Gamezebo: Features | iPhone

iPhone: Yard Sale Hidden Treasures: Sunnyville

jimsquires — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:02:38 -0600

One man's trash is another man's treasure, or so the saying goes. I come from a family of dumpster diggers and garage sale junkies (hey, you never know when you're going to find a real gem!). So, I felt right at home playing Yard Sale Hidden Treasures: Sunnyville from Slapdash Games.

iPhone: World's Hardest Game

erin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:57:45 -0600

World's Hardest Game is an iPhone app that actually lives up to its title. The idea is simple, the mechanics are easy, but trying to accomplish anything is mind-numbingly difficult. That's not to say the game is bad - in fact it accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do. World's Hardest Game offers up an easy-to-learn game that will make your blood boil in its first five minutes.

iPhone: Cash Cow

jimsquires — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:20:49 -0600

When Cash Cow came out for PCs last year, it was one of those titles that was promptly shunted into the, "cute, but not great," category. The coin-oriented puzzle game, while enjoyable, was a little too simple and shallow for some players. In short, it was a no-frills steak dinner. Now, though, Cash Cow is back, having been ported to the iPhone, and it seems to have been fleshed out a bit with better gameplay and more content; adding some sides to the dish definitely make this a meal worth sampling.

iPhone: Scoops - Ice Cream Fun For Everyone

erin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:30:46 -0600

When I was in high school, my first job was scooping ice cream in a little shop called Blum's. It was my dream job. What could be more fun than scooping ice cream all day? And you could always get a free ice cream whenever you wanted. Ice cream is definitely one of my key comfort foods. So, when I saw there was an ice cream-based iPhone game called Scoops - Ice Cream Fun For Everyone, I knew I just had to indulge myself.

iPhone: Treasure Grab

erin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:27:47 -0600

Step into the shoes of Alya Loot, a young thief trying to make her way in the world. Accepting a job offer, she'll need to rob the richest families in town to try and earn her way up to the title of master thief. To do that though, she'll need to sneak around homes, pilfer property, and avoid guards at every turn! Treasure Grab offers up a terrific blend of top-down exploration and stealth gameplay in a way that's unique and fresh -- a perfect fit for the iPhone.

iPhone: Mystery Mania

erin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:43:06 -0600

What happens when you take a point'n'click adventure, shake it until everything but the gameplay falls off, and stick it into an iPhone? This is the question that Mystery Mania tries to answer. Exploring the rooms of a big old mansion, you'll find yourself pointing and clicking your way from puzzle to puzzle in a game that proves sometimes less really is more.

In Mystery Mania you'll fill the metal shoes of the childlike robot F8. F8 has woken up in the dishevelled, cobwebbed-up mansion that once belonged to his inventor. Nowhere to be seen, F8 sets off on a quest to locate his missing creator and find out what's happened.

iPhone: Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor

erin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:57:50 -0600

Whether you love spiders or not, there's something completely entrancing about watching the little buggers scamper their way across a silky, delicately-constructed web and await their unsuspecting prey. As fascinating as it is to jump directly into the carapace of one of these eight-legged fellows, Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor is as much about the mysteries hidden in the world around you as it is about the life of the lone spider you'll play. Therein resides its beauty.

iPhone: Dream Day Wedding: Married in Manhattan

erin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:35:14 -0500

What girl doesn't love a big, fairy-tale wedding? How about a wedding that takes place in New York City, one of the most romantic cities in the world? Sound like a dream to you? Then you'll probably enjoy the exquisite scenes and romantic wedding story in Dream Day Wedding: Married in Manhattan.

iPhone: Liberty Boom

erin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:23:06 -0500

Patriotism and blowing stuff up seem to go hand-in-hand a little too naturally. While the real deal can be terrifying and destructive, colorful man-made explosions designed to dazzle in the night skies are an alluring annual treat for those seeking celebration and merriment. These crowd-pleasing displays bring smiles to the faces of young and old alike. However, in the wrong hands, even explosives designed to entertain can prove disastrous. Fireworks and air traffic do not mix. Your job in Liberty Boom is to see to it that they don't.

iPhone: Skee-Ball

erin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:31:32 -0500

You know you're addicted to a game when you wake up in the morning and log in to find out where you stand against all of the other iPhone Skee-Ball players out there even before you brush your teeth. That's, me. I admit it. I've definitely been bitten by the Skee-Ball bug (and don't even get me started on how much time I spend managing my Farmville farm). Sometimes you find a game like Skee-Ball that is so simple yet so much fun you want to keep playing it over and over again, because you never know when you're going to get that magic combination of great shots that result in an all time high score.

iPhone: Pac-Man Remix

erin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:22:09 -0500

Are you suffering from Pac-Man Fever? Have you come down with a bad case of Pac-Mania? If you feel like there's been a little yellow hole in your heart for far too long, don't worry - it's about to be filled. Pac-Man is back with a brand new adventure, and he's bringing it to your iPhone! Can Pac-Man Remix overcome Namco's previous problems in bringing the pellet muncher portable to the popular portable?

iPhone: Mercutio

erin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:36:43 -0500

Clever are the games that can take a familiar theme and put their own unique spin on it. For those who like their puzzle games, titles such as these are worth their weight in gold, able to pull players in with play they recognise, but also able to keep them hooked by putting something fresh before their eyes. Mercutio is one such title, falling back on the staple themes of match-3 puzzlers, but letting them play out within its own novel framework.

