In the game “Black White West” you have to save three brave cowboys from angry Indians.
The rules of the game is simple: tapping the screen by finger to jump over cacti and survive in the saddle as long as possible. Head-on collision with cactus rides down one of the cowboys. At the same time it is possible to jump on top of cactuses, as the horse Bolivar is not afraid of wild prairie nature. Once all three cowboy fall out of the saddle – the game is over.
Game Features:
- Humorous atmosphere of wild west
- Unique black and white visual style
- Entirely hand drawn design and animation
- Intuitive interface
- Table of records to compete with your friends
- Unique Country soundtrack and funny in-game sounds from professional musician Eugene Viitman
“Black White West” – is the first project in a series of ”Black White” mini-games by Submarine and Unusual Things studios.
Developer: Romper Games
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 3G
Graphics / Sound Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Replay Value Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Doodle Dive turns the concept of doodle games and vertical platformers on its head, literally. Instead of trying to ascend as far into the heavens as you can, here you’re trying to make the caped blue protagonist Doodle Dave descend as far as possible, avoiding enemies and picking up items in the process. There are collectible blocks that grant you an extra life for every 100 that you collect, and powerups that let you smash enemies or slow your descent to let you easily collect more blocks.
The game controls very well with the accelerometer even at default sensitivity settings, which is surprising considering the game requires you to move both horizontally and vertically as you descend, giving you more options to avoid the obstacles that come along than other endless games. This 2 dimensional movement makes the game play much differently than other endless vertical games. While doodle art style games are starting to become cliche and overused on the App Store, Doodle Dive at least is very colorful with its doodles, and the game features tons of references to other iOS games and pop culture phenomena that are present as obstacles that fly past you. The game also is set up in a unique way in that it starts you out with one life, but you soon can pick up extra lives as you start to learn how to survive at the beginning as you get acclimated to the game.
However, the doodle art style is becoming overplayed, and endless vertical “platformers” are hardly fresh either, so despite Doodle Dive’s attempts to provide its own twists, it still feels a bit derivative at times. The game does have OpenFeint implemented, but there’s no hint of it unless you click the “Online” button. While OpenFeint usage by players is often low, hiding it from even seasoned users is a mistake, as there are cool features like the ability to see who’s next on the global leaderboard as you cross into the top 25 scores that are otherwise hidden from view behind an ambiguous “Online” button.
Doodle Dive may not be the most original game on the App Store, but it does a good job at differentiating itself slightly from the other doodle-style endless games that have come along, and isn’t a bad fix for those looking for something new in a crowded genre.
I’m going to start this review right off the bat by saying that I absolutely love Doodle Cannon War! I haven’t been this in engrossed in an iPhone game since I purchased Doodle Jump (a different game from a different developer) a couple months back. Anyone who’s ever played a video game can sense when a game just feels right when they play it. Doodle Cannon War has that tangible feel only a few games I’ve played on the iPhone have. The guys and gals at infiworks have truly created a game so fun and challenging that if it weren’t for the game crippling glitch in level nine, chances are, I probably would have bought it! I’ll tell you more about that later in the review.
The object of the game is to blow up the skulls in each level using the bombs in your cannon. It sounds simple but to get your bomb anywhere near the skulls in each level you’ll have to angle your cannon just right and make sure the power behind your shot doesn’t fire your bomb too hard or too soft. This requires a steady hand, logical thinking, and some luck. To get a good score you’ll have to blow up the skulls using the least amount of bombs in as little time as possible.
Like most games on the iPhone, Doodle Cannon Wars has a bit of a control problem. It only uses a single touch to control the power and angle of the cannon. This can be a bit of a pain when you’re trying really hard to get the angle just right because as long as your finger is pressed on the screen the power behind your shot will continue to go up. This means that you’ll have to quickly judge the angle and power when you’re taking a shot. For the sake of making the game less reliant on luck and more on skill, I think the game would benefit greatly from separating these two actions.
Of course, separating the angle control from the power control will do absolutely nothing as long as the glitch in level nine is still there crippling this game! As soon as level nine starts, the frame rate slows down to a crawl, making the game virtually unplayable. That’s over 40 levels of Doodle Cannon War that won’t be able to be played! I would wait until infiworks fixes this bug before purchasing this app.
Developer: j2sighte
Price: .99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Graphics / Sound Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
iPhone Integration Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4.46 out of 5 stars
There are a slew of doodle-themed games in the app store. From bowling to bouncing to blasting, most, if not all, have been well-received by app store consumers. Doodle Kart is another entry, not just into the doodle-inspired game craze, but in the relatively new genre of top-down racing games, which strays from the stereotypical front-seat game play view perspective, opting instead, to base game play/view from a top-down, bird’s eye perspective.
Doodle Kart further distinguishes itself by incorporating kart racer features/elements into its game play, allowing players to battle others using an arsenal of power-ups and weaponry to inhibit their opponents’ progress while advancing their own.
Doodle Kart is played throughout 25 levels and 5 worlds of colorful, winding, obstacle-laden tracks scribbled on graph paper. Don’t let the smooth taste fool you though, as like any good 40 oz. can of premium malt liquor, the more you drink it in, the higher you get.
While the game’s graphics are “doodled,” they are very well-drawn and incorporated into the academic theme of the game, providing players with a visually-pleasing aesthetic that is colorful, scenic and clever, e.g. tracks are drawn on graphing paper containing doodles of math/physics equations, black holes, etc. and adorned with rulers, pencils, and other various over/under-sized academic paraphernalia.
Among Doodle Kart’s features:
As for the game’s sound track, I can only say that if you’re a fan of what I can only assume to be Mexican traditional folk music, you’ll love it; otherwise, you have the option to toggle music, as well as sound effects on/off. Speaking of sound effects, Doodle Kart’s are well done, with one exception: The pre-race, beginning countdown will unnerve and/or scare you scribbleless. The screeching tires, rev of the engine and other sound effects, along with the game’s visuals (minus the sound track and loud, annoying beginning buzzer), will provide its players with an immersive environment.
Players can customize their game play experience using a variety of options offered by Doodle Kart, such as choosing between portrait and landscape mode and “auto-gas” on/off. Players can also choose the color of their car and manually “fine-tune” their racer in 5 different categories.
Gameplay is simple, yet deceptively competent and sometimes daunting (fortunately, players are given 4 attempts to win a each track). Players can choose between portrait and landscape mode and control their cars via touch or tilt. The touch controls are responsive and well-placed on the screen, tucked neatly out of the game play area(s). Regardless of your control-scheme preference, you’re going to need precision as the game progresses. Again, don’t let the game’s “cuteness” fool you: Its tracks are challenging and will “serve” you over and again. Fortunately, Doodle Kart’s controls are very responsive, allowing players to snake through narrow openings and rocket through track areas containing black holes.
As mentioned earlier, there are two primary modes of play: Single Race and Championship and four different difficulty levels: Easy, Normal, Hard and Nightmare. Nightmare?? In Championship Mode, each difficulty has 5 stages containing 5 tracks. Players race against AI opponents and are offered the use of 7 different power-ups, such as boost and the ability to shoot a pencil at an opponent in front of you. The game is OpenFeint enabled, so players are able to track their progress/high scores, etc. online. The only features missing here are online/multiplayer and the ability to create your own track. This game is particularly well-suited for both, so let’s hope the developers add these in future updates.
Overall, Doodle Kart is a very solid, well-developed, quality top-down kart racer well worth $0.99. It’s clever, visual aesthetic, combined with excellent, precision game play elements/mechanics provide a complimentary game play environment that will not only immerse you, it will have you wanting more.
Introducing Glow Painter Pro – the first doodle app to give the power of custom glow paint brushes to the doodler in you! With 20 custom brushes, multiple colors and sizes, your imagination is the only limit. Create vivid masterpieces with artistic brush patterns, or just kill some time satisfying your doodle cravings with 1000 combinations of pattern, color and size!
KEY FEATURES:
1. The entire screen can be painted on without annoying buttons or other menus in the way. The app features a truly “out of your way” menu system. Not only does the menu system auto-hide, but Glow Painter Pro let’s you shake to hide all menus… they won’t return until you tell them to, giving you full access to paint the screen.
2. 1000 combinations of brush size, color and most importantly, pattern. Colors blend together to create the glowing effect as you paint.
Bottle Rocket’s Doodle Bomb: Physics Puzzle with a Bang wasn’t the game I was expecting it would be. It was better. Much better. The game’s story is simple enough: You are a Doodle. But you’re not just any Doodle, you’re a Doodle Hero. But you’re not just any Doodle Hero. You’re The Doodle Hero, the one prophesied to restore peace and balance to a world of chaos.
How do you accomplish this? By becoming a Bomb Master, of course. Ironic, huh? If you look at it from a certain point of view, I guess so. I chose not to.
The game consists of a series of missions (or puzzles) that must be solved by exploding your ever trusty, ever present bombs. You must throw bombs that, in the process of detonating, can activate or deactivate machines designed to move you closer to or farther away from your goal of opening doors that allow you to proceed to the next puzzle.
And did I mention the bomb-bouncing mice? No? Well, they’re in the game. Plus, you get to stun, maim, or kill Doodle soldiers.
Doodle Bomb features 50 regular missions and 15 Master Missions. There is an in-game tutorial to guide you through your first few puzzle missions and then you’re on your own. The objective is to solve the puzzle within a predetermined number of bombs. The number of bombs can vary with each new mission. If you successfully solve the puzzle mission with the predetermined number of bombs, you’ll be awarded a bomb badge. If you exceed that number of bombs, you can “retake” the puzzle however many times it takes for you to earn your badge. Or, if you’d prefer, you can skip any regular puzzle mission in favor of the next one and come back to it later. Each mission requires the right balance of timing, strategy, and bomb placement.
Doodle Bomb is fun, entertaining, and challenging. The game’s design is clean and although additional missions are currently in development, the replay value of the current missions is quite high. It’s the perfect game, whether you’ve got five or fifty minutes available.
Doodle Jump is a simple and addictive game. Its another leveling up game, jumping from block to block, but in a very creative and tricky way.
The atmosphere:
The developers of this application do not try to hide the fact that this game is not trying to be realistic. They purposely give the user a feeling of playing in a fictional arena with cute little doodle drawings (graphing paper drawings). This concept of fantasy gives a relatively new user the fun of not knowing what is coming for them, giving the user quite a challenge. Even the older vets have trouble with the changing scheme of its neat features. Although the Artificial Intelligence in this game is advanced and has many different scenarios from game to game, one can eventually recognize a specific scenario layout if played enough (and you will probably play it many times).
Unpredictable atmosphere to the untrained eye (Pro).
Controls:
The controls of this game are fun and easy. You can tilt the iphone/itouch to the right or left depending on the direction you want to head in (It is not inverse, so right means right vis versus). The character automatically jumps, making it easy to focus just on moving right to left. The only other control is tapping the screen to shoot ‘ Doodle monsters’ away from your path.
No Headache required. (pro)
Neat Features:
This game really does pride itself on its creative little fictional doodles. It presents opportunities from time to time to pass many green blocks, and false broken brown blocks by jumping on a jet pack, (which also rockets your points) helicopter hat, (ditto) spring, or trampoline. Some blocks disappear once jumped on, other blow up on their own, giving the user a sense of urgency. Sometimes you fall through a rip n the graphing paper, or bonk your head on a Doodle Monster (if you do not get the shield to protect yourself first).
Fun Features (pro).
Addictometer:
This game is of course extremely addicting, just as the developers intended. With every block that the user rises, the higher he sees his score go. Although, after every time the user falls into a rip in the paper, or gets bonked on the head by a monster, the reaction is almost always the same, “I got to beat my old best score”, and hours go by in attempts to beat the last score. The AI is set up in a way to begin out pretty much the same way as the previous game, giving the user a perception of being able to learn from his past mistakes, but the scenario layout has actually changed vastly, from where the sturdy blocks are, to where the fake and moving ones are. The user will continue to play this game until he passes out, or his iphone/itouch dies because the game never ends.
Rehabilitation required. (pro/con).
Conclusion:
Doodle Jump is a great game to buy at a cheap $0.99 cost, and to pass your time with an entertaining fictional game, while waiting in the doctors.
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Doodle Jump is a simple and addictive game. Its another leveling up game, jumping from block to block, but in a very creative and tricky way.
