Alone at War Review

Alone at War is one of Gameloft's first titles to launch at $.99. It's a pick-up and play game, where you shoot incoming soldiers with arrows, and upgrade various skills. However, it's not developed by Gameloft. It's developed by a small game studio, Alcomi, and published by Gameloft, similar to Chillingo's games. Well, all I can say to Gameloft is, from now on, publish your own games.

Alone at War, $.99, is supposed to be a pick up and play game where you shoot arrows at incoming enemies, and upgrade your skills, which are: Strength, Life, Accuracy, Mana, and four spells you can cast during play. To shoot arrows, tap and hold where you want to shoot them to, and the longer you hold, the further the arrow goes. Now, even this skill is extremely unbalanced. It takes two fully charged shots to kill the weakest melee unit, and one fully charged headshot to kill an archer. Then, when the melee units with the clubs come, it takes about ten fully charged headshots to kill them. Birds with power-ups come, and if you shoot them, you get the power-up temporarily. However, I don't find the power-ups to help very much. You can barely make it through Level 1, then you're gone in Level 2 if you didn't make the exact right choices of what to upgrade. By then, all you do during a round is tap and hold your finger in the same place, since the enemies keep piling up right next to you.

So, the game is way too hard. Then, another major feature is having Facebook Connect, then if you don't have a Facebook account, there's no point to have that.

It's a nice attempt at a first $.99 game, but Alone at War just doesn't have the right formula to be a game that you'd play over and over.

Pros:

Great Doodle-Style Graphics

Cons:

The Gameplay is Boring, Unbalanced, and Frustrating

No Sound

Everything Else About the Game

Bottom Line:

Alone at War looks good at first, but then is stunted by horrible gameplay and decent controls. Definitely not a game by Gameloft that you should get.

Scores:

Graphics: 4.5/5

Gameplay: 2/5

Controls: 4/5

Sound/Music: 0/5

Replay Value: 3/5

Overall: 4/10 (not an average)

Link:

Alone at War, $.99

If You Like Alone at War, Try Out:

Doodle Jump, $.99, Pocket God, $.99, Ragdoll Blaster, $.99, Run!, $.99, Paper Toss World Tour, $.99, ...

Above and Beyond Air Combat Review

Earlier this year, Licentia Software released the game SciFly: Dogfight for iPhone. Now, this week, they released a new game in the same genre, Above & Beyond Air Combat. I now own both, and I must say, the latter is much better than the first, and, in my opinion, now surpasses any other game in the entire genre.

A&B BC, $1.99, is a semi-open world dogfighting game, where your goal is to roam through over 60 islands, with different environments like ice, lava, crystal, and grass, and conquer them. You do this by destroying all of the spaceships, boats, and towers defending the island. There are no loading times between the islands, and the frame rate is impressive. The game isn't too easy, and you might find yourself dying a few times, and it's not the "pull your hair out" difficulty of some other games. But that's only Conquest mode, which lasted me over 3 hours. There's also Gauntlet and Survival Mode. In Gauntlet mode, you move through one of two stages, either a Molten Pass or Canyon Rush. You go through green hoops, gain speed boosts, and make it to the end of the course before time runs out. In Survival mode, you are on a big island, and must defend against incoming waves of enemy planes. Once you finish or lose each of the levels in the modes, you get a score, and can compare it with either your friends or anyone worldwide, through OpenFeint. There are also 18 built in achievements, which provide motivation to finish the game. A nice extra feature is that if you have 3.0 software, you can play your own music while conquering the world with your plane. If you turn the sound effects down slightly, it can give the game a cool feel.

Now for the controls; there's not much to say. They're flawless. Tilt to move your plane around, press buttons on the left side of the screen to speed up or slow down, a button on the top right to shoot normal weapons, and a button on the bottom right appears when you can use special weapons. The default sensitivity is perfect, but if you're picky, the game has turn and pitch sensitivity sliders, invert pitch, roll control, and hide in game buttons. When you resume from the pause angle, the angle you're currently at becomes the neutral position for your plane.

