Indie game development studio, Koolfing, has announced the launch  of its brand new title for the iPhone/iPod touch, Whack’N Roll. The game is a fresh take on the whack-a-mole concept with brand new gameplay mechanics, combining both fast paced gameplay and strategy.

Whack’N Roll features 45 amazing levels, 6 different gameplay modes, 5 worlds, 3 difficulty levels, a star collection system and a full achievement tree to unlock. Players will use their thumbs to fight and defeat enemies, face up to many bosses as well as bombs, floods and other natural disasters.

Characteristics :

• Discover the “Classic Push-to-Whack” mode. Whack the enemies endlessly with a growing difficulty.
• The “Classic Whack” mode will evaluate the age of your brain through the analysis of your reflexes. The game estimates gamers’ dexterity thanks to a database realized with people aged from 12 to 70 years old.
• The “Adventure” mode allows you to play through 45 challenging levels. You follow the adventure of 3 characters in 5 different worlds.
• Thanks to the “Competition” mode you will be able to fight other gamers to become the “World’s best whacker”.

Check out the trailer below:

Whack’N Roll is now available on the Apple App Store. Check it out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/whackn-roll-an-awesome-funny/id381037050?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

I always wondered why people go through the trouble of taking IQ tests. While intelligence quotient may be important, I’m pretty sure that some of the tests are actually frustrating little puzzle games. One of these examples would be to trace a route between a bunch of connected dots without having to reuse any path that has already been made. True enough the guys and gals at Nexx Studios took the concept and made it the basis of their cool iPhone game, Glow Puzzle.

Glow Puzzle’s concept is pretty simple, connect the dots on a continuous path without reusing any previous paths established in your previous moves. All this is presented in a neon-coloured user interface, making the game a real looker to behold. It’s safe to say that despite this simple premise, Glow Puzzle gameplay is top notch and is hard to beat even in the puzzle game genre. I already had my head cracking at Level 10 and while I’m pretty sure I’m a smart guy, I wouldn’t want to see these puzzles in an IQ test.

Thankfully solutions are given and you can utilise them when you are stuck, but try not to give in too easily as it draws away from the experience of solving a puzzle without having to look at a bunch of hints. While the game is free (with 25 puzzles), you can actually purchase additional puzzle packs in-app, and these offer 75 to 130 puzzles for just 99 cents a pack.

The free game is enough to drive most people up the walk (in a good way), but hey don’t just take my word for it. Download the game over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/glow-puzzle/id370410649?mt=8

Apple announced plenty of interesting updates to its music players during today’s earlier event but the interesting piece of tech would be the new fourth generation iPod touch. Now with the A4 processor seen in the iPhone 4, along with dual cameras, Retina Display touchscreen, HD video recording and editing, Game Center, gyroscope + accelerometer, and the fact that the App Store has plenty of notable games and apps, has the iPod touch eclipsed both the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP?

I would like to think so. If you are out on the market looking for a handheld console, I would now no longer hesitate to recommend the new fourth generation iPod touch. There are only two reasons I can see why people would go for either the DS and PSP: traditional controls and exclusive titles…and that’s about it. Check out the new iPod touch over here, and I must say, I’m tempted to get one: http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/

As a kid, I really liked playing hidden object games, the “technical term” for a game involving looking for a list of items within a picture. There was a particular children magazine that held a contest featuring such a game and silly young me bought multiple copies of the magazine (so that I can have multiple entry forms) to create a bigger chance of winning the top prize, which was a LEGO set.

Anyways, in the age of video games, hidden object games are a dim a dozen these days, and while I’m pretty sure that there are plenty on the iPhone, this is the first time I’m reviewing one, having gotten it as a review request in the mail. Operation Camouflage is the latest offering from Disney, and it’s a hidden object game based on the hit movie, Toy Story 3!

Playing as Sarge and his group of toy soldiers, players have to look for a list of items in places such as Andy’s room, Bonnie’s room and Sunnyside Daycare. While the game keeps things interesting by making items a little abstract (and thus harder to find) with a hard mode to boot (read: timer), there are some gripes that I can’t seem to shake off. For starters, the game is definitely suited more for the iPad rather than the iPhone, thankfully the game is a universal app for both devices.

The beautiful high-res graphics prove to be a double-edged sword. While the game looks pretty, items tend to be really small and the zoom function is slow and it stutters. There’s no penalty for just simply tapping around the screen randomly without finding anything. But I guess this was a deliberate decision considering the target audience is after all, children.

On that point, Toy Story 3: Operation Camouflage is one of those games to keep the kids occupied when Mummy or Daddy need some peace and quiet to work over their income tax submission. Check out the game over at the App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/toy-story-3-operation-camouflage/id386171639?mt=8.

If you are looking to buy those Toy Story toy soldiers, check out the Toy Story Collection Bucket o’ Soldiers containing 72 toy soldiers and a certificate of authentication. Check it out over here: http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-47yl-71-7g-49-en-84-j-70-3y5w.html

While match-3 games are practically a dime a dozen on the iPhone, there’s something really satisfying about Berzerker Games’ Super Juicy for the iPhone/iPod touch. The game borrows elements from both Tetris and Bejeweled to create a somewhat yummy (it must be the sound effects) take on a genre that’s frankly been lacking in innovation lately.

Gameplay is really simple, coloured bubbles descend from the top of the screen, players will have to tap any three or more bubbles of the same colour to pop them and they have to be accurate about it. Tapping on a bubble not in a group of three or more will cause you to lose points and  inflate the bubble bigger and bigger, taking up screen space and if that screen space fills up before the timer runs out, it’s game over.

The key here is to score combos (going from one combination of bubbles to another in quick succession) and the highest combo multiplier is the namesake for the game, Super Juicy. Like I mentioned earlier, the sound effects in the game are really nice, the combination of the fruity theme and the sound effects makes as if I just finish a pack of Sugus sweets (really yummy stuff). Graphics wise, the game keeps it simple and while I generally like this kind of approach, I did have trouble differentiating the red and green bubbles.

That minor issue aside, Super Juicy delivers fun and frantic match-3 action all in a polished package. The game is available for USD 0.99 on the App Store, check it out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/super-juicy/id328568119?mt=8

If you are sleepy I can’t recommend C4D’s latest iPhone game titled W.I.P. You’d probably guessed it, the title stands for Work in Progress, but while the game itself looks finished, the boring gameplay and monotonous music is likely to put you to sleep like it nearly did me. The premise of W.I.P is pretty simple. The game is literally a platformer (for all intents and purposes). You take control of a flying space bus of sorts, and you’ll need to plot your flight plan from one platform to another platform, ferrying around engineers.

It sounds simple enough but I’m guessing that the developers are out to make it difficult for players since they can’t do anything about the monotony of transporting engineers around (no offense to engineers out there). Should your flying space bus hit an obstacle, it will cancel out the flight plan that you just drew, and you’ll need to draw a new one, by tapping on the bus and dragging your finger on the screen. You’ll need to keep an eye on the clock as well because if the time runs out, it’s game over for that particular level.

Graphics wise, the game actually looks really nice, it’s just too bad that the gameplay and the soundtrack do not match up. The early levels will have you practically ding-dong-ing between two to three platforms, and I can barely keep my head up by the time I reach the fourth or fifth level.

In any case, W.I.P is available on the App Store for USD 0.99, if you want to check it out, you can do so over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/w-i-p/id385920680?mt=8. Probably they should just call it Z.I.P (for zzzz in progress).

