Mystic Jewels

iTunes Link

Mystic Jewels is NOT a match 3 game by PlayScreen. $0.99

Mystic Jewels is a very clever strategy game. While it does look like another matching game, it is far from it. The aim of the game is to remove all jewels from the board. This is done by upgrading the Jewels until the are destroyed and sent out waves which start a chain reaction, earning you more points. It sounds simple but if you don't make big chain reactions, the number of moves which you get will get be down dramatically, causing you to lose the game. This is very addictive and a great game to play.

The graphics are simple and not over the top. The Jewels are pretty detailed and look nice and bright. There is a background image of a mountain that is faint and doesn't take over from the Jewels. One thing that could be added to this is that the background image changes every level? Overall very good.

I like the background music in this game, its simple and easy going. There is a louder sound made when the jewels are upgraded and explode which I don't particularly like when the sound is up high. I would like to see the option to change the sound of both the background music and the sound effects.

The gameplay is very fun and I have played it countless times trying to beat my high score. There are different jewels that upgrade in the same way apart from one section where it can become one of two jewels. The board at the start of the level has a range of different jewels as well as white lights which prevent the waves from getting to other jewels, increasing the difficulty in higher levels. The way jewels upgrade are from a small bronze jewel, to a square red jewel, to a purple jewel then it can split to either a diamond (which has to be upgraded two more times before exploding) or a large green jewel. The last two are what explode and set off the chain reaction. The Green jewel only sends waves horizontally and vertically while the diamond sends it all directions. If hit by a wave the jewels will only upgrade until it is at the point where it is destroyed, sending off more waves and starting a chain reaction. You start with 10 moves and each jewel destroyed gives you another move, so chains are good in this game. Scoring also gives you combos with chain reactions. You play until you have no moves left, which for me with a little bit of experience is about 10 levels. I would like to see another game mode. One idea of mine is where you see how many you can destroy on one level, with destroyed jewels getting replaced with another random jewel.

This is a very addicting game with a lot of replay value as you try and master the game and beat your high scores. Very polished game that was well thought out. Anyone who enjoys puzzle games would enjoy this, definitely consider buying this for its sale price, well worth it.

Gameplay- 9/10
Graphics- 7.5/10
Sound- 7.5/10
Overall- 8/10

I would recommend this game if you enjoyed- Jewel Quest II

Tell me what you think about this review at Twitter- http://www.twitter.com/iPhone_Reviews and some ideas to improve the reviews will be appreciated! Stay tuned, if my schedule allows me to review tomorrow it will be Tank Warrior. If I can't get on I will start catch up with double the reviews until I am back on schedule starting on Monday

Thanks- iPhone_Reviews

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Petri

iTunes Link

Petri is coloring game by Matthew Gillingham. $0.99

Petri is a simple game where you must color in the screen a certain color to get to the next level. Its quite a fun little game but I couldn't stand playing it for long periods of time as it got very repetitive. With 100 levels to complete it will take a good half an hour to complete all of them, I managed to get my time down to about 20 seconds per level.

The graphics are good. They are bright and do their job. Nothing extra could really be done with the game graphics wise without putting the price up. I don't think it should be done as the gameplay isn't really worth more than the 99 cents. The game responds quite well when it is touched. Sometimes it doesn't remove the colors when it is on the edge of the screen but no major problems.

I could have really enjoyed the background music to this game. It has a fun, up beat tempo but I believe it has been ruined by a high pitched sound that goes off all the time. The sound has nothing to do with the game and I believe it should be removed as it is quite horrid.

As I said before, it is quite a simple game. The controls are very simple, tap and/or drag your finger around the screen to remove all colors from the screen and double tap to add color to the screen. I found this quite easy to master after a couple of go's by just removing all color and continue removing it until the color required popped up on one of the edges. Each level has a slightly different pattern to work with, such as a pixelated level or the colors were in the shape of diamonds. Each level also would say the color required to fill the screen with at the bottom right hand corner, sometimes this is hard to see as the font is the color required. There is no high scores table yet for fastest times and I would like to see this.

Overall it is a very polished game. There isn't much of a replay factor in the game as I believe that it would get very repetitive after 100 or 200 levels. A quick and fun pick up and play game and one that is at least worth considering.

