QuickLook.Technobrains

If you read the description in the App Store and look at the pictures you might think to yourself “isn’t that just another one of those ‘dodge-everything’ type of games?”  Well, it is, but much like Gobble it adds its own unique spin to the genre.  In Super Collider you control a particle of anti-matter, and your job is to collect quarks while trying to avoid highly charged particles of matter that have “gone rouge”.  In the end you’ll either stabilize the particle chamber or all will be lost (though since the game boasts infinite levels I doubt you’ll encounter the stabilization outcome).

Time To Slow Things Down

Game play is simple.  You use your finger to control the anti-matter particle, and you drag it around the screen, avoiding the matter particles.  You’ll have a certain number of quarks to collect each level, and then you’ll move on to the next.  You’ll also move on if the time runs out, but obviously you don’t score as many points that way.  Every fifth level is a bonus level that will end as soon as you contact a matter particle, collect the specified number of quarks, or your time runs out.  If you get hit on the bonus levels you don’t lose a life, the level just ends.  Along the way you can collect shields to temporarily block matter particles and space / time reactors to slow the matters’ movement, though the latter power-up almost doesn’t last long enough to be worthwhile.  On occasion you’ll even run into a particle that give you an extra life.  Finally there are score multipliers that will increase you score between 2 to 5 times when you get them.

There were a couple of neat elements to the game.  First of all, the matter particles weren’t always deadly.  Sometimes as they’d collide with each other or the walls they’d turn green, and while they were green they wouldn’t hurt you.  Second, and this just makes so much sense for a game who’s only control is touch, when you lift your finger from the screen the game pauses.  This is a mechanic that a lot more games should adopt.  Finally, I just really liked the setting.  It’s certainly different than the majority of this style of game, which usually revolve around random objects avoiding other random objects for no reason.

There were also a couple of issues I had with the game.  The first is that your finger / hand often gets in the way of the action.  I know that’s one of the drawbacks of a touch screen as a whole, but it seemed to be a lot more of a hindrance in Super Collider for some reason.  Second, it would have been nice to have some sort of mode with a real goal, instead of just an infinite play mode.  Infinite play is a definite must in a game like this, but it’s also nice to have a purpose for playing the first time through.  Finally, and this is my biggest issue, the integration with online rankings is annoyingly integrated.  They use AGON, and basically I can’t truly end the game without signing on and submitting my score.  This is a problem, since I don’t have an AGON account, nor do I want one.  As a result, I have to quit the program and go back in to start a new game.  I consider this a design flaw.

I like the look of the game.  The backgrounds have a B-movie “we’re scoping around inside a human body” look to them, and even though you’re supposed to be in a particle collider, it still looks cool.  The particles and power-ups are also well rendered, and everything just fits together nicely visually.  The sound effects are also pretty good and fit with the overall theme, though I recommend not leaving the game on too long after you lose, because the sound effects go on overload at that point and do get annoying.  The music is very nice.  I know nothing about Voodoo Music Highway, but they did an excellent job on the soundtrack.

Overall, Super Collider is a nice take on the “dodge the objects” game.  Sharp visuals, a solid soundtrack, and an actual reason for what you’re doing all make for nice changes from the normal variants of this genre.  Unfortunately, the messy integration with AGON is enough to keep me from flat out recommending this game.

Final Verdict: On The Fence
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[All About Quick Looks]

Skyworks is at it again, continuing to expand their game portfolio beyond the myriad of sports related games they develop.  This time around we have Crime Spree, which for some odd reason reminds me of the old game Lock ‘N Chase.  At first I struggled with settling on a usable control scheme, but once I settled on one and got used to it, I rather enjoyed running from the cops and picking up some dough.

