In February of last year, after overcoming a ripoff version of their game beating them to the App Store, developer Halfbot released released the official iOS port of the Flash title The Blocks Cometh (Free). We thought it was pretty fantastic in our review, despite being insanely difficult and a bit awkward to play due to its portrait orientation.
Later in the year, a huge update hit that mitigated the difficulty by adding a Casual mode, while also adding a new Arcade mode for free and a retro-inspired Gamebot mode for 99¢. Also, landscape support was added which made the game much more friendly to play with virtual controls.
To top things off a bunch of new playable characters were also added which you could unlock by completing certain achievements in the game or fast-tracking with an in-app purchase. Basically, The Blocks Cometh went from a really good game to a really great game.
Then this past February, on the one year anniversary of The Blocks Cometh’s release, it was announced that another big update was in the works which would add long-awaited iPad support to the game, as well as support for the iCade. And, even more importantly, 5 new characters would be added including TouchArcade’s own editors: myself, Eli and Brad.
Well it took longer than originally expected, but I can finally play with my digital self. The Blocks Cometh update has hit and includes the TouchArcade Crew as well as the main characters from both Retro Dreamer’s Velocispider ($2.99) and Kode80’s 1-bit Ninja ($2.99). As with the original stable of characters, these 5 new ones each have their own attributes as well as unique special moves.
I don’t want to spoil them all, but for example Brad’s muscles shoot other, more powerful muscles. It’s like dividing by zero. Also, let me be the first to say that Brad’s character is totally overpowered. It’s okay though, being overpowered in real life means you should be overpowered in video games too. And before anybody goes making this joke: yes, you can move left with the 1-bit Ninja guy.
As great as all these new characters are, the Universal portion of this update is the real standout. Playing The Blocks Cometh on the iPad is a total treat. With the iPad’s larger screen, it finally feels comfortable to play in portrait orientation. I still prefer landscape, but even then the bigger screen makes for a more enjoyable experience. There’s even support for Retina Display iPads, and it looks fantastic.
The Blocks Cometh was already a favorite of mine, but it’s even better with this latest update (and not just because we’re in it). I really love playing on the iPad, and it’s been fun unlocking this set of new characters. If you’ve been dying to get your hands on the digital TouchArcade crew, mash the update button or the link below to check out the new Blocks Cometh update.
