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Think of all the cliche alien movies you have seen this year. About 100% of them have huge Michael Bay- esque explosions and  awesome futuristic weapons.  Alpha Balls also has to do with an alien invasion but fortunately does away with all the over used explosions so common in main stream media.
When you first start up the game you are brought to a menu screen where you have a few different options.  You can check out the gamecenter leaderboards and see how your friends are doing, go through the tutorial, and finally start a game.  There is only one game mode; Survival, and it is score based.  You can try to compete for a high score by playing survival for a long time or just play it for fun.
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The main enemy in the game is an alien spacecraft that is trying to destroy the earth.  They’re not using heavy arms or swarms of enemies but are hedging the success of their mission on throwing large balls at our planet and hoping we are obliterated. But dammit were AMERICA we don’t stand for shenanigans like that!  Our awesome and high tech solution is to shoot balls back at their balls so that they are pushed away from our planet, hopefully hitting our annoying neighbors.  The ball shooting device is similar to a tennis serving machine and machine-gun fires the balls right back at them.  In order to shoot you drag your finger on the lower part of the screen in the direction you want to fire.  Keep in mind you have a limited amount  of ammo that replenishes slowly so you really have to be strategic in where and what you shoot of.  Unfortunately that means you cant have extreme firing rampages like in Rambo but that would just make the game too unbalanced. If you tap the screen with 2 fingers a charged shot is released that has more impact power than the regular shots. Using this ability decreases the shot meter by 5 shots which you could have used defending your base. You start off with a shield but that diminishes when it gets hits more than once which leaves no room for error. The game gets really intense later on in survival mode and will have you hooked trying to save your base.
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Overall this is a great physics based shooting game but is a little lacking on content.  More enemy types besides the 2 currently in the game would make the game more strategic as well.  I give it a 4/5 stars.
Info:
Releasing Sept. 1st
Price: 0.99
Devs: Appsolute Entertainment
Note: Pictures will be added once the game is released along with the unreleased video.

Space Trooper USA is a new dual-stick shooter from Bento Studio. From the start menu, after a loading screen which gives you a little bit of background, you’re thrown right into the action where you fight off wave after wave of enemies that get increasingly more difficult as you progress. Meteors crash down onto the asteroid that you’re on in random areas, releasing enemies and one big mother enemy that will keep spitting out a certain number of enemies until you kill it. The further you get into the game, the harder the enemies, and the more meteors crash into the asteroid.

This game is a high-scoring affair from the start, and the scoring system is pretty decent. You can get combos for killing enemies in quick succession, and there’s also power-ups, some of which give you a faster firing rate, or more points for each kill. There is only one mode, and that’s the endless wave mode. There’s also no options available, making this a bare-bones kind of game.

But what is here in Space Trooper USA is an action filled dual-stick gunning rampage with great looking visuals. The game is not supported by retina display, which is pretty upsetting, because the dark and atmospheric asteroid is constantly being destructed by your plasma shots, meteors, and exploding enemies, and reconstructed with a power-up that makes you invincible and restores the asteroid to it’s normal state, and these destruction and reconstruction physics look great, even without HD graphics. The music and effects also add quite a bit to the atmosphere of the game, making it even more intense and dark.

The enemies increase in difficulty as you progress from wave to wave, and there’s a lot of variation with them as well. The artificial intelligence for them isn‘t really anything special, they really just follow you around and go to the point where you‘re standing, but with the rate at which you can kill them, and they‘re spit out of the mother enemies, you will constantly be backed into a pack of enemies by another pack coming right at you. It gives the impression that the aliens are working in packs against you.

The power-ups in ST USA are great, and have quite a bit of variety. There’s 7 different power-ups, each of which are permanent, except for the invincibility/asteroid regeneration upgrade. There’s health, plasma shots, fire rate and speed increases, shot power increases, and score increase power-ups. Each of which effects how you play pretty significantly. Each time you kill a mother enemy, a power-up is dropped, and it will be one of 3 groups of power-ups, which change every couple seconds to a different power-up. Getting to the power-ups before they disappear can prove to be very dangerous later in the game, and grabbing the power-up you want can be even more difficult because you might have to wait until it changes into the power-up you’re trying to get. Bento Studio did a great job with this, as it does add quite a bit of strategy and tactical gameplay to Space Trooper USA.

