Price: $.99
Publisher:Clickgamer
Buy now on
Buy It! Stop reading. Buy Angry Birds now (Editor: Come on man, even a Twitter review is longer than this).
If you did keep reading then I suppose I could tell you why you need to go out and get this game. Angry Birds is an iPhone/iPod Touch physics based game where you slingshot birds and try to take out enemy pigs. Despite sounding strange, it also probably sounds pretty easy. That is not the case at all. Precision and accuracy are mandatory in later levels. As the game progresses the pigs start wearing helmets and hide behind multiple layers of wood, stone, and glass. But have no fear, the birds come prepared for battle. You will unlock new types of birds that have different skills. Blue birds multiply. Yellow birds can break through multiple layers of wood. Black birds can explode. You get the idea.
The controls are simple. To shoot a bird, tap, drag, and release the slingshot. To activate the bird’s special skill, simply tap the screen. A hint: special skills sometimes need to be activated at just the right time in order to do the most damage. As far as levels go there are two episodes; Poached Eggs and Mighty Hoax. I am all the way through Poached Eggs, it took me over three hours (total play time) to complete the 63 levels. I am barely in to Mighty Hoax and it is difficult. Don't get me wrong. I am glad the levels are increasingly difficult. Each level really makes you use each bird's skill to its fullest. Obviously one thing should be clear; this game has a tremendous amount of replay value.
The graphics and audio are also outstanding. This is how games should be made. Simple ideas backed by great graphics, great audio, and gameplay that continues to last and develop. With all of this said, this game is only $0.99. This game truly has set a new bar for the sub-dollar iPhone/iPod Touch market. In fact, I’d wager this game sets a new bar across the entire pricing spectrum on the App Store. If you’re waiting for one more call to action, you won’t find it here. I’ll be busy playing Angry Birds and marking it down as an early contender for iPhone Gamer Blog's best game of 2010.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
domingo, 28 de febrero de 2010
viernes, 26 de febrero de 2010
Google vs. Apple: A Modern Day, Wild West Showdown
There is no doubt about it. There no longer is any love lost between Apple and Google. When the iPhone 3G was released, the Google Android OS was nothing more than an announcement still months away from release. As Apple's market continued to grow and in some ways overtake the Blackberry market, so grew Google's appetite for becoming a player in the mobile market. Look at the chart below. Apple has been at this way longer. In fact, one would think that they would have nothing to worry about but that may not be the case. As of today, Google has over 20,000 apps in its app store and 20 different phones on the market using its operating system. Even if Apple opens up its network to someone other than AT&T, which seems unlikely at this time, can they really compete against a market that is absolutely saturated with Google Android products?
I've linked to it before but it's worth mentioning again. Right after the announcement of the iPad, Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, had a private employee only meeting. In that meeting he reportedly told the crowd his thoughts on Google. He said, "We did not enter the search business. They entered the phone business. Make no mistake they want to kill the iPhone. We won’t let them." Sounds to me like Jobs is taking this threat seriously, and he should. Few companies are bigger than Google. Although the size of a company has never stopped Jobs from taking them on. Microsoft comes to mind.
In this case though, he will be directly competing with Google. A company that provides the iPhone with quite a bit of cool functionality. I'm thinking of the built-in Maps application, Google Search, Google Earth, etc. Microsoft never tried to compete with Apple when it came to the hardware side of the business. No, this competition is of a different kind. I think Apple needs to be careful here. At some point, they need Google more than Google needs them.
Maybe the first real battle cry was when Google Voice was rejected from the App Store without a second thought. After the FCC intervened, Apple said it was AT&T who dismissed the app. Then AT&T said they had nothing to do with the app verification process. Then Apple decided that they actually they hadn’t dismissed the app entirely, they were just waiting to try and figure out what to do with it. That deliberation started months ago and still is being held up for whatever reason. Instead of waiting around, Google circumvented the issue by making Google Voice available via the browser. That's the nice thing about being the largest website in the world. You can do things like that and no one can do anything about it.
Literally just days after the App Store rejection of Google Voice (August 3rd), Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO, resigned from the board of Apple. A position he held for 3 years. These companies were tied together so closely that Google’s CEO held a position on Apple's board! Obviously when it became clear that Google was entering the mobile market, Apple's Market, it was time for him to go.
Those things all lead up to the day Google announced its own phone on January 5th. Up until then, they had simply created a platform that could be used by phone manufacturers. The day they started selling their own phone, there was no doubt left. Google wanted to kill the iPhone; at least according to Jobs. He says they won't let them do it but when they are facing down a company that is literally synonymous with the internet, do they really have a chance? Time will tell.
I've linked to it before but it's worth mentioning again. Right after the announcement of the iPad, Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, had a private employee only meeting. In that meeting he reportedly told the crowd his thoughts on Google. He said, "We did not enter the search business. They entered the phone business. Make no mistake they want to kill the iPhone. We won’t let them." Sounds to me like Jobs is taking this threat seriously, and he should. Few companies are bigger than Google. Although the size of a company has never stopped Jobs from taking them on. Microsoft comes to mind.
In this case though, he will be directly competing with Google. A company that provides the iPhone with quite a bit of cool functionality. I'm thinking of the built-in Maps application, Google Search, Google Earth, etc. Microsoft never tried to compete with Apple when it came to the hardware side of the business. No, this competition is of a different kind. I think Apple needs to be careful here. At some point, they need Google more than Google needs them.
Maybe the first real battle cry was when Google Voice was rejected from the App Store without a second thought. After the FCC intervened, Apple said it was AT&T who dismissed the app. Then AT&T said they had nothing to do with the app verification process. Then Apple decided that they actually they hadn’t dismissed the app entirely, they were just waiting to try and figure out what to do with it. That deliberation started months ago and still is being held up for whatever reason. Instead of waiting around, Google circumvented the issue by making Google Voice available via the browser. That's the nice thing about being the largest website in the world. You can do things like that and no one can do anything about it.
Literally just days after the App Store rejection of Google Voice (August 3rd), Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO, resigned from the board of Apple. A position he held for 3 years. These companies were tied together so closely that Google’s CEO held a position on Apple's board! Obviously when it became clear that Google was entering the mobile market, Apple's Market, it was time for him to go.
Those things all lead up to the day Google announced its own phone on January 5th. Up until then, they had simply created a platform that could be used by phone manufacturers. The day they started selling their own phone, there was no doubt left. Google wanted to kill the iPhone; at least according to Jobs. He says they won't let them do it but when they are facing down a company that is literally synonymous with the internet, do they really have a chance? Time will tell.
Thanks, You Make Doing This Fun
Driving people to a new iPhone/iPod Touch review site like iPhone Gamer Blog is hard. In the last 2 months (2 months, 8 days to be exact) we have had 21,223 visits. That might sound like a lot but when you look at some of the competing websites out there; we’re still just small time. In that 2 months, this site has gone through 3 redesigns, we have ventured into buying ads through Facebook, Google and Yahoo ad search (We found out that though the ads were fairly cheap, they really didn't cause any recurring visits) and have used a variety of social media to get the word out about our site. We now have 3 writers, including myself, that do reviews, news and previews and have a fairly steady stream of developers asking for us to review their games (Thank you guys!). All in all, it has been a difficult process but one that has been a lot of fun and fulfilling.
We would like to continue increasing the number of people that come to the site and we are looking for ways to do so. We know that currently about 20-30% of all of the people that arrive at our site will return again. That's pretty good but we would love for it to be higher. Any ideas on what we can do to get you to return? We want to know what you are looking for when you arrive at our site. Is it news, reviews, previews, promo codes, features or something else entirely? This site is so much fun to run when we have people talking back to us so maybe a forum is where it’s at. So why are we writing this? Honestly, we wanted to see what/if any ideas you have for us to continue to grow and move to the next level.
Below are a few graphs that show our ups and downs depending on the week for the last few months. Another report shows the top 10 reader countries. We have had readers from all over the world including Iraq and Mongolia. The site is continuing to grow (it grew by 20% in the last month) and we're extremely excited to be a part of that. No one is more important than our readers (the developers are pretty important too!). Going forward, we are going to continue our quest to be your one stop place for all of your iPhone, iPod Touch and eventually iPad gaming needs. In the meantime, please tell your friends about us, tell us what you would like to see in the future, find us on Twitter and bookmark us.
We would like to continue increasing the number of people that come to the site and we are looking for ways to do so. We know that currently about 20-30% of all of the people that arrive at our site will return again. That's pretty good but we would love for it to be higher. Any ideas on what we can do to get you to return? We want to know what you are looking for when you arrive at our site. Is it news, reviews, previews, promo codes, features or something else entirely? This site is so much fun to run when we have people talking back to us so maybe a forum is where it’s at. So why are we writing this? Honestly, we wanted to see what/if any ideas you have for us to continue to grow and move to the next level.
Below are a few graphs that show our ups and downs depending on the week for the last few months. Another report shows the top 10 reader countries. We have had readers from all over the world including Iraq and Mongolia. The site is continuing to grow (it grew by 20% in the last month) and we're extremely excited to be a part of that. No one is more important than our readers (the developers are pretty important too!). Going forward, we are going to continue our quest to be your one stop place for all of your iPhone, iPod Touch and eventually iPad gaming needs. In the meantime, please tell your friends about us, tell us what you would like to see in the future, find us on Twitter and bookmark us.
jueves, 25 de febrero de 2010
Rocket Downhill Penguin Review
Price:$.99
Publisher:Tony Hunyh
Buy now on
Rocket Downhill Penguin is an iPhone/iPod Touch racing game where you must avoid obstacles and pick up objects to increase your score. You play as Rocket, a penguin, and upon starting the game immediately start skiing down a mountain. Snowmen and trees are your main obstacles on the course. Hitting snowmen, while lowering your health, also has the peculiar effect of uncovering medals which can lead to extra health and even invincibility. But don’t hit too many snowmen, they still hurt when you hit them and will eventually end the game. Trees on the other hand carry no benefit at all and only serve to slow you down.
Tilting the iDevice is the only in game control, left for left, right to move right. I found it hard to stop Rocket from moving left or right and just ski straight. Once you start bobbing and weaving beware that it can get pretty squirrelly. The graphics are very clean, nothing fancy, but nevertheless they look good for this type of game. I especially like the brightly colored/snow filled trees.
There is an obvious winter theme in this penguin racing game. The in game music does a very good job of capturing a winter feeling without being a Christmas song. When Rocket crashes into a tree or snowman you get a neat sound effect that actually sounds like a large snowball being smashed. When Rocket picks up some hot cocoa or a medal, you will hear an exclamation sound and see your score go up. The audio stays pretty simple throughout the game, but anything else might have been too much anyway.
This is a fun little game but personally, I don’t see it having much replay value. I played it for about 20 minutes the first time and about 35 minutes the second time and I never got invincibility and never scored over 2500 points. However, I was visiting my parents this weekend so I had my mom play and she loved it. She screamed and laughed and played for quite a while. Now keep in mind this is a woman who tried to make Mario, in the original Super Mario Brothers, jump by holding the controller over her head. She’s not a videogame player (Editor’s note: get her on the Wii).
If you want a game that your young kids (or your mom) might enjoy, you should pick this game up. Its simple low frills gameplay, can be picked up, played, and enjoyed by anybody, and that should be counted as a success for any developer.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher:Tony Hunyh
Buy now on
Rocket Downhill Penguin is an iPhone/iPod Touch racing game where you must avoid obstacles and pick up objects to increase your score. You play as Rocket, a penguin, and upon starting the game immediately start skiing down a mountain. Snowmen and trees are your main obstacles on the course. Hitting snowmen, while lowering your health, also has the peculiar effect of uncovering medals which can lead to extra health and even invincibility. But don’t hit too many snowmen, they still hurt when you hit them and will eventually end the game. Trees on the other hand carry no benefit at all and only serve to slow you down.
Tilting the iDevice is the only in game control, left for left, right to move right. I found it hard to stop Rocket from moving left or right and just ski straight. Once you start bobbing and weaving beware that it can get pretty squirrelly. The graphics are very clean, nothing fancy, but nevertheless they look good for this type of game. I especially like the brightly colored/snow filled trees.
There is an obvious winter theme in this penguin racing game. The in game music does a very good job of capturing a winter feeling without being a Christmas song. When Rocket crashes into a tree or snowman you get a neat sound effect that actually sounds like a large snowball being smashed. When Rocket picks up some hot cocoa or a medal, you will hear an exclamation sound and see your score go up. The audio stays pretty simple throughout the game, but anything else might have been too much anyway.
This is a fun little game but personally, I don’t see it having much replay value. I played it for about 20 minutes the first time and about 35 minutes the second time and I never got invincibility and never scored over 2500 points. However, I was visiting my parents this weekend so I had my mom play and she loved it. She screamed and laughed and played for quite a while. Now keep in mind this is a woman who tried to make Mario, in the original Super Mario Brothers, jump by holding the controller over her head. She’s not a videogame player (Editor’s note: get her on the Wii).
If you want a game that your young kids (or your mom) might enjoy, you should pick this game up. Its simple low frills gameplay, can be picked up, played, and enjoyed by anybody, and that should be counted as a success for any developer.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
miércoles, 24 de febrero de 2010
Guerrilla Bob Review for iPhone/iPod Touch
Price: $2.99
Publisher: Chillingo
Buy now on
For better or worse, most of Guerrilla Bob is a throwback to the golden years of arcade shooters. The good includes some nice humor and quick gameplay. Unfortunately some of the bad stuff from the old days has been thrown in as well; Over-used voice samples and re-used locations and graphics. You'll definitely have fun for a while with Guerrilla Bob but its long term replay value is questionable.
