Crust is a 2D cave shooter which for me at least is reminiscent of similar games that I used to play some 25 to 30 years ago. This is not necessarily a bad thing however, in fact there and many retro games that are as, if not more, popular as they were when they were originally launched.
In Crust for iPhone and iPad you take charge of a spaceship which has to negotiate the tight and dangerous confines of the caverns to clear them and move through the 9 levels. Only 9 levels is a little disappointing especially for newer gamers that may not fully appreciate the retro styling and game-play. However the 2 multi-player modes certainly extends the reach of the game and adds additional value, more on that later.
The single player mode certainly gets you prepared for the challenges that you will find as it includes a basic tutorial of how to control the ship, fire your selectable weapons and complete the required tasks.
The controls take a little getting used to, a virtual joystick on the left of the screen controls both the direction and speed of your craft while multiple buttons done the left side of the screen enable you to access your weapons. This can be a little tricky, esp. on the iPad in the heat of battle as you will have to move your fingers up and down the full height of the screen which can result in failing to engage the enemy for a vital split second that can render you dead!
You have a choice of ships on each level, each with their own positive and negative aspects including the number of weapons, speed of cooldown and shields and this choice can have a significant effect on the outcome of each level so choose wisely.
While the single player mode provides only limited enjoyment it does prepare you for the multi-player options that can take place online against up to 7 additional players or on a single device in split screen mode where you can enjoy twice the fun on a single device as you play cooperatively through the campaign mode.
The online cross platform multi-player mode certainly promises to offer added value to the game with multiple game types, unfortunately though each time I’ve played the multi-player version of the game there has never been more than 1 other person available in a game which has limited the promise of a massive online multi-player gun-fight.
Crust will certainly appeal to some players who are looking for some retro cave shooting fun but at $2.99 for a universal app with a limited single player mode and only a few players in the online version of the game there are better alternatives out there for everyone.
[rating: 2/5]What we like
What to know
Gameloft have been churning out mobile games for a while now and for the most part they’ve been pushing the mobile gaming envelope especially when it comes to the graphics and N.O.V.A. 3 is no different. Does the gameplay match the beautiful and rich environments though?
N.O.V.A. 3 as the name suggests is the third in the the first person shooter series which follows the explosive exploits of Kal Wardin as he fights for no lesser prize than humankind itself. If you haven’t played either of the previous N.O.V.A. that’s not a problem, (although you may go back to them after playing this), as the game stands on its own and the short intro will soon get you up to speed.
As previously mentioned the whole look of N.O.V.A. 3 is completely immersive as the rich, massive, interactive environments are a pleasure to behold. Starting in and around the derelict buildings of San Francisco, through alien spacecraft and an explosive fire and ice wasteland the worlds look incredible.
As we’ve all come to learn though, games require more than just graphics to be a success and N.O.V.A. 3 is more than just eye-candy, in fact it’s one of the closest experiences to having a console in your pocket that I’ve ever played on a mobile device.
The audio helps this with the overall experience too, from powerful gun-shots and explosions to great voice acting and background music the aural experiences is excellent, especially if you listen with headphones.
The action comes fast and furious, right from the start and you will need fast fingers to keep yourself alive. These fast fingers have to be balanced with the amount of ammunition you have as supplies are limited especially if you don’t want to if you don’t want to increase the cost of the game by stumping up more of your hard earned money to upgrade your weapons and abilities.
The downside of the scarce ammunition though is exacerbated by some less than perfect controls. There’s nothing substantially different in N.O.V.A. 3 from other first person shooters but they feel unpolished and the limited customization ensures that we will have to spend quite a while with them before you feel at ease.
Spending time with N.O.V.A. 3 though is something you will want to do though as the rewards are worth it. A compelling, if short, campaign mode is great to play but the addition of not only a local wi-fi multiplayer but also an online version, via Gameloft LIVE, is going to have you hooked for months.
Six different multiplayer game modes as well as weekly tournaments keeps things interesting and as long as you put in the time to learn your skills so that you aren’t re-spawning every 30 seconds the online modes ultimately make N.O.V.A. 3 {$6.99} a very rewarding experience.
All this comes at a price, not the $7 that it’ll cost you in the App Store, that’s a bargain, but the 1.5 GB of storage space that it will take up on your iOS device. You may need to manage some space before installing this monster!
