Beast Boxing 3D Review: This Sluggerfest Packs a Serious Punch

-Review posted on TheAppera

Beast Boxing 3D($2.99) by Goodhustle Studios is the latest boxing title for the iPhone — but this one has some surprises up its sleeve. The game is based on a bunch of otherworldly creatures like humanoid pigs and skeletons fighting it out in a ring with a humorous storyline and dialogue. You are a slum-raised human dressed in a beast costume to take part in the sluggerfest; as humans don’t enter this beast-league.

Presentation

There are three levels of difficulty and three save slots to pick from. After creating a save, your first opponent is a gym teacher, named Piglas, who teaches your character the ins-and-outs of boxing. There is a short diagram depicting a tutorial on the various move-sets — from defense to offense. The tutorial option also exists in the main menu that can be accessed anytime if you forget something and the trainer gives hints during beginning bouts as well.

The graphics are really nice in this game with great animation and backgrounds. There is even smoke coming out of the ring corners. When the opponent gets KO’d he falls like a wooden block straight backwards to add in a nice effect to your victory. The various beasts in the game are very well detailed and unique in their own way — they also have their own attacks to unleash and styles of boxing. There are various sounds coming from the crowd during matches and the background music fits right in with the title as it is very upbeat. It is just loud enough to still hear the thuds of shots as the slum-boy-dressed-as-beast is hitting opponents or him getting hit.

There are also achievements to unlock with GameCenter but no multiplayer. Another shortfall is lack of modes and only nine opponents in the game to defeat in the game.

Controls

Everything is done by tilting or swiping as there isn’t a virtual dpad or anything of the sort. And swiping corresponds to what you would expect to yield with the direction of input. Swiping either the left or right finger — depending on what arm you want your on-screen fighter to use — in a similar way you would expect a punch to be thrown causes the slum-boy to throw either a hook, jab-straight, or uppercut: Down to up is the uppercut, left to right is a left hook, and tapping with the thumb initiates the jab or cross. Blocking is accomplished by touching two thumbs on the screen at once. You can tilt in either direction to move your character, but for some reason the view of the opponent disappears for a second as he strafes rather than just circles around his opponent.

There is clear strategy here as you have to setup attacks and know when to defend or move and when to take offense. The opponents don’t fight in prearranged ways like they do in ‘Punch-Out’ so they can learn your habits as well.

Gameplay

Beast Boxing is similar to the ‘Punch-Out’ series but there are three punches to throw here from both arms and you can create combinations based on these attacks. They are the jab, hook, and uppercut. And because they can be done with each arm there are a lot of possible combinations to throw. The opponents have their own movements and combinations, sometimes bordering on the silly as well. There is a stamina and health bar and stamina needs to be replenished by avoiding any action for a few seconds — blocking or dodging.

Improving the slum-boy’s stats in the game’s virtual gym is done in-between bouts by choosing upgrades to purchase. This is done with earnings compromises of gold coins and can be either earned from bouts or collected during the match from fans by holding the block input. You can also fight previously defeated opponents with a rematch to earn earnings.

Suggestions

I would have liked to be able to block in the middle of a combo unleashed at me — to be able to cover up even after getting hit or be able to move after the opponent landed some shots on my character but for some reason you have to take the entire combo before being able to respond. Some other improvements with movement and controls I would like to see addressed is being able to circle around the opponent not just move in a parallel matter — game forces you to strafe left or right but I would like to keep the view on him while I move left or right.

Body shots are also missing in beast Boxing and I would like the option to throw them. Tilting forward and backwards isn’t even implemented here as well and I would love to be able to dodge by moving my head back from a punch instead of just left or right. Online multiplayer would also be a nice addition as well, as this game screams online leader boards and competition for players outside the A.I.

Conclusion

Beast Boxing has all the makings of a great boxing game. The swipe-controls are very well implemented and correspond exactly to what each hand movement performs. The punches are executed really quickly as well and I never had my character throw something different than I inputted. However this is still a simplified arcade-like title, and not a boxing sim. The inability to circle around the opponent or throw body shots are some of the things greatly missing from the package. Breast boxing however, has just enough to satisfy anyone looking for pugilistic ring-combat on the iPhone and the presentation along with the character animations are worth the price of admission.

-update
posted on theappera

News Stories about recent iDevice games

Here are some news articles I posted for NoDpad

‘Age of Zombies’ Out on App Store Now

Cescent Moon Unloads Massive Lineup in time for Christmas

Flight Control HD Soon to Have Online Multiplayer

N.O.V.A 2 storyline, artwork revealed

Fumes Stunt Racer Review: Amiga Classic Brought to the Modern Age

Although there are a number of quality driving games on the App Store — notably by EA and Gameloft — most fall into the racing category and not many can be classified as vehicle stunt games or control-precision sims. Probably the greatest and most widely known stunt game is Jet Car Stunts – a very high quality tilt-controlled title with many challenges and levels to play. Now there is a new challenger in town called Fumes Stunt Racer($1.99) by Sector3 Games.

