style game

VIDEO: The Incident… an awesome game you can play on your iPad with your iPhone

The Incident might sound like Jersey Shore‘s “The Situation‘s” little brother, but it is really an addictive retro-style game for your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. In the Big Bucket Software game you play Frank Solway, our hero, as the world comes crashing down all around him. We’re not really sure why, but a multifarious array of clutter starts to fall from the sky and you must work quickly to stay on top of the ever growing pile.

You can’t run away, you can only tilt to dodge, tap to jump and avoid the falling evidence of man’s existence on earth and try to collect power-ups and bonuses along the way. Not everything you can collect will help you, though—there are a few power-downs as well.

No Flash? No problem—click here!»

The Incident hit the iTunes Apps Store earlier this year and I liked it then, but I really like it now that the recent update has allowed me to use my iPhone as a controller while I watch the action on the iPad. Big Bucket also added a new mode called “Endless Nightfall” that I have yet to check out.1 They also added Game Center functionality for you competitive types.

Like most great and fun games, it’s quite simple in concept but rich in fun factor. And at $1.99 US, it’s a great value.

 VIDEO: The Incident... an awesome game you can play on your iPad with your iPhone
  1. I’m too busy trying to get out of the Mountains in “The Rise & Fall of Frank Solway” []

Star Wars Cantina HD… Diner Dash with blue milk

Mobile Photo Jul 4 2010 6 28 49 PM 225x300 Star Wars Cantina HD… Diner Dash with blue milkHave you ever wanted to run your own wretched hive of scum and villainy? Have you ever wanted to utter the words, “Hey! Your droids—we don’t serve their kind here.”? If you’re an iPhone or especially an iPad user, your dream has come true with Star Wars: Cantina HD.

Star Wars Cantina HD by THQ Wireless is a Star Wars themed Diner-Dash-style game where you play the beehive hairdo’d Nia Adea and do your best to keep the never ending rush of customers (jawas, moisture farmers… the occasional Hutt) happy. It’s all about speed, accuracy and meeting the daily quota.

As you progress through career mode, you’ll be given the opportunity to make upgrades to the cantina, bringing in more tables and customer-attracting decor.

As I write this, it occurs to me that the game is not particularly Star-Wars-like. Yes, it takes place in the Star Wars Universe and, if you like these kinds of games, it’s fun enough. But when I was running around in my backyard with my friends, beating each other up with brightly painted cardboard tubes from the cores of my Mom’s Christmas wrapping paper rolls, I was Darth Vader or Han Solo, maybe Luke Skywalker. None of us was calling dibs on getting to pretend to be the bartender. This is the kind of stuff that made Luke all whiny and long to join the rebellion.

I must admit, there is a struggle between the forces of good and of evil in the cutscenes of career mode where each day brings a new challenge. It’s just that it’s not the epic struggle that is the Star Wars trademark. I’m not hearing John Williams’ score playing as I imagine Nia Adea gazing whistfully at the twin suns of Tatooine. It’s just not there.

Fun, nice to look at, but not a blockbuster for me.

Still, at $4.99, it’s better than Phantom Menace.

Which Star Wars character did you always pretend to be? Were you the bartender? Leave me a comment below.