the Liberty City map, complete with GPS functionality and points of interest, view game stats such as “people killed,” review mission briefings, select radio stations, and so on.
Overall, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is a major step forward for iPhone gaming. This app helps the iPhone to stand side-by-side the other big boys in portable gaming. In fact, the iPhone version holds a few advantages over its competitors. The most obvious is the price point. At $9.99 Chinatown Wars is half the price of the DS version or one-third the price of the PSP version. Next, the iPhone version is debatably the most portable version of the game, always there to play anywhere you might take your cell phone. But in the end, I think one of my favorite features of the iPhone version is the option to use a specified music playlist from your iPhone library as a radio station. There’s nothing like boosting cars, collecting on contracts, and dodging the fuzz along to your own custom soundtrack.
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: OMG Pirates! - Get Your Ninja On!
Price: $1.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love it!
Replay Value: Very High
Pros: Fun artwork; great gameplay, controls and combo system; high replay value.
Cons: Campaign mode is somewhat short and the plot line is lacking.
Bottom Line: OMG Pirates! is a highly enjoyable, fast-action, survival hack’n’slash. The fun cartoonish animation and simple controls give this app very unique appeal. If you’re a fan of Zombieville USA, this is a must!
OMG Pirates! If this exclamation sounds familiar, then you just might be a ninja. Or playing the newest app from the makers of Zombieville USA.
OMG Pirates! uses the same unique artwork style and simple gameplay mechanics that helped make Zombieville so popular. And yet despite the few similarities, OMG Pirates! manages to feel like its own game, and not just a cookie cutter clone of Zombieville.
At its core, OMG Pirates! is a slice and dice survival game that manages to effectively integrate some elements of classic sidescroller and RPG gameplay. If you haven't guessed by now, you play the role of a lone ninja battling an endless army of... OMG... pirates!
On first launch, there is only one gameplay mode available, campaign; however beating campaign mode unlocks survival mode as well as the “hard” difficulty setting for campaign mode. The control scheme is well laid out and simple to use, primarily consisting of a virtual d-pad, attack button, and jump button. But don’t be fooled by the simplicity; a variety of special moves and combo chains can be unleashed once a player masters the timing of the game. Additionally, there’s also a super-move button that gradually charges to unleash devastating super attacks.
In campaign mode, players will battle through nine missions, each with about three sub-stages of play. At the end of specific missions, players will have to fight fun and unique boss battles to progress. There’s a very loose storyline that connects the various stages together, but it seems little more than a perfunctory addition. As players slay pirates, they gradually fill the ninja’s experience bar, increasing his skill level, and each new level brings the ninja specific new moves, power-ups, or abilities.
Survival mode is fairly straightforward and self-explanatory. The goal is to kill as many pirates as possible before they kill you. A tally is kept at the top of the screen. One major improvement OMG Pirates! has over Zombieville is the inclusion of multiple types of enemies, each with their own unique look, including all of the bosses.
Overall, I found OMG Pirates! extremely fun and enjoyable with tons of replay value. In fact, this pick up and play app offers a surprisingly large amount of depth. My biggest gripe about the app is that I’d like to see a much larger campaign; it took me less than 2 hours to push through the entire campaign on the normal difficulty setting. That said, with the inclusion of a survival mode, the game has plenty of replay value to keep me coming back for more and to make me feel like I got my money’s worth.
Things I’d personally like to see in future updates include new stages, villains, storyline, and ninja levels (even if only through downloadable content). I’d also love to see a multiplayer option for both co-op and versus play.
If you’ve been looking for a good action game, OMG Pirates! is sure to entertain, especially if you’re a fan of Zombieville USA.
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.
Video Review: Madden NFL 10 - A New Brand of Touch Football
Price: $9.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love It!
Replay Value: Very High
Pros: Great graphics, gameplay, and depth. Edit plays right on the field.
Cons: Repetitive commentators, cannot save original plays, and no multiplayer (yet).
Bottom Line: Madden NFL 10, despite a few flaws, is a console worthy iPhone app sure to impress and definitely worth the price. If you’re a fan of sporting games, this is a no brainer.
Madden NFL 10 for the iPhone OS redefines the meaning of touch Football: All 32 teams and stadiums, nearly 2000 players and 300 plays, and comfortable touch screen controls all at your fingertips. This is the app that hardcore football fans have been waiting for, and it definitely lives up to its expectations.
Madden NFL 10 is one of those apps that’ll make you realize the iPhone can definitely contend with the big-boy portable gaming systems, such as the PSP and the Nintendo DS. On the first start-up, the app asks for your favorite NFL team in order to make your life easier. From the title screen, players can choose to play a quick game, play a season, or view team rosters. In season mode, players will battle their way through a full NFL season, potentially taking their team all the way to the Super Bowl. “Play now” mode, on the other hand, will pit your team head to head against any team of your choice and is perfect for a quick, pick up and play game.
The graphics for Madden will put you right in the action. The control schemes for both offence and defense are comfortable and intuitive. You control player movement with an on-screen virtual analog stick and a slew of touch screen buttons that adapt themselves to your situation. Among other controls, QBs can pass, toss out of bounds, or scramble. Ball carriers can spin, sprint, and slow time. In slow motion mode, they can juke left, juke right or plow through defenders. Defenders can intercept, block passes, and dive tackle. Because of the clearly marked icons, the on-screen controls are easy to learn and master (possibly even more so than with a standard console controller).
One of the best features in Madden NFL 10 is the ability for individuals to edit and create their own plays right on the field. This is as simple as tapping the edit button and redrawing the movement line for one or more of your receivers. This makes your playbook essentially unlimited. My only gripe is that there doesn’t seem to be any way to save edited plays for later use.
Individuals also have the option of customizing their team through player trades and the signing of free agent players to create an unstoppable dream team.
EA’s iPhone interpretation of Madden 10 doesn’t have too many flaws, but there are a few. Probably the most obvious is the overly repetitive announcers. You’re more than likely to hear the same play commentary several times in one short game. This is a bit disappointing in a game like Madden; it’d be nice to make it through at least a full game without much repetition. The pre-game build up and end of game victory screens aren’t as fulfilling as they should be—something which Gameloft’s slightly less complex NFL 2010 app does better. Additionally, at initial launch, the game is missing any multiplayer functionality (something which the developers promise to update). Finally the inability to save custom plays for future use is a little inconvenient.
Over all, Madden NFL 10 for iPhone OS is quite impressive and fun. The arrival of this app on the App Store is a big step forward for the device, helping to establish it as a recognized gaming platform. There seems little doubt that football fans will enjoy playing this app. Like many other EA games, the high price-point might scare away some casual gamers, but rest assured, if you’re looking for a great football game app, Madden NFL is worth the price… especially when compared to other platforms.
Video Review: Bust-a-Move Enjoyable, But Not Up to Expectations
Price: $4.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Like it
Replay Value: Medium High
Pros: Verses Mode.
Cons: Relatively poor graphics, weak storyline, and a high price tag.
Bottom Line: Bust-a-Move for iPhone feels like a quick mobile port and didn’t live up to my high expectations of title based on previous experiences. But it’s still Bust-a-Move.
Personally, I’ve always been a fan of the Bust-a-Move game series ever since I played it for the SNES. Since then, I’ve played the title on several other portable platforms, including the Gameboy Advance and PSP, and unfortunately, for the very first time, the title didn’t live up to my expectations.
Bust-a-Move is a unique trajectory-based, match 3 puzzler, in which a cluster of colored bubbles hangs from the ceiling. To solve the stage, you must shoot additional colored bubbles at the cluster in order to make matches and pop the bubbles. Every few shots, a new row of bubbles drops down from the ceiling, and when any of the bubbles hit the threshold line, it’s game over. Carefully aimed shots and good use of power-ups can make this challenging task a bit easier. The iPhone version of the title contains three game modes: Story, challenge, and 2-player versus.
While it’s great to finally have Bust-a-Move on the iPhone, it feels like a cheap port of a cell phone app instead of being optimize it for the iPhone OS. The story mode is slow and campy, the graphics aren’t on par with other major mobile platforms, and the gameplay just seems to be generally lacking from previous versions of the title.
The only standout feature that I saw in Bust-a-Move was the inclusion of a 2-player versus mode that let’s you battle head-to-head via Bluetooth connection.
Overall, the highly anticipated arrival of Bust-a-Move for iPhone was somewhat of a let down for me. While the core gameplay remains the same, the app is missing the lighthearted fun of its predecessors. Other than versus mode and the name brand, Bust-a-Move doesn’t bring anything to the table that you won’t find in similar titles. If you think you’ll get a lot out of verses mode gameplay with your friends, Bust-a-Move may be worth the price. If you think you can live without it, Gameloft’s $0.99 Bubble Bash will offer similar gameplay, debatably better graphics, and just as much fun (if not more) at a fraction of the price.
Video Review: Boggle Attempts to Shake Things Up
Price: $2.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Like it
Replay Value: Very High
Pros: A very well made word game app with a couple new twists.
Cons: Boggle doesn’t have much to offer that we haven’t already seen in other, cheaper word apps.
Bottom Line: EA’s Boggle is a solid word game, with a few cool extra features. If you already own a lot of similar word games, Boggle probably won’t have much to offer you. If you’re a word game fanatic or simply haven’t found the “right one” yet, Boggle is definitely worth a look.
Well, it’s about time. Over a year after the launch of the App Store, the classic word game Boggle has officially graced the iPhone with its presence. Overall, Boggle is a fairly polished word game app; unfortunately for EA, it may be too little, too late.
For those not familiar, the concept of Boggle is fairly straightforward. Players shake and roll a set of alphabet dice into a 4 by 4 square grid. Players then have 3 minutes to make as many word combinations as possible from the grid by connecting surrounding letters.
