Author Archive for ChiffaN
A project manager in a major telecommunications supplier, an iPhone junkie and lately - a TMA editor. Love long walks on the beach and my wife, who is the most beautiful girl on the face of this planet. You can also follow me on twitter for all things iPhone and project management (and some personal stuff as well): http://twitter.com/ChiffaNe
The Relic in Review – Not your model hack’n’slash…
It seems the Gauntlet fame just can’t let some developers sleep peacefully at night and occasionally we get a title that screams for attention. Sometimes, though, these screams are more like moans, depending on the time, effort and, most importantly, thought put into development process. The Relic, being one of the latest attempts, tries and succeeds to look good on the screenshots. But how does it feel hands-on?
Burn it All – Journey to the Sun in Review – Fire, walk with me!
Despite all my parents’ warnings, I’ve always loved playing with fire. The way the flames dance fascinates me and burning stuff is always fun. Verrry fun. And thanks to BulkyPix I can now do so on-the-go on my iPhone with Burn it All – Journey to the Sun – one of the most recent and highly acclaimed additions to the casual puzzle genre on the App Store.
Legendary Wars in Review – A legend remains victorious in spite of history
Casual games rule the App Store and it sure didn’t take long for them to invade one of the most popular genres for hardcore gamers – Strategy Games. This subgenre blending aspects of strategy and action first originated in the explosion of various office time-killers (aka Flash games) and finally found its way onto the iOS. And what’s more, it was given quite a warm welcome by the iPhone community, with some of the titles finding their way into the top of the charts. The latest such entry to emerge from the crowd is Legendary Wars, uniting all the best aspects of the many predecessors and bringing some new features of its own.
Catch The Candy in Review – One Sweet Puzzler
The App Store is heaven for all things creative and a unique opportunity for developers to sell an original idea at a very low staring cost. Thanks to this we’ve seen a bunch of simple but addictive games created by one-two man teams that have found phenomenal success. The latest one, exploiting the cute and cuddly but hungry concept is Catch The Candy, released under the patronage of Bulkypix, a publisher you should definitely keep your eye on. Lately they’ve released some superb titles and seem to be well on their way to rival Chillingo and Gameloft.
Bug Chucker in Review – It’s Angry Bugs…In Space!
I don’t know about you, but I hate bugs. Passionately and of all shapes and sizes. For people like me the App Store has a myriad of bug-killing games. But Cyan, the legendary makers of Myst (TMA Review) and Riven: The Sequel to Myst (TMA Review) have gone one step further and actually made it a fun and entertaining artillery puzzler out of the concept of flinging bugs into space. Ready, aim, chuck!
Gobliins 2 in Review – Two heads are better than one!
Apparently quite satisfied with the performance of Gobliiins (TMA Review) on the App Store, DotEmu with the support of BulkyPix, have decided to go ahead and release the second part of the series, detailing the misadventures of the goblins. True to the spirit of the franchise, Gobliins 2 puts you in control of a duo of characters on a quest to solve devious riddles and rescue the prince.
Warpgate and Warpgate HD have just jumped to FREE
In a surprise gesture Freeverse has just set Warpgate (TMA Review) free on both iPhone and iPad, down from $4.99 and $7.99 respectively. This is even more intriguing since during the whole year neither versions have even been discounted once. I’m not sure how long this will last so before even continuing on reading this post I suggest you grab them. Now!
Freeverse, Inc, Warpgate (TMA Review), 161.45MB – Free
Freeverse, Inc, Warpgate HD, 164.93MB – Free
Hopefully both are already downloading in your iTunes and you can breathe easily now. And I will tell you what you have just grabbed. Warpgate is the first true open space trading/exploration/shooter ever on the iDevice. It has captivated me for weeks about a year ago when it was initially released and I couldn’t rest or pick up anything else until I finished the whole bloody thing. Be sure to check out my full review or at least my summary below. Enjoy!
Trade, communicate, explore and fight or simply follow the story – do what you want, when you want and for hours on end. Warpgate is a bustling world just waiting for you explore, wrapped in a beautiful graphical package with an intuitive and easy-to-use interface. Without a doubt, Freeverse’s latest is one of the true gems on the App Store and not to be missed. Warp speed, Mr. Zulu!
Final Fantasy III in Review – Finally the fantasy epic strikes iOS
Whenever you hear the words Japanese and RPG in the same sentence, one franchise that immediately springs to mind is Final Fantasy. Probably the most well-known example of the console RPG genre, it has celebrated reincarnations on almost all platforms imaginable. On the iPhone however the release of the first 2 parts of the series was met with mixed feelings. While being a classic the original games are over 2 decades old in game design and don’t really pose special interest for the modern gamers, other than the most die-hard FF fans. And the not too well adapted controls didn’t help much either. But there still is hope with the recent launch of Final Fantasy III – a true remake of the game fully adapted to touch controls.
Death Rally in Review – So, where’s the ammo?
Few titles have left me with more fond memories than the good old Death Track – one of the first racing/shooting games ever. Unsurprisingly its top-down remake in the late 90s -Death Rally – immediately became my favourite pastime for hours on end. So when I heard that Remedy was bringing this classic to the iDevice, I was thrilled beyond imagination. My only concern was how Death Rally would transfer to the touchscreen.
Evil Angry Planet in Review – That’s what Greenpeace has been warning us all along…
For years and years various conspiracy theorists have been theorizing about Earth having a soul, or Gaia as it is sometimes called. This soul, encompassing all life on the planet, is thought to be dormant, waking up only on extreme occasions to protect Earth from danger. It turns out they were not talking exactly about Earth. In the near future, mankind spreads across the nearby cosmos and finds a planet with a unique gas, allowing it to reach new heights in science and production. But the Evil Angry Planet is definitely not too happy about this.
