ipadgames

There are many signs of a good game, and one is discovering that you’ve lost an hour playing without realizing it. Puzzlejuice has that immediate effect. From the moment you open the app, play the quick tutorial, and enter the world of puzzle-block and word-tile madness, you’re hooked. Puzzlejuice is an enveloping world of gorgeous design, funky music, and falling blocks that you can’t help but fall in love with.

There is an inherent problem with the basics of Puzzlejuice: they aren’t basic at all. At first, the game appears to be nothing but a Tetris clone. Falling blocks settle on the bottom of your screen, and you must manage them in a neat fashion to prevent them from overtaking. However, there is a twist. When you fill an entire line with blocks, rather than clearing your screen, they change from colored blocks to letters.

The letters must be cleared by forming words using adjacent letters. Each word must be at least three letters, but forming words clears not just those chosen tiles, but also nearby tiles. Sounds simple, right? Not quite. Remember, you still have blocks falling from the top of the screen. You must manage both at once.

On top of all of this, you must also try to use the colors of the blocks to your advantage. Each falling block shape can be made up of smaller squares of a various colors. If you have three blocks that are touching each other, you can tap on them to “pop” them. Popping turns them from simple blocks to letter tiles, even if that line isn’t completed yet. Popping can give you extra letters you might need to help form a word.

When you begin playing, you are also given objectives. Completing these objectives will earn you power-ups, like Kabomb and Freeze, to help you combat the oncoming storm of falling blocks. Once earned, these power-ups will be attached to falling blocks. Once a line is cleared with a power-up in it, it is activated. There are several power-ups to unlock, but you can only have three total. You must choose wisely.

The actual controls of the game are rudimentary. You drag right and left to position your block. A shadow on the bottom of the screen shows you where that block will end up, and you can drag down to pull the block quickly into place. Tapping anywhere on the screen rotates the block. For the letter tiles, you must drag your finger over the chosen letters.

With all of the mayhem of dragging blocks while searching for hidden words, the touch controls can sometimes get confused. It’s easy to accidentally drag down a block when you meant to select a letter. On an iPad, the extra real estate makes it less likely to perform the wrong action, but you must still be extra careful to avoid throwing a game.

The “Hard Mode,” which is actually the easy mode, is slow enough for non-puzzle aficionados to play comfortably. There is also “Euro Extreme Mode,” which ramps up the difficulty by only clearing tiles after a word of five or more letters. You can also choose “Zen Mode,” in which you must get as high a score as possible in 90 seconds.

One quick tip: you’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t play Puzzlejuice with headphones. The 8-bit tunes are wonderful and will absolutely add to the feel of this game.

Puzzlejuice is a fantastic. It’s a game that can be played in a hardcore marathon session, or simply for a few minutes while you’re waiting to catch a flight. No matter which device you play it on it looks wonderful, and it strikes the perfect combination of block and word puzzles to keep you challenged.

Fingle [$0.99] should come with a warning. Maybe "Caution: always bring protection"? I mean, sure the iPad is great for co-op games with the fam, but not this time. This time, things might just get a little... heavy.

Finger twister isn't new, but Fingle is a finger twister game with one purpose: flirtation. A cheesy soundtrack, suggestive backdrops and more than a few double entendres might be enough, but Fingle doesn't settle for enough. Your fingers will stroke hers, or his. You'll make terribly lewd gestures at one another. Fingle takes its premise all the way.

Here's how you play the game: there are squares, and there are boxes, and the two must meet. Some are yellow, some are white. Your fingers rest on one set, hers on another. And then you do as you're told.

At first this is simple. Drag a box here, hold it there. Your fingers might brush up against one another. Then things heat up. One player finds himself stroking his hand over the other's. It gets pretty steamy.

Sort of, anyhow. There are a few rules you have to follow to get the full effect. You can't really play solo, for, um, obvious reasons, and you need to use one hand each. Two hands is easier, but it's a lot less fun. Stick to those rules, and one of you will basically end up in the other's lap before long if you want to pull off some of the moves.

So you can see why you don't want to play with a stranger, or your Grandma. You might also not want to play for too long. While Fingle starts out very flirty, it actually gets pretty hard over time. If one of you has small hands, long fingernails or sweaty palms, you might find it a bit out of your league. Nothing kills the mood quite so much as frustrated failure.

There are over 50 levels to work through, so as long as you know your limit you'll be fine. If you're actually playing to tease, work through the first level pack or two. It starts out slightly subtle and gets suggestive quickly. If you're playing for a challenge, something that's totally possible, work your way through all the rest. Fingle is missing a lot of the traditional game structures we're used to -- scores, points, achievements and the like -- but it's certainly a good time for two people who are comfortable with a little touching. The design that has gone into this game is truly charming, so it's hard to say no.

