MyPhoneRiches

3G iPhone Downloads

The Hero

$1.99, Chillingo, Games, Reviews, The Hero, superhero
Developer: Traplight Games
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0

Graphics / Sound Rating: 4.65 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.16 out of 5 stars

Much like going to the movies, there are two ways of going into a new game. You can either go in thinking that it is going to be fantastic, or you can go in with no expectations at all. Rarely do high expectations pay off, but when they do, it makes for the best experience possible. Unfortunately, my expectations for The Hero were through the roof after seeing what I called at the time “the best app trailer ever”.

Much like the trailer showed off, The Hero is a superhero action game where you, The Hero, protect the world from the very Dr. Robotnik-like Dr. Hubbub and his band of evil militants. The game basically amounts to you flying around the screen while running into all the bad guys and potential disasters that you see. There are no punching or kicking moves, although you are given a few superpowers along the way… the majority of the time it is just up to your ability to ram into targets. The enemies, as expected, vary greatly from the stationary bombs to slow moving, high hit point tanks, to high flying satellites with laser beams. There are no real hit points in the game, only a “fame” bar, tracking how much the people adore you. Every time you get hit, hurt civilians, or let babies fall out of windows (seriously), your fame drops, but it can be regained by high-fiving supporters and killing bad guys. Once your fame meter runs all the way down, you lose.

The game really works on a number of levels, mostly being the graphics. There is something extremely satisfying about seeing a game on your iPhone that looks like it could just as easily be on XBLA. On my iPhone 3G, there were no slowdowns of any kind, and apparently on the 3GS you can enable a better graphics mode that runs at 60fps. I can’t imagine the game looking any better than it already does, but I’d love to see it try. The other winner here are the controls, which are almost simple to a fault. The Hero is controlled with a floating virtual joystick that works no matter where your thumb is on the screen. For the first hour or so the controls were spectacular, but I noticed after awhile that all the quick moving on the glass screen was giving my thumb a blister. Never being the kid that complained about thumb blisters, I played through the annoyance, but it was quite annoying.

IMG_0959

My real gripe with The Hero is the story. After watching the trailer a few times, I was really excited about learning the story behind The Hero. I was hoping that the game would be an epic, taking you from the heyday to the point that he is in the video… depressed and smoking. I wasn’t expecting anything amazing, but I was hoping for a humorous Raging Bull-like downfall story. Instead I got a few screen before each level of a doting police chief and a press girl that seemed like a sexed up version of Moneypenny. On its own, the story isn’t awful, but my expectations were far too high for what I ended up getting.

While I certainly enjoyed playing all 15 levels of The Hero, I didn’t finish the game with the excitement that I wanted to. Unfortunately, this was a case there the trailer was so good that it actually took away from the overall experience. With the campaign mode and the survival modes afterwards, I’d expect a few hours of gameplay… certainly enough to warrant a purchase. Just don’t expect the app to be nearly as good as the trailer.

Iphone Media
3G iPhone Downloads!


Colorbind

$1.99, Games, Reviews, colorbind, nonverbal, puzzle
Developer: Nonverbal
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1

Graphics / Sound Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

iPhone Integration Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.04 out of 5 stars

IMG_0528Colorbind is a breath of fresh air in the choked puzzle arena. I’m still a fan of more “normal” puzzles like Rafter—but have you seen how many physics puzzles there are? Don’t even get me started about match-3’s. Colorbind is decidedly different. It’s a serene, unique concept that marries good old-fashioned logic with excellent graphics and a minimalistic interface. If you’re looking for a true mind-bender, Colorbind is the way to go.

This is a game of ribbon-folding. Each level starts you out with one or more strips of colored ribbon at the edge of the screen, and a number of colored dots scattered around. Your goal is to make sure that each dot matches the color beneath it by dragging those strips of ribbon and folding them into place. There are a few catches: “corners” don’t count (and you can’t slide a ribbon under or over them); and if the dot is at an intersection of two ribbons, it’s the vertical one that is compared to the dot. Of course, the biggest catch of all is that you actually have to think your solutions through. Watch the video; it’ll give you a good idea of how the puzzle works. Controls are simple: drag your finger and the ribbon follows, and shake your device to reset the level.

