Godus - Time is precious

One of the best computer games I've ever played in the late 80s/early 90s was Populous by Peter Molyneux, a genre breaking app which spawned a whole industry of "god" games, so it was with great excitement that i saw Godus by 22Cans on the App Store, designed by Peter himself, and widely regarded as the spiritual successor to Populous.

The price tag rang warning bells in my head though: it was free (with in-app purchases). "But it's Populous for iOS," I thought. I had to give it a try.

Battleheart Legacy Review

When the mostly text-based Wizardry was released in September 1981 for the Apple II, it sparked a revolution in computer role-playing games (RPG), not because it was the first to cover this genre but because its complexity coupled with ease of use, and highly versatile adventure, sparked the imagination of hundreds of thousands of players.

Fast forward to January 2011 and a host of imitators and innovators later, Mika Mobile released their own interpretation of an RPG for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, Battleheart. Again, they weren't the first to market, not by a long shot, but their lovely cartoon-like environment, original animation, and easy to master yet engrossing combat, made that game a highly enjoyable experience, well geared for mobile gaming.

Leo's Fortune - Interview with 1337 & Senri

Leo's gold has gone missing. The thief has left a trail of coins like breadcrumbs to tease him into finding his hoard again, and thus begins the premise of this original game from 1337 & Senri.

Leo himself is a beautifully rendered ball of blue/green fur - with a large moustache and an Eastern European accent. You make him move to the left and right by dragging your finger on the left side of the screen, while the right side controls his up and down movement. Like a puffer fish, Leo can make himself bigger, which enables him to float and avoid obstacles, or slow down his fall. All of this is extremely well demonstrated in the tutorial.

Hints & Tips #1 - Emoji on iOS

I've been asked about this a few times so I thought it best to set it in stone, or at least in the ever flowing posts of my site.

Emoji are a series of pictograms, similar to smileys but much broader in scope, which originated in Japan, and thanks to mobile computing, their use is spreading fast.

Most modern operating systems allow you to see them in the messages, tweets, and Facebook posts you receive (if not, all you'll see are white squares where those images should be), but how do you get to use them yourself?

Axl and Tuna - Interview with Game Collage

It's been two and a half years since Bobo leapt onto the scene and delighted numerous iPad owners and their children with its wonderful educational adventures and charmingly quirky personality, effortlessly teaching kids all about the mysteries of light.

But Game Collage haven't been idle since: they've been working on a game which they're releasing today called Axl and Tuna and I spoke to Juraj Hlaváč, developer of the two-man team that created this latest endless runner.

Monument Valley - Interview with Ustwo

We keep hearing bleak news when it comes to the App Store; what was once a thriving and exciting revolution is giving way to "me too" apps, poor clones of successful games and a cataclysmic avalanche of "freemium" games based on grabbing as much money out of you or your children as possible through the highly deceptive use of in-app purchases.

But every now and again, something surprises and delights you, and reminds you that games are meant to give players pleasure, not frustration. Monument Valley does exactly that.

Steve Paris' iOS Games Christmas Extravaganza

When Apple released iPhone in 2007, it wasn't designed with third party apps in mind. In fact, Steve Jobs spent a long time telling developers that web apps - programs that make use of technologies available through a browser - were the way to go if they wanted a presence on Apple's new revolutionary device.

But developers would have none of it, and because iPhone was touted as running OS X (albeit a stripped down version of it), they knew how to program for it and demanded the opportunity to do so. After all, it was no secret web apps couldn't match the responsiveness and data access speeds of native programs.

Apple relented, the App Store was introduced, and the rest is history.

Oceanhorn - Interview with Cornfox & Bros

Creating a game is no easy task; Forge Reply for instance, had a team of fifteen working on the excellent Joe Dever's Lone Wolf, so it's pretty remarkable that three people set about creating and designing a vast, ambitious game of adventure and exploration for iOS called "Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas".

MacLife Review - Elements in Action

There's a new education app in town called Elements in Action, which you can use either on its own or as a companion to the excellent The Elements: A Visual Exploration. I've reviewed it for MacLife.

