If you haven't guessed already, I'm a huge fan of platform games. Maybe it's my background of playing games from both the Mario and Sonic franchises or the sheer number of solid platformers in the iTunes App Store, but I simply can't get enough of them. There's just something charming to me about exploring a level, making all the right jumps, and trying to acquire all the items to go on to next level. There have been several popular platform games to come through the iTunes App Store, but as time goes on, I've noticed the genre evolving in interesting ways. Particularly with a few of the newer games, I'm seeing unique types of challenges being added that take the genre to places it hasn't been before. This week's collected iOS software are all platformers with something extra. The first uses an interesting foreground/background playing dynamic that adds to the action. The second is a continuous climber with added bonuses that keep trying to get higher and higher. The third offers tons of side challenges and secret areas for many who like to explore. In the foreground here I'm riding a moving platform, but if you look closely, you can see another secret level in the background. Paper Monsters (99 cents) is a polished traditional platformer with some added extras and winningly cute art and sound design. Paper Monsters will evoke other classic platformers instantly, but in a good way: the play and interface are intuitive (a roaming virtual joystick on the left, a jump button on the right, which you tap twice to double-jump), and levels with collectible coins ("buttons"), warp pipes, enemies to upon jump, checkpoints, and lots of hidden pick-ups and paths to encourage repeat play. As the game progresses through its four chapters, with four levels each, the enemies and environments get more interesting and challenging, but the game never strays from its satisfying roots--and it's simple to get further sucked in by a couple of add-in minigames and the ability to customize the game's boxy protagonist. Corel Home Office 1.0: Netbook-friendly. What's particularly interesting about Paper Monsters is that on several levels you can warp from the platforms in the foreground to areas in the background of the level. What ends up happening is you'll see the background area beforehand, making you want to find the secret entry to get more coins and bonuses. Other games offer secret areas, but the added visual cue of seeing it in the distance somehow adds to the excitement. With its high-quality, DIY-craft aesthetic, and unique secret level implementation, Paper Monsters is a must-download for platformer fans. I look forward to seeing what the game's developers can do in future versions--and hopefully they will also fix the game's loud intro, which ignores the hardware mute switch and volume controls unfortunately. As you climb higher, you'll have to come up with creative ways to get up to the next platform.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |