GRL Games is known not only as the studio of one Graeme Devine, it's also developing a reputation for bringing video chat to iOS games. Last month we reviewed Full Deck Hold 'Em [Free] and found its video chat implementation fascinating. Now something word game fans can experience the joy of face-to-face play in the studio's latest, Word Chat [Free; Normally 99�].

With one update under its belt already, Word Chat should be a well-executed experience. But while its single-player modes are great fun, the game doesn't succeed universally � and it falters, strangely, in the multiplayer experience.

No matter the mode, Word Chat centers around making words out of seven random Scrabble-esque tiles. The words are scored on the letters used, with a modifier added for length. Five letter words are worth double, six letter words are worth triple. For those who manage a full anagram of their tiles, quadruple multipliers are waiting.

Solo, Word Chat offers four ways to play. 200 Tiles gives players (you guessed it) 200 tiles to work through, seven at a time, to earn the highest score possible. Countdown gives players as many tiles as they can work through in 100 seconds. Infinite Play is like Countdown, but additional time is rewarded for words that are four letters or longer.

Word Solitaire was added in the game's first update. It presents players with seven columns of tiles, with only the lowest row exposed. Players must make words with the exposed letters and work up the board until all the tiles are used, at which point they level up and start over. This is easily the most challenging, and potentially frustrating, mode. You can replace up to three random tiles, but in my experience it's not uncommon to reach to the end of a level with no workable words. Having a solid strategy helps, but there's an element of randomness that leaves things occasionally frustrating.

Multiplayer throws you up against a Game Center opponent in Countdown mode. Both players use the same pool of words to keep things fair, so you're kept from seeing your opponent's words. This results in an oddly disconnected experience where the two of you play in parallel until a winner is presented at the end. You can't really take the time to chat, either, since you're on a tight timer.

Worse, there doesn't seem to be any way to decline video chat � at least not while playing with a friend (I wasn't able to find a random match to try it in). You'd best trust any Game Center friends you play with to stay on task. At least you can toggle your own camera on or off.

In Full Deck Hold 'Em, video chat makes a lot of sense. Seeing the expressions of your opponents adds another level to the poker experience, and the game is slow paced enough that you can have a conversation while you're playing. In Word Chat, it's a gimmick. A few tweaks could help, but when it comes down to it short-form word games probably aren't ever going to be very well suited to video chat.

The single-player content of Word Chat is worth the asking price alone (or lack of asking price, in the case of the sale that's taking place as of this writing). I'm particularly fond of 200 Tiles, because it provides a slow, thoughtful experience that most anagram-hunting games avoid. If you're looking for the next Words With Friends [$1.99] you won't find that depth of multiplayer here. But as an inexpensive way to entertain yourself while chatting with a friend, Word Chat will more than do the job.

It's not often that a game comes around that can be considered both a deep, strategy-heavy game, and a vertical-scroller. Yet, that's exactly the sort of game that Elemites [Free] claims to be. Dubbed as a "Real-time Scrolling Strategy (RTSS)," Elemites combines the forced movement of a vertical-scroller with the inherent strategy of minion management and wraps it all together with a robust spell and upgrade system. It certainly sounds like an odd game, but Elemites manages to nail this combination and should definitely be on the list of any strategy fan.

In Elemites, you play as Relph, a wanna-be wizard that stumbles upon a magical book of summoning. In addition to teaching Relph how to summon Elemites, golem-like creatures that will attack anything in front of them, the book also convinces Relph to go on a rampage, destroying every village in the land.

So how exactly does a real-time scrolling strategy game play? Relph stays at the bottom of the screen, slowly moving forward (you can only control whether he goes left or right). Meanwhile, tapping anywhere on the screen conjures up Elemites at that location, which will slowly move forward attacking peasants, fences, buildings � anything in front of them. Summoning Elemites uses mana, however, which also doubles as Relph's shield. Your goal, then, becomes to micromanage your mana by summoning Elemites at the right place and time, while recouping mana earned by downed foes and avoiding enemies gunning for Relph.

Relph also has access to a wide variety of spells that are progressively unlocked throughout the game. Spells range from damage boosts to your Elemites to life drains to chain lightning. In addition, each spell (as well as Relph and the Elemites) can be upgraded numerous times throughout the game by cashing in 'Vengeance' points, which are earned every time an enemy is killed or building is destroyed. Even though there are 16 total spells that are unlocked, you can only take five into battle, which means that choosing which spells to upgrade becomes that much harder.

