I spent some great quality time with a new game provided to me by Hothead that I’d like to tell you all about! Cell Bound, their new iOS game, mixes up an old formula to create a fantastic new game. Colored bubbles are shot across the screen, and you’re tasked with connecting five of the same color to pop them. Don’t let them stack up off the screen or it’s game over. Does that sound familiar? Well, Cell Bound is a bit different than what you probably have in mind, because the bubbles come from all sides in a circle!

This past week I’ve been putting a lot of time into Monster Hunter Dynamic Hunting for the iOS, provided to me by Capcom. I had never played a Monster Hunter game previously, but I enjoyed Dynamic Hunting a lot. While it doesn’t contain any leveling, talking, or exploring, it features a great deal of combat and crafting. It can be played well in small increments, and most importantly, it’s superbly designed for the touchscreen.

Big Sandwich Games recently provided me with two copies of their awesome new game, Hoard. To understand Hoard, I’d like to consider an RTS game. Villages grow and become cities while farms increase in size to feed the villagers. Carts of gold travel along the roads. Castles rise, training knights to eliminate the dragons the terrorize the country. Now consider controlling the dragon…
Hoard is a fantastic game because of the complex strategies available that have been boiled down into 10 minute chunks of gaming. Multiplayer is a great way to spice it up, but AI dragons provide fun when no one’s aound with whom to play…
Hoard is a complex RTS dressed up as a tabletop, miniatures wargame and served in small portions. It’s $10 on Steam and definitely worth the pricetag.

Anomaly: Warzone Earth is a fantastic new game available on Steam for both PC and Mac. Provided to me by 11 bit studios, Anomaly is a tower defense game… of sorts. Perhaps it’s better to call it a reverse tower defense or a tower offense game. Or better yet, we could just call it a strategy game! In Anomaly, you see the layout of turrets in the level while controlling a line of assault vehicles. You strategize by planning the best route, deciding which vehicles to use and upgrade, and using special abilities. If you plan carefully, your units can destroy the turrets, get through the defense, and reach the end of the level!

Recently I had the chance to play a terrific new iPhone game called YumYumBoy! It was provided to me by developer Small Wonders, the people behind Battle of Puppets, a great side-scrolling RTS game for iOS. YumYumBoy is a fun and original puzzle game!

Minute to Win It, provided to me by Capcom, is a new iOS game based on NBC’s television program. The game features a variety of one-minute challenges / mini-games. From the graphics and sound to the system of unlockables, the game is very polished. Unfortunately, the challenges are too challenging! …At $1.99, many gamers will likely find themselves frustrated over the challenges. Minute to Win It is available now on iTunes, and if you’re up to the (extreme) challenge, you’ll likely enjoy the game. However, if you’re like me, you may want to see if Capcom tunes the difficulty down a bit.

Pucca Noodle Rush ia fun game! It does contain the animation and sound problems I mentioned, but the problems don’t hurt the gameplay; They simply show a lack of polish. Time-management masters looking for a challenge might be let down, but if you’re looking for a cute, fun time-management game, this fits the bill nicely!

Gemini Rue, formerly known as Boryokudan Rue, is a new PC game developed by Josh Nuernberger. Published and provided to me by Wadjet Eye Games and Dave Gilbert, Gemini Rue was a 2010 Independent Games Festival Student Showcase Winner. Nuernberger has created a wonderful point-and-click adventure game featuring a dark, sci-fi future.
The game’s neo-noir narrative takes players through a grim future in which trust should be withheld and the Boryokudan crime syndicate controls the Gemini system. The story kept me at the edge of my seat through the entire game. In fact, not being able to talk about the game while playing my review copy was almost painful! Gemini Rue explores the themes of individuality, identity, ethics, loyalty, and what it means to truly be who you are.