It’s Friday and it’s time for our weekly digest of tiny iPhone reviews, courtesy of iPhoneTiny.com, with some extra commentary exclusive to Cult of Mac.
Under review this week: Arkanoid, FlipTime 2.0, Shockwave, Squareball and Monster Pinball.
APP OF THE WEEK
Squareball: Brutally tough but addictive retro-oriented mix of Pong, Breakout and a simplified Super Mario. 5/5 $1.99 https://is.gd/3D2Eg
Monster Pinball: Noisy, cartoonish linked-table pinball. Grabs attention & initially fun, but lacks depth. 3/5 $3.99 https://is.gd/3Fe2k
Shockwave: Like what would happen if you smushed Asteroids into Geometry Wars and removed the fun and ‘pretty’. $0.99 2/5 https://is.gd/3B24k
FlipTime 2.0: ‘Old-school flight info board’ clock. Now with alarms, iPod support & easy-access settings. 5/5 $0.99 https://is.gd/3yMsy
Arkanoid: Content-rich but unrewarding Breakout game. Too many levels reliant on indestructible bricks. 2/5 $4.99 https://is.gd/3wS35
With the exception of FlipTime (now improved with in-app options, alarms and iPod support, which would have made it app of the week, except the previous version got that on the 11th), it’s all retro games this week.
The selection of games shows the range when it comes to updates. Arkanoid brings Taito’s brick-basher to Apple handhelds, but rather than providing something like the wonderful Space Invaders Infinity Gene, the result isn’t a million miles away from what you got on the C64 in 1986—and a reliance on indestructible bricks for difficulty is hateful.
Somewhat in the middle ground is Monster Pinball. Highly cartoonish, loud and animated, it’s like a Pixar designer high on Coca-Cola made a pinball game. It’s great fun at first, not least with the linked-table dynamic, but it wasn’t long before the lack of missions became apparent and I pined for Pinball Fantasies instead.
This week, the best update—or update of sorts—is Squareball. I’ve already written about Squareball on Cult of Mac this week—suffice to say that it proves that a simple idea, based on ancient gaming mechanics, can make a great game, but providing something unique to the device takes it to another level entirely.
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