'Ultimate Finger' Shows Promise
posted by arn on February 4th, 2009 3:45 PM EST in $3.99, Action, Strategy, iPhone games, iPod touch games
Now here's an interesting game that shows a lot of promise: Ultimate Finger [App Store].
At first glance, it seems like it may just be another whack-a-mole tapping game, which happens to come in a nice package. As it turns out, the developers have added a number of interesting elements that expand significantly on the gameplay.
The premise of the game is that you are the guardian of a powerful Crystal which you must defend against monsters who hope to use it to destroy the world. The Crystal is in the middle of a field centered on your screen. You must defend against goblins, werewolves, trolls, and wizards who try to drag the crystal off-screen. As guardian, you have a certain amount of magical power that can be used against the invading enemies. These come in 3 different attacks which are invoked with on-screen gestures:
- The Thunder – tapping on the screen
- The Pillar of Fire – dragging your finger on the screen
- The Explosion – drawing a circle on the screen
Each progressive attack is more powerful but drains more of your limited magical power. Fortunately, your magical power regenerates as the game goes forward but you need to use your powers strategically.
The game gets more interesting as you progress in the story mode and find that certain creatures require certain attacks. Werewolves are immune to fire, while trolls will only respond to fire. Wizards are sensitive to any attack until they start casting their spell after which only an explosion will disrupt them.
For each level, you have two minutes to defend and by the end it can become quite a frantic experience trying to cast the proper spells at the hoard of attackers. Story mode increases difficulty with each of the 5 levels. Once you complete story mode, it opens up an untimed endless game mode where you can play for a highscore.
While I enjoyed the game, I can't help but feel there could be more to it. The 5 levels can be completed relatively quickly which leaves you with endless mode to play. Scores are only kept locally so there is no way to compare directly with other players. Meanwhile, similarly structured high-score challenge games (though less unique) can be had in the App Store for less.
I hope the developers expand on the game concept further in the future as there seems to be a lot of potential. For now, it might be worth waiting for further updates before picking up this title at its current price.
[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]
App Store Link: Ultimate Finger, $3.99
Wow, $4? Seems like it should be a dollar or two.
thank goodness this looks boring. One less game I will want to buy
Looks like a fun idea to me. I can see how it could get better with some more depth, but I've bookmarked it for possible purchase.
I think it looks fun, but 99 cents worth of fun… I will wait until I can get it at that price.
this looks fun – reminds me of Loot Master, which was the same price if i recall it correct, but hasn't had ANY updates whatsoever, making the game unplayable..
i got my hopes on this one.. (not buying it yet…)
I agree with everyone above, it's to expensive and it probably needs updates
But it's looks like an great idéa, and the graphics are cool.
needs no updates, it is very polished, just needs a price drop of a buck or 2
I like the presentation and the graphics. The humanoid enemies lying there dead in huge piles is sort of disturbing at times, though.
The different attacks and the intensity of the game make for a good idea. I love how they group up to carry the crystal. PANIC TIME.
That said, in its current state I'd have to agree that the asking price is a bit much. Since the longevity seems to rest on the unlimited play, an online high score list seems necessary to justify anything over $2. This is from someone who advocates for getting the prices up higher to a reasonable place.