TouchArcade.ru

Our ratings for games we reviewed in October are now in place, and we now present to you the ones that are on the top of the heap. Each game reviewed receives a 1-5 star rating relative to the other games from that month. Generally, a 3 or higher is considered a “good” rating.

Our final scores are not the product of any traditionally objective measures such as graphics or sound, but simply reflect the games we would most recommend to others. Keep in mind, this listing is comprised of games we reviewed in October, and not necessarily games that were specifically released in October.

5 Stars

Bring Me Sandwiches!!, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Adult Swim is batting 1000 lately with fabulous iOS games, and Bring Me Sandwiches!! keeps that tradition going strong. It’s a cross between the collect-everything-you-see gameplay of Katamari Damacy with a platformer game. Additionally, tons of control schemes make the game great to play no matter what your control preference might be.

Mage Gauntlet, $2.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Almost too many games lean on pixel art and chip tunes just because it’s in style, but Mage Gauntlet draws inspiration from that era and allows it to permeate every aspect of the game. If you have any fond memories of Super Nintendo-era action RPGs, don’t miss this game.

Scribblenauts Remix, $4.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Originally released on the Nintendo DS, Scribblenauts is a game that’s so unique that you simply must play it. Remix combines the best elements from both of the DS games along with 10 iOS-exclusive levels. In addition, it’s even universal and boasts complete iCloud save syncing support.

4.5 Stars

Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation, $6.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Gameloft has had two solid entries in the Modern Combat series so far, and the third is somewhat expectedly the best one yet. A heavily scripted single player campaign is supplemented by online multiplayer with oodles of maps and game modes.

Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Movie games are almost universally terrible, but I don’t have a problem getting behind this trend of taking a great existing game and adding a layer of movie tie-in on top. It worked for Angry Birds Rio, and works just as well here. Bandito mode is a ton of fun, and would be fun regardless of the Puss in Boots tie-in.

Whale Trail, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Most games you can plot along a line graph with “gameplay” on one end and “presentation” on the other. The best games wind up somewhere in the middle, and Whale Trail definitely sits deep into the “presentation” side of things. Still, the game looks fantastic, and the incredibly vibrant graphics almost make you forget the gameplay is so simple.

Forever Drive, Free – [Review - Forum Thread] – This clever racing game, as the title suggests, allows you to drive forever in community-created tracks. It has a cool atmosphere, and a great spin on the freemium model where paying truly feels optional, something I wish we’d see a little bit more.

Dark Meadow, $5.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Atmospheric horror is a game genre that never really seems to translates to portable devices very well, but Phosphor Games did a great job of it with Dark Meadow. Set in a creepy hospital, and utilizing the Unreal Engine, the game looks and sounds great. A repetitive combat system drags down this otherwise fantastic title.

Slam Dunk King, Free – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – The best part of NBA Jam was always the ridiculous dunks, and Slam Dunk King distills that formula even further to a ultra-casual sports game that focuses solely on wicked dunks. It’s even free, and similar to Forever Drive, paying feels very optional.

The rest of the game ratings can be seen in their respective rating categories (also found in the sidebar navigation): 5 Stars, 4.5 Stars, 4 Stars, 3.5 Stars, 3 Stars, and 2 Stars.

As always, we expect there will be some debate about relative scores, but keep in mind that everyone’s personal ratings may vary based on individual tastes.

For more of our favorite iOS games, check out our “Best iPhone Games” category which includes all of these monthly posts as well as other special compilations of the greatest games the App Store has to offer:

• So You Just Got an iPhone 4S… Here’s What You Need to Know!
• So You Just Got a Verizon iPhone… Let’s Get You Up To Speed!
• So You Just Got an iPhone 4 – An App Store Gaming Guide
• Best iPod Touch and iPhone Games: 2010 Buyer’s Guide
• 2010: TouchArcade Staff Favorites – Eli
• 2010: TouchArcade Staff Favorites – Blake
• 2010: TouchArcade Staff Favorites – Brad
• 2010: TouchArcade Staff Favorites – Jared
• Best iPod Touch and iPhone Games: 2009 Buyer’s Guide

[source]

It’s hard to say which cliche best applies to Dark Dot. Good things come in small packages? Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth? That’s the beauty of cliches — they’re all so universal. The beauty of Dark Dot [Free], on the other hand, is that while tiny, it’s well crafted, fun and totally free. If you have an iPad, you should be downloading it right now.

