Fieldrunners (4 Stars)

After playing my first Tower Defense Game (Plants Vs. Zombies) I really was in need of a new one so, with a little research, I decided on Fieldrunners and boy was I happy! This game is fantastic. Go buy it. That is all I am going to say! Ok I will give you a little more.

The entire premise of the game is that you must defend your base from an onslaught of enemies ranging from footman, tanks, prop planes and blimps! Your base is represented by the heart in the upper right hand corner with the number listed next to it.  You start out with twenty hearts and every time and enemy makes it to your base you lose a heart.  Once your heart reaches zero the game is over.  The enemy will come from one or two designated areas and will walk in a straight line to the exit (which is your base) unless you change their path.  You do that by placing towers in from of them.  The towers all have different attack modes ranging from straight fun fire to electrical tesla towers.  Each tower can also be upgraded three times for more firepower and distance.   Building your towers into a maze will allow the most opportunity for damaging the enemy since that tower will get to attack on two passes of the enemy instead of just one.

You have a nice selection of game modes to choose from so the game never gets boring.  You have your choice of Easy, Medium or Hard along with game modes Classic, Extended and Endless.  With Classic you have to survive 100 rounds with four tower types.  Extended adds two more towers and Endless goes on until you are defeated, with each round bringing more and faster enemies.  No matter the mode or difficulty you select you only have the twenty heart pieces.

There are a four maps available with the purchase of the game and another four available for .99 each.  The maps vary in style and strategy and are a must pick up for anyone who enjoys this game.  A couple of the maps also have tracks where trains will attempt to make it to your base.  Being that the trains are on the track you would think it would be easier to build a defense but the speed is your worst enemy.

This is a very strategic game and one that is fun for hours on end.  Every match can be different and some will take many sittings to complete (thankfully it picks up right where you left off when you close the game). The only thing I would have liked to see in this game is some type of multiplayer aspect as this game screems for head to head gaming.  I would love to battle our a friend and see who has the better strategy.  Perhaps in a sequel we will see this.  This game looks fantastic on the iPod/iPhone and even better in HD on the iPad.  Picking up this game is easy as the App store has it normally for $2.99 but if you watch sales you can pick it up for .99 like I did.  Enjoy!

Chaos Rings (4 Stars)

Now this is simply an amazing achievement for the iTouch. While playing Chaos Rings I swore I was playing a PS2 game as the graphics are amazing. The story is one spot where I feel it is lacking though and that is a big part of any RPG. The control is silky smooth and unlike alot of games where the "analog" stick is hard coded in postion this one is dynamic ... anywhere you touch the screen the stick shows up and that point is center so you can control it from where ever you want. Gameplay is straight "Final Fantasy-esqe" with one cool addition, you can fight solo with your parter and each have their own attack and target or you can pair up and do a more damaging attack. Only issue with this is that both parties will suffer damage when the enemy attacks. The spell effects are just as gorgeous as any Final Fantasy there is a huge variety in spells. Overall this game is a must have in that it really shows off what the iTouch can do and almost makes up for a "blah" story.

Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D (4 Stars)

Kart racing is one of those genres you either love or hate.  Purist racers just scoff at the cartoony graphics and physics but that is the exact reason I love these type of games.  Who needs to work at earning cars and licenses, this is a game people.  Just have fun!  And that is exactly what this genre has always provided!

The Crash Bandicoot kart racing series started on the PSOne with Crash Team Racing.  This was a fantastic first outing and competing with Mario Kart 64 very admirably.  From the courses to the weapons the first game in the series did it right.  Fast forward through many sequels on many different platforms and we arrive at what I am reviewing here, Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D for the iOS platform.

Now this is one fun kart racing game!  This game has the same look and feel of the PSOne original and is a great homage to that game.  Being on iOS you know the control scheme will be different and for what it is worth it works.  CBNK 3D is a fast game and screens for physical controls but on this platform you have to do with tilt controls.  You just tilt your iOS devce left or right to turn in that direction. It does take a little practice but once you get used to it it does control very well. The graphics are very sharp, just as good as the PSOne in my opinion. Before purchasing my iPod Touch I had no idea iOS could do 3D graphics this well. The courses are all fun and imaginative and the action is fast and furious!

If I had to pick one area where I feel it falls short it would be in the sound area. The music just doesn't live up to the normally great Crash Nitro Kart tunes of the past. You are missing a lot of sound effects also that you will be used to from the series.  Sound wise the game just seems kind of blah.

Overall the game is great and I highly recommend this to any kart racing fan! .I am sure most of my issues will be fixed with future entries to the series.  You can't go wrong with the Bandicoot!