Rocket Downhill Penguin Review

Price:$.99

Publisher:Tony Hunyh

Buy now on

Rocket Downhill Penguin is an iPhone/iPod Touch racing game where you must avoid obstacles and pick up objects to increase your score. You play as Rocket, a penguin, and upon starting the game immediately start skiing down a mountain. Snowmen and trees are your main obstacles on the course.  Hitting snowmen, while lowering your health, also has the peculiar effect of uncovering medals which can lead to extra health and even invincibility. But don’t hit too many snowmen, they still hurt when you hit them and will eventually end the game.  Trees on the other hand carry no benefit at all and only serve to slow you down.

Tilting the iDevice is the only in game control, left for left, right to move right. I found it hard to stop Rocket from moving left or right and just ski straight. Once you start bobbing and weaving beware that it can get pretty squirrelly. The graphics are very clean, nothing fancy, but nevertheless they look good for this type of game. I especially like the brightly colored/snow filled trees.

There is an obvious winter theme in this penguin racing game. The in game music does a very good job of capturing a winter feeling without being a Christmas song. When Rocket crashes into a tree or snowman you get a neat sound effect that actually sounds like a large snowball being smashed. When Rocket picks up some hot cocoa or a medal, you will hear an exclamation sound and see your score go up. The audio stays pretty simple throughout the game, but anything else might have been too much anyway.

This is a fun little game but personally, I don’t see it having much replay value. I played it for about 20 minutes the first time and about 35 minutes the second time and I never got invincibility and never scored over 2500 points. However, I was visiting my parents this weekend so I had my mom play and she loved it. She screamed and laughed and played for quite a while. Now keep in mind this is a woman who tried to make Mario, in the original Super Mario Brothers, jump by holding the controller over her head. She’s not a videogame player (Editor’s note: get her on the Wii).

If you want a game that your young kids (or your mom) might enjoy, you should pick this game up. Its simple low frills gameplay, can be picked up, played, and enjoyed by anybody, and that should be counted as a success for any developer.

Overall Value for it's $.99 price point

Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:

Moto X Mayhem Review

Price: $.99

Publisher: Occamy Games

Buy now on

Moto X Mayhem is a timed 2D dirt bike game where you race through various landscapes trying to not crash your bike along the way. There are 3 sets of levels, each includes 7 different tracks. There are a few flash games out there that are very similar to Moto X Mayhem but when it comes to the iPhone/iPod landscape, Moto X Mayhem is very well done and stands apart from its competition.

Right off the bat you can start a game or practice one level at a time. Normal game play allows you to go through each level unlocking tracks by passing the previous one. After passing the entire track on a level, your total level time is shown and can be added and compared to the network of players. You can also access personal high scores from the main menu.

For a 2D racer, Moto X Mayhem has great graphics. The bike and rider show great detail with every movement the player makes. I believe the best graphics in the game are the tracks and backgrounds. They are a perfect match between high quality and simplicity. I especially love the buried skeletons with helmets on. Nice touch.

The game's sounds take a back seat to the graphics and game play. There is no music during game play (which I like), instead it plays only while the user is on a menu screen. While racing the sounds consist of engine noises, bird chirps, and crashing sound FX. I do like the fact that the engine noises are matched very well with the bike's acceleration and jumps.

The designers at Occamy Games really put a lot of thought in to the controls of this game. There are a few different ways you can control the bike's acceleration and balance. The first, and my favorite, is using the accelerometer to control the balance of the bike. Tilt right to make the bike's nose go down and tilt left to make the nose go up. The other two ways are analog, being able to side your finger across the screen to control the balance, and digital, tapping the screen in certain areas to control the balance. The gas and brake pedals also come in analog, sliding your finger on the screen to control acceleration, and digital, tapping a designated area on the screen for gas and brake. My suggestion is to leave it on the accelerometer for tilting and digital for gas and brake. If you got lost reading that last bit, don't worry. Every time you start a level, control hints pop on the screen.

There are a few things like I didn't like about this game. I've already passed all of the tracks on all of the levels. It didn't take long. Yes, there is the aspect of going back through and trying for a better time, but once you get the hang of the controls you will fly through the tracks. I would like to see an upgradeable bike and longer tracks. They only take 18-20 seconds to get through.

With all that said, Moto X Mayhem is still a very fun game, definitely worth the $0.99 price tag. The replay value is there, but I think the most fun you will have is trying to get through the tracks the first time you play the game.

Ratings:


Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:

Parcel Panic review for iPhone and iPod Touch

Price: $.99

Publisher: Mad Processor

Buy now on

Parcel Panic is an iPhone/iPod Touch driving game where you must maneuver to checkpoints picking up and dropping off boxes. If it sounds a lot like being a UPS/Fed Ex driver, you wouldn’t be too far off.  The more boxes you delivery safely the more points you get, but you have to be careful because a bumpy ride means some boxes will fall out, causing you to lose points. The levels are timed, with additional time added when you make it to a checkpoint.

The controls in Parcel Panic are similar to other driving games. The gas and brake pedals are on the bottom corners of the screen and tilting your device either left or right turns the truck. The turning seems a little unresponsive and during hard turns my iPhone was almost upside down. The gas and brake pedals work wonderful and you do really notice a difference in performance on the upgraded trucks (a new one is unlocked with every level completed).  It is worth mentioning that I did have a bug during one of my play sessions.  I flipped my truck over and could not find a way to get it back on its wheels forcing me to restart the level.  It was annoying but didn’t happen again.

One of the coolest parts of this game is the 2D map of the island you can use as you are driving around. You are totally free to pick whatever path you would like on your way to your next delivery (there is a green line guiding you, but you don't have to follow it).  With that said the quality of the graphics leaves something to be desired.  They aren’t horrible, but if they would have been upgraded a bit, this game would have gone to the next level. The audio and sound FX are comical in a good way; from the puttering of the engine to birds tweeting in the background to the "Oh Yeah!" when you make a successful drop off, the game’s sound is light and cheerful. The game music can get a bit repetitive but not so bad you want to turn it off.

At first this game seemed somewhat shallow, but after playing for 15 minutes the game opens up and definitely is fun. Once you get the hang of the game you can try fun ways to save time on your delivery like jumping off cliffs and trying short cuts. Overall, Parcel Panic is worth the $0.99. The multiple levels each have a fair amount replay value and most importantly the game is challenging and keeps you coming back.

Overall Value for it's $.99 price point

Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:

DrawRace Review for iPhone and iPod Touch

Price: $2.99

Publisher: RedLynx Ltd.

Buy now on

DrawRace has one of the most innovative designs in the iPhone/iPod Touch world.  Instead of real-time racing, you are responsible for taking your finger and tracing the future route your car will take around the 2D track.  The added multiplayer component adds a ton of additional functionality and the end result is a one of a kind racer with limitless possibilities.

The game offers a large number of tracks, each of which is distinct.  For example, some are plain ovals, others are road courses, and even some figure eight tracks are thrown into the mix.  After picking a track, you simply guide your finger around the track using the best route you can come up with.  Again, you are not racing in real time.  Instead, the game saves the route you draw and depending how quickly or slowly you move your finger around straightaways and corners, your car will speed up or slow down.  Once you have drawn 2 or 3 laps around the track, the race begins and the ai follows your route exactly.  The first mode revolves around your car going up against a computer opponent.  If you are lucky enough to beat the challenging ai, it unlocks additional modes you can play at the track.  For example, you can upload your best time to RedLynx server and then compete with the car-based ghosts of the top times on the server.  You can also play local multiplayer; Just have a buddy or two draw their own best lines around the track and see up to 3 cars race each other on the screen at once.

The actual controls take a bit of getting used to.  Drawing the lines are easy but the real challenge is how quickly to draw your finger around different parts of the track.  If you go too quickly around a corner, your car will drift which will slow you down and likely cause you to lose.  If you go off the track your car moves extremely slow. However, once you get used to the idea of your finger's sliding speed changing the speed of the car, it becomes much easier.  The biggest challenge is that this is one of the only iPhone/iPod games out there that have this kind of control scheme. Its uniqueness causes early difficulties but it’s worth the payoff.

The graphics are your standard 2d.  Your car is red and your competitors are either green or blue.  It would have been nice to have a bit more customization when it comes to the type/color of your car.  Overall though, the graphics are clean and never detract from the gameplay.  The sound within the game is fairly simple.  Music is only played within the menu and isn’t turned on during the race.  It would have been nice to have either some music during the race or the ability to turn on your own music.

I don't really have any issues with the gameplay, just an idea I would love to see implemented in the future.  Currently, the game has a maximum of 3 cars racing at once (this happens during 3 person local multiplayer).  Unfortunately there is no way of downloading more than one car from the server to race against at once.  It would be great to have the option of downloading 2 or 3 competitors from the server and having an all-out battle on the race track, Of course in the future, I would also like to see the ability to race 4 or 5 other cars at once.

DrawRace gives you the ability to race nearly an endless amount of competitors.  It has a large amount of tracks, each of which requires a different strategy to win, and overall it is just a ton of fun to play.  I love to see games that use new ideas come out on the AppStore and do well.  Buy this version now for $.99 and support innovation and at the same time have a ton of finger-tracing fun.

Ratings
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:

Tap Jockey Review

Price: $1.99
Publisher: Hiroshi Kobayashi
Buy now on

Tap Jockey has all of the makings of a fun game.  The setup: You are a jockey that picks a horse to ride.  Upon starting the game, you pick the difficulty level you would like to play.  Once you pick a level, you are taken to a screen with 5 different horses that each have a different color and name.  On the right side of the screen you are given the opportunity to add 15 points to 3 different attribute categories (speed, stamina and sense). Upon moving to the next track, the game gives the player additional points to spend for any of the three categories.

Once you have given your horse all 15 points you are taken to race day.  There are 6 different race tracks available within the game.  You must win the previous track in order to move to the next as so you cannot go back and play the 4th or 5th track without going through the rest.  Each track has their own requirements for advancing to the next race.  For example, maybe you have to be in the top 3 in one race and the next you need to finish in the top 2.  The actual action on race day consists of tapping one of three buttons that will make your horse move faster.  Once you bring him up to his maximum speed, in order to keep him there you need to time your button tapping to maximize your speed.  Basically it works a lot like Excite Bike's turbo button.

The graphics are fairly decent.  You can certainly tell you are racing 7 other horses at once and there is no slow down on my 3GS.  The sound could be better.  As it is, it's extremely minimal and doesn't really give you the atmosphere you would expect at a horse track.  The controls work ok but any time you have a rapid tapping game on the iPhone, it isn’t the same as you would find on a control pad.  Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether or not you are tapping a button at all.

The game really has a lot of potential and that's why I was so sad to see a lot of things missing.  Once you begin a career, if you lose a single race or mission, you lose not only the race but all of the information about the horse you created and have no chance to retry.  It would have been nice to be able to save the horse and his stats you created but there is no save at all.  As it is, it feels like the strategy of picking the horses attributes doesn't mean a whole lot because you’ll be starting all over again the next time you load up the game.

The game also lacks when it comes to sharing your score or having an online community to see how well you did compared to others.  The only stats the game keeps are each tracks best times.  By now, most games have some way of comparing your times and scores to the rest of the world.  Finally, this is a horse racing game without cash awards, odds, or even the ability to name your horse.  It would have been nice to be able to place a bet on each race and keep track of your career winnings (but first there would have to be winnings given for winning the race).

I hate to be so tough on this game because it is fun but it could have been a lot more.  This game may be worth it for ardent horse racing enthusiasts for $1.99 but for those of us that want some more depth to our games, it might make sense to hold off until its closer to a dollar.  Update: I do have to warn you about something I recently read.  If you have a 3rd Generation iPod Touch you may want to hold off.  I have heard this game doesn’t load right at this point.  More info as I hear about it.

Ratings
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:

Shaun White Snowboarding: Origins Review

Price: .99

Publisher: Advanced Mobile Applications

Buy now on

For me, Shaun White Snowboarding: Origins was a welcome sight in the app store.  Both the skateboard and snowboarding genres that are both so popular in the console gaming world have been noticeably sparse in the appstore.  This game is a decent start.  A game like this has quite a few challenges for a mobile device since even on the console, the controls can be challenging.  On a virtual stick, a developer needs to give the player enough variety when it comes to tricks and moves but at the same time keep things simple.  For the most part, this important aspect of the game is a success.

