Currently Playing…(iPhone Special) February 11, 2009

I bought an iPhone a few weeks ago and  as well as downloading every free app ever from iTunes, I’ve also bought a few games. I thought I’d might as well review them so here they are:

Edge (£2.99)

Really impressed by this, so simple yet so addictive. It’s basically a puzzle game where you favr to roll a cube from start to finish through isometric 3D levels built from basic geometric shapes. You move the cube either by sliding your finger on the touchscreen, or by using the accelerometer for tilt control – the former method is definitely the easiest and more precise. As you progress through the levels some of the tricks you have to do are genius, such as using the cube’s momentum to roll up the side of a moving block and balancing on its side as it carries you across to the next platform. Sound complicated but it all clicks once you see it in action. The electro-techno soundtrack fits the game well also. If you are after games for your iPhone/iPod Touch then this should be at the top of your list.

4/5

Rolando (£3.49)

I was really surprised by the amount of effort gone into this one, it could easily have been a full-price release for the DS or PSP. A platformer/puzzle hybrid where you use tilt control to roll the Rolandos through the levels filled with physics-based puzzles. I found the gameplay rather reminiscent of LittleBigPlanet due to the way physics are used. I love the unique visuals, very vibrant and bold which reminded me of Locoroco. I recommend this for the same reasons as Edge – it takes a simple concept and builds on it by using the iPhone’s capabilities to it’s fullest.

4/5

I Love Katamari (£4.99)

I Hate Katamari, more like. I had heard beforehand that this was disappointing when it was first released, but updates had fixed the problems. They haven’t. While it is visually impressive, the controls are terrible. You tilt to move forwards and back, and touch the sides of the screen to turn, double-tapping provides a speed boost. As if trying to move around wasn’t bad enough, there is some horrendous slow down which reduces the framerate to a crawl. Much Like Rolando, this could probably get a way with being a DS/PSP game. I Love Katamari does a few things right but the negatives far outweigh the positives.

2/5