One of our favorite retro platformer developers, Orange Pixel, has just released an update for their (use-to-be) free game, Super Drill Panic. The first HUGE change that you will notice when updating is that SDP is now a PAID game. That means that Orange Pixel has removed the ad banner across the top of the screen, and the game is now $1.99. This is great news for people who downloaded the game when it was free, and dealt with the banner for all this time, because now we have a full featured ad-free paid game on our devices. Oh yeah, there’s also bug fixes, a “more games” button, and a different Orange Pixel splash screen. But you can now expect to play Super Drill Panic without the ad banner at the top of the screen, slighty covering up the huge boulder falling down at you. If you haven’t picked up SDP before now, it’s still worth getting, as it’s got a bunch of content, and plenty of retro arcade action to keep any arcade junky happy for quite some time. There’s also endless levels for both the male and female characters of the game, as well as GameCenter leaderboards, for that extra boost of replay value. Definitely worth checking out.
Our next updated game is Hypership Out Of Control!, the XBOX Live game turned iOS sensation. You can now listen to your own iPod music while playing HOOC, which is always a nice addition to a game. They have also fixed the bug in Super Speed Mode that made it so that the Max Power power-up wouldn’t activate. Now you can fling yourself through space at blinding speeds in Super Speed Mode, and move further up those leaderboards! The last thing they changed was their icon, making it a little more retro, and taking out the clutter of the old icon. You will now see their big red ship in nice pixelated graphics in a neat and cleaned up icon for your devices.
The last game on our list to get an update is Space Junk. This Asteroids-type space shooter is now supported by GameCenter and OpenFeint, which was one of our biggest gripes with it back when we reviewed it late last month. Now you can compare scores on 9, THAT’S NINE, different leaderboards, as well as go after 22 achievements. There’s also a new unlockable Survival Mode, which unlocks after you manage to get 10 of the 22 achievements. To make it an even bigger and better update, Upside Down Games has made the controls configurable, enhanced the graphics, and added accelerometer support! Now this retro arcade game truly feels like a full fledged multi-featured game, and it’s still just $0.99! Make sure you grab this one and join in on the space shooting action.
I’m not generally a fan of games with pirates, for some reason, they’ve just never rubbed me the right way. But after getting my hands on XMG Studio’s (developers of Cow’s Vs. Aliens, Little Metal Ball, and more), latest title, Powder Monkeys, I might just end up re-thinking my whole “stay away from pirate games” attitude. This casual exploratory strategy action-adventure RPG mesh of genre’s sunk it’s teeth into me, and wouldn’t let go.
You’ll play as Captain LaQuisha Boniqua III (this name can be changed when you start a game, but with a name like LaQuisha Boniqua, it‘s hard to want to), a monkey who’s after the pirates that are reeking havoc all around his little world. After your short training missions, you’ll be given a huge book of quests that you can take on, both Story Quests, and Side Quests. You will need to complete quite a few side quests throughout the game in order to level up, because Story Quests are unlocked depending on what level your little monkey is.
As you take on various side and story quests, you’ll explore the vast seas, searching for bug pirates, yes, bug pirates, and arriving to the rescue of monkeys around the world. Some of these quests will send you to cloud covered levels that you’ll need to blindly explore while looking for someone or something. Within these areas, there are various pirates and treasure chests to find, all with the possibility of wealth, or items that you can use to upgrade your ship.
Progressing through the game, you will need to build up your ship as you collect pieces from around the globe, so that you can keep up with the growing difficulty of the pirates as you level up. Fighting pirates is a sort of turn-based fight, in that you’ll need to wait to shoot items until they have cooled down. Stronger projectiles require longer cooling down, but generally, it will be a back and forth battle, each of you firing watermelons, fireworks, and other objects at each other until one of you looses all HP. With the inclusion of items that help catch or destroy projectiles as they’re coming at you, a certain degree of strategy is added on top of the already semi-strategic battles. In other words, you will not just be shooting objects at the pirates randomly until one of you dies, you will need to come up with a strategy that works for certain levels of pirates, adjusting your strategy as needed. Once you defeat a pirate, their ship will send out bags and bags of gold, but these need to be tapped on in order to be collected, and the screen fades out to the results screen pretty quickly, so if you’re not fast, the gold can be lost forever. This seems kind of like a useless mechanic within the game, and it being set up like this will most likely frustrate quite a few gamers. The gold at the end of each battle should probably just be automatically collected, and hopefully this is changed in an update.
Now, onto the graphics. XMG Studio has had quite a few games that fall under the “cutsey” cartoony graphic styling. Powder Monkeys is no exception. When you see most of the monkeys, chances are, you’ll want to snuggle them til their eyes pop out. But on top of the cartoonish graphics, there is a nice atmosphere, though it doesn’t change much throughout the game. It’s a game that takes place in the water, and there’s only so much you can do with water. However, the animations are nice, and the water environment doesn’t get too boring. It would have been nice to see some different sorts of rocks, seaweed, different light structures (no nightfall yet), different types of birds (I can hear them, but where are they?!), something to help differentiate between different places. The music goes along with the game, but if you find it annoying, you are able to turn it off, and leave the sound on, in the options menu.
So, has Powder Monkeys changed my perspective of pirate games? In a way, yes. I will definitely not just overlook games with pirates in them just because there’s pirates in them any more. From now on, I will probably give more pirate games a chance, but I doubt many will live up to the standards that Powder Monkeys has set in my mind. Along with a great game, there are 7 different GameCenter leader boards for things like Battles Won, Damage Delt, Coins Collected, and more, as well as 18 achievements, all of which doesn’t really help with replay value, but will make you want to play the game as best you can to try and work your way up each and every one of those leader boards. But who knows? Maybe a low ranking will make you want to replay the game with the hopes of doing even better the second or third time around. With the game being Universal and priced at only $0.99, it’s a must buy for any fan of the action, RPG, exploration, adventure, or strategy genres. It’s clear that this isn’t just a game that was thrown together with a bunch of different aspects, and that a butt load of time has gone into merging everything in the game together just right to make it one entertaining gaming experience. The game also saves from where you close it at, so it’s perfect for 5 minute sessions as well as long gameplay spurts. It’s also easy enough for kids to play, as well as entertaining enough to keep adults interested, and once you get into the higher leveled quests, the strategy aspect plays a larger roll in the game, making it challenging to complete, and not because of it’s length or for any lack of amusement.
Casual arcade games have become a staple of the AppStore over the last couple years, so it’s no surprised that this is the genre a lot of developers start off with. OrionArts has chosen this path, and done so wisely. Their first release, AirHead Adam, is a well thought out, easily accessible, perfect for all ages yet still challenging addition to the casual arcade genre.
In the game, you’ll control Adam as he searches the galaxy for his beautiful lost girlfriend, traveling through space in a bubble filled with air. You’ll need to guide Adam by tapping next to his bubble to push him in the opposite direction and gather air bubbles to keep him breathing, and stars to get upgrades. There’s also various hazards and obstacles in each level that you will need to destroy or avoid in order to progress through the game. Rocks, aliens, and space ships that shoot at you are around corners, and sometimes you’ll get boxed in by one, two, or all three of these. To get out of it, you’ll need to tap on Adam, and drag in the direction of the object you want to destroy, and he will shoot out some of his air in a bubble that will explode when it hits whatever object you’ve aimed at, and if you hit a space ship, collectable stars come flying out of it. You’ve got to be careful though, because this takes away from your air supply, and running out of air is a game over.