But perhaps you want to know a little more about the game. If so, then think of Dark Dot as the result of a clandestine meeting between vertical shooters and line drawing games. You control an army of darklets led by the Darkest of Terrors, affectionately known as ‘Dot.’ You can corral your darklets into formation by drawing shapes around them. They spread out or squish in to fill the shapes you draw, and fire from their new positions. All the while, they march over a constantly scrolling background as their elemental enemies fly by.

You can pinch, spread and twist your formation around at will, giving yourself more coverage to shoot or tightening up to concentrate your fire. Your individual darklets may take a bullet for you and expire, but as long as you have at least one left the army marches on. Each darklet gives you one projectile, though, so lose too many and you’ll be practically unarmed.

You fight an army of air elementals led by the Cyclone King, who has grievously insulted the honor of the head dot. Most are content to simply fly around, occasionally hitting your troops if they get lucky. But some are more vicious, sending out gusts, cyclones and huge blasts of lightning. You can draw and drag your way around the enemy, and collect hearts to revive fallen darklets.

The drawing mechanic seems like a fantastic innovation for the genre, but Dark Dot never takes it very far. Most of the game can be completed by drawing an oval and resizing it as necessary. Occasionally you’ll run into Aether Chargers, pads laid out in simple formations that you need to match. Position darklets on each of them to charge up your Darkness Break, which makes you invulnerable, doubles your score temporarily and unleashes a huge barrage of shots. The chargers also increase your score multiplier, so collecting them is a must for the high score seeker.

It’s possible the formation drawing would get more complex in time, but we’re never given the opportunity to find out. As I said, good things come in small packages and this one is tiny — only four levels, and one’s the tutorial. The levels themselves are reasonably long, and you can challenge yourself with a three-star ranking system and local high score, but it’s over all too soon.

And that’s the price of Dark Dot. There are no ads, IAP or hidden costs, but there’s also not that much game. Don’t let that discourage you, though. What’s here is absolutely adorable, with great art and music, and every bit of polish that could be packed into its tiny frame. Let’s hope that GAMBIT Game Lab comes through with the hinted-at follow up, but as it’s an international research initiative, I’m not sure it’s big on sequels. So in the meantime, enjoy this gift horse thoroughly. And pop by our discussion thread to tell us what you think.

[source]

This past May, developer Dingo Games brought Laser Dolphin [$2.99/HD] to the App Store, a game that wins all sorts of brownie points from me just based on the name alone. However, before that the developer had released another iOS game that actually proved to be quite popular in an under the radar sort of way. It was called Tasty Planet [$2.99/Lite/HD], and the best way I could describe it would be if Katamari Damacy and Spore Origins [99¢] had a gooey grey baby.

As the story goes in Tasty Planet, one day an enterprising scientist was looking to create a more efficient way to clean. He creates a microbial speck of grey goo that he hopes will feast on dirt and grime, but it turns out it has more of a hunger for anything and everything. Naturally the goo gets set free into the wild, and the game follows its journey through different locations as it grows larger and larger by eating everything in sight.

Dingo Games has sent word that they’re readying an iOS port of the sequel to Tasty Planet, which is called Tasty Planet: Back for Seconds. The scientist has recklessly created another goo, and once again it gets free. This time though, the goo grows large enough to chomp down on the scientist’s latest creation, a time machine, and proceeds to travel throughout history chowing down on everything it can.

I’ve been playing through a preview copy of Tasty Planet: Back for Seconds, and if you were a fan of the first game then you’ll feel right at home with this new one. The biggest change, aside from improved visuals, is the new dynamic level structures. In the first game, you would start out small and would go to town eating the small objects around you, eventually graduating to larger objects as you increased in size. Once a level was complete, you’d move on to the next one, which typically featured the previously large objects as your starter food, with even bigger objects entering the fray after that.

In Back for Seconds, this is still pretty much the formula, but the levels change dynamically as you grow. So for example, in the first level you’ll start out as a tiny goo, eating little candies and other small items on the desk in the scientist’s laboratory. Once you grow large enough, the view will zoom out and you’ll begin eating larger objects and eventually graduate to objects on the floor. Once you become big enough, you’ll gobble up the time machine in the lab which will set off your time traveling journey.