Gameplay- 6/10
Graphics- 7.5/10
Sound- 7/10
Overall- 7/10

I would recommend this game if you enjoyed- 7 Colors

Tell me what you think about this review at Twitter- http://www.twitter.com/iPhone_Reviews and some ideas to improve the reviews will be appreciated! Stay tuned, if my schedule allows me to review tomorrow it will be Mystic Jewels. If I can't get on I will start catch up with double the reviews until I am back on schedule starting on Monday

Thanks- iPhone_Reviews

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99Games Special: Promo Bonanza Closed!

Thanks to all that entered, the competition is now officially CLOSED!

Any entries past this point will not count. This post will be updated with the winners when they are decided before promo codes are given out. Good luck all and remember to stay tuned for more codes in the future!

WINNERS:
Chess Pro- Kurasu
Chess Lite- Jazzfan 47
Wordsworth- Nicholas Vu
Aqua Jigsaw- Shadow
Jigsaw Wild- Kurasu

I will contact you with the promocodes soon, thanks all for entering and stay tuned, there will be more competitions to come!

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Paper Airplane

iTunes Link

Paper Airplane is a game of survival by Lilasoft. $0.99

Paper Airplane is an endless yet simple game where you must dodge certain items while collecting others. There are three difficulty levels, easy, medium and hard and on each you have three lives to try and last as long as possible. The game seemed hard for me even on easy with the controls to start with, it may make a difference when you play using the y axis controls, but after a few tries you get the hang of the gameplay.

The graphics aren't that flash. Everything is pixelated and the birds are hard to see at times. I would like to see updated graphics as well as the game zoomed in a bit so it is easier to see everything. One thing that is good in the game is the uniqueness of everything in it, the game description says that every background, every cloud is unique in its shape and gradient. The game is responsive and quickly moves the airplane to your movement. Sometimes it moves a bit too much but with practice I am sure it wouldn't happen.

The only sound provided for this game are the sound effects of balloons popping and birds flapping, which at even with the volume turned down halfway I found loud and a bit irritating. You can play your own music in this game and I would recommend only having that on.

As I said above, the game is theoretically endless. There are no levels as such in the game, it is a casual survival mode only. Birds are flying at you at various speeds and you must dodge them as well as running into the kites and balloons to pop them, earning points. After being hit by three birds the game is over and you put your score onto the High Scores list. Currently there is no global high scores list, I believe this should be added to put a bit of competition into the game.

This game is for casual play only. There is a small bit of replay factor early on until you master the game but after that I wouldn't expect anyone to play it much. An alright game for only $0.99, but not a must buy.

Gameplay- 6/10
Graphics- 4.5/10
Sound- 4/10
Overall- 5/10

I would recommend this game if you enjoyed- Paper Pilot

Tell me what you think about this review at Twitter- http://www.twitter.com/iPhone_Reviews and some ideas to improve the reviews will be appreciated! Stay tuned, Tomorrow is- Petri

Thanks- iPhone_Reviews

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Sneezies

iTunes Link

Sneezies is a popping game by Antair Games. $0.99

Sneezies is a cheap, fun game which can be played for a few minutes or a few hours. Never have I played a game where I am shouting at my iDevice because the cute ball of fluff won't sneeze! The aim of the game is to pop so many sneezies each level to advance, this is surprisingly hard and very addictive. With two similar games mode, Classic and Challenge to complete with 60 levels all up, it will take a long time to complete this game.

The graphics in this game are very detailed, while being cute at the same time. The game is bright and colorful with its detailed backgrounds and cute Sneezies. It is very polished and is very smooth when lots of Sneezies are popping at once. It is very good for a game of this price.

I absolutely adore the sound of this game. The relaxing background music is enjoyable to listen to and the giggling I get out of hearing the Sneezing sneeze is priceless. It is great to play with the sound turned on.

The game as said before is quite simple. In classic mode you have one sneeze that you must use to pop so many Sneezies to advance to the next level. Once you touch anywhere on the screen, sneeze dust is released and any Sneezie that comes in contact with the dust also sneezes and starts a chain reaction. As you get further into the game is becomes gradually harder with more sneezies required to be popped to advance. In challenge mode you have five sneezes available to use to pop a certain number of Sneezies. As you pop them more come in their place before you sneeze again. If you pop over 75% of Sneezies on the screen in one sneeze, you get another turn. Both modes are fun to play and both very challenging.

This game has a huge replay factor. Certain levels will have you restarting it countless times to get past the level. A very fun, yet challenging game. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys puzzle games, a great buy.

Gameplay- 8/10
Graphics- 9/10
Sound- 9.5/10
Overall- 9/10

I would recommend this game if you enjoyed- Pinch 'n Pop

Tell me what you think about this review at Twitter- http://www.twitter.com/iPhone_Reviews and some ideas to improve the reviews will be appreciated! Stay tuned, Tomorrow is- Paper Airplane

Thanks- iPhone_Reviews

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Smiles

iTunes Link

Smiles is a 3 in a row game by Sykhronics Entertainment. $4.99

Smiles is an app which features their two games, Smiles Drop and Smiles Zen at a discounted price. This game really makes 3 in a row fun again with four game modes, three themes and over 140 achievements to aim for. Smiles Zen is inspired by games like Solitare and Mahjongg by matching up all pieces on the board into rows of three or more matching pieces to win. Smiles Drop, Drop + and Avalanche are inspired by games like Bejeweled and Tetris where you must make matches and survive as long as possible to get a high score.

The graphics in this game are very well done. All the games are bright and colorful with a very polished feel to the game. The gameplay is very smooth, even when making lots of combos in a row it doesn't freeze or pixelate. The simple design of this game works wonders.

I enjoy listening to my own music in this game. Songs with fast tempo are excellent when making heaps of combos in Smiles Drop. It was a great idea to have this option in the game.

I will talk about the gameplay for the two main versions, Zen and Drop. Drop + and Avalanche are just varieties of Smiles Drop. Smiles Zen is a matching game where you are against the clock to finish the puzzle. You have one piece in your hand and must swap them with other pieces until you have matched up everything into rows of 3 or more. This is quite challenging and has a countless number of achievements to get while doing this game. There are also four difficulty levels, easy, medium, hard and master for everyones liking. Smiles Drop is the more time consuming game, but personally my favourite. This game is done so you must match rows in the same way but as they are matched they disappear and new blocks fall from the top. This game reminds me alot of Aurora Feint, but better. The way to get big scores are by getting combos, which can be done by quickly making matches until blocks stop falling. Ice and rock blocks are also on the map and must be dropped a certain number of rows before they break. The game takes a while to complete, only ending when there are no more possible moves so Drop, Drop + and Avalanche have most of the achievements for you to achieve. With three levels, easy, medium and hard as well as long play, this will keep you going for days.. or whenever your iPhone's battery runs out.

This game has an unbelievable amount of replay value. 140+ achievements to get, highscores to bear and the addictive nature of the game makes it worth every cent. If you enjoy puzzle games I wouldn't hesitate to buy it, the most original matching game I have seen in a long time.

Gameplay- 9/10
Graphics- 8/10
Sound- 7.5/10
Overall- 8.5/10

I would recommend this game if you enjoyed- Aurora Feint

Tell me what you think about this review at Twitter- http://www.twitter.com/iPhone_Reviews and some ideas to improve the reviews will be appreciated! Stay tuned, Tomorrow is- Sneezies

Thanks- iPhone_Reviews

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99Games Special: Promo Code Bonanza!

Thanks to 99Games we have five promo codes to giveaway

You have a chance to win a promo code for->
Chess Pro
Chess Lite
Wordsworth
Aqua Jigsaw
Jigsaw Wild

How to win a code: On each of the links above to the games, go to them and comment on them in 50 words or less WHY YOU WANT TO WIN A PROMO CODE FOR THAT GAME.

How to comment: The comment link is at the bottom of each individual review, after you find it follow this picture: http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff237/Sainterz/Howto.jpg

The competition will end on Monday January 19th 2009. 99Games will then look through all the comments and choose the best one to receive the promo code.

If you do not win a promo code please support 99Games and buy the games you are interested in.

Thanks to 99Games for their support

Good luck all!

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