Your Site for IOS Reviews

Search Results for: label/Universal/index.html

Number of Results: 158

Slash or Die! [PNJ] – $0.99

PNJ has come out with quite a few really decent games over the last couple years. The first game I managed to grab from their studio was Terra – Eternal Chaos, an action RPG. Since then, Real Fishing 3D, Zombie Run, Block Knight! and plenty more have all graced my iDevice. But their latest title, Slash or Die, definitely has that spark that makes it stand out. And even though it’s pretty grindy, and has IAP with expensive items, it’s still a game that I’m enjoying quite a bit. 
Slash or Die has you controlling Blade, a super powered being who’s the only hope for Earth once Machines, Aliens, Ghosts and Demons start invading. There is only one gameplay mode, but you’re given an option for Hardcore Mode once you complete the game, which definitely does add to the replay value as well as the difficulty, and with 24 challenging missions, there’s enough content to keep you busy for a while.
Controls are simple; a left/right slider bar and jump + attack buttons. Your character basically stays in one spot on the screen the whole game, and the slider bar controls which way he’s facing, as well as how fast he goes. Forward increases your speed gradually over time, while facing backwards slows him down. As you make your way through each level, enemies will come at you from both sides, and you’ll often be faced with the decision to either attack an enemy in front of you, but risk a bad attack, causing the enemy to fly backwards instead of die, or maybe even miss the enemy, in order to be able to turn around and hit an enemy coming at you from behind, or turn around, and make sure you get the enemy behind you, and risk not being able to turn back around quick enough to hit the enemy in front of you. Mob control winds up being a core aspect of the gameplay. 
The graphics are top notch, looking fantastic on retina display, and the 4 environments that you’ll guide Blade through each have their own look, as well as enemies and objects. The character design is a huge plus in Slash or Die!, with 4 different enemy races, and a total of 22 separate enemies, each having their own unique way of moving and attacking. There are also various objects which Blade will need to either dodge by jumping, or slash through as he’s running through each of the levels. These various objects generally come at him quicker than the enemies, so keeping an eye out for them is a big priority. If you don’t, chances are these are what will cause most deaths. The animations are also very well done, with the running, attacking, and jumping as well as the explosions and each of the enemies attack animations all look fantastic, and definitely add to the look and the feel of the game. 
With Slash or Die! priced at $0.99, and being Universal, it’s a great title for fans of runners and hack-n-slash games. With GameCenter support including 2 separate boards, one for your Stylish Points, and another for your Max Combo, along with 25 achievements to try and grab driving the replay value alongside Hardcore Mode. Slash or Die! is easily my favorite PNJ title next to Terra – Eternal Chaos, and if this is any indication of the direction PNJ is going in in the future, it’s definitely looking bright. 
Posted in: , , , , , , ,


July 29, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Spy Vs. Spy [Robots and Pencils] – $1.99

