Keep Defenders
Swain Valasek | Aug 13, 2010 Games
User rating: 
(17 votes, average: 3.53 out of 5)
(17 votes, average: 3.53 out of 5)
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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:
Tags: $2.99, castle defense, rts, Swain Valasek
POV: SMS-BOX Christmas Time!
Swain Valasek | Dec 16, 2009 Lifestyle, POV
User rating: (1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...
* “POV” (Point of View) is a new feature that we’re testing out *
Flysoft’s rating: 9.0
IAR’s rating: 7.0
Russian developer Flysoft arrives in the Nick of time (see what I did there?) with a nifty little holiday messaging app called SMS-BOX Christmas Time! Does it send visions of sugar plums dancing through your head or give you a case of the humbugs? Flysoft is pretty confident it’s the former so let’s see what they have to say first then I’ll try to confirm or deny with plenty of opinions along the way.
Tags: $0.99, christmas cards, holiday, mms, sms, Swain Valasek
POV: Cell War
Swain Valasek | Nov 13, 2009 Games, POV
User rating: (1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5) Loading ...
* “POV” (Point of View) is a new feature that we’re testing out *
TipCat Mobile’s rating: 8.0
IAR’s rating: 8.0
TipCat Mobile (a CWC company) has certainly made a splash with their first action game for the iPhone called Cell War. It’s an arcade shooter, a horizontal shmup to be exact (and we’re all about exact here at IAR). There’s no shortage of these babies in the app store so does it carve out a niche or simply step to the back of the line? TipCat tells us it’s the former and I tend to agree…read on for their capsule review followed by the comments of yours truly in the name of all that’s honest and fair.
Tags: $2.99, shmup, side scroller, Swain Valasek
POV: iChowdown (Mr. Dumb EP3)
Swain Valasek | Oct 24, 2009 Games, POV
User rating: (3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
(3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5) Loading ...
* “POV” (Point of View) is a new feature that we’re testing out *
Zenux Lab’s rating: 8.0
IAR’s rating: 6.0
iChowdown from Zenux Lab is the third effort in the Mr. Dumb Series, all games of which feature the same hand-drawn art style, characters, and purposely low-brow humor. Worth noting that EP1 was reviewed by me here and EP2 is somewhat stillborn, likely in ‘Apple approval process limbo’. EP1 turned out to be a rather charming game so let’s see what the developer has to say about EP3 and I’ll provide the IAR point of view afterwards to see how iChowdown stacks up.
Tags: $1.99, casual, Swain Valasek
Dragon Portals
Swain Valasek | Oct 11, 2009 Games
User rating: (1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...
Dragon Portals comes to us from MythPeople (casual games brand of Finnish-based 10tons Ltd), the same folks behind the wonderful Azkend (reviewed here). At its core we have basic match 3 gameplay but the innovative play mechanics and slick presentation create a very different feel that stands out from other titles in the genre. I would have published this review weeks ago but I was waiting on an update that fixed a major crash bug. The developer was as good as their word though and the update finally arrived so here we are; onward to the review!
Tags: $4.99, match 3, Swain Valasek
iPsychedelic
Swain Valasek | Sep 8, 2009 Entertainment
User rating: (52 votes, average: 3.15 out of 5)
(52 votes, average: 3.15 out of 5) Loading ...
Feeling the need for some mindless release? Stress of the day getting you down? Can’t promise iPsychedelic from Ubik will set you right but it’s such a passive experience you just might feel a boost in your personal chi afterward. This is a purely visual app and stripped down to the absolute bare bones. There are no options of any kind and no user interface. In fact, apart from a simple splash screen, once the app loads you literally see nothing but a blank screen. When proper balance has been achieved in your synapses, you begin tracing 1 or more fingers around the screen. A brilliant orb follows each finger, leaving a ‘wake’ in the liquidy plasma field along with a few stars that follow the flow. Smooth color transitions occur periodically to keep your ocular-centric medtiation moving, changing and rotating. There is no BGM at all but as expected iTunes music is fully supported. Truth be told, most folks will be bored with this app within minutes but there are those out there who simply enjoy this type of experience far more than others and would find the dollar price worthwhile. If I were to make suggestions it would be to include an airy, ambient backing loop, include the accelerometer function somehow, maybe to induce more color changes or change viscosity in the ‘liquid’ and definitely would be cool to have an ‘attract mode’ where you just sit back in conscious reflection and watch as it does its own thing randomly.
Version reviewed – 1.0
Reviewed on – iPhone 3GS OS3.0.1
iTunes Link - iPsychedelic
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- Chill, pretty trippy
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- Little trippier now as a dynamic orb follows your touch
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- Nice effects with 1 orb but is there more?
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- Why yes, multi-touch is supported for up to 5 fingers/orbs!
Tags: $0.99, casual, psychedelic, Swain Valasek, trippy
POV: Bomb Shot Recipes
Swain Valasek | Sep 2, 2009 Entertainment, POV
User rating: (1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...
