Recently released for the iPhone, Spider-Man: Total Mayhem ($6.99) is a visually-stunning action game inspired by the comic book series from powerhouse studio Gameloft.

Spider-Man: Total Mayhem features full-on battles against some of spidey’s biggest enemies, including Sandman, Rhino, Electro, Venom, Dr Octopus, and Green Goblin. Battle spidey’s foes with over 20 fighting combos, slow-motion “spidey sense” and special web combos.

Set in New York City, the game features 12 levels that take you from the subway to the rooftops of NYC. Full voice acting and clever dialogue create a truly immersive story.

Spider-Man: Total Mayhem is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later.

With thanks to developer Jeremy Brousseau, The iPhone App Review is happy to give away 15 free copies of their $0.99 app Tap ‘n Cap.

Tap ‘n Cap is an easy to use app that allows you to add captions to your favorite photos. The promo codes below are redeemable on the US App Store only. First in best dressed, but as always, please do the right thing and leave a comment on the post to let other readers know which code you take. Enjoy!

1. HAEEYTMAJM79
2. 6HKXTTN6HW9N
3. MEXL96M4LR9W
4. NLY4R6HFLX3P
5. FXR7WFFRNPAT

Tap ‘n Cap is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.1.3 or later.

Price: $.99     Score: 6/10     By A. Papachristos

Pause for a moment, if you will, and take some time to remember the wildlife and livelihoods put at risk by the Gulf Coast Oil Spill.  The single atrocity that threatened an entire ecosystem and drew international attention to the way we drill for oil sparked hundreds of discussions on how oil companies carry out their duties and what may be done to safeguard their practices.  But now there begins a new debate – one fueled by decency in regard to a current and sensitive issue.

You see, Puff Puff by 6th Mega presents a gaming application that most would normally find typical, even bordering on dull.  Puff Puff employs the use of a spiny puffer fish that floats around the ocean floor simply trying to make his way as far into the dangerous waters as possible.  He tackles the coral reef with finesse, behaving like any other aimless video game character might.  It is not until we realize that good ol’ Mr. Puffer Fish can also peruse the bottom of the sea via Gulf Spill mode that we begin to feel uneasy.

The main (and only) goal, as it appears, involves the gamer simply navigating the spiny puffer fish as far into the shark-infested waters as possible, making sure the fish eats all it can along the way.  Pinching and stretching the screen will deflate and inflate the fish respectively, helping it alter its depth so it can move up and down on the screen to avoid obstacles and snatch up whatever food and bonuses it discovers as it proceeds.  Eating the plus sign bubbles means your fish is consuming sea urchins, which are the food that provides energy.  Eating the lightning bolt bubbles represent the current, meaning you will swim faster.  (Tilting your device to the right will also cause you to speed up.)  Snagging the +1 fish will gain you an extra life.

At the top of the screen, users will see a bar that marks how many inches their fish has traveled, how many lives remain, their energy level and the pause button.  As you move about, users will need to avoid hitting the coral and sharks – globs of oil and broken pipes in Gulf Spill mode – by dodging them as they approach using their puffing capability to navigate.  A shield bubble will be unlocked once you’ve eaten five sea urchins and will protect you from the various obstacles for a short moment.

Puff Puff operates under the convenient pretense that 30% of all proceeds will be donated to aid ecosystem restoration, which is rather commendable.  However, with less than half of the proceeds going to fund this cause, one has to wonder why the company needed to invoke such an image in the first place.

Like mass manufacturing a Titanic version of Battleship just a few months after its sinking, or creating a World Trade Center-themed Jenga set in the wake of the disaster’s aftermath, Puff Puff actually seeks to benefit from the oil spill imagery used within their game.  In fact, their insensitivity is transparent from the start, with an App Store description opening that reads: “Experience the Gulf Oil Spill on your iPhone!  Explore the underwater world of deep sea drilling, dodge globs of oil, broken pipes, and Robo Subs.”

No matter how anyone may try to interpret said passage, the wording comes off as a cruel joke to those humans and animals that were devastated by the spill.  The proceeds from a game set in the coral reef alone could have just as easily donated 30% of its proceeds to restoring ecosystems.  Exploiting the misfortune of others will only detract from the good that may come from their gracious donations.

For a peek at what Puff Puff has to offer, you may view the game’s trailer here.

Puff Puff [iTunes Link] requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. A small expedite fee was paid to speed up the publication of this review.

Price: $0.99     Score: 9/10     By M. Schusterman

For fans of iPhone games that use the tilt and accelerometer features to play rather than traditional controls, Save Betsy is a quirky twist on a familiar theme.

