Tag: Boats »

Danger Boat is Pixelocity Software's second title after the asynchronous turn-based racing game Disc Drivin' which I still play from time to time. This time, they have an endless boating game. Yes, boating. That could be anticipated from the title, but it's not usually something featured in gaming. Players drive a speedboat that goes headfirst into danger, whether that be waves that risk crashing the boat into rocks, whirlpools that send the boat flying, or random missiles that come at the boat, this is no time for cowardice! Boat onward, comrades!

Wait, missiles? The "Danger" in Danger Boat is never really spelled out, nor is the reason why the captain of the eponymous boat of danger can't just take their time boating through the hazardous waters, but things get really dangerous. Thankfully there's powerups like lasers, danger-eliminating helicopters and an old-fashioned turbo boost to help tackle the danger.

The game is free-to-play, and it appears to do a good job at balancing the two tricky elements of free-to-play titles: it's possible to play and enjoy for free, but it's also built so that money can be made off of the game as upgrades and new boats do take a while to unlock just through normal gameplay. They can definitely help with high scores and can make the player look cooler, but the core game is still perfectly playable.

There is a permanent score multiplier system that increases as new objectives are completed, which helps out with high scores tremendously. However, the objectives feel far too often like they're about failure, like dying at a certain point, or dying by certain methods x number of times. These objectives are occasionally fine, but when they feel like they're popping up constantly, they can be a hindrance to actually having fun with the game.

The music by Whitaker Trebella fits the game like a glove: it sounds like a mix of surfer music with Harry Mancini's "Peter Gunn" theme. While the premise of endless boating stands out, it does control identically to many other vertical endless games, by tilting left and right to move. The waves physics represent the biggest original element that challenges players. Otherwise, it's not speed that kills, it's the difficulty of navigating the sudden hazards with the fixed ones like rocks.

I felt like the other big issue with the game was satisfaction. For some reason, getting high scores just never really clicked with me. The game doesn't make a big deal about them and the Game Center leaderboards button is kind of tucked away. Seeing and passing up friends' high scores in-game would help with engagement. While I think the game is solid, and not a bad free download, it's missing that magical element that makes the great endless games so sticky.

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Boat Beacon - AIS Marine Navigation has recently been released on the App Store and for seafarers, this is the perfect app to pick up.

The app offers a form of tracking that, like an AIS transponder, enables users to see each other and their boats out at sea. Using Boat Beacon maps and global AIS systems like AIS Hub, Marine Traffic and Shipfinder, users can keep watch of what's going on around them without any need for external AIS transponder equipment.

While it's not a transponder so users won't be visible to other ships on their AIS systems, Boat Beacon - AIS Marine Navigation is an ideal backup plus it has the added benefit of being usable by friends and family to check that all is well at sea. There's even Ship to Ship instant messaging through the app.

A specialist app for sure, Boat Beacon - AIS Marine Navigation is worth checking out for any seafarers out there that want some extra visibility.

WonderCraft is a new iOS game coming soon in which players can lead large naval fleets into battle against other players or with other players against CPU controlled enemy fleets. In this game, players will be able to customize their futuristic fleets down to the types of boats that make up their flotilla and the types of weapons each boat wields.

The game controls with a simple touch control where players will touch enemy boats on the screen to direct their boats' weapons. Sometimes players will be fighting each other for victory, and other times CPU controlled boats will attack during PvP play and the players will have to fend of these attacks as well. The game will include lots of different items to use and equip to change the tide of battle. This game looks like it could be a great real-time strategy titles on the iOS platform.

The official release date and price for WonderCraft have not yet been announced, but developer NPC Interactive assures the game is on it's way.

By now I'm sure you're all aware of Imangi's Habour Master. Ever since it launched back in June of this year, it's been a well loved, and treasured App Store classic.

Similar to Flight Control, Habor Master centers around line-drawing, an App Store genre of game which first hit the App Store in January, with pretty big fanfare. In the game you're in control of a busy harbor, controlling shipments of goods and packages, and docking the boats in a frantic bid to deliver these shipments to the right ports. It's a fun title, taking into consideration the true mechanics and value of the iPhone platform, and taking advantage of touch, to create an overall addictive experience.

A few days ago, we got the heads up from Imangi Studios' very own Natalia Luckyanova, on a new upcoming update to Harbor Master which should hit the App Store any day now, and is bound to make you fall in love with the title again. The update we're talking about is version 2.0, and it's set to bring with it wireless multiplayer matches via Bluetooth. With the update, you'll be able to select from the 6 included maps, battling to clear the harbor of ships, all the while playing against a friend.

But how are you going to keep track of all these boats? And just how exactly is this 2-player gameplay going to work? The studio explained:

"When a player sends an unloaded ship off the screen, it appears on the other player's screen, at the same spot, fully loaded. That way, a player can use different strategies to try to overwhelm their opponent, such as timing waves of ships to send over all at once. The player who crashes first loses."

We are told that the 'Multiplayer' aspect of this update will only work on OS 3.0 or higher, and you'll have to have either an iPod touch (2nd Gen), iPhone 3G or a later model. That said, Natalia ensures the rest of the game will still work on all devices and OS versions.

But the fun doesn't stop there. Oh no, the update will also include a highly anticipated feature, which is been present in other titles for a while. A fast-forward button. Plus, we're also told you'll also be able to adjust the speed of this 'fast-forward' motion.

I for one love Harbor Master, I think it's great - and this update looks like it'll have me playing it even more! Look out for this mutliplayer update hitting the store very shortly!