iDracula update

March 23rd, 2009 •
Tags: Game, games, Gaming, iDracula, iPhone, iphone game, mobile, update

The developer has released a meaty update to the fantastic iPhone dual-stick shooter iDracula (my review). It includes two new levels, new weapons, and new game modes. It really adds quite a lot to a game that was already well worth the cost of admission. If you were waiting, maybe this is the incentive you were waiting for.

iPhone review: Zen Bound

March 13th, 2009 •
Tags: games, Gaming, iPhone, iPhone games, mobile, relaxation, Zen Bound

As soon as you launch Zen Bound, you’re going to realize you’ve stumbled into something really special. True to it’s name, the game is really a zen experience. The feelings I get playing this game are very close to those I get playing Flower on the PS3. I’m sure it’s much easier to sell a game if you stick guns and blood into it, but bravo to brave developers willing to stretch the definition of gaming even if it makes the marketing a bit more labored.

Zen Bound allows the player to manipulate a wooden object by way of touch control. A rope is stretched from the screen to the object at an angle determined by the accelerometer. Players twist and turn the object to wrap the rope around it. The goal is to touch as much of the object with the rope as possible while soothing music plays in wonderfully separated stereo. There are two modes. As best I can tell, the difference is in the types of objects you are given to bind. The Tree of Reflection presents the player with a series of representative objects (usually animals carved from wood) while the Tree of Challenge contains more abstract and geometric shapes. As you bind the objects, they become “painted” a different color. The unpainted portions are those still left to touch.

It sounds like a very simple concept but there is really a lot of strategy involved. I can’t just string my rope anywhere as I might bridge the rope over portions of the object that I will then be unable to touch later. Also, you are limited to a length of rope for each object forcing you to be economical with your use of it. Each stage has three flowers the can be attained. The first at 70% coverage, the second at 85%, and the third at 99%. It is possible to obtain all three at once by achieving 99% on your first completion of a level. Flowers accumulate to grant access to new stages higher up each tree. A level is completed by tying a second nail that begins glowing when you have reached the first completion level (70%). This adds another level of challenge as the level will end as soon as the rope makes contact with the nail after reaching at least 70%. If you want to achieve the second or third level of completion, you will have to avoid the second nail until you reach your desired coverage.

The graphics are simple but beautiful. Granted, this isn’t a game with high polygon count models, but the models are beautiful and serve the purpose perfectly. The style of the art is complementary of the music. Everything feels relaxing and very… well, zen. The game opens with a text message which says that it is designed for use with headphones. Please take this to heart because the iPhone speaker does not do justice to the wonderful music in this game.

There are currently 6,000 games on the app store. Far less than 1% of those are entertaining. Less than 1% of those are unique. This game is in that 1% of 1%. I implore you to reward developers that think outside the box and toss out the tropes of gaming that have been established over the past 30 years. Zen Bound is an incredibly unique and rewarding experience that should appeal to nearly everyone.

iPhone review: The Quest

March 11th, 2009 •
Tags: 3D, games, Gaming, iPhone, mobile, RPG, The Quest

The Quest is a first-person Western RPG in the vein of Daggerfall and probably some older titles I don’t recall. RPGs on the app store are few and far between. Most of those are JRPGs which are often characterized by cookie-cutter save the world/princess storylines and strictly linear gameplay that rarely strays from the main storyline. The Quest, like other Western RPGs, is open-world nonlinear and contains many quests that are off the main storyline which can be completed in any order. This game is something of a throwback and may not appeal to new gamers who have only joined the fray in the last five or so years but veterans like myself will find much here to appreciate. The graphics are serviceable but nothing particular special to look at. However, the depth of this game is unmatched by anything I have seen thus far. The game includes a robust inventory system along with in-game shops that will sell you new items and buy your old ones. The game includes a magic system in which spells can either be cast from scrolls or learned from books. There are projectile and melee weapons at your disposal.

You will not find yourself running out of things to do here. At any given time, you will probably have multiple quests which can be completed in any order. There are townspeople to talk to. The game employs a day and night cycle which will actually have bearing on what you may do in the game. There is so much here it would be impossible to cover it all.

The game’s interface is a success in some areas and a failure in others. Movement can be accomplished in one of two ways: via the on-screen arrows or by gesturing on the actual viewport. The game recognizes six different movements: forward, backward, sidesteps left and right, and turns left and right. Arrow movement is straightforward; there is an arrow for each movement type. Gesture movement is less obvious but still fairly intuitive; swipe up to move forward, down to move backward, left or right for sidesteps, and diagonals for turning. Navigating the world is pretty easy using this system. Games like this are obviously better suited to a mouse and keyboard, but this is a good implementation given the platform. The inventory system is a bit unintuitive. When shopping or picking up an item,  the game allows you to switch between viewing your own items and the other party’s items (be that party a seller or the ground) by way of a pair of curved arrows. Unfortunately, it is not immediately obvious (at least to me) which arrow is which. The green arrow pointing up will display the other party’s inventory while the yellow arrow pointing down displays your own.

