August 16, 2017 by RSS Feed
Cityglitch ($2.99) by Peter Rockwell is a tricky turn-based puzzle game with a bit of a spooky theme going on. If you enjoyed titles like Puzzlepops! Trick or Treat or Slayaway Camp, then you will enjoy what Cityglitch has to offer.
Life gets pretty stressful for me, especially recently, so I always like to kick back and unwind with video games of some kind. While I like all kinds of game genres, the one that always helps me relax (even a little) are puzzles. There's something about using my brain to critically solve problems that I find incredibly satisfying. And while it feels like I've gone through all of the puzzles on the App Store, I'm always keeping an eye out for new ones. When I saw Cityglitch on the App Store this week, I became intrigued by the concept and, of course, the pixel art. Needless to say, it's one that doesn't disappoint.
App Feels Like
Puzzlepops! Trick or Treat
Layton Hawkes
Slayaway Camp
Blue Wizard Digital Inc
The visuals in Cityglitch are unique and distinctive, as the game carries a retro, pixelated art style that is rather nostalgic. The pixels are rather large compared to other pixel art titles, so it reminds me of my old CRT monitors with MS-DOS. While the graphics feel more like 8-bit than anything else, I still found the various characters and objects to be pretty identifiable once you get start playing. Cityglitch is full of bright and vibrant neon colors, so it's definitely eye candy. Animations are smooth and fluid, with no lag on my iPhone 7. Cityglitch also features an eerie chiptune soundtrack that is delightful to listen to and adds to the overall mood of the game.
Like many other puzzle games, Cityglitch is level-based. Players must go through each puzzle one-by-one in a linear fashion. However, once a puzzle's solved, then several stages get unlocked at a time. So you can play them slightly out of order since they branch off, but you still need to clear the present ones to gain access to more. It's an endless cycle, and the game has 95 levels spread out across seven cities. There's also three boss puzzles you'll need to face, which only add to the challenge.
So what is Cityglitch? There's a bit of a basic plot going on, in which virtual cities appear to be glitching out. You take control of the city witch, who must save the cities from these weird glitches. The goal in each puzzle is to light up the runes in order to complete a ritual, and then the glitch gets released. While it sounds easy enough, things get tricky as you'll encounter cats, dangerous arrows, creepy city critters, and other obstacles that get in your way.
Controls in Cityglitch are simple and intuitive. Just tap on any tile to move to it, as long as the path is not blocked. The city witch can move horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. You can choose to move one space at a time, or just go a few tiles at once. However, once you make your move, then other hazards, such as arrows or ghosts, can also move. You should time your moves correctly so that you avoid getting killed, because one touch of such dangers will kill you, and then you have to start over. If you make a mistake, you can tap on the Undo button to go back one move at a time, or tap Restart to start the level from the beginning.
Cityglitch is a challenging turn-based puzzle that will appeal to fans of the genre. The game features an awesome aesthetic design with matching music and sound effects. The puzzles start off simple, but progressively become more difficult as you go on. Controls are easy and unrestrictive, but timing is everything, so planning ahead is required. Plus, there's plenty of content for the price, so it's a good value. Cityglitch also doesn't have ads, in-app purchases, or requires an internet connection.
While Cityglitch is a pretty good game, it isn't without flaws. The biggest downside is the fact that the game doesn't explain anything to you. It took me a few taps in the beginning to understand how to play the game, and after that I caught on pretty quickly. But if you prefer being told or shown what to do, then this game doesn't offer that. There's no hand-holding — you're just thrown into the glitchy cities without much explanation of what's happening. Otherwise, it's a pretty solid release.
I've only just started Cityglitch today, but I'm finding it to be an excellent way to pass the time. I'm a huge puzzle fan and these levels make me use my head, which I love. Plus, the old-school graphics take me back to my childhood days, and the haunting tunes are great. I was a bit confused at first, but once you understand the basics, the rest is straightforward, though a bit tricky. If you're a fan of spooky but fun puzzles, then Cityglitch is a must.
9.1
OVERALL
Game Controls 10
Sound/Music 10
Graphics 9
Replayability 8
Gameplay 8.5
cityglitch
Peter Rockwell
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August 14, 2017 by RSS Feed
Cat Quest ($4.99) by The Genlebros is an action-packed, real-time dungeon crawling RPG adventure that’s full of dragons, danger, and cats. If you love Diablo-like games such as the Dungeon Hunter series, but want something a bit more lighthearted and full of furry felines, then Cat Quest is the game for you.
As I was going through high school and hung out with my group of friends, I discovered Japanese RPGs and more video game genres than my typical puzzle or platformer titles. Through these friends I found out about Diablo 2, and then my love for dungeon crawling RPGs grew. There was nothing quite as satisfying as slaying hordes of enemies with powerful attacks. After Diablo 2, I loved dungeon crawlers and tried out whatever I could that fell under the category. I’ve even picked up Diablo 3 and have poured hundreds of hours into it. While there are many clones of Diablo, none have really captured my heart like the original. That is, until Cat Quest came along.
I had managed to try out an early demo of Cat Quest during GDC this year, and I fell in love immediately. I mean, you’re combining three of my favorite things into one: RPGs, dungeon crawling, and cats. How can I say no to such an awesome mix? After seeing the demo in action, I could not wait for this game and was eager for it to hit the App Store. Now that it’s finally here, I must say that it does not disappoint.
App Feels Like
Dungeon Hunter 5 - Multiplayer RPG on iOS
Gameloft
Visually, Cat Quest is beautiful. The game features 2.5-D rendered graphics, as it has a cartoon-like style but with an angled perspective that gives it plenty of depth. All of your traveling is done on the overworld map, which is gorgeous with lush grass, forests, villages, mountains, caves, and seas. It’s easy to interact with buildings and dungeons, and there’s even more sprawling areas to explore. Cat Quest has a rich color palette with bright and vibrant hues that shift to darker and more muted tones depending on the area. Character sprites are all unique and easily identifiable, from NPCs to enemies. Animations are buttery smooth and fluid, so I had no issues with lag on my iPhone 7. Cat Quest also has a mystical, adventurous soundtrack that fits your journey perfectly, and the sound effects are top notch. Needless to say, Cat Quest is worth getting just for the graphics and music alone.
Since Cat Quest is an adventure game at heart, players discover and unravel the story of a cat hero who carries the mark of the “Dragonblood” on his head. Once the premise of the plot is revealed, you’ll embark on a journey of getting strong enough to defeat the dragons. All of your traveling is done on the overworld, as well as combat. Villages and NPCs reveal themselves to you as the story unfolds. Everything is told through quests, whether they’re main quests relating to the story, or side quests that you can do for experience, loot, and rewards.
The biggest draw of Cat Quest is the fact that everything is done in real-time, so there’s no waiting around. As you move around on the overworld, you’ll see enemies scurrying about around you. You can engage in combat with them on the overworld, or just avoid them altogether if they’re too tough. The overworld also has a pointer that tells you where to go for your quests, and you can zoom out and view the overview map by tapping on the button in the bottom right corner. This is great when you’re lost and want to see exactly where you’re going. Everything is also available from the get-go, so you could go into a high level dungeon super early on, but this is not recommended.
Controls in Cat Quest are easy enough, but may take a bit of getting used to. To move, just tap where you want to go, and the cat goes there. Optionally, you could long press to continually move, but it can get uncomfortable after a while, or your fingers may be blocking the screen. To attack enemies, just tap on one to select them, and then your cat auto attacks with melee hits. If you long press on your cat with the white circle around him, you can select a magical spell or skill to use. Magic attacks cost mana, and you refill the mana by doing regular attacks — it’s an endless cycle.
There’s no way to dodge or block enemy attacks, so you just have to get out of the way. Fortunately, the game tells you the enemy’s attack area before the attack happens, so you have a bit of leeway with getting out in time. There’s going to be a bit of running back and forth during combat in Cat Quest — timing is key.
As enemies fall, they’ll drop gold and experience orbs. Collect these by running over them. You’ll also find random experience orbs and gold scattered on the overworld or in dungeons, so make sure to take advantage of the freebies.
