Warpack Grunts has some very nice touches, but unfortunately there are too many serious issues that mar this game and keep it from becoming a great game.

The first issue is a big one: Simply put, the viewable area in Grunts stinks.

Now, don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying I want to see more terrain at a time, all I’m asking is that I be able to actually see my enemy before they start shooting at me.

I know, it sounds like a lot to ask, but in my opinion fun games are games where you actually have a chance at excellence.  I assure you, any soldier on a battlefield tends to see his target before he can fire on his target, much less be fired on by his target.

Playing Grunts feels like being a myopic soldier who had his Coke bottle glasses stomped on at the beginning of every mission, and it results in levels where you gauge the location of your enemy based on the velocity and angle of the exit wounds of your character…

The second issue is a big one too: The controls.  The controls in Grunts are as counterintuitive as it gets.  Let me break them down for you so you can understand just how terrible they are.

PROBLEM #1 – MOVEMENT

What’s that, you say?  Movement is a core gameplay mechanic?  Aye matey, it is. And yet on the iPhone, game developers insist on taking a perfectly good wheel and reinventing it to be a square.

In Grunts, you simply press and hold a finger on the screen where you would like your platoon to go.  Sounds easy, right?  Not so much.

To be fair, if the game were only about moving, then maybe, just maybe, this would have been acceptable, except the game is about moving and shooting…. with precision.

Tapping and holding on an intended destination and letting your platoon pathfind their way there is, in many situations, less than ideal. And let us not forget that double tapping fires your weapon which, suffice to say, stops you cold in your tracks.”

How many people enjoy playing shooting games where you must stop moving to shoot a weapon? (Okay, Resident Evil aside, which btw they have wonderful reasons for stopping before shooting, so we won’t get into that here.)

The controls are not only limiting, but they also remove the player from the action one step further by setting up this mechanism of waypoint tap travel coupled with double taps to fire.

PROBLEM #2 – FIRING

To fire in Grunts, you simply double tap your finger at your intended target.  Sounds easy, right?  Not so much.

Now please, take a moment and venture into Imaginationland with me…

Let’s imagine that you’re a sniper, and you finally have your target in your sights. You hold your breath, control your pulse, and double squeeze the trigger…  Double squeeze the what!… oh and remember to hold it down after the second squeeze for continuous fire!

Excuse me sir, but no.

How precise would you feel having to squeeze a trigger on a rifle twice to fire once?

Now remember that unlike a trigger on a rifle, your finger on an iPhone is not constrained to a mechanical linear path, but is instead free floating.  Double taps, coupled with remembering to hold your finger down after the second tap takes way too much mental overhead in the back of your mind.

So what are our suggestions to fix the controls?  How about this instead:

Just invisibly split the screen in half vertically:  Let the left half of the screen act as a touch analog stick for movement, and the right half as another touch analog stick that lets you point your weapon and fire.  (Think iDracula)

Now the game is immersive: you have direct control over your team, and you can even run and gun!

Couple this with a change in the enemy AI so that they don’t start firing until they can see you, or more specifically until you can actually see them, on the edge of your screen and you’ve got a fun, replayable game.

Grunts is a great idea, but due to some fundamental issues, it has extremely limited (re)play value.

The art throughout the game is fairly decent, and there are some truly wonderful touches like the trees swaying in the breeze and the sounds of the jungle.  However, when you compare this game to Wingnuts 2 (a true gem that I desperately want to see translated to the iPhone), it’s hard to believe that Freeverse was even involved in this project, as they would have had to unlearn a great many things in order to feel comfortable shipping this product.

Here’s hoping that Grunts 2 is better, and that it’s not just packed with more explosions, but with more immersion, precision, and fun.