The graphics within the game are the first thing I'll mention. Usually I’ll start with gameplay but the graphics overshadow everything else. They are superb. Great lighting, nice explosions, really well conceptualized characters and bosses. The entire game is shown in top down isometric view. It works pretty well in most cases although there are instances where the only way to kill the bad guys is by shooting at people off of the screen because the camera doesn't zoom out at all.
The gameplay itself is a mix of old school Ikari Warriors and iPhone/iPod based games like MiniGore and Alive4Ever. There is a minimal background story that propels you forward but after that you go in guns blazing and killing everyone you see. As you move Bob through missions you find weapon upgrades, speed boosts, health packs and damage multipliers. It's the very definition of an arcade shooter and it works pretty well. One of the main downsides is that the game only last about an hour or so. After beating all of the games missions, you do unlock a survival mode which I found to be extremely boring. Nevertheless, some of you guys out there might get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Swarm after swarm of baddies come after you and you try to last as long as you can.
The controls within the game are hard to get used to at first. It works as a dual control based game. In the beginning of the game they just feel really loose. After a while of playing they do feel better and become easier to use. Just don't go in expecting to hit all of your targets right away.
The sound within the game is pretty well done although it could have been better in some areas. There is voice acting done throughout the game. Bob is your usual tough guy action star spouting out all kinds of one liners that sound badass the first few times you hear them. After a while they can get a bit old though. The music within the game is pretty well done and fits the Middle East setting very well. The gun sounds on the other hand could have been better. Your machine gun tends to sound really hollow and dinky.
The main issues with the game arise after the second level. The first level is in the daytime in the Middle East. The second level is in the nighttime in the Middle East. Very cool settings. Then you realize that in every level you are going to see all of the same graphics over and over again throughout the game. All of the graphic tiles are re-used throughout the game in the following levels as well. There are a few nice touches later on towards the end of the game that change up the monotony but not enough. By the end of the game, it would have been nice to see Bob anywhere but the Middle East.
All in all, this is a pretty solid game. The price at $2.99 seems a bit high for about an hour or so of gameplay considering some of the other options out there. That being said, the graphics are extremely impressive (at least for the first few levels) and the gameplay is a lot of fun (once you get used to the controls). If you can get over those caveats then by all means, go ahead and buy Guerrilla Bob. If nothing else, it will give you a nice, warm retro game feeling, and who doesn’t want that?
Overall Value for it's $2.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: Chillingo
Buy now on
For better or worse, most of Guerrilla Bob is a throwback to the golden years of arcade shooters. The good includes some nice humor and quick gameplay. Unfortunately some of the bad stuff from the old days has been thrown in as well; Over-used voice samples and re-used locations and graphics. You'll definitely have fun for a while with Guerrilla Bob but its long term replay value is questionable.
The graphics within the game are the first thing I'll mention. Usually I’ll start with gameplay but the graphics overshadow everything else. They are superb. Great lighting, nice explosions, really well conceptualized characters and bosses. The entire game is shown in top down isometric view. It works pretty well in most cases although there are instances where the only way to kill the bad guys is by shooting at people off of the screen because the camera doesn't zoom out at all.
The gameplay itself is a mix of old school Ikari Warriors and iPhone/iPod based games like MiniGore and Alive4Ever. There is a minimal background story that propels you forward but after that you go in guns blazing and killing everyone you see. As you move Bob through missions you find weapon upgrades, speed boosts, health packs and damage multipliers. It's the very definition of an arcade shooter and it works pretty well. One of the main downsides is that the game only last about an hour or so. After beating all of the games missions, you do unlock a survival mode which I found to be extremely boring. Nevertheless, some of you guys out there might get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Swarm after swarm of baddies come after you and you try to last as long as you can.
The controls within the game are hard to get used to at first. It works as a dual control based game. In the beginning of the game they just feel really loose. After a while of playing they do feel better and become easier to use. Just don't go in expecting to hit all of your targets right away.
The sound within the game is pretty well done although it could have been better in some areas. There is voice acting done throughout the game. Bob is your usual tough guy action star spouting out all kinds of one liners that sound badass the first few times you hear them. After a while they can get a bit old though. The music within the game is pretty well done and fits the Middle East setting very well. The gun sounds on the other hand could have been better. Your machine gun tends to sound really hollow and dinky.
The main issues with the game arise after the second level. The first level is in the daytime in the Middle East. The second level is in the nighttime in the Middle East. Very cool settings. Then you realize that in every level you are going to see all of the same graphics over and over again throughout the game. All of the graphic tiles are re-used throughout the game in the following levels as well. There are a few nice touches later on towards the end of the game that change up the monotony but not enough. By the end of the game, it would have been nice to see Bob anywhere but the Middle East.
All in all, this is a pretty solid game. The price at $2.99 seems a bit high for about an hour or so of gameplay considering some of the other options out there. That being said, the graphics are extremely impressive (at least for the first few levels) and the gameplay is a lot of fun (once you get used to the controls). If you can get over those caveats then by all means, go ahead and buy Guerrilla Bob. If nothing else, it will give you a nice, warm retro game feeling, and who doesn’t want that?
Overall Value for it's $2.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
OS 4.0 for iPhone/iPod Touch Likely All About Customization
The jailbroken iPhone/iPod Touch has it easy in a lot of ways. You can multitask, kill apps, and even customize your interface. However, if you don't want to deal with the business of jailbreaking for whatever reason, you have to wait until Apple comes out with these features on their own. The feature I want to talk about today is the ability to customize the OS interface. I believe that due to heavy competition, OS 4.0 will include several new ways of customizing your iPhone/iPod Touch experience. Many of Apple’s mobile competitors are making a living because they claim they can customize their interfaces better and give the user a more personal experience than Apple does with the iPhone/iPod Touch. For the most part, this rings true. Think about it, how many things can you really personalize on your iPhone? Backgrounds and ring tones come to mind but not much else. Phones like the MyTouch from T-Mobile and most Android phones have quite a bit more you can do. I think OS 4.0 will go a long way towards fixing this complaint on both the iPod Touch and iPhone.
More customization probably means more apps, themes, etc and overall more money via the App Store for Apple. What kind of customization can we expect then? I think we will see several things. I think we will see themes that will be able to be used throughout the entire iPhone. Not only on the background but also on the lock screen, the keyboard, and possibly icons. I also see customization being more accessible when it comes to alarms and notices. Right now I have three email accounts on my iPhone. While I can change the push notification sound, I would like to be able to do a different sound for each separate inbox. For example, if I receive an email during a meeting and I hear the chime for my personal inbox, I won’t check it. If it’s the chime for my business email inbox, I’ll know that as well. Other phones already have these types of options and Apple is playing catch up when it comes to this kind of functionality and customization.
Apple knows that it is now directly competing against Google and its entirely open platform (did you guys see what Jobs supposedly said about Google?). While Apple has always been insular in everything thing they do when it comes to manipulating their user interface, in order to compete they must realize that they need to be open to change. I think iPhone/iPod Touch customization will be one of the ways Apple begins to open up its interface to its users in the coming OS 4.0 release. What do you think? What kind of customization do you want to see?
More customization probably means more apps, themes, etc and overall more money via the App Store for Apple. What kind of customization can we expect then? I think we will see several things. I think we will see themes that will be able to be used throughout the entire iPhone. Not only on the background but also on the lock screen, the keyboard, and possibly icons. I also see customization being more accessible when it comes to alarms and notices. Right now I have three email accounts on my iPhone. While I can change the push notification sound, I would like to be able to do a different sound for each separate inbox. For example, if I receive an email during a meeting and I hear the chime for my personal inbox, I won’t check it. If it’s the chime for my business email inbox, I’ll know that as well. Other phones already have these types of options and Apple is playing catch up when it comes to this kind of functionality and customization.
Apple knows that it is now directly competing against Google and its entirely open platform (did you guys see what Jobs supposedly said about Google?). While Apple has always been insular in everything thing they do when it comes to manipulating their user interface, in order to compete they must realize that they need to be open to change. I think iPhone/iPod Touch customization will be one of the ways Apple begins to open up its interface to its users in the coming OS 4.0 release. What do you think? What kind of customization do you want to see?
martes, 23 de febrero de 2010
Thumpies Review for iPhone/iPod Touch
Price: $2.99
Publisher: Big Blue Bubble
Buy now on
This game is fun and kind of twisted! I don’t want to spoil the surprise of a full review but I like it. Thumpies is a music based iPhone/iPod Touch game where you must tap drums to the beat of falling Thumpies. Think, Tap Tap Revolution meets Alice in Wonderland on acid (or Tim Burtons’s AiW). I say this game is twisted because of the Thumpies themselves. They are round furry beasts that are all head, no body. And, if that didn’t make them creepy enough the developers at Big Blue Bubble thought it would be fun to give them slightly frightening faces. You can check out all the Thumpies by clicking the door at the bottom of the tree (even the locked ones).
The gameplay is simple. Tap the appropriate drum at the same time the Thumpie lands on it. Keep up the tapping and a musical beat will emerge. If you tap correctly your progress meter will start to fill. You will have to pass three or four levels songs per level to unlock more levels. During gameplay you can also keep a look out and tap butterflies to unlock more Thumpies.
The graphics are among the best I have ever seen for an iDevice game. The backgrounds and transition screens are great. The Thumpies, drums, and butterflies are very high quality considering they are the moving graphics in the game. I can point out enough how good the graphics are in this game.
The audio is a large part of the game play, considering you are tapping on drums. You can play without the music, but really, what’s the point? The music is fun, catchy, and sometimes just at creepy as the Thumpies themselves. As a creepy audio bonus, the sound FX that plays while tapping through the menus is great.
This is a fun game; however, it’s not going to be worth $2.99 to everyone. But, if you like music based rhythm games then you should really look into Thumpies. There are tons of levels, with each level having three difficulties, so there is a lot of opportunity for a good amount of gameplay.
Ratings
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: Big Blue Bubble
Buy now on
This game is fun and kind of twisted! I don’t want to spoil the surprise of a full review but I like it. Thumpies is a music based iPhone/iPod Touch game where you must tap drums to the beat of falling Thumpies. Think, Tap Tap Revolution meets Alice in Wonderland on acid (or Tim Burtons’s AiW). I say this game is twisted because of the Thumpies themselves. They are round furry beasts that are all head, no body. And, if that didn’t make them creepy enough the developers at Big Blue Bubble thought it would be fun to give them slightly frightening faces. You can check out all the Thumpies by clicking the door at the bottom of the tree (even the locked ones).
The gameplay is simple. Tap the appropriate drum at the same time the Thumpie lands on it. Keep up the tapping and a musical beat will emerge. If you tap correctly your progress meter will start to fill. You will have to pass three or four levels songs per level to unlock more levels. During gameplay you can also keep a look out and tap butterflies to unlock more Thumpies.
The graphics are among the best I have ever seen for an iDevice game. The backgrounds and transition screens are great. The Thumpies, drums, and butterflies are very high quality considering they are the moving graphics in the game. I can point out enough how good the graphics are in this game.
The audio is a large part of the game play, considering you are tapping on drums. You can play without the music, but really, what’s the point? The music is fun, catchy, and sometimes just at creepy as the Thumpies themselves. As a creepy audio bonus, the sound FX that plays while tapping through the menus is great.
This is a fun game; however, it’s not going to be worth $2.99 to everyone. But, if you like music based rhythm games then you should really look into Thumpies. There are tons of levels, with each level having three difficulties, so there is a lot of opportunity for a good amount of gameplay.
Ratings
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
lunes, 22 de febrero de 2010
Why iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad OS 4.0 Will Likely Include Folders/Categories
After writing about OS 4.0's likely lack of multitasking in my last article, I wanted to follow with something that I think will be added in OS 4.0. As an avid App Store lover, I have been building my app collection to ridiculous sizes. I am always having trouble managing how much space I have left when the latest and greatest apps come out. In fact, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars weighs in at over 700 MB's on my iPhone right now. Of course, Apple won't be able to fix this problem with a firmware update, I’ll just have to start going to AA (Applications Anonymous). However, a different problem that goes along with my desire to own every outstanding app may be solvable in OS 4.0 and that is the issue of easily filtering out the icons I want to see.
Here is the how and why. First off, there needs to be an easy way of categorizing apps on your phone. At this point an iDevice can store 180 apps on 10 pages. Who wants to memorize where every one of them is. Some of them you may not even know by name so searching may not be an option. Instead, you simply have to look through page after page of icons. This can made much simpler by having folders where you can stick your apps. One for games, tools, news, etc. If you not a jailbreaker, you might not know that this has been around for years for the folks using Cydia or other jailbreaking OS's. I'm pretty sure this functionality will be in the newest OS. It only makes sense since Apple is all about usability and aesthetics. This seems like an easy fix that can help all iPhone/iPod Touch users, regardless of how old their device is.
Whether Apple likes it or not, competitors are lining up and 4.0 needs to be a pretty big step up. Even if we don’t see something like multitasking included in the forthcoming OS, I think we will see a ton of additional functionality when it comes to customization and ease of use. Tomorrow I will write about another addition that will surely be included (fingers crossed). In fact, it has already been reported by some news sites to be in. Just for the record, anyone here jailbreak their phone? Anyone tempted to just to get all of the functionality you are missing out on?
