Price: $.99
Publisher:Clickgamer
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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 $0.99. This game truly has set a new bar for the sub-dollar iPhone/iPod Touch market. In fact, I’d wager this game sets a new bar across the entire pricing spectrum on the App Store. If you’re waiting for one more call to action, you won’t find it here. I’ll be busy playing Angry Birds and marking it down as an early contender for iPhone Gamer Blog's best game of 2010.
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Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Casual Gaming. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Casual Gaming. Mostrar todas las entradas
domingo, 28 de febrero de 2010
jueves, 25 de febrero de 2010
Rocket Downhill Penguin Review
Price:$.99
Publisher:Tony Hunyh
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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.
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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.
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domingo, 21 de febrero de 2010
Paper Fish Review for iPhone/iPod Touch
Price: $1.99
Publisher: Evenwell Digitech
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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domingo, 14 de febrero de 2010
Alien Swing Review for iPhone/iPod Touch
Price: $1.99
Publisher: Mr. Jack Games
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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.
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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.
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martes, 9 de febrero de 2010
Fuzzle Review for iPhone/iPod Touch
Price: $.99
Publisher: CandyCane LLC
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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lunes, 8 de febrero de 2010
Marble Multiball 3d Review
Price: $.99
Publisher: Mad Processor
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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).
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Publisher: Mad Processor
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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).
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viernes, 5 de febrero de 2010
Fling! Review for iPhone and iPod Touch
Price: $.99
Publisher: Candycane Apps
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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
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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.
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domingo, 31 de enero de 2010
Spore Creatures Review for iPhone and iPod Touch
Price: $6.99
Publisher EA Mobile
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If you’re unfamiliar with the Spore universe, it was Will Wright's (The guy behind both SimCity and The Sims) final game he created while at EA. The general scope of the PC game took you from being an incredibly small single celled organism, to eventually building up your species through a series of evolutions into a galactic traveler/dominator. When EA Mobile brought Spore Creatures to the mobile, it was done on a much smaller scale but with the same basic principles. You design a creature and take it from its infancy to be the dominant creature on the planet.
One of the first things you will notice when loading the game is that the color palette is fantastic. Every color is bright and rich and gives an almost cartoon feel to the world. The gameplay revolves around you creating a new species and evolving different traits in order to be able to kill or socialize with other species in the world. It is entirely up to you what type of species you will create. Will you create a creature with spikes for a tail and razor sharp teeth? Or will you create a character that is extremely defensive based and can socialize with the best of them? The choice is yours and that is one of the best parts about the game.
The game revolves around you moving your character through a series of levels and finding ways to evolve. Eating smaller creatures, finding other species and either socializing with them or fighting them , and even killing bosses on each of the four levels will move you character closer to inter-species dominance. You have quite a few choices as you move through the game about how your character will look and what traits you have. Those traits will help you determine whether or not you should fight a new found species or socialize with them. However, the choices are much smaller than the PC version of the game and no matter what you choose to do; you cannot interact with other users throughout the Spore Creatures world. This is a single player game only.
The controls are done by tilting the device in the direction you want your creature to slither, crawl, or walk. There are a few additional buttons on the screen, one of which is the action button. To eat food, simply guide your creature towards it and it will lunge forward to grab it. While the competing creatures are often cute, there isn't much substance to the world. None of the creatures create societies, compete for resources, or are on their own missions for world dominance. Apparently you are the only one that has aspirations for world domination. The end result, it feels kind of empty and doesn't really sit well for me. I had gone in expecting to find a world like Civilization; instead I found something much simpler.
The music and sound are very well done. In fact, the entire game is very well produced but it seems like an empty shell of what it could have been. The game gives you about 2 or 3 hours of content. Of course, some of would say that there are limitless possibilities since each time you can create a new character. That isn't the case. The world is the same every time you load it up. The same species, the same levels, the same bosses. If it contained some dynamic engine to load up other user's content, that would have been a joy, but sadly it is not the case. Once you go through the four levels, there really isn't much else to do.
Spore Creatures isn't a bad game but it feels like it could have been much more. For $6.99, I say to pass unless you are someone that really enjoys casual gameplay. In fact, the best market for this game might be the Touch users out there that fall into the Teen category. For us adults and/or people who like more of a challenge, I recommend Civilization Revolution.
Overall Value for it's $6.99 price point
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Publisher EA Mobile
Buy now on
If you’re unfamiliar with the Spore universe, it was Will Wright's (The guy behind both SimCity and The Sims) final game he created while at EA. The general scope of the PC game took you from being an incredibly small single celled organism, to eventually building up your species through a series of evolutions into a galactic traveler/dominator. When EA Mobile brought Spore Creatures to the mobile, it was done on a much smaller scale but with the same basic principles. You design a creature and take it from its infancy to be the dominant creature on the planet.
One of the first things you will notice when loading the game is that the color palette is fantastic. Every color is bright and rich and gives an almost cartoon feel to the world. The gameplay revolves around you creating a new species and evolving different traits in order to be able to kill or socialize with other species in the world. It is entirely up to you what type of species you will create. Will you create a creature with spikes for a tail and razor sharp teeth? Or will you create a character that is extremely defensive based and can socialize with the best of them? The choice is yours and that is one of the best parts about the game.
The game revolves around you moving your character through a series of levels and finding ways to evolve. Eating smaller creatures, finding other species and either socializing with them or fighting them , and even killing bosses on each of the four levels will move you character closer to inter-species dominance. You have quite a few choices as you move through the game about how your character will look and what traits you have. Those traits will help you determine whether or not you should fight a new found species or socialize with them. However, the choices are much smaller than the PC version of the game and no matter what you choose to do; you cannot interact with other users throughout the Spore Creatures world. This is a single player game only.
