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Brainsss (Lonely Few LLC) – $2.99

As the surprisingly long list of strategy games that are available in the AppStore keeps increasing, fans of the genre are in heaven. Strategy games are one of the few genres that completely and totally feel like they iDevice was specifically made for them. The latest Strategy title to hit my device is Brainss, developed by Lonely Few LLC. A game in which you run around a city hunting down humans and turning them into zombies. 
Right off the bat, there are a couple of things that bug me about Brainsss. You can’t zoom in or out. That’s right, there’s no pinch to zoom, which can be a real hassle, especially when you’re trying to control more than one group of zombies. There’s also no way to assign zombies to a specific group. So every time you want to move a zombie, or a group of zombies, it either needs to already be selected, or you’ll need to reselect it. This, coupled with no zooming out, means you can’t corner a group of humans by moving half of your zombies to one side of a building and then moving another group to the other side without having to select the first group, move them, then pan and scroll over to the other group, make sure that they’re selected, and then scroll back to where you want them to end up, and just hope that the first group didn’t drive away the humans already so that you can tap where you want your second group to go. Confusing? Yeah, confusing, and frustrating. Especially when every other RTS game has an easy select for groups of troops, and zooming in and out, and that’s what you’re use to having at your disposal while playing. 
Aside from those couple of issues, Brainsss still is fairly fun to play. The action is fast, and so long as you’re fine with moving around one huge group of zombies around the maps, and don’t care about the time limit, getting 3 stars in a level, or earning achievements, there’s some fun to be had here.
Right now, there are 5 Phases (or worlds) to play through, each having 4 different levels except for Phase 1, which has 5 and is the Tutorial Phase. Each level has an objective that you’ll need to complete in order to progress. These range from turning all humans into zombies, or finding a certain type of human, like a policeman, or scientist, and turning him into a zombie, to stopping humans from reaching a helicopter, or getting a zombie to a specific zone on the map. 
Unlike other RTS titles, there are no resources to be found and used, no skirmish mode, and no online multiplayer. You might want to call it a ‘RTS Lite’. And actually, as it plays right now, it’s more like an action game because it’s so difficult to use separate groups of zombies to pin down humans, and really go for achievements. However, if these issues are addressed, this could turn into a very nice strategy game. One that’s very fast moving, and will challenge you quite a bit, especially if you’re going to go for 3 stars, and going to try and snag all 70 (yes, that’s right, a whopping SEVENTY) achievements. 
With the game being Universal, supporting the iPad 3 Retina display, having fantastic graphics, and great comic strips that you can unlock as you progress through the levels, as well as the promise of new levels released “each week”, $2.99 isn’t a bad price at all. I just hope that the developers include some of these features that are typical of most strategy games in one of their soon to come updates. 
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May 5, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Tentacle Wars HD (FDG Entertainment) – $2.99

Strategy titles have found a new home, it seems, on the touch screen of the iDevice. More and more real time, turn based, and 4X strategy titles, along with board games are finding their way into the AppStore, taking full advantage of the multitouch screen. FDG has brought Tentacle Wars, the Flash game available from Lumarama, to the iPad, and it feels like the game was specifically made to be played on the touch screen platform. 
Tentacle Wars looks a lot like a Galcon clone on the surface, but once you get into it, the depth starts to show. You’ll need to take control of cells inside an infected alien organism by branching out, and using tentacles to connect from cell to cell. Each cell that you have control of is only allowed a certain number of tentacles, so deciding which cells to attach to is very important. 
To connect to another cell, you need to make sure you have enough energy in your starting cell. Each link in your tentacle requires energy, so if you don’t have enough, you won’t be able to make a tentacle long enough to connect. Once you do connect, depending on your situation, you can either sit there and feed energy into the cell, or cut your tentacle and send all of the links, and their energy into the cell, which is much quicker. 
Connecting to an enemy cell will start feeding energy into it right away. If you have enough links and the enemy cell is low enough on energy, you can cut the tentacle, and send all of the links into the cell, taking it over. If the enemy cell has enough energy to make a tentacle, it will almost always battle it out by sending a tentacle back towards you. This sends half of your tentacle back to your cell, and you’ll send energy through the tentacle until either cell runs out of energy. The cell left wins, and gets both cells. To complete each mission, you will need to form a strategy and pull it off fairly quickly, or else you’ll be overrun by the invading cell in no time. You should be able to complete each mission with plenty of time left. If you’re cutting it close, chances are you should rethink your strategy. As you progress through the game, you’ll come across different enemies which are more intelligent, but the rise in difficulty is handled very well. There are no crazy difficulty spikes. 
Throughout the 40 campaign missions, there are some stages with empty cells that you’ll be fighting to take over, barriers blocking your way so that you can’t connect directly with another cell, and multiple infections fighting for control of the area. Each mission has a 3 star rating system based on how much energy you have at the end of the stage, and how quickly you complete the mission. The number of swipes you make is listed as well, but has no effect on how many stars you receive. 
There are two organisms to try and save, each having 20 missions. The mission selection screen shows a path of cells, with some branching off to other areas. This opens up two or three different missions, so if you’re having trouble with one mission, you almost always have the option to play others, and come back to missions you’re having a hard time with later on.  
There’s also a Multiplayer Mode, which matches you up through GameCenter, and has you battle over an arena. It’s just like completing a mission level, with the objective being to take over all of the enemy’s cells. I was really surprised at how many people were playing online. It only took between 5 and 10 seconds to be matched up every time I went looking for a match. 
The controls in Tentacle Wars are flawless. To connect two cells, you just draw a path from one to the other. Tentacles are cut by swiping a line through them, and will be cut right where you swipe. Since those are the only controls you have, keeping an eye on all of the cells, and quickly deciding what to do next is never hindered by imprecise or unresponsive controls. 
To further draw you in, the graphics, animations, and environments are fantastic. Graphics wise, it does look a lot like Galcon, but under the cells, there’s a black and white background with various moving cells and other objects, which definitely gives the feeling of being deep inside an organism. Completing the atmosphere is the music. Taken from www.strategicmusic.com, it’s some of the best background music I’ve heard in an iOS game, and fits perfectly with the game’s graphics and feeling. 
Tentacle Wars is only available for the iPad, but FDG is working on making an iPhone version as well. Priced at $2.99, having a great challenging campaign mode, with more organisms to save coming in future updates, and a multiplayer mode that gives the game endless replay value, it’s a great buy for fans of strategy games. There’s also GameCenter support with two leader boards, one for your total campaign score, and another for the total number of multiplayer wins, and 11 achievements most of which having to do with multiplayer battles. This also offers up quite a bit of replay value even if you’re not too keen on playing online. FDG has done a wonderful job porting this flash game to the iOS. I’m pretty excited to get into the future levels, and sink more time into the multiplayer battles. Tentacle Wars is definitely a game that will be staying on my iPad for a long, long time.
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April 20, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

