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Zombie Bunnies – 0.99 (Lavafish Studios/Coding Design)

Squirmee and the Puzzling Tree was one of my favorite puzzle games from last year. Lavafish Studios did a fantastic job with the mechanics, graphics, gameplay, and bringing a totally new and original title to the iOS. Not only did they bring a fantastic game to the iDevice, but also sent out update after update making the game better each and every time, and doing this while sales suffered. Well now Lavafish has just released their second iOS title, Zombie Bunnies, and as was with Squirmee, this one is completely original, and extremely polished, with loads of fun gameplay.
Gameplay: 5/5
In Zombie Bunnies you’re given a list of 5 objectives which you must complete all of in order to move on to the next set. These objectives are typical of games set up in this fashion, with Destroy 20 Vehicles, Collect 100 Bunnies, Reach Threat Level 5, Unlock Franky Bunny, and so on. You’ll need to blast away, hitting people, cars, buildings, birds, trees, and more, all of which add to your threat bar. Once you fill up this bar, you’ll progress to the next threat level. As you’re doing this, your health will be slowly depleting, and you’ll need to collect the energy , as well as ammo (bunny) pickups that are given and scattered randomly throughout the game. As you keep progressing, you’ll be able to unlock more bunnies, which also gives you more gun types. The second bunny you’ll get will give you a weapon that shoots zombie rabbits that comp off people’s heads. The third bunny drops bombs, and the last bunny shoots big meteors that can take out buildings and vehicles very easily. You’ll learn fairly quickly that in the later levels, switching between these types of guns will be necessary to climb up the leaderboards, complete achievements, and get through all 99 of the Threat Levels. Also, as you reach Threat Levels (every 5), you are able to start from that point in future games, which means you can be thrown right into the action, jumping ahead of all the boring easy levels as your skill increases.
Controls: 5/5
The controls work very well within the game, with the left half of the screen for movement, and buttons on the right side for switching your gun, and firing the projectiles. For movement, all you need to do is either drag your finger slightly, and then keep holding down, or roll your finger around. It might sound like it wouldn’t work well, but here, it works great. Actually, after playing for about 10 minutes, I couldn’t imagine there being a virtual joystick for movement, as it would cover lots of the action on the bottom left side.
Graphics: 4/5
The environment which you’ll be playing in does not change much. There’s trees, loads of buildings, and even more people. But the graphic style of the game is great, and the animations are fantastic, especially for when people’s heads are eaten, and they fall to the ground. The character models for the bunnies you’re able to control are all great, and as you move on in the game, more and more enemies are added to the mayhem, each having very distinct outfits and looks, making them easy to tell apart.
Overall: 9.5/10
Lavafish Studios has done a fantastic job making a casual arcade game that gets progressively harder, building up to a difficulty that will keep even the most hardcore action fans challenged. With GameCenter leaderboards for highest score, total number of people killed, and furthest distance, along with 32 achievements, and only being $0.99, it’s a great buy that will offer up hours of entertainment, and depending on whether or not you’re a high-score chaser, Zombie Bunnies might just end up staying on your device for months.
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January 31, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Definitely Over 9000 – SCB iOS

So, I’m sure all of you guys and girls are having a lovely time with the brand new Super Crate Box for iOS.  As you know, Vlambeer said that a content update would be on its way if the global crate count broke 5 million. Well, it has been a mere 2 days since the launch of Super Crate Box on the App Store, and despite the fact that SCB missed the Game of the Week feature, over 7 million crates have already been collected. Yes, over 7 MILLION. You don’t even need to know calculus, or math for that matter, to figure out that that is a LOT of crates. (And yes, it is over 9,000).
A picture is worth a thousand words. Don’t be ashamed if your asplodes when you see the number.