The controls are done by tilting the device in the direction you want your creature to slither, crawl, or walk. There are a few additional buttons on the screen, one of which is the action button. To eat food, simply guide your creature towards it and it will lunge forward to grab it. While the competing creatures are often cute, there isn't much substance to the world. None of the creatures create societies, compete for resources, or are on their own missions for world dominance. Apparently you are the only one that has aspirations for world domination. The end result, it feels kind of empty and doesn't really sit well for me. I had gone in expecting to find a world like Civilization; instead I found something much simpler.
The music and sound are very well done. In fact, the entire game is very well produced but it seems like an empty shell of what it could have been. The game gives you about 2 or 3 hours of content. Of course, some of would say that there are limitless possibilities since each time you can create a new character. That isn't the case. The world is the same every time you load it up. The same species, the same levels, the same bosses. If it contained some dynamic engine to load up other user's content, that would have been a joy, but sadly it is not the case. Once you go through the four levels, there really isn't much else to do.
Spore Creatures isn't a bad game but it feels like it could have been much more. For $6.99, I say to pass unless you are someone that really enjoys casual gameplay. In fact, the best market for this game might be the Touch users out there that fall into the Teen category. For us adults and/or people who like more of a challenge, I recommend Civilization Revolution.
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sábado, 30 de enero de 2010
Starball Review for iPhone and iPod Touch
Price: $.99
Publisher: Quantum Squid Interactive
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Starball is a simple game for the iPhone and iPod Touch where you roll around a green ball and gather stars. The obstacles are little red balls that move both horizontally and vertically. If you run into one of these red balls the game is over. As time goes on more red balls are added so you must maneuver around them to keep gathering stars. There are also extras (gold circles with question marks) that pop up along the way to help you out. These extras include: clairvoyance, slowmo, invincibility, shrinkage (do women know about this?), the ability to freeze time, star beam, and even a power up that erases all of the red balls.
The game play is probably the best part of the game…it is incredibly easy. You just tilt your device and the ball rolls. It can’t get much easier than that. There are three difficulty levels to choose from, beginner, normal, and insane. Par for the course, the higher the difficulty, the more difficult it is for you to maneuver around the red balls.
The graphics are great. There are even three different graphical themes to spice up game play. Vector is my favorite. The audio is good as well, with two techno options. The sound FX are simple, yet easy on the ears.
My honest opinion is that this is a fun game. With that said, there isn’t much to it. If you want a game that you can play when you have a spare five minutes here and there, then this game is for you. If you are looking for a game with hours and hours of gameplay, you should probably look elsewhere.
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Publisher: Quantum Squid Interactive
Buy now on
Starball is a simple game for the iPhone and iPod Touch where you roll around a green ball and gather stars. The obstacles are little red balls that move both horizontally and vertically. If you run into one of these red balls the game is over. As time goes on more red balls are added so you must maneuver around them to keep gathering stars. There are also extras (gold circles with question marks) that pop up along the way to help you out. These extras include: clairvoyance, slowmo, invincibility, shrinkage (do women know about this?), the ability to freeze time, star beam, and even a power up that erases all of the red balls.
The game play is probably the best part of the game…it is incredibly easy. You just tilt your device and the ball rolls. It can’t get much easier than that. There are three difficulty levels to choose from, beginner, normal, and insane. Par for the course, the higher the difficulty, the more difficult it is for you to maneuver around the red balls.
The graphics are great. There are even three different graphical themes to spice up game play. Vector is my favorite. The audio is good as well, with two techno options. The sound FX are simple, yet easy on the ears.
My honest opinion is that this is a fun game. With that said, there isn’t much to it. If you want a game that you can play when you have a spare five minutes here and there, then this game is for you. If you are looking for a game with hours and hours of gameplay, you should probably look elsewhere.
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jueves, 28 de enero de 2010
Bungee Stickmen 2010: Space Edition Review
Price: .99
Publisher: Poulet Maison
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Bungee Stickmen 2010: Space Edition is pretty well explained by its title alone. It is an physics based game for the iPhone/iPod Touch where you indirectly control a little stick figure that jumps from various platforms in a variety of locations. I say indirectly control because all you really do is choose the length of rope that the stickman uses on each jump. The closer your stickman gets to the ground the more points you earn. You must earn a certain amount of points to move on to the next level.
There are several variables that change to make each level different. The platform height is main variable but the stickman’s weight and height also change. One other variable that changes in later levels is the rope flex factor (the flex factor is set at 1.0 during early levels then changes to try to throw off your guess).
As far as gameplay goes, there isn’t much. All you do is slide a bar that selects the rope length then press a button that says jump. That’s it. The challenge is trying out whatever you would like to on your first jump and adjusting on the following 2 jumps. In fact, the games gameplay and its strength of challenge are both fairly poor. The levels within the game play exactly the same regardless of the setting. Set the rope length, click a button. Watch the result. It’s pretty tedious and not likely to keep your interest for very long.
The graphics and audio are subpar. The graphics are just background images that don’t move. The only moving graphics are the occasionally eagle or UFO and the stickman and his rope. Sometimes the physics feel a bit off as well. I have a 3gs and though the graphics are simple I still have the occasional slowdown on my jumps. The sound FXs and background music follow suit and could have both been done better.
Bungee Stickmen, 2010: Space Edition is a game with a great concept but came up short on everything else. I would like to see a remake with more interactivity and controls. Some iPhone and iPod Touch games come out that only have a single developer yet feel incredibly polished, balanced, and fun. This is not that game.
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Publisher: Poulet Maison
Buy now on
Bungee Stickmen 2010: Space Edition is pretty well explained by its title alone. It is an physics based game for the iPhone/iPod Touch where you indirectly control a little stick figure that jumps from various platforms in a variety of locations. I say indirectly control because all you really do is choose the length of rope that the stickman uses on each jump. The closer your stickman gets to the ground the more points you earn. You must earn a certain amount of points to move on to the next level.
There are several variables that change to make each level different. The platform height is main variable but the stickman’s weight and height also change. One other variable that changes in later levels is the rope flex factor (the flex factor is set at 1.0 during early levels then changes to try to throw off your guess).