Designed by Hairy Monster Studios, this pro-vegan – or anti-vegan? It’s hard to say – game puts you in control of Betsy, a very worried looking cow trying to escape a charbroiled fate. She begins on the ground in front of Vegan Meat Co. and makes her escape in a very un-cowlike way – leaping up and up on the levels stacked in the sky.

You can control which direction Betsy jumps by tilting the iPhone side to side, and speed her up or slow her down by tilting back and forth. For fans of popular games like Doodle Jump, this is old hat. But because not everyone is familiar with such games, I think a short tutorial or line or two of instruction would help new users pick this up a little quicker.

Of course, there are obstacles and there are weapons, all with the same sort of sick twist that seems to be the theme of the game. Grills and meat grinders await for Betsy to make one wrong pounce, and the results ain’t pretty. Likewise, if Betsy falls to the ground she makes quite a bloody splat. However, there are also bales of hay you can use to hide her in, and she has the power to shoot what I’m going to pretend are clumps of dirt at her grinding nemeses.

One level, but there appears to be no limit to how high you can go. The “fun facts” you get (which you can disable in Options) are amusing as well – now that I know how many “squirts” are in a glass of milk, I’m finding it slightly less appealing.

For $0.99, this is a good one that will probably keep you entertained for a little bit longer than you initially think.

Save Betsy [iTunes Link] requires iPhone OS 3.2 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. A small expedite fee was paid by the developer to speed up the publication of this review.

Hemisphere Games is giving away free promo codes for their great iPhone game, Osmos. To get your hands on a code, join the Osmos Facebook page, then wait until next week when they start posting batches of codes to the page every few hours. With batches of codes being posted every few hours each day, there should be plenty of codes to go around.

Unfortunately for international readers, the codes are only for US users. Check out this guide on how to redeem codes on the iTunes store if you are unfamiliar with the process.

Price: $2.99     Score: 8/10     By A. Papachristos

When you are on the go, you don’t necessarily have the time to dive into a complicated, in-depth game.  But, with Morris by Continental Laboratories, users will find a fun, quick strategy game that requires little time, making it a great mobile companion.

Based on the classic medieval board game, 9, 11, and 12 Men’s Morris promises to be a quicker alternative to Chess or Checkers.  The numbers (9, 11, 12) indicate the number of pieces you will begin with, which you may choose on the game’s main screen.  With 10 high-resolution themes and 10 levels of difficulty to choose from, Morris will entertain gamers of all ages.

Your goal is to capture all of your opponent’s pieces or block them from making any more moves.  The game will begin with a clear board, which you will proceed to cover with your pieces.  To ruin your opponent’s chances, you must create mills, which means lining up three of your pieces in a row.  Creating such a line will capture one of your opponent’s pieces.  Once each player has placed all their pieces on the board, each will take turns moving their pieces around the board in hope of creating more mills or blocking the other from moving anywhere.  The first player to be blocked or only have two pieces left will automatically lose the game.

For more on how to play, including game tips and variations, users will find the Instructions extremely beneficial, for once you have mastered the concept, success is inevitable.  You may catch on as you play along, but taking just a few moments to read the rules will make Morris infinitely more fun.

Morris [iTunes Link] requires iPhone OS 3.1.3 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. A small expedite fee was paid by the developer to speed up the publication of this review.

Three sales are going on courtesy of EA games, reducing the price of many of their top games.

The Labor Day “No Work No Play” sale sets the price of many of EA’s casual iPhone and iPod Touch titles to $.99 including Monopoly Classic, Monopoly Here & Now, The Game of Life, Boggle, and Yahtzee Adventures. You can also get get SCRABBLE or RISK for just $1.99.

The Back to School Sales Event takes up to 80% off some of EA’s most popular titles on the app store including Sim City, Skate It, and Rock Band.

Finally, the Red White & Blue Sales Event puts Battleship, FIFA 10, FIFA World Cup, BOGGLE, Connect 4, Skate It, and Mass Effect Galaxy up to 70% off.

All these sales are ending very soon, so get these quality titles on the cheap while you still can!

Price: Free     Score: 7/10     By A. Papachristos

For expectant mothers, being prepared for the day they give birth instills a peace of mind that makes the actual day less stressful and more memorable.  But when the day arrives, there is no guarantee you’ll be in the right place or with the right person the moment your water breaks.  However, with BabyDay by Optimized Telecom Inc, mothers have access to an alternative way to contact the people closest to them, allowing them to send a collective message to those who may be concerned.

When you begin, BabyDay will first ask to sync with your current location, then have you enter your personal data, including name and telephone number.  On the next page, users will be asked to enter contact information for their partner, including their name, email address and telephone number.  You may pick from your contacts list to make input even easier.  At the bottom of the screen, you will find a pre-programmed message that will be sent to your partner when the baby is about to be born.  You may edit this message to suit the specifics of your circumstance.