The screen moves at a steady pace, so you’ll constantly be moving Adam upwards through the rock maze, grabbing air bubbles. If you fall behind, and go off into the bottom of the screen, it will cost you an air tank, of which you will start off with one, but can buy more in the shop. This is sometimes a useful thing to use in levels that you’re having a hard time with, because once you sink into the bottom of the screen, and use your extra air tank, you will shoot up through rocks, bubbles, stars, aliens, and space ships quite a ways, putting you further into the level, and so long as you beat the level with your extra tanks, you will not have to play that level again, unless you want to come back to it later in the game when you’re more powerful. There are also power-ups littering each stage, shields, and meteors, as well as big air bubbles and huge stars, and it’s a good idea to try and collect each of these that you see. Some are hidden within big orange rocks and metal tanks, but there are also aliens hidden in these, so it’s always a gamble when breaking them open. However, it would have been nice to see more power-ups, like increasing your air bubble shot power for a short time, point multipliers, or speed increasers and decreasers.
There are 36 levels in the game, split up with 9 in each difficulty, Easy, Normal, and Hard. The levels are all lined up the same, like level 1 on Easy is the same as level 1 on Normal, but the speed is changed, and there’s a few more blocked in areas, and hazards making it just slightly harder. Normal and Hard levels are unlocked once you complete all the previous difficulties levels. You can also pay to unlock these, but if you haven’t gotten the previous difficulty mastered, chances are, the levels will be pretty frustrating.
This brings us to the IAPs. Now, at first, these might turn you off. Chances are, you’ll earn about 120 or so stars in the first 4 levels, and in the shop, upgrades to power-ups are all 1000 stars for the first upgrade, and more after that, and new characters are 4500 stars. With that, you might start thinking that it will take until level 30 or something to unlock one upgrade. However, at the end of your game, when you die, you are given the option to redeem stars that you have earned throughout your game while achieving various achievements. Things like getting 20 bubbles in a row, or 15 stars in one level, and these add up VERY quickly. At the end of my first game, I made it to level 9 on the easy levels, and ended up with 1500+ stars after everything was said and done. So gamers are not pushed as hard towards the IAP as you might think at first.
AirHead Adam is supported by OpenFeint and GameCenter, as well as having FaceBook and Twitter options to upload and share your high-scores. Within OF and GC, there’s a whole slew of leader boards to try and top, including ones for Best Overall Score, Best Overall Time, Total Easy Mode Score, Total Normal Mode Score, Total Hard Mode Score, your Best Time In Easy, Normal, and Hard, your Best Overall Fast Time, Top Bubble Combo, how many total Stars Collected, and more, along with 47 achievements. You can play the game slow and steady, collecting all the bubbles you can, or fast and dangerous, collecting only the minimum amount of bubbles, and getting to the end of each level as quick as you can. Both ways of playing have leader boards, and with that, it adds quite a bit of replay value on top of the leader boards, because you’ll want to go back and see how quick you can get through the levels if at first you went slow, getting the highest bubble combo you could, or go through slow, getting as many bubbles as you can if you flew through the levels the first time. There’s loads of planned updates, and right now the game is priced as free, so it’s definitely worth checking out, as even if you don’t buy any IAP stars, there’s plenty of gameplay to keep you entertained, as well as challenged. OrionArts has definitely proven that they know exactly what it takes to make a cute, fun, challenging casual arcade game that’s good for all ages, as well as keeping it full of gameplay even though it’s free, while giving gamers the option to support them through IAPs that are not necessary to complete the game. If they keep up this basic model with future games, they could very well be sitting pretty on top of a fairly large list of titles.
Multiplayer games on mobile devices have become a pretty big deal, especially within the first and third person shooter genres. I remember starting off with Eliminate, then moving onto Archetype, Exo-Planet, NOVA and Modern Combat. Now multiplayer fanatics have a new title to obsess over; Warm Gun by Emotional Robots, the first to use the Unreal Engine and it’s amazing graphics capabilities.
