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Best Games of 2011

With December coming to a close and a new year just around the corner, it might be helpful to recap the best games of the year.  This list will in no way encompass every awesome game that was released this year, but I hope it will help you pick up some games that you will enjoy.
!!!GAME OF THE YEAR!!!

First, my game of the year is…League of Evil by Ravenous Games!
There isn’t much you need to know about this game other than that it is a retro platformer, and it’s pure genius. With an iron fist, punch the brains out of evil scientists in 160+ levels brimming with action. Ravenous Games has poured so much love into this game and it shows.  Since its release in February, League of Evil has received more than enough updates to keep it fresh to this day. Also, word has it that League of Evil 2 is in the works! We’ll be back with more on that as we get it.  Until then, grab League of Evil and punch some evil scientists.
!!!THE TOP 5!!!
#1 (essentially GoTY Runner-Up): Pocket RPG (Crescent Moon Games/Tasty Poison)

Crescent Moon Games and Tasty Poison nailed it on this one.  Put simply, Pocket RPG is the best dungeon-crawler on the App Store.  Tons of loot, destructible environments, awesome skills, hordes of enemies, character upgrades…I mean what more can you ask for?  The game is simple enough for anyone to enjoy it, with dual stick controls and randomized dungeons optimized for pick-up and play, yet it is deep enough to satisfy even hardcore gamers. With 3 different classes to use and boss battles that actually require skill, Pocket RPG won’t be leaving my iDevice anytime soon.
#2: Glowfish (MumboJumbo)

Looking at the icon, you might be thinking “Wow…the #2 game is a baby game?”, but don’t worry Glowfish is in no way a baby game.  From its amazingly vivid environments to its simple yet intuitive controls, Glowfish has everything you can ask for in an iOS game. This is one of those hidden gems in the App Store that you just can’t pass up.  This is more than a game, it’s an experience. And it is one that you don’t want to miss.
#3: Bike Baron (Mountain Sheep/Qwiboo)

When Bike Baron was unleashed on the App Store, I was shocked by how easy it was to dump time into the game.  Immediately after its release I wanted to try it out for a bit, and before I knew it over 3 hours had passed by! This game is extremely addicting.  That’s the bottom line.  Of course with joy comes grief, and if you stick around until the last few Joker levels, you will face a LOT of grief…and you might end up using some Rogahn or some other hair regrowing product.  Despite the grief, Bike Baron is an epic game to be played on your epic device.
#4 Terra Noctis (BulkyPix)

Terra Noctis released just a week ago, but it already feels like a classic to me. This is one of the greatest iOS platformers in my mind.  Tight controls, Mario-esque features (like ground-pounding!), sweet retro artwork, and plenty of levels to play through all put this game up higher on the must-have list.  It’s sad that the game has not received as much recognition as it deserves, and we hope the developers stick with this one and continue to keep it fresh.
#5 Junk Jack (Pixbits)

There are several world building games out there on the App Store, but only one of them – no not even the official Minecraft port – gets it right. That one is Junk Jack.  Despite having quite the learning curve, Junk Jack is plays like a dream. You essentially have 3 alternate worlds at your fingertips in which you can do whatever you please. If you feel like it, go punch some trees. Maybe you want to build a castle. Well, make a pick-axe and get to it. There’s nothing holding you back in Junk Jack. With any luck you might even find some hidden treasures. If you decide to give Junk Jack a try, pay attention to the notes you find and never give up. Have fun fighting the mobs!
I hope you enjoy all of the games on the list. I know I didn’t cover all of the great games out there, but these are the ones that I have especially had fun playing. It’s been a great year in the iOS world, and next year will be even better. We’ll be back with more reviews here at the App Shack. Merry Chirstmas and Happy New Year!
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December 25, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

‘AlphaBalls Review’ Do You Have The Balls To Try This Game?

Think of all the cliche alien movies you have seen this year. About 100% of them have huge Michael Bay- esque explosions and  awesome futuristic weapons.  Alpha Balls also has to do with an alien invasion but fortunately does away with all the over used explosions so common in main stream media.
When you first start up the game you are brought to a menu screen where you have a few different options.  You can check out the gamecenter leaderboards and see how your friends are doing, go through the tutorial, and finally start a game.  There is only one game mode; Survival, and it is score based.  You can try to compete for a high score by playing survival for a long time or just play it for fun.
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The main enemy in the game is an alien spacecraft that is trying to destroy the earth.  They’re not using heavy arms or swarms of enemies but are hedging the success of their mission on throwing large balls at our planet and hoping we are obliterated. But dammit were AMERICA we don’t stand for shenanigans like that!  Our awesome and high tech solution is to shoot balls back at their balls so that they are pushed away from our planet, hopefully hitting our annoying neighbors.  The ball shooting device is similar to a tennis serving machine and machine-gun fires the balls right back at them.  In order to shoot you drag your finger on the lower part of the screen in the direction you want to fire.  Keep in mind you have a limited amount  of ammo that replenishes slowly so you really have to be strategic in where and what you shoot of.  Unfortunately that means you cant have extreme firing rampages like in Rambo but that would just make the game too unbalanced. If you tap the screen with 2 fingers a charged shot is released that has more impact power than the regular shots. Using this ability decreases the shot meter by 5 shots which you could have used defending your base. You start off with a shield but that diminishes when it gets hits more than once which leaves no room for error. The game gets really intense later on in survival mode and will have you hooked trying to save your base.
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Overall this is a great physics based shooting game but is a little lacking on content.  More enemy types besides the 2 currently in the game would make the game more strategic as well.  I give it a 4/5 stars.
Info:
Releasing Sept. 1st
Price: 0.99
Devs: Appsolute Entertainment
Note: Pictures will be added once the game is released along with the unreleased video.

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August 31, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

iDaTank – 1.99 (Pavel Tsarev)

It seems like there are endless dual stick shooters released each year in the AppStore. Coming across one that is original can seem like a chore sometimes, and most will pass up a game from an indie developer for a big name title from a bigger name developing company. But when many saw the screens for iDaTank,they couldn’t resist. And what they got for their curiousness was a different and original take on the dual-stick genre.
iDaTank isn’t a typical dual-stick shooter. For one, it doesn’t have dual sticks. The aiming is done by the game, a la auto-aiming at the closest enemy to the player. But Pavel Tsarev has done an amazing job creating a world that is still as dangerous as it is beautiful. In iDaTank, you play as a lone scouting drone searching different bite-sized planets for crystals that will power upteleporters leading you to the source of anunknown signal sequence. Along the way, you’ll encounter different life-forms on each cluster of planets, of which there are five. There’s also plenty of environmental hazards to make the strange 3D world seem like a maze at first. The enemies in iDaTank are extremely varied throughout the game. And once you get about half-way into it, seeing what enemies are on the next planet becomes a part of the whole gaming experience. Figuring out how to deal with the enemies and plant life of each world requires quite a bit of planning. You’re given 5differentweapons, each with different characteristics, for instance, a freeze gun, a high-powered, but slow firing weapon, grenade throwing weapon, and more. Each of the weapons are upgradeable up to 3 times using the points you get while killing the life-forms on each planet. Enemies can quickly gang up on you, especially during the boss battles that take place at the end of each cluster of planets, often leaving running away to recharge your health and try a different tactic the only option. All of this gives the game a real feeling of growth as you move through it, discovering, learning, and developing new tactics to get through each planet.
There’s also a pretty depthy RPG element to the game that’s a lot like the one in Solomon’s Keep. Kill enemies, gain experience, pick one of three upgrade choices. Each choice you make will effect how you experience the game as a whole. You can stick with picking quick movement and lots of firepower, so you can dodge most enemies, and just blast away through the whole game,or sacrifice speed for agility, and firepower for defensive upgrades. You’re also given a rank, which goes up as you kill enemies, and increases your general firepower and armor just slightly. The default controls for iDaTank are invisible, holding down and rolling your thumb on the screen to move, like there was a movement stick there. This minimalistic approach to the user interface is a theme in the game, even with the on-screen controls. You also have the option for a fixed joystick, or a floating joystick. There’s also an option to show weapon hotkeys on the right side of the screen, so that you don’t need to go into the pause menu each time you want to change a weapon. You’re also given an option to buy more lives in the pause menu, the price of which goes up after each life is bought.
Everything about iDaTank just screams professional. From the customization to the game play and graphics. If played like a dual-stick shooter, you might not enjoy it much, but if played like an adventure game with a dual-stick shooting control setup that has something new to offer, and that will grow with you as you play, you might just find a game that will stick with you for a long, long time. I give it a 5 out of 5, and consider it to be one of the best releases on the iOS of 2011. You’d be hard pressed to find another game like it. It’s one of the greatest adventures you can take on your iDevice for $1.99.
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August 7, 2011 Uncategorized 0 Read more >