The dynamic level changing softens the linear progression that was in the first game, and makes it feel more like you’re an actual goo who is constantly growing larger with every meal. While both Tasty Planet games are not much more than simple avoidance/collection games at their core, it’s the environments in the games that really make them fun. In the same way that I used to love playing the Micro Machines games and racing around a track lined with pencils, staplers, and paper clips, it’s just fun to start out in the tiny worlds of Tasty Planet and eventually grow your way into scarfing down large animals, cars, trees, and even dinosaurs. And from what I’ve played so far, Back for Seconds does this aspect even better than the original game did.

Another thing worth noting is that Tasty Planet utilizes several control options. The default is tilt controls, but as I’m not typically a big fan of those I appreciate that there’s several other touch control options. Also, there’s a good amount of variety to the missions beyond just eating larger and larger items, like eating a certain number of items within a time limit or negotiating mazes to collect specific items. Don’t get me wrong, the majority of the game is mindless arcade-style fun, but it’s nice to break up the gameplay now and then with these sorts of elements, and I’m looking forward to digging even deeper into this sequel to see what other kinds of things are waiting for me.

Tasty Planet: Back for Seconds seems to be in a fairly complete state, so should hopefully be releasing in the not too distant future. We’ll have another look at the final product when it eventually hits the App Store.

[source]

Blosics [99¢ / HD] is a casual object-flinging game like Angry Birds, but this is no clone, as it feels fresh and unique with plenty of different features to unlock. FDG Entertainment, the makers of Cover Orange [99¢ / HD],  advise that the online version of Blosics has been experienced by over 40 million players, which is quite a lot of people, but personally I prefer to play my games on iOS devices. Thankfully, that is now possible with the arrival of Blosics in the App Store.

The idea is to throw balls at unfriendly colored blocks, which are often stacked into piles or structures. The grumpy blocks have little faces which are always frowning as they mutter comments like:  “Yada yada” , “Nom nom nom”, “Watch it!”, “Hey!” and my personal favorite quote: “Blurgh!” No wonder people throw balls at them.

Initially, you’ve got one type of ball to swipe at the moody blocks, but by completing levels and earning stars (or just making a quick in-app purchase), you can unlock up to 13 power-balls with special abilities, like bigger balls, heavier balls or multi-balls. There are spiked balls, attract balls, and even psychic balls for you to fling around (please note that any innuendo around my regular use of the word “balls” in this review is mostly unintentional).

Whereas Angry Birds gives you pigs to catapult in a set order, Blosics lets you choose which type of ball to toss each turn …but there’s a catch: Throwing balls costs you points, with more powerful balls costing more points. So the aim is to get rid of all the blocks using the fewest and cheapest balls possible, to achieve good scores and three stars. Game Center leaderboards (’Highest score’ and ‘Most stars’) are provided, along with forty achievements.

As you’re playing the level, the screen displays how many of the three stars you’ve achieved on that level so far, plus how many more points are required to obtain the next star. You don’t necessarily need to get all the blocks to obtain three stars and if you’re stuck on a tricky level, you can return to it later once you’ve unlocked more powerful balls to take another crack.

Blosics is a strategic game, in a few ways. First, you need to choose a target, because some colors of block are heavier and worth more points. Next, you need to find a weak-spot to target, as this is a physics-based game where objects fall, collide, roll and float, and the ghost of your last shot is shown to assist with aiming. Then, you need to determine which ball to use: One expensive powerful ball may clear the level, but two well-placed cheaper balls could score more points. And finally, you set the power of the shot and throw!

There are two control schemes available: My preference was “Classic” (tap, swipe back further for more power and release) or “Alternate” (drag the ball around to get up speed, then release it in the right direction, like having a tennis-ball on a string). A handy “restart level” button is provided for quick repeats when you mess up.

The controls are really easy to use, although it’s not easy to do precise softer shots (especially with the multi-ball) as the controls seem optimized for harder more direct shots. Also, the ball selection button opens another screen, which isn’t too intrusive, but seems unnecessary for such a common action. It would be better to manage the ball selection process right on the main game screen.