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January 6, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Ice Wings: Skies of Steel (MF3D)


There is no shortage of endless games on the App Store, and there is only one reason for this. THEY ARE FUN.  These days there are so many games appearing on the App Store that it is easy for hidden gems to drift by without a sound.  A new gem that should not be passed up is Ice Wings: Skies of Steel by MassiveFun3D. This newest addition to the App Store brings great visuals, an epic soundtrack, and frantic flying action together in an awesome endless arcade shooter.
The visual appeal of Ice Wings is definitely what caught my eye first. Cool and clean is one way to describe it. The color-scheme and building style really creates the feeling of being in a war-torn environment. Now, this is not to say that the graphics are perfect though.  The textures are a bit rough at the edges, and when you get up to speed some of the enemies look almost 2D. To go along with the visuals, the soundtrack of the game is nothing short of epic. You know the sort of music that you hear in the Call of Duty series that always puts you in the mood for shooting stuff? The best way to describe the music in the game is a mix between CoD and Top-Gun style. This really goes to create an awesome experience while you are playing, and for that I think the composer (Dave Dexter) deserves a big applause.
Moving on to the controls, Ice Wings utilizes a simplistic control scheme. A fixed shoot button (you can place this on the right or left side), finger dragging to move the plane left or right, and an upward swipe to dodge vertically.  My first few minutes playing the game were very frustrating as it took maybe 7 or 8 tries just to get past the first obstacle! Over at the TouchArcade forums, others have had the same trouble, but this is just a matter of getting used to the timing. Your plane is constantly speeding up, so in the beginning you have to wait until you are right up against the obstacle before dodging, whereas later on you have to dodge much earlier. In terms of obstacles, there is a variety ranging from train overpasses, to helicopters and cranes, and some more crazy ones like giant spinning blades and gates that slam shut with a tiny hole to pass through.  When you get going really fast, it becomes really difficult to see the obstacles coming, so you pretty much have to depend on luck. But hey, that’s the name of endless games isn’t it.

There are incentives to keep flying and crashing as well.  When you shoot down enemies you gain stars. These stars act as in-game credits to unlock new planes. Currently there are 4 planes total. The planes each have different stats in areas like acceleration, weight, and damage. This is what will keep you playing the game, and the developers will be bringing more planes in the future.
Speaking of future updates, the first update to the game is currently in the works. This will bring updated controls and hopefully some more customization. Some features that we hope to see in later updates are more obstacles (ie. some that you need to fly underneath), more maps, of course more planes.
This game is everything you could ask for from an endless game. It is nearly non-stop action, it has great visual appeal, it has an epic soundtrack, and it is from an indie developer. All of these are perfect reasons for you to get this game. It is highly recommended from me, and let’s hope that we will see updates galore in the future. Check out the launch trailer after the score:



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December 24, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Sleepy Jack – 0.99 [Launch Sale Price] (Silvertree Media)

Silvertree Media’s first iOS release, Cordy, made quite an impression on gamers with it’s fantastic graphics, animations, music and gameplay. However, those who loved Cordy might end up wondering why Silvertree decided to take their second release, Sleepy Jack, in a more casual direction with the gameplay. Sleepy Jack feels more like a Disney’d-up Tunnel Shoot than anything else, having your character go through stages collecting orbs, shooting enemies and objects trying to block your path, and trying to beat level times. Not to say that Sleepy Jack isn’t worth playing, or that if you’ve got plenty of tunnel shooters, that you’re not missing anything if you skip on it, because it does offer up some very top notch gameplay, but those of you who were hoping for something a little more creative based on your experience with Cordy will most likely be disappointed at first.