As far as gameplay goes, there isn’t much. All you do is slide a bar that selects the rope length then press a button that says jump. That’s it. The challenge is trying out whatever you would like to on your first jump and adjusting on the following 2 jumps. In fact, the games gameplay and its strength of challenge are both fairly poor. The levels within the game play exactly the same regardless of the setting. Set the rope length, click a button. Watch the result. It’s pretty tedious and not likely to keep your interest for very long.
The graphics and audio are subpar. The graphics are just background images that don’t move. The only moving graphics are the occasionally eagle or UFO and the stickman and his rope. Sometimes the physics feel a bit off as well. I have a 3gs and though the graphics are simple I still have the occasional slowdown on my jumps. The sound FXs and background music follow suit and could have both been done better.
Bungee Stickmen, 2010: Space Edition is a game with a great concept but came up short on everything else. I would like to see a remake with more interactivity and controls. Some iPhone and iPod Touch games come out that only have a single developer yet feel incredibly polished, balanced, and fun. This is not that game.
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lunes, 25 de enero de 2010
Canabalt Review for iPhone and iPod Touch
Price: $2.99
Publisher: Semi Secret Games
Buy now on
Be forewarned, Canabalt utilizes a single finger. In this case, one finger is all you need to have a great time. There is no real storyline, there are no complicated moves to perform; there is only a man on a mission to get as far away from the alien invaders as possible. Running is your only option, jumping your only salvation (pretty dramatic, right?).
The gameplay revolves around your character running forward and jumping from building to building (or several additional objects) and trying to jump over obstacles that are in your way. It certainly is a simple idea but its design is so slick that it makes you come back for more over and over again. This game came out a while ago, before this site began, but in the last month has been updated, so it made sense for us to do a review to ensure our readers know about it.
The graphics are very nice. The background art depicts a world in chaos and the urban setting only adds additional flavor to the setting. The obstacles within the game are done extremely well. Take care to listen to what is going on within the game to have a better idea of when a certain obstacle may appear. In that way, sound is used in unison with the graphics and gameplay to great effect. And when it comes to music, there is no comparison. The game gives you two songs, both of which are completely amazing and fitting. This game has the best music of any iPhone game I have ever played.
Of course as you get further along the road, the path gets more difficult. More obstacles begin appearing and your heart starts racing to beat your old score. The main thing here is that the world is different every time you load up a game. There are no set instances of things happening. This randomness keeps the world fresh and dynamic. The game tracks you scores both locally and also on a network so that you can compare your score to others around the world. My highest score is slightly above 5,000. I was pretty proud of that score until I saw the world leader had hit about 50,000. Jeez.
This game isn't for someone that needs a ton of buttons to push. Also, the price is probably too high. At $2.99, I would expect a few additional levels. If you are lucky enough to find the game on sale for $1.99, buy it. You can add an entire star to my overall score at that price. To get a good idea if you would like the general gameplay, try out the free flash version of the game. You can find that HERE. Despite the price, when it comes to 2 or 3 minute time killers, Canabalt is one of the finest. My only problem is that 2 or 3 minutes usually turns into 15-20 every time I play.
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Publisher: Semi Secret Games
Buy now on
Be forewarned, Canabalt utilizes a single finger. In this case, one finger is all you need to have a great time. There is no real storyline, there are no complicated moves to perform; there is only a man on a mission to get as far away from the alien invaders as possible. Running is your only option, jumping your only salvation (pretty dramatic, right?).
The gameplay revolves around your character running forward and jumping from building to building (or several additional objects) and trying to jump over obstacles that are in your way. It certainly is a simple idea but its design is so slick that it makes you come back for more over and over again. This game came out a while ago, before this site began, but in the last month has been updated, so it made sense for us to do a review to ensure our readers know about it.
The graphics are very nice. The background art depicts a world in chaos and the urban setting only adds additional flavor to the setting. The obstacles within the game are done extremely well. Take care to listen to what is going on within the game to have a better idea of when a certain obstacle may appear. In that way, sound is used in unison with the graphics and gameplay to great effect. And when it comes to music, there is no comparison. The game gives you two songs, both of which are completely amazing and fitting. This game has the best music of any iPhone game I have ever played.
Of course as you get further along the road, the path gets more difficult. More obstacles begin appearing and your heart starts racing to beat your old score. The main thing here is that the world is different every time you load up a game. There are no set instances of things happening. This randomness keeps the world fresh and dynamic. The game tracks you scores both locally and also on a network so that you can compare your score to others around the world. My highest score is slightly above 5,000. I was pretty proud of that score until I saw the world leader had hit about 50,000. Jeez.
This game isn't for someone that needs a ton of buttons to push. Also, the price is probably too high. At $2.99, I would expect a few additional levels. If you are lucky enough to find the game on sale for $1.99, buy it. You can add an entire star to my overall score at that price. To get a good idea if you would like the general gameplay, try out the free flash version of the game. You can find that HERE. Despite the price, when it comes to 2 or 3 minute time killers, Canabalt is one of the finest. My only problem is that 2 or 3 minutes usually turns into 15-20 every time I play.
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domingo, 24 de enero de 2010
DrawRace Review for iPhone and iPod Touch
Price: $2.99
Publisher: RedLynx Ltd.
Buy now on
DrawRace has one of the most innovative designs in the iPhone/iPod Touch world. Instead of real-time racing, you are responsible for taking your finger and tracing the future route your car will take around the 2D track. The added multiplayer component adds a ton of additional functionality and the end result is a one of a kind racer with limitless possibilities.
The game offers a large number of tracks, each of which is distinct. For example, some are plain ovals, others are road courses, and even some figure eight tracks are thrown into the mix. After picking a track, you simply guide your finger around the track using the best route you can come up with. Again, you are not racing in real time. Instead, the game saves the route you draw and depending how quickly or slowly you move your finger around straightaways and corners, your car will speed up or slow down. Once you have drawn 2 or 3 laps around the track, the race begins and the ai follows your route exactly. The first mode revolves around your car going up against a computer opponent. If you are lucky enough to beat the challenging ai, it unlocks additional modes you can play at the track. For example, you can upload your best time to RedLynx server and then compete with the car-based ghosts of the top times on the server. You can also play local multiplayer; Just have a buddy or two draw their own best lines around the track and see up to 3 cars race each other on the screen at once.