When Warm Gun was first released, it had quite a few framerate issues, making the game almost unplayable, even in it’s offline mode, but the developers over at E.R. released a patch updating the performance extremely quickly, and now gamers have a semi-playable version to blast away and talk smack through, though it still needs some performance tweaking, and because of that, it’s pretty hard to find someone online to play with. Not to worry though, because the Emotional Robots dev team is still hard at work to optimize the game and are trying to make it run as smooth as possible before doing anything else in regards to adding content.
You are able to play on or off line. In offline mode, you are able to choose between 5 different environments, each with different places to hide, open areas to battle it out, and different stories to climb up to and jump down from. You are also able to choose between 4 different characters; The 49’er, who has a pistol, shotgun, and Molotov cocktail. The Blacksmith, who has a HUGE hammer, massive machine gun, and exploding cans. The Shaman, who is equipped with an electrocution stick, SMG, and exploding bottles, and last, but not at all least, The Preacher, who wields dual pistols, a riffle, and also has exploding bottles. Each of the characters has their own strengths and weaknesses, and which one you pick and get comfortable with will depend on your style of play, but rest assured, there is a character for you. Offline Mode runs very smooth, and is a great place to learn the maps, and each of the different characters, and until the multiplayer mode picks up, and more players get online, as well as the framerate issues get fixed, you can expect to play in Offline Mode quite a bit.
Online Mode is the same for Offline Mode, except which map you play in is chosen by the game, and where you will see the biggest issue for the Emotional Robots team; lag/framerate isues. Because of the framerate issues, it makes it very hard to play online. Your character will jump around quite a bit, and dying when there is no one in front of you, and then all of a sudden a character appears there after you die is a very common occurrence. Also something that most players do not like about online play is that you are not given any stats after your match, so you’ll have no idea what your kill/death ratio was, or anything like that. However, one thing I was very glad to see is that there is no leveling up or experience points in the game, meaning that no matter who you’re matched up with, the game starts out on a level playing field. You will never have to worry about being matched with level 10 or 20 characters while you are a level 1 or 2, or anything like that, so once the issues are fixed, and there’s people actually playing online (as of now, you might be able to find one or two people playing online every 8 or 9 times you start up the game), the online play could really be something special. Also, online battles go through GameSpy, and not through GameCenter, which is better than great news, as GameCenter multiplayer matching is hell to deal with, and GameSpy servers are prepared, and stable enough to handle the onslaught of players that Warm Gun is expected to have in the future.
So, now to the graphics. As always, using the Unreal Engine results in some amazing, console-like graphics. The shadowing is great, and offers nice places to hide, the buildings and objects all have some amazing textures, and everything in the game has quite a bit of detail. The smooth running offline play is something you could feel great about showing off to your friends, and gives hope that more talented developers will start using the Unreal Engine in the future, as it really makes the long loading times and basic looking graphics of Game Salad and other engines pale in comparison.
For controls right now, there are 3 options. One joystick, dual sticks, or 3 joysticks, and all are able to use swiping on the screen to move, as well as tapping on the screen to fire. You can hold down the second or third joystick on the last two control options and keep firing while moving your crosshairs with pretty good precision. However, when moving around, and swiping on the screen, once you let go, you will keep spinning a little bit, making the precision for finding a character, stop movement and start firing pretty frustrating. The developers are looking into this though, and are working on implementing more of a Modern Combat type control scheme.
The big question, is Warm Gun worth the price? $5.00 for a Universal version, using the Unreal Engine, and, after the issues are taken care of, and people start actually getting online, what could possibly be the best multiplayer experience, surpassing even Modern Combat 2. It’s probably better to look at is as an investment. The developers are extremely active on the Touch Arcade forums, and are listening to feedback from every member who is posting there. They are hard at work on fixing the performance issues, as well as making the controls nice and tight, and giving players as many control options as they can, giving players the option to start up and host their own games, and adding more content to the game. When it is completed, what you will have is one of the most amazing online multiplayer FPS titles to ever come along on any mobile gaming device. Right now, it’s nice to have it to learn the maps, and characters, in preparation for when the game is stable enough for smooth and solid online play. If you’re a huge fan of multiplayer gameplay, Warm Gun is a must buy. If you’re still teetering on the idea of buying it, you should check out the companion title, Warm Gun: Carnival of Bullets; which is a sort of training course for Warm Gun. In it, you can get use to the controls, check out the brilliant graphics, and get to know the characters. You will not have access to the original title’s maps, but you will be able to get a really good feel for the game. But if you want instant gratification, you might be better off waiting for an update or two.
