Devil Invasion is an app for the iPhone and iPad that is a hybrid between a puzzle game and a RPG. Similar to Puzzle Quest, the leading title amongst role-playing-puzzlers, Devil Invasion’s main differences are its real time game engine and hex-based game board.
Devil Invasion for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch Features
- Puzzle Quest-like RPG Gameplay
- Real-time Puzzle Engine
- Many Spells and Other Advancements
- Support for the OpenFeint Social Gaming Network
- Three Difficulty Levels
- Hexagon Game Grid
Developed by Touchmine, Devil Invasion is a title sure to please fans of role playing games who don’t mind a puzzle-based combat engine. The game provides both good depth and replayability.
Like Puzzle Quest for the iPhone
Upon starting a Devil Invasion game, the user is prompted to choose a difficulty level and initial spell. The easiest difficulty level makes the game’s monsters less powerful and adds an additional skill along with bonuses when matching blocks.
The game’s map board is essentially linear, but the gamer can replay earlier battles to gain more gold and experience. Each battle takes place on a hex-grid with the top of the screen being used to display the battle. The monsters move from the right to the left, trying to first destroy the user’s two towers and eventually his castle, which means defeat to the gamer.
The hex-grid displays the game blocks, where the user tries to match at least three of them causing different results. The shield-like Attack Marks deal direct damage to the attacking monsters. The Chips, in four different colors, earn magic stones which allows the user to use spells. Bags of gold can be matched, earning gold to purchase spells. Finally, the Stone blocks serve no purpose other than getting in the way.
Having a strong set of spells to call on is the key to success in Devil Invasion. Spells are purchased (or upgraded) in-between battles, and they are activated by a finger tap. Like Puzzle Quest, matching the right color of chips is essential in powering up the right spell to use. Some spells will convert one chip color into another color’s magic stone, which can be essential while in the midst of battle.
The Game Plays Better on an iPad
The real-time nature of Devil Invasion leads to stress during the heat of battle, especially when compared to the turn-based Puzzle Quest. Many times a misplaced finger swipe can lead to the wrong set of blocks being matched. Because of that, Devil Invasion is actually a game that plays easier on the iPad’s larger touch screen.
Devil Invasion offers support for the OpenFeint social gaming network with achievements and world-wide leaderboards. The game is definitely a blast to play and stands out amongst RPG titles for the iPhone. Fans of Puzzle Quest who are iPhone owners need to download this title.
The Best Free Air Hockey Apps for the iPhone
When considering games that leverage the iPhone’s innovative multi-touch interface, air hockey is one of the first that comes to mind. The similarities between playing an actual air hockey game and the gestures required to play the game on the iPhone are obvious.
Apple’s App Store hosts a number of quality air hockey apps, and thankfully most of them provide free versions which makes it easier to decide which one plays the best. Here are three of the best air hockey games for the iPhone.
Touch Hockey for the iPhone and iPod Touch
Touch Hockey is probably the most famous of all the iPhone air hockey apps, since it was featured in one of the first iPhone commercials. Essentially a virtual simulation of a real air hockey table, Touch Hockey features all the sights and sounds of the real thing.
Developed by FlipSide5, the free version of Touch Hockey is ad-supported, which means the free version of the game is the actual game, just with an ad or two displayed before the game starts. It’s a shame more iPhone developers don’t follow this model for their free games, as supposed to “cripple-ware”.
The AI in Touch Hockey is sharp and plays a challenging one-player game. Two player options are available, either on the same iPhone, or through a wireless connection. It is also possible to change the goal size for one of the players, which adds a nice handicap for a stronger player.
Glow Hockey for the iPhone and iPod Touch
Glow Hockey sports a graphically sharp, futuristic take on air hockey. The game’s “ice” surface is black while the walls, puck, and controllers glow in vibrant, neon-like colors. The sound effects come straight from Tron as supposed to the Montreal Forum.
Since the free version of Glow Hockey isn’t ad-supported, the game’s overall functionality is limited. Developer Natenai has a full version of the game that features additional difficulty levels, multi-player WiFi and saved games.
The two levels of AI in Glow Hockey Free don’t provide that much of a challenge, but the full version with four difficulty levels is available for fans of the game’s futuristic aesthetic.
Air Hockey for the iPhone and iPod Touch
Finally, there is Air Hockey, developed by Acceleroto. More similar in execution to Touch Hockey, Air Hockey plays like a standard version of the game with traditional graphics and sound effects.
The free version of the game has two difficulty levels which are slightly harder than Glow Hockey, but still pretty easy. Since Air Hockey isn’t ad-supported, the full version must be purchased to gain harder levels.
An interesting feature of Air Hockey is its support for the OpenFeint social gaming network, whose “achievements” are similar to the trophies available on the PlayStation Network. The iPhone version of Battle of Wesnoth is another game that supports OpenFeint.
If either Air Hockey or Glow Hockey provided ad-supported versions of their free games, they might compare better with Touch Hockey, which earns the recommendation as the iPhone’s best air hockey game. All three games are worth the download time.