The game is based off of an older Amiga game that came out some decades ago called Stunt Car Racer. It revolutionized the racing game genre with car-stunt gameplay like gravity-defying air jumps and its twister tracks. The game has been brought back to the modern age in the App Store; however, does it live up to the high flying nature of the original or disappoint long-standing fans of the classic? The answer depends on if you are looking for a retro reboot or a modern title that has rebooted gameplay and more to offer.

Presentation

The game’s track layout and visual style of outlook is very similar to the original — although it is touched up with modern effects. Clouds are seen overhead tracks and the car’s engine is very well detailed with fumes coming out. the graphics are not as impressive as most other racers on the App Store; and quite frankly not much more impressive than the original title’s visuals.

The draw distance needs some work as further scenery and buildings appear out of nowhere — although there is fog as well in the background however objects literally appear fully formed.

Sound affects like cheers of the crowd, and the car’s engine sound are very well implemented but I found the background music pretty dry.

The title also features OpenFeint and with a recent update, GameCenter support as well. In-game leader boards and similar options are nice features to have in such a game.

Controls

The game’s default control scheme is touch-based with manual steering (slider steering bar) but a tilt control option is also available in the options menu. There are also break and acceleration touch-pedals on the screen for control and this is done very well as most racing games on the iPhone only allow one pedal on screen.

There are many control options to weed through that include auto-breaking, vibration, and flipping the steering or pedal controls (you can drive like you are in Britain). Overall, I found the tilt controls well implemented and my preferred method — what is really nice is the game adjusts the pedal layouts automatically as well when switching input methods of steering for best comfort.

Gameplay

Fumes Stunt Racer has the feel, look, and steering mechanics very faithful to the original title. The tracks are just as barren and thin, and it is just as easy to over-steer or lose control of the vehicle. To modern gamers of arcade racers this might be something hard to grasp but the difficulty in steering at high speeds and not getting out of control is what made the original so satisfying to play.

The aim here is not to race other cars or even try some pre-arranged stunts but to survive till the end of the track in three laps and in the best time possible. This sounds easier than done as there are ramps to fly over and tight turns to beat. The faster you go the harder the game becomes but the better your time or score will be at the end of the race – going too slow or beating the tracks with a slow time will result in failing to pass the race. Falling off the tracks doesn’t help either as it causes time loss.

There Really is only one game mode to choose from and that is completing the tracks with the best time possible to unlock the next track.

Suggestions

I would like the graphics to be a bit touched up – especially the draw distance. A more varied track outlook with more backgrounds would also help. It seemed to me as if I never saw a variety of colors anywhere in the game and some colors like green are just missing.

I would also like the game to have more gameplay modes or customization like vehicle upgrades and purchases. This is a must for this game to compete with Jet Car Stunts for game time as Jet Car Stunts has way more play options and tracks with it’s add-on pack (it has difficulty options as well). Compared to the small number of tracks offered in Wreckless Racing however, there is a lot here and they are actually pretty varied in layout. Despite the few gameplay options and difficulty in advancing or earning more tracks, nostalgic gamers will find a lot of play time with the title. Compared to other racing and car games on the App Store, the controls or physics in Fumes Stunt Racer are unforgiving and challenging but satisfying to master.

Conclusion

Fumes Stunt Racer probably won’t appeal to the modern gamer but with some modes added like online play, tracks added, and touched-up graphics; this could be the hardcore racing sim of the iDevices. So far it is still quite good and entertaining for the classical gameplay it offers, but outside the Stunt Car fans of old it will probably be a niche title overshadowed by Jet Car Stunts and other games. It definitely is a worthy experience however for gamers wanting a unique take on track layouts and hardcore handling and should not disappoint fans of the original.

-update
posted on The Appera

Cartoon Wars 2: Heroes Review: Castle Defense With a Twist of RPG and Action Makes a Splash on the App Store

Mixing genres of games doesn’t always turn out the best games — however in the case of Blue GNC‘s Cartoon Wars 2: Heroes($0.99)the game turned out quite well. Cartoon Wars 2 is based off of two previous games in the series — Cartoon Wars and Cartoon Wars: Gunner — and the gameplay has features of both with many additions to please fans of action shooters and castle-defense strategists. The game also features lots of upgrades, customizations, and some RPG elements. You will be fighting dragons with helicopters and pitting robots against dinosaurs. If that isn’t enough, there are also six heroes at the player’s disposal to choose from — one of which shares a strong resemblance and has the same name as Kain from Final Fantasy IV.

