Gameplay amounts to making your way through the 60 included levels (with more coming soon per the iTunes description) by tapping on screen to remove pieces in order to guide the star at the top of the pile safely to the ground– Very similar to game modes in the Topple series, Finger Physics, and others.

What interested me in Tumbledrop was the forced delay in between removing the pieces that comprise the various structures of each level. Other games you could pretty easily cheese your way through the challenges by just quickly removing pieces as fast as possible while guiding the goal item back to the ground. In Tumbledrop, you have to plan your movements carefully as you can only remove one piece every three seconds.

Tumbledrop isn’t particularly original, but if you’re a fan of these types of games you likely have several similar ones on your phone already. If you want to give the game a try, there’s a free version you can play in a web browser, you just have to download the Unity browser plugin. It’s worth a look, if only to see how happy the star you’re rescuing gets when its on the ground accompanied by the fanfare of rainbows and multi-colored confetti before progressing to the next level.

App Store Link: Tumbledrop, .99

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Armed conflict isn’t something to be taken lightly. Man attempting to snuff out of the life of fellow man is a despicable phenomenon and one that many games have tried to replicate in lurid detail.

The same, however, cannot be said of ToonWarz. This intentionally lighthearted first-person shooter may showcase tons of heavy weaponry, hordes of bloodthirsty enemies, and plenty of daring missions from which you may never return, but it’s also notable for chirpy characters that wouldn’t look out of place in the panel of a Sunday comic.

Comical carnage

A five-mission single player campaign has you locating items, tracking down individuals, unlocking doors with keys and so on. While these aims are hardly taxing on the gray matter, they’re a cut above most other shooters content to drop you on a map and expect you to kill indiscriminately.

Along the way you gain access to an array of firearms including sniper rifles, machine guns, and rocket launchers. These items of ordinance require ammunition, but thankfully your standard firearm has unlimited bullets so you always have some kind of offensive option.

Two control methods are on offer here: a split-screen option and dual analogue stick configuration. The first uses the left-hand side of the screen for movement and strafing, while the right-hand side is reserved for aiming and turning. Separate buttons are overlaid on the screen to facilitate inventory access, jumping and discharging your weapon.

The second option attempts to replicate the twin-stick control system employed in N.O.V.A., Minigore, and the upcoming Guerrilla Bob.

No laughing matter

Sadly, neither choice grants satisfactory command. The various on-screen buttons are packed too closely together and during particularly fraught moments it’s all too easy to accidentally touch the wrong one.

Movement is also erratic and jumpy. Reducing the control sensitivity helps matters slightly, but even when you’ve managed to cajole the interface into offering you something that is close to a happy compromise you find that the hard work is undone by the over-use of “screen bob” to simulate the movement of your character’s head.

Realistic as it may be, this feature is especially problematic and in some cases – ours included – can induce unpleasant bouts of stomach-churning motion sickness.

Other game-breaking problems ensure that ToonWarz quickly becomes bogged down in the mud-filled trenches: enemy AI is dumb, character models are basic and the lack of mid-level checkpoints means that if you die during one of the 20+ minute single-player scenarios, you have to start again from the beginning.

Multiplayer promises

It’s a shame that these fundamental issues are present because the multiplayer element of ToonWarz is great – matches are easy to organise and the lag is almost non-existent. You can even play over 3G, although wi-fi is preferable as it offers greater stability.

The biggest issue with online matches is the size of the maps: they’re far too cavernous for small groups of players.

Unfortunately, such multiplayer bravery can’t save ToonWarz from its fate. With so many shooters already swarming the iPhone battlegrounds this title is going to quickly get lost in the melee, despite offering an above-average online experience.

The post Review: ToonWarz appeared first on AppTrawler.

OMG Pirates! is a game that takes one thing very seriously– non-stop action. From the get go, you are introduced to a simple plot– your ninja town is in ruins from a pirate invasion, and your silent hero tasks it upon himself to take out every last pirate he can find. The action never lets up, and is only briefly interrupted by the hilarious modes of transportation between one area and the next and the quirky pirate dialogue from the various bosses you encounter, before you proceed to dispatch them in true ninja flair.

Each action your ninja takes is an impressively animated feat, be it a combo attack that launches your enemy into the air, or a chain of flip attacks to get out of trouble, you’ll be pulling off some terrific looking moves. Your ninja is controlled with a shuriken-styled analogue stick that offers 360 degrees of movement and there are only three other buttons available to control your ninja; a green jump button; a red attack button; and a gauge/button in the top-left corner that fills as you attack your enemies. This button can be used to unleash a devastating super attack that is both unblockable and affords you invincibility for the length of the attack.

