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:
jueves, 21 de enero de 2010
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
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Has Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars set the bar too high?
After doing the review of GTA: Chinatown Wars I wanted to move on and start reviewing the next game in my queue. The problem was, I also really wanted to continue playing GTA: CW and there was another issue - I felt like any game I played immediately following GTA: CW wouldn't be as good. I knew I would find myself comparing that game in some way to GTA. That's a problem. While I think it's important for a game to be compared to what else is out there, I think as a reviewer you need to be able to put aside the last game you played and come at the new game from a fresh angle.
So what I decided I was going to do is to play a lot more GTA:CW (I played 6 hours for our initial review) and get the game out of my system. That was 2 days ago and besides doing some work, I haven't really put the game down. I never played GTA:CW on either the DS or the PSP so the game and its storyline were new to me. I kept finding things I missed the first time around. I continued waiting for a mistake, or an issue to arise, or the game not to live up to the expectations I have set but it's just wasn't happening.
No matter, I will be starting a new game tonight. And when I'm done with GTA: CW, I'm hoping what I feel is some sort of catharsis. That I have been able to get this unsettled feeling out of my system. The feeling that no matter what game I play, I will constantly be comparing it to GTA in some way and it will come up short. Then I think about games like Doodle Jump and Rope N' Fly 2 and realize that those games were great for reasons that have nothing to do with GTA. Whew. I guess what I'm saying then is to WATCH OUT big developers that charge $9.99 for your action games. If your latest and greatest can't stand up to the best action game ever made for the iPhone, get ready to hear some feedback. This time, I bet, it won't just be coming from me.
So what I decided I was going to do is to play a lot more GTA:CW (I played 6 hours for our initial review) and get the game out of my system. That was 2 days ago and besides doing some work, I haven't really put the game down. I never played GTA:CW on either the DS or the PSP so the game and its storyline were new to me. I kept finding things I missed the first time around. I continued waiting for a mistake, or an issue to arise, or the game not to live up to the expectations I have set but it's just wasn't happening.
No matter, I will be starting a new game tonight. And when I'm done with GTA: CW, I'm hoping what I feel is some sort of catharsis. That I have been able to get this unsettled feeling out of my system. The feeling that no matter what game I play, I will constantly be comparing it to GTA in some way and it will come up short. Then I think about games like Doodle Jump and Rope N' Fly 2 and realize that those games were great for reasons that have nothing to do with GTA. Whew. I guess what I'm saying then is to WATCH OUT big developers that charge $9.99 for your action games. If your latest and greatest can't stand up to the best action game ever made for the iPhone, get ready to hear some feedback. This time, I bet, it won't just be coming from me.
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
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars Review
Price: $9.99
Publisher: Rockstar games
Buy it now on
Bringing the biggest gaming franchise in the world to the iPhone/iPod Touch certainly took a lot longer than some people had hoped. Now that it's here, the biggest question is whether or not it can live up to its name. Grant Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is adapted from the PSP game of the same name. You play the "bratty" progeny of a recently killed Chinese gang leader. Your mission, come to the United States, find his killers and along the way, make some money.
The opening scene of GTA: Chinatown plays out like a movie showing quite a few cutscenes, one after another. Through these scenes you find out who your character is, what he is doing in New York and see the outcome of his Liberty City arrival. All in all, these are well done, as most of the cutscenes are throughout the game. Just note that when I say cutscenes, I don't mean it in the same sense as the console GTA game. Instead, you are shown captions for the characters along with a comic book like shot of what is going on at that moment. It's understandable that live action cutscenes are not included and won't result in a lower score for the game.
The game brings you into the world and has you doing missions fairly quickly. Many of the same things you do in the other GTA games - Finding your safe house, going to missions, etc are all done here on the iPhone/iPod Touch version as well. I have to say that overall the production value is very good indeed. Many of the things that you can do in the console versions can also be done in this game as well. The in car GPS allows you to pick a point which the map will show you being created on the screen. There are several different radio stations that can be selected as you drive along. You also have a PDA/Laptop to check your emails and make a save at any time (other than when you are in a mission). You can even change the theme of your PDA (I know some of you care even though I do not).