It really seems like iOS RPG games have all pretty much been re-skins of previous releases, all following in the same suit, and getting spoon fed to gamers through the AppStore. There’s hardly any originality anymore, and even if there is, it’s generally only one little aspect. Thankfully, The Game Bakers have come to the rescue with their new release, Squids. It’s a stretch back and flick controlled exploratory strategy action game with a well crafted story, turn based combat, items to equip, and characters to level up. In other words, a new breed within the RPG genre.
In Squids, you’ll control 4 characters as you try and save the depths of the ocean from being overrun by an evil force called The Ooze that takes control of it’s host, and turns it evil. There are 21 beautifully hand drawn and painted levels to try and make it through by choosing which 4 out of 7 characters you would like to use. There are 4 different classes that each of the seven characters will fall under; Shooter: these characters can shoot projectiles at enemies that are within range. Trooper: these characters pack quite a punch. Scout: scouts have a boost ability, which means they can make it into some sections that other characters can not, and will almost always be able to get to the end of the level before everyone else. They can also use their boost ability (which is done by tapping on the screen after you’ve flicked them) to increase damage done to enemies, or hit them a couple of consecutive times. Lastly, Healer: healer characters are generally pretty weak, but if you bump into another character with a healer character, they will heal that character.
Each character has a certain amount of moves they can make, but depending on how hard you flick them, those moves will vary. Each character will start off surrounded by orbs when it is their turn to move. Pulling your character back will show you how many orbs you will use in that one move before you let go and actually perform the move. You also have a certain amount of times that you can use your character’s ability each move, for instance, shooters can shoot projectiles once per move, while scouts have 3 dashes per move. There are jars with power-ups scattered throughout each of the levels, some containing items to help you defensively, some offensively, some health, and some give you back some or all of your movement orbs. These are collected when you pass through them, and do not stop your current move. There are also treasure chests and clams that you can bump into and gain pearls. Pearls are the in-game currency, and are also given out when you defeat an enemy, or accomplish a special move or maneuver, like hitting 2 characters in one shot or bouncing off and around 3 different corners without taking damage. These pearls are collected by tapping on them, so you will not need to waste a move to go back and collect them if you pass them up. There is also a star hidden in each of the levels, which will give you 500 pearls at the end of the level, along with re-filling your movement orbs and ability. At the end of each level, you will get a star ranking. These are given depending on how you preformed throughout the level. If you make it to the end of the level without loosing a character, that’s a star. If you find the hidden star in the level, that’s another star, and if you make it through the stage in a certain number of turns, that’s your final star. Each star will give you pearls, and you will also get pearls for completing the level.
There are IAPs in Squids, letting you buy pearls with REAL money, but with the amount of pearls you get in-game, you are not pushed towards buying those pearls at all. By level 8 my main scout was maxed out, and all of my other characters were 75% leveled up, and I had bought every equip item in the shop that had become available by then, so unless you want to max out your characters by level 2, the IAPs are completely un-necessary.
