Toy Bot Diaries 3 - iPhone Game Review (IUGO)

Toy Bot Diaries 3 is an impressive entry into the iPhone gaming space as it is has both great game play and an impressive amount of detail and design in the screens.

This action/puzzle game falls into the "hero on a mission" genre and you need to guide the game's hero, Toy Bot, through six levels of difficulty. Toy Bot moves via his grappling hook and magnetic boots but one of the early-on challenges is the effect that the zero-gravity of space has on Toy Bot's movements. There is a lot of action and puzzles in the game and each level requires both skill and practice to complete. What is nice though is that the game has an "auto-save" feature so you don't have to restart a level when you die.

In addition to the challenge of navigating each level, there are also memory chips hidden throughout which unlock Toy Bot's memories. I haven't yet finished all the levels as the core game is challenging enough but I did get all of the chips on one level. While this feat certainly appears repeatable in other levels, you have to time your jumps and tilts just right.

This game is very engaging and has enough action that it is well worth the $3.99 cost. As this is supposed to be the final installment of the Toy Bot series, it will be interesting to see where IUGO goes next.

Koi Pond: iPhone Application Review (iTunes App Store)

This game is perfect...if your idea of fun is watching paint dry or the Home Shoppers Network.

I'm a fairly new iPhone user so I've ben trying to check out some of the top apps in the iTunes App Store. Koi Pond is the electronic equivalent of the mini Zen Gardens for the office. Here is another piece of junk that is probably going to be marketed as a "stress reliever".

My complaint with Koi Pond is that it really doesn't do anything. The main functionality of the app is that you can feed the fish by shaking the phone and you can also stick your finger in the water and, if you hold it real still, the fish will nibble your finger. As the main functionality didn't hold my attention - I certainly don't care that you can move the lilly pads around on the screen and manipulate the multi-layered ambient background noise.

I've shown this game to a few co-workers and almost everyone of them has lost interest in the app after a minute or two. In fact, most of them stir up the water and "scare" away all of the fish before handing my iPhone back.

Just to give a balanced perspective, here are a couple reviews that loved the app:
Mactropolis.com
iPhone Savior (whose only complaint was that the fish didn't make farting noises when swimming away -- I really hope he is kidding)

Links:
The Blimp Pilots (authors of Koi Pond)