The graphics are a mix of 3d along with an isometric top down view. Overall, they suit the gameplay very well. Basically they are a mix between Grand theft Auto 3 and the first two games in the series. The world is very detailed. The train tracks have sparks flying off, there are night/day cycles, rain, fogginess and smoke are shown throughout and overall the city has a vibrancy to it that is likely unmatched by any other iPhone/iPod Touch game of this type. One complaint I do have is that when you jump in a car and start driving, there is no real way of seeing what is in front of you as you drive. While you can use the GPS map on the top left, you can't actually see any cars that are more than 20 feet in front which frequently results in a wreck. It would have been nice to see a 3D view on the top of the screen that shows what is coming up next.
As with any GTA game, the real game is not only in the missions but what else you can do in the environment around you. There are quite a few good jokes thrown into most of the game's environment. Things shown on newspapers, ads, lines said by characters, written in your email, etc make Liberty City a really satisfying place to be. You can drive taxis, ambulances, and police car's and do missions for each type of transportation. Picking up travelers, killing criminals and saving lives adds a lot to the amount of time you will spend playing the game. Add in that every mission within the game can be replayed in a different mode that times you for how quick you can do it and this game offers an enormous amount of gameplay. There are also side games and outlets for spending your money. Want to go buy some scratch off lotto tickets? Go ahead. Better to waste your money in GTA than in real life.
So how do the controls stack up within the game? Certainly an important question since a game like this asks you to utilize them throughout to do many different things. The answer is that they are done very well. Driving is made simple by virtual left or right directional arrows. No need to use the virtual analog stick. A good idea since the virtual analog stick in most driving games is easy to lose track of with your thumb. The controls on the street use the aforementioned virtual analog stick which works extremely well and shooting is done by pointing yourself in the right direction and click shoot. An auto targeting function takes car of the rest. Jumping, punching, car stealing and kicking can also be done using virtual on screen buttons.
The sound in the game is great. There are 5 radio stations built into the game. While none of them have any words, they each have a different feel to them - reggae, rock, rap, etc. The 6th station can be a custom station you create yourself. Simply create a playlist on your iPhone or iPod Touch called GTA, select the independent radio station in the menu and your good to go. The rest of the game has decent sound throughout. Squealing tires, purring engines, dying gangsters, etc are all here. One issue with the music is that you can't play it outside of the car. It is kind of disappointing that they reverted back to not being able to do this after having this option in GTAIV.
When I started writing this review I had no idea how I was going to cover all of the things you can do throughout the game in our usual word count, about 700-800 words. I think I have my answer – there is simply no way to cover this game in one simple review that goes through all of the basic things you can do and tell you about some of the surprises that jump up along the way. For me the main storyline was just a side note because I love to do all of the other things that Rockstar has added to the game. That being said, if you’re a storyline buff, you are likely going to enjoy this one as well. A few twists and surprises around every bend. I hate to come off so glowing in any review but I have to tell you the truth. If you like the console versions of GTA, enjoy its gameplay, and love the deadly environments that you are thrust into then you will definitely enjoy Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. There I said it. Now time to get back to the game.
Overall Value for it's $9.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: Rockstar games
Buy it now on
Bringing the biggest gaming franchise in the world to the iPhone/iPod Touch certainly took a lot longer than some people had hoped. Now that it's here, the biggest question is whether or not it can live up to its name. Grant Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is adapted from the PSP game of the same name. You play the "bratty" progeny of a recently killed Chinese gang leader. Your mission, come to the United States, find his killers and along the way, make some money.
The opening scene of GTA: Chinatown plays out like a movie showing quite a few cutscenes, one after another. Through these scenes you find out who your character is, what he is doing in New York and see the outcome of his Liberty City arrival. All in all, these are well done, as most of the cutscenes are throughout the game. Just note that when I say cutscenes, I don't mean it in the same sense as the console GTA game. Instead, you are shown captions for the characters along with a comic book like shot of what is going on at that moment. It's understandable that live action cutscenes are not included and won't result in a lower score for the game.
The game brings you into the world and has you doing missions fairly quickly. Many of the same things you do in the other GTA games - Finding your safe house, going to missions, etc are all done here on the iPhone/iPod Touch version as well. I have to say that overall the production value is very good indeed. Many of the things that you can do in the console versions can also be done in this game as well. The in car GPS allows you to pick a point which the map will show you being created on the screen. There are several different radio stations that can be selected as you drive along. You also have a PDA/Laptop to check your emails and make a save at any time (other than when you are in a mission). You can even change the theme of your PDA (I know some of you care even though I do not).
