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Big Pixel Studios, creators of the adorable physics puzzler Land-a Panda [99¢/HD/Lite HD] and the cat-tastic dual-stick shooter Meow Meow Happy Fight [$2.99/HD], have temporarily dropped the price of one of their other major titles, Piyo Blocks 2 [Free]. A sequel to the original Piyo Blocks [99¢/Lite] that was released in 2009, Piyo Blocks 2 takes everything that was great about that first game and improves upon it, resulting in one of the most enjoyable match-3 games around.

I know what you must be thinking, “A match-3? Seriously? I am like, SO over that”, and normally I’d totally agree with you. Except that Piyo Blocks 2 just happens to be my personal favorite match-3 out of them all (just slightly ahead of Gemmed! [$1.99/Lite], in case you were wondering), and if you don’t already own this game then downloading it while free is a mandatory action. There really isn’t a more feature-rich match-3 game available on iOS.

First off, you have 6 different modes for your single-player pleasures, each utilizing a slightly different set of rules or visuals based on the core match-3 mechanics. Each mode is quite fun in its own way, and there’s heaps of Game Center/OpenFeint achievements and leaderboards to keep you occupied as you get your match on while solo.

However, one of the coolest things about Piyo Blocks 2 is that it contains multiplayer. You can go head-to-head against somebody close to you by way of Bluetooth or a local WiFi network, or you can jump online and play people from across the globe. In fact, that is part of what spurred this freebie promotion, as Big Pixel wants to enlarge the player pool for online matchmaking. There’s really no better way to do that than to lower the barrier of entry to free.

This trailer is a bit outdated as far as listing some of the features, but it should give you an idea of what you’re in for after you download Piyo Blocks 2:

In addition to all of the above mentioned features, Piyo Blocks 2 was also just recently updated with Retina Display support. This is something I had been hoping for for a long, long time and it pleases me to no end to see all the little Piyo blocks in such crisp resolution. Big Pixel Studios are known for their wonderful sounds and visuals, and Piyo Blocks 2 is no different. In fact, I would suggest downloading the game for the soundtrack alone, as it is dangerously catchy and gets stuck in my head on at least an every-other-day basis.

I understand that there are a ton of match-3 games out there, and with so many options which one ends up being your favorite largely depends on personal preference. That said, Piyo Blocks 2 earns top spot for me, and I really can’t recommend it enough. Make sure to snag it while it’s still free, which should be at least another day or two.

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Highline Games have released W.E.L.D.E.R. [$1.99] which stands for ‘Word Examination Laboratory for Dynamic Extraction and Reassessment“, The amusing game trailer (below) suggests that words are at risk of becoming extinct, but that’s not really part of the gameplay. It’s just more interesting than saying: “Move letters around to form words”, which might sound dull and done-to-death;  but this intriguing word game is neither of those things, it’s unique and will activate your brain.

The game features an 8×8 grid which is full of letter tiles. The idea is to form words with four or more letters, by moving letter tiles around in various ways. The “Basic Swap” involves tapping any two neighboring letters (horizontally, vertically or diagonally adjoining) so they swap positions. The words must be written from left-to-right or top-to-bottom, much like a crossword puzzle. There’s no time limits (thank goodness), although a certain number of words must be formed to complete each level.

As you play, you can unlock three other types of swap:  A “Reverse Swap” is done by selecting a bunch of letters, then double tapping to reverse their order. “Group swaps” involve selecting some letters, then dragging them over one space. And finally, the useful “Jump swaps” let you tap any two movable letters on the board (even if not adjoining) and they’ll exchange places, as if teleporting. But you only have a limited number of each swap type.

When you form a word, those letter tiles disappear, and any letters above cascade down to fill the gap, including some new letters. Therefore, it’s wise to form words near the bottom of the screen, so more letters fall from above, increasing the odds of creating another word by luck. Although, this is definitely a game of skill, where a puzzle-loving wordsmith will triumph.

At the start, you’re only given 25 basic swaps to achieve the target number of words for the level. Once your swaps are depleted, the game ends. But if you form valid words, you earn points, and receive more swaps, allowing you to play longer. Five basic swaps are given for each 250 points, with special swaps given each 500 points. Little on-screen meters display how close you are to receiving the next batch of swaps.

There’s also some special tiles: Words which incorporate gold tiles double the score, there’s diamond encrusted 3x score multipliers plus a 4x multiplier. Blank wooden tiles can be stamped permanently with any letter by double tapping, but this costs one swap and scores no points. Red-hot letter tiles are apparently too hot to touch, so you can’t swap them, but they fall like regular tiles if you form words below. Broken tiles can’t be moved either, but these don’t fall. The un-moveable tiles can be removed by forming a word around them.

Like Scrabble, each letter has a different point value and bonus points are awarded for forming multiple words in the same turn. At the end of the level, bonus points are also awarded for any unused swaps. Final scores are fed into five Game Center leaderboards, along with a healthy 47 achievements. The game also supports iCloud game saves, allowing players to switch devices and resume playing.

The dictionary word-set seems reasonable, although some valid words are declined. Rude words are not permitted and this extends to some body parts. And the word “Mens” (with a diamond M) was declined. But overall, the game has correctly identified almost all of the words entered. If you’re not familiar with a word formed, you can tap it to view the definition. And the developers plan to add support for additional languages  in future. And you can submit words to the developers.

The in-game music is unusual, yet strangely soothing and deserves a mention. It sounds more like ambient background noise; almost a mixture of white noise, an old fashioned oxygen machine, with the occasional fan.  At first I thought the music was faulty, then I wondered if it was using monotonous sounds to hypnotize me into a trance, to hold my attention …and if so, it’s working, because the more I play this game, the better I become and the more enjoyable the experience.

There’s a couple of things to watch out for.  As soon as a word is formed, it’s scored and removed, so if you plan to make the word “Toaster”, and form it from left to right, the game would recognize “Toast” as a word and the letters would disappear before you wrote the full intended word. Therefore, long words should be formed from the outsides in, to avoid accidentally spelling any small words.

It’s also easy to move letters unintentionally. Firstly, because the “C” and “G” characters start looking similar after a while. Or secondly, by tapping the screen without realizing another character’s already selected, wasting a precious jump swap. These recurring human mistakes are frustrating since one bad move can end your game. Lastly, the game rules button takes you to a website, which is fine …providing you have WiFi access.

W.E.L.D.E.R. has twelve levels, which grow longer and use more challenging tiles as you progress. The games become quite slow and considered once your supply of swaps dwindles and you search for an elusive swap, but that’s a good thing because this game challenges you. The developers advise other gameplay modes are planned, so we’re curious about what comes next. For this initial release however, W.E.L.D.E.R. is one word game that has captured my attention, and is worth checking out.

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Bit Blot’s 2D side-scrolling adventure game Aquaria [$4.99] for the iPad is a gorgeous and well-produced title with a sharp emphasis on world-building and character growth. It’s good, and I think the reason why it strikes me as such a quality download has more to do with its atmospheric allure than anything else. Aquaria begs you to explore with every ounce of its being by consistently introducing mechanical novelties, alien setpieces, fascinating creatures, and drip-feeding a not-quite-but-totally convoluted story that keeps you thinking that you’re on the precipice of figuring out what’s going on with your mercreature in the game’s beautiful underwater world.

Most of the missteps in Aquaria are tied to the limitations of its new platform. Indie developer Bit Blot and its partners have masterfully replaced the cursor with finger, allowing for complete character movement without virtual pads. Strikingly, the shooting and “singing” components require virtual buttons. When these actions are coupled with the need to move fast, you inadvertently start playing Finger Twister instead of Aquaria.

For the most part, control isn’t a huge problem. Aquaria’s world has its share of danger and the occasional boss fight, but as a whole it’s more of an ambient, leisurely experience that’s more centered on exploration of its lovingly crafted environments. It is somewhat telling where the priorities reside, actually, just by how routine the fighting parts tend to feel.