The beauty of Elemites is that there are tons of different ways to play the game. Sure, summoning your minions is going to be a big part of your strategy regardless, but spell selection definitely affects the way you use them. Will you focus more on resource management and keep your active Elemites out there longer with healing and defense spells, or will you take matters more into your own hands with spells that directly affect your enemies? The upgrade system also opens up the door to a variety of strategies, as you'll have to decide whether to make your spells more potent or invest more heavily in resource management upgrades.

Of course, variety wouldn't mean much if the game didn't play well. Thankfully, Elemites takes care of that as well. I appreciate the way that the developers have managed to boil the controls for what could be a complicated game down to simple touch-based mechanics. In fact, the controls may be too simple occasionally; if you don't pay attention, you could easily exhaust your mana conjuring up Elemites. However, I'd rather the game be hyper-responsive than plagued with delayed input.

Another aspect I loved about Elemites was its overall presentation. The artwork in particular deserves a special mention, as everything from the menus and story illustrations to even the enemies are just well done. It's obvious that a lot of effort was put into the overall visuals and it definitely shows. One minor complaint involved some strange graphic artifacting that would occasionally show up while playing, but it did little to detract from the gameplay. I even enjoyed the story writing, which does a good job of weaving the tale while not taking itself seriously. My only gripe is with the banner ad at the top of the screen that is present even while playing the game. Granted, the ad gets removed if you purchase the whole game (as a $0.99 IAP), but it still detracts from what is otherwise a great experience. I would have also liked a universal version of Elemites as well, as I think the gameplay would work well on the iPad.

Considering that Elemites is available for free with the first world unlocked, there's no reason why you shouldn't be checking this out. It's simply an entertaining game that manages to test both your reflexes and strategy IQ and offers enough diversity to distinguish itself from the pack.

Simogo's Bumpy Road [$2.99] is one of the most inventive, intuitive, and refined experiences on touch devices, so we're pretty stoked to hear this bit of news: against the odds, the game has hit 100,000 downloads. This is a pretty big deal for the independent outfit, which doesn't have the same name recognition as, say, a Firemint and is, obviously, competing against tons and tons of other independent studios for the mass market's dollar.

In more practical news for those of you who aren't interested in milestones, Bumpy Road will go on sale soon thanks to this accomplishment. Starting this Wednesday and rolling until late this Thursday, you'll be able to grab the game for $.99 instead of the usual $2.99.

You can read our review of Bumpy Road at this handy-dandy link. Spoiler: we liked it. Oh, and just as a side-note here, we're in the process of trying to grab an interview with Simogo for another bonus episode of our podcast. As soon as we can, we'll get that out to you.

[Via @simogogames]

About a year ago, Hypership Out of Control [$0.99]made its debut on Xbox Live Indie Games, better known as that place where good games go to die. Thankfully it's come to a platform where it might get a bit more attention, as it should. It's crazy fun.

Here's the score: you pilot a spaceship that's lost its brakes. The accelerator is floored. Your ship is speeding out of control and it's up to you to keep it from crashing. Don't even think about blinking until you've made it through safely.

Hypership Out of Control doesn't stray far from the archetypal vertical shooter. The ship flies and shoots ever upward while obstacles pass around it. Relative touch controls are the order of the day � that is, the ship echoes the movements of your finger, no matter where you touch the screen. They're precise and effective, which is for the best. Where this game diverges from the norm is in speed, and a lot of it.

As you fly, your ship moves faster and faster. There's a cap you can hit, but that maximum increases with every wave you survive. For ten waves you'll need to dodge obstacles, collect powerups (some of which slow you down, and others speed you up) and shoot foes out of the sky. All while going faster and faster, and all without a single break in the action.

You have three lives and a small collection of bombs to get you through. Should you manage to survive all ten waves you can do it again and try to improve your placement on the Game Center leaderboard (and snag an achievement or two in the process). Coins are both multiplier and score, so top players will need to learn how to collect 'em all. You can also hit up any of the three other game modes.

Hardcore is the most intense of the four. It gives you just one life to survive all ten waves. Coindown turns coins into fuel � you burn them constantly, and you're toast if you run out. Superspeed is probably self explanatory: this one lets you break the max speed barrier and fly at insane speeds.

No matter which mode you play, the game is always essentially the same. The waves aren't random, so memorizing the best way to progress is definitely helpful. If, however, this starts to get a little old, there is one way to mix things up: you can reverse the waves in any mode. This lets you play each wave from end to beginning, and it has its own set of leaderboards. This may not be quite enough variety, but there is a lot of fun to be had before flying the same route gets dull.

If you're looking for a new set of leaderboards on which to prove your worth, Hypership Out of Control will give you a great time while you're working on it. The whole game is lovingly infused with retro style, from its pixel art to its music and sound, and that aesthetic carries over to the gameplay. Even on normal mode, this game is hardcore. So give it a shot, and drop by our discussion thread to let us know what you think.

The answer to the eternal question of what happens when a plane filled with crates of animals crashes has finally been answered by pioneering iOS developer TransGaming. The answer is found in Kula Blox [99c / HD], and apparently, in the event of an airborne disaster, animals feel the need to eat everything under themselves in the food chain on the way to the ground. Hey, it seems plausible.

You choose an animal to control and then use tilt or tap controls (or both) to move left or right, through the air, preying on any animals smaller than yourself, chasing them down if they try to flee. If you collide with a larger predator, you'll lose one of your three hearts (lives) for that fall. The more animals you eat, the larger and more dominant you become, as you move up the food chain.

This game currently has three worlds: Jungle, savannah and forest, with 12 airborne levels each (36 total) plus the standard note promising more levels in future. At the start of each level, you're given three goals to satisfy. For example, you may be asked to eat 10 frogs, 15 frogs and 50 monkeys. (At least, I think the green things are frogs.)

If you're an expert, you may be able to satisfy all three goals in one go, but that's not necessary, as you're able to complete each goal in a separate attempt. Each time you complete a goal, you earn a totem, with one totem unlocking the next level and three totems meaning all goals are satisfied for that level.

Initially you can only control a Jaguar, but later you unlock other predators, such as an eagle or cobra. Each animal has different abilities, like Cheetah Boost (speed), Cobra Sense (slow motion) and Panthergeist (pass through animals and obstacles), which you unlock as you progress. These powers are activated via icons on the screen.

There's also pick-up's to grab as you're falling, such as a tortoise shell (shield), parachute (slows descent) plus animal magnets and score multipliers. Or you can buy the pick-up's using money gained from the treasure chests you crash into, on the ground.

You're initially falling through the sky with clouds in the background, but as you descend, the background changes, introducing trees and cliffs which jut out, before you eventually hit into the ground and treasure chests.� Little birds display signs indicating the distance to the ground, so you know how much time you have left to satisfy the goals.

The developers advise the word "Kula" means "Eat" in Swahili, which ties in with the carnivorous theme. However, one user in the forums mentions that "Kula" is another word for "excrement" in Hungarian. Ironically, this game does actually feature some falling animal excrement, which should � as always � be avoided. And according to the developers interesting blog post about the development process, the game was almost called "Animal Droppings", which would have been an apt description.

Kula Blox is a simple game which is made more interesting by the "animal-eats-animal while falling" premise. There's not a lot of variety in the levels in terms of game-play, but it's a relaxing way to pass a few brainless minutes.

Rovio Mobile's Angry Birds [$.99 /�Free /�Lite /�HD /�HD Free]�is a big deal. It and its various iterations have been downloaded collectively over 350 million times, advertisers and marketers are licensing the property's characters and mechanics at will to promote products like nuts and phones, Wal-Mart is selling official toys in kiosks, and now at least one enterprising retailer is set to start offering a gigantic line-up of dreadful Halloween costumes based on the IP.

Fulfilling the world's fantasy of being a Pig King for a day is Costume Discounters. The company is now taking pre-orders for a host Angry Birds helmets, baby costumes, and regular costumes based on the brand. It's hard to tell at a glance if these are official goods, but that point doesn't drown out the fact that Angry Birds demands a level of awareness so great that retailers reckon people will wrap their babies in it. This is wild stuff.

Anyway, if you're into looking like a doofus an Angry Birds character this Halloween, you can grab a costume for around $30-$50. Look how happy these people are! You could be happy like them!

[Via MacTrast]