There are four nicely varied episodes to complete, with 120 levels in total. The game opens in the ‘World of Balls’ (which doesn’t sound like a particularly appealing place to live), followed by underwater, underground and outer-space episodes, with each level having themed music.  In the underwater levels things move slowly and water currents can drag the blocks and your balls across the screen, or into a whirlpool. In space, the gravity varies and things move even more slowly.

Many players will breeze happily through the early levels, but once you’re a couple of episodes in, some levels require more thought to three-star. Blosics reveals new features throughout the game, from the start right through to the last episode, so we’re looking forward to trying all the unlocked items on the promised “coming soon” levels.

[source]

While in-app purchases have certainly made their mark across a wide variety of genres of iOS games, it has yet to clearly take root with classic role playing games. Dawn of Magic [Free], the latest game from Lakoo, is an experiment in infusing certain elements of in-app purchasing with classic RPG gameplay. For some gamers, such a combination may be a turnoff towards investing a substantial amount of time in Dawn of Magic. However, for those willing to check it out, this classic RPG succeeds in recreating the old school RPG experience, for better or worse.

You won’t find any novel gameplay quirks in Dawn of Magic. Everything from the sprite based graphics to the turn based battles is classic RPG, pure and simple. In addition, don’t expect much in terms of side quests, as Dawn of Magic is extremely linear and runs through the story relatively quickly (assuming you’re able to grind out levels and gold in good order). While I had no problem with Dawn of Magic’s linear style and somewhat generic gameplay, I could imagine others looking for something new might not appreciate the game’s homage to the classic gameplay.

As mentioned earlier, one of the big questions surrounding Dawn of Magic is how well it integrates IAP into the standard RPG formula. Overall, Dawn of Magic succeeds in successfully implementing the system by leveraging the standard grind that’s prevalent in classic RPGs. In addition to the standard experience/leveling and gold/equipment systems, Dawn of Magic also tosses in a few extra perks, such as instant leveling up, and the ability to equip more magic spells on each character. Each of these perks cost standard gold to activate. The IAP comes into play by allowing players to obtain additional gold by purchase or by participating in its sponsorship program (which typically has you sign up for a free deal or download and run an app).

Since gold is earned after each battle, it is definitely possible to earn all of these extra perks simply by grinding gold during battles. However, even if you don’t feel like grinding, there are certainly enough free apps you can download in order to earn gold in that manner as well. For folks that don’t want to do either of those things (or pay outright for gold), then Dawn of Magic loses its appeal. However, considering that one of the perks of using such a system is the lower barrier to entry, I think it works well in giving most gamers an opportunity to check it out.

The one glaring issue with Dawn of Magic is with its translation. From the start, you’ll find grammatical issues and a lot of strange sentence choices. True, the overarching story of a world filled with magic and a young adventurer on a quest to save the world won’t offer any surprises for anyone familiar with classic RPG stories. Still, the disjointed grammar is certainly out of place for a genre that relies on heavy story elements. One other complaint was with its touch based controls, which were occasionally annoying but adequate enough for an RPG.

Translation issues aside, Dawn of Magic does provide a solid RPG experience. While the overarching story is a bit generic, the gameplay is there and survives the freemium/IAP infusion. If you’re a fan of classic RPGs and are looking for a new title to grind through, then Dawn of Magic may be worth checking out, particularly with its current deal of being free.

[source]

Vector Unit has already made a name for itself with water-based racing games — especially when you consider the developers release last year of the stupid-entertaining Hydro Thunder Hurricane for XBLA. Now, they’ve ported the initially Android only Riptide GP [$4.99] to iOS and the arcade action racer is boasting some of, if not the best water physics on the platform, but the game itself might not totally live up to the impressive water effects.

That said, those impressive water physics come at a cost — namely that they’re only really impressive on the new devices. The game plays significantly different on a 4S than on, say, an original iPad, because the waves move and change in real time on newer devices, but are flat on older ones. It’s not just a visual thing — you’ll feel like you’re playing a different game.

That game is something of a mash-up of Wave Race 64 and Wipeout. It’s not as trick-based as Wave Race, nor does it have the incredibly fun multiplayer, but it does have jet skis. In every other way, it’s more akin to Wipeout-sans weapons, the visuals come in a sterile, far-future aesthetic, the sound is pumping electronic music and the game is packed full of gleaming lights. Even the track design is similar to Wipeout, especially in its closed corridor tight turning craziness.

