I recently received a gift code for Banana Kong (iOS / Universal) from a friend (Thanks!) but I had already bought the game.
If you would like this code – note: it will only work on the UK appstore – send an email to arcadelife@planetshooter.com. First response gets the code.
And if anyone was wondering what happened and why there haven’t been any reviews for a few days – my PC broke and I had to get a new one.
10 word description: Floating collect-em-up with balloons and rabbits. 45 levels.
10 word review: Joust, reimagined by very cheerful people. A lot of fun.
You will like this if you enjoy: Joust – seriously, the basic gameplay is very similar. Arcade games with an emphasis on fun. Games without IAPs or adverts.
The good news: The gameplay is very good and fun, which is important despite what a lot of app store games would have you believe. Graphics are pretty although not jaw-dropping. Music is decent, sound effects and audio cues for power-ups are amusing and suitably silly. Plenty of control options. Runs perfectly ok on 1st gen iPad and 4th gen Touch.
The bad news: On the smaller screen (iPhone/Touch) using the control buttons can obscure some of the action at the bottom of the screen. No iCloud sync for playing on more than one device. I suppose the lack of pay-to-win IAPs might disappoint a few drooling imbeciles who have more money than sense, but that’s just good news for the rest of us.
Arcadelife verdict: I’ve been waiting a while to review the big version 2.0 update and it has definitely been worth the wait. Balloon Loons plays a lot like Joust, as you fly/float around, attempting to pop the enemies’ balloons from above. There’s far more variety to the environments, enemies and power-ups, and the gameplay is jovial and entertaining. Ultimately, it’s a fun arcade style game with no pretensions at being serious or anything more than what it is. It also has no IAPs or adverts, which is really refreshing these days! Recommended.
Balloon Loons website link
10 word description: One-touch auto-flier (with jetpack). Avoid hazards, collect characters.
10 word review: Captivating casual game. Beautiful, clean visuals. Outstanding soundtrack. Highly recommended.
You will like this if you enjoy: Auto-runners. Endless distance games.
The good news: Everything about this game is eminently likeable. The addiction comes from always knowing that you can beat your last run and never feeling frustrated. Very well designed and wonderfully presented.
The bad news: Couple of small things: The pause button (bottom left) is right where I like to use my thumb to control the game; it’s being moved in an update. No iCloud sync.
Arcadelife verdict: Like Jetpack Joyride, reimagined in a nu-retro style without the IAP bullshit. The control method is simple and immediately familiar. I’m having a lot of fun with this game and I suggest that you go and get it if you haven’t already done so.
Zack Banack website link
10 word description: 60 level action platformer. Infest humans for unique powers. Game Center.
10 word review: Falls far short of its own potential. Overall quite disappointing.
You will like this if you enjoy: Platform games, I suppose, although this isn’t a great example of the genre.
The good news: It can be completed very quickly, despite some annoying bugs.
The bad news: Short, unimaginative levels. Bad control button positioning (particularly on iPad) with no option to customise it. Bugs that cause the block-pushing human to explode for no reason or stick permanently to a pushed block. Way too little is done with the rather intriguing concept of possessing humans with your Infestor blob. The same bland background and tile-set is used in every level. A flat, forgettable gaming experience. iCloud save doesn’t seem to work, at least not for me. Achievement notifications repeat. One achievement doesn’t unlock when the conditions are met.
Arcadelife verdict: I’m not a huge fan of speedruns, star-ratings for levels, collectable items in hard-to-reach areas, unlockable content and high-score leaderboards … however (and it’a a pretty big however) this game is seriously in need of one or more of those, if only to add some kind of purpose beyond reaching yet another level exit. Alternatively, make the levels a bit larger and include primary and secondary goals. I can’t believe I find it so easy to spot what’s missing, what could have been, but the people who spent their time developing this game didn’t.
Well, it’s yet another missed opportunity on the app store and I’m sure it’s not going to be the last. Just shrug, forget it and move on.
Ravenous Games website link
This looks like it could be quite a lot of fun. My son is excited about it because I told him it’s from the people who made Random Heroes, one of his favourite games.
The official game description is:
“As the Infestor you need to reach the exit in each level by taking over your enemies and controlling their body. Each human has a special ability associated with it that you will need to take advantage of to overcome obstacles.“
So, yeah, possess people and then avoid the dangerous hazards or, as I expect you’re already planning in your deviously evil mind, walk them straight into the nearest one. See, sounds like a lot of fun! Here’s the trailer:
And here’s the Ravenous Games website link.
The game should be out this week, which will be Thursday (UK / midnight). I’ll post a review as soon as I can.
10 word description: Motorcycle stunt challenges; new version of Joe Danger for iOS.
10 word review: Top quality visuals and presentation with plenty of entertainment value.
You will like this if you enjoy: All sorts of touch screen gaming elements and a high level of polish. (sorry, I used the P word and I promised I wouldn’t).
The good news: Very good graphics and effects. The sounds are also good and not annoying. Controls work well, although they can occasionally feel rather unreliable when you’re trying to cram as many tricks as possible into a high-score run. Plenty of content and always a variety of things to do and to achieve on each track.