Now, to get to one of my favorite mechanics of the whole game. The hats that you are able to equip from the shop. Hats are hidden throughout levels in clams and treasure chests, and you can also unlock some hats after beating certain levels. The hats that you find in-game will be free once you get to the shop, and the hats that you unlock by completing levels will cost pearls. But, once you get a hat, you’ll notice they have stats, like heightened strength, defense, HP, but here’s the cool part, you can transfer those stats permanently over to the class of characters that the hat is made for. So if you get a hat that your scouts can equip, and it adds 2 hit points, 3 defense points, and 1 attack point, those points can be transferred over to all of your scouts, then your scouts will keep those points even if the hat is not equipped. It’s a very nice addition to the game mechanics, and really surprised me when I first noticed you could transfer stats over. Right away, it was one of the things I was telling people about, because I’ve never seen this done in a game before.
The game includes GameCenter support with a leader board and 22 achievements, so along with the star rankings, hidden stars, and training level, there’s more replay value than you’d first think with this being an RPG game. Squid’s story is well written and engaging, and the gameplay is packed full of action mixed with loads of strategy. It’s hard to believe the game is only $0.99, with the game lasting about 5 or 6 hours for your first play through, not including the amount of time it‘ll take to go back and get all the stars you missed the first time around or the amount of time you‘ll sink into training or getting the achievements/working up the leader boards. The Game Bakers have announced that they’re going to be releasing an iPad version in about a month, but if you really can’t wait, you can think of the iPod version as a 99 cent pre-release preview. It will be a little blurry on the big screen, but manageable. If you’re a fan of adventure, action, RPG or strategy games, this one is definitely a must buy. The developers are hard at work making the iPad version, as well as making the original even better by taking suggestions.
Squids gets a perfect score of 10 out of 10, along with a strong recommendation.
Shoot-em-up games have been making a huge comeback over the last couple years. Mainly because you can now play old favorites like R-Type, Earth Defense Force, Galaga and Battle Squadron as well as newer games, like Fast Striker, Deathsmiles, ESPGaluda and DoDonPachi all on a mobile device with touch screen controls that make previously hard to pull off with a joystick moves as easy as swiping your finger across a screen. Mixed in with these classics and new favorites, we’ve been given quite a few new and amazing bullet hell and shmup titles. Enborn-X, by Lantansia, is yet another example of this.
This endless boss battle structured game is a blast to play. There’s two different control methods, both being tight and easy to use. One option is a joystick, while the other is relative touch control, and both have 3 different buttons for attack options. Each attack has it’s own percs as well as weaknesses. Your spread shot can cancel out certain types of shots from the bosses, while some projectile shots go right through your bullets, a laser that you need to charge while avoiding the onslaught of bullets coming your way, and an incredibly strong up close and personal punch attack that, well, you need to be up close and personal to use.
In order to max out your score against each boss, you’ll need to pick them apart, destroying them piece by piece. You can go straight for the middle of them, destroying them fairly quickly, but doing this will cause your score to suffer quite a bit, and in a high-scoring game like this, that’s a big no-no. For each piece of the boss you destroy, you’ll rack up points while shooting that piece, as well as get a bonus score for destroying it before moving on to the next piece. Starting at the edges and moving inward is essential, but also comes with quite a bit of risk. Generally, the edges of the boss are the pieces that shoot out the most bullets. This means you’ll need to get use to weaving in and out of them while attacking instead of staying in the middle and slightly moving to avoid the missiles and big lasers that you’ll usually find there.
The graphics and animations in Enborn-X are very exuberant, and it can sometimes be hard to focus when each new boss is spawned from the orb that you’ll be fighting. The animations for this are great, each bit being flung out of the last in true overdone anime style. In short, it looks awesome. The animations for your character are pretty typical of shooters, but match the style of the game very well. It would be nice to see one or two more moves incorporated to the melee attacking, as right now you punch twice over and over again, adding in a kick or super twirl punch or something would have been a great addition, but as it is, you’ll be focusing more on how much damage you’re doing with those punches than what your character looks like while pulling them off. The sounds and music go together with the anime style too, being full of energy, and adding to the overall feel of the game.
