App Store Top Ten: Week of July 12, 2010

This week on the App Store Top Ten, there was very little movement among some of the top games: Angry Birds, Doodle Jump, and Doodle God still hold the top spots. However, a few newcomers joined the party, like Cake Doodle, Archetype, and EA’s FIFA World Cup 2010 and Battleship. Read on for the Top Ten games on iTunes, with our review links.

#1: Angry Birds

Our Score: 4/4

Our Bottom Line: Destructive physics help make this a very charming puzzler, and the great level variety seals the deal.

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#2: Doodle Jump

Our Score: 3/4

Our Bottom Line: Doodle Jump is a great microgame for the right price.

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#3: Doodle God

Our Score: 3/4

Our Bottom Line: Doodle God is original and addictive. What else do you need?

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#4: Cake Doodle

Most helpful iTunes user review: “I decorate cakes as a hobby and this app is so much fun. It’s nice to not have to clean up the mess when your done!”

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#5: Archetype

Our Score: 4/4

Our Bottom Line: Refined in nearly every way, Archetype is one of the best first-person shooters on the platform.

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#6: Fruit Ninja

Our Score: 3/4

Our Bottom Line: Next time you’re waiting for a haircut, cut up some fruit while you wait. It probably did something to deserve it.

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#7: Skee-Ball

Our Score: 3/4

Our Bottom Line: Skee-Ball does just one thing really well, which makes it a good purchase for four quarters.

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#8: FIFA World Cup

Our Score: 3/4

Our Bottom Line: This FIFA game glorifies the World Cup, but it’s much too similar to its predecessor for its own good.

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#9: Tetris

Most helpful iTunes user review: “Endless marathon mode, original song as an option, these things added in the next update. Who agrees with me?”

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#10: Battleship

Our Score: 3/4

Our Bottom Line: If you have fond memories of the childhood game, this is a solid recreation that inexplicably lacks an online component.

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December 31, 2013

Game of the Month, December 2013: The Room Two

As usual, December was a great month for iOS gamers, with big games dropping every week (at least until the yearly week-long App Store shutdown over Christmas). But one game in particular blew us away with its moody atmosphere and excellent design, so we had to give it this month’s highest honor. The game is The Room Two. (more…)

December 3, 2013

Game of the Month, November 2013: Oceanhorn

Things are heating up as the year comes to a close. November was a fantastic month for iOS gamers, with a huge number of Must Have titles hitting the App Store. So whether you wanted to build a Death Star or run and jump as Mickey Mouse, the App Store had you covered. But there can be only one Game of the Month, and November’s is Oceanhorn by Cornfox & Bros. (more…)

Gear

November 25, 2013

Gear

MOGA Ace Power iOS 7 Controller Review

Last week, the first generation of iOS 7 controllers were officially revealed to the world and immediately became available for purchase. First we went hands-on with the Logitech PowerShell, and now we’ve had a chance to extensively test the MOGA Ace Power controller. While the Ace Power has more buttons and joysticks than Logitech’s controller, the flimsy plastic feel, limited battery, and spotty support on the App Store make us question whether it’s really the future of iOS gaming. (more…)

November 1, 2013

Game of the Month, October 2013: Device 6

October was another fine month for iOS gamers, with a number of notable titles coming out across a variety of genres. So whether you wanted to kill gorgeously rendered zombies or drive a race car, the App Store had you covered. But there can be only one Game of the Month, and this month it’s Device 6. (more…)

Out Now

Sidewords – unique take on the word game, from Milkbag Games

The fine folks at Milkbag games have released Sidewords. A fun little diversion of a word game that is the devil child of crosswords and scrabble. For each level in the game the grid must be completed to win the level — this means that each letter at the top and side must be used. And not just the top or side, but each word must be made up of letters from the top and side to create a grid. It’s a pain, but in the right kind of way. Even the simplest of the levels can be a head scratcher until you get used to the game. Well worth the $3 as a diversion while we wait for Milkbag to finally release Snow Siege.

Out Now

[Sponsored] Zap Zap Kindergarten Math will give your kids a pre-school math boost on mobile

We’d like to thank our sponsor for this week, Zap Zap Kindergarten Math.

It’s not always easy to tear your kids away from their tablets and make them do something edifying. Thankfully, Zap Zap Kindergarten Math relieves you of this task by turning mathematics into a fun touchscreen video game. Win win!

Aimed at children 3-6 years old, the app makes math fun by ‘gamifying’ it, turning simple mathematics problems into little challenges so that your pre-schooler can learn and play at the same time.

There are more than two dozen mini-games, split across three categories: Numbers, Shapes and Measurements, and Add and Subtract. According to the developer the difficulty of these puzzles is adaptive too, so kids of any ability can be both encouraged and challenged.

Hit the more link to read on or you can grab Zap Zap Kindergarten Math from Google Play or the App Store right now.
(more…)

Out Now

Mini Dayz – out now and as brutal as the original

Mini Dayz has launched and it’s a pixelated 2.5D open world that’s as brutal as the desktop version. In this game, the player is dumped on shore with nothing. They must scavenge around for food, water, and weapons while avoiding attack. It’s the kind of game where the goal is to stay alive as long as possible. But that will never be very long. It’s oddly free and seems to only have an ad on the main screen — for now.

Out Now

Point and click adventure The Little Acre charms

Pewter Games has brought their charming point and click adventure The Little Acre to iOS. It’s an amazingly beautiful animated adventure set in a sort of hybrid magical / alien world. A great all ages adventure and very fun.

Out Now

[Sponsor] The House of Da Vinci on mobile lets you solve puzzles based on Da Vinci’s own designs

We’d like to thank our sponsor for this week, The House of Da Vinci by Blue Brain Games. There’s a reason Leonardo Da Vinci is the only renaissance figure who routinely shows up in video games you know. With his remarkable inventiveness and genius for creative problem-solving, Da Vinci was a gamer through and through. He was just born 500 hundred years too soon. Thankfully, there are studios like Blue Brain Games to bring him to life in videogame form. The House of Da Vinci, which comes to us courtesy of a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign, is a puzzler that seeks to channel the artistry and innovation of its title character.

You play as one of Da Vinci’s more promising apprentices, and you have the challenging task of trying to work out where the hell he’s gone. Was he assassinated by the church? Who knows. Has he quietly gone into a retirement? Perhaps. Did he accidentally invent a shrink ray and shrink himself down to the size of an dustmite? Probably not. Da Vinci’s workshop looks beautiful, thanks to some impressive 3D graphics, and the in-game environment is crammed with all the elaborate machines and crazy inventions you’d expect to find in the workplace of a renaissance genius.
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Out Now

Poly Bridge, the best bridge builder is out, but incomplete on mobile (so far)

Poly Bridge is out now on iOS, and it’s good to have it! It’s a great game and many seem to agree that it’s the best bridge builder game available. But the iOS versions, so far, is missing the sandbox mode. I would hope that it’s coming soon in an update. If you are all interested in physics puzzlers, grab this one. (Note: the video is for the PC version, I have yet to see a trailer for the mobile version, the developer Dry Cactus isn’t that great at marketing…)