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Showing posts with label Games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Games. Show all posts

Review: G.Blacksmith

Posted by App-reciation Reviews on March 28, 2010 , under | comments (0)



Category: Games

Price: $ 2.99
Requirements: iPhone or iPod touch, OS 2.2 or later
Version: 1.1

What's good: Since the success of casual gaming phenomenon Diner Dash on the PC, game developers have been churning out hundreds of titles that utilize the same concept across a variety of platforms. The iPhone, of course, is no exception, and after playing through dozens of apps in this genre, we can confidently say that Crazy Carpenter's G.Blacksmith tops the list in terms of innovation and art design.

The game looks nothing like traditional time management games, which are usually shop-based progressive stories with colorful illustrations more suited for female players. Instead, the entire app is rendered in shades of olive and army green, making for a unique and visually pleasing experience. Meanwhile, the characters and animations are detailed and excellently done in a fun cartoon style, and coupled with upbeat yet somewhat mysterious background soundtracks, G.Blacksmith manages to strike a perfect balance between elements that makes it appealing to gamers of all types and ages.

The gameplay itself is complex and fast-paced, as it should be. You are a goblin, and, shrewd as you are, you venture to make a living out of digging for treasure to be sold to various customers. Starting with a simple underground mining camp with only a single drill, a voracious troll useful for disposing unwanted goods, and a straightforward processing machine to turn items into more refined products, you slowly expand your business as you serve customer orders as fast as you can to earn the required amount in order to unlock the next level. Find rough-hewn obsidian, lapis lazuli, pyrite, and crystals, then turn them into an assortment of tools and weapons items that include shurikens, spears, lances, shields, helmets, and breastplates. As you progress, your machines likewise become more powerful and efficient, giving you the ability to mine more gems at once as well as create new and more expensive items for sale. You will also get a storeroom to stock goods, a siesta room for quick naps, engraving equipment to produce high-quality jewlery, and a makeshift barbecue grill to cook rats and keep customers happy in order to stay on top of the increasingly hectic and complicated demands.

After every level set, a mini game needs to be successfully completed in order to move on. Your mission here is simple: stop thieves from stealing your hard-earned gold by throwing your weapons at them before they get too close. Many of these dishonest characters sport head or body shields, so it's up to you to quickly spot and target their weak spots.

With so many things to manage, players need to be quick and coordinated. Dally or make too many incorrect moves and unhappy customers will give you fewer tips or eventually storm away in anger. On the other hand, planning carefully and serving orders in chains earns you combos and more points to boost your score, which is a necessity if you want to hit the expert mark after a hard day's work. Apart from all that, there are tons of features and surprises packed into the game, but we'll let you discover them on your own. This polished content-packed title is currently priced at $ 2.99 on the iTunes AppStore, and we're positive you won't regret it if you check it out.

Suggestions for improvement: One major thing we found missing that's basic to all time management games is a status bar of some sort to show players customer happiness and the rate at which it declines. The way items are stored and/or retrieved from the storeroom is also rather confusing, which results in a moderate amount of unintended action that sets players back.

Breakdown:
Graphics - 5/5 Creativity - 4.75/5 Gameplay - 4.75/5 Controls - 4.75/5
App-reciation - 4.75/5

Review: ZombieSmash

Posted by App-reciation Reviews on March 25, 2010 , under | comments (6)



Category: Games

Seller: gamedoctors
Price: $ 1.99
Requirements: iPhone or iPod touch, OS 3.0 or later
Version: 1.0

What's good: If you played the fun casual game Knights Onrush published by Chillingo in June of last year, you will no doubt recall the sheer fun of flicking little knights to their death. But imagine using a similar concept and replacing it with a much more interesting theme - one where it's always nighttime and zombies are out to get you.

Coming at your little house right and left, these hordes of hungry undead are deathly committed to one single goal: to break down your walls and eat you alive. There's your average Zombie Joe who moves at a normal pace and possesses no special abilities, screeching Zombie Lucy with her incredible speed, gun-wielding sharpshooter Zombie Tom, bomb-clutching ex-Redneck Zombie Dewey, and more. They sound horrifying, but if there's one thing that can defeat them, it's your finger. There's not much time to lose though, so swipe, flick, drag, and tap at the screen as quickly and accurately as you can to send these invaders flying all over the place before they get too close to your doors and windows.

When you make a kill, you'll earn stars that you can use (in accumulated quantities) to buy house and weapon upgrades, and you'll also periodically get cool items to use against your foes, including stones, rifles, mine blasts, grenades, giant concrete blocks, and huge wrecking balls. Apart from utilizing these awesome tools to blast, sweep, shoot, rip, and tear zombies into bloody pieces, you can also freeze them into stiff ice statues or burn them to a crisp. Use defenses in combination and discover effective killing techniques as you progress through thirty one nights of horror and humor filled scenarios.

Apart from Campaign, there's a fun Sandbox mode where you get to pick the zombie line-up, the number of groups that rush at you, and the type of weapon you want to experiment with. An unlockable endless mode is also available for those who are curious to know just how long they are able to survive against continuously approaching mind-eating minions of evil. Needless to say, ZombieSmash promises long hours of intense action that expertly combines elements of tower defense and god game genres. Add to that an amazing original soundtrack, great graphics, and realistic physics, and you've got yourself a real winner. If you don't believe us, why don't you check it out for yourself?

Suggestions for improvement: Campaign mode could use more levels, and we'd love to see more scenarios as well as new zombies and items.

Breakdown:
Graphics - 4.75/5 Creativity - 4.75/5 Gameplay - 5/5 Controls - 5/5
App-reciation - 5/5

Review: Six-String

Posted by App-reciation Reviews on March 22, 2010 , under | comments (0)



Category: Games

Price: $ 4.99
Requirements: iPhone or iPod touch, OS 3.0 or later
Version: 1.0


What's good: With so many music apps in the AppStore, you wouldn't expect there to be too much innovation when it comes to that particular category. Titles like Tap Tap Revenge, Guitar Hero, and (recently) Thumpies seem to have developed on most of what there is to a good rhythm game, and to that end, countless game studios have tried to imitate these originals.

As the biggest and most successful music company in the world, Universal Music Recordings naturally upholds a certain standard, and while at first you might think their newly released app Six-String simply copies off others' ideas, you'll think differently once you play the game.

Simply put, Six-String combines some of the most realistic guitar mechanics we've ever seen on a mobile device with fun and challenging gameplay.The rules are simple enough - anticipate as color-coded notes move towards the guitar's pickup (these are coils located on the Tailpiece near the bottom of the instrument) and tap, swipe, or hold appropriately as soon as the cues cross directly overhead. Pluck virtual strings when you see green dots, hold until the end of yellow lines, and strum your finger(s) across blue or green arrows. Medium and difficult levels will require you to occasionally change chords as well, and to do this, simply tap on the blue button that appears at the bottom of the screen. If you're too early or too late at any point of the game, the resultant music will sound a little off, and you'll lose any streaks you were building as well as decrease your accuracy percentage. On the other hand, hitting notes perfectly will increase both a health and a multiplier meter that (when full) lets you shake your device to multiply points by eight for a short period of time. Your level, progress, scores, track variety, and game sessions contribute to something called the 'Shred Cred' as well as a 'Hall of Fame' score.

There are several licensed music tracks that come with the app, including Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name," Orianthi's "According To You," and Fall Out Boy's "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs." Apart from these, you can browse through new songs at the in-game store, preview them, and buy what you like for $ 0.99 each. The continuously growing library will ensure that you never get bored with the content, while two game modes (Practice and Studio) and a moderate level of difficulty provide a fair amount of variation and keep things challenging for even the most hardcore of players.

