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‘Puzzle’ Category Articles

'Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective' Review - Dead People Were Never Quite This Awesome Before

Monday, February 6th, 2012

Depending on how you look at it, my weekend was either a complete success or a disastrous waste. Asides from my daily ablutions, I've done nothing but sit on my derriere and play Capcom's Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective [Free]. It's true. I'm not ashamed.

I would be ashamed if this was a cheap rip-off stemming from some copycat's attempt to cash in on a popular indie title somewhere but Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective isn't that sort of game. If you had to liken it to a gender-unspecific trophy spouse, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective would be a 6'2" Scandinavian model with a degree in rocket science and a part-time job as a professional comedian. You won't be ashamed to be caught with this one.

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'The Hacker' Review - Shall We Play a Game?

Monday, February 6th, 2012

It's not often I can be completely sucked into a world on the tiny screen of my iPhone. Don't get me wrong, it happens, but in the back of my mind I always know that there are dozens of other games waiting for me at the press of the Home button, all ready to feed my ADD-riddled gaming habits at a moment's notice. It's like I can never fully forget all the cool stuff my iPhone is capable of long enough to get lost in a game for any great length of time.

That certainly isn’t the case with The Hacker [99¢], though, a story-driven faux hacking game from developer Angry Bugs. When I fire it up, my iPhone is transformed into a Glider OS-equipped computer that becomes my gateway into an international tour de hacking which leads me to uncover a devious plot involving my former employer. It’s far from the first game to let you take on the glorified role of a top level hacker, but it executes the idea incredibly well and offers a fantastic level of immersion with a fairly compelling story.

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'Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective' First Impressions

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

Sissel has a lot of problems, but the least of  them is that he's dead. Well, not dead-dead, but dead. I'll explain: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective [Free] is all about what Sissel has gained in the afterlife. Like a common ghoul, this guy can rattle mundane objects, activate levers and buttons, and possess stuff. He can also decidedly un-ghoulishly rewind time, which is a trick that comes in pretty handy; a lot of the people he knows tend to die, and he needs these people to help him with his biggest problem: memory loss.

Ghost Trick first saw a release on Nintendo DS around a year ago. This isn't its debut on iOS, though. A couple of months after the DS release, Capcom dropped a Universal version of the game on the Japanese App Store. Now, the rest of the world is finally getting to see a version of this port tonight.

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'Niko' Review - A Joyful Little Platformer with Retro Touches

Monday, January 30th, 2012

There's a lot of value, to me, in something I can confidently call "a happy little game." Niko [Free] fits the bill, with a cute little dude at its center named Niko who is bound and determined to save the lives of his friends who just so happen to have been doomed to exile in some unknown world that lies beneath the forest.

We've heard all varieties of the backstory before, and surely this is just another of those, but you can't deny that developer Sulake knows what they're doing. After all, they're behind the Habbo Hotel world, and the ten million monthly visitors there is nothing to shake a stick at.

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'Hank Hazard' Review - A Surprisingly Fun Physics Puzzler Starring a Hamster

Monday, January 30th, 2012

Back in October 2011, we saw a preview of the arcade-puzzler Hank Hazard [99¢] from Red Rocket Games and Chillingo. Well, a few months have passed, but it's finally out. And after punching, dropping, rolling and blowing up Hank the bucktooth hamster for a couple of hours, I realized I was enjoying myself.

Hank is a brave rodent, who dreams of being the worlds first "stunt-hamster". He's sealed inside a transparent hamster-ball which must maneuver through each level, collecting three stars before crashing into the finish target. It's part "physics game" and part "puzzler", as you need to determine a safe way through each level.

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Freebie Alert - 'Babylonian Twins HD' for the iPad

Monday, January 30th, 2012

Originally developed for the Amiga, Babylonian Twins [99¢/HD] never made it to market but found life nearly 17 years later on the App Store. This platformer that has you swapping between two different characters, each with different abilities, in order to solve the many puzzles and progress through the game. It's a lengthy and satisfying trip too, and currently you can grab the iPad version for free for the first time ever.

You can read our thoughts on this Babylonian Twins reboot in our full review, and you can learn even more about the amazing history behind the game finally being finished and released. To summarize: Babylonian Twins is an excellent game and it's practically a miracle that we're able to finally play it. Suffice to say, if you own an iPad and have even a passing interest in puzzle games or platformers, you should download Babylonian Twins HD while it's still free. For iPhone and iPod touch owners, you should also consider dropping the 99¢ for the small version if you don't have it already.