The graphics are a mix of 3d along with an isometric top down view. Overall, they suit the gameplay very well. Basically they are a mix between Grand theft Auto 3 and the first two games in the series. The world is very detailed. The train tracks have sparks flying off, there are night/day cycles, rain, fogginess and smoke are shown throughout and overall the city has a vibrancy to it that is likely unmatched by any other iPhone/iPod Touch game of this type. One complaint I do have is that when you jump in a car and start driving, there is no real way of seeing what is in front of you as you drive. While you can use the GPS map on the top left, you can't actually see any cars that are more than 20 feet in front which frequently results in a wreck. It would have been nice to see a 3D view on the top of the screen that shows what is coming up next.
As with any GTA game, the real game is not only in the missions but what else you can do in the environment around you. There are quite a few good jokes thrown into most of the game's environment. Things shown on newspapers, ads, lines said by characters, written in your email, etc make Liberty City a really satisfying place to be. You can drive taxis, ambulances, and police car's and do missions for each type of transportation. Picking up travelers, killing criminals and saving lives adds a lot to the amount of time you will spend playing the game. Add in that every mission within the game can be replayed in a different mode that times you for how quick you can do it and this game offers an enormous amount of gameplay. There are also side games and outlets for spending your money. Want to go buy some scratch off lotto tickets? Go ahead. Better to waste your money in GTA than in real life.
So how do the controls stack up within the game? Certainly an important question since a game like this asks you to utilize them throughout to do many different things. The answer is that they are done very well. Driving is made simple by virtual left or right directional arrows. No need to use the virtual analog stick. A good idea since the virtual analog stick in most driving games is easy to lose track of with your thumb. The controls on the street use the aforementioned virtual analog stick which works extremely well and shooting is done by pointing yourself in the right direction and click shoot. An auto targeting function takes car of the rest. Jumping, punching, car stealing and kicking can also be done using virtual on screen buttons.
The sound in the game is great. There are 5 radio stations built into the game. While none of them have any words, they each have a different feel to them - reggae, rock, rap, etc. The 6th station can be a custom station you create yourself. Simply create a playlist on your iPhone or iPod Touch called GTA, select the independent radio station in the menu and your good to go. The rest of the game has decent sound throughout. Squealing tires, purring engines, dying gangsters, etc are all here. One issue with the music is that you can't play it outside of the car. It is kind of disappointing that they reverted back to not being able to do this after having this option in GTAIV.
When I started writing this review I had no idea how I was going to cover all of the things you can do throughout the game in our usual word count, about 700-800 words. I think I have my answer – there is simply no way to cover this game in one simple review that goes through all of the basic things you can do and tell you about some of the surprises that jump up along the way. For me the main storyline was just a side note because I love to do all of the other things that Rockstar has added to the game. That being said, if you’re a storyline buff, you are likely going to enjoy this one as well. A few twists and surprises around every bend. I hate to come off so glowing in any review but I have to tell you the truth. If you like the console versions of GTA, enjoy its gameplay, and love the deadly environments that you are thrust into then you will definitely enjoy Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. There I said it. Now time to get back to the game.
Overall Value for it's $9.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
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.
Ratings:
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
sábado, 16 de enero de 2010
Battle Bears 1.5 Review
Price: $.99
Publisher: SkyVu Pictures Inc.
Buy now on
Battle Bears 1.5 is a really weird game. Not that there is anything wrong with that. In fact, its uniqueness helps set it apart from some games that play in a very similar manner. What makes this game so strange? How about the fact that you play a brown bear that fights off, with crossbows, machine guns, and the like, a never ending hoard of cuddly pink, blue and orange bears who want nothing more than to hug you? Does that strike you as a bit different? Or maybe you would consider it strange that when you kill them, the advancing bear's heads come off and a rainbow shoots out instead of blood.
If after reading those beginning paragraph you are already ready to buy this $.99 gem, I don't blame you. On the other hand, if you are shocked and offended, this might not be your game. Basically the gameplay during the story mode revolves around you shooting/killing the advancing bears in any way possible. You have quite a few weapons at your disposal. You will only be responsible for standing in a spot surrounded by sand bags, no need to move around and shoot. In some ways, think about a messed up version of Duck Hunt.
The controls are simple to get used to. Basically they are just the normal virtual pad controls you find on any shooting game. They work well and since you don't have to move and rarely become frustrating. The graphics are hilarious. They really are something to see. The animations along with the cut scenes, oh yes-there are many cut scenes, will likely astound you throughout the entire story mode. The cuts scenes especially are extremely bizarre but again it adds to the game’s character. One thing you can definitely say after watching the cut scenes, these were not made by Gameloft (whose cut scenes are always a rip-off of some console game). In my opinion, that's a good thing.
