Category Archives: asteroids

Review: Tractor Beam

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Review: Tractor Beam is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Tractor Beam is a weird and wonderful arcade game that nails the look and feel of the classic Asteroids but plays like Hook Champ.

The story is simple: Your engines are down. Use your tractor beams to move. Touching an asteroid will pull you toward it — and will send the asteroid hurtling in your direction. With some careful timing, you’ll soon be flying through space like a vector-based Spider-Man.

The name of the game here is simplicity. Players pull the ship forward, dodge asteroids as best they can, and rack up points the further they get. There are two modes of play: the 90 second timed run, and the standard limited lives approach.

I found the former to be vastly more fun, as the only “cost” of dying in the timed mode is lost time. It’s easier to get into the swing of things when you aren’t constantly fearing for the safety of your ship, and when you’re zooming around asteroids and squeezing in between them, the game is a blast.

Graphically, Tractor Beam’s near-perfect visual reproduction of the vector-based classic Asteroids was a real win for me, but if you’re looking for something flashy, don’t expect more than what you see in the screenshots here.  The visual simplicity actually lends itself well to a game that’s all about timing. Everything is bold, clear, and well-defined.

2The game features great sound effects for the tractor beams and asteroid collisions, along with an excellent soundtrack. According to the game’s website, the music is dynamically generated, so you get a different aural experience every time you play.

Frankly, I had no idea this feature existed until I read the developer’s site, but I also never found the music annoying. It’s retro, it fits, and it adds to the experience. If you don’t like it, you can play your own music instead.

Compliments aside, there are a few problems. Tractor Beam is very difficult the first time you play, particularly if you aren’t playing timed mode and have only a few lives. It takes practice to learn how to control the ship, and the game can feel downright frustrating until you get the hang of it.

Also, despite being a very simple game in terms of construction, most “features” aren’t really explained. I didn’t know the game could be played in landscape orientation, for instance, until I accidentally dropped my iPhone while playing.

Despite these criticisms, after I got the hang of it, I found myself returning to Tractor Beam every time I had a spare minute and a half. It’s a perfect game for waiting in a line or playing during a commercial break. At anything more than $0.99 it might feel too simple, but Tractor Beam is perfectly priced and offers plenty of arcade fun, as long as you are willing to surmount the initial frustration.


Bit Pilot

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Bit Pilot is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: ZACH GAGE
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1

Graphics / Sound Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
iPhone Integration Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.96 out of 5 stars

Where I live, there is no such thing as a video game arcade. They all died off in the mid-to-late 80’s. As a teenager, I spent much, i.e. all, of my time at one of three different arcades where I live, shoving all my allowance and grass-cutting proceeds into the coin-slotted mouths of unassuming coin-operated conmen encased in fiberglass or wooden cabinets. Hence, while I’m not really “into” retro/retro-style games, I can certainly appreciate them and the nostalgia they invoke.

Bit Pilot is an intense, retro, asteroid-dodging game. It boasts intuitive and precise touch controls, a good soundtrack by Sabrepulse, unlockable soundtracks and bonuses, eleven challenging achievements and OpenFeint integration (global high-score lists and rankings).

Bit Pilot’s premise is simple: Score as many points as you can by staying alive, i.e. keeping your ship intact, as long as possible. In so doing, you must dodge ever-evolving asteroids and lasers as long as you can, while collecting power ups, giving you health, in the form of “shields” and points. Blue/orange pills are worth 1000 points and red/blue pills give you health (an extra shield) and 250 points:

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Bit Pilot contains two levels/modes of game play: Easy, which you begin with and Normal (un-lockable achievement by scoring 3500 points on Easy). You start with two shields (three lives). Each “hit” you take from an asteroid removes a level of shield protection. When you run out of shields and your bare ship hits an asteroid, it’s “game over.” As the game progresses, the asteroids (Gray, Yellow and Red) grow bigger and move faster and deadly laser beams make their debut, vaporizing your ship if you touch them.

Bit Pilot has different “unlockables,” in the form of additional music and wallpapers. Whenever your cumulative score reaches a certain level, these “unlockables” become available. They’re not much though and do little, if anything, to add to the game’s already-high replay value. The game also uses OpenFeint, allowing you to see who else is playing and challenge them to beat your highest score.

Bit Pilot is great for long or short term play. While players will love both modes, Normal mode is more challenging and thus, games are quicker and end faster, while Easy-mode games last longer. Bit Pilot’s intense game play is attributed to its winning formula for/of frenetic pace: The movement of the asteroids, etc. combined with your ship’s speed and movement, having to constantly dodge obstacles while collecting “bonuses” and its unique, innovative and intuitive game controls.

To control your ship, you simply swipe your thumb in the direction you want your ship to move and swipe in the opposite direction to slow your ship down (or hit a wall). You can also use both thumbs for quicker moves (to make the ship “boost” in the direction you swipe) and tighter control of your ship (Note: These are indeed my thumbs):

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Initially, I found the control scheme awkward and unresponsive, resulting in me spastically thumbing my iPhone while my ship careened against the asteroids/walls within the level. However, after enough practice, i.e. being blown to bits and humiliatingly vaporized over and over, I found the controls to be “spot-on.” It does contain/require a “learning curve,” but after you’ve practiced enough to learn how to control your ship, you’ll find the innovative control scheme to be immersive, fun and rewarding.

