Monday, June 8, 2009

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Ibop Review

Hello again, today i will be reviewing Snakehead Software's Ibop retailing at .99$ in the appstore, first off let me just say that this app cannot be considered a game. Its more like a way to kill time, and as a result this review wont be conducted in the same way as my other reviews.

lets get started!

Gameplay


Ibop is a bop bag simulator, you are given a 3d bop bag stuck to the floor of a 2d room, you select one of 17 weapons and tap where you want to hit the bag, you tap the side arrows to switch weapons. The weapons vary from old school boxing gloves to throwing high heels. each weapon makes a different sound when it hits the bop bag, it also has a different impact force. for example a sledge hammer will send the bag swing back, while an egg will give it a little nudge. The bop bag can also be customized, you can chose from several different bop bags, or you can import one of your pictures and wail on a buddy or that teacher you love to hate. There's also the option of putting your image on the top part of the bag (to simulate a head) or on the entire bag.

The game does what its designed to do, kill time. The variety of weapons and the customization of the bop bag add some replay value, but ultimately your just taking a wack at a bop bag...over and over again. theres nothing special here.



Presentation


Snakehead really didn't try too hard here, the only thing that is in 3d is the bop bag, and the bop bag physics are cool. But the environment is just a yellow room that doesn't change, and the weapons themselves are just..well pictures. that's right, when you throw a toaster you don't get any animations or anything, a pic of a toaster will fly at the bag and hit it, that's all. The special effects like when the eggs or tomatoes splatter onto the bag...well just as mediocre as the rest of the game. The residue from a thrown tomato doesn't even appear on the bag, appears as a splat on your screen and then fades.


Overall, mediocre; the effects are unapealing, and the weapons are just pictures, plus theres a little bit of clipping when you throw an object at the sides of the bag. Nothing great about it.



Conclusion


theres nothing special about this game, and unless your a diehard bop bag simulator fan( im not sure if there are any) then i gues you would at least find this amusing. But for everyone else there's really no reason you should buy this over any other .99$ app, do yourself a favour and save your money.


MEDIOCRE

2./5





SHORT REVIEW


This app doesnt do much wrong, but it doesnt do much right either, the bop bag customization is pretty cool, and the variety of weapons adds a little replay value. But everything else is mediocre. There's no reason you should pick this up over something like pocket god or flight control.


2/5


lite version

full version


Wednesday, May 20, 2009

World of Tunes Review

This time around I'll be reviewing the music game, World of Tunes from Com2Us. Retailing at 1.99$ in the app store.



STORY

Once upon a time, the Tuneys lived in harmony, but one day some evil aliens came to their planet and stole the music!! Now the Tuneys need you to help them bring back the music and restore their World of Tunes!! For any other game, this quirky little tale would be a complete failure, but for World of Tunes it works perfectly. The game doesn't take itself too seriously like other games such as tap tap revenge. And that's what makes playing through it such a fun and refreshing experience. The story will make you laugh as you tap along to the quirky soundtrack.

There are a total of 4 stages in the story mode, with each stage having 2-4 levels, with the last one being a boss battle. The bosses in this game are just as quirky and fun as everything else, they dance behind the screen as you tap away at the Tuneys. The bosses will also use their special power on you, each of the 4 bosses has a special power. These range from blowing fire on the screen which you have to clear with your finger, to firing missiles at you which you have to tap before they reach you. The boss battles are really fun.

Overall the story is quirky, fun, and will probably keep you smiling the whole time.



Presentation

World of Tunes is a color-packed 2d world like nothing Ive seen on the iphone before. The art style is beautiful, and of course as quirky as the rest of the game. Everything just pops off the screen, and it'll have you wide eyed and amazed. The animations are just as fun to look at and cool as the rest of the game, especially the bosses, its so funny to watch these guys dance on the screen and get more tired and tired as you come closer to finishing the level.

Everything about the presentation just works, there is no downside.


Sound

What can i say, the game once again blew me away. The soundtrack is an up beat, techno-pop thrill ride. You've got a wide variety of songs to chooses from and tap to. But this time there is a downside, the music all comes from the pop or techno genre, if you don't like pop or techno then there's really nothing you can do. The sound effects are just as quirky and as the rest of the game.


overall, the soundtrack is upbeat and reminds me of the music in Pokemon games, but since pretty much all the songs are techno or pop, the audience might be limited.


Gameplay

World of Tunes switches up the o-so-overused formula that most mobile music games incorporate. Instead of tapping notes that come down to you on a straight line, the notes(in the form of the game's tuneys) jump up at you, your objective is to tap them at the right moment(when they glow). However there are several kinds of tuneys, the normal tuney which you tap, a balloon tuney that you have to tap 3 times(it bounces up every time you tap it), and a scratch tuney which you have to scratch until it becomes a normal tuney. there's also tuney that must be dragged through musical pathway. Hit Enough of the right notes and you'll initiate fever time, which allows you to build combo points.




So the game really does bring a lot of new things to the table. there is one issue however, the menu button..this little button in the bottom left corner is nicely hidden, but if you do manage to tap it there's no way to resume the game. Seriously, your only option is to restart the level, there's no way to pause the game..WTF? But don't worry, there's no way you will hit the pause button unless you want to, because this little baby is tucked away from the play area.

There are 4 modes to choose from: Story mode, Free mode(which allows you to play any of the missions), DJ mode( this is an easier mode where the tuneys fly up in a straight line and you have to tap them as the reach the line), and finally Crazy mode.

DJ mode

In Crazy mode the tuneys fly out of nowhere, they just jump around and you have to tap scratch or drag them, its extremely difficulty and adds a lot of replay time.

one more thing, don't let the cartoon graphics and fool you, this is a challenging game, i highly recommend you watch the following tutorial video before starting it up on one of the 3 difficulties.







Conclusion

This Quirky little game will have you laughing as you tap to an upbeat soundtrack, the boss battles are a lot of fun and it brings a lot of new game play elements to a generic genre, it also provides a variety of different modes that add a lot of replay value. I cant give it a 10 because of the lack of a resume button, and also the lack of musical genres incorporated.

so...

9.2/10

Fun, quirky, and it'll keep you coming back to watch those well animated bosses dance on your idevice screen. Think Elite Beat Agents meets Pokemon =)

Full Version

Lite Version

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Giant Fighting Robots Review

Laminar Research, creators of the X-plane series have just released their latest title "Giant Fighting Robots"; yes that's actually the name of the game. Being a fan of the x-plane games I picked this one up...and here we are now.


On to the review!!!!


STORY

Like the X-plane games, laminar's newest title has little to no story. the story(presented in black text on a white background=( )puts you in command of your very own ATAW(all terrain attack walker). apparently there's a race of aliens named Spiders who are invading earth and you have been ordered by the president to defend key locations and BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH....

the story is just horrible, not only does it make no sense whatsoever, but the game doesn't even make an effort to make things interesting, all you've got to keep you playing is a paragraph of text telling you either that your victory will be known across the world, or that you just plain suck. if your looking for a good story steer clear of this game.

Missions

The missions are just as uninteresting and repetitive as the story; it might as well be the same mission over and over again because the only thing that changes is the enemy (not by much) and the environment. Your one and only objective is to kill your enemy, its you vs. another mech with nothing else on the entire map.

By completing missions (i.e. killing mechs) you unlock better mechs and more weapons.

Overall the story is just weak, it feels like a last minute addition that barely made it into the final build, there's really no incentive to keep playing unless you absolutely must unlock every last thing.



PRESENTATION

Giant Fighting Robots is a decent looking game at its best, at its worst it’s a graphical catastrophe. The models for the robots look okay, but nothing amazing. The environments are extremely bland and just really bad to look at. Flying 5000 feet above the environments looked fine, but when you’re on the ground maybe 2 feet away you start to realize just how bad they really are. The texture mapping is terrible, and the colors don't really pop out. but there is a variety of environments from deserts to mountains to snow covered valleys

and it doesn't get any better from here, the special effects are equally as bad, the fire in this game looks like reddish orange cotton balls, if you don't believe me take a look at this:




there is one thing that stands out though, and that’s the hud interface itself, it flickers and stutters as you take hits and move around, and depending on where the projectiles strike your mech you'll get a different status report, such as right leg servo-1 or battery damaged!, if you take a hit to the windshield the glass will crack , sometimes obscuring your view of the enemy. The HUD interface really adds to the immersion and makes you feel like your piloting a real mech.