Now, with the game being done in true anime style, it’s amazing that it’s only $1.99, as most anime entertainment is usually premium priced, and with the amount of replay value, and the sheer exaggerated amount of action that’s in the game, $1.99 is a great price. EnbornX is also Universal, and compatible with iCade, giving gamers even more reason to lay down a couple bucks for it. Of course, a high-scoring game like this wouldn’t be complete without OpenFeint and GameCenter leader boards, now would it? Highest score and highest stage boards are included, as well as having 15 different hard to snag achievements. Lantansia has proven that they can make an over the top game that fits within the growing genre as well as expands it. Hopefully we can see another mode or maybe more weapons and characters in future updates, but right now, if you’re a fan of the genre, Enborn-X is a great buy.
Gyro13’s Version1.1 has just gone live in the AppStore, and even though it’s not a large update, it packs quite the punch! The game is now supported by GameCenter! This includes 25 different leaderboards, one for each level, along with a total score leaderboard, adding immensely to the replay value of Gyro13. Now once you complete the game, you can go back and try to get as close to perfect runs as you can on each of the levels, and compete with friends for high scores and fast times. The game has also dropped in price from $5.99 to $2.99! It’s now one of the best times to check out this mind blowing game!
RunDaLine is a new casual runner game by Randerline GMBH in which you guide Pancho the skunk through 50 levels by controlling the terrain that he runs on. In order to progress through the game, you’ll need to collect a certain amount of coins, keeping them until you reach the finish line, while avoiding hazards that can cause you to loose your collected coins, or end your run all-together.
The controls in RunDaLine are done pretty well, and are responsive and tight. You’ll control the terrain that Pancho is running on by dragging your finger up and down on the screen, moving the terrain up and down, creating hills and dips while Pancho runs along. You can also make him jump by tapping in the upper corner of the screen. You are able to use your right or left thumbs, and whichever you prefer, the set-up makes it so that what obsticles are coming at you are displayed on the opposite side of the screen than where you’re touching, so that your fingers don’t get in the way. However, this setting is not saved after you exit the game, so if you would like to use your left hand, and be able to see everything coming at you better than if you’re using your right hand, you’ll need to go into the pause menu and change the control settings every time you play the game.
Throughout each level, you’ll come across brick walls and clouds with lightning bolts in them, both of which cause you to loose all your coins if you hit them, lightning bolts that cause you to speed up, and bombs that end your run. There’s also clouds that double the amount of coins you have, but only if you hit them while jumping, and do not count if you run through them, and temporary shields that let you plow through tougher areas without losing any coins. As you move on throughout the game, each world gets progressively harder, but you do not encounter anything new after the first couple of levels.
Graphics-wise, RunDaLine is pretty simple looking. Nothing too impressive, but it is smooth and the animations for Pancho running and jumping are done decently well, and so are the animations for the objects when you run into them. The environments are pretty bland, there’s clouds in the sky and hills in the background, neither of which have any detail, and the terrain that you run on is shaded nicely, but also lacks any real detail, no grass spots, no shrubs. Each of the 5 different worlds environments are only different in color. It would be nice to see some additions to the environments, and maybe some animation additions to the objects/hazards you’re trying to avoid, instead of only having an animation for when you hit them, maybe seeing the bomb’s wick be on fire, and moving while the fire gets closer to the bomb, or seeing the cloud with a lightning bolt in it have a little rain coming out of it that doesn’t reach the ground, just falls about half a centimeter from the cloud then disappears with a little bit of electricity going around the lightning bolt, little things like this would give the game some personality and add to the polished look of it, because right now, it looks like an un-finished demo version.
RunDaLine is supported by GameCenter, and has 6 different leader boards, one for the amount of coins you’ve collected in each world, and one for your total amount of coins collected, there’s also 12 achievements, and with the 3 coin (like star) ratings for each level, does, like usual, add quite a bit to the replay value, which is good, because completing the whole game took about an hour. The game is also not randomized, so you can go through a level multiple times, and memorize it, eventually being able to get a perfect run through maximizing your total score. The blandness of the environments, lack of animations, lack of new content as you progress through the game, and the game not saving your control settings are all things that could easily be fixed in an update or two. But right now, with the game being $0.99, it is a nice casual, level-based runner that’s accessible to gamers of all ages. My 4 year old nephew had no problems getting the controls and gameplay mechanics down, and it’s still challenging enough to keep me entertained, but I do hope to see more added to it in the future.