Combat is turn-based and simple enough to execute. Simply face your target and tap the attack button to perform a single attack after which the enemy will have an opportunity to either move or perform an attack on you. There is a little luck involved and health potions are strongly recommended.

I can’t recommend this as a game for the masses. Not everyone will enjoy it. It appeals to a small albeit devoted audience. However, for RPG gamers, this is a game that is hard to find on the go. A game with the depth of The Quest on a mobile platform is a real treat. It’s not without it’s problems, but those can easily be overlooked by anyone looking for a substantial RPG to play on the go.

iPhone review: iDracula

February 21st, 2009 •
Tags: games, Gaming, iDracula, iPhone, iPhone games, mobile

At first glance, iDracula is visually reminiscent of the Diablo series (no, not the new rainbow/unicorn-riddled Diablo 3). Imagine my surprise when I fired up the game to find it has both feet firmly planted in a genre resurrected by Geometry Wars: the twin-stick shooter. For anyone unfamiliar with this type of game, it utilizes two different directional inputs—the first for traversing the arena and the second for controlling the direction of fire. In this implementation of the genre, you are a vampire hunter fighting wave after wave of monsters, picking up weapons and skills along the way to help you deal with the ever-encroaching onslaught.

Of course, the iPhone does not have the “twin sticks” from which the genre derives it’s name. Instead, like others that have come before, the developer had to devise another control mechanism. iDracula uses two on-screen directional controls giving it razor-accurate response. Per convention, the left side controls your character’s movement while the right side controls firing. The controls are rarely obtrusive and are positioned to still allow for a large play area while still being large enough to facilitate intuitive controls. It’s easy to find where your thumb needs to be to move and/or fire in any given direction.

The game comes with two modes: “Rush” and “Survival.” Rush mode throws you right into the fray. At all times, you’ll be surrounded by tons of monsters, and, armed with your machine gun and unlimited ammo, you’re tasked with mowing down as many as possible. This is the game mode for a quick play session. If you just have a minute or two to play, fire up “Rush” mode to dispense with all the foreplay. Throughout my play in this mode, there isn’t really any progression. That’s where “Survival” mode comes in.

“Survival” mode is the meat of the game. This mode couples the frantic arena shooting with RPG-like progression to give players a surprisingly robust experience. The mechanics are identical, but there is real progression here and incentive to play for more than a few minutes. You start with a handgun, and you’re looking at two or three shots to kill the weakest enemies. Luckily, the enemies will trickle in slowly at first to ease you into the action. Before long, the pace will pick up, new and stronger enemies will be introduced, and you’ll most likely have found a better weapon just about the time you were thinking you weren’t going to hold up much longer with just the pistol. The game seems to be intelligent about when new weapons are dropped so that you never feel like you are either underpowered or overpowered. You also have to manage ammo, but, honestly, once you start getting new weapons, ammo is not tough to find either although you may not necessarily find ammo for the particular weapon you want to use.

The progression comes in other forms as well. Perks are iDracula’s analog to leveling and learning new spells in an RPG. After a number of kills, you will see the perks icon light up in the top-right of the screen. Tap it to access a menu with four randomly selected upgrades like the ability to do more damage when your life gets low or a greater maximum health. These upgrades are persistent throughout your play session. In addition, you will periodically encounter Dracula. He is much tougher than the other enemies. If you defeat him, you are awarded with a shard. Collect shards to advance in rank. Unfortunately, rank is purely superficial; it’s nothing more than a word displayed at the end of the statistics screen displayed when you die leaving little incentive to strive for higher rank.

Now this is sounding like more of a timesink, right? Luckily, the developer considered the habits of mobile gamers and included an autosave that will allow you to resume your game after you have closed the game (or received a call). There is an in-game pause button as well, which is also convenient from time-to-time.

My complaints are few and minor. The character’s lower body moves completely independent of the upper body which creates some wacky-looking scenarios such as running full-speed forward away from monsters while your torso is facing and aiming in the exact opposite direction. The character’s feet should always be within a 90° radius of the direction of his face, but that is not necessarily the case here. I would love to see some sort of narrative and a progression through that narrative although that is a bit much to ask of a game at this price-point. (Maybe in the sequel?) An audio cue for perks would be nice. I often don’t know until I glance at the top-right of the screen that I have perks available. Finally, it is somewhat difficult to switch weapons in the game. The task itself is simple, but it requires diverting one of your thumbs from a directional control to execute. This is often dangerous by the time you might want to switch weapons because of the frantic pace of the game. To halt either firing or moving at these times is virtually suicide.

I’m really excited to see more from this developer. This is a near-perfect mobile gaming experience for players craving a bit more in the realm of hardcore gaming experiences on the iPhone. It is a genre-bending title that expertly melds a game well-suited to short, quick play sessions with some elements that make it worth coming back to. The game is currently $.99 at the time this review is published and will be for a little while longer. The developer is also promising some meaty additions (like a new game mode) in an upcoming update. The regular price is $2.99. It’s an incredible value at either price, and I’m sure iDracula will remain on my home screen for some time to come.