Now, for one of the best parts of the game. Customization. There are 12 different unlockable ships, which you can change the color schemes of to practically any combination you wish. There is an item store, where you can buy weapons, thrusters, and shields with in-game credits you earn by conquering islands. You can then mix and match these on your ship.

There are a few things that annoy me about this game, though not very much. Whenever you launch the app, the volume is set to half-full, which can be surprising when you're playing somewhere quiet without the volume on, and there's suddenly game sounds. Also, all of the in-game buttons are rounded, but the OpenFeint button is rectangular, which is slightly displeasing. But these are very trivial things, and for the most part, the game is amazing.

Pros:

Great Graphics and Framerate

Customization is Good

Long Conquest Mode

Only $1.99 Currently

Cons:

A Few Trivial Annoyances

Bottom Line:

A&B BC is a great game to buy. I wasn't extremely interested in the genre before I played the game, but now I'm hooked and waiting for more. Highly recommended.

Scores:

Graphics: 5/5

Gameplay: 4.5/5

Controls: 4.5/5

Sound: 4.5/5

Replay Value: 3.5/5

Overall: 9/10 (not an average)

Link: Above & Beyond Air Combat, $1.99

Blades of Fury Review

Gameloft continues its quality, quantity, and unoriginality in the App Store. We’ve seen clones for Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, and now it’s Soul Caliber. These clones aren’t a bad thing! Sure they’re not original (at all), but they provide a full console experience for the iPod touch/iPhone. And Blades of Fury (A.K.A Soul Caliber) is looking better then ever.

The iPhone has always needed a 3D fighting style game. Finally, for only $6.99, Blades of Fury is live in the app store. It features 10 different characters, 10 arenas, and an interesting story. The character you play has a significant goal; a goal he/she is determined to achieve. And that one goal is to obtain the Armor; it is said that the one person to wear this armor will become invincible. Who doesn’t want to be invincible? I mean c’mon! It’d be so sick if I was invincible! However, it’s not too easy to get the armor. You have to battle a series of opponents in different stages. After all ten enemies are defeated, your character acquires the armor. Although, each character has a different motive and reason for getting the armor. Everyone doesn’t want the armor for the same reason. Four different game modes are included in Blades of Fury. Story, where the character you select attempts to achieve his goal of getting the armor. Arcade, where your character fights his opponents and gains points. Survival, where your character continues on and on and on and on and on and (you get the point) fighting other characters. You can keep your own score (I got to level 23!! Yay!) The gameplay in this game is extraordinary. It’s incredibly intense and when you’re playing on a harder difficulty, it feels like you are the character! The graphics are also beautiful. Gameloft really put a year’s worth of sweat and tears into this project. Another neat little thing is that you have the ability to save and view your replays. It's a cool addition, but you can't upload them to YouTube.

Several attacks and combos can be initiated by your character. A full attack list is featured in the game as well. You can refer to it, and eventually, you will master it. The health bar is located at the top, in red, and once your health goes all the way down, your character dies! You also have a special, and the meter is directly below the health bar. You can use the special by pressing the blue action button. The longer you hold it, the more powerful the attack is. The controls in Blades of Fury remind me of other Gameloft action/adventure games. It’s the typical, yet brilliant control system. There’s a Directional Pad on the bottom left to control your character’s movement and there are 4 action buttons on the right. One is to attack horizontally, the second is to attack vertically, the third is to use your shield, and the last is to utilize your special move. However, this is not the only method to control your character. The second control system does in fact include the D-Pad, however, no action buttons are displayed. Instead, to attack horizontally or vertically, you swipe your finger across or up/down. It’s interesting and original, yet I still prefer the other method. A tutorial can be accessed which explain both of the control systems.

Graphics in Blades of Fury are extraordinary. It really reminds me of Playstation graphics. It just feels good to look at the game. The graphics definitely are something you can show off to your friends. They will be impressed, no doubt about it. The controls are superb as well, easy to use and they suit the game. However, Blades of Fury isn’t the most polished game in the app store. Bluetooth multiplayer fails to connect, and similarly, you cannot connect to Gameloft Live. That’s a pretty big letdown. Next, they are missing a key feature. This feature is holding me back from giving Blades of Fury a full 10/10! Where’s the online multiplayer? I want to play kids from China and Africa! I want to play real people, not just bots! This game was made for online multiplayer. Let’s hope Gameloft has this under development for a future update. However, even without the multiplayer, I recommend you check this one out.

