Inkvaders

Developer: Chillingo
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0

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Overall Rating:

I typically like games that are put out by Chillingo... although they don't make the games themselves, the games they publish usually have a certain level of polish that other developers just can't seem to replicate. Inkvaders, not to be outdone, has so much style and polish oozing out of it that I almost want to forget about the rest of the game and stare. But alas, I am a reviewer, and as a reviewer, I must look past the glitter and get down to the meat of the game. Why do I feel so dirty now?

Inkvaders is a relatively standard side-scrolling shooter in the same realm as Zombieville USA. In fact, Inkvaders is Zombieville USA, just better... and so much prettier. Have I mentioned how good this game looks? The basic premise is that you walk forward through the level killing aliens and collecting money for new guns to... you guessed it... kill aliens. Why are you killing aliens? Because you are a man, and that's what men do!

The controls are pretty simple, which is expected for this genre. You can move forward and backwards, jump up with your jet pack to collect little rocks that give you money, and shoot guns. Throughout the levels there are also boxes to click on for goodies and vending machines for more guns and ammo, but other than that, you just walk around and shoot.

The graphics... I can hardly contain myself. The graphics are all seemingly hand/computer drawn in a very pleasing, almost cardboard cutout style. Other than the basic graphical style, the death effects are phenomenal. When aliens die, they don't just die, they get pulverized. You first riddle them with bullets until they explode in a bloody death. The sheer amount of blood and death, coupled with the amazing animation make this one extremely enjoyable right off the bat. The best part about the graphics though is when you die. Instead of just making you disappear off the screen, a big hand, reminiscent of the Monty Python foot, comes out and picks you off the screen. This same hand also changes the screen between the levels, adding just a wee bit of polish and entertainment.

At this point, Inkvaders seems like the perfect game, but all things have a flaw. The flaw in this one is it's longevity. The bad guys don't really change from level to level, making each level a quest to get bigger guns to blow up the aliens faster. The game is quite fun up to level 5-6, and then it just gets a bit repetitive. Kill, walk, kill, jump, kill, kill, kill... all in a big straight line with no deviation.

Still, I can't be too hard on the game because it is like a beautiful, but ultimately shallow girl. Be as hard as you want on the depth, but deep down you know that you can't resist the sheer beauty. For only $1, how can you pass it up?!? Youch... adding money to that may have ruined the analogy.