Remakes of old classics, as well as ports of old-school titles happen to be something I find very hard to resist, and in the AppStore, there’s more than just a few of these titles available. The most recent one to hit my device is Spy Vs. Spy, originally developed by First Star Software in 1984 for the Atari, Commodore 64, and Apple II computers and ported over to numerous platforms, this time around, has been remade by the fairly new Canadian development studio, Robots And Pencils. 
One thing that absolutely love about this version of Spy Vs. Spy is that it includes the original Atari version alongside the remake, and you can change to the retro version before starting any level simply by hitting ‘Retro’ on the level select screen! Now, Spy Vs. Spy is a blast to play, especially when you’ve got another player. I can still remember staying at a friends house when I was a kid, up all night playing this game. And you guessed it; this iOS version of Spy Vs. Spy includes both Local (through Bluetooth) as well as Online (through GameCenter) Multiplayer. 
If you’ve never had the pleasure of playing Spy Vs. Spy, it’s an old-school arcade type title that has you playing as one of the Spy characters trying to collect 4 different items that are hidden inside of different rooms. While you’re doing this, the other Spy character is also trying to find these 4 different items. Included, of course, are various traps which you can set up in order to spoil the other players progress. These include water buckets on top of doors, hidden bombs and guns attached to strings on doors and more. 
There’s a couple of ways you can play Spy Vs. Spy. As you make your way through each collection of rooms, you can either search for the briefcase, which lets you hold all of the items at once, or, you can search through all of the rooms, looking for each item one at a time, and then figure out where to hide it until you’ve found all 4 items, either way, you do need to find the briefcase before exiting the level, but this way, you’re able to trap wherever it is that you’re hiding your items, and you don’t run the risk of running into the other Spy with all of the items on you. Once you enter the room where the other Spy is, you drop all of the items that you’re holding and they go into the nearest hiding spot. Then you either need to get out of the room as quickly as possible, or fight, and beat up, the other Spy so that you can leave with all of the items that you‘ve both collected. There’s also a third option; you can sit in the room with the exit door, and wait for the other Spy to collect each of the 4 items, and then beat them up when they enter. Doing this is risky, and isn’t recommended unless you have no other choice. There’s also an added search going on along-side the search for the 4 items; looking for stars. Each level has a possible 3 star ranking, and however many stars you find in each level is what your ranking will be. All of the stars and items can be seen on your map, which is readily accessible in a slide-out menu with all of your traps. 
All of this sounds well and good, especially if you’re playing in a multiplayer mode. It can be hours and hours of fun. However, there is one big stand out issue with this version of the game; the controls. Instead of using a typical old-school type lay-out, with a d-pad and buttons, Spy Vs. Spy has a floating d-pad, which is very hard to control, and buttons that appear at the top of the screen when you’re face to face, fighting the other Spy. In order to look behind objects, a tap anywhere on the screen does it. It is usable, but unfortunately, the movement controls still need some tightening up, and the buttons at the top of the screen for fighting are kind of awkwardly placed. Hopefully this is quickly fixed in an update, because other than this, it’s fantastic having this old-school hide-and-seek game on our phones/tablets, especially with the online multiplayer. 
Specially priced at $0.99 for launch (originally $1.99), it’s a great buy, and is definitely worth picking up, if nothing else, for the nostalgia value. GameCenter is supported, with leaderboards for each of the 24 levels as well as a board for how many total wins for multiplayer mode, and 29 achievements. The developers are listening to player feedback, and I have a lot of faith that the controls will be handled, but at the moment, it’s kind of hit or miss. Some people can get use to the controls, while others have been rage-deleting the game after getting fed up with them. For $0.99, it’s definitely worth finding out which group you fit into, and if you’re the second, at least you’ll have the game, and be ready to play it once the control issues are dealt with. 

Posted in: , , , , , , , ,


July 29, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Walking Dead: The Game [Telltale Games] – $4.99

If you’ve been reading the reviewers here at TAS for a while, you’ve come to know that Point & Click games were have never really been a favorite of mine. That is, until I had the extreme pleasure of playing Machinarium, Yesterday, and Myst. And now I can add one more title to that very short list of P&C games that I’ve come to love; Telltale’s Walking Dead: The Game. A survival/horror adventure game, originally released for PC and MAC, ported over to the iOS. 
Now, I haven’t had the pleasure of playing the PC version of Walking Dead, and I don’t watch the TV show, mainly because my wife hates any sort of horror entertainment. I do, however, read the comics, and have come to really enjoy them. But when I heard that Telltale was going to be the team releasing the game on iOS, I was pretty skeptical. Their previous releases have been kind of hit or miss; Back to the Future – blah, Sam & Max – loved it, Law & Order – meh, Puzzle Agent – great. But after seeing the trailer, I was ready to be impressed, and after playing the first episode of Walking Dead: The Game; I am. 
For those of you familiar with The Walking Dead, the game does not follow Rick his group of survivors. Instead, an entirely new storyline has been done for the game. You follow a convict, Lee, convicted of murder, as he tries to make his way to Mason, Georgia to find his family after being in a car crash that freed him from incarceration. On his way, he runs across a little girl, Clementine, who’s parents are somewhere in Savannah, GA, and whom you try to protect, as well as others who eventually make up the group of survivors that you’ll be following. 
Controlling Lee is what really makes the game stand out as one of the best Telltale games to hit the AppStore. As you meet people, and get thrown into situations with zombies, you’ll need to make quick decisions regarding dialogue and actions. Instead of feeling like the game is controlling what you do, it’s more like you’re controlling the game, having an impact over what the other characters think of you, as well as who lives and who dies. What’s even better? These choices are apparently carried over across all of the episodes, so they stick with you throughout the entire game. 
The graphics and animations are extremely well done, and incredibly reminiscent of the comics. The environments and objects are very well crafted, and create an incredible atmosphere. There have been times when I encountered some slowdown and general jerkiness, even while playing on my iPad 2, though not enough to really take away from the games fantastic immersive quality. The voice acting is another aspect which I found myself consistently being impressed by. All-n-all, it’s extremely well put-together. 
Priced at $4.99 for the first episode, and giving players the option to purchase the next 4 episodes for $14.99, it is a bit pricy. Especially considering there’s only about 3 hours of gameplay in the first episode. But if you’re a fan of the series (comic, TV, or both), this is definitely a game you should check out. Even if you’ve never seen an episode of the show, or read one comic, it’s still a fantastic Point & Click adventure game that deserves to be experienced. Once you complete the first episode, it definitely leaves you wanting more. Walking Dead: The Game has set a new standard for Telltale games, and one that I hope they live up to in the future. 
Posted in: , , , , , , ,