When you find loot in chests or get rewarded with them, they go straight to your inventory. You can access your item stash at any time by tapping on the backpack button in the bottom left corner. You can tap on an item to select it and view the stats, as well as compare it to what you have on now. If you want to change gear, just tap on the green button to equip it. Your cat’s appearance changes depending on what gear he’s wearing, which is cool.
Your cat can also learn different magic spells from the mage. As you get to certain parts of the story and meet the level requirements, you can get new spells to add to your arsenal. Your spells can get upgraded to be more potent, as long as you have the gold to do so. There’s also a feline merchant, who has treasure chests you can purchase that contain random loot.
Unfortunately, there aren’t any health potions in the game, so if you’re low on health, you’ll have to retreat. However, the game does provide plenty of “cat nap” spots (look for pillows at villages) that you can use, which replenish your health, mana, and defenses for free. These are also where you go to save your game progress.
Cat Quest is a stunning and addictive dungeon crawling RPG adventure. The game’s distinctive overworld and real-time battle system works out incredibly well, and there’s a lot of loot and magic to discover. The game also has a fantastic sense of humor as well, and there are more cat puns than you can shake a stick at. The graphics and music are amazing, and just add more depth to the journey.
If you are an adventure seeker and love a game that has a lengthy story and plenty of things to do, then Cat Quest fits the bill.
While Cat Quest is great, I think the controls could be better. They work, but personally, I found it tiring to hold my finger down on the screen in weird positions to continuously move and not block most of my screen. I would have liked to see an alternative control scheme in the options, or even MFi controller support. Until that happens, this game just falls short of perfection, at least for me.
I fell in love with Cat Quest when I first got to see a demo, and I still can’t get enough now that it’s officially out. I bought this title the moment I saw it on the App Store, and have not regretted my purchase. The visuals are superb and the music is fun. The controls work well, though could be better optimized, and the gameplay is addicting.
There’s a lot of loot to discover, and it’s just fun to take out foes and grind for better magical spells. The quest system works, allowing you to either go on with the main story or be a completionist with side missions. Regardless of how you approach it, Cat Quest is a fun adventure that will keep you coming back for more. Plus, who doesn’t love cats and puns?
I highly recommend Cat Quest if you’re a fan of dungeon crawling RPG adventures. You can find Cat Quest on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $4.99. There are no in-app purchases.
9.4
OVERALL
Graphics 10
Gameplay 10
Replayability 9.5
Sound/Music 9.5
Game Controls 8
Cat Quest
The Gentlebros Pte. Ltd.
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August 14, 2017 by RSS Feed
Photography is big on the iPhone, simply because the built-in camera rivals much more expensive dedicated hardware. To really take your craft to the next level, you need a photo editing app that's powerful and full-featured. For years, that mean Photoshop on the desktop, but several developers have tackled the problem for iOS devices. Affinity Photo, an iPad-only app, brings a wealth of photo editing power to your iPad.
App Feels Like
Enlight Photofox (Enlight 2)
Lightricks Ltd.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for iPad
Adobe Systems, Inc.
Affinity Photo for iPad has an intuitive interface, but it's quite complex. Some might say it's difficult to learn. However, the app does come with a wealth of tutorials and sample images to get you started.
Begin with the first tutorial, and work your way through them. You'll get a solid introduction to the interface and controls, as well as the techniques that will make your photos really stand out.
As you progress through the tutorials, feel free to break away and try out your techniques with your own images or the samples. I've found that's a solid way to really learn and embed the knowledge from the tutorials into your mind and muscle memory.
One of the most useful tools in Affinity Photo is the dedicated inpainting brush. This allows you to quickly and easily remove objects from your photographs, such as pulling the sailboat out of an oceanscape to get just the beauty of the water.
The app also provides support for layers, layer masks, and every Photoshop feature I can think of. There may be some missing, such as support for plugins. However, the developers make up for that by incorporating features that you'd need a plugin to use in Photoshop.
The integration with Apple Pencil is top-notch. You can use the accessory to make any edits, selections, or refinements you might wish. It makes editing photos on your iPad like working with a Wacom tablet that has the image you're working with superimposed on the surface.