Sleepy Jack puts you inside the dreams of Jack, the kid who owns the toy, Cordy. Each night, you’ll control Jack as he flies through 40 levels, split up across 4 different worlds. Each level has a 3 star ranking system, with one star for completion, one for collecting a certain amount of the level’s orbs, and another for beating the level’s par time. There are 3 different control schemes, one having virtual buttons for movement, using a double tap to make Jack do a barrel roll, one where you can hold on the left or right side of the screen for which direction you want Jack to move, and then swiping in the gameplay area to get him to perform a barrel roll, and tilt controls, which also give you two buttons, one on each side for the direction you would like Jack to do a barrel roll in. While you’re going through the stages, you’ll sometimes be able to fire projectiles. This is done automatically when your fingers are on the screen with the two touch screen controls. For the tilt controls, you’ll need to tap on the screen when you want to shoot. All three control options fit the game very well. In fact, I’m having a hard time finding out which control scheme I prefer, they are all put together that well.
As for the graphics and animations, well, they have that same Cordy look and feel to them, which is not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination. Silvertree has done an outstanding job with the graphics in Sleepy Jack, giving the whole game a real dreamy look. Each of the 4 different worlds looks very different. In the first world, it looks more like you’re flying through the sky, and space, with clouds, asteroids, and stars all around you, while in the second world, it looks like you’re flying through a huge hole in the ground with dirt everywhere, along with shrubs, bushes, cactus, and huge rocks, and some levels have you flying high above the desert, looking down on everything. There is a lot of detail in the graphics, especially considering it’s a tunnel shooter game, and you’re flying by everything fairly quickly, Silvertree has done an amazing job making everything very polished. In fact, Sleepy Jack is one of the more beautiful games I’ve had the pleasure of playing on my iDevice. In the game’s iTunes description, it says that the graphics are ‘console quality’, though I’m sure most gamers with an XBOX 360 or PS3 would disagree, it would fit very well with other Wii games.
It would be great to see some additional modes added in the future, as tunnel racers are generally known for having more than one mode. Maybe a zen mode, where you didn’t have to worry about any obsticles or enemies, and could just zone out to the amazingly beautiful graphics, or a full on chaos mode where some of the harder enemy battles were thrown at you in waves, and you survived as long as you could with one life. There’s loads of possibilities when it comes to secondary modes in a tunnel racer game. It would also be great to see some unlockable characters, maybe be able to play with Cordy, and other toys that Jack owns. Even though there is a high replay value with the game already, it would just be nice to have some more variety with the gameplay.
Right now, Sleepy Jack is priced at it’s launch sale price, $0.99, which, even during December, is a fantastic price for this high-quality game. Yes, it is a tunnel racer, yes tunnel racers are not known for their deep gameplay, but once you look past the genre it’s in, and actually start playing it, and progressing through the game, you really start to see how much depth there really is. On top of the 3 star rankings for each level, which provide tons of replay value, there are 3 different difficulties (which also makes the game more accessible to younger gamers, as well as hardcore players), and Game Center + OpenFeint integration. Within GameCenter, there are leaderboards for the first 30 levels, as well as an Overall Score board, and OpenFeint has a board for every level, as well as an Overall Score leaderboard, along with both having 44 achievements. Silvertree Media can add their second title, Sleepy Jack, to that list of top notch, high quality, amazingly beautiful games that they started on with Cordy. I can’t wait to see what they’ll bring us in the future.
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December 22, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Bulkypix and FireFruitForge’s retro platformer, Terra Noctis hits the AppStore tonight!

–=TERRA NOCTIS=–
Last week, we posted an announcement for developer, FireFruitForge’s title, Terra Noctis (being published by Bulkypix). If you didn’t have a chance to read the announcement, you can here. Terra Noctis is a retro-inspired platformer, influenced by the likes of Super Mario Brothers, and Donkey Kong, and has quite a bit of exploration tossed in, which expands the gameplay and level design quite a bit. Well, after obsessing over the game for the last couple of weeks, we’ll finally be able to gush over the game with everyone else.
40 levels spread across 4 worlds, each having 100% completion available. To get it, you’ll need to grab 15 red fairies, which are scattered throughout the levels, the large gold coin, which is almost always hidden in a harder to reach area, and 5 orbs with letters in them, spelling out S-C-A-R-E. You can also track your stats, like how many gold coins you’ve collected, how many enemies you’ve killed, how many fairies you’ve collected, your total distance ran, fallen, and more.
The controls, graphics, physics, animations, level designs, gameplay mechanics, they are all top notch and extremely professional. The story in Terra Noctis is also a high point within the game. The main character, a little nightmare creature named Allen, is attending the local Nightmare School, but with the teachings, he’s still not quite scary enough. Then, after failing a test, he reads a local legend that says “Eat the heart of the scariest nightmare and become a scary nightmare, too.” Here is where his journey begins to become the scariest nightmare in the land.
Terra Noctis will be available tonight at 11PM, EST, and 8PM PST, in the US. It is a Universal app, and is also supported by OpenFeint, as well as having iCade computability. It’s easily one of the best platformers in the AppStore, if not the best, and ranks up there among the best platformers released on all consoles/platforms over the last 25+ years. FireFruitForge has definitely given gamers an exploratory platformer that hits all the right gaming nerves in our little video game obsessed brains. If you’re a fan of the genre, DO NOT let yourself miss out on this amazing game. Even if you’re not a fan of the genre, you should pick this one up, it might just make you a platformer freak.
You can also expect to see The App Shack’s review posted up tomorrow, if you’d like to wait and read some more in-depth information about the game.
You can also get some more info about the game on the FireFruitForge website;
on the Touch Arcade’s Upcoming Games Thread;
TA’s Main Game Thread;
and –
The Bulkypix Webiste;
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December 19, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Funny Hell – 2.99 (Bulkypix + Fazen)