The next page allows users to add as many friends and family members as they want to notify about the big day as well.  Once all the contact information has been set, users will be taken to the main screen, which displays buttons that will quickly email or call those you’ll need most.  This message will send each contact your pre-programmed message, as well as how you are doing, where you’re going, where you are and a map thanks to BabyDay’s automatic GPS location.  Users may edit their partner’s details and any of their family’s details by using the Settings button under the ‘Call My Partner’ button.  The Settings button also leads to the very detailed Help button, which explains how to use BabyDay step-by-step.

However, besides using the last tab in the bottom navigation bar, which allows you to send announcements once the baby is actually born, users will find themselves locked out of every other feature BabyDay has to offer.  To access all the other functions, users must download the Pro version for $1.99.

With BabyDay Pro, users can then access the ability to run the due date clock, collect photos of their pregnancy in the provided gallery, keep a dated journal of all their pregnancy thoughts and experiences, and call emergency medical services right within the application itself.  However, the free version provides none of these attractive functions, reminding you they are not available every time you tap one of the buttons, asking you if you’d like to buy the complete version with each tap.

Unfortunately, the free version only provides you with the slightly less practical aspect of the entire BabyDay concept in general.  While it may seem ideal to alert your partner and entire family with the press of a single button, there remains the fact that you probably won’t be thinking about emailing every single person you know.  A mother’s main concern would be to contact her partner and get to the hospital as quickly as possible, neglecting their iPhone except to call their partner directly.  To get the most out of BabyDay, mothers-to-be are probably going to find the full version much more worthwhile, which seems to have been the plan all along considering they do nothing but dangle the additional functions in front of your face every step of the way.

BabyDay [iTunes Link] requires iPhone OS 4.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch. A small expedite fee was paid by the developer to speed up the publication of this review.

Price: $.99     Score: 9/10     By A. Papachristos

All iPhone and iPod Touch devices play music, but what if you could literally play music with your gadget instead of simply listening along?

With Drums! by iFantastic, users can do just that!  Designed by industry professionals to replicate the actual experience of playing with a real drum kit, Drums! provides an extremely fun, intuitive interface that hardly takes any getting used to – just start up and go.

Users can choose from three different drum kits: Acoustic, Standard and Groove.  Each set of drums and cymbals come labeled, simplifying accurate play with a 2D interface.  Every drum and cymbal combines with such realistic sounds, you would honestly swear a real drum set was right in the very same room with you.

With the drum kit automatically set to landscape, users will see an icon at the top of the screen between the Splash and Crash cymbals that resembles a fast-forward icon.  Tapping said icon will reveal the hidden buttons that help you get even more from your drum kit.  For instance, tapping the ‘i’ in the top left corner will reveal what every other buttons indicates.

In the bottom left corner, users can sift through the three available drum kits, choosing whichever they like most.  Whatever name is displayed will indicate which drum you have picked.  Next to that are eighth note icons, which allow you to access one of Drums! most interesting features.  The note icon to the right, which is also marked by a plus sign, allows users to create a song list using music directly from your iPod.  You can add songs to your list, allowing you to play along with your favorite tunes.  The icon to the left displays the songs on your current list.  Up above, users will also find the typical iPod controls, allowing them to rewind, pause and fast-forward to more desirable tracks.

Drums! also boasts that the drums have rather low lag times, providing a accurate, responsive performance that rarely falters.  And though I did notice a few instances where the sound would lag during faster beats, with the drums then all clashing at once, Drums! certainly does make good on their promise of providing the most realistic fake drum experience one could ever hope for on such a small scale.

Drums! requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. A small expedite fee was paid by the developer to speed up the publication of this review.

With thanks to The Discovery Channel, The iPhone App Review is happy to give away 15 free copies of their $1.99 app WhizzBall!

WhizzBall is the ultimate is the ultimate community 3D puzzle game. Use a combination of drop funnels, rollers, springs, tubes, boxing gloves, catapults and UFO’s to get the ball to its final destination. Let the world solve and rate puzzles that you create! The promo codes below are redeemable on the US App Store only. First in best dressed, but as always, please do the right thing and leave a comment on the post to let other readers know which code you take. Enjoy!

1. N3YXHJRXXNRJ
2. LKHP93L9MPRP
3. 444THP3P4MRF
4. EWHL7LKJ49F9
5. 9R3PPKR7N4HJ
6. MHTJK6EXNXFK
7. LXXTLMA47A7T
8. XEYKW4X96H4K
9. 4JXMFN3MA9P7
10. R9KFPXM7YXLW
11. ENX9TMR4WN3T
12. 4FHWKMF67EKH
13. APEKRNFJYXHP
14. 3NEXRK7FLA64
15. W7H33LAKKXKA

WhizzBall! is compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad and requires iOS 3.0 or later.