iPhone App Reviews

I’m as delighted as I am pained to review Keep Defenders from Itty-Bitty Games LLC and hopefully that statement makes sense by the end of this review.  What we have here is a game billing itself as a fast-paced realtime combat game.  I’ll buy that; quite accurate and while some reviewers are lumping it into the castle defense genre it far more resembles a traditional (medieval) RTS sans base building.  You control a small army consisting of 3 unit types (soldier, knight, archer) and attempt to fend off wave after wave of enemy units (which are unfortunately just darker-colored versions of your own guys).

First the good: the graphics and sound…excellent in both categories which definitely takes the game up several notches in production value.

So now the bad stuff mixed in with some sincere suggestions:

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For the past few days IAR has gotten a bunch of review requests for iPhone 4 LED flashlights, apparently a booming market in the app store. Unfortunately, I don’t have the means to acquire Apple’s latest gadget, so I’m going to be giving away the promo codes in the comments for all you lucky iPhone 4 owners.

LED Flashlight, only for iPhone 4

The Flashlight App (For some reason, the iTunes Link Maker was screwing up on this one and wouldn’t give me the link. But rest assured, it’s a flashlight app.)

LED iLight

LED Light for iPhone4

Adventure puzzle hidden-object finding games are always good…especially when they’re free! Check the bottom of the post for a promo code.

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Probably one of the most unique apps I’ve came across in a while, Descent is a freefall calculator able to offer “the most accurate possible representation of the time it would take to freefall to the earth’s surface and the speed you would be traveling upon impact”. Sweet.

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A slick top-down racer where you have to collect fuel and smash other vehicles! Check the comments for promo codes.

BlackjackAttack! is basically blackjack on steroids. With powerups. Hell yeah. Free codes at the end of post!

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Starting tomorrow and extending until July 6th, IAR is going to be unloading dozens of promotional codes for apps! Just keep your eyes peeled and iPods and iPhones ready.

App developers: Interested in getting some free promotion and word out about your app? If you’d like to participate in the free code giveaway then just head over here and drop some promo codes to share.

Turn-based strategy games are quite popular on the App Store, beloved due to their addictive and thought-provoking qualities. But every now and again, there comes along a genre-shaking game that just blows me away. Everlands, developed by Hexage.net, is one example.

Everlands’s basic plot revolves around the evil spirits taking control of animals, and the brave plethora of creatures that must come together to stop the evil and cleanse their possessed brethren. While this more juvenile, lighthearted storyline seems out of place in a genre filled with macho heroes, futuristic weaponry and vehicular combat, it blends nicely into the game and serves as a much welcomed change of pace.
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Well, the app’s description is in it’s title. Kickabout is a fun, polished casual game where you have to keep a soccer ball/football in the air for as many kicks as you can. While usually a dollar, Co-incidence Ventures Ltd has been nice enough to provide some free codes to give some lucky readers a free go at this game.

iTunes Link – Kickabout – Keepy uppy football skills for the iPhone

While text-based online role playing games run amok in the app store, happylatte (known by most as the developers who brought to you the Pet Monkey Toilet Trainer games) has stepped up with their own contribution with High Noon, a realistic westerns-based online game featuring the addictive rpg qualities that gamers already know and love mixed with some wicked gunslinging action.
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For the low, low price of free, this can all be yours!

Being too lazy to find my iPod Touch’s UDID* by manually plugging it into iTunes, I stumbled upon Ad Hoc Helper, by Erica Sadun. This no-frills utility basically snatches up some info about your device, such as your device name, model, system version, memory, free space and UDID and automatically pops open Mail so you can get that info where it needs to be.  While this not be necessary for everybody, Ad Hoc Helper an awesome way for you to quickly get info about your device, and I recommend you scoop this app in case you’re ever in a pinch.

*A 40 digit serial code unique to your iDevice. Useful for app developers who are beta testing, debugging or adjusting their app. More info here, at TUAW.

iTunes Link – Ad Hoc Helper

Budcat and Activision have teamed up to bring you Pix Maze. The object of this game is to complete different mazes and as you go a picture is revealed.

There are small mazes, medium mazes and large mazes for you to concour. With over seventy mazes for you to complete this game offers a lot of play time.

When you start up a maze your character is a bug that goes through the maze stepping on little color blocks that leave said color behind you to create the picture. In the top left corner there is a screen that shows your progress on the picture so the further into the maze you get the more detailed your picture becomes.

The controls are really simple and not intrusive. In the bottom right corner there are four arrows that you push to go in the direction you wish.

In the options you can set hints to be on or off. If you have the hints on and you wait at a fork in the road the right way will be show to you as a blinking color tab and if you wait even longer or find yourself off the main path arrows will show up to lead you back.

You can also set a playlist of songs to play from the option menu.

If this wasnt enough there is a custom maze creator. All you have to do is draw up the picture and a maze will be created for you automatically. Way cool.

I had a fun time testing this game out, cool graphics, cool pictures but the one and only thing I didn’t like was the character. Im not sure why they chose a bug as your character but I would have preferred something more appealing.

iTunes Link – Pix Maze

Version 1.0.0

Reviewed on iPhone 3G OS 3.1.3