The basic concept behind the game is a physics based puzzle around the game mechanic of cutting ropes (as the name of the game suggests) and trying to get a large piece of candy into a monsters mouth. This is done through cutting ropes to free the candy, and cutting specific ropes free (using touch to simulate the slicing of the rope) to swing the candy in specific directions through the use of cutting specific ropes at specific times so that the candy gains the correct momentum when it is completely free of all constraints.

Although this sounds like a confusing or boring set of game mechanics, it is incredibly simple to pick up, through the in game tutorial system, which introduces the various level features, such as bubbles and re-attachable ropes, in a simple, easy to understand system which is part of the game itself. As the game progresses, the challenges get harder and harder, requiring more and more logical thinking and precision timing to perfect, giving more and more gratification every time a level is completed.

For those of you who are into more of a challenge after completing the game, the game also has a star system in place, as is common place in iPhone titles. It is for the majority different to other titles star systems, however in the way that stars are earned. Placed around the levels are stars, in hard to reach places, which must be claimed through well placed manoeuvres and unique ways to solve the puzzle. To get three stars in a level, the candy must hit all three stars, as well as making it into the mouth of the monster, which can provide quite a challenge.

Cut the rope is a great iPhone title, with some excellent replay value. However, while there is plenty of replay value included in the game the game can simply lose its edge after a couple of hours of play, due to the repetitive nature of the games challenges when compared with titles such as angry birds. Overall, cut the rope is definitely worth the free download, and the free version is definitely one of the better free downloads out there.

iPwnGames Score: 4.1/5

Ahhh, Reversi; it’s such a simple concept, yet has become so popular. And with Reversi Reloaded, you can now play this classic game on the move with your iPhone or iPad. Before I installed the game, my first concern for it was space – the iPhone does not have a lot to offer in terms of screen space, and when I started my first Reversi game, the squares were indeed quite small. Despite this, however, I had absolutely no trouble selecting the correct boxes… so kudos to Mobivention for making this typical board game work with the iPhone’s limiting factors.

So for those of you who do not understand how Reversi works – it is a strategic game and to win you must have the most coloured pieces showing your colour by the end. It works by placing a new piece in an empty square and turning over all of your opponent’s pieces in a diagonal, vertical and horizontal direction. It’s quite difficult to describe but once you start playing it doesn’t take long at all to get used to, and can actually be surprisingly addictive.

One feature I love on Reversi Reloaded is the ability to change the computer’s difficulty. By default, it is on easy, but you also have the options of medium and hard. Easy is relatively straightforward and you shouldn’t have any trouble beating the computer here. Medium is where it gets more difficult, but hard is where it gets serious. The Othello computer runs a program which can beat anybody at Reversi – it’s simply not possible to beat it. It’s defeated all of the world champions. Luckily, I think Mobivention have been slightly kinder here and I’m sure it is possible to win this game. I’ve been at it for a good 2 hours and haven’t cracked it yet, but I just randomly tap and guess the best places to go. The pros have established techniques and strategies, so it really is up to you whether you simply do this for fun on easy/medium or develop and enhance your reversi skills on hard.

Best of all though: this game is FREE! You can pay to remove the ads, but I don’t see the point because they are quite unobtrusive. You also have the option of paying for more board designs, and at 59p, why not?! But I think the one feature this game is missing is a statistics panel or profile page. It would be really cool to store all of your reversi scores and results and look back at them. An even better idea would be for these to be uploaded to a website where you can compare your stats with other Reversi players. I hope this sort of functionality is looked into, but for now, this game is a great time-passer and actually makes you sit and think.

iPwnGamers Score: 4/5

No longer do blocks randomly fall out of the sky in a random box with no context. In Zzed, you are an alien who is cleaning space of meteorites. This is done by shooting coloured meteorites at other coloured meteorites. When the same colour touch in a group more than 3, they will disappear. And when a meteorite crashes into your spaceship, you receive damage; a very similar concept to Tetris, but with a twist.

So what makes this better? Well it doesn’t end with just firing meteorites. The cleaning company who have hired you to clean space are surreptitiously planning something, and you want to find out what. There is an alleged rumour of a conspiracy. Intriguing huh? But it doesn’t just end there (I told you they’ve done this well and I wasn’t lying). Our very own space alien has a girlfriend. Just when you thought this game couldn’t get any better, it has.

Zzed brings context and meaning to Tetris. It gives you the motivation to guide our little space character further and assist him in his quest for love (and if you’re playing this on a Saturday night while your friends are out clubbing then it’s probably the only girlfriend you’re going to have for a while), and at 59p, it’s worth every penny.

There are 10 zones and 60 levels in total. They start off easy but they get difficult quickly so this game is likely to keep you interested for a long time. The physics are also pretty realistic, and the ability to bounce the meteorites off the walls is a very good feature (and yields bonus points if you cause an explosion of meteorites). If you’re struggling and the meteorites are slowly closing in on you (a nice function – I imagine it is replicating the light gravitational force of all objects), you can actually drive your spaceship away to a more tactical position. Sometimes the game is kind and throws you a bomb or rocket which causes mass destruction.

This game is going to hit it big time. It is such a simple concept, but they have approached it with such flair that they have made it into an app of its own. This has gone into my “Games” folder and I look forward to testing the new updates.

iPwnGames Score: 5/5

Like I said, at first I wasn’t sure what this game was going to be about, but I was very quickly surprised. The gist of the game is that Toshi keeps getting herself into altercations with various enemies. The way that you beat them is to keep Toshi dancing. The way you keep her moving to the groove is by solving about 100 3D block physics puzzles. There are various elements throughout that game that you must learn to deal with in specific ways: rubber, wood, stone, ice, and a strange neon green material

I was very skeptical when I played my first level, but there is nothing quite like when you move Toshi, who apparently has forgotten how to walk, from her post to the dance floor. Once there she begins dancing to some variety of Japanese-pop music on a rainbow lit floor. There really is a sense of accomplishment, be it small, upon beating one level, then the next, then the next. I easily played this game straight through the first thirty levels before putting it down on the first day I got it.

The game is scored in the typical three star format that many of us are used to in a lot of these games. You are given a designated number of balls that it should take you to complete the level and carry Toshi to safety on the dance floor. If you complete the level with fewer balls than necessary you are rewarded with three stars plus. If completed with the exact number you receive three, and it goes down from there for the more attempts you must take. Scoring is then based fully upon those stars earned in gameplay. Scores and other achievements are traced in iOS’s Game Center.

You see a new one of these after every 20 levels...pretty cool

In addition to fun gameplay, the graphics really are pretty good based upon what most of us are used to in these physics puzzle games. You should also keep your ears open for the dialogue coming from Toshi each time she dies or gets another chance. It’s all really quite funny. Overall, I would highly recommend this gaime. Since I received the game less than a week ago, it has provided me with hours of entertainment. I am already in the top 15% of players on Game Center, and I still have about ten levels to go!

In short…get this game…play this game…it’s super good and will be worth your $.99.

Mecapix is a simple concept at its core. Various arrangements of blocks (called Mecas) fall from the top of the screen. The player must draw his or her own block figures (PIXes) at the bottom of the screen to send upwards and combat the falling arrangements. For each block that gets past your defenses, you lose a life. Lose too many lives, and it’s game over. Simple, yes, but Mecapix intensifies the complexity as you progress through the levels.

To start, you cannot simply fire an endless array of blocks upward. A Pix Points counter in the corner of the screen limits the amount of blocks you can draw. Draw too many blocks too quickly, and your firepower will be temporarily disabled. Additionally, the “enemy” block clusters become increasingly more complicated as the game advances, culminating with boss battles at the end of each world.

Thankfully, many of these enemy clusters also have a weakness. Found within many of the large Mecas are power-ups to be used to your advantage. Much of the fun of the game is in discovering these powers and using them to their maximum potential. However, sometimes that maximum potential will not be easily recognizable.