Joe Dever's Lone Wolf - Interview

Back in the early 80s, personal computing was still in its infancy, games were amazing for the time, yet primitive by today's standards and couldn't hope to match what we could imagine in our own heads. Perhaps because of this, a type of book became incredibly popular, one where you could choose how he story developed by making decisions for the protagonist as you read. Those decisions led you to read certain paragraphs and not others, making the story unfold differently, depending on those choices. Many series were created, but one of the most successful was based on the character of Lone Wolf, with its riveting ongoing narrative that linked all the books together, while the character developed and progressed throughout the saga. You played Lone Wolf, last of the Kai - warrior monks sworn to protect their homeland, Sommerlund, against the armies of the Dark Lords.

Clumsy Ninja - Review

I don't generally go for this sort of game because it is, for all intents and purposes, a freemium game which means that it's free to play but the deeper you get into it, the more likely you'll have to pay - and pay a lot - in order to achieve a new level or purchase a new item.

Solar Flux Pocket - Review

In addition to infinite runner and jumper games, another firm favourite among mobile games are physics-based puzzles, like the insanely popular Angry Birds or Cut the Rope franchises. One of the latest addition to this lineup is Solar Flux Pocket, a game which you'll be able to play on your iPhone and iPod touch. iPad owner will have to cope with scaled up graphics or buy the dedicated iPad app, Solar Flux HD, which is actually a different game, offering different levels.

The objective of Solar Flux is to save the galaxy: its suns are dying, and you must collect and deliver the needed plasma to revive each one.

Ooga Jump - Review

Back in January 2009, a two-man team released a game on the App Store. Calling it a game was actually beyond generous - there was nothing you could really do with the six little pygmies on a tropical island. But promises of regular updates were made and before long, new features were added, mini games were included and Pocket God became a mobile game phenomenon. After 47 updates, it's still one of the most original and highly imaginative games for iOS, even though its graphics have never been updated for the Retina Displays.

MacWorld UK Review - iMovie 2 for iOS

iMovie for iOS was updated and I was there, reviewing it for MacWorld UK. Was it good? A worthy upgrade? Something to avoid? Find out by reading my review on their site...

MacLife Review - Screens 3

Screens 3 is an add designed to allow you to connect to your computer and control it from your iOS device. See if this latest version is worth upgrading for by reading my review on MacLife's site...

iOS7: First Thoughts

The new lock screen
Swipe from anywhere to unlock

I upgraded to iOS7 on my iPhone 4S overnight and was greeted with a brand new phone when I woke up. Here are some thoughts I’ve had about this update having used it full time since then:

The first thing I noticed was how big the icons look. In fact they’re ever so slightly bigger: iOS6 icons were 114x114 while iOS7‘s are 120x120. This 5% difference, along with icons that are now (or will be when developers update their apps) clearer, make the apps stand out more. And that’s the thing: those new icons look so much better “in the flesh” as it were than in any of the promotional photos I’ve seen. This really is an OS you need to hold and use to fully appreciate the work that’s gone into it. Photos don’t do it justice.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Interview

Arthur C Clarke once said, "two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying". In fact, that very quote appears during the introduction to XCOM: Enemy Unknown, a game that explores the terrifying prospect that we are under attack from forces we do not understand nor hope to defeat, at least with our current level of technology.

Karateka Classic for iOS - Review

I was introduced to computers in 1984, when my father bought an Apple IIe. With the help of this wondrous new machine, I got to grips with programming, word processing, and unsurprisingly, games. One of these was Karateka, a simple, yet highly impressive action side scroller; you fought your way through many henchmen, avoiding traps along the way, hoping to rescue the lovely princess. What set this game apart was not only its animation, great fight sequences, satisfying musical score, and a simple, yet compulsive storyline, but the fact that you couldn't rely on extra lives to complete your quest. Just like in real life, if you died, that was it. Unlike real life of course, you could go back to the very beginning and try again. Many hours were spent attempting to rescue the girl.

MacWorld Article - iOS 6.1 Glitches

What do you do when an upgrade doesn't go as planned? If you've lost control of your iPhone's speaker after upgrading to iOS 6.1, read my latest article on MacWorld's site.

MacLife Review: CloudClipboard for iOS

You can read my review of the very interesting and highly useful CouldClipboard for iOS on MacLife's website.

Cut and paste between different iOS devices is now a breeze! Find out why by clicking here.