I’m a sucker for cute little puzzle games. Pixelshocks‘ latest game, 7 Moves, fits into that mold, and it doesn’t disappoint at all. In each level, this beautiful 2D game (the visuals reminded me a little of Ferry Hanlim’s Flash-based creations) has players moving an intrepid adventurer around in a grid to reach a treasure chest in exactly 7 moves!

This forces players to map out their moves first before making any actual moves, and that’s actually pretty cool, kinda like chess or sitting for an IQ test. There are 48 levels in the game, some of them allow players to collect parts of an artifact and some even contain tiles that provide extra moves bonuses to the player.

7 Moves is a great game that deserves to be in any puzzle game aficionado’s iOS game library. I hope that the developer can put in an extra touch with the trophies…. Game Center would really be appreciated here. Nine Over Ten 9/10 rates 7 Moves with a 4.5 out of 5. The game is available on the iTunes App Store for just 99 cents, check it out: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/7-moves/id475948074?mt=8.

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

It’s been nearly two weeks since Halloween, but there’s no reason you should skip having a look at Sparkin’ Apps’ Halloween-themed, Fruit Ninja-inspired game, Monster Warrior. The game retains the slicing/cutting elements that made Fruit Ninja great, but adds on several more innovations along with a whole bunch of game modes in an attempt to differentiate itself from the competition.

So, instead of slashing fruits and avoiding bombs, players slash monsters and avoid harming the cute little rabbits that pop-up occasionally. Now, some people might think that perfect combo slashing of monsters is key in this game, it turned out to be not so. I found out that in order to be successful in the arcade mode you’ll need to be able to combo POWER-UPS.

These power-ups include the ability to slow down monster movement, double points or even cause a monster frenzy. Constantly chaining these power-ups will allow players to rake up the points and minimize the instances of rabbit showing up. Other game modes like Survival allow the player to slow down and serve to highlight the really cool looking cell-shaded graphics employed by the game.

I found it hard to review the game, not because it was bad (on the contrary, the game’s excellent!), but because I was obsessed with trying to top the leaderboards for the various game modes available in Monster Warrior, no thanks to Game Center . Nine Over Ten 9/10 rates Monster Warrior at a 4.5 out of 5, for being as addictive as a bowl of Hershey Kisses.

Monster Warrior is available on the iTunes App Store for just USD 0.99, check it out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/monster-warrior/id452001631?mt=8. A review code was provided to Nine Over Ten 9/10 for the purpose of this review.

Battle Group is fast becoming one of the best games that I’ve played on the iPhone all year. Bane Games’ latest title takes a bit of the real-time maritime unit warfare in the Command and Conquer games and puts that in an “on-rails” setting with the enemy coming at you from all directions. The result? A really rich gameplay experience in which the mayhem of warfare meets steely resolve to pull through.

Players start off with a single flagship as they take on the role of Commander Kelly, going up against an increasingly dangerous pirate threat. You’ll have planes and boats in all kinds of sizes firing missiles at you and your flagship is certainly made of sterner stuff, you’ll need to juggle your rate of fire against incoming threats.

Doing well in missions means that you get to earn stars which can be used to either upgrade or purchase larger flagships or additional support vessels. Support vessels are an interesting feature in the game as they compliment the flagship like how a secondary fire mode compliments a shotgun in a first person shooter.

As such, you’ll need to juggle between firing the flagship weapons and occasionally directing support vessels on their line of fire as well. These support ships tend to have long cool down periods, and savvy players will need to take note and work around that. What I like about Battle Group is that the missions display a variety in mission objectives, something that is normally looked over in the age of mass-produced levels, so props to the developer for that.

Another thing that I noted is that aside from the pretty top-down 2D graphics, the game has a lot going for it in terms of audio. There are voice overs during mission briefings and the sound effects during the levels are simply awesome! Not everyday you get an iOS game that nails a trifecta of gameplay, graphics AND audio.

The developers have put in Game Center leaderboards and achievements as well, and if you noticed, it happens to be one of those games that you can easily earn massive GC Achievement points. Nine Over Ten 9/10 rates Battle Group at a 5 out of 5, for being an all-round awesome game. The game is available on the iTunes App Store for USD 1.99, check it out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/battle-group/id452483055?mt=8

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

Phew…with asteroids like the ones you see in Atari’s latest dual-stick (albeit virtual ones) shooter, Asteroids: Gunner for the iPhone, who needs space invaders? I just went through a crazy amount of shooting in that game and I love it! As a free-to-play title, Asteroids: Gunner has plenty going for it.

The game looks great and the controls perfect for the task of destroying tens or hundreds of asteroids that populate each level. The bigger ones would break up into smaller pieces upon contact and these would really challenge players to keep their accuracy rate up high. I like the fact that being a free-to-play title, there’s plenty to actually chew on.

Atari has bundled in 50 levels in the first stage, all of which are unlocked based on how whether you survived the previous levels. There are two other stages which need to be unlocked by way of purchasing in-game currency. The ship is also upgradeable in many aspects, some requiring just the collectible space crystals dropped by asteroids whereas some would require the aforementioned in-game currency that needs to be purchased.

One thing that struck me while playing the game was the number of power-ups available, and some of these weapons you probably wish you had with you in the earlier incarnations of Asteroids. Ice beams, anti-gravity fields to the ever-satisfying claymore mine, almost all of these are a joy to play and worth going after when dropped by destroyed asteroids.

It’s crazy casual fun with Asteroids: Gunner and it definitely does a good job in upping the action and suspense quotients for a dual-stick shooter. The game comes with BOTH Game Center and OpenFeint achievements, how cool is that! Nine Over Ten 9/10 rates Asteroids: Gunner at 4.5 out of 5. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

The game is available for free on the iTunes App Store at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id474572720.

In the previous I did, I was commented on how Angry Birds has led to a whole plethora of 2D, physics-based games on the App Store, and the amount of one-upmanship that has taken place has reached ridiculous levels. Another game that has been in the spotlight for even longer than Angry Birds has also led to a number of clones on the App Store, and that game is Bejeweled.

Oddly enough, the latest game to follow in the footsteps of Bejeweled not only borrows deliberately from that game, but also from another unlikely source, Angry Birds. Smackall’s Stripe Jeweled combines both classic Bejeweled gameplay along with 2D-physics to create something that I must say, unique that stands out from the rest.

At first glance you’ll notice that the game isn’t like normal Bejeweled clones. The jewels fall from the top of the screen, not in a grid, but more like rain, and the jewels bounce off one another, sliding into position and taking advantage of any gap or space that presents itself. This gives a more organic feel to the gameplay aspect which still follows the classic match-3 or more of the same coloured jewels.

The game comes about with two game modes, one being Classic and Survival, and these two should be able to keep players preoccupied for quite sometime. The game is free to play, and with that being a major plus point, I would like to commend the sensible placement of the advertisements to the bottom of the screen. They are simply less distracting that way.

Stripe Jeweled’s none-existing price tag, respectable number of levels and a Survival mode, along with an interesting presentation of how Bejeweled would have been with 2D-physics convinced us to award the game with no less than a 4.5 out of 5. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

The game is available on the iTunes App Store, check it out over at: http://itunes.apple.com/app/stripe-jeweled/id463991728?mt=8#

The level of one-upmanship that you can find among 2D, physics-based games on the iTunes App Store have reached heights that can be considered as ridiculous. Following in the footsteps of Angry Birds, one of the latest offerings you can find would be Trippin’ Software’s Crazy Play. Like the title implies, Crazy Play may potentially drive you up the wall if you are not one of the masochist casual gamers.

In the game, players are supposed to land gold (floating with the aid of a balloon) onto a target, using a host of items like bouncing platforms, teleporters, air cannons, baskets, etc, etc. It’s a bit like one of the build-your-own-lab kind of games, but one of the challenge is shooting the balloon to drop the gold in the first place….it’s actually easier said than done and is easily an early source of frustration.

The levels start off easy but it’s really difficult to get a good rating (they are rated in the typical three-star fashion), with later levels can be viewed as either tough but interesting nuts to crack, or something like a milder version of Demon’s Souls on the iPhone. Yup, it’s not meant for everybody (including yours truly), but hey, if you are one with whips in the closet, here’s a casual game right up your alley.

Nine Over Ten 9/10 rates Crazy Play at a 4 out of 5, simply because we understand that there is a certain appeal in this kind of overkill and Crazy Play does this with great aplomb. Crazy Play is available on the iTunes App Store for USD 0.99. Check it out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/crazy-play/id393114757. A review code was provided to Nine Over Ten 9/10 for the purpose of this review.

The cashier at the checkout counter asked me whether PowerGels actually taste nice. She was probably wondering why would I be buying a whole bunch of those. Truth be told, PowerGels are the most disgusting thing you can put in your mouth, but they actually do help out when you are in a long distance race.

Anyways, if there’s anything that I like eating, it would be fruits. And by that virtue, I would have a lot in common with Nom Nom the monkey, the star of Uninspired Productions (odd name for a game company) latest iOS game, titled Nom Nom Monkey. The game is basically an eat ‘em all, with players moving Nom Nom from left to right eating all the fruits that are dropping down from the top of the screen.

The game is divided into two modes. The first one will have players guiding Nom Nom into an eating frenzy to eat as much fruit as possible within a minute. Different types of fruits carry different number of points, but surprisingly the game doesn’t come with Game Center leaderboards to track players’ scores on a global basis.

The second mode, called survival pits Nom Nom against obstacles such as spears coming out from the ground and bombs floating down from the top. Biting into a bomb will result in a game over but if the player manages to avoid them bombs, they should be able to continue playing for a very long time. Nom Nom Monkey is one cute casual game that’s easy to pick up and play, but there’s plenty of room for improvement, namely new game modes and Game Center.

Nine Over Ten 9/10 rates Nom Nom Monkey at a 3.5 out of 5 for being a commendable effort. Nom Nom Monkey is available on the iTunes App Store for USD 0.99. Check it out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nom-nom-monkey/id471583184?mt=8. A review code was provided to Nine Over Ten 9/10 for the purpose of this review.

I’ve got no beef with freemium games, but when it comes to games that make it absolutely necessary to purchase items in order to make any form of progress within the game, things get a little tricky. Technically that should downgrade the game from being “freemium” to a “shareware demo with purchase necessary”. Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One | Genesis for the iPhone can be described as one.

The game, available for free on the iTunes App Store, is like a 3D version of Age of Zombies. Players take control of G.One, a superhero running around levels shooting up waves of minions from Ra.One. Minions may drop orbs and collecting these orbs allow you to purchase upgrades such as health and weapons that are absolutely necessary in taking on these bunch of crazies, otherwise G.One’s a goner..(LOL).

The problem with Ra.One | Genesis is that these upgrades are priced so high, the only way you can get them without going into a perpetual grind would be to do an in-app purchase for a lump sum of orbs. This actually sticks out like a sore point in an otherwise beautifully realised game with very nice graphics and a complete feature set with Game Center rounding up the list. Players who are familiar with Age of Zombies or other dual-stick shooters will be able to join in the action almost immediately.

Nine Over Ten 9/10 rates Ra.One | Genesis  a 4 out of 5 for being a solid action game AND a movie tie-in at the same time, but do be prepared to grind if you a stingy poker. The game is available on the iTunes App Store for free, check it out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/raone/id440488560?mt=8

I think I’ve just found my favourite Halloween-themed iPhone game in the form of Finger Slayer Seasons Part 3 – Halloween Edition. The game brings on 5 different gameplay modes, all of which depend on how well your level of concentration and reflexes work together. First up there’s the classic Finger Slayer game mode, whereby players place their finger on the guillotine circle and wait for the “3, 2, 1 & Go count” announcement to finish before releasing their finger (and thus avoiding the guillotine).

In Survival mode, players will need to slide a pumpkin left or right in order to avoid a single blade falling from any of the three blades on screen. Rapid Force mode is like Survival mode on steroids, whereby TWO out of the 3 blades will drop fall simultaneously. This by far is my favourite mode in Finger Slayer Seasons Part 3, simply because it’s crazy and requires Neo-like reflexes and intuition. LOL. Rapid Force and two other modes, Transformer and Killer are initially locked and can be unlocked when you have collected enough coins.

Coins can also be used to customise the game by purchasing costumes for the jack-0-lantern pumpkin and to replace the game’s background scene. If you need more coins quickly, there’s always the in-app purchase option available. One thing about Finger Slayer is that it’s bloody addictive. I’ve somehow worked my way up the leaderboards (provided by Game Center, same with the Achievements) and I can’t stop myself from trying to get higher scores.

Finger Slayer Seasons Part 3 – Halloween Edition is such a satisfying casual game, Nine Over Ten 9/10 rates it at a 4 out of 5. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. The game is available for free on the iTunes App Store, check it out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/finger-slayer-seasons-halloween/id468603007?mt=8

Sometimes I wonder whether is the adage “less is more” holds true for iOS apps. In the case of Massive Joe Studios’ Age of Monsters – Rock Paper Scissors game for the iPhone, that age old phrase gets thrown out of the window (and then rolled over by a lorry). I mean, it’s rock, paper, scissors on the iPhone, how complex can it get?

Well if you are a team who counts Jeff Matsuda (Emmy Award winning Producer and Creative Director of The Batman cartoon series) as one of your own, you’d throw in really cool graphics and character design, along with mutiplayer functionality and overlay these over an otherwise straightforward gameplay experience.

The word overkill is kind of like a prevailing theme with Age of Monsters – Rock Paper Scissors… I honestly do not know how would it benefit from the admittedly cool intro video or the variety of characters to choose from. The game seems to target the casual market but would that market make use of the multiplayer component?

Nine Over Ten 9/10 rates Age of Monsters – Rock Paper Scissors at a 3 out of 5, and I feel that with the level of production seen in this game, it would have been better for Massive Joe Studios to invest their energies in a game that’s “bigger” or more “compelling”. The talent is obviously there, so I can’t wait to see what they are coming up with next.

Age of Monsters – Rock Paper Scissors is available for free on the iTunes App Store. Check it out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/age-monsters-rock-paper-scissors/id465231443?mt=8