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Game: Back to the Future: Ep 1 HD
Price: $6.99/£3.99
Size: 203MB
Buy it now from the iTunes store:US/UK
Wereviewed the PC versionof Back to the Future: The Game – Episode 1: It's About Time back in December, and while the game sometimes falls into tired adventure ganre conventions, we deemed it a successful rebirth of the beloved film franchise. Set several months after the final film, It's About Time puts you in the shoes of Marty McFly – voiced by a truly stunning Michael J. Fox sound-alike actor (AJ Locascio) – as he attempts to find Doc Brown, again voiced by the inimitable Christopher Lloyd. The resulting experience feels incredibly authentic and loyal to the source material, and a second episode ("Get Tannen!") was released last month, with three more to follow in short order.
The iPad version followed last month, and while it's functionally identical to the PC release (aside from the obvious swap to touch controls), the app is sadly hounded by recurring performance issues. Terrible texture work and other visual hitches mar the presentation, along with occasional stuttering sound effects. Hell, we couldn't even get through the menu screen without some serious slowdown. While these issues don't kill the core experience – especially for die-hard series fans that rely on the iPad for gaming goodness – it should put this version at the bottom of your list if you have a PlayStation 3 or a decent PC around.
Luckily, the app may see a notable upgrade in the near future – developer Telltale Games hasindicatedthat it may release separate iPad 2 versions of the series episodes, as well as updates for the existing apps that'll help them run better (potentially on either device). Granted, this may not provide much solace for current iPad owners not expecting to upgrade anytime soon, but if you've got an iPad 2 in your hands, a quality version of this worthwhile adventure may soon be within your grasp.
Game: Big Boss
Price: $1.99/£1.19
Size: 53.3MB
Buy it now from the iTunes store:US/UK
Equal parts cartoonish beat-em-up and adorable creature creator, Big Boss lets you assemble your own giant ogre from unlocked bodies and a wide array of eyes, mouths, and more – as well as various weapons and apparel – and let loose on the fine denizens of several medieval settings. Archers, ninjas, princesses, and Link (of The Legend of Zelda fame) look-alikes are little match for your taps and swipes as you devastate the countryside with ease.
Ostensibly designed with younger iPad players in mind, Big Boss is a pretty straightforward play – you'll assemble your initial boss, using gag apparel and legitimate weapons alike to customize the perfect beast, then set off on a lightly violent adventure. As you wander through each stage, smaller enemies will assault you from both sides, and you can tap to quickly brush them aside or swipe left or right for a harder attack. Your boss can also pick up and roll certain items (like cows or poison barrels) and perform a dodge attack, and beyond the default tap-and-swipe control scheme, you can also opt for virtual buttons for movement and attacks. Each area ultimately concludes with a fight against a similarly sized boss, with each fight offering up a slightly more sizeable challenge than the standard enemy fodder.
Big Boss isn't the most complex or interesting side-scrolling action experience available on the iPad – in fact, it can feel downright repetitive during battle – but as your boss grows, unlocks new abilities, and faces fresh sets of foes, it actually becomes a surprisingly endearing beat-em-up. And though it's largely safe for kids, Big Boss does offer enough challenge (in parts) and customization to lure in more experienced players. But considering the emphasis put on character creation and skill building, we'd love to see multiplayer arena battles added to the mix, especially if they're playable online.
Game: Carnivores: Ice Age
Price: $2.99/£1.79
Size: 59.9MB
Buy it now from the iTunes store:US/UK
It's a bit surprising that the wide-ranging Cabela's hunting franchise still hasn't made an iPad appearance (despite a couple of iPhone apps), but after playing Carnivores: Ice Age, we started thinking that maybe it's for the best; perhaps the touch interface can't handle a refined hunting simulation. While not a terrible iOS hunting title, Carnivores lacks the measured approach necessary to properly simulate the art of hunting, rather than just giving players a portable way to shoot prehistoric animals in the face.
But after a little digging, it turns out that Carnivores: Ice Age is a decade-old port of an unremarkable PC game, which explains why this straightforward hunting sim lacks the modern amenities seen in more recent console releases. You'll begin each hunt by choosing an environment and which prehistoric beasts – including wolves, boars, and the wooly rhinoceros – you want to track down, as well as which weapons you'll have at your disposal. All of this is limited by the number of points you have, which can make unlocking further battlegrounds and prey a very slow grind.
Once the hunt begins, it's clear that Carnivores: Ice Age isn't terribly concerned with the little details that make most hunting sims palatable. Though you'll pick your prey from the outset, you can freely kill other animals without consequences (aside from wasting ammo). And beyond binoculars and an animal call, you don't really have any special hunting aids, plus there's no great technique to sneaking up on a beast, leading to some pretty amusing deaths at the horns of whatever you're hunting. And for some totally bizarre reason, a spaceship uses a giant magnet to haul your kills away from the battlefield. We wouldn't recommend playing Carnivores: Ice Age for the dumbed-down gameplay, but man, that last part just has to be seen.
Mar 12, 2011
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