Presentation

The presentation is well done with a short intro movie showing some of the back-story of the game albeit without text or dialogue. The story won’t win any awards features a Captain and a King fighting for control of the thrown. The music is very upbeat and sound affects are also well done. I really liked the menu music sets — as it is techno or trance like (but it ma not be everyone’s cup of tea). Graphics are also very colorful and there are many different backgrounds to fight in from cities to castles.

What I really like is the ability to change difficulty in the options and how it doesn’t reset the game data or force you to start the campaign over. The game also has an auto save feature and reminds you to save after each battle. These options and little touches by the developers really make this title a complete package and this is further shown with the updates they added.

One thing I dislike however, is that there is no in-game tutorial. There is only a command screen showing what icons mean and basic instructions how to play. With a tutorial, confusions like not being able to purchase air units till further acts could be prevented.

The deveopers are updating quite regularly with GameCenter support for instance and an Infinity (Hell) mode for expert players added through updates.

Controls

The controls are standard for any game in the genre, except tilting the iDevice screen will cause the view to move to either the right or left in the castle-defense parts. Or use the standard touch-drag.

Another small complaint with the game is that the bow sometimes takes a second too long to stop firing after hitting the stop command and letting it recharge. It is also hard to judge where to put the slider to gauge distance. Sometimes the slider isn’t all responsive as well due to it’s small interval especially for those with big thumbs.

Gameplay

The game is divided into two main parts — the hero mode, and the castle defense-RTS mode. Heroes are controlled in real time in gun-action mini-missions against a large number of enemies or enemy ‘special forces’ that is similar to the previous Gunner title. The heroes can gain levels with experience points and be upgraded as well. On the other hand the game has a very deep castle defense game with lots of units to choose — new to the series are air units — and ther eis a large bow to control and launch arrows at enemies. This is done by tilting the angle of the bow with an arrow to fire at different parts of the battlefield. Be careful not to tilt the bow too low and hit the wrong army however. Mana is used as a resource for creating units or using special abilities to rain down on enemies for example. The mana fills up to a certain extent before it has to be used up by the player or it can be upgraded to gain levels and charge to higher amounts and recharge faster. This is done by using some of it up as cost for the upgrade.

There are various large bosses to fight and not just castles to destroy that unleash troops against your army — as is the case in some other titles in the genre. They are sometimes very powerful and hard to defeat as this is a very challenging title. Gold can be gained through the battles — with hero or in the RTS section, and there is even an ability to turn gold into mana in battles. The game also allows for many paths to victory and this creates many challenges and strategies to think about.

The game is also divided into ‘Acts’ and some units aren’t available till progressing further in the game, like air units aren’t available for purchase until Act 4. I wasn’t able to figure out for a while why I was unable to purchase some units for a while so this may create a bit confusion.

Suggestions

I would love multiplayer to be added in future updates. Some other complaints I mentioned could also be improved upon like the bow-tilt slider being easier to move and an ingame tutorial added showing all the ins-and-outs of the game.

Conclusion:

The title features a lot of bang for the buck so to speak, and fans of almost any genre of gaming should find something to like. The difficulty can be steep, and it can be a bit confusing switching between the RTS castle-defense sections and the action scenes of the hero. However, the game is really well done and everything fits together nicely. I would really recommend it to any App Store gamer and rank the title as the best version of Cartoon Wars so far and one of the top in the castle defense genre as well.

-update
posted on TheAppera

EA Sports MMA Review: Submit Your Way to Victory in the Virtual Octagon

EA has recently surprised some fight fans by releasing their Mixed Martial Art brawler EA Sports MMA ($4.99)onto the iDevices. The title features some of the top ranked fighters from around the world like Bas Rutten, Randy Couture and the once hailed as ‘invincible’ Fedor Emelianenko. However many fighters and big names like Brock Lesnar are missing from the package because THQ holds the official UFC license. But the game is really about creating your own fighter and seeing him progress. Strikeforce is featured as the premier league in this title and is one of UFC’s top rival organizations.

Mixed Martial Arts is a sport that has really gained popularity in the last few years and it is a very technical sport that requires dedication from more than one discipline. Striking, grappling, throws, and submissions are skills that are all needed in order to be a complete fighter and EA’s MMA allows you to dip into all these combat methods.

Presentation

The overall presentation is very crisp. There is console-quality voice commentary during each fight and right from the start-up screen a nice and short intro movie shows Fedor knocking another fight out cold. Before beginning to fight the game shows a tutorial where a fighter trained me and showed me every facet of the game’s controls — from standup strikes to grappling and ground fighting. Before the fight ring girls also make an appearance in great form as does Big John McCarthy. The title has a wide range of sound effects and music — during the fights screams and cheers occur in the background depending on what is happening in the ring and various songs or beats play when pausing the game or going in the options menu.

Customization, options, and graphics are some of the other strongpoints EA’s MMA has to offer. Some of these options include the ability to choose the locations of exhibition matches and the layout of the octagon (four corners or circular for instance). The graphics are also very crisp despite the movement animation being a bit clunky. Fighters are very recognizable by facial and proper size and weight animations. Muscle tones and even veins are visible on Randy Couture’s arms as are tattoos on other fighters. There are even fighter bios with a bit of info about each fighter done by a commentator. Certain strikes will also result in cuts that are shown on the faces of the fighters in the matches.

Controls

The controls are tilt based for movement and touch base for input. So to clinch standing you have to swipe your fingers inwards in range or go for a takedown you have to swipe them downward. And you can keep improving positions in each clinch. But if you just want to strike, you tap with the finger when the opponent is in range either high or low on either side — representing high or low attacks from both sides of the body. You can also do some strikes with the swipe of a finger like an inward-swipe with some fighters will result in a haymaker or upward swipe in an uppercut. Blocking is done with the press of both fingers simultaneously. In order to keep the submission on the opponent or prevent him from escaping and to escape yourself — There are input commands you need to enter by following a prompt showing a marker where to put the finger inputs.

The controls are unique but also take a while of getting used to due to the complexity of swipes required to pull off the exact technique or strike aimed for. I found my fighter pulling arm bars when I wanted to go for the legs or simply switch positions on the ground. Getting the exact technique you want down was a bit difficult often, as it takes memorizing the swipe sequence you have to initiate from specific position sometimes on the ground. And this can be a bit annoying in the challenges where you have to often submit a particular opponent a specific way.

As for movement, it is done by tilting — tilt inwards or outward to do a side step or left and right to move in those directions. The movement in this game generally is very unresponsive and is one of the biggest drawbacks of the title. Sometimes a wrong tilt is recognized and the fighter will take an outward instead of inward step for example. If EA can add other control options such as a touch dpad in future updates, it would really improve the game as the controls are it’s biggest downfall — especially movement.

Gameplay

There are three modes to choose from and they are exhibition, career, and challenges. Challenges present various fights in MMA history re-envisioned where you have to win a certain way, or simply things to overcome like defeat a certain opponent with a particular opponent chosen for you in a particular round. Exhibitions are fights you setup with any fighter of your choosing against one you choose to go up against. Career is really the main draw of the game however. You create a fighter of your choosing and send him to fight against other fighters until he can win a championship. Along the way, you will also train the fighter to improve certain attributes in-between bouts.

When creating a fighter you can select the nickname, age, and country of origin. Designing the way he looks, gear he wears, attitude, and weight class are some other options to customize as well as choosing the fighting style he excels at. There is also a dice input randomly generating a fighter for you. Creating my fighter was some of the most fun I had in the game, as there are so many options to choose from and it is satisfying seeing how the fighter will do in combat.

There are a wide range of options to choose from and the lasting appeal should be good for any MMA or fight fan.

Suggestions

I suggest to fix the controls to either make them a lot more fluid and responsive or to at least add a dpad control method when walking (the grappling or ground fighting animation is very fluid on the other hand). The fighters also need to be able to run in toward their opponents or change speeds for takedowns rather than walk in such a robotic or rigid fashion. I would also suggest some online multiplayer fight-mode to be added. More options in terms of submission techniques could also be added so you wouldn’t have to wait to be on the bottom to do a guillotine for example but can from a standing clinch — same thing could be applied to takedowns or throws with more variety needed. I would also suggest iPad native-resolution support.

The controls are the biggest issue that keeps the title from really becoming a must have for anyone outside MMA or fighting-game fans however the presentation is really well done. Voice commentary, great graphics, lots of options to choose from and fights to relive are all very well implemented. The way the fighters escape and switch positions on the ground are very well done and made me feel sometimes as if I was fighting in that octagon — and forget this game is running on an iPhone. With some improvements to controls and technique variety I could really see this title become an iDevice-fighter benchmark.

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-Review posted on Theappera (Appera cut out some of the review due to word length of this version).

Star Battalion Review: Futuristic Space Shooter with Intensity

-Posted on Nodpad

Have you been missing a Warhawk, Starfox, or Rouge Squadron-like game on the iPhone? Gameloft has delivered by bringing out Star Batallion recently and surprisingly without much hype, to our touch devices. The title is a solid 3d space-shooter arcade-sim with 360 degree freedom-of-movement. It is a game that takes many inspiration from sci-fi shooters such as Starfox, Warhawk, and Rouge Squadron, among others — but comes out unique in its own way and should satisfy the 3d-space shooter itch mostly lacking on the iPhone. The gameplay shares similarities to Starfox in the sense that you have some wingmen along with you going through various missions –luckily two instead of three here. The wingmen are just as useless, if not more so, than they were in Starfox, and they also ask you to rescue them from time to time. On the other hand I haven’t seen any of them die in any of my missions yet. In terms of movement of flight and exploration however, Star Batallion is more similar to other more open ended games like Rouge Squadron or Warkawk — because, although you are restricted to operate in a perimeter neat the mission objectives, you have 360 degrees of freedom to fly in.

The game will take players right into the story of an inter-galactic war being fought as a Resistance fighter, and squadron captain, Sonan, of Orion Force One. Two forces at war are the Resistance, and the The Royalists, and as you may notice, the story borrows a lot from the Starwars franchise of light vs dark. Some of the missions and planet layouts also share similarities, but are unique in their own right. The graphics are truly amazing with the Retina display, and there is usually a lot of action happening on screen with voice narrations and cut scenes before, after, and sometimes during missions. I only experienced some slowdown during heavy battles, but what Gameloft accomplished is still pretty amazing in terms of visuals and presentation.

There are various missions in the campaign ranging from escorting ground forces and protect their flanks, to taking part in large dogfights where you end up having to take on an enemy capital ship, and to collecting square energy fields in space. missions take place over vast areas, and planets — ranging from ice and snow, deserts, and cities. There is never shortage of action and intensity right from the get go.

Gyroscope controls are enabled with tilting and turning as the default control method. Although the sensitivity is a bit jerky at times and may need to be tinkered in the options menu, the tilt controls allow very fluid motion without the need to concentrate on a lot of touch inputs. I found them better than the alternative touch controls as my finger would slip from the control input and I had to take my eyes off the action to place it back. Barrel rolls with the swipe of the finger are used to escape enemy missles and lock-on, and there is also a Starfox-esque U-turn that you can do with a vertical touch-input and both these touch inputs work real well.

There are also two views you can choose to fly in. A cockpit view and a third person perspective view where you can see the plane in front of you. They offer almost two completely different experiences but both are made pretty well to control.

Likes:

GameCenter support: There are various achievements to unlock and co-op online play is offered through either GameCenter or Gameloft’s service.

Graphics: Retina display is amazing, with great use of color and backgrounds. The landscapes in the background are usually very interesting to look at and very detailed. Examples of this are objects such as large spaceships to shoot down or cities located on the landscape, and far away planets or moons in the air. The polygon look very anti-aliased or with a lot of nice filtering because they are very smooth, moreso than I’ve even seen with other Gameloft titles. There is a wide range of terrain throughout the game overall and all the areas you explore are interesting.

Overall-presentation: The presentation is excellent overall, with mission briefings taking place explaining the background and story of the game between mission chapters. There are also very nice cutscenes present rivaling console titles, and often they take place even after completing one mission objective and getting ready to start another in the missions. Sometimes unexpected turns and twists occur inside missions. The voice acting is very good overall and each character seems to have their own personality carved with character.

Intensity: The combat is very intense and literally made my adrenaline spike to the point where I stood up playing some missions.

Dislikes:

Movement and Controls at times: Although there is a fair amount of freedom of movement offered I would have liked to be able to fly higher and lower than my default plane at times as there were many obstacles I kept hitting that I should have been able to fly over or under.

Target lock-on system: The targeting or aiming also needs fine-tuning, as you can’t choose who to target but the nearest enemies, and sometimes they are not even located in front of you but behind some object blocking your path like a piece of debris. I usually take out auto aiming in games such as this but the hit detection system and aiming is quite difficult in this title without it, almost too difficult as some laser shots seem to fly right past or through the enemy unless auto aim is on.

Sometimes you have to destroy small enemy forces like drones in the game or locate objects, and the automatic targeting system doesn’t always pick these out — assist stays on the enemy whose path you are nearest or across from. Finding these small enemy ships or objects to destroy can be difficult.

No online battles: Although there are multiplayer co-op campaign missions to play, I think games like this are truly designed for competitive dogfighting sessions if played in multiplayer.

Speed and acceleration adjustment: I was confused for a while between adjusting my speed in the game before figuring out there are only three options. There isn’t an actual throttle slider but you have to tap each of the three icons — one of which is a square signaling the mid or neutral speed and the other two are arrows signaling fast and crawling slow. I originally thought the square is where the speedometer is set and you have to adjust it either up or down — but instead of it being a slider, it acts as one of the buttons.At least the game allows some speed control as you can accelerate to catch enemies and later slow down when you want to target them for a clean shot. There is also an acceleration that occurs when you switch to the fastest speed from either of the slower once that sometimes causes your ship to fly further than aimed.

Overall, despite some minor gripes that can be fixed with updates such as deathmatch multiplayer, or lock-on controls, Star Batallion is a great flight-sim package that is very arcade-like in execution at times, but offers solid twitch-gameplay and challenge, with great presentation and graphics. I recommend it to any gamers looking for some dog-fighting action on their iPhone.

