Bug Invasion (iPad)

The bugs are coming to steal your box of sugar cubes! Turn your kitchen table into a battlefield and stop them in their tracks in this wacky tower defense style game for iPad. All manner of cockroaches, spiders, flies, and beetles march down a given path in each level. It’s your job to set up traps along the way to whittle down their energy and squish them for good. If enough bugs make it to the end and steal all your sugar cubes before the level finishes, it’s Game Over.

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KooZac (iPad)

KooZac is a falling block puzzle game that you can now play on iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch (iPad version reviewed here). Guide and drop falling blocks with numbers on them, and make the blocks disappear for points. To clear out blocks, they must add up to a particular number shown on the top left side of the screen. For instance, if you need to make a 5, just line up 3 and 2 vertically. You can even line up multiple blocks for more points, so if you need to add 6, line up 1, 3, and 2 vertically. Cleared blocks of the same color will net you bonus points, too.

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Cary’s Top Block-Pushing Puzzle Games

Lately I’ve been thinking about a certain genre of games. Why? Well you’ll find out at the end of this blog. This kind of genre is one of my favorite types of games, but I don’t know what to call them. They’re mostly arcade games where you run and/or jump around a single screen maze trying to avoid or chase things. Games that fall into this category include Pac-Man (of course), but also classics like Bubble Bobble, Parasol Stars, Snow Bros., Tumble Pop, Tinkle Pit, and many more. Some of these games adopt a more puzzley approach to gameplay, where you have to push around blocks in the right way to get past the stages. These ‘block-pushing puzzle games’ are what I’ve been thinking about lately, so I thought that I’d list my favorite ones in this blog!

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SNK Arcade Shooter Classics: Chopper 1 & The Next Space (PS Minis)

SNK Playmore is bringing two more of its arcade classics for play on the PS3 and PSP as PS Minis. This time it’s a couple of 2-D vertically scrolling shooters: Chopper 1 and The Next Space.

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Toad’s Top Ten Mario Power-Ups (Well, Actually Cary’s Top Ten)

I thought I’d do a Mario themed blog since a big new game in the series is being released around this time. I first thought about writing on my favorite Mario games and characters, but I just did that when Super Mario 3-D Land came out. And while I have no qualms in revisiting old blog topics, since that was done less than a year ago, I figured it would be too soon to do again. I also thought about doing my favorite Mario villains, but aside from Toad and Luigi, all my favorite Mario characters are bad guys anyway (Koopa Kids, Wario, Capt.Syrup, etc.). So we’ll do my favorite Mario power-ups instead. The best ones are the power-ups that can make or break how well you get through levels, so we’ll go through some of my favorites here. The list isn’t in any particular order or anything.

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Extra Large August 3DS StreetPass Meetup for the North Dallas/Plano, TX Area!

It’s a little last minute, but we’re having another 3DS StreetPass Meetup in the North Dallas/Plano, TX area this Saturday, August 18.  Same time and place as always.  You can read more info about it here.  This time, we MIGHT even get a special preview of the upcoming 3DS XL and New Super Mario Bros. 2.  Maybe.  I’ll take pictures and post them here if we do!

To-Fu Collection (DS)

Help a living slab of tofu become a “Master of Chi” in this action-puzzler game for Nintendo DS. Use your stylus to stretch, stick, and sling the training tofu around obstacle filled levels and make it to the goal. Avoid spikes, lasers, and other traps as you bounce around trying to collect as many floating blue ‘chi’ orbs as possible. This collection contains two To-Fu games, previously on iOS and mobile devices.

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Just Dance With Chester Cheetah!

We all know Chester Cheetah as the mascot of Cheetos snacks.  But did you know that he was created by one of the same folks who came up with the Pink Panther cartoon?  Also, Chester Cheetah starred in TWO 16-bit 2-D platformer video games back in the day.  I never played them myself, but I hear they weren’t very good.  But now, Chester Cheetah is getting back into video games.  Click here to read a snipped of a press release announcing that you’ll be able to download music tracks for UbiSoft’s popular Just Dance music games.  And when Just Dance 4 comes out later this year, it looks like Chester might be in the game, too!  Ha!  Isn’t that ‘cheesy?’

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Jewel Master: Cradle of Rome 2 & Cradle of Persia (DS)

In these two match three style puzzler games, your job is to build Rome (or Persia) by lining up three of the same kinds of shapes to make them disappear. It’s very similar to Bejeweled, but in this one, you finish rounds by breaking tiles underneath by clearing out items in front of them. Once you do that, it’s off to the next round. Use the stylus and touch screen to tap on items and switch them to adjacent ones to line up three in a row.

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Reader Review: Death Rally (PC)

If you like top down racers like R.C. Pro-Am or Super Sprint, you might be interested in this. You can now download Death Rally on Steam for PC. It’s an updated version of an older computer game from around the mid-90’s or so. Since my brother Jeff is more of the computer game expert, I let him take a stab at this review.

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