Controls are your typical dual-stick controls, they are very responsive, and work extremely well. To use a plasma shot, you double tap your right stick, charging the shot, and then aim with the stick, and release to fire, and regeneration of the asteroid is done by holding down on the right stick as well. This lets the game flow really well, and you really don’t need to think about what your fingers are doing while in the heat of battle.

All-n-all, Space Trooper USA is a solid dual-stick shooter that could use some options, more info on the story, and maybe another mode or two, along with an HD graphics update. Though none of this really hurts the game much, they are things which would be great additions for future updates. With the game only being $0.99, it’s well worth the purchase, as a pretty hectic high-score battle has already started on the GameCenter leaderboards. If you’re looking for an intense, dual-stick, action-arcade game, Space Trooper USA will get your heart pounding, and give you hours of great high-scoring entertainment.

I’m giving Space Trooper USA a score of 8/10.

Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/space-trooper-usa/id439890015?mt=8

Waves: Survivor is an endless type game with platformer controls from Renown Entertainment. In it, it’s your job to help Johnny Calm make it as far as he can while in his little boat, collecting coins, and avoiding, jumping on, or smacking enemies, all the while being chased by a huge shark. You’ll also battle huge waves and crazy water movement, sometimes taking on enough water to sink, and be thrown deep under water where you tilt to control your direction, and quickly tap the swim button in the bottom corner to make it back to the surface, and into your boat to travel further.

The graphics in Waves: Survivor are pretty nice, but not retina supported. The controls are nice and responsive, and work very well with the game, and the physics and overall feel of the game is great. Aside from the weird high jumping, the water physics are very nice, and do add to the atmosphere of the game. The sun and moon rising and setting helps as well. Along with the music, the game comes in a very nice neat little package.

GameCenter is not added, so going for high scores doesn’t really drive the game much. However, there are collectibles that you can get while going through the game, which does help. A big part of the game is trying to not take on a bunch of water while waves crash against your boat, and you jump in and out of the water. Tilting your iPod controls the balance of the boat while in the air in in the water, and being able to control the angle of your boat does help with the amount of water you might get in the boat when you land, and while going up and down on the waves. Getting too much water in your boat, shown by a glass bottle around your health meter, thrown you into a mini-game that really disrupts game-play more than enhances it. But that can also mean there’s even more drive not to take on too much water throughout the game.

All-n-all, Waves: Survivor is a decent endless score game with great physics and graphics that could use some polish. But the gameplay really pushes you on, and will have you coming back to the game over and over again. Hopefully, GameCenter or Openfeint will be added in the future so that going for that high-score will drive the replay value up, and bring more players to the game.

I’m giving Waves: Survivor a score of 3/5.

Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/waves-survivor/id393190599?mt=8

Draw Slasher: The Quest is a new side scrolling slice-em-up from Mass Creation. In it, you’ll take the awesome monkey, Hanzo, from Draw Slasher: Dark Ninja Vs. Pirate Monkey Zombies on a quest to defeat the evil demon lord that has attacked your village, and kidnapped your family and master. Along with the Quest Mode, Mass Creation has also included Challenges, Endless Modes, and Online Multiplayer.

Draw Slasher: The Quest is a huge step up from the first Draw Slasher game, giving us a stamina bar under our health bar that drains as we draw slashes on the screen. This allows for more slashes at once, and coupled with a quicker moving Hanzo, really adds to the amount of carnage you can dish out quickly. This makes the gameplay a lot better than the first Draw Slasher game, because if you remember, you could only have one slash on the screen at a time, and Hanzo wasn’t the quickest moving animal out there.