July 29, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

MANOS – The Hands of Fate [FreakZone] – $1.99

Retro platformers have been making a real comeback. It seems like with every new generation of video games, players keep longing for the games that got them hooked in the first place. But it’s always great seeing a new and original title hit the scene, and newcomer FreakZone, has shown that he knows what it takes to create a true NES like experience with his last game, Awesome Land. Now, with that title under his belt, FreakZone has released another retro platformer, MANOS – The Hands of Fate, and this time around, he’s taken everything he’s learned since releasing Awesome Land and thrown it together in a great gaming package. 
Mike and his family have gotten lost while on vacation, and they couldn’t have picked a worse spot to get lost in. Now Mike, armed with a gun, needs to get his wife, daughter, and dog, safely home before the monsters wind up getting the best of them. Like many platformers, the game doesn’t really rely on the story to drive the game, but it does help explain why you’re fighting massive rats and avoiding floating skulls. It also opens up a fairly wide variety of environments and situations which you’ll be able to run, jump, and shoot your way out of. 
Like we’ve said numerous times before, a huge part of having solid platform gameplay relies heavily on the controls, physics, and inertia. With Manos, they’re all NES perfect. With the controls, you’re given left/right arrows, and jump/shoot buttons. They’re placed just right, and you don’t need to pick your finger up to change movement directions, which really helps the fluidity of the gameplay. The physics and inertia are what you would expect from a top-notch old-school title. Not too floaty, not too heavy, not stiff or loose, and landing on one block platforms is a piece of cake, and never winds up being something that you’ll need to struggle with throughout the game. With the game being Universal, the controls on the iPad are also very important. You’ll be happy to hear that the buttons are positioned closer to the edges, and in the corners so that you don’t need to reach inward towards the center of the screen in order to move. Though being able to position the buttons wherever you’d like to would be ideal, and is something I really hope is included in a future update, the current controls work well enough to enjoy the game. 
The level design is top notch, though there are some aspects of the design that I didn’t completely agree with in the beginning. For instance; There’s a lot of screen changing done with stairs. These stairs often go down. However, if you jump just a pixel beyond the stairs, you won’t land on the stairs on the screen beneath, you wind up dying. This is kind of frustrating, and hard to understand at first, but as you progress through the game, and see all of the areas that you can reach by not going down stairs, and by trying to jump, and maneuver around enemies and hazards in order to get there, you see why it was done that way. If you could just fall into a screen under where you were, there wouldn’t really be any consequences for missing a jump, or running into a rotating spike. Though since the game is also centered around speed-runs, falling down screen after screen could have been an even better deterrent from screwing up at those parts, it would also make it easy to fly through a couple screens. And now I completely understand why it is the way it is, and feel I should praise FreakZone for giving thought to every angle, and coming up with the best solution for things like this throughout the entire game. 
Now, as you manage to find your way through each level, you’ll come across many stone hands. When shot, they usually reveal either a health pick-up, extra life, or a gem. There are also special hands which increase the amount of hit points you have, however, most of these will require some searching. And here’s where the two GameCenter leaderboards and replay value come in. In GameCenter, there’s two boards, one for score, and one for how long it takes for you to complete the game. With the stone hands, you can either take your time, look around and explore, finding all of the hands you can, and racking up all the points you can find, collecting extra lives and increasing your available hit points, or you can avoid everything, and try and find the quickest route from point A to point B. Personally, I love when games offer up two or more possible ways of playing, and here, FreakZone nailed it. 
With no save spots, and having to start from Stage 1 every time you start up the game, it truly feels like an old-school plat former. Though being kind of short, with only 7 levels, they‘re fairly large, and will take a while to complete your first couple of times through. The graphics, sounds, as well as gameplay, level design and mechanics are all great as well, making it stand out as one of the better retro platformers available. Manos – The Hands of Fate provides a challenge, and is a game that, even after you complete it, has what it takes to keep you coming back time and time again, trying to better your score, or shave seconds off your time. If it was released back in the 80’s it would have easily been a huge hit. With the game being Universal, and priced at $1.99, it’s a must buy for fans of the genre. Since the release of Awesome Land, FreakZone has nailed everything it takes to produce a top-notch retro platformer, and I hope to see many more titles flow out of their studio.
Posted in: , , , , , , , ,


