This week is a strange one, with quite a few oddities to enjoy. The most notable one is a port of Burrito Bison, the massively popular Flash game where you play as a wrestler in candy land. We’ve also got a cool beat-em up from BulkyPix, a stunt-based physics puzzler, the latest NBA game from 2K Sports, and strangest of all, a puzzle-platformer from Microsoft that puts you inside the body of an insane dolphin. Here are this week’s top iPhone games.
Burrito Bison ($0.99)
Anyone into the Flash game scene can tell you just how awesome Burrito Bison is. It’s a creative, colorful, zany and addictive launching game that builds off of certain Flash game tropes. It’s been featured on tons of sites, from Armor Games to Kongregate, and even Adult Swim. Originally created by Juicy Beast and ported to iOS by Ravenous Games (of League of Evil fame), this ridiculous game is a delight to play. You play as a bull-mask wearing wrestler who is dragged into candy land while shopping. Now you launch yourself off the ropes of a wrestling ring to smash and bounce off as many Gummy Bears as you can, taking their money and buying upgrades to help yourself escape. Yes, really. Just download it and see for yourself!
Amok (Free)
This is a side-scrolling beat-em up/hack and slash from Terato Games, published by BulkyPix. In it, you play as three warriors, Jebat, Damak and Teja, and you’re fighting to free the people of Malacca from the iron grip of their tyrannical king. Luckily, you have the dark power of Amok on your side. Yeah, it’s one of those games where the fantasy names sound really forced and awkward. Still, the gameplay is solid: each of the three characters brings something different to the table, and you actually build their combo strings up by purchasing new moves. The game is free to try, but boasts an in-app purchase system that could be an issue down the line. Still, worth a look.
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NBA 2K13 ($7.99)
2K Sports just brought their latest NBA game to iOS, and it’s kind of a mixed bag. When the game works, it’s pretty solid: good gameplay, nice features in the updated dynasty mode, and so on. It’s exactly what you’d expect – the same core gameplay as the console versions, but without all the extra window dressings and details. Unfortunately, the game is a technical mess. Even on an iPhone 4S with iOS 6, people are experiencing crashing and freezing issues. It’ll never match up to the console version, but it’s worth a look from basketball fans. Just maybe wait for an update or two.
Stunt Star: The Hollywood Years ($2.99)
I generally try to avoid featuring physics puzzlers on this list unless they’re a big deal. I’m sure many of you are also burned out on them. That’s why it pleases me to say that this one is original, and actually worth your money. You play as a stunt car driver. The driving part of the game is simple enough, with an accelerator and brake which you also use to do front and back flips. You also get to draw ramps and place objects that will affect your run. As you move forwards, you’ll unlock better vehicles and items, and move on to bigger and better stunts. It’s a clever little title that does things a bit differently, and I recommend it.
Tentacles: Enter the Dolphin ($0.99)
This is probably the most surprising game on our list. It’s a quirky, off-platformer that puts you in the role of a microscopic, one-eyed, tentacled creature named Lemmy. He was created by the mad scientist who is also a dolphin, Dr. Phluf. By a freak accident, Lemmy ends up inside Dr. Phluf, and has to make his way out. Yes, that title is quite literal. The visuals mix 2-D and 3-D to great effect, and while it’s not really a platformer in the traditional sense, it still feels like one. The shocking part is that this is from Microsoft, who haven’t done much of anything on the App Store but ape their other products, like Kinectimals, Halo Waypoint and My Xbox Live. Could this be the start of a new era?
