Glyder ($1.99, download) is a beautiful and well-designed flying game and one of the better tilt games for the iPhone I’ve played. It features an immense game world, smooth flying controls, and tranquil gameplay that’s occasionally interrupted by the need for some tricky flying maneuvers. If you are the type who can enjoy a good adventure without needing a constant feeling of imminent danger, than you’ll enjoy Glyder. We are rating it a 7.8 out of 10, recommended.

What’s most impressive about Glyder is the size and scope of its never-ending game world. It creates a similar feeling of freedom you get from playing games like World of Warcraft or Grand Theft Auto where you can pretty much go and do as you please.

That’s not to say there isn’t a purpose to the game. The object of Glyder is to collect gems that are scattered about a series of islands and floating castles. Once you collect all the gems from one area, you are then prompted to travel to the next, often requiring you to fly across a wide expanse of water. There are no time limits, nor is there any death. If you crash, you are simply transported to the starting landing area for each area.

Because there is no real urgency in the game, there is instead a peaceful feeling you get from soaring around in the sky. There are some nail-biting moments too, however. Often the gems are located in very tricky places that require you to fly very low to the ground or barely fit your large wingspan through a tight passageway. The best moments in the game come when you develop the flying skills to collect gems from these areas.

I have to admit, I generally don’t find accelerometer-based games the strongest of game categories. But Glyder’s controls enhance the gameplay rather than reduce it or cause frustration. The tilt controls give a first-person feel to the flying, creating a sense of tranquil peacefulness that pilots must feel while flying their planes in the lonely blue.

The music and sound effects are also well-designed and go far to enhance the overall peaceful feeling of the game. Its evident that the designers had a particular mood they wanted expressed in Glyder’s gameplay, and they are effective in implementing it into the game.

Conclusion

Glyder is an impressive tilt-steering flying game with an immense, go-anywhere, do-anything gaming world. While the game is not particularly fast-paced, the daring flying maneuvers help balance out time spent peacefully flying around the various areas. We rate it a 7.8 out of 10, recommended.

Name: Glyder
Developer: Glu
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Price: $1.99
iTunes Link: Download

Snail Mail ($1.99, download) is a fun tilt-steering game that delivers smooth controls, challenging tracks, and a quirky main character. Many of the tilt-steering games I’ve reviewed so far have been marred by frustrating controls (Super Monkey Ball) or uninspired game play (Moto Chaser). Snail Mail avoids these flaws to deliver an enjoyable, uptempo, challenging game. The graphics won’t garner any awards, but it’s well-designed and plays like a fun rollercoaster ride. We are rating it a 7.1 out of 10.

Snail Mail stars a young wise-cracking snail named Turbo whose job is to collect and deliver packages for an intergalactic postal service. But his job has been made difficult thanks to some evil slugs who’ve erected some obstacles along the way.

Although its official app store description calls it a “racing game,” it’s actually more of a survival game where the object is to keep from falling off the track or running into objects. The only racing comes in the form of time trial and challenge modes, but there is no competing against another racer in real time. The main part of the game is the Postal Adventure, which features 50 levels you must survive and offers an impressive 15 hours of game play or more to complete.

Using the iPhone’s accelerometers, you must steer Turbo along a track floating in space without falling off or being destroyed. The game is similar in style to the Ghost Valley or Rainbow Road tracks from Mario Kart. Scattered along the tracks are obstacles, gap, ramps, loops, etc, all of which can send Turbo careening into space or make him curl back into his shell.

Navigating the tracks is the strongest part of the game. The tracks are well designed, and the tilt controls are tweaked perfectly so that there is no sense of over- or understeering. It’s important that the controls are done right, because when the game throws a twist like splitting paths, jumps, or loops, part of the fun is maintaining that sense of control amongst all the speed and chaos.

The graphics of the game are somewhat uninspired. While the animations are done well, the overall color scheme and objects do not change much throughout the game. The sound is also standard fair, although there is some dialogue via Turbo, who cracks some humorous lines. It keeps the game light and fun.

Conclusion

Snail Mail stands out thanks to finely tuned controls and well-designed tracks. It looks like the developers, Sandlot Games, have a good grasp on the iPhone’s accelerometers, and others would do well to pay attention. Snail Mail is recommended for those looking for a best-in-class tilt-racing game. 7.1 out of 10, recommended.

Name: Snail Mail
Developers: Sandlot Games
Version Reviewed: 1.00
Price: $1.99
Download:

The main problem with Super Monkey Ball is its incredibly frustrating game play. The game relies on the iPhone’s accelerometers to move the character, a monkey inside a ball, through various puzzle boards without falling off the edge. However, the tilt and steering are so sensitive, it is nearly impossible to comfortably control your character. And, the game designers did not add a way to adjust the steering sensitivity. Even the slightest twitch of your hand sends your monkey rolling off at an uncontrollable speed. Game play soon degrades into just trying to hold your iPhone still and level. There are other games, like Labyrinth, that get this type of control scheme right, and that’s what makes Super Monkey Ball, at ten bucks, so disappointing.

The game features 5 worlds and 110 levels. You start out on a world with ten unlocked levels. You must collect all the bananas and beat the clock by reaching the goal at the end of each level. Beat all ten levels, and you unlock the next world.

The game does not allow you to save your progress. If you’ve unlocked 9 of 10 levels and suddenly have to shut down the game, you have to start all over again. However, if you do manage to unlock a world, it will remember the next time you start.

The graphics and sound are impressive and are comparable to what you’d find on a Nintendo DS or PSP. The soundtrack is light and upbeat and goes perfect with the colorful cartoon graphics.

Conclusion

Super Monkey Ball is a frustrating gaming experience. Those looking for a casual game for the wait in the dentist’s office will find only a poorly designed, frustrating game. In the end, the poor implementation of the control scheme ruins the pleasant graphics and well-designed animations. You’ll wish you’d spent the $10 somewhere else.

• Name: Super Monkey Ball
• Developer: SEGA
• Cost: $9.99
• Download: Click here