Star Batallion was developed by Gameloft, and I played through version 1.0.0 on my iPhone 4. The price is $6.99.

edit
-Review posted on NoDpad

Aqua Moto Racing 2: Jet Ski Racing on Rough Waves

I remember first playing Wave Race 64, early in the N64′s life cycle and being amazed by a genre-defining gameplay that featured not just racing, but racing on water with jet skis and with player-controlled stunts to boot. Aqua Moto Racing 2 ($0.99)is just as good as Wave Race with just as much if not more content and similar gameplay. This isn’t a light version of a better console racing game or an unfinished racer with a couple levels to play, but a full blown title here that I would rank at the top of the App Store’s racing list. It features many tracks and solid gameplay for any fans of racing titles or players looking for nice graphics and environments to explore.

Presentation

The game features beautiful graphics that are very apparent in the backgrounds, made of polygons and running ‘in game’ (not flat backgrounds) with great detail. There are many landmarks and terrains all over each track giving the tracks personality. Waves are all over the place and really make you feel you are on high-terbulant waters tasting the splashes. Objects in the background or on the tracks themselves include large stones, pyramids, and windmills. Some jaggies are apparent and lack of anti aliasing but you really have to stop and look to notice them.

OpenFeint support is integrated into the game and it is very well pulled off in this title. Various achievements can be unlocked though the races and sent to challenge friends. Ranking systems (both global and friends) per each track are also shown after the race and tell you how well you performed compared to others.

Being able to choose iTunes Library from the sound menu is a great addition to the title not seen in many games at all on the App Store. Although I really enjoy the music the game has to offer as it is quite upbeat and techno like, and that is the type of music racers should have – making you zone out.

The option menu is different during the race (that can be accessed by pressing the pause icon) than it is in the main menu. Accessing from the main menu gives players more options such as ‘Auto Stunting’ that controls whether stunts will occur at all in game.

Controls

There are three main control methods to choose from via the Main Menu. These options include accelerometer steering and manual acceleration, accelerometer steering and manual brake, touch steering and manual acceleration, and touch steering and manual brake. Touch steering and manual acceleration is my control of choice for the game as it works incredibly well. This is quite surprising because the control method relies entirely on the touch screen and you never feel as if you have to look back at the screen to see where the steering icon is and take your focus away from the action. Many touch input games, including some racers with steering wheels are frustrating because of this. The steering handle icon in Aqua Moto 2 is just large enough for the thumb to drag around it and work just right when using the touch method because it has a circle around its perimeter allowing 360 degree movement of the thumb for precision.

Aqua Moto 2 nailed down the touch controls real however in pretty much any of the options, although it would be nice to have both an accelerate and a break button instead of having to pick one. I found using one of the manual-break controls to be harder as sometimes just tapping the acceleration while turning works really well to cut corners.

Gameplay

This is a water jet ski racing game that allows you to do very nice jumps and stunts off various platforms. You race five other players throughout the game’s 24 locations (levels) and have to follow a pointer as well as navigate the waters between floating cone-landmarks. An arrow turns green near each cone players pass in the direction it is pointing from. Missing a cone three times in a race causes the race to end in failure. When passing each arrow and cone, players gain a bonus piece of a transparent circular-icon on the right side of the screen that fills up giving boosts that allow for better and longer stunts as well as the ability to catch up with the other jet skis.

Often you will be thrown off your jet ski by aggressive drivers or performing a stunt wrong. They become more aggressive as you advance in Championship mode and it will be harder to finish first despite the fact they don’t really feel hard to catch up to even after falling multiple times off the jet ski. The aggressiveness of other A.I is what really seems to change.

The game features 24 different tracks on three main environments of the Tropics, Greece, and Egypt. These tracks are unlocked throughout the championship game mode and can be played any time individually in quickrace thereafter. After completing every cup, players have the option of playing the tracks i reverse mode or ‘mirrored.

Beside the championship and quickrace modes, there are various achievements to unlock via the achievement tap in the main menu ranging from performing a certain number of stunts, collecting certain numbers of coins or knocking off the leading opponent.

Coins and money bags are collected throughout the tracks and can be used later for funds in the garage. the garage offers new jet ski machines to purchase with better handling and ability for example to perform more advanced stunts in the races. The stunts also add money to the players pocket during the championship races.

There are three categories of stunts from easy to expert that can be activated in mid air by tapping one of the commands that appear. Although fairly automatic some require some manuevering like letting go of the accelerator before landing as not to fall off the jet ski.

Suggestions

Online multiplayer would be great for this title, that already has so much online interactivity through OpenFeint. The A.I seems pretty basic and predictable in the sense they allow you to catch up not leaving you in the dust in all but the most expert of classes in Championship (and even then only to a degree) but at the same time you never really feel like you’re winning or can leave them in the dust when doing well even in first place. I would like the A.I to be a bit more independent of where the player is on the track or how well the player is doing in the race.

I would also like more flexibility in the stunts, and a wider variety of them. Having to pull them off manually and not just by pressing a command was what made Nintendo’s Wave Race series so intuitive and compelling. Although there is some control here it really is too simple for my taste. Although this game outshines Wave Race in my opinion in other areas like the addition of achievements.