Once you get a workflow down in Affinity Photo, the app becomes even easier to use. It truly is the first fully-featured photo editor for the iPad. It has taken away my need to do any serious image editing tasks on the desktop.
When your project is finished, you can export it into just about any file format you might need. Affinity Photo even supports exporting to Photoshop PSD files and SVG documents.
There's precious little not to like about Affinity Photo. If anything, the menus might be a bit too busy. Finding the export button, for example, can be a tedious chore.
The app also sometimes shows some lag, especially when downloading sample images to work with. That's only an occasional problem, though. Overall, the app is quite snappy and brisk, with complex operations taking very little time to complete.
This is one of the most useful and feature-packed photo editing apps I've come across. It offers a wealth of power and capabilities, and turns your iPad into an image-editing workstation. The tight integration with Apple Pencil makes an already excellent app even more of a pleasure to work with.
8.4
OVERALL
Lasting appeal 9
iPhone Integration 9
Is engaging 9
Does it well 9
User Interface 6
Affinity Photo
Serif Labs
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August 10, 2017 by RSS Feed
Danmaku Unlimited 3 ($4.99) by Sunny Tam in collaboration with Doragon Entertainment is the latest genuine Japanese bullet hell shoot-em-up (shmup) experience on the App Store. It’s the third major installment of the Danmaku Unlimited series of games, and one that is a must for newbies and veterans alike. If you enjoyed games like DEATHSMILES from CAVE, or even the previous Danmaku Unlimited games, then you will love Danmaku Unlimited 3.
Ever since I got into Japanese culture in high school, I found a love for their incredibly tough-as-nails bullet hell shmup games. I would play these types of games at the arcade, or even at friends’ houses if they had some titles. While bullet hell shmups aren’t for everyone, I fell in love with the challenge of dodging a hundred brightly colored neon bullets at once, and the explosions from blown up ships is just an amazing sight to see.
When Apple introduced the App Store in 2008 and the slew of games that came along with it, I had a feeling that the touch screen was perfect for bullet hell games. I picked up all of the previous Danmaku Unlimited titles, the offerings from CAVE before they shut down, and plenty of other, more Western style shooters. While it may seem like I have had my fill, I can’t help but keep an eye out for new releases. When I saw Danmaku Unlimited 3 was out on Steam a few months ago, I was eager for the mobile release. Now that it’s here, I can say that it was well worth the wait.
App Feels Like
Danmaku Unlimited
Sunny Tam
Danmaku Unlimited 2 - Bullet Hell Shmup
Sunny Tam
DEATHSMILES
CAVE Co., Ltd.
Visually, DU3 is downright stunning. While it’s hard to appreciate the true beauty of the game as you’re dodging what seems to be a million bullets at once, believe me, this is superb eye candy. Everything is rendered in 2-D, but there is a bit of depth to the graphics due to the layering of the background, ships, and the bullets.
If you played the older Danmaku games, then you will see the improvement in visuals — everything is much more polished and detailed, including the modernized menus. It’s easy to tell apart your ship from the enemies, and the lasers and bullets are bright and colorful. Enemy bullets are easy to see thanks to the vibrant neon hues, so dodging and grazing should not be a problem. All animations in DU3 are smooth and fluid, with no issues of lag or choppiness on my iPhone 7. To top it all off, DU3 has a adrenaline-pumping soundtrack that will get you going, and it’s a perfect match for the chaos that will ensue.
There are two game modes in DU3: Spirit and Graze. Spirit is the classic Danmaku experience, which means balanced in terms of challenges for players of all skill levels and it’s recommended for beginners. Graze is the more difficult mode, aimed towards veteran bullet hell shmup players. While Spirit features Easy, Medium, Hard, and True difficulties, Graze only has Hard and True. Those of you seeking a real challenge will want to dive headfirst into Graze mode. If you’re completely new, a tutorial stage walks you through all of the basics.