Finally, the developers have also decided to integrate Six-String with social gaming platform Plus+, allowing customers to earn achievements and points, compare scores over the online leaderboard, and even challenge other players to a music match. From the amount of features to the overall level of polish, it looks like rhythm app veterans have met their match. Needless to say, we highly recommend this game to fans of the genre!

Suggestions for improvement: For $ 4.99, we'd like to see more free tracks and maybe music bundles for purchase instead of individual songs at an additional $ 0.99 each. The game is also a little too difficult at times, even on Easy.

Breakdown:
Graphics - 4.75/5 Creativity - 4.75/5 Gameplay - 5/5 Controls - 5/5
App-reciation - 5/5

Review: Jailbreak - Voice Onrush

Posted by App-reciation Reviews on March 19, 2010 , under | comments (0)



Category: Games

Price: $ 0.99
Requirements: iPhone or iPod touch, OS 3.0 or later
Version: 1.1

What's good: Whereas our previous review was on a calm, relaxing flight game, this one is entirely the opposite. Frantic, heart-pumping action keep you on your toes in Jailbreak - Voice Onrush, a retro-inspired maze chase title much in the same vein as gaming classic Pacman.

At the start of the game, you find yourself waking up in a strange facility, with no recollection of preceding events. Your first instinct, obviously, is to get out, and while you quickly find a key card and unlock the door, this is only the first of many rooms to escape from. It becomes immediately apparent that succeeding levels take on a whole new dimension, because you not only have to find objects - colored keys, tools, switches, etc. - to aid in your release, you also have to expertly navigate the twisting paths while eluding a host of swift-footed pursuers within a time limit and with stamina constraints. Use either the accelerometer, touch controls, or virtual joystick to direct your character through various unique environments that range from sterile hospitals with empty beds to tiled grocery shops to full parking lots to underground corridors. This may sound simple enough, but we have to warn you that even playing on the first difficulty level, this game is by no means easy. There are, of course, options that help keep things on a challenging but manageable level: you can sprint to escape imminent capture, use your sense radar to steer clear of opponents, and even equip power-ups that grant you amazing abilities for a short while.

Featuring a story mode as well as unlockable survival and free mode levels, Voice Onrush promises long hours of gameplay and a fair amount of replayability. The deliberately pixelated graphics add a unique touch, while a hectic and rather unnerving soundtrack keep you fully immersed in the game as you try to maneuver your way out of a disconcerting situation. Will you fall into the hands of your persistent and mysterious enemies or find your way to freedom?

Suggestions for improvement: Navigation is rather difficult, even with three control options available (for example, the joystick is not as responsive as it could be whereas swiping covers a sizable amount of the screen and is not ideal for moving around). The environments and the app icon are a little too dull and could use some work to make things more appealing.

Breakdown:
Graphics - 3.5/5 Creativity - 4.5/5 Gameplay - 4.5/5 Controls - 4/5
App-reciation - 4/5

Review: How To Train Your Dragon

Posted by App-reciation Reviews on March 18, 2010 , under | comments (3)



Category: Games

Price: $ 2.99
Requirements: iPhone or iPod touch, OS 2.2 or later
Version: 1.0

What's good: If you are a fan of Glu Mobile's Glyder titles, you will undoubtedly note similarities between those games and the company's newest AppStore offering based on Dreamworks' upcoming animated movie, How To Train Your Dragon. Flight of the Night Fury lets you step into the shoes of Viking youth Hiccup and fly your dragon Toothless across the skies through three extensive 3D locations. Utilizing a flawless flight engine and smooth accelerometer controls, your task is to explore and collect various items scattered through the serene pine-lined plains and rough rocky peaks of Berk, the smooth brown mountains and fresh green plateaus of Dark Deep, the snow-covered caps and pristine landscape of Shivering Shores. Collectibles include three types of insects that range from common to rare, but apart from these you will periodically have to look for objects that are part of your main quest.