This August, The App Shack was able to review 108km Studio’s Robot Bros, a puzzle platformer that had quite a bit of potential, but we felt it didn’t really take advantage of that potential. Well, the developers listened, and took the game mechanics they had, and expanded them quite a bit. Version 1.1 is now live and available for download in the AppStore! What’s new in this version?
— Added 24 advance levels. More challenges!
— New game style! Badge system added!
— Enhanced user control.
— Fixed bugs & exceptions.
Now Robot Bros completly takes advantage of the puzzle mechanics that were initially introduced in the original version of the game, like switching robots, and the oh so cool use of portals! The controls have been tweaked and feel a lot better, and also, the game has a sweet badge system now. There’s also a lite version so you can try the game out. But at $0.99, and after this update, it’s easy to recommend this one to fans of the genre, and anyone else who’s into puzzle game, this is one you’ll definitely enjoy. Also, it’s worth mentioning that it’s (still, yes still…) UNIVERSAL. So head on over to the AppStore, and pick up this little gem!
Casual games with a story don’t really come around too often, and casual games with a long, deep, and well thought out story are pretty much non-existent. This is where Parogames Limited breaks the mold with their recently released title, Parodise. In this action/defense swiping game, you’ll learn about Parodise, your main character, Dumy-667, his supposed partner, Dumy-666, as well as his… boss, Yody, GOD, and Doomy.
To get through each day in Parodise, you’ll need to defend yourself against Doomy, a Dumy who has changed due to an insane amount of bottled up negative emotions, who will constantly be throwing objects at you. To do this, you’ll need to swipe on either the left, right, or both sides of Dumy-667, slicing each of these objects in two with your swords, but waiting until they get as close to your body as you can. Each object you successfully slice will add to your Soul Absorber, which, when full, will let you perform a super slash move that slices all the objects on the screen. Each time you get hit, you’ll loose one of two flames burning on the Holy Fire Defense System. Loose both flames and get hit again, and you’ll have to replay the level, but if you loose a flame, then slice an object, adding to your Soul Absorber, it will re-light the flame. Starting to sound confusing? Just wait until you really get into the story. Along with the Story Mode, there’s also a DOJO Mode, Hardcore Mode, Master Mode, and Panties Mode, each of which is unlocked by completing certain objectives in the previous Mode, thought these can be pretty challenging, and time consuming to unlock, once you do, it adds endless replayabilty to the game.
The graphics in Parodise are done in a nice and polished cartoony theme, with pretty interesting environments. The animations for all of the objects are done very well, adding loads of personality to the game, and everything in it. The music and effects give the game that real casual type feeling, and placed on top of the action filled gameplay actually fits perfectly with the game. This casual game with a deep, humorous, and profound story.
GameCenter is supported, with 63 achievements, and 4 leader boards, one for each of the unlockable Modes. There’s not a whole lot of replay value in the Story Mode, but with 4 endless Modes, there’s plenty to replay. Parodise is $1.99, and Universal, and right now is on sale for $0.99. This has quickly become one of my personal favorite casual games, and is so easy to recommend to everyone, hardcore gamers to casual gamers, this game will satisfy you in ways you never thought a casual game could. It’s addictive, funny, serious, challenging, and after the first couple days and little bit of story, you’ll start feeling for Dumy-667, feeling bad for him, rooting for him, and wondering what the hell is going on, all at the same time. This is one game no one should miss out on. Parogames has shown us with their first iOS release, that they are in this for the long haul, and are willing to put more work into their game than almost every other casual game developer.
