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Review: Doodle Jump

Posted onMarch 6th, 2010

Just recently, I have been in the mood for a simple game for the iPhone that looks as if a 4 year old designed it. To my surprise there are hundreds of apps like that for the iPhone. In the mess of all these apps, I found Doodle Jump, it fits my requirement of looking like an app that was made with crayons and colored pencils, and it also has a very familiar type of gameplay. In-fact, the similarities between Papi Jump Doodle Jump and are so close, I would bet that they are long lost cousins.

Review: Spirit by Marco Mazzoli

Posted onMarch 4th, 2010

Not Geometry Wars

The Xbox’s twin-stick shooter, ‘Geometry Wars’, started something (besides making plagiarising Eugene Jarvis’s seminal Robotron acceptable). It showed that retro could be pretty, beguiling – nay, even sexy.

Spirit, by Marco Mazzoli continues this trend. At first glance you’d be forgiven for thinking this was Geometry Wars.

  1. Black background? Check.
  2. Deforming gridded play-area? Check.
  3. Neon palette? Check.
  4. Vector-styled graphics? Check.
  5. Randomised waves of enemies? Check.
  6. Gutteral, particle-filled death animation? Check.

So far, so very, very familiar.

But that’s where it ends, for in Spirit your primary activity is drawing, not shooting.

Announcement: Vlingo iPhone App Now Available on App Store

Posted onMarch 4th, 2010

We haven’t used it yet, but there is a new Vlingo app for the iPhone out. It claims to have six voice-powered features including email, Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps, regular Google, voice dialing and some others. While we have never used it before, it looks cool and useful and we are sure someone swears by it. Look for Daniel’s review soon, press release and images after the jump.

Review: Cogs by Lazy 8 Studio, Published by Chillingo

Posted onFebruary 21st, 2010

We’re all so inured to the mouthy, screaming cacophony of mismatched ideas, images and sounds that has come to represent the gaming industry that the merest hint of clarity of purpose – of elegance – makes us weep.

I’m crying right now. Big, manly tears, but tears nonetheless.

I’m playing Cogs and it is genuinely elegant. It’s possibly the first steam-punk puzzle game, and this core creative decision has an impact on every part of the game.

Review: Sword of Fargoal

Posted onJanuary 20th, 2010

I remember playing a little game called ‘Rogue’ back in the ’80s, when I still had hair and a really bad grey suit with rolled-up-sleeves. Rogue was simple, turn-based, text-only affair where you moved a small ‘@’ symbol around randomly generated dungeons in the quest for the amulet of Yendor. It had more controls than a Boeing 747 and a learning curve so steep Celine Dion’s nose could only weep with envy. Ew. Because Rogue randomised most of its content the game was different every time you played, and thus has held a fond place in players hearts for many years.

Sword of Fargoal is almost as old as Rogue, originating on the C64 back in 1983. It also shares a similar theme and many features with its ancient forbear; random dungeons you slowly reveal as you move around, and a quest for a great artifact (the titular sword) which leads you into its furthest depths. However, past this point, Fargoal and Rogue diverge enormously.

Review: Flaboo

Posted onJanuary 12th, 2010

The iPhone has revolutionized the gaming and phone industry with its touch capabilities and its revolutionary App Store in which a user can browse over 150,000 apps. Today, we review Flaboo, an app created by Dene Carter, which is a strategic jumping game where the sky is the limit. In Flamboo, you play as Fat Chick (yes, you play as a fat baby chick) and your goal is to get as high as you can before the time runs out. In addition to just hopping, you can pick up keys that unlock power-up-like bonuses that allow you to bounce higher, fly faster, and jump twice as high. As in just about all games, there is a villain. In Flaboo, evil clouds are meant to slow you down enough so that you can not hit the next checkpoint.

Review: EzFiles

Posted onOctober 27th, 2009

Since buying the iPhone there is one thing I’ve been missing, that is a way to stream content directly from my NAS, specifically movies and TV shows (formatted for iPod/iPhone) and watch them anywhere in my house. It may sound as though I am insane for wanting such a feature but for me there are times when I’m sitting around thinking that it would be nice.