App Store Link: Babylonian Twins HD Premium, $1.99 (iPad Only)

'Where's My Water' Gets New Levels Via IAP

Friday, January 27th, 2012

Where's My Water [$.99 / Free] keeps getting bigger, better, and ... harder? Earlier yesterday, Disney polished off yet another update to the playful puzzle title, adding in some neat story elements and a total of five free puzzles and many others via IAP. The package itself has been dubbed "Cranky's Story." We'll let the boilerplate do the explaining:

Cranky is the toughest alligator around and he has worked up an appetite from sabotaging Swampy’s water supply. He eats anything, especially all the rotting and disgusting junk found in the dumps and sewers. Cranky will not eat vegetables however, and now his food is covered with vegetable-like algae. Use the dirty purple water to clean off Cranky’s plate so he can eat!

Disney says that upon IAP unlock, users will get "50 super-challenging puzzles... and enjoy a completely new way to play." Catch that? Looks like these guys are hoping to court you now. Oh! And apparently, the "Cranky's Challenge" part of this content pack is "a game within a game," so, uh, prepare for that.

App Store Links:
    Where's My Water?, $0.99 (Universal)
    Where's My Water? Free, Free (Universal)

'RoboHero' Review – A Challenging Turn Based Puzzler

Friday, January 27th, 2012

I used to think I had a knack for strategy games. Then I checked out RoboHero [Free], a turn-based tank puzzler from Bravado Waffle Studios. Now, I’m not so sure if I have the chops to handle a game of this difficulty. While the game incorporates relatively simple (and slow) gameplay, this is buttressed by a wide variety of weapons and puzzles, along with a difficulty that’ll either keep you coming back for more or giving up in frustration.

RoboHero places you in the role of Blue Robo, the last defense for Earth in its fight against an evil robot army. As a last resort, you’re sent to the robot ship in order to infiltrate and destroy all the forces. As you progress through the game’s story mode, you’ll unlock new weapons and face new enemies and obstacles. However, the goal of the game is always to either get to the other side of the level or take out a certain amount of enemies.

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'Greedy Penguins' Review - Finally, a Bird-Based Physics Puzzler

Friday, January 27th, 2012

Did you know that penguins spend up to 75% of their time underwater, looking for food in the ocean? Or, if Chillingo’s recent Greedy Penguins [99¢/Lite] is to be believed, they spend 85% of their time on ice floes, waiting for you to feed them, 10% of their time playing guitar and burping, and 5% of their time getting eaten by ravenous Orcas.

Greedy Penguins is a bird-centric physics puzzler (what a concept!) that revolves around you finding ways to get incredibly stressed-out fish in the mouths of the correspondingly-colored penguins. You tap the fish to drop it from its hook and get it rolling, then through a combination of timing and obstacle-clearing, get it to the right-colored penguin. Once your penguin is successfully fed, he coughs up ice cream, which you tap to feed each level’s companion and get bonus points when completing the level, garnering a one, two, or three-fish rating.

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'Fingle' iPad Review - Better Finger Games Than Mind Games

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

Fingle [$0.99] should come with a warning. Maybe "Caution: always bring protection"? I mean, sure the iPad is great for co-op games with the fam, but not this time. This time, things might just get a little... heavy.

Finger twister isn't new, but Fingle is a finger twister game with one purpose: flirtation. A cheesy soundtrack, suggestive backdrops and more than a few double entendres might be enough, but Fingle doesn't settle for enough. Your fingers will stroke hers, or his. You'll make terribly lewd gestures at one another. Fingle takes its premise all the way.

Here's how you play the game: there are squares, and there are boxes, and the two must meet. Some are yellow, some are white. Your fingers rest on one set, hers on another. And then you do as you're told.

At first this is simple. Drag a box here, hold it there. Your fingers might brush up against one another. Then things heat up. One player finds himself stroking his hand over the other's. It gets pretty steamy.

Sort of, anyhow. There are a few rules you have to follow to get the full effect. You can't really play solo, for, um, obvious reasons, and you need to use one hand each. Two hands is easier, but it's a lot less fun. Stick to those rules, and one of you will basically end up in the other's lap before long if you want to pull off some of the moves.

So you can see why you don't want to play with a stranger, or your Grandma. You might also not want to play for too long. While Fingle starts out very flirty, it actually gets pretty hard over time. If one of you has small hands, long fingernails or sweaty palms, you might find it a bit out of your league. Nothing kills the mood quite so much as frustrated failure.

