I’ll admit it now: Bakery Story is not a game for me. I don’t mean that I hate it; it’s perfectly respectable for what it is. However it’s a game that’s aimed at an entirely different market than myself – it’s for the casual and social gamer. You know the ones, the ones who adore Farmville on Facebook and Team Lava’s previous iOS titles such as Farm Story and Restaurant Story.

Your sole aim here is to build up the best bakery possible. There’s no real end game here. All you do is level up via attracting more customers and baking new goods. You start the game with a select few recipes unlocked with new ones unfolding as the game progresses. Each recipe is baked in real time making for an extended game experience. For example, brownies only take one minute to bake but a chocolate tart takes a full 24hrs to complete. To attract customers, you need a steady supply of baked goods to lure them in so it’s all a matter of balance. This is made even more important by the fact that once an item is finished, you have to put it on display for the customers to pick out. If it’s left too long on the hob, it goes off and becomes unusable. You can also decorate your store with various wallpaper and floor tiles as well as different furniture.

That’s about as complicated as Bakery Story gets, however. You’re also encouraged to visit other players and their bakeries where you’re able to leave tips and explore their store. At the time of writing, this was difficult to explore simply because the game has only just come out and not many players have jumped on board just yet. Looking at previous Story games however, there’ll no doubt be a booming community in time. The wall features in which you can leave messages and exchange tips will no doubt prove very useful. Bakery Story also allows you to connect with Facebook for other added bonuses.

How much fun you’ll have with Bakery Story entirely depends on how you felt about the previous Story games. It’s an extremely laid back game where not a huge amount happens. While it’s satisfying to watch your store get busier, the true satisfaction is through socialising with other players. In which case you’d be wise to recruit a few friends to the cause while you’re at it. It’s also worth noting that this is online only so be sure that you have a net connection available. For those after more thrills, though, you might want to try something more fast paced.

[ Bakery Story Review is a post from 148Apps ]

Can a copy be better than the original? My standard answer to that admittedly generic question is a clear-cut no, but games like Trucks & Skulls HD challenge my own prejudices against direct copies.

Let’s be clear about this: Trucks & Skulls HD is a top-down, re-themed version of Angry Birds HD. And, amazingly, it’s just as addictive, if not more so.

I was completely primed to dislike Trucks & Skulls HD from the moment it loaded on my iPad. Similar premise, similar load screens, similar level structure and design – what is new here to like? Strangely, more than you might think. Yes, the two games are very, very similar: launch objects with varying properties and powers at structures in an attempt to destroy “enemies” (pigs in Angry Birds, skulls in Trucks & Skulls), but the key factor in the success of both games seems to be in the theme more than the mechanics.

Where Angry Birds features a cutesy, cartoony cast of animals, Trucks & Skulls HD uses an ultra-machismo, hyped-up-80s-hair-band aesthetic, replete with wailing guitar licks throughout. The only thing missing is the obligatory “Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!” announcer. But in some way this theme resonates and works with the mechanics of the game, maybe even better than the oddball “pigs and birds” motif of its predecessor. Plus, its over the top approach just makes it plain funny.

Trucks & Skulls HD also ups the ante on Angry Birds by offering a full-on level editor – the same editor, in fact, used by the game’s designers. Creating and saving levels is a breeze, and you can share these new creations via a built-in email sharing feature. This latter feature is clunky – you have to open the email, and click the level in order to load it into the game – but it will no doubt get enhanced as the developers continue to refine the game. Additionally, it doesn’t hurt the game that it’s currently $1.99, a full $3 cheaper than its angry competitor.

The moral of the story, then, dear children, is, “Don’t let your prejudices against copycats keep you from trying a very good game.” You might be surprised by your reaction.

[ Trucks & Skulls HD for iPad Review is a post from 148Apps ]

Rage HD is an ambitious  iOS title. Not only is it a look at where iOS games are going, but it is released on this mobile platform long before it lands on consoles and on PC. id Software brings a lot of respect to this game and to this platform, and many promises to what these devices are capable of doing for the player on the go. The big question here is if this game is just smoke and mirrors, or if id has truly delivered the next big innovation in gaming for iOS.

If you are a fan of on-rail shooters, this game will fill your need for something new. You are essentially in what can only be described as one horrible television show of death and murder. You are guided down a set path with the objective being to survive until the end. Mutants will be the foe wanting to stop you from attaining this simple goal. Along the way, you will try to shoot targets, collect money and ammo, and blow everything that comes in your way back into the ninth level of hell from which it came.

