There are about 10 different zones each split into 10 levels, so there is plenty of levels to play through. The levels do increase in difficulty but they do throw in a few curve balls to really stress you out. Obstacles include extra bouncy blocks that send your balls off the screen, spinning blades, lasers, doors, bombs and eventually evil space pirates.

The grunge style spaceship graphics are nice enough and do have a 3D ‘ish’ feel. The deep mechanical music has an ambient and slightly scary feel whereas the sound effect are much more modern and high tech.

The puzzle element is quite addictive as on some levels you have to bounce your Terrorball of various platforms to access the transporter, other require precision arches and some you just have to fire a tonne of balls to blast your way through.

Overall, the game is a solid a fun journey and whilst some levels are relatively easy there are some which will stump you for ages. The star collection is ok and there is an internal achievements table but this could have easily been connected to game center achievements to add an additional pull. There are plenty of levels which is good and we found it easier to play on a iPad a double the screen size. I think an iPad version of this game would be better received.

Its a solid game which will keep you entertained for a fair few hours and although it’s not the best trajectory game out there it’s well worth a play.

iTunes Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/terrorballs/id564783785?mt=8

The post Review: Terrorballs Space Puzzle Action appeared first on AppTrawler.

1337 Game Design has dropped the price of their fun ball roller Dark Nebula to free for the weekend. We reviewed this game back in October, and aside from the rather short campaign, there was a lot we loved about the game.

Dark Nebula is a tilt-controlled ball roller, but one that adopts an action/arcade vibe rather than the more tedious precision work found in many others. In fact, it feels so different, I’d hesitate to put it in the same genre. The game proceeds across 10 levels of action-packed gaming. Each level is very well designed with a variety of obstacles introduced along the way. Your tasks include the avoiding of spikes, triggering switches, avoiding laser fire, and more. The game has since been updated with calibration options, expert difficulty and global leaderboards.

We suspect they are gearing up for the next installment of levels, but you should definitely pick it up while its free this weekend.

App Store Link: Dark Nebula, Free (This Weekend)

The post Dark Nebula Arcade Marble Roller FREE This Weekend (US) appeared first on AppTrawler.

Taito impressed the hell out of us with its iPhone revamp of the original shmup in Space Invaders Infinity Gene, which also just made it onto our top ten list of 2009’s iPhone games.

To celebrate the New Year, Taito has just dropped us a line to announce that a major 2.0 update has gone live for Space Invaders Infinity Gene that, amongst other things, delivers OpenFeint connectivity to the awesome shmup.

This will bring global leaderboards to the three main categories (High Score, Number of Chains, Number of Nagoya Attacks) and separate rankings for the standard game and music stages. There are now also 50 achievements – five of which are secret – while high scores and unlocked awards can be uploaded to Facebook and Twitter in-app.

The Infinity Gene 2.0 update also delivers ten new stages which are unlocked as the Evolution Gauge is filled, and six of these new levels will feature alternate versions of the boss battles.

The superb music stages (one of the game’s best features) have also been expanded and improved. The alternate bosses from the new levels will appear (under certain conditions), song and title information is displayed at the beginning of the stage, and players can rate the music stages on a five star scale and can even share music stage recommendations via Facebook and Twitter.

This is the second title Taito has given OpenFeint support to, and is a great improvement on an already excellent game in Space Invaders Infinity Gene. Hit the App Store button below to go get it.

The post Space Invaders Infinity Gene gets extra levels & OpenFeint appeared first on AppTrawler.

If the answer is ‘yes’, then Low Grav Racer 2 will probably fulfil all your demon speed needs in one futuristic package. Fans of the classic PlayStation title WipEout or the Xbox’s Quantum Redshift will recognise the gameplay on offer.

For those who don’t, the idea is simple: try to win each race. Included are 18 tracks, from the beautifully named Dante Nebula to the Arkonian Rift – all wrapped in some rather crisp-looking 3D graphics.

You can choose six ships to race and three new classes, each able to utilise a plethora of weapons designed to unleash hell on the other racers.

Also included is the ability to post your scores on leaderboards, and the chance to earn awards, providing you can keep your ship on the track.

Low Grav Racer is available now on the App Store for £1.79. Sunday drivers need not apply.

The post Out Now: Low Grav Racer 2 appeared first on AppTrawler.

Riptide managed to slam the brakes on just moments before submitting the game, when it heard that Apple was now allowing micro-transactions and in-app purchases on free games.

In light of this exciting development, Gravity Sling will now be going free, offering a couple levels of space faring, orbital action to entice you in, and an option to purchase level packs from within the game.

Riptide Games needed to make a few adjustments to Gravity Sling for it to make use of micro-transactions, but it’s hoping this will only delay submission to Apple by a couple of days.

Ngmoco has already announced something similar with its highly anticipated online shooter Eliminate, and considering this unique revenue model has the potential to keep on giving back to the developer while simultaneously reducing piracy, we can probably expect a lot more games to follow suit.

The post Gravity Sling Now Free appeared first on AppTrawler.

It’s not called Inkvaders for no reason. The graphics boast a beautifully voguish paper cut-out aesthetic – not unlike South Park, but probably more akin to Paddington Bear. The deliberately stiff, stop-frame-style animation supports this comparison perfectly, and it’s hard not to raise a smile at the unique and endearing artwork.

