iPhone developer h.grenade has recently released a lite version of their space shooter Circuit Strike.One [$0.99, Lite].
Circuit Strike.One is a 2.5D shooter that combines elements of Geometry Wars with those of the zero-gravity classic Asteroids to deliver a physics-heavy, top-down space combat experience. The premise of the game is that you are flying a ship within an advanced computer network. To hack into the system, you must first destroy the shield generators and then destroy the Core itself. In the meanwhile, the system will defend itself by sending enemies to destroy you. The game is setup as a classic arcade shooter which always starts on level one and you aim for achieving the highest score possible.
The game made its debut while Touch Arcade was covering WWDC 2009 in San Francisco back in June but was noted to have some performance issues. Many of these issues where addressed in an update that finally went live in early July.
Since then, while a vocal segment of readers have been loving the game, some (including myself) have never quite gotten comfortable with the original control mechanisms offered in the title or the pace of the game as a whole.
Developer Shay Casey indicated to us earlier that, once you get used to the controls, there’s a great payoff, “allowing maneuvers like strafing, 180 degree j-turn style attacks and more. …. Once you get the hang of it and the controls ‘click’ for you it opens up a world of possibilities." That may be, but there may be those for which the controls never quite clicked. For those CS.One players, however, the last update from late July did add a more familiar control mechanism: a dual stick controller.
Now, with a generous Lite version newly available and a $0.99 sale of the full version of the game, there’s no better chance to try out this unique space shooter to see if it’s for you. We do suggest you try the game as it was originally intended, however, using the “basic" control mechanism first. The developer said of the game, “The real key can’t be said enough – it is a zero-g physics game just like Asteroids so do not try and keep your thumb on the thrust."
App Store Link: Circuit Strike.One, $0.99, Circuit Strike.One Lite, Free