In Quest Mode, you’ll go through 6 stages of bloody mayhem, tracking down the demon that burnt your village and kidnapped your family and friends. Each of the stages has a boss battle, and an ability that you unlock after defeating the boss. These abilities are all upgradeable with experience points that you gain while slicing up monkeys and collecting the red orbs that are randomly spit out of the bodies of your enemies. You can also upgrade your health and stamina bars, each upgrade helping you a little more in your quest to save your loved ones. Mass Creation has also added quite a few new types of zombies. A Chef, slicer monkey, little zombie monkeys, interesting bosses, and ghosts of zombies, each needing different techniques to take out.

The Challenge Mode is filled with 25 different challenges, all unlocked from the moment you start up the game. Not having to finish one challenge to move onto the next is awesome. You’re also able to keep your upgrades from the Quest Mode, making Challenge Mode even more interesting as you progress in the game. Each challenge is different, and will test your slashing skills, and help you master new techniques. Getting 3 stars in each challenge will be quite a task, one that only the most skilled zombie slashers will be able to accomplish.

Survival, or Endless Mode, is set-up just like Dark Ninja Vs. Pirate Monkey Zombies. You’re given 3 options, Tower, Waves, or Hardcore, each having different scoring mechanics, and in Hardcore Mode, you’re given only your base health and stamina, making it extremely difficult. These modes where a great deal of time will be spent after you complete the Quest Mode, especially if you’re interested in climbing online leaderboards, as each mode has it’s own board in GameCenter. Online play is comprised of Survival and Competitive play. Here, finding a match with GameCenter’s Auto-Match can be kind of difficult, as there’s not usually people online waiting to play. But if you have friends on GameCenter who have Draw Slasher: The Quest, playing against them will be loads of fun.

The graphics are awesome. Slicing up the bosses in Quest Mode is pretty graphic, as each final blow is done in a sort of clip mode, where you trace lines on the screen, then watch as blood flies everywhere, and their limbs fall off. Throughout the game, the screen is almost always full of zombies, which means the screen is almost always full of blood and the zombie’s body parts. The animations are also very well done here, adding immensely to the atmosphere of the game. It’s also Universal, meaning retina and HD supported, so you’ll be able to see all the blood and gore the way it’s meant to be seen. Music and effects are pretty much the same from Mass Creations first Draw Slasher game, but I’m not complaining because they fit the game perfectly. The controls are also flawless, making gameplay very simple to understand and master. There’s two control options, a tap setting and virtual buttons, able to be set in the right or left bottom corners. With the Survival and Online Modes, along with 4 online leader boards, and 44 GameCenter achievements, there’s pretty much endless replayability. This is a top notch title easily worth the $3 asking price.

I’m giving Draw Slasher: The Quest a score of 5/5, and can easily strongly recommend it to adventure and action fans. Gamers who loved the first Draw Slasher game will love The Quest even more.

Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/draw-slasher-the-quest/id455087584?mt=8

Mighty Fin is a new arcade game from Launching Pad Games. In it, you’ll control a fish named Fin by tapping to dive, and letting go to fly up in the air. The further you dive down, the higher up in the air you’ll go, all the while collecting bubbles, and costume pieces, while avoiding obstacles, sharks, lobsters, and more. There’s 16 levels that change up each time you play them, meaning that you’ll never play the exact same level twice.

The gameplay is a lot like Tiny Wings, which means that yes, this game is great for everyone, from hardcore gamers to casual gamers, and everyone in-between. With 16 levels, each randomly generated, you also get Survival and Endless Modes with each one of them, meaning that there’s essentially endless replay value with Mighty Fin, and that’s always a great selling point. Each of the levels has scores for bronze, silver and gold medals, and a bubble path for you to try and follow, along with gold bubbles that help boost your score, and 60 different costumes to find and unlock so you can dress Fin up throughout the game.
The graphics in Mighty Fin are outstanding. Very polished, and very cute. Along with great animations for each object and life-form, the whole world of Fin is one that’s very vibrant and colorful, and pops with retina supported devices. The controls are tight and very responsive, and along with the physics, it makes for a game full of great arcade type action and you’ll never experience accidental deaths at the hands of the game.

The endless and survival modes for the beginning of the game can be quite easy, but don’t let that turn you off from the modes, because once you unlock some of the later levels, you’ll have your hands full trying to climb your way up the 24 GameCenter leaderboards. There are, however, no achievements, which is strange, because this game could have quite a few challenges that would be great if added to an achievement list.
The latest update for Mighty Fin was HUGE, doubling the size of the game. This gives me loads of hope for the future of Fin, especially if the developers keep adding content like this. It has certainly become a game that every gamer should have, joining the ranks of Angry Birds, Tiny Wings, Cut The Rope and Fruit Ninja, which is quite the achievement for any company. Being Universal, priced only at a buck, and full of content and endless replayability, it’s definitely worth more than you’ll pay for it.

I’m giving Mighty Fin a score of 5/5, and it’s really a game that’s recommended to everyone.

Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mighty-fin/id434539624?mt=8

Zen Wars is based off a old arcade classic called Rampart which featured multi-phase tower defense gameplay. There are 3 different phases to every one turn you get in the game regardless of the mode.  The first, the combat stage is where the player has about 15 seconds to fire on the opposing forces defenses and troops. Then you can rebuild your ramparts and walls to beef up your derisory.  The final stage is where you can place down cannons in the available enclosed space.  Now the catch is that you cant just put your defenses down wherever you want you have different shapes that are offered up each rebuilding period that you have to fit together to encircle your fortress. In your territory you can have up to three fortress which one of which you have to have completely encircled.
The game comes packed with 3 different modes including a campaign mode.  In the campaign mode you are put in the middle of  certain scenarios that you have to overcome.  Then in the survival mode 4 of those levels in the main campaign are available for unlimited play.  Then comes the coup de grace the multiplayer mode.  A total of 3 players can battle it up over Gamecenter trying to be the last one standing. A interesting feature is that voice chat is included so you can chat with people and make alliances in order to get farther in the round. For example if you want to win a round you can team up with another guy so your chances of winning are improved.  Then after hes dead and out you can disband from the team and test your might against your former allie.  Its definitely alot more fun against real people but the campaign mode is still good for practicing and developing your strategy’s for online.
Overall this is a great strategy game that is very fun to play and one of the most in depth strategy games for the ipod platform.  I highly recommend this game, 4.5/5 stars!

Zombie Slaughter is a new swiping action game from Tapkee Games. In it, you will fight wave after wave of zombies. You’re given 3 difficulties, Easy, Medium, and Hard. On Medium and Hard Modes, you’ll need to figure out strategies to take out the hordes of zombies in order to beat the game, but in Easy mode, you can pretty much just learn the movements, and how to play the game without too much of a challenge.
There is no story in the game, and very little environmental change. As you progress through the levels of 3 waves each, the platforms you can jump on will grow, but apart from that, you won’t see much different between the levels. There’s 1 health pick-up for each wave you’ll go through, and once you reach level 2, you’ll be able to pick up a sword and slice away at the zombies for a limited amount of swipes. This lack of story, or extra modes can put some people off of the game, especially since there’s no online leaderboards, achievements, and actually, no scoring system at all.

This lack of content could very well be the downfall of the game. Which is sad, because Tapkee Games has built up a very decent base for a game. The rag doll physics work extremely well with the animations, and gravity + swipe physics of the game, and the random zombie spawning leads to different types of gameplay with each and every game. But it’s plat former aspect also makes me wish that the developer would have added some virtual buttons along with the current swipe controls, and Zombie Slaughter could also use some power-ups and maybe even a shop. If all of this was added, Tapkee Games would have one hell of a game on their hands.
The lack of content can be overlooked by the amazing, addictive, action-filled gameplay, but not for too long. The developer has realized this, and has mentioned on the Touch Arcade Forums that he will be adding more content, different environments, achievements, item-drops and more weapons, as well as an endless mode.