There’s not a lot to the game itself.  You drive around town collecting bags of loot and avoiding the cops.  In arcade mode you must collect a certain number of bags to progress to the next level.  In survival mode you just keep going on the same map until you lose all your lives to the cops.  To help you along the way you start out with three barrels of oil.  Clicking on the oil display releases a slick that can slow the cops down.  In arcade mode you get an “oil bonus” for using the oil, so don’t be shy about it.  In survival mode you get a bonus for number of cops crashed, so don’t be shy with the oil there, either.  Every once in a while you’ll find extra barrels lying around the road, though you can only carry three at a time.

Grab The Loot And Go

In addition to the oil you can also collect hearts to regain lives, a shield to temporarily allow you to run over cops, and a tire that speeds you up temporarily.  So far I’ve only seen the shield and tire on survival mode, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist on arcade mode.  The main down side to game play is the control scheme.  The sad thing is that there are three of them, and none of them are really quite where they need to be.  Accelerometer control is probably the worst of the three.  You never quite seem to turn in the appropriate spots in this mode.  Touch mode is a little better, though I’m not quite sure where the regions for each direction end.  I think this mode would have been better suited having a little on screen joystick.  At first I cared for swipe mode less than accelerometer mode, but now that I’ve gotten used to it I think swiping is my favorite.  There are still occasions where it seems like the car’s not turning when I want, but for the most part this appears to be the most responsive control scheme.

The graphics are fairly decent, reminiscent of old school shareware pixel art.  I do like the various phrases that come up like “Ca-Ching”, “Screech” and “Busted”.  It has that 60′s Batman feel to it.  The map itself is an odd combination of completely overhead for things like trees and a skewed isometric for things like buildings.  You get used to it after a while, but it would have been nice if they add some different building designs every now and again, at least in adventure mode.  The sound effects are actually pretty decent, especially when it comes to the cop cars, both with the sirens and when they are screeching along an oil slick.  The music is all right.  This particular Skyworks game has two different tracks, and like every other Skyworks game you must choose which one you want to listen to before you start a game.

This is no GTA or Car Jack Streets, but it’s not meant to be.  It’s just a simple little “outrun the cops and collect the loot” action game, and it does that pretty well.  At first I was somewhat on the fence because of the controls, but as I got used to the swipe mode for controlling my car I really started to enjoy the game.    If you’re looking for a simple, pick up and play action game, Crime Spree fits the bill nicely.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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[Note: image courtesy of App Shopper]

In 2007 I had the opportunity to review the Pocket PC version of Ball Rush Aqua, which you can check out here: Ball Rush Aqua Review.  While the game didn’t totally sell me on the brick breaking genre of games, it did a pretty good job of entertaining me.  After having aged a couple of years and migrated to a new platform, Ball Rush Aqua still holds up pretty well.  Unfortunately, with new offerings like Ball Slam Fantasy (see here) uping the game, as it were, Ball Rush Aqua isn’t quite as fun as it used to be.  Since the game hasn’t changed much from its Pocket PC days, I encourage you to check out that review for all the details.  Here I’m just going to cover a couple of the highlights in regards to where Ball Rush Aqua is different (and not) from its bretheren.

Missiles Are Cool

The coolest part of Ball Rush Aqua was the fact that each board was comprised of multiple screens.  As far as I know that’s still a unique feature of brick breaking games on the mobile platform, and it’s probably the key factor that makes Ball Rush Aqua stick out from other games like this on the iPhone.  Basically, the only screen that you can die on is the first screen of any given level, and the only screen that you have to clear all of the bricks on is the last screen of any given level.  There are also a couple of bonuses that are either rarely used or have not appeared in other brick breaking games.  The most notable of these are the auto pilot, which takes control of your paddle for a few seconds and guarantees that you don’t miss a shot, and the remote control, which lets you temporarily manipulate the motion of your ball to some extent.

On the down side, since you still have to break all the bricks on the last level, it’s not uncommon to get stuck with the problem that most brick breakers face: that one brick that you just can’t seem to hit.  Also, while the multi-screen level concept is still cool, it makes the levels drag at times compared to the quick pace of a game like Ball Smash Fantasy.  They even tried to take advantage of the accelerometer feature, but thankfully you can turn that off, because I found it hard to control that way.

