Fangz Review

Our Review by Blake Grundman on April 23rd, 2013

Rating:

:: A BLOODY MESS

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Vampires are fun to blow to bits once or twice. Too bad that is all there is to do.

Developer: Game Whizzes
Price: $1.99
Version: 1.0
App Reviewed on: iPad 2

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People have always been afraid of things that go bump in the night. One of the most mythic of these creatures is the vampire. No matter what the culture or point in history, there has pretty much always existed a legend of the blood-sucking beasts. Really, it was only a matter of time before the nocturnal nuisances made their way to iOS as game enemies. Fangz steps up to the plate, hand drawn art assets in stow, and aims blow the monsters to bits. Can it stand up to the onslaught, or is this another lost gaming cause?

Side-scrolling brawlers have existed since the dawn of gaming. Fangz adopts the genre, but instead of giving the player punches and kicks, arms them to the teeth with guns and melee weapons aplenty. The goal is to fight from the left side of the screen to the right, blowing away anything that steps in the way. While progressing, there are invisible walls that essentially pen up the player in glorified kill rooms, where every vampire must be demolished before traversing continues.

Stating that the player must “demolish” the opposition is an understatement, to say the least. This gore-fest shows vampires being disemboweled, decapitated and otherwise torn to ribbons in some of the most creative, yet visually captivating ways possible. Thankfully the cartoonish art style helps to curb the overall impact of the violence for comic effect. Things are just so over the top it is difficult to take them too seriously.

If there is one thing that Fangz does well, it is inducing carpel tunnel syndrome. Mindlessly mashing the action button repetitively will no doubt result in countless hand cramps during a play session. The problem is that the game mechanics, short of the ability to level up and purchase new weaponry, are just as one-dimensional as the combat system. Dodge, run and shoot, then wash, rinse, and repeat.

Fangz certainly has its fun points, but there will come a time when shooting and running won’t be compelling enough to hold the player’s attention. Looking to blow the semi-undead to smithereens? Then this might be just what the doctor ordered.