Loading up the game you can see right away that the game modes are few.  A single player free play mode coupled with some ghost competition options.  If you aren't familiar with competing against a ghost, imagine competing against you or a friend’s replay of an existing run down the mountain.  The end result is you can see what they do, when they do it, giving you a sense of real time competition despite the lack of true multiplayer.  This mode is welcome but unfortunately doesn't make up fully for the lack of Wi Fi or even the ubiquitous Bluetooth multiplayer support in the game.

Once you do get into the game, you will likely find the controls easy to learn and quick to respond.  The trickiest (and often the most frustrating) part of this game is trying to make as many moves as you can while going down the mountain and not timing the landings correctly resulting in a crash and a loss of all of the points you made during that jump/series of tricks.  However, since the controls are easily learned, practice should help quite a bit.  The game offers 4 different mountains to go down with each having a different layout and course.  The game integrates with an online community that allows you to track your progress as you go.  The achievement system is really fleshed out and there are quite a few to keep you busy.

The graphics and sound of the game are both fairly decent.  It would have been nice to be able to listen to your own music catalog as you push yourself down the mountain side but that's a small issue.  The graphics do tend to be glitchy at times and occasionally you fall down the side of the hill and get your head stuck until you hit the jump button but thankfully it doesn't happen too often.  The rest of the environments in the game are fairly pretty and the player models vary a bit as well.  This game isn’t going to throw all of your friends into an uproar about the graphics but they are more than serviceable.

The game gives you the aforementioned 4 levels and also includes several different characters with varying ranges of abilities.  Some are quicker, a few are better at tricks, etc.  The real shame is that this game offers no customization at all.  You can't create a new snowboarder and nor can you take part in career events, earn money, etc that are all part of most games of this type.  For me, that was a pretty big letdown as a lack of career mode means the replay value for this game is fairly limited.  Even more bizarre, the game doesn't include any races at all against ai opponents.  Just the ghost racing mentioned above.  It seems like this would have been an afterthought for most games of this type but here it isn't even included.



Overall, this game is no dud.  It has good controls, nice graphics and is pretty fun when you learn to piece a bunch of tricks together in a row.  However, if you are looking for live racing, multiplayer, customization of characters, or a ton of replay value on the virtual mountains of the world, you may need to wait for another snowboarding game to come out.   I have a feeling this isn’t the last Shaun White game we will see on the iPhone and that’s not a bad thing.

Overall Value for it's $.99 price point

Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:

Need for Speed Shift Review

Price: $9.99
Publisher: EA Mobile

Buy now on

It wasn't long ago I heard that NFS: Shift would be coming to the iPhone.  Ever since, I have looked forward to seeing the type of adaptation it would get from EA Mobile.  The console game is universally adored and I went into this review hoping for the same, almost expecting to be disappointed.  Especially since EA Mobile's track record has been mediocre at best.  So what did I find?

The game has quite a bit of content.  20 cars, 18 tracks set in 4 different locations.  All of the locations look different and all of the cars look great.  A definite plus.  I started out using a Mazda and stepped up to a Porsche and could definitely tell a difference in engine sound, handling, etc.  It's nice to see that kind of attention to detail on the iPhone.

The sound is nice because not only do the cars sound great but you can also use your own iPhone playlist while playing the game.  It certainly was nice when I realized I didn’t have to listen to the crappy default rap/ alternative music EA included in the game.  Props to ea mobile for including this ability that sorely needed across the iPhone gaming landscape.

The controls are pretty decent, although in one game mode in particular they can become a problem.  In drift mode you are trying to rack up as many points as possible, not from racing competitors but from sliding around the track as much as possible.  It makes for fun gaming on a console but on the iPhone, it's extremely difficult to get the tilt based controls at the right angle to drift for any length of time.  Fortunately after failing the first 10 times, I realize there was an option to increase the tilt effectiveness.  Once increased a few notches, drifting was much easier.  Nevertheless, it was frustrating as I wasn’t able to advance to the next level and I could see some people giving up and missing the rest of the game.

The actual design of the game makes racing a lot of fun.  Even when you lose a race, you can still earn stars and points for doing other tasks.  For example, you can still earn a star by beating the single lap record (stars help you advance to the next track).  The ai competition is so much better than Asphalt 5's (read the review here).  Instead of ai that immediately catches up when they are down (in corny fashion), NFS: Shift's opponents take advantage of you taking bad angles around the track or running off the edge of the pavement.  In my book, any game that can still give you a competitive race without using hokey ai practices deserves a second look.

Even with all of the good, there is some bad.  Other than the drift mode issue, I also have to question why in the world the game doesn't have an in-game pause button.  Unless I am missing it (please let me know), I can’t find a way to pause the game during a race.  It's a pretty big oversight in my opinion because there are so many times while using an iPhone game you need to pause for a moment or two.  Ironically, the game has a pause menu during the game that comes up when your battery is low.  Someone, please tell me I am just an idiot and where I can find it during the race!  (This issue should be edited out but I will keep it in for people that may also have trouble finding how to pause the game.  In the comments below someone mentioned that you can use two fingers on the screen during the race to pause it.  Very helpful!)


All in all, you are going to definitely get your money's worth with NFS: Shift.  In fact, I would say it is one of the best iPhone games out there.  Despite a couple nagging problems, the amount of time and fun you can have with this game makes it seem incomprehensible there are so many 50 dollar console games that give you 10 hours or less of play.  BTW, I didn't mention multiplayer which is also included as with both Bluetooth and local Wi Fi modes.  Both worked well when I tried them but even if multiplayer wasn't included at all, this game would be a must buy.

Overall Value for it's normal $9.99 price point

Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:

Asphalt 5 Review

Cost $4.99

Publisher: Gameloft

Buy now on

Before I put the game down too much, I want you to know Asphalt 5 can be a fun game.  However, often it is too challenging for the wrong reasons.  The most challenging aspect of the game is it's ai is made of the stuff of infamous sports games past.  You know what I'm talking about.  It's the ai that refuses to lose no matter what.  You can crash it into the wall, watch it fall back halfway around the track and stunningly it will begin catching up with you (all too quickly).  This isn't the type of ai that is fun to play against, it's the type that makes you want to stop playing the game and throw your iPhone against the wall.

It's not all bad.  The game has quite a bit of functionality and prettiness for an iPhone game.  It certainly is nice to looks at.  I feel no qualms in comparing Asphalt 5’s graphics to a PS2 game.  It's nice to see snowflakes fall in Aspen and the solar flares in Hawaii.  Little touches like this make the environments you race in a pleasure.  There are also quite a few pretty cars to drive and they are based on real life cars.  It's not such a novelty to have real life exotic cars to use on the console but on your iPhone, it’s pleasure to drive a Ferrari or Lamborghini.  The game even gives you a bike or two you can race.

The sound is also nice.  The game gives you different engine sounds for each type of car you can drive.  They sound right and the games ability to integrate your iPhone music directly into the game is welcome.  Between the graphics and the sound, the overall presentation is handled very well.

Multiplayer is full featured and actually works.  I have been able to play on demand wireless racing with people all around the world every time I have tried.  The only issue I have found with the multiplayer capabilities is the lack of other games in the waiting room.  It common to see just one game being set up in the lobby.  If you didn't like the map the host is using, you can create your own game and wait...and wait.  Nevertheless, I have rarely seen the kind of functionality Asphalt 5 offers in another iPhone sports game.  The real time multiplayer racing was a nice treat that was fairly unexpected (especially since it works).  In my hour or so of multiplayer time I had only 1 game get disconnected.

The game modes in the single player include a straight race, a time challenge and elimination mode.  The elimination mode kills career mode in Asphalt 5.  It is impossible to destroy or eliminate all of the cars before the race is over.  Maybe, just maybe you will be lucky enough to do it once or twice but try doing it for every map and you are going to get frustrated.  Unfortunately, elimination modes difficulty makes beating career mode all but impossible.  Possibly this will be fixed in a future update but in the meantime, no matter how much you upgraded you car, you are likely to be stuck trying to win the elimination modes for each track many times.

Asphalt 5 is a watered down version of Burnout.  Burnout and Asphalt 5 have so much in common, including getting speed boost and points for "close calls" on the track, that it’s uncanny.  It’s arcade racing in its most basic form.  If that doesn’t sound like your idea of fun, don't expect to like Asphalt 5’s single player mode.  However, if you are looking for great real time, arcade, multiplayer racing game then Asphalt 5 will fit like a glove.

Overall Value for it's $4.99 price point

Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls: