Valet Hustle is an arcade style game or the iPhone/iPod Touch. The game is a cross between a time management style game and a puzzle game. Players have to park cars as fast as possible and then retrieve the cars when the customers show back up for the cars. Players have to manage the customers, manage parking the cars and retrieving the cars.

The cars won’t drive in until there is a spot for them to pull into. There is one spot to drop off the car and if that spot is full the cars will start lining up and eventually get mad and start honking their horns. As soon as the front car is moved to a spot, another car will fill the drop off spot. The cars are moved by tapping on the car and then tapping on the spot where you want to park the car. The cars will drive themselves to the spot the player clicked on unless there is another car in the way. There can only be one car driving on the path at a time.

When the cars are ready to be picked up, the player will see a customer appear and their car will get a number above the car that is theirs. The numbers are in order and the cars need to leave in that order. In other words, player can’t click on the number 2 car before bringing back the number 1 car. The player taps on the car with the number on it and then taps on the drop off space to return the car to the customer.

The story surrounding the game is a bit different. The story focuses on a lesbian theme and the main character gets kicked out of school for kissing another girl. This was not the first school she got kicked out of and her father had had enough and made her go to work as a valet and that is how the valet career began. If you would rather not play a game with a lesbian/gay theme, you may want to consider another game.

Over all, Valet Hustle is fast moving and will pass the time. There are levels, but the game doesn’t really stop until you lose, sort of like Tetris.  Eventually, you get a helpers along the way that will make things a bit easier, but the game is not easy by any means. The game gets fast and hectic and will keep players challenged. If you are into puzzle/arcade style games, check out Valet Hustle in the iTunes App Store.

Few gamers are not aware of Popcap’s fun tower defense game Plants Vs. Zombies; you can check out our review of the original game here. As expected with a runaway smash hit by Popcap, the game will be seeing new platforms such as Xbox Live Arcade. However, the game was just released for the iPhone and iPod Touch for $2.99, albeit a more stripped down version.

How does it translate?

The answer is: exceedingly well, and the touch screen format actually enhances the game quite a bit. Picking up sunbeams and coins is far easier, since all you need to do is tap them rather than drag the mouse across the screen; it will be interesting to see how the game deals with a gamepad when it comes to the Xbox 360. Placing plants is surprisingly accurate as well; in the hours that I’ve played, I never placed a plant in the wrong place with my finger. The only real change to gameplay is that the plant “cards” are moved to the left side of the screen, which is ergonomically the right choice for the wide touch screen; it felt much more natural.

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Tumbles is a match three game for the iPhone/iPod Touch. There is one feature that sets this match three game apart from other match three games and that is the use of the accelerometer. Players can tilt the iPhone/iPod touch in any direction to get the balls to roll from side to side to make matching the same color easier, but more challenging at the same time.

The goal of the game is to clear the bubbles off the screen. Players clear the bubbles by tapping on three or more of the same color. The bubbles disappear and players have to clear the entire screen before time runs out to get points. If players can not manage to clear a bubble and it is the only color on the screen there is a “zap” ability that can take care of the bubble. There are only a certain amount of zaps that can be used, though, so gamers can’t count on the zaps to save them.

As each level increases it gets harder and harder to match all of the bubbles. There are bubbles that change color when you click on them. These bubbles are marked by a line. Tapping on a lined bubble will change the color of the bubble, which makes it more difficult to match. Players should try to get rid of the striped bubbles first.

Players can change the dynamic of the game by tilting the iPhone/iPod Touch. Tilting the device will cause the bubbles to fall and move in the direction the device was tilted. The bubbles shift around according to physics and can be moved into matching colors that way. The player can tip the device in any direction to cause the bubbles to move.

Over all, Tumbles is a fun game and a good way to pass the time. The tilting feature makes the match three play different than other match three games and keeps the game play style interesting. If you are a fan of match three games, check out Tumbles in the Apple App Store.

Postman Pat is a puzzle game for the iPhone/iPod Touch. The puzzles consist of a few different types of mini-games. Sometimes players will have to stamp envelopes as they are coming off of a conveyor belt and other times they will have to match two letters going to the same person. Each game requires the user to attain a certain amount of points.

The points the player needs to advance to the next level is given to the player before the game starts. If the player is not able to attain the allotted number of points, the level will need to be played again. The player can keep playing until they pass the level. In Story Mode players can not progress to the next mini game until the one they are on is complete.

The mini games are not too difficult, but some of them take some getting use to. The stamping of envelopes took a time or two to get use to touching the stamp in the correct spot. If the player touched the envelope in the wrong spot the stamp would go over the address, which would result in no points for the envelope.

The touch controls work well and the game never mis-registered a touch. The touch mechanisms are easy to use and make it easy to navigate through the game.

Over all, Postman Pat is a fun set of mini games that will keep players entertained for a while. The game is set up perfectly for short bursts of game play. Players can play much longer, but each mini game can be played in a matter of minutes, which makes them convenient for waiting in line or for an appointment. Players that like puzzle games in the form of mini games can’t go wrong with Postman Pat.

Manic Monkey Mayhem is an arcade style game for the iPhone/iPod Touch. The goal of the game is to knock the monkeys off of their platforms or dodge bananas as monkeys try to knock you off of the platform.

The controls for the game are simple and take advantage of all the iPhone/iPod Touch features. Players touch the throw button to throw the bananas at the monkeys. The longer players keep their finger on the throw button the further the banana is thrown. There is a meter on the side of the screen that gives the player an indication of how hard the banana will be thrown. The higher the meter climbs the harder the banana is thrown. The monkeys are at different distances so the meter comes in handy.

The other object of the game is to avoid bananas. Players are able to avoid bananas by using the built in accelerometer in the iPhone/iPod Touch. Players tilt their device in a certain direction and the monkey will move in that direction and hopefully avoid the incoming banana. It takes some practice to be able to avoid the incoming bananas and once you get the hang of it, they add more monkeys throwing more bananas.

The game offers a tutorial, which must be completed before continuing on with the campaign mode. The tutorial walks you through all the different scenarios that players will encounter in the game. Players will lean how to throw bananas and how to avoid bananas. The tutorial is nice to learn the mechanics of the game.

Over all, Manic Monkey Mayhem is a fun and entertaining game. The controls are easy to use and work flawlessly. There is plenty of entertainment value in the game and the little monkeys are entertaining. If you are into arcade style games, you can’t go wrong with Manic Monkey Mayhem.