iLounge

By Charles Starrett

Senior Editor, iLounge
Published: Tuesday, December 23, 2008
News Category: iPod

As has been the case the past two weeks, three new games have simultaneously been released for the fifth-generation iPod, iPod classic, and third- and fourth-generation iPod nanos. Electronic Arts has released Trivial Pursuit, based on the popular trivia board game. Pursuit offers up to 1,000 questions on entertainment, geography, history, and more, two main game modes, Classic and the fast-paced Pursuit, both of which can be played with up to three friends in a pass ‘n’ play manner, and the ability to track games, scores, and stats. Trivial Pursuit is available now from the iTunes Store and sells for $5.

With its second game in as many weeks, Apple has released Chinese Checkers. Based on the original board game, Chinese Checkers offers three difficulty levels, pass-and-play multiplayer with up to five friends, hints and undo, a variety of boards and marbles, realistic sound effects, and more. Like Reversi before it, Chinese Checkers sells for $1 and is available now from the iTunes Store.

Finally, Square Enix has released Crystal Defenders, a new tower defense-style game featuring characters from Final Fantasy Tactics A2. In the game, players must deploy units on a map in order to protect crystal reserves from approaching monsters. It offers a variety of units, including melee specialists and magic experts, and two game versions to provide challenges across more than 200 stages. Crystal Defenders is available now from the iTunes Store and sells for $5 for the iPod; an iPhone version has also been released for $8, and criticized for wasting half the screen on a virtual joystick. A free trial version of the iPhone version is also available.