There are over 50 levels to work through, so as long as you know your limit you'll be fine. If you're actually playing to tease, work through the first level pack or two. It starts out slightly subtle and gets suggestive quickly. If you're playing for a challenge, something that's totally possible, work your way through all the rest. Fingle is missing a lot of the traditional game structures we're used to -- scores, points, achievements and the like -- but it's certainly a good time for two people who are comfortable with a little touching. The design that has gone into this game is truly charming, so it's hard to say no.

In all seriousness, you need to know your audience if you're going to play. You can definitely go at it platonically for a laugh, but first be sure you both know where you stand. And you could certainly make someone extremely uncomfortable if you're not at the point where cheesy 70s-style music, suggestive sound effects and light touching is okay. Fingle is the sort of game that could start out funny and end up sexy, or start out cold and end up with a slap to the face. Judge carefully, and stop by our discussion thread to let us know how it goes - just keep it work safe, tiger.

App Store Link: Fingle, $0.99 (iPad Only)

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'Tiny Invaders' Update Packs In New Levels

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

Need more Tiny Invaders [$.99 / Free] in your life? Cool, because conveniently enough, there are more now. In a new major content update, Hogrocket has dropped several new levels into the puzzler, all of which follow a fresh narrative hook. After the President is infected at the end of the game, a new threat emerges: a man who apparently has a resistance. In the pack, you'll have to take over this dude to "truly claim overlord status." Neat!

We've got some other related news. Hogrocket tells us that its just released a free-to-play version of the title that packs in 15 levels from the get-go. After that, users are asked to pay for additional level content. Read our glowing review and give this a spin -- this is a neat puzzle title with tons of interesting choices and characters.

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'Triple Town' Updated and On Sale for $3.99

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

Last week, Spry Fox released an iOS version of Triple Town [Free], their hugely popular match-3 town builder for the Amazon Kindle, and more recently for Google+ and Facebook. We really liked Triple Town in our review, and it’s personally been my biggest obsession of the past week. The ability to upgrade the game tiles by making matches and the limited amount of space to work within added a tremendous amount of depth to the gameplay far beyond your typical matching game.

Today the first update has hit for Triple Town, which mostly focuses on fixing bugs. Things like broken Game Center achievements, the inability to restart games sometimes, and tons of other quirks that come with a version 1.0 release have now been taken care of. The update description also goes on to say that there are several other known bugs that are currently in the process of being hunted down and fixed, one of which includes a problem with turns regenerating after exiting the app.

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'Triple Town' Review - A Match-3 City Builder I Can't Put Down

Friday, January 20th, 2012

I'm a little out of touch with the Kindle and Facebook game world, so pardon me if you already know this: Triple Town [Free] is amazeballs. Yeah, that's right. Amazeballs. It's also freemium, so I'm not actually sure what you're waiting for. Go download it.

You know how Dungeon Raid [$0.99] took the match-3 thing and made it completely soul-consuming? That's exactly what TripleTown does. But for those of us not into gaming in our browsers or on our e-book readers, it's brand spanking new, something Dungeon Raid hasn't been for a while.

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'Puzzlejuice' Review - A Mashup of Tetris, Match-3 and Boggle

Friday, January 20th, 2012

If you enjoy Tetris, match-3 games and Boggle, then Puzzlejuice [99¢] from Colaboratory might be right up your alley. That's because this falling-block, color-matching, word-finding mash-up combines these things into a nice-looking bundle of pleasure.

Puzzlejuice starts with falling puzzle-blocks, just like Tetris. You can rotate each falling block by tapping the screen or drag it left or right. A ghost image of the block shows where it will end up at the bottom. When you're happy with the position of the block, you can swipe it downwards to speed up its descent. And the idea is to form a solid row. That should all sound fairly familiar for anyone who knows Tetris, but that's just the start of this game.

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TouchArcade Rating:

A Quick Look At 'Triple Town'

Friday, January 20th, 2012

If you're still into match-3 games, give Triple Town a shot. It's a fresh take on the style of puzzle game that doesn't mess with the purity of the mechanic, but it does do a good job integrating and introducing an interesting wrinkle: town building.

You might have heard of this one already. It has seen a couple of releases across other platforms, including Kindle and Facebook. The latter one should give you an idea of what to expect, actually. This is a free-to-play game with "social" game hooks, much like any other title on the social networking site. Where it departs is that it seems to feed off its best players in a particularly non-aggressive way. On iOS, you can just play and not worry. At least, that's been my experience with it so far.

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