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Tag: Puzzle game »

har•mo•ny Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Rob Rich on October 15th, 2013
Our rating: starstarstarstarblankstar :: SWATCH THIS
har•mo•ny’s core gameplay can get rather repetitive over extended periods, but it’s a relaxing little time-waster in short bursts.
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Pocket Land Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Rob Rich on August 19th, 2013
Our rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar :: CRACKED CREATION
Pocket Land takes a familiar idea and starts to turn it into something special, but it doesn't take things far enough.
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LEGO MINDSTORMS Fix the Factory Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Rob Rich on August 8th, 2013
Our rating: starstarstarstarblankstar :: CROSSED WIRES
LEGO MINDSTORMS Fix the Factory is a great-looking "program the robot" puzzle game, but it's missing a few of the basics.
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Sticky Blobs Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Rob Rich on August 5th, 2013
Our rating: starstarstarstarblankstar :: A CLEVER MESS
Sticky Blobs may not look it, but it’s actually a smart and unique puzzle game.
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HexConnect Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Jordan Minor on August 2nd, 2013
Our rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar :: HEX SELLS
A decent compromise between quality and quantity.
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Quarantine London Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Rob Rich on July 11th, 2013
Our rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar :: BARE-BONES
Quarantine London is an entertaining puzzle game, but there really isn't much to it.
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Directional Dash Review

Posted by Carter Dotson on June 7th, 2013
+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Developer: Mike Hince
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.3.1
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 5, iPad 2

Graphics / Sound Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar
Controls Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar
Gameplay Rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar
Replay Value Rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar

[rating:overall]

The Blitz-style puzzler is in vogue as of late, and Directional Dash largely exists in this genre, bringing fast-paced puzzle action for thrill-seekers and high-score chasers. The game? Remove adjacent clusters of blocks with arrows on them off the board by swiping them in the direction indicated. Simple as that.

Mastery of Directional Dash is all about racking up the multipliers. Any swiped away grouping of eight or more increases the multiplier by one, and this is the key to high scores in all the modes. The scoring is relatively straightforward otherwise, as it basically just grants 100 points fo each block swiped off, multiplied by the number of blocks in the grouping and by the multiplier.

Thus, expert players need to be able to quickly recognize groupings that are large enough to increase the multiplier, but also be sure to be constantly making matches to drive the score up. Just focusing on the multiplier increase alone will lead to much lower high scores because the opportunity to take good advantage of the high multiplier will just never arrive!

Why do I like Directional Dash? The game feels like it's really meant for a fast-paced style of play. There's a limited move mode here as well, but it just feels dull in comparison. The fun comes in trying to get the high score while that clock is ticking down, and getting into that trance state. The simple concept and control scheme is very conducive to this, so I found myself coming back again and again. The addition of three different timings was a smart choice: there's really a different approach necessary to the 30, 60, and 120 seconds modes.

The controls are the only thing of particular annoyance. By default, a block has to be swiped in its particular direction in order to send it off the board. Now, on the iPhone, this is a bit tricky to do on single blocks, as the finger needs to be placed right on the block if not extremely close to it. In the middle of a frantic session, this is particularly aggravating because time is of the essence. A more liberal swiping area would help out a lot. There's a more accurate control scheme where tapping on a cluster will

Directional Dash is one of my favorite Blitz-style puzzle games on the App Store: by eschewing match-3 and line elimination, and going with a concept that's built for speed, it's a package that comes together to be extremely fun and addictive.

Tetris Blitz Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Carter Dotson on May 24th, 2013
Our rating: starstarstarstarblankstar :: TREPAK BLITZ
There's fun to be had in short bursts with Tetris Blitz, but it just feels way too engineered to be fun, rather than anything naturally-occurring.
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NonoCube Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Rob Rich on May 21st, 2013
Our rating: starstarstarstarblankstar :: CUBE LOVE
Nonograms in 3D are just as awesome as they are in 2D.
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Mosaique Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Rob Rich on May 9th, 2013
Our rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar :: A REAL BRICK-BREAKER
Line 'em up and clear 'em out in this topsy-turvy tile matching puzzle game.
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LEGO Batman: DC Super Heroes Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Rob Rich on April 26th, 2013
Our rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar :: HIT THE BRICKS
I am vengeance. I am the night. I am absolutely loving LEGO Batman: DC Super Heroes!
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Tower Zoo Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Rob Rich on April 17th, 2013
Our rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar :: SHORT STACKS
Piling animals on top of one another might sound mean, but it's actually kinda fun. Plus it's just a game.
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Dragon Blast Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Rob Rich on April 8th, 2013
Our rating: starstarstarblankstarblankstar :: BURNING WRECKAGE
It turns out free-to-play energy mechanics and puzzle games just don't mix.
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Trauma Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Rob Rich on March 27th, 2013
Our rating: starstarstarstarblankstar :: DREAM WITHIN A DREAM
Slightly spotting touch controls can't keep this beautiful and surreal indie adventure port from being awesome.
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Dragon Scroll Review

iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
By Rob Rich on March 27th, 2013
Our rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar :: WILD SHOTS
A little polishing here and there and this could have been a magical marble shooter. It's just that it needs some polishing.
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