As a child I spent many hours playing a game called Subbuteo, a soccer game where you flicked little plastic soccer players around a fabric pitch to score goals, other people played foosball where the aim of the game was the same although this time your man spun on wooden rods.
Soctics League is a hybrid of these two games and while the aim remains the same, to score more goals than your opponent, you control your players by pointing them in the direction you wish them to go in before launching them all at once to push the ball into your opponents net.
To begin with the process felt a little alien, you can play the game with either 3 or 4 ‘players’ and they are placed on either side of the pitch. Before the game starts you have the opportunity to place your ‘players’ anywhere on your half of the pitch, after that however control moves to directing power and direction by placing arrows out of each of them.
While you’ll be predicting the direction of the ball most of the times you do also get a limited number of binoculars that will give you a visible line of where the ball is going to go, this doesn’t take into account you opponents moves though so it’s path is not guarenteed.
While your doing this your opponent, either iPhone AI, a friend or an online player are doing the same and once you’ve all set your moves all the players will move at the same time and the ball will hopefully move towards you opponents goal.
While there is a basic training mode you can really perfect your skills playing against the iPhone AI player before taking the online challenge which is where the real fun begins as you pit your wits against a real player. The online game moves along quickly as you are limited to how long you ponder your next move, and ponder you must as you have to consider both attacking your opponents goal and defending your own.
You can play friendly games online but also play league games. The league games will enter you into the Soctics League which is won by the player with the most points each week.
Each game is a best of three so you may fine things over pretty quickly, however it can turn into a mind bending game of chess if you find a defensive opponent. This is where it gets fun though and the game shows its strength as a real brain teasing challenge.
Soctics League is not going to win any awards for its sound and graphics, it’s pretty basic where both those items are concerned but that’s also not a problem as the game is more about the mental challenge than its great looks.
It’s also a little rough around the edges still, the app crashes at times for no apparent reason and sometimes menu’s don’t work either but Soctics League does have the underlying gameplay that could keep this on your iPhone for some time to come. The developers seem to be active too so who knows what updates they have up their sleeves.
Soctics League is available in the App Store now for $1.99 and if you are looking for something a little different this could be the game for you.
[rating: 3/5]What we like
What to know
Another winner is released from the makers of the acclaimed Sentinel strategy games and top 10 UK paid app Car Mania, Origin8. Bio Sub is everything else one would expect from these guys and more. A tilt physics puzzle game that is engaging and demanding on the brain.
The objective of this game is to clean the chemical waste within the deep waters. As captain of the Bio Sub, it is your duty to deactivate these environmental hazards. By colliding similar canisters, the player simultaneously destroys these threats and in return gathers the energy contained within. Steady skills and sharp strategies are essential in order to guide your submarine avoiding all danger that lingers ahead.
Tilt your device to steer the sub and touch the screen to hit the breaks. If you prefer to drag your sub through the deep trenches, this game has the option of using the touch screen. Follow the yellow brick road. Well in this case, the arrow. The options menu allows the player to calibrate the sensitivity. I found this to be a nice and helpful feature.
This game is sure to be a brain hazard, challenging and stimulating every fraction. The online achievements and high scores from OpenFeint is a plus but it would be nice to challenge online players. The graphics are pleasing to the eye with colors that pop. The 70 diabolically challenging levels offer heaps of game play. This is an all around polished game sure to please even those who did not get an “A” in physics.
Price: $.99
The Good
The Not So Good
Reviewed By: Dana Sperling
BioSub – iPhone Game Trailer
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