The actual controls take a bit of getting used to. Drawing the lines are easy but the real challenge is how quickly to draw your finger around different parts of the track. If you go too quickly around a corner, your car will drift which will slow you down and likely cause you to lose. If you go off the track your car moves extremely slow. However, once you get used to the idea of your finger's sliding speed changing the speed of the car, it becomes much easier. The biggest challenge is that this is one of the only iPhone/iPod games out there that have this kind of control scheme. Its uniqueness causes early difficulties but it’s worth the payoff.
The graphics are your standard 2d. Your car is red and your competitors are either green or blue. It would have been nice to have a bit more customization when it comes to the type/color of your car. Overall though, the graphics are clean and never detract from the gameplay. The sound within the game is fairly simple. Music is only played within the menu and isn’t turned on during the race. It would have been nice to have either some music during the race or the ability to turn on your own music.
I don't really have any issues with the gameplay, just an idea I would love to see implemented in the future. Currently, the game has a maximum of 3 cars racing at once (this happens during 3 person local multiplayer). Unfortunately there is no way of downloading more than one car from the server to race against at once. It would be great to have the option of downloading 2 or 3 competitors from the server and having an all-out battle on the race track, Of course in the future, I would also like to see the ability to race 4 or 5 other cars at once.
DrawRace gives you the ability to race nearly an endless amount of competitors. It has a large amount of tracks, each of which requires a different strategy to win, and overall it is just a ton of fun to play. I love to see games that use new ideas come out on the AppStore and do well. Buy this version now for $.99 and support innovation and at the same time have a ton of finger-tracing fun.
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Publisher: RedLynx Ltd.
Buy now on
DrawRace has one of the most innovative designs in the iPhone/iPod Touch world. Instead of real-time racing, you are responsible for taking your finger and tracing the future route your car will take around the 2D track. The added multiplayer component adds a ton of additional functionality and the end result is a one of a kind racer with limitless possibilities.
The game offers a large number of tracks, each of which is distinct. For example, some are plain ovals, others are road courses, and even some figure eight tracks are thrown into the mix. After picking a track, you simply guide your finger around the track using the best route you can come up with. Again, you are not racing in real time. Instead, the game saves the route you draw and depending how quickly or slowly you move your finger around straightaways and corners, your car will speed up or slow down. Once you have drawn 2 or 3 laps around the track, the race begins and the ai follows your route exactly. The first mode revolves around your car going up against a computer opponent. If you are lucky enough to beat the challenging ai, it unlocks additional modes you can play at the track. For example, you can upload your best time to RedLynx server and then compete with the car-based ghosts of the top times on the server. You can also play local multiplayer; Just have a buddy or two draw their own best lines around the track and see up to 3 cars race each other on the screen at once.
The actual controls take a bit of getting used to. Drawing the lines are easy but the real challenge is how quickly to draw your finger around different parts of the track. If you go too quickly around a corner, your car will drift which will slow you down and likely cause you to lose. If you go off the track your car moves extremely slow. However, once you get used to the idea of your finger's sliding speed changing the speed of the car, it becomes much easier. The biggest challenge is that this is one of the only iPhone/iPod games out there that have this kind of control scheme. Its uniqueness causes early difficulties but it’s worth the payoff.
The graphics are your standard 2d. Your car is red and your competitors are either green or blue. It would have been nice to have a bit more customization when it comes to the type/color of your car. Overall though, the graphics are clean and never detract from the gameplay. The sound within the game is fairly simple. Music is only played within the menu and isn’t turned on during the race. It would have been nice to have either some music during the race or the ability to turn on your own music.
I don't really have any issues with the gameplay, just an idea I would love to see implemented in the future. Currently, the game has a maximum of 3 cars racing at once (this happens during 3 person local multiplayer). Unfortunately there is no way of downloading more than one car from the server to race against at once. It would be great to have the option of downloading 2 or 3 competitors from the server and having an all-out battle on the race track, Of course in the future, I would also like to see the ability to race 4 or 5 other cars at once.
DrawRace gives you the ability to race nearly an endless amount of competitors. It has a large amount of tracks, each of which requires a different strategy to win, and overall it is just a ton of fun to play. I love to see games that use new ideas come out on the AppStore and do well. Buy this version now for $.99 and support innovation and at the same time have a ton of finger-tracing fun.
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sábado, 23 de enero de 2010
StickWars Review for iPhone and iPod Touch
Price: $.99
Publisher: John E. Hartzog
Buy now on
Buy it. If you think you should read on, go ahead, but by the end I think you will be ready to make the purchase. StickWars is a lot like some of the older flash games that have been around the net for a while. The gist of the game is that you are trying to protect your castle from stick people invaders. You get to use god-like powers to help you protect your castle. These powers include, flicking the stick invaders causing them to fall to their death, casting meteors and fireballs, and capturing invaders and turning them into your own army.
The gameplay is a lot of fun. At the beginning you don’t have enough money to buy an archery pit or bomb factory so it’s just your finger and the invaders. To defeat the invaders early on, you must touch and throw them upward. It’s not the toss that kills them; it’s the impact with the ground or each other that does it. As the game continues you start to earn more money. With this money you can buy upgrades for your wall or buy bombers, archers, or wizards. To use any of the last three you must capture invader by dragging them into a prison. After a short time the prisoner becomes part of your army that you can use to help protect your castle.
The graphics aren’t anything special, but come on…they are stick figures right? One really nice touch is that the game uses the sun rising and setting to show you how much longer the battle will last. As it moves slowly across the sky and begins to set, you know exactly when the battle will end. A very well implemented idea that could have been done in a much lazier manner (for example by using a digital clock). The background music is good and quite catchy (I like the bagpipe parts). The sound FXs are good but as the levels go on, they can become a bit overbearing with so much going on.