Here is the how and why. First off, there needs to be an easy way of categorizing apps on your phone. At this point an iDevice can store 180 apps on 10 pages. Who wants to memorize where every one of them is. Some of them you may not even know by name so searching may not be an option. Instead, you simply have to look through page after page of icons. This can made much simpler by having folders where you can stick your apps. One for games, tools, news, etc. If you not a jailbreaker, you might not know that this has been around for years for the folks using Cydia or other jailbreaking OS's. I'm pretty sure this functionality will be in the newest OS. It only makes sense since Apple is all about usability and aesthetics. This seems like an easy fix that can help all iPhone/iPod Touch users, regardless of how old their device is.
Whether Apple likes it or not, competitors are lining up and 4.0 needs to be a pretty big step up. Even if we don’t see something like multitasking included in the forthcoming OS, I think we will see a ton of additional functionality when it comes to customization and ease of use. Tomorrow I will write about another addition that will surely be included (fingers crossed). In fact, it has already been reported by some news sites to be in. Just for the record, anyone here jailbreak their phone? Anyone tempted to just to get all of the functionality you are missing out on?
Free Groundbreaking iPhone App - TheWall - Impressions
Price: $.99
Publisher: Xiotex Studios
Get it now on
Editor's note: We don't review apps but once in a while one comes along that is too good to pass up. So, we're not reviewing it but we sure they heck want to tell you about it. The basics. Anywhere you go, write on TheWall. Whatever you want. That note will be there for anyone else using the wall when they come to that destination. No usernames, no passwords; just the program using your GPS and other user's experiences. Without further ado, Josh Cox writes his first impressions below.
I am currently using an brand new app called The Wall. Personally, I think it could really be a ground breaking app but the problem is no one has heard of it. In the app store no one has even reviewed it, it's virtually invisible. I am very interested in TheWall so I have looked into the developers at Xiotex Studios. They display the number of downloads the app has had on their home page. How many? As of 2/20, six.
TheWall is a geo-location social networking app. The name TheWall is referring to "the writing on the wall." The app is simple. Open it up and write whatever you want. Your message is then saved to that specific location. The only time your message is accessible is when a TheWall user opens the app at the location.
Here is my experiment. No one can get much out of this app if I am the only one using it. So, for the next month or so I am going to write messages at some popular public places. I am going to write "iphonegamerblog.com" then a short message specific to each location. After I visit a location and write a message I will update this blog. If anyone reads the message, hopefully they will find this blog and leave a comment.
If you download TheWall and are using it please leave a comment then let me know. I live in the Chicago area but travel around the Midwest for work. Currently I plan on going to the art museum in Chicago and The Rock and Roll HOF in Cleveland in the next few weeks. If you have TheWall and get there before I do, leave me a message.
UPDATE - 2/22/10: I left a post on TheWall at Cheddar's Casual Cafe on the East side of Springfield, IL.
UPDATE - 2/23/10: Today I left a post at Lincoln's Tomb in Springfield, IL.
Publisher: Xiotex Studios
Get it now on
Editor's note: We don't review apps but once in a while one comes along that is too good to pass up. So, we're not reviewing it but we sure they heck want to tell you about it. The basics. Anywhere you go, write on TheWall. Whatever you want. That note will be there for anyone else using the wall when they come to that destination. No usernames, no passwords; just the program using your GPS and other user's experiences. Without further ado, Josh Cox writes his first impressions below.
I am currently using an brand new app called The Wall. Personally, I think it could really be a ground breaking app but the problem is no one has heard of it. In the app store no one has even reviewed it, it's virtually invisible. I am very interested in TheWall so I have looked into the developers at Xiotex Studios. They display the number of downloads the app has had on their home page. How many? As of 2/20, six.
TheWall is a geo-location social networking app. The name TheWall is referring to "the writing on the wall." The app is simple. Open it up and write whatever you want. Your message is then saved to that specific location. The only time your message is accessible is when a TheWall user opens the app at the location.
Here is my experiment. No one can get much out of this app if I am the only one using it. So, for the next month or so I am going to write messages at some popular public places. I am going to write "iphonegamerblog.com" then a short message specific to each location. After I visit a location and write a message I will update this blog. If anyone reads the message, hopefully they will find this blog and leave a comment.
If you download TheWall and are using it please leave a comment then let me know. I live in the Chicago area but travel around the Midwest for work. Currently I plan on going to the art museum in Chicago and The Rock and Roll HOF in Cleveland in the next few weeks. If you have TheWall and get there before I do, leave me a message.
UPDATE - 2/22/10: I left a post on TheWall at Cheddar's Casual Cafe on the East side of Springfield, IL.
UPDATE - 2/23/10: Today I left a post at Lincoln's Tomb in Springfield, IL.
domingo, 21 de febrero de 2010
Paper Fish Review for iPhone/iPod Touch
Price: $1.99
Publisher: Evenwell Digitech
Buy now on
Paper Fish is an iPhone/iPod Touch game that is essentially a fishing game with graphics entirely created out of paper. The point to this game is to go fishing and collect enough points to unlock the next level. In order to earn points you drop a magnet into the water. While the magnet is in the water you can collect fish, crabs, lobsters and treasures. Once the objects are on the magnet you bring it back up to your boat. If a shark snags the line while it is in the water, it takes everything on your lure at that time.
The controls to this game are pretty simple. To move left or right you simply just turn your device that direction. To move your lure up and down there are arrows on the screen in order to do so. There is also a button on the screen to switch magnets if you so desire. The farther along you get in this game, the more sharks that come along. I will show my age a bit, but if you remember the game Jaws for Nintendo NES, it’s kind of like that. Besides the sharks, the game’s difficulty is also increased by needing to be selective of what you reel in. If you pick up garbage or anything that is not a fish or treasure, you will get negative points.
The graphics on this game are probably my favorite part of the entire experience. Everything is made out to look like it's made out of some sort of paper (construction, lined, etc), which gives this game a unique look compared to other games on the App Store. If you like the graphics on Paper Mario, you’ll love them here. The sounds within the game are a mixed bag. While the music throughout is a great fit, the actual sound effects end up being pretty annoying after a while.
I'm not a fisherman by any stretch, but I do enjoy going out every now and again to see what I catch. This game gives me exactly what I want out of a fishing game, not being too much work yet providing a great reward in the end. The difficulty in the game is just about right. Not too easy, but not so difficult that you will give up in frustration. As far as price, this game gives you a good amount of value at $1.99. Do yourself a favor, cast a line into the App Store, and reel it in.
Overall Value for it's $2.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: Evenwell Digitech
Buy now on
Paper Fish is an iPhone/iPod Touch game that is essentially a fishing game with graphics entirely created out of paper. The point to this game is to go fishing and collect enough points to unlock the next level. In order to earn points you drop a magnet into the water. While the magnet is in the water you can collect fish, crabs, lobsters and treasures. Once the objects are on the magnet you bring it back up to your boat. If a shark snags the line while it is in the water, it takes everything on your lure at that time.
The controls to this game are pretty simple. To move left or right you simply just turn your device that direction. To move your lure up and down there are arrows on the screen in order to do so. There is also a button on the screen to switch magnets if you so desire. The farther along you get in this game, the more sharks that come along. I will show my age a bit, but if you remember the game Jaws for Nintendo NES, it’s kind of like that. Besides the sharks, the game’s difficulty is also increased by needing to be selective of what you reel in. If you pick up garbage or anything that is not a fish or treasure, you will get negative points.
The graphics on this game are probably my favorite part of the entire experience. Everything is made out to look like it's made out of some sort of paper (construction, lined, etc), which gives this game a unique look compared to other games on the App Store. If you like the graphics on Paper Mario, you’ll love them here. The sounds within the game are a mixed bag. While the music throughout is a great fit, the actual sound effects end up being pretty annoying after a while.
I'm not a fisherman by any stretch, but I do enjoy going out every now and again to see what I catch. This game gives me exactly what I want out of a fishing game, not being too much work yet providing a great reward in the end. The difficulty in the game is just about right. Not too easy, but not so difficult that you will give up in frustration. As far as price, this game gives you a good amount of value at $1.99. Do yourself a favor, cast a line into the App Store, and reel it in.
Overall Value for it's $2.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
viernes, 19 de febrero de 2010
iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad OS 4.0 Will Not Include Multitasking
OS 4.0 rumors for the iPod Touch and iPhone continue to swirl around. Many believe that its release will come in time for the launch of the iPad in late March. A lot of people believe that this will include the one really big feature that has been missing since the iPhone's first release, the ability to multitask. Personally, I am nearly positive this is not the case. If it were the case, don't you think that they would have announced multitasking during the monumental press conference they had last month? I think they would have. Especially since many in the press were nonplussed about what came out of the iPad announcement and that led to stagnant stock prices for Apple.
I also have a feeling that multitasking can't adequately be done by the hardware of anything other than the 3GS, the brand new iPad or the newest version of the Touch. Does Apple really want to end all firmware support of older generation iPhones and iPod Touch? I'm not sure they do. After all, what they are doing right now generated nearly a billion dollars in App Store revenue profits last year. Think about that number. Apple hosted the App Store and made a billion dollars. They didn't create any of that content; they just provided a place for it. That is nearly 100% profit. Out of the 70 million iPod/iPhone devices in the world, half are probably older generation devices. If they began supporting multitasking, and the older models couldn't do it, newer software likely would not run, meaning less revenue from apps for Apple.
The economics and hardware issues aside, there is another issue. All 3 Apple devices have one single button. Unless they implement something akin to the way jailbroken multitasking works, holding down the one button to switch apps, there isn't a whole bunch of ways I can think of for them to easily support it. I think it's a shame that they didn't include an extra button on the iPad, at least something like a toggle or a wheel that would allow for switching apps or even scrolling down the screen. And in any case, maybe it’s just me but when I'm reading a book I don’t want to drag my finger across a glass screen to turn the next page. A wheel would have been nice.
I have a feeling that when 4.0 does arrive, whenever it is, it will disappoint. There may be a nice feature here or there but in all likelihood, multitasking will be nowhere in sight. Yes, people want it but why would Apple care. After all, it obviously isn't hurting their sales not to have it. What do you guys think? Do you expect multitasking to be added in the near future? Chime in.
I also have a feeling that multitasking can't adequately be done by the hardware of anything other than the 3GS, the brand new iPad or the newest version of the Touch. Does Apple really want to end all firmware support of older generation iPhones and iPod Touch? I'm not sure they do. After all, what they are doing right now generated nearly a billion dollars in App Store revenue profits last year. Think about that number. Apple hosted the App Store and made a billion dollars. They didn't create any of that content; they just provided a place for it. That is nearly 100% profit. Out of the 70 million iPod/iPhone devices in the world, half are probably older generation devices. If they began supporting multitasking, and the older models couldn't do it, newer software likely would not run, meaning less revenue from apps for Apple.
The economics and hardware issues aside, there is another issue. All 3 Apple devices have one single button. Unless they implement something akin to the way jailbroken multitasking works, holding down the one button to switch apps, there isn't a whole bunch of ways I can think of for them to easily support it. I think it's a shame that they didn't include an extra button on the iPad, at least something like a toggle or a wheel that would allow for switching apps or even scrolling down the screen. And in any case, maybe it’s just me but when I'm reading a book I don’t want to drag my finger across a glass screen to turn the next page. A wheel would have been nice.
I have a feeling that when 4.0 does arrive, whenever it is, it will disappoint. There may be a nice feature here or there but in all likelihood, multitasking will be nowhere in sight. Yes, people want it but why would Apple care. After all, it obviously isn't hurting their sales not to have it. What do you guys think? Do you expect multitasking to be added in the near future? Chime in.
jueves, 18 de febrero de 2010
Fighting Fantasy: Deathtrap Dungeon Review
Price: $.99
Publisher: Big Blue Bubble
Buy now on
Let me preface this review with this statement: I have never been into or enjoyed Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering, or any other fantasy RPG. I did however read just about every Choose Your Own Adventure book when I was younger (my mom was a librarian).
Fighting Fantasy: Deathtrap Dungeon is an iPhone/iPod Touch game that consists of elements from both fantasy RPGs and Choose Your Own Adventure books. The game is just what the title states; a fantasy game where you try to escape a dungeon. The game play consists of reading a 'page' and making one of the predetermined choices. To make one of those choices you simply tap a link. Then, after a pretty cool transition of book pages turning, another page to read and another predetermined decision to make.
If you are first time player, which I was, you will need to read the game rules. This took me over 30 minutes. This includes me having to go back and reread some topics just so I could get a solid idea of what I was suppose to be doing. After you read countless pages of rules, you then set up your character's stamina, skill, and luck by rolling an on screen die. The dice roll is also how you fight adversaries throughout the dungeon. After you set up your character attributes you are ready to play! But first, you have to read the game's background story. Don't worry it doesn't take as long as it did to read the rules.
During the rule reading the creators suggest using a piece of paper to draw out the path you take because there is only ONE way out. And by drawing a map, you will help yourself not make the same mistake twice.
The graphics are pretty good considering the only motion in the entire game consists of the screen transition and rolling the dice. For this type of game the design, colors, and graphical themes are well done. The game starts out with a cool menacing song, but during game there is no background music, just sound fx of pages turning. Oh yeah - there's also music when you die. Get use to that music, you will hear it a lot.
Overall this game isn't for me. But like I first said, this genre of games in general has never caught my fancy.I should mention that at the $2.99 price point, this game is a tough sell no matter who you are. Wait for the inevitable price drop before jumping on this one. This game's is best for casual gamers that loves RPG elements within their Choose Your Own Adventure books. For all others, the difficulty, rule reading, and the role playing elements will likely be too slow and tedious.
Overall Value for it's $2.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: Big Blue Bubble
Buy now on
Let me preface this review with this statement: I have never been into or enjoyed Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering, or any other fantasy RPG. I did however read just about every Choose Your Own Adventure book when I was younger (my mom was a librarian).
Fighting Fantasy: Deathtrap Dungeon is an iPhone/iPod Touch game that consists of elements from both fantasy RPGs and Choose Your Own Adventure books. The game is just what the title states; a fantasy game where you try to escape a dungeon. The game play consists of reading a 'page' and making one of the predetermined choices. To make one of those choices you simply tap a link. Then, after a pretty cool transition of book pages turning, another page to read and another predetermined decision to make.
If you are first time player, which I was, you will need to read the game rules. This took me over 30 minutes. This includes me having to go back and reread some topics just so I could get a solid idea of what I was suppose to be doing. After you read countless pages of rules, you then set up your character's stamina, skill, and luck by rolling an on screen die. The dice roll is also how you fight adversaries throughout the dungeon. After you set up your character attributes you are ready to play! But first, you have to read the game's background story. Don't worry it doesn't take as long as it did to read the rules.
During the rule reading the creators suggest using a piece of paper to draw out the path you take because there is only ONE way out. And by drawing a map, you will help yourself not make the same mistake twice.
The graphics are pretty good considering the only motion in the entire game consists of the screen transition and rolling the dice. For this type of game the design, colors, and graphical themes are well done. The game starts out with a cool menacing song, but during game there is no background music, just sound fx of pages turning. Oh yeah - there's also music when you die. Get use to that music, you will hear it a lot.
Overall this game isn't for me. But like I first said, this genre of games in general has never caught my fancy.I should mention that at the $2.99 price point, this game is a tough sell no matter who you are. Wait for the inevitable price drop before jumping on this one. This game's is best for casual gamers that loves RPG elements within their Choose Your Own Adventure books. For all others, the difficulty, rule reading, and the role playing elements will likely be too slow and tedious.
Overall Value for it's $2.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
miércoles, 17 de febrero de 2010
Twistum Review for iPhone/iPod Touch
Price: $.99
Publisher: Phuong Vo
Buy now on
The number one rule of any iPhone/iPod Touch game should be that the average user should be able to play much of the game without quitting in frustration over and over again. Actually, I say this should be rule number two, right after making sure the game doesn’t crash back to the iPhone/iPod Touch launcher. Twistum offers a game that is extremely cute and a good idea but ultimately is incredibly frustrating due to rapid difficulty increases that ruin the experience quickly.
The game revolves around you moving 3 baskets on the bottom of the screen. The baskets all correspond to a certain type of fruit that falls from the tree. You switch the baskets back and forth and try to line up the falling fruit with the correct pot. All of that works brilliantly and in fact is quite cute and playable...during the first level.
If you didn't notice, that was foreshadowing. We will come back to the difficulty increase in a moment. There is only the core game here. No achievements, no social gaming network. It would have been nice to see some integration with OpenFeint so you could see how well you are doing compared to others. The controls are simple drag and drop. There is also one time during each level where you must "shake the tree" in order for the fruit to begin falling. The graphics are extremely well done for the type of game it is. I could imagine a young kid playing this game for hours (if not for the difficulty issues). The sounds within the game are fitting, but the music gets extremely repetitive after a while. Luckily you can turn it off in the options.
So let's get down to it; the main problem. The difficulty level is simply absurd. The first level doesn't prepare you whatsoever for what comes in the second level. I was able to finally pass the second level after a ton of repetition. However, I have some fairly fleet fingers (I guess) and I was no match to keep up with the falling fruit in the 3rd level. I am not saying this as someone who merely tried one time and gave it up. Instead I literally tried for an hour straight to beat the third level. I could not do it. I understand that there is a monkey living in the tree that adds bomb obstacles to the mix. Sadly the game was too difficult for me to ever see this happen. The main issue is that to try to beat the 3rd level, you have to replay the first and second level again, another pet peeve of mine. Let's leave that gameplay mechanic back in the 1980's where it belongs. Once it’s beaten, it’s beaten.
I wish I could give this game better marks but I just can't. I'm sure there are people out there that will be able to get their fingers sliding around the screen like crazy that can get to additional levels but certainly not your average gamer or a child (who I think would be a great target market for this game). Unfortunately the game offers no solution for this issue (an easy, medium, hard setting) and nor does it aptly build your basket moving skills through enough levels to get good enough to pass the latter levels. Perhaps a difficulty setting will be added in the future but for now I recommend passing on this one.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: Phuong Vo
Buy now on
The number one rule of any iPhone/iPod Touch game should be that the average user should be able to play much of the game without quitting in frustration over and over again. Actually, I say this should be rule number two, right after making sure the game doesn’t crash back to the iPhone/iPod Touch launcher. Twistum offers a game that is extremely cute and a good idea but ultimately is incredibly frustrating due to rapid difficulty increases that ruin the experience quickly.
The game revolves around you moving 3 baskets on the bottom of the screen. The baskets all correspond to a certain type of fruit that falls from the tree. You switch the baskets back and forth and try to line up the falling fruit with the correct pot. All of that works brilliantly and in fact is quite cute and playable...during the first level.
If you didn't notice, that was foreshadowing. We will come back to the difficulty increase in a moment. There is only the core game here. No achievements, no social gaming network. It would have been nice to see some integration with OpenFeint so you could see how well you are doing compared to others. The controls are simple drag and drop. There is also one time during each level where you must "shake the tree" in order for the fruit to begin falling. The graphics are extremely well done for the type of game it is. I could imagine a young kid playing this game for hours (if not for the difficulty issues). The sounds within the game are fitting, but the music gets extremely repetitive after a while. Luckily you can turn it off in the options.
So let's get down to it; the main problem. The difficulty level is simply absurd. The first level doesn't prepare you whatsoever for what comes in the second level. I was able to finally pass the second level after a ton of repetition. However, I have some fairly fleet fingers (I guess) and I was no match to keep up with the falling fruit in the 3rd level. I am not saying this as someone who merely tried one time and gave it up. Instead I literally tried for an hour straight to beat the third level. I could not do it. I understand that there is a monkey living in the tree that adds bomb obstacles to the mix. Sadly the game was too difficult for me to ever see this happen. The main issue is that to try to beat the 3rd level, you have to replay the first and second level again, another pet peeve of mine. Let's leave that gameplay mechanic back in the 1980's where it belongs. Once it’s beaten, it’s beaten.
I wish I could give this game better marks but I just can't. I'm sure there are people out there that will be able to get their fingers sliding around the screen like crazy that can get to additional levels but certainly not your average gamer or a child (who I think would be a great target market for this game). Unfortunately the game offers no solution for this issue (an easy, medium, hard setting) and nor does it aptly build your basket moving skills through enough levels to get good enough to pass the latter levels. Perhaps a difficulty setting will be added in the future but for now I recommend passing on this one.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Tower Defense EVO Review for iPhone/iPod Touch
Price: $.99
Publisher: Color Stone Ltd
Buy now on
Tower Defense EVO is an iPhone/iPod Touch game where the point is to destroy wave after wave of soldiers and vehicles trying to reach your base. The more units you destroy the more money you earn for a better arsenal. You can choose between mission based gameplay where after so many levels you can complete a mission, or you can choose the "endless" version where the enemies just keep on coming forever.
The controls on Tower Defense EVO are really simple. They are of the drag and drop variety. Simply pick the gun you would like to use and place it where you think it will be most effective and let it run wild. If you get bored with said gun, or would like to just update it, you are able to sell it and upgrade the weapon. I should note that the instructions on the front of this game went by VERY quickly and did not give me nearly enough time to read through them before getting started, so I had to try a lot of trial and error. The end result was quite a few early losses but honestly even the losing was fun, which is always the sign of a good game.
For a game that is played on a screen less than 4 inches wide, the graphics and details of the images are incredible. You really get a satisfying view of your entire arsenal of weapons filling the sky with ammunition. It is also nice to see some pretty good detail of your attackers well in advance. The background music is a good choice as well. The only thing that became a little annoying was after a few levels the audio is constant gunfire, which made me turn it off after a while.
It may be because I’m a sucker for tower defense type games but I really enjoyed this one. This game is well worth the asking price and honestly I would probably pay up to $5 for it just because I love a challenge that brings me back over and over again. Tower Defense EVO stands apart from other games in this genre with its excellent graphics and wide assortments of armaments at your disposal. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: Color Stone Ltd
Buy now on
Tower Defense EVO is an iPhone/iPod Touch game where the point is to destroy wave after wave of soldiers and vehicles trying to reach your base. The more units you destroy the more money you earn for a better arsenal. You can choose between mission based gameplay where after so many levels you can complete a mission, or you can choose the "endless" version where the enemies just keep on coming forever.
The controls on Tower Defense EVO are really simple. They are of the drag and drop variety. Simply pick the gun you would like to use and place it where you think it will be most effective and let it run wild. If you get bored with said gun, or would like to just update it, you are able to sell it and upgrade the weapon. I should note that the instructions on the front of this game went by VERY quickly and did not give me nearly enough time to read through them before getting started, so I had to try a lot of trial and error. The end result was quite a few early losses but honestly even the losing was fun, which is always the sign of a good game.
For a game that is played on a screen less than 4 inches wide, the graphics and details of the images are incredible. You really get a satisfying view of your entire arsenal of weapons filling the sky with ammunition. It is also nice to see some pretty good detail of your attackers well in advance. The background music is a good choice as well. The only thing that became a little annoying was after a few levels the audio is constant gunfire, which made me turn it off after a while.
It may be because I’m a sucker for tower defense type games but I really enjoyed this one. This game is well worth the asking price and honestly I would probably pay up to $5 for it just because I love a challenge that brings me back over and over again. Tower Defense EVO stands apart from other games in this genre with its excellent graphics and wide assortments of armaments at your disposal. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
martes, 16 de febrero de 2010
Moto X Mayhem Review
Price: $.99
Publisher: Occamy Games
Buy now on
Moto X Mayhem is a timed 2D dirt bike game where you race through various landscapes trying to not crash your bike along the way. There are 3 sets of levels, each includes 7 different tracks. There are a few flash games out there that are very similar to Moto X Mayhem but when it comes to the iPhone/iPod landscape, Moto X Mayhem is very well done and stands apart from its competition.
Right off the bat you can start a game or practice one level at a time. Normal game play allows you to go through each level unlocking tracks by passing the previous one. After passing the entire track on a level, your total level time is shown and can be added and compared to the network of players. You can also access personal high scores from the main menu.
For a 2D racer, Moto X Mayhem has great graphics. The bike and rider show great detail with every movement the player makes. I believe the best graphics in the game are the tracks and backgrounds. They are a perfect match between high quality and simplicity. I especially love the buried skeletons with helmets on. Nice touch.
The game's sounds take a back seat to the graphics and game play. There is no music during game play (which I like), instead it plays only while the user is on a menu screen. While racing the sounds consist of engine noises, bird chirps, and crashing sound FX. I do like the fact that the engine noises are matched very well with the bike's acceleration and jumps.
The designers at Occamy Games really put a lot of thought in to the controls of this game. There are a few different ways you can control the bike's acceleration and balance. The first, and my favorite, is using the accelerometer to control the balance of the bike. Tilt right to make the bike's nose go down and tilt left to make the nose go up. The other two ways are analog, being able to side your finger across the screen to control the balance, and digital, tapping the screen in certain areas to control the balance. The gas and brake pedals also come in analog, sliding your finger on the screen to control acceleration, and digital, tapping a designated area on the screen for gas and brake. My suggestion is to leave it on the accelerometer for tilting and digital for gas and brake. If you got lost reading that last bit, don't worry. Every time you start a level, control hints pop on the screen.
There are a few things like I didn't like about this game. I've already passed all of the tracks on all of the levels. It didn't take long. Yes, there is the aspect of going back through and trying for a better time, but once you get the hang of the controls you will fly through the tracks. I would like to see an upgradeable bike and longer tracks. They only take 18-20 seconds to get through.
With all that said, Moto X Mayhem is still a very fun game, definitely worth the $0.99 price tag. The replay value is there, but I think the most fun you will have is trying to get through the tracks the first time you play the game.
Ratings:
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: Occamy Games
Buy now on
Moto X Mayhem is a timed 2D dirt bike game where you race through various landscapes trying to not crash your bike along the way. There are 3 sets of levels, each includes 7 different tracks. There are a few flash games out there that are very similar to Moto X Mayhem but when it comes to the iPhone/iPod landscape, Moto X Mayhem is very well done and stands apart from its competition.
Right off the bat you can start a game or practice one level at a time. Normal game play allows you to go through each level unlocking tracks by passing the previous one. After passing the entire track on a level, your total level time is shown and can be added and compared to the network of players. You can also access personal high scores from the main menu.
For a 2D racer, Moto X Mayhem has great graphics. The bike and rider show great detail with every movement the player makes. I believe the best graphics in the game are the tracks and backgrounds. They are a perfect match between high quality and simplicity. I especially love the buried skeletons with helmets on. Nice touch.
The game's sounds take a back seat to the graphics and game play. There is no music during game play (which I like), instead it plays only while the user is on a menu screen. While racing the sounds consist of engine noises, bird chirps, and crashing sound FX. I do like the fact that the engine noises are matched very well with the bike's acceleration and jumps.
The designers at Occamy Games really put a lot of thought in to the controls of this game. There are a few different ways you can control the bike's acceleration and balance. The first, and my favorite, is using the accelerometer to control the balance of the bike. Tilt right to make the bike's nose go down and tilt left to make the nose go up. The other two ways are analog, being able to side your finger across the screen to control the balance, and digital, tapping the screen in certain areas to control the balance. The gas and brake pedals also come in analog, sliding your finger on the screen to control acceleration, and digital, tapping a designated area on the screen for gas and brake. My suggestion is to leave it on the accelerometer for tilting and digital for gas and brake. If you got lost reading that last bit, don't worry. Every time you start a level, control hints pop on the screen.
There are a few things like I didn't like about this game. I've already passed all of the tracks on all of the levels. It didn't take long. Yes, there is the aspect of going back through and trying for a better time, but once you get the hang of the controls you will fly through the tracks. I would like to see an upgradeable bike and longer tracks. They only take 18-20 seconds to get through.
With all that said, Moto X Mayhem is still a very fun game, definitely worth the $0.99 price tag. The replay value is there, but I think the most fun you will have is trying to get through the tracks the first time you play the game.
Ratings:
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
domingo, 14 de febrero de 2010
Alien Swing Review for iPhone/iPod Touch
Price: $1.99
Publisher: Mr. Jack Games
Buy now on
I won’t lie, on the first attempt of playing Alien Swing, I was not that impressed. However this game is surprisingly addictive! The game is a combination of two games (at least in my head); the first being the simple, yet very addicting Helicopter flash game where you navigate your copter over obstacles and through tunnels. The second part of that combination is comparable to something like Earthworm Jim. In Earthworm Jim you would use your worm body to swing back and forth to grab things and advance through the level, much like you use your tongue in this game to advance.
There are two modes in this game, Distance Mode and Puzzle Mode. Let’s start with the Distance Mode.
The point here is to see how far you can get by using your tongue to swing back and forth and basically swing through the slides as if you were an alien Tarzan. Admittedly, this sounds easy; however they make it more and more difficult as you move through the level. If you hit the ground at any time you lose a life. So in order to make it increasingly harder they switch things up. They start you out slow with stagnant objects and once you are in the swing of things the objects will start moving up, down and side to side. This makes it not only a thinking game but also a game that makes you anticipate what is coming up next.
The Puzzle Mode is fun, yet challenging. It will help you get your feet wet without jumping in the pool completely. You learn the basics of swinging and collecting the coins throughout the stages (though coin collecting is not necessary), but you also get timed and have time-based challenges. If you beat the puzzle stage in the time limit allotted your reward is a gold medal for the stage. In all there are 30 puzzles stages with 6 unlockable levels that are sure to keep your attention.
All in all this is a fun game. If nothing else you always want to do better than your last attempt, which is what makes classic flash games like Helicopter or Yeti Penguin Swing so great. Alien Swing is worth the $1.99 as it is a game that will easily pass the time when waiting for an appointment or when you need to just need to blow a few minutes.
Ratings
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: Mr. Jack Games
Buy now on
I won’t lie, on the first attempt of playing Alien Swing, I was not that impressed. However this game is surprisingly addictive! The game is a combination of two games (at least in my head); the first being the simple, yet very addicting Helicopter flash game where you navigate your copter over obstacles and through tunnels. The second part of that combination is comparable to something like Earthworm Jim. In Earthworm Jim you would use your worm body to swing back and forth to grab things and advance through the level, much like you use your tongue in this game to advance.
There are two modes in this game, Distance Mode and Puzzle Mode. Let’s start with the Distance Mode.
The point here is to see how far you can get by using your tongue to swing back and forth and basically swing through the slides as if you were an alien Tarzan. Admittedly, this sounds easy; however they make it more and more difficult as you move through the level. If you hit the ground at any time you lose a life. So in order to make it increasingly harder they switch things up. They start you out slow with stagnant objects and once you are in the swing of things the objects will start moving up, down and side to side. This makes it not only a thinking game but also a game that makes you anticipate what is coming up next.
The Puzzle Mode is fun, yet challenging. It will help you get your feet wet without jumping in the pool completely. You learn the basics of swinging and collecting the coins throughout the stages (though coin collecting is not necessary), but you also get timed and have time-based challenges. If you beat the puzzle stage in the time limit allotted your reward is a gold medal for the stage. In all there are 30 puzzles stages with 6 unlockable levels that are sure to keep your attention.
All in all this is a fun game. If nothing else you always want to do better than your last attempt, which is what makes classic flash games like Helicopter or Yeti Penguin Swing so great. Alien Swing is worth the $1.99 as it is a game that will easily pass the time when waiting for an appointment or when you need to just need to blow a few minutes.
Ratings
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
viernes, 12 de febrero de 2010
GTA: Chinatown Wars - News - Awesome Sale
My favorite game of 2010 is now on sale all weekend long on the App Store. A great price for $9.99 (regular price), it will be the crazy low price of $6.99 this weekend. I am literally still playing this game despite my review being done a month agao. I am about 8 hours in and only 30% done. If you have a few extra buucks laying around and want to play the game that makes most other iPhone/iPod Touch games look bad, this is the one to get.
The next 4 things you need to do:
Read our review right here, buy the game, find the cheat codes after you buy the game and if you haven't yet, for god sakes buy the game.
The next 4 things you need to do:
Read our review right here, buy the game, find the cheat codes after you buy the game and if you haven't yet, for god sakes buy the game.
jueves, 11 de febrero de 2010
60 Mario and Friends: Old Games are Back - Garbage
This is not a review, just an angry observation. The 2nd best selling app in App Store is currently 60 Mario and Friends: Old Games are Back. Even though it has 617 ratings with a 2 star average, it has remained the 2nd best selling app for 2 straight days at $.99 a pop. If you aren't aware of what this "game" is then let me tell you. It provides 60 sounds of old games (Marion, Donkey Kong, etc) There is no gameplay at all. You just play sounds of old Nintendo games. The developer, Isayonline Services, has delivered a bogus game that utilizies Nintendo's golden characters to make itself money.
Three groups should be ashamed of this game being in the top of the App Store; the consumers, the developer and Apple. If the consumer would actually read the description of the app they would know better. Hell, if they even looked at other user's reviews they would know better. The developer obviously has no rights to the source material whatsoever and in a quick money grab are trying to bring in whatever cash they can before Nintendo sues them and makes them take their app down. Finally, Apple is just approving all kinds of crap lately. I love how they approve an app that obviously steals copyrighted material by Nintendo yet they won't add Google Voice. This just goes to show you that the manta, buyer beware, should be all the more prevalent in this digital age of App Store junk software.
Three groups should be ashamed of this game being in the top of the App Store; the consumers, the developer and Apple. If the consumer would actually read the description of the app they would know better. Hell, if they even looked at other user's reviews they would know better. The developer obviously has no rights to the source material whatsoever and in a quick money grab are trying to bring in whatever cash they can before Nintendo sues them and makes them take their app down. Finally, Apple is just approving all kinds of crap lately. I love how they approve an app that obviously steals copyrighted material by Nintendo yet they won't add Google Voice. This just goes to show you that the manta, buyer beware, should be all the more prevalent in this digital age of App Store junk software.
miércoles, 10 de febrero de 2010
Marketing Advice for iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad Developers
You are developing for a platform that is used by 70 million (best guess) people. That number is sure to expand. You are in a market that literally has a hundred thousand competitors. It can be hard to stand out. In fact, in some game genres – it seems impossible. The question is, how can you reach the most people with your latest and greatest game? It is a tough question and one I am interested in looking at. First some background on me; I do marketing for a software company that has nothing to do with games or any iDevice. In our marketplace there are about 10 main competitors. It's not easy to stand out but it is possible. Below are some of the things we do that may also work for your game/company.
We use Twitter and set up keyword searches for our segment of the market (including our competitors). We make sure to follow up with people that have expressed interest in a certain type of software and mention our own software and what features it has. We bring those people to our website or to a review of our software. As an iDevice game developer, you can do the same thing. Never underestimate how much more valuable a review is than your own bullet points or opinions. No one trusts a company trying to sell things to them. We use references to stand out from the crowd. For you, a good review is a good reference.
We have an optimized web page that allows people to easily find out about our product and what we do. Create a webpage in an open source CMS like Drupal or Wordpress. Both of these have SEO (search engine optimization) plugins available that will help people find your website. Make sure you link back to all of the reviews that are out there (at least the good ones). Make the site look nice but more importantly, make sure people can easily find information they want. There are way too many websites out there that have good information no one ever sees. If you offer a forum or a way of your fans to interact with you, be careful to moderate it. Only open up a forum if you have the staff to moderate. Otherwise, you could be opening up Pandora's Box.
As far as optimizing your own website. It really is a ton of work. It may or may not be something you have time to do. The most important thing is make sure the copy or text you write on your page matches up with your Meta descriptions (which should be different for each page on your site). Meta keywords don't matter as much anymore (in fact Google doesn't use them for their search rankings at all). Think about advertising on Google Adwords or Yahoo's advertising service. Depending on the type of game you are advertising for you may be able to bring people to your site for just 10 cents per click (a very good price). This is something that should be used sparingly though because the cost can quickly add up if you used an oft-used keyword for your ads.
Reach out to members of the gaming world. All of the big guys including Touch Arcade and Pocket Gamer but don't forget about sites like this one as well. In fact, the smaller the site, the likelier that your game will be noticed by its readers. Some of the larger sites put up 4 or 5 reviews per day. It's pretty difficult to be noticed in that type of crowd. If you do want to advertise directly at a gaming site, ask around before doing so. Make sure that they can give you an advertising sheet that explains their rates and the cost you are likely to pay in a month. The cliché, "it costs money to make money" does apply here but be careful to not go crazy with advertising. A .5% click through rate (very good in most cases) is likely the best that you can hope for. If that site receives 1,000 impressions per day and you pay $10 per 1000 impressions, you are paying out $10 for 5 clickthroughs. If your game costs $2 you are just breaking even. That isn't an ideal situation. On the other hand, if you pay a monthly rate for an unlimited number of impressions, you might be able to bring in a lot more money. For example, if you have a .5% click through rate and pay $200/month at the site that has 1,000 impressions per day then in an average month you are receiving 30,000 impressions and getting 150 clicks. That means you are making a profit of $100/month.
I hope this article is able to help some of the developers out there looking for marketing advice. Let me know if you have any questions. If this is something you are interested in knowing about, let me know. I have some other ideas that may be able to help your own company branch out into other areas. If you’re not a developer and just reading this article, I hope you found it slightly interesting. No matter who you are, let me know if you would like to know more about this stuff.
We use Twitter and set up keyword searches for our segment of the market (including our competitors). We make sure to follow up with people that have expressed interest in a certain type of software and mention our own software and what features it has. We bring those people to our website or to a review of our software. As an iDevice game developer, you can do the same thing. Never underestimate how much more valuable a review is than your own bullet points or opinions. No one trusts a company trying to sell things to them. We use references to stand out from the crowd. For you, a good review is a good reference.
We have an optimized web page that allows people to easily find out about our product and what we do. Create a webpage in an open source CMS like Drupal or Wordpress. Both of these have SEO (search engine optimization) plugins available that will help people find your website. Make sure you link back to all of the reviews that are out there (at least the good ones). Make the site look nice but more importantly, make sure people can easily find information they want. There are way too many websites out there that have good information no one ever sees. If you offer a forum or a way of your fans to interact with you, be careful to moderate it. Only open up a forum if you have the staff to moderate. Otherwise, you could be opening up Pandora's Box.
As far as optimizing your own website. It really is a ton of work. It may or may not be something you have time to do. The most important thing is make sure the copy or text you write on your page matches up with your Meta descriptions (which should be different for each page on your site). Meta keywords don't matter as much anymore (in fact Google doesn't use them for their search rankings at all). Think about advertising on Google Adwords or Yahoo's advertising service. Depending on the type of game you are advertising for you may be able to bring people to your site for just 10 cents per click (a very good price). This is something that should be used sparingly though because the cost can quickly add up if you used an oft-used keyword for your ads.
Reach out to members of the gaming world. All of the big guys including Touch Arcade and Pocket Gamer but don't forget about sites like this one as well. In fact, the smaller the site, the likelier that your game will be noticed by its readers. Some of the larger sites put up 4 or 5 reviews per day. It's pretty difficult to be noticed in that type of crowd. If you do want to advertise directly at a gaming site, ask around before doing so. Make sure that they can give you an advertising sheet that explains their rates and the cost you are likely to pay in a month. The cliché, "it costs money to make money" does apply here but be careful to not go crazy with advertising. A .5% click through rate (very good in most cases) is likely the best that you can hope for. If that site receives 1,000 impressions per day and you pay $10 per 1000 impressions, you are paying out $10 for 5 clickthroughs. If your game costs $2 you are just breaking even. That isn't an ideal situation. On the other hand, if you pay a monthly rate for an unlimited number of impressions, you might be able to bring in a lot more money. For example, if you have a .5% click through rate and pay $200/month at the site that has 1,000 impressions per day then in an average month you are receiving 30,000 impressions and getting 150 clicks. That means you are making a profit of $100/month.
I hope this article is able to help some of the developers out there looking for marketing advice. Let me know if you have any questions. If this is something you are interested in knowing about, let me know. I have some other ideas that may be able to help your own company branch out into other areas. If you’re not a developer and just reading this article, I hope you found it slightly interesting. No matter who you are, let me know if you would like to know more about this stuff.
martes, 9 de febrero de 2010
Fuzzle Review for iPhone/iPod Touch
Price: $.99
Publisher: CandyCane LLC
Buy now on
Fuzzle is a puzzle game where you must line up colored balls to earn points. Think of the game Connect Four, but in Fuzzle you have to connect five and with a lot more colors. If you are like me and constantly checking iTunes top 25 games, then chances are you have already seen the name Fuzzle. If you haven't downloaded it already...go ahead, it's worth it.
The game starts out with seven balls but with every move you make more balls are added forcing you to plan ahead. Multi-colored balls (which can be used with any color) and black balls (when used with a color, eliminates all of that color) are thrown into the mix as the game progresses to help out the player.
The gameplay is simple, touch a ball and drag it to the spot you want it to go. A cool road map pops up and shows you the path that they ball will take. This is important because you have to have an open path to the open spot. If there isn't an open spot you must move another ball to open a path or choose another ball. By default, there is a timer that will add balls even if you don't move (you can turn the timer off). So quick decisions are important.
I am very impressed with the quality of the graphics in this game. The balls and the playing field are crystal clear and the in-game menus are simple and straight forward. I wish more game’s user interfaces were as well designed as this one.
The audio is on the same level as the graphics. I am not a huge fan of in game music so I was happily surprised when I found out that the game was installed with the music turned off. I did turn it on to see how it was and it's not bad, but I prefer no music. The sound FXs are wonderful. Funny little noises with every move are a great addition to an already solid game.
Overall, Fuzzle is a great game for puzzle lovers and casual gamers alike. A must buy. It's challenging but not so much that you get frustrated and quit. Unfortunately (or rather fortunately), you just become more addicted. Every time you play the game will be different allowing for hours and hours of possible gameplay.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: CandyCane LLC
Buy now on
Fuzzle is a puzzle game where you must line up colored balls to earn points. Think of the game Connect Four, but in Fuzzle you have to connect five and with a lot more colors. If you are like me and constantly checking iTunes top 25 games, then chances are you have already seen the name Fuzzle. If you haven't downloaded it already...go ahead, it's worth it.
The game starts out with seven balls but with every move you make more balls are added forcing you to plan ahead. Multi-colored balls (which can be used with any color) and black balls (when used with a color, eliminates all of that color) are thrown into the mix as the game progresses to help out the player.
The gameplay is simple, touch a ball and drag it to the spot you want it to go. A cool road map pops up and shows you the path that they ball will take. This is important because you have to have an open path to the open spot. If there isn't an open spot you must move another ball to open a path or choose another ball. By default, there is a timer that will add balls even if you don't move (you can turn the timer off). So quick decisions are important.
I am very impressed with the quality of the graphics in this game. The balls and the playing field are crystal clear and the in-game menus are simple and straight forward. I wish more game’s user interfaces were as well designed as this one.
The audio is on the same level as the graphics. I am not a huge fan of in game music so I was happily surprised when I found out that the game was installed with the music turned off. I did turn it on to see how it was and it's not bad, but I prefer no music. The sound FXs are wonderful. Funny little noises with every move are a great addition to an already solid game.
Overall, Fuzzle is a great game for puzzle lovers and casual gamers alike. A must buy. It's challenging but not so much that you get frustrated and quit. Unfortunately (or rather fortunately), you just become more addicted. Every time you play the game will be different allowing for hours and hours of possible gameplay.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Parcel Panic review for iPhone and iPod Touch
Price: $.99
Publisher: Mad Processor
Buy now on
Parcel Panic is an iPhone/iPod Touch driving game where you must maneuver to checkpoints picking up and dropping off boxes. If it sounds a lot like being a UPS/Fed Ex driver, you wouldn’t be too far off. The more boxes you delivery safely the more points you get, but you have to be careful because a bumpy ride means some boxes will fall out, causing you to lose points. The levels are timed, with additional time added when you make it to a checkpoint.
The controls in Parcel Panic are similar to other driving games. The gas and brake pedals are on the bottom corners of the screen and tilting your device either left or right turns the truck. The turning seems a little unresponsive and during hard turns my iPhone was almost upside down. The gas and brake pedals work wonderful and you do really notice a difference in performance on the upgraded trucks (a new one is unlocked with every level completed). It is worth mentioning that I did have a bug during one of my play sessions. I flipped my truck over and could not find a way to get it back on its wheels forcing me to restart the level. It was annoying but didn’t happen again.
One of the coolest parts of this game is the 2D map of the island you can use as you are driving around. You are totally free to pick whatever path you would like on your way to your next delivery (there is a green line guiding you, but you don't have to follow it). With that said the quality of the graphics leaves something to be desired. They aren’t horrible, but if they would have been upgraded a bit, this game would have gone to the next level. The audio and sound FX are comical in a good way; from the puttering of the engine to birds tweeting in the background to the "Oh Yeah!" when you make a successful drop off, the game’s sound is light and cheerful. The game music can get a bit repetitive but not so bad you want to turn it off.
At first this game seemed somewhat shallow, but after playing for 15 minutes the game opens up and definitely is fun. Once you get the hang of the game you can try fun ways to save time on your delivery like jumping off cliffs and trying short cuts. Overall, Parcel Panic is worth the $0.99. The multiple levels each have a fair amount replay value and most importantly the game is challenging and keeps you coming back.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: Mad Processor
Buy now on
Parcel Panic is an iPhone/iPod Touch driving game where you must maneuver to checkpoints picking up and dropping off boxes. If it sounds a lot like being a UPS/Fed Ex driver, you wouldn’t be too far off. The more boxes you delivery safely the more points you get, but you have to be careful because a bumpy ride means some boxes will fall out, causing you to lose points. The levels are timed, with additional time added when you make it to a checkpoint.
The controls in Parcel Panic are similar to other driving games. The gas and brake pedals are on the bottom corners of the screen and tilting your device either left or right turns the truck. The turning seems a little unresponsive and during hard turns my iPhone was almost upside down. The gas and brake pedals work wonderful and you do really notice a difference in performance on the upgraded trucks (a new one is unlocked with every level completed). It is worth mentioning that I did have a bug during one of my play sessions. I flipped my truck over and could not find a way to get it back on its wheels forcing me to restart the level. It was annoying but didn’t happen again.
One of the coolest parts of this game is the 2D map of the island you can use as you are driving around. You are totally free to pick whatever path you would like on your way to your next delivery (there is a green line guiding you, but you don't have to follow it). With that said the quality of the graphics leaves something to be desired. They aren’t horrible, but if they would have been upgraded a bit, this game would have gone to the next level. The audio and sound FX are comical in a good way; from the puttering of the engine to birds tweeting in the background to the "Oh Yeah!" when you make a successful drop off, the game’s sound is light and cheerful. The game music can get a bit repetitive but not so bad you want to turn it off.
At first this game seemed somewhat shallow, but after playing for 15 minutes the game opens up and definitely is fun. Once you get the hang of the game you can try fun ways to save time on your delivery like jumping off cliffs and trying short cuts. Overall, Parcel Panic is worth the $0.99. The multiple levels each have a fair amount replay value and most importantly the game is challenging and keeps you coming back.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
lunes, 8 de febrero de 2010
Marble Multiball 3d Review
Price: $.99
Publisher: Mad Processor
Buy now on
Marble Multiball 3d - The Castle Adventure is an iPhone/iPod Touch marble rolling maze game set in a spooky castle. To tell you the truth, a marble maze and spookiness seem like a strange pairing but the setting doesn't really detract (or enhance) the game. The game revolves around you going through a series of levels (over 40 in total) and guiding your ball or balls through different types of mazes. The game utilizes the built in accelarometer and requires no on screen buttons to play. The end result is a game that is simple to play, difficult to master and frustrating at times.
It is hard to write about a maze game without mentioning Labyrinth, one of the best selling iPhone/iPod games out there. Its physics model is outstanding. The ball rolls convincingly along the path and it really feels like you have one of those old toys in your hand rolling a ball around. This game doesn't feel quite like that. Instead the ball rolling physics feel a bit off at times. It is hard to say what exactly is the cause of that to be the case, but I felt that way the entire time I played it; almost as if the balls were slicker than they should be. One of the innovations in this game is that certain levels have multiple balls (up to 8 in some levels) that you have to roll around on the screen and deposit in the right location. The sides of the map differ greatly from water to space and generally are ways of keeping you on a single path and making the game more difficult. If you fall off the map, you start over from the beginning. The difficulty of the game begins getting insane in the latter stages. Even on the easiest difficulty level, in the last 10 or so levels, it takes the world's steadiest hand in order to maintain the ball on the map and make it to the end.
The difficulty is both good and bad. I like that the difficulty ramps up progressively as you jump through levels but there is no way of skipping a level if you can't pass a map. You must beat it in order to go on. I think this is a poor design choice. Game developers should want the majority of players to beat their game. Otherwise, why create the latter levels at all? I think that a LOT of people will give up before they make it to the end of this game and that's a shame because some of the latter stages are some of the most innovative. You have no controls of your balls vertical movement. You only control the balls speed of descent. There are occasions where you can ramp your ball over space or water and “jump” to another platform which is nice but very difficult to control.
The graphics in the game are ok but nothing special. The aforementioned marble rolling game, Labyrinth 3D, looks quite a bit better than this one. That being said, this game has a larger scope and the maps add in water, castle walls, multiple balls, etc that aren't included in Labyrinth 3D. The sound in the game is annoying after a while. Especially after replaying a stage 20 times or so before you pass (this happens often in the latter stages). I turned it off. Annoyingly you cannot play your own music while playing the game which to me was a disappointment.
Overall, the game really has its ups and downs. Passing a level after making your ball slalom down a hill, and speeding up and slowing down in order to "jump" channels of water is a lot of fun. But the 40 times I failed the level wasn't much fun at all, just frustrating. The controls feel a little slick and when you are playing a game that relies entirely on accelerometer controls; it really makes the game all the more difficult if they aren't up to par. If you’re a huge fan of marble maze games, try this one out (there is a free version as well).
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: Mad Processor
Buy now on
Marble Multiball 3d - The Castle Adventure is an iPhone/iPod Touch marble rolling maze game set in a spooky castle. To tell you the truth, a marble maze and spookiness seem like a strange pairing but the setting doesn't really detract (or enhance) the game. The game revolves around you going through a series of levels (over 40 in total) and guiding your ball or balls through different types of mazes. The game utilizes the built in accelarometer and requires no on screen buttons to play. The end result is a game that is simple to play, difficult to master and frustrating at times.
It is hard to write about a maze game without mentioning Labyrinth, one of the best selling iPhone/iPod games out there. Its physics model is outstanding. The ball rolls convincingly along the path and it really feels like you have one of those old toys in your hand rolling a ball around. This game doesn't feel quite like that. Instead the ball rolling physics feel a bit off at times. It is hard to say what exactly is the cause of that to be the case, but I felt that way the entire time I played it; almost as if the balls were slicker than they should be. One of the innovations in this game is that certain levels have multiple balls (up to 8 in some levels) that you have to roll around on the screen and deposit in the right location. The sides of the map differ greatly from water to space and generally are ways of keeping you on a single path and making the game more difficult. If you fall off the map, you start over from the beginning. The difficulty of the game begins getting insane in the latter stages. Even on the easiest difficulty level, in the last 10 or so levels, it takes the world's steadiest hand in order to maintain the ball on the map and make it to the end.
The difficulty is both good and bad. I like that the difficulty ramps up progressively as you jump through levels but there is no way of skipping a level if you can't pass a map. You must beat it in order to go on. I think this is a poor design choice. Game developers should want the majority of players to beat their game. Otherwise, why create the latter levels at all? I think that a LOT of people will give up before they make it to the end of this game and that's a shame because some of the latter stages are some of the most innovative. You have no controls of your balls vertical movement. You only control the balls speed of descent. There are occasions where you can ramp your ball over space or water and “jump” to another platform which is nice but very difficult to control.
The graphics in the game are ok but nothing special. The aforementioned marble rolling game, Labyrinth 3D, looks quite a bit better than this one. That being said, this game has a larger scope and the maps add in water, castle walls, multiple balls, etc that aren't included in Labyrinth 3D. The sound in the game is annoying after a while. Especially after replaying a stage 20 times or so before you pass (this happens often in the latter stages). I turned it off. Annoyingly you cannot play your own music while playing the game which to me was a disappointment.
Overall, the game really has its ups and downs. Passing a level after making your ball slalom down a hill, and speeding up and slowing down in order to "jump" channels of water is a lot of fun. But the 40 times I failed the level wasn't much fun at all, just frustrating. The controls feel a little slick and when you are playing a game that relies entirely on accelerometer controls; it really makes the game all the more difficult if they aren't up to par. If you’re a huge fan of marble maze games, try this one out (there is a free version as well).
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
viernes, 5 de febrero de 2010
Vanquish: Oath of Brothers Review
Price: $2.99
Publisher:Gamevil
Buy now on
In my time spent playing Vanquish: Oath of Brothers I have felt a wide range of emotions. At first I was bored, then I was interested and finally I ended up feeling somewhere in the middle. The game certainly has its strengths but has a few faults that counter balance them and keep it from being a classic. You play 1 of 3 characters in the story that takes place in the ancient Chinese empire (during the Han dynasty). In that role, you fight to the death over and over and over again. Gamevil calls this an action RPG and it does have elements of an RPG, but don't be fooled, this game is nearly all about the action.
The gameplay revolves around you riding on a horse through the countryside of China killing off whoever gets in your way. The game is divided into a number of levels that once you beat, you never return to. The actual gameplay is unusual because even though you are constantly moving forward (there is no way to stop entirely or go backward), you do have the interesting ability to slow or slightly turn your horse riding character left and right. This game is a side scroller so the ability to turn is intriguing.
On the left of the screen you have you d-pad control and on the right side your attack buttons. One button is your primary weapon, which you need to be ready to push a million times (literally). You will be killing 300-500 people in a single level and these things only take 5 minutes each at the most. The gameplay is really quick. In fact, it is really hard to see what you are doing on the screen at any one time. The problem is you aren’t just fighting foot soldiers. You are also fighting horse riding enemies and occasionally protecting a horse drawn carriage. Sometimes there are as many as 20-25 enemies on the screen at once including 5-10 horses. That is a lot of legs to see on a screen as small as an iDevice, making it extremely difficult to tell where you horse is, especially since the graphics can blend in.
The graphics in the game are interesting. They are hand drawn and sometimes quite beautiful, other times they end up looking drab and monotonous. In fact, when you start turning they can become very pixilated and truly look bad. It is worth mentioning that the blood you see upon killing your enemies flies everywhere and it is very satisfying to see. Especially after coming off playing Assassin's Creed 2 and seeing no blood at all. The music within the game is done well but unfortunately is not turned on throughout your playing time. While playing you simply hear the sound of your main weapon constantly coming up against your enemies which makes a clanging noise that gets old after a while.
The actual storyline within the game is done fairly well. It is truly one of the bright spots in the game. It makes sense, develops your character and even made me laugh several times (intentionally I think). It certainly feels that some time was spent on the story and that is a very good thing. None of what is said is done by voice actors, closed caption only here, but that doesn’t really detract from anything in this case.
The main issue with this game again comes down to the pace, which is much too fast in most cases. While there is a slider in the options menu to speed the game up or slow it down, it doesn't really seem to help too much. There are still a ton of enemies in every screen and finding yourself is still a difficult proposition. If they could have made your character stand out more I would have given much higher marks throughout.
One other thing that also needs mentioned is the difficulty level. It gets too difficult, too quick. I was going through the levels as the first character in the game and moving through them quite smoothly until I got to level 7 and tried to fight the boss character. That battle took ages for me to win and repeating the entire mission over and over again to get to that battle was not fun at all. Normally, you could "revive" yourself with a purple gem in the game and go right back into the battle against the boss character. In this instance, things had been so easy up to this point; I was using the purple gems to upgrade my character. When I died, I had no purple gems left to use and so I had to restart the entire mission over and over again. Not fun.
The upgrade system for your weapons and all of the additional powerups you can find/receive/buy can make the game quite a bit of fun. Each has its advantages and disadvantages and knowing when to buy an item (with one of the aforementioned purple gems) is an important thing to learn. Overall, this part of the game feels entirely right and is done quite well. You can even buy a better horse (which seems to make the game go even faster).
In summary, Vanquish: Oath of Brothers has a strong story, a great powerup/item system and an interesting use of controls and graphics. It also gives you several hours of gameplay. On the negative side its difficulty level raises too quickly, is extremely difficult to find your character in the mass of enemies surrounding you, and can become repetitive. As an action gamer, I think this game is worth your time. As a fan of RPG's, you might want to wait until Zenonia 2. This game is probably not going to be a good fit for you.
Overall Value for it's $2.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher:Gamevil
Buy now on
In my time spent playing Vanquish: Oath of Brothers I have felt a wide range of emotions. At first I was bored, then I was interested and finally I ended up feeling somewhere in the middle. The game certainly has its strengths but has a few faults that counter balance them and keep it from being a classic. You play 1 of 3 characters in the story that takes place in the ancient Chinese empire (during the Han dynasty). In that role, you fight to the death over and over and over again. Gamevil calls this an action RPG and it does have elements of an RPG, but don't be fooled, this game is nearly all about the action.
The gameplay revolves around you riding on a horse through the countryside of China killing off whoever gets in your way. The game is divided into a number of levels that once you beat, you never return to. The actual gameplay is unusual because even though you are constantly moving forward (there is no way to stop entirely or go backward), you do have the interesting ability to slow or slightly turn your horse riding character left and right. This game is a side scroller so the ability to turn is intriguing.
On the left of the screen you have you d-pad control and on the right side your attack buttons. One button is your primary weapon, which you need to be ready to push a million times (literally). You will be killing 300-500 people in a single level and these things only take 5 minutes each at the most. The gameplay is really quick. In fact, it is really hard to see what you are doing on the screen at any one time. The problem is you aren’t just fighting foot soldiers. You are also fighting horse riding enemies and occasionally protecting a horse drawn carriage. Sometimes there are as many as 20-25 enemies on the screen at once including 5-10 horses. That is a lot of legs to see on a screen as small as an iDevice, making it extremely difficult to tell where you horse is, especially since the graphics can blend in.
The graphics in the game are interesting. They are hand drawn and sometimes quite beautiful, other times they end up looking drab and monotonous. In fact, when you start turning they can become very pixilated and truly look bad. It is worth mentioning that the blood you see upon killing your enemies flies everywhere and it is very satisfying to see. Especially after coming off playing Assassin's Creed 2 and seeing no blood at all. The music within the game is done well but unfortunately is not turned on throughout your playing time. While playing you simply hear the sound of your main weapon constantly coming up against your enemies which makes a clanging noise that gets old after a while.
The actual storyline within the game is done fairly well. It is truly one of the bright spots in the game. It makes sense, develops your character and even made me laugh several times (intentionally I think). It certainly feels that some time was spent on the story and that is a very good thing. None of what is said is done by voice actors, closed caption only here, but that doesn’t really detract from anything in this case.
The main issue with this game again comes down to the pace, which is much too fast in most cases. While there is a slider in the options menu to speed the game up or slow it down, it doesn't really seem to help too much. There are still a ton of enemies in every screen and finding yourself is still a difficult proposition. If they could have made your character stand out more I would have given much higher marks throughout.
One other thing that also needs mentioned is the difficulty level. It gets too difficult, too quick. I was going through the levels as the first character in the game and moving through them quite smoothly until I got to level 7 and tried to fight the boss character. That battle took ages for me to win and repeating the entire mission over and over again to get to that battle was not fun at all. Normally, you could "revive" yourself with a purple gem in the game and go right back into the battle against the boss character. In this instance, things had been so easy up to this point; I was using the purple gems to upgrade my character. When I died, I had no purple gems left to use and so I had to restart the entire mission over and over again. Not fun.
The upgrade system for your weapons and all of the additional powerups you can find/receive/buy can make the game quite a bit of fun. Each has its advantages and disadvantages and knowing when to buy an item (with one of the aforementioned purple gems) is an important thing to learn. Overall, this part of the game feels entirely right and is done quite well. You can even buy a better horse (which seems to make the game go even faster).
In summary, Vanquish: Oath of Brothers has a strong story, a great powerup/item system and an interesting use of controls and graphics. It also gives you several hours of gameplay. On the negative side its difficulty level raises too quickly, is extremely difficult to find your character in the mass of enemies surrounding you, and can become repetitive. As an action gamer, I think this game is worth your time. As a fan of RPG's, you might want to wait until Zenonia 2. This game is probably not going to be a good fit for you.
Overall Value for it's $2.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
GTA: Chinatown Wars iPhone/iPod Cheats Part 3
With this last cluster of cheats for Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for iPhone / iPod touch, you can make the days run as fast as you'd like. These cheats are perfect for catching up with random encounters that only appear during certain times of the day (there are 14 total random encounters in the game).
Rockstar announced the 3rd and final release of Cheats for their iPhone/iPod Touch blockbuster on February 3rd. We have them for you here. If you missed part one or two of GTA: CW iPhone/iPod Touch Cheats, you might want to take a peak at those as well because there are some some pretty cool things including a special weapon you can unlock.
Cheats are spelled out using the magnetized letters on the Mission Replay Board located in any Safe House.
Time cheats
Advance an hour - JUMPHR
Move forward an hour.
Advance a day - JUMPDAY
Move forward a whole day.
Advance six hours - JUMPHRS
Move forward six hours.
A cheat is entered successfully when all of the magnetized letters go back to their original position on the board and a piece of text appears at the bottom of the screen with the load-out name you selected.
Of course, you can de-activate any cheat reloading your previous save (just make sure not to overwrite your save with the cheat active).
Rockstar announced the 3rd and final release of Cheats for their iPhone/iPod Touch blockbuster on February 3rd. We have them for you here. If you missed part one or two of GTA: CW iPhone/iPod Touch Cheats, you might want to take a peak at those as well because there are some some pretty cool things including a special weapon you can unlock.
Cheats are spelled out using the magnetized letters on the Mission Replay Board located in any Safe House.
Time cheats
Advance an hour - JUMPHR
Move forward an hour.
Advance a day - JUMPDAY
Move forward a whole day.
Advance six hours - JUMPHRS
Move forward six hours.
A cheat is entered successfully when all of the magnetized letters go back to their original position on the board and a piece of text appears at the bottom of the screen with the load-out name you selected.
Of course, you can de-activate any cheat reloading your previous save (just make sure not to overwrite your save with the cheat active).
Fling! Review for iPhone and iPod Touch
Price: $.99
Publisher: Candycane Apps
Buy now on
Fling! is an addicting iPhone and iPod Touch puzzler that entails flicking fuzzy balls, or furballs, at each other. The object of the game is to only have one furball left on the screen. To eliminate the other balls you must bump them off the screen using another ball. Balls can only go up, down, left, or right. Each of the 25 levels is different and the game gives you a ton of content for just a dollar.
The gameplay is fairly simple. You just flick a ball toward the ball you want bumped off the screen. If you think you have made a bad move, no worries, there is a back button that allows you to put the balls back move by move. And if you get really stuck, there is a “cheat” button that shows you the next move. The problem with the “cheat” button is that if you have already messed up beyond completion then you must revert back to where the puzzle is still solvable. But beware, you cannot use the “cheat” button and still move on to the next level.
The audio in this one is well done. The main song isn’t annoying or overbearing. I didn’t even mute it (which is something I usually always do in puzzle games). The sound effects are also nice and clean. You get little noises when you flick, bump, and complete a level as well as use the back button.
The graphics are great. The detail on the furballs is about as good as you can get on an iDevice. The top down perspective was a good choice as it makes it easy to see all of the balls in one view. Even the fuzzy playing field stands out. The menus and buttons have a great professional look and the games colors really work well together.
Overall, if you are a fan of puzzle games, this is a good one and is worth the money. It has hours of gameplay and is quite a bit different from level to level. The first 6 levels flew by and I really didn’t have to pay attention to what I was doing in order to move forward. Once I got to level 7, I started to really have to think ahead and plan my moves carefully and that is when it became a lot of fun.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: Candycane Apps
Buy now on
Fling! is an addicting iPhone and iPod Touch puzzler that entails flicking fuzzy balls, or furballs, at each other. The object of the game is to only have one furball left on the screen. To eliminate the other balls you must bump them off the screen using another ball. Balls can only go up, down, left, or right. Each of the 25 levels is different and the game gives you a ton of content for just a dollar.
The gameplay is fairly simple. You just flick a ball toward the ball you want bumped off the screen. If you think you have made a bad move, no worries, there is a back button that allows you to put the balls back move by move. And if you get really stuck, there is a “cheat” button that shows you the next move. The problem with the “cheat” button is that if you have already messed up beyond completion then you must revert back to where the puzzle is still solvable. But beware, you cannot use the “cheat” button and still move on to the next level.
The audio in this one is well done. The main song isn’t annoying or overbearing. I didn’t even mute it (which is something I usually always do in puzzle games). The sound effects are also nice and clean. You get little noises when you flick, bump, and complete a level as well as use the back button.
The graphics are great. The detail on the furballs is about as good as you can get on an iDevice. The top down perspective was a good choice as it makes it easy to see all of the balls in one view. Even the fuzzy playing field stands out. The menus and buttons have a great professional look and the games colors really work well together.
Overall, if you are a fan of puzzle games, this is a good one and is worth the money. It has hours of gameplay and is quite a bit different from level to level. The first 6 levels flew by and I really didn’t have to pay attention to what I was doing in order to move forward. Once I got to level 7, I started to really have to think ahead and plan my moves carefully and that is when it became a lot of fun.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
jueves, 4 de febrero de 2010
Assassin's Creed 2: Discovery Review
Price: $9.99
Publisher:Ubisoft
Buy now on
Assassins Creed 2: Discovery on the iPhone and iPod Touch plays a lot like an action game that wants you to think it is something else. To give you a little background, Assassins Creed 2, like the first game, takes place in the past with you as an assassin. Its plot is actually weirder and more complicated but let’s just goes with that. As an assassin you need to be stealthy in order to not get overwhelmed by your enemies, right? In theory yes, in practice no. In fact, the game forces you to be stealthy without giving you any reason to do so (other than losing missions) and therein lay the problem.
I assumed that as an assassin you would have nothing but your wits and a blade to help you but in this game, you are as fleet footed as an Olympic gymnast, you possess the brute force of a wrestler, and you also have the grace of a ballet dancer. You can scale 100 ft walls with no problem, jump from 50 ft into hay stacks in order to break your fall and hide. You have the ability to do incredible jumps and run as fast as Usain Bolt but remember, you’re also a stealthy assassin and the developers don’t want you to do these things to beat levels, they want you to walk slowly and sneak up on people to kill them. If that’s the case, why give you the ability to do these things at all?
With all of the above qualities your character possesses, if you want to go all out and stab someone straight on while they see you coming, you should be able to do it. But that is not always how it works in this game. During a level that makes you be stealthy, you can only kill people while they see you coming several times per level. If you do it too many times, the level ends. For example, if you kill the 5th person in a stealth mode level and they noticed you were coming before you killed them, sorry -restart from the last checkpoint. It's annoying and stupid. If you need to be stealthy, why give your character superhuman strength and the ability to literally kill four or five enemies at once? The stealth mode feels like an add-on on that doesn't make sense and is not fun.
