I Am Level review (iOS / Universal)

10 word description: Flick, bounce, roll in mix of pinball and platform game.

10 word review: ZX Spectrum games were never actually quite this ****ing good.

You will like this if you enjoy: Platform puzzle games where you don’t directly control the main character.

The good news: The faux ZX Spectrum styling and blatant plagiarism of classic Speccy games is flawlessly executed. Controls, pretty much perfect although I never really like tilting on an iPad. Gameplay, level design, puzzle elements, constant feeling of satisfying progression, unlocks, no IAPs… there’s no reason not to get this game and every reason to have a great time playing it. 

The bad news: Nothing much. I don’t think it has iCloud sync, not really bothered about that. Maybe the progress map could be bigger; again, I don’t really mind.

Arcadelife verdict: Once again, I have a couple of friends to thank for bringing this one to my attention. Ben & QS, again, thank you. Despite playing – and enjoying, yeah I admit it – some of the the recent big name, cash grabbing, gigabyte guzzling, eye candy titles (for which I do, genuinely despise myself, honest), I Am Level is the one game this month – probably this year – that completely restores my faith in iOS game developers.

Ok, if you’re too young to have played Jet Set Willy then the occasionally curious naming of the levels might not be quite so amusing but the game really deserves to be played for what it is, not for what  it succeeds so cleverly at both paying tribute to and poking fun at. Get it now, because I said so.

Arcadelife rating

Presentation – 8.5/10
Visuals – 8/10
Controls – 9.5/10
Content – 9/10
Fun – 10/10
Final rating – 9/10

SPEC-TACULAR (Yes, I know. Originality not my strong point)

Rating categories explained here.

Arcadelife played and reviewed this game on:

5th gen iPod Touch (iOS 6.1.3 & iOS 7.0)
4th gen iPad (iOS 6.1.3)

This review was typed on a Das Keyboard Model S mechanical keyboard – check them out, they’re really rather groovy.

Terraria review (iOS / Universal)

10 word description: Dig, fight, explore, build. Indie sandbox adventure. Monsters, bosses, Game Center. 

10 word review: Addictive, easy to figure out. Decent controls. Plenty to do.  

You will like this if you enjoy: The mining & crafting sandbox genre. 

The good news: Great port of the popular multi-platform game. Loads of content. Graphics are good, if not stunning. Controls are a good attempt at what could be achieved on touch screen and they begin to feel quite natural after a bit of time spent getting used to them. Death doesn’t feel too punishing; I like the fairly easy enemies that begin to get tougher the further you explore or dig. Crafting is easy too, with good explanations about what you need to do. 

The bad news: No iCloud sync – a shame. Controls do initially feel a bit loose with jump being “up” on the floating joystick. Feels quite fiddly on the smaller (iPod 5) screen. 

Arcadelife verdict: I hadn’t played this before on any other platform, probably something to be thankful for considering how quickly I got hooked playing it on my iPad 4. It’s a lot of fun and I like the fact that I didn’t need to start Googling crafting recipes and “how to play” guides the instant I started. I haven’t needed to do that at all, in fact, which is great for a game from this genre. Its flaws are very minor, nothing to prevent me recommending it.

Arcadelife rating

Presentation – 9/10
Visuals – 8/10
Controls – 8.5/10
Content – 10/10
Fun – 9/10
Final rating – 9/10

GREAT

Rating categories explained here.

Version reviewed by Arcadelife is ? (Doesn’t appear to mention this on the app store)

Terraria website link

Arcadelife played and reviewed this game on:
5th gen iPod Touch (iOS 6.1.3)
4th gen iPad (iOS 6.1.3)

This review was typed on a Das Keyboard Model S mechanical keyboard – check them out, they’re really rather groovy.