In all seriousness, you need to know your audience if you're going to play. You can definitely go at it platonically for a laugh, but first be sure you both know where you stand. And you could certainly make someone extremely uncomfortable if you're not at the point where cheesy 70s-style music, suggestive sound effects and light touching is okay. Fingle is the sort of game that could start out funny and end up sexy, or start out cold and end up with a slap to the face. Judge carefully, and stop by our discussion thread to let us know how it goes - just keep it work safe, tiger.

Hey, remember that time we were like, "oh sure, Junk Jack is coming to the iPad, but it's not going to be for a long time"? Well, you should remember, because it was just last week. Anyway, the story goes that the game's developer PixBits has been so involved with just updating the game in general, that making it iPad-friendly was kind of on the back burner, at least until the iPhone version became more fleshed out.

However, it sounds like they might have overestimated how difficult the transition to the iPad would be, because we've heard from the developer that progress on a Universal update for Junk Jack is moving forward much more quickly than they had expected. They've sent over a load of work-in-progress screens of the game from the iPad, which you can check out below.

We've been told that the Universal support won't go live with the very next update, which sounds like it's pretty near completion, but PixBits is hopeful that it will be included in the update that follows. We'll be sure to keep tabs on this and let you know just as soon as you can get diggin' on the big screen with Junk Jack.

It's Wednesday again, and that means a new crop of big games will be hitting the App Store at 8pm Pacific. Read on to see our picks for the most notable games you'll be able to buy in a matter of hours. And when the clock strikes 8, our New Zealand links will magically transport you to the US App Store, allowing you to be among the first to play these brand-new iOS games.

Ant Raid for iPhone

Not everyone has an iPad, so many haven't had the chance to play Ant Raid, a quirky, creative real-time strategy game starring a colony of ants. While the iPad version came out last year, we gave it a well-deserved Must Have rating in our review. So if you haven't played it yet and you're looking for a great, challenging strategy game on your iPhone, pick this one up tonight.

Price: $0.99 US

Kiwi link

Get ready by reading/watching: Ant Raid iPad Review, Ant Raid for iPhone Developer Trailer

Baseball Superstars 2012

This is the latest installment of Gamevil's Baseball Superstars franchise, and if it's anything like the games released in years past, we're in for a real treat. The depth and breadth of this series is stunning, featuring a fantastical baseball sim, insanely deep micromanagement options, and an outfield's worth of game modes. We'll post a full review as soon as we can, but judging by Gamevil's track record, this one will be worth your while.

Price: Free

Kiwi link

Get ready by reading/watching: Baseball Superstars 2010 Review, Baseball Superstars 2011 Review

One Epic Game

Tonight Chillingo brings us One Epic Game, a port of a PSP Mini that puts you in the shoes of a hero tasked with saving the world from the double-whammy of an alien invasion and a zombie outbreak in a post-apocalyptic world. The game is an auto-runner, so your legs will keep moving as you navigate treacherous terrain and blow apart as many bad guys as you can.

Price: $0.99 US

Kiwi link

Get ready by reading/watching: Monster Dash Review, One Epic Game Developer Trailer

Paper Monsters

Paper Monsters is a great-looking platformer from Crescent Moon and Robots vs Wizards that puts you in a papery world and has you do the usual things like snag power-ups, jump over pits, and take out baddies. The style, music, and level variety evident in the trailer-- to say nothing of the Crescent Moon's stellar track record-- put this one on our radar.

Price: $0.99 US

Kiwi link

Get ready by reading/watching: Paper Monsters Developer Trailer, Paper Monsters Browser Game

Whoa! It's Wednesday again, which is hard to believe because I've had such an insanely busy week. But, like most Wednesdays, the sun has risen, or potentially already set in your neck of the woods… And a whole new slew of iOS games have appeared. Like every other Wednesday since this whole Wednesday night release trend started, all of these games should be available at 11:00 PM Eastern. Or, potentially much earlier if you're east of North America.

Also, yes, we're running really low on relevant Wednesday images we haven't used before for these posts. Anyway, on with the show!

Ant Raid, 99¢ - Forum Thread - We liked Ant Raid quite a bit when it hit as an iPad exclusive not too long ago. For more details about the game, check out our review. I'd imagine it'd translate well to the smaller screen of the iPhone too.

Baseball Superstars 2012, Free - Forum Thread - Hey it's Gamevil's yearly iteration in the Baseball Superstars series! I really loved this series when they were buy-once-play-forever games and I'm really hoping launching at free with a variety of IAP isn't going to kill it.

Hank Hazard, 99¢ - Forum Thread - It wouldn't be a Wednesday without a cutesy physics game starring some sort of animal. In this case, it's a hamster named Hank. By now, you probably know the drill!

One Epic Game, 99¢ - Forum Thread - This looks to be an endless runner with shooting and tons of variety in locales like Monster Dash. Although, this one has Epic right in the title.

Paper Monsters, 99¢ - Forum Thread - We've been following this game for what feels like a year now, and are totally excited it's finally here. Imagine a Little Big Planet-style platformer for iOS devices. Yeah, I'm pretty stoked at that thought too.

The Brutal Spy, 99¢ - Forum Thread - While the title of this game might be a little generic, judging by the trailer (and the amount of blood) gameplay is anything but. The iTunes description mentions a UI issue with the iPhone 4S, so if that's your device of choice you might want to hold off until an update hits.

Eufloria, Alex May and Rudolf Kremer's award-winning ambient real-time strategy game, is coming to iPad and iPhone in February, the dynamic duo have confirmed on the game's blog. And while you should expect a port of the full experience that saw its initial release on PC and then PSN, it appears as if iOS owners are going to get a tad bit more via updates.

"The initial release and update will be by far the most comprehensive and enjoyable release of Eufloria to date. And the price will be pretty darn reasonable," Team Eufloria writes on its blog. The first content update will roll in a new Ambient mode that adds a "new terraforming mechanic." We've included the debut trailer just below for your viewing pleasure. It looks great!

Last month developer Mountain Sheep released Ice Rage [99¢], a simple arcade title that looked like ice hockey but played a lot closer to a game of air hockey. It nailed the simple, fast-paced gameplay but fell a bit short in terms of content, offering just one-off quick play matches against the AI or a same-device multiplayer mode. Granted, the multiplayer mode was a stupid amount of fun, especially on the large screen of the iPad, but Ice Rage still lacked that single-player staying power.

Over the weekend, an update was released that looks to improve this situation with a new single-player Tournament Mode. Here you'll take on the 9 opponents in the game one after the other, and their AI increases in difficulty as you progress. Make it through them without dying and you'll square off against Skar, the new boss character you can see in the icon above. Also, a very simplistic stat upgrade system lets you increase your character's speed, power, and technique with each subsequent win.

While the Tournament Mode is cool, it's still pretty thin. Upgrading your player is fun, but only lasts for your current tournament. A persistent profile where you could continue leveling up your player over multiple tournaments would be a neat addition. Still, the new Tournament Mode is a welcome addition, and despite being a bit shallow there's something about it that just keeps me coming back to play some more.

Beyond the Tournament Mode and new Skar character, this update also brings some improvements to the visuals, animation, physics, and menu UI. In other words, some pretty standard, but necessary, update type of stuff. It sounds like Mountain Sheep have even more plans for updating Ice Rage, and this latest update is a step in a good direction. Definitely worth checking out for some simple arcade fun, especially if you have an iPad and someone to play against.

[In this weekly feature, Gamasutra rounds up the week's most popular paid and free iPhone and iPod Touch games, as current on the iTunes App Store.] This week's top paid iPhone game titles on the App Store, as captured on January 23rd 2012, are as follows: 1. Scramble With Friends ($0.99) 2. Where's My Water? ($0.99) 3. Words With Friends ($0.99) 4. Fruit Ninja ($0.99) 5. Angry Birds Seasons ($0.99) 6. Angry Birds ($0.99) 7. ...

It's z-day, baby, and the cure for what ails the undead populace isn't going to find itself. In SKS Games' upcoming survival-horror title End Night, you play as a grizzled marine dude on a simple quest: find the core components of a vaccine that might end the crazy stuff that's going on outside of a cozy lab. In a not-so-unusual video game turn of events, most of these ingredients have to be discovered in the wild.

It ain't going to be easy. It's the apocalypse, man; z-day. The dead have risen and are roving anxiously. Some are even armed or armored. These aren't your typical slow-walking types of creeps, either. In my short preview session, I met runners as well as amblers, and even had the pleasure of running into one or two seriously hopped up bullet-sponges.

Zombies are bad and all, but SKS heightens the tension with a few tried and true old-school survival game mechanics and systems. As you'd expect, the dreary adventure begins at night. The darkness seriously puts a limit your situational awareness, while the lack of everyday sound ratchets up your ability to hear the undead's footfalls. When you get hurt, your vision is also obscured by a layer of crimson.

Also, like an old-school Resident Evil or Silent Hill, bullets are few and the camera perspective is restricted. In this specifically, you'll be dealing with an over the top camera that successfully limits how you move and react to threats. But it's not like you can shoot your way through everything, anyway. You'll need to know when and how to run.

One of the more interesting things about End Night is its world; it's open, but isolated to a small, hole-in-the-wall town. There's a lot of commercial real estate to liberate, as well as a police station to pilfer for supplies like ammo and armor. The walking dead spawn randomly throughout the environment, and as you close in on the vaccine, they also start spawning more frequently. It gets tough, fast.

A fair amount of the game's buildings carry a core component for the cure being worked on back at the lab. You'll need to hull back a vial of some anti-zombie juice every time you find one, which makes the experience fairly fetch-quest-y. These houses also have, for a reason I can't explain, documentation that feeds into an experience points system.

I think that's the other really interesting thing, by the way. Like Infinity Blade, End Night is meant to be played several times. Whenever you meet an untimely death, you'll be prompted to start over from the beginning and then use the experience points you just gained to pump up the marine guy for another go.

I spoke with one of the devs behind the project to get a better sense of what you'll be able to upgrade by playing through multiple times. Spoiler: your guy will get better at smashing zombies, provided you're using the stuff you upgrade.

"One of the most useful upgrades is for pistol accuracy, which drastically increases the chance of getting headshots, and is especially helpful towards the end of the game with lots of fast moving armored enemies," a representative told me.

"Other upgrades such as Armor effectiveness allow your armor take more hits before being destroyed. Upgrading your shotgun allows you to blow enemies apart even from far away, while the health increase means you'll be able to take a lot more hits before dying."

At the beginning of the game, you'll get to choose one of three starting weapons: a pistol, a shotgun, or a fireman's axe. Tools of the trade, right?

The town might be dangerous, but one of the hardest enemies I've come across is my own guy. If you get cut up too bad, you'll need to search around for medical supplies and clean the infected blood off your body. To do the latter, you'll need to find a tub. If you end up killing too many zombies, you'll need to wash away the remorse with booze or bible pick-up items.

In my experience, some of the game's most heart-pumping moments are spent in bathrooms; as you clean your wounds undead can stumble through the door, which leaves you little time to adjust to the conflict. This is some pretty feral stuff, but that first the vibe of the world; there's a lot of undead and they all want you to join in on the party.

Technically, I think you'll enjoy this. It's 3D all the way -- even though you won't get a great sense of this courtesy the camera -- and it has some decent assets to boot. The controls, which are your usual virtual array of bits and bobs, respond well enough. You'll want to be sitting down to play, though, as this definitely isn't an on-the-go kind of joint.

I think the camera and the leveling systems are going to be the biggest hurdles for people. I gave up arguing that survival-horror games' cameras are poorly designed. A restricted perspective never gives me any pleasure, but I suppose the tension that it artificially stirs up is a valid plus. As for the rinse-and-repeat nature of the game, it's just personal preference. If you like this stuff, you'll dig this.

On the other hand, the open-world and the fetch-quest model provide some of the most satisfying stuff. Runs feel epic, if not downright dangerous, so getting back in one piece is powerfully redeeming. The weight and feel of weapons is satisfying, too, and the world has a lot of stuff to explore and discover.

End Night is in submission, so we should see it at some point this February. As of right now, it's slated to hit the iPad exclusively at $2.99. An iPhone version might follow at some point down the road.

If you're looking to game on the cheap this week, you're in luck: a couple of big-time publishers and studios are offering a healthy swathe of their catalogues for $.99 right now. For example, Telltale is throwing yet another free-for-all. Until the end of this month, you can grab the Puzzle Agent and Hector series at a more wallet-friendly price. Gameloft is celebrating the Chinese New Year by killing the prices of nine of its premium offerings, while EA is still rocking price tags with its Daily Deals program.

Here's a list, and note some of the odds and ends, too -- Bard's Tale and Puzzlejuice are in the mix, as well as a few other cool notables. This, by the way, is by no means a comprehensive list. We're just highlighting.

Telltale

• Hector Episode 1 HD - $6.99 → $2.99
• Hector Episode 2 - $4.99 → $.99
• Hector Episode 2 HD - $6.99 → $2.99
• Hector Episode 3 - $4.99 → $.99
• Hector Episode 3 HD - $6.99 → $2.99
• Puzzle Agent - $4.99 → $.99
• Puzzle Agent HD - $6.99 → $2.99
• Puzzle Agent 2 - $4.99 → $.99
• Puzzle Agent 2 HD - $6.99 → $2.99

Gameloft

• Assassin's Creed - Altair's Chronicles - $4.99 → $.99
• Assassin's Creed - Altair's Chronicles for iPad - $6.99 → $.99
• BackStab - $6.99 → $.99
• Fast Five the Movie: Official Game - $4.99 → $.99
• Fast Five the Movie: Official Game for iPad - $4.99 → $.99
• James Cameron's Avatar - $4.99 → $.99
• James Cameron's Avatar for iPad - $4.99 → $.99
• NOVA 2 - $6.99 - $.99
• NOVA 2 for iPad - $6.99 - $.99
• Silent Ops - $6.99 → $.99
• Spider-Man: Total Mayhem - $6.99 → $.99
• Spider-Man: Total Mayhem for iPad - $6.99 → $.99
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard - $ 6.99 → $.99
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard for iPad - $6.99  → $.99
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction - $4.99 → $.99
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction for iPad - $4.99 → $.99