- Maze

When you tap the Play button you’re presented with a blue platform in space with your iBot sitting on it. There are several icons along the top that are obviously meant for controlling the iBot, but this game comes with no instructions so you are left to figure it out for yourself. Maybe that’s part of the “puzzle” aspect of the game? After playing with the icons on the screen, you’ll discover that gameplay consists of dragging the movement icons to the “Main method”, “Funct 1″, and “Funct 2″ sections on the right of the screen. The goal is to get your iBot to land on and activate all of the light-blue tiles. This is very easy at first, but as you progress through the game you’re presented with challenges such as walls you must navigate over and limited space in the “Main method” box to control your robot. You’ll have to orchestrate the movements of your iBot so that they are as efficient as possible. Reusing movements via the “Funct 1″ and “Funct 2″ blocks is mandatory in later levels. It’s also fun to play through levels you’ve already beaten to see if you can make your moves even more efficient than last time.

I wish I could end this review here with a tidy little paragraph to wrap things up and recommend the game. Unfortunately, there are still some glaring problems with the game we haven’t yet covered. I’ve already mentioned that there are no instructions included with the game, but I’d like to underscore that point. If you don’t feel like dragging icons around and pressing buttons until you figure out how to play, this game is not for you.

The second and third issues are both related to the way the game saves and loads data. It does not save the level you’re on until you go back to the Menu screen. This means that if the game crashes or you click the Home button to quit, you will lose your progress. Trust me, this can be quite frustrating. You must visit the Menu screen to save your progress. I found myself tapping the Menu button to save my progress between levels. This leads into the third issue: there is only a single save “slot”. On the surface that doesn’t sound so bad, but the implementation here is particularly poor. Clicking the Load button from the Menu screen takes you to the last level you were on. However, clicking the Play button erases your progress and starts you at the first level. If you’ve been working on the last level and then accidentally tap the “Play” button, you will be sent to the first level with no way of skipping back ahead. To make matters worse, the Play and Load buttons are relatively small and far too close to one another.

One last issue with the game is its length. Either there are only twelve levels to the game, or there is a bug that prevents you from proceeding. When you finish the twelfth level you’re simply booted to the Menu screen with no explanation. There are definitely some challenging levels, but I was able to complete the entire game in less than 2 hours.

It’s sad to see a game with so much potential fall flat due to so many crucial issues. It seems that these problems should be easy to fix, too. I can only recommend to wait on purchasing this game until after the developer fixes it. If these issues are resolved, this game will get my wholehearted recommendation.

Critter Crunch's graphics, animation, and sound really set the bar high.

Who needs another Bejeweled knockoff?   Not me, that’s for sure.  In fact, I passed Critter Crunch up when it first arrived in the App Store for that very reason.  So why even bother with it?  Well, as it turns out, this game offers so much more to the genre than matching similar shapes and colors.  Critter Crunch really steps it up a notch by bringing character and original (not to mention addicting) gameplay to the table.

Capybara Games is no lightweight.  A quick glance through their website reveals an impressive portfolio of mobile games.  But this is their first foray into the iPhone scene.  And with Critter Crunch tipping the scales at $7.99, it’s not an easy sell — especially with the App Store’s economy leveling out from the initial high prices.  With all the other quality games in the App Store to choose from, is Critter Crunch’s overweight price tag worth it?

The first thing you’ll notice when you open Critter Crunch, even before you begin playing, is how polished the game is.  The attention to detail here is outstanding.  Even the game menu is among the best I’ve seen on the iPhone.  The minute you see and hear beautiful graphics and sounds you’ll know that this is the real deal.  Capybara Games didn’t cut any corners here, and it really shows.  The one complaint I do have about starting up the game is that it ignores the silent mode switch on the side of the iPhone.  This is not a good game to pull out if you need to play quietly, as you have to adjust the volume (via the hardware buttons on the side of the phone) after you launch the game.  I don’t want to make too big of a deal out of this though.  It is easy enough to turn the volume down, and hopefully you’re not playing games while in class or a client meeting anyway, right?

Biggs' job is to feed the smaller critters to larger ones.