Conclusion

IF you are looking for a great title to enjoy for the sheer presentation with great visuals and sound to get lost in, or a racer with lots of content and lasting ability, look no further than Aqua Moto Racing 2. With 24 tracks to play or 48 if you count the mirror mode, and many achievements to unlock this title has some serious staying power and value. At currently only $.99 this is pretty much a steal as games like this are released on consoles and portables for at least $30. This is a great time to be an iDevice owner. The game also runs natively on iPad (the version I played) with Universal Support and on iPhone 4 with Retina support. An iPod Touch option is also available although it’s App Store page says it was designed specifically for the two other devices.

Crystal War Review: Goblin-Human Warfare with Charm

There is no shortage of Castle-defense titles on the App Store. So for one to stand out from the pack is no small feat. Although Crystal War ($0.99)does not redefine this 2d-RTS genre, it offers a very polished experience with many aspects that stand out in a good way. What I would really describe this game is a 2d Warcraft but instead of a human vs. orc conflict the game has humans and goblins battling it out. Yes the goblins are basically orcs in disguise as both are green and slimy in appearance.

Presentation

The presentation is really well done with OpenFeint support and great background music to go along with the colorful art-style of the game. The campaign opens up with a nice backstory of humans, elves, and goblins that inhabit this game-world (the elves don’t have their own campaign however or at least not yet but can be bought as units). There is also a tutorial included in the first few level of the game.

The overworld map and the game’s graphics really make the game stand out – compared to others in the genre. Clouds move across the world and visible landmarks and roads are detailed nicely underneath. The in-game levels are also nicely detailed but not varied too much. The game scales real well on the iPad as well and this might explain why there isn’t an iPad HD version but it still would be nice to have.

There is an option to scroll the worldmap by tilt and this is a nice option to have but pretty pointless as it makes the game harder to control than the default option.

Controls

Castle-defense rts games work very well on the iDevices, hence why there are probably so many released ranging from Battle of Puppets to Cartoon-Wars with a wide variety of aesthetic differences and themes. I would go as far as to say that the genre of games it represents go hand-in-hand with the iTouche – whether it is the iPhone or iPad because screen size is really a non-issue unlike 3d-rts games– as bread goes with butter or vodka with cucumber the Russians would tell you.

The reason the controls work so well on touchpad-devices is because of how they are structured. The army fights on it’s own and does not have to be guided or told which units to attack or where to move – it just goes for the nearest enemy units. The icons for unit creation and commander’s abilities are all easy to locate and input. One other aspect of each battle is when the player does well in combat over time there is a chance to earn free units. A blue sphere fills up and a series of unit commands have to be imputed before time runs out. This adds interactivity via touch to the existing formula.

Gameplay

The game revolves around defending a point on one end of the level, and sending troops to conquer the opposite point. Instead of a castle you are defending a commander however who is equipped with abilities you can use or power ups. You also have a wide range of units to choose from and purchase through the game’s built-in shop, and a certain number of slots to fill up before battle.

>An aspect that makes this game stand out from some others in the genre is you actually have to purchase and send out miners so they can gather crystals that are used to build up an army. Crystals are the game’s primary resource although silver, as well as gold, coins can be earned in battle used for the shop.

As your miners gather crystals players have funds at their disposal to spend on troop creation. Some troops are cheap to create but weak in combat others take much time and resource gathering but are powerful adversaries to have on your side. Some troops fight melee while others use arrows or firepower and there are also healing units to aid the player’s army. There is a wide range of micro-management involved in the game that is required to get far as this is a very challenging game with two campaigns thus far (human and orc).

Suggestions

Please allow more than one save game slot so multiple people can enjoy the game on one device. Also a change of difficulty option would be nice as the game is very challenging and can bog down after a while. Players will have to replay old levels just to gain funds for additional troop upgrades and might lose interest so a difficulty slider would be a nice addition.

Another small gripe I have is control of individual units is a bit lacking. The player has no control over what enemy units to attack. I would have liked the ability to select my individual units as they are unleashed and click the enemy-units that I want them to attack.

I also hope for an elf campaign as they are mentioned in the introduction of the game in importance with humans and goblins but can only be used in existing armies as archers or healers thus far.

Conclusion

Overall Crystal War is a great castle-defense strategy game that is definitely worth checking out. It is a solid title in the genre with a lot of depth and strategy. Crystal War is one of the best touchpad gaming implementations to date with the added interactivity of Commander inputs and ‘Simon Says’-like command repetitions to gain troops. Definitely do not miss out on Crystal War as it will challenge you even if you are an avid strategy gamer as it offers fresh-and-challenging gameplay.

