Little Metal Ball for the iPhone and iPod Touch Video Review

My older brother had one of those wooden labyrinth games when I was growing up. Previously, I've mentioned some apps that try to replicate that fun, but frustrating experience. Little Metal Ball finally combines the frustration/addiction of the traditional wooden game with the creativity and expansiveness of video games.

In Little Metal Ball, you move your ball through jungle scenes complete with jumps, pitfalls, and Mario-esque moving platforms. The only issue is it isn't always clear which edges of logs/bridges, etc will keep you safe which ones will send tumbling to your Little Metal Ball death.

(iTunes link)

Here's a look:

Zarik for the iPhone and iPod Touch Video Review

Sure the iPhone/iPod platform is quickly maturing, with more immersive, console-like gameplay every day. For me though, I still think the small, quick puzzle games are among the best suited to casual iPhone play.

Zarik is one of those games. The strategy component is simple: Move dice into specific spots within a number of moves, determined by the numbered showing on each die.

The graphics are everything you'd want from this kind of game, and the gameplay is fine in small doses. If you like puzzle games, you'll like this one, just don't expect to play it for half and hour at a time.

(iTunes link)

Here's a look:

Zenonia 2 for the iPhone and iPod Touch Video Review

Zenonia 2 aims to bring the elements of traditional role-playing games to the iPhone, with all the gem-collecting, screen-reading, weapon-choosing action you would expect. While the game has been a bit buggy in the past, the developers have been responsive in issuing fixes. If like me, you're not the biggest RPG player, you might want to try the free version first.

(iTunes link)

Here's a look:

Pinball Ride Unlimited for the iPhone and iPod Touch Video Review

Growing up, one of my prized electronics was a handheld LCD pinball game. It was a dual screen, clamshell game, I believe from (a very young) Nintendo. Since then, I've yearned for a similar game on the iPhone.

Pinball Ride Unlimited brings whiz-bang graphics, and realistic pinball play to the iPhone. Unlike my trusty old game though, obviously the iPhone only has one screen, so as the ball moves to certain portions of the board, the game zooms in. At first this is a bit distracting, but frankly it's probably he best way to see what's going on, and keep up with the action.

The only thing holding this game back is the price. $4.99 would be fine for multiple pinball tables, but for just one table, it's too much. Now if that included an iPad version that featured a bigger look at the table, it would certainly be worth it.

(iTunes link)

Here's a look:

Gate Runner for the iPhone and iPod Touch Video Review

It's interesting how quickly the app store continues to evolve. What once would've passed as an acceptable 99 cent app, now seems overpriced at free. Such is the case with Gate Runner.

I'll let the video speak for itself:

(iTunes link)