This fact is perhaps the game’s one weakness. The Mecas often come toward you at a frantic pace, and determining the correct method for utilizing the power-ups before you have died a time or seven can be challenging. Like in the best iPhone puzzle games, once you do decipher the patterns and the best way to proceed, you will feel like a genius. I found this degree of difficulty as an incentive to play the game more. That “One more try” mentality was very much present, but for those used to playing more relaxed games, be forewarned that it may take several frustrating deaths before you reach your epiphany.

Overall, Mecapix is a blast to play. The simple, colorful visuals and catchy soundtrack draw you in to its unique puzzle-shooter world. The drawing mechanic is a brilliant use of the iPhone’s touch screen, giving the retro-inspired game a very tactile, modern feel. As mentioned, the game does demand and reward your full attention. Even once you have figured out the best way to survive, it will take several more tries before you can start increasing your high score. With three full worlds and an endurance mode, Mecapix is a great value. If you’re looking for a retro challenge with a modern touch, Mecapix is a fantastic choice.

iPwnGames Score: 4/5

The graphics are slick and well made which is essential for a game where the pace of the action is often fast and unpredictable. The amount of obstacles, bonuses and hidden mini-features is fine but in my opinion there could be a lot more added in order to make the game more interesting. Adding extra features would definitely increase the longevity of the game because the more ways you can score extra points the more determined you will be to achieve a record score. One other downside to the game is the dynamic view the developers have chosen to use. Your view of the action follows the ball which means you can only see the certain sections of the table at any one moment.

This undoubtedly creates a greater sense of movement and action but when the ball is moving rapidly it makes the game much more difficult because you can’t always see the hole at the bottom of the table until it’s too late. A static view of the whole table would make the game less frustrating and players would still find it tricky enough to want to keep coming back to perfect their skills. Once you feel you’ve racked up a strong score you can submit your results to the international leader board but a word of warning, some of the top scores are eye wateringly high. It is difficult to get bored with Wild West Pinball because pinball as a game in itself is highly entertaining; whether the dynamic view detracts from your gaming experience will be a matter of personal preference. Wild West Pinball is certainly worth downloading though as it will provide you with more than enough entertainment when you’re looking for a way to pass the time.

There are four difficulty settings: free, easy, normal and hard. Free mode has no time limit and the water will only be released when you activate it. This mode is good as it allows you to create snaking labyrinths without having to worry about being soaked by the dodgy water mains valve. Once you’ve quelled your architectural urges in free mode it’s time to get serious test your skills in easy mode. From here it’s up to you to move through the levels and see how elaborate you can make your sewage systems without running out of time or space.

Toobz isn’t the a game that’s going to set the world alight but it is a quaint little game that will put your nerves and planning skills to the test. It’s unlikely that you’ll rank the game ahead of others you have on your iPhone and if your memory is getting low then it would likely be one of the first games to get the chop. It is, however, a game that you can dive into without any hassle and play a quick game when you’ve got a spare two minutes. Beating your own best scores will be the only motivation you need to keep your interest in the game and whilst it might be a game you won’t miss if it’s gone, you will certainly be grateful it’s there when you’ve got a spare few minutes to kill.

iPhone gamedevelopers seem to find a lot of inspiration in carrots. We just posted a new trailer of Hill Billy, a game with loads of carrots, and now we have yet another game featuring carrots. Bobby Carrot Forever is an iPhone and iPod Touch puzzle game similar to Chips Challenge and Loopy Laboratory. The player needs to hit switches, use keys and flee from breakaway floors to get through each level. According to the developers, this game will offer over 15 hours of gameplay. It should come out somewhere in January for $7.99.

eXact, Deluxeware’s new puzzle game for the iPhone and iPod Touch is now available in the App Store for. Use the touch-screen to slide the colored bricks from the top, bottom, right and left to make matches of three. The better your match, the bigger your score bonuses. Here’s the feature list of eXact:

• Fun, yet challenging color-matching puzzle game
• 3 different play modes
• 3 levels of difficulty
• Special blocks and power-ups to boost your score
• Listen to your own music as you play!