Before players start a game, you’re asked to choose your ship customization. This means picking your primary and beam weapons. Both options have five options, with only the first two (A and B) available from the get-go, and the rest get unlocked by meeting specific requirements. There are 25 possible weapon combinations total, so there is plenty of reason to keep coming back to DU3. There’s also an option to toggle automatic or manual activation of Trance Mode. Once you’re satisfied with your settings, then it’s time to launch.
Controls in DU3 are simple enough, but I recommend viewing the tutorials to understand how to switch between your primary and beam weapons. To move your ship, all your need to do is move your finger on the screen. The ship moves around freely, so having all of that space for your finger means a lot of leeway when it comes to maneuvering and dodging bullets.
Shooting the primary weapon automatically happens without any input from the player. To switch to the beam, just swipe down, and repeat to go back to the primary. You can manually deploy and detonate bombs (stock’s shown on the right) by swiping up. If your ship’s core is about to get hit by enemy fire and you have bombs available, it will detonate automatically but use all of your bombs in the process. Once your ship’s core is hit, it’ll explode and you’ll pick up with a new ship. If you have no more, you can choose to continue, but your score is reset.
The key to DU3 is grazing bullets, which means flying close enough to enemy fire to just barely miss getting hit by them. Grazing bullets adds to your Graze Counter, and once that is full, your ship enters Graze-High mode. This means destroyed ships’ bullets become harmless spirits, and you can collect these to refill your Trance Gauge.
When the Trance bar is full, you go into Trance Mode (swipe up or it happens automatically depending on setting), which powers up all of your weapons to dish out more damage. Another bonus of Trance is the fact that destroyed foes’ bullets leave behind gems, which add to the Graze Counter and lead to high scores.
DU3 features five stages for both modes. While this does not sound like a lot, the game is fairly difficult with the enemies and boss attack patterns. Plus, with the two modes and multiple difficulty modes, there’s a lot of replay value here, so you do get your money’s worth. And if that isn’t enough, there are Bonus Modes for Spirit and Graze, so you can do Free Play or Boss Rush.
DU3 is a superb bullet hell shmup experience on mobile, and it feels natural on the platform. The graphics in this new installment are top-notch, so you can expect to get wowed by the stunning visuals on your device’s Retina screen. The soundtrack is excellent as well, so make sure you have good headphones. The controls are simple and intuitive, so anyone can pick this up and play immediately. It also packs in a lot of various levels of challenges for both newbies and seasoned gamers, and the replay level is high.
There’s definitely more good to DU3 than there is bad. However, I do notice that just like other bullet hell shmup games, my thumb still blocks part of the screen, so it may be hard to see at times. But I’ve come to expect this from the genre on mobile, so it just takes a bit of practice to perfect. Perhaps a larger screen works better for the game (I only have an iPhone 7).
I’ve been a big bullet hell shmup fan, so DU3 is a welcome addition to my game collection. The visuals are gorgeous and polished, and the music is amazingly fun to listen to. As I’m familiar with the genre already, I just dove right in to the game without viewing the tutorial first, but I still recommend checking it for an explanation of all game mechanics. The customization of your ship, multiple modes and difficulty levels, and bonuses just give this game a ton of replay value. For the price, you totally get your money’s worth here.
I highly recommend Danmaku Unlimited 3 if you’re a fan of bullet hell shmups or just want a fast-paced shooter arcade game. Danmaku Unlimited 3 is on the App Store as a universal download for $4.99. There are no in-app purchases.
9.4
OVERALL
Replayability 10
Graphics 10
Gameplay 10
Sound/Music 9
Game Controls 8
Danmaku Unlimited 3
Sunny Tam
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credit : appadvice
August 08, 2017 by RSS Feed
Pigeon Wings ($1.99) by Ignacio Schiefelbein is a tough-as-nails arcade shooter where pigeons are the only bird that can stop an evil madman from destroying the city. It is just as ridiculous as it sounds, but it’s insanely fun. If you enjoyed titles like Super Samurai Rampage and Steredenn, then you’ll love Pigeon Wings.
When it comes to mobile gaming, I tend to enjoy it most in quick bursts throughout the day. Over the years, I’ve learned that one of the best genres for these bite-size sessions are arcade games, where I can pick it up and play for a good chunk of time, but put it down just as easily when I need to take care of other things. Plus, for me, shooting things up is a great way to de-stress. When I saw Pigeon Wings on the App Store, I became intrigued by the concept of a pigeon flying in a plane, and shooting’s involved, so I figured why not? I’m glad I picked this one up, because it’s a great mobile game that does not disappoint.
App Feels Like
Super Samurai Rampage
Brackish Games
Steredenn
Pixelnest Studio
Visually, Pigeon Wings has a cute, pixelated art style that reminds me a bit of Minecraft and Crossy Road, except it’s rendered in 2-D, with the exception of the level map. However, in addition to the pixelated explosions, plane trails, and buildings, other parts of the game look more modernized, such as the pigeons and planes themselves. The backgrounds you’ll see are gorgeous, featuring various splashes of color and a nice skyline of the city. However, things will be moving too fast for you to enjoy the scenery. Pigeon Wings features a rich and intense color palette, and animations are smooth and fluid on my iPhone 7. There’s also an original soundtrack composed by June or July and Brad Podray. Overall, the team did a great job with Pigeon Wings’ visual and audio design.
With Pigeon Wings, the game is level-based and has a plot behind everything, which gets unraveled through humorous cutscenes between stages. Players must go through each stage in a linear fashion, and there’s no option to skip a level. If you’re stuck, you’ll just have to keep trying until you clear it. The goal of the game is simple: race other pigeons and rank in the top three to earn medals, or face off against tough boss battles to clear the stage.
This is one of those games where you’re going to die a lot due to the speed of the game. Fortunately, after a few tries, muscle memory kicks in and you’ll be more familiar with the stage layout. Hopefully it helps you in avoiding the same cause of death from before.
Controls in Pigeon Wings are simple, intuitive, and responsive. To accelerate, all you have to do is long-press the button in the bottom left corner. To steer your plane up and down, you’ll need to tilt your device back and forth, as the game uses the device gyroscope. I’m not a big fan of motion control games, but Pigeon Wings executes it flawlessly so it doesn’t feel awkward. You can follow closely behind another pigeon to catch a draft, and then tap on the button in the bottom right to boost through the competition. This button is also used to shoot your guns in stages with boss fights.
As you complete stages and place in the top three, you’ll earn medals, which are converted into currency. You can spend these in the hangar to get various upgrades for your plane, such as more powerful engines, better handling controls, and boosts. There are no in-app purchases, so the only way to get more medals is to perform better in races.
Pigeon Wings is a fast paced arcade shooter that is downright delightful. It's definitely a challenging game, as you'll die plenty of times, but it is funny and eccentric enough to keep you coming back for more. The graphics are adorable and stylish, and the music is fun to listen to. There's a ton of levels so you do get your money's worth, and the replay value is high because you'll want to try again and get a better rank. The upgrade system is also a great motivator.
While I think Pigeon Wings is a fantastic mobile game, it definitely isn't for everyone. If you get easily frustrated or don't like dying over and over, then this may not be the game for you. It's also impossible to change the controls, so if you despise using the gyroscope for games, then you're out of luck. Personally, though, I find the controls to work incredibly well for what it's worth. It does take a bit of getting used to, but after that it's golden.
Even though I’ve only spent a short time with Pigeon Wings so far, I am in love. The graphics look fantastic on Retina screens, and the music is a delight to hear. Usually I’m not a fan of gyroscope controls, but the way they’re implemented in Pigeon Wings is flawless, and it didn’t take that long for me to get used to them. They feel natural and intuitive, along with the button positioning. The gameplay itself is fast but doable, and while you die a lot, there’s plenty of reason to keep coming back. Plus, how can anyone resist a game where a pigeon is all that stands between a city and total annihilation?
I highly recommend grabbing Pigeon Wings if you’re in the mood for some humorous arcade shooting action. You can find Pigeon Wings on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV for just $1.99. There are no in-app purchases.
9.3
OVERALL
Gameplay 10
Replayability 9
Game Controls 9.5
Graphics 9
Sound/Music 9
Pigeon Wings
Ignacio Schiefelbein
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