New releases round-up: Scurvy Scallywags, Bridgy Jones, Sparkle 2, and more

Every Thursday, we take time out to look at the week's new and noteworthy iOS games in both words and video.

There have been a lot of good games released on the App Store this week. We've got a new pirate-themed game from the Monkey Island man, a brilliant bridge-building game that I've been obsessing over all week, and a new tower defence game.

Haven't played one of those in a while.

There's also a puzzler, a couple of platformers, and some sequels.

But enough talk. Watch the video, then read on for prices, pretty pictures, and App Store links.

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Bridgy Jones
By Grow App - iPhone, iPad (69p / 99c)

Bridgy Jones is more than just a fantastic name. It's a stellar bridge-building puzzler, with a great editor and a cracking sense of humour.

Your job is to build bridges over gaps by snapping together bits of wood, lengths of rope, and sections of track. Then, you'll drive a steam engine over your construction and hope it can take the strain.

The best bit is the range of extra objectives, which force you to build bridges under tight limitations. You might have to reduce your dependency on wood, or make a jump, or beat a time limit. You are constantly being challenged to build in new and exciting ways.

Scurvy Scallywags
By Gilbert & Kauzlaric - iPhone, iPad (69p / 99c)

Scurvy Scallywags is an addictive match-three puzzler with some razor-sharp wit. You can thank Monkey Island maker Ron Gilbert for that, for he lent his winning sense of humour (plus some smart design and a love of all things piratical) to the game.

The core idea is that your pirate hero is a piece on the board. You can move said piece around by matching up blocks. It's a little tricky to get used to, but at least it's a very different spin on a tired (read: practically comatose) genre.

You'll move your swashbuckling hero about to collect quest items, beat up enemies, and loot treasure chests. It's every bit as compulsive as your typical gem matcher, albeit deeper and way funnier.

Sparkle 2
By 10tons - iPhone, iPad (£1.99 / $2.99)

Sparkle 2 is Zuma. Or Puzzloop, if you want to go back even further. Whatever you call it, it's about spitting gems into a big snake-like procession of other gems in the hope of matching three of the same colour.

So, what do you get here that isn't present in Sparkle, or any of its predecessors?

Well, some fancy power-ups, like fireballs and one that changes the colour of all nearby gems. And a whole lot of visual polish. That's about it, really.

Kingdom Rush: Frontiers
By Ironhide Game Studio - iPhone (£1.99 / $2.99), iPad (£2.99 / $4.99)

Speaking of vaguely distinct sequels, Kingdom Rush: Frontiers isn't a whole world of different from its predecessor.

Which is probably quite wise, seeing as the original game was so good. We gave Kingdom Rush a 9/10, you see, and said Ironhide Game Studio combines "as stiff a task as you're likely to encounter with a perfectly pitched sense of fun".

So, this one's got some fresh heroes, more enemy types, a larger array of towers, and more upgrades. 'The same, but more' could aptly describe this follow-up.

Kyubo
By Chestnut Studio - iPhone, iPad (69p / 99c)

Kyubo has a relatively clever idea up its sleeve. As well as controlling this weird little man in a gimp suit, you get to cast your influence over these patchwork cubes. Just tap on a block, and you'll get a set of controls for it.

So, you'll move platforms about, solve little environmental puzzles, and flick switches.

Sadly, this smart idea is let down by some truly horrific controls. Our hero floats through the air like an empty crisp packet, and trying to land on a precise spot is an exercise in sheer frustration.

Cubemen 2
By 3 Sprockets - iPhone, iPad (£1.49 / $1.99)

Cubemen 2 is another tower defence strategy thing. This time around, you're sending out boxy blue troops with guns and flamethrowers to stop an invasion of boxy red troops with guns and flamethrowers.

It got decidedly average reviews when it was released on PC, and this iOS port struggles with camera movements and letting me placing units on pinpoint tiles. Not for me, I'm afraid.

Color Zen
By Large Animal Games - iPhone, iPad (69p / 99c)

Color Zen is a fresh puzzle game.

Here's how it goes down: when two blocks of the same colour collide, that colour spills to fill the entire screen and all like-coloured (and exposed) blocks are engulfed. The idea is to systematically remove each unwanted colour until you fill the screen with the goal colour.

Man, I've said the word 'colour' a lot in there. But, yeah, it's a clever idea, and the game is well made. It's playful - the blocks are little physics objects - and its developer has stuck to that cool new flat design principle everyone's banging on about.

Not a bad game at all.

PYXL
By Perpetually Beta - iPhone, iPad (69p / 99c)

PYXL is okay. You spin this triangle around so that incoming coloured dots hit the edge of the same colour. You can tap on dots to speed them up and to get rid of black dots.

It's a little tricky to play, I must say. By virtue of spinning around this triangle, your big fat finger often covers up the shape and makes it impossible to see what the hell is going on.

I'm not won over, but it exists. That much is true.