My inbox was pretty lean this week. I received several press releases but I’ve been noticing some disturbing trends which lead me to believe that iOS games are converging upon being recycled clones of each other. This week I only have 4 apps to offer you, as they’re the only apps that looked remotely interesting as I browsed the iTunes top apps lists.

Call of Mini: Zombies

I know plenty of gamers who have become jaded by zombie games, but not me. When I saw CoM: Zombies in the iTunes store, I checked the reviews to see if there were any credible, negative opinions. There weren’t, so I purchased the app and gave it a spin. The game is an over-the-shoulder shooter featuring cartoony block-head characters and plenty of levels, weapons, and character upgrades.

Level environments range from hospitals to storage yards. If you’re familiar with horde mode, Call of Mini: Zombies is basically a mobile horde mode. A number of zombies spawn and your goal is to survive the wave while collecting crates of ammo and caches of money.The controls are precise and the game is just difficult enough to remain engaging, but not so difficult that I wanted to stop playing. Upgrading your character and weapons may take a while if you rely on the cash you find in-game, but the lazy can purchase in-game currency to upgrade more quickly.

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Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Firaxis Games
Genre: Simulation/Social
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available Now
Review by: Michael Rabalais

When I told my friends I had been assigned to review the Civilization Facebook game, their reaction was to laugh in my face. Social games aren’t especially well received by the hardcore gamer community, and after wiping the tears from my still wet eyes, I promised myself I would remain resolute in providing an objective and thorough review of a product I had never envisioned myself playing. Civilization World is a game I played on Facebook. It doesn’t get much more objective than that.

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Publisher: Open Emotion Studios
Developer: Open Emotion Studios
Genre: Puzzle
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

One of the cool things Sony has going for it, is the existence of the PS Minis (which can be found in their online store). Essentially, these are small downloadable diversions that can be played on either your PS3 or PSP. So for those die hard Sony fanboys who grab every piece of tech the company puts out, it’s a nice perk to take one of these pieces of casual fare on the go. Is Mad Blocker Ultra – Revenge of the Fluzzles a remedy for those tired of those pesky Angry Birds? Read on and find out.

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Publisher: Digital Reality Ltd.
Developer: Candygun Games
Genre: Zombie Defense
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Zombie games are neither few nor far between, and seem to lurk up on us like…well…zombies. Countless titles are based in the zombie genre and tend to be the going up and blast them in the face type of games. Dead Block, however, employs a different and unique take on this cult genre. I will take a peek at it from within my barricaded safe haven, of course.

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Publisher: Doctor Entertainment
Developer: Doctor Entertainment
Genre: Puzzle
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

No matter how advanced and sophisticated games get, there will always be a place for the laid-back puzzle game. Sometimes we don’t want to shoot down the bad guys, or wrack our brains to find out how to defeat the impossible boss. Sometimes, late at night, we’re tired and we just want to relax while trying to figure out how to get some…flowers.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: People Can Fly
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 1.6 GHz Core 2 Duo or better CPU, 256 MB graphics card, 1.5 GB RAM, 9 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Sometimes you want deep stories, memorable characters and impressive visuals from your games. Other times, all you want is a game that looks pretty and lets you slay copious numbers of mutants. EA and Polish developer People Can Fly have given you the latter with Bulletstorm, a sci-fi shooter that combines old-school FPS goodness and modern graphics excellence to tell the story of one man’s quest for vengeance and absolution.

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The Fourth of July has come and gone, and like every patriotic citizen, I spent a lot of money. Parting ways with my cash was a purely altruistic act, I assure you. Our economy needed my support, and I needed bike parts, iPhone games and way too much barbequed meat. The holiday brought with it sales on apps in the iTunes store, and the combination of cheap digital-downloads and a Wi-Fi connected iPod resulted in multiple late-night transactions. I’ve typically reviewed iOS games by indie developers, but this time around I have several titles from major publishers. Don’t worry. I kept it real and have titles from the underdogs too. Even though I bought some of these apps at steep discounts, you can purchase them at full price and still be rewarded by entertaining gameplay from a variety of genres.

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Publisher: Majesco
Developer: Super X Studios
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Everyone 10+
Release date: Available now

Paintball is a fast-paced and incredibly difficult live-action sport. It requires skill, accuracy, teamwork, and the right equipment to win. It’s something that seems like it would find itself at home in the first-person shooter genre. Super X Studios thought the same thing when they developed Greg Hastings Paintball 2, now available on the PSN.

