More games, yay! We're still touching and tapping our way through the iTunes App Store each week, digging up games that are worth getting into. This time around we have a port of a favorite Flash game along with some puzzle action, fast-reflex tilting, and an Egyptian-themed dice-based poker game!
Each week on Mobile Monday we offer you the chance to win an iTunes gift certificate that will cover the cost of every game featured in the article. All you have to do is sign-in with a Casual Gameplay account, leave a comment giving feedback about one of the games, then check back the week after to see if you've won. Simple! Congratulations to last week's winner, Mano!
TBAMFH (These Balls are Made for Hiding) - A port of Tonypa's popular and award-winning Flash game of the same name, TBAMFH is a trial-and-error logic-based puzzle title with a simple but stylish visual presentation. Your goal is to uncover the balls hidden in the field before you. Simply touch the screen where you want to fire the laser, then watch and hold your breath as it ricochets off any of the hidden balls. Touch the laser shooter when you've found the most that you can find to score big points. Unfortunately this port doesn't feature sound effects, but you really can't beat TBAMFH on-the-go.
Monospace - A quick and simple game that forces you to switch between 2D and 3D perspectives in order to solve puzzles. Your goal is to eliminate all of the white squares by lining them up next to the blue one. When the level begins, take note of their relative positions, then slide your finger across the touch screen to rotate the large container cube in any direction. When you're ready, a quick tap on the screen flattens the cube, forcing everything into a two dimensional plane. If you did it right, some of the white boxes should be next to the blue box, in which case you simply drag your finger across them to send them packing. Tap the screen again to go into 3D mode, rotate the cube to a new perspective, tap again to flatten, and repeat until the cube is empty! Now available in two dimensions: Monospace and Monospace Lite.
Dizzy Bee - One of the earliest, simplest, and best arcade-style games in the iTunes App Store, Dizzy Bee utilizes the system's accelerometer to control a cute, round bumblebee who's trying to rescue his friends. Collect flowers by tilting and turning your iPod Touch/iPhone, and try not to go "AWWW" every time the little guy makes that adorable buzzing sound. Each full version game includes 40 unique levels plus 5 bonus levels. Comes in three flavors: Dizzy Bee Free, Dizzy Bee (full), and Dizzy Bee 2.
MotionX Poker Quest - Journey up the Nile to uncover ancient temples in a manner you never considered before: by rolling dice! Shake the iPod Touch/iPhone to roll a set of five poker dice on the screen. You have 3 rolls to beat the computer-controlled opponent to earn coins, which is all good casual fun by itself. But what makes this game so addictive are its 12 beautiful Egyptian temples, 20 achievements, and 54 gorgeous sets of dice to unlock. One of our favorite apps to this day, MotionX Poker Quest has two flavors available: free and the full version. If you still can't get enough, try the original game that started it all (and which is just as good, but very similar), MotionX Poker.
NOTE: Games listed may not be available outside of North America. Prices are subject to change and are therefore unlisted. Please see the individual game pages for purchasing info.
As of 02/01/09; English Prices:
TBAMFH - £0.59
Monospace - £1.19
Dizzy Bee Free - Free (Durr)
Dizzy Bee - £1.79
Dizzy Bee 2 - £1.79
MotionX Poker Quest Lite - Free
MotionX Poker Quest - £1.79
Ohh, Monospace. I love 2D-3D games like those
I can't believe nobody's compared Monospace to Crush yet.
...not that I've played either...
Dizzy Bee- cute and colorful, but lacks a good set of instructions and story line. This game is relatively easy to play, but I did not find it very rewarding or enjoyable.
Poker Quest - good game. I haven't played the original motionX poker, but this looks very good. I like the variety of dice, the look, physics, and general game play overall. On the other hand, this may be hard for someone not familiar with poker to get into.
TBAMFH is a fun game. I haven't played the mobile version, but if it is anything like the original, it's good.
Poker Quest is a lot of fun (although I have only played the light version). I highly recommend it if you liked Lock 'n' Roll, a previously featured game here. Monospace is another unique puzzle game that is fun to play. TBAMFH just isn't my thing, though.
Monospace is a pretty sweet little puzzler. I find the learning curve a little tough in the later levels. Tough to play, even harder to master!
Monospace is a fantastic game. I highly recommend buying it. The two bucks are well worth it. This one will keep you busy for a long time.
Yes! I loved TBAMFH online, so it was super exciting to find out it had come to the iPhone! Awesome!
Does it have to be all iPhone every time? There are a number of other very capable mobile OS's out there such as Symbian and Android...
Xander, I think they write about iPhone games because there are so many different mobiles, that it would be impossible to review games for all of them. So they picked iPhone, since it's the most popular mobile, and probably the one with the most interesting games, because of the touch screen and the in-built accelerometer.
I really enjoyed Monospace, and, as SonicLover said, it reminds me of Crush! BTW, there's a demake of Crush, so you can get a taste of it. It's called Squish, and while it is simple, it's great fun for an hour or two.
Donut is correct.
The quantity and quality of innovative and exciting casual games coming out for the iPhone and iPod Touch makes the platform impossible for us to ignore here at JIG.
Add to that the fact that most of us here at JIG have an iPhone or an iPod Touch and, well, it makes perfect sense for us to share our findings.
I tried the free version of dizzy bee, didn't really like it all that much. Does it get better?
I liked Dizzy Bee Free, but are Dizzy Bee Full and Dizzy Bee 2 worth the price?
Regarding Dizzy Bee, I remember games like this when I was a kid, that were boxes made of plastic, in which tilting and turning them would move the objects inside. Dizzy Bee takes that concept and modernizes it with 21st century tech.
At $2.99, the games are pretty cheap and contain 45 unique levels and a variety of goals for each. To me either version is worth the couple of bucks it costs.
As pointed out by a couple other commenters, though, it's not a game that will appeal to everyone.
If the free game was fun for you, then the full version will be, too. Thank heavens for the try before you buy model. :)
Dizzy Bee is an awesome casual game. Easy to pick-up and drop. Play a bit here, play a bit there. I highly recommend it. It's inexpensive and it's the type of game you use to amuse friends who don't realize how cool the iPhone/iPod Touch is.
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