One the many advantages that real-life games have over computer is the realistic sound effects. And while other pool games utilize annoying background music, the developers of Micro Pool – Botond FM - spared no expense in the realism of Micro Pool, from the sound effects to the physics of the game – but more on that later.

There are a total of 12 of game modes available in Micro Pool  (also known as µPool). There are 4 available rule sets for gameplay. The first one is US-8 Ball (also known as billiards). The other 3 modes include 9-ball pool, Killer, and Speed, generally unknown types of gameplay to those who know as little about pool as myself. To those interested, the exact rules for gameplay can be found on Wikipedia. As to the other 3 modes available for the 12 total combinations, you can play either You v. A friend, You v. iDevice, or iDevice v. iDevice, a seemingly useless version of gameplay.

The graphics of µPool are crisp and clear on a 4th generation iPod Touch. While not the greatest clarity possible on such a small screen, they are crisp enough to read the number on the balls, which I believe is important for some versions of pool.

The controls are located on the right side of the screen, which is actually somewhat uncomfortable for the right handed user. This cannot be changed in the settings. The angle of the shot is adjusted by placing the finger anywhere on the screen and moving, rotating the entire plane of aim. Power is determined by pulling back on the small image of the stick on the right of the screen, where greater pullback leads to greater power.

Ah, the physics. This game truly stands out because of its physics. The movement of every ball is so accurate, and I can guarantee that for every shot that was oh-so-barely missed, I never felt that it was because of poor programming. The friction and transfer of energy is clearly the result of hours of painstaking programming, and Botond FM deserved full credit for that.

Reviewed Device: iPod Touch 4G

Rat on a Scooter XL, by Donut Games, is a fun action game in which you must make use of the scooter’s small stamina for flying in order to go from platform to platform while dealing with obstacles along the way.

There are 4 main modes of game play. The first one is “Super Cheese XL,” in which you try to collect as much cheese as you can before missing a platform. The next is “Fuel Depot,” in which you receive a point for every platform you land on but must collect gas cards in order to stay moving. The third game mode is “Skill Course.” Skill Course is different in that you can actually lose points by running over cones (which you should obviously avoid), but you also gain 5 points at every flag, which are found on every 5th platform. The final mode is “Power Rider,” which is like Super Cheese XL with extra powers, such as longer platforms.

Donut Games is primarily an online, flash games website, so most of their games, including Rat on a Scooter, don’t have many iOS particular features like GameCenter or OpenFeint support. There are built in sounds and music that can be turned on and off separately. The graphics are crisp on a 4th generation iPod touch. Overall, Rat on a Scooter XL is fun, arcade like, fast paced game with no plot that provides great fun on a bus ride or during a boring lecture.

Reviewed Device: iPod Touch 4G

Risk(R) is a famous board game made by Hasboro. Conquest is one of three major Risk-esque games on the iOS platform, the others being the ‘official’ Risk, and Lux Touch, which has gotten very poor reviews on its recent update.

Anyone who has played Risk before should be familiar with game play. You can play with 2-8 teams, and teams can be computer or human. You can choose from 5 levels of difficulty. Card bonuses can be dependent on the card combination, they can increase throughout the game, increase from 4 up to 16 armies and cease to increase at 16, or simply stay at 5 armies the whole game. You can choose to decide territories and armies,  just armies, or simply have the computer decide a completely random set up to in order to start the game faster. Dice can be disabled if you choose.

Many people have played Risk at one point in their life, but since many people don’t follow the rules verbatim as the app does, it may take some getting used to (for example, you must turn in your cards if you have more than 4). Also, when attacking with a large number of armies, you cannot always use the particular number of armies you are thinking of (if you have 100 armies, you may have choices such as 10, 22, 45, 65, etc.).

Game play is fluid, and graphics are crisp on a fourth generation iPod Touch. You attack and move armies by dragging from one territory to another. You also move around the map via drag. It’s a little expensive, but the game stays true to the original Risk. The game is relatively customizable and it’s mostly bug-free.

Reviewed Device: iPod Touch 4G

Infect Them All: Vampires is fun game in which, as the title implies, you are a vampire who — you guessed it!  — must infect all the healthy humans on your level. It is similar Boxhead – The Rooms, with the caveat that you gain team members as you go along.

You can control your character by tilting or with a joystick. A joystick allows more precision for those in a car or moving vehicle, while tilting allows free thumbs for more fluid game play. Fortunately, settings can be changed at any point in the campaign.  Tilt calibration can be automatic or calibrated.

Game play may be complex for some players, but the tutorial is very explanatory. Levels advance progressively, with each level using new powers and having more enemies. Many users will feel comfortable with the level structure, as it is similar to many multi-level flash games.

As players infect more enemies, they can unlock up to three vampires with different skills, battle over 30 types of enemies, and play bosses at the end of every level. After infecting 5000 enemies, you can unlock ‘survival mode,’ in which you fight off wave after long for as long as you can. After infecting 8000 enemies, you can unlock ‘blitz mode,’ which consists of 90 intense seconds of fighting.

Graphics are crisp and clear on a 4th generation iPod touch, and the game rarely lags. All versions of Infect Them All are fully compatible with GameCenter and OpenFeint, and scores can be tweeted or shared on Facebook. Mutlitasking is also fully functional.

The game overall has relaxed game play, different controls for everyone, and stays true to original Infect them all. The different gameplay modes must be unlocked and cannot be purchased, which I found annoying. Also there isn’t much difference from the prequel and the sequel.

Reviewed Device: iPod Touch 4G