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Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 2 GHz Pentium IV or better CPU, 512 MB graphics card, 3 GB RAM, DirectX 9.0c, sound card
Genre: Puzzle/Adventure
ESRB rating: Not rated at press time
Release date: Available now

Puzzles have always been a key component in point-and-click adventuring, but they usually are employed as a means to advance a game’s story. Publisher/developer Telltale has taken a different track with the Puzzle Agent games, in which puzzles don’t just move the story along, they are part of the story. Puzzle Agent 2 combines conundrum-solving and a hand-drawn-comic graphic style to continue the story of last year’s original.

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Having admitted to being loaned the use of an Apple iPad, I have unwittingly thrust myself into the new job of summarising games for the device. Still, any excuse for more gaming is worth my self-sacrifice! So my first foray into the iPad gaming world starts here.

Hunters HD

My first game hurled me back two decades to memories of completing my PhD. EA in 1993 published the king of all tactical floor-tile games, Space Hulk, which was based on the board game of the same name from Games Workshop. Flash forward two decades and we have Hunters HD. The look and feel of this game offers more than a sniff of homage to Space Hulk and Legions of Steel. You lead an intergalactic team of mercenaries to complete various tasks, from hostage rescue to artifact reclamation (stealing in the 21st century). You can choose the members of your squad and equip them from a wide-ranging arsenal of armor and weapons. Each soldier has action points according to his armor to spend for movement, combat or overwatch.

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: AGEOD Studios
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 1.8 GHz Pentium IV or better CPU, 1 GB RAM (2 GB Vista/Win 7), 512 MB graphics card, DirectX 9.0c or better, DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card, 3 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Strategy
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

It is, and always has been, my judgment that strategy games rise and fall on their mechanics, not their graphics. Considering the diplomatic and economic complexities of the period covering European expansion into Africa and the lead up to World War I, a game covering the 19th century can shine wonderfully when the mechanics demonstrate an understanding of all the nuances. I’m always on the lookout for the next strategy game in the hope that I’ll strike gold yet again. I was enthusiastic to get a review copy of Pride of Nations, a game that advertises itself as having ”the most original diplomacy model ever created for a grand strategy game…[and] a detailed world economy with realistic components.” After a few weeks of playing it, I can say that it certainly lives up to these claims.

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This week I’ve prepared for you touch-based gaming delights from a cornucopia of genres. The games’ prices range from micro-transaction based, value-priced, to just plain free. When you play as many iPhone games as I do, it’s hard to be excited about new ones. While browsing the iTunes app store, I noticed that the game selection is starting to resemble the staggering amount of free Flash games that can be found online. Sometimes you can find a game to which you become addicted, but a lot of the time it’s got the same gameplay with different graphics and quality of development. Allow me to help you navigate through the staggering amount of sub-par iOS games.

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Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
System requirements: Windows XP SP3, Vista SP1, Windows 7; Core 2 Duo 2.5 GHz; 1.5 GB RAM; Radeon HD 3870 or GeForce 9800 GT; DirectX 9.0c; 4 GB HDD/SSD space
Genre: Hack-n-Slash RPG
Release date: Available now

Before I begin talking about Dungeon Siege III, I want to mention two things that are directly related to my review. First and foremost, I am not really a fan of the hack-n-slash RPG genre. I liked Diablo because it was fresh and novel, but found Diablo II to be tedious and unpleasant. Nox was pretty cool, but the original Dungeon Siege was clearly not my type of game. The second thing I want to disclose is that I am really not a fan of Obsidian Entertainment. I believe KotOR 2 to be an unfinished mess, and Neverwinter Nights 2 is one of my least favorite games of all time. I haven’t played their other games, but believed every bad thing I heard about them. In fact I used to use the studio’s name as a synonym for “terrible developer.”

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Publisher: THQ
Developer: Volition
System requirements: Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7; 2GHz Dual Core Processor (Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon X2) or higher; 2 GB RAM; 7.5 GB free disk space; 320 MB Graphics Memory with shader model 3.0; DirectX 9 compatible sound card; DirectX 9 (10/11 recommended)
Genre: Third Person Shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available

It’s been 2 years since Volition developed Red Faction Guerrilla. It focused on open world gameplay, but this time around Volition has opted for linear gameplay and in-your-face weaponry in Red Faction Armageddon. It’s an interesting gamble given the success and positive feedback that surrounds the previous title, but it seems to be a gamble based on a desire to create a story and game mechanics that not only live up to the Red Faction name, but moves it forward. Does it work? Keep reading to find out.

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Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Q Entertainment
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Everyone 10+
Release date: Available now

In 2001, a game called Rez was released for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. It featured an on-rails experience with amazing sound effects and a sound track that changed based on what you were doing. 2011’s Child of Eden, created by Rez designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi, is a prequel of sorts that features many of the same gameplay and sound effects. Is Child of Eden, developed by Q Entertainment, worth the trip, or does it skip a beat?

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