Real time base defense games have generated quite a following in the iOS gaming world. Cartoon Wars was my, and probably a whole lot of other’s, first foray into this genre. Even though there’s not a whole lot of variety throughout the genre, they really seem to sell well, and are almost always fairly addicting. I recently was able to get my hands on Funny Hell, developed by Fazen and published by the ever popular Bulkypix.

Like others in the genre, Funny Hell has you sending out various characters to battle the enemy. However, in Funny Hell, you’re given a mission or two at the beginning of each stage, which does set it slightly apart from other titles. The first 10 of 50 levels, that are split up across 5 different worlds, each leading you closer to the center of ’hell’, and each having an available 3 ‘skull‘ ranking, are set up like tutorial levels, adding another character to the line-up, and getting you acquainted with the enemies, and gameplay in general. Most of these levels are completed when you send out a certain number of characters, or kill a certain amount of enemies. After this, the gameplay picks up fairly quickly, with the first real stage’s mission having you survive for 3 minutes and 30 seconds, which, believe it or not, can prove to be quite the challenge, not often, but sometimes to a frustrating extent. There are more of these mission type levels as you progress throughout the game, having you save up a certain amount of coinage, or kill a certain amount of one type of enemy. It does add some extra strategy behind the already fairly strategic gameplay. Each of your characters has a certain ability, generally either shooting a projectile, or having a strong attack. There are some which both fire projectiles and melee attack, but cost more as well. You will need to go through some trial and error figuring out which enemies require which units to be sent out to ensure the most possible damage is done, but once you figure it out, deciding when on the battle field they should come into contact with each other also becomes part of the strategy. You’re able to build an offensive attacking stone type character on the side of your base, which tosses projectiles out, but only within a certain range. If you’re having trouble with some enemies, sometimes waiting for them to make it down towards your base so that you can also attack with that stone character is the best course of action. It makes for some challenging, and entertaining gameplay.
There is no upgrade store, which is kind of upsetting, but as you progress through the game,
Funny Hell is controlled like most other base defense titles, tapping on the units you want to send out, which are located at the bottom of the screen, and swiping anywhere else on the screen to scroll left and right. There are also coins which pop up randomly as you are battling, and they bounce along the ground, disappearing fairly quickly, and are picked up by tapping on them. This might become a problem for some gamers, because as the coins are bouncing, sometimes in the heat of the moment, you can wind up trying to tap on a coin, and end up tapping on a unit to be sent out since they are directly beneath the bouncing coins, and when it happens, it can be incredibly frustrating.
The graphics and animations are fantastic. Graphics-wise, the game is fairly cartoony, and very vibrant with loads of color. The character and enemy designs are done very well, and fit the extremely vibrant cartoon looking environments to a “T”. The animations for attacking, movement, falling objects, coins bouncing around, death, they’re all fantastic, really adding quite a bit to the entertainment. The BGM that’s included with the game brings it all together to create one hell of a great base defense game.
Funny Hell is definitely a release that deserves it’s $2.99 price tag, and then some. Being universal, and coupled with incredible replay value, emphasized by the addition of GameCenter leaderboards for Coins, Killed Monsters, and Skulls, along with an incredible 60 achievements to try and unlock. There’s quite a bit of challenge here, especially if you go ahead and try and grab 3 skull rankings on each stage. Having missions for each of the stages does bring some originality to the game, which is great to see within the base defense genre. It looks like December is a great month for Bulkypix publications. Fazen has created an extremely polished, and well produced title, and I can’t wait to see what they bring iOS gamers in the future!
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December 17, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Crazy Bomber – 0.99 (Joytouch)

