skamando
07-16-2009, 04:13 AM
Radial 50
Links: iTunes AppShopper
Developer: Roundthird Interactive LLC
Price: $1.99
Lite: iTunes
Played On: iPhone 3G
Rating: 10/10
There are ridiculous ammount of brick beaker/arkanoid clones on the app store, however, I found this to be my favorite, over Digital Chocolate’s beautiful 3D Brick Breaker Revolution and Gameloft’s addicting Block Breaker 2 Deluxe. It is superior to these games in terms of style, challenge, fun, and, most importantly, innovation.
Radial 50 is, indeed, a brick breaker game, however, it is so much more. It tasks you with beating all 50 of its increasingly challenging circular breakout levels. Each level consists of layers of bricks layed radially around a central diamond, with the paddle at the end. This alone is amazingly innovative, as it is not three dimensional like Vortex on the clickwheel, but exactly two dimensional, travelling across the playing field. Another innovative feature is its control scheme. There is an open space to the side, where you slide your thumb up and down to rotate the background, and thus the paddle, around the field. This is unsettling at first, but you get used to it quickly. The thing that differentiates this game from the majority of the brick breakers out there is that, on each level, you aren’t challenged to break each and every brick, but make it to the center of the level and collect the diamond within. Often, this diamond is protected with a shield which must be destroyed with many hits, which then proceeds to generate more bricks to protect the precious jewel within. This may appear easy, but, trust me, this is harder than it sounds. The game continues to differentiate itself with a health bar that regenerates over time, rather than a life system, as well as a trajectory indicator and a particle collection system, where little stars fly from each broken block to be collected by your paddle. The game also features a great profile system, consisting of extremely difficult achievements, as well as local, city based and worldwide scores. I also noticed that each level had a different, quirky title and theme, many of them video game based. I chuckled inwardly at titles such as "Blue Ghosts Taste Good," "Beware the Golden Gun," and "Quarter-Circle, Forward Punch." Overall, each of these things create a totally unique package that I am wholly addicted to.
The interface is ridiculously crisp and attractive. It’s clean presentation and responsiveness is striking. This game is ridiculously polished. Also, the UI is extremely responsive, allowing for intense action in-game.
The graphics in this game, while simple, are still very attractive. The simplicity, also, allows for fast-paced, lag-free, gameplay, running without incident on my iPhone 3G. It’s stylistic and impressive, creating a cool, fresh feeling game that is brimming with personality.
The sound in this game is perfect. The little blips and bloops of the ball, bricks and paddle, are clean and polished, while the music is a delicious “retronica,” which I would put on my iPod. It’s extremely appealing.
The replay value of this game is enormous. Not only is there a healthy, score-beating aspect, locally and online, but there is also the twenty achievements and the neverending daunting task of beating all fifty levels. This challenge laughs in your face every time you open the game, and the game’s challenge is such that I, having purchased the game upon it’s release, still haven’t made it past level twenty. This is a game I’m sure you’ll come back to.
I, honestly, can not criticize the game at all, only praise it. Each and every aspect of it is so well done, there is no problem. There have been reports of the ball being hard to track, but I haven’t had an issue. If anything, it’s part of the challenge. So, overall, the game is basically faultless.
I give this game a 10 out of 10.
It is ridiculously innovative and unique, with tons of class and style, healthy replay value, a clean, attractive interface, great sound, and addicting gameplay.
Some Suggestions
-I heard this in the TA forums and really liked the idea, but I built upon it myself.
An online or local Radial Pong, where each player controls a half of the circle, and they knock it back and forth between each other. Perhaps with bricks in between to act as obstacles, or powerups or whatever. I just thought it would be fun.
-Perhaps an neverending mode, where you last as long as possible against continually regenerating bricks, trying to get the highest score.
-Also, it would be cool if you could have your own customizable backgrounds. The standard ones are nice, and very stylish, and certainly relevant to each level, which is where the neverending mode comes in.