Pros:

Unbeatable graphics

Controls work great (both methods)

Excellent gameplay

Cons:

No online multiplayer

Several bugs including failure to access and broken Bluetooth multiplayer.

Replays can't be uploaded to YouTube

Bottom Line:

With first class graphics, perfect controls, excellent replay value, and extraordinary gameplay, I strongly recommend you purchase this game immediately- especially for the low price of $6.99.

Scores:

Graphics: 5/5

Gameplay: 4/5

Controls: 5/5

Replay Value: 4/5

Overall: 8/10 (not an average)

Link: Blades of Fury $6.99

Homreun Battle 3D Giveaway- Sponsored by Com2us!!!

Edit: The winners have been selected and they are @itsroberth, @LAXdude9, @frontlinegamers, @Zack678, and @69Pwned. The five of them won Homerun Battle 3D.

Hey guys!

It's Qasim here, qzia from twitter! How are you doing?

Well, we here at TouchReviews have a new giveaway! Entering has never been so easy. This time the giveaway is for Com2us's Homerun Battle 3D (the popular, online baseball game!)

To enter, all you need to do is retweet the following tweet: Be sure to follow @qzia and @Com2us if you want to win Homrun Battle3D codes!Contest ends on Sept.17!RT and follow BOTH! 5 winners!

You also must follow @qzia and @Com2us on twitter.

The contest will end Thursday- September 15, 2009.

That's it! You don't have to comment on this post at all! There well be five (5) winners. Good luck to all!

Any questions? Feel free to comment or email me at qasimzia85@yahoo.com

Good lucky and happy entering!

Modern Combat; Sandstorm Review

Everyone has dreamed for the iPhone to have a first person shooter. Before last week, there have been several failed attempts to develop one that has good controls, decent graphics, and an excellent story. We’ve seen Hill Billy, AI Wars, and Half Dead. However, none proved that a console quality first person shooter could be played on the iPhone. Poor to average graphics, controls that didn’t work out, and no story. But one developer wanted to change that for iPhone gamers. One developer wanted to prove that a high quality first person shooter can be played on the iPhone. That one developer is Gameloft, and the first person shooter the iPhone needed (and finally got) is Modern Combat: Sandstorm.

Modern Combat: Sandstorm, available for the low price of $6.99, reminds me a lot of the Call of Duty series. It takes place in the middle east and your character has a major role. Your character, and his military squad, has to solve conflicts and complete different objectives while fighting a range of different enemies (all being terrorists.) Sandstorm features 10 different levels including a hospital, the sewers, etc. You can play from 4 difficulty levels: easy, normal, hard, and extreme. Playing on hard adds length to the game (took me 6-7 hours to complete on hard mode.) There are a variety of weapon types including two powerful assault rifles, a sniper, an RPG, a shotgun, a submachine gun, light machine gun, heavy machine gun (which is mounted on a moving vehicle), explosive grenades, flash grenades, and a radiation detector. Voice overs and military cinematic add a lot of authenticity and a lot of real-life situations to the game. Blood adds a lot of effect to the game as well. The AI in this game is incredible. Your enemy uses skills to dodge your bullets, or to hit you with his gun. It shows that Gameloft worked hard to make this a true first person shooter with intelligent AI.

Controlling your character is easy. On screen controls include a virtual D-Pad and a shooting button. To move forward, backward, left, and right all you do is drag the virtual D-Pad on the bottom left. To aim, all you need to do is pan around the screen with your finger. Shooting has never been so easy. With a tap of a button, located on the bottom right, your gun is fired, and your enemy is defeated. You can also scope with your gun to get a better view of an enemy by tapping on the bottom right “scoping” button. Changing your character’s stance is straightforward. By tapping the bottom left button, you can get on your knees or stand up straight. To reload your gun, all you need to do is tap once on the top right (where it shows which gun you are using). To switch your gun, double tap the top right. That pretty much covers all of the controls. Like I said, learning the controls of the game is as easy as pie, especially with the tutorial in the beginning.

Graphics in Sandstorm are top notch. It’s like nothing I’ve seen before on an iPhone game. It is console quality. The detail of the environment and of the characters just blows me away. While I was playing, I found no bugs. Modern Combat: Sandstorm provides a whole new experience for gamers out there. I have never played such an intense game on iPhone. Another great thing about the game is that in a future free update (around the end of the year) Gameloft will offer online multiplayer to battle players around the world. The game is extremely polished, and for $6.99, its difficult for me to tell you guys to stay away from Sandstorm. Get it now.

Pros:

Superlative graphics

Great controls

Excellent gameplay

Cons:

Not much replay value (until the online multiplayer update),

Bottom Line:

With superb graphics, ideal controls, and great gameplay, Sandstorm is a steal for $6.99. Get it now.

Scores:

Graphics: 5/5

Gameplay: 4/5

Controls: 5/5

Replay Value: 3.5/5

Overall: 9/10 (not an average)

Link: Modern Combat: Sandstorm, $6.99

Minigore Review

One of the most hyped iPhone games ever, Minigore, was released recently. Forums were filled up with threads, with countless "When is it coming out?!?!?" and "OMG it looks so good!" posts. The fans wanted it so badly that the developers submitted it, with promised frequent updates with more content. When the first few customers played it, it was a let down. There wasn't nearly enough content in the game, with only one level, character, four similar enemies, and three power-ups. Sure, the fans love it, and they anxiously await for more updates, but the truth is, it isn't ready to be released yet.

Minigore, $.99, a survival shooter, has beautiful 3D graphics, and spot-on controls. It has one level, two weapons, two power-ups, four very similar enemies, and promised updates that build on the content of the game. You play as John Gore,  on his quest to kill the "furries" that come to attack you. You control John by moving a virtual analog stick on the left, and control his gun with the analog stick on the right. There are normal and expert difficulties, and various options, such as to hide the analog sticks, or play your own music. Your basic weapon is a machine gun, but if you run into a box that appears, you get a shotgun, which shoots bullets in an arc in front of John. If you shoot the box instead of running into it, it explodes and shoots bullets outward. Also, four leaf clovers appear throughout the level, and if you collect three, you turn into an invincible beast.

Currently, there are three updates that have their features announced. The first update has already been submitted for a few weeks, and has furry sense (Shows circles at the edge of the screen if a furry is coming, like Flight Control), a third live, and the new version of OpenFeint. The second update has an insane mode, giant firefurries, normal firefurries, and a grenade that John Gore uses as a special attack. The third update has bluetooth and local WiFi co-op multiplayer, with Lizzie and another character from Sway, Enviro-Bear, Evan Hsu, the winner of a contest, and possibly John Gore's daughter. After that, there are supposed to be updates with new maps and enemies.

Even though Minigore is lacking content, it's fun while it lasts. It would be a better bet to buy the game once it gets updated with the content for the same price as now, but you can also buy it now to support the developers and encourage them to keep pushing out updates. All of the game is highly polished (except for the bland menu buttons), and all fits together really well.

Pros:

Cute Graphics

Perfect Controls

Updates Coming

Cons:

Lacking Content

Bland Menu Screen

Bottom Line:

Right now Minigore isn't a must have game, especially with the release of another great survival shooter, Alive 4 Ever, but it has the potential to be one.

Scores:

Graphics: 4.5/5

Gameplay: 3.5/5

Controls: 5/5

Replay Value: 4/5

Overall: 8.5/10 (not an average)

Link: Minigore, $.99

$10 Gift Card Winner!!!!

Last week we started a contest for a $10 iTunes Gift Card, sponsored by Chillingo, and now we have the winner.

Congratulations to:

@iSpaghettiCat

Your gift card code is now in your DM inbox on twitter.

Everyone, thanks for entering, and I hope to have more contests soon!