Bomberman is one of my all time favorite games. I can remember staying up all night at my best friends house when I was about 8, taking turns playing Bomberman on the NES. Luckily, buying back bits and pieces of your childhood is extremely easy these days, especially within the AppStore. If you can’t find a game you sunk weeks, months, or even years into as a child, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll be able to find a game almost exactly like it. Here is where JayTouch Network’s game, Crazy Bomber, comes in to play. Though there isn’t a shortage of Bomberman and Bomberman influenced games in the AppStore, it’s definitely not a game that has been cloned to death, and finding a game influenced by an old favorite can sometimes prove to be an extremely great thing as it might include loads of new mechanics and gameplay ideas expanded from the original it’s influenced by.

Starting up Crazy Bomber, there are two different gameplay types; Story Mode, and Battle Mode. Story Mode includes 60 levels spread across 3 different environments; Jungle, Graveyard, Glacier, and then each having a more difficult set of levels, so really, there’s 6 different worlds. Each stage has a 3 star ranking available, and is based on score. Getting 3 stars can be pretty challenging as well, most of the time requiring multiple play-thoughs. There are also 4 different characters you can choose to play with; Vampire, Zombie, Wizard, and Knight, none of which have any special abilities, and are only there for purely aesthetic purposes, but I will admit that it’s nice being able to pick between different characters.
Once you start playing, you’ll notice that it’s basically just like Bomberman, though it also expands on the gameplay. You’ll need to place bombs to destroy enemies and level objects, like trees, shrubs, and boxes. Blowing up these objects, trees, boxes, ect, will almost always provide extra bombs, though there are some speed power-ups and coins scattered throughout as well. At the beginning of each level, you are only able to place one bomb at a time, but as you collect bombs throughout the level, you’ll be able to place two, three, or more bombs at a time. As you collect bombs, the strength of each explosion will increase, making it easier to take out enemies across the screen. You are also able to link bombs together, placing one in the path of another’s explosion causes a domino like effect. As you progress through the game, you’ll come across crate moving puzzles, conveyor belts, and even boss fights at the end of each world.
The Battle Mode is unlockable as you progress through the game, but there is no indication as to what unlocks it. Whether it be how many stars you‘ve collected, or after completing world 3, it will unlock about half-way through the game. Battle Mode is a local ‘multiplayer’ type gameplay mode, putting you against upto 3 other AI opponents. It does add to the gameplay, but feels a bit hollow
There is a shop accessible from the level select screen, which lets you purchase health potions as well as remote detonated bombs, which you can buy with the coins earned in-game. There are no IAPs, which is always nice, so no worries about the game difficulty being geared towards getting more money out of you.
Controls in the game are simple, and work very well. A joystick for movement, a button for placement of a bomb, and health and timed bombs are available along the right side of the screen. The movement is tight and responsive, and bombs snap to position, so placing a bomb exactly where you want is very easy, even when moving around quickly.
The graphics in Crazy Bomber are very polished, with each of the levels having wonderful design. The character models and animations are impressive, as are the explosions of each of the different types of bombs. Movement is extremely smooth, with no lag or drops in frame-rate even with multiple explosions going off at once. It would be nice to see some attack animations for when you run into enemies, instead of just seeing your character flash a bit, but not having any attacking animations for the enemies isn‘t necessarily anything that takes away from the gameplay. The HUD is a little messy. The different types of bombs, as well as how many of them you have, how much gold you’ve got, the number of enemies killed out of how many are in the level, as well as how many trees are left to blow up, your score, the pause button, and a picture of your character above the health are all thrown in along the top of your screen. Being able to tell exactly how many bombs you have can sometimes be frustrating. Aside from this, the amount of detail in the levels, objects like trees, bushes, enemies, and everything else is very professionally done.
For $0.99, Crazy Bomber is a fantastic Bomberman influenced game. There’s plenty of content, loads of replayability with the 3 star rankings, which is increased by the inclusion of the GameCenter leaderboard. However, there are no achievements, which is something I’m sure a lot of gamers would love to see added in the future. One thing that the developers have said is coming in a future update is multiplayer. This is where the game will really take off, as to have a real Bomberman type experience, it’s a feature that is desperately needed. Hopefully it’ll be added soon, but until then, there is plenty of gameplay to keep you busy. Crazy Bomber is definitely a game that Bomberman fans as well as arcade junkies should pick up.
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December 17, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

M.U.S.E. Official Trailer Released!

