The best way I could describe Cannon Boy is a 3D version of Angry Birds. The gameplay is similar, however you need to shoot an egg-shaped boy out of a cannon, collect 3 stars, and enter the house. It is an interesting goals but it got fairly frustrating after a while due to the unforgiving nature of the game. There was only a single angle you can point at to beat a level, and if you are a micrometer off you fail it. That is similar to Angry birds, but that particular game was much more forgiving with its multiple birds. I attempted obtaining only two out of the three stars but it would not allow me to proceed to the next level without getting the the full three stars. I should mention that if you enjoy difficult games it can get pretty addictive trying to beat a level. It was a fairly rewarding experience when you finally beat a level.
The level environments were vibrant and cheerful and if you are fond of games with cutesy characters I would say this would be a good game to try.
The music and sound effects were well made and fit the game perfectly, but the constant squeal of the cannon boy was quite fatiguing after a short while so by the 6th level I had to mute it. More tracks and some interesting Cannon Boy sayings like “Here I go!” and “Allons-y!” would make the game much more playable. My final niggle with the game is it needs something like powerups to add variety and more of a fun aspect.
To conclude, if you enjoyed Angry Birds, you should definitely check this game out. There is a free lite version so you should at least download that for free. It is pretty addictive!

This review aims to review developer Luca Giusti’s game Blocks Hurt.

This game is a well thought out hybrid of a tower defence and match-3 game with a bit of Tetris sprinkled in. Colored bricks are transported across a conveyor belt at the top of the screen, and each one is dropped by simply tapping on it. The tricky part is the timing. You need to ensure the blocks are aligned correctly.

The first game mode called “collect blocks” involves matching tiles  and getting four in a row. This seems easy but you also have to defend against hordes of monsters at the same time.

Another game mode involves building blocks into a certain shape. The enemies in the game will quickly destroy you’re creations, so don’t forget to build a wall of defense.

I personally found the “Survive Time” game mode to be the most entertaining. It always got very intense when you were fighting off hordes of monsters and casting powers. Killing monsters means more spell juice, which means more spells and more monsters dead. Casting lightning on monsters never got old.

The levels are structured in a similar way to Angry Birds, where there are a bunch of levels for every world and each one has a star rating that you try to achieve, increasing replay value and addictiveness. The game seems to cater for both casual and core gamers. Some levels can be very difficult, however a level skip option is available after 3 failures. I really like how the game has boss battles though, which is something most core gamers should appreciate.

I wouldn’t have minded a time indicator in some levels. I should note that if you take too long during levels, a ghost pumpkin appears that walks slowly towards the left end of the screen, signifying the end of a level.

The only issue I had with the game was the text was slightly pixelated on retina displays. Note that this doesn’t affect gameplay and is barely noticeable, but it is the only complaint I could think of in an obviously well-thought out and polished game. It would be like trying to find issues with Angry Birds or Plants vs. Zombies.

One last thing I should mention is this game has one of the most creative uses for an accelerometer. Instead of making really awkward accelerometer controls, if you tilt the iPhone back the conveyor belt slows down, allowing you to aim the blocks a lot better. Don’t overuse it though, or you’ll be swarmed by monsters.

What we liked:

Fun Factor

Creative hybrid of match-3 game mixed with tower defence

Polished art

Enjoyable music

Four game types with 90 unique levels and 3 worlds keep the game fresh

Boss Battles!

What we didn’t like:

Text in most parts is slightly pixelated on the iPhone 4/4S but it wouldn’t bother anyone except typography nerds (me).

Feature Request:

iPad Version!

Time left indicator for some game modes.

2 player co-op survive mode where each player has to defend one side!