Do you play video games with your partner/spouse? Well I do. My girlfriend and I usually take turns at playing Guitar Hero: World Tour on the PS3. Sometimes we have a go at Street Fighter as well and for some reason (maybe because I suck at fighting games), she ends up winning simply by button mashing. I would love to have another guitar though, so at least we can go head to head; this makes the following Play-Asia offer a tempting one:

The Guitar Hero Aerosmith – Guitar Bundle for the PS3 is going for a super low price of USD 39.90. That’s pretty crazy considering it comes with a Guitar controller. Furthermore, I like Aerosmith. Hmm. Anyways, if you are interested, you can get one for yourself over here: http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-47yl-71-bp-49-en-84-j-70-2q18.html

Back when I was a kid, my dad used to get me issues of Quest magazine, a partworks magazine collection about science published by Marshall Cavendish. If you are unfamiliar with the term partworks, it basically means a written publication, released as a series of planned magazine-like issues over time. In the case of Quest, each issue can be separated into separate topics and stored inside binders with colour coded sections. The complete collection, consisting of 3 binders of collected issues, is somewhat like an encyclopedia on science.

I noticed a new partworks collection yesterday at the local Borders, called the DC Comics’ Super Hero Collection. It sounds tacky and while it comes with the pre-requisite magazine (and the binder is coming in Issue 2….I think), each issue comes with a hand-painted, lead-cast collector’s edition figurine of the featured superhero! In the case of Issue 1, which is on the newsstands now, the featured superhero none other than my favourite, Batman.

The magazine portions details the character, the greatest Batman stories, the supporting characters and the genesis of the idea in creating Batman, it’s nothing much if you have something like The Essential Batman Encyclopedia (which I do, having bought it for a song), but if you don’t it’s an OK primer to the Dark Knight. The star of the issue is definitely the figurine. I’m keeping in in-box (took off the shrink-wrapped, but never gone to the business of setting the little guy free from his plastic confines), and I think it’s pretty well worth the money.

DC Comics’ Super Hero Collection is a bi-weekly release. The first issue is now at an introductory price of RM 19.90, subsequent issues will have a price tag of RM 29.90.  If you were to ask me, I would say the magazine is worth buying for the figurine alone. Looks like I’ve to add this to the budget, in addition to the other two magazines that I buy on a regular basis, EDGE and Retro Gamer.

The Play-Asia sale is back, and you know what that means?! Called the Summer Barbecue Sale, thousands of hot products, including  video games, consoles, toys, music CDs and movies are now available at hot discounts! Here’s your chance to grab those Japanese exclusives at low prices and also stand a chance in winning Play-Asia’s store credit for future purchases in the Lucky Draw. Each purchase during the Summer Barbecue sale is considered a single entry to the lucky draw, so what are you waiting for?

Check out Play-Asia’s Summer Barbecue sale over here.

I downloaded two games from Cave Entertainment last night, the first one being their latest release, Dodonpachi Revolution, and another title that has been on the App Store for a little bit longer, ESPGALUDA II. I’m usually a shmup player along the lines of R-Type and Tyrian but having read about bullet porn (or bullet hell) shmups in Brian Ashcraft’s Arcade Mania, I gotten a little curious about this sub-genre. It went to the extent that I visited a local arcade to try out one of the bullet hell shmup cabinets.

In any case, it’s fortunate that Cave decided to release their games on the iPhone, there’s no longer a need for me to go to the arcade (and bring along disinfecting alcohol wipes for those icky controls). I love both games. Dodonpachi Revolution has that raw visceral look while ESPGALUDA II looks really slick. Both are capable of churning out a crazy load of bullets, filling up the screen but thanks to the 3GS, there’s no slowdown at all.

One should however pay heed to the “requirements” needed to play the two games. Both require a 3GS or better, and the iPhone 3G won’t cut it with its slower processor. I made sure to remove background applications in order to give maximum headroom to the games considering both are memory intensive. If you are a shmup fan and still stuck with an iPhone 3G, these two games will convince you to take the plunge and get an iPhone 4 (or minimally a 3GS).

Check out ESPGALUDA II over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/espgaluda-ii/id363969661?mt=8, Dodonpachi Resurrection is currently available at a discounted price of USD 4.99: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dodonpachi-resurrection/id387176580?mt=8