Asteroids Gunner

Asteroids Gunner by Atari - Free in the App Store

Asteroids Gunner is the latest game in the venerable, long-lived Asteroids franchise. This dual stick shooter doesn't veer too far from classic arcade play - merely adding a dual stick element and blocking everything even remotely cool behind in-app purchases.

Graphics - 6/10

Nothing truly spectacular. It is a good looking game, despite the sometimes grainy backgrounds. Although the store interface and menu screens look great, the user experience of navigating them is mediocre at best.

Sound - 4/10

Just about the most generic sound effects one could possibly imagine. The "pew pew" of your laser gets really old, really quickly.

Music - 3/10

Think of the most bland, cliche sci-fi themed, new age music you can. Loop it ad nauseam and there you go.

Controls - 7/10

Pretty good for the most part as far as dual stick shooters go, although I do feel that the accuracy of the weapon joystick was less than adequate. No huge complaints, though. It feels pretty solid.

Replayability - 6/10

There are a ton of levels to drudge through, but the game feels exactly like that - drudgery. Even after minimum time with it, you get pretty bored. Especially since the upgrades are expensive using the in-game currency and everything cool is locked up behind in-app purchases. I doubt many will find themselves returning to this one after the initial play through.

Originality - 3/10

While I love the Asteroids-type of arcade games, how long can you live off of a franchise this one-dimensional? Especially when there are absolutely killer alternatives out there. Geometry Wars, anyone?

Value - 5/10

It is free...in theory. Although you can download and play the game for free, as well as collect currency for upgrades, it quickly becomes apparent that Atari has locked anything of value behind absurd upgrade rules and in-app purchases. Not cool.

Fun Factor - 4/10

It's a good feeling game and looks decent enough, but the lack of any real variety between levels and expensive upgrades ultimately hinder this one from being a truly fun game.

Story - 0/10

What story?

Multiplayer - n/a

Conclusion - 38%

I wanted to like this one since Asteroids is such a legendary franchise, but Atari really screwed the pooch here. Excessive blocking of content via IAP, misleading upgrade paths, and no real variety of game play makes this one a pretty big bomb. Do yourself a favor and save the 61.1 MB of space on your device for something better.

Espgaluda II HD

Espgaluda 2 HD CAVE CO.,LTD. - $13.99 in the App Store

Espgaluda 2 HD is a classic bullet hell style shmup ( Shoot'em up ) game with a max sprite count that literally makes the original iPad cringe.

Graphics - 9/10

Gorgeous, high resolution graphics very much inline with anything you've seen in every other decent asian bullet hell game. While the level of polish is exceptional, the level design all seems to run together either because they're so similar or because it's hard to pay attention to the backgrounds while dodging thousands of incoming bullets. 

Sound - 6/10

Nothing exciting here, pretty much on par with the genre.

Music - 5/10

Not to beat a dead horse, but the music was so typical I honestly don't even remember any of it at the time of writing. Not to say that it was terrible at all, just not memorable. 

Controls - 9/10

The framerate, and in turn responsiveness of the controls have always blown my mind in Cave games. I do find the iOS specific features of the smartphone mode to be kinda' gimicky - but some may appreciate them.

Replayability - 6/10

If you're a fan of the genre then you may not have a problem replaying for high scores (and the 3 different characters available for play), but outside of that and the love of dominating what is an otherwise very difficult game - I can't imagine anyone replaying it that much once it has been conquered.

Originality - 3/10

I literally could not name one aspect of this game that hasn't been done before, albeit maybe not always with such quality. It's fair to say this is a pretty formulaic game.

Value - 4/10

Do yourself a favor and buy the arcade version for half the price. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this game, but I find the smartphone version to be gimicky and don't see the point of owning both.

Fun Factor - 9/10

If your a bullet hell fan, you should have no reason not to love the crap out of this game. If not then you may want to skip this title completely to be honest. Bullet hell is definitely an acquired taste.

Story - 3/10

Everyone should know that any asian game genre is synonymous with 'insane and unfollowable storylines'.

Multiplayer - n/a

Conclusion - 60%

While this game isn't breaking any ground as far as bullet hell SHMUPS go and offers no real replayability, it does raise the bar on IOS game quality. It screams "console" and the level of graphical polish, absurd sprite count, and constantly smooth framerate will make you wonder how they even pulled it off... Then you'll realize its only available for dual core IOS devices.

Zombieville USA 2

Zombieville USA 2 by Mika Mobile - $0.99 in the App Store

Zombieville USA 2, the follow up to the hugely successful game by Mika Mobile, is a 2D side-scrolling shooter that pits you against a horde of brain-hungry zombies.

Graphics - 9/10

Although it looks like it was made solely with Flash's drawing tools, it still looks like one of the best Flash games you will ever play. The upgrade screens are gorgeous.

Sound - 8/10

Awesome weapon noises and the sound of bullets ripping through zombie flesh is thoroughly satisfying.

Music - 7/10

Think Fright Night meets pretty much any Vincent Price movie. Works well, but gets tiresome fairly quickly.

Controls - 9/10

Nearly perfect and a vast improvement over the original controls. Movement joystick radius seems too limited, even after a recent update.

Replayability - 6/10

Tons of upgrade options and a variety of characters will keep you coming back for quite awhile, even if the gameplay gets stale after awhile.

Originality - 6/10

Not the first of its kind, especially if you take into account the years of Flash games before it, but still one of the standout examples of the genre in the app store.

Value - 8/10

99 cents? You can't go wrong here, especially considering the awesome upgrades and character unlocks available.

Fun Factor - 7/10

Overall a solid game with lots of stuff to upgrade. However, gameplay gets repetitive pretty rapidly and you'll find yourself taking breaks between sessions to renew interest.

Story - 5/10

Neither here nor there. Zombies everywhere, you have to survive. GET TO THE CHOPPA!!!

Multiplayer - 7/10

Won't let you play if one of you hasn't completed the tutorial in solo mode, but once you get going, the co-op mode is pretty fun and shows a lot of promise.

Conclusion - 72%

Zombieville USA 2 is a fantastic sequel to one of the pioneering games in the app store. It does a great job building on the first game's strengths and dropping some of its weaknesses. Multiple lives, better controls, and great upgrades make this a no-brainer, even if the gameplay gets old quicker than one would like.