With the recent premiere of the TV series “The Walking Dead”, zombies have once again become “in”. And with it, I predict an influx of zombie games. Luckily for Mostar though, they won’t have to deal with the competition just yet. You might remember Mostar as the creators of the game Princess Fury which I previously reviewed. Well they’re back with their newest title, Zombie Neighborhood!

Graphics 5/5

Doodle graphics and zombie games truly go hand-in-hand. The only way you can really mess it up is if you have abysmal animations. Luckily for Zombie Neighborhood (I’ll call it ZombieHood from here on out) though, that is not the case. Everything from character models to scenery is in no way an eyesore. As an added bonus, all animations are executed smoothly. The devs even put in the extra work to make a TV with no signal flicker in the background. When it comes to well polished graphics, You can certainly expect it from Mostar.

Gameplay 5/5

According to the equation I formulated in the title of this review, the gameplay is a mix of Zombieville and Zombiesmash. How does that work out exactly? Well it’s Zombiesmash in the sense that your goal is to defend the building from an onslaught of various zombified creatures creeping towards you. And it’s Zombieville in the sense that when zombies come knocking at your door, you have to fight them off inside the building! It’s genius! Why hasn’t anyone else thought of that? Combine these gameplay elements with easy to use controls, weapons with perks that you can purchase, and a freakin’ chainsaw! And you have an entertaining title that’s sure to suck up some of your time.

Story 4/5

From what I’ve gathered, the story is of the ridiculous kind. But don’t think that’s a bad thing. I mean ridiculous in a good way! It’s both humorous and original. When was the last time you played a game where zombies are able to turn into humans via some sort of virus? Well that’s pretty much what the story is centered around, an astronaut who returned to earth with his humanity regained. And because of that, the zombies are out to get him in order to reinstate him into zombie society. Unfortunately, the grammar could be better, but I’m sure that’s an easy fix.

Sound 5/5

There’s really nothing wrong with the sound in this game. It really sets the atmosphere of you trying to survive against wave after wave of zombies (Why is it that zombies come in waves?). Soundtrack is there and quite nice. Sound effects are well executed and sound convincing.

Pricing 5/5

For a game of this caliber of quality, the price certainly is worth it. Even you cheapos out there would agree that this release is worth the extra buck.

Overall 4.8/5 (pretty much a 5/5)

Overall, this game is certainly worthwhile, it brings the mechanics of two successful zombie games into one supergame! Although the grammar could be improved, the story is still understandable as is. All in all, buy this game now!

*price is subject to change in the future*

Zombie Neighborhood on the App Store.

Tanks! Everyone loves em’! Rolling around in a huge lumbering behemoth of pure destruction is something we all wanna do. But sadly military grade hardware open to the public is hard to come by. Well how about trying out the next best thing? What is it you ask? Well it’s called Battlezone Eastern Front and get this, it’s free*!

Graphics 4/5

The graphics aren’t exactly eye candy material, but it still looks pretty darn good. From tank models, to trees, to houses, to the playing field itself. It all looks adequate and won’t hurt to look at. Animations are as smooth as can be, unless your lagging, and are well executed.

Gameplay 5/5

The all important aspect of gameplay. Without it, an app would be nothing more than an animated wallpaper for an extremely overpriced paperweight. In Battlezone, there are 2 online game modes (with more to come), Team Deathmatch and King of the Hill. Both being self explanatory. Much of your time in both game modes will be comprised of blasting away at opposing tanks. Not all tanks are the same, though it isn’t explicitly stated, the more expensive tanks are obviously stronger in most aspects but have lower speed. Expensive you ask? Well before heading into the fray your faced with four kinds of tanks you can choose from. All of which are bought with either available funds or Tank Coins. Funds always start at five hundred at the beginning of a new match and more are earned with every kill in the battlefield. While Tank Coins are rewarded to those who show exceptional performance by unlocking achievements. Alternatively Tank Coins can be purchased through a in app purchase as well. Once your in your tank and on the battlefield, things move at a steady enough pace that you’ll catch on pretty fast. And once you’ve gotten the hang of things the game can be really fun! There’s also an offline practice mode to help you out when Wi-Fi or any other signal isn’t available. Practice mode is limited to 1on1 tank battles though.