Rather than being action-packed and exciting, the game is laid-back and quite relaxing. Although objectives are varied and plentiful, they do not involve fights or anything of the sort. Instead, they mostly revolve around searching for and acquiring tools and things that ultimately serve the purpose of rehabilitating Toothless, who is unfortunately slow and a bit unresponsive at the start due to an injury. Still, there's never a lack of things to do, because this title features a wide array of challenges - locating treasure, catching fish, and performing spectacular dives, to name a few - that need to be performed within a time limit. Achievements, too, keep the game interesting and increase gameplay value, while sounds and visuals are perfectly suited to the storyline and serve to enhance the calm atmosphere and tranquility that characterize the app.

Everything makes for a nice change from the countless (and prevalent) energetic, accelerated genres available, so if you're looking for an adventure to occupy you and help you unwind after a long, stressful day, nothing could be more perfect. For such a quality game, the relatively low price tag will no doubt send it soaring up the app charts in no time.

Suggestions for improvement: Although it's not a major issue, the lack of graphical detail is obvious, especially since other Glu games sport beautifully detailed visuals.There's also a slight depth perception problem - sometimes (when flying very close nearby) it's a little difficult to get an exact idea of where landings or mountain walls are relative to your position, and this contributes to a small percentage of accidental crashes.

Breakdown:
Graphics - 4/5 Creativity - 4.5/5 Gameplay - 4.75/5 Controls - 4.75/5
App-reciation - 4.5/5

Review: Fly Away Rabbit

Posted by App-reciation Reviews on March 15, 2010 , under | comments (0)



Category: Games

Price: $ 0.99
Requirements: iPhone or iPod touch, OS 2.2.1 or later
Version: 1.0

What's good: There are so many physics puzzlers on the iTunes AppStore, but even with the amount of contenders already available, more games that use the same general idea are constantly pouring in. Not surprisingly, creative minds always find a way to put a new spin to old concepts, and that is exactly what the developer did with Fly Away Rabbit, a fresh and interesting casual game for the iPhone and iPod touch.

The app welcomes you to the simple and charming moonlit world of a small bunny rabbit, who holds on to the string of a lone red balloon and dreams of reaching the clouds. Unfortunately, his way is blocked by various shapes - rectangles, circles, and irregular blocks crafted in the style of Tetris pieces - some bouncy, some dangerous, some immovable. Your task is to help him by removing the blocks carefully while taking note of the natural reactions that occur with every shift, keeping him safely stable as you do so. Simply tap on a piece and it will quickly float away into the distance while your bunny and remaining pieces adjust according to a smoothly realistic physics engine, the difference being that this one works with a gravitational pull towards the sky instead of the other way around. With practice and a little trial-and-error, you'll quickly get the hang of things and successfully land bunny and his balloon among the fluffy clouds.

All in all, there are forty eight levels of increasingly tricky puzzles spread over three difficulty tiers to solve. While the game reminds us of Tiki Totems and countless similar apps, it turns the physics concept on its head (quite literally) and immerses gameplay in a wonderfully dreamy atmosphere full of twinkling stars and beautifully enchanting music. It's currently priced at a mere $ 0.99, so grab it now and enjoy a truly relaxing experience!

Suggestions for improvement: We're really hoping to see more levels in an update, since everything can be solved in under half an hour. Also, scores based on how quickly you manage to complete a stage and achievements or rewards would make things more interesting and meaningful.

Breakdown:
Graphics - 4.5/5 Creativity - 4/5 Gameplay - 4.5/5 Controls - 5/5
App-reciation - 4.5/5


Review: Doodle Kart

Posted by App-reciation Reviews on March 11, 2010 , under | comments (0)



Category: Games

Seller: j2sighte
Price: $ 0.99
Requirements: iPhone or iPod touch, OS 2.2.1 or later
Version: 1.0

What's good: Like Doodle games? Then you definitely shouldn't miss Doodle Kart, the latest in a line of fantastic doodle-themed apps from j2sighte. Inspired by Sauce Digital's Nano Rally, this game takes the top-down racing concept and places it in a world of hand-drawn rulers, graphing paper, compasses, spilled watercolor, and pencil rocks - giant elements that make up the basic composition and style of five different race environments.

On launching, you'll discover two game modes: Single Race lets you practice your driving skills and explore maps in either solo or vs. CPU mode, allowing you to get a hang of the gameplay and controls before you check out Championship and go head to head with three other opponents in a continuous points-based comprehensive track race. Choose a car color (red, blue, or white) as well as allocate a limited number of points to statistics that include speed, acceleration, handling, weight, and items in order to customize your ride to suit preferences. Use simple touch or tilt controls to steer your vehicle through the curving roads, and gain the upper hand by using creative power-ups or weapons that become available throughout your races. There are seven unique packages altogether, letting you shoot pencils, create gaping black holes, and fire yellow pellets to confuse and deter your opponents, or fly past them with a rocket boost and crush them with the body of your temporarily enlarged vehicle.

Overall, the game comes with various grades of difficulty as well as twenty five unique levels, each carefully crafted and designed. A quirky, somewhat Mexican-sounding music track and strange characters like the floating Super Mary from A Doodle Fly lend the app a humorous and slightly bizzare feel that evokes the developer's personal art style. Fun and highly replayable, it provides great value at the $ 0.99 price mark, so grab your copy now and start driving!

Suggestions for improvement: The car gets stuck when you drive into even the slightest bit of a corner or point, and we hope to see the vehicle moving and negotiating turns more smoothly. More items and levels as well as a multiplayer mode would make great updates.

Breakdown:
Graphics - 4.25/5 Creativity - 4.75/5 Gameplay - 4.5/5 Controls - 4.5/5
App-reciation - 4.5/5

Review: CatchMe! If You Can

Posted by App-reciation Reviews on March 10, 2010 , under | comments (0)



Category: Games

Seller: ODD1 Inc.
Price: $ 1.99
Requirements: iPhone or iPod touch, OS 3.1.2 or later
Version: 1.1

What's good: One of the most innovative in an extensive line of casual games for the iPhone and iPod touch, CatchMe! If You Can from ODD1 Inc. combines the developers' trademark colorful graphics, fun cast of cartoon characters, and a joyously frantic soundtrack to create a unique and thoroughly engrossing experience.

The gameplay is startlingly simple, yet provides an interesting twist: you first play the role of thief, during which you have to steal as much treasure as you can while avoiding an encounter with the guards that are constantly patrolling the corridors. As nimbly as you try to navigate the mazelike halls, you will most likely bump into security sooner or later, during which the role reverses and you get to pick one of three guards with different abilities - sprinting, setting traps, or illuminating the entire map - and step into his shoes to try to pursue the fiends running amok and snatching valuables left and right. Use a combination of tactic and speed to try to corner your adversary in the smallest amount of time possible, and once you do, you'll instantly turn back into the very character you caught, the better to take another attempt at gathering goodies strewn all over the place. The cycle ends when the timer counts down to zero, with four players alternately switching roles and each one aiming to claim the gold ribbon for the round by having the largest loot value among contenders at the conclusion of the level. Because of this, winning is based not just on speed and navigating skills, but on strategic planning as well.

Find out if you have both the sneakiness of a master thief and the sharp-eyed efficiency of a top-notch guard needed to triumph in each of fifteen unique levels set in five different locations - the village, gardens, swamps, cemetery, and dungeons. You can even send your loot to the Band of Thieves vault and connect to the community of players to unlock new levels and content, so the fun never stops!

Suggestions for improvement: For a game that is essentially based on speed of navigation, we think the controls somewhat hinder rather than help movement. It might be better if the virtual d-pad is replaced with a swipe-to-move system instead.

Breakdown:
Graphics - 4.75/5 Creativity - 5/5 Gameplay - 4.75/5 Controls - 3.5/5
App-reciation - 4.5/5


Preview: Doodle Kart

Posted by App-reciation Reviews on March 8, 2010 , under , | comments (0)



We've just heard from j2sighte, maker of popular iPhone games Doodle Flight and A Doodle Fly, that their newest title has been submitted to Apple for review. Following in the theme of the previous two games, this app is called Doodle Kart and mixes in a car racing concept with the developer's trademark graphical design and upbeat soundtrack.

Below are some screenshots and a gameplay video:







From the looks of things, this combines elements from Doodle Jump, Nano Rally, and j2sighte's other games which we mentioned previously. We're excited to check this out when it goes live, and will have a full review for our readers soon.

Review: Tropical Dreams 3D

Posted by App-reciation Reviews on March 5, 2010 , under | comments (0)



Category: Games

Price: $ 1.99
Requirements: iPhone or iPod touch, OS 3.0 or later
Version: 1.0.17

What's good: Dive into a world of tropical fish, beautifully crafted corals, and diverse marine life in Digital Chocolate's Tropical Dreams 3D, a fun and innovative casual game that's sure to delight kids and adults alike. In this adventure, you play Megan, a woman whose island shack is in serious need of renovation. Being naturally creative, you find a simple solution to help you earn the required amount to fix up your place, so after zipping up your wet suit and strapping on your goggles, you head on down to the water for a quick dive and snap some brilliant pictures in exchange for cash.

Throughout the course of your career, you'll visit various different spots in five exotic locations: Diver's Nest, Coral Lagoon, Sunken City, Grand Caves, and Blue Abyss. Each of these places represent a new set of levels with increasingly difficult photo missions to accomplish, so that from photographing one or two different fish, you will soon need to capture images of several fish at once or manage stills of hard-to-catch swimmers. Apart from that, you will occasionally experience more challenging stages with goals like finding rare treasure or reaching a higher expert score requirement, all before your gas tank runs out of oxygen. Although it might get a bit difficult towards the latter part, accomplishing these tasks should still be quite manageable, especially if you're equipped with quick fingers, sharp eyes, and good coordination. The suit and camera upgrades you earn over time help you out too, so there's always a balance between fun and challenge.

Overall, the unique concept of photography meets gaming provides a very relaxing and engaging experience, with nice 3D graphics and soothing water sounds to enhance the tranquil look and feel of the game. It's perfect for when you feel like sitting back and unwinding, whether for a few minutes or for a few hours, and at just $ 1.99, the game is easy on your pocket, too.

Suggestions for improvement: Controls are a little less polished than we hoped, with moderate instances of unresponsiveness when panning or taking a picture. This is especially frustrating when you need to take plenty of snapshots within a very limited time frame, so we hope to see an update that will address this issue.

Breakdown:
Graphics - 4/5 Creativity - 5/5 Gameplay - 4/5 Controls - 3.5/5
App-reciation - 4/5


Review: Dancing Lights

Posted by App-reciation Reviews on March 3, 2010 , under | comments (0)



Category: Games

Price: $ 0.99
Requirements: iPhone or iPod touch, OS 3.0 or later
Version: 1.1

What's good: As the AppStore evolves, many games are becoming increasingly complex, and they usually involve breathtaking 3D graphics, complicated scores and sountracks, detailed gameplay. All that is well and good, but sometimes players are also just looking for a simple way to relax and enjoy a little fun on their iDevices.

Inspired by a comment made by Nintendo President Satoru Iwata back in 2005, developer David Anton set out to create an app propelled by a simplicity largely lost in today's gaming era - one "played by sound and touching light," finally coming up with a puzzle game that he calls Dancing Lights. Unlike most other titles in iTunes, his minimalist creation doesn't make use of intricate detail or staggering arrangements to bolster its gameplay. Instead, every level brings a new set of dazzling lights and a single glowing light force, the objective being to illuminate all the lights on the screen using only your senses and guided by intuition rather than instruction. The resulting experience is pure, relaxing, beautiful, and as we understand it, different for every person.

