Color Swatches could use some more... colors

A quick perusal of the color chip samples at the local hardware store can be daunting, let alone all the colors in the Pantone library.

I had hoped Color Swatches would help make sense of all those different shades of gray, and every other color.

The heart of the app is a color matching game. You are given a name, and four colors from which to choose the one matching the name. Unfortunately the exercise is made laughably easy by the color options given. For example, you might get "Forest Green" as  the color name, and of your four choices, only one will be any shade of green. Hint: that's the forest green.

It feels more like an exercise in discovering there are more names for colors than you realized than a learning tool, and I doubt the iPhone screen is color-accurate enough to use it to accurately match colors you find everyday.

Here's a look:

Color Swatches in the App Store.

Death by grenade is the goal of Fragger

Yesterday we took a look at Floop, and it's physics-based gameplay. That was all well and good if you're looking to do something as granola-y as help an animal get fed. What if what you're really craving is a game in which you kill unwitting enemies by grenade? Then Fragger is for you.

Controlling angle and strength, you need to blow up your enemies with a limited number of grenades. A series of walls, bunkers, and holes complicate things, and give the game a bit of a puzzler touch. Make no mistake though, the real draw is blowing up cartoon people with grenades. If that's your thing, then here's a look at Fragger for the iPhone and iPod Touch:

Fragger in the App Store.

Floop brings gravity-based fun to the world of nuts and squirrels

Children of the iPhone generation, you have no excuse for not fully understanding the concept of gravity. Why, when I was your age, I went outside to play, and if something hit me in the head, I had reason to care about gravity. Today though, there are thousands of iOS games with gravity as a key component. One of those is Floop.

In Floop your objective is simple: Use a combination of power and angles to move a nut into Floop's mouth in as few moves as possible. Pro tip: The trajectory line is usually a bit off so always aim a little higher. It's good advice for playing Floop, and for life.

Here's a look:

Floop in the App Store.

Battle Planets Video Review

Imagine two planets, separated by maybe half the diameter of one of the planets. If those two planets were inhabited, there's a good chance the citizens of each planet would get on the nerves of the other. War would ensue. At least that's the backstory I've created in my head for Battle Planets.

You control a planet's defenses, operating three missile launchers, and timing your shots to destroy the neighboring planet. Wouldn't you know it though, that other planet also has three rocket launchers, and is equally set on destroying your planet. You have to fire the rockets, careful not to hit any of the many asteroids, or set your rocket on a course that will bring it raining down on your own planet. With each hit, the planets take on a Swiss cheese-like appearance. Take out all three enemy rockets, and glory will be yours. It will be short-lived though, as another planet is just around the corner.

The gameplay is fine, and graphics are good. Pro tip: turn off the vibrating effect with every hit as it gets in the way of an otherwise decent game.

Here's a look:

Battle Planets in the App Store.

Fish Soccer proves fish don't have hands or soccer talent

I'll give credit to the Fish Soccer creators for going out on a limb. It's always nice to see a fresh, absurd concept in a game. The idea of two fish playing soccer on a submerged soccer field is one of those ideas. Unfortunately, something is lost in the implementation of such a promising premise.

The biggest issue: the physics are such that it really should be called Fish Air Hockey (heck, that might even sell) as the "ball" acts more like a puck in that game than anything seen in Pele's game. There's also a rippling effect intended to remind us that this is all taking place underwater, but instead it is annoying and distracts from the game.

It takes more than a wacky concept to make a fun, fresh game, and hopefully more fit and finish will be part of the next title from the Fish Soccer team.

Here's a look:

Fish Soccer in the App Store.