The controls are all touch based with one exception, you can shake the device to release a bomb carrier, and then shake again to detonate. As you move on to higher levels, the game confronts your castle with tougher forces. Some of them require that you use different tactics to eliminate the threat. Is it wrong that I really enjoy holding a stickman in the air, waiting until the coming forces arrive and then violently flicking my finger down to pile drive the stickman into the incoming army? I don’t think so. It feels too right to be wrong.
Overall StickWars gives you hours of game play. It’s very addictive and it seems that you never know when a new type of invader might be around the corner. Don’t miss out on this gem of a game.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: John E. Hartzog
Buy now on
Buy it. If you think you should read on, go ahead, but by the end I think you will be ready to make the purchase. StickWars is a lot like some of the older flash games that have been around the net for a while. The gist of the game is that you are trying to protect your castle from stick people invaders. You get to use god-like powers to help you protect your castle. These powers include, flicking the stick invaders causing them to fall to their death, casting meteors and fireballs, and capturing invaders and turning them into your own army.
The gameplay is a lot of fun. At the beginning you don’t have enough money to buy an archery pit or bomb factory so it’s just your finger and the invaders. To defeat the invaders early on, you must touch and throw them upward. It’s not the toss that kills them; it’s the impact with the ground or each other that does it. As the game continues you start to earn more money. With this money you can buy upgrades for your wall or buy bombers, archers, or wizards. To use any of the last three you must capture invader by dragging them into a prison. After a short time the prisoner becomes part of your army that you can use to help protect your castle.
The graphics aren’t anything special, but come on…they are stick figures right? One really nice touch is that the game uses the sun rising and setting to show you how much longer the battle will last. As it moves slowly across the sky and begins to set, you know exactly when the battle will end. A very well implemented idea that could have been done in a much lazier manner (for example by using a digital clock). The background music is good and quite catchy (I like the bagpipe parts). The sound FXs are good but as the levels go on, they can become a bit overbearing with so much going on.
The controls are all touch based with one exception, you can shake the device to release a bomb carrier, and then shake again to detonate. As you move on to higher levels, the game confronts your castle with tougher forces. Some of them require that you use different tactics to eliminate the threat. Is it wrong that I really enjoy holding a stickman in the air, waiting until the coming forces arrive and then violently flicking my finger down to pile drive the stickman into the incoming army? I don’t think so. It feels too right to be wrong.
Overall StickWars gives you hours of game play. It’s very addictive and it seems that you never know when a new type of invader might be around the corner. Don’t miss out on this gem of a game.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
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Graphics:
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viernes, 22 de enero de 2010
Tetris Review for iPhone and iPod Touch
Price: $4.99
Publisher: EA Mobile
Buy now on
Tetris is the very epitome of classic mobile gaming. It's no surprise then that the iPhone version came along quickly after the App Store opened. What is surprising is how well this gem of a block builder has stood up to the test of time and how a new mode captures the same magic on the iPhone as the original Tetris did on the GameBoy. When I recently read that Tetris has sold 100 million copies across all mobile phones (most of which are not Apple devices) since 2005 I knew right away that we needed to do a review in honor of that achievement. I'm very glad we did.
The basic premise of Tetris is to guide a series of differently shaped blocks that are falling from the sky into a combined single horizontal line row. Once you connect all of the blocks in a single line, they disappear and you earn points. In order to better accomplish this, you have the ability to turn the differently shaped blocks in several different directions. The object of the game is to keep this up as long as possible. As the game goes on, the blocks begin falling quicker, making it more difficult for you to turn them in time before they hit the floor. I'm sure most of you knew the basics but I wanted to cover my bases.
The iPhone game continues with this old formula and it continues to work in spades. A new mode was created for the iPhone/iPod Touch version. This mode is called Magic. The gist of it is that instead of just dropping the blocks into place, you have a variety of other options to destroy the blocks that made it to the floor. For example, you can use a meteor or a hammer to destroy the fallen blocks. Or as they are falling, you can use a crayon to redraw (very nice use of the touch screen) or pinch the block into a different shape. This gives people a whole new way to play the game and it retains its charm.
The controls are extremely simple and the added touch screen options during the magic mode make the iPhone/iPod version of Tetris a treat to play. The graphics are top notch, all of the colors are vibrant and easy to look at. The music has been updated to include several new upbeat songs to play along to. Better yet, you can use your own library of music. If you’re ready for some heavy duty nostalgia, grab the original song, “Korobeiniki”, and set it to replay in the background.
My wife started playing the other day. She was a huge Tetris playing junkie back in the day, specifically on her GameBoy. She said that the iPhone version was too easy; the blocks give you too long to rotate them before they fall into place and that the magic mode was simply ridiculous. I couldn't disagree more. I love the pace of the game and I think the iPhone/iPod version hits the nail on the head. But then again, I never really played too much Tetris back in the day. I was more of a Tecmo Super Bowl guy. So be warned Tetris purists, your mileage may vary, but for the rest of us iPhone/iPod Touch users, Tetris is a complete win.
Overall Value for it's $4.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: EA Mobile
Buy now on
Tetris is the very epitome of classic mobile gaming. It's no surprise then that the iPhone version came along quickly after the App Store opened. What is surprising is how well this gem of a block builder has stood up to the test of time and how a new mode captures the same magic on the iPhone as the original Tetris did on the GameBoy. When I recently read that Tetris has sold 100 million copies across all mobile phones (most of which are not Apple devices) since 2005 I knew right away that we needed to do a review in honor of that achievement. I'm very glad we did.
The basic premise of Tetris is to guide a series of differently shaped blocks that are falling from the sky into a combined single horizontal line row. Once you connect all of the blocks in a single line, they disappear and you earn points. In order to better accomplish this, you have the ability to turn the differently shaped blocks in several different directions. The object of the game is to keep this up as long as possible. As the game goes on, the blocks begin falling quicker, making it more difficult for you to turn them in time before they hit the floor. I'm sure most of you knew the basics but I wanted to cover my bases.