Gameplay consists of your chubby little character (whose name is Biggs) feeding cute little critters until they explode.  Really.  Until they explode.  It sounds slightly disturbing, doesn’t it?  But in fact, it brings a certain amount of morbid enjoyment.  I laughed out loud the first time I saw what was going on.  Besides, these critters are seriously hungry.  If you don’t feed them fast enough, they’ll drop down and eat Biggs instead.  You’ll meet new baddies and pick up new items as you progress.  As these elements are added to the gameplay, the amount of strategy you have to apply to do well increases.  Where some games impose elements of strategy on you awkwardly, Critter Crunch really shines in that each new item is fun to play with and adds depth to the game.  Again, the graphics and sound effects here really take the game to a whole new level.  These creatures are so cute, and it’s funny to see the expressions on their faces as the bigger ones munch on the little guys.  The sound of Biggs slurping and spitting out creatures, and the “crunching” sound made by the larger critters brings the game to life.

Tutorials are easy to follow and reveal new game features.

As you play the game, you can unlock Puzzle, Time Trial, and Survival modes.  This adds a great deal of replay value to the game.  When you open it for the first time, however, you’re only presented with Adventure mode.  Almost until the end of Adventure mode you’ll be seeing tutorials about how to play the game and about new characters and also items you can pick up.  These tutorials show their faces pretty frequently in the first dozen levels or so, but much less frequently after that.  It’s actually a pretty brilliant method of getting you accustomed to the features of the game.  You’re given the option to skip any of these (or even turn them off via the menu), but I highly recommend you go through them.  You’ll be missing out on important aspects of gameplay if you pass them up.

After you’ve unlocked Puzzle mode, you’ll get a break from the normal gameplay every once in a while for a Puzzle level.  This is a welcome break in the fast pace of the game, since you can take as long as you want.  Puzzle levels involve clearing the trees of all critters within a set number of moves.  This is easy at first, but gets progressively more difficult.  The good news is that there’s no penalty for losing a Puzzle level.  If you don’t quite clear all the critters in the required number of moves, you’ll be given the opportunity to skip the level or to try again.  Similarly, Time Trial levels appear every once in a while after you’ve unlocked that mode.  For me at least, these were a little more challenging, but you’re still given the opportunity to try again or to skip the level with no penalty either way.  Survival is the mode I found myself coming back to most often after I beat Adventure mode.  Unfortunately, my saved game status was erased with an update to the game a while back, but I believe the data erasure issues were resolved with the 2.1 iPhone/iPod Touch firmware.  Even with my progress wiped out, I’ve still found myself coming back to the game, which says a lot for its replay-ability.

While a little on the expensive side, Critter Crunch provides fun that keeps you coming back.

Critter Crunch is really a top notch game.  It is among the most polished and fun games to be found in the App Store.  Even my wife (who for some reason doesn’t “get” most games) loves Critter Crunch.  There’s still the issue of the hefty price tag, though.  With so many quality games becoming available every day, it’s hard to justify spending $7.99 on just one of them.  Don’t get me wrong — in my mind there’s no doubt that this game is worth at least that much.  Capybara Games certainly put a ton of effort into this game, and it really glows because of that.  If you’re craving an original, addicting game that is easy to pick up, and if you like this genre of games, then I would say go for it.  In Adventure mode the game lasts for quite a long while, and the additional unlockable modes mean you won’t be bored with it any time soon.  Critter Crunch lands squarely at the top of my list of favorites.

iTap's screen looks very much like a MacBook Pro track pad.

So what makes iTap so special?  Admittedly, it’s the only “track pad” app I’ve tried.  But there’s good reason for that.  You see, iTap is the only track pad app that supports both Windows and Mac operating systems.  This was a major requirement for me, since I spend plenty of time on both sides of the OS wars every day.  With pricing for this type of app ranging from $0.99 – $5.99, iTap hits the sweet spot at a reasonable $1.99.  But does it live up to its promises?