The game, right now, is $0.99, the perfect price for a “let’s check it out” kind of attitude, and it is worth checking out. The developer has given me 5 promo codes to share with our readers, so if you’re slightly interested in the game, and are one of the first to be reading this review, you can try and snag one of ‘em;

3XEMKTR477N9

NHN4H3A7LF4W
6EP4LTPN4WJY
HHAWTRXWXATK
NTJ6YT9HR4TX

I am looking forward to future updates, and hope that this game gets more content. As it is now, I’m going to give it a rating of 2.5/5, but it has the potential to be a 4 or even 5 star game if the developer keeps working on it like he’s promised. Here’s hoping this game doesn’t fall into the huge bundle of games that have been forgotten by developers over the years.

Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zombie-slaughter/id457408130?mt=8

Carrot War is a new, and pretty original, line-drawing action game for the iOS by Sphinx Entertainment. As this is their first game in the AppStore, they’re up against some pretty high-profile companies in the genre, but this isn’t your typical line-drawing game. In Carrot War, you play as a rabbit who’s home-planet was invaded by aliens who came to take all your precious carrots. You’re the last hope of a dwindling civilization, armed only with a magic pen. The Rabbit Planet is counting on you to get the carrots back, and withstand the alien invasion.

The graphics in Carrot War are great. Showing the true professionalism of Sphinx Entertainment. Very smooth and flowing animations, along with nice explosion effects and great scrolling backgrounds are retina display supported, so you can experience all the beauty the way it’s meant to be seen. The controls are very tight and responsive, which is very important in a line drawing game, but I haven’t once died because I was busy fighting with the controls, or trying to get something just right. There’s enough give in the game that if you die, it’ll be because you weren’t quick enough. Which brings me to the gameplay.

In Carrot War, your goal is to make it to the end of the level without loosing your 3 lives. If you’re going for a 3 star performance, you won’t want to loose one. You’re also graded on how many carrots you collect and how many enemies you kill. To kill enemies, you’re required to do different things for each of them. Most can be eliminated by connecting a line between the two or more stars that are floating around them. For instance, if there’s just two stars around an enemy, you draw a line from one star to the other, going through the enemy, then it blows up. If there’s three, you can draw a triangle, or a circle, so long as it goes through each of the three stars. If there’s 4 stars, you’d draw a square. Killing more than one enemy at a time is pretty easy, because most enemies will stop moving if you place your finger on one of their stars, causing them to overlap each other, and making killing huge numbers of enemies a little easier. There’s also enemies that can shoot at you, and in order to kill them, you draw a line from the projectile they shoot, back to their ship, there’s bullets you can bounce off of lines, and much more. How long your line can be depends on how much ink you have in your pen, but this refills very quickly after using it, so you’ll never be stuck waiting for the pen to reload. To avoid being hit, you can place your finger on your character and move him around the screen freely as well.

There’s a total of 52 levels spread across 5 different worlds, each unlocking when you beat the boss at the end. There is quite a bit of difficulty within the game, as keeping up with the different enemies on the screen can get pretty hectic, but it’s never frustratingly difficult. In a game with only one difficulty, finding the right mesh between easy and hard is never easy, but Sphinx Entertainment has done a great job here, making a game that gamers from casual to hardcore can play and enjoy. There’s also an IAP purchase which gives you 3 extra lives per level, and 2 extra pens full of ink, so if you do find the game too hard, you can make it easier for $0.99.

GameCenter and OpenFeint leaderboards, and 12 achievements are included, and added with the 3 star rankings on levels, do help add to the replayability and challenge of the game. It’s got smooth graphics, great gameplay, and music and effects that fit right in with the experience, but I would love to see some power-ups, or maybe upgrades in the future. It seems to be all that this game is missing. I’m giving Carrot War 4.5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended to action and line drawing fans. It is $2.99, but right now it’s on sale for $0.99, so pick it up before the price goes back up! If you do miss the sale, you can rest assured that this game is worth at least $2.99, and it will be spending quite a bit of time on my iPod.

Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/carrot-war/id453936519?mt=8

Destroy Gunners SP is a new mech game by Shade Inc. First off, yes, it is kind of pricy for an AppStore game, but hopefully this review will help you decide if it’s up your ally or not. Shade Inc. is no stranger to the video game scene, having made The Granstream Saga, Orphen: Scion of Sorcery, Onslaught, and more, they know what it takes to make a great action game. But having worked primarily on console games, the question still remains, do they have what it takes to make a great mobile game? After playing the lite version of Destroy Gunners, I was convinced that they could make a game that controls well, but it seemed a little mindless and there wasn’t much customization available. With the full version though, you get enhanced graphics, missions, more environments, and tons more customization, along with a couple more mechs to unlock and obtain in the store. But I will be comparing between the lite and full version quite a bit throughout this review, because let’s face it, for $9, most of you are going to be checking out the lite version before you buy the full.

The goal of the game is to go through the levels collecting upgrades and weapons, blowing up enemies, and killing bosses. You control your character by using a joystick in the left corner, and using left and right buttons in the right corner to turn your point of view, and flip your mech around. To fire, you place your finger directly on the middle of the screen, dragging around with the crosshairs slightly above your thumb. You’re also given a jetpack button which lets you reach higher areas of the levels, and touching on the gun select button brings up your equipped weapons. You can change between pausing the game when you press on the weapon select button, or keep the action going in the options menu. Between the lite and full versions, control isn’t really different, so you can get a pretty good idea of how it works by checking out the lite. It actually works extremely well on a touch screen, which surprised me quite a bit.

The missions in the full version range from collecting upgrades, to killing bosses and killing a certain amount of enemies in a given amount of time, and more, but it does stay fresh through each of the levels, and upgrading your mech with new abilities, defenses, and weapons will definitely keep you going through each mission. Enemies drop ammo, health upgrades, and components, which are turned in at the end of the stage, or at death, and can be equipped in the customize section. The components consist of new weapons, defense upgrades, attack upgrades, and special abilities like power recovery and increase component drop rate upgrades. You’re able to equip 6 of these components at a time, and goes up with each unlocked mech, so switching out and checking out what you’ve recently picked up between stages is a pretty big part of making it through the game. In the lite version, your upgrades are picked up on the battlefield, and automatically equipped, but you only get certain weapon and HP upgrades, so the customization between the lite and full versions is extremely different, and a lot more customizable in the full version. Also, in the lite version, you are not given missions, you just end up going through the levels, blowing up enemies, and taking out the same boss at the end of the two environments they give you.

The graphics in the full version are better than in the lite version, unless you’re running the game on an older device, in which case, you’ll probably have to select lower graphics in the options menu in order to get the game to play smoothly. But the graphics on full graphics mode are great. The environments really stick out, textures look great, and the explosion animations are better, along with better smoke trails on your missiles, and the like. They are impressive graphics to have on a mobile device, and the atmospheres really give you something to sink your teeth, or eyes, into. All of the animations and movement are very smooth as well, giving you awesome eye candy.

There’s loads of challenge, especially since you can select the difficulty in the options menu, so the game will keep you busy and your heart pounding most of the time. OpenFeint leaderboards and achivements are also included and do help add to the replayability quite a bit. Music and effects are top notch as well, adding to the feel and general aesthetic of the entire game. To make a long story short, you will be getting your moneys worth if you decide to buy Destroy Gunners SP, and Shade Inc. has definitely thrown down the gauntlet in terms of mech gameplay on mobile devices, though some might find it repetitive and mundane after a while, since the only real drive is grinding to collect more gear to equip on your mech, and rising up the leader boards. There‘s no story, or any sort of plot to follow, and that would have really been a very welcome addition to the game. But if you are a fan of mech attack action games, this is the best you’ll get on a mobile device, and $8.99 will be money well spent considering how much gameplay and content is included, and how good it looks and plays. I’m giving Destroy Gunners SP 4.5 out of 5 stars, with an exception; if you don’t care about story, or plot, this is a 5 out of 5 star game, controlling extremely well, looking beautiful, and packing loads of challenge. If a story or plot is essential for you to enjoy a game, you might not care for Destroy Gunners SP. But I’m certainly glad I picked it up, and it will never be deleted from my device.

Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/destroy-gunners-sp/id453434062?mt=8

Fatcat Rush is a new side-scrolling runner game from Tomodomo Oy. It’s his first game in the AppStore, and like many of the previous first publishers I’ve reviewed lately, he shows hardly any signs of being a newcomer to the scene. In the game, you play as Tombo, a cat who lives on the peak of a huge tower. Every week his favorite food is shipped to him by a hot-air balloon. But this week, the balloon carrying his delivery was struck by lightning, flinging his food all throughout the pathways of the tower. With his stomach grumbling, he decides to go after it all, making sure to hurry before the food spoils.

There’s 15 levels in Fatcat Rush, each with different environmental hazards. The level scrolls, and spins around, while you climb up the pathways further up the tower. There’s food littering the paths, and some shortcuts full of extra food hidden along the way, so keeping an eye open for kind of harder to reach paths usually pays off. You’re given 3 hearts for each stage, and crashing into a part of the terrain, or an obsticle will bring you down a peg. There’s different kinds of food all over the place, some giving more points than others, for instance; Whipped Cream Taco’s give you 1 point, while PizzaBurgers give you 10, and Ketchup Lollipops give you 3.

There’s also Health Shakes which give you a heart, but you can never have more than 3 hit points at any given time. Fish are all over the place, in a bright blue circle, and impossible to miss. Each one adds to your speed/score multiplier and boost meter, which gradually decreases over time. Running into objects drops your multiplier as well. This means that the more fish you collect in a level, the higher your multiplier will be, and the bigger your final score will end up being.

The controls in Fatcat Rush are simple, and work very well within the game. You have a button for jumping, and a button for dashing while you’re on the ground, and kicking while you’re in the air. Dashing on the ground helps you break open crates that are hiding food, fish, and shakes, but you need to be careful with your timing, because running into one of these crates causes you to loose a heart. While you’re in the air, pressing the dash button makes you dash kick, this is very useful for long jumping, reaching harder to reach places, shortcuts, and long strands of food only accessible by jump kicking.

The graphics are great. Smooth and professional, and the environments are very colorful and vibrant. The user interface is great, very clear, and easy to navigate, as well as the HUD during gameplay. You have your 3 hearts in the top left corner, your level progress in the middle, and then your score. Underneath your score is your speed multiplier, and boost meter, going down the right side of the screen, then your jump button on the bottom left, and dash/kick button on the bottom right, with the pause button in-between the two. The physics are great, not too floaty, and never feeling weighed down, coupled with the speed and flow of the game, it plays wonderfully. The music and effects also fit in the game nicely, and add to the atmosphere and overall feel of the game.

There are no leaderboards for Fatcat Rush, which is a shame, because there’s great scoring mechanics, and it would add a whole lot to the replayability of the game. There are however, in-game achievements, 15 to be exact, along with 4 different outfits you can unlock, including one that makes you look like Mario. This does help add to drive the game, and help with the replayability, but once you get them all unlocked, you might loose a lot of the drive you once had to play. The game is very well done, very cute, and really is a blast to play. Great level design, and wonderful controls and physics, along with great scoring does make it a game that you will want to play through completely. But it does need a little more to make you want to keep it on your device for any extended period of time, an endless or survival mode would go a very long way. It is a very well made game, and the way it’s going now, will end up being one of my favorite runners, especially if the developers end up adding another mode, and online leaderboards. For $1.99, it’s a great deal, and definitely a game you should pick up if you’re a fan of the genre, or cats.

Fatcat Rush gets 4 out of 5 stars from me.

Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fatcat-rush/id457251993?mt=8