EA

• Command and Conquer Red Alert for iPad - $4.99 → $.99
• Tetris for iPad - $6.99 → $.99
• Trenches 2 - $1.99 → $.99

Odds and Ends

• Monkey Quest: Thunderbow HD - $1.99 → $.99
• Plunderland - $2.99 - $1.99
• Puzzlejuice - $1.99 → $.99
• The Bard's Tale - $5.99 → $2.99

There you go! I heartily suggest Puzzlejuice if you still haven't gave it a shot. It's a really, really well-made puzzle game.

This weekend was a big one if you're a fan of NFL football, as the final 4 teams in the playoffs battled it out to see who's going to the Superbowl this year. Sadly, I'm still feeling like I was punched in the stomach after my Niners played an amazing defensive game only to fumble a punt return in overtime and set up the NY Giants for a piece of cake winning field goal. It sucks to see two teams play such a great game only to have it end on such a sour note.

However, as bad as that was, it was far from the biggest blunder of the conference championships this weekend. Ravens fans, you know where I'm going with this. After taking the fight to the mighty Patriots all afternoon, the Ravens put together an impressive late game drive to put them within a short field goal distance to tie the game and send it into overtime. Seriously, this field goal was basically a chip shot that 99% of the time any NFL kicker could make blindfolded. Unfortunately for them, the Ravens kicker fell into the other 1%, when he shanked the kick and missed the field goal - sans blindfold.

So what's all this sports talk have to do with iOS gaming you ask? Well, Full Fat Games has just released NFL Flick Kicker [99¢/HD], which, if you so choose, will allow you to reenact the biggest missed field goal of the entire NFL season. If you're a Ravens fan, this sort of thing might be akin to rubbing salt in the wound. So, you can go the other way with it if you want – play as the Ravens and pretend he actually made that field goal, and then daydream your way to the Superbowl. You're always a winner, as long as it's in your mind.

Don't worry, if you're not an NFL fan there's still plenty to enjoy here. Full Fat has basically perfected the flicking sports genre over the past couple of years, starting with Deadball Specialist [99¢/HD] back in 2010 and extending to many additional titles across several different sports since then. They've even previously utilized their NFL license on the opposite end of the spectrum with NFL Flick Quarterback [99¢/HD], which put you in the roll of the ball thrower rather than the ball kicker.

I've been having fun with NFL Flick Kicker so far. It doesn't really do anything drastically different than previous flicking games, but it does have a nice character progression system and several different modes to play through, as well as Game Center achievements and leaderboards.

If you've enjoyed any of their previous games, chances are pretty good you'll enjoy NFL Flick Kicker as well, especially if the official NFL licensing does something for you.

Tablet computing is set for some major changes in 2012. Redefining what a tablet is, using the cloud to expand tablet capabilities, and drastically improving the photographic capabilities of a tablet are just some of the things in store. This week's Padvance report touches on all of those topics. Razer's Project Fiona is a high-powered Windows tablet aimed at hardcore gamers; it grabbed a ton of attention at CES 2012. OnLive is known for streaming games, but is now using its cloud services to bring Microsoft Office to the iPad. Lastly, it looks like the iPad 3's cameras will be exponentially better than the iPad 2's. Read on for all the details.

Razer Project Fiona Hands-On Preview

One of the biggest surprises of CES 2012 and one of the show's most talked about products was Razer's Project Fiona. This unusual design concept brings high-end gaming capabilities (Intel i7 processor!) to a tablet form factor. Razer claims it can play any Windows gamepad-enabled game out of the box and will cost under $1,000. Check out a hand-on preview of Project Fiona here.

OnLive Desktop Brings Microsoft Office to iPad Via the Cloud

Gamers know OnLive for its streaming videogame service. The company brings Triple-A games to a variety of platforms through the cloud. Now it offers Microsoft Office on the iPad through its OnLive Desktop app. Read more details on how a company that's known for play is getting serious about work here.

Rumor: iPad 3 Getting Front HD Camera, Rear Camera Same as iPhone 4S

The iPad 2 is an amazing device, but its cameras...well, they kind of suck. Rumor has it that the iPad 3 is going to have greatly improved cameras on its front and back. Find out the latest of how good the iPad 3's cameras will be here.