Story n/a

No story, no rating.

Sound 4/5

I’ve said it time and again, the sound really immerses the player into a game. Luckily for us consumers, the sound in Battlezone is pretty great. It really makes you think your inside a tank blasting away anything that moves and doesn’t have your teams flag. But I did take off a point cause it sounds as if the effects are a bit muffled. But you can’t really notice it without actively listening for it.

Pricing 5/5

You can’t beat the current price of free*!

Overall 4/5

The game is enjoyable and completely playable. No lag whatsoever as long as you have an adequate connection. Good graphics and sound, combined with great gameplay makes this under-appreciated title something worthwhile.

*price is subject to change in the future; reviewed when free*

Battlezone Eastern Front on the App Store.

There truly is beauty in simplicity as proven by Quell, a puzzler that you can enjoy even on a rainy day. This game was truly an enjoyable experience, which is saying something because I normally don’t play puzzlers. Reason being is it isn’t as action-packed as I’m normally used to. But Quell offers a truly relaxing experience that still manages to force you to think about the moves you make.

Gameplay 10/10

Quell offers a genuinely relaxing experience that still manages to force you to use your brain. In a sentence, Quell puts you in the shoes of a raindrop trying to collect golden pearls whilst avoiding obstacles such as spikes and endless loops. Your probably thinking, endless loops? Well there are levels where the levels aren’t completely bordered by walls. These “holes” allow you to go through them and end up on the other side of the level, further deepening the strategy needed to beat levels due to the fact that the raindrop keeps on going in one direction till it hits an object. Another obstacle one comes upon are “male” and “female” blocks that when “married” disappear. Unique obstacles such as these truly deepen the game even further. My interpretation of the game is that of a complicated puzzler veiled by it’s simple ideas.

Graphics 10/10

The graphic portion of the game is beauty in simplicity defined. Your little more than a raindrop trying to collect golden pearls which for some reason litter your window. Everything is easily recognizable so you won’t be confused anytime soon. All the colors contrast each other enough to separate you from deadly traps. There really isn’t much to talk about when it comes to the graphics because it’s all so simple. But if I were to explain it in fewest words possible, it would be “simple and cozy”.

Controls 10/10

I’m gonna start the controls portion of this review off with this phrase, “they nailed it”! You only need one finger and one gesture to play the game. You basically just swipe left and right, up and down, on any part of the screen in order to get the raindrop moving. This way you can play the game while drinking your coffee, writing reviews, or driving. Although the very latter should be avoided. Once again something is so simple there’s not much to say about it. But that’s just as much a good thing as it is a bad thing, if there’s anything bad about it.

Sound 8/10

The majority of the sound in Quell you’ll be hearing is the music. Which is unfortunate for me, because although the music is nice and relaxing, I like a bit more detail in my games. Basically I just wish there were a little more sound effects, like maybe a fluid kind of sound when the raindrop moves. But maybe that’s just me. Anyway,  in no way does the music immerse you into the game. But you don’t need it to, it’s not like there’s a story for you to immerse into. The music is mainly meant to relax you, and it does such a good job at it that right after playing a few rounds I ended up pretty mellowed out. All in all, Quell has great music but a little more sound wouldn’t hurt.

Menus 10/10

Easily navigable menus that easily blends in with the theme of the game makes me a happy boy. There were no problems when it came to the menus. They pulled it off so well that first touch will always take you where you need to be.

Longevity 8/10

With its difficult puzzles later in the game Quell can be a pretty lengthy experience. Even if you take “hints” (clues to solve the puzzle) it’s still pretty lengthy because you have a limit to using hints. But I find that once you beat a puzzle, you may remember the patterns needed to solve it. So it’s lengthy for a single play through for those with photographic memories. But if you don’t have photographic memory, then your in for a game that will be on your device for a while.

Cost 10/10

No matter how hard you try, you will not find a game with this kind of polish for cheaper than $0.99/£0.63. It’s one of those gems the App Store lacks yet is known for.