The art in Aquaria, in particular, is captivating and subtle. Bit Blot doesn’t beat you over the head with concentrated “look at me” moves pointing out the ridiculous level of hand-drawn detail and quality present it both it, and for that matter, the marvelous sound and music production. On the other hand, the writing is pretty over-the-top and the game does generally have a fairly artsy-fartsy kind of tone to it.

Song is a big part of the experience. You play as a mercreature who, one day, begins a quest to uncover the past of this world. Your ‘weapon,’ initially, is music that can conjure various abilities, including shielding as well as the ability to lift heavy objects or turn your mercreature into a fire-slinging demon.

You pick the notes to songs that summon these powers, kinda like how you played the ocarina in Ocarina of Time. The core difference is the visual representation of the notes, all of which seem to have a connection a specific element. Puzzles all subtly require a knowledge of what’s at your disposal and often challenge you to think about combinations or around what you have. Environments usually lay down a heaping of clues, which helps and doesn’t necessarily rob you of grand “a-ha!” moments.

If it helps, think of Aquaria as a pretentious Metroid-vania based in a fantastic sea. It adapts and adheres to a lot of those tropes, actually, so much so that it’s pacing can take massive dives. Want to explore over here? Nope, you can’t because there’s a big rock and you need to go over here first in order to learn the song to move it. Oh, you don’t know where to go? Check your map. See that area over there that you didn’t get to earlier? There’s probably something over there you can open with a power you uncovered in order to get to something else.

To be clear, this game delivers on all your wants from a Metroid-vania — I might not be the biggest fan, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be.

Its gating and, as a consequence, your laser-honed desire to move past those barriers obscures some of the finer elements of Aquaria. Like, the cooking system, which allows you to take bits of “loot” or food you recover from enemies or plants in the world and morph them into something that boosts the stats of your character. On the other hand, these more subtle elements are what makes Aquaria so entertaining; it doesn’t spoon feed you or tell you necessarily what you can do. It just lets you exist in its world.

Aquaria is refreshing. It’s one of the handful of games on the App Store that you could call “complex” and entertaining in the same sentence while not subsequently pointing out an elaborate and infinitely tweakable RPG sub-menu or sub-system that has a hand in all the on-screen action. Not only is it beautiful, but it’s engaging in its own way and has a host of things to find, explore, and be challenged by. Go grab it, already.

Ed. Note: Images in this review are from the PC version, which are basically identical to the iPad game but without all the text found in the screenshots on iTunes. (Minor revision update to clear up some wording, too.)

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We’ve had our eye on Evertales for quite a while now. It’s a collaboration between Crescent Moon Games, creators of Aralon [$6.99], Gears [$2.99], and Siegecraft [99¢] (and more) along with Thunder Game Works who are responsible for the ridiculously popular Trenches [99¢] family of games. Evertales is a side-scrolling action-centric brawler that comes packed with three different characters as well as the gloriously cliche premise of needing to vanquish the “Dark Lord of Darkness.”

Check out the trailer:

If all goes as planned, Evertales will be released on the 10th, so keep an eye peeled for it at 11:00 PM Eastern next Wednesday night– Or potentially sooner if you’re one of those lucky Australians or New Zealanders who get everything so incredibly early compared to the rest of us.

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Growing up, I had one of those grandfathers that was obsessed with gold and keeping money out of the banks. He used to show me these little pieces of gold he had and would be like “If you work hard, all this can be yours.” (In other news, my grandfather may be Scrooge McDuck.) As such, I’m sure he would be a superfan of Colorbox’s Peak Gold [$.99/UHD], a fun little hooking game dedicated to the pursuit of gold.

Peak Gold might be lacking in coherent tutorials (sample text: “Reach 1000m depth and collect Big Diamond to PEAK GOLD!”), but it makes up for it with cutesy graphics, fun hooking action and challenging levels. Seriously, for being marketed as a casual game, this sucker is difficult. The premise is simple enough; tap the screen to grab gold and other goodies while avoiding bats and rocks before running out of time.