* “POV” (Point of View) is a new feature that we’re testing out *
Zenux Lab’s rating: 9.0
IAR’s rating: 5.0
Bomb Shot Recipes from Zenux Lab is a fun little app to help you get smashed drinking bomb shots with your friends (or alone if that’s how you roll). If you’ve been out of the loop on this term, a bomb shot is very simple in concept. You take a shot glass full of hard liquor and drop it into a glass filled partway with something neutral like cola, fruit juice or an energy drink (called the ‘wash’). Some bomb shots are meant to be imbibed ‘clean’ wherein the shot glass contents are left intact when dropped into the glass while others are ‘dirty’ where the shot glass contents get partially mixed with the wash or even poured directly into it. As you can imagine, people have gotten insanely creative about bomb shots over the years. Bomb Shot Recipes aims to corral this favored pastime right onto your iPhone so let’s see what the developer has to say followed by the opinions of yours truly.
Tags: $1.99, bomb shots, drink recipes, shots, Swain Valasek
POV: Mr. Dumb – Go Down
Swain Valasek | Aug 30, 2009 Games, POV
User rating: (5 votes, average: 3.80 out of 5)
(5 votes, average: 3.80 out of 5) Loading ...
* “POV” (Point of View) is a new feature that we’re testing out *
Zenux Lab’s rating: 9.0
IAR’s rating: 7.0
Mr. Dumb – Go Down from Zenux Lab is actually Epsiode 1 of an ongoing series of games featuring the same characters (currently Ep. 2 called ‘Mr. Dumb – Toilet’ is in development with a preview posted here). The developer is keying on the blatant silliness, apparent homage to Beavis & Butthead and pickup and play simplicity of these games to win over some fans. The gameplay in Go Down is reminiscent of Papijump or Doodlejump but in the opposite direction so you’re trying to go down as far as you can. Let’s first have a look at what the developer has to say then I’ll provide an IAR angle for comparison.
Tags: $0.99, casual, Swain Valasek
Tyrian
Swain Valasek | Aug 16, 2009 Games
User rating: (7 votes, average: 4.43 out of 5)
(7 votes, average: 4.43 out of 5) Loading ...
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Tyrian is a classic SHMUP or 2D vertical shoot-em-up, developed by Eclipse Productions and originally published on the PC in 1995 by Epic MegaGames. The game officially went freeware in 2004 and a project called OpenTyrian came about in 2007 to create an open-source version. This iPhone port from Mobila Interactive is based on OpenTyrian but special enhancements have been made to take advantage of the iPhone’s unique interface. I can tell you right now (IMO anyway) that this is the finest port yet of any game for the iPhone so if you happen to like SHMUP’s, you’ve found heaven. Since this port uses original game assets, they must be downloaded (~10 MB) post-install from the Internet. Much like Flashback, when you first run the game you’ll be prompted through this process so try to be on WiFi (after this 1-time download you’re all set).
Tags: $1.99, 2D shooter, shmup, Swain Valasek, vertical shooter
Archon Lite
Swain Valasek | Aug 3, 2009 Games
User rating: (3 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
(3 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5) Loading ...
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Note the full version of Archon was reviewed by me right here.
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The developer emailed us and wanted us to help let everyone know the lite version of Archon is available now for you to check out free and hopefully decide you dig it and purchase the full.
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The lite version is a worthy download as it incorporates a number of features and fixes present in the current 1.2 version of the full game. The demo lets you play the light or dark side with 8 unique characters. The dev team has been hard at work supporting this title and promises regular updates for the near future including new game modes, board configurations and culminating in the promised multiplayer mode, YES!
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iTunes Link – Archon Lite
iTunes Link – Archon Full
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Tags: free, Swain Valasek
iYamato Lite
Swain Valasek | Aug 3, 2009 Games
User rating: (3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
(3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5) Loading ...
Note the full version of iYamato was reviewed by me right here.
The developer dropped us a line and wanted us to let everyone know the lite version of iYamato is out for you to try for free to help you decide if the full version is worth a purchase.
The lite features a 1 min time attack mode and new leader board. Give it a go, this game has a great cinematic feel, wicked graphics and sound (try it with headphones) and is lots of fun.
iTunes Link – iYamato Lite
iTunes Link - iYamato Full
Tags: free, Swain Valasek
Dungeonslayer
Swain Valasek | Aug 2, 2009 Games
User rating: (3 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
(3 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5) Loading ...
There’s been a growing trend among iPhone game releases lately and if you had to sum it up in one phrase it would be ‘has potential but needs work’. Adding +1 to this trend is the action RPG Dungeonslayer (DS hereafter) from Needsnacks Studios. This game will remind one of Diablo from the screenshots/video and certainly it appears to draw inspiration from that classic but alas, after playing through the game it’s clear the consummate Diablo clone for iPhone has not yet been delivered. Enough then about Diablo, let’s get down to specifics about Dungeonslayer, a game which I do like (despite my opening comments) and have lots to say about so buckle up for a lengthy review.
Tags: $3.99, action rpg, rpg lite, Swain Valasek