The iPhone game continues with this old formula and it continues to work in spades. A new mode was created for the iPhone/iPod Touch version. This mode is called Magic. The gist of it is that instead of just dropping the blocks into place, you have a variety of other options to destroy the blocks that made it to the floor. For example, you can use a meteor or a hammer to destroy the fallen blocks. Or as they are falling, you can use a crayon to redraw (very nice use of the touch screen) or pinch the block into a different shape. This gives people a whole new way to play the game and it retains its charm.
The controls are extremely simple and the added touch screen options during the magic mode make the iPhone/iPod version of Tetris a treat to play. The graphics are top notch, all of the colors are vibrant and easy to look at. The music has been updated to include several new upbeat songs to play along to. Better yet, you can use your own library of music. If you’re ready for some heavy duty nostalgia, grab the original song, “Korobeiniki”, and set it to replay in the background.
My wife started playing the other day. She was a huge Tetris playing junkie back in the day, specifically on her GameBoy. She said that the iPhone version was too easy; the blocks give you too long to rotate them before they fall into place and that the magic mode was simply ridiculous. I couldn't disagree more. I love the pace of the game and I think the iPhone/iPod version hits the nail on the head. But then again, I never really played too much Tetris back in the day. I was more of a Tecmo Super Bowl guy. So be warned Tetris purists, your mileage may vary, but for the rest of us iPhone/iPod Touch users, Tetris is a complete win.
Overall Value for it's $4.99 price point
Overall Value:
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Sound:
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jueves, 21 de enero de 2010
Rope n' Fly 2 Review
Price: $1.99
Publisher: Rober Szeleney
Buy now on
Rope n’ Fly 2 has been mentioned before on iPhone Gamer Blog. In fact, it was our 2009, 2nd Best Game of the Year. That's why I felt it was a good idea to give a little more detail about the game and how crazy fun it is. If you’re not familiar with the gameplay, it goes as follows. You swing from one skyscraper to the next, trying to either get as far as you can without falling or as far as you can in a certain amount of time.
The real reason a game like this is so awesome is because it’s extremely quick to get into. You have 2 or 3 spare minutes? You could potentially play 5 or 6 thirty second Rope N’ Fly games. I love games like this that take just a few seconds to get started but at the same time, give you the ability to quickly see how your all time scores stack up against the rest of the community. That functionality is done via OpenFeint and the relationship is put to very good use.
Other than the 6 or 7 game modes included, you can also win achievements via OpenFeint and try to move yourself up in the world rankings. The replay value of the game is great, especially for those people that want to try and go back and beat a previous score. I tried for hours (many separate playing periods) to swing 1,000 meters in 30 seconds or less. Today my record stands at around 1050 meters. Not near good enough for the top standings but it is something I’m proud of.
Rope n’ Fly 2 added prettier graphics, many more game modes, music, weather and night and day cycles. All of which were welcomed by me as a huge fan of the first Rope n’ Fly. Just because the game is great doesn’t mean there isn't room for improvements. It would be fantastic to be able to download the leaders "ghosts" off of the OpenFeint server and be able to swing "race" against them. That would only increase the competitive nature of the game and prolong the longevity of its replay value. Rope n' Fly 2 has literally been a mainstay on my iPhone for 3 months and it’s not going anywhere. If you like a quick time waster like Doodle Jump, you will love the smooth, swinging gameplay of Rope N' Fly 2.
Overall Value for it's $1.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: Rober Szeleney
Buy now on
Rope n’ Fly 2 has been mentioned before on iPhone Gamer Blog. In fact, it was our 2009, 2nd Best Game of the Year. That's why I felt it was a good idea to give a little more detail about the game and how crazy fun it is. If you’re not familiar with the gameplay, it goes as follows. You swing from one skyscraper to the next, trying to either get as far as you can without falling or as far as you can in a certain amount of time.
The real reason a game like this is so awesome is because it’s extremely quick to get into. You have 2 or 3 spare minutes? You could potentially play 5 or 6 thirty second Rope N’ Fly games. I love games like this that take just a few seconds to get started but at the same time, give you the ability to quickly see how your all time scores stack up against the rest of the community. That functionality is done via OpenFeint and the relationship is put to very good use.
Other than the 6 or 7 game modes included, you can also win achievements via OpenFeint and try to move yourself up in the world rankings. The replay value of the game is great, especially for those people that want to try and go back and beat a previous score. I tried for hours (many separate playing periods) to swing 1,000 meters in 30 seconds or less. Today my record stands at around 1050 meters. Not near good enough for the top standings but it is something I’m proud of.
Rope n’ Fly 2 added prettier graphics, many more game modes, music, weather and night and day cycles. All of which were welcomed by me as a huge fan of the first Rope n’ Fly. Just because the game is great doesn’t mean there isn't room for improvements. It would be fantastic to be able to download the leaders "ghosts" off of the OpenFeint server and be able to swing "race" against them. That would only increase the competitive nature of the game and prolong the longevity of its replay value. Rope n' Fly 2 has literally been a mainstay on my iPhone for 3 months and it’s not going anywhere. If you like a quick time waster like Doodle Jump, you will love the smooth, swinging gameplay of Rope N' Fly 2.
Overall Value for it's $1.99 price point
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miércoles, 20 de enero de 2010
Doodle Bomb Review
Price: $1.99
Publisher:Bottle Rocket Apps
Buy now on
Doodle Bomb is a physics based, puzzle game where you must open doors by activating switches. True to its name, activating those switches requires that you throw bombs that must explode close to the switch. Obstacles like wheels, multiple switches, and rotating bomb shooters are added to levels to up the difficulty. To unlock new levels you must beat lower levels within an allotted amount of throws.
