Trenches is a wonderfully designed game 
that can be a heck of a lot of fun to play. There’s a lot happening on screen, but the developers do a fairly good job of making it accessible to players. The game doesn’t take long to finish on its easy and moderate modes, but does have some replayability — and rewards a player’s victory by unlocking a zombie horde mode, which pits players against a never-ending wave of comedically undead German soldiers. The inclusion of multiplayer is a great addition for adults, giving them a chance to pit their skills against others and give the game a longer lifespan, but it opens up a lot of concerns for children. And some people may find the gameplay a bit too repetitive for their tastes. Still, for its 99-cent asking price, it’s a great option for older teens and adults.
Tag Archives: app review
App review: Traveler’s Quest
Traveler’s Quest is an oddity in the iOS world — a massively multiplayer 
single-player game. You compete mainly against yourself (although there is Game Center ranking) to find buried “treasure” (and bury it yourself) in your neighborhood and wherever you might roam. The game makes finding hidden items easy, but if you’re the one burying the treasure, you’ll get gold the longer it remains hidden. While the goods are virtual, the locations are real — and tie in with Google maps in a very innovative fashion. It’s a wonderfully addictive game, but suffers greatly if there aren’t many people in your area playing, since you rely on them to bury items in the first place. (Bots bury treasure occasionally, but it’s much more fun when real people do so.) If you’re fortunate enough to live somewhere that the playing population is thick, though, you can lose hours searching for the virtual goods.
App review: Family Guy Time Warped
Devoted fans of the show may enjoy 
Family Guy Time Warped, but casual watchers aren’t likely to have as much fun. The game is a mediocre platform jumper without a lot of diversity. While you pummel enemies and jump from heights, the pacing is slow and the game feels sluggish. Its best moments come from watching short clips from the show — but there’s no reason to suffer through a so-so game to watch those when the program is in constant reruns on cable.
Read more at Common Sense Media
App review: DoodlePhrases
DoodlePhrases, as a concept, seems like a lot of 
fun. Unfortunately, the game is tripped up by a couple of factors. First and foremost is the inconsistency with how precise you need to be with your answer. If you see a pony wearing sneakers and type “horseshoe,” you’re wrong — but type “horse shoe” and you get the points. It has subjective judging that penalizes you for being slightly imprecise. Also, if you’re a slow typer (or have big fingers and are prone to typos on the iPhone or iPod Touch, you’ll chew up a lot of time inputting your answers, which is never fun in a timed game. If you love thinking creatively with words, it might be worth the risk; otherwise DoodlePhrases is one you can pass.
App review: WordUs2
WordUs2 (which, as far as we can tell, has a 
superfluous number at the end) is a love it or hate it game. It’s full of puzzles that can confound, stump, and aggravate you one minute, and fill you with a sense of euphoria the next. With a spartan, efficient design, it’s an easy game to learn to play — and if you’re the type of person who lives for word puzzles, it will delight you. But be warned that if you’re just a casual fan of the word games genre, the in-game dictionary can be full of baffling omissions (despite its claim of containing thousands of words) that can turn fun into frustration. In either case, it’s a great time-killer, potential vocabulary builder, and certainly has the potential to chew up several hours.
App review: Dead Space for iPad
Dead Space for iPad isn’t a game for everybody – 
and certainly isn’t one for children – but as a survival horror game, it’s masterfully done. Rather than retelling a tale from an older game in the series (or cramming the plot of the just-released Dead Space 2, which this is meant to promote, into an app), this is a completely new adventure. The story is a fun ride for those who have the stomach for the gore — well-paced and packed with jump-out-of-your-seat moments. The game is best played with headphones, instead of the iPhone or iPad’s speaker, as they make it a much more immersive experience. Graphically, Dead Space is superb and it’s one of the few iDevice titles that really feels like a console experience.
App review: Virtual City HD
Virtual City HD manages to take the best 
aspects of the Sim City franchise and strip those out for a portable gaming audience. The game is challenging, but not impossible — and gives players the choice between playing a task-driven game or building a city in any manner they choose. The game looks great, and developers have clearly taken pains to optimize the app for the iPad’s larger screen. The larger screen makes it easier to control the game, particularly when there’s a lot happening at once — but it comes at a higher cost than the iPhone version, which is virtually the same.
App review: Word Solitaire: Aurora
Word Solitaire: Aurora will quickly become a 
favorite title of word-game fans. The game takes the familiar concept of solitaire and transforms it into something new and unique. The campaign mode will keep you occupied for hours, and the global mode (updated daily) is a wonderful (and child-safe) way to test your skills against a diverse group of players. Word Solitaire: Aurora probably isn’t suited for young ones who are just learning to spell, but for those who can, it proves to be a delightfully entertaining diversion that just might teach them something without them realizing it.
Read more at Common Sense Media
App review: Sheeple Chase
Sheeple Chase could be a really fun game for kids and 
parents — if it weren’t so mind-bogglingly difficult. With bright graphics and very basic controls, you might expect a slightly challenging, but fun, racer. Instead, though, this app quickly veers into something that will confound even core gamers. The only way to win is to lose time and again until you’ve memorized the course and perfect your timing on when to turn and accelerate. The game’s many puns are hit and miss the first time — but after you’ve seen them several times, they quickly lose their appeal. Ultimately, this is an app that shows promise, but is hampered by its lack of focus on how to please its targeted audience.
Read more at Common Sense Media
App review: Doctor Who: The Mazes of Time
Doctor Who: The Mazes of Time should 
have a lot going for it — well-known characters, familiar enemies, a dynamic universe. This app, though, stumbles by making the characters mere shadows of their onscreen selves, especially in making Amy Pond a helpless stereotype. It’s disheartnening when, faced with moving an obstacle, she says things such as “I can’t push a block. And even if I could, it would be unladylike.” The game’s puzzles are challenging enough without being overly difficult. And the music, taken from the TV show, adds to the ambiance — though reading the text instead of hearing the actor’s voices does detract from the experience. Diehard fans of the show might be happy to have a Doctor Who game on their iDevice, but casual fans and newcomers will wonder what all the fuss is about.
Chris Morris: Journalist 