If you like shooters, you should just get this game.
It’s funny how we frequently get more excited about the simple games than the high profile efforts. In the end, however, it’s all about the gameplay.
John Kooistra’s Defend! [App Store] is a $0.99 iPhone shooter with relatively simple graphics and no sound. The controls of the game, however, are remarkably well suited to the platform and already feels like a “classic" iPhone game.
You are defender of a planet with a population of 6.7 billion people. You job is to fight off an oncoming barrage of enemies. Each enemy that gets past you takes out millions of lives.
Controls are dead simple. You continuously fire straight up, and tilting the iPhone left and right adjusts your aim. The game also cleverly shifts orientation between levels, requiring you to turn your iPhone around or into landscape position. The video shows it best:
Progressive levels are increasingly challenging and provides a good amount of gameplay. Normally, we frown upon games without sound, but for $0.99 and an otherwise fun game, we can overlook it.
App Store Link: Defend!, $0.99
In a word, awesome! Dizzy Bee is easily my favorite iPhone game so far. Can't wait to try this one out.
Loved the first one. Must admit I gave up on the first one when an update erased all my game data (I had perfect on the first 10 levels.
hmm, i won't complain of the sequel. but i hope the improved controls are added to dizzy bee 1.
Great! My kids were very happy to hear this news!
I loved Dizzy Bee 1, but sadly I won't support Dizzy Bee 2 after getting my game save wiped way too many times...
Great news. 90 levels is double the amount in the first game, so it should have a lot of length. :) Powerups sound great too.
Let's hope it's even better than the first (still one of the best iPhone games available to date)
YES YES YES! I'm as excited about this one as rolando! Thank you Touch Arcade for the heads up!
Definately getting this, I was addicted to the first one for weeks.
YES YES YES BZZ BZZ BZZ
I love Dizzy Bee
Alright! I'm really hyped up for the precision controls.
This is a game I will buy as soon as it's out. I loved the first one.
By far my favorite game. I agree with the sentiment about losing my game save data, but I saw it more as an excuse to keep playing than a detriment (glass half full)! Count me in with the people who will purchase this the day it comes out!
Bought the first one soon as I could, and to date it's the only app I've paid for. Some I got when free have now been priced, but I'm getting this one at launch. Simply clean and very fun. Next on my list are Cromag Rally and Enigmo. Need For Speed too if it ever comes out. What a great gaming system this has become.
Hey, guys. I'd like to apologize about the lost save data. The app store launch was pretty rocky. The OS was doing a lot of funky things then: crashing on launch, refusing to launch at all, deleting the game and reinstalling when you would update instead of keeping the saved data. Dizzy Bee 2 was built with firmware 2.2, so I'm hoping it's much more stable. Just to be safe I still recommend backing up occasionally. Did anyone experience lost save data that wasn't related to an update or the app not launching properly? I believe it was all early OS difficulties, but let me know if that's not the case.
Controls: I was hoping everyone would play Dizzy Bee holding the phone/ipod more vertically, and turn it like a car steering wheel rotates, and a lot of people do. But I think there are many more that don't, so in Dizzy Bee 2 the first thing I did was take out the minimum gravity rule, so if you hold it flat the guys won't move at all. The game plays quite differently. I can't wait to hear opinions! I've heard some people saying they're still getting the triangle (dreaded 'too-flat') warning. If you are, keep holding it flat, and touch "stop saying" and the triangle should go away too.
Difficulty: I grew up on NES era games - Ghosts 'n Goblins, Prince of Persia, Mega Man. Because of that I tend to make games much harder than I probably should. Believe it or not I was really trying to make Dizzy Bee an easy/medium game (well the first ocean anyway!) But I realize I've got a way to go, so in Dizzy Bee 2 there is an easy mode (starts off super easy). Please give that a go if you felt Dizzy Bee was on the hard side.
Ooops that post got long quickly!
Can't wait to hear some feedback! Thanks for playing!