I have decided to start a new feature of my blog; App reviews. I'm talking about Apple company apps that can be downloaded onto their iPod touches and iPads. I will review several apps every 2 weeks or so, 3 at the most. To kick it off, there is an app I have been playing recently, and while it is fun, there are some serious flaws that annoy me to no end.
The App:
Brothers in Arms 2 Free +
Developer: Gameloft
What is it? The premise of the app is you're a soldier in World War 2. The main protagonist is a man named David Wilson, whom you play as in the game, and essentially you play in campaigns covering the Solomon islands, North Africa, Sicily, Eurpean, and South Pacific theaters of WW2. The backbone of the game is a government conspiracy; I don't know how it turns out as I have not finished the game yet.
Pleasantries; the game has an "interesting" plot, game play is fine, it's fun, but can be annoying, and you can chose from some pretty sweet guns.
Annoyances; you have to purchase all your guns, all your amo, and they claim they're better than games that give you an energy level. (that limits how much/long you can play) They're right. If you die in a level, then you have a "Mission Cooldown" that can last anywhere from a minute, to 2 hours. Their advertising is correct, but the gameplay is still limited. There is a way to circumvent the waiting period; you can pay "Medals" to eliminate the cooldown, but the catch is that you either have to buy the medals, or as you rank up, you might get one medal for ranking up. There are also serious holes in how they've programmed the game; most notably, if you attempt to shoot a character who's running up from it's spawn point to attack you, it will not die until it reaches the spot it is supposed to go to in the level. Even if you empty an entire clip into them. Another thing about aiming; if your hiding behind an object like a rock, and you peek around about an inch and you see an enemy, and you attempt to shoot him, he will not die. Peek out about another two inches and if you shoot him then, THEN he will die. I've also play through this app before, reaching roughly the halfway point, and then it deleted all my progress, and I had to delete the app itself because it had become corrupted. I re downloaded it, and have made up all my progress. And as a final note, if you step even an inch outside of the mission parameters, (i.e. going where the game doesn't want you to go) the game will kill you. Oh, and German officers carry Thompson machine guns, 1 of every 4 german soldiers carries a panzerfaust, and Sherman tanks can take 10 panzer rounds with out disintegrating. (for those that don't know, in WW2, Sherman tanks sucked. 1 panzer round could blow a 6 foot hole in a Sherman.) [The only reason we won was that for every Panzer there were 4 Shermans]
Prognosis; Don't waste the space on your iPod or iPad with this app. Its annoying, the game play mechanics are horrid, the plot is centered around a government/military conspiracy of some kind (way to be original). This app is free, and it deserves to stay that way. It's fun, but it's irritating. The only reason I keep playing is so I can beat it. Only reason. If you over look the holes in the game, it's actually quite fun.
The App: 6th Planet
Developer: Monkube
What is it? Something is happening in space. You play as a chimp who lands a small space craft, making it through dozens of levels, interspersed with comic cut scenes. The planet Saturn has transformed into a "Second Earth" of sorts. (i.e. Becoming habitable)
Pleasantries: The game play mechanics are simple and fun; you use two buttons to send your tiny ship right, left, or up. The comic cut scenes are interesting, well written, and keep you wondering.
Annoyances: sadly the comics use themes of environmentalism (that humanity has/will kill(ed) the earth), that soldiers and such are all violent warmongerers, and not the best view on religion.
Prognosis: Excellent app, I highly reccomend this app, the music in it is excellent, the game play is good. Sadly the political elements are irritating, but besides that, I recommend it. The app is free, so go ahead, download it.
There will be more reviews to follow.
Happy beginning of advent.
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