In case we didn't get the point the first time, Galaxy Life: Pocket Adventures wants us to know that cuteness can be deadly. The original Galaxy Life was a social strategy game that traded out dour, muscle-bound generals and deadly tanks for protagonists named Starlings who looked like Tribbles who'd suddenly sprouted legs. And if the almost two million players who currently follow it on Facebook are any indication, the stylistic choice was nothing short of brilliant. Now, the cute little balls are taking their conquests to mobile devices, and there's every reason to surrender to its charms again.
I fired up Cruisin' USA for the N64 in a recent fit of nostalgia. I smiled as the cheesy music greeted me, surprised at how much I remembered from playing it as a kid. But as I began a race, a deep sadness began to well up within: The framerate was downright awful. With a reminder that nostalgia can be a fickle beast still fresh in my head, I approached the remake of Spy vs Spy with apprehension. Would it hold up?
I'm a fan of weird. I like weird movies and weird music and weird people. I prefer weirdness to the safety the polite world holds in such high regard. That's why Drip Drip endears itself to me. When I first saw these screenshots my initial reaction fell somewhere between, "What the hell?" and, "This looks corny." But then I looked a little closer, read the press release and watched the trailer, and I realized... wow, this is weird. Which again, is a good thing.
At this point I feel like I've played just about all of the digital incarnations of board games that have come to iOS. One of the reasons I love them is that the AI is always a willing opponent. Very few have flat out single player versions in them, and even fewer are solitaire games from the get-go. There are games like Carcassonne that have special modes, and something like Elder Signs works great single player. But single player is the only option in Levee en Masse, both for the tabletop and app versions.
I'm a big fan of strategy games. I'm not picky about them either -- turn based, real time, whatever. On mobile platforms, though, I've noticed that real time is hard to pull off. I'm still waiting for an RTS on par with Red Alert 2 to play on my iPad. Fast strategy games are a perfect fit for mobile platforms, though. Games like Galcon mix up a blend of strategy and action that's perfectly suited for touch controls. Little Conquest looks to be the next step in the evolution of that genre.
Like tower defense, fast strategy games (I don't know if this is actually a genre, but if it isn't I'm coining it now) are a relatively young genre that have gained momentum on mobile platforms. Their design lends themselves to mobile play. The fast pace and simple control scheme makes fast strategy perfect for the touch screen and gaming on the go. It's one of the few genres that feels like it belongs on an iPhone. Tentacle Wars is one of the finer examples of this. No clumsy virtual d-pads or gross approximations PC/Console control schemes, just a game the feels at home in your pocket.
Crimson: Steam Pirates is an action strategy game from Harebrained Schemes and Bungie Aerospace for the iPad. You are a swashbuckling pirate sailing the high seas in this nautical adventure. Using all of your shipmates, you'll need to take down the British Empire with cannons and boarding missions. While out at sea, things can get unruly quickly but luckily you will have Gamezebo's quick start guide to navigate you to victory as you claim the waters as your own.
Play Crazy Penguin Wars for about five minutes, and you could be forgiven for thinking that the craziest thing about it is its shameless emulation of Team17's popular Worms franchise. Were I the lazy sort, I could probably label it "Worms dressed up in a penguin suit" and leave my review at that. For the most part, I'd be right. But Crazy Penguin Wars brings its own share of surprises, meager though they may be, and it demonstrates just how far multiplayer gaming has evolved on Facebook in recent years. It's a great game if you're craving synchronous multiplayer action on Facebook, and even if you don't care for its mimicking of a beloved franchise, it's worth playing as a test run for how Team17's own Worms port will fare upon its release.