Everyone’s gaga for catching and training monsters. It’s a shockingly popular genre, which makes its overall lack of representation on the App Store all the more odd. That’s not so say that no one’s ever tried, but there just aren’t that many choices at the moment. Greyhound Games, with help from ZigZaGame, is looking to do their part by releasing Dragon Island.

The overall concept of Dragon Island is as expected: capture monsters, level-up monsters, evolve and combine monsters to create new monsters and fight other monsters with said monsters. What sets it apart from the scant few other games in the genre on iOS is the use of actual time instead of energy or mana, setting a specific lineup for monsters (think “batting order”), a sprawling map full of places to explore and dungeons. The dungeons are of particular note because they’re not only randomly-generated, but can also contain special monsters, treasures, their own towns and even other dungeons.

Currently the game is about 75% complete (according to the developer), and they’re looking to the community to take it well beyond the 100% mark. They’ve set up a Kickstarter page to raise funds so that they can include more of, well, everything. More monsters, more dungeons, more items and more game in general.

What’s there is already looking really good (placeholder graphics notwithstanding). I’m particularly fond of the monster illustrations. And the thought of Roguelike dungeons in a monster-collecting rpg has me salivating something fierce. If anyone echoes my sentiment, then I urge them to look into Dragon Island. Don’t forget to take a gander at the handful of monster images (20+ out of 200) in the gallery below, either. Also, “LOL” at Unhappy Bird.

When I reviewed Monster Hunter Dynamic Hunting earlier this year, I enjoyed it but it was a bit shortlived. With only 12 monsters to defeat, the experience ended way too quickly for my liking. A shame given the enjoyment gained from the title. Fortunately, someone must have been listening as four new monsters and a new weapon, Gunlance, have been added to the title, bolstering the enemy battles up to a not too shabby 16.

The new monsters: Diablos, Azure Rathalos, Kirin and Lunastra, are set to offer a sound challenge to fans of the game, and I’ll be sure to not spoil the experience with any extra details.

Besides the extra monsters and the new weapon, Monster Hunter Dynamic Hunting has also benefited from a new Replay Function. For those players who manage to clear the quest without needing to continue, they can now record their entire playthrough from a variety of different camera angles. Twitter functionality has also been added so that fans can tweet the results of their battles and exchange questions and information on the game.

Monster Hunter Dynamic Hunting is available now, priced at $4.99. Existing owners get the update for free.

$4.99

MONSTER HUNTER Dynamic Hunting

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Our Rating: :: SHORTLIVED FUN
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Released: 2011-06-01 :: Category: Games

Daily Monster, by Daily Monster.com, has had an update in time for Halloween that lets users make monsters in the vein of Stefan G Bucher’s DAILY MONSTER® with added seasonal touches.

Blow ink with a finger to create the basic shape and then add up to 200 elements like creepy eyes, mouths and body parts made exclusively for this app.

Send the creepy-funny creations to your friends from within the app or via Twitter and Facebook. The app allows users to add speech bubbles for added customization and the update is available to download in time for Halloween on the App Store.

Aside from Halloween elements this update is iOS 5 tested, has more parts in all categories, not just Halloween, contains more ink blots to work with and extra insta-monsters. The GUI is super simple and the creatures created have the unique Bucher flair. Feel free to send us your thoughts on the app, as well as pictures of your creations, on our Facebook page.

$0.99

The DAILY MONSTER Monster Maker

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Our Rating: :: CREATIVE
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Released: 2011-08-08 :: Category: Entertainment