Before you use iTap, you’ll need to download the Windows or Mac client.  This is the piece of software that runs on your computer to allow iTap to control your mouse.  Installation is quick and painless.  On both platforms, the client automatically sets it self to load on system startup.  Some users may want to disable this behavior, which is easy enough to do.  If you’re out in the wild an you’ve forgotten the URL to download the client software, you can just open iTap.  It lists the URL right there on the screen.  Of course, if you use DataCase or Air Sharing, it’s much easier to just store the Windows and Mac client apps on your iPhone.  This way you never have to worry about finding yourself without an internet connection.

When you open iTap, you’re presented with a very simple screen that looks much like the track pad on a MacBook Pro.  You don’t need to see much on your iPhone though because you’re obviously going to be looking at the computer you’re controlling instead.  The virtual track pad shows instructions for moving your finger around and clicking.  Most of it is obvious, but it also highlights not-so-obvious features such as right-click and scrolling functionality.  Don’t worry though — it’s not complicated.  It is designed to behave in the same way as the track pad on a Mac.  Tap to click, drag two fingers to scroll, or hold two fingers and tap with a third to right-click.

iTap offers a straight-forward settings screen.

The configuration options for iTap are pretty straightforward, though getting to them may not be.  For some reason, Apple insists that all apps store their settings in such a way that you have to exit the app and open the Settings app on your phone to find them.  Presumably, the intent by Apple here is to keep a consistent user experience, but I’m not a fan.  In any case, once you get the settings open you’ll see plenty of options.  You can configure pointer speed and acceleration, turn “Tap to Click” on or off, as well as “Two-Finger Scrolling.”  You can also adjust scrolling speed and acceleration.  A minor gripe is that while you’re trying to scroll through the settings, it’s easy to accidentally adjust a slider (e.g. “Pointer Speed”) when you didn’t mean to.  This is no fault of iTap’s developers though, since they’re using the standard Apple-supplied UI elements.  One other minor annoyance is that if you want to adjust any of the settings, such as pointer speed, you must quit iTap, go to Settings, adust the setting, quit Settings, then launch iTap.  If you didn’t get your guesswork just right the first time, you will have to repeat this process.

Let’s talk about performance.  On my Mac (running Leopard) it behaves exactly as you would expect it to.  Scrolling is very smooth and behaves just like the real track pad.  It runs via WiFi, so you might assume there would be a slight delay, but I couldn’t discern any lag.  The glass screen on my iPhone reveals a bit more friction with my finger than the real track pad, but it’s so little that you get used to it quickly.  The story is mildly different on my Vista machine, but it’s still very usable.  I found that moving around the screen was a bit jerky, though not very much.  Again, this is something you quickly forget about.  The only other difference I found was that on my Vista machine I had to adjust the pionter speed, since the mouse moved much faster by default.

While the landscape view of iTap provides an aspect ratio closer to that of a computer monitor, it would be nice to have the option to hold the iPhone or iPod Touch vertically.  I find it much easier to hold the device with one hand in the vertical position.  Fortunately, iTap’s website claims a free upgrade has already been submitted to the App Store that allows this functionality.  In addition, the new version allows for two button hot spots, instead of just one.  Hopefully this update will reach the App Store soon.

There’s not much to dislike about iTap.  It doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles, but then again, it doesn’t need them.  The only thing I find myself occasionally wishing for is a pop up keyboard.  Really though, you can do most things without that.  iTap is great for making PowerPoint presentations, or for just leaning back on the couch with your laptop on the coffee table.  There are endless uses for this app, and it is definitely a recommended buy.

Verses in BibleReader are formatted well and include links to footnotes.

Olive Tree Bible Software already has several Bible apps and bundles, including one that’s free in the App Store [links open in iTunes]. With so many offerings in the App Store, you would think iPhone development is their primary business. But you would be wrong. The Spokane, WA company has been in the Bible software business for 20 years, and they have over 280 handheld Bible resources under their belt. With the reputation they’ve earned, you know their BibleReader app for iPhone and iPod Touch is going to be good.

I had been scouring the App Store for a good Bible app since it launched. Having used BibleReader on Windows Mobile, I had hopes for seeing it in the App Store. The moment I noticed the ESV Study Bundle, I bought it. It proved to be an excellent app (better than the other Bible apps I had tried), and eventually I managed to land a beta version of their upcoming release.

While the ESV Study Bundle contains 12 Bible versions, 2 commentaries, and a cross-reference, you can get most of those from the free BibleReader app. However, the beta version I’ve received has 22 Bible versions (quality translations, such as NIV, NLT, NCV, etc), publisher notes, 28 eBooks, and the same commentaries and cross-reference as the bundle. In order to navigate through so many books, BibleReader includes three different ways of filtering them. You can view “All Books”, “Authors”, or “Categories.”

The Verse Chooser allows quick access to any verse in the Bible or commentary.

After selecting a book you’re presented with buttons for changing book and verse at the top. The verse button updates as you scroll to display the uppermost verse in your current view. Tapping the verse button brings you to a Verse Chooser that is unique to OliveTree’s BibleReader apps. If you’ve used their Windows Mobile or Palm products lately, you’ve probably seen it. It’s intuitive and works very well. When you open it up you’ll see a list of Old Testament books (in order), followed by New Testament books. After you select a book you’re presented with one button for each of the chapters in the book. Tapping a chapter produces a similar view to select the verse. This is a very quick way to access any verse in the Bible.

Scrolling through the Bible is a little choppy compared to other apps, but the tradeoff is worth it when you consider that Olive Tree has managed to include their “continuous scrolling” feature. This allows you to scroll through chapters and books continuously without switching between them. If you wanted to, you could scroll from Genesis all the way through Revelation. In addition, the display updates with the current verse as you’re scrolling. The latest word from Olive Tree indicates that the upcoming beta version will feature significantly improved scrolling performance.

BibleReader also includes smaller details such as the ability to rotate the device for landscape viewing (though the navigation bars at the top and bottom currently take up too much space for this to be useful). You are also given the ability to tweak the finer details such as font face and size, background color, text color, verse color, and footnote color.

One more feature that makes this a well-rounded app is the powerful search capability. You can perform a standard search, specifying where to search in the Bible, how to match your query, and how to display results. There is also an advanced search syntax that allows you to get very, very specific. You can match partial words and specify “ANDs”, “ORs”, or even get as detailed as to tell it how close to each other you want your search terms to be. You can also nest searches (create searches within searches). And that only scratches the surface. The bottom line is that the search capabilities of BibleReader for iPhone rival that of even desktop software.

For all its advantages, BibleReader does have one significant pitfall. It’s really no fault of theirs, though. It’s actually a restriction imposed by Apple. Olive Tree’s traditional model is to allow you to download the free BibleReader app, and then purchase additional books to load into it. The problem with the iPhone version is that Apple won’t allow developers to sell applications outside of the App Store. In addition, Apple provided no provision to integrate “modules” into existing apps, and iPhone applications are not allowed to talk to one another. This means that Olive Tree must sell each Bible and/or bundle separately in the App Store, at least for now. If you want the NIV and the NLT versions of the Bible, and Olive Tree doesn’t offer them as a pre-bundled app, you will have to purchase them both, and you’ll end up with 2 versions of BibleReader on your device. This shouldn’t be a show-stopper for casual users, but people who like to have a specific set of Bibles on their device may find this frustrating. Olive Tree says they’re in talks with Apple about this issue, so hopefully the restrictions imposed will be lifted soon.

All-in-all, BibleReader for iPhone and iPod Touch is a very well-rounded app, and the best Bible app in the App Store as far as I’m concerned. It does exactly what it’s supposed to do, and it does it well. Be on the lookout for the new version of BibleReader when it becomes publicly available. Until then, check out any of their existing products, as they will certainly be updated for free when the beta cycle is finished.