This simplistic control scheme belies an extensive repertoire of combos that gradually unlock as you gain experience, a meter that is independent of the game mode you are playing in, but which bestows upon your ninja the skills to progress through the more challenging encounters in OMG Pirates! Not only will you need to learn how to counter each enemies’ unique attacks, but to complete the game and excel at the Hard and Survival modes that are subsequently unlocked, you will have to master your ninja’s evasion moves, counters and individual attacks, as well as learning the “tells” unique to each enemy and boss. In this sense, OMG Pirates! has all the hallmarks of a competent console fighter, even ranking your ninja prowess each level on a rather ruthless scale.

To round out the package, a catchy pirate-ninja fusion of melodies pervades each level. Sounds are also used as enemy tells throughout the game, so if you are trying to reach those Master ranks, it is advised that you keep the sound on and pay attention. If you prefer to play your own music, that option is also available.

OMG Pirates! is an easy recommendation. The campaign comprises 10 levels spanning a few screens each, and an unlockable Hard and Survival mode, as well as a number of ‘secret’ cheat modes that are unlocked on accumulating 5, 10 and 15 master ranks; will ensure that even the most die-hard ninjas will have both their blades and appetites whet by OMG Pirates!.

App Store Link: OMG Pirates!, .99 (introductory price)

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In the game you control your old fart by a simple left and right arrow and you attack via three buttons, a kick, punch and by spinning your stick.  I can only assume that spinning your stick is a defensive move as it did nothing to the enemies and its not explained in the gameplay what it does.

To be honest, the gameplay was the biggest let down and half the time you didn’t know if you were hitting the enemies and eventually you have to walk over the top of them to register a hit.  The levels are repetitive and the enemies on the surface look ok but their two frame animation cheapens the whole game.

As I said in the beginning, this is a great concept and probably makes a fun flash game but the development is rushed and really needs to be have had more time spent on it. If they want to warrant the price tag they will need to update it soon with a lot of work.

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Each game play (there are four different songs/characters to choose from) results in unlocking one fortune telling card which can be found in the extras section of the app. There are 12 cards in all to unlock and it really takes nothing more than playing a game to unlock the next one (you literally can just let the game run on its own, scoring 0 and it will still unlock a card). The fortune telling cards are basically a visual introduction to the film’s characters.  It might have been nice to make it so you could at least save them as wallpaper, although you can simulate as much by using the home+power button to take a screenshot, it will just have the few dots along the bottom.

The bulk of the app is the full-length video to Never Knew I Needed by Ne-Yo, from the original motion picture soundtrack.

The post Review: Bayou Beats (The Princess & the Frog) appeared first on AppTrawler.

The problem is, none of these minigames are particularly fun once the initial novelty wears off which only takes a few moments. On top of that, some are easy to fail, and when you do the entire level must be reloaded. If you’re doing poorly, you will spend more time waiting for the game to load to try again than you will actually playing the game itself. Robo Stewie is probably the best game of the bunch as a sidescrolling platformer, but even it can’t really stand alone in terms of gameplay.

Overall Family Guy: Uncensored has a feel to it that is very similar to the movie or TV show based games of the 8 and 16 bit era. The game doesn’t at all utilize the Family Guy elements in a particularly amusing way, and instead leans heavily on catch phrases and attempts at humor to prop up a decidedly mediocre set of mini games. Amusingly enough, for a game branded as “Uncensored”, Family Guy is only rated 12+ on iTunes.

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**UPDATED: Release date announced for 21st October!**

We’ve been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to re-launch those cows into orbit ever since we heard Gameloft was bringing the iconic, dirt eating, chewy length of worm flesh – Earthworm Jim – to iPhone and iPod touch back in August.

For those of you’ve been asleep on Mars since 1994, Earthworm Jim follows the exploits of an ordinary garden worm that becomes the recipient of a super powered super suit, which a galaxy full of desperately nefarious evil-doers want to get their hands on.

Jim quickly became a cult icon thanks to the gorgeous looking and immensely humorous platform games in which he starred, and even got his own TV cartoon series (which is well worth a watch, if you’re as infantile as I am).

I must admit to having some concerns over how well the high octane gameplay of Earthworm Jim will fare using virtual buttons on the iPhone’s touchscreen, but judging by the newly released gameplay video below it looks as though Jim is back and in full swing.

Groovy!

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