Bit Pilot’s music/soundtrack, as mentioned earlier, is provided by Sabrepulse, a “chiptune” musician in Aberdeen, Scotland. The game includes 4 tracks, including the theme track. You can choose to play your favorite or opt for random selection once you’ve unlocked the others. While I’m no expert on “chiptune” or retro soundtracks, I will say this: Hearing Bit Pilot’s soundtrack invoked many memories of the time(s) I spent in “old-school” arcades.

While Bit Pilot, at face value, may not seem to have much to offer, the exact opposite is true; it’s a deceptively-intense game with a lot of personality, fluid controls and a thought-provoking soundtrack. It’s a successful, innovative “retro-infused” modern take on a well-defined, often-finicky genre. At only .99, Bit Pilot is well worth your allowance: Bit Pilot Demo


Advanced ROX

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Advanced ROX is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Advanced ROX, can you survive the dangers of the rock field? In this amazing, vector graphical game you take control of one of four Advanced ROX ship and try and fight your way through the rock fields.

Shoot, dodge and upgrade your way through this exciting game with four ships to choose from: The ROX I, ROX II, Hammerhead or the Claw.

HOW TO PLAY:
Choose one of the four ships. Each one has slightly different stats which can be upgraded in-game using points.

Start with your right thumb or index finger. Tap the screen anywhere to get the ship to turn and move towards it. The further you tap from the ship, the faster it will move. To stop the ship moving, simply tap on it.

Now to firing, see the button on the left side of the screen? Use your left thumb to press and hold on it. Firing mode is active! Now you tap with your right thumb or index finger and the ship will turn and shoot! You can also drag your thumb or finger around to get the ship to turn and shoot a ‘wave’ of bullets.

To return to moving mode, release the button under your thumb.

Left handed? Don’t worry, we’ve catered for you too! Simply head on over to the settings app and select left handed and you will be shooting rocks too!

How about upgrading your ship? Simple. Wherever you see a stat bar, tap on it to find out about it. When on the stats screen you can tap on a bar and it will tell you abut the next upgrade and its cost in points. Once you have chosen an upgrade slide the bar over to the right and your upgrade will be complete

Please Note: Expect slow down on 2nd Generation iPods. This is something we are working to fix. Hang tight, and there hopefully in version 1.1.0 there will be a major engine update that will improve the performance across all iPods.


Space Miner

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Space Miner is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: Venan Entertainment
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1

Graphics / Sound Rating: 4.65 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4.65 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.56 out of 5 stars

First off, I just want to let you know, dear leader.. er.. reader, that I love this game. Every once in a while you pick up a game and it just clicks. The concept, the controls, the graphics, all of it. While it would be hard for me to make any bold statements, it’s fair to say that Space Miner is on my list of favorite iPhone games out there.

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Space Miner, at its core, is just another Asteroids game. You aim the direction of your ship with the left stick and you hit the accelerator and fire with your right. Just like in Asteroids, there are asteroids flying around that you have to destroy, but in this one, instead of just fleeing for your life, it is up to you to blow them all up for your crazy uncles mining operation that becomes extremely indebted to the bank. 600 year loan indebted. Because of this bank debt, the evildoers have sent out mining drones to steal all of your ore, so it is also up to you to blow them up. Along the way, you gain money that you can use on upgrading your ship… and there are a ton of upgrades available from weapons to collector (tractor) beams. So many in fact that you can almost do an upgrade after every level if you so choose to.

While the core of Space Miner is just a mining operation, the game relies heavily on the extremely light hearted story pitting your uncle against the evil bank. The plot of the game is unraveled through numerous dialogue based cutscenes, and through some of the actions in the levels. Fortunately, the story is short and funny, so it is almost a treat when something pop up… and they pop up a ton. The story must be completed all the way through to beat the game, but there are so many levels that just involve mining that you could probably get through the game spending maybe 15% of your time on the story… for those of you who just want to blow things up.

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The real star of the game, other than the constant upgradeability of your ship and the good story, is the graphics and sound. The graphics run perfectly smooth on my 3G, and the loading screens look so nice that I really don’t even mind the wait. The ship runs great throughout the galaxy and looks different almost every level due to various upgrades that you can perform. The cutscenes, while not full motion, are graphically comparable to the cutscenes in Mass Effect and The Oregon Trail. The sound, which is almost as important as the graphics for setting the mood, are almost all comprised of banjo tracks. I typically don’t like the banjo in my video games, but the bluegrassy tracks in Space Miner are perfect for creating the desired feel.

I really can’t recommend this game enough. The RPG elements are fantastic, the story is great, and the graphics and sound are amazing. In a game like this, I would expect longevity to be a concern, but if you do everything in the game, it will probably take you 10-15 hours… and maybe more, to complete. At its current $4.99 price tag, the equivalent of 2/3 of a Chipotle burrito, I can easily consider Space Miner a must buy.


Tractor Beam: An Asteroids-Inspired Momentum Puzzler

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Tractor Beam: An Asteroids-Inspired Momentum Puzzler is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

tractorbeamBrian Baughn writes in with word that his company’s first iPhone title, Tractor Beam ($0.99), has premiered in the App Store.

Featuring a vector-based visual style inspired by Atari’s Asteroids, Tractor Beam’s gameplay is a unique inversion of the arcade classic. Players drift through space, unarmed and without fuel, and must latch on to nearby asteroids with a tractor beam to fling the ship to safety.

Tractor Beam also boasts a dynamic, procedurally-generated soundtrack, ensuring that you’ll never hear the same music twice. This is awesome. I approve of this. A gameplay video is below.