VS. Racing for iPhone is the first game from Maciek Drejak Labs and is a top down racer which reminds me of the old school classic Super Sprint.
The game gives you a top down view of the racing track with you and your opponents taking up just a handful of pixels as you race around a variety of tracks that twist and turn around the screen.
The tracks are to scale with the miniature cars but despite their size they provide lots of detail, tricky corners, fast straights and various surfaces that affect the handling of the cars.
The game has a narrative in the single player mode where you play the role of Ryan, a rookie racing driver who you have to bring up through the ranks of five championships on your way to the World Championship Finals.
While the narrative is fun it’s pretty irrelevant to the racing and luckily it doesn’t get in the way of it either. In fact you can move from race to race pretty quickly which means the action keeps coming thick and fast.
You have a choice of controls for your car which includes both touch and accelerometer controls. My weapon of choice was the touch controls which I found very responsive. You only need to worry about steering as acceleration is automatic.
Included with the auto-acceleration is a speed boost which helps you catch up if you are running behind the leader, however this is a double edge sword as this speed boost also applies to your opponents so large leads can be eaten into pretty quickly.
This is no bad thing though as it keeps all of the races exciting right up until the last corner and while this may be a little frustration the speed in which you can replay the race means that you can get your revenge very quickly.
The multi-player options are local bluetooth & wifi and Facebook leaderboards which includes a Ghost Mode so that you can races against your friends ghost cars. These are fun alternatives to the single player mode but GameCenter integration and online multi-player would be nice additions.
If you enjoy racing games of all descriptions you won’t be disappointed with VS. Racing especially if you can grab it while it’s still free. With future free updates also promised this could be a real bargain.
[rating: 4/5]What we like
What to know
We’ve all see wooden iPhone 4S cases before, maybe not in person but certainly in magazines and on gadget shows. They make seem great in theory but are they really practical or should they just remain a novelty item?
Well about 10 days ago I recieved a wooden iPhone 4S case from Photojojo, a company more renowned for its camera accessories than its iPhone cases, and I’ve been using it ever since.
The twist with this case that enables it to fit in with the other items sold at Photojojo is the fact that the case is modeled to look like a camera.
The case comes in two parts, the top half slides down over the top of the phone while the bottom slides up and interlocks with the top piece. It’s a snug fit and the lining on the inside of the case ensures that the case doesn’t easily slide off.
The finish is smooth and the whole case is lighter than I expected to be and if you’re worried that you may get a splinter I don’t think you have anything to worry about.
The case provides easy access to all the ports and buttons including the camera lens. The camera design on the back acts as iPhone camouflage when taking pictures making it look like, from some angle at least, like you are using an old school camera.
If you’re concerned about the environment then there is no need to be as the trees used in these cases come from sustainable forests and while at $42 it may not be the cheapest case you can get its certainly eye-catching and unique. You can purchase the case from here plus they’ll throw in a free screen protector too!
The wooden iPhone 4 / 4S camera case from Photojojo is both quirky, unique and practical in equal measure making it an easy decision to purchase if you want to stand out from the crowd, especially if you have a passion for photography.
[rating: 4/5]What we like:
What to know:
My relationship to comic books has only been with the old school form of British comics in the form of Whizzer & Chips and Buster while for the super hero’s of comics in the form of Superman, X-men, Batman and Spider-Man my relationship with them has been through the form of the big blockbuster American movies, where, for the most part I’ve enjoyed them.
However Spider-Man: Total Mayhem takes us back to the comic books days of Spider-Man and it’s been beautifully recreated on the iPhone/iPod Touch to bring the fun and enjoyment of the spidey action to your hand-held device.
As you would expect with a title from Gameloft the game has great production values, from the excellent cut scenes and atmospheric music to the menu system that appears to have been lifted straight from the comic book itself the game oozes quality.
On starting the game you’ll need to select one of four difficulty levels between easy, normal, hard and ultimate with the latter only becoming available after completing the earlier difficulties. Each level is preceded with a some scene setting and the obligatory headline from none other than the Daily Bugle before you are launched into action.
