Creepy apps, earth defense forCe: inseCt armageddon, dead bloCk, resident evil: the merCenaries 3d
CREEPY APPS by Marie-Ève Larin
The iTunes store is brimming with horror shoot-’em-ups for iDevices, but this month we hunt down some genre apps that offer players a different type of gameplay experience.
PAPA SANGRE Somethin’ Else
$4.99 Papa Sangre is a video game with almost no video. Rather, you walk around in the dark by tapping the foot-shaped icons and a semi-circle that turns you left or right. It’s a first-person thriller based entirely on sounds, so good earphones and a quiet place to play are essential. The game finds you in Papa Sangre’s Palace in the Land of the Dead. Someone you love desperately needs your help, and the goal is to sur- vive every level in order to save their soul. To accomplish this, you’ll have to find your way around in the darkness, while guided by instruc- tions from an invisible sidekick and avoiding the creepy, roaming mon- sters that are waiting to turn you into their piñata. The sinister soundtrack and amazing audio design create an overwhelming sense of dread. In Papa Sangre, less really is more.
GRIMM ROBOX Studios
$0.99 Set in the Victorian era, Grimmis a little gem of a game in which you play a pram – yes, baby carriage! – trying to safely transport a little tyke back to his mother, who left him on a train platform. Problem is, you’re followed by a Grim Reaper-type character intent on seeing the kidlet die tragically. The highlight here is the graphics, which are gorgeous in an Edward Gorey kind of way. The animation is also wonderful, and the cartoonish characters perfectly morose. A poem at the beginning of each level introduces new foes and obstacles, and provides directions on how to defeat them. To move the little buggy, you tilt your device left or right, while pressing but- tons to make it jump over various hurdles. Sometimes you even have to hit levers by launching the baby out of the pram. In fact, the baby is your main weapon here. Be careful where you aim, though, because if you lose the kid, the Reaper will snatch him away. Hilarious, morbid and loads of fun.
ZOMBIGOTCHI Finkbom Entertainment
$1.99 Remember the Tamagotchi? It was a Japanese-made, hand-held de- vice with an LCD display that was essentially a virtual pet in need of constant care and feeding, and if you didn’t do so, it died. Zombigotchi resurrects the concept, except this time, you have to care for a zombie. Hit buttons to give it love, punishment and the occasional human to munch on. It’s repetitive but good for a few laughs, especially when the square-headed creature eats a tire and farts out a balloon or gets bored and plays kick-ball with its own brain. A decent time-waster for zombie-loving kids.
RM66
iHorror: (clockwise from top) Hungry Shark, Grimm, Zombie Farm, and Zombigotchi.
HUNGRY SHARK 1-3 Future Games of London
FREE – $4.99 In this game, you’re a ravenously hungry shark that needs to feed constantly, on everything from fish to unlucky swim- mers. If you don’t chow down as much as you can, as fast as possible, you’ll starve, but you’ll also need to avoid shark hunters, spiky puffer fish, poisonous jel- lyfish and the occasional explosive. To maneuver your maneater, simply tilt your device. The graphics are simple, but the gore is great (a bloodier version is avail- able for $1.99) and gameplay is pretty addictive. There are also two sequels: the much-expanded Part 2 features 36 achievements, jet skiers to snack on and all kinds of deep-sea critters, including a giant crab; and Part 3 lets you cruise the beaches for swimmers, fight illegal fish-
ermen and take on a James Bond-style baddie. CHOMP!
ZOMBIE FARM The PlayForge LLC
FREE Zombie Farmencourages you to grow both veggies and zombies in your lovely garden patch. That’s right, you farm zombies – at least until you have enough to invade your neighbour. The concept is a blast and re- quires strategy, as some crops grow faster than others and you need the money to buy more plants and zombies. You can also by- pass levels by using brains. The catch: you either win them gradually by defeating neighbours or have to buy said brains at a buck each or – get this – a 100-brain pack for $74.95! Too bad Zombie Farm tries so hard to soak ya, because otherwise it’s an interesting twist on zombie gaming.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72