You play as a cute little miner (not to be confused with minor, just so we’re clear) in control of a crane that shoots out hooks. Gold, rocks, and gems pop out of a little hole in the wall and fall onto a conveyor belt at varying speeds, which pick up as you progress. As you successfully hook gold and gems, your ore meter fills up. Once that’s full, your energy bar (a timer, for all intents and purposes) slightly refills and you go down to the next depth, in search of the fabled Big Diamond. If you run out of energy, the game is over.

The gold you accumulate over your games lets you buy upgrades, which is the only way you’ll be able to progress over time. These upgrades are incredibly helpful and can double your time per round, increase your hook’s speed, and increase the amount of gold available to you, among other things. I personally was unable to get past depth three without upgrades. The aiming is difficult (though the controls are good!), the objects move by really quickly, and picking up things like rocks slows you down significantly.

If you’re lucky enough to get several good objects in a row, you might activate FEVER mode, a temporary mode where all objects are turned into gold and you’re given an extra hook in order to score even more gold. However, activating FEVER is no guarantee that you’ll pass a level, and it can be tricky to get enough combos to activate it in the first place. No one ever accused mining of being easy!

There are relatively few complaints to be had, and most have to do with personal preference. For example, some players may find being forced to return to Depth 1 over and over again a bit annoying, as there’s no way to select levels even after you’ve beaten them. So if you’re particularly bad at Depth 4, you’ll have to replay the first three depths just to try it again. If you’re playing over and over again it would probably get a little repetitive. Personally, I found myself picking this game up when I had a few minutes here and there, so it didn’t get too boring for me. Additionally, there were initially some slight audio issues, though those appear to have been fixed recently.

If you’re a fan of hooking games, this one is as good (if not better) as any. It’s fun and challenging without any of the dangers associated with real mining (except perhaps mesothelioma, though I’m not sure there’s a connection between it and Peak Gold). I would certainly recommend it to fans of hooking games, my grandfather, and any hooker with a heart of gold.

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I don’t think I give Chair enough credit. Not only did it make a good game in Infinity Blade [$5.99], but it also created an entire mobile game structure and set of mechanics that has caught fire with both developers and mobile game fans. There are good reasons, too: the instance-based conflicts, progression, repetition are perfectly bite-sized for mobile and tablet play and visuals, while the over-the-shoulder slide, tap, and swipe controls are undeniably touch intuitive.

This didn’t hit me in a vacuum, by the way. I just spent a couple of hours with Uppercut Game’s Epoch and describing the way Infinity Blade gets down is the easiest way to start a conversation about Epoch. Sure Epoch is cover-based shooter based in a broken-down sci-fi world populated by robots, but on a finer level it takes and adapts a lot of what made Infinity Blade so great and applies it to its own action model and structure.

The proof of what this does for Epoch is in its pudding: the game’s top-notch visuals are allowed to look great all the time, while the core play consistently stays fun and intuitive. It doesn’t hurt to mention that it has the breeziness to make it possible to play on-the-go, but I don’t think many of us will be able to put it down as quickly as our loved ones would like.

Epoch is a “guided experience,” meaning exploration is a no-no. Actually, you’ll never be allowed to leave its bread-and-butter, the cover you’ll need to sit behind to take out foes. That’s because the entire game’s action model, and the fun you can have, hinges solely around sliding, jumping, and shooting, and positioning around cover objects.

It sounds like a bummer on the surface, but Epoch doesn’t suffer from this decision. Swiping to move from piece of cover to piece of cover is a fairly smooth and excitingly kinetic experience. You move fast with flair and there’s some variety to it. Different enemies with different kinds of guns are constantly challenging your choice of barrier. Some enemies, for example, can shoot timed grenades, while others a steady stream that can clip through a barricade as if it didn’t exist, forcing you to jump over the wide beam. It’s really fun to play with the cover system, which is an unusual sentiment since guns are involved.

