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Daily iPhone App: Seal Force
Seal Force is an interesting app from Tactile Entertainment, makers of Pocket Creatures and the recent Pigs in Trees line-drawing game. It tries to combine two relatively new genres in iOS games: Line-drawing and running. You play as the Seal Force team (they have their own Saturday morning-style intro), who must "run" underwater, in a similar style to Jetpack Joyride. The twist is that you're also line-drawing paths for each member of the team, trying to take out differently colored krill as you move along. The controls are simple, but things get confusing fast. You have to match up the color of your seals with the krill on the right side of the screen. There are also shells to collect and, in a mechanic stolen directly from Jetpack Joyride, you work on three missions at a time, each with its own rewards. Seal Force is interesting but not entirely successful. You can only control one seal at a time, which makes things a slow. It'd be more fun, for example, to send them out on different paths all the time (and there is a powerup to do just that, though it's limited use). But the game is fun enough, and it does have that addictive "I can do better, just one more time" feel that this kind of running game requires. The setting is Seal Force's highlight. It's very cute when the characters call in with their catchphrases every time you send them out, as if this old TV show did really exist once upon a time. The price is right, too. Seal Force is a freemium title, with more shells available as an in-app purchase. Seal Force is available as a universal download right now, so if the mix of genres sounds intriguing, check it out.
TUAW's Daily App: Crazy Test
Some of the best apps are born from the wackiest ideas, and while Crazy Test probably isn't one of the best apps on the App Store, it is a wacky idea. Tactile Entertainment has been working on their Pocket Creatures title, but while goofing off (I suppose), they've put together this WarioWare-inspired bit of silliness. Basically, Crazy Test consists of a series of absurd mini games; some of them have you swiping the touchscreen in various ways, some of them have you tapping in certain places, and some even have you shaking the iPhone or iPod touch. Each "test" gives you a goal and then only a quick few seconds to figure out how to do it correctly. The only caveat I'd put on this one is that Crazy Test really is crazy, so come with a sense of humor. The app has quite a bit of silly, nonsensical violence and various bathroom-related jokes. There's nothing you couldn't see on TV these days, but if you're easily offended by childish jokes, steer clear (Tactile's Denmark-based European sensibilities probably play a factor as well). Otherwise, Crazy Test is an amusing time. While it seems like there might not be too much variety at first, the mini games eventually start showing off new wrinkles the more you play with them. It's not for everybody, but if you enjoy a little absurdity with your iPhone gaming, you'll find it's well worth the buck.
GDC 2010: Hands on with Pocket Creatures
One of the best things about going to a convention like GDC is what we in the business call "doing research," which you might know as "playing games." We often get to check out the latest and greatest that developers are working on, and so when Tactile Entertainment offered us a chance to check out their upcoming Pocket Creatures title, we gladly took it. The company is founded by four friends from Denmark, one of whom used to be the Development Manager at Crytek (makers of the PC graphics engine and its flagship shooter Crysis), and Pocket Creatures, due out later this year, is their first title. The game's backstory tells of an island somewhere with an egg in an ancient temple, and in an intro movie, the egg hatches to reveal the game's main creature character. But the game isn't merely a virtual pet simulator. While you can pet the little guy to make him happy or slap him to make him sad, the rest of the game actually embodies a pretty complex ecosystem, of which the creature and his emotions and abilities are only a part. %Gallery-88237%