iPhone: Fairy Trails

erin — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 07:22:41 -0500

The Cottingley Fairies were one of the greatest hoaxes ever pulled in the twentieth century. In the 1920s, Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths skyrocketed to fame for the photographs of "fairies" they had discovered while playing in the village of Cottingley. People both defended and attacked the authenticity of the photos, but Wright and Griffiths didn't admit they were fakes until 1981. Playing Freeverse's Fairy Trails on the iPhone, it's impossible not to be reminded of this story, mainly because the game lets the player experience a little of the fascination that confounded British Society so many years ago.

iPhone: Fishtank-Manager

erin — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:52:54 -0500

It's a fish eat fish world out there, or so it seems in Fishtank-Manager, a new arcade style iPhone game from Cellular Games GmbH. The object of this game is to grab fish as they float by in the stream at the top of the screen, and sort them into fish tanks. You put the little fishies in tanks in such a way that they don't eat each other or multiply too fast until you can sell them to buyers who are looking to purchase a specific type of fish.

iPhone: Snood

erin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:42:13 -0500

Let's start this iPhone game review with a fun little quiz to test your vocabulary and your game trivia knowledge. What is a ‘Snood'?

iPhone: Flick Fishing

erin — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:53:25 -0500

Let's admit one thing about mobile games. Sometimes we find ourselves playing them when we should be doing something else. Like in the middle of a meeting - when you're supposed to look like you're checking email or doing something productive - but you're really just trying to sneak in a few extra minutes playing your favorite game on your phone. Well, let me warn you right now - Flick Fishing is NOT a game you can play without everyone knowing what you're doing.

iPhone: Spore Origins

erin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:45:46 -0500

Back in 2006, Spore creator Will Wright had proudly announced that the game would be playable on pretty much every device known to man. If you're toaster didn't run a copy of Spore it would have been seen as a failure in Wright's eyes. Flash forward two years. The game doesn't exactly make its way to the Wii or Nokia n-Gage as promised. In fact the only devices you find Spore on are the PC, Mac and iPhone. But could the iPhone version possibly offer everything it's PC counterpart did?

iPhone: The New York Times Crosswords Daily 2009

erin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:28:53 -0500

There's a distinct component in New York Times Crosswords Daily 2009 that should appeal to crossword aficionados all over the world. It isn't the 4,000 classic archived puzzles, it isn't the competitive social leaderboards, and it isn't the conveniently designed interface. No, the real draw is in that the fifth little word: daily. This app offers up the exact same New York Times crossword puzzle that is published in the paper, every day, for every puzzle released in 2009. Amateur wordsmiths, your day has arrived.

iPhone: Music Catch

erin — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:45:21 -0500

How does that slogan go? "Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don't." Well, I think playing games is the same way. Sometimes you feel like exercising your noggin and working on perplexing puzzles. Sometimes you feel like kicking back and relaxing with something mindless and repetitive. I enjoy both types of games. Just depends on my mood. So, if you're in the mood for soothing, brain-yoga experience, then you're sure to enjoy the iPhone version of Reflexive Entertainment's Music Catch.

iPhone: Atlantis Sky Patrol

erin — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:16:39 -0500

Can you imagine how you'd feel if you signed up to the armed forces, turned up fully equipped and ready for war, only to find out that the only skill you needed was the ability to match up colored marbles? Chances are, in reality, you'd be a little put out, but when it comes to games, such trickery is commonplace, and in Atlantis: Sky Patrol's case, utterly welcome.

iPhone: Luxor

erin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:48:01 -0500

We're starting to see more and more of the biggest franchises in casual gaming make the transition to the iPhone and iPod Touch, and MumboJumbo's massively popular Luxor series is the latest of the bunch. Luckily, little (if anything) was lost in translation, as the App Store iteration of Luxor plays extremely well on Apple's portable hardware, and the inclusion of 88 stages and support for the Plus+ network give the game serious legs.

iPhone: Doodle Jump

erin — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 08:26:42 -0500

You know that feeling the first time you played the Yeti game where you whack the penguin with a bat and send it flying across the screen? When I first played the Yeti online game years ago, I kept trying to beat my high score (sending the poor penguin further and further) and before I knew it, an hour had gone by. That's what happened to me the first time I played Doodle Jump by Lima Sky. This simple, yet ridiculously addictive little game will suck you in . . . you'll find yourself playing over and over until you have to tear yourself away or risk spending your entire day on a quest to become the Doodle Jump master.

iPhone: Little Runner

erin — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:23:18 -0500

Sometimes we're a little too distracted to watch where we're going. Such is the case for Little Runner. Lost in his music, the pencil-sketched hero doesn't seem to notice all of the bumps and obstacles blocking his path. Can you move the ground around to provide Little Runner with safe passage?

iPhone: Bumper Stars

erin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:33:20 -0500

Bumper Stars began life last year as a Flash game on various websites and social networks, but a new adaptation for the iPhone and iPod Touch may be the best version to date. Like PopCap's smash hit, Peggle, Bumper Stars mixes elements from a couple of disparate games - in this case, billiards and pinball - and intuitive touch controls and Facebook integration make it an ideal pick for a quick fix on the go.

iPhone: Pipe Mania

erin — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:20:54 -0500

Often imitated but never duplicated, the original Pipe Mania returns after a 20 year hiatus and bringd it's pipe-laying, flooze-spilling action to a new generation of puzzle lovers. Originally released in 1989, Pipe Mania (better known as Pipe Dreams in the US) became an instant sensation in the puzzle gaming community. And while the basic mechanics have been reproduced in other games over the years, the original franchise has stayed relatively quiet until now. Clogged drains got you down? Let Pipe Mania pick you up!