Pizza Boy Review: Retro Goodness Worth a Slice

Pizza Boy ($1.99)is a great 2d platformer for the iPhone reminiscent of the 16-bit era. The graphics, physics and gameplay have a familiar feel for those of us who grew up with Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. Despite being relatively short, Pizza Boy is a challenging game with a lot of solid platforming skills required to complete.

Presentation

Right after booting up the game the game gives an option to enable sound. After choosing to have it enabled, the main menu of the game launches a MIDI-style soundtrack that just made me smile as I knew I was in for a treat. I was reminded of the feeling when I first booted up Sonic on the Master System all those years ago.

There is a short and silent backstory presented before starting the adventure in gorgeous hand-drawn art that show the main character embarking on a quest to reclaim a piece of pizza stolen from his girlfriend. There is a lot of charm and character throughout the game with a great art direction to boot.

Controls

Acne Play created the “Smart Touch System,” or what they refer to as a control designed specifically for touch input-devices capable of replicating a d-pad console feeling. In some ways they are right in others not so much so. Although the control method the game utilizes is very well done with the virtual dpad doing its job better than most platformers on the iDevices, he jump and throw buttons are a bit further than I would have liked becoming apparent especially while playing in 2x mode on the iPad – which is my preferred way to play the game as the fingers don’t get in the way of the view that sometimes occurs on the iPhone.

However, the dpad and buttons are generally below the gameplay and don’t really get in the way of the visuals too much on the iPhone either. This has been a problem with some previous platformers on the idevices. The dpad also looks very retro and has style but only with a left and right trigger.

The physics are very well done and you never feel as if you can float or jump too high compared to the size and look of the character you are controlling.

Gameplay

The game plays like a mix of Adventure Island and Mario. Jumping on most enemies or throwing soda bottles at them will defeat them. The game also features retro music that will remind of an era where platformers shined. This is by no means an easy casual game as I was replaying some levels multiple times.

Like most platformers, the game progresses in a linear fashion where you start on the left side of a level and reach the end goal on the right. Some levels, reminiscent of Mario, have the level scroll left forcing the player to use quick reflexes to keep heading right.

Suggestions

Multiplayer akin to what Nintendo did with The New Super Mario Brothers Wii would be real nice. Another addition I would suggest is a proper Ipad version that makes the game truly full screen – despsite the fact the game does look great on the iPad anyway. Lastly, some added levels or at least in-app purchases would be nice.

Conclusion

This game is very fun and addicting, and is a strong recommendation for any platformer fan. It has really top notch, and colorful, graphics with a great level design that features a few different environments. If you can put up with the game not having much length and no expansion purchases or addons, and enjoy a platforming challenge, head to the App Store and purchase it. The App store needs more platformers like Pizza Boy and Along with Frogatto, DarkVoidZero and Invisible Runner, this is among the best ones so far.

-update
This is the review I wrote without editing and it was later posted (with a bit of editing) on Theappera:

Trainyard review – before format for theappera

Trainyard is a very unique puzzler where the aim of the game is to guide trains by building tracks from entry points – outlet stations that can hold multiple trains represented by crosses – to their destination points – goal stations represented by circles – as they have to turn and twist their way through obstacles in their path.

There are usually multiple of these entry and exit points on each level with their own train that are color coded accordingly – some stations can have multiple trains going or arriving. The trains can pass or go underneath each one’s track but they will also crash if they meet on the same tile and each tile can hold two directions.

‘Start the trains’ input will unleash all the trains onto the tracks at once as they try to reach their destination simultaneously. Sometimes it is necessary to change tracks with the touch or swipe of the finger and slow the game down with a slider icon manually so trains don’t crash while crossing tiles. Also trains can merge on some levels and reach one goal.

One gripe I have with the game is the menu is a little disorienting as there are a few options to weed through and figure out before playing matches with a busy screen. There are cities in the game that players can unlock via stars and each city has its own tracks or levels to complete. There is no ‘start’ input, common in most games, but players have to input ‘start new solution’ to start each level. Also, being able to erase parts of tracks already created at any time eases frustration but at the same time prevents too much forethought required of some puzzlers that may or may not appeal to gamers looking for a challenge.

Another small issue is despite having overall great controls, sometimes fingers can get in the way of the view of the track when doing twists or loops with the track. And a landscape mode would be nice as well.

Players can skip the level they are stuck on to a level ahead of the one they are currently playing but further levels have to be unlocked by successful completing the previous puzzles. There is also a tutorial showing concepts of the game for new players.

Matt Rix, the creator of Trainyard details his humble beginnings on his blog with his story of creating the game and the success the title has been generating as he explains how he came up with the idea for the puzzler on a train. Rix’s story shows how great games don’t always need large development teams or a huge budget – but a great idea that can be implemented in an app can make all the difference.

I highly recommend Trainyard as it is one or the best puzzlers I played on the App store to date. The game is simple to pick up but has a lot of depth and challenge as well. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. Small improvements like landscape mode would make it a 5 star game.