July 27, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Super Ox Wars [Llamasoft] – $1.99

Jeff Minter is sort of a God in the gaming industry. Founder of Llamasoft, he’s been in the business for over 30 years, and has developed numerous games for the Sinclair XZ81, Commodore VIC-20, Atari 2600, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Atari 400/800, Pocket PC, XBLA, PC, and iDevice. Some classic games you might have heard of; Tempest 2000 – 3000 – X3, Traxx, Sheep in Space, Hover Bovver, Abductor, Trip-a-Tron, Virtual Light Machine and loads more. On the iOS, he’s ported over the classics, Minotron: 2112, Minotaur Rescue, Deflex, Caverns of Minos and Gridrunner. He’s best known for his inclusion of llamas, sheep, camels, oxen, and his psychedelic graphics. But his most recent release, Super Ox Wars, an Ikaruga influenced polarity shoot-em-up, could be considered one of his best iOS releases to date. On the distant planet, Parint, two oxen are revered by the people. With each ox representing a valuable characteristic of the society, each person chooses one ox to guide their spirit. Parint was invaded by the Marcab Empire, who enslaved the people. It’s up to you to save the people, and your planet by using the power of the oxen. 

Like most Minter releases, Super Ox Wars is filled with psychedelic graphics and animations, fast moving enemies, a great scoring system, smooth controls and a fantastic challenge. There is only one mode in SOW, but like Gridrunner, you’re able to start from each level that you’ve reached, with your highest score, and lives in-tact. 
As you play through each of the 7 levels, you’ll be able to collect either blue/star or red/heart colors and items. In order to go for a high score, you’ll need to decide which color you want to stick with while going through the stages. As you collect more items from one of the two colors, your firepower will increase, as well as defensive powers; Hearts push back enemy projectiles around your ship, while Stars cause your own shots to push back enemy projectiles. As you collect more items of one color, more power-ups and extra lives will drop more often, but once you collect an item of the opposite color, the polarity is automatically shifted. 

 You’re given 3 different scores at the top of the screen, one for blue, one for red, and one for a combined score. Each of the scores increase depending on your current polarity, so if you’re using blue, your blue score will rise, and if you’re using red, your red score will rise. Both of these are combined together for your total score. Shooting down entire groups of enemies gives you bonuses, and destroying all of the flying enemies in each stage will give you an end of level bonus. 

The graphics and animations are typical of Minter’s past releases, but are not as incredibly crazy. You’re able to very clearly make out enemy ships, and background objects, but there is a psychedelic level to the images, with loads of stars or hearts flying out of your ship when your ship is fully powered up, or explodes, and the animations are reminiscent of Gridrunner. The controls, however, are a very tight and smooth relative touch control scheme at a 1:1 ratio. GameCenter is supported, and with 4 separate leader boards, one for each color, one for a pure run (starting on stage 1), and one for your combined score, as well as 10 achievements, it definitely adds to the already high replay value of the game. Priced at $1.99, and being a Universal build, Super Ox Wars is a fantastic, as well as cheap, polarity based shmup. Fans of the genre, and especially fans of Minter titles, should pick this one up. Though not as psychedelic graphically, and only containing one gameplay mode, it’s one of the most challenging Llamasoft games I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing, will definitely get loads of gameplay out of me and will wind up staying on my device for a long time.

Posted in: , , , , , ,


July 20, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Major Mayhem [Adult Swim + Rocket Jump] – FREE

Adult Swim has published some fantastic games over the last year. Monsters Ate My Condo, Bring Me Sandwiches!!, Snoticles, and more. But recently, a little title that really just seemed to really slide by a lot of gamers, Rocket Jump’s Major Mayhem got a huge, and I mean HUGE update. 3 new gameplay modes, a crazy amount of weapons and equip items and one of the most requested features, GameCenter achievements (100 of them!) have all been added to the game. Major Mayhem has also gone free, following the freemium trends with the hopes of recouping some of the costs of development. Not to worry though, as this has got to be one of the best paid to freemium conversions to ever happen within the AppStore.

Back in November of 2011, Rocket Jump released Major Mayhem. Being published by Adult Swim, and having a bunch of advertising done on late-night TV, and across the net, it was pretty surprising that the game didn’t really sell too well. Maybe it was because gamers were hoping for some more strange and goofy games after Monsters Ate My Condo and Bring Me Sandwiches!, maybe they were let down by Shadowngun and EPOCH, and didn’t really want to take another chance on the cover-based shooter, but whatever it was, Rocket Jump dove back into the game to try and make it stand out in the AppStore, and recoup some of their losses at the same time. 

One week ago, the Version 2.0 update went live, and I, along with others, were thoroughly impressed with the new game. 3 new gameplay modes, TimeBomb, which has you trying to get the best score you can in 60 seconds, Arcade, which has you go through the levels in random order trying to get the best score you can, without getting any health drops throughout the game, and Survival Mode, which has you trying to survive a whole world without any continues. Not only were new modes added, but a whole gang of power-ups, weapons, and cosmetic equip items were thrown into the mix as well. 
On top of all of this, the game was converted to a freemium title, with the hopes that more players would pick it up for free, see how much content the game has, and how incredibly fun it is, and want to support Rocket Jump by purchasing the game’s new currency. Those who still had the game on their device when the update hit also got 20,000 coins, which would have cost them about $1.99 with the new IAPs, as a little thank you. However, not many people did still have the game on their device, but luckily, the IAPs are very unobtrusive, and are not required to unlock or purchase anything new in the game. You’re able to unlock every game mode, and purchase every new weapon and cosmetic item just by playing and progressing through the game. 
Back when the game was originally released, a lot of players were upset that there weren’t any GameCenter achievements. These have also been added to the game, and not just a couple, a whole mass of achievements and objectives were included. Now, you can try and unlock the 100 GameCenter achievements, as well as try and grab all 150 and the game’s objectives. Set up like Jetpack Joyride’s objectives, every time you earn 3 or 4 of them, you gain a new rank. You’re also awarded with a random prize for every rank you reach, as well as 50 coins for each objective you complete. With the GameCenter achievements, you’re given even more coins, depending on how many GC points the achievement is worth. 

Major Mayhem’s move to freemium is easily the best I’ve seen happen with any game in the AppStore. It’s obvious that an incredible amount of time, effort, and work has gone into making Major Mayhem one of the best cover-based shooters available on the iOS, and it’s incredibly surprising that all of this was done for free, with the hopes that people would purchase IAPs. If you haven’t checked it out yet, now would be the perfect time. Rocket Jump has definitely proven that they are in it for the long-haul, and know exactly what it takes to go above and beyond to create an outstanding video game. 

Posted in: , , , , , , , , , , ,


July 19, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

GOAL DEFENSE – [DYNAMIC PIXELS] – $0.99

Shucks; another skier got through my gauntlet of baseball players, bowlers, cheerleaders, and x-ray wielding boxers. Sounds crazy fun, and it is!
Goal Defense by Dyanmic Pixels is a new sports-themed Tower Defense title, that has loads of charm and all the challenge you could ever thirst. The environment has a light-hearted and fun-loving cartoon atmosphere that provides you with a feeling that ‘this shouldn’t be as hard as this’; but it is.

Goal Defense is not unlike other TD’s as the primary goal is to safeguard your ‘bowl’, but Dynamic Pixels is certainly the first to come up with the idea that centers around your fortifications on the sports field. The contest starts out dispensing you with a baseball player and ‘Hummer Thrower’ that you strategically, and I mean precision-ally strategically, place on the field to battle the onslaught of jump-roping jocks, football players, and other silly oppositions. The key flavor of this adventure is that the ‘tower/player’ locations are not pre-determined, and one placement can highly alter the rival’s intended route.The animations are downright hilarious; the Hummer thrower for one likes to eat a lot, and the cheerleader seems to drop her pom-poms all the time. Problem is, I often got sidetracked in such amusements and before I knew it, I had the foolhardy enemy’s players breathing down on the coveted bowl. The sound effects are fun as well with the cheerleaders chanting you along, and the sound of baseballs beaming your competitors.

You are allotted on average ten(10) players to reach your grail, at which point the level is over. The first few levels are great warm-ups for what is to come, but after that, this game means business. There are obstacles strewn across the field, some that look like equestrian hurdles, that you must use to your advantage to slow down the skiers, yes skiers, as well as foxy cheerleaders that will make any opponent slow down and gawk, allowing your baseball players and bowlers to pummel them when they are at their weakest. My favorite eccentric has to be the x-ray boxer who starts out with a simple one-two KO punch, but upon a few upgrades, draws his power from the almighty lightning gods and shocks the heck out of your rivals. You’ll just have to play it to understand, but it’s awesomely witty and hysterical.

The customary upgrade system exists, and is imperative to stand a chance at keeping your bowl intact, let alone passing the level. Currently, there are four worlds, 40 levels, including each world ending with a jocular, albeit difficult boss battle. Considering the bullet hard difficulty (in a good way!) you may find yourself replaying levels to figure out your best placements, such as how to reroute the skiers to slow them down, and where its best to place your batters in line with your pitchers to maximize effectiveness. The whole game seeps with allure, and you’ll be captivated from the get-go.

The in-game currency is in the form of ‘crystals’ which are rewarded based on effectiveness, wins, and other enticing factors. There is an IAP system as well, and unless you are incredibly adapt at TD’s, and if you want to keep your bowl un-violated, this is a viable option. Also of note, is that you start out with only a few different players, but the others are unlocked as you progress; this is all detailed in the shop via a simple click on the respective sportsman to see when they will automatically appear for usage.
The sportsman and power-ups are available to be unlocked earlier so you desire as well, but I found it quite fun learning each athlete over a few levels and figuring out their ranges etc. The power-ups are also unique; rain down a barrage of tennis balls on your foes, throw up a ‘false bowl’ temporarily drawing the enemies to itself, and a bowl ‘mine’ where you can set up explosives to guard it from a limited number of adversaries.

I have been having a ton of fun with Goal Defense, and considering the freedom of placements, it really gives you a great feeling of accomplishment when you finish those super tough levels. Being Universal, and only a measly .99, it is hard to not recommend this all-around lively Tower Defense title. You will instantly tell the developers had a blast creating this, and right thereafter, you’ll have even more fun playing it. Just keep your eyes on the enemies, not those foxy cheerleaders, and try not to laugh at the animations as you’ll get carried away and have to start over! Well, that’s not a bad thing.

Posted in: , , , , ,


July 19, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Great Big War Game [Rubicon] – $2.99

One of the biggest titles in iOS Turn-Based Strategy games, ironically enough named Great Little War Game, has finally come out with the sequel, Great Big War Game, and this time, Rubicon isn’t messing around. Including 50 single player campaign missions, a whole slew of skirmish maps, Pass & Play gameplay, and probably the biggest feature; Asynchronous Online Multiplayer. Great BIG War Game, indeed. 
For those of you familiar with GLWG, Great Big War Game is basically more of the same. But those those of you who love GLWG, that is in no way a bad thing. At all. Great Big War Game picks up where the updates for GLWG left off, with more war advancing escapades from the General, Jenkins, and this time, a new female character, Candy. You’re also outfitted with more units, more vehicles, and, in general, just a whole lot more. For those of you who haven’t been lucky enough to experience the great gameplay of GLWG in the past, Great Big War Game is a turn-based strategy game that has you going up against the enemy, running a muck in turn-based warfare. It’s gameplay is simple enough that newcomers to the genre can dive right in, but gets complex enough that hardcore fans of TBS gameplay will still have a challenge. And now, with Online MP, you’ll be able to have even more endless replay value, with players of all skill types. 
Now, along with the 50 Single Player Campaign stages, Skirmish Mode and Online MP Mode both have quite a few maps to play with. The game comes with 15 Maps, and has 3 more Map Packs available for purchase through IAP. Each of the Map Packs costs $1.99, and including a little something special. The War Chest Pack gives you 15 maps, and 150 Battle Points, which are points that you can earn in-game to permanently upgrade your troops for Campaign Mode, and clear the Fog of War. Map Pack 1 gives you 20 maps, and a new vehicle type, a flame shooting tank, while Map Pack 2 gives you another 20 maps, and a medic who can heal all your troops on the field. Rubicon has already stated that more maps will be added to these Map Packs, so if you purchase them now, you’ll get even more maps for free in future updates. I guess now would be a good time to mention that Rubicon’s support for Great Little War Game has been outstanding, and they have added quite a few maps to that game over the course of it’s time on the AppStore as well, so this isn’t just another empty promise from a developer who’s support has been questionable in the past, or a new-comer to the scene, who promises content, and then later on down the road says that sales we’re adequate to keep the updates coming (which is understandable, but always disappointing). 
The Online Multiplayer is handled through Rubicon’s own servers, and even though some might prefer GameCenter, this allows for cross-platform play. That’s right. You can play GBWG online on your iPad against a friend who’s playing on an Android. Soon enough, GBWG will be available for the PC, Mac, as well as the BBPlaybook, which means that there’s the potential of hundreds of thousands of players available for online play. What makes it even better, is that you don’t exactly need to know anyone in order to add friends to your list. Once you type in a name, for example, Paul, all of the gamers who have started their online name with ‘Paul’ will be listed and available to add to your friends list. So even those of you dying to play online, but who don’t know anyone, can still have a fairly good chance of finding online players. Surprisingly enough, I also haven’t run into any issues with the online play. There’s almost always bugs and issues which developers couldn’t have caught during the Beta Testing, but Rubicon has obviously put a lot of time and effort into squashing all the bugs and getting rid of all the issues they possibly could, which is basically unheard of with iOS MP titles. 
The controls in GBWG are great, and really, some of the best I’ve seen in a strategy title on the iOS. To move your units, you tap on them, and then tap on where you want to move them to, and the same goes for vehicles, while scrolling the map is done with a one finger drag, and zooming in and out is done by pinching and pulling. To see where your units can attack, you just need to hold down on the unit in question. Your typical TBS controls, I guess. But what makes them stand out is that I’ve never had an instance where my character didn’t move to a location right next to where I wanted it to, I’ve also never had a character shoot an enemy target I wasn’t targeting, and the units have never moved while selected, and while I’ve been dragging the map around. Responsive controls remove a lot of un-necessary frustration from games, and here, they’re very smooth and very responsive. 
The graphics are a bit cartoony, but the animations are great. The explosions, taking aim and firing, getting hit, running around the maps, it’s all animated beautifully, and even though it is a little cartoony, the game becomes very immersive because of how great it looks and plays. The music and sound effects are also top notch, with some typical war time music, and units calling out ‘On point!’ ‘Bag ‘em & tag ‘em!’ ‘You need me?’ and more, it’s easy to get sucked into their world of obeying orders, and doing what you can for your side in order to win. 
With Great Big War Game priced at $2.99, and being Universal, it’s a great buy. There’s loads of content with your original purchase, and even more available if you’re wanting to throw a couple more bucks down, and Rubicon is a fantastic developer who has shown awesome support for their previous games, which makes it easy to want to support them in return. The endless play offers up the possibility of GBWG never being removed from your device, and as a sequel of one of the best TBS titles in iOS gaming, that possibility is multiplied by the great gameplay. Rubicon has definitely done it again, and I can’t wait to get knee deep into the online play, and get to learn all of the maps. If you’re a fan of the genre, GBWG is definitely a game you NEED to own. Finding another Strategy game with the amount of charm and astounding gameplay on the iOS is near impossible. 

Posted in: , , , , , , , , ,


July 18, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

SHOOT THE ZOMBIRDS – [INFINITE DREAMS] – $0.99

High score chasers are always a huge hit or miss venture with me. When I saw Shoot the Zombirds come out in May of this year, I never thought it would be the type of game that would remain on my iPad for as long as it has. If you have played Infinite Dreams’ previous title, Shoot the Birds, you were probably inclined to pass this one by as, for me, it was not one that really embraced that gaming nerve that we all love to caress. Not so for me with Shoot the Zombirds as something about it looked interesting, I thought I would give it a try, and have been gratified ever since.

Like its predecessor, Shoot the Zombirds has you controlling a pumpkin-man type entity whose sole purpose is flinging arrows at pum-kid (you see what they did there!) stealing Zombirds with his trusted bow and arrow. The mechanic is pretty simple, pull back anywhere on the screen, aim, and let er’ rip. The environment is top-notch and set against a Tim-Burton-esque blood-soaked haunted house/graveyard; probably the pumpkin man’s sanctuary. It sounds simple, and it is, but the game becomes quite addictive with enticing Game Center achievements, tantalizing Grave Store power-ups and clothing, and just plain regalement when you ‘Sausage’ two to three Zombirds on your armaments. It can get pretty addictive when acknowledging all of these factors.

The Zombirds vary quite extensively from fat, big, and slow to small and very quick. And the small suckers don’t show up several waves in, as you will have to be combating with them as early as the second wave. And yep, they are pretty tough to hit. The Zombirds make one initial pass and let them fly by, they are going to kidnap one of your pum-kids. You are only allotted a certain amount of pum-kids, another Grave-store item upgrade as well, so taking out any of the fowl with your kin is certainly your primary objective. The participant is also only provided with a certain amount of arrows; the only way you can retain or increase your quiver is to make those shots!

The Grave store items are super cool with power ups like ‘Rain of Pain’ where you can summon a swarm of target-seeking day-saving burning arrows, and the ‘Quiver of Plenty’ where you get infinite arrows for a certain amount of time. Coins are gained via achievements and by shooting these little skulls that traverse the screen from right to left. Power-ups exist to increase their frequency as well. The GC achievements are really well integrated to bait the user to that ‘one more round’ feeling. There is the standard IAP, but I have never remotely felt pulled in that somewhat adverse direction.

If you are looking for a casual pick up and play, laugh out loud a little, make some Game Center achievements score chaser, you may just find what you want in Shoot The Zombirds. It really triumphs in what it sets out to do, and it reminds me alot of something like Temple Run as far as it’s addictive qualities, and for its’ shear pick up and play nature.

Posted in: , , , , , ,


July 16, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

Metal Slug 3 [SNK Playmore] – $6.99

Bringing back old-school gaming to the iOS seems to be a fairly lucrative investment. If it wasn’t, I doubt we’d see companies do it over and over again. But this also benefit’s the players, if not just as much. We’re able to buy back memories from our youth for pennies on the dollar, and if you can deal with touch screen controls, it’s almost always worth it. This week, SNK took a second chance at releasing a Metal Slug title for the iOS, and after spending some time with it, this is THE ONE to get if you’re a fan of Run-n-Gun gameplay; Metal Slug 3. Originally released for the Neo-Geo back in 2000, and on the PS2, XBOX, XBLA, Wii, PSP, and PC since, this classic title has now hit the AppStore, and fans of the game, and series, have a lot to be happy about. No more Metal Slug Touch, no more tilt controls, no more vehicle-only gameplay, no more clunky controls, no more! Finally, iOS gamers have a faithful port of Metal Slug, and one of the best titles of the series at that. 
Metal Slug 3 happens to be the first Metal Slug that features branching paths in each stage, letting players choose different paths, each having different difficulties, enemies, guns, and amount of hostages. All of the paths lead to the same boss battle at the end of each stage, but which path you choose has a direct influence on your score, and in some cases, the challenge presented. There are 2 gameplay options, Single and Multiplayer, each having 4 different difficulties, Easy, Medium, Hard, and Very Hard, as well as your choice between Arcade and Mission Modes. Multiplayer is a co-op mode, and is only available through local Bluetooth, but it’s still a great feature if you have two devices, or a friend with an iDevice. Arcade and Mission Modes are the same, except that Mission Mode lets you select which of the 5 stages you’d like to play, with each stage being unlocked after you reach it in Arcade Mode. You’ll also have 4 different characters to choose from, two male, and two female.
The controls are surprisingly good. You’re given a joystick, and 3 buttons, and can be placed anywhere on the screen. The buttons are for jumping, shooting, and throwing grenades, and are nice, responsive, and tight. I’ve never run into a situation and blamed controls for an un-necessary death, which is pretty impressive, especially considering how hectic the gameplay gets. In the options menu, you’re also able to change the aspect ratio from 16:9 to 4:3, you can change the video filtering on or off, which either smoothes out the edges of everything, or gives you that great crisp pixel look, and you can also add scanlines to the game at either 50% or 100%, which adds to the old-school feeling. 
Like previous Metal Slug titles, there are quite a few vehicles which you’ll come across, most of which haven’t been seen in previous titles; the Slug Driller, Slug Mariner, Elephant Slug (which is one of my favorites), Ostrich Slug, Astro Slug (my definite favorite), and plenty more. You’ll also come across characters which, when freed, will help you out, providing some extra fire-power. Like, believe it or not, an UZI wielding Monkey. 
There are some issues with the game right now, but nothing that can’t be easily fixed in an update. The video settings are not saved when you exit the app, which means if you want scanlines, or the pixel look, you’ll have to change this every time you start the game up. Also, the controls do wind up covering the action sometimes. Hopefully with the video settings, a dead-zone will be able to be added, changing the video size to 80% or close to that, so that players fingers won’t cover up the action. This little issue however, is only noticeable on the iPod and iPhone. On the iPad, your fingers will pretty much never cover up any of the action. 

So, is Metal Slug 3 worth checking out? Most definitely. For $6.99, being Universal, including Bluetooth co-op, GameCenter integration with a world-wide leaderboard, and 30 achievements, great controls, awesome graphics, insanely addictive and entertaining gameplay. Yes, it’s a must buy, especially for fans of the genre who have been, well, at the very least, let down, by about 95% of the AppStore’s previous Run-n-Gun offerings. 
Posted in: , , , , , , , , ,


July 15, 2012 Uncategorized 0 Read more >