Unfortunately it's been months since I last did some iPhone reviews, but I have gone through quite a few games since then, some were great, some were decent and a few disappointments.

Infinity Blade
Infinity Blade has been out quite a long time and now they have just announced the development of Infinity Blade 2. Infinity Blade is a touch based action rpg, that has you fighting enemies with weapons and armor that you find or buy. Each of your weapons and armor gain experience everytime you defeat an enemy. They can only gain a certain amount of experience, each piece limited to a certain amount before it is mastered. Mastering the item doesn't actually do anything to it, it's just there way of limiting your experience gain. The only way your character can level up is by getting experience through weapons, so as much as you may love a weapon, you will have to move on in order to continue to level up. Most of the enemies in the game are randomly around your level, usually above your level, but the boss of the game is always scaled to be much higher level than you. 


Infinity Blade makes it mark by it's innovate gameplay. You use directional swipes on the touch screen to do so many specific actions. You can choose to strike enemies from many different directions and you can create special attacks by mixing up your attacks. You also use directional swipes to dodge in several different directions. Each attack and dodge angle matters, you have to react to your enemy in order to effectively defeat them. The game boasts a system that continually encourages you to die and try again. The area to explore in this game is limited, small, but it is meant to be continually played over and over again. Even when you beat the boss it still starts over, but it only encourages you to continually building your character in order to eventually be able to purchase the Infinity Blade. A supremely powerful weapon that you use to unlock a secret dungeon below the castle. Infinity Blade does so much right and it is certainly an innovator of the mobile gaming platform. It presents unparalleled graphics, an smooth and responsive fighting system, plus some great rpg mechanics that are simple, effective and different. It brings a game to the iPhone that hardcore gamers can delve into with ease, but for casual gamers it may require too much concentration and skill. 


iOS: 3.0 or above   Developer: Epic Games and Chair Entertainment Group    
Price: $5.99          Recommendation: Must Buy, but not for casual gaming. 
App Page: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/infinity-blade/id387428400?mt=8



Mega Mall Story
Do you like Sim Tower? Well, Mega Mall Story is the iPhone game for you. It is made by Kairosoft, the developer who made Game Dev Story, Grand Prix Story and Hot Spring Story. They are well known for their addicting simulation games that offer a great deal of depth when it comes to build, creating or managing. I have played three of their games, Game Dev Story still being my favorite, but each of their games seems to build of the previous ones. Adding more and more features, while still continuously changing up the formula. Mega Mall Story is their second newest game, Grand Prix Story being the newest, and it definitely shows in it's design. Game Dev Story was fairly simple, but developing games was very addictive. In Mega Mall story they start with one floor to build upon, adding simple stores like butchers, grocers, home goods and bakeries. Throughout the game you unlock new stores by developing nearby neighborhoods and parks, but also through ranking up your mall. The whole goal of the game is to get yourself a five star mall. You may just be building a mall, but there is depth to everything. Mega Mall Story gives you a casual addicting gameplay that leaves you satisfied, especially when you get your mall to full size and fully developed.


iOS: 3.1 or above            Developer: Kairosoft
Price: $3.99                    Recommendation: It is worth the attention for most gamers
App Page: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mega-mall-story/id454679700?mt=8


Tiny Heroes
Feel like playing a top down tiny version of Dungeon Keeper? Look no further than Tiny Heroes. A game that has you setting traps in an dungeon against a bunch of no good heroes that are out to steal your riches. It is a simple premise, but there are so many traps to unlock and combinations to try. Like Infinity Blade, this game is challenging and doesn't cater well to casual gamers. It continually presents more and more challenging levels, especially when the game has many different hero types to combat. There are several campaigns to play, long campaigns, leaving you with a lot to do. This game actually has worthwhile achievements, achievements that unlock new traps. Tiny Heroes is a great little game and it is one of the cheapest games on this list. My only warning to players is that it does get difficult towards the end of the first campaign. It is easy to enjoy the colorful graphics and attractive artwork. The game also runs very smoothly on the iPhone.

iOS: 4.0, but it runs fine on 3.0        Developer: Simutronics Corp 
Price: $1.99                                  Recommendation: A great find for fans of strategy and TD
App Page: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tiny-heroes/id458645418?mt=8




Sushi Chop
Sushi Chop is a game that provides an alternative to the classic Fruit Ninja. It is made by some people I personally know over at Rogue Rocket Games. Sushi Chop has you cutting up fish in order to create a platter of Sushi. It mixes up the basic premise by adding in wasabi and a sushi master mode that asks you to match up specific types of fish. Like Fruit Ninja, this game is incredibly simple, but is challenging, cheap and addicting. It boasts achievements, open feint and game center, and a online leaderboard to keep you competitive. Check it out if you are a fan of Fruit Ninja or similar types of games.


iOS: 3.0 or above                   Developer: Rogue Rocket Games
Price: $0.99                           Recommendation: Fans of Fruit Ninja and casual gamers
App Page: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sushichop/id443957324


Temple Run
It is free and all iOS gamers should own this one. The game has you using the motion of your iPhone along with touch in order to create a high speed run through some dangerous ruins. Temple Run is 3d and it is challenging, but it rewards you for each subsequent failure. I don't know if the game actually has an ending, but there are achievements for running extraordinarily far so I would guess that there isn't an end. The temple you run through is very reminiscent of an Indiana Jones adventure, spike traps and all. You collect money throughout a run through and you use that money to purchase power ups. Power ups let you do things like collect money from afar, go invisible for a short period of time or run with great speed temporarily. This is a simple game, but it has some depth and challenge to it. It is a great casual game, it is easy to pick it up for a couple minutes to do a run through and then go back to whatever you were doing. It does have microtranscations available, but all they merely do is give you money, money that you can earn normally.

iOS: 3.0 or above                     Developer: Imangi Studios
Price: FREE!                            Recommendation: Get it! Just don't expect too much out of it
App Page: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/temple-run/id420009108?mt=8



That's all for now. I'll be off to the university now, but I'll be back with more gaming news and reviews later tonight. Thank you for reading and check out some of these games.

 -Written by Sean Cargle