‘Beat Sneak Bandit’ Review



It’s rhythm! No, it’s puzzle! Actually, it’s both: Rhythm
AND puzzle! Simogo’s Beat Sneak Bandit is a rhythm puzzle game where you
attempt to sneak your away around police officers, spotlights, and vacuums and
you attempt to save the city from a terrible misfortune brought by Sir Duke.

Gameplay

The core of Beak Sneak Bandit’s gameplay lies in its simple
one-tap control. You tap to move, turn around if you’re facing a wall, and
climb stairs. With that, every level is presented as a puzzle, with obstacles
such as police officers who cause you to fail if they see you, moving
platforms, and buttons that open or close walls (which works both ways, because
the wall allows you to turn around). As you move around, you attempt to collect 4
clocks as well as reach a final 5th clock. Basically, it’s your
classic 3-star level, but with 4 now. At the very heart, Beat Sneak Bandit is a
basic puzzle game, however, when you add the rhythm element into the genre, it
becomes a totally new game; it’s now a music puzzler. What’s fascinating is
that the focus is not on a person’s ability to perform rhythms; the time
signature is in 4/4, and you simply tap on one of the four quarter note beats
to move. Instead, the game is about your ability to observe patterns in the
level. As every obstacle makes a noise when they perform an action, you put
your auditory skills and combine them with your visual skills to plan out your
action, and these two elements blend perfectly. I cannot say how much joy I’ve
gotten out of this game; it’s not just how fun it is, but how utterly creative
it’s core element is; I’ve never seen it done before and it just works
splendidly.
As a music aficionado, you can say that I may favor music
games, but I can always easily find any flaws within the game. I can say with
confidence that there are none to be found. However, those that do have trouble
with rhythm may find the difficulty to be high, but I personally found the
overall game to have a nice difficulty curve.

Presentation

Beat Sneak Bandit presents itself in a charming, funky sort
of way, loaded with personality. I do have some minor complaints about the
level select system, as you need to scroll through levels instead of simply
picking one. Overall though, the game executes itself extremely well and is a
refined piece of art. I can honestly say, it’s games like these that make me
appreciate videogames as art.
Graphics

Flows well, no lag or crashing, and the artwork is nice and
bright. It’s everything you could ask for. I don’t need to say anymore.

Sound

Oddly enough, as a music game, the music soundtrack isn’t as
amazing as I thought it would be. With that said, there is nothing wrong with
the funk and jazz tracks that it brings, as well as the noticeable music cues
to aid your timing in the game; it’s still a strong element.
Replay

Beak Sneak Bandit offers 40 core levels, 16 shadow levels,
12 remix levels, and 1 boss level, for a grand total of 69 levels. Considering
how each level might take a few tries to learn the pattern, you’ll be spending
a decent amount of time trying to figure out how to 4-clock every level. It’s a
game that will last you a decent amount of time, and if you’re still not done,
then go for the achievements from Game Center.
Conclusion

Unless you’re continuously had dreadful experiences with any
type of music or rhythm game, you’ll find Beat Sneak Bandit an immersive and
unique experience. You’re not simply playing the game, but when you play, you’ll
have immense appreciation for the game. And that’s why I can say with full confidence,
Beat Sneak Bandit will be a top contender for Game of the Year.

Gameplay: 5/5

Presentation: 5/5

Graphics: 5/5

Sound: 4/5

Replay: 4/5

Overall: 5/5





Beat Sneak Bandit on iTunes



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February 20, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >