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8 best iPhone and iPad games this week - Gamebook Adventures 9: Sultans of Rema, Rocket Robo, and more

Draw Slasher! On The Line! Dungeon Keeper!

8 best iPhone and iPad games this week - Gamebook Adventures 9: Sultans of Rema, Rocket Robo, and more
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iOS
| New releases round-up

Every Friday, Pocket Gamer offers hands-on impressions of the week's best new iPhone and iPad games.

This week, a fan favourite has been resurrected as a free-to-play game, a movie legend has tried his hand at mobile games, and a gamebook maker has asked us to roll for intuition yet again.

Plus, follow our recommendations and you'll clear snow, slice zombie monkey pirates, and star in your very own arcade game.

Think we've missed a top new iOS game? Shout at us with all your might in the comments section at the bottom.


This week's top pick

Gamebook Adventures 9: Sultans of Rema
By Tin Man Games - buy on iPhone and iPad (£3.99 / $5.99)

Sultans of Rema

It's yet another digital Choose Your Own Adventure story from Tin Man Games, and another game where your decisions have far-reaching consequences on the story.

This one's got flying carpets, political intrigue, and plenty of digital dice rolling, and it serves as a direct sequel to Gamebook Adventure #3, Slaves of Rema.

Harry gave this ninth edition a Silver Award. He said: "A fast paced and entertaining adventure, once it gets going Sultans of Rema will have you on the edge of your seat."

Roll to see if you fall off the edge or not.


Also out this week...

Rocket Robo
By Aaron McElligott - buy on iPhone and iPad (69p / 99c)

Rocket Robo

Controlling this pint-size robot couldn't be easier. You tap the screen to activate his thrusters, and then tilt your phone to navigate the levels. Eventually, you're able to swipe up and down to move from the background to the foreground.

It's got a cute LittleBigPlanet-style aesthetic with patchwork blocks and stitched-on buttons. It's a little rough around the edges, sure, and will be too easy for seasoned gamers, but it's got a lot of charm.

Draw Slasher
By Mass Creation - buy on iPhone and iPad (£1.99 / $2.99)

Draw Slasher

A simple but satisfying port of a PS Vita game in which you use your finger to cut, slice, snip, sever, chop, and trim hordes of pirate monkey zombies.

We gave the Vita edition a Silver Award. We said that "this simple, elegant, well-made casual game is exactly the sort of cheap and cheerful experience that handheld consoles were made for."

And don't worry: it works just as well on iOS.

On The Line
By Kevin Choteau - buy on iPhone and iPad (69p / 99c)

On the line

On The Line is another brutal abstract avoid-'em-up. This time around, though, YOU are the star.

To play the game, you have to put your finger on the screen and then carefully drag it about the screen to navigate a snaking maze of dangers, obstacles, and sharp corners.

It's very clever and a lot of fun to play. It's just a shame that the various Unreal Engine splash screens (you wouldn't even know it was done in the same engine as Infinity Blade) make it so slow to load.

Dawn of the Plow
By Dan FitzGerald - buy on iPhone and iPad (£1.49 / $1.99)

Dawn of the Plow

Dawn of the Plow is intended to be a small side-project from indie dev Dan FitzGerald while he's hard at work on the hotly anticipated Dog Sled Saga.

But it's a good game in its own right.

In Dawn of the Plow, you dart about an isometric highway network as you try to keep the roads clear without bashing into other cars. There's a staggeringly steep difficulty curve here, but you'll keep coming back each time you mess up.

Dungeon Keeper
By Electronic Arts - buy on iPhone and iPad (Free)

Dungeon Keeper

This is not the Dungeon Keeper you remember. It's not the Peter Molyneux-helmed god game from the late '90s. Instead, it's a controversial free-to-play reboot that has more in common with Clash of Clans than the Bullfrog original.

But if you can get past the wait timers and IAPs and the iffy fundamental changes to the formula, this is a nifty base-building management game that's got a lot more going on in it than the average Clans clone.

You might delete it in disgust after about four picoseconds, but it's worth a try at least. It is, after all, free-to-play.

Bloodstroke
By Chillingo - buy on iPhone and iPad (£1.99 / $2.99)

Bloodstroke

Hong Kong movie legend John Woo's got his fingers in a lot of pies. And those pies are exploding in slow motion and filled with white doves.

So, when he's not directing films, creating comics, or influencing film genres, he's now making mobile games.

His first is Bloodstroke, a pretty basic run-and-gun game where you shoot and slash baddies as security agent Mai Lee. It's fast and fluid to play, if nothing massively original. The painterly black, white, and red art, at least, is very striking.

Pyro Jump
By Pinpin Team - buy on iPhone and iPad (Free)

Pyro Jump

A fine one-tap platformer about a cuddly flame and his ceaseless task to burn down papercraft princesses. In most of the levels, you have to bounce between spinning wheels by tapping at the right time, or you have to avoid spikes and other obstacles.

I've run out of things to say, so I'll just start quoting numbers now. It has 80 levels! It has four worlds! It has 29 bonus levels! It has 25 Game Center achievements! I own 12 pairs of socks!

Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer