Hard to say if Jeff Minter actually likes his latest release, which returns to his long-ago success with mutant llamas. But I'm having a hell of time with it. Minotron: 2112 is Minter's iPhone remake of the 1991 Atari ST game Llamatron: 2112, which is a remake of Robotron: 2084, which is merely the greatest arcade game of all time. Many home versions of Robotron tried and failed to capture the ... more.

If an award for the best iPhone game of the past year were being awarded purely on my personal tastes, Word News would be it. It probably won't be received anywhere near as enthusiastically by the general gaming population, so an even-handed critique is as exercise in self-restraint as much as anything. It's edutainment, for goodness' sake. It focuses on the news, as the name suggests, which is... more.

For everyone wondering what a Sarah Palin presidency would be like, this is your chance. All problems and solutions facing the Oval Office are dealt with in less than 140 characters. Nothing matters but your approval rating. And literally rolling the dice to make decisions is as effective as tackling the situation with your intellect. A hardcore political junkie since the fifth grade, I've b... more.

A lot of reviews describe games as good for a 10-minute diversion. This is generally assumed to mean "at a time." This 99-cent physics puzzle/action app involves flicking your "buddies" into a target surrounded by obstacles, competing with up to three human/computer opponents for the highest score before time runs out. The multiplayer aspect is heavily hyped and I acknowledge my brief conquest ... more.

Just to avoid suspense: • If you hated it then, you'll hate it now. • If the difficulty kept you from enjoying it years ago, time for a return visit. • If screenshots of the characters and landscape replaced the family portraits on your wall and you're wondering if there's anything new to idolize, not really. • If you've never heard of Riven and your standard of iPhone adventur... more.

There's a certain dread booting up the sequel to a favorite game, knowing that despite the "bigger and better" hype there's a good chance it's not going to rekindle the affection of that first love. And, sure enough, this doesn't rouse enough sparks for more than a goodnight hug at the door. It's not a train wreck and some fans of the original will get their money's worth. But newbies and match... more.

Germs that can wipe out the planet are cool. Surely the millions who made "The Stand" Stephen King's best-selling book can't all be wrong. He even came out with a second, far more verbose, version 10 years later (full of typos and errors thanks to now-obsolete references). No idea what it says about society when we're enthralled by nearly all of the planet being wiped out, but it certainly offers... more.

Animal Ark Africa is the first iPhone game from Slovakia, a massively overlooked gem of a country in Central Europe with mountains and a society thriving rapidly as it plays catch-up from the old Soviet days. A severely limited encyclopedia, to be sure, and furthermore only 13 of the 28 entries actually work in the initial release. That's probably a good summary for the game as a whole, since a... more.

This iPhone app is about navigating a rocket through 83 screens of outer space by launching it slingshot style at an angle that allows it to a reach a blue teleport that transports the ship to the next level. Affecting your rocket's flight is an increasingly challenging scattering of planets with varying gravitational pulls, lasers, asteroid belts, bumpers and other stuff scientists keep trying to... more.

If I had kids (I don't) and was a fan of homeschooling (I'm not), their education would consist primarily of playing video games. The franchise mode of Madden for basic math, god games for science and assuming various MMORPG persona for sociology (i.e. infiltrate a group of griefers and see how long you can retain their confidence, while using that information to prevent attacks through persuas... more.