Appletell | Apple, Mac, iPhone, iPod | News, Rumors, Reviews, How-Tos

The iTunes App Store has become a mess of games. Searching through it is not entirely unlike digging through the discount box of PC games at the local electronics store; for every nine junk titles, you may be lucky to find one gem. It’s those gems that make it worth it, though, and we review three of them here in three different genres: The Treasures of Montezuma 2, Super Monkey Ball 2 and Ravensword: The Fallen King.

Each of these is a 5A rated app, so I’ll leave the score out. Just proceed knowing that you’re looking at the best of the best.

The Treasures of Montezuma 2

Category: Match-three puzzle game
Seller: Alawar Entertainment
Requirements: iPhone OS 3.0 or later
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod touch
File Size: 22.6MB
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Price: $1.99
Age Rating: 4+

Match-three games are match-three games. There’s no getting around that. You can buy them for consoles and portables for $20, you can play them online for free, or you can spend a couple dollars to play them on the iPhone. If you prefer the latter, I prefer The Treasures of Montezuma 2.

This match-three game distinguishes itself from the competition in a couple ways. First, the graphics and shading effects are top notch (especially for those with a 3GS or 3rd gen iPod touch). The design is clean and colorful, carrying the Aztec theme throughout. The tokens you must match are distinguished by both color and shape, making theme easier to locate. Their size was a bit too small for my fingers, however, which sometimes made them difficult to tap.

You have three modes to play (120 adventure levels, 40 puzzle levels, and endless) at three difficulties. Gameplay varies slightly in each, but not enough to say you truly get a different gaming experience. Rather, you get that from the use of totems. As you rack up coins for completing levels quickly, you can purchase totems that provide you with different powers. Match the same color tokens twice in a row, and these totem powers are called upon to help you on your way. You’ll need them too, as the game isn’t just about matching colors. You have to clear the randomly placed jewel tokens in order to complete a level. These are sometimes hard to reach, forcing you to rethink your traditional match-three strategies.

With unique gameplay twists and difficulty levels that can appease new gamers while challenging pros, The Treasures of Montezuma 2 is as good as match-three games can get.

Super Monkey Ball 2

Category: Arcade Action
Seller: Sega America
Requirements: iPhone OS 2.2.1 or later
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod touch
File Size: 74.7MB
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Price: $9.99
Age Rating: 4+

Super Monkey Ball, in all its incarnations, is likely the most adorably frustrating game of all time. It’s hyper-cute both in its presentation and its manic energy, but the gameplay is usually a random combination of strategy, skill and luck. You never know which of the three will work on any particular level. But who cares?! Monkeys! In balls!

Now, I haven’t played every Super Monkey Ball game released—in fact, I didn’t even play the first iPhone version—but Super Monkey Ball 2 for the iPhone seems to have addressed the random luck issue I’ve experienced in the past. The point of Super Monkey Ball, of course, is to tilt your iPhone or iPod touch to roll your monkey ball through an obstacle course maze, of sorts, collecting bananas along on the way. The timer and gravity are your enemies, as you’ll fail if you take too long or roll off the edge of the pathway.

You’ll do this across a whopping 115 tracks set in various worlds, and you can actually complete them this time. The levels, for the most part, can be completed with just a bit of practice and minimal trial and error. The intense challenge comes from collecting all the bananas on each level. In other words, the game is more fun up front, but offers plenty of replayability as you go back to fully complete the challenges.

Sega has also included local WiFi multiplayer for up to four players, which is perfect for a game like this. Very fun. And as with the console versions, there are mini-games. Monkey Bowling is in there now, with Monkey Golf and Monkey Target to come early next year.

Super Monkey Ball 2 looks great, it plays great, and its about as perfect a match for the iPhone and iPod touch as a game can be. This is definitely one to get.

Ravensword: The Fallen King

Category: Third-person action/adventure
Seller: Chillingo, Ltd.
Requirements: iPhone OS 3.0 or later
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod touch
File Size: 66.3MB
Version Reviewed: 1.1
Price: $6.99
Age Rating: 9+ (frequent/intense cartoon or fantasy violence)

If Ravensword: The Fallen King looks more like a PC game than an iPhone game, that’s because it is. Or was. Or was going to be. In an e-mail, the developer at Crescent Moon told me, “Ravensword started off as a fantasy FPS game for the PC, which was going to be a Counterstrike meets Lord of the Rings kind of game. The iPhone gave me inspiration to turn this into a different game altogether.”

So, we get an incredibly ambitious game that looks great and pushes iPhone gaming to places we haven’t yet seen, but it brings some baggage with it; mainly, the controls. You control your direction (forward, backward, and side steps) with the now familiar virtual d-pad in the bottom left corner, with jump and attack buttons on the right. The problem comes in controlling the direction in which you’re looking (and, therefore, turning). You do this by moving your right thumb around the screen. I’m not sure it’s possible to ever get used to this, although the recent v1.1 update did fix the sensitivity issues.

The developers seemed to realize control would be too much to deal with in combat, so they created a “tap to target” system. Tap a monster, and you lock on to it for hacking and slashing. This works great, provided you’re able to tap your target. My taps sometimes didn’t to register, although I’m quite certain I was hitting the monster dead on.

However, it’s worth dealing with this frustration because the game is otherwise quite stunning. The story is standard RPG fare, but what do you expect from a game called “Ravensword?” Character development and customization is limited, as the developers chose to focus on the environments and the monsters rather than your hero. I’m okay with this, as it drives the gameplay at a great pace and adds to the thrill of exploration.

If you’re playing this game on an iPhone 3GS or 3rd gen iPod touch, you’re going to be treated to some PC quality graphic effects. I played on my iPhone 3G, so I can’t comment on these, but I will say it’s still a gorgeous game. The environments are large and open, creating a feeling of freedom in what is a fairly linear game.

Switching Ravensword: The Fallen King over to the iPhone was a great move, no matter what precipitated it. On the PC, a game like this would’ve been lost amongst its countless competitors. On the iPhone, it stands out as a title that serious gamers absolutely must experience. At only $6.99 it’s worth trying to overcome the control scheme to play through an adventure I wouldn’t have previously thought possible on the iPhone.