After boxer Manny Pacquiao was robbed of the WBO Welterweight title on June 9 by two judges who must not have been watching the Pacquiao-Bradley fight, I wanted to see Pacquiao redeemed. Because he doesn’t fight on my command, I settled for playing Manny Pacquiao: Pound for Pound on the iOS. This boxing game is presented in third-person with the camera behind Pacquiao featuring boring fight mechanics, an upgrade path that isn’t fun, and a ridiculous story.

Capcom recently brought Marvel vs. Capcom 2 to the iOS, and I tried it out on my iPhone. In case you don’t know, this is a fighting game featuring characters from Marvel and from Capcom. It was originally released in arcades and on Dreamcast and has since been ported to many other systems. The iOS doesn’t usually do well with games that require buttons, and fighting games really do. I was cautiously optimistic because Capcom’s Street Fighter IV did decently on the iOS. Unfortunately, I was let down by Marvel vs. Capcom 2… However, it seems like Capcom just wanted to cash in on hype for the Avengers film. At $4.99 on the App Store, I recommend you pass on this one.

Beat Hazard Ultra is an awesome Steam game turned iOS title that has found a way to eat at my time even when I’m not at my computer. Published by Cold Beam Games, it’s a “twin stick shooter” without the sticks. Beat Hazard Ultra features procedurally-generated levels based on your own music. I loved the Steam version but was doubtful about the iOS version. However, I was proven wrong when I tried it and was amazed!

I can’t stop playing Draw Something. It’s far too addicting. Created by omgpop, which was later purchased by Zynga, Draw Something tasks you with drawing things for others to guess and guessing what others draw. You can have multiple games going at the same time, allowing you to maximize your drawing fun. At the start of each turn, you watch your partner guess your last drawing. Then you guess his or her drawing. Finally, you draw something for your partner again!

The Hunger Games is quite popular lately, so it seems like a great time to review the new iOS game, Hunger Games: Girl on Fire. First it was a book, then it was a movie, and now it’s what the publisher is calling a “teaser game.” Published by Lions Gate Films, Inc. and developed by the creator of Canabalt, it’s a simple game with lots of polish. The character runs forward constantly, and you swipe to jump and tap to shoot!
It’s no surprise that there’s a game now that The Hunger Games has become such a phenomenon. It started as a trilogy of teen novels that I thoroughly enjoyed. I don’t want to give too much away, but they’re about the Hunger Games – an event in which the government puts a group of kids into an arena, forcing them to fight to the death. More abstractly, the books are about social status, class wars, government’s role, control, independence, manipulation, and love. As movies usually do, The Hunger Games movie lost some of the character development of the novel and focussed on visual action scenes. The film also shows many great scenes not seen in the book and does a terrific job. How does the game hold up to the novels and film? Excellently.

Hatchi is a virtual pet game for the iOS created by Portable Pixels. It’s very much like a classic Tamagotchi. In fact, if you’ve ever used one, you’ll know exactly how to use Hatchi. It has very simple graphics and sound by intention to feel like the older virtual pets. You take care of your Hatchi, let it evolve over time, keep it satisfied, and then release it!

JAZZ: Trump’s Journey is a new platformer provided to me by BulkyPix and Egg Ball. When you think platformer, you think saving the princess, collecting coins, grabbing rings, and getting emeralds, right? In the future you’ll be thinking playing jazz trumpet. Trump’s Journey tells the story of Trump as he struggles to make it as a musician in 1920’s New Orleans. The game was inspired by the life of Louis Armstrong and is definitely a lot of fun.

After putting some time into SRRN Games’ RPG, ASH II: Shadows, provided to me by Konami, I can definitely say I’m impressed. ASH II has the classic RPG style and feel combined with rich graphics and 2D sprites. The game features some of the normal goals – find dungeons on the overworld, explore, talk to NPCs, and battle enemies. Its writing is it’s strongest part, but I’ll go into more detail on that later. I should note that ASH II: Shadows is the sequel to ASH, which I did not play. The game starts in medias res with players following what I assumed to be an antagonist. I might have known more about what was happening had I played the original, but the story was immediately engaging regardless. I didn’t have any problems. In fact, it makes me want to go back and play the original too!

When Brain Blast Games offered me a horror title, Curio, to review for the iPhone, I was intrigued. Horror? I don’t see that very often on the iOS. Then I tried it, and after less than a minute, I found myself mumbling, “what the heck?” Okay, it was a little more colorful than that. I think that question sums up the game, and I mean that in a good way! While I wouldn’t exactly say it’s scary in the sense that it would cause me to jump, it’s definitely horror-themed and creepy and would be sure to scare a younger audience. It’s odd, and more so, it’s unsettling. It’s a running title in which you go for a high score, and I like it!

Recently Bulkypix provided me Funny Hell to review for all of you! It’s a light-hearted, simple strategy game featuring side-scrolling action. Your army marches right. The enemy army matches left. Where they meet, the armies clash! It’s simple to play with short levels and various types of goals. In addition, it’s definitely a different look at hell than normal!