As capably connected as iPod touches and iPhone are, we're still waiting for that killer multiplayer title. Eliminate Pro had a good stab at it, but its first-person shooter action still feels a little uncomfortable on an iPhone.
One of this week's picks, Anrufen, tries to fill in this gap with an online gaming staple - high fantasy.
From our Trawler Report once-over, Anrufen doesn't quite fit the bill for those dreaming of playing World of Warcraft on the go.
On the other side of the fantastical scale, Freeverse tries to fit a whole galaxy into your iPhone with Warpgate Free, a space trading and combat saga, in which you get the first two hours of story for free.
But if this sounds all too grand and rich for your tastes, there's two slices of retro in this buffet too.
Pick of the Week
Warpgate Free (iTunes)
Freeverse
Freemium
Our Tracy
didn't quite fall in love with
Warpgate when he gave it the full review treatment last month, but it's worth a download to experience its ambitious scope, now there's a free version.
Warpgate is an intergalactic trading and combat game, a genre that's normally reserved for PC gamers who like to discuss the various merits of graphics cards that cost a lot more than games consoles.
The free edition lets you play through the first chunk of the story, as well as going about your day-to-day business of roaming around space in procedural missions, for as long as you want.
Motocross Challenge Lite (
iTunes)
David Doucet
Demo
Last week, the Trawler featured
Babylonian Twins, an old Amiga game that never made it to the shelves, and this week we have
Motocross Challenge, an iPhone port of a Gameboy Advance game that bit the dust before release.
It's a dirt bike racer that lets you control the angle of your bike as well as its acceleration pedal, so landing properly is just as important as going fast. You can also perform tricks mid-air.
The lite version features a handful of challenges to check out, while the full version will set you back £1.79. It's retro, sans must.
Anrufen 2010 (
iTunes)
Wistone Wireless
Full, but need subscription for full access
Anrufen features in this week's report with a caveat or two. It's a bit of a mess in UI terms and from the off you'll have no idea what's going on, but it does manage an impressive feat - creating a bonafide MMORPG on your iPhone.
Anrufen has been around on Symbian devices for a while now, so there's already a community doing its stuff in the game - which is refreshing once you've tried a few low-key, virtually empty iPhone-only massively multiplayer games.
Implementing a world of high fantasy,
Anrufen welcomes comparisons to classic MMORPGs such as
Ultima Online and, yes ok,
World of Warcraft. You can try it out for free, or pay to gain access to the game's premium areas.
iUGH! Free (
iTunes)
Jakub Klen
Demo
iUGH! claims to be inspired by a 1992 DOS game, back when you could count the number of pixels characters were made up of without the aid of a magnifying glass and a week off work.
What this amounts to is that iUGH! features some of the same visuals as the original UGH!, and the same basic aim.
You're the caveman version of a taxi, driving a Flintstones-style foot-operated helicopter to get your patrons from one end of the level to the other. You control your vehicle using the accelerometer, making iUGH! a game of steady hands rather than fast wits.
Caligo Chaser Free (iTunes)
Com2Us
Demo
Com2Us games are always at least tinged with an Asian quality, which comes as no surprise when you realise the publisher hails from Korea.
Caligo Chaser is no different, oozing a JRPG flavour that makes it look like
Final Fantasy's lesser-known cousin.
Caligo Chaser is much more combat-oriented than your average JRPG though, but be prepared to read through a wad of conversations before getting to the meat of this lite version. It does look nice though, with plenty of eye candy to distract you from the reams of dialogue.
Crap Apps box of Shame award
Woman Remote (
iTunes)
Benjamin Hogan
Full
Chivalry is dead - long live chauvinism as it infects the world with its beery breath, drunkenly stumbling into our lives with an inflated, misplaced sense of entitlement. If you tire of being labelled with these unfortunate male stereotypes, or if you're subjected to them yourself, you should cast a disapproving eye at Woman Remote.
It's a soundboard app intended to replace all interactions with a female partner. Want them to get you some food or a drink? Just press a button. And for those times when you just want her to shut up, just hit the Mute Request button. After all we know "They don't half like to natter on, don't they."