[In this weekly column, Gamasutra rounds up the most popular paid and free iPad gaming applications on the App Store as of today, with Smash Cops, Puzzlejuice and Temple Run currently ranking among the platform's top downloads.] This week's top paid titles are: 1. Where's My Water? ($0.99) 2. Smash Cops ($2.99) 3. Words With Friends HD ($0.99) 4. Angry Birds Seasons HD ($1.99) 5. Monopoly for iPad ($0.99) 6. Tetris for iPad ($0.99) 7. ...

Developer Microids and publisher Anuman Interactive have announced that Barbarian - The Death Sword will be hitting the App Store early next month. Barbarian is a modern remake of the classic Commodore 64 title Barbarian - The Ultimate Warrior, also known in the US as simply Death Sword. Released in 1987, the original Barbarian was a one-on-one fighting game pitting buff and brutal warriors against each other.

Despite the fighting genre being in its infancy, Barbarian was critically acclaimed for its competitive gameplay. However, most of its notoriety outside of the gaming world was garnered by its violent nature where you were able to decapitate your opponent in a shower of blood, as well as the scantily clad models featured on its packaging.

The new version of Barbarian looks to be a similar one-on-one fighter, but with visuals that have been crafted in 3D. Check out the promo video below, which features both scantily clad women and violence just like its original inspiration:

One other really cool aspect about Barbarian - The Death Sword that was pointed out in the video is the ability to compete against other players across different platforms. I'm not sure if this extends all the way to the PC and Android platforms, but at the very least you'll be able to play against your buddies no matter if they're on a Mac, iPhone or iPad. Another thing I'd like to find out is if this multiplayer is online or just local. But, it shouldn't be long before we can find out, as Barbarian - The Death Sword is set to launch in the first half of February, and we'll be checking it out when it hits then.

If you enjoy Tetris, match-3 games and Boggle, then Puzzlejuice [99¢] from Colaboratory might be right up your alley. That's because this falling-block, color-matching, word-finding mash-up combines these things into a nice-looking bundle of pleasure.

Puzzlejuice starts with falling puzzle-blocks, just like Tetris. You can rotate each falling block by tapping the screen or drag it left or right. A ghost image of the block shows where it will end up at the bottom. When you're happy with the position of the block, you can swipe it downwards to speed up its descent. And the idea is to form a solid row. That should all sound fairly familiar for anyone who knows Tetris, but that's just the start of this game.

When you form a solid row of blocks across the playing area, instead of disappearing, the blocks turn into letters. And to make the letters disappear, you must draw a line across adjoining letter-blocks, to spell a word in eight directions, like Boggle. If your word is long enough, the surrounding blocks are also destroyed. So now you're multitasking between managing falling blocks and finding words.

The falling blocks are comprised of different colors. Whenever you match-up three or more blocks of the same color, those blocks can be tapped so they convert into letters. So now you're managing falling blocks, matching and tapping colors and also finding words, which is enough to keep your brain challenged and fully entertained (especially if you're a male, because apparently we're not great at multitasking).

A series of objectives are provided as well, which can be completed across multiple games. For example, you might need to spell a six letter word, use two power-ups simultaneously or activate 3+ rows at once. By satisfying these objectives, you can unlock power-ups, like "The Kabomb!" (explodes blocks), "Driller" (falling blocks carve through everything they touch) or "Twister" (scrambles the blocks). You can choose up to three power-ups to carry.

There are two game modes, Zen and Core. In Zen Mode the blocks don't drop, but you only get 90 seconds to play. In Core Mode you play until the blocks reach the top of the screen. Core Mode has two difficulty levels, with the harder levels requiring longer words to explode surrounding blocks, but offering three times the points. Basically, the longer your words, the bigger the width of your explosion, which all helps your Game Center score.

I tried this universal game on the iPad and iPod touch, both of which played well, although the music spluttered at times on my 4th generation iPod. There's a "picture-in-picture" mode for the smaller screen devices, which shows a zoomed in image of what's under your finger. On the iPad that mode is unnecessary, but on the smaller screen it's useful for seeing the words you're swiping, or un-swiping.

Puzzlejuice may not be totally original, as it combines three common App Store genres, but putting them together into one game was a stroke of genius. It's a real breath of fresh air with loads of frantic gameplay, style and humor. As an added bonus, Puzzlejuice is currently on sale for 99¢ due to being featured by Apple, and at that bargain price (or its original price of $2.99, for that matter) it's a strong recommendation for puzzle and word game fans.

Games have tried to be “art” ever since the medium was created, but few take the task as seriously as Windosill. This logic puzzler is akin to scrolling through an interactive abstract mosaic, and it’s an absolute thrill ride.

