There's something oddly satisfying about literal titles for games. They cut through the cheekiness of trying to be cute and witty and just get to the point. You know what you're buying from title alone. Don't get me wrong - I love games like Canabalt and Solipskier, but seriously, what the heck do those titles tell you about what's going on? With so many dense/funny/obscure names for games out there, you gotta love the simplicity of puzzle game Punch a Hole.
A few nights ago I was talking to a friend of mine and just happened to mention how much I enjoy explosions and puzzle games, and wondered why there weren't more games to mix these two totally different elements into a nice portable package. Well, just my luck - someone else had the same thought and has just released Demolition Master 3D, a game that actually bases a puzzle game around construction site explosions.
The gameplay of Galaxy Express doesn't bring anything new to the table really for the puzzle genre. You need to guide your ship from point A to point B by placing arrows on a grid map to make your ship turn or change direction to avoid obstacles. The PC game Rush and the old Sega game ChuChu Rocket instantly spring to mind, and I'm sure there are more like those as well - but that doesn't mean it's not fun.
I wonder sometimes where people come up with the inspiration for some of these weird iOS games. Here's a game about swinging from platform to platform, timing jumps to grab some itemsm and reaching the end. So where in that process does the guy swinging get vines coming out of his body to swing on, leaving a trail of trees behind him where ever he stands?
Rail Maze gives new urgency to the lyrics "I've been workin' on the railroad"—because if you don't finish working in a matter of seconds, the train will likely careen off into a ditch, which is just no fun for anybody.
With these puzzle games the interest derived from playing them is not what the game gives you to work with but what it holds back and limits you on. In Tetris the pieces fall randomly; in Bejeweled jewels can only be swapped horizontal or vertically, Mahjong tiles need to be picked up in pairs and be "free," and so on. O-G Sokoban hinges its gameplay on that limiting factor as well, but could have benefitted from a greater sense of challenge.
In my research about Contre Jour, I learned that "contre jour" is actually a french term used to describe a certain type of photograph known for extreme backlighting. It causes the subject in the foreground to appear as an outline of shadow. After reading this, using it as the name of the game suddenly made sense, since Contre Jour uses this throughout to great effect.
Spy Mouse is an action puzzle game from Firemint and Electronic Arts for the iPhone and iPod Touch. You control a secret agent mouse that is destined to eat more cheese and dodge every pesky cat along the way. Finding the best path to each piece of cheese may not always be as easy as it looks but luckily Gamezebo's quick start guide has all the tips, tricks and solutions you'll need to play your best.