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With so many different tower-defense games to choose from on the iPhone, it's hard to believe that a company like TAITO would take the risk of competing with such a large crowd. Thankfully their new title Mikado Defenders is a stand-out from the crowd, with its sumi-e inspired artwork and unique spin on the tower-defense gameplay.
Each map in the campaign provides a series of paths for enemies to traverse on their way to your castle, with limited spots available for placement of your…

What could be more exhilarating than rocketing along at super-sonic speeds while blasting away enemies? Icarus-X doesn't think much else is needed with its challenging vertical shoot'em-up gameplay that can border on the impossible for some.
Two standard SHMUP control schemes are available for players to use. The default 'Direct' scheme moves your ship to the top of your finger and follows it as you swipe around the screen, while the alternative 'Relative' scheme moves the ship relati…

Inspired by games like Super Stardust HD on the PS3, Crash Course by DFC Games is a frantic twin-stick shooter that'll blow you away with its detailed special effects and fast-paced gameplay.
Like most twin-stick games, the left stick controls your movement while the right stick fires your weapons. Various buttons on the interface allow you to trigger super-bombs, change weapons or activate a boost mode that provides temporary invincibility for plowing your way out of traps. The game…

ESPGALUDA II by Cave is the real deal when it comes to 'bullet hell' shooters and despite being five years in the making for this adaption, nothing is lost from the 2005 Arcade original. This is the sort of game that makes regular shooters look like a stroll in the park and despite its fierce looks, this is a game that can be enjoyed by gamers of all levels.
ESPGALUDA II opts for several control levels with left and right hand variants to give players a fighting chance to learn the ga…

If there's one thing that's almost universally considered annoying in single-player games, it's the 'escort' scenario. You know, it's that section of the game where you have to protect someone from hordes of enemies while managing to get in your way despite said dangers. TEDD by Sweet Studio has paired up side-scrolling beat'em-ups with the need to constantly protect someone, which makes the game a bitter-sweet experience.
One of TEDD's major departures from regular beat'em-ups on the…

Hottie Hookups is not the first App for the programmer and designer at BigStack Studios who is well known for the Sally Salon and Spa series of management games. If you're a fan of the series then you'll already be familiar with the kind of quality that has gone in to Hottie Hookups... and yes, it's a management game too.
As you travel from location to location around the world, your job is to successfully partner up the 'hotties' and send them off before the 'nerds' rain on their par…

With some controls taking over most of the screen to ensure they're accurate it's nice to see that Flare Elite, a new vertical shoot'em-up by Firi Games has tried to solve the problem of quick responding, natural controls with their unique setup.
Flare Elite is a modern take on the shoot'em-up, giving players the option to upgrade weapons outside of combat and the choice of what weapon they take in to battle once they're unlocked. Avoiding enemies and incoming fire is a snap with thei…

Dinosaur Slayer by Project Soul wants nothing more than to crush you. Players will find this game quite literally hit-or-miss. Bow-defense fans will get a great new challenge while new players to the genre will find the controls much more forgiving to learn.
For most levels there's not a lot out of the ordinary from a standard bow-defense game. Each 'stage' consists of wave after wave of enemies, each with their own quirk to defend against. Arrows are fired by touching the screen to s…

Sometimes it's frustrating to find that a new App that strives to be more than just a simple mechanic palmed off as the entire game itself. Funkyball Worlds by Handmark is a stand-out from the most other physics-based platformers thanks to its charming elegance that makes it easy to pick up and play, but hard to put down.
The trick to Funkyball is all in the friction. Levels consist of a series of platforms that need to be navigated while avoiding traps as you charge your way to the g…

Sometimes a game doesn't need to be too complicated to grab your attention. Critical Wave by Grannies Games may just be another twin-stick shooter with neon graphics, but with its unique gameplay and evolving level bosses it's hard to put down.
The controls are streamlined for the touch device with no wasted buttons in odd positions. Special weapons are deployed either by touching the outside edge of your weapon control stick or double tapping the stick for a secondary special attack.…

iBumpy Galaxy by Ivanovich is a puzzle platformer that's not exactly easy get excited about. As a free game it's hard to complain about the basic gameplay, but when you're asked to pony up the cash for the remaining levels any issues you have with the gameplay start to look like serious flaws.
To be fair to iBumpy, it's a very basic concept - collect as many objects in each level as you can and reach the exit. The faster you do this with the maximum amount of items, the better your fi…

What happens when you take a tilting game like Starball and mix it with the powerups and enemy mayhem of the shmup genre? You get Tilt to Live, that's what! The screen is open to you. Tilt your ship to avoid the red balls while acquiring powerups to destory them, because if one hits you, it's game over. How long can you last?
The tilt controls are phenomenal, and with a game like this, you'd hope they would be. The game starts you off with three powerups, an explosion, homing missles,…

Araxium is Kijomagi Day's first major game for the App Store and with its colorful style and unique game concept it could have been a major hit. Sadly what could have been a great idea is hampered by incomplete gameplay.
The idea is simple, each level requires a specific color pattern to be made with gems that appear in the center of the game's grid. Touching a location will sling the gem into place. All patterns seem to be horizontal and a specific amount of matches is required to co…

Banana fueled jet propelling farts, trampoline elephants and palm tree catapults... all this and more could be yours to enjoy if you try Monkey Flight by Donut Games. Ok, ok, perhaps it's not quite so compelling when you say it that way, but flinging a monkey is far more fun than it sounds.
Monkey Flight is a high-scoring catapult game in the same vein as games like Crazy Penguin Catapult and scores you on the amount of fruit you pick up while bouncing around the screen. There are sev…

The Action-RPG is a genre that can take a lot of beating. It's a flexible genre that lets you put as much or as little of each genre into the mix and still "get away with it". Vanquish: The Oath of Brothers is the latest Action-RPG from Gamevil and tries something new with a more "on rails" experience.
Vanquish sports the usual virtual analogue stick and buttons that you'd expect, but the game is not as simple as it seems. Combat is fairly standard, with the usual combination of attac…