Windosill is comprised of 11 levels, each with a logic puzzle based on the various objects in the environment. The goal is to get a cube and place it into the slot above the door, leading to the next puzzle. You’ll need to experiment, figuring out how different objects interact with one another. The solution is never obvious, but puzzles are designed so that you’ll always figure it out. Take our word for it: Never use a guide for this game.

Complementing the brilliant puzzle design are the equally brilliant production values. Each level is full of abstract objects created out of various shapes. Everything onscreen can be interacted with, and should be, as there’s always a surprise to be found. The sound effects fit the visuals perfectly, so you'll want to keep the sound turned on. Smooth multitouch controls and a perfect frame rate allow you to immerse yourself in Windosill’s offbeat world as long as it lasts.

Unfortunately, that's not very long. First-time players will likely take around 45 minutes to complete the entire game. Once you’ve done this, subsequent playthroughs can take mere minutes. You’ll want to take the game for a spin a second time to play around with the tilt controls and “see-thru mode” (which makes all the shapes transparent, allowing you to see how each object is created), but beyond that, there’s no reason to return. Still, Windosill is one of the few games that may in fact benefit from its brevity, and the experience will stick with you long after completion.

It’s worth noting that an art gallery that gives you a peek into the evolution of Windosill is available as a bonus feature. There are some beautiful sketches and watercolors to be seen. Many of these would make excellent iPad wallpapers, but there is no option for full-screen mode. We recommend playing through the game before looking at the art gallery, as there are some spoilers.

Windosill is both a fun game and a deeply rich visual experience. If you’ve got three dollars and an hour, Windosill is one of the most memorable ways to spend it.

Stolen Couch Games' tactical RPG Kids vs Goblins has been getting a lot of traction on our message board for good reason: it looks hot. In the game, you'll control three kids with up to 80 different spells on a quest that'll see them exploring a total of seven unique environments. As you'll see in the new trailer below, the spell system takes a cue from Magicka; it encourages users to combine individual spells and then exploit the combined power in order to progress and beat up waves of bad dudes. There seems to be a fair bit of standard action RPG-ery, too.

Kids vs Goblins is being published by Crescent Moon Games, and is expected to hit the iPad first later this February. In the game's message board thread, the publisher has noted that Apple has it in its hands right now, so it's just a matter of approval. We'll continue keeping our eye on this one, for sure.

The PixBits' Junk Jack [$2.99 / LE] is easily one of our community's more celebrated games for two reasons: (a) it's a fun game and (b) The Pixbits has demonstrated a clear commitment to making it a bigger and more fulfilling experience via frequent updates. The rub with the latter, though, is that it's causing a slight delay with the iPad version.

Speaking to us about the eventual Universal update, PixBits tells us that it's still being planned, but has been postponed in order to make the iPhone version as good as it can be beforehand. "We are really busy developing the new update that will include many new features like walking mobs, bombs, etc," a studio rep says. "The iPad version is still planned, but we have delayed it. We want to make sure to have a stable and full featured game before doing that version."

It's a bummer, but you can't argue with that logic, right? We've asked to make double-sure that Junk Jack iPad will still make it out at some point in 2012.

Back in the arcade fighting game heyday of the ‘90s, 2D heavyweights like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat had to contend with a new brand of brawler on the block: the 3D fighter. Games like Virtua Fighter and Tekken forewent 2D sprites and single-plane gameplay in favor of 3D polygonal character models and a full range of movement within the combat arenas. Happily, it turned out that there was room for both kinds of fighters to coexist, with gamers enjoying 2D and 3D fighting games in harmony.

One of the most popular 3D fighting franchises to come out of this era was Namco’s Soul Edge, and more prominently its sequel SoulCalibur, both of which were noteworthy for their focus on weapon-based combat. SoulCalibur hit arcades in 1998, and was then ported to the Sega Dreamcast to launch alongside that system in 1999. The Dreamcast version was remarkable, featuring even better graphics than the arcade version and a wealth of additional modes and characters. In 2008 SoulCalibur was again resurrected for Xbox Live Arcade, boasting a high definition makeover but lacking any sort of online play.

And now in 2012, almost a decade and a half after the original arcade release, SoulCalibur [$11.99] is now available in the palm of our hands on iOS devices. The iOS version appears to be based off of the most recent XBLA version, utilizing those excellent high definition visuals for Retina Display and iPad screens. The framerate and animation is also incredibly smooth, another hallmark of SoulCalibur, and everything looks bright and crisp running on iOS. For those that didn’t already know, you would never guess that this was actually an almost 14 year old game.

However, just because it looks pretty doesn’t mean the iOS version doesn’t have its share of drawbacks. Most glaring is the lack of any sort of multiplayer mode, an integral component of any good fighting game. I can’t for the life of me figure out why Namco Bandai would omit such a feature, but the iTunes description does state that additional modes are planned so I’m still holding out hope for multiplayer sometime in the future. For now though, it’s sorely missed.

