Wispin is the sort of game that tries to trick you with its cutey-pie graphics and doe-eyed main character into thinking it’s some sort of simple children’s game. Once you fire it up though you realize you’re in for a challenging, fast-paced affair that will tax both your brain and your reflexes. The game delivers some quick-hitting fun, and only the overly loose controls keep it from being an absolute classic.

In order to succeed in Wispin you must take out colorful blob enemies by smashing into them with the main character. The trick is the blobs come in three different colors; hit them when your Wispin matches the color of the blob and you’ll dispatch it, but run into it when you’re a different hue and you’ll take damage. The ability to change Wispin’s color on the fly means that you’ll be constantly shifting colors to clean up stages, so be ready to work those thumbs. Furthermore, players are rewarded for taking out multiple baddies of the same color in a row, so you may want to weave past some foes in order to snag that last blue or red enemy to keep your streak intact.

The game manages to up the ante by adding in varying enemy types and power-ups as you go. The enemies are especially fun to watch as each sort of forms himself up out of nothing using some cool animations. This is one of those games where it’s easy to lose your focus because you’re so busy admiring the surprisingly sharp and crisp visuals.

The only notable flaw in Wispin is the floaty controls that never seem to match up with the amount of precision needed. The game can be controlled either via tilt or onscreen joystiq, but neither is all that reliable. The major problem is that the enemies exist in a 3D space on a 2D plane, so positioning Wispin in just the right spot can be pretty tough. Furthermore, our hero moves around fairly quickly in the stage, so if you miss a foe it’s easy to drift off course and either miss again coming back around or accidentally hit another enemy. Those expecting precision from the game are going to be sorely disappointed.

Aside from that complaint, Wispin is a fun, beautiful game that offers a good amount of entertainment. It’s not a mind-blowing experience, but it is entertaining and very well-made. Just keep in mind that the blobs are only cute until they try and kill you with fire; then things start getting real.

[ Wispin Review is a post from 148Apps ]

Need for Speed™ Hot Pursuit for iPhone and iPod touch is an arcade thrill ride that places the player into some of the latest supercars to take down illegal racers. The game includes many different models that are kitted out in police livery, such as the Ford GT, Bugatti Veyron, Porsche Cayman S, Dodge Viper SRT10 and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06. To unlock these cars players will have to start from the bottom and work up to the top.

By participating in four different types of events, cash (otherwise known as bounty) is earned. Bounty acts as a global progress indicator, so whilst it cannot be used for purchasing cars or other accessories it gives the player a good idea of progress. Each time one earns bounty from an event it is added to their existing total, which indicates how much more bounty is needed to reach the next level. Then, once a new level is reached, a new car is unlocked which is available to use straightaway, and then the cycle starts all over again. As well as earning bounty for finishing first in a race or taking out a driver with a decent amount of time to spare, it can be earned for actions that you perform mid-race: using nitro for a speed boost, ramming another car, drifting or even driving safely all earn extra cash. For those who are impatient and want to drive the fastest cars as soon as possible, bounty is available via in-app purchase.

The four types of events are as follows: Rapid Response is basically a time trial, earning extra bounty for clearing the finishing line with seconds to spare, Power Struggle involves racing against other cops to get to the finishing line first, Tough Justice is all about wrecking as many illegal racers as possible, and Interceptor is like Tough Justice but with just one enemy racer. This mode is slightly trickier because your opponent has power ups, too, such as disabling weapons briefly or spilling oil onto the road.

Use it now? Why wouldn’t I?

So it’s good to know that you have your own arsenal, including spike strips, EMP weapons and the ability to deploy strategic road blocks. But the best (and most fun) way to take down opponents is by skidding into them at high speed, usually into a wall or another passing vehicle. Once the vehicle is taken out the game cuts to a view of it being wrecked, often launched into the air while the cop car neatly zips past. One of the game’s strengths is that it has a very cinematic feel to it and will often offer a huge rush when playing; the flawless accelerometer based control scheme helps enrich that rush.

The availability of easy bounty through in-app purchase becomes quite a draw nearing the end of the game; I don’t recommend that you take this route because it shortens the game’s lifespan, but it seems quite deliberate that it was added as an artificial way to boost revenue. Even playing through the game, completing all of the missions and earning all three stars on every mission won’t earn you enough bounty to unlock the last car, and I found myself replaying some stages again to make up the million that I still needed to go. Missions that are replayed won’t earn as much bounty as they did the first time, but playing them again could unlock a new achievement that yields yet more cash.

There are some drawbacks to Hot Pursuit; players cannot play as a racer trying to outwit the cops (unless in the local multiplayer option via Bluetooth or WiFi—there’s no career mode for this), and chases are extremely restrictive and linear. Invisible walls are everywhere, and whilst there may be forks in the road, they always merge again. So it’s impossible for a chase to deviate from the road onto a hill, for example. Plus, players may find themselves frustrated, especially in the ending stages, with the sparse traffic that always seems to crop up when least expected—it almost always blocks the route ahead and at high speed it is a pain to dodge, especially as the alternative is running into an invisible wall. And although the graphics are very good the sound effects can let it down; the Interceptor missions being a prime example of why the same sound bites should not be repeated ad nauseum.

But Hot Pursuit makes up for it with gameplay that feels extremely fast and truly exciting. With four different mission types it feels very varied and only in the late stages of the game does it start to grate; happily it is engaging right until the end. Recommended.

[ Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Review is a post from 148Apps ]

Some of you might remember when we reported on Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Runner.

The Star Wars themed game uses augmented reality to allow the user to shoot down TIE fighters, and it looks like it could lead to a lot of distracted walking accidents.

As promised, it will cost about $5.00. It join the ranks of popular Star Wars games like Star Wars Cantina, Trench Run, and the Battle of Hoth.

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Golf Cart Ranger is a great looking little game for the iOS devices. It promises simple gameplay with a friendly, golf cart approach and a native control scheme that should deliver easy control. The premise is straightforward: drive a cart over a driving range and pick up balls while avoiding obstructions and snagging fuel.

But then that’s it. The game doesn’t really evolve too much from the onset. Courses get stranger, but the initial principles remain throughout the entire experience. Great games based on simple mechanics should dynamically change over the course of the experience. The core gameplay should remain in place, of course, but the game should add layers of creativity and difficulty as it moves along.

The control scheme is simple. The cart automatically moves and players touch the right or left side of their device in order to turn. It would have been nice to see some form of til control, but it’s understandable that this may have been tough to achieve. The game takes on a top-down perspective, so rotating through tilt may have wound up disorienting.

This package has 36 levels to start, with the option to buy more once in the game. Within the 36 levels are three different course types. But, really, it all comes down to picking up balls with a golf cart. The charm is high for the first few tries… then it settles into monotonous. And the monotony degrades into being downright boring. That’s this game’s fatal flaw; beyond some nice leaderboards and a simple presence, there’s nothing here to attract addiction.

That all said, this game does deliver a strong visual display. Golf Cart Ranger packs clean, sharp graphics. The textures are a bit muddy, but the rich color scheme makes up for it. The gopher on the title screen art is present, but he’s really just about the only “cute” portion of the title.

The game is on sale right now, during its time of release, so it may be worth the $0.99 entry price. Once it hits $2? How much can one person love driving over little white dots?

[ Golf Cart Ranger Review is a post from 148Apps ]