Chillingo iOS Roundup – Volume One
We at GodisaGeek are fervent fans of the iOS platform and when it comes to iOS there really aren’t many names bigger at this moment in time than Chillingo. Not so long ago, we had their EMEA PR Manager, Mr Dan Tausney, on our Podcast to talk about all things gaming, which we highly recommend you listen to!
Today though, we are going to look at a few Chillingo published iOS titles and give you the lowdown on whether you should invest any of them yourselves!
Titles are available on iPhone and iPad unless specifically stated otherwise. If you like what you hear, click the small black “App Store” button to load iTunes up and purchase the title!
SKY COMBAT AIR & LAND ASSAULT: First up then, we have a fairly traditional shoot ’em up, with you playing as a helicopter, moving around with simple touch controls. Sky Combat is actually a lot trickier than first impressions might indicate and by the time you reach the first proper end of level boss, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the challenge on offer.
Sky Combat employs alternative methods of surviving the enemy onslaught instead of just dodging the bullets, and this is where the iPhone as a platform comes into its own. To dodge a homing rocket, you can of course just move out of the way, but you can also whip the device itself upwards, to make your chopper rise quickly, avoiding certain destruction. Of course, you can just use the touch screen to do the same thing, but it’s an intuitive and most welcome addition. You also have anti-missile devices and can fire your own rockets if you collect them!
Otherwise though, Sky Combat is a fairly traditional shoot ’em up, employing standard mechanics of collecting points from dropped enemies, collecting power-ups and fighting of huge, crazy end of level bosses. It sound nice, looks great and plays very well indeed, for 59p, this is a title, that if you purchase, you won’t get buyers remorse. 
[nggallery id=215]
COLLISION EFFECT: Moving onward then, we have a pretty and colourful puzzle game that plays on the traditional “matching” mechanics that everyone knows and probably loves. Easy to pick up and play, Collision Effect actually get rather manic early doors! The difficulty is designed very well though and it feels as though you are being taught how to play it. At first you’ll probably struggle a bit, but as soon as you get to grips with the games mechanic, you’ll be reaching the further levels in no time.
Basically, you have to collect the glowing coloured balls by tapping them. If you tap a blue one, all the blue balls on screen rush together, vanishing when they touch. However, as you progress, you will find multiple different colours of glowing balls on screen at a time and if you tap one, it may well hit a differently colour ball, which means game over. Collect quickly enough though and you’ll increase your multiplier.
At 59pVishindo’s exciting looking puzzler is a title that you’ll be hard pressed to find many faults with. It’s fun, addictive and cheap. You can’t ask for much more really!
[nggallery id=216]
BIG BOSS: Available exclusively on iPad, this title is an interesting idea that is sadly executed in a manner than it just ends up being very little fun indeed. Big Boss has you creating a “boss” that you name, dress and kit out with whatever you can afford or unlock (as you progress) and take on any and all “heroes” that are attempting to kill you.
At first, Big Boss appears to be charming, with its colourful looks and generally silly feel. Sadly, the combat is repetitive to the extreme and this results in the game getting very boring, very quickly. Whilst playing as a “Video Game Boss” should be fun, Big Boss just doesn’t execute its ideas in a way that will make you want to continue to level up. Even eating princesses (to regain health, of course), whilst funny at first, becomes repetitive.
Controlling your boss is slightly clumsy and never feels intuitive. Tapping the screen to execute light attacks is simple enough, as is the heavy attack (swipe the direction you want to attack toward), but the dodge mechanic (swipe downward to roll left or right) is frustrating and you’ll never quite end up where you want to.
Each level plays out with a few waves of smaller enemies, culminating in a larger enemy. Repetition is sadly the order of the day yet again and it’s hard to truly get behind Big Boss, even though its heart is in the right place and it has a great sense of humour. Costing £1.19, you won’t feel ripped off, but it’d be safer to try the Lite version just in case.
[nggallery id=214]
Did you enjoy this feature? Do you have favourite iOS games you’d like to talk about? Head over to our forums and tell us all about it. You can also reach us via Twitter and Facebook!
