Parents' Guide to Bowmaster

First of all, Bowmaster looks amazing. It's one of the more graphically beautiful app games we've seen. And the control mechanic -- which allows you to aim your bow, determine the strenght of your shot, and release your arrow all by pulling two fingers apart -- is incredibly well-designed. In the game, you compete against five increasingly skilled Merry Men-type archers. They're shooting at the same targets you are, so it's not just a matter of hitting the wooden animals that go by, but hitting them before your opponent does. It would have been nice for a game so well made to have a slightly less steep difficulty curve, but there's a good "practice makes perfect" lesson in Bowmaster. The more you play a level and memorize the movement patterns of the targets, the better chance you have of getting the jump on those Robin Hood wannabes you're playing against.