The vertical shoot-'em-up is one of many classic genres that have become something of a lost art, before finding its feet again on iOS. The frenetic arcade action has the dual benefit of being a good option for a quick blast, and, as the quite brilliant arcade ports from genre master Cave have proven, perfectly suited to touch-screen controls. With Sky Combat, Chillingo has mercifully gone a different route for the sake of accessibility to … [Read more...]

This is the basic dominoes game, but on your iPad. The same rules apply, with a choice of up to four players (there's no multiplayer — you're playing against the AI). The game gives you the option to either drag the dominoes into place, or simply tap on any domino that matches up to another on the board. This latter option takes any strategy out of the game, as you can simply tap on the dominoes until one flies nicely into … [Read more...]

At it's heart, Emblem is a deceptively simple puzzle game dressed up with short animated transitions and some absolutely awful and completely unnecessary dialogue. As you progress through the levels you learn - the puzzles get steadily more difficult. As a brain­teaser, there are challenges to be found, it's just a shame you have to sit through all the padding and waffle to get to them. Give the free version a try before paying to upgrade. … [Read more...]

If you've ever played and enjoyed a console based action/flight game, then MetalStorm: Online may seem like a very tempting app. Featuring some high-end 3D visuals and fast open-air action, it looks and plays just like a proper console game, allowing you to engage in some exciting Top Gun-style dogfights as you chase enemy planes and take them down with a series of gun shots and lock-on missiles. There's no throttle or control stick on the … [Read more...]

Angry Birds represents perhaps the biggest success story in handheld development. Add a price point everyone can afford, and solid (if not exactly original) gameplay mechanics, then sit back and watch the dollars roll in. And the pounds. And the euros, etc. This compilation remix of sorts features Halloween and Christmas-themed levels and the latter selection even added one new Angry Birds puzzle per advent day, allowing our feathered friends to … [Read more...]

There are many things that the iPad can emulate brilliantly, but if there's one thing that touch screen will never perfectly replicate, it's the tactile precision of a quality arcade stick. Despite the excuse that Mortal Kombat has never really been a series where such precision is important, you'd still like to be able to say you feel in control, And sadly for UMK3, this isn't really the case. Beyond the fiddly controls, things don't exactly … [Read more...]

Sudoku is the perfect time filler. It takes careful planning and thought, and can easily eat up an afternoon. This version is well suited to the large 9.7-inch display, and it's easy to play — simply tap on an empty square and then the number you wish to enter. There are four difficulty levels, an auto-correction tool, timer and the ability to auto-fill boxes if you want to end the game. … [Read more...]

Caster is a third-person shooter where you run around landscapes hurling spells. You're introduced to the gameplay through a quick tutorial before diving straight into the action on your first mission. There's a retro feel to the gameplay, and the graphics look suit­ably dated. Its just a shame the controls haven't been thought through for iPad, with the jump button awkwardly out of reach in the middle of the screen. … [Read more...]

NY Zombies is fairly unique in its approach to wanton slaughter of the undead, somehow managing to combine elements of lightgun shooters like The House Of The Dead, in that you have no control over your movement other than where you're shooting, and the stoking of your survival instinct that made the recent Left 4 Dead so popular. It's somewhat limited, but it's well-suited to being played on a phone with missions never lasting more than a few … [Read more...]

The story behind The Mazes Of Time is simple. The Doctor and Amy Pond answer a distress call to save the members of a family who have been warped off to different time zones that range from an Incan world to a sprawling Dalek ship. It’s a firly simplistic story, but it does allow for a nice range of locations, even if they're aren't rendered to any great degree. But while it’s not much to look at, the all-important gameplay is of a far … [Read more...]