The graphics are decent, but they look somewhat dated compared to more modern interpretations of this genre.  I do still like the background with its array of fish and ocassional submarine, however.  The sound effects work, but aren’t anything special.  The music still holds up pretty well.  It kind of reminds me of a 70′s Bee-Gee’s mix.

Overall Ball Rush Aqua is still a solid game, and any die hard brick breaker fan would be remiss not to add it to their collection.  Just like me, however, the game is starting to show its age, and really could have used a bit of a face lift when moving to a new platform.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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[Note: image courtesy of App Shopper]

Reviewed Platform: iPhone
Device Used: iPod Touch 2nd Edition
Software Type: Game
Developed By: Typhon Mobile

I have never been a real big fan of Arkanoid clones, and it wasn’t until I played Ball Rush Aqua on my Pocket PC (which now has an iPhone version) that I cared for the genre on a mobile platform. Ball Slam Fantasy has actually managed to broaden my appreciation for this type of game. Colorful graphics, a diverse and well orchestrated soundtrack, and manageable game play make this one of the best Arkanoid clones I’ve ever played.

Start From The Beginning

Though cliché and ultimately unimportant, the game actually does have a bit of a plot. 5 kingdoms have been placed under a spell – what kind, no one knows – and you must free these kingdoms by breaking blocks with a special ball and paddle. Nonsensical? Yeah, but the visuals that go with the intro “story” look pretty cool. The game itself is comprised of 3 modes: Adventure, Countdown and Quick Play. Countdown is basic Arkanoid with no power ups, a set time on each level (that gets incremented by 2 seconds for each brick you break), and a “1 life to live” mentality. This mode didn’t interest me at all. Quick Play lets you revisit any level that you’ve already beaten in Adventure mode. Adventure mode is where this game is at its best.

Adventure mode sees you traveling to each of the 5 kingdoms, crushing blocks and taking names through several levels in each kingdom. Fortunately, you don’t have to beat a kingdom to move on to the next. The first round covers two levels in each kingdom, the second round three levels in each kingdom, and so on. The levels are filled with single hit objects, multi-hit objects, objects that can only be hit from one side, and so on. There are also things like teleporters to make the game more interesting. There’s even a time limit to each level, which is actually handled uniquely in Ball Slam Fantasy. When the time runs out all non-breakable objects fall away, and the rest of the objects come charging at you, much like in space invaders (though they just travel vertically, not horizontally). If they reach the bottom of the screen, you lose a life. The nice thing about this is that unlike most Arkanoid clones, each level will end in one way or another, instead of you potentially spending several long minutes trying to destroy that final block that you can’t seem to reach.

Like any complete Arkanoid clone there are power ups, both good and bad. Positive power ups include things like enlarging your paddle and multiple balls, while negative power ups range from opposite controls to losing a life. There are also 5 different types of paddles, each with two unique power ups. You start off with one paddle, and each 100,000 points earned will unlock another paddle for you to use. Finally there are stars that fall from time to time, and if you collect five of them you get to play a bonus round at the end of your current level. You earn an extra life for each 5,000 points you score in the bonus round. You get 25 points for each star you catch, and the first life is pretty easy to earn. After that the stars start speeding up and additional lives become a challenge to get. The worst part of the bonus level is actually the fact that it gets boring after a while. The controls are simply using your finger to slide the paddle back and forth, and tapping when needed to use something like the cannon power up.

Monkey In The Middle

While a couple things like the timer / space invaders gimmick and the unlockable paddles definitely add interesting twists to the brick breaking game play, I think it’s the aesthetic aspects of Ball Slam Fantasy that really make the game shine. Each kingdom has its own visual flair in both the foreground and background layers. Multi-hit blocks usually have faces on them, and the expressions they make when they get hit are great. I also really appreciate the fact that bricks actually look different in every kingdom. Even things like the teleports are different, becoming a whirlpool in the water levels or an igloo in the ice levels. The backgrounds themselves are a treat, and not only differ by kingdom, but sometimes differ by level as well. I especially love how there are different critters popping out of the hole in the ice on various levels of the ice kingdom.

The sound effects were pretty decent, though I think it would have been funny to have the faces make some sort of noise when they got hit. There were also some creatures on several of the levels that could have added some ambient sounds to the mix. The musical tracks more than makes up for anything that’s lacking in the area of sound effects. Every kingdom has its own track, and they are all good. Some of the best music, however, actually appears in areas like the bonus level and menu selections. In fact, the bonus level track almost makes it worth playing the bonus level as long as you can, even though it’s not that exciting.

Addon Packs: NO
Suitable For Young Kids: YES
Online Support: YES

CONS:
- Nothing noteworthy

PROS:
- Outstanding visuals
- Incredible soundtrack
- Makes the Arkanoid genre enjoyable

OVERALL::
If you like games where you break bricks with a paddle, Ball Slam Fantasy should be in your collection. If you don’t like this type of game, I’d suggest trying it anyway. There’s a lite version, and I’m pretty sure after giving it a spin you’ll be buying the full one. The audio and visual elements create a wonderful atmosphere, and within the confines of the genre the game play is all there and then some.

Overall Rating: 9.4

Available Platforms: iPhone
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App Store Link – Lite Version
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[Note: images courtesy of App Shopper]

As I’ve been waiting for iTunnel 3D to come out (which I hear is any day now), several other “race through tunnels” style games have hit the App Store, all pretty much within a few weeks of each other.  One of the entries in this genre is Swirl from Epicore.  I really want to like this game, as it has a lot of potential.  A couple of things are holding me back from being able to recommend it, however.

Swirl has you hurtling through tunnels, trying to collect stars and reach the end of each tunnel without getting killed.  I’ve mastered the art of getting killed, but sadly have accomplished little else in this game.  There are 4 “power ups” to be had in the game, though only two are of some benefit.  One will give you some health back, while another I’m assuming gives you an additional burst of speed (which is something I clearly don’t need while playing the game).  On the down side, there’s a bucket that will splash paint, temporarily blocking your view.  There’s also a mushroom that makes controlling the game awkward for a short period of time.

Round And Round We Go

The problem I face is that it looks like I always have a mushroom when I’m playing.  Most games of this style make you tilt the device to turn, but with Swirl you prety much have to completely rotate the device at times in order to avoid the walls that block your path.  As a result, I wouldn’t plan on playing the game with headphones or a power supply plugged in.  Add to that the fact that you tilt tip the device forward to gain speed, and I often feel like I have to choose between playing the game and actually being able to look at it.  That’s too bad, because the visuals are actually pretty decent.  There are 5 worlds to the game at this point, but in all my attempts I’ve not even come close to even unlocking the second world.  I think they need to consider difficulty levels to appease unskillful players like myself.

The game does look pretty good, though I’d love to see how the levels beyond world 1 look.  I like the effects when get splattered by paint or accidentally snag a mushroom, so while it’s not suggested as a general practice to get those items I’d suggest it once or twice just to see what it looks like.  The sound effects are decent, but I think I’ve heard the sound of me smacking against walls more than anything.  I like the music, and I’d really love to hear what the tracks in the different worlds sound like.

I think Swirl has a great foundation, and based on the “coming soon” items in the App Store it might be headed somewhere good, but as it stands right now it’s not there, especially with a price point of $2.99.  For a third of the price you can get Tunnel Vision, which has multiple game play modes, has much more interesting obstacle design, and most importantly is much easier to control.

Final Verdict: Not Recommended
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[Note: image courtesy of App Shopper]

It appears that Pocketfun has decided to branch out from the world of puzzle games.  Their first deviation, Gobble, is actually a nice little action game.  At its heart Gobble is your basic “dodge the bad guys to survive” game, with the bad guys in this case being red bobbles.  In order to actually earn points, however, you must eat blue bobbles.  You can also earn points by eating fruit.  Be warned, though, that eating will cause you to grow and get slower.  Over time the bad guys get bigger as well, which makes the game of dodge so much more interesting to play.  There are 17 achievements that can be earned along the way, from earning your first 50,000 points to going 60 seconds without touching anything at all.  You can even interface with Twitter to tweet your high scores and achievements earned.

Surprisingly, the game forgoes both tilt and “follow the finger” controls in favor of the increasingly more common spin wheel at the bottom of the screen.  It actually works pretty well for this game, and suffers the same problem as it does in any other game where you just sort of stop dead in your tracks if your thumb slips from the wheel.  I’m hoping that they consider making the wheel adjustable so that you can place it on the right side of the screen if you like.  Also, it would be nice to have tilt controls as an option.  A pause button would be a nice feature, since my thumb tends to get tired during longer games.

Gobble The Blues

The graphics are simple but cute.  I like the fact that the bobbles are looking around, but it would have been cooler to actually have their eyes follow you as you move around.  At first I thought maybe they did, but then I think I was just being paranoid.  The sound effects are good enough, and the burp emitted when accidentally eating a red bobble is always amusing.  There’s no music – I’d really love to hear some music for this game.

Gobble doesn’t really add anything new to the game play for this genre, but it does well with what it offers.  The spin wheel was an interesting and mostly successful choice for mechanics.  The graphics are colorful, and who doesn’t love a good burp when you’ve eaten something wrong.  I hope they consider making some enhancements to Gobble in the future, but for 99 cents it’s still a good deal.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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[Note: image courtesy of App Shopper]

I suppose it could just be me, but the prospect of juggling happy go lucky tribble rejects around doesn’t seem like all that appealing of a concept for a game.  It turns out, however, that it is actually quite addictive.  So how can you engage in this guilty pleasure?  Why, by playing Uggles of course!  Uggles is another perfect example of how a simple concept can keep you thinking “just one more time”.

In Uggles you play this fuzzy red creature that just so happens to have freakishly long arms.  You use those arms to juggle other fuzzy creatures that are also cute but appear to be limb-deficient.  You can choose to juggle one, two or three Uggles at the same time (yes, I realize one is really not considered “juggling”), and you keep going until you fail to catch one of the poor Uggles.  You get a point for each successful catch, and after score a certain number of points in a game you can unlock new types of Uggles.  There are three types to begin with and three more to unlock, with ample shelf space to house another four unlockable Uggles.  Maybe a future update?

Toss Some Uggles

You can control the game using on screen arrows or the tilt functionality of your iDevice.  The first time I tried using tilt I promptly switched to on screen arrows after a pitiful attempt at playing.  As I’ve gotten used to the game, however, I find that I actually like the tilt controls more.  In fact, I don’t find the arrows to be quite responsive enough for juggling three Uggles, especially as they start getting faster.  My main issue with the game play is that it seems like the game is a bit over sensitive as to what it constitutes as a catch.  There were times were it seemed like I certainly had enough of an Uggle in my character’s hand to constitute a catch, but the game said I dropped it.

The graphics in Uggles are top notch.  Each Uggle has a unique look, and they’re just so cute.  I love the main character’s look of concentration – complete with tongue hanging out – as it’s tossing the others back and forth.  I just wish that the little Uggles could have had a bit more animation than simply having their eyes blinking.  The sound effects are sufficient, but get repetitive rather quickly because they aren’t accompanied by any music.  This game would certainly benefit atmospherically from some light, cartoonish melodies.

I really didn’t expect much going into my first session playing Uggles, and I ended up being pleasantly surprised.  In its simplicity, Uggles ends up being an addictive and challenging game.  And, it has the added bonus of being quite kid friendly.  Head over to the App Store and pick up your furry juggling fix now.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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[Note: image courtesy of AppShopper]

I’m a moderate retro gamer.  More often than not I’d rather see an older concept updated with modern conveniences rather than play games “as they were”.  Every once in a while a game transcends that barrier for me, however, and such is the case with 8Bit Games Flying.  It’s not really even that great of a game, but every time I play it something sucks me in.

There’s a small background story on their web site, which if you’re like me you’ll read and then file under “things that make you go huh?”  You don’t really need the story in order to be able to play the game, however.  All you really need to know is that you tilt the device back and forth to move, and you need to dodge everything.  That’s it.  The landscape is randomly generated and in as much as I’ve played consists of buildings and multitudes of the Statue Of Liberty.  There may be more levels to the game, but if so I’m not skilled enough to get there.  One hit and you’re dead, and I’m pretty good about hitting things.  Score is based on length of survival, and I’m pretty sure that’s the part that sucks you in.  Again, if you’re like me, you’ll look at the pathetic score you earn and think “I can do better”.

Crash And Burn

The graphics are quite interesting.  On the web site it talks about PCG, though I have no idea if that’s something real or made up.  I would describe the graphics at an EGA level, with at best a 16 color palette.  If you’re not used to graphics that pre-date 256 MB video cards, you might not really enjoy the visuals.  As it is they can be hard to stare at for an extended period of time.  Thankfully, I usually don’t last long enough for that to be an issue.  The music is a perfect simulation of old PC speaker “symphony”, which basically means one note at a time.  The only sound effect is when your plane is tumbling to the ground after hitting a structure.

So who is this game going to appeal to?  Mostly people like me who have some recollection of computers old enough that this level of graphics and gameplay was considered “good”.  But, if you’re like me in that respect, 99 cents is certainly worth the trip down memory lane.  Because of it’s niche appeal, however, I can’t flat out recommend it.

Final Verdict: On The Fence
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[Note: image courtesy of App Shopper]

Sometimes the simplest games are both the most intriguing and often the most original. For me, iPolygon could easily fit that description. In a way you could describe it as a breakout clone, but the paddles are also the bricks you need to break. Add to that the fact that you have a 360 degree playing field, and iPolygon certainly adds a new spin to an old genre.

Each level starts out with the outline of a polygon. Enclosed in that polygon is a ball and an *. Your job is to hit the ball around until it makes contact with the *, at which time it will grow spikes. When the spiked ball hits one side of the polygon that side will shatter, and another * will appear. Ultimately you must destroy all but one side of the polygon to proceed to the next level. You get points for each side of the polygon you break, and additional points if you collect the $ that appears every once in a while. You have 3 lives, and you lose one each time the ball escapes whatever is left of your polygon. Lose all of your lives and its game over. It probably wouldn’t hurt to mention that you have to start the level again when you lose a ball as well.

5 More Sides To Conquer

iPolygon uses tilt controls to turn the polygon, and it actually works fairly well. However, I would highly suggest playing the game on a full battery if you’re going to play for a while, because you’ll be spinning the device a lot and you probably won’t want to have a power cord plugged in. Personally I couldn’t see myself playing the game for hours on end, but rather using the game as filler when I have a few minutes to spare. Naturally, you might feel differently.

The graphics are simple but effective. I particularly like the fact that the pieces of a shattered side can actually get caught in the remainder of the polygon, and they still interact with the ball as if they were actually pieces. That’s a really nice touch. The sound effects are decent overall, and a shattering side sounds pretty cool. There’s no music which is a pity, as the lack of continuous sound does get noticeable at times.

I snagged iPolygon during a time when it was being offered for free, not really knowing what the game was about. I’m glad I did. On a device that’s plagued with numerous clones of all the most popular puzzle games, it’s nice to run into something fresh every once in a while. As of the writing of the review this game was priced at 99 cents, and that’s still a steal for a new take on a venerable game genre.

Final Verdict: Recommended
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