Conclusion 66/70 – 4/5

Like I said, this game is among those gems that the App Store lacks yet is known for. This game is an absolute joy to play, especially when your all alone. It allows you to challenge your critical thinking all while relaxing. Unlike other puzzlers that can get pretty tense, Quell doesn’t have a timer or anything that requires you to finish as soon as possible. So you can just take your time, mellow out, and have fun with it. So the next time your down to your last $0.99/£0.63 in your iTunes account, take some time to consider Quell as your next purchase.

I don’t really call myself a fan of adventure games. Simply cause I like a lot of action and combat in the games I play. And more often than not, the adventure games I come upon have little combat. Entombed lacks combat, but fortunately there are other qualities that make me rethink my opinion of adventure games. Although the game has a simple objective behind it, interesting obstacles lay in your path. If your not interested in reading the entire review, I’ll tell you now, the game is a pretty good purchase at its price.

Gameplay 8/10

The basic premise of the game is leading your character, Blake, on an adventure to return ancient Egyptian artifacts to their respective pedestals lest you suffer a curse. Pretty simple right? Problem is, various deadly obstacles stand in your way. With the blocks and the barricading and the arrows launching from the walls, the task can become tricky. Fortunately these puzzles aren’t too hard to figure out. maybe that’s what makes this game shine. Puzzles that are challenging enough, but still simple enough to solve within your first few tries. But the game can become repetitive because the obstacles all seem pretty similar. But still, it’s tolerable for you to be able to go through the game at least once.

Graphics 9/10

In my opinion, the graphics are top-notch coming from a little-known developer. Currently the graphics are akin to that of a minimally graphics intensive PSP game. It’s in no way an eyesore, kudos to Fun Guy Media for pulling it off nicely. What I especially appreciate though is the minimalist HUD (Heads-Up Display). It shows you what you need to know and that’s it. Even the items you’ve collected aren’t shown until you tap your bag to open your inventory. Another aspect that certainly impresses is the environment, it really looks like an Egyptian tomb what with the Sarcophi laying around. It’s this attention to detail that separate developers that will update their games from ones that will probably release a game and ignore it. The downside? Character illustrations look a bit awkward to me. But it’s nothing more than a small distraction. So once again, kudos to those at Fun Guy Media.

Controls 7/10

One finger controls certainly are convenient. You could be sipping your Starbucks and still be able to play games with your free hand. This is exactly the kind of control scheme Entombed adopted. Everything literally is controlled by one finger with dragging, tapping, or using simple gesture. Unfortunately though, the controls do seem to be unresponsive at times. An example is when you want to move a block, you simply have to position yourself and swipe the block in the desired direction. Simple, if your swipes actually worked. Sixty percent of the time with that block will have you unintentionally moving Blake or doing nothing at all. Simply put, the controls need a little more refining.

Sound 5/10

In all my reviews, sound is always an important aspect. But in Entombed, they only got half the sound. You have ambient sounds and music that certainly draws you in, but then you can barely hear the sound effects. I find that the ambient noises as well as the music simply drown out the sounds so much, you could figuratively hear someone whispering next you more than you can hear the effects, with earphones on. This, for me, takes away from the experience. I appreciate the ambient noises Fun Guy, but tone them down a bit more so we could actually hear more than we can now.

Menus 10/10

The menus are functional and designed in a way to blend with the Egyptian theme. With that said, there are no problems I can find with them.

Longevity 8/10

From what I can gather after having had played a few stages, you’ll spending quite a bit of time exploring stages to find all the scarabs as well as placing all the artifacts in their rightful place in order to get the highest score. This made even longer through puzzles hat get in your way. So it should make for a good time killer for those times where you have nothing else to do.

Cost 10/10

At $1.99/ £1.27 this game is a bargain! The only way it could get better is if it were $0.99! $1.99/ £1.27 is a completely reasonable price for the game.

Conclusion 57/70 – 4/5

The game is a good deal for the asking price. A good long adventure/puzzler that has its faults, but those faults can be easily fixed or overlooked. There is no real reason not to buy the game other than to save a couple of bucks. Even then it wouldn’t be a waste of money. All in all, Entombed is another good example of app store gems that came from a little-known developer. It’s these kinds of games and their developers that app shoppers should support.