The awesome upcoming arcade-style, third-person shooter by Lab Rats Studio is launching on December 22nd.  If you haven’t checked out our interview with Lab Rats Studio, be sure to check it out here. Ayopa Games, who will be publishing M.U.S.E., has just released a new trailer. Check it out in full HD.

Our full review of M.U.S.E. will be up within days, so make sure to come back and get all the details about this epic shooter. If you want more info, check out Lab Rats Studios site and Ayopa Games site.  Mark December 22nd on your calendars.

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December 15, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Tap the Bomb – 0.99 (Parogames Limited)

Parogames first release, Parodise, a casual arcade slicer with one hell of a story, completely hooked me from the first time I played it. The amount of work that went into the story, as well as the crazy amount of content, different modes, great graphics, polish, and how insanely fun it was to play made me a fan of the developers very quickly. So when I heard about Parogames second release, Tap the Bomb, I was incredibly excited to check it out.

Tap the Bomb is set-up like Fruit Ninja, except with TtB, you’ll need to avoid the fruit, and tap the bombs. Who woulda thunk it, huh? Bombs and fruits are tossed up, down, and in from the sides of the screen, and it’s up to you to destroy all of the bombs. There are great scoring opportunities, with bonuses for critical hits (perfect hits), multi-tapping (tapping on more than one bomb at a time), and chain combos (tapping on a bomb that explodes, hitting another bomb and making it explode as well). With your points, you’re able to buy upgrades from the shop, which, in turn, will help produce higher scores. There’s also achievements that, when completed, you can cash in for more points to spend in the shop.
In the shop, you’re able to increase the amount of points that you’re given for your bonuses, like how many points you’re given on top of your original multi-tap bonus, and so on. There’s also an upgrade for how often rockets fly by on the screen. These rockets cause huge explosions, and if tapped at just the right time, can set off a huge chain combo. The last item in the shop is a health pack, this allows for a one time use health booster, giving you back one of the 3 hearts you’ll start each game with. The prices for items in the shop are not outrageous by any means, and even more surprising; there are NO IAPs. So you won’t have to worry about being nickel and dimed to death just to get on to the GameCenter leaderboards. Speaking of that, there is one GC board, which displays your highest score, along with 11 achievements, all adding to the already high replay value of this high-score based arcade tapper.
Now, with Parogames first title, Parodise, the story was a fairly important aspect of the game, however, here with Tap the Bomb, it’s not so much. There is a ‘Dumpedia’ in the main menu, which gives you the plot of the game, telling you why you’re blowing up these different bombs, background on each of the different bombs, as well as the fruit, the special rocket, and info on some characters from their game, Parodise, and what roll they play in why you’re blowing up bombs. It is a very nice addition to the game, and to the whole original Parodise story, but having a cut-scenes or something like comic strip sequiences after you have a 1,000+ point game, or after maxing out certain upgrades, would have been an awesome addition. I was hoping for more story elements in Tap the Bomb after Parodise had a story for every day that you were there slashing objects, but the lack of it shouldn’t distract from how great this game is.
Also included in Parodise were plenty of different modes that you could unlock while progressing through the game. Sadly, in Tap the Bomb, there is only one mode. This does bring the replay value down a bit, but not too much. Hopefully more gameplay content will be added in future updates. Especially with similar games having 4 or 5 different gameplay modes, it’ll be hard to compete with them, even with the inclusion of a story and ‘Dumpedia’.
The graphics and animations are top-notch, the gameplay is challenging and tons of fun, the store is a great addition, story elements are fantastic, and the scoring system is great. Add on the fact that Tap the Bomb is Universal, and only $0.99, and you’ve got a casual arcade game that’s very easy to recommend. Parogames puts a crazy amount of work and polish into their titles, it’s hard not to want to support them. They listen very carefully to every players comments and impressions, and deserve way more attention than they’ve gotten in the past. Hopefully Tap the Bomb does well in the AppStore, as I’d love to see more games from them in the future.
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December 14, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

CheeseMan – 0.99 (Alphanoize Games)

