iOS Reviews

Wayward Souls - the latest offering from Rocketcat Games, the minds behind Punch Quest - is the latest of this genre revival, following in the wake of other recent mobile and PC entries like FTL or Rogue Legacy. Players control one of six different character classes (three of which are locked from the start) as they fight through three increasingly difficult, procedurally-generated dungeons, casting spells and unleashing special attacks on the way.

Usually the story in a video game uses the same techniques found in other mediums. Epic adventures that have clear beginnings and ends. No matter what sort of free-roaming choices there might be along the way, games tend to follow a linear series of events that lead the protagonist to The End.

What happens when you take a beloved cult series and bastardize it until it suits mass appeal? What happens when you add just enough reference to the original series that fans are interested enough to check it out, so interested that some might even open their wallet to see what surprises are hiding behind a paywall? These are no longer questions that need answering: in releasing Dungeon Keeper for iOS, EA have done us all a favour, showing exactly how not to revive something so well-loved.

Mice like cheese and anybody who's seen an episode of Tom and Jerry knows the lengths they'll go to get some. They don't mind disfiguring cats, using the dark arts, blackmailing relatives... so long as their bellies are full at the end of a long day, they odn't mind who they have to step on to get at them. World of Cheese is a puzzle game, spliced with a lot of hidden object for good measure. The only objective: get that cheese!

Excalibur is a 2D mobile action MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online game) developed by R2Games for iOS and Android devices. The game allows player to choose from 3 unique character classes and send them on a medieval adventure alone or with friends, battling Knights, Goblins and Dragons in order to retrieve the legendary sword of heroes, Excalibur.

Dennis is having a bit of a bad day. The world has been frozen over, he's all alone, he has nothing but a creaky bicycle to make his way through the frozen hellscape and, on top of all that, some video game player keeps dressing him up in silly clothes. Dennis is the unfortunate fellow who stars in Icycle: On Thin Ice, and over the course of the game he will be crushed, impaled, exploded, and forced to suffer the indignities of being treated like a Barbie doll by a cruel, unsympathetic player.

There's a problem with iOS sequels: the phrase "more of the same thing" would be an understatement in describing the 'changes' most games make before attaching a numeral. There are a few bright spots here and there (Fieldrunners 2, Infinity Blade 2, Mikey Hooks), but for the most part, new gameplay mechanics, modes, and improvements (other than graphical) are few and far between. Unfortunately, EPOCH 2 isn't one of these innovative sequels - but despite a few frustrating shortcomings, retains the break-neck gameplay pace and fantastic touch control scheme of ...

The problem with Dungeons & Dragons was that it could only be played with a group. Desktop PCs in the 80s had a few text adventure games that mimicked the D&D experience as a single-player adventure, but PC's were rare and pricey back then. A cheap, portable alternative were Gamebooks that used printed text and images to replace a live dungeon master. They also had simplified D&D style rules to govern variable and give players choice over how their adventure played out.

Sudoku is one of the most popular puzzle games on earth, with endless amounts of variations, apps, books and even competitions dedicated to the "ancient" mindbender. FlowDoku hopes to stand out amongst them, offering a simple variation that uses shapes instead of numbers.

As one of the larger publishers in the App Store, Gameloft's recent descent into free-to-play monstrosities or thrown-together movie tie-ins been quite disappointing, especially when signature franchises take a turn for the worst (I'm looking at you, Dungeon Hunter 4). So when Gameloft announced Asphalt 8: Airborne a few months back, it was hard not to be hesitant - after all, who wants to install another racing game full of timers, paywalls, and simplistic gameplay?