The gameplay is very similar to most physics games, think Ragdoll Blaster. To throw a bomb, simply tap the screen. The trick is that the farther you tap away from your hiding hole, the harder the bomb is thrown. An additional control feature that I have not encountered on any other physics game is that you are able to control the roll of the bomb by tilting the device. So if you throw a bomb and it’s not quite close enough to the switch you are able to roll the bomb closer. It is a pretty cool design.
The graphics are just what you expect from a game with doodle in the name. However, even the doodled graphics are well done. The sound effects and audio are great. There is no overly intrusive music during gameplay and you can use your own music if you like. You get a swoosh when you throw a bomb, a click when the switch is activated, and of course an explosion then the bomb blows. Simple, but effective.
My only issue with Doodle Bomb is the lack of difficulty. Out of the first 35 levels (50 are included) there were only 2 that I didn’t pass within the allotted throws. With that in mind, once you get to level 35, you MUST pass the level within the allotted throws or you cannot continue. I would have liked to see more difficultly on the earlier levels.
Overall, Doodle Bomb is a fun, addictive game that has amazing controls. It could use a few tweaks to its difficulty level early on, but the latter levels really step it up and make it a game worth playing.
Overall Value for it's $1.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher:Bottle Rocket Apps
Buy now on
Doodle Bomb is a physics based, puzzle game where you must open doors by activating switches. True to its name, activating those switches requires that you throw bombs that must explode close to the switch. Obstacles like wheels, multiple switches, and rotating bomb shooters are added to levels to up the difficulty. To unlock new levels you must beat lower levels within an allotted amount of throws.
The gameplay is very similar to most physics games, think Ragdoll Blaster. To throw a bomb, simply tap the screen. The trick is that the farther you tap away from your hiding hole, the harder the bomb is thrown. An additional control feature that I have not encountered on any other physics game is that you are able to control the roll of the bomb by tilting the device. So if you throw a bomb and it’s not quite close enough to the switch you are able to roll the bomb closer. It is a pretty cool design.
The graphics are just what you expect from a game with doodle in the name. However, even the doodled graphics are well done. The sound effects and audio are great. There is no overly intrusive music during gameplay and you can use your own music if you like. You get a swoosh when you throw a bomb, a click when the switch is activated, and of course an explosion then the bomb blows. Simple, but effective.
My only issue with Doodle Bomb is the lack of difficulty. Out of the first 35 levels (50 are included) there were only 2 that I didn’t pass within the allotted throws. With that in mind, once you get to level 35, you MUST pass the level within the allotted throws or you cannot continue. I would have liked to see more difficultly on the earlier levels.
Overall, Doodle Bomb is a fun, addictive game that has amazing controls. It could use a few tweaks to its difficulty level early on, but the latter levels really step it up and make it a game worth playing.
Overall Value for it's $1.99 price point
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martes, 19 de enero de 2010
Relix Review
Price: .99
Publisher: OverSpark
Buy now on
Relix is a complex puzzle game but don’t hold that against it. One of our favorite iPhone/iPod Touch games of 2009, Boxed In 2, was an intelligent, well thought out puzzling puzzler (thank you Dr. Seuss). In fact, Boxed In 2 was iPhone Gamers Blog’s 5th best game of last year. That game was also almost solely developed by Dennis Mengelt. Why are these details relevant? Because Relix was created by Mengelt’s brother, Mark, and a talent for making good puzzle games apparently runs in the family. Even better, Dennis helped create some of the challenging levels on Relix.
Relix is a tile based strategy game where you must touch like tiles to make them disappear. When all of the tiles are gone, you move on to a more difficult level. Simple right? Wrong. Relix quickly becomes difficult due to breakthrough floors, portals, and trap doors. The real strategy starts taking place when three of the same tiles are introduced in the game and must all be eliminated at the very same time.
The gameplay itself is very easy. Select a tile by touching it, then swipe left or right on the screen to move the selected tile. The three obstacles (breakthrough floors, portals, and trap doors) are easily learned through early levels of the game. The developer does a nice job of ramping up the difficulty slowly so you don’t feel overwhelmed too quickly.
The graphics in the game are simple but well done. I like the hieroglyphic theme that is used throughout the game and menus. The audio in this game is an addition, not a subtraction like you may find in other puzzle games. The background audio is also quite nice being catchy and not too intrusive. If you don't like the background audio, you can even listen to your own iPhone/iPod playlist.
If you run into a level that you just cannot get past, have no fear, you can switch to a new level using the in-game menu. You unlock levels by earning stars. You earn two stars by completing levels under the targeted amount of moves and one star for just completing a level in however many moves it takes you to get it done. The more stars you get, the more levels you unlock. To earn more stars you can go back and replay earlier levels that you may have only earned one star in.
Relix really is a super addictive game! If you like a good challenge, at a fair price that will also keep your mind working for hours, this game is for you.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: OverSpark
Buy now on
Relix is a complex puzzle game but don’t hold that against it. One of our favorite iPhone/iPod Touch games of 2009, Boxed In 2, was an intelligent, well thought out puzzling puzzler (thank you Dr. Seuss). In fact, Boxed In 2 was iPhone Gamers Blog’s 5th best game of last year. That game was also almost solely developed by Dennis Mengelt. Why are these details relevant? Because Relix was created by Mengelt’s brother, Mark, and a talent for making good puzzle games apparently runs in the family. Even better, Dennis helped create some of the challenging levels on Relix.
Relix is a tile based strategy game where you must touch like tiles to make them disappear. When all of the tiles are gone, you move on to a more difficult level. Simple right? Wrong. Relix quickly becomes difficult due to breakthrough floors, portals, and trap doors. The real strategy starts taking place when three of the same tiles are introduced in the game and must all be eliminated at the very same time.
The gameplay itself is very easy. Select a tile by touching it, then swipe left or right on the screen to move the selected tile. The three obstacles (breakthrough floors, portals, and trap doors) are easily learned through early levels of the game. The developer does a nice job of ramping up the difficulty slowly so you don’t feel overwhelmed too quickly.
