iPhone game of the day: Fastar!

Game: Fastar!
Price: $1.99
Size: 10.0MB
Buy it now from the iTunes Store: US/UK

There are loads of games out there that take the concept of the epic roleplaying game and condense it into a small, bite-sized experience. Games like Half-Minute Hero or Semi-RPG are quite good at boiling the genre down to an amusingly shallow and brief amount of gameplay. Fastar! is a game that does likewise, and does a bloody good job of it.

The aim of Fastar! is to run from left to right, hacking at big squares with a sword. It doesn't sound all that compelling on paper, but it's surprisingly rewarding and fun. Defeated squares yield gold which can be spent on raising health and strengthening states. There is also a variety of cool magic spells to use.

The simple beat 'em up nature, colorful graphics, and the gradual feeling of empowerment makes Fastar! a pretty engrossing game once you get into it. Mindlessly bashing on colored shapes really shouldn't feel engaging, but Fastar! remains a surprisingly absorbing little title.

Fastar! is considered one of the best titles out there for "real" gamers to enjoy, despite its shallow leanings. You'll definitely get your two bucks of gameplay out of it, so feel free to snap it up!

Sep 27, 2010