In November, we profiled a $0.99 game called Blue Defense! [App Store] which we praised as a “simple but effective shooter." Developer John Kooistra managed to blend together a simple concept into a really solid shooter and won us over along with many of our readers.
His followup title is appropriately enough called Blue Attack! [App Store, $1.99] in which you take the offense and track down the Red invaders from the original game. Kooistra has added a significant degree of complexity to the game by offering upgradable ships with improved weapons and capabilities. Yet he still manages to offer a surprisingly fun and deep game.
At its core, this game is a shooter, pure and simple. You pilot a ship which is based on a carrier which you must defend. Your ship can be accompanied by a number of wingmen which offer additional firepower to destroy the enemy ships. Each enemy formation contains a “core" which must be destroyed and your job is simply to battle each wave and destroy all the enemies before they destroy you.
Both touch and accelerometer controls are offered and are effectively implemented. Unlike traditional scrolling shooters, however, you have full directional control and must master your ship’s navigation in order to deliver a focused stream of firepower against your enemies. There are two modes of play: campaign and unlimited which both offer plenty of gameplay and time to hone your skills.
The single best part of the game is the ship upgrade system. After each wave of attackers, you earn “resources" which can be spent on upgrading your ship. More wingmen, for example, can be purchased to increase your firepower. Other upgrades range from bombs, extra lives, faster speed, and improved handling. Upgrades appear to be well balanced and you’ll enjoy testing out your new abilities.
Combined with the different play modes, these features offer a fun game with plenty of replayability. As a result, for only $1.99 Blue Attack! comes highly recommended.
[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]
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Man. I was SO close to buying this when I heard part two would be an expansion. thanks for the heads up.
to be clear, the Chapter 2 will be included as a free update to Chapter 1.
For anyone on the fence about this, pick the game up. I know people are saying there's no polish and that may be true when comparing it to the PSP version, but the game is very deep. I picked it up last Friday and though I would have liked to save $2, I don't regret the purchase.
This is one of the few games that warrant a $10 price tag (especially with Chapter 2 being free).
Damn!!! I just bought this two days ago! Figured since Part 2 would be a free upgrade they wouldn't be dropping the price... Should have waited. Oh well, it's worth much more then the $10 I paid for it.
@diggity & crim
same here, just recently purchased for $10 - don't beat yourself up though, it's a good game.
Crim, Diggity, marc, just throwing my name in as another person who just paid $10 for it after hearing about the free update. Haven't even started it yet myself though ]: Damnit...
Still undecided because I love my psp version and I do feel the graphics and polish make the experience more enjoyable because I tried the ds version and it's not the same. I'm aware of the bugs in the psp version but still I think i'm going to hold off on the iphone version for now.
Wow! I'm glad I didn't give into the temptation to buy this — it's horribly clunky.
hmmm should I stick with the pc version or the iphone one? they better bring the puzzle quest space one to the iphone too, and not so horribly ported like this version.
It's a great underlying game, but the port is ghastly. They'd have to redo a lot of the assets to get them looking nice on the iPhone's resolution, and it's clear that the developer didn't bother.
@wizard
agreed - you are exactly right. it IS a great underlying game and the PORT is ghastly. i guess i've flip flopped.
@all
for your own good, skip it, it's a crappy version.
Relative to all the other versions of the game on different platforms: yes, this is probably one of the crappier incarnations. Graphics are stretched or hanging off the screen in some places, the status effect icons during a match are so tiny there's no way you could ever know what they are (or even notice them at all), and there's a myriad of other interface quirks.
With all that being said, I play this version much more than I've ever played the one on my Xbox 360. The problem is that I just don't have the kind of time to sit down in front of my TV and play hours upon hours of video games anymore. But, I do have 5-10 minutes multiple times a day to spare when I'm out and about, which is perfect for pulling out my iPhone and playing a quick match or two.
So, even with it's problems, the game is still very much playable, and I can't get enough of it. I play this game more than any other on my iPhone, and it was well worth the $10.
Just tried the free trial and it's not horrible, but very sloppy compared to the psp and pc versions. Samurai Puzzle battle is a better alternative and it's only 2 bucks :)