But while shooting takes a little bit of a back seat due to the more action-oriented style of the cover part of the equation, shoot you will. Epoch is seperated into insance-based fights, all of which are gated by kills. Swipe to move from cover, tap to target. Shooting is automatic once you target an enemy, but you never feel out of control. Your robot dude only shoots when you put it in a position to do so. If he’s shooting like a moron, it’s always because you are making stupid tactical approaches.

Speaking of robots, Epoch takes place in some bizarro future where machines may or may not have had an uprising of some sort. Every area I’ve seen in the game so far has been ultra-bombed out, while every robotic enemy has seemed to have been made purely to kill any opposition that swings its way. To be fair, the robot protagonist you play as seems to have been tuned in the same fashion, but your dude has a mission: find a princess — at least, I think that’s the mission.

The story-telling in particular in Epoch may not be the greatest thing ever, but I love the approach. Uppercut Game’s isn’t telling you much. Your robot doesn’t talk and you’re just exploring a world in which, obviously, something has gone horribly awry. To piece events together, the game dishes out optional diaries and messages from important people to the game world’s civilization.

The lack of story cut-scenes keeps action clippy, and it’s obvious that this is the kind of game that wants you to keep re-doing missions before going to the new ones. Your robot can upgrade its gun through an in-game store with credits earned after battle. There’s also a basic level-up system and a host of upgradeable special moves you can deploy in battle, including armor, missile, and grenade abilities. These in particular are cool, as they operate as crowd-clearing mechanisms and factor into the overall strategy. And, as I’ve discovered, you get pretty wrapped up in upgrading everything you possibly can.

Epoch does enough via its weapon systems and cover-based action to make it play and feel like a different game. And that game part, taken outside of the structure, seems to be pretty good. There’s a lot of Infinity Blade mixed into it, too. The controls, the game’s focus on repetition for better loot, its entire presentation, and a lot of its systems are undoubtedly influenced directly by Chair’s work. I’m not sure if this formula and structure are wearing on you yet, but if it’s not, you’ll probably want to check this one out when it launches. According to Uppercut, expect it soon.

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SpinTrip [99¢] from ClickGamer (Chillingo) is a 2D platform game about a rolling wheel with magical abilities. Your task is to hop inside the wheel, then roll, jump, fly or float it to the end of the level. There’s things to collect and enemies to avoid or kill, but it’s the wheel and various magical abilities which makes this game interesting and differentiates it from other platformers.

In the introduction, an old woman explains that the nasty gants have stolen five magical shims and ‘Tisu must now use his chibwheel to collect chibs and find a shimloon portal to rescue them. …umm, say what? But don’t let the unusual names put you off, because this game is actually really easy to play.

You start by choosing a character to stand inside the rolling chib-wheel. The options are: Noss (boy) or Lillme (girl), It doesn’t matter which you choose as this is purely cosmetic. By using the left, right and jump buttons, you can gain enough speed to roll the wheel across hilly terrain, caves and platforms, bouncing off leaf-trampolines and gaining points from snowflakes, stars and kidney beans. Actually they’re given another unusual name, but I don’t want to translate more words like: nietche, zlepts, popples and powkiss, so lets just call them kidney beans!

Within the levels are colorful little characters to collect, called “chibs”. Once a chib hops inside the wheel with you, you gain their magical ability. For example the “leap” chib makes the wheel jump higher,  “spitter chibs” spit seeds at your enemies like a weapon, and the “swim” chib makes the wheel buoyant, so you can cross pools of water.  Specific magical abilities are needed to pass certain obstacles, so sometimes you need to backtrack to explore for a certain type of chib.

Once you’ve collected multiple chibs, the wheel starts looking pretty crowded, but that’s good because it means you’re loaded up with plenty of abilities to choose between. Eight icons are displayed along the top of the screen, representing each type of chib you might find, but you can only select one at a time. The main action button at the bottom of the screen triggers whichever ability is selected at the top. Some platform games are almost non-stop movement, but in SpinTrip there’s plenty of starting and stopping as you reach different obstacles, choose the appropriate ability, use it, then switch back afterwards.