There are games that push the limit of mobile gaming and make other companies step up, N.O.V.A. 3 is one of those games and you don’t want to miss the bandwagon.
What we like:
What to know:
Com2us have already produced some of the App Store’s big successes especially with Homerun Battle 3D (our review) and Sniper Vs Sniper Online which show how iPhone/iPod touch gaming should be done. So when they bring out a new game there is always going to be a buzz. Their latest title which is currently in closed beta testing is Heavy Gunner, a 3D inter-galactic shoot-em up.
As we’ve come to expect with Com2us games the graphics of the navigation menu’s and in game are gorgeous and navigating through the menu’s is a breeze with the slick military style screens.
The controls have been well implemented, controlling your movement and aim is done via the accelerometer which can be re-calibrated at anytime making it easy to play as you move around and change position without having to have the neck of a contortionist! During the game itself your two weapons are controlled via two large buttons in the bottom right and left hand corner of the screen. You’re aim can be controlled simply by using the accelerometer itself, however for increased accuracy you can also move your thumbs on the fire buttons to move your aim too.
The are two different game modes to choose from, the first is Campaign mode where your task is to make your way through 35 levels of intense action as you defend yourself and humanity against a seemingly never-ending supply of alien craft. Challenge mode meanwhile sets you different challenges where you can compare your best scores to other players via the online leader-boards.
As you complete each level you will be rewarded with points that you can use to not only upgrade your existing weapon which is a pretty affective gattling gun but also purchase new weapons including plasma guns, an EMP shockwave and a Avenger heavy machine gun. In total there are 8 guns to work you way through and upgrade while you can also upgrade your Integrated Combat Platform, which is your combat machine in which are are based.
As mentioned previously the game-play comes thick and fast, however while this is great it also leads to the games biggest problem, namely a slow-down in the frame rate when the action gets particularly fraught and unfortunately the action packed pace of the game is one of it’s selling points so for it to suffer slow-down is a major disappointment. However, with each beta release this has been greatly improved and if this continues before the full version is released the problem should be all but gone.
If you are a fan of shoot-em ups you are not going to be disappointed with Heavy Gunner, there is plenty of content, online leader boards, social networking integration and 3 levels of difficulty to keep you going for a longtime.
Previewed by: Craig Willis
Heavy Gunner Beta Build Screenshots
Space Station: Frontier [rating: 5/5]
As a reviewer, it’s my job to give you an honest, well-balanced, and objective preview of an application so that you can make an equally well-balanced and objective determination about a purchase. That is completely my intention in the case of Space Station: Frontier but I want to get this out of the way before I continue.
This game is awesome!
Space Station: Frontier from the Origin8 development team combines elements of the familiar RTS and tower defence game genres into a fantastic game. In Space Station: Frontier you have been assigned as the Overseer of a remote asteroid mining outpost. Your job was destined to be relatively mundane until a hostile alien species showed up for a turf war. Now you must mine crystals to both send precious resources back to an energy-starved Earth and earn credits you can use to upgrade, fortify, and arm your space station against the alien menace.
The main gameplay arc is Campaign mode. The campaign involves playing through different interconnected missions where you must mine resources to collect credits and repel the alien menace. Some sort of campaign mode is a mainstay of the RTS gaming environment and it is fully realized in Space Station: Frontier. The campaign is well thought out with difficulty and rewards growing with each successive mission. Success in the campaign also unlocks two additional modes of play; Survival and Mining.
Survival and Mining modes highlight a truly unique aspect of this game. In most RTS games, credits only exist in the context of a particular mission. You gather resources which produces credits which you spend in turn on various game units. The credits earned only exist in the mission so when the mission is over the credits go away. In Space Station: Frontier credits earned are carried over between missions and additional credits can be earned in the unlocked Survival and Mining modes. I really like this feature because the additional modes of play give variety to the game while adding to the overall Campaign mode experience.
Credits earned in all three modes are spent in the Shipyard to upgrade your space station. Credits can be spent on tactical upgrades like improved lasers and missiles or strategic upgrades like increased power production and storage capacity or repair robots. As with any RTS or tower building game, a balanced approach is best. You need lots of weapons to repel the invaders but if you run your space station low on energy all the weapons in the galaxy aren’t going to help if they don’t fire.
If you’ve played an RTS or tower building game on the iPhone then Space Station: Frontier’s interface will be more than familiar. A bar across the lower left hand of the screen displays all of the units available to the player. You start out with only power nodes and miners available and add more units by purchasing them in the Shipyard. Just above that is a counter that displays the credits currently available to the player to build units in the mission. This will increase as resources are mined and decrease as units are built. To the left of the counter are two vertical bars; the yellow bar represents the current health of the space station and the green one indicates the power available to run the miners and fire weapons. Units are built by selecting an available one from the bar and dragging on to the screen. If a green highlight appears around the unit it can be built in the selected location and a red highlight indicates it cannot be built. All units must be connected to a power node and all power nodes must ultimately link back to the station.
I sort of tipped my hand earlier to my impressions of this game earlier. I found this game to be one of the most enjoyable and replayable games I’ve found for the iPhone. Gameplay is engaging, the interface is familiar, and there is plenty of opportunity to vary the in-game experience through the two additional play modes available. Space Station: Frontier supports the OpenFeint social gaming platform with a set of achievements, global high scores and the ability to post and compare achievements with friends and other game players. This game was as complete a package as I’ve found yet in the App Store. It may be a bit premature to talk about games of the year when its only January 4th but if Space Station: Frontier is not one of them I will be greatly surprised. Spend the money for this game, it will be worth it.
With all of that said, the only suggestion I’d make for improvement is to take the lock off the additional play modes. Although I understand and appreciate why the locks are there, I think it would make the game that much more varied and engaging if Survival and Mining modes were immediately playable.
Price: $2.99 as of Jan 04 (iTunes Store URL)
Version reviewed 1.0.0
The Good
The Not So Good
Reviewed by: Erin Peterson
Space Station: Frontier for iPhone/iPod touch
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Lifeboat [rating: 4/5]
If your a fan of those pick up and play games where the rules are simple, success is hard and addictiveness is high then come aboard S.S. Anchor and get ready for playability by the boat load.
Ahoy there ya Swabs! Get ready for a spine tingling adventure on the high seas that will have you swimming with the sharks.
Featuring accelerometer and touch-driven casual gameplay, along with a humorous sound track and incredible visuals, Lifeboat will keep you entertained for hours on end.
The story behind the game is that on the maiden voyage of the S.S. Anchor the ship goes missing, however, you have the chance to bring the ship home via the challenge of saving the passengers from the sinking ship via the stream of lifeboats that attend the scene. This is not easy though as not only do you have to steer the passengers to there lifeboat’s, which is no easy thing as they roll about the deck seemingly drunk from the sea sickness, but you also have to avoid the hungry sharks, crocodiles and the possibility of drowning.
You can play the game either in Quick Play mode, save as many passengers before time runs out, or Campaign mode where you get to navigate your sinking vessel to safety via a selection of increasingly difficult levels. Whichever option you choose the basics are the same. The game is played from a birds eye perspective of the ship and every time the game launches the game re-calibrates so even if you move from standing, sitting to lying down the accelerometer will also be set appropriately. This is extremely important too as the maneuvering of the passengers to the lifeboats is done via the accelerometer as you rock the boat from side to side rolling the passengers to their life craft.
The passengers pile out from below deck and as you direct them to safety many of them will flounder into oceans waters where crocodiles and sharks will be waiting to pounce. You don’t have to wait for your passengers to become shark meat though as a swift tap of them will see a life ring thrown to them as they are pulled back on deck.
It’s important to rescue as many of your passengers too as you only have a limited supply of passengers to save, run out of passengers or run out of time and it’s game over as your ship will sink to the bottom of the sea with it’s ghostly treasure. Although the premise may be slightly grizzly the looks aren’t. The graphics are bold and clear and the sounds makes the task of rescuing drowning men and women positively enjoyable! The control of the boat may require a learning curve but that is more due to the unusual movement of the boat rather than bad controls and it’s soon overcome.
The campaign mode also helps with the control of the ship as the more people you rescue the more money you’ll earn that you can in turn spend on improvements such as increased ballast, swimming lessons and water pumps.
The game is for single player but there is an option to load your high scores online to see how well you compare to other players around the world.
If you’ve bought Lifeboat then you’ve found yourself a 99c treat!
Price $0.99
The Good
The Not So Good
Reviewed By: Craig Willis
Lifeboat Gameplay Video
Lifeboat Screenshots
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