Mobile Games Roundup
Bugs! Birds! Butterflies! Kahoots! Halcyon!
Kahoots HD
- iPad - £1.79
- Also available on iPhone (£0.59) and PSN Minis (£1.74)
"Lemmings in the style of LittleBigPlanet" was Dan's astute assessment of Honeyslug's whimsical gem when it emerged on Minis just over a year ago.
Now available in tempting touch-screen format in glorious HD, this 50-level puzzler makes perfect sense on iOS, with much of your attention focused on sliding and swapping tiles as you try to guide your wandering plasticine podge-monster to a nearby exit.
Every environment is awash with deadly spike traps and wandering cardboard-munching sentries, and getting the creature to its destination involves plenty of timed deployment of spring pads and trap doors to usher it to safety. As an optional secondary objective, you can also try to figure out how to reach the cake, tantalisingly placed elsewhere in the level.
But the star of the show is undoubtedly the Pegbeast, who delivers a spirited song between each level to explain the challenges that await. Just don't tell him to shut up, unless you really enjoy crushing the feelings of a sentient being into the dust. We all know what happened to HAL...
8/10
Steambirds
- Android - £1.28
- Also available on iPhone (£0.59), iPad (£1.19) and Flash (free).
A warped blend of top-down shooter and turn-based strategy, Rapid Development delights in twisting the tired and obvious into an enticing new shape with this one-time Flash game.
Now available on Android, the goal of Steambirds is to rule the skies by steering your steam-powered aircraft into position turn-by-turn, and unleashing your firepower accordingly.
In what comes across as the anti-Flight Control, each plane under your control has an arrow that you have to drag into position, with limited control every turn over the specific direction, speed and distance. The trick is to try and anticipate the flight path of your foe, get them in your sights and rake them with fire.
Although it only features 20 levels, it's one of those games you'll spend ages with repeatedly trying to craft a perfect four-star run by dodging enemy fire and bringing down your enemies with maximum efficiency. Far more fun than it reasonably ought to be, Steambirds is the kind of game whistling was invented for.
7/10