Action is the key word here too as there is never a moment to rest as you rush through the city defeating endless hoodlums and of course the multiple bosses in all their colorful larger than life glory.
The controls work well, a virtual d-pad controls your movement while three action buttons allow you to punch, use your web skills and jump/swing. All these controls respond very quickly to your touch which makes the fights between you and the bad guys very enjoyable with every punch and kick seeming to land perfectly. Combo’s work here too and with quick fingers you can quickly put many bad guys to the sword. Ultimately when your power gauge is full you can also activate the Ultimate Web Combo which brings ultimate destruction to all around you.
Your enemies aren’t defenseless of course and that’s where you’re spider-sense comes in handy, using this at the appropriate time will enable you to either avoid an enemy attack or even perform a counter attack.
There is more to do than just beat up on the enemies as you roam through the city which in itself looks great. You’ll find yourself swinging between tall buildings, climbing walls, rescuing hostages and finding comic books as you save the city from destruction.
Success in the game, from defeating enemies to progressing through the game itself is rewarded with both with health to stop you from losing a life and skill which you can use to upgrade your skills. Your skills are split between strength, defense and speciality and it’s well worth paying attention to them as when the going gets tough in the later levels you’ll need more than just your spider-senses to help you!
The game is spread over 12 levels that are filled with action replay value too as on top of the four difficulty levels there are 150 pieces of artwork to be collected that any Spider-Man fan will very much enjoy and a 2nd game mode called Boss Russ where you can beat all the unlocked bosses against the clock.
If you are a fan of Spider-Man or comic books in general then you will probably love this game and for non-Spider-Man fans the game is just as good. Despite it’s linear nature I never grew tired of beating down the endless supply of baddies and the mix of fighting along with navigating the city make Spider-Man: Total Mayhem and great addition to your gaming collection, even at $6.99!
Reviewed on an iPhone 4
Price: $6.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released:Sep 01, 2010
Reviewed Version:1.0.0
Size: 467 MB
Languages:English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish
Seller:Gameloft S.A.
Software © 2010 Gameloft. All Rights Reserved. Gameloft and the Gameloft logo are trademarks of Gameloft in the US and/or other countries. Marvel, Spider-Man and all related character names and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Marvel Entertainment, LLC and its subsidiaries and are used with permission. Copyright © 2010 Marvel Entertainment, LLC and its subsidiaries. Licensed by Marvel Characters B.V. www.marvel.com. All rights reserved.
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later.
Help hero Grey in his journey to search for his dearest fairy in HYBRID 2: Saga Of Nostalgia for iPhone. Battle through different dimensions fighting evil enemies until you find her.
The game is brought to you by Gamevil and is a sequel to the first game HYBRID Eternal Whisper. It is a role playing action game. When you first start the game you are greeted with dialogues to tell you the story so far. You can skip this if you like, I didn’t initially as I have never played the first game so wanted to get an idea of what the plot of the game was. The main story is you have to battle with evil forces in different dimensions and complete each level as you try to rescue the fairy.
To battle with your opponents it is all about learning the combos that the different buttons control. Many moves like swiping and attacking are controlled by you pressing the button so many times in a certain sequence. The same goes for dashing toward your opponent and basic combos. The game has a very ‘old school’ feel to it due to the button controls and the swiping of your sword to kill the enemies.
If you have played the previous game then you will be used to the way Grey is controlled and how he fights. If your new to it like me, I felt it was all very fiddly and hard to remember what combo you were actually trying to do. That been said, sometimes I just kept doing the same move and managed successfully to kill a few enemies. I did also notice at times I was slashing away with my sword but my enemies didn’t seem to get hurt even though I was on target.
As you go through the levels and win your evil opponent you collect power ups and skill points to help you further in the game. Each level you are set a different task to complete before you move to the next. There is quite a lot of dialogue inbetween each game and most of that I kept skipping as I just wanted to get on and play but you could still understand what was going on within the game.
