Each month we bring you the best new games to play on your iPhone or iPad, and June is no different. We've got some great nostalgia, food fights, a bit of programming and more – read on and get downloading!
Transformers: Earth Wars
Backflip Studios
Free
Transformers: Earth Wars takes this ever-popular franchise and once again spins it in a new direction. Having already conquered the Angry Birds genre, Earth Wars instead looks to games like Clash of Clans and Boom Beach as inspiration – and it works very nicely.
You start by picking a side – Autobots or Decepticons. I must mention here that I was impressed by how the two sides are presented: this isn't a simple case of good and evil, but more a question of whose ideals you agree with.
One side wants peace through bringing everyone together, while the other wants it by getting rid of those in their way. I'm not saying the maniacal Megatron is good at heart, but it's easy to sympathize with his cause. In a slightly related and current aside, it reminds me lot of X-Men Apocalypse which I've just watched: both Professor X and Magneto want peace, and ultimately to protect mutants, but differ greatly on how they aim to accomplish it.
That is just one example of something that sets this game apart from the many similar base-building strategy games: the lore behind it. At its heart, the game mechanics are not all that different from similar games – you build bases, wait while things are done, then attack the enemy or defend your fortress. However, the Transformers branding really does a lot to keep you interested and coming back.
You can unlock a variety of characters for your team, all taken straight from the cartoon series. You can also use their transforming abilities in battle: arielbots can use airstrikes, for example, while Optimus Prime can use his alternative form of a truck to ram and smash defenses.
All in all, if you like this style of game, you'll definitely enjoy Transformers: Earth Wars. In addition, if you're a fan of the show or toys, you'll definitely enjoy Transformers: Earth Wars. I guess what I'm saying is, everyone should download and play this game!
Sausage Legend
Milkcorp
Free
A somewhat oddball suggestion from our own Agent Lee, Sausage Legend takes the familiar barbecued treats and turns them into weapons of war! It’s a battle for world peace as you choose your sausage and battle to the death. Kind of.
You wield your chosen sausage in much the same way you would a sword, then battle the CPU until one of you runs out of health. There are 26 different types of sausage to choose from, including some legendary ones that are a bit tricky to unlock. The best part of the game really is the physics: each sausage has been painstakingly modeled, and renders in-game just like in real life.
The 3D graphics and realistic physics certainly are entertaining, and I can sort of see where the developers got the idea – putting sausages on a fork and pretending to sword fight. All in all, it’s pretty good fun – and ultimately has made me question what exactly Agent Lee got up to at the Southport Food Festival last weekend. Perhaps it’s best we don’t know.
Human Resource Machine
Experimental Gameplay Group
£3.99
"Human Resource Machine is a puzzle game for nerds". That's how Experimental Gameplay Group describe their game, and it's pretty much spot on – though I will wholehearedly recommend it to anyone and everyone.
The premise is simple. You are an Employee: a tiny cog in a massive, complex machine. You are dispensible – unless you can show your boss that you can do a better job than a machine!
If you do a good job, then congratulations – you get to continue for another year and get promoted to the next level up in this very high office building. You could call it an unsubtle commentary on the entire world of office jobs – and coming from the creators of World of Goo, that's not at all suprising.
But what about the gameplay? How do you make it to the next level up? Well, that's where the 'nerd' bit comes in. You will be using programming – yep, that stuff that makes computers work and looks incredibly complex. Don't worry, though – the programming used by Human Resource Machine is very simple, and all is explained to you as you start to play and make progress.
When you get down to it, it's really just simply a combination of puzzles that all come together to create a system that works. You simply arrange the instructions in order to perform whatever task has been assigned to you by the boss. The puzzles themselves vary between levels – with some having restrictions about the number of steps you can use to solve a puzzle or how many steps you can use.
I can't say much bad about the game really: the gameplay, puzzle elements and artwork are all fantastic. I thoroughly recommend you pick it up and start learning some basic programming!
MMX Hill Climb
Hutch Game Ltd
Free
Agent Hall tells me he's been a bit addicted to this game, and once I started playing it's easy to see why!
If you've played Hill Climb Racing, then you'll know what to expect from the physics: it's a careful balance between acceleration and braking to keep your momentum going, while also avoidng flipping over on to your roof.
You earn coins for your achievements in the races, which you can use to purchase other cars – or upgrade your current one to improve its speed and handling. In addition, there's an actual racing element to MMX Hill Climb– you'll be facing off against competitors on the track, and you'll have to use as many upgrades as you can to beat them.
There are a variety of enviorenments and terrains to deal with, as well as plenty of tricky hill climbs, descents and more. Overall, it takes the hill climb concept, with its fantastically simple controls, and adds a more competetive element by having you actually race others on the track! All in all, a great game – and perfect for those pick-up-and-play moments.
Never Alone: Ki Edition
E-Line Media
£3.99
Never Alone is a beautifully designed game that will hook you in with its great artistic style – and the story behind it, too. It's a great combination of puzzling and platforming that provides a lot of entertainment, but can give you an equally hard dose of the feels.
The game was designed in collaboration with the Iñupiat – a group of people native to Alaska. Nearly 40 elders, storytellers and community members helped to shape the game and bring it to life, and throughout the game you feel their influence as they try to share their stories.
In the game, you take on the role of Iñupiat girl Nuna and a fox companion as they go on an epic and dangerous adventure to try and stop a blizzard that's threatening the lives of everyone around them. The levels provide a lot of variation and challenge: you'll face snow, ice, caverns, water and more as you keep trying to progress.
The areas also have a lot of puzzles, or areas that are specific to either Nuna or Fox – so you'll frequently need to swap between the two to get past each challenge. The puzzles are put together really well – and, barring some fiddly controls every now and then, the game works perfectly on mobile.
In fact, though, Never Alone began its life on PC, and has since sprung up on many different formats. If you've played it before, there's not much new here – but for newcomers, the gameplay and design are definitely worth the £3.99!
That's it for our selection of the best iOS games this June – but if there's anything else that you've been enjoying lately, why not let us know about it in the comments below? We'd appreciate the tip!