2D platformers probably reached their heyday about 20 years ago. In the age of 8-bit, 16-bit, even through the 32-big graphics generations, success in the console race depended on having a sidescroller with a red plumber, blue hedgehog, or some other platform-hopping mascot.
The era of the mascot-based platformer has passed. Gamers today are seemingly more interested in systems which have the latest military or sci-fi shooter. However, even though they may no longer be the system sellers they once were, platformers are still beloved by a large number of fans. For them, iOS has seen a bit of a resurgence of these games. These new-generation platformers have varying degrees of polish and quality, and often incorporate more modern elements of game design to reflect changing tastes.
Wind-Up Knight 2 enters the market as the latest of this new-breed of side-scrolling platformer. I’m happy to report that it isn’t merely a good mobile game, or a good homage to the classic games of the past. No, Wind-Up Knight 2 is a truly classic platforming game, period.
Time your jumps and collect the coins
At its core, the gameplay of Wind-Up Knight 2 is quite simple. That’s good – platforming games, as a genre, are defined by the cleverness with which they challenge the players using the relatively small set of moves they’re familiar with.
In this game, you control an auto-running character (the wind-up knight) who has to travel across the beginning of the stage to the end of the stage, collecting coins, dodging traps, and attacking enemies along the way.
Your subset of moves is relatively simple. You can double-jump over chasms, roll under traps, shield your head from falling debris, and swing your sword against enemies. It’s the care that Wind-Up Knight 2 shows in how it builds levels to test your ability to use these limited moves that truly shows what a great game it is.
Time your shield carefully to deflect traps
The arrangement of obstacles and traps in this game are clever. Failing to dodge an obstacle or trap never feels cheap – deaths always feel avoidable, and that fairness encourages you to attempt it again. You’re graded based on how well you complete each level, with greater awards given for higher grades. Getting an ’S’ ranking in a level requires collecting everything without dying. Not an easy task, but a fun one to attempt.
Each level has a large number of coins dispersed throughout it. Extra points are awarded for collecting all of these coins. You can use these coins in the shop to unlock additional costumes, weapons, and abilities. None of these are essential, but they add a great motivation to replay the levels you’ve already beaten.
Traps aren’t the only threats to worry about
The level of content in this game is truly staggering. There are tons of levels available in the regular game, and each of those levels include multiple challenge goals – collect diamonds, avoid killing any enemies, that sort of thing – in addition to the basic goals of beating the level and collecting the coins. Each level has 3 of these bonus goals.
The graphics and art style are truly amazing
The graphics of Wind-Up Knight 2 are absolutely gorgeous, taking the 2.5D art style established by it’s predecessor and cranking up the quality and artistic beauty to new heights. Lighting effects are beautiful, and tied to the environment and time of day. All of this happens at a buttery-smooth 60 fps.
Controller support is very well implemented here. Both Standard and Extended layout controllers are fully support. Menus can be controlled completely without touching the screen, making this a great hands-free experience. Buttons are well mapped and responsive.
Slide down walls and collect coins
Ultimately, Wind-Up Knight 2 manages to hit all the right notes. It enters an established genre – side-scrolling platformer – and builds upon the ideas and designs of the top games, while carving out a unique identity of its own. And it manages to do it with a rock-solid foundation and beautiful presentation.
Wind-Up Knight 2 is available as a free trial, with an in-app purchase to unlock all of the levels and add a little extra content. Some additional content packs are available to purchase, but are unnecessary to the game. There are no ads, spam, timers, or anything like that.
Fans of platforming games should download Wind-Up Knight 2 immediately.
Puzzle games seem like an odd genre for controller support. Despite this, the newly released Animal Battle shows that much can be gained from physical controls.
Animal Battle plays like a mix of Dr. Mario and the Bust-A-Movegames. Your goal here is to send groups of two colored blocks at a steadily increasing pile blocks at the top of the screen, using special star blocks to destroy all adjacent blocks of the same color.
Match star blocks with blocks of the same color to clear matching blocks
The goal is to destroy more blocks than you end up piling up, while outlasting an opponent who’s attempting the same thing in the screen next to you. Particularly well-executed moves send debris blocks to your opponent’s screen, further complicating their job.
For an iOS puzzle game, this competition mechanic manages to turn Animal Battle into a surprisingly tense and cutthroat experience, with careful strategy of tile stacking needing to be weighed against acting faster than your opponent. It works well in practice, and benefits greatly from the tactile response of hardware controls.
Break blocks in chains to send blocks to your overwhelm your opponent
Animal Battle has a few issues with analog stick sensitivity and slightly lower-than-ideal resolution, but those don’t interfere with the experience. Fans of arcade puzzle games don’t have a huge amount of choices if they want to play on iOS with a controller. The good news is, Animal Battle doesn’t merely “win by default” – this is a fun, challenging game that will appeal to fans of the genre.
People more interested in casual match-three puzzlers will probably be overwhelmed by the difficulty of an old-school arcade puzzler like this, but for fans of classic arcade puzzlers like Bust A Move or Dr Mario, this is an easy recommendation.
Hamster-based side scroller Flying Hamster (also available in HD) was recently updated for MFi controller support. In support of the update, both the standard and HD versions of the game are temporarily available for free.
As I’ve said in several other reviews, side-scrolling shoot-em-ups are a wellrepresented genre of game among iOS games with controller support. Fans of the genre have a wealth of options available to them.
The good news is, this abundance of choices does not, in any way, diminish Flying Hamster. This game has it’s own place in the pile, with a presentation and design unlike the others.
Classic side-scrolling arcade gameplay
As should be immediately evident from the graphics, there is a general cuteness and lightness of presentation that is at odds with the other shoot-em-ups listed. Whereas those games tend to have you flying spaceships in levels set against the blackness of space, Flying Hamster has you controlling a… flying hamster… against a series of colorful backdrops and cartoony landscapes.
Don’t let the graphics style fool you, though. Shoot-em-ups are not a genre known for easy or forgiving gameplay, and Flying Hamster does not disappoint. The cartoony graphics belie what is actually one of the most difficult shooters available on iOS, controller or no. Beating the game unlocks a harder difficulty – for most gamers, that won’t be necessary.
The graphics are cute, but make no mistake – everything here wants you dead
Flying Hamster’s best elements don’t come across well in still pictures. The graphics here are fluid and beautiful, the music is engrossingly old-school, harkening back to the days of 16 bit consoles. The story is told through short and cute cartoony interspersions between levels. As a game, everything you’d expect from the genre – Powerups, bosses, swarms of enemies, challenging levels and swarm formations – it’s all here, and it’s all well done.
This is a great game for shooter fans who are looking for something a little different than the norm, but no less challenging. With lite versions available, and the regular versions temporarily free, downloading this is an easy recommendation.
The iOS spinoff of the classic sci-fi RPG series Mass Effect has just been updated for Extended-layout controller support.
Quick Review
Infiltrator is not a traditional Mass Effect game. Whereas Bioware’s console counterparts feature a blend of RPG and action gameplay, branching morality trees, and an epic storyline, this Firemonkeys-developed spinoff is a somewhat traditional cover shooter. You explore somewhat small areas until you see enemies, then you run and duck behind barriers, poking your head up long enough to shoot the targets.
Despite simple gameplay, Infiltrator’s production values are outstanding
This cover-shooting mechanic is fun enough, but it never really feels like Mass Effect. The good news is, it doesn’t exactly feel bad. The production values are high, the controls are well implemented, and the gameplay is fun. The fact that Infiltrator doesn’t feel like a Mass Effect game shouldn’t completely sour shooter fans from downloading it – this is still a competent cover-shooter in a rich universe. Just don’t expect it to live up to the Mass Effect name – for an experience like that, you’ll be far better served downloading the Bioware-developed Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic.
Temporary price cut makes this controller a much better deal
The Logitech PowerShell is currently available for $49.95 from Apple. While Logitech’s controller lacks the analog inputs and triggers of the Moga Ace Power and the iPad compatibility of the SteelSeries Stratus, it does have a number of things in it’s favor. Namely, you can fit it in your pocket, you can pass-through power from the charging port to the iPhone, and you can take pictures through the camera hole without removing the case.
50 bucks is the best price so far for an MFi controller; if you have any interest in the PowerShell, this is likely the best time to pick one up.
Solid 3D action foundation in need of more content
True console class 3D action games are still a rarity on iOS. iPhone and iPad gamers don’t have a Dynasty Warriors or a God of War. Many developers have tried and failed to bring fun, well-implemented 3D action gameplay to iOS. Zombie Goddess is the latest to aim for that goal. I previewed Zombie Goddess last month. Since then, the game has been polished up further and balanced. It is a fun, beautiful 3D action game – but is that enough?
Use powerful weapons to fight off endless waves of zombies
The goal of Zombie Goddess is to survive as long as possible against waves of the undead, killing as many as possible, and collecting as much gold as you can find. Completing various objectives – for example, decapitating 20 zombies in one game – increases the amount of gold dropped. This gold is used to unlock additional weapons and characters, leveling up the weapons you have, or unlocking perks for the next level.
The real meat of the gameplay lies in chaining together attack combos. When you collect enough gold to unlock an additional weapon, that weapon will periodically spawn throughout the map. Collecting that weapon can significantly alter the feel of the game â the daggers are fast-striking weapons, allowing for rapid fire attacks; the bow is a ranged weapon controlled through the right analog stick, turning the game temporarily into a dual-stick shooter; the axe is a heavy, powerful weapon requiring careful timing to avoid taking damage while wielding it.
Aim the bow with the right analog stick, dodge enemy attacks with the left
The biggest issue with Zombie Goddess isn’t what the game includes, but what it doesn’t.The game consists of 3 levels total, each of which can be replayed for higher scores, more achievements, and more gold. The problem is, there is very little progression aside from that. There are no RPG style components, with character improvement. There is no storyline. There is no multiplayer. In short, aside from the basic gameplay of surviving against waves of enemies, there’s not really anything else to do. Killing enemies gives you gold, and gold allows you to unlock new weapons. That’s fun, but there’s not a whole lot else to do.
Each weapon has itâs own special attack
I was invited by the developers to help test the controller support in Zombie Goddess, and Iâm happy to say that it plays quite well with the Moga Ace Power, SteelSeries Stratus, and Logitech PowerShell. Many of the tweaks Iâve suggested have already been implemented. It isn’t perfect – I’ve long wished for camera control of some kind, and there’s no menu support at this time. According to the developers, camera control should be arriving in the next update. The game is still a lot of fun with a controller in its current form â far better than using touch controls, and reminiscent of the type of gameplay experience you could expect from playing a true console action game.
Throw your enemy into the air, then slice them into pieces with your finger
Zombie Goddess manages to be an entertaining, though relatively small, game. The gameplay is fun, the graphics are great, the controls fluid; things could be a lot worse. it is far, far better to have a great foundation in need of content than it is to have built a ton of content build on a terrible foundation. Zombie Goddess has the great foundation. The job now is to add more content. Personally, I really hope that happens.
For action game fans, it’s worth keeping Zombie Goddess on your watch list. With the right updates, it could be a true iOS classic. As it is, it’s a fun, though limited, look at what could come. It’s available as an ad supported free download, with a one time in-app purchase to remove the ads, unlock 2/3 of the levels, and increase coin drops. There are no timers or premium currencies. Action game fans, download Zombie Goddess, give it a shot, and join me in hoping the developers add the content needed to turn this into the full-fledged game it deserves to be.
Update 4/21/2014:
Zombie Goddess was recently updated with improvements to gameplay, as well as the removal of a somewhat tasteless feature I criticized in this review. This review has been edited to reflect these changes. The removed section is preserved below for posterity, but is no longer relevant.
Obsolete information
It’s worth mentioning a “feature” that has generated a bit of controversy. The developers of Zombie Goddess included a “Jiggle Breasts” option for the female player-controlled characters, and advertised that option in the App Store description. To quote: “Hot Heroine Kills hordes of Zombies. Its the hot chick in Resident evil without the guns. Choose between three Hot looking Goddesses. Youâll Love This â you get to Turn On âJiggle Breastâ effect!!!”
Sexism in the video game industry is a serious problem. Female developers are underrepresented and harassed. Gamers are subject to constant harassment on any internet game service you want to name based on their gender. As an industry, we’re making progress – a growing number of people are getting sick and tired of seeing how women in technology have become marginalized and harassed. Things like this aren’t helping. I don’t think the developers of Zombie Goddess were thinking about that one way or the other when they included this feature; it wasn’t included out of any dislike for women, but it still it comes across as thoughtless, insensitive, and tacky. Very few games can pull “sexual humor” off in a way that doesn’t convey those feelings. If the developers had simply enabled jiggling and not mentioned anything about it, that would be one thing. But advertising it upfront as a setting just feels off. I suggested repeatedly that this setting be removed; ultimately I’m surprised both that the developers opted to include it, and that it made it past Apple’s review process.
This shouldn’t be here in 2014
It is great to see the developers actively responding and improving the game, and I’m personally excited to see what will be added in the future.
Arcade shoot-em-ups – games where you control a character or vehicle in an attempt to shoot down swarms of enemies while dodging impossibly large clouds of bullets – are a well represented and beloved genre on iOS. Even among the subset of games with MFi controller support, this is a wellrepresented genre of game
Navigate catacombs, dodge bullets, and collect powerups
What makes Trisector stand about among the rest is how appropriately iOS-centric it is. Trisector takes the shoot-em-up – a difficult genre to play, even with a controller – and eliminates many of the pitfalls other games in the genre often bring over from their original releases. Trisector manages to maintain a level of gameplay difficulty that will challenge veteran shooter fans, while providing a less daunting framework for newer players.
Trisector adds a modern iOS level selection system, as opposed to the limited lives common in arcade ports. It adds an (optional) auto-adjusting difficulty slider, where the strength of the enemies is balanced to the places you’re getting stuck. It incorporates a modern presentation with full widescreen at an extremely smooth framerate. All of these add up – the challenge of the game comes from the game itself, rather than from presentation issues.
At the hardest difficulties, Trisector will be a challenge to even the best gamers
Controller support in Trisector is well implemented – as I’d hope it would be, since I was one of the beta testers for it. Throughout the course of a few betas, we were able to polish out most of the controller issues that plague many other games.
Standard and Extended layouts are fully supported, the menus are completely controllable, the screen doesn’t fall asleep if left alone, button options are self explanatory and not hidden, control sensitivity is adjustable – basically, everything you’d want from a fully controller-supported game is represented here, and implemented well.
A constant stream of bullets from all directions is a hallmark of the genre
Fans of the shoot-em-up genre who are looking for something more than the same old classics should absolutely give Trisector a look. It takes the classic formula and uses it as a starting point to carve out its own identity.
MacFormat spills the beans on the upcoming Project Kazuyo from high-end PC accessory and hardware maker Razer.
Kazuyo Revealed
The controller pictured above is different both from the leaked images of the Kazuyo controller and from the description accompanying the slide. In addition to that, it represents somewhat of a departure from the previously revealed requirements Apple imposes on the MFi program – discrete direction buttons like the ones shown in the slide above have traditionally been forbidden by Apple.Either Apple changed their policies or the above images are (official) mockups. Based on their lack of relation to the description accompanying them, I lean towards the latter.
A shiny new controller isn’t the only thing Razer has planned, however. They also appear to be gearing up to launch an app to highlight controller compatible games. It’s a step in the right direction for controller supported games, assuming Apple approves it.
Battlefield is just a placeholder image, don’t get your hopes up None of these games support controllers – yet
I received these images independently from MacFormat, and can confirm their legitimacy. Other than that, we know very little else about Razer’s plans. Hopefully they’ll decide to reveal their iOS strategy in a little more detail before too long.
Angry Birds go-carter updated with new levels and polish
Classic iOS racing game Angry Birds Go was recently updated to include new levels with a winter theme, gameplay balances, and interface polish.
Angry Bird racing on snowy tracks
Angry Birds Go is not a perfect game. The amazing level of polish and fun of the actual game itself is let down by an over aggressive monetization system full of premium currencies and timers. The strange thing is, these are completely unnecessary: the game plays extremely well if you ignore the premium currency, and the timers become superfluous after you’ve unlocked a few characters.
If you want to enjoy this game, the only thing you really should buy is the currency doubler. The rest is all superfluous. Which is unfortunate – I can’t help but think Rovio would have a much stronger product if they just sold it outright with the correct balancing to begin with.
A port of original Xbox launch title Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath is coming soon to mobile. GamerHub released an interview with series created Lorne Lanning detailing some behind-the-scenes information of the upcoming port.
While Stranger’s Wrath is the only mobile port mentioned by name in this video, significant amounts of video footage from the upcoming Oddworld: New ‘N Tasty are included for some reason. It’s unclear from this video if that footage represents a mobile port currently in development, or if it was simply included by mistake. Either way, considering New ‘N Tasty will be launched for every major computer OS, PS4, and Wii U, a mobile port is definitely not outside the realm of possibility.
Both of these upcoming games look excellent from the above footage. Details of the iOS porting are unclear at this time – the video is mainly about the Android version on the Nvidia Shield platform. However, iOS ports are mentioned, as well as compatibility with many different controllers. Here’s hoping that means MFi controllers for iOS.
The only real negative I can see from the video is the pride with which Lanning states Stranger’s Wrath will run at 30 frames per second. He says “a solid 30 fps” that like it’s a good thing. In reality, 30fps is nowhere near good for a modern game release. The latest mobile GPUs are more than capable of pushing out 60fps – a much more pleasant and fluid gaming experience. Hopefully the 30fps was in reference to the somewhat weaker Nvidia Shield hardware. Either way, we’ll find out soon enough.