There are a total of 84 levels, divided into the categories of Easy, Medium, and Hard. Don’t let those titles fool you, though: the levels don’t progress steadily in difficulty. Instead, some levels will seem obvious while others will have you scratching your head for a few days. It’s a good mix of challenge, frustration, and success, and the fact that completing each level unlocks those around it means that you’ll rarely be permanently stumped. The levels require a mixture of logic and experimentation, and the more you play, the more accustomed you become to Colorbind’s unique strategies.

Colorbind’s puzzles are excellent, and the scenery is good as well. The game takes place against a pale background, and the slightly-crinkled ribbons create a minimalist atmosphere and a good balance of color. Unfortunately, there’s no music, though at least the sound effects aren’t grating. The game also keeps track of your statistics and comes bundled with a handful of achievements to earn. For once, I’m grateful for the lack of OpenFeint: it would dampen the game’s aesthetic.

There’s not much more to Colorbind. It’s a game of logic and strategy, experimentation and folding. If you like puzzles at all, you owe it to yourself to grab this little beauty. The 84 levels won’t last you forever (I’ve finished over 50 already), but it’s more than worth the $1.99 entrance fee.

Iphone Media
3G iPhone Downloads!


Tilt to Live

$1.99, Games, On Man Left, Reviews, Tilt to Live
Developer: One Man Left
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Reviewed on: iPhone 3GS

Gameplay Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Controls Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Graphics and Sound Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.63 out of 5 stars

IMG_0631

Developed by the new kids on the block, One Man left, Tilt to Live is a fast paced tilt-based action title in which the overall aim, is to try and stay alive for the longest amount of time, possible. The game plays out in one continuous level. As you start the game for the first time it will do something I’ve yet to see any other game do. TTL asks you how you’re about to hold your device. There are four options to choose from, including: Regular, Top-Down, Sleepy and Custom. Regular depicts holding the device at a 45 degree angle, while Top-Down sees you holding the device horizontally in front of you and Sleepy being holding the device a “above your face” position, while laying face up. The Custom option allows you to tilt the device to the right orientation before deciding to re-calibrate the device’s accelerometer.

The game is simple. You play as a white arrow, and using your device to tilt this arrow around the screen frantically, you have to fend off and destroy ever multiplying red dots. The catch? .. These dots don’t just appear and fly around randomly, they’re sort of like homing missiles, set on following one thing – you. But, you won’t have to fend these little pests off on your own. Throughout the game you’ll encounter various orb like weapons, each harboring its own special power, but in order to activate this wealth of power you have to smash your arrow right through the center of one .. kind of hard when you’re trying to avoid all these red dots. But, it gets harder. Every so often these dots will group together to form what I call certain retro death. In actual fact they congeal together to create different objects, most commonly the setup of retro pong. So, as well as trying to avoid smaller red dots, you then find yourself in the middle of a deadly pong game. Did I mention the game ends as soon as your arrows’ outer layer touches the surface of this red matter? .. Yeah.

As you progress through the game though you’ll unlock more and more weapons to help you on your battle against the rising. The most common of these being:

Shock Blasters – These orbs are coloured red and signified by a yellow lighting bolt. Touching them will emit a small but effective shock wave which will disintegrate nearby red matter.

Wave Basters – Another powerful type of weapon which when collected radiates a wave of immense power, wiping out all red matter in its path.

Ice Blasters – Unlocked in future stages of the game, ice blasters are probably the most effective of the weapons available. Touching these bad boys will result in them emitting a huge blast of ice. As a result any nearby red matter will be turned into ice spheres .. all you have to do is, well .. smash them to pieces.

Moving onto graphics and sound, the sheer attention to detail in Tilt to Live, is immense. Really. It’s very rare you see a title with such quality and personality about it, but One Left Man have hit the nail on the head with this one. Set out on an animated green-tinted backdrop, all game elements appear clean, crisp and the explosive colour of all weapons uses within the game just seem to add to this feast of eye-candy.

Overall, Tilt to Live is an exceptionally well designed, visually pleasing and frantically challenging action title. With the tight integration of leader boards via AGON Online, the ability to share your scores with the world via Facebook and Twitter, 27 awards to collect throughout the game and unlockable super-weapons, Tilt to Live really is one of those hidden gems.

Iphone Media
3G iPhone Downloads!




Search

You are currently browsing the archives for the $1.99 category.

Pages

Categories

Archives

iPhoneFan
Wordpress Theme

Designed by Bacteriano based on iPhone PSD file designed by Manicho.