As for single player content, SoulCalibur comes with quite a few modes. There’s the standard Arcade ladder, Time Attack, Survival, Extra Survival, and Practice. Sadly, the Team Battle and Mission modes from previous versions aren’t in this iOS version. There’s also a Museum mode where you can set up matches and watch two AI players battle it out or watch an Exhibition where you choose a character and watch them go through all their moves solo. Finally, there’s Game Center integration with leaderboards for Time Attack, Survival, and Extra Survival modes as well as 11 achievements to unlock.

A big factor when considering fighting games on iOS is controls, and SoulCalibur comes through in this department about as well as you could hope for. That is to say the virtual controls aren’t perfect, but they’re entirely workable and just as good as any other iOS fighters out there. If you don’t have any trouble playing games like Street Fighter IV Volt [$2.99] or King of Fighters-i [$6.99], then you shouldn’t have any trouble here either. The button positions and opacity can also be adjusted however you like, which is appreciated. One problem I did have though was with some of the menu UI being a bit too small on the iPhone screen, thus making it hard to make a selection sometimes. A minor complaint, but annoying nonetheless.

Whether or not you need SoulCalibur on iOS will depend on how fond of the original you are, and how important multiplayer is to you. It’s at the higher end of App Store pricing at $11.99, and that’s at a 20% off introductory price. But, I loved the original on my Dreamcast and think the price is absolutely worth it to be able to carry SoulCalibur around in my pocket. As for the lack of multiplayer, it’s a shame, but there’s still plenty to do by yourself. There’s the Game Center leaderboards and achievements, and half of the game’s 19 characters need to be unlocked first, as do several other goodies in the game, giving some good incentive to continue playing.

If you can deal with its shortcomings, SoulCalibur on iOS is actually an excellent port. It looks great, runs smoothly, controls as well as a fighting game can without buttons, and offers a decent amount of single player content to play through. If we can get some kind of multiplayer or other missing modes via updates in the future, then we’ll really be in business.

Capcom has already proved that touchscreens can allow for decent arcade-style fighting with their Street Fighter iOS games, so it’s no shock to see other classics hit a touchscreen near you. Namco Bandai has now ported over one of their beloved classics, SoulCalibur, and the results are surprisingly good.

Originally released as one of the AAA-launch titles for the Sega Dreamcast over a decade ago, SoulCalibur has always been known for gorgeous graphics, eclectic characters, and versatile playability. This one-on-one fighter distinguished itself from other series like Virtua Fighter, Street Fighter, Dead or Alive, and others by being a weapon-based combat game. It's developed a well-deserved following over the years.

It’s no coincidence that SoulCalibur is hitting the iPhone 4, 4S, and iPad 2 right before the major console release of SoulCalibur V, and Namco has done a solid job porting the classic to iOS. Adapted from the Xbox Live Arcade port of the original Dreamcast game, SoulCalibur comes packed with all 19 characters and their complete move set. Admittedly, over half those characters must be unlocked by completing the arcade mode, but it’s a sizable and diverse stable of fighters.

The great thing about this series has always been the sheer diversity of fighting styles. A wide range of swords, whips, staffs, claws, and other weapons come into play here and each fighter really does feel distinctive. The gameplay itself is remarkably different from Street Fighter, since it mostly lacks the over-the-top supernatural moves of that series. SoulCalibur isn’t as much of a finesse fighter as Virtua Fighter or Dead or Alive, and it allows novices to feel like button-bashing champs, while still rewarding hardcore fighting strategists.

Of course, none of this would matter if the touchscreen controls weren’t up to par. Thankfully, the game is impressively responsive. Namco didn’t take any chances, though. SoulCalibur presents a virtual D-pad on the left and four buttons on the right. There are no actual touchscreen-specific controls in this version at all, which is slightly disappointing, but SoulCalibur is still a highly playable port.

Aside from the arcade mode, complete with a visually stunning end boss and mostly throwaway stories, the game comes with a practice mode, time attack, and two survival modes. The “extra survival” mode focuses on one-hit wins, and playing through any of these challenge modes allows players to show off their scores on the leaderboard. Extensive play also unlocks artwork bonuses in the museum mode.

The AI competition is scalable and very solid, but single-player gaming just isn’t the main draw for any fighting game. This is SoulCalibur’s biggest problem: There are no multiplayer modes at all. It’s a huge oversight and major disappointment to not have the option to play with others, even just locally.

If the lack of multiplayer and high price don’t bother you, go ahead and pick up SoulCalibur on iOS. It’s still an excellent rendition of a classic, but without multiplayer, the game just feels incomplete.