Read the rest of the review at The Portable Gamer.

[ Rage HD Review is a post from 148Apps ]

When I saw Lego Harry Potter was available for the iPhone and iPad, I was suspicious of it. Not suspicious because of my dislike of the Lego games – I love them – but because of the scale required for such games. I genuinely didn’t think that transferring such a massive title to an iOS device would really work. I prepared myself for the worst. Boy, was I wrong.

Lego Harry Potter is terrific. It’s the perfect game to encourage naysayers to try, you know the ones, the people who don’t believe you when you say that the app store has some absolutely brilliant games on it.

The game follows the plot of the first four Harry Potter films, much like the console iteration. It packs in a lot too. While each story level is a bit shorter than the console version, this fits in with the portable element perfectly. Other than that though, there are still spells to learn through the various spell lessons, free-play is still there and there’s over 100 unlockable characters on offer. True Wizard status is still there to achieve whereby you must collect enough studs to 100% the level and there are secret red bricks to collect along the way too.

The control system is quite a departure from the usual iOS way. There’s no sign of a virtual d-pad. Instead you control characters by either tapping your finger on the waypoint you want to go to, or by dragging your finger around the screen. You switch characters by tapping on the character and a similar process occurs with most interactions. It feels a little odd at first but I actually preferred it to the more predictable control methods that are available. It doesn’t even interfere too much with being able to see the gorgeously charming graphics that are on offer here. Even the cut scenes are just as impressive as on the big screen versions.

Besides wandering around the various levels on offer, there are also numerous simplistic mini games to complete which make for an entertaining distraction. Casting spells is similarly fun as you have to trace shapes such as circles or flames with your finger in order to fling the spell in the right direction. It’s fun and an innovative manner of dealing with controls.

Lego Harry Potter is simply stunning. For $4.99 you get a good 15 hours or so of gameplay and it’s all excellent fun. While at times it might feel a little easy for experienced gamers (a common issue with the console games), it’s still consistently enjoyable. It’s worth noting that there are reported compatibility issues for iPhone 3g users and iPad owners have to wait until OS 4.2 comes out, which is a shame as those players will miss out on one of the best games this year.

[ Lego Harry Potter Review is a post from 148Apps ]

So, most zombie games involve the undead somehow ending up on Earth, looking for brains. Zombie Neighborhood for iPad involves quite the opposite, as the protagonist himself is from a zombie infested planet. After sustaining a bite from an alien planet he comes home as a human. What’s more, he likes it. So as James, you have to fight off what was once the community that you presumably lived peacefully in, using any means at your disposal.

Which means guns. Lots of guns. You have access to a pistol, shotgun, sub-machine gun, assault rifle, sniper rifle, grenades and even a chainsaw, but you can only equip three of these at once. By purchasing ammunition and upgrades through Zombay you can effectively silence the hordes of undead that break down your front and back doors to get inside your house and try to eat your brains.

Dude… are we next?!

As well as many superbly drawn zombies, you have zombie dogs and bats that also want a piece of you. Sometimes they may get what they’re after, but happily if you die you get to keep all of the upgrades and cash you had at the time, so you can upgrade your guns and start with a better advantage. There’s not many problems in keeping up with the game on the Normal difficulty setting, until you reach the ending wave which is fairly brutal; you will need to have all of the best guns fully upgraded and fully stocked with ammunition to make it through.

The default control scheme is insufficient; you basically tap the zombies to shoot and move left and right with the arrows on the side of the screen. Switching weapons whilst doing all of that is a pain but luckily the developer has provided an alternate control scheme (enabled from the options menu) that has an aiming pad on the right hand side of the screen. This makes the game much easier and fun to play and should really be the default scheme.

Blasting zombies is still really fun even after the many games I’ve played that feature the undead, and of course the game graphics help a lot in this regard. However, the shop screen could use a little more polish and thought, as it looks slightly tacky when comparing it against the excellent in-game scenery.

Zombie Neighborhood for iPad does exactly what it says on the tin; it’s a funny zombie-themed shoot-em-up that while repetitive offers a decent experience; once you’ve played it through once then you’ll most likely put it down for good. It’s not quite a must-have, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

[ Zombie Neighborhood for iPad is a post from 148Apps ]