If you have not checked out Quantum Legacy on your iPhone or iPad, you really should. This 3D space shooter features awesome looking graphics and the gameplay mechanics manages to give a little bit of the free-roaming feel you get from shooters on the PC/consoles while at the same time is actually completely linear. Talk about sleigh-of-hand..but in a good way.

Battles fold out as encounters in space, often with your ship zooming off to one confined hot zone to the other. Players control the ship by tilting the phone and the two other controls allow users to alternate between firing missiles and activating their shields. This leads to some interesting duels with the enemy A.I controlled ships.

In order to get a leg up on these foes and the bosses at the end of each level, players get to upgrade their ships RPG style, unlocking new shields and weapons.

The highly polished production values shown in Quantum Legacy belies the fact that the game was made by a group of 3 people. Amazing looking 3D graphics aside, the game features FULL voice acting and over 40 minutes of original music. It’s amazing what happens when you get a group of dedicated folks working together, and you know what’s even crazier, the game is up on the App Store for free, without ads!

You can opt-in to support the developers by doing a USD 0.99 in-app purchase. But before you do anything, you should seriously check out Quantum Legacy on the iTunes App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/quantum-legacy/id492601164?ls=1&mt=8. Nine Over Ten 9/10 rates the game at a 4.5 out of 5. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Just got word that Tony Takoushi has left Halfbrick Studios (the folks behind some of my favourite games on the iPhone: Age of Zombies, Jetpack Joyride) to form up a new indie development studio, Total ArKade Software (TAKS). Based in Brisbane, Australia, the team is closed to completing its flagship title for mobile devices (iOS, Android and Bada) and the PC.

Here’s a few words from the man himself on his new venture, but before that, Nine Over Ten 9/10 wishes Tony all the best:

“I started in the games industry in 1979 and it’s very exciting to be setting up an Indie development team at this time with so many opportunities to innovate and create quality titles in the mobile space.I want to give players the same gorgeous art, great audio and compulsive gaming they would recognise from Halfbrick productions, along with some very innovative gameplay, as you’ll see in our first title shortly.

Setting up Total ArKade Software just made a lot of sense. As a games player I always look for something new and fresh to play, with a lot of exciting content, unique characters and great art, so these are a key focus for our launch title.”

Lately I’ve been getting iOS game review requests which feature this line as part of the opening paragraph: “It’s unique app, no analogs in AppStore” or as an alternative “It’s unique game, no analogs in AppStore”. Besides being grammatically incorrect and sounding like a 21st century version of Ole English speak, I was surprised by the number of people using that sentence. All of them are from different companies!

In case you are wondering the sentence means “the app has no peer on the iTunes App Store”. I wonder how some of these folks go about promoting games; probably grabbing a common e-mail template somewhere before blasting their press releases to a whole bunch of publications. There is something in those e-mails featuring that sentence that puts me off and for the record, I’ve only replied to 2 out of the 30+ e-mails.

Can I suggest something? This actually sounds much better: “There’s nothing like this app/game/thingamajig on the iTunes App Store”.

Crytek’s mobile debut in the form of the physics-based puzzle game Fibble does the predominantly PC/console games developer justice by providing iOS users with a pretty looking and fun-to-play game. Just one look from the graphics is enough to tell anyone there was quite a bit invested in the 3D graphics and to my surprise the game runs smoothly on an iPhone 3GS (just remember to clear the rest of your apps from the background)

According to the developers, the graphics are indeed powered by their console/pc-based CryEngine graphics engine, and that’s similar to the approach Unreal is taking with its own Unreal Engine 3 which powers the likes of Infinity Blade and Infinity Blade II.

The objective of the gameplay would be to help the alien Fibble collect stuff through multiple levels in a household. Players launch Fibble through a linear path and with the help of Fibble’s alien friends, they’ll need him to collect coins and reach the end of each level. Thinks of the game as something like a linear version of pinball and you’re half way there.

The only problem I have with the game is that the controls are not really clear when it comes to some of Fibble’s supporting cast. Triggering Byte to flip Fibble into the air can be a real hassle at times and I wonder why Crytek didn’t just simplify the whole sequence.

In any case, this is a minor niggle in an overall quality title, and a first time one at that in the iOS space from the Crytek guys. Nine Over Ten 9/10 rates Fibble at a 4 out of 5. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. The game is available on the iTunes App Store for USD 1.99: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fibble/id495883186?mt=8

A review code was provided to Nine Over Ten 9/10 for the purpose of this review.

Here’s an app for all you golfers out there. Who’s Your Caddy, a free, cutting edge golf mobile application, is about to change the way golfers, golf courses, and advertisers view mobile apps. Not just another golf app, this mobile app is the first of its kind. A win-win-win for all parties involved: golfers, golf courses, and advertisers.

Who’s Your Caddy, created by parent company Red Mat Media, is available now on iTunes, and by May 1 for Androids. The product’s website, www.whosyourcaddy.com launched this week as well which details how this app is revolutionizing the way golfers, golf courses, and local businesses all benefit by working together.

Three key features set this product apart from other golf apps. First, Who’s Your Caddy is a FREE mobile app for both the golfer and the golf courses. ”Other golf apps can charge the course to be on the app. With Who’s Your Caddy, not only does the course not pay a cent for the app, it can also make revenue from it with our revenue share program. We create partnerships with golf courses and users, no other golf app can say that,” said Timothy Lyon, CEO of the parent company of Who’s Your Caddy, Red Mat Media.

Secondly, Who’s Your Caddy serves up “Gimmes” to its golfers. Gimmes are free gifts from businesses in the golfer’s neighborhood, such as a gift certificate to a restaurant. Golfers will be alerted of their free Gimme via a text while they are using their WYC unit during golf.

“The Gimmes really separate Who’s Your Caddy from our competition,” said President Suzanne Cahill-Manning. “It is a win-win-win program. Our advertisers gain exposure and direct access to potential new customers. The golf courses offer a benefit to their players, and receive a portion of advertising revenues. And of course, the golfers win with the Gimmes while using the very best golf app on the market. And it is all free.”

Third, Caddy Tips give golfers details of each hole on the course through videos from the club professional. He will offer tips on how to play each hole during a short video, just as if a caddy were standing by the player’s side pointing out the strategies of the hole. Who’s Your Caddy also provides all the cutting-edge benefits expected from golf mobile apps, including GPS yardage capabilities – all at NO CHARGE.

Maybe the most important aspect of Who’s Your Caddy for the courses that sign on is the unique advertising program. Via WYC sales reps, local businesses will buy advertising on the mobile app for a small annual fee. A portion of that fee goes into a bonus pool, which is divided among the participating courses based on usage at each facility.

There is no expense to the golf courses, yet they’ll benefit greatly. They will engage their customers in a revolutionary new mobile golf application unique to their course, drive traffic to their courses, develop co-op relationships with neighborhood businesses, and make extra revenue

Before I start with Nineoverten.com’s latest review, let it be known that I do not have a problem with every individual’s right to make money.  So here’s a question to all you smartphone gamers out there: What happens when an indie developer gets exceedingly greedy? You get a game like iFighter 2.

For those unfamiliar with the game, it’s a shmup along the lines of Capcom’s retro classic 1942. Now everyone knows that kinda game should be a fun romp through the skies but what got me mad about iFighter 2 was how it hard sells IAPs (in-app purchases). How the developer went about doing this was pretty dumb.

Firstly, the game was exceedingly difficult. I was playing the game in the post office (there was really this long queue and it’s a habit of mine to review games in such a situation) and I was surprised at getting pawned by this iOS shmup in a very short period of time. I discovered that you’ll need to use power-ups to help defend your hapless World War II era fighter plane.

These power-ups are finite and need to be pre-purchased before you start the game. To purchase these power-ups you go to a store front to buy them using coins, which to be fair to the developer, can be obtained from playing the game. But then again, these power-ups are freaking expensive…and in the end of the day you need to spend cold, hard cash doing IAPs to purchase more coins.

For once I agree with one of the reviews left on the iTunes App Store for iFighter 2. It’s daylight robbery and it’s absurd, and it looks to be ON PURPOSE. It’s just too bad the game has all the ingredients to be a great game (the graphics are beautiful, and the controls pretty solid).

Nine Over Ten 9/10 rates iFighter 2 at a 3 out of 5. The game is available on the iTunes App Store for USD 0.99: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ifighter-2-pacific-1942-by/id492017447?mt=8. A review code was provided to Nine Over Ten 9/10 for the purpose of this review.

The highly anticipated multi-platform MMO Dark Legends by the makers of Pocket Legends, Spacetime Studios, has just been simultaneously launched on mobile and desktop platforms. The game is now available exclusively for a two week period on Google Play for Android devices and on the Chrome Web Store for PC, Mac and Linux.

The commercial launch of Dark Legends across both mobile and desktop simultaneously is another industry first by Spacetime Studios and furthers their goal to create a ubiquitous social gaming experience. The company’s Legends series are the only 3D MMOs in the world that allow people to play the same game together on desktop computers, smart phones and tablets.

Gary Gattis, CEO of Spacetime Studios, feels recent moves by Google to unify the gaming and social experience across its platform ecosystem are a powerful validation of his own company’s long standing corporate mission to allow people to play with anyone, anywhere, anytime.

“Google Play and the Chrome Web Store allow us to upload and update our online, multiplayer games instantly. Their immediate and unified environment fits perfectly with Spacetime’s ability to push global content to our suite of games on-the-fly across mobile and desktop.” said Gattis. “We’re both at the forefront of creating cross-platform gameplay that connects players in a much deeper online experience, anywhere and on any device.”

Set in a gritty modern-day urban environment in which humans are aware of vampires’ existence, players assume the role of a recently sired vampire who must battle to survive in a world which fears and hates their kind. In the struggle, players must face gangs of well-armed humans, hordes of the undead, packs of werewolves, covens of warlocks and legions of demons.

Dark Legends is the third title in the highly popular Legends franchise of mobile and desktop games. The first two titles, Pocket Legends and Star Legends: The Blackstar Chronicles, are the world’s largest mobile MMOs with more than seven million downloads.

Dark Legends is free to download and play. The game features optional microtransactions and virtual currency that enhance the play experience with vanity items, health packs and premium revives.  After the exclusive period the game will also be available for iOS devices. For more details visit http://www.darklegends.com.

My goodness. If there’s one way to describe Meow Meow Happy Fight would be BaboViolent with a large dose of cuteness. Don’t let the beautiful manga-style cuteness fool you though, this top-down arena shooter from prolific indie developer Big Pixel Studios is pretty hardcore.

If it were a 3D first-person-shooter, I would compare it favourably to Quake III: Arena, a perennial favourite of mine. Gameplay is defined into 3 types and levels are unlocked by finishing on top of the standings at each preceeding level. Picking up stuff dropped by opponents nets you Happy Points which can be used to unlock the numerous characters in the game.

Like Quake III, Meow Meow Happy Fight features a plethora of power-ups, adding an element of surprise to the game. The game switches on auto-aim by default, but you know what…you can disable it and the game becomes a true dual-thumb shooter, and in my opinion, the one true way to play the game.

Nine Over Ten 9/10 rates Meow Meow Happy Fight at a 4.5 out of 5. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. The game is available at a price of USD 2.99 on the iTunes App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/meow-meow-happy-fight/id361384085?mt=8.

A promo code was provided to Nine Over Ten 9/10 for the purpose of this review.

Hothead Games, being a Canadian game developer has decided to embrace what Canadians seem to do best: Hockey, or what the rest of the world knows as Ice Hockey, with a brand new game for iOS devices, titled Big Win Hockey. Players can create their own dream team, boost their puck-handling, shooting, and skating with Big Win cards, compete against opponents around the world, and get ready to hoist the Daily Trophy.

The game is available for free on the iTunes App Store, check it out: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/big-win-hockey/id482224614?mt=8

Appy’s hit iOS title SpellCraft School of Magic has just received its latest update (version 1.2). The update introduces the Loot Machine, groovy Raccoon, Cracked Earth or Waveform Suits and even adds some bling to questing with new jewelry effects.

Here’s a quote from Paul O’Connor, Brand Director at Appy: “A wave of new players drove SpellCraft to number 1 ranks in Europe this past weekend. Continuing players tell us they love all the content we constantly add to the game. As you can tell, we’re just getting started with SpellCraft ”

Like all Appy titles, SpellCraft is available free of charge as a freemium title on the iTunes App Store, check it out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spellcraft-school-of-magic/id471396267?mt=8