Once you start playing Toby: The Secret Mine you might think to yourself that it feels a bit like Limbo. Â Donâ€™t worry, thatâ€™s to be expected. Â Even the developers admit the inspiration in the first line of their iTunes description. Â What makes a game like Toby worthwhile is that it stands out despite the similarities, not because of them. Â Iâ€™ve run into a few games that try to emulate these two visually, but so far Iâ€™d say they are best in class in terms of the game play style. Â The most important thing is that they are proof positive that a platformer doesnâ€™t have to be all about shooting every bad guy or collecting coins and power ups. Continue reading…

Tiny Passengers is about cute clay characters, budding friendships and the need to pile as many people as possible in quirky rides. Â Itâ€™s primarily a quick reflex game, but even when youâ€™re not playing puzzle mode it helps if you can plan ahead a little bit. Â The atmosphere is clearly geared towards children, but as an adult I can say that the older set should get some enjoyment out of it as well. Â Plus, if you happen to have kids then itâ€™s something you can share with them on your iOS device. Â The game can get repetitive over longer play sessions, but for small bursts of time itâ€™s a nice diversion from the typical fare youâ€™ll find on the App Store. Continue reading…

Ultimately my goal is to find gaming experiences for my iPad that are entertaining. Â Ideally, however, it would be nice if some of the games brought something new to the table. Â Thatâ€™s where Progress To 100 comes in. Â Imagine taking a snarky GPS and crossing it with a â€œthink outside the boxâ€ puzzle game, and the result would be this game. Â There are literally 100 different screens (hence the name), and each one requires you to solve a different puzzle. Â Most of the screens present you with some text that you have to decipher to figure out what to do on that screen. Â For example, one screen might say â€œhigh fiveâ€â€¦ okay, one screen DOES say thatâ€¦ and you have to figure out what action is necessary to move on. Â Iâ€™m trying not to give away any details, because the whole fun of this game is discovery, but Iâ€™m impressed with the variety of ways that Progress uses the features of your device. Â My only real frustration was that there were a few times that I passed a screen but really had no idea why I actually passed the screen. Continue reading…

Sometimes, in what I suppose is an attempt to quell your frustrations that your order is taking too long, restaurants will happily supply you with the â€œpeg gameâ€ at your table. Â You know, the one you want to throw across the room before too long because you can never get it down to just one peg, at which point you read the description and find that youâ€™re â€œone peg shy of being a moronâ€.Â Luckily, unlike its inspiration Oddhop has a bit of class and doesnâ€™t resort to name calling should you happen to not clear away all of the pegs (which in this case are cool looking monsters).Â Oh, and this variant of the peg game is a whole lot more fun as well. Â I just wish there was something nifty to listen to in the background as I was contemplating the best way to clear off each stage. Continue reading…

Ever have one of those experiences where you know a game is great, but you wish that either the developers had done one or two things slightly differently or that you simply could play the game under better circumstances?Â Perfect Angle is just such a game for me. Â When a gameâ€™s opening screen is itself a puzzle (albeit in this case a very simple one that they give you ample leeway to solve), youâ€™re in for something special. Â Unfortunately for me new technology far outpaces my budget right now, and my ailing iPad 2 does not handle the processing requirements of the graphics very well. Â Combine that with the limited number of helps you get before having to shell out some cash to buy more and this becomes a journey that I sadly probably wonâ€™t see through to the end. Â However, if you have a newer device and are reasonably astute at solving optical puzzles, youâ€™d be remiss in not giving this game a try. Continue reading…

One of my biggest joys as a reviewer is being able to report about games on the App Store that stand out from the pack, and A Day In The Woods is just such a game. Â You can check out my review here: To Grandmotherâ€™s House We Go. Â To celebrate the Halloween season, RetroEpic Software has added a Halloween themed skin (called, appropriately enough, a â€œseasonâ€ within the game).Â Unlike the other seasons in the game which have to be unlocked via collecting stars, this one will be available immediately once youâ€™ve updated after the October 22 release of the new version. Â If you donâ€™t already own the game, RetroEpic has temporarily knocked a dollar off of the gameâ€™s price as well. Â You can download it here:

Iâ€™m willing to admit that I loved Angry Birds right along with everyone else when it first came out. Â After umpteen sidetracks and licenses, however, I found the sequel to be too little too late. Â I still think the general mechanics of the Angry Bird style game work, but Iâ€™m tired of being angry. Â Thatâ€™s where Tiny Empire comes in. Â Youâ€™re still trying to get rid of the bad guys by flinging objects at them, but in this case you simply need to take out the enemy, and not destroy everything in sight. Â Itâ€™s a simpler approach, but Iâ€™ve found my time with Tiny Empire so far much more fulfilling than my outing with the latest avian adventures. Â Besides, tiny equals cute, and I like cute.  Continue reading…

When I was younger, most notably in high school, I liked to play chess once in a while. Â The problem with a game like chess is itâ€™s not easily accessible like checkers or most card games, so it can be hard to find folks that want to play with you. Â Earlier this year my kids started to gain an appreciation for the game, so when I came across Castling I thought it might appeal to both them and me. Â The brilliance of Castling is that while it never presents a full game it teaches you how to move all the pieces, and it throws a nice bit of good old fashion puzzle strategy into the mix as well. Â Add to that the entertaining representations of the different pieces and you have an instant classic for both chess lovers and puzzle gamers alike. Continue reading…

Light In The Dark is one of those puzzle games where you have to light things up using various colors. Â Itâ€™s been done before, but what makes this one work is the cute atmosphere. Â Of course it doesnâ€™t hurt that there are some well designed levels to go along with the kooky story and silly characters. Â Iâ€™m not a huge fan of this particular type of puzzle game, but Light In The Dark has managed to win me over for now. Continue reading…

Iâ€™m still one of those people that believe thereâ€™s almost nothing better than a good zombie game, and from what Iâ€™ve seen so far Stupid Zombies 3 certainly qualifies. Â Itâ€™s been a while since I played the first one, and Iâ€™m not even sure if I played part 2 or not, but based on my time with the third chapter I think itâ€™s fair to say that the series gets better with every iteration. Â Zombie slaying, bouncy physics and an RPG toting granny really work well together.  Continue reading…