As with a lot of racing games, your primary control will be the tilting the device. There’s no option for a virtual stick, so if you hate tilt controls, you might want to hold off for an update later, as the developer has popped into the forums to say it’ll be added later. On top of the tilting, you’ll also tap occasionally for a speed burst and you can use an invisible virtual pad to perform tricks, but they don’t seem to have any effect the score, so you’re just showing off to yourself.

You’ll get six tracks here, then an additional six where they’re reversed. You’ll also be able to take on championship cups in one of three different speeds, 250cc, 500cc, and 1000cc. The easier 250cc can be a bit dull, but it gets you used to the track design and feel of the game, so it’s necessary. When you’re ready, taking on the 500cc and 1000cc races are significantly more challenging and entertaining.

The entire game is packaged like Wipeout in nearly every way, even the menu screens feel similar. That said, it also feels as barren and constrained as Wipeout at times, especially when it comes to track design. The world you’re racing in exists for one reason or another, but you’ll likely always be wondering why this crazy, futuristic society decided to flood its streets with water so people could race around on jet skis.

The track design never seems to fully evolve either. Generally, tracks in arcade racers get more complicated as they move along, but here they’re all about even in difficulty, with the only real spike coming from the more artificial speed of your jet ski or the occasional obstacle. They’re not bad by any means, but they do come across as generic at times. There’s also nothing else to do but race, no stunt courses, goofy tricks or anything else, it’s a pure racing experience without too much hassle around it.

It would certainly have been nice to get some multiplayer, even just on a local level, but even without it, Riptide GP is an entertaining title that looks fantastic on new devices. You might want to dip your toe in the water slowly if you’re cruising without an A5 chip under the hood, but overall, Riptide GP is a solid racer with good controls — it’s just too bad the track design is a little barren.

TouchArcade Rating:

[source]

Friends of mine know King of Dragon Pass [$5.99] as “that menu-based simulation game Eli will not shut the heck up about.” Well, now it’s “that menu-based simulation game Eli will not shut the heck up about that’s also on sale.” For a limited time, King of Dragon Pass has sworn fealty to a new royal price point in honor of the game’s 12th birthday: $5.99, down from $9.99. Now, before you go instinctively mashing the download button in iTunes, you should really know what you’re getting into with this game. It’s definitely not for everyone, as I mention in our review:

I think the easiest way to describe what the game is all about is to call it a largely text-based menu-driven mash up of a Civilization game and a Choose Your Own Adventure book. If you’re the kind of person who requires flashy graphics, fast action, rock-bottom pricing, and online multiplayer, stop reading now. This is not the game for you. If, however, you can barely even fathom a more glorious conglomeration than Civilization and Choose Your Own Adventure, prepare to absolutely lose yourself in King of Dragon Pass. …Read More

In addition, development has started on the iPad version of the game, which is glorious news for iPad-owning fans to the game. In fact, my only real issue with KoDP is that I really wanted to play it on the iPad and text-based games with mega-pixelated fonts running in 2x mode just doesn’t jive with me. From the sounds of it, the developers are just starting on work for the iPad adaptation, and haven’t yet committed to whether it’s going to be a universal update or an entirely separate version… But I’ve got my fingers crossed.

[source]

When Top Spin was released for the original Xbox, I became an instant fan of tennis games. I would crank up the difficulty to max and give myself bad stats and play the top players, just to make it more challenging. But until recently my iOS device had no tennis games installed, even though there’s a few out there.

Flick Tennis: College Wars [99¢ / HD / HD Free] by Rolocule has come to the rescue, providing me with a challenging touch-based tennis game to conveniently carry in my pocket. The iPad version was released in August, but this review is based on the iPhone version, which has just come out. And I’m really enjoying it, because although it starts out pretty easy, the later matches are challenging and can be real nail-biters.

Three modes are provided: Story, exhibition and head-to-head multiplayer. Unfortunately, there’s no tournament mode, which would have worked perfectly with this game, although story mode does tie multiple matches together in a sequence.

In story mode, you play the role of Kevin Adams, a talented young tennis prodigy who wants to succeed on court to make his wheel-chair bound father proud and to be selected for the college / university team.  Kevin’s story spans 11 episodes, with 35-pages of comic-based cut-scenes between episodes (ie: about 3 pages worth per episode.)

