This week… is a strange one. As opposed to the usual parade of clones or imitative console titles, just about every title is strikingly original in one way or another. This begins with Devil’s Attorney, our top game of the week. It’s a turn-based adventure strategy game in which you get crooks out of jail time, for the money of course. Other strange titles include a world-shaping game, a love- and seating-based puzzler from Adult Swim, and a smuggling game with a funk theme from some recognizable developers. The least strange game is a port of Crazy Taxi, which was also crazy strange when it was originally released. In celebration of the bizarre, let’s get on with it. Here are this week’s top iPhone games.
Devil’s Attorney ($2.99)
This is a new one from 1337 Game Design and Senri. 1337 also brought us the outstanding Dark Nebula games, and episode three is currently in development. But back to this game. Not many games put you in the drama of a court room, aside from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, who pretty much owns that corner of the market. But old Phoenix is going to have to make room for Max McMann, a defense attorney who would be the perfect antagonist for Wright, in that he has no conscience. Your simple goal is to get all your clients off, earn money, and get cool stuff for your apartment and office, boosting your swagger. The writing is witty and the aesthetics are solid. Definitely check it out.
Crazy Taxi ($4.99)
Here’s a nostalgic one. I shouldn’t even have to set the stage for this ridiculously crazy title. Hugely popular when it was originally released on the Dreamcast, Crazy Taxi has been ported to several other platforms, and now the madness spreads to iOS. Pick up fares and get them to their destination as fast as possible, no matter the consequences. Ramp off the environment and plow through pedestrians and other traffic to get the most fares possible. The soundtrack is fantastic, featuring bands such as The Offspring and Bad Religion, and there are plenty of cool game features to enjoy. This is a classic for a reason.
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Topia World Builder ($0.99)
This is the latest from publisher Crescent Moon Games, developed by Solid 60. It takes the idea of world creation and puts in the palm of your hand, turning you into a virtual god. It’s a really slick idea, and the touch building/shaping controls are well executed. The only problem is that, at the moment anyway, there isn’t a whole lot to do. All you really get is a sandbox mode to play around as you will. That’s not to say it isn’t still very cool, but until they update the game with more modes and goals, it’s more like a toy than a game. Still, for the price, it’s a steal, and really unique.
Girls Like Robots ($0.99)
This is the latest third-party partnership game from Adult Swim, who’ve teamed with Popcannibal to bring us this hugely creative puzzle adventure game about “love and seating arrangements.” That’s quite an accurate description. The idea is to make everyone in the crowd happy in this tile based puzzler, seating people next to people they like, and not people they don’t. It’s like Junior High School, the game. The art style is very charming and unique, and with three acts worth of puzzles, this game is more than worth your money. Also, there’s a bonus, hidden mini-game to hunt for, so that’s always fun.
Funky Smugglers ($0.99)
This title may be the strangest one on the list, in more ways than one. It’s actually the latest from 11 Bit Studios. If you’ll recall, these are the same guys that brought us Anomaly: Warzone Earth. I don’t know what kind of leap it takes to get to an airport X-ray scanning casual game with funky aesthetics, but there it is. The soundtrack is, appropriately, pretty fantastic, There are single player and team battle modes to enjoy, as you grab contraband from the sneaky smugglers, building up combos and unlocking upgrades to your scanner. This game is worth a look just for the bizarreness of it all, but the fact that the design is solid probably helps.