The app is exactly what you might expect from a Boggle app developed by EA. Polished graphics, fun gameplay, great replay value, and you even get to physically shake up the alphabet dice. Of course, when it comes to word games, none of these features are new to the iPhone OS, so let’s talk about what sets Boggle apart from other word apps.
First, Boggle offers a new advanced mode. In this mode, whenever a player discovers a new word (by dragging or tapping over the desired letters), the first and last letter switch places on the grid. While this might sound like a small detail, this new dynamic can actually add a lot of strategy to the game. It vastly increases the number of possible word choices and forces players to plan their moves in advance if they want to maximize their score.
To keep things interesting, the app also features a challenge mechanic, which allows players to send, receive, and keep track of challenges based off any game board they play, as well as a list of track-able achievements, such as longest word, most frequently used letter, etc.
Unfortunately, I’m not sure these few new features will be enough for Boggle to compete with the cheaper, similar, and more experienced titles already for sale by smaller independent developers.
Video Review: Gameloft’s Blades of Fury Delivers a True Fighting Experience
Price: $6.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love it!
Pros: Great graphics, astounding gameplay, comfortable controls and a multiplayer mode to boot!
Cons: Only that it wasn’t released sooner.
Bottom line: Quite possibly the best fighting game app on the App Store. If you’ve been itching for some hack and slash brawling, don’t hesitate to download.
The software development company Gameloft has recently been positioning itself as one of the premiere publishers of high-end, premium quality iPhone OS games, and by now, its no secret that the do so by re-inventing popular console titles, such as Warcraft, Grand Theft Auto, and Madden NFL 10 (just to name a few) and bringing them to the iPhone. One of the most recent additions to that line up is Blades of Fury, a beautifully rendered 3D fighting game along the same lines as the popular Soul Calibur series.
In my opinion, despite any initial skepticism, Blades of Fury manages to deliver the first well-implemented and full-featured fighting game to the App Store. The app features several play modes, including story, arcade, and survival, 10 unique characters, each with specific individual characteristics, weapons, and costumes. Each character also has a large move set consisting of approximately 20 attacks and combinations.
For those familiar with Soul Calibur, everything about this app will feel very familiar. The victor must take the best of three rounds. The play primarily occurs in 2D plain, but players can sidestep around the 3D ring to avoid incoming attacks. There are 2 basic types of attacks, horizontal and vertical along with a slew of special moves powered by an energy meter. Players can win a round by either polishing off their opponent’s health meter or knocking him out of the ring.
Gameplay is very enjoyable. Story mode allows players to follow the interlocking storyline of all the characters and unlock new characters (included within the aforementioned cast of 10), while arcade and survival mode are perfect for quick consecutive battles. Thankfully the game contains a multiplayer mode where you can battle friends over Wi-fi or Bluetooth.
The on-screen analog stick and buttons work surprisingly well and feel confortable to use. It doesn’t take long to get the hang of pulling off detailed combos or special moves. To aid in mastering this process a practice mode is included, and each character’s attack move list can be accessed from the pause menu during any game mode.
All in all, Blades of Fury is an impressive fighting game app for the iPhone OS that rivals what many might expect to find on a portable, dedicated gaming system, such as the PSP. It’s no surprise to find this app priced at a premium price-point of $6.99, but if you’re a fighting game enthusiast downloading this app is a no brainer (and doubly so if you’re a fan of Soul Calibur).
Review: Ramp Champ - An Addictive Arcade Bowling App
Price: $1.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love it!
Replay Value: Very High
Pros: Quick, simple, and fun with tons of prizes, achievements, and replay value.
Cons: Prizes could be more interactive.
Bottom Line: Ramp Champ might just be the best arcade bowling / ski ball app on the App Store.
There are have been many attempts to bring Arcade Bowling to the iPhone OS, and while some of the apps are quite a bit of fun, Ramp Champ definitely gets the gold medal. Instead of the traditional ski ball setup, Ramp Champ uses 4 different themed scenarios to keep the game fresh and interesting, with 4 more scenarios downloadable via in-app purchasing. Some of the themes involve clowns, ninjas, sharks, space-invaders, just to name a few. Each scenario also comes with it’s own unique set of achievements specific to that level.
To add in a little extra incentive, players earn tickets based on their score and can cash them in for various prizes. The prizes don’t’ do much, but they’re fun to collect on your prize shelf along with achievement trophies.
The controls are very fine-tuned—difficult enough to make earning achievements challenging, but accurate enough that your score still relies upon skill. The themes add an element of variety and fun to the game that similar apps are missing, and the prizes and achievements give you incentive to keep replaying and save up your tickets.
It’s hard too find many negatives about Ramp Champ. Personally, I think I’d like to see the developers do more with the prizes, such as adding sounds and animation to some. I also hope the developers continue to add new scenarios for in-app purchasing.
Overall, I think Ramp Champ has all the essential elements necessary to make it a winner. Fun gameplay, multiple scenarios, lots of rewards, downloadable content, and all with an easy pick up and play style. If you’ve ever been a fan of ski ball, you’ll probably enjoy Ramp Champ.