Comic-strips and tennis are not an obvious combination, but the simple storyline works nicely enough, painting Kevin as an under-dog and explaining his motivation to win each particular match. If you’re not interested in the storyline, it’s easy to skip through the comics quickly to focus on the tennis. The story episodes include both single and multiplayer matches of increasing difficulty. By playing through the episodes, you unlock players, courts and subsequent episodes.

Exhibition mode includes singles or doubles matches. The doubles matches include an AI-controlled partner for you to play with. This introduces the additional challenge of ensuring the court is always covered by the two of you.  In multiplayer mode two players square off on the same device, taking turns at swiping. I didn’t try this mode with another player, but it would probably work better on the larger iPad screen.

The AI opponents play intelligently, with four different styles of play (Defensive baseliner, aggressive baseliner, volleyer and all-court players). The help screen explains the traits of each style and lists some real-world examples, listing Pete Sampras as a volleyer and Roger Federer as an all-court player. The opponents also have a skill level, ranging from beginner to professional. There are 11 courts (including grass, clay and synthetic) starting with practice courts with bird noises, to sports stadiums with an appreciative applauding audience. And an umpire announces the score verbally, which adds to the tennis atmosphere.

Flick Tennis is totally designed around swipe controls, so there’s no joystick or buttons cluttering the screen. You can do four different shots by swiping your finger. The basic ground-stroke is done by simply swiping upwards in the direction you want to hit the ball. The accuracy of the shot depends on how close you swipe from the position of the player and the timing. If you swipe too early, the shot will be inaccurate, but swiping too late will cause you to miss the ball entirely. Swiping downwards does a drop-shot, which is effective if the player is hanging back at the baseline.

The other two shots require two-finger swipes. A slice is done by swiping two fingers upwards. While a two-finger downwards swipe lobs the ball, which is useful for hitting the ball over a players head when they’ve cheekily approach the net. But be careful, because if you lob to a player at the baseline, he (or she) might SMASH the high ball back at you. Likewise you can smash it if you receive a lob in the right court position. Each of the four shots is drawn on the screen in a different color, to confirm your chosen action.

The one finger swipes are easy, but it took a little practice to nail the two finger swipes. Once you recognize that the first finger to touch the screen will draw the line, it’s a lot easier to play accurate shots more consistently. Plus, there’s an interactive tutorial which introduces you to the four different swipes. It also explains that you can tap the screen to walk in that direction, however the player will automatically run to the ball by default, allowing you to focus mostly on the shots unless you specifically want to run to the net, baseline, center or sides. One cool feature is that if you’re running, it has a bearing on the shot, so if you draw your line early, you need consider where you’ll be standing by the time you swing. Often it pays to aim a little in-court just to be safe.

A few general observations: Firstly, when two players are both at the net, the ball is sometimes hit backwards and forwards several times rapidly, with multiple sound effects in quick succession, which never occurs in real tennis and ruins the otherwise tennis-like atmosphere (only happens rarely). Secondly, there’s no leaderboard or achievements, which is desirable in a competitive sporting title. My skills deserve some recognition! And lastly, the lack of tournament thing I mentioned earlier.

Flick Tennis: College Wars is a welcome addition to my iPod Touch and won’t be deleted any time soon. The controls work well once you’ve mastered them and it’s a blast to swipe a variety of shots, making the opponent run around the screen, just like I used to on the Xbox. Or some of the time I’m getting thrashed, but either way, I’m loving it. The game is currently on sale through today only, so don’t hesitate to grab either version of the game for 99¢ before they return to their normal prices of $1.99 and $3.99.

[source]

Every logic puzzle lover should know about nonograms. You might know them as picross puzzles, or griddlers, or maybe just the younger sibling of Sudoku, but you should know them. If you don’t, no foul: Fugazo’s World Mosaics [$1.99] is a good place to start.

If you’re not in the know, here’s the quick version: a nonogram puzzle presents you with a grid. Each row and column has numbers listed with it, and those numbers correspond to how many of its cells must be filled in. A row with 5 and 7 listed beside it would need 5 adjoining cells filled in with boxes, then at least one space before 7 more cells are boxed in. The clues intersect so you can puzzle out the solution, and when you’re done you’ll have formed a pixelated picture.

