Tag: Platform »

Poor little Allen. Life's tough for a nightmare that's more "Aaaaaaawwwwww..." than "AAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaa!!!!," and if he's going to have any hope of being taken seriously he's going to have to figure something out. Fortunately, after being kicked out of class for being too cute he stumbled across an ancient text that spoke of a sort of uber-nightmare. If he can find it, he might be able to acquire its scariness and become the most fearsome shadow in the dream world. Of course, he has to find it first.

Thus, Allen's journey beings. Leading him on a hunt across four different worlds (just over 30 stages in all) as he acquires new abilities and meets all sorts of interesting characters. Each level contains a number of red fairy-type collectibles which can be used to unlock later worlds, as well as gold tokens that will unlock bonus stages. There are also hidden letters to collect (they spell "scare") that, in addition to the red fairies and coins, are tallied up at the end of a level. As one would expect, getting 100% takes a fair amount of exploration. Allen can perform many a classic platforming move such as double-jumping and butt-bouncing, however he can also purchase more from the shop that include gliding and faster running. It's important to note that bought abilities aren't permanent, and if Allen loses a life he'll lose the power-ups as well.

Terra Noctis sports some truly wonderful visual designs and animations, with a graphical presentation that gives the game a hand-drawn appearance. It's also got some great music that can be both haunting and catchy. I'm a big fan of all the little touches such as the way the low-level nightmares will stare upwards in slack-jawed awe as Allen soars over their heads (and promptly lands on them) as well. Most of all, I'm impressed by how well it functions. I've messed around with plenty of iOS platrofmers and I have to say, Terra Noctis is definitely in my top three.

It's not perfect, though. Not by a long shot. I've experienced crashes pretty much every time I've hit hidden item blocks, unless I make sure to clear out any other blocks that might be touching them first (???). I've lost purchased power-ups that weren't equipped when I died. Some of the text reads awkwardly. The numbers indicating what's required to unlock a world are backwards (i.e. I have 5 and need 8 but it reads "8/5"). It's a bunch of little nagging things that don't ruin the experience, but they certainly don't help.

Even with this rather large laundry list (I don't have enough space to list them all) of bite-sized problems, I'd still recommend Terra Noctis wholeheartedly to anyone who loved to jump on things. It's beautiful to look at and listen to, but it's also just plain fun to play.

I feel a little under pressure to come up with the most fantastic egg based puns I can possibly imagine. Unfortunately, I'm no puns eggs-pert...ohh, there we are.

That pun out of the way, it pleases me very much to state that Dizzy, the famous egg adventurer of the 1980s, is back and will soon be splatting his way onto an iOS device. On 9th December in fact or Egg-mergence Day as Codemasters have decided to call it.

Dizzy, for the too young/inexperienced to know about, was the hero of many adventure games of old back on the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. I'll admit it now. Having owned most of the titles, my 7 year old brain never quite managed to complete any of them but they were fantastic fun.

Coming to iOS will be Dizzy: Prince of the Yolkfolk, a remake of the classic 1991 adventure. Plenty of puzzles will need to be solved along with a healthy dash of platforming fun too.

We'll be sure to have a review of it in time for its release. For now, enjoy the teaser trailer and plethora of screenshots below. It promises to be an egg-cellent time. I'm sorry.

Ahh, runners. Perfect for the iPhone. Well, any one-button games are really pretty perfect for it, I suppose. Of course, while plenty of developers can make games like that, not quite as many choose to maintain them.

Fortunately, Imagni Studios is the kind of developer that really caters to their fans with updates and added content. Case in point, Temple Run's recent update and price drop. Some new Game Center achievements have been added, along with two new playable characters (Scarlett Fox and Montana Smith) and two new power-ups (Boost and Head Start). The price has also been reduced to absolutely nothing (as in free). A final less touted, but in my opinion much more significant, change has been made: it's now possible to earn free coins through special offers, as well as the tried and true methods of earning through playing and in-app purchase.

With the new additions, price drop and assurance from Imagni Studios that a new batch of content is already on the way, why not give Temple Run a try?

Ever want to fly around as a bat dodging cats and planes? It's not something that immediately occured to me as a fantastic creature to become but The Night Flier ensures that such an experience is great and cutesy fun.

Flying is the name of the game here with 10 unique levels ensuring plenty of variety throughout. Simply glide from rooftop to rooftop avoiding the many obstacles while popping balloons and eating midges. As the levels go on, the bat gets faster and faster making for a frantic but addictive experience.

High scores are based around completing each level as fast as possible with GameCenter, Twitter and Facebook connectivity enabling players to compare their best scores.

The Night Flier looks set to be a fun distraction for both younger players and adults with its cute and loveable appearance. The bat even changes looks after each level.

The Night Flier is a free and universal app with in-app purchases also available.