The menu for the game is rather small and at times very hard to use. There are quite a lot of options and buttons on screen and it can get very confusing. The graphics are ok but at times a little slow, the screen froze for a couple of seconds at times.
I think this game would be more appreciated if you have played the previous game first. It is more of a follow on from that and you would probably understand and get to grips with it a lot easier.
Price: $4.99 (App Store)
Category: Games
Released:Sep 09, 2010
Reviewed Version:1.0
13.2 MB
Language:English
Seller:GAMEVIL USA, Inc.
© GAMEVIL Inc.
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later.
Lilracerz [rating: 4/5]
Developed by Blastone Lilracerz is a great rally racing game. Drive your micro car around the tracks as fast as you can beating all of your opponents.
You start by playing for your first trophy and then working your way through to the next stage. There are nine trophies altogether to win. After each race, you win coins to help you improve the performance of your car and depending on where you came in the race you also unlock new cars, there are 10 to unlock.
Altogether there are 17 tracks to go around, each in different environments. There is tarmac, snow, jungle and the desert, each different to drive on like you would experience in real life. The snowy tracks were so slippy I was constantly sliding off the track, a great track if you like a challenge!
The controls are explained well and are easy to follow. To start with the view is from above looking down. Your left hand controls the car turning left or right. With your right hand you control the brakes/reverse and the gas. There is also a turbo button just above the gas button, great for an added boost on a straight run. The first few attempts took some getting used to, I was always racing off the track but after a few attempts I got the hang of it. The boost button was very handy although it is very easy to lose control when using it.
The game is integrated with Crystal to keep track of your scores and acheivements so there is the option to compete with your family to beat each others scores. Once you get into the game you can work your way through quite quickly. I’m not a serious racing gamer, but I think for those that are they would complete the game quite quickly.
Whilst you are racing there is good retro music playing in the background mixed in with tyres screeching and the 2D graphics are quite impressive. Its all very old school and a pleasure to play. The game is ideal to play anytime, the tracks aren’t too long and you can easily pick up where you left off.
Pros
Cons
Price: $0.99
Category: Games
Released: May 21, 2010
Reviewed Version: 1.0
Size: 48.9 MB
Language: English
Seller: Mark Fennell
© blastone 2010
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later.
Brain Shake HD [rating: 2.5/5]
A Fun Game That Lacks Longevity
Many people who are reading this review will have probably heard of a game named BopIt where a single player or groups of players pass around the toy and follow the instructions on whether to push, pull or indeed BopIt. Well for me I’m a little bit old school so my reference point is a game toy called Pass Me from the early 80’s where the premise was similar although it was all based on colors and numbers. Anyway, I digress, Brain Shake HD is similar to these games only in an iPad app form.
The game consists of four different levers that you have to switch, twist, pull and squeeze under the instruction of the robotic voice that commands you.
The graphics look great, very clear and sharp, unfortunately they never change, the game could have certainly gained by switching the graphics or background on a regular basis to mix things up a little.
The same could be said for the sounds, they’re effective enough but not enough variety. As the game starts it will instruct you to complete one of the actions, too slow and it’s game over, do it quickly enough and you’ll be instructed of the next action to perform.
The four levers will also rotate at times placing the levers in different corners of the screen as well as this you will be randomly instructed to shake the whole iPad, just make sure you don’t drop it! This process continues with things getting progressively faster and faster until you finally miss one of your instructions.
The game is fun but there is definitely room for improvement. For example there is no multip-player option which would be a lot of fun especially on a single iPad and I’ve also been unable to find a high-score table even though you get to enter you name each time you get a high score.
At 99 cents Brain Shake HD will certainly provide a dollars worth of entertainment and if future updates include a multiple-player mode as well as alternative graphics and more gaming styles this could prove to be a game that hangs around for quite a while.
The Good
The Not So Good
Price: $0.99 (iTunes Store)
Updated: Apr 22, 2010
Reviewed Version: 1.1
Size: 25.8 MB
Language: English
Seller: Mundomono
© 2010 Mundomono ltda.
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.2 or later.