There are some great nonogram apps on iOS already, though fewer than I’d like. World Mosaics joins these after enjoying a successful career on PC and Mac. It’s not perfect, but it scratches the logic puzzle itch nicely.

World Mosaics takes roughly half its list of puzzles, the first 99, and wraps them in a globe-spanning story. You follow pictographic clues left around the world to discover the origins of the Sea People. I’d point out that logic puzzles need stories like fish need bicycles here, but the story does give Fugazo a chance to wrap the puzzles in entertaining themes. I could also stretch and say that it offers a reason to keep pushing to the end of the game, but I suspect it’s more likely there to bring in fans of hidden object games and match-3 adventures.

But these casual trappings don’t detract from the quality of the puzzles. The nonograms in World Mosaics are good, challenging and varied. Beginners will find the difficulty curve just perfect — a few introductory 5 x 5 puzzles make way for 10 x 10, 15 x 15 and eventually 20 x 20 grids. Each jump increases the difficulty, but it’s a slow climb. A wide range of challenges are available within those sets, too, with some puzzles that have plenty of large numbers and clearly defined borders, and others that scatter ones and twos to the wind and leave you to pick your way through cell by cell.

Control is a huge problem with nonogram apps on small devices, and it’s one that’s not fully addressed here. There simply isn’t enough screen real estate to tap around a 15 x 15 grid. Fugazo has included an awkward set of on-screen controls, with a direction pad for navigation and buttons to mark boxes and cross out spaces. Since these controls offer no feedback, it’s all too easy to mis-mark a cell.

Mistakes will cost you, but failure isn’t a real threat. You can make up to 8 mistakes per puzzle, and each gives a handful of hints if you need them. This is where World Mosaics goes most seriously awry. The game tracks your mistakes, hints and completion time, but it doesn’t seem to maintain that information anywhere. Without Game Center integration or any kind of tracking or ranking, there’s nothing to keep you from using each of your freebies to brute force your way through tough spots. Best put yourself on the honor system, because it’s much more fun to play properly.

World Mosaics could also be better in the looks department. The game isn’t ugly, exactly, but it’s not a looker either. Retina graphics are badly missed. They’d make the game’s large puzzles much easier to look at. On top of that, the interface is utilitarian at best. Put these things together with the lack of Game Center and World Mosaics starts to feel like a bit of a shoddy port.

It’s not a shoddy game, though. Along with those 99 story puzzles, World Mosaics offers another hundred or so that don’t fit with the story’s themes. That’s a lot of hours of entertainment to be had. If you have an iPad, I’d recommend waiting for the HD version, which is due to hit in mid-November. Nonograms are more fun when you have more space to work with. But for those of us who want good nonograms on the small screen, World Mosaics is an ample fit. Make sure to stop by our discussion thread and let us know what you think.

[source]

Last week we posted details surrounding the then-upcoming bundles of retro Elite Collection and Elite Collection HD for the iPhone and iPad, set to launch this past weekend. As we’ve learned from Elite Systems, the collections are still upcoming, unfortunately.

Elite Systems‘ Steve Wilcox explains,

We spend countless hours tracking down the current owners of the classic 8-bit home computer games (and the associated intellectual properties) which we include in our Apps. We come across some fascinating people and stories whilst doing so.

Earlier this week, an organisation – from whom we’d previously received a written “clearance” – claimed an interest in a trademark in one of the twenty five games in the Apps. This interest does not appear on the public records.

Since one of our declared goals for the “Elite Collection” Apps is, “to restore some order to the market for 8-bit home computer games” we needed some time to check the claim. At the time of writing, that claim is still being reviewed and we felt it would be inappropriate to release the Apps until it had been dealt with.

Wilcox, at the same time, took the opportunity to share some rather good news concerning his studio’s forthcoming 8-bit offerings. He indicates that the delay should provide the opportunity to include some additional “AAA” titles to the mix when, or shortly after, they are released. The coming titles he speaks of are likely to include an excellent collection of games from Interplay Productions: the classic fantasy RPG The Bard’s Tale (I, II & III), the post-apocalyptic RPG Wasteland, as well as Dragon Wars and Neuromancer.

Elite expects the delay of the Elite Collection and Elite Collection HD to be brief — perhaps a couple of weeks. For details on the (at least) 12 titles launching in the collections, have a look at our post from last week.

[source]