Even the transition between levels upholds this distinctive look, as the screens are ‘peeled’ away, like a sheet of paper from a notepad, while the character is placed on top of the background by the animator’s finger in a way that would make Terry Gilliam hyperventilate.

The gameplay pits you – as a space marine-type hero – against the Martians, in what’s essentially an off-the-shelf 2D side-scrolling shooter. A selection of weapons are at your disposal, with cash and ammo provided by crates dotted around the background that are opened with a tap of the finger. Your limited ammo means you’ll need to switch between weapons as you run, which is also easily managed with a quick touch of the weapon’s icon.

This all comes together to make the controls very simple, requiring, for the most part, just the ‘left’ and ‘right’ buttons and a ‘fire’ button. Taking out the Martians is a simple matter of facing in their general direction and mashing the trigger, with some spectacular comic gore splashing about the place as their over-sized brains break free of vein-covered skulls.

The steady action-packed pace is made even more chaotic during brief bonus power-ups, when you’re instructed to “Rush!” – piling headlong into a throng of approaching Martians while your firepower is temporarily increased to kill with a single shot. The moon runs red with Martian blood as you dive boots first into the swarm for a hilarious few moments of xenomorphic massacre.

The weapons quickly become the best kinds mass destruction, with machine guns, bazookas and lasers cutting your alien enemies in twain, making this very much one for fans of games by The Behemoth, or viewers of Adult Swim’s bizarre cartoons.

Rather than jumping, your heroic astronaut has a jet pack, which allows him to hover for as long as his limited fuel lasts. This adds a very interesting dynamic to the gameplay, giving you the opportunity to take to the thin atmosphere and avoid the invaders for a very short moment. It also means you can collect up asteroids and comets, which are traded for guns, ammo and health at the next vending machine.

Topping off the game’s outstanding presentation is the option to create your own playlist from your iPhone’s library. Selections can be made at any time through the pause menu, and although it’s a small matter, it’s an important one that put a cherry on top of the already impressive icing.

So Inkvaders is ultimately a very simple run ‘n’ gun platformer, imbued with enough style and ease of accessibility to ensure it rises high above the many other games in its niche genre. This looks to be pretty much a final version, and there’s definitely nothing on the surface of Inkvaders that need fixing or even tweaking, so expect a red hot arcade blaster to be orbiting your fingers very shortly.

Looks:         Looks Fantastic and the style brings a smile to your face
Sound:        Great collection of retro space sfx and action packed music
Gameplay: Simple and easy to pick up but difficult to master, a perfect balance
Overall:      Solid, well thought out game that will have to going back for more

The post Inkvaders Review appeared first on AppTrawler.

If you loved Catcha Mouse 1 or 2 you’ll love this.  If you have no idea what Catcha Mouse is then read on.

Catcha Mouse 3 is a puzzle game with a simple premise; stop the mouse jumping into the holes by laying mouse traps in its path. Sounds easy enough; well it isn’t.  There is a board of around 60 tiles and both you and the mouse take it in turn to occupy a panel.  You use a mouse trap and the mouse just hops towards a hole.  The aim is to block access to any of the escape holes.  Once achieved you move on a level.

This incarnation of Catcha Mouse is set in space and sees you traveling from planet to planet to stop the irksome mouse over 240 mind bending levels which has grown from the previous two (which had 100 then 200 levels) and there is a whole host of new features enhance its longevity.  In the one player mode there is the inclusion of warps where the pesky rodent can jump to another warp on the board, then is the addition of a second mouse meaning you have to stop both at the same time. Both of these are great little twist to help differentiate it from the previous games. When you have played through the levels you can see your current score not only on your device but also against the world rankings and there you can see how far you have to go to get into the top one hundred.  It may sound daunting but does add a competitive slant to an otherwise single player experience.  The multiplayer section builds upon the previous game allowing you to play as the mouse should there be another friendly iphone around via bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

The looks and feel are very similar to the two previous games but if the game was to stand on its own merits then the visuals are truly lush with beautifully created worlds, polished character animations, atmospheric option screens and a real completeness to the game.

The sound is as amusing as it is impeccable with a mix of catchy mini tunes, cutesy mouse squeaks, blip and beeps in all the right places and a studio laughter track every time you fail.

The gameplay is as simple as touching a square, that’s it really… it works!  This means that both non gamers and hardcore gamers can easily access the game.

Overall this is a great example of a throwaway game, you feel that you get amazing value for money as the production value is high and yet there is the great balance of quick game and long game.  The game is also ‘passable’ in terms of the fact that if you get stuck, you can pass it to a friend to try their luck, the only problem being is getting it back after they have completed the offending level.  The game is accessible to all be it female ludite hermits to online supergamers.  If you have the Catcha Mouse 2, I am not sure if this warrants another purchase as it lacks that real ‘extra’ value which could have come in mini games, level designer or even the addition of different traps which when trapped the mouse gets its comeuppance and everyone laughs at it for a change…

Looks:         Highly polished with high production values
Sound:        Amusing mini tunes, cute squeaks and canned laughter for failure
Gameplay: Simple and unoffensive
Overall:      Great little game if you haven’t got the other 2, but could have done with more as a sequel

Get it here >>

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