Bombs awaayyyyy (repeat x100)
Partners –in-crime with Warner Bros, Cobra Mobile has given the App Store its fair share of games. Ranging from the Wipeout-esque Low Grav Racer to the cute-and-quirky puzzler Mouse About, the developers have never let us down in terms of presentation. Graphics, music and gameplay aside, Cobra Mobile have produced some outstanding titles presentation-wise. They have basically employed the level of polish you’d see in AAA games on the big boy consoles. But how do their games actually fare? With the recent release of iBomber: Bombs Away, we were excited to check out what their latest title had to offer. It’s a World War II game; it involves bomber planes, blowing things up and possesses presentation unmatched like any other. So with a name like Bombs Away, there better be a hell of a lot of bombs to drop. But the question you may want to pose to yourself before you click the Buy App button is this: how fun is it actually to blow things up from afar?
Right off the bat you’ll notice that iBomber is a looker. She’s not Scarlett Johansson, but more like Rihanna before she turned to Prince. The game’s visuals will appeal to most, but it is an acquired taste. The explosions look great, the environments are distinguishable despite similarities and the art style is attractively unique. Though there are only a few types of bombs you’ll get to dish out at the enemies down below, they’re all different and well designed. The best thing about it though is definitely the explosions. Your job is to blow things up, and you’ll pretty much want to when explosions look this good. Presentation wise, Cobra Mobile nailed it. They’ve been churning out some fantastic looking titles presentation-wise, removing all doubt that they’re capable of crafting some great games. From Low Grav Racer, Mouse About to Stuck Genie, the geniuses at Cobra Mobile define glitz’n’glamour in the App Store. The menus are easy to navigate, they look the part as eye candy and bring a sense of 1940-atmosphere.
As far as music goes, it’s good but not Thriller great. After listening to a few outstanding soundtracks supplied by Underworlds and Car Jack Streets, it seems that for one to impress a critic these days, there may need to be more than 2 or 3 tracks playing in the background. With iBomber, that’s not really the case. We get a couple of tunes here and there, but there seems to be one main song we get that plays over and over again. By no means is it bad, because it’s awesome. But imagine if there were 5 or 6 awesome songs, wouldn’t that enhance the experience? Sound effects are great though, they’re the icing on the cake. Explosions not only look vibrant but sound satisfying as well. Although the sounds can get a little similar, it’s always great to hear bombs booming and bases being blasted away from afar. One other gripe I have is that the game doesn’t allow you to listen to your own music. As much as I loved that one “awesome” track, I would equally be as excited if I could play my playlist that currently consists of Eminem’s new album and some others I’d like to play in the background as I unleash doomsday onto the Pacific.
Gameplay wise, it’s different. The game’s called Bombs Away for a reason, so if you’re not here looking to away-bombs, then you should really look elsewhere. I’ll tell you first up that it’s a little repetitive, and that it can definitely get tedious. But for short bursts of play, there’s really nothing wrong with it. I wish there was an incentive to keep playing for a constant amount of time though, since all you’re given is a variety of objectives (objectives meaning ‘a list of s@!% you should blow up’) to complete before you die. There are 12 missions in total, 4+ onwards being unlocked as you progress. Cobra Mobile have introduced various locales for you to fight or fend as you bombard ships, bases, HQ’s, anti-aircraft turrets, bridges and everything else with various types of bombs including your usual, generic bomb, the Rocket Bomb, the Blockbuster and the Grand Slam. The Rocket Bomb directly hits wherever your reticle is, while the Blockbuster fires missiles in 3 to spread its range. The last, the Grand Slam, is a behemoth of a bomb. It’s slow to drop, but when it does, it looks like the H-Bomb that went off in Lost’s Season 5 finale 2 weeks ago. Actually, that would be the perfect way to put it. All this is good and well, but as I’ve stated before, it gets rather repetitive. You’re unloading a plethora of bombs, and essentially that’s all you’re doing. If that’s what you want, then this might be the exact thing you’re looking for. I just wished that there were more to the game than dropping bombs. Hell, they could’ve put a tacky storyline and that itself would’ve been an incentive. There are a nice variety of pickups to use, and many objectives to blow up, but that’s where it unfortunately ends. With that said, the game uses the accelerometer controls effectively -- better than 90% of the tacked-on-tilt-controls in the App Store right now anyway.
All in all, iBomber is a solid effort. It’s another game that Cobra Mobile should be proud of, because amongst their already-A catalogue, it’s probably one of their most unique outings. The game resonates with true craft musically and visually, and its level of polish introduces a standard to be met by aspiring developers. If you’re curious enough, $2.99 might be light change. It’s a great little package and more missions have been promised in future updates which will probably add replayability to the game. But for those already content with their $5.99-priced Zenonia, you may want to hold this one off for a little while, because it’s not a killer app to rush to the App Store for. I’ll end it on a good note: despite setbacks in the gameplay department, iBomber brings a new experience that the majority of gamers will not have experienced before. And that, for a WWII game, is a compliment not to be taken lightly. Interested enough?
- Sound: 8
- Graphics: 8
- Gameplay: 7
- Longevity: 6
7
Good
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