Perhaps it can be said that this app most closely resembles Lights Out, but even then, there really is little comparison. There are a hundred different solutions to each level, and a hundred ways to go about the process. In the end, the best that can be said is that this is less a game than it is an experience - and an entirely personal one, at that. The developer's words sums it up better than we ever could: "Dancing Lights is a re-imagining of childhood discovery. Behind its abstract shapes and basic rules is a world of limitless depth, morphing into different forms based on your thoughts and mood. Will the experience be relaxing, tense, intriguing, or something completely different? Simply touch a light and see where it takes you."

Suggestions for improvement: Although simplicity is part of the magic of this app, there could be more interaction to keep players interested after a period of time.

Breakdown:
Graphics - 4/5 Creativity - 4/5 Gameplay - 3/5 Controls - 4.5/5
App-reciation - 3.75/5


Review: Mystic Emporium

Posted by App-reciation Reviews on , under | comments (1)



Category: Games

Price: $ 3.99
Requirements: iPhone or iPod touch, OS 3.0 or later
Version: 1.0

What's good: If you're ready to be taken in by the magical charms of 99Games' newest iPhone title, then don your pointy wizard's hat, pick up your wand, and step into the boots of a bright and innovative witch named Sally. A girl with big dreams, she realizes her heart's desire when she buys a dusty old shop to start her own business, and it is your job to help her turn this into a successful endeavor. Following along the lines of classic time management games, the goal in Mystic Emporium is simply to serve up customer orders as efficiently as you can so as to turn the required amount of daily profit and proceed to the next day. However, you're not running an ordinary shop, so instead of regular human customers looking for drinks and foodstuff, you get a wide and creative array of magical personalities, all clamoring for the best and latest potions you can cook up. Wait on vampires, sorcerers, medusas, and an assortment of interesting creatures as they stand at the counter and tell you what they want: potions require a mixture of ingredients which you can find at your cupboard and then brew in cauldron pots, whereas artifacts like crystal balls and skulls only require you to summon them from the shelves and quickly restock by calling on your trusty tentacled assistant.

As your shop becomes more and more popular, you will get many more customers coming in at a time, but as the difficulty hikes, so does your income. At the end of each day, the gold you earn allows you to purchase various shop upgrades and new items that will prove extremely helpful in different ways. Buy up to two additional cauldrons to prepare more potions at a time, or improve your cauldron's quality to hasten the simmering process. You can also purchase up to three storage slots to store finished goods, a magic harp to soothe and placate waiting customers, and even enchanted boots to make Sally move around her store at a much faster pace. Armed with these tools and extras, it is up to you to see the continuous improvement of Sally's emporium through over twenty challenging levels, with fast-paced matching games scattered randomly in between levels which, when completed, will reward you with even more helpful power-ups and lucky charms. Do well and you'll even unlock gorgeous trophies for achievements like completing the game, getting expert scores in all stages, and not losing a single customer in a succession of levels.

Captivating and feature-packed gameplay aside, what makes this port so perfect are the brilliant graphics and bewitching sounds that bring color and magic to the game. Every tinkle of delicate glass and bubble of stewing potion blends yet stands out from the noisy chatter and the comings and goings of various interesting characters in a breathtakingly colorful world of intricate detail and design. The best part is, it retails at only $ 3.99, so it should be easy to decide to get this spellbinding game and go on the mystic adventure yourself!

Suggestions for improvement: This game is so much fun we feel that twenty four levels is just too few. Hopefully, additional levels or difficulty modes will be added in the next update to extend gameplay value.

Breakdown:
Graphics - 5/5 Creativity - 4.75/5 Gameplay - 5/5 Controls - 5/5
App-reciation - 5/5