Coming up with just one word to describe Hasta La Muerte ($1.99) is easy, it’s different. Different in that it doesn’t play much like any other games on iOS these days, and has a crazy visual style to go along with it.
Hasta La Muerte has you moving around levels collecting souls and finding the exit before being killed by giant mustaches. You’re encouraged to do this as quickly as possible, with the incentive being a higher score to impress your friends. Each level has a certain amount of souls to collect, and each level is harder than the last. Fortunately, the controls in the game work great making each level seem possible to master.
I’ll admit, I still get a nasty pit in my stomach every time I load up a mobile game that uses a virtual d-pad. You can’t really blame me, they’re not native to the platform and mainly exist so that game designers can rely on controls that have worked for over 30 years. Hasta La Muerte has changed the way I feel about d-pads on iOS because whatever secret sauce they’re using just works. Moving the joystick isn’t a slippery motion, it’s as fluid and accurate as we’ve always wanted it to be.
The controls work well, yet there are still problems when it comes to understanding what the game wants you to do at any point in time. An earlier level throws a boss at you with vague instructions, in which you are meant to figure out that the boss will only take damage after you force him to crash into large mouths on the ground. Another and even worse example comes just a bit later as you’re forced to confront enemies that will kill you quickly, and you have to get around them by using a ghost mechanic that barely works.
Having these issues is a huge blemish on a game that seems to do everything else right. If there was ever a case for “addition by subtraction," this is probably as good of case as any. Adding in more depth to the game is normally welcomed so long as a proper introduction follows it.
One other bright spot for the game is its unique graphical style, looking like it was completely hand-drawn in a grim setting. Each of the enemies and characters move in unsettling ways, which is only driven further by the lack of color used.
There are 27 levels for you to trek through in Hasta La Muerte, which doesn’t seem like much especially compared to other games of this type. Still, it’s probably enough to keep your attention for a few hours at least. Beyond that, you can share your level scores with friends via Game Center and OpenFeint, both of which seem to be preferred networks in the iOS game community.
Taking a unique approach for a game is always a risk, and one you should be glad BulkyPix took with Hasta La Muerte. For each of the game’s faults, there’s usually something else that’s equally deserving of your attention, and that means it’s definitely worth your time to at least check out.
Awesome! Thank you so much for posting this. I have got to get into that beta!!!
Seeing that title made me think you could have a rhythm/dancing game called "Ultima Fever!" :p
I was going to sign up for the beta also till I saw the part about also having to sign up for EAs crap Origin service.
Why Origin. . . . whyyy?!?! D: I got extremely excited and now I'm extremely bummed.
Holy....!!!
I'm both SUPER PUMPED over this and also a bit skeptical... For one, I share Eli's sentiments on UO... life before UO and life after are two completely different things.
But Richard Garriot isn't a part of this, as far as I can tell, and that's kind of a big deal, since "Lord Brittish" pretty much IS Ultima. We'll have to wait and see how it turns out (and hope for the best!).
Oh and from the IGN article... "it's mostly finished. We're in the polished phase."
That means it's not far off! :D
I KNEW there was a reason I bought Battlefield 3... It was so that I could sign up for this and use my ALREADY CREATED ORIGIN account. Awesome!! Good job Matt from the past lol...
Eli your enthusiasm for the original UO sounds very much like mine. I still have the pewter UO pin that came in my original game. I'm not sure if I have ever played a game again with the kind of passion I had for that..
I am excited mostly for the fond memories like most here! as a launch UO player who played many years into it i have a soft spot for that game. No online game for me has seem to capture the same feel unfortunately, so color me tentatively excited! I realize that Lord British has nothing to do with this and we all can question the serviceability of EA and the Origin Online model, but I am going to remain optimistic!
I am excited but my cynical nature says this is going to be more freemium crap. :(
I never went on to play UO but,
Quest of the avatar on my apple IIe and green screen was one of the first games I really got sucked into.
Even with such simple mid 80s graphics i lost days as a kid to what felt like a living world.
I cant wait to check this out!!
Signed up for beta testing!!! :D
Thanks for the heads-up, I just signed up for the beta (used my trial Old Republic account :D)
Unreal! Now to get into the beta!
What happens after you sign up?
Ultima Online = Best game ever.
I've never played a game since that has come close to replicate the feelings and awesomeness I got when I was playing UO :(
I would agree with many of you... UO was the game that set the bar for me. I distinctly remember the fun my friends and I had running around and raiding together... collecting reagents, decking out our guild house, stealing things from people as they operated their bank, teleporting to parts unknown and then having to run and run and run only to have some stooge steal my fish!
So many great memories!
Richard Garriot is the man and to me he is by far the master of the online RPG's. I shouldn't be complaining when he's making a game, but I would prefer single player RPG, especially as iOS RPG's are so thin(quite numerous, but SUPER generic and thin). If Lord British made a spiritual successor for Ultima, it would be the Jesus of iOS games.
I totally agree about UO. Those of us that played understand how huge and industry changing it was. I played the beta and 5 years before having to give up my addiction. It's one big reason I went on to make games. Lost Penguin iOS www.lostpenguin.com
I signed up right away and am also hoping Lord British's next thing is a flavor of UO too.
Richard Garriott IS working on the "spriritual successor" to Ultima Online, it looks like this is why EA isn't giving him the rights to use the Ultima name. Searchword for that Is portalarium and Ultimate RPG... no offense to EA, but his will be better.
I was just notified through email about the beta. Very excited!
I dont know what the @&$% this is but if its not on ipod theres no reason for me to look it.....
I want that map featured in this article - how would one obtain this treasure?