Super Meat Boy has been a pretty big influence on iOS games over the last year or so. Sadly, very few of the titles influenced by SMB really capture the true gameplay and challenge of the original. ChocoRun is actually the only title I can think of that really hit’s the nail on the head. However, the lack of virtual controls puts a lot of people off. Don’t Die and it’s invisible controls didn’t really sit right with gamers, and since virtual buttons were added in the last update, it really shows how funky the physics in the game are. Tobor had the potential to be a decent SMB clone, but sadly, the developers refusing to have any sort of control scheme but tilt put the game straight to the bottom of the SMB clone list. Well now there’s a title that, at first, seems like it might just have the perfect set-up to be the best Super Meat Boy influenced game in the AppStore. Alphanoize Games’ CheeseMan. With its virtual controls, great physics, and some very nice level design, at face value, it stands out quite a bit.

So, first off, the major selling point for Alphanoize is the virtual controls. Left and Right buttons, along with a jump button, and the ability to double and wall jump. This is a highlight, as the controls are fairly tight and precise, except for when you’re in the air, and are trying to slow down or change direction, in which case, you’ll probably end up hitting whatever it is you’re trying to avoid. On the ground however, a slight skid is all you’ll need to get use to when changing directions at your characters top speed. For the level design, the controls work well enough to get through the game without any annoying issues, which is a big plus. The controls in other SMB clones are the cause of many un-necessary deaths, which is a huge issue for them. The physics are, surprisingly fairly good. Your cheese character isn’t floaty, or too heavy, which is very important for platformer games, as you might very well know.
You’ll be able to play with one of two different characters, a male and female. Neither having different abilities, or different types of gameplay, just an option to play with two different characters. In CheeseMan, you’re on a quest to save Cheese Land from Professor Mousky. 39 levels plus 3 boss levels (a total of 42 levels) spread across 3 different environments seems like it’s got enough level content. However, each stage only takes about 10-30 seconds to complete, meaning if you know what you’re doing, the game can be completed in about 10 minutes, maybe 20-30 if you’re trying to get a ‘3 cheese ranking’ in all of the levels. There is also one little white-ish orb hidden in every level, only 2 or 3 are semi-challenging to snag, but once you do grab them, if you die, you re-start the level with the orb, you do not need to grab it again.
This wouldn’t be such a bad thing if the levels were challenging. For those of you who are familiar with Super Meat Boy, or probably the best Super Meat Boy clone in the AppStore, ChocoRun, CheeseMan’s levels will provide only a mild challenge when trying to race through them. In other words, if you’ve beaten SMB, or ChocoRun, CheeseMan will be a piece of cake. That’s not to say that the level design is bad. It’s not, not by any stretch of the imagination. However, more hazards and obstacles would have been great to see added to the game.
For $0.99, it is one of the better Super Meat Boy clones in the AppStore. I’d place it right under ChocoRun actually. Though with Don’t Die and Tobor as it’s competitors, that’s not really saying much. I will add that it’s closer to ChocoRun’s quality than to Don’t Die’s, which does count for something. CheeseMan is supported by GameCenter, but does not have any achievements, which is kind of upsetting, as it’s a game that pretty much writes the achievements itself; Complete World 1, Get 3 Cheese Rankings in Every Level, ect. There is a fogged out ‘World 4’ that is supposed to be coming soon in a future update, hopefully the levels will be more challenging. Actually, it would be great to see a difficulty separation for the game, having all of the levels re-worked, adding more hazards and obstacles to each of them, and keeping the original levels as the ‘Normal’ difficulty, and the re-worked levels as a ‘Hard’ difficulty. As it is right now, it doesn’t really feel like a true Super Meat Boy clone in terms of difficulty. But at its current price-point, and with the lack of SMB type games in the AppStore, if you’re a fan of Super Meat Boy, CheeseMan is a game that’s worth picking up. If you’re worried about the difficulty after trying out ChocoRun, and not being able to get through even half the levels, you can quit worrying. CheeseMan is actually one of the easier platformers available for the iOS, but it does show that Alphanoize knows what it takes to make a polished platformer with nice controls, and physics that work. I’m really looking forward to see where they’ll take CheeseMan in the future, and will be keeping my eyes open for potential future releases.
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December 13, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >