I didn’t think it was possible, but Self Aware Games has breathed new life in to the tilt and roll genre on the iPhone with their new game Taxiball [App Store].
Featuring stylish pixel art, an entirely vocal soundtrack of human beatboxing, achievements, online leaderboards and a friends list to compare scores, Taxiball is an extremely fun game that all of us here are enjoying.
Oddly enough for me Taxiball is a very unexpected walk down memory lane. The graphics remind me of Ghostbusters for the Sega Master System, the music smells of Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? and the gameplay (as the name implies) is reminscent of Crazy Taxi.
The game starts with a tutorial that covers everything you need to know to get rolling, and as the above screenshot shows, the whole thing is told in rhyme. Self Aware Games also takes it one step farther and includes an instant save system so you never lose any progress when you need to quit the game to take a call. (A feature every game needs in my opinion.)
This developer video shows the game:
But, don’t take it from me, try it out for yourself! Taxiball Free [App Store] comes with the complete tutorial, and the first city of “N00bsville" to play through. Also, if you decide to upgrade to the full version, your progress, scores, awards, and friends list all transfer over.
Self Aware Games is participating in the discussion thread, answering questions and describing the later levels:
Every level starts with the timer at 1:00, and every fare gives you the same amount of bonus time. Things get tricker mostly in that the levels get denser and more complicated – so there’s a lot more potential for finding shortcuts or alternate routes to your destination.
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In “Gates of Wrath," the whole level’s structured like a Russian doll – there’s an inner section, and every time you drop off a fare, you open a gate to the “shell" surrounding it. Part of the strategy is figuring out what the best way to go is – do you open up all the gates in a given shell, or do you start delivering the fares in the outer shells before you’ve opened up all the gates?
App Store Link: Taxiball, $1.99 and Taxiball Free, Free
