Gearing up for the holidays? Take a few quality games with you as you make the yearly rounds to see family members, just in case you get bored. There are some great ones this week, starting with The Adventures of Tintin: The Game. Packed with action-adventure gameplay that hews to the story of the film of the same name, Tintin is great for all ages. Check it out, along with four other great selections, below, and happy holidays.
The Adventures of Tintin: The Game (iPhone, iPad) $4.99
The film on which The Adventures of Tintin: The Game is based has just hit theaters, and probably the best part of this game is how well it presents the look and feel of its big-screen counterpart. Tintin’s production values are top-notch, which is nice, but better still is that it’s an action-adventure game that’s a lot of fun to play. Sure, Tintin gets into some tight spots, but the game is at its most interesting when you’re helping him investigate things, solving puzzles and sneaking past enemies, rather than getting into fights as some of the other famous Tintin characters. If you like the movie, you’ll definitely enjoy this game, but even if you know nothing of Tintin and his adventures, The Adventures of Tintin will certainly entertain.
Bug Princess (iPhone, iPad) $4.99
Great graphics mark Bug Princess, but the game’s arcade-style bullet-hell shooter gameplay is what will keep you coming back. All the enemies are insects, making for a very cool style. Fly around as the Bug Princess and dodge hundreds of bullets from tons of enemies while returning fire as fast as you can. Keep the screen clear and yourself alive. Packed with power-ups, achievements to earn and leaderboards to check your skills against, Bug Princess has a tendency to become addictive. It’s also difficult enough to make you feel like you’re really getting that old-school arcade experience.
Grabatron (iPhone, iPad) $0.99
A goofy side-scroller, you control a flying saucer decked out with a big claw in Grabatron. Your mission: use the claw to abduct stuff. From cows, pigs and sheep to unsuspecting farmers, there’s all kinds of things for you to grab to rack up points as you race the clock. And there are plenty of things that want to stop you, too, like shotgun-toting farmers and cops. You can fight back with your claw, though, grabbing people and objects and throwing them at each other – or just throwing them. Grabatron reminds me a lot of Super Mega Worm, with a similar gameplay style, and this one expertly combines touch and tilt controls for a fun and destructive time.
M.U.S.E. (iPhone, iPad) $5.99
Another big-time action title in the third-person shooter genre, M.U.S.E. hands you an automatic weapon and sets you to destroying tons of cyborg enemies scattered through several levels. In order to survive the onslaught, you’ll need to make use of cover by ducking behind walls and protecting yourself, as well as by dodging enemy attacks with the game’s signature directional dive move. With some great production values and lots of things to blow up (the game is filled with destructible objects to allow you to make some noise), M.U.S.E. succeeds in scratching that “shoot lots of bad guys” itch we all feel occasionally.
Sleepy Jack (iPhone, iPad) $0.99
From the makers of the popular platform Cordy comes Sleepy Jack, a 3-D flyer in which you control a sleepy kid as he adventures through dreamland. Wearing a jetpack and carrying a ray gun, you’ll help Jack pilot through round tube-like levels littered with Z’s for him to snag and enemies for him to shoot down. Your goal in each stage is just to keep catching Z’s to stay asleep and earn points, and to finish as quickly as possible to gain the best scores. Sleepy Jack looks great and packs three quality control schemes, and it’s just cute enough to be endearing as well as a lot of fun.