Each special ability can only be used a limited number of times, so you need to activate them carefully, otherwise your swim ability may expire while you’re floating or you could get stuck at the bottom of a cliff with no way to climb it.  In these situations you can search for more chibs, or restart from the last milestone on the level. Once you locate and enter the portal at the end of the level, you’re given a 3-star score based on points from collected treats, enemies killed and chibs collected.

The world map shows 16 levels (each of a reasonable size) which you unlock sequentially. However the map doesn’t display an overview of your 3-star ratings, making it difficult to easily spot which levels require another attempt. Leaderboards and just five achievements for finding collectables are managed via Chillingo’s Crystal and Game Center.

A few minor issues were noted. Firstly, it’s frustrating when your spitter weapon occasionally misses an enemy right in front of you or beside an almost in-perceivable rise in the ground, since the aiming is automatic. Secondly, the sound effects seem rather quiet compared to other games.  Thirdly, two levels appear to have the same name listed. And lastly, there’s a “Chib Index” in the main menu, which lists the various chibs, but once you reach the bottom of the list you can’t scroll back up.

SpinTrip isn’t the first platform game to use a rolling mechanism, as there’s various ball rolling games available, but it’s a nice twist to gain power-ups by collecting little characters who jump into your wheel. It’s not the most challenging platform game, with chibs generally being plentiful and easy to locate, but it’s fun to play, making this a casual but solid platforming experience.

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This past August, Firemint brought us its first release since being acquired by Electronic Arts, called Spy Mouse [99¢]. Taking their expertise in the line-drawing genre that the developer almost single-handedly popularized with their premiere iOS offering Flight Control [99¢/Lite/HD] and applying it to a stealth-heavy action/puzzle game, Spy Mouse offered an incredibly enjoyable and straight forward experience that we highlighted in our review.

The task at hand was to direct the game’s mousey protagonist Agent Squeak safely through a level, staying out of the path of roaming cats and collecting cheese and powerups along the way. It’s a formula that proved quite successful, and most importantly, fun.

Today, Firemint has released the latest update to Spy Mouse which adds in the often requested online leaderboard functionality. You’ll need to sign up with EA’s Origin service which is built into the game and then can track your level scores with fellow Spy Mouse-ers across the globe.

Also part of this update is the addition of 5 brand new Challenges to be found in Agent Squeak’s Backpack. Additionally, Firemint has lowered the required Squeak friends requirement to unlock additional elements in the Backpack to just one. If you find yourself having trouble passing certain levels, Kiska’s assistance is now available once per hour instead of just once per day, and Firemint has posted an online help video on getting past the game’s first boss, and I’d imagine they’ll have similar videos coming out in the future.

Spy Mouse was definitely a fun game to begin with, and a fresh mix on both the line-drawing and stealth genres. Plus, it’s just plain cute pretty much all around. Be sure to grab this latest update to Spy Mouse and check out the new features for yourself.

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Dungeon Defenders: Second Wave (see what Trendy did there) will be released as a free update to the iOS versions of Dungeon Defenders: First Wave [$2.99] tomorrow, the developer has told us via an e-mail release. According to Trendy, Second Wave addresses “many of the issues” from the first game, including the horrendously cluttered UI and clunky menus that kept us from enjoying its first try at an iOS port of its downloadable game.

In addition to these improvements, Second Wave will see “performance improvements,” and a player-versus-player content package called “Arena.” If you pop out your eyeglasses, you’ll be able to see some of these tweaks and adds in its newly-released trailer.

In case you didn’t know, Dungeon Defenders is now available on Xbox Live Arcade and as a PC release on Steam. These versions are particularly good according to media types, so you might want to consider checking those out if you’re into the game’s hack-and-slash meets tower defense action.

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