The graphics in the game are simple but well done. I like the hieroglyphic theme that is used throughout the game and menus. The audio in this game is an addition, not a subtraction like you may find in other puzzle games. The background audio is also quite nice being catchy and not too intrusive. If you don't like the background audio, you can even listen to your own iPhone/iPod playlist.
If you run into a level that you just cannot get past, have no fear, you can switch to a new level using the in-game menu. You unlock levels by earning stars. You earn two stars by completing levels under the targeted amount of moves and one star for just completing a level in however many moves it takes you to get it done. The more stars you get, the more levels you unlock. To earn more stars you can go back and replay earlier levels that you may have only earned one star in.
Relix really is a super addictive game! If you like a good challenge, at a fair price that will also keep your mind working for hours, this game is for you.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
domingo, 17 de enero de 2010
CatchMe! If You Can
Price: $1.99
Publisher: ODD1
Buy now on
The development studio ODD1 deserves some kind of award for including not one, but two new ideas into their newest game, CatchMe! If You Can. The gameplay is similar to Pac Man but the twist is that once you are caught, you become the chaser. This is very well done within the game. The second great idea is implemented in a way I have never seen before in a game, console, PC or otherwise. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me give you some background first.
The game includes 2 different modes of play. The first is a story mode where the bulk of the gameplay lies. The second is more of one-off challenges. You play a thief that's job is to run through mazes, finding as much loot as possible and staying out of the way of guards trying to catch you. The twist, as mentioned above, is that once you are caught, you become a guard chasing the thief. The most interesting thing about this game is that during each of the 15 story mode levels, your main objective is to be the thief for as long as possible and steal as much loot as you can during a certain amount of time. But as the guard you directly determine how much time and lot you will find as a thief. This juxtaposition works great and I really dig it. Each of the three guard types has a different ability to help you catch the thief while the thief has the ability jump over obstacles within the maze.
We haven't even gotten to the one of a kind gameplay implementation. The idea is that you have the ability to send all of the loot you steal to a community chest of sorts called the Band of Thieves. Basically you and the rest of the Catch Me! If You Can playing world can send the money made to this chest and unlock premium content the developers have made. These can be new challenges (the other game mode mentioned above) or additional content (presumably guard types, story levels, etc). The idea of being able to work together with the rest of the world to unlock premium content is fantastic. The only thing I question is how much the unlockable content costs (in thief dollars). On average, you can make about 400 dollars or so per story mode level. The first unlockable content costs 1,000,000 dollars. As of today, about 80,000 dollars or so has been pooled by the players. Personally I have added about 3 or 4% of that total. My hope is that there is really an active community that can quickly unlock this content.
The game has one pitfall in my opinion and that is with its controls. A game like this needs to have excellent controls. After all, if you have ever played Pac Man you know how important it is to be able to move quickly from one maze opening to another. First off the directional pad is on the right side of the screen which is extremely odd for a right handed player. There needs to be an option going forward for the main directional pad to be on the left of the screen. Secondly the game is played vertically even though it would make much more sense to play it horizontally. It would be fantastic to have an update to add both of these options.
Even with the control issues, this game is definitely worth playing. In fact, I really hate even mentioning those issues in the first place because everything else works so well. The graphics, music, and sound are right on. Premium content being able to be unlocked as a community is a great touch. My opinion on this game is to buy it today, work with me to unlock some new free content and email the company and ask them to update the controls a bit. By doing that, we all win.
Ratings:
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: ODD1
Buy now on
The development studio ODD1 deserves some kind of award for including not one, but two new ideas into their newest game, CatchMe! If You Can. The gameplay is similar to Pac Man but the twist is that once you are caught, you become the chaser. This is very well done within the game. The second great idea is implemented in a way I have never seen before in a game, console, PC or otherwise. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me give you some background first.
The game includes 2 different modes of play. The first is a story mode where the bulk of the gameplay lies. The second is more of one-off challenges. You play a thief that's job is to run through mazes, finding as much loot as possible and staying out of the way of guards trying to catch you. The twist, as mentioned above, is that once you are caught, you become a guard chasing the thief. The most interesting thing about this game is that during each of the 15 story mode levels, your main objective is to be the thief for as long as possible and steal as much loot as you can during a certain amount of time. But as the guard you directly determine how much time and lot you will find as a thief. This juxtaposition works great and I really dig it. Each of the three guard types has a different ability to help you catch the thief while the thief has the ability jump over obstacles within the maze.
We haven't even gotten to the one of a kind gameplay implementation. The idea is that you have the ability to send all of the loot you steal to a community chest of sorts called the Band of Thieves. Basically you and the rest of the Catch Me! If You Can playing world can send the money made to this chest and unlock premium content the developers have made. These can be new challenges (the other game mode mentioned above) or additional content (presumably guard types, story levels, etc). The idea of being able to work together with the rest of the world to unlock premium content is fantastic. The only thing I question is how much the unlockable content costs (in thief dollars). On average, you can make about 400 dollars or so per story mode level. The first unlockable content costs 1,000,000 dollars. As of today, about 80,000 dollars or so has been pooled by the players. Personally I have added about 3 or 4% of that total. My hope is that there is really an active community that can quickly unlock this content.
The game has one pitfall in my opinion and that is with its controls. A game like this needs to have excellent controls. After all, if you have ever played Pac Man you know how important it is to be able to move quickly from one maze opening to another. First off the directional pad is on the right side of the screen which is extremely odd for a right handed player. There needs to be an option going forward for the main directional pad to be on the left of the screen. Secondly the game is played vertically even though it would make much more sense to play it horizontally. It would be fantastic to have an update to add both of these options.
Even with the control issues, this game is definitely worth playing. In fact, I really hate even mentioning those issues in the first place because everything else works so well. The graphics, music, and sound are right on. Premium content being able to be unlocked as a community is a great touch. My opinion on this game is to buy it today, work with me to unlock some new free content and email the company and ask them to update the controls a bit. By doing that, we all win.
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