Imagine a twisted game show in which contestants have to navigate their way through a maze full of hazards in order to earn some potential big bucks. Possibly even their freedom. Okay, not that game. What I’m talking about is Chillingo’s Man in a Maze. It’s a bit less bleak.

For starters, the Man (pictured) is always grinning like a goof. That’s pretty much the tone to expect from Man in a Maze: goofy and lighthearted. In between levels players can potentially spin a large, Price is Right-style wheel for bonuses or even use gems nabbed within a stage to purchase upgrades. Of course the stages themselves can be a bit more punishing than the bright and colorful themes might make them appear.

In my brief time spent with the game I saw a number of variations to the maps, which required completely different strategies. At it’s core, Man in a Maze functions much like a fairly typical maze chase game. Players guide the hapless grinning fool around with a finger drag and attempt to snag gems, avoid enemies, and possibly nail them with a fancy ball or two.

All the family friendly (and universal!) game show of death shenanigans will be coming to the App Store this winter.

Scientists seem to love locking up tiny animals and experimenting on them. At least in video game fiction. The fortunate thing about this is that it makes for plenty of opportunities to create a game based around escaping the evil scientific facility. In this particular instance it’s the driving factor behind Chillingo and Kiz Studios’ new maze chase iOS title, Critter Escape!.

As is to be expected, players will have to guide a “so ugly it’s cute” critter through level after level of increasingly perplexing mazes full of enemies, obstacles, power-ups, and challenges. Simply completing a stage should be simple enough no matter the player’s gaming prowess, but getting the coveted three star rating will require some fairly significant skills. Especially in the latter half of the game’s 120 levels. This requires not only making it to the exit, but also grabbing the crystal hidden somewhere in the maze, as well as completing a specific challenge such as finishing without being seen or under a certain time limit.

Critter Escape! isn’t just “another” maze chase game, however. While it defaults to a line-drawing control scheme (other options are available, including a virtual stick), it’s a very smart line-drawing controls scheme that automatically finds its way around obstacles. It also features a wealth of customization options that can be cosmetic (i.e. a funny hat) or both cosmetic and game-changing (i.e. a ninja suit that makes it easier to avoid guards). There’s also plenty of hidden content (bonus levels, etc) to encourage repeat play.

Keep an eye out for on-the-lamb potato monsters at the end of the summer, when Critter Escape! will be available to the masses for $0.99.

Fish are always cool. Know what’s cooler than fish? Robot fish. So it stands to reason that Robot Fish from Liger Games gets automatic cool points. They also deserve some cool points for making a game that involves drawing lines that doesn’t quite adhere to the norms of most line-drawing games.

Rather than tracing a path to an exit or preventing collisions, players will seemingly have to plan their route through each level in one go. The kicker is that they can use all manner of fruit to acquire special abilities (i.e. bashing through hazards, duplication, etc…). It’s hard to fully picture it with screen shots, but the videos on the developer’s blog should help. Looks pretty nifty, huh? I can only imagine how much planning and practice it takes to blow through levels that fast, and most of the time they’re barely earning “C” ranks!

Robot Fish should be hitting the App Store soon. Within the next couple of weeks, assuming it makes it through Apple’s approval process in a timely manner. No word yet on a price, though.

Lets just face facts and admit that as much as we would like to believe otherwise, the “match three” puzzle game is here to stay.  The success of the gametype could be chocked up to everything from its simple to grasp concepts to the use of bright colors and often flashy animations, but the problem is that no developers are willing to mess with the formula.  Hoping to take the nauseatingly stagnant bull by the proverbial horns, a new game named Virus Strike looks to change all of that in one quick swoop of their handkerchief.  How are they hoping to breath new life into the stagnant genre?  The answer is simple: give it a personal touch. Well, line drawing controls at least.

While much of the competition fumbles with fake analog sticks and gimmicky finger shuffling, Vertigo Software may be onto something with their unique new line drawing scheme that has more in common with Flight Control than it does Tetris.  To help you better wrap your brain around how this awesomely simple schema works, glance over the brief gameplay footage below:

After viewing that video, I think it would be reasonable to assume that we have never controlled a “match three” in quite this manner.  This may be the kind of change that has been needed for quite some time.  Though, I do have to say that I have some concerns over the precision of the above methods; if nothing else, it will give a much needed change of pace that could further drive innovation.

Place your bets on how long these controls are exclusively in Virus Strike.  Sadly, I am guessing it will be not long at all before someone from a larger publisher “borrows” it.  However, the genre may be better off because of it.  Be sure to give credit where it is deserved and take the innovator out for a test spin.  The game will only stay free for a limited time.

$0.99

Virus Strike

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-10-24 :: Category: Games