Jan

“Blue Attack!”: A Must-Have Game For Iphone and Ipod

Posted by John as Shmups

At only $1.99, Blue Attack invades iphones and ipods which can easily win you over with its simple concept of a really solid shooter and its hefty amount of “replayability.”

Developer John Kooistra adds another simple and fun shooter as a follow up to Blue Defense (App Store) released back in November.

Blue Attack takes the offense and track down the Red invaders from the original game. Developer Kooistra has added a very meaningful degree of complexity to the game by offering upgradable ships alongside with new and improved weapons and capabilities.

Get to choose a carrier you must defend accompanied by a number of wing men that offers additional firepower to destroy the enemy ships. Each enemy formation contains a “core” that must be destroyed. Your goal is to battle each wave and annihilate all enemies before they destroy you first.

The touch and accelerometer controls are found in this shmup are effectively implemented. Unlike traditional scrolling shooters, you are afforded with gain full directional control and master your ship’s navigation in order to deliver a focused stream of firepower against your enemies. There are two modes of play: campaign and unlimited modes which both offer more than enough game play and opportunity to hone your skills.

The best feature of Blue Attack is the ship upgrade system. When you successful overcome after each wave of attackers, you achieve “resources” to spend on upgrading your ship. For example, the upgrades of having more wingmen can be purchased to increase your firepower. A number of other upgrades ranging from bombs, extra lives, faster speed, and improved handling are available. Upgrades appear to be well thought and balanced so you’ll enjoy testing out your new abilities.

Blue Attack is one interesting game with its combination of various play modes, 15 series of levels (or planets) and great upgrades. You get your money’s worth with this winner.

Technorati Tags: blue attack review, games, iPhone, iPod, new shmup, shooter game

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Dec

New 2d Shooter Radio Flare now available for iPhone and iPod Touch

Posted by John as 2d Shooter

Introducing the first iPhone game created Studio Radiolaris, Radio Flare hits App store this weekend. Get your hands on this musical shooter for only $4.99 where you destroy enemies in sync with the beat. Radio Flare is currently available for iPhone and iPod Touch.

The 2d shooter game is developed as a traditional side-scrolling shooter with an end goal of annihilating enemy ships and avoids incoming fire shot at you by enemies. You gain a radio flare after every destroyed enemy. These radio flares must be collected so as to progress to the next levels. Enjoy Radio Flare having 5 stages with the final stage as a special boss fighting finale.

In Radio Flare, your space ship is equipped with a sonification beam that desynchronizes space debris, as well as an entire alien invasion force. Propelled by radio flares, your ship speeds pulsing through deep space, taking you on a journey into sound. The game features an interactive electronica track from Berlin based electronic musician DJ Glow (Trust Records).

The “sonification beam” wipes out enemies in your way and renders a bit of musical accompaniment to the soundtrack. It is a good idea to wear your headphones to better appreciate the music of Radio Flare. The primary feature of the 2d shooter game is the musical interaction was a bit of a disappointment in its setting. The pulsating music contributes to the immersiveness and “feel” to the game yet uncertainly at the same level of Rez and related musical shooters before the release of Radio Flare.

Radio Flare offers easy navigation which involves the use of your left thumb to provide direct movement control of your spacecraft with the other thumb used for targeting. The way you target enemies is similar to Space Deadbeef in which you can target multiple enemies with the swipe of a finger.

Side-scrolling shooters have been unsatisfactorily represented on the App Store with the most notable game Platypus most easily recalled. Radio Flare as a scrolling shooter was a surprisingly good experience. The direct touch control on your ship permits a quick maneuver to move around enemies and to avoid incoming fire. The mechanics of the game is relatively easy to love but the limited game play is another issue. The game play value is quite limited with its 5 stages offering with the first three stages fairly easy to get through.

The combination of its musical interaction and scrolling shooter makes Radio Flare a good but fairly short game. Fans of any musical shmup may find this game quite disappointing however scrolling shooter fans may find Radio Flare as good find for the $4.99 price and playable in their iPhone and iPod Touch units. Though, it may not fall into any “must-have” category for players having only a casual interest in the genres.

Technorati Tags: 2d Shooter, iPhone, iPod Touch, Radio Flare

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Sep