Overall, the realistic HUD effects are really cool and add to the immersion but they're not enough to make up for the terribly bland environments, special effects and textures.


SOUND AND GAMEPLAY

this is just about the only thing Giant Fighting Robots gets right, the game play is solid. At its heart this is a mech combat simulator, and boy does it feel like one. As you walk around in your towering behemoth you feel the power of the mech, your screen shakes as with every footstep and your heads up display is constantly feeding you data. The gameplay is very similar to the x-plane games, you aim and turn using the accelerometer, there’s a slider on the left of the screen for throttle, and one at the bottom to move the tow half of your mech allowing you to strafe and fire. Of course this is a mech combat game, so there is a fire button as well as a jet button that takes your mech to the skies.



The realism in this game is intense, and adds alot of strategy to each battle. Before you enter the combat zone you are given the option of customizing your load out. You have two weapon slots on most mechs, with some having more than two. You can place any combination of weapons in these slots. There are many types of weapons from seeker missiles (above) to flamethrowers, and even lasers. Each weapon has its own weight, damage per shot, reload time, energy consumption and range. You can also upgrade different parts of your mech such as the battery (energy supply), reactor (energy recharge), jet, and engine. Each mech has its own weight limit, which you must abide by in order to enter the combat zone. The customization allows you to play however you want, personally I like to get up close and personal, so I upgraded my jet and engine and strapped on 2 flamethrowers. But you have to be careful how you use your mech. if you run out of energy(indicated by the two bars on the screen) you will not be able to move at full speed, if your reserve reaches zero you wont be able to move at all.



Also it’s not just about taking damage or dishing it out; it’s about where you take damage. Take enough hits to the jet engine and you'll get a little prompt telling you your jets just failed. Taking out an enemy’s battery or reactor will make them a sitting duck. If you don’t cushion your landing after a long flight, then you'll get a message telling you that you just damaged your legs, and as a result you will move slower. There are two modes, campaign and multiplayer which allows you to play against other players on the same wifi network. I have not tested the network play yet but I imagine it would add a lot of replay value.

The sounds are also amazing, everything other than the engine sound which is the same as the one in x-plane extreme =(. the HUD monitors, jets, machineguns, they all sound great. The feeling you get when everything is going critical and your HUD is flickering and cutting out, while error messages and warning sounds are popping up everywhere is just amazing.



Overall the gameplay is solid, there’s really nothing wrong with it. If we had massive fighting robots I bet this is how it would feel to operate one.




CONCLUSION

Solid gameplay, immersive sound and amazing HUD effects, you feel like your operating a real live mech. But the terrible story and weak visuals really hold this game back. Maybe an upgrade would fix the visual issues, but for now I really cant recommend this for 4.99$


5/10

solid gameplay and hud effects but the rest of the game falls flat on its face =(


APPSTORE LINK


Thats it for the review don't forget to leave comments and subscribe, if you want me to review an app or game just post a comment or email me at somedude445@live.com. Devs i'm also accepting Beta and promo codes so send one over and ill review or beta test it. cya later!!!

Friday, May 15, 2009

Need For Speed Review


About a week ago, Ea's street racing franchise made its way on to the Appstore. After a few delays and a year in development is it worth the wait.....well your gonna have to read this review to find out.




Story

Need For Speed Undercover's Story is the same as its console counterparts. You are an undercover cop who must make his way into the street racing crowd to take down a gang that’s boosting cars. The game's cutscenes are presented in live action, much like need for speed most wanted, but with Maggie Q as your operator. The Cut scenes are extremely well done, although a little Cheesy......okay VERY CHEESY. That’s fine though because the mission mode is an octane filled high-speed adventure. As you make your way through the street racing scene you’ll participate in eight different race modes including knockout races, sprint races, and you'll even get to steal cars. The way that works is you start off with the required car which you were assigned to steal and you must make it to the end of the road (presented by a line with a car icon moving along it) without totaling your car. This is easier said than done, with the cops on your tail and the high speed traffic it’s a real challenge to stop your health meter from reaching zero. There are 24 total missions which can be replayed over and over again. You get to drive 20 different licensed cars.




need for speed shop


Gameplay

Hot cars, hot girls, and a whole lot of speed, that’s what the need for speed franchise is all about, and Need for speed Undercover has got it all. You use the accelerometer to drive, touching anywhere on the screen brakes. Swiping down with one finger activates your speed breaker which slows down time to help you make those sharp turns, swiping up gives you a burst of Nitrous Oxide. No need to worry about hitting the gas because need for Speed takes care of that with auto accelerate. You can upgrade and buy cars by going into the garage; cars can be upgraded visually by adding rims, custom paint jobs, vinyls, and a body kit. Performance wise you can upgrade top speed, acceleration, nitrous and handling. There are 3 stages for each of the performance upgrades. How much you pay depends on the stage and the car you’re using. One cool side note is the way you customize your car's suspension: in Need for speed you swipe up or down to bring your car's frame higher or lower, its pretty cool. There is no control calibration but the controls work really well anyways.




Presentation

Need For Speed continue to impress, with amazing graphics with complex textures and high polygon count. Everything from the cars you drive to the environments you race through looks amazing. Visually Need for speed is the best Racer on the app store. This game looks and feels like a console title, minus the gas button.



need for speed screen


Sound

The in game sounds are amazing, the street din, the sound of your engine roaring, or the horn on an incoming semi, it all sounds amazing. There’s also some pretty sweet music in the soundtrack but if you aren’t really feeling' it then you can listen to your own music while you play.




CONCLUSION

Need For Speed Undercover excels in every area...well almost. The gameplay is fast, smooth, and extremely fun. The game is great to look at, and there’s a variety of races and cars to collect and upgrade. The only downside is really cheesy cuscenes, but hey Maggie Q is in them, and it’s better than anything else the Appstore has to offer...ahem ahem Capcom.

Overall a masterpiece, it feels more like a console game than an idevice game. Very Highly Recommended. You’re getting a 60 dollar game for 9.99$

9.5/10





APPSTORE LINK


Thats it for the review don't forget to leave comments and subscribe, if you want me to review an app or game just post a comment or email me at somedude445@live.com. Devs i'm also accepting Beta and promo codes so send one over and ill review or beta test it. cya later!!!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

No Review Today

sorry but i wont be posting a review today, i have an exam to study for. But to make up for it ill be reviewing 3 games tomorrow: Terminator Salvation, Need For Speed Undercover, and ill just keep the last one a secret for now.

Cya tomorrow!!!

and don't forget to comment if you want me to review a game or even if you just want my input, devs you can always send a promo code over and ill post a review. Also im open to do any beta testing just email me at somedude445@live.com.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Resident Evil Degeneration Review

Resident Evil Degeneration Review



STORY

You play as a secret agent Leon Kennedy, sent to Rescue a group of survivors Trapped in an airport full of zombies. The Story is told through in-game cut scenes that utilize the game engine, however there are no voices. The game also make use of timed button presses during the cut scenes, much like Hero of Sparta. The game very loosely follows the plot of the movie. Resident Evil Fans will recognize characters such as Claire Redfield, or the G-virus mutants. But newcomers to the series will have a hard time trying to figure out what is going on, and why there's a guy with a gas mask trying to sell you guns. The missions in this game are quite repetitive, most require you to find id cards and open doors, or go retrieve something. However there are some boss battles, but they don't really stand out. The game's Story starts off okay but it never really takes off, i never found myself immersed in the tale of Resident Evil Degeneration. Its also missing the puzzles commonly found in resident evil games. There is also a mercenary mode which you unlock after beating the campaign, mercenary mode pits you against the zombie horde in an area of your choosing, and this adds to the replay value but not by much.

Overall the story isn't bad, but it isn't all that good either. Its more tailored towards Resident evil fans.



Presentation

Capcom really nailed it with the presentation. The games menus are easy to navigate and the start up screen is really great to look at. Resident Evil really sets the mood for a good scare. The Airport is dark and gloomy, and really quite great to look at as you creep through the corridors and rooms. The whole game takes place in the airport. Which has about 5 floors, with lots of rooms to explore. In terms of the environment Capcom really brought the Resident Evil vibe to this game. But Degeneration does have its flaws, while the character model for Leon is pretty good the rest of the characters are a mess, low polygon count and all. There's also issues with the camera, it stays fixed behind Leon's back unless you go to shoot or knife. This becomes an issue when you back up to a wall and your view becomes completely obscured by the character's head or the wall behind you. Speaking of backing up into walls, the game does a really good job of making you feel claustrophobic. The airport is full of small narrow corridors with many doors on the sides. My personal favorite is the crashed airplane you go into with its red flickering lights, and broken chairs with debree everywhere..it really impressed me.The zombies look great too, and the airport is crawling with em =D. The frame rate stays smooth most of the time, although the game did seem to stutter during a save or checkpoint. But other than that it ran perfectly fine.


Overall it has the resident evil vibe, Zombies dark corridors and creepy little rooms. The poor character models and camera issues are a nuisance but don't really take away from the game's scare factor. The Presentation is very well done


Gameplay

There's really not much to say about this game's gameplay. Its genuine Resident evil, clunky controls included. You use a virtual analog stick to move around, you hit a button on the left to enter aim mode, the analog stick then allows you to aim, flicking the analog stick all the way to the left, right, up, or down will let you do a quick shuffle in that direction, the aim buttons also turns into the fire button. However the shuffle doesn't always register which could lead to some frustration. There's also a button that puts you into knife mode, no explanation needed. There's also a button that puts you into knife mode, no explanation needed. There's an action button which you use to climb ladders, jump through small openings, collect items and vault over things. You tilt the idevice forward then back to reload, you also shake the device to push zombies off of you. The controls can be inverted or mirrored, placing the analog stick on the left or right. Resident evil fans wont mind the controls, but for everyone else it'll take some getting used to, and even then they don't work all that well.



One thing that really bugged me was the range of your weapons, the weapons don't shoot very far, and you almost have to run into a zombie's line of sight to shoot them. The zombie's AI could also use some work, sometimes they'll just walk right by you without batting an eye. There's a variety of weapons in this game, from your basic handgun to Uzis. They can be bought and upgraded from the merchants. You'll also find money and little trinkets around the airport which you use to buy these weapons and items. The trademark resident evil Herbs are also laying around for you to find.


Sound

The lack of voices is disappointing, however the music really works well with the horror theme and the sense of hopelessness and gloom. it also changes according to the situation, as your walking through the halls you'll hear sad gloomy melodies, then if you encounter a zombie it'll switch to faster paced chase music . The sound effects are decent but they don't really stand out. The zombies all have the same growl.

Overall this is a good game with a few issues that keep it from being great.
The setting and the soundtrack really work well. And you actually feel like your on your own trying to survive. The level design also works well with the rest of the game, the resident evil feel is here, not doubt about it.

However the story is uninspiring, the controls are clunky and its missing some things from other Resident Evil games.

If your a Resident Evil fan, and/or survival horror fan i highly recommend picking this one up, as it is currently the best survival horror game on the app store. But if your not a fan of the genre or the name then there's probably other games you'd enjoy more for 6.99$.

6.8/10










APP STORE LINK


Price:6.99$


That's it for the review don't forget to leave comments and subscribe, if you want me to review an app or game just post a comment or email me at somedude445@live.com. Devs I'm also accepting Beta and promo codes so send one over and ill review or beta test it. Cya later!!!

Monday, May 11, 2009

Coming up Next!!!!

Up next on Iphone reviews daily, ill be taking a look at gameloft's Terminator Salvation...if your reading this you are the resistance =p.

Cya tomorrow!!!

and don't forget to comment if you want me to review a game or even if you just want my input, devs you can always send a promo code over and ill post a review. Also im open to do any beta testing just email me at somedude445@live.com.


EDIT: sorry but i wont be able to post a review today, i have some work to do. But fear not tomorrow i will be reviewing terminator salvation, and the newly released Resident Evil Degeneration!!!

Flight Control Review

Hello again and welcome to the 3rd official review here on Iphone reviews daily. Today i will be taking a look at Firemint's "Flight Control" priced at .99$ on the app store.



STORY

Flight control is a puzzle game, you play as a flight controller as the title suggests. Your goal...to land as many planes as you possibly can.


Presentation

The game presents you with some impressively smooth visuals, the art design and the colors mesh well. It doesn't do anything too flashy but the overall look and feel works very well with the rest of the game.


GAMEPLAY

The one and only objective in flight control is to land as many planes as you can without any of them colliding with each other. Flashing exclamation marks appear on the sides of the screen indicating that a plane/helicopter/bush plane is coming from this direction. Once the plane appears on the screen you direct its flight path by touching the plane and drawing a line indicating where you want it to fly, the planes also turn white when you draw them a path leading to a landing zone so you know which ones to pay attention to. You have 3 landing zones- a landing strip for normal planes and airliners, a helicopter pad for helicopters, and another landing pad for bush planes. As planes come dangerously close to each other, they begin to flash red indicating that they're on a collision course.

The game starts off easy and slowly gets harder and harder, with more planes coming in faster and clouding up the screen. After you land about 50 or so planes the action really heats up. But its not just about drawing paths, you have to consider the speed of the plane your directing and how its movement might hinder any planes that come in later. The larger boeng-class airliners are much faster than normal planes, while helicopters are extremely slow and bush planes are faster than helicopters but slower than planes. This creates quite a challenge especially in the later levels where you get 5 or more airliners on the screen, then the game throws slow moving helicopters at you.

While the game play is simple it just doesn't get repetitive, it's EXTREMELY addicting. The online ranking system and high scores will keep you coming back again and again, there's some serious replay value to this game. Flight control is also great for playing with friends, whether your bored in class or just hanging out, just pull out your itouch or iphone and challenge your friends to beat your high score.


Sound

The music for the game works well, and there is the option to turn game sounds off and listen to your own music (which i think most people will would prefer anyway) so all is good.


CONCLUSION

If you have .99$ you MUST get this game, its got a great feel, with smooth relaxing graphics and a simple premise. But the action can really heat up, and things can get pretty competitive once you got a couple people playing. The replay value of this game is unlimited, your gonna keep playing until you hit the #1 spot on the leader boards, and even then you'll come back to beat your high score.

5/5 VERY HIGHLY RECOMENDED





App Store Link

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Defend Your Castle

Up next, Defend Your Castle by Xgen Studios. This game is the iphone port of the wii-ware title, which was a port of a flash game...yikes.


STORY

You have a castle, defend it..what more could you want. But all joking aside this game doesn't need a story, it wouldn't make sense if it had one.


PRESENTATION

What's really cool about this game is the art design. The game is in 2-d, but everything in it looks like a real object. The castle is made from cardboard, the stickmen have crayon-drawn bodies, and buttons for heads. Even the spells you cast are things like erasers and spray cans. It gives the game a very artsy feel.

The stickmen themselves have really smooth animations, and the character models are artsy just like everything else. One nice little thing is the sun actually rises and sets indicating the start/end of a round.

Overall, good vibe and the graphics and art style work really well.


GAMEPLAY

Pretty much the same thing as the wii title, you flick stickmen into the air, they land and go splat..rinse and repeat. I reached level 27 and so far there's only 3 types of enemies, regular stickmen, stickmen with Popsicle sticks, and the big stickmen, I found that a little disappointing. You can purchase a "conversion pit "which converts the bad stickmen you drop into it into allies. Then you can train the allied stickmen to become archers, demolition men, repairmen or spell casters. With each class having its own corresponding tower to purchase, the more stickmen you train in a tower the higher the level of the tower, indicated by the blue heads popping out of it. For example the more casters you train the higher the level for the spell casting tower, each level gives you access to a new spell such as the eraser or spray can. You can go through the game on one of 3 difficulty settings, but there's really no reason to keep playing unless you wanna kill more stickmen or beat your old high score.


SOUND

The sound for this game is well done, the spray can and eraser sound real. The sounds for the stickmen are decent but repetitive, you'll hear the same splat, scream, and banging sounds over and over.





CONCLUSION

For .99$ this is a great game, it does get repetitive quite fast but you'll be coming back for a few minutes of fun every now and then. If your a fan of the genre, or the flash/wii game you'll probably wanna pick this one up. If your expecting a completely new game then you'll be disappointing. But the artsy design is a cool addition.


Great game, but it gets repetitive and there's really not much incentive to keep playing.

3/5

Appstore Link

Caster Review

Alright, so this is the first ever review on what will be a daily review site for iphone and itouch apps and games.Today i will be reviewing a new game, which Ive spent quite some time with; and will continue to enjoy for days to come.




Caster is a 3rd person free-roam shooter for the iphone, itouch, and computer. i will be reviewing the idevice version so lets get started!!!


STORY

In Caster you control a young member of the Caster clan, your given the task of ridding the "midden regions" of a "flanx" infestation. The story isn't really all that deep, your pretty much thrown into the world of "midden" fighting weird bug like creatures. Those of you looking for an enchanting storyline wont find it here. The missions vary from search and destroy missions to orb collecting missions. However, Caster also has its share of WTF? moments, for example when you shoot withering trees in this game they come back to life, we dont know how or why but they do.

The story mode is too short, you really start to get into the world of the game and then it ends. But this shouldn't be a problem, as this is only episode one of a multi-episode game, and the new episode are free!!

Bug go boom!!

PRESENTATION

Where caster really shines is in the environments, and the world your fighting in. The environments in this game are truly amazing, they vary from lakes, to rolling hills, to rocky lava filled crevices. That's not to say there isn't repetition, but your having too much fun to notice. What really amazed me was the lighting and the weather effects, such as thunderclaps that light up the entire map. The particle effects and character models are also top notch.


Ahh lazers!!!


Overall Caster is a beautiful game, with vibrant colors, special effects and environments.



GAMEPLAY AND CONTROLS

Caster is truly unique in terms of game play, the first thing you notice is the sense of speed you get while playing this game. Dashing is extremely fun, you zip around the map running up walls, and over water while trying to dodge the 20 or so projectiles flying at you, the feeling is insane.
You'll have access to six different weapons, initially you only have the basic blaster weapon that can be upgraded to fire faster, but as you progress through the 15 missions you'll find different colored spheres which unlock new weapons. The weapons vary from auto seeking missiles, to a defensive shield of lazers. There is also a weapon that allows you to raise the ground to create mountains that rise up and damage your enemies. On the flip side there's a weapon that allows you to destroy the ground, leveling mountains, or just blasting the ground under your enemies dropping them into a pool of lava. Other weapons also do damage to the environments . The enemies you face also vary, from melee attackers that chase you down to massive missile launching worms. Each enemy requires a different strategy or the use of a different weapon.

For example on one level you fight a group of melee enemies that are immune to your normal weaponry, so to kill them you have to destroy the ground under them and drop them into the lava. There's also an rpg like level system where your use orbs (which you get from killing enemies, or finding them around the level) to upgrade your character. You can upgrade your health bar, your dash speed, your super jump distance and orb collecting distance. In addition you can also upgrade any weapon you currently have.

uh oh..

Controls

The controls take some getting used to, can you remember how awkward it felt the first time you picked up a console controller? That's the feel you get when you first dive into caster. But 2 hours into the game and you'll be playing like a pro. The controls are as follows, you aim by moving your finger on the right side of the screen, and fire by tapping or double tapping . You can also tap an icon on the bottom right which brings up a circle menu to select your weapon. Tap the jump button to jump and double tap to super jump. Slide your finger on the left side to move and double tap to dash, don't get it? Don't worry there's a tutorial level . You can also adjust your aim sensitivity and invert the x-y movements.



SOUND

The techno soundtrack really works with the caster vibe, and helps to immerse you in the world. Weapon sounds also work well. However one thing that bugged me was the sound of the enemies, they all sound like cockroaches. But that's just me being picky, chances are you wont even notice what the enemies sound like because you'll be too busy trying to kill them.

CONCLUSION

Overall this is a very fun game, just give it some time and i guarantee you'll love it, fun game play, great visuals and environments, and a great soundtrack to boot. Sure the enemies all sound like cockroaches, and the story isn't all that deep, but nothing on the app store can really beat the intensity and speed of this game, all while running smoothly with no lag or frame rate issues. For 4.99$ this is a steal!!!

9.8/10

Highly Recommended




caster full version

lite version



That's it for the first review, don't forget to leave comments, if you want me to review an app or game just post a comment or email me at somedude445@live.com cya later!!!