At first glance it appears that despite his name Captain Antarctica is not your usual game hero. However, it’s soon apparent that with a plethora of upgrades and gadgets Captain Antarctica is no ordinary penguin and is ready to take on the task of rescuing his family and friends.
You responsibility in this task is to steer Captain Antarctica though underwater caverns to defeat the multiple bosses across 6 initial chapters, (chapter 7 is listed as “Coming Soon”). While 6 chapters may not seem like a lot of value for the $1.99 price tag each chapter is full of challenges.
The ultimate objective of each chapter is to negotiate your way through the dangerous underwater caverns and all the dangers they hold. From a variety of dangerous sea creatures to more volatile dangers such as mines and torpedoes there are dangers around every corner to hinder your progress.
Controlling Captain Antarctica through these dangers is done either via the accelerometer or via the touch screen, personally the most successful control system is the accelerometer but it’s nice to have the choice.
Each of the chapters include multiple Experiments (challenges), this means that you’ll need to repeat the chapters multiple times to complete them, the early chapters contain single digit challenges, however by the time you reach the final chapters will be double digit experiments for you to complete.
You are aided in these challenges by the option to purchase power-ups and upgrades to your existing skills. You have magnets, shields and jets and of course extra lives at your disposal and they can be purchased by coins.
You earn coins by completing the experiments in each level, but you can also purchase coins via in-app purchase. The balance between gaining coins in game and having to buy them to progress is fairly balanced so if you don’t want to buy them you don’t have to.
GameCenter integration is hit and miss, sure there are 32 achievements to unlock but rather than having leaderboards for each chapter there are just two for total coins and total distance traveled.
The game is great looking game to with bright, colorful two dimensional graphics which despite their 2 dimensionality provide great depth to the game and the jaunty music is well pitch to the game.
Captain Antarctica HD is a fun arcade game which has that vital ingredient of convincing you to need just one more try before you put it down and will appeal to players young and old alike.
[rating: 4.5/5]What we like
What to know
The Deep [rating: 5/5]
Take a swim in ‘The Deep’ for iPhone!
The sophistication of most iPhone games have left behind some traditional game genres. In a world that supports stunning graphics and 3D environments, you rarely see a well executed sidescrolling adventure game. The Deep by 3G Studios combines a classic sidescrolling collection game with role playing elements to make a thoroughly enjoyable game.
As the game opens, you are a mindless office drone filing TPS reports and waiting for the clock to tick down to the end of the day. Suddenly your fortune changes. You receive notification that you’ve won a vacation. The next thing you know you’re transported off to a tropical isle for fun and adventure in the sun. Amid the sun, fun, and somewhat zany locals you find adventure and excitement.
There are two main modes of play in The Deep. The first is a role play adventure. In this mode, you move around the island and talk to the locals. Dealings with the locals are run through a question and response type of interaction. A local will make a statement or ask a question and you will be given three possible responses. Although some of the interactions will initially leave you scratching your head, you quickly learn to drive conversations to extract the information you need to succeed in the game. Locals will either give you general use information about the game or point you towards the quests that drive gameplay forward.
The second mode of the game is a sidescrolling collection adventure. Once a local has pointed you towards a quest, you grab your scuba gear and head out to the ocean. A map will show you the dive spots currently available. Tap an available area to start a dive. Each dive is governed by the oxygen meter located in the upper left hand corner of the screen. Time spent underwater will deplete your oxygen as will running into hostile sea creatures. Return to your ship to replenish your oxygen. During each dive you will collect treasure that can be used to restock and upgrade your diving equipment. Make sure to look for this while performing what ever other quest you are fulfilling. A counter at the top right hand side of the interface will show how much treasure you currently have. Movement can be customized to use either a virtual joystick in the lower left hand corner of the interface or by touch on the game surface. Return to your ship when you want to go back to island to upgrade more equipment or end a quest.
I really like The Deep. It is a fun and welcome change from the usual 3D game offerings. It hearkens back to an earlier time in gaming where the sidescrolling game was king and I would spend my weekly allowance in an afternoon at the arcade. The graphics, gameplay, and music really evokes this gaming environment. The quest-based environment also lends itself quite well to the replay value of the game. I found myself coming back to the game again and again to either finish something I’d started or to anxiously await what my new quest would be. The Deep also features Facebook Connect so you can share your adventures and accomplishments with your Facebook friends.
With all of that being said, the only real improvement I could suggest for this game is a free play mode. Its a small thing but free play is a nice option for campaign / quest style games. It allows the player to experience levels that would be otherwise be locked and enhances the overall replayability of the game. Lack of free play certainly does not detract from the overall experience of the game and would only enhance it.
Overall, I’d give The Deep two very enthusiastic thumbs up. This is a great game that invokes a classic game genre to deliver hours of fun.
The Good:
The Not So Good:
Reviewed by: Erin Peterson
The Deep iPhone Gameplay
Video by: touchArcade.com
Price: $3.99 as of 14 Jan (iTunes Store)
Reviewed Version: 1.0
Size: 103 MB
Seller: 3G Studios, Inc.