Entombed on the App Store.

Point and click adventures seem to have captured the hearts of many iPhone gamers. I now see why, everything about Chronicles Of Mystery feels so natural on the iPhone. What’s more? You have the ability to boot the game up and play wherever, whenever. You can do the same with point and click adventures on laptops or netbooks, but it takes so much longer to get to the game. Being new to the genre, I didn’t know what to do at first, luckily this game eases you into it so that you catch on quite easily.

Gameplay 10/10

The gameplay in Chronicles Of Mystery is so simple, a three year-old could play it no problem. In the beginning your introduced to Sylvie, the character who’s eyes you see through. Your left with cryptic messages left behind by your (her) uncle, who seems to be constantly shadowed by mysterious figures. This is where your journey begins, mainly you’ll be looking for useful objects and picking them up(through tapping that are needed in order to complete the level. Some objects need to be used in conjunction with others in order to initiate another aspect of the game, puzzles, of which there are a good variety so that you won’t get bored.The time I’ve spent with the game was enjoyable.

But it may just be me being new to the genre. A useful feature is “hints”, although I wish it pointed you in the right direction rather than outright telling you where the object is.The puzzles are simple and quick yet satisfying. Overall the gameplay was enjoyable and I could find no problems in it. But considering my lack of experience with point and click adventures, it may just be me.

Graphics 8/10

The graphics are all well illustrated and look professional. Environments, whether indoor or outdoor are absolutely beautiful. The detail they put into the environments are stunning and some objects don’t even do anything, they just put them in for added realism and detail. Character illustrations as well as pictures depicting various scenes are just as wonderfully drawn. No drawing looked like a rough sketch. The only problem I had was that the graphics looked a bit fuzzy when playing with my Second Generation iPod Touch. For that, points are taken off.

Controls 8/10

The game is a point and click adventure. So naturally that would be translated into point and touch. Fortunately much of this translated well into the game. A lot of the time the controls respond well and you won’t have any problems with them. But then the rest of the time is another story. Certain puzzles, such as the “moving lock” puzzle I had difficulty with. In the puzzle you had to stop the gears moving before they start moving again. I stopped the first, the second, but the third took multiple tries. I barely finished the puzzle. But other than that, everything else works well. There couldn’t be more perfect controls. There’s even a convenient “zoom in” feature for those small objects.

Sound 10/10

For those who look for good sound, you’ve found it here. To truly appreciate the musical score that oozes mystery and exploration, one must be wearing earphones. The sound effects are fine, but the musical score is where the sound truly stands out. It’s a fact that music should immerse you into a story and make you empathize with characters. That’s why everything from movies to cartoons have musical scores. Well that’s exactly what the music does for you in Chronicles Of Mystery. If your looking for a reason to buy this game, you should definitely take sound into account.

Menus 10/10

I have experienced no problems with Chronicles Of Mystery‘s menus. All of them are responsive and relative to the game. Relative in the sense that it blends with the overall art style and setting of the game.

Longevity 7/10

The games longevity will have sucked into the game for a good amount of time. Although I have only played the first few levels so far, I can tell you’ll invest a decent amount of time into the game. If the amount of puzzles are any indication of how far I’ve progressed, I still have quite a ways to go. Unfortunately each level seems to go by too quickly. But maybe that’s cause I’m playing in “Relaxed” mode. But if I were to play in normal mode, I can see myself spending some time with it here and there. Overall, it’s long enough, but not too short.

Cost 8/10

The game currently goes for $3.99/£2.55, at that price it’s pretty reasonable. Compared to the alternative point and click adventures out there, this game is a bargain. But then App Store customers I like to refer to as “cheapos” would probably wait for a sale or avoid the game entirely.

Conclusion 61/70 – 4/5

Overall Chronicles Of Mystery is a decent point and click adventure with beautiful illustrations, outstanding music, and decent longevity. If your looking for a point and click game but don’t quite have deep enough pockets for the other more expensive ones, Chronicles Of Mystery is the way to go. It’s also a good game to start with if your new to the genre.

Chronicles Of Mystery on the App Store.