The sound within the game will likely make you laugh more than once. I know it did for me. Bad bear puns are thrown in throughout and pronounced by the characters enthusiastically. You'll hear things like "bearzooka" and "Bearbershop Quartet". Simply ridiculous but something about it is really charming. The music sounds a lot like an action move and is done well throughout. The sound in this game is one of the best uses of sound I have seen (heard I mean) out of an iPhone/ iPod Touch game.
In between levels you have the ability to add more ammo to one of the weapons or to rebuild your defenses. The strategy adds a nice touch to what would otherwise just be a shooter. Throughout the game saves are made frequently so even if you get hugged to death (yep, that's actually what happens), you can still go back to the place you were at. The same holds true for an interrupting phone call or needing to quit the game. Both of these are nice touches.
Besides the story mode (which has 3 different difficulty settings) which will give you a good hour of playtime, the game also gives you OpenFeint community achievements and a survival mode. The survival mode, which involves you trying to survive wave after wave of cuddly bears, allows your scores to be tracked using the aforementioned OpenFeint and post them for all to see. Overall, Battle Bears 1.5 is a good fit for most anyone with an iPhone/iPod Touch. The bear killing, maiming and unicorn horn shooting (yep, you do this too) should be experienced by anyone that has a bit of a dark side to them.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
Publisher: SkyVu Pictures Inc.
Buy now on
Battle Bears 1.5 is a really weird game. Not that there is anything wrong with that. In fact, its uniqueness helps set it apart from some games that play in a very similar manner. What makes this game so strange? How about the fact that you play a brown bear that fights off, with crossbows, machine guns, and the like, a never ending hoard of cuddly pink, blue and orange bears who want nothing more than to hug you? Does that strike you as a bit different? Or maybe you would consider it strange that when you kill them, the advancing bear's heads come off and a rainbow shoots out instead of blood.
If after reading those beginning paragraph you are already ready to buy this $.99 gem, I don't blame you. On the other hand, if you are shocked and offended, this might not be your game. Basically the gameplay during the story mode revolves around you shooting/killing the advancing bears in any way possible. You have quite a few weapons at your disposal. You will only be responsible for standing in a spot surrounded by sand bags, no need to move around and shoot. In some ways, think about a messed up version of Duck Hunt.
The controls are simple to get used to. Basically they are just the normal virtual pad controls you find on any shooting game. They work well and since you don't have to move and rarely become frustrating. The graphics are hilarious. They really are something to see. The animations along with the cut scenes, oh yes-there are many cut scenes, will likely astound you throughout the entire story mode. The cuts scenes especially are extremely bizarre but again it adds to the game’s character. One thing you can definitely say after watching the cut scenes, these were not made by Gameloft (whose cut scenes are always a rip-off of some console game). In my opinion, that's a good thing.
The sound within the game will likely make you laugh more than once. I know it did for me. Bad bear puns are thrown in throughout and pronounced by the characters enthusiastically. You'll hear things like "bearzooka" and "Bearbershop Quartet". Simply ridiculous but something about it is really charming. The music sounds a lot like an action move and is done well throughout. The sound in this game is one of the best uses of sound I have seen (heard I mean) out of an iPhone/ iPod Touch game.
In between levels you have the ability to add more ammo to one of the weapons or to rebuild your defenses. The strategy adds a nice touch to what would otherwise just be a shooter. Throughout the game saves are made frequently so even if you get hugged to death (yep, that's actually what happens), you can still go back to the place you were at. The same holds true for an interrupting phone call or needing to quit the game. Both of these are nice touches.
Besides the story mode (which has 3 different difficulty settings) which will give you a good hour of playtime, the game also gives you OpenFeint community achievements and a survival mode. The survival mode, which involves you trying to survive wave after wave of cuddly bears, allows your scores to be tracked using the aforementioned OpenFeint and post them for all to see. Overall, Battle Bears 1.5 is a good fit for most anyone with an iPhone/iPod Touch. The bear killing, maiming and unicorn horn shooting (yep, you do this too) should be experienced by anyone that has a bit of a dark side to them.
Overall Value for it's $.99 price point
Overall Value:
Graphics:
Sound:
Controls:
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