The gameplay itself revolves around you using a slider on the left side of your iDevice to move your character forward or back. There is no up and down controller because this game is strictly a side scroller. There are additional buttons for jumping and knifing your way through an enemy. Just because the game treats you like a child and forces your hand when it comes to being stealthy doesn't mean it’s not fun. In fact, the game can be a blast at times. When you do kill someone silently, the game gives you a great 3D cutscene of you slitting a neck or stabbing someone through the chest. There are quite a few varieties and you can even counter an opponent’s attack and kill them in fantastic fashion. However, even this coolness is not without its own drawbacks. There is no blood in this game. To me it doesn’t make any sense. There is blood in quite a few other iPhone/iPod Touch games and its lack here in such a violent game doesn’t make sense.
The graphics in the game are ok. The close up killing looks great but the rest of the game is nothing special. While your character tends to look pixilated at times, most of the backgrounds and settings are well done. All said its graphics are not nearly up to the level of GTA: Chinatown Wars or even Spore Creatures. For a $10 game, I expected a bit more. The sound in the game is fairly well done. Most of the words said throughout the storyline are actually voice acted within the game. That was nice to see as most of it is done quite well. The soundtrack as well is spot-on and works well within the game’s setting and story.
When it comes to replay value, there are quite a few things to keep you busy. There is a minigame thrown into each level that involves you ripping the wanted posters off the walls throughout the city streets. Stats and feats are also tracked within the game and you also have the ability to unlock cheats (called “animus hacks” within the game). After beating the game and its 8 levels, you also unlock a series of challenges that will help to keep you busy. Certainly the game should give you 4 or 5 hours of play time which may or may not be worth $10 in your book.
Though the stealth missions are incredibly annoying, the other missions do help make up for them. The chase missions (where you are being tracked down by many guards) really shine and give you a reason to try to play through some of the more annoying parts of the game. The sad thing is that the best part of the game, the murders, has been made much less important by the developer. You either can’t kill someone straight on or if you can, you have to do it extremely quickly. In the end, the game has its ups and downs. Don't buy it before picking up the much superior GTA: CW but this game will keep your thumbs busy for a while as well. One additional note. I have seen other reports that this game doesn’t fare too well on anything less than an iPhone 3GS/newest iPod Touch models so beware of that.
Overall Value for it's $9.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher:Ubisoft
Buy now on
Assassins Creed 2: Discovery on the iPhone and iPod Touch plays a lot like an action game that wants you to think it is something else. To give you a little background, Assassins Creed 2, like the first game, takes place in the past with you as an assassin. Its plot is actually weirder and more complicated but let’s just goes with that. As an assassin you need to be stealthy in order to not get overwhelmed by your enemies, right? In theory yes, in practice no. In fact, the game forces you to be stealthy without giving you any reason to do so (other than losing missions) and therein lay the problem.
I assumed that as an assassin you would have nothing but your wits and a blade to help you but in this game, you are as fleet footed as an Olympic gymnast, you possess the brute force of a wrestler, and you also have the grace of a ballet dancer. You can scale 100 ft walls with no problem, jump from 50 ft into hay stacks in order to break your fall and hide. You have the ability to do incredible jumps and run as fast as Usain Bolt but remember, you’re also a stealthy assassin and the developers don’t want you to do these things to beat levels, they want you to walk slowly and sneak up on people to kill them. If that’s the case, why give you the ability to do these things at all?
With all of the above qualities your character possesses, if you want to go all out and stab someone straight on while they see you coming, you should be able to do it. But that is not always how it works in this game. During a level that makes you be stealthy, you can only kill people while they see you coming several times per level. If you do it too many times, the level ends. For example, if you kill the 5th person in a stealth mode level and they noticed you were coming before you killed them, sorry -restart from the last checkpoint. It's annoying and stupid. If you need to be stealthy, why give your character superhuman strength and the ability to literally kill four or five enemies at once? The stealth mode feels like an add-on on that doesn't make sense and is not fun.
The gameplay itself revolves around you using a slider on the left side of your iDevice to move your character forward or back. There is no up and down controller because this game is strictly a side scroller. There are additional buttons for jumping and knifing your way through an enemy. Just because the game treats you like a child and forces your hand when it comes to being stealthy doesn't mean it’s not fun. In fact, the game can be a blast at times. When you do kill someone silently, the game gives you a great 3D cutscene of you slitting a neck or stabbing someone through the chest. There are quite a few varieties and you can even counter an opponent’s attack and kill them in fantastic fashion. However, even this coolness is not without its own drawbacks. There is no blood in this game. To me it doesn’t make any sense. There is blood in quite a few other iPhone/iPod Touch games and its lack here in such a violent game doesn’t make sense.
The graphics in the game are ok. The close up killing looks great but the rest of the game is nothing special. While your character tends to look pixilated at times, most of the backgrounds and settings are well done. All said its graphics are not nearly up to the level of GTA: Chinatown Wars or even Spore Creatures. For a $10 game, I expected a bit more. The sound in the game is fairly well done. Most of the words said throughout the storyline are actually voice acted within the game. That was nice to see as most of it is done quite well. The soundtrack as well is spot-on and works well within the game’s setting and story.
When it comes to replay value, there are quite a few things to keep you busy. There is a minigame thrown into each level that involves you ripping the wanted posters off the walls throughout the city streets. Stats and feats are also tracked within the game and you also have the ability to unlock cheats (called “animus hacks” within the game). After beating the game and its 8 levels, you also unlock a series of challenges that will help to keep you busy. Certainly the game should give you 4 or 5 hours of play time which may or may not be worth $10 in your book.
Though the stealth missions are incredibly annoying, the other missions do help make up for them. The chase missions (where you are being tracked down by many guards) really shine and give you a reason to try to play through some of the more annoying parts of the game. The sad thing is that the best part of the game, the murders, has been made much less important by the developer. You either can’t kill someone straight on or if you can, you have to do it extremely quickly. In the end, the game has its ups and downs. Don't buy it before picking up the much superior GTA: CW but this game will keep your thumbs busy for a while as well. One additional note. I have seen other reports that this game doesn’t fare too well on anything less than an iPhone 3GS/newest iPod Touch models so beware of that.
Overall Value for it's $9.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
miércoles, 3 de febrero de 2010
Vanquish: Oath of Brothers Preview
Vanquish: The Oath of Brothers is the newest Action RPG from the guys at Gamevil. That should tell you something right away; Gamevil is the same developer that came out with the fantastic RPG, Zenonia, in 2009. The hands-on video from Gamevil is below. The action depicted shows you on horseback taking it to your enemies chariot style.
With a variety of upgradable items and several different characters to play with, this game is sure to please the role playing crowd. At the same time, the lightning quick gameplay and gory action should be exactly what the typical hack and slash action gamer is looking for. Something both sides can agree on, the $2.99 price point. This game will be released on Friday, February 5th and our review will be up the same day.
With a variety of upgradable items and several different characters to play with, this game is sure to please the role playing crowd. At the same time, the lightning quick gameplay and gory action should be exactly what the typical hack and slash action gamer is looking for. Something both sides can agree on, the $2.99 price point. This game will be released on Friday, February 5th and our review will be up the same day.
martes, 2 de febrero de 2010
Dracula: Path of the Dragon - Part 1 Review
Price: $.99
Publisher: Chillingo
Buy now on
Dracula: Path of the Dragon offers something few iPhone/iPod games do. A great story, fantastic voice acting, and believable characters. In fact, few iPhone/iPod games have any of those qualities, let alone all of them! That is why it was such a treat to play this adventure game based on a PC game of the same name. Several things should be noted up front. This game is divided into 3 parts and thus this review only deals in part 1. I will be reviewing the second and third parts separately. Look for those as they become released. Secondly, even though the game is based on a PC game by the same name, the story and actions you take are quite different.
The story begins with you investigating a possible canonization of a saint. If you’re not of the catholic persuasion, I guess the deal is that the Vatican sends out an investigatory team when a person is up for being included in the sainthood. You play a priest that travels to Romania (specifically the Transylvanian area) to speak to friends/followers of the recently deceased, potential saint. At first, you begin asking questions to find out more about her character and Christian faith. Later, the tale takes a turn and that is when things become very interesting.
The gameplay itself involves you using your finger to point at objects and directions you would like your character to move. This is done in first person view. Please do not go in expecting a FPS or an action intense game; this is an adventure game through and through. You solve puzzles; speaking to quite a few different characters and do it all without a gun. Instead you carry a Crucifix and a Bible. There are also several puzzles within the first part of the game that require you use various objects together in order to solve a problem. This is a pleasure because they are well constructed and easy enough to understand if you pay attention.
The graphics and sound within the game are phenomenal. The graphics are a mix of 2d backgrounds mixed with 3D cutscenes and are done extremely well. The actors are all voiced in the game as well and sound fantastic. It is worth noting that though the game is set in Transylvania, the actors carry no noticeable accent. For some of you that may be disappointing, but for me I was happy that was the way it was done. I figure that since most actors aren't from that area of the world, trying to sound Transylvanian would just come off sounding hokey.
The game goes for just a buck and it lasts for a solid 2 hours or so. It certainly doesn't have much replay value but trust me when I say that by the end of the first part of the game, you will be more than willing to lay down some more coin to see where the story goes. This game is like a great book that really sucks you in, and it is fantastic to see something so deep and believable come to the iPhone/iPod.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: Chillingo
Buy now on
Dracula: Path of the Dragon offers something few iPhone/iPod games do. A great story, fantastic voice acting, and believable characters. In fact, few iPhone/iPod games have any of those qualities, let alone all of them! That is why it was such a treat to play this adventure game based on a PC game of the same name. Several things should be noted up front. This game is divided into 3 parts and thus this review only deals in part 1. I will be reviewing the second and third parts separately. Look for those as they become released. Secondly, even though the game is based on a PC game by the same name, the story and actions you take are quite different.
The story begins with you investigating a possible canonization of a saint. If you’re not of the catholic persuasion, I guess the deal is that the Vatican sends out an investigatory team when a person is up for being included in the sainthood. You play a priest that travels to Romania (specifically the Transylvanian area) to speak to friends/followers of the recently deceased, potential saint. At first, you begin asking questions to find out more about her character and Christian faith. Later, the tale takes a turn and that is when things become very interesting.
The gameplay itself involves you using your finger to point at objects and directions you would like your character to move. This is done in first person view. Please do not go in expecting a FPS or an action intense game; this is an adventure game through and through. You solve puzzles; speaking to quite a few different characters and do it all without a gun. Instead you carry a Crucifix and a Bible. There are also several puzzles within the first part of the game that require you use various objects together in order to solve a problem. This is a pleasure because they are well constructed and easy enough to understand if you pay attention.
The graphics and sound within the game are phenomenal. The graphics are a mix of 2d backgrounds mixed with 3D cutscenes and are done extremely well. The actors are all voiced in the game as well and sound fantastic. It is worth noting that though the game is set in Transylvania, the actors carry no noticeable accent. For some of you that may be disappointing, but for me I was happy that was the way it was done. I figure that since most actors aren't from that area of the world, trying to sound Transylvanian would just come off sounding hokey.
The game goes for just a buck and it lasts for a solid 2 hours or so. It certainly doesn't have much replay value but trust me when I say that by the end of the first part of the game, you will be more than willing to lay down some more coin to see where the story goes. This game is like a great book that really sucks you in, and it is fantastic to see something so deep and believable come to the iPhone/iPod.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
lunes, 1 de febrero de 2010
iPad: Death for Indie Developers?
I'm worried. One of the best parts of the App Store is that small, indie developers are able to make a huge impact when it comes to the gaming landscape. They are able to do this for a number of reasons. First, the iPhone/iPod Touch is fairly easy to develop for when compared to a PC or a Mac. Everyone is using the same operating system and system specifications. Secondly, many of the large developers are just now dipping their feet into the mobile platform. This is especially true when you compare EA's smaller offerings on the iPhone when compared to consoles. When they begin marketing full on, I believe there will be less room for indie developers to make an impact. Finally, the reason a game like Doodle Jump can be developed in 2 months by 2 guys is because there are not a ton of fancy graphics. Fantastic gameplay and creative graphics but minimal graphics all the same. When the iPad comes out and you are able to see a game like Doodle Jump on a 10 inch screen, what will you see? A substantial amount of space being underutilized and cute but simplistic graphics. A game like Doodle Jump may have no place on the iPad.
How is a puzzle game or Stickmen Wars supposed to compete with a company like EA's game lineup when it comes to graphics? They have no chance. The iPad seems like it is all about graphics. Everything is pretty. Everything is cool. The iPhone is a perfect size for indie developers because even the best looking game still isn’t larger than 3 inches. I know there will still be a market for indie developers on the iPhone and iPod Touch; a huge one. But when I see a smaller company talk about how they are excited about bringing their scribble game to the iPad, I wince. I just can't imagine those games will be popular on the much larger iPad screen. Then again, I could be wrong. What do you think?
How is a puzzle game or Stickmen Wars supposed to compete with a company like EA's game lineup when it comes to graphics? They have no chance. The iPad seems like it is all about graphics. Everything is pretty. Everything is cool. The iPhone is a perfect size for indie developers because even the best looking game still isn’t larger than 3 inches. I know there will still be a market for indie developers on the iPhone and iPod Touch; a huge one. But when I see a smaller company talk about how they are excited about bringing their scribble game to the iPad, I wince. I just can't imagine those games will be popular on the much larger iPad screen. Then again, I could be wrong. What do you think?
Suscribirse a:
Entradas (Atom)