Gameplay Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Daily iPhone App: Wizard Ops Tactics offers well-made tactical battles

by Mike Schramm (May 8th, 2013)

Wizard Ops arrived on the App Store a couple of years ago -- it was a wild and wooly take on magical combat that played more like a shooter than a fantasy RPG. Developers Phyken Media have now returned to the world of Wizard Ops, though not the genre, with a new title called Wizard Ops ...

Zynga announces Solstice Arena, a social MOBA coming to mobile

by Mike Schramm (May 3rd, 2013)

Back at GDC earlier this year, I was invited to what I was told was a very limited meeting with Zynga. The company, which of course made its name with social Facebook games and recently has been trying to pivot to mobile platforms like the iPhone and the iPad. Most of Zynga's games tend towards ...

Daily iPhone App: Bookworm Heroes takes Popcap's wordfinding classic social

by Mike Schramm (Apr 25th, 2013)

The big deal with Popcap's latest big entry into the App Store, Bookworm Heroes, is that it's social. It's a version of the company's popular wordfinding game given a social twist, so that you can play against your friends, neighbors, or just random people online. But here's the thing I most ...

Daily iPhone App: Cut the Rope: Time Travel sends Om Nom through the centuries

by Mike Schramm (Apr 24th, 2013)

Cut the Rope is one of the most-downloaded apps on the App Store, and its developers, ZeptoLab, have made quite a character out of its lead, Om Nom. The series' latest incarnation is called Cut The Rope: Time Travel, and it's available on the App Store (in both iPhone and HD versions) right ...

Zynga unveils Battlestone, an action RPG coming to iOS soon

by Mike Schramm (Apr 10th, 2013)

Zynga's been on an interesting pivot lately. The company made a name for itself on Facebook, and most of its business is tied up in big games like Farmville and its sequel. But that audience is slowing down in growth, if not declining, which has prompted Zynga to experiment on mobile platforms ...

Daily iPhone App: Ridiculous Fishing is ridiculously good

by Mike Schramm (Mar 14th, 2013)

Vlambeer's Ridiculous Fishing is finally out on the App Store today, after a long and rough development cycle that included a well-publicized battle against a clone. But in my humble opinion, the guys at Vlambeer should never have worried. No clone could ever match up to the design talent, ...

Disney adds a little originality with Toy Story: Smash It

by Mike Schramm (Feb 28th, 2013)

Last time I spoke with Disney's Bart Decrem, I asked him about the company's plans to put out original mobile games. Lately, they've been on a bender of rebranded iOS hits, including Temple Run Brave, Monsters Inc. Run, and Where's My Perry?, which is a branded remix of Disney's own original ...

Daily iPhone App: Kumo Lumo combines colorful design with original gameplay

by Mike Schramm (Nov 20th, 2012)

Kumo Lumo is one of the most recent games from Chillingo, and it's a good one. The gameplay itself here is hard to describe -- it's an arcade game, maybe? Though there's a little bit of simulation in there, and some puzzle elements in terms of how you learn the game and its characters, too. ...

Daily iPhone App: Micro Miners combines Lemmings and mining in a cute brew

by Mike Schramm (Nov 16th, 2012)

Back before he invented Minecraft, developer Notch made a little Java game called Miners 4K, which had you digging tunnels on a 2D playing field for little miners to find minerals and other goodies below the dirt. Another developer named Jean-Philippe Sarda later decided to take that idea and ...

HeroClix TabApp adds DC Comics figures

by Mike Schramm (Nov 16th, 2012)

The HeroClix TabApp is an interesting, if not all that impressive, app for the iPad that uses HeroClix figurines in conjunction with iOS to make a game featuring the superheroes of the HeroClix series. When it first launched earlier this year, the app featured only Marvel heroes. But apparently ...

Marvel Avengers Initiative brings Infinity Blade hack-and-slash to the world of the Avengers

by Mike Schramm (Sep 5th, 2012)

Marvel (and its games division) has unveiled a brand new game for iOS called Marvel Avengers Initiative. This game has been teased for a little while now, and TUAW was lucky enough to see an in-progress version a few weeks ago. In just a few words, you can call this one "Avengers Blade." It's ...

Natural Motion on track to make $12 million a month with CSR Racing, acquires dev team Boss Alien

by Mike Schramm (Aug 15th, 2012)

NaturalMotion started off working on a state-of-the-art physics system for consoles, but the since company moved to iOS, it's found a lot more monetary success, putting out seven top-grossing games. Now the company has reportedly found a bonafide hit. CSR Racing was released on the App Store on ...

Daily iPhone App: The Act combines great cartoon art with iOS gameplay

by Mike Schramm (Jun 26th, 2012)

The Act is, I will say, probably one of the most interesting experiments I've ever seen show up on the App Store. I don't know if it's entirely successful, but even at the current price of $2.99, I can wholeheartedly recommend it. It does some very interesting things with interactive ...

Daily iPhone App: Spellsword is a tiny bite of RPG action

by Mike Schramm (Apr 26th, 2012)

The iPhone's always been a great device for small flavorful bites of gameplay -- Canabalt's one-button jumping game probably set the course for this early on, but recently there's been a bevy of titles like these. Super Crate Box, Hookshot Escape, and Ziggurat have all offered up well-polished, ...

Daily iPad App: Kingdoms of Camelot: Battle for the North is a freemium gem

by Mike Schramm (Mar 15th, 2012)

Many of my fellow gamers look down on the "set-it-and-forget-it" style of social freemium games, but I have a soft spot in my heart for them. For me, the genre's appeal started with We Rule a few years ago, and continued with Battle Nations and Dragonvale. There's a definite addictiveness and ...