The bad news: Ok, it’s a conscious design decision and it probably won’t bother the majority of players, but I found the inclusion of lots of bubble-popping, swiping in response to prompts and generally doing stuff on the screen that isn’t directly related to controlling the bike detracted from the feeling of, well, of riding the bike. Does it make the game less fun? Not really, I just would have preferred more of a focus on using the bike to do everything rather than the QTE / Fruit Ninja aspects of the game.
Arcadelife verdict: Joe Danger is a fun game on both the iPad and smaller iPhone screen and it also runs well on older devices such as my 4th gen Touch and 1st gen iPad. Although I personally found the reliance on bubble-popping and other casual gaming clichés a little overbearing and distracting as the game progressed, it’s hard to really criticise it for that because it is an iOS game and also the fact that the majority of iOS gamers are going to find that style of gameplay quite comfortable. Replaying for the score trophy on each track by doing as many freestyle stunts as possible is more fun than trying to complete all the prescribed objectives at the same time. It would have been nice to see more of an emphasis on giving the player some freedom to complete levels in different ways rather than by doing everything just right.
Overall, very high production values and a great deal of fun. It’s not a direct port of the Playstation game which works well in its favour; it has been redesigned around the limitations of touch control but doesn’t feel dumbed down or just lazily turned into yet another endless runner. Recommended.
Hello Games website link
10 word description: Point and click adventure in a hand-drawn haunted house.
10 word review: Retro-basic but quite enjoyable despite loading lags. Decent puzzles.
You will like this if you enjoy: Old school point-and-click adventure games.
The good news: The childlike art style is really quite good. Puzzles are not extremely complex and involve observation, logic and occasional humour.
The bad news: Loading delays between rooms become irritating.
Arcadelife verdict: This is a nice little point-and-click adventure that has a good assortment of puzzles and a fair number of amusingly drawn locations. Fans of the genre will appreciate what is on offer here.
Digi-Chain Games website link
One of my current favourite iPhone games – Rocket Warrior – has just been updated to generally make it a bit more accessible for new and casual players. The prices of items in the customisation shop have been reduced, meaning that you can get your hands on the very useful power-ups sooner than before.
Also, stages 1:2 and 1:3 have been tweaked to make them slightly easier.
I’ve already completed the game and I am still having a lot of fun replaying individual levels to try to beat my previous scores. The replay value of Rocket Warrior is very high, if you’re ready for quite a considerable challenge.
If you haven’t got Rocket Warrior and you fancy having a go, here’s the download link.
10 word description: Logic puzzler. Position blocks correctly to complete the 30 levels.
10 word review: Simple concept becomes tricky quickly. Definitely a very challenging game.
You will like this if you enjoy: Logic puzzle games that make you use your brain. Oh dear.
The good news: The simple concept is a great basis for a puzzle game. There’s no problem with the controls.
The bad news: No step-undo, or any kind of undo at all, which makes restarts a frequent occurrence. This reduces the fun rating, as you might have guessed. If you get stuck on a level, that’s it – you won’t see any more of the game. Although I got stuck well before the end, I wonder if 30 levels is really enough, assuming anyone makes it that far.
Arcadelife verdict: The basic concept and the brain-taxing logic puzzling are fine, but the experience could be improved with the inclusion of an undo button and some way of getting hints or bypassing a level where you get completely stumped. Overall, this is really only going to appeal to fans of logic puzzles who have enough patience not to have a meltdown when they get stuck on level 11.
10 word description: Endless surfer. Unlockable characters, power-up pets and time rewind ability.
10 word review: Slick, fast, great looking. Score chasers will enjoy it most.
You will like this if you enjoy: Tiny Wings. Really, I have to say that because the basic gameplay and the control method are very similar.
The good news: High level of polish and very attractive graphics and effects. Music and sounds are also very good. Plenty of different characters and vehicles to unlock; all the objects and enemies are very pretty. Gameplay is simple enough with the now very familiar set of three missions adding some other objectives in addition to achieving the furthest distance. iCloud sync for unlocked characters, pets, etc.
The bad news: The pets are a nice idea but they chew through space cake (in game currency) so quickly that they tend to get in the way of cake collecting for the permanently unlockable characters and vehicles. The tendency is to keep running solo (no pet), which makes pet unlocks via mission completion a lot less satisfying than they could be. In some of the levels the gaps are so wide that you just know it’s going to be instant Game Over as soon as you see the graphics change.
Arcadelife verdict: Time Surfer is a fun and flashy addition to the endless genre on iOS, taking some inspiration from Tiny Wings and adding a lot of its own style as well as the very useful ability to rewind time. The pets, of which there are many, are restricted by their reliance on a constant diet of the in-game currency, resulting in their use and usefulness being rather dramatically reduced for anyone not prepared to take the IAP route. If you’re happy to make limited use of the pets, or you just love grinding on endless runners, this won’t be a problem.
Overall, an entertaining game with high production values, although some of those gaps really are just a little bit too wide to be a fun challenge!
Time Surfer website link
