This week brought us a few surprise hits and some long-awaited releases. Our top game is from the former category, and it’s an awesome boxing game that’s sure to satisfy fight fans and everyone else. We’ve also got the long awaited new titles from Ravenous Games and Stan Lee himself, plus a cool, mechanical platformer, and a wonderful new take on the Tetris formula.
Real Boxing ($4.99)
Real Boxing is the surprising smash of this week, delivering a one-two punch of well-designed controls for a touch screen and beautiful graphics. I guess you could say this game is a real knock out! Vivid Games have outdone themselves with this fantastic fighting game that stands toe to toe with EA Mobile’s Fight Night and all the rest, albeit in a much more simplified, streamlined way. There are no traditional controls to speak of, but the gesture controls are solid. Aside from being very buggy on certain devices, you’ll be hard-pressed to find flaws with this game as you build up your fighter and even take him online into real-time multiplayer fights over Game Center.
Beatdown! ($0.99)
Ravenous Games have made a name for themselves by creating simple games based on certain genres that just never seem to work well using a touch interface, and then making them work well anyway! Fr example, see League of Evil and the excellent platforming they crafted! Their latest outing is this awesome side-scrolling brawler. The retro visuals are excellent as always and the hard rock/chip tune soundtrack is epic in every sense of the word. It may not live up to the League of Evil games, but it’s a content-packed adventure worth enjoying, with plenty of features.
Verticus ($1.99)
Stan “The Man” Lee has basically created a brand that has dominated media for decades, responsible for pretty much every Marvel superhero worth talking about. Now, he’s taken his first step into the iOS gaming world with Verticus, a new endless runner that is actually an endless falling game. Think Temple Run meets AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! (Force = Mass x Acceleration). Verticus is a hero designed by Stan Lee himself, and the concept is interesting with the upgrades coming in at a nice pace. The game is a treat to look at too. Definitely give this a shot if you want something slightly different from typical runners. I guess the only thing left to say is…Excelsior!
Gear Jack ($0.99)
Here we have a neat platformer from Piwot and Forest Moon Games, the more casual side of Crescent Moon Games. It’s a fast-paced, well executed platformer in which you play as a robot in a very industrial world. The production values are solid, and the story/setting is actually kind of novel. You are a robot on an entirely automated ship, but something goes wrong as the ship gets too close to a black hole, and the rest of the robotic crew goes crazy. There’s a good number of levels to enjoy, and the game is generally just a lot of fun.
Dream of Pixels ($0.99)
This game may be last, but it certainly isn’t least. Developed by Dawn of Play, it’s basically reverse Tetris, with a cloud gazing/day dreaming motif inspiring all of the aesthetics and sound design. Your goal is to drop shapes off of a structure that sits at the top of the screen. I know it’s kind of hard to visualize that, but trust me when I say it’s an easy to play game with fun mechanics, absolutely gorgeous aesthetics, and several different game modes that offer unique challenges. The fact that the music is so soothing and relaxing is the icing on the cake.