Links: iTunes AppShopper
Developer: Roundthird Interactive LLC
Price: $1.99
Lite: iTunes
Played On: iPhone 3G
Rating: 10/10
There are ridiculous ammount of brick beaker/arkanoid clones on the app store, however, I found this to be my favorite, over Digital Chocolate’s beautiful 3D Brick Breaker Revolution and Gameloft’s addicting Block Breaker 2 Deluxe. It is superior to these games in terms of style, challenge, fun, and, most importantly, innovation.
Radial 50 is, indeed, a brick breaker game, however, it is so much more. It tasks you with beating all 50 of its increasingly challenging circular breakout levels. Each level consists of layers of bricks layed radially around a central diamond, with the paddle at the end. This alone is amazingly innovative, as it is not three dimensional like Vortex on the clickwheel, but exactly two dimensional, travelling across the playing field. Another innovative feature is its control scheme. There is an open space to the side, where you slide your thumb up and down to rotate the background, and thus the paddle, around the field. This is unsettling at first, but you get used to it quickly. The thing that differentiates this game from the majority of the brick breakers out there is that, on each level, you aren’t challenged to break each and every brick, but make it to the center of the level and collect the diamond within. Often, this diamond is protected with a shield which must be destroyed with many hits, which then proceeds to generate more bricks to protect the precious jewel within. This may appear easy, but, trust me, this is harder than it sounds. The game continues to differentiate itself with a health bar that regenerates over time, rather than a life system, as well as a trajectory indicator and a particle collection system, where little stars fly from each broken block to be collected by your paddle. The game also features a great profile system, consisting of extremely difficult achievements, as well as local, city based and worldwide scores. I also noticed that each level had a different, quirky title and theme, many of them video game based. I chuckled inwardly at titles such as "Blue Ghosts Taste Good," "Beware the Golden Gun," and "Quarter-Circle, Forward Punch." Overall, each of these things create a totally unique package that I am wholly addicted to.
The interface is ridiculously crisp and attractive. It’s clean presentation and responsiveness is striking. This game is ridiculously polished. Also, the UI is extremely responsive, allowing for intense action in-game.
The graphics in this game, while simple, are still very attractive. The simplicity, also, allows for fast-paced, lag-free, gameplay, running without incident on my iPhone 3G. It’s stylistic and impressive, creating a cool, fresh feeling game that is brimming with personality.
The sound in this game is perfect. The little blips and bloops of the ball, bricks and paddle, are clean and polished, while the music is a delicious “retronica,” which I would put on my iPod. It’s extremely appealing.
The replay value of this game is enormous. Not only is there a healthy, score-beating aspect, locally and online, but there is also the twenty achievements and the neverending daunting task of beating all fifty levels. This challenge laughs in your face every time you open the game, and the game’s challenge is such that I, having purchased the game upon it’s release, still haven’t made it past level twenty. This is a game I’m sure you’ll come back to.
I, honestly, can not criticize the game at all, only praise it. Each and every aspect of it is so well done, there is no problem. There have been reports of the ball being hard to track, but I haven’t had an issue. If anything, it’s part of the challenge. So, overall, the game is basically faultless.
I give this game a 10 out of 10.
It is ridiculously innovative and unique, with tons of class and style, healthy replay value, a clean, attractive interface, great sound, and addicting gameplay.
Some Suggestions
-I heard this in the TA forums and really liked the idea, but I built upon it myself.
An online or local Radial Pong, where each player controls a half of the circle, and they knock it back and forth between each other. Perhaps with bricks in between to act as obstacles, or powerups or whatever. I just thought it would be fun.
-Perhaps an neverending mode, where you last as long as possible against continually regenerating bricks, trying to get the highest score.
-Also, it would be cool if you could have your own